Just Some Thoughts

The view from the retreat house

ckagy — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:44:59 +0000

The view from the meeting room at our retreat house

First Baseball Game

ckagy — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 15:03:11 +0000

It was the first Slam Ball (baseball) game of the season, and Alex's first game ever.

He was all over the balls that were hit.

And he got a good hit himself!

And he ran the bases like a champ!

Scents of Spring

ckagy — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 17:41:47 +0000

Family Day 2012

ckagy — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 21:51:03 +0000

To celebrate our Family Day, today we hiked wanted to climb a “mountain.” We hiked to the Piedmont Overlooks at Sky Meadows State Park in Delaplane, VA. The day was perfect for this ~1.3 mile hike.

The view of the Piedmont from the park's overlook. (To get the panorama, I stitched together 5 photos with the Microsoft Image Composite Editor (ICE).)

The park originally was a farm, so scattered throughout the property are some outbuildings.

We only hiked a small fraction of the trails in this park - we could have connected to the Appalachian Trail if we wanted.

The Dogwoods and Redbud trees were in full bloom. We'll most certainly go back.

Jefferson

ckagy — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 19:02:31 +0000

I went to the Tidal Basin at sunrise this morning to take some pictures. The Cherry Blossoms are close to full peak, so I was hoping for a colorful sunrise against which to get the trees. That didn’t work out, but I was able to take a series of beautiful pictures of the Jefferson Memorial.

I took three pictures, each one stop apart, and merged them to create this final image.

Here comes Emily

ckagy — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:41:21 +0000

ckagy — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 21:40:25 +0000

Today we went up in the mountains to Fort Jacques, one of two forts built to defend the harbor that became Port Au Prince. Pictures to come soon

View Larger Map

You will have to zoom out to see where Port Au Prince is in relation to the fort

Lots of the fort was in ruins, but we could get into the magazine, the barracks, part of the prison, and, of course, up on top.

One the way we stopped at a Mission that was founded in the 1940s and has since that time been providing medical services and education to the communities in the valley ever since. This community was on the of the first to reintroduce terraced agriculture back into the area. What was once reputedly the poorest part of Haiti, deforested and eroded to barren rock, has been able to pull itself up and become a destination area for wealthy Haitians, and a source of local produce.

Along the way, too and from, we did see some earthquake damage. While dramatic, what you see in these photos is exceptional and not indicative of the majority of the city.

Shortly after we left the fort and headed to lunch at a lovely restaurant nearby, the rains began. It took almost 2 hours, but we wound our way home.

25% of the average daily per capita income in Haiti

ckagy — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:53:02 +0000

Equivalent to $0.60

Club Indigo

ckagy — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 03:00:22 +0000

We took a day trip today to Club Indigo outside of Port Au Prince. This facility used to be owned by Club Med, but it is now a local operation. For a nominal fee, we were able to get a day-pass and enjoy the beach a bit.

It was about a 2 hour trip each way and we drove through some different parts of Port Au Prince. I was able to snap a few more pictures of the reality here:

Once we got to the club, we stepped into a Never-never land of sandy beach, blue ocean, palm trees, music, etc.

I have to admit that this interlude was welcome after the week in our container-rooms and driving through the reality that is Port Au Prince.

One thing, though. Apparently the coconut trees are hazardous…

22 July 2011

ckagy — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 22:39:58 +0000

My first week of work is done, and all is well. As usual, the people with whom I was working are excellent and entertaining.

My first impressions of Port-au-Prince leave me thinking of Africa, though. The earthquake devastated an already pitifully poor nation, and recovery has been slow to say the least. I read today that more than 600,000 people around Port-Au-Prince are still displaced and living in encampments like these:

If I didn’t know better, I’d swear I’m in Africa and not just an hour and a half flight from Miami as we drive to and from the office.

Tomorrow we’re being driven out of the city to a beach resort for the day. I’ll be interested to see what we drive through.