August 11, 2016 - Staircase Embrace

From the grand staircase of the San Diego Convention Center one has an incredible view of the San Diego Bay.  On a landing part of the way up the stairs is a 21 foot high sculpture by Leonardo Nierman, "Flama De La Amistad" or "Flame of Friendship".  The sculpture was a gift to San Diego from the government of Mexico in 2000.  The sculpture's polished stainless steel creates a unique dynamic based on the light of the day, or night.

This is a flame, but it also an embrace.  It is my hope for mankind that one day we will feel like brothers, act like brothers and love like brothers, instead of like adversaries. - Leonardo Nierman

August 6, 2016 - Summer Soiree Lights

Dusk. Lights. Reflections. Friends. Laughter.

August 5, 2016 - Blue Angels, Blue Flag, Blue Sky, Blue Water

The roar of six pairs of General Electric F414 engines that can each, individually, generate 22,000 pounds of thrust can mean only one thing: The Blue Angels are in town!

The US Navy's flight demonstration squadron performs above Lake Washington during breaks in the Seafair Cup hydroplane races.  Practice for the weekend occurs during the week leading up to Seafair.  On this day, a good crowd gathered at Kerry Park at lunchtime to see the six blue F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets pass by the Space Needle in formation under a clear blue sky.

The blue 24 flag on the Space Needle was raised earlier today by former Mariner outfield Ken Griffey, Jr.  who just this summer was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  His number will be the first to be retired by the Mariners organization in a ceremony this weekend.

August 3, 2016 - Seattle Waterfront

A visit to the Seattle Aquarium turns into more than viewing fish, octopi and seals when it happens during Seafair Fleet Week.

On this day, at a pier near the aquarium, a US Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin from Port Angeles put on a demonstration with their rescue swimmer deploying from the aircraft as it hovers next to the USS Gridley, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer stationed in Everett.  A restored 1937 Douglas DC3A flies across Elliott Bay towards Boeing Field.

The Seattle waterfront is a busy place during the summer.  Tourists, both the home town and out of town variety, jam the sidewalks to take in the views, or visit the Seattle Aquarium or the Great Wheel.  These days navigating the waterfont is a little challenging as the 80 year old seawall is being replaced.  The seawall is part of the project that will replace the the Alaskan Way Viaduct with an underground tunnel and completely redevelop the city's waterfront.