Wheels Up

Wheels up

Nothing too special today. Just a shot of a flight taking off from Washington National Airport one bright morning.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Traveling: Ocean Shores and Home

Line of Surf : Ocean Shores, WA

On Sunday afternoon, I left Seattle and headed out to the coast. I didn't exactly end up in the most beautiful coastal setting in Washington, I'm sure, but I did drive through some towns that were once quite prominent in the world of pulp, paper, and wood products manufacturing. Since that's what I write about professionally, it was interesting to put places with the mills and companies I've written about in the past.

Red Sky at Morn' : Ocean Shores, WA

My drive took me through Tacoma and past Olympia, the state capital. I drove through Aberdeen and Grays Harbor, but it was Ocean Shores where I ended up for the night. It was too late to take sunset pictures by the time I arrived, so I got up really early the next morning and snapped a couple of sunrise shots.

cloudsandclunkers : Peter Shelton, Artist : SEA-TAC

Then, it was back to the hotel to shower, pack, and head back up to Seattle for my flight home that afternoon. I arrived at SEA-TAC with plenty of time to spare only to learn my flight from Seattle to Baltimore with a connection through Denver had been canceled due to snow in Denver. Thankfully, United put me on an American Airlines flight and I was off. Before leaving SEA-TAC, I caught a couple of photos of a very fun art exhibit called "cloudsandclunkers" by the artist Peter Shelton.

Andrew Dan-Jumbo of The Learning Channel in the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport

My new flight plans included a layover in Dallas-Fort Worth. While waiting for my connection, I noticed this guy in our boarding area talking on the phone and using his computer. I needed to recharge the battery on my computer, so I sat across from him and snapped this photo of him using my PhotoBooth software on my Mac. This gentleman is Andrew Dan-Jumbo--TLC's DIY handyman for its home makeover shows.

Driftwood at High Tide : Ocean Shores, WA

Washington State (the "other" Washington, as we say here and as they say there about us) was a beautiful state. The people were friendly and polite, the scenery was breathtaking, the food was good--everything was a wonderful experience. My thanks to my friend, Alice, for the use of her house in Langley and to Maya, for being such a wonderful guide. I'll be back soon!


Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 12/08

Traveling: Whidbey Island, WA

6:22 a.m. Departure : BWI

I've been lagging behind in responding to comments in last week's blog entries. My apologies for that, but my thanks to everyone who continues to stop by and read. My excuse? I was traveling and didn't have internet access for nearly four days! Last week, I spent five days in Washington State. My visit took me to Whidbey Island, Mukilteo, Seattle, and Ocean Shores. In all, I booked nearly 600 miles in ground and water travel, 6,000 air miles, and saw a beautiful part of the country. For the next few days, I'll be posting pictures from my trip.

Flying over the Golden Gate : San Francisco, CA
(Click image to enlarge)

Today's photos feature shots from the airplane, in airports, and on Whidbey Island. I'll stick to the captions on the first two, but note that my outbound flight commenced at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI) and included a layover at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), hence the first two pictures. My final destination was Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), known as SEA-TAC.

Airport Art : SEA-TAC

The third photo is a piece of art in SEA-TAC in the United Airlines baggage claim area. The entire piece is constructed of reflector circles! SEA-TAC airport is full of some really fun art. Unfortunately, I didn't get the name of the artist on this one.

Towering firs : Langley, WA

My purpose for being in the Seattle area was to check out a business opportunity on Whidbey Island. One of the beauties of the Pacific Northwest are the abundance of coniferous trees. These ones are on the property of a friend who owns a home in Langley, WA.

Sunset : Freeland, WA

Finally, the first night I was on Whidbey Island, I drove up to Freeland. I had to pull off the road to take this picture of a lovely sunset. (Note to Virginia and Maya: No, I did not shoot while driving! Too dangerous on windy, twisty coast/island roads.)

Tomorrow: More about Whidbey Island, a bald eagle, and a lighthouse.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 12/08

Take Off Sequence

My apologies: I'm pulling from the archives again today as I didn't make it outside yesterday and I'm not posting another picture of the cat. I may be desperate, but I'm not that desperate! This is a sequence of photos I took a few week's ago at Gravelly Point just north of Washington National Airport (DCA). I managed to get off five shots of the same plane taking off.





Happy Tuesday, everyone. Thanks for stopping by!

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 07/08

DCA

Washington National Airport: The departure level.
(Click on image to enlarge.)

Washington, D.C., is accessible via air from three airports: Washington-Dulles International Airport (IAD) in Loundon County, Virginia; Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia; and Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI) near Baltimore, Maryland. The closest of the three is National Airport, just across the Potomac River and about six miles from downtown. The other two are each nearly 30 miles from Washington. Today's photos are from DCA.

L: View of DCA's air traffic control tower from the arrivals deck. R: Heading into the clouds.
(Click on images to enlarge.)

Opened in June 1941, DCA is home to 12 carriers providing service to 74 domestic destinations and connections to several international airports within the U.S. There are no direct international flights from DCA. In 2007, 18.7 million passengers traveled through DCA. It is the third busiest airport in the D.C. Metropolitan area.

View of Runway 19 looking south from Gravelly Point.

After Sept. 11, DCA was the last airport in the nation to reopen and for a time there was some discussion that it might never reopen given its proximity to the capital city. Fortunately, reason prevailed in the former of senators and congressional representatives who use the airport for its convenience and easy access. Located at the north end of the airport is a park called Gravelly Point. It is here that you can find people parking their cars or unloading a picnic basket and enjoying the sights and sounds of planes taking off and landing.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 6/08

High Flying

Dulles International Airport (IAD):
One of D.C.'s three airports and the busiest of them all.
Taken at sunrise.

A longer exposure and slightly enhanced shot of IAD at sunrise.

Washington Dulles International Aiport (IAD) is one of three airports serving the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan corridor. In addition to Dulles, there is Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) near Baltimore and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on the Potomac River. The only advantage to picking up a friend from the airport who has flown a red-eye is the opportunity it afforded me to take pictures of one of D.C.'s most picturesque and architecturally stunning airports.

IAD is named after John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. (His grandfather and an uncle also served as Secretaries of State under Presidents Benjamin Harrison and Woodrow Wilson, respectively.) Dulles is credited with strengthening NATO, instigating the ANZUS treaty with Australia and New Zealand, and working closely with the CIA (under the directorship of his brother, Allen Welsh Dulles) to overthrow the democratically-elected governments of Iran and Guatemala. (In hindsight and in light of recent unrest in the world, probably not the best idea, eh?) He was also a pioneer of "mutually assured destruction"--a Cold War phrase for nuking the hell out of the enemy. In many respects, Dulles' diplomacy contributed to the heightened tensions of the Cold War. At one point, he told an interviewer, "The United States doesn't have friends, it has interests." Chilling, no?

But, this is about IAD. Located on land selected by President Eisenhower, the airport is 26 miles from Washington in now-suburban Virginia. It straddles the Loudoun and Fairfax County lines, but has a Washington, D.C., address. The building was designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen and gives the suggestion of flight with its swooping roof, expansive glass exteriors, and halogen lighting. The airport was dedicated in November 1962 by President John F. Kennedy. United Airlines is the airport's busiest carrier shuttling 61% of all travelers through its gates. In 2006 alone, more than 23 million passengers* traveled through IAD.

*Compared to BWI: 20.7 million and DCA: 18.5 million.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 3/08