Doin' the work...in the sky!

Yours truly, doing my thing in a small airplane over Alabama yesterday.  I tagged along with my buddy Sheldon when he went up to shoot some air-to-air video aviation footage for a project he's currently working on. The inflation of my shirt is due to the absence of a door on my side of the airplane.  Yep, you heard me correctly.  We don't mess around.  Big thanks to Sheldon for grabbing a few [awesome] shots of me while we were up in the air.

The Awesome Food of Gainesville, GA

As a follow-up to Mr. and Mrs. White's Wedding Extravaganza, I want to give a quick shout-out to a some of the amazing restaurants in and around Gainesville, GA that provided me with some superb meals while I was in town last weekend.  For those of you who know me well, you may commence the eye-rolling.  You knew this was coming...winkety-wink. I love to look for unique places to eat when I travel.  I'll duck into a Ruby Tuesdays near an exit now and again if I want a bottomless salad bar, but I am strongly of the opinion that life is just too short to waste money at franchise joints.  I would rather do a little extra driving and spend a little extra money to support local restauranteurs who are passionate about cooking delicious food.  In that spirit, I chose my meals carefully, and Gainesville's culinary offerings did not disappoint!

My Gainesville eats:

2 Dog: A Local Restaurant - Friendliest staff and freshest ingredients I've had in a while.  I ordered smoked pork shoulder with sides of asparagus and sautéed Swiss chard.  The pork was unbelievably tender and flavorful--upon a single prod from my enthusiastic fork, Hoffa himself could not have paid that meat to hold itself together.  Further props go to 2 Dog for their support of Gainesville's local farms and commitment to fresh, organic produce.

Avocados Restaurant - There is nothing better than a good omelet, and when I decided to order one at Avocados Restaurant off of Gainesville's historic downtown square, they  knocked it squarely out of the park.  I had been in the mood for chorizo for a few days, and I was elated to find that Avocados makes an omelet with chorizo, mushrooms, tomatoes.  The cheddar cheese wasn't listed on the menu, but it added a nice touch.  And, since I am an insufferable protein fiend, I ordered the "meat omelet" with a side of bacon.  Delicious.

Redd's 'Que & Stew - No trip through Georgia or the Carolinas is rendered complete until you've eaten some local barbecue.  Redd's was presented to me as a "hole in the wall with great ribs."  And that sums it up pretty accurately, as it's barely more than a shed on the edge of a secondary highway far outside of Gainesville.  Upon taking an especially eager bite of a baby back, I detected an unusual texture.  It hit me then that not only had I taken a bite of tender meat, but the bone itself was so tender that I could eat that part as well!  Smoke-flavored marrow made for a great treat in addition to some good meat.

The only downside to this trip was that I wasn't in Gainesville long enough to try some of the other delicious-looking places downtown.  I also have a sneaking suspicion that there are more barbecue joint gems to be found in the surrounding area.  Thankfully, I have reasons to go to Gainesville at least once or twice each year, so I can look forward to future opportunities for more culinary explorations...

Mr. and Mrs. White's Wedding Extravaganza

Last weekend saw me driving up to Gainesville, Georgia to video the wedding of some very special people. I met Parker and McClain on my last trip to India, McClain being the daughter of Ken and Tracy, whom I know from participating with their ministry, Net India.

Upon meeting them, it took less than five minutes for me to be convinced that if there is such a thing as a perfect couple, it's these two.  First high school sweethearts, now married fresh out of college.  I've been to a lot of weddings, but there was a joy and purity at this one that I have never felt before.  As I culled through the video footage, I found myself smiling continually as every clip reminded me of the joy of the day.  And, to make it even cooler, McClain used Pinterest to gather ideas and design the entire event.

Congrats, guys.  I'm proud to know both of you.  Thanks for letting the goofy Florida boy be a part of your big day.

Just so there is no confusion, all photography and portraiture was handled by Katherine Williamson Photography and North Georgia Photography.  Contrary to my usual job, I was the video guy, and what you see below are frame grabs from my footage.

Derrel's of Pensacola

I spent some time in my dad's place of business last week, shooting video footage for some upcoming commercials and taking photographs for general purposes.  My dad's business, Derrel's of Pensacola, is unique in the area.  Why?  We carry Bernina sewing machines. Bernina sewing machines are manufactured in Steckborn, Switzerland.  I almost went there a couple of years ago, but the closest I came was looking at it across Lake Constance from Friedrichshafen, Germany.  Needless to say, the machines come from a beautiful area of the world; I think that's one of the contributing factors to their being so well-designed.  They have built-in Microsoft Windows interfaces (and are slowly coming around with Mac support), and are possibly the most advanced sewing machines available anywhere.  Derrel's also recently started selling the Melco Bravo industrial embroidery machine.

The creative possibilities made possible by these machines are amazing, and I'm proud to help my dad market them in the Pensacola area.

The new cards have arrived...

Thanks to everyone who helped me with the development of my new business cards a few weeks ago.  The cards came yesterday afternoon, and boy are they pretty. From a design standpoint, I wanted to ensure that they fit in with my life's "vintage travel" motif.  If you know me, or even if you knew me at certain periods of my life (I went through a pretty intense Indiana Jones phase), you know all too well that the romance of 1940s travel and adventure is one of the heaviest influences on my life.  Before you say anything, I know.  The world has changed.  Ultra-light packing has pushed the steamer trunk out of vogue.  The modern American insistence on dressing to be "comfortable" on airplanes has effectively replaced the conservative gray traveling suit.  Scottevests and canvas bucket hats are more practical than field jackets and fedoras.  I understand all of this, and to a certain extent I appreciate it.

But when it comes to presenting one's self to the world, and for capturing the spirit of adventure in your own mind, I defy you to tell me that this is a real improvement over this.

In that spirit, the cards...