My First (Real) Wedding Shoot

 Hard to believe it's almost the end of the month already, my how time can fly, especially when your busy. These last couple of weeks have been just that. First off, Sheryl had her pinky toe operated on, to remove a piece of bone that never healed. You see she broke it while we were in Key West (no she wasn't drinking (that day.....lol) and it never healed. Shes doing pretty good now and due to get the stitches out here in a couple of days. Next on the agenda, a friend asked me if I would photograph their Sons wedding for them and I agreed. With the planning, bridle shoot and the wedding itself it all added up to several days and I must say quite the experience, now I know why wedding photographers charge so much.  As much fun as we had doing it, I don't think it's my cup of tea and I'll stick to travel and landscapes, not saying I wouldn't help out a friend or family again.

 The wedding was held at the Oklahoma State Capital Building and what a beautiful venue for a wedding. Surprisingly there is no charge for the use of it and they even provide all the chairs and tables needed for both the wedding and reception held on 2 different floors.
With Sheryl's help in posing everyone while I took the pictures, I believe they turned out pretty good for my first time. Everyone who saw the pictures so far has been very pleased, and of course that makes Sheryl and I happy as well.

 Fleeing the Scene of the Crime

 Wedding Party

 Striking a Pose

 Of course the Voluntary Signing of the License

The Happy Newlyweds

Our time here in OKC is coming closer to an end (finally), we have about to weeks left and we'll be off and running again. We'll need to stay with-in a day of so of here as we need to be back around mid Sep for an appointment. Then off to SW Kansas to celebrate Sheryl and her Twin Sisters birthday at the Family Homestead. After that another wedding in the OKC area and then we'll make our escape and head towards Key West again. Man this retirement gig with wear you out!!!

Ok, that's it for now, there is more, but we'll save that for our next post. Until then.............................

Family and Fireworks

 The last couple of weeks started out pretty slow and normal, but closer to the 4th of July holiday things really ramped up. It started out with going to the movies, not just any movie, but one of, what seems like, the few Drive In Theaters left in the country. This one happens to be in OKC, who knew??? We went with our daughter, son in law and the grand kiddos. Watched the new Tarzan movie, much better than we expected. It was a double feature, however us old folks and the ones with little ones all decided 2am just wouldn't work and we headed home. Great experience and will be taking in more drive-ins as we come across them in our travels.

 Next we got a surprised call from our daughter in Dallas, asking if they could come up for the 4th weekend, Of Course it was alright!!! It was a nice surprise and we really enjoyed having them here. As usual when we get together with family, I get all caught up in just enjoying the moments, I forget to take any pictures. However I did get a couple of Sheryl showing the Grand Kids how to feed the fish here in our little pond. They thought it was great new experience us and the kiddos won't soon forget.

 While they were here, they wanted to take in a fireworks show, being a big city, we were easily able to find a July 3rd show. This one was unique, as it was put on by the OKC Symphony. The Symphony put on a 90 minute concert with fireworks to follow. It was a great show and both the kids and grand kids loved it. To bad they had to head back home the next day, but it sure was fun having them here.

 July 4th, our daughter here in OKC invited us to go with them for a picnic and fireworks show in north OKC. Hey, why not, never seen two shows on a 4th weekend. We packed up the cars and headed north, leaving early so we could get a good spot. Boy did we get a good spot, backed right up to a grassy area with a front row seats to the fireworks show. Grilled up some burgers, watched the little ones run around and just kicked back and relaxed till the show started. One thing I will say, this had to be the most amazing fireworks show we have ever seen (and we have seen a lot) it's no wonder it rated as one of the top 10 firework shows in the country!!! If you happen to be in or around the OKC area on the 4th, it is well worth stopping by and checking out.
I have never taken any fireworks pictures before and wanted to try my hand at it, so with my gear in tow, I set up and believe I captured some pretty good ones. Here are a few of the many pictures I was able to get. Hope you enjoy.

Thanks for following along and we'll see you back here next time..........................

OKC at Night

The sculpture changes to several different colors and straddles I-40. The last shot is of the Devon Tower downtown. There are several more photos showing the different colors of the sculpture at my Flickr Page which you can find Here

Enjoy and we'll see you next time!!!

Kayaking Lake Draper, OKC, OK.

 With Sheryl out of town for the weekend, I needed something to keep me entertained. Heck, why not get one of the kayaks wet. Of course my purpose was two fold, to test out the new kayak rack, and of course to paddle around the lake for a while.

The lake is pretty big, with several little finger coves branching off the main lake. The great part about kayaking is the ability to get way back in those little coves with just inches of water.
I was only out for a few hours, but it sure felt good to get out on the water again. The new rack worked well, and hopefully, it will do just as well with both yaks on it and zipping on down the road behind the motorhome.
Tonight I may head downtown to photograph the city lights, I'll let you know how that goes. So until then, take care and see you back here again.

Lake Stanley Draper, OKC, OK.

 Saturday, I thought I'd take the Jeep out and actually get a little dirt on the tires. My destination, Lake Stanley Draper on the south side of OKC. It's a pretty large lake with several large fingers extending from it. There is also a dirt road which follows the shoreline, making for approx 20 miles of dirt. This it the Jeeps maiden voyage off the paved roads and she did surprisingly well.

Some of the road was a little less travelled (yes theres a road under there....lol)

 Some areas were just long stretches with some surprisingly large washed out areas.

 And some areas were just off limits......Darn!!!

But for the most part they looked like this, just a pleasant 20 mile drive around a beautiful lake. After being cooped up in the house for a week with that darn cold, it was nice to get out.

Looking forward to getting the Jeep out more during our travels.......so stay tuned and we'll see you next time.