Extreme pizza

Seen in Mantua, Ohio

Funky Monkeys

The Cleveland Zoo says this is a behavioral study. I think it's nice of the Zoo to let the monkeys express themselves.

Going Green

New Zealand may be a few steps ahead of the US in turning autos into rolling advertisements. There are more cars sitting in private drives that appear to be decorated specifically as advertisements. This one just goes a little beyond most.

Traffic Control

Auckland uses speed bumps and traffic cameras to control traffic, but they also use these lane shifts. They seem really successful at slowing traffic.

Nappies

You know you're away from home when they're called nappies.

You would think wizards would know better

How much can enchantments help when you put up a muggle sign at the corner? One would assume the Order knows better. Maybe it was so the pizza delivery could find the house. ;-)

4 a.m. Fire Alarm

This is the view in the hotel courtyard when you are standing outside at 4am for a fire alarm. :-(

Hotel rooms in New Zealand

I bought three plug converters for the computer and two battery chargers. The converters are great, and work perfectly except the room has only two outlets unless you plug your room key into this wall switch. Without it, only two outlets function and only one light.

South of the equator ducks

I always heard water ran counterclockwise down a sink south of the equator. Now I know that ducks swim upside down too. :-)

Lada

I never expected to see one of these old Soviet Union relics on the streets of Auckland. This Lada was parked in front of a home in one of the pricier neighborhoods and appears well kept.

$4.87 per gallon

Think gas in the US is expensive? NZ$1.709/liter converts to $4.87/gallon US.

Mixed Tree?

We stopped for a cache at Gibbs Hill Cemetery and saw this tree on the grounds. There are actually two of them. The bottom looks like some sort of cypress while the top looks like a spruce. The trees have not been grafted they just morphed into some other shape with a totally different type of needle. Strange.

Wizard of Oz

Most geocachers have fun, lots of it. We walked the trail on the Friday after Thanksgiving to find Do Wop Dee's Wizard of Oz series. The hides were based on themes from the movie. We had a blast and we delivered Dorothy to the Emerald City.

Christmas Gift Idea

Since I've been so busy at the office, this blog has been neglected. This link was sent by a colleague. It's better than any pictures I have to post here for now. Enjoy.

Bow Wow Beach

There are lots of dog parks now open in communities. Stow, Ohio has one of the more unique ones with a beach and access to a small lake at a community park. Bow Wow Beach was popular even on a cold, rainy November day.

Strange Sight in the Park

Hudson, Ohio has 21 parks for recreation. Oak Grove Park just happens to be a little different. It is home to the Hudson Jaycees. Their home just happens to be the Hudson Haunted House. This is one of the oldest haunted houses anywhere having just celebrated its 35th anniversary. When the haunting is done, the hearse has to go somewhere so it sits near the house in the park.

Venango Creek Lighthouse

I'm not sure why a resident chose to build this lighthouse on Venango Creek. It is a really nice lighthouse, and I'm certain anyone lost on the river will find it handy. :-) We didn't know it was functional until we drove by after dark and saw its beacon swing around. I understand not all his neighbors are thrilled. :-0

Dave's Ice Cream

My mark in history! I'm so happy that my achievements as an ice cream consumer have led to my being honored with an ice cream stand in my name. ;-) Thanks Gryff for letting me post your photo.

Boot HIll

I came upon this while hiking a park in Erie County New York.

Mini Spare

This seems to be a novel idea from Mini. They've done away with the spare tire and added a spare car on the dash. If the car breaks down, drop the spare in water and wait for it to grow out to a full-size one :-).

Tree Crutches

Holden Arboretum installed these over a year ago on this really old tree. The tree looks great so they must be working.

Go Fly a Kite

I can never get one of these things to stay in the air. I was driving along the Niagara River when I spotted this in a park along the river. It was a beautiful day for flying a kite and these looked really cool.

Saturday afternoon meeting of the Western PA Browns Backers

One buzzard to another, "Is that Charlie Frye?"

Where's a shark when you need it?

Duck Mafia

These ducks are at an ice cream stand at the east end of Warren, PA. Its at the junction of rte 6 and 59 on the way to Kinzua Reservoir. These ducks are serious beggars. I don't think these people realized what awaited them when they sat down. There is a small stream behind the eating area and anyone grabbing a seat at one of the tables is soon surrounded by these ducks. They run as a group to the next victims.

Geauga Fair

I can't believe my party thinks this metallic monster is going to get any votes. Oh the shame of it all. (Since this is a political photo, please keep your comments nice.)

Sheriffs on Segways

The Geauga County sherrifs were using these at the Fair this weekend. They seemed to fit the task perfectly. I'm not too certain if he had just finished a donut, but he seemed to have mastered driving the Segway and eating. He doesn't look like a big donut guy.

Gazing Ball

One of the locals decided our state forest needed a gazing ball at the trail head.

Ronald McSquirrel

This creature may have been quaint if it occupied a space of pride in front of Olean's McDonalds, but to put it on the town square very near a quiet, little gazebo and in sight of a veterans monument seemed to be really crass. I enjoyed the little squirrels all over town until I got a view of this one. I half expected the other squirrel on the town square to be wearing a Wal-mart smock and a smiley face name tag.

Do they drink green water?

We saw this sign in Dublin, Ohio. They were getting ready for their annual Dublin Irish Festival. The park they hold the festival in is really pleasant and the festival appears to be huge. There is also a nice little micro here (won't hear that from us too often). Just one question comes to mind, Do they drink green water?

Galeton PA

It seemed just a bit ironic that Evan Almighty would be playing at the Lake View Cinema which just happens to be an old baptist church.

Bird-a-lounger

Hot new relaxation item for birds

Skateboard Hill

We were watching the sunset at a Mentor lakefront park when three youth arrived at the park. Two were there to cheer on the third with his skateboard. His mission was to start at the top of the hill and skateboard to the bottom without falling into Lake Erie. He was good (or lucky).

Giant Hogweed

Ali and I found giant hogweed while biking today in Warren County PA. It is the second time I have seen it and the first time Ali has seen it. Stay away from this stuff. The oil from it can change (ruin) your life. It has been found many places, including northeast Ohio, the Niagara Falls area and now Warren County. These are all places we and our friends cache. Please be careful.