Galveston

I've been in Texas for 3 weeks now. This last week, i've been in Galveston on the gulf coast. I'm enjoying myself, but missing home.

From Houston, TX

My hotel is in the middle of the picture. I have a gulf view, but it is more of a grocery store view.

From Houston, TX

I've always enjoyed the beach. I just wish i could spend it with Loralee and Lincoln.

From Houston, TX

IDK. some statue of dolphins. You can see the back wall is cracked from Hurricane Ike. They still don't have everything repaired yet, but not too much damage can be seen from Ike anymore.

From Houston, TX

Palm trees.

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Some cool houses on the coastline.

From Houston, TX

Some condos

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Sunset

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From Houston, TX

From Houston, TX

From Houston, TX

Labor Day

This labor day was spent in Houston, TX...and by myself. I am currently on an assignment for a new unit that we shipped and failed within 25 hours of runtime (the units are supposed to run for 26000 hours before maintenance. First I had to go to our Dresser-Rand location in Houston to supervise the machinists and mechanics that had to fix the part. In 6 days I worked 108 hours. A bit much, but It will help pay the winter heating bill. Next I will have to go to BP in Texas City to supervise installation and startup. BP has a lot of requirements to get into the refinery to work, but I have them almost completed. You need a government background check, a local background check, a drug test, an alcohol test, a hair follicle drug test, and 11 hours of training. Right now I am waiting for the results from my drug tests before I can take the final 3 hours of training.

So I got work here done on saturday, So i had Sunday and Monday to myself.

On Sunday, I hung out with my friend David. It was a good time catching up with him.

On Monday, I decided to go to the beach in Galveston...about an hour south of houston. The beach is on the Gulf of Mexico. I had talked to someone earlier this week and they said the water is starting to get too cold to swim in this year much longer. When I went, the water temperature was about 70 and felt warm compared to the water in Cayuga lake that I'm used to swimming in. It wasn't a bad way to spend the holiday, but I'd rather spend it with Loralee and Lincoln.

This is the view out of the Elmira airport waiting for my flight to board.

From Houston, TX

Downtown Houston.

From Houston, TX

Stewart Beach. I parked at the far end of the beack. I was able to park within 20 feet of the beach and it wasn't nearly as packed.

From Houston, TX

The waves were only about 2-3 foot high.

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Walking down the beach about 1/4 mile and there is no one nearby.

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Walking in the water

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Nice looking beach houses.

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Driving home with 1 cloud in the sky

From Houston, TX

Ireland Part 3

On the last day I was in Ireland I went to the Blarney Castle

From Ireland

This is the bottom of the castle and the dungeons

From Ireland

I dont know if the gate was supposed to be opened. I walked in a little ways, but it gets real small and I didn't want to crawl through the mud inside and there was no light

From Ireland

A view from the base

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The entrance

From Ireland

Thats the blarney stone in the middle that has the pipes around it for safety. By kissing the stone you get the gift of eloquence. And yes I did kiss is.

From Ireland

The stairs to the top were very steep and the only think to hold onto was this rope

From Ireland

Looking down from the top

From Ireland

From Ireland

There was a line at the top to kiss the stone. They also take your picture which you can pay 25$ to keep.

From Ireland

Another view of the castle

From Ireland

Some plant with big leaves

From Ireland

A cool looking tree that had a lot of smaller branches and no real main trunk.

From Ireland

The blarney house which they don't allow people to view anymore, unless you have a wedding there.

From Ireland

From Ireland

Ireland Part 2

The Jamison Irish Wiskey Distillery is located in the town I stayed at. Midleton. I toured their factory. They actually have an old factory and shut it down and replaced it with an upgraded factory next to it. We toured the old factory.

From Ireland

The waterwheel generated all of the power for the distillery.

From Ireland

I think these were for show and not filled

From Ireland

This shows the color of the whiskey as it ages. The left barrel is aged 2-3 years and the right is aged 18 years. You can see how some of the whiskey evaporates each year also

From Ireland

Swan Lake

From Ireland

The largest blackberries I have ever seen...although we recently found a plant at our house that had blackberries about the same size

From Ireland

The countryside

From Ireland

This is Drombeg. It is similar to stonehenge but much smaller. You can go right up to them and touch them. There were a bunch of groups there so this was the least people I could get in a picture

From Ireland

From Ireland

Another driving picture

From Ireland

This is Kinsale. It is a larger fishing village. They had the best fish and chips I've ever had at a local shop next to the harbor.

From Ireland

From Ireland

Ireland Part 1

The other week I went to Ireland for a short assignment. I had to make sure some new parts were installed correctly and make sure the engine worked as it was supposed to. It was a fairly easy job as luckily we had no major issues.

It was my first time in Ireland and I enjoyed it. The country is not too different from NY/PA and there was not a major culture differences so not too much of a shock being there. The major changes was cost. Everything is a lot more expensive. My house would cost at least half a million if it was in Ireland.

This is from the town I stayed at. Midleton, County Cork, Ireland. There are several buildings with attached houses all different colors.

From Ireland

Another building. The doors are so small I would need to duck to get inside. The two houses are shorter than most in the area.

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A corner house

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A church in the town

From Ireland

I went to McDonalds. They don't have drivethroughs...they have McDrives. My meal cost about $12.00 Their value menu has items that are only $3.00.

From Ireland

This is a little fishing villiage near the refinery I worked at. The group of houses is about half of the village.

From Ireland

Looking across the harbor

From Ireland

This house has a nice flower bed in front of it.

From Ireland

This is driving somewhere. This is not the main highway, but a more major road. I drove a VW golf and It took up about the full lane. They have to trim the sides and even the top at places so Big trucks aren't hitting branches. Also on my car there was a little sticker that reflected on the windshield to tell you to drive on the left hand side.

From Ireland