Irem Shrine, Wilkes-Barre

This absolutely magnificent building is the old Irem Shrine, in Wilkes-Barre, PA. It was built as an auditorium for the local Shriners group back in the early 1900's. Appaerntly the building is in rough shape and the city is not quite sure what to do with it. Maintenance on a building of this size and vintage must be extremely expensive and the local Shriners don't have the money to upkeep it. What a shame.

Travel To Ithaca

Clare and I are in New York this week to visit my family and to show Clare around where I grew up. We've had a good time so far, taking in the best of the local hikes to the area waterfalls, eating good food at the many great Ithaca restaurants, and sampling a few east coast microbrews that we just don't get in Portland. We then took a trip down to Wilkes-Barre PA to visit my Aunt Anna. We we're really lucky because my Aunt Annette, cousin Nicole and her husband John were all able to come from New Jersey to meet us there. We had a great time, although as always, too short.

Rose Festival at Night

I snapped this picture the other night during the annual Portland Rose Festival. There were a few Navy ships tied up right along the Willamette River in downtown and they provided a nice foreground scene to the backdrop of the city skyline. I played around with some different exposures settings and timing and this is one of the better shots of the bunch.