Sitges Spain… Day 1

After yesterday’s storm, the sun came out in full brilliance today… and so did the crowds!  Being that it is Sunday, it seemed that not only the tourists, but the locals were taking advantage of the weather. Temps are still a little “cool” (it’s February!), but if you got away from the ocean breeze and in the sun, it was incredibly warm.  Saw a lot of joggers, sunbathers (in the sheltered areas on the beach), people walking their dogs, and couples strolling the beautiful beach front.  Sitges caters a lot to tourists, so there’s lots of shops and restaurants around to enjoy.

Sitges on a pleasant February day.

Sitges on a pleasant February day.

Hola!

I’m in Spain for this week and am currently just south of Barcelona near a village called Sitges.  It’s an artistic / tourist community on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.  I just landed this morning after 23 hours of travel (and no sleep)… so am recovering a bit from the trip.  I did have a chance to walk around though in the late afternoon after a rain storm.  I’ll have more time to explore tomorrow (Sunday), but for the moment, here’s a photo taken this afternoon.  More photos coming soon…

Sitges, Spain.

Sitges, Spain.

Late January…

More images were added this morning… this time Scenic Photos from 2010.  This was a pretty amazing year which included my first ever (business) trip to Spain, our new home in the countryside near Ashland, and the addition of Taiko, our Black Lab who was rescued from the Animal Shelter.   Below is a photo taken on Harris Beach here in Oregon during a Winter storm.

Storm waves at Harris Beach

Keeping busy!

Very productive morning as I was up early (4am).  A little over 100 photos were added to this site as a result… mostly for the new 2011 Scenic Photos, but also a few more in the 2012 Scenic Photos.  There’s a lot of new stuff in here, so please take a look and enjoy!  BTW… that smiling face on the Daisy is real… Agi caught glimpse of it next to the Coast Trail in Point Reyes.  If you look very closely (click on the photo) you can see it was naturally formed.  Pretty amazing…

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More photos added…

More scenic photos are being added to this site, but it’s turning out to take much longer than expected.  When you shoot well into the tens of thousands of photos a year, there’s a lot to sort out.   Basically now that the 2013 photos are up, the next step is to start backfilling for prior years.  The process is slow, but some really great photographs are being added.  Some scenic photos from 2012 are now up… with more coming soon.  After that more will continue to be added from prior years… as they say… beauty is timeless, and the photos that will soon appear will prove that.  Stay tuned…

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Hungary Scenic Photos are here…

In 2012, Agi (my wife) and I took a trip to Hungary to visit her relatives there.  While most of the time we were visiting her family and friends, we did have a chance to take a tour of the Danube River – and to the historical town of Eger.  We also spent quite a bit of time in Székesfehérvár (Agi’s home town and the first capital of Hungary dating back over 1000 years).  Hungary is a country that is at the crossroads of East/West civilization and it’s influences show from many cultures – European (from the Romans onward) and Asian (starting with Attila the Hun!).  It’s impressive to say the least, and I hope you’ll enjoy the 2012 Scenic Photos from Hungary

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Scenic Bolinas photos are up…

One of my favorite places in the world to go is Bolinas.   It’s location is ideal… along the California coast surrounded on two sides by National Parks and the other two sides by the Pacific Ocean. Weather there is typical Northern California… foggy mornings, sunny (but windy) afternoons, followed by fog late evening.  It’s something that I grew up with and learned to enjoy and appreciate.  The 2013 Bolinas Photos page is a summary from four separate trips during this year.  It’s a fantastic place with so much to see.IMG_5468

Brammo Photo Galleries are up…

The 2012 and 2013 Brammo Photo Galleries are now up and running.  There’s 50+ photos in each Gallery and they’re organized chronologically as events unfolded throughout the year.  It’s a lot of fun to see how the Empulse developed, view the race photos, and see some beautiful and scenic ride scenes such as the one below.  Select “Brammo” from the main menu above and enjoy!

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Final thoughts on 2013

As 2013 comes to a close, it’s proved to be an amazing year.  There were a lot of trips this year including four trips to Bolinas, a trip to Maui in the Spring, several trips to the Oregon Coast and multiple trips in and around the Southern Oregon region.  Photography work at Brammo continues to expand – as does the company with it’s new headquarters in Talent (four times the size of it’s previous building).  Agi and I purchased a tandem sailboat/kayak (Hobie Tandem Adventure Island) this year of which I’m sure you’ll see a lot more adventures with in 2014.  The beautifulvista.com web site (of which you’re reading) was re-born in December… new format…  all new photos… and a new direction.  We hope you enjoy the new site and come back to see the latest photos and stories.

Best wishes,
Charles

December Sunset at Agate Beach (Bolinas, California)

December Sunset at Agate Beach (Bolinas, California)