Archive for September, 2008
Out and About… Phuket, Thailand
Photo by Karl, notes by Ryan
My dad took this photo because I was too busy mounting an elephant at the time. We had stopped at a remote roadside bar in Phuket and discovered an elephant trailhead in the backyard.
Out and About… Keuka Lake, NY
Photos and notes by Ryan
My friend Preston invited me out to help him demo a brand new 2008 Air Nautique Super Sport on Keuka Lake, which turned out to be the nicest boat I’d ever been on. For the first time in my life, I actually felt comfortable wakeboarding. All I had to do was ensure that I got up and the boat took care of the rest.
I commented that Preston looked a little red and he replied… “no, this is just how I tan”.
Out and about… Providenciales Island, Turks & Caicos
Photo and notes by Ryan
This barely visible tattoo only came to my attention when Nicci (pronounced like Nikki, just like Carl is pronounced like Karl) happened to look to her left to see what was on the dessert cart. I only had a moment to snap this photo as Nicci already knew she wanted key lime pie.
Out and about… Kershaw Park, NY
Photo and notes by Ryan
Jordan, whose last name is Gambill, as you could probably guess, was cooling off at Kershaw Park in Canandaigua. The water here at the north end of Canandaigua Lake is only about 5 feet deep for several hundred feet offshore, so Jordan was actually standing next to the boat while I took this photo.
Out and About… Muar Lake, NY
Photo and notes by Ryan
I took this photo while sitting in the bow of an Air Nautique during a wakeboard competition on Muar Lake. These 3 colorful characters were selected as judges because they knew just a little more about wakeboarding than the other people in the audience, and they already had clipboards. I was selected as the photographer because I was the only one that raised his hand, and I already had a camera.
Out and About… Phuket, Thailand
Photo and notes by Ryan
An elephant and a Mahout (elephant trainer) are usually paired for life. This baby elephant was learning how to take tips from tourists and stuff them into his Mahout’s pocket. I was so enthralled by what I was seeing that I didn’t even notice the Mahout’s tattoos until viewing the photos later.
Out and About… Keuka Lake, NY
Photos and notes by Ryan
My cousin Bobby is the best wakeboarder in the Finger Lakes. He has won every competition except for his very first one (he was 12 and he placed 2nd). When he rides, usually in the evening when the water is glass, people come out to their docks to watch, gasp, and applaud.
Out and about… Canandaigua Lake, NY
Photos and notes by Ryan
My friend Brett came to visit us on the lake for a weekend. I used to get emails from him while he was backpacking through Europe and Asia after college. I’d get an update every few months or so with a picture of him in an unidentifiable location with a vastly different stage of hair and beard growth from the previous email, and a quick note saying that he had decided to keep traveling for “another month or so”. I received various renditions of the “another month or so” email for about 2 years. The most recent email I received from him was to tell me that he and Lara are getting married in Panama next year and I’d better get my ticket soon. I can’t wait.
My Tattoo
Photo by Alexandria
Photo by Pontri, notes by Ryan
I got my first, and so far only, tattoo in the Philippines in 1996. I was with my family visiting relatives in Manila when it suddenly hit me that it would be the perfect opportunity to get that tattoo I always wanted. Being that I was on a family vacation funded by my parents, I was quite sure even without asking that they would not have approved of my getting a tattoo in a third world country, or any country for that matter. My cousin Pontri became integral in the plotting and planning of an excursion into downtown Manila…