Leaving Cape Cod

This was the destination I was most excited to see and the longest stop on my trip. Wow, what a great time we had! I am sad to leave but I am looking forward to the next adventure on the road.

I've been thinking about all of the things we did and there are too many to mention! We especially enjoyed visits from Ronnie and Dan, Max learned how to ride in a bike basket, we had a fire on the beach, learned about photography from a pro, walked to a few lighthouses, toured around town on a bike, visited a little house on the bluff almost on a daily basis, went to the dog park on most days, had some great meals and was able to live under a roof for a while.

Some moments are hard to describe. It's just a feeling I had while I was here. It's an amazing place. The air is crisp, the tourist crowds are gone (not that I hate people or anything)and the sky shows us a beautiful painting each day. Not a bad way to live. In fact, you too can own a 300sq ft piece of heaven for just over 200K. I kid you not.

Now it's time to remember how to pitch a tent and wear an entire wardrobe at once to keep warm. I don't have a set plan but will keep you posted on the continued adventure. Thank you Cape for being so beautiful!

Here are pictures from some of my favorite moments in Provincetown (In no specific order...It's hard to narrow it down):

Freakshow Leader

The things I do to entertain myself.

Sometimes you just have to act a little bit silly to pass the time when you are alone. I spent the day driving around the cape taking pictures of boats but really wanted to find a working cranberry bog. I found a deserted one, but not one harvesting...yet.

Tonight was a beautiful sunset and after I took my pictures of the sky and birds I was walking around and decided to play with the timer on my point and click. First I stood there to see how it would look. Then I walked by. Then I started to jump around and make a fool of myself out there in the sand, on the bay during low tide.
One wasn't enough...I took more and more and was cracking up at myself wondering what people must have thought if they looked out watching me jumping around in the sand at sunset.

As I walked back to the cottage, there was a woman walking on the beach who greeted me. It was the same woman that was there when I dropped my camera in the water. The last time I saw her, she asked me if I was ok since she saw me standing there, slumped over. When I told her I was fine, she said she thought I was an elderly person stuck in the sand. I wonder what she thought of me this time, jumping around by myself out on the sand bluff.

My days at the cape are winding down and there is some sadness to it. However, I am looking forward to the next destination and sharing that with you.

Of course, a couple shots weren't enough...as you can see.

Growing Pains

The excitement of traveling somewhere new.

You know the feeling you get inside when you plan a trip and especially when you embark on your journey? I had that feeling the entire time I've been on the cape. Well, almost the entire time.

There were a few days that I felt I "had it." I mean, the pictures I took came out great! I was on a roll, I felt. I was happy about the color, the timing, the subject...everything. As you can see, I enjoy taking pictures of birds and the ocean and these few days were especially kind to me. I was in photo euphoria.

I had a few set backs along the way on this journey. I've dropped and killed 2 cameras so far. One crashed on the cement when Max pulled on the leash as I was taking a photo in Yellowstone and the other was when I was taking the camera off of a tripod at night, here at the cape. I lost my grip and it fell in the water. Both times, I was able to save the pictures but not the camera.

The other day, I started searching my computer for certain images by their image number. I was puzzled when pictures from a different day showed up. Slowly but surely my brain started realizing what had happened. I accidentally pressed on the "delete images with same file name" and low and behold...the new pictures replaced the old ones. Of course, I have a few saved that I posted on facebook, but those are all thumbnail versions and I will never be able to print them out in the quality I took them in. A sampling of the photos are shown above.

I was devastated.

They may never win any awards, but it was something I was proud of. I suppose you know how much you love something when it's gone. Well, I was heartbroken beyond belief until I snapped out of it and realized that it wasn't the end of the world. It hurt, but the ocean and birds are still there. I can try and recapture what was lost.

There are many lessons to be learned along the way.

I can't say that these are fun experiences but I can say that I won't replace files in the future.

As far as dropping things...I will do my best.

Turning Point

There is something about this little house on the bluff that I just love. It sits there, all alone looking out to the sea day by day, year by year.
Through the rain, snow, sunshine, sunsets, sunrises...it sits there, watching as all of this passes.

It all started one night when I took a picture of it on the very bottom of the frame and loved how the sky looked. The next day I took another picture of it during a different time. After a while, I was curious to see how the lighting would affect this little house during the course of the day, weeks and a month.

So, there I went. I have been going to the same house at different times of the day in different weather conditions to get a sense of what it's like to be that house sitting on the bluff.

I am in the middle of my project of choosing 5 or 7 perfect pictures of this house and setting them all together in a frame. After taking so many photographs of it, it's not an easy task. It has been a great study for me.

Here are some of the pictures together and my work in progress. I look forward to showing you the final project for sale soon.

Malocclusion: Disease of Civilization, Part II

The Nature of the Problem

In 1973, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published the results of a National Health Survey in which it examined the dental health of American youths nationwide. The following description was published in a special issue of the journal Pediatric Dentistry (1):

The 1973 National Health Survey reported 75% of children, ages 6 to 11 years, and 89% of youths, ages 12 to 17 years, have some degree of occlusal disharmony [malocclusion]; 8.7% of children and 13% of youth had what was considered a severe handicapping malocclusion for which treatment was highly desirable and 5.5% of children and 16% of youth had a severe handicapping malocclusion that required mandatory treatment.

89% of youths had some degree of malocclusion, and 29% had a severe handicapping malocclusion for which treatment was either highly desirable or mandatory. Fortunately, many of these received orthodontics so the malocclusion didn't persist into adulthood.

This is consistent with another survey conducted in 1977, in which 38% of American youths showed definite or severe malocclusion. 46% had occlusion that the authors deemed "ideal or acceptable" (2).

The trend continues. The CDC National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES III) found in 1988-1991 that approximately three fourths of Americans age 12 to 50 years had some degree of malocclusion (3).

The same holds true for Caucasian-Americans, African-Americans and Native Americans in the US, as well as other industrial nations around the world. Typically, only 1/3 to 1/2 of the population shows good (but not necessarily perfect) occlusion (4- 8).

In the next post, I'll review some of the data from non-industrial and transitioning populations.


Malocclusion: Disease of Civilization


1. Pediatr. Dent. 17(6):1-6. 1995-1996
2. USPHS Vital and Health Statistics Ser. 11, no 162. 1977
3. J. Dent. Res. Special issue. 75:706. 1996. Pubmed link.
4. The Evaluation of Canadian Dental Health. 1959. Describes Canadian occlusion.
5. The Effects of Inbreeding on Japanese Children. 1965. Contains data on Japanese occlusion.
6. J. Dent. Res. 35:115. 1956. Contains data on both industrial and non-industrial cultures (Pukapuka, Fiji, New Guinea, U.S.A. and New Zealand).
7. J. Dent. Res. 44:947. 1965 (free full text). Contains data on Caucasian-Americans and African-Americans living in several U.S. regions, as well as data from two regions of Germany. Only includes data on Angle classifications, not other types of malocclusion such as crossbite and open bite (i.e., the data underestimate the total prevalence of malocclusion).
8. J. Dent. Res. 47:302. 1968 (free full text). Contains data on Chippewa Native Americans in the U.S., whose occlusion was particularly bad, especially when compared to previous generations.

The Proposal

On most evenings, I venture out to the water to watch the sunset and take some snapshots. This night was particularly beautiful as the clouds were high with just a sliver of sky to show the deep orange/red of the sun going down.

I took some pictures and then climbed on the bluff to take more for a different perspective. I looked down at the water and noticed a couple taking close. I decided to take a picture of their silhouette against the sky and noticed him dropping to his knees. I just witnessed a proposal.

I saw them walk on the beach together but didn't think anything of it since there were plenty of photographers snapping away around me. I saw him kneel..then silence, then hugs, and then him taking pictures of the ring, and more hugs. I suppose she said yes.

I can see how the sunset, the water and the area would be the perfect setting for a marriage proposal. This area has certainly captured my heart.

My time here is winding down and there is some sadness to it. I feel in love with this town. The air has become cooler, the sun is still out and the leaves are turning. It is everything I imagined it to be and more.

I will continue to take pictures and explore what I can while I am here. I know I will be back.

This is how the sunset looked that night. Perfect in my eyes.

I Don't Leave Home Without It

One of the best purchases I've made this trip is buying a National Park pass. For 80 bucks, you are allowed access to all 300+ parks for an entire year. It's almost like a little VIP pass in your pocket when you show it at the gate. Like, "um no, I am not going to pay $25 bucks...here's my PASS!"

So I'm on the road without a television. I've learned from the Internet that there is a series on PBS called "The National Parks: America's Best Idea." It's a six-episode series directed by Ken Burns and written and co-produced by Dayton Duncan. Filmed over the course of more than six years at some of nature's most spectacular locales – from Acadia to Yosemite, Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades of Florida to the Gates of the Arctic in Alaska - The National Parks: America's Best Idea is nonetheless a story of people: people from every conceivable background – rich and poor; famous and unknown; soldiers and scientists; natives and newcomers; idealists, artists and entrepreneurs; people who were willing to devote themselves to saving some precious portion of the land they loved, and in doing so reminded their fellow citizens of the full meaning of democracy.

I look forward to watching it someday, but for now...I've got the pass! So far, I've used it at Bryce Canyon, Arches National Park, Colorado National Monument, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Cape Cod National Seashore. A photograph from each of those parks are displayed here. Can you guess each park from the pictures? The Bryce Canyon one is the hardest to spot.

On the PBS website, you can submit to share your story about a park. I submitted mine about the Cape Cod National Seashore and they posted it. You can see by clicking HERE. I would encourage you to share your experience in a National Park

Then I started thinking...how do they pick one photograph for the park pass? Lucky for us, we are all able to submit a photo of our National Park experience in a contest held each year. Do you have a picture that you want on the pass? Click here for the rules.

I hope you take the time to explore what America has to offer! Let me know how the series goes. Perhaps when I have a TV sometimes I will be able to watch.