Get ready for another massive pile of photos, hehe. Early Saturday, Reagan and I visited an old plantation (above). The skies were insanely blue and loaded up with little cloud puffs. We thought that the whole thing was pretty cool. But we especially enjoyed hanging out on the quiet cotton dock, where we saw some dolphins goofing off, in the river. Later that day, we took a little chartered sailing trip (below). The skipper ended up being one of Jon’s friends from school.

Captain Greg was as cool and mellow as they come. The conditions were perfect. After the experience, I would have to say that when it comes to sailing, believe the hype.

Below, are a few shots from our jaunt to the beach. Reagan wins the awkward pose award for the shot on the right.

And finally, here is one from the crab bake. Did I mention that we played horseshoes? Reagan got a ringer her first try ever. I’m not making that up.

Thanks again Jon and Kat, for such a fun and relaxing trip. Can’t wait to do it again. We also did this, while we were there.

For some additional shots of Charleston, feel free to click through, here.

I recently was lucky enough to be he recipient of a cool little waterproof camera, just in time to take it on vacation with us. I also just recently upgraded my Vimeo account to be able to embed HD. So, to kick things off right, I though that I would post a quick video of me surfing in SC. It was shot by our friend Jon, whose board I am also riding. Thx, Jon. Here is the vid:

Tomorrow… sailing.

We have been having a fantastic time, already.

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Reagan and I were doing it up Bklyn-style, last night and a Converse promo featuring Kid Cudi et al. It is kind of fun when I can bring Reagan along to gigs like those, because we always spend some time just goofing off. There are just a few more items that I have to knock out, today– then I can start packing for vacation! Woo Hoo. We worked it out, so that we can go visit PJ together tonight, before we fly out. I’m pretty amped about that (a’course). I’m so ready to finally be able to take advantage of the beach weather. Something tells me that my running regimen is going to suffer a bit over the next few days. Hehe.

A few more shots from last night:

Reagan and Kid Cudi (above); Kid Cudi and fandom (below)

Below–>  Reagan maxin’ and relaxin’ before the music started.

Also, I didn’t realize until I saw the flier in this shot that MIA is playing with Die Antwoord at Guv’s Island. Whaaaaa??????????????? And it’s going down the weekend that we are fuera, of course. Speaking of Die Antwoord, I hear a rumor that Yo Landi Visser might be cast in the Hollywood version of “Girl with the Dragon Tatoo.”

One more thing..  Reagan authored a guest post, that ran today on one of her favorite blogs. Apparently, she was asked to articulate what it is like, having to leave after visits with PJ. I think that Reagan did a pretty swell job. So, if you get a chance and are interested, feel free to pop over.

This is one that I figured I had better post now, before I totally forget. When we were visiting UT, a little over a month ago, Reagan made Piper’s name in the snow, next to the cat track in Grizzly Gulch. I was hiking back up to get a photo of it (that is me, hiking in the foreground), when my brother-in-law, who was still up on the ridge, informed me that they had it covered. The shot was actually taken by my bro-in-law’s brother. They forwarded the image a couple of weeks ago, but I kept forgetting about it, until today. It is a little bit reminiscent of the sand sculpture that Reagan made in Buzios.

Yesterday, Reagan posted about our snowshoeing adventures, that we had during our jaunt to UT.  It reminded me that we had a few minutes of some random video footage from that day, that I hadn’t even uploaded yet. So, if you like shaky camerawork and cute girls frolicking in the snow, then you may enjoy this vid.

When Reagan and I were in Salt Lake, I had the great privilege of photographing my grandparents, at their house. When I was very small, I lived next door to these grandparents. When I was younger, I didn’t realize how fortunate I was to have known all of my grandparents. Living so far away from them now, I certainly appreciate the time that I have to visit with them, a lot more.

^—This is my grandfather’s infamous work room. Many a fine piece of steel jewelry was crafted on the bench grinder.

^— I really liked this shot, because I feel like it captures what happy people they are.

^—–This is my cute grandma, showing us her canning storage. The majority, if not all of the items contained in those jars, were grown right in their own garden.

Tuesday evening, Reagan’s parents drove us to Kolob Canyon, which is in the northern end of Zion’s National Park. It is only about 20 minutes from where they live. It would be a spectacular sight under any circumstances. But, the way it was lit up in the evening, with the patchy clouds, and contrasting trees/snow, made it absolutely gorgeous.

^—Reagan’s hair dancing around in the wind.

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^—Photo by Joe Baker

More photos of Kolob here.

It has been a pretty amazing seven days. We have had a blast hanging out with our families. Monday night we took a trip to the Cedar City bowling alley. Reagan’s parents took us bowling with her brother and sister-in-law. The shot above was Reagan’s idea, since one of the best parts about bowling is the awesome rental shoes.

Before the bowling session, we were able to wander around town with some of Reagan’s friends and hit some thrift shops, etc.. We also dropped by Reagan’s old hair school, to say what’s up. It was beautiful weather, all day. The temperature was in the 50′s and the sky was as blue as can be.

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Here are a couple other of my favorite shots around town:

This is the part of vacation that is kind of a bummer. It is that part where, although you are still on vacation, it is hard to enjoy yourself, because you know it is almost over. And, the stress of the logistics of traveling back coupled with the stress of having to catch up on real life again start to weigh you down. Maybe I’m wound a little too tightly. Hehe.

Nothing caps off a mini-family reunion like family photos. It was a pretty miraculous ordeal, considering all of the logistics. Highlights included, watching a huddle of moms try to position all of the grandkids:

Kelton’s awesome face, during the huddle:

And last but not least, my brother Pete bribing my autistic sister Laura to be in the group photo. After everyone had tried their hand at coaxing and pep-talks, cash money spoke the loudest. Genius move, Pete.