From the Palm

Photo by Patrick Jones. Sofitel Palm Jumeriah, Dubai, 9 Oct 2016.

This was taken from the beach on the man-made Palm Jumeriah island looking toward Dubai. It made for a nice break away from the airport during a 20 hour layover.

Eleven

Photo by Patrick Jones. S. Jones in Santa Monica, 26 Sep 2016.

Where does the time go? Our oldest is 11. The photo above is from our trip in September to LA (taken outside Cha Cha Chicken in Santa Monica). Happy Birthday!

Friday Photo - In Reflection

Photo by Patrick Jones. Venice Beach, CA. 26 Sep 2016.

Culpeper on a Fall Morning

Photo by Patrick Jones. Culpeper, Virginia. 26 Oct 2016.

This photo is from outside Culpeper, Virginia, the ancestral home of my Read, Wheatley and Thornhill sides of the tree. The hay rolls looked nice yesterday morning on the quiet field. The leaves are beginning to turn, soon to be bursting with oranges and reds before we transition into the winter.

Sunrise Three Years Ago

Photo by Patrick Jones. Nusa Dua Beach, Bali. 25 Oct 2013.

I have posted sunrise photos from my week in Bali in the past (see here and here). Facebook reminded me that this was indeed three years ago, so I thought it might be good to revisit the memory here.

Blogging has been slow this month, between travel, a visit from a great friend, and local sporting events, I have not written much here. October is typically packed and this year has been no different. I have another trip looming on the calendar, one that will take me back across the world to India.

Life moves at an interesting pace and one has to go with the flow. Writing will pick up and I do have some family history nuggets to bring to the blog.

Keith and Jeanne, May 1970

Keith and Jeanne, May 1970 in Texas

The photo above shows my Gumpy, Keith D. Jones, and my Nana, Betty Jeanne Reynolds Jones, in Texas in May 1970. Another photo below shows Nana by a pool, also in Texas.

My Nana, 1970.

I'm beginning to return toward family history research, which I have not done much for a while. I am continuing to work slowly through family photos my Dad inherited over the years. Expect a few more posts focusing on family photos and less on travels & street art in the near term.

Dubai CityWalk Murals Part 3

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Rone. Dubai, UAE. 9 Oct 2016.

Here is the last of my series from Dubai Walls at CityWalk. Parts 1 and 2 can be found here. The mural above is by Rone, who I have seen before at Wynwood Walls. The murals below are by Iranian duo Icy and Sot.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Icy and Sot.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Icy and Sot.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Icy and Sot.

Dubai CityWalk Murals Part 2

Photo by Patrick Jones. Stencil by Nick Walker. Dubai, AE.

Part 2 of my short walk around Dubai Walls at Dubai CityWalk during my layover on Sunday 9 October.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Art by Nick Walker.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Beau Stanton. Dubai Walls, 9 Oct 2016.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Beau Stanton.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Murals by Beau Stanton, VHILS in background.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by VHILS etched into wall.

Dubai CityWalk Murals Part 1

Photo by Patrick Jones. Art by Blek Le Rat. Dubai. 9 Oct 2016.

Dubai CityWalk is a new development in the Jumeirah neighborhood, a short taxi ride from Dubai Airport. The CityWalk developers have commissioned many internationally recognized street artists to create DubaiWalls. For example, French artist Blek Le Rat is known as the "father of stencil graffiti" and an inspiration to Banksy. Several of his signature pieces are at CityWalk. I captured two, a violinist and rat, and a ballet dancer.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Stencil by Blek Le Rat. 9 Oct 2016.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by D*FACE.

I missed a few murals after being approached by mall security questioning why I was taking photos. I tried to tell him that the mall developers encourage sharing photos of the murals on Twitter and Instagram, but he did not seem to understand so I left. There are new murals in process by El Seed and Logan Hicks, so I'll have to make a return visit on a future layover.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by The London Police.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by The London Police.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Roa. DubaiWalls.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Aiko. DubaiWalls.

Hungry Giraffe

Photo by Patrick Jones. Giraffe at Daan Viljoen Game Reserve. 11 Oct 2016.

This week I was in Windhoek, Namibia for a conference and side discussions. On Tuesday I had an opportunity to visit the Daan Viljoen Game Reserve north of Windhoek. It was a neat experience to see the animals in the park. I will have more photos from Namibia tomorrow. I need a little time to recover from the long flights home.

In addition to Namibia photos, I have quite a few from a very enjoyable 20 hour layover in Dubai. I will bring these to the blog during the week. And I also plan to return to the family history side of the blog too.

Brandelli's Brig mural

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Arthur Mortimer, 1973. 26 Sep 2016.

The photo above is of the Brandelli's Brig mural in Venice, California. This was made by Arthur Mortimer in 1973. It is nice to see the mix of old and new murals in Venice. According to the artist's website, the mural was "part of a countywide mural project sponsored by Los Angeles County in 1973." Pictured above are Betty and Babe Brandelli, the owners of the Brig bar.

A fascinating collection of LA mural history can be viewed in the University of Southern California's Digital Library, in the Robin Dunitz Slides of Los Angeles Murals, 1925-2002.

A few more from Venice are included below:

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Alex Yanes. 26 Sep 2016.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Vhils, Venice, CA. 

The mural above is made by deconstructing the paint and wall in the signature style by Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto, aka Vhils.

Dubai

Photo by Patrick Jones. Burj Khalifa, Dubai. 19 Jul 2013.

Three years ago I had a 21 hour layover in Dubai on my way back home from meetings in Durban, South Africa. I have been through Dubai since then, but not long enough to leave the airport. I'm doing another long layover through Dubai pretty soon, this time on my way to Windhoek, Namibia. At the top of my list of things to see during this layover are the Dubai Walls at CityWalk. I have read there are new murals coming soon by a few artists whose murals I've seen in other places, so I'm looking forward to seeing CityWalk.

The world is your oyster

Photo by Patrick Jones. Paste-up by Wrdsmth, Venice, CA.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural in Venice, CA. 26 Sep 2016.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural in Venice, CA. 26 Sep 2016.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Mural by Ruben Rojas, Santa Monica. 26 Sep 2016.

Dinner at the top

While cleaning I ran across a restaurant menu from a special dinner at Le Jules Verne, Chef Alain Ducasse's restaurant on the Eiffel Tower. The dinner was a launch event for an Internet registry in June 2008. I remember the dinner, partly for the wonderful location, also for the combination of excellent food and dinner companions.

Photo by Patrick Jones. Menu from Jun 2008, Paris.

Photo by Patrick Jones. 21 Sep 2011. Paris.

I have been quite lucky to have experienced a number of memorable dinners in special places around the world.

Remembering the run

Source: Marathon.is. 2016 Reykjavik Marathon.

In August I posted photos from the 2016 Reykjavik Marathon. Marathon.is recently published a set of race day photos on their website, which I am reposting here with some further thoughts on the run.

Source: Marathon.is. 2016 Reykjavik Marathon, 20 Aug 2016.

As one can see in the photos, we had a fantastic day for the marathon, bright blue skies, about 60 degrees. There were around 2500 people running the half-marathon and 1300 or so running the marathon, so the photo above shows close to 3800-4000 people running through the streets of Reykjavik. If I'm in the photo, I'll be in the back, not quite rounding the first corner. Seeing these photos takes me back to the start, with so many colors, people from all over the world, smiling faces and "Afram Island" cheers from the locals. It was a such a great start to the race.

Source: Marathon.is. 2016 Reykjavik Marathon.

Source: Marathon.is. 2016 Reykjavik Marathon.

I ran the first 10 miles on a very comfortable, solid pace and I was able to hold form through 16 miles. Around mile 18 I started to feel like I was breaking down, and by mile 21 my legs could no longer go. I had to walk. If I had stopped completely I think I might have pulled a muscle or had to be carted out of there. The walking helped prevent a major injury and at least I was still moving forward. I felt bad about walking, but there really wasn't an alternative. By mile 24 I could jog again, and I did finish at a decent run. Before running into trouble in the back half of the race I was on pace to go under 5 hours. I am still proud of my achievement even though I am not pleased with the time. I have a new respect for those who run the marathon, it is such a grueling event.

Source: Marathon.is. 2016 Reykjavik Marathon.

Source: Marathon.is. 2016 Reykjavik Marathon.

I probably will not run another marathon, but I definitely see more half marathons and 10k runs in the future. And if I never run another marathon, I'll have fond memories Iceland, the wonderful course and the people who made the event a great experience.