Wishing everyone Happy Holidays and a fantastic New Year!

I will be back in the New Year with brand new plans for 2012!  It's going to be a big one!

Top 10

I started my Project 365 on May 1st, 2011. The project is taking one new picture each day for an entire year. Today is day 236. I must admit, I didn't get a chance to take a picture each day, but I have been posting one each day by using other pictures I've taken. I'd say 90% of the time I've been following the proper structure of taking a new picture each day.

I decided to choose my personal Top 10 of the 236 pictures so far and put it on display. I narrowed it down to 20 at first and it was really hard to pick 10 of my best ones out of those 20. Now, I'm not saying these are the 10 best pictures in the world, obviously...I'm just saying these are my 10 favourite pictures that I took. Some may disagree because often times, my favourite pictures are usually not others favourites.

So without further adieu, here are my favourite 10 pics of 2011 (in no particular order):

If you like, you can check out my Facebook page and make an official vote! :D

Darkness

Daylight Savings Time ended about a month ago, and since then, the sun sets at a rapid pace and by the time I finish work at 5:30pm, it's already dark outside. This doesn't give me much of a chance to take any pictures in the day time. There's always the weekend, and I can go out during lunch, but I usually see more interesting things when I'm on my way home.

I've learned to accept the darkness and use whatever light is given to me, and along with the settings on the camera, create a picture.  

I was walking home yesterday and down a street that I'm familiar with. It was cold out and all I could think of was getting home. I looked up and saw this particular house that caught my eye -- I've walked by many times during the day, but a light shining down was bright and illuminated the door. The rest of the house was dark, so only the door was brightly lit, giving it an eerie feeling. I snapped a couple of pictures, and continued my walk back home...after a few steps, I looked behind me to see if anyone was peering through the window :)

Wo/Man's Best Friend

Pets are truly a great companion. Take Sparkles for example; she's a lovely border collie/lab mix that's just full of energy and love. She'll walk with you when you want to walk, she'll play with you when you feel like throwing the ball around, and most importantly, she'll sleep beside you when you're sleeping. Those big puppy eyes will always melt your heart when she's staring up at you.

Tiny Features

I don't have kids of my own right now, so in the meantime, I feed off the cuteness from my friend's kids instead.

I recently visited my friend of 20+ years to see her and her husband's two month old daughter as well as her two year old son, and what wonderful kids they are! I didn't hear a peep from the two month old, and the little guy is so smart! It was a pleasure to meet the family, and it'll be nice seeing them grow up! Thanks again!

Winter is Looming

With winter coming up and the daylight savings time now in effect, the sun is setting earlier and earlier; the picture below was taken just after 5:00pm. Also, with winter coming up, the weather is getting colder and colder which means less outdoor photo shoots and photo ops! Well, not necessarily…I just have to find the ones out there who enjoy the winter and don’t mind smiling for me while standing outside in the cold! 

The Colours of Fall

Debbie and Song are well on their way for their wedding in August 2012; their major vendors and details have been booked and planned out. One thing they wanted to check off their list was a quick photo shoot! They wanted a fall session as well as a spring session, so as the leaves were in full fall colours, we went out where the leaves were plenty and snapped a few shots.

Summary

And so ends the trip notes of our adventure -- and that's exactly what it was, an adventure. From slight plane/airport mix-ups to different types of sickness to unseasonal weather, the amazing picture opportunities, beautiful scenery, never ending history, and the new friends and laughter made up for any negativity.

Many people asked if we would go again, and the answer was always yes. There was so much more that we didn't see and learn. The many species of animals would take months and months to see and learn at Galapagos and the history of Easter Island is never ending.

The memories of our trip will be ever lasting in our minds and now we get to finally say "yes, we've been there".

Day 14 - October 13, 2011

Last full day in Easter Island :(

Today was a half day tour which started at 9:00am, visited sites, got a two hour break for lunch and lounging, and then got picked back up afterwards to finish off the tour.

In the morning, we visited Orongo, a stone village and ceremonial centre. Orongo is located at the top of the crater called Rano Kau. The edge of Rano Kau drops almost 300 meters to the water below and has a breathtaking view of the rock formations. History has it that competitions would be held each year starting at the top of Rano Kau; competitors would have to get to rock formations and fetch an egg of a frigate bird, and bring it back. The winner would be the leader of the area for a year until the next competition.

We visited a few other sites in the afternoon, most notably Ahu Akivi, where seven Moai stand and are the only ones facing out to the sea (all other Moai face inland so the deceased can look over their old tribe). The seven Moai were constructed for seven travelers from Tahiti that set out on a journey to find Easter Island. Their chief had a vision that there was an Island to the east of them, so he sent the seven travelers to find it.

All this information I've written came from our tour guide. He was born in Easter Island and has formal training in the history of the Island. His information contradict a lot of information I read on the Internet, and not to say that he's wrong or the people on the Internet is wrong, but since nobody really knows what happened, the information may or may not be false. He mentioned that all the information he told us was 40% scientifically proven and 60% stories from generations in the past.

Day 15 - October 14, 2011
We left the next morning and started our journey back to Toronto on October 14th at around 1:00pm. We arrived home on October 15th at around noon. Long waits, long plane rides, but we got to sit beside each other in twos without interruptions.

Our alarm clock during our stay.

At the tip of Rano Kau.

Crater of Rano Kau.

Believed to be a woman Moai.

The fine construction of rocks.

Petroglyph.

Ahu Akivi.

A lava tunnel.

Dinner at Te Moana - veggie spaghetti.

Dinner at Te Moana - seafood mix.