Currently.

This photo doesn't have anything to do with I'm currently doing but, I loved it.  This was taken on my last inbound transit.  Seriously folks, nothing beats going under the Golden Gate.

Consolidating and sorting my clothes.  I now have the beginnings of a functioning capsule wardrobe.  I have to admit I'm feeling pretty proud of myself.  As it turns out my favorite items of clothing are all grey, white and navy blue.  Weird.

Reading Yes Please by Amy Poehler.  I'd heartily recommend this one.  (Typing that here makes me really miss Nautie Books!) 

Working on my day planner.  I had this grand plan that I was going to make a planner that also functioned as a memory keeper.  I had no idea how much work this would entail but, the bottom line is that I'm on to something cool.

Listening to any podcast I can get my hands on.  Send those recommendations my way, Friends!  This week I really enjoyed This American Life's Burroughs 101.  (Note:  this podcast would not be safe for work)  If you're like me, then you really don't know anything about William Burroughs but constantly see his work referenced.  This episode was a crazy glimpse into his life and was incredibly well narrated by Iggy Pop.

Packing my sea bags.  I'm getting ready for my next departure.  I got some new polo shirts and I was a little surprised by how excited I was!

Watching Ellen. I was over the moon to see Vidal and Mrs. Lopez with the creator of HONY.  You can check out their indigogo fundraiser here (they've raised about 1.2 million since January 22nd - the world truly is an amazing place) read more about these amazing humans here.  

Feeling like a responsible mother.  I sent Big Bertha to the camera store to get a proper cleaning!  She's been such a trooper that I figure I should reward all her hard work and you know...actually take care of her.    

What are you all currently up to?

Nautie Randomness III

I don't have too many random things to say. That's pretty random. 

​It was an incredibly foggy trip from Alaska to Asia. I've said it before I'll say it again. Fog makes people crazy. 

​I haven't taken Big Bertha out at all this trip. What's wrong with me?!  I miss that old girl. I gotta get back in my groove!

When we were up in Alaska the Captain and some of the crew caught tons of fish!  We had fresh fish tacos and ceviche for dinner - yum!​

I am getting kinda into weather. I've been having fun printing out the weather maps and putting them up on the board to get a good feel for what's to come. Pretty much what came this trip was fog, rolling and then lots of wind. I'm looking for sunshine!

That's about it for this random post....where's the action?!  Where's the excitement?!  Oh boy...you're not the only one wondering this!  I've got some bold moves coming soon...so I'm saving up some energy...I'll keep you posted Nautie Friends!

Boobies. Of the Bird Variety.

The men around town are tired of talking about Boobies.  The blog hasn't exactly been gender neutral lately so let's cut them some slack, shall we?

Let's talk about Birds.  Of the Booby variety.

Somewhere off the coast of Mexico (during my last rotation at work) we got birds.  Lots of them.  There was A Bird....and then there were Many Birds.  I loved them.  They dipped and soared and reminded me of one of my favorite poems.

I took Big Bertha out on deck and took as many photos as I possibly could - before I started feeling like they were looking at me - like the kind of looking at me that made me feel like my skull was going to get pecked open.

I managed to take hundreds of photos and was in full on Many Bird Love Mode.

Then day two point five of Many Birds rolled around.  Someone commented, 'who spilled a bucket of white paint on the bow?!' to which I had to reply, 'ummm shipmate....that would be bird shit....'.  Riiiight, needless to say Many Bird Love Mode was over.  These birds destroyed the deck.  When we finally rid ourselves of them I said to the Bosun, 'lets get some scrubbers and tsuji the deck' (this means scrub with soap and water.....nautical lore says that back in the day sailors sourced a soap called 'tsuji' overseas...my guess is Japan....this would be WWII era....anyways, scrubbing the deck has been called 'sugee-ing' ever since...and I roll with the Japanese spelling....).  Turns out this bird shit was potent stuff - the deck gang had to literally scrape it off....as in with a scraper!

I spent some time on the interwebs and best I can tell these are Boobies - possibly Brown Boobies - and you guessed it - the booby jokes were alive and well onboard - can I tell you how many times I heard, 'I loooove brown boobies!!!!!'.

gah, it was amazing to see how close they could get to the water without actually touching...

the best part was watching them fight and stick their feet out for not so graceful landings...

....and there are more so, click through at your leisure!

30x30 :: Go Hot Air Ballooning

I WENT HOT AIR BALLOONING!!!

Going hot air ballooning was a big deal. When I called my Girl Cousin and asked her if she wanted to do this trip with me (cause you know...birthday buddies...) I said, 'I'm not going on a budget. I'm staying in a nice hotel...and I'm going on a balloon ride...you still in?'. She was in - so we booked our balloon ride with Napa Valley Balloons. Nautie Friends, they get an A+, yo. A big 'ole fat perfect score.

Our ballooning adventure is what you might call: giving up is for losers.

Originally, our platypus tour and balloon adventure were in conjunction with eachother - we'd be whisked away from our post balloon ride champagne breakfast to go on a wine tasting tour - or at least that's what I imagined...

We woke up briiight and early on our first day in Napa and were picked up at our hotel (it was still dark out kind of early). We got to the balloon check in point and to say that the staff of NVB (Napa Valley Balloons) was friendly is an absolute understatement.

Any which way, we take off for our balloon launch site. The balloons are there - they're getting filled up - the sun is making them look magical - we get assigned a balloon - we literally run for our balloon - and then it got windy.

I was literally laying in the basket (which is on its side) to help provide a little weight. The balloon is filling up - as in the burner is going and so are the fans. Take off was imminent - I mean, other balloons were drifting past our location (flown by other ballooning companies).

....and then the day was cancelled due to wind speeds. Wop Wop. It was surreal. We looked at each other and said, 'did that really just happen?'.

Perk? We got to watch them roll the balloons back up and there was a cute little dog who clearly knew the drill!

Thank goodness we had some wine tasting in our future because it did detract a bit from our horrible let down.

I'd also like to mention that I appreciate when things are cancelled due to safety concerns. You cancel anytime you like NVB! Don't you worry about those other balloons in the air! I'm happy to trust the judgement of an experienced pilot...must be the sailor in me...

But listen friends, is that anyway to WIN?! One day of high wind and you let it lie? Glad you're with me because NO...no it's NOT!

We rescheduled and woke up again at the butt crack of dawn! Day two. Hungover as all get out (thanks Platypus!) - we climbed back into the van for a ballooning adventure.

This is the only photo I have our day two adventure because the decision was made to ground the balloons as we pulled into the parking lot. I must admit we were a tad under the weather so going back to bed wasn't sounding too awful.

As we were driving through the Valley I turned to Girl Cousin and said, 'you know we could try one more time....I know you fly out in the morning but we could literally drive ourselves to the parking lot and head straight to the airport after we land....I mean we could...'. She said, 'let's do it!' so, I called NVB and asked to be put on the schedule one more time....in our favorite pilot Bob's balloon of course.

Hence, day three in Napa commenced. With an early morning jaunt to Domaine Chandon with our fingers crossed!

Guess what? We actually went on a balloon ride! It was so different than I thought. Do you know that you really can't steer a balloon? You can go up and down - and the rest is up to the wind. Jeez, how symbolic is a balloon ride? Maybe a little like life, no?

Wanna know how sassy all that ballooning made me? I'm going again. Wanna know why? It was a tad cloudy on Day 3. Listen, I had some epic photos planned - don't get me wrong I got some good ones (over 350 in fact) but, I want to see a gilded Napa Valley - and I will!

Alright, I know what you're thinking. If you can't steer it how do you land? Well, I believe the answer is that you hope to have a decent pilot. We literally landed on a strip of gravel next to the highway. For realsies. We kind of skidded a long and then stopped. Then the 'chase crew' tries to get all the air out of the balloon as fast as they can. (I also forgot to mention that part - while we're in the air there is a team in a truck that shadows us - like storm chasers - might be a fun job!)

By opening the flap at the top they're able to quickly dump the hot air from the balloon. Then they kind of stretch it out. If you stand in front of it you can feel the heat coming out in waves (it makes for good pictures, too).

There you have it friends. A balloon ride. An 'effin BALLOON RIDE!

What? Oh, you'd like to see more photos? No problem! There are hundreds!

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In case you'd like more Napa Love you can read about Day One and Two but clearly, I've been saving the best for last! A mini disclaimer: as I rang in The Flirty Thirty I was feeling a little uncertain about what to do with my 30x30 List. Then I thought, 'it's not over till it's over'. I've got a whole year of being thirty ahead of me folks. It's not over. Be looking for more 30x30 posts! I think the balloon ride adventures let me know that 'settling' isn't always the best option. Do more! See more! Be more!

Flirty.Thirty.

I had plans for what Thirty would look like on this blog. There would be some sort of this much i know is true post - maybe there would be a photo montage - maybe a letter to myself...that I could read later in life...

None of that seemed like enough.

I.was.really.excited.about.turning.thirty.

I mean, really, really excited.

I think there are quite a few people who worried that I wasn't excited so much as flipped out but, I'm here to set the story straight.

I was ready to not be in my twenties.  Majorly.  Buh-bye.

I remember years ago my Cousin K up in Canada said, 'being in your thirties is awesome...it's like you can finally just be yourself...'.  Amen Sister.

What I knew about turning Thirty was that I was not going to let it slip by unnoticed.  I was going to do something, damnit!

At first I started planning a trip abroad.  It's been awhile since I went abroad as a tourist....who could leisurely sip her coffee at a sidewalk cafe.

Then I decided I was going to Napa.  I had never been.  I like wine.  Like, a lot.

Then I invited my Cousin (she doesn't have a code name but, I love her thiiiis much!!!!!), and the trip just came together.  Girl Cousin's birthday was on the 4th the day after my own so it was a birthday extravaganza.

(I should say, the trip just came together with a little help from my friends....Ari, you get an A+.)

The day before yesterday I wrote about how epic Napa was.  What I should have said was:

Turning Thirty Was Epic.

It was such a lovely day.  Such.

I woke up at The Waterfront Hotel at Jack London Square in Oakland.  It's all kinds of nautical goodness...if you're a Lady Sailor this is a fun place to pass some time.

I woke up really early - I'm sure it had something to do with jet lag - and decided that an early morning photo safari was a must on the first day of my thirtieth year.

Then it was off to breakfast at The Cock-A-Doodle Cafe.  There were crepes and graham cracker french toast.  Delish.

A stroll through a farmers market?  Flowers?  Yes please.

Of course no city tour is complete without admiring some local architecture.  Pictures looking up at buildings....check.

You can't cruise the Bay Area and not check out the Golden Gate Bridge.  amiright or amiright?

I got to visit with a long lost Auntie.  It was amazing.  Silly me hadn't been to her house since I was a kid.  Apparently, I was geographically challenged as a youth because I didn't know she lived in the Bay Area.  I totally thought she lived in SoCal.  I know, right?  Who doesn't know where their Aunties live?!

Said Auntie had a pack of Chihuahuas.  It was awesome.  Can you see George?

After a full afternoon of visiting we got in the car and took off for Napa.  Aaaah.  Deep sigh.  This meant we needed a coffee to go.  Clearly.

First stop Napa?  The Andaz Hotel.  Oooh La La!

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Birthday Dinner.  One Word.  Bottega.  It came highly recommended.  It didn't disappoint.  There was a personalized Birthday Greeting....and beet raviolis with fennel.  Just Sayin'.

Want to know how I ended the evening?  Food Porn.  Panna Cotta with winter citrus, micro basil, mint syrup and a wheat cigar stuffed with sweet lemon ricotta.

Happy Flirty Thirty To Me!

30x30 :: BOKEH

20. Do the cool camera trick where you get shapes of light by covering the lens with a cut out (bokeh?)

After doing a little research I can in fact confirm that this cool camera trick is called BOKEH.  A more thorough description can be found here but, in a nutshell, bokeh means blur in Japanese.

I can't exactly explain why but I've always wanted to take a photo where my lights were shaped like hearts.  It just seems so magical.  I spend a lot of time with my camera - a little magic was well deserved.

My nights have been pretty mellow in Houston - mostly because I don't have television or internet - and no things.  I needed to get creative....I figured that Big Bertha was chomping at the bit to get some time out of the purse...what better time to bokeh the night away?!

I read a few online tutorials (like this one and this one) and decided to give it a whirl however; in typical Megan fashion I read the instructions and then did my own thing....which didn't exactly work out.

The premise:  You cover your camera lens with a dark piece of paper with your desired shape cut out.  Then you adjust your camera to aperture priority - or you become a magician with manual settings.

My first try consisted of a brown paper bag cut to fit over the lens with a hair elastic to hold it in place...this let in waaay too much light.

I tried a paper bag in several different ways - no luck.  Then I decided to try a paper bag from my lanai...

Because it was so much darker out there I could kind of get it to look like hearts.

I was running into several problems.  I didn't have the 50mm lens that every tutorial recommended.  I had my two kit lenses:  18-105 and 75-300.  This meant that I needed to zoom in on something further away.  I had decent results with my much larger lens on objects across the street (the above photo is using a brown paper bag zoomed in on streetlights).  I also didn't have the black poster board that was recommended.

Road Trip!  I zoomed off to target and bought a piece of poster board and some black electrical tape.

I sat in the driver seat and constructed a cap for my lens like the second tutorial recommends.

(Does it ever crack you up when you try to recreate a craft project and yours looks like a Kindergartener made it?!)

THEIRS:

MINE:

NAILED IT.  (insert light hearted chuckle...)

(Also, I needed to make one small modification...The heart shape wasn't big enough so I cut a circle their and then cut out a larger heart that I taped over this one...)

Then, I looked like a total creeper and sat in my car in the Target parking lot with my telephoto lens.  I pretty much had it down at this point...things were going well.

I zoomed over to my favorite christmas light display (sorry, this was pre-hawaii trip).  (Canadiaunt - remember that tree that had large tendrils of lights with balls hanging from the tree?)

Next problem - I couldn't stay steady enough.

I came to my next realization.  You HAVE to have a tripod.  There really isn't an option.

I went home and decided to reconvene my mission on the following day.

The next evening - tripod in tow I went back to my tree.

SUCCESS!!!!!

The tripod is majorly the answer.

Then, not only did I feel like a creeper but, I felt like I was going to get busted by the neighborhood watch.  I had my tripod set up - with my telephoto lens - crouched behind my car - kneeling on the street - pointing my camera at peoples homes to capture their christmas lights.  How exactly would you explain that?!  'Oh don't worry, I'm just trying to take heart shaped photos of christmas lights?!' - Riiiight.

Any which way - it worked.  I used my big lens, I stayed further away from the lights and zoomed in and I used a tripod.

My favorite photo of the evening.  Slightly out of focus angels made up of hearts.

Wanna see more?  No Problemo:

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