How to Photograph Coastlines

coastline at St Andrews, Scotland.

 Malibu's scenic coastline

 coastline at St Andrews

 coastline of Anaura Bay

Lost Cities

Lost city is a term that can be used to a human settlement that which fell into terminal decline, became extensively or completely uninhabited. The location of many of these cities had been forgotten, but some have been rediscovered and studied extensively by scientists.

Recently abandoned cities or cities whose location was never in question might be referred to as ruins or ghost towns. The search for such lost cities by European explorers and adventurers in the Americas, Africa and in Southeast Asia from the 15th century onwards eventually led to the development of archaeology.

 

Coast

Lucknow, Eclipse of Elegance

Ah, Lucknow! The capital city of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, and a city whose cultural wealth blends Hindu and Muslim cultures co-existing side by side for centuries, sharing similar interests and speaking a common language. A city which owes its unique trait to the secular and syncretic traditions of the Nawabs of Awadh, who encouraged and enhanced its intrinsic traditions.

Lucknow Urdu literature, Muslim poetry, its refined cuisine, music and its dance are examples of its sophistication and cultural refinement. Moreover, Lucknow experienced an influx of Sufi saints, and it has its share of venerated saints such as Sheikh Qawam-ud-din and his disciple Shah Mina who have their tombs in the city. Moreover, Lucknow is reputed to be the home of the delicious galowti kebab*. It's said that the recipe was developed for aging nawab who could not chew meat having lost all his teeth. The recipe is said to have more than 100 aromatic spices.

But I digressed away from the purpose of this post which is to feature the work of Pascal Meunier, which he titles Lucknow, Eclipse of an Elegant Lady. To illustrate this post, I chose his photograph of a ramshackle mansion in Lucknow, and its tattered furniture on which a elderly caretaker is sleeping...under the regal and severe gaze of Queen Victoria. I would guess that this painting hasn't been moved an inch since it was hung in the mid to late 1800s.

Pascal is far from being a newcomer to The Travel Photographer blog. He's one of my favorite travel documentary photographers, and for some 14 years, he has reported on the cultural traditions from Mauritania to Malaysia, passing through Iran, Libya, Yemen and Egypt on the way. The objective of his photography is to capture the cultural heritage and traditions that are swiftly vanishing. He also shows a Muslim world in change, overtaken by modernity, but increasingly anxious to preserve its values. He has photographed my native Egypt in depth...documenting the public baths in Cairo, its night life, its decrepit palaces, and even photographed the gold Sukari mine which has its share of controversy.

* For the record, Anamitra Chakladar, a good friend in Delhi, generously introduced me to the delights of the galowti kebab in a Nizzam Uddin eatery. I've been hooked since.

Afghanistan, A Tale of Three Cities

I've gone bored with the repetitiveness and lack of imagination of what passes for photojournalism these days, and I was disinterested in featuring any new work that came across my desktop.

However, I thought Afghanistan: A Tale of Three Cities was different. It's a series that filmmaker John D McHugh has been making for Al Jazeera, looking at Afghanistan through the prism of 2014, when international troops are scheduled to "withdraw" from the country. The photographs are in monochrome, and depict life in the Afghan cities of Herat, Mazar-e Sharif and Jalalabad.

I was especially intrigued by the photograph above, showing currency exchange offices surrounding what appears to be a small mosque (top middle). The Arabic script on its wall reads "this is a noble masjid"... places of mammon surrounding a place of worship? Really? But then I remember that Mecca...the holy epicenter of Islam was and is crowded with trading and mercantile activities, and has been so since time immemorial.

He was a daily press photographer, and worked as a regular stringer for The Associated Press and The Guardian before taking a staff photographer position with Agence-France Presse. Since 2007 he has been freelance again and is represented by Reportage by Getty Images.

Meringue Topped Mince Pies and Mini Mince Pies with Lids - Recipe

We ate all the crumble topped mince pies and because I've got lot's of mincemeat to use up I decided to rustle up these little beauties.

A cloud of crispy meringue

If there was a popularity contest for mince pies these would come third - first place is given to the crumble topped mince pies, second place to mini mince pies with a pastry lid and third place goes to meringue topped mince pies.

Mini Mince Pies with lids

I always use Delia's mincemeat recipe (it doesn't boil over) and if there is any left it keeps well.

You will need: 12 cup bun tin, greased and mincemeat

Recipe: for Meringue Topped mince pies or use the sweet pastry to make mini mince pies with lids.

For the sweet pastry:
225g plain flour, 115g butter, 50g lard, 25g icing sugar, 1 egg

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Sift flour into a bowl add the butter and lard. Rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the icing sugar and then the beaten egg. Bring together to form a smooth dough. Place in plastic bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Roll out just over half the pastry to 3mm thickness and cut out circles large enough to fit the base of the tart tins.
3. Place a dessert spoon of mincemeat into each pastry base.

Meringue Topping
2 egg whites
100g golden caster sugar

1. Whisk 2 egg whites to the soft peak stage. Gradually whisk in 100g caster sugar teaspoon by teaspoon until the meringue is stiff and glossy.
2. Place blobs of meringue on top of the mince meat and bake for 20 minutes, until pale golden. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Mini Mince Pies - follow the sweet pastry recipe and cut out lids to fit the tops of the mince pies. Place a dessert spoon of mincemeat into each pastry base.  Wet the lids and press on to the sides of the pastry bases. Cut twice into each pastry lid and place the tray in the fridge for 30 minutes. Bake for 20 minutes.  When they come out of the oven sprinkle with plenty of caster sugar. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then remove the pies to a wire rack. They will freeze successfully.

Berta upe Tilmantaitė | Myanmar

Photo © Berta upe Tilmantaite- All Rights Reserved

Viewing Vimeo's Staff Pick "A Handful of Myanmar" made me realize that it had been quite a while since I posted photographs or video of this wonderful country.

Myanmar is currently one of the hottest travel destinations. Tour groups, solo tourists, travel photographers are flocking to this wonderful Asian nation, and its hotels are virtually overbooked. Some may say that this influx of tourism (mostly Western), which increased almost 90% over the past 3 years, will eventually be detrimental to its culture, character and personality. Despite the recent cancellation of large tour groups from the US, the UK, Australia and France, Myanmar is planning for a significant tourist influx in the coming couple of years.

A far cry from when I visited in 2001 and 2002, when tourists were few...partly put off by the country's poor infrastructure and by the notion that tourism helped to retain the military junta in power.

Berta upe Tilmantaite is a Lithuanian multimedia journalist, photographer and story teller, currently based in Vilnius. She obtained her MA in International Multimedia Journalism from the University of Bolton / Beijing Foreign Studies University (Beijing) after graduating from Vilnius University.

I am featuring her work from Myanmar here, but also explore her other galleries of the Himalaya region, Tibet, Indonesia, Borneo, Mongolia, Thailand, Georgia and Portugal. Her video titled A Handful of Myanmar was a Vimeo Staff Pick.

Sponsored Video: Express Yourself With Canon #LEGRIA Mini

I’m always looking for fun ways to present content differently for the blog and how to make food as visually exciting and appealing as possible.

Good lighting, great props, some attention to styling and snapping away whilst getting straight into the action are some of my tried and tested methods to get great visuals but what if you’re looking for something new or unique?

Canon have introduced a nifty little video camera called the Legria mini and are challenging us foodies to create a-maz-ing content to inspire readers.

At just the size of your palm, this small camera is perfect for presenting a recipe to camera without the need for a camera assistant.  Imagine being able to put it on the work surface as you whizz, chop and create. It’s also light and versatile allowing you to capture every moment, which can be pulled together as a mini package afterwards.

The camera also boasts great sound and picture quality - so nothing to worry about if you’re a technophobe.  With wireless syncing ability with a smartphone or tablet – it’s just made life easier for all of us.

Let's take a look at the video to see what’s possible using it both inside and outdoors.  In the video they even put it in the fridge (I’m not sure I would go that far but it’s nice knowing it’s an option). With Christmas creeping up on us - this will be an ideal gift to get those creative juices simmering.

Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by Canon but all thoughts are our own.

Dude You’re Screwed! Premiers Dec 8, 2013 at 10PM

Dude You’re Screwed! is the newest survival show from the Discovery Channel. Stupid name, I know. We’ll see how the show actually turns out.

The show is based around five survival experts. Here are the credentials provided by the Discovery Channel:

• Terry Schappert, a Green Beret, A -Team leader, medic, sniper and close combat specialist
• John Hudson, an Extreme Survival Instructor for the UK Royal Air Force
• Matt Graham, a primitive skills expert and a desert survival instructor
• Jake Zweig, a former Navy SEAL, certified in Surface Warfare & as a dive safety officer and helicast master
• Tom Moore, a veteran Army Scout, bush craft master and wilderness guide

Each episode one of them will be dropped in a remote area of the wilderness without being told ahead of time where that will be. He then has 100 hours to make his way out. The other four experts will do some backseat driving, watching the progress on a television set, and commenting along the way. From the description, the show gives me a Bear Grylls vibe, which is not a good thing, but I’ll watch and see how it turns out.

The show airs this Sunday, December 8, 2013 at 10PM on the Discovery Channel right after the Naked and Afraid two hour premier.

Naked and Afraid Season 2 Starts Dec 8, 2013 at 8PM

That’s right, Naked and Afraid returns for season two. The new season is set to premier on December 8, 2013 at 8PM on the Discovery Channel.

For those of you not familiar with the show, the premise is that one man and one woman are dropped off in the wilderness. They are each allowed to bring only one tool, and nothing else. By nothing else, I mean, not even clothing. They then have to survive 21 days. The “no clothing” rule understandably seems to limit the show to areas where the temperatures will not cause immediate hypothermia, such as deserts and jungles. In season one, some of the people managed to make it, others did not.

Season two premiers with a two hour episode, where they will actually have four (4) people trying to survive together. I think the show is quite good at demonstrating the difficulties created by starvation, as well as the psychological impact of such a challenge.

Rohit Vohra | Stolen Moments

Photo © Rohit Vohra-All Rights Reserved

I do like the phrase 'stolen moments' when it relates to street photography, since I agree that candid photography is a form of 'theft'...after all, it was Henri Cartier-Bresson who chose the phrase of images à la sauvette, which may be translated as "images on the fly" or "stolen images, as a title for one of his books. The phrase was then translated to the more widely known "the decisive moment"by the English publisher of the same book.

And where else other than India can it be most practiced? Actually, in a lot of more places, but India occupies a significant place in the pantheon of interesting countries to photograph in the streets. As I often say, it takes considerable courage to photograph in black & white in India...avoiding the seduction of color that attracts so many of us. That is precisely what Rohit Vohra did in his Stolen Moments galleries...stolen moments in the streets of India in monochrome.

Just have a look at the decisive moment in the above photograph. Possibly made in the chaotic alleys of Old Delhi, a woman gestures with her hand trying to gain passage in front of a harried rickshaw driver, while her child and the driver glare at each other. One could write a short story based on this split second moment.

Rohit Vohra is a street photographer based in New Delhi whose photographs are often about contact with humans and basic living elements. He is also a co-founder of APF Magazine.

Crumble Topped Mince Pies - Recipe

We've eaten all the mince pies
 so I guess I'll just have to make some more!

I love mince pies and I love crumble too and these pies are perfect.  They can be eaten on their own, and are delicious warm, but work well with either cream or ice cream.

Delia's mincemeat recipe never lets me down and I make this every year because it isn't too sweet and it never boils over the sides of the pies. I always leave out the peel and almonds though. The sweet pastry is easily made in a food processor.

Fresh from the oven

I only used half the pastry and froze the remainder.  There will also be some crumble left, this too will freeze.

You will need: 12 cup bun tin, greased and mincemeat

Makes: 12 mince pies

For the sweet pastry:

225g plain flour, 115g butter, 50g lard, 25g icing sugar, 1 egg  

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Sift flour into a bowl add the butter and lard. Rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the icing sugar and then the beaten egg. Bring together to form a smooth dough. Place in plastic bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Roll out just over half the pastry to 3mm thickness and cut out circles large enough to fit the base of the tart tins.
3. Place a dessert spoon of mincemeat into each pastry base.

For the crumble topping:

150g fridge cold butter, 150g self raising flour, 75g demerara sugar, flaked almonds

1. Cube the butter and rub into the self raising flour until large flakes are formed.  Add the demerara sugar and stir.
2. Top the mincemeat with crumble and scatter over a few flaked almonds.
3. Place in the oven for 20 minutes until the crumble is golden.
4. Leave in the tin to cool for 10 minutes and then remove and place on a cooling rack.

Christmas Gift Ideas 2013 - Part Four

Campo Viejo Reserva Rioja - the perfect Christmas wine gift
Presented in an attractive gift box ready for giving to friends and family. This rich fruity wine will go well with red meats and game, and is the perfect partner for the cheeseboard. Aged for 24 months in French oak barrels and 36 months in the bottle cellar.
RRP: £12 Stockist: Sainsbury’s

                                                           ********************************  

Jacob's Creek Chardonnay Pinot Noir Cuvee - for every occasion
A wonderful sparkling drink for Christmas and the New Year. An Australian sparkling wine with crisp fruity flavours. It can be served with turkey and will go equally well with smoked salmon.

I served mine as a Buck's Fizz!

RRP:  £10.39   Stockist:  ASDA, Sainsbury's, The Co-operative

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Delicious chocolate

Seed&Bean Chocolate - limited edition chocolate bars made especially for Glastonbury Festival 2013 with organic ingredients.

Milk Chocolate with Cornish Sea Salt and West Indies Lime - tangy, zesty and salty.

White Chocolate Raspberry and Vanilla - tangy raspberries poured into a creamy white chocolate with a hint of vanilla.
Dark Chocolate with Sicilian Hazelnut - dark chocolate with a smooth nutty flavour.

Seed and Bean are UK's only 100% ethically accredited chocolate company.

All the bars are Fairtrade and Soil Association approved.

85g bars Price £2.29 each Stockists: nationwide

                                                       *********************************

Filippo Berio - limited edition Commemorative tin
Featuring “The Lady of Viareggio” from one of Italy’s most stylish Tuscan resorts and home to Filippo Berio. A must-have for lovers of the Cucina Italiana and a beautiful present for the foodie or hard-to-buy for.  Extra Virgin Olive Oil is wonderful for drizzling over focaccia or bruschetta, for marinades and dipping bread into.
1L tins from Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, RRP £7.49.

                                                            *******************************

 

Harveys Bristol Cream - the UK's favourite sherry
Holder of a Royal Warrant and enjoyed by the Queen's household - sherry is the perfect occasion drink for toasting.

Mix up some special drinks over the festive holiday using Harveys Bristol Cream Sherry - take a glass, fill with ice, pour sherry over and top with a slice of frozen or fresh orange.  A longer drink - pour some sherry into a long glass, top up with lemonade and add slices of fresh fruit.  Toast the Queen on Christmas Day with a glass of Harveys.
RRP £9.41 Stockists: nationwide

Thank you everyone for the samples

Culinary Adventures with Marmite

Kitchen Delights London Reporter gets to grips with an intriguing Marmite menu........

Love it or hate it - Marmite has been a firm staple of British life since records began (well since I was born). This dark sticky brown paste certainly makes an impression – whether on my morning toast or via a loving dollop popped into my spag bol to bring out the flavour.  So now we know that I don’t hate it.

It was with wild excitement that I was invited to try a Marmite curry at Cinnamon Soho in London’s West End. Talk about being innovative and catching the attention of a bunch of curious food blogger's. You’ll have to read on to see if it worked…

Here is what Vivek Singh, the man behind Cinnamon created for us.

                                                Stir fried shrimp, Marmite and pepper fry

Yummy! Yummy! The marmite gave it a subtle depth and surprisingly, went well with the shrimp – a bit like a flavoursome glaze and very moreish!

               Seared fillet of sea bream, Marmite and curry leaf crust, Marmite coconut sauce

Wow – you wouldn’t think it, but this was by far my favourite dish - I don’t know how, but it worked. The Marmite was infused with a curry leaf crusting so you could enjoy the delicate taste of the white fish but with a zingy after taste of Marmite cutting through.

                            Chilli and peanut chicken breast with a Marmite korma sauce -                                                                                     Marmite and honey, chilli-garlic naan

A great idea, combination wise, but not the holy trinity of the curry world. I’m not sure if I was just mourning a typical korma sauce for this Indian classic.

                                              Marmite Chocolate and Cardamom Mousse

I can’t say I loved this – I really wasn’t feeling it with the chocolate and cardamom – I felt it was too earthy but I did like the salt interspersed throughout the mousse. My fellow diners loved it though!

                                       All this can be yours as a set Marmite Menu for £35

Thanks a million to Cinnamon Soho
www.cinnamonsoho.com

Breville Aurora Stainless Steel 4 Slice Toaster - Review

Foodies love practical presents and this fabulous retro Breville Aurora Stainless Steel 4 Slice Toaster will look stylish in all kitchens and bring a welcome splash of colour. The toaster has some fabulous features - a lift and look to view progress of toast without cancelling, variable browning and width slots, defrost, reheat and mid-cycle cancel functions, and illuminated buttons. This is a large toaster and will be a great help at breakfast time for busy families trying to get out of the house on time for the school run. I'm not sure whether all sliced bread will fit perfectly into the toaster, it's just a case of trying different brands.
Breville is a trusted name and the brand has been around since the 1980's.
Available in Candy Red, Shimmer Cream or a Twilight Black and matching kettles are also available.
RRP £49.99 from Asda and Tesco

Thank you for the review sample.

The Travel Photographer's The Sacred: Varanasi & Vrindavan

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy

I know the wait has been agonizing, but I'm finally announcing details of my forthcoming photo expedition and multimedia workshop The Sacred: Varanasi & Vrindavan.

This particular photo expedition/workshop is of two-parts. During its two weeks, participants will document (1) the street theaters in two of the most sacred cities in India: Vrindavan and Varanasi, (2) the esoteric cultures of the real and fake sadhus who proliferate these sacred cities, (3) an exemplar of the Sufi culture in the heart of Varanasi, (4) the tradition of widow exiling to ashrams and (5) the exuberance of the Holi festival in Mathura...to name but a few.

During this workshop, participants will merge their still photography and audio to create compelling narratives. While largely for color photography (especially for Holi), black & white is certainly an option.

For those on Facebook who tried to guess the whereabouts of the bottom photograph; it was made on the ghats of Vrindavan, not Varanasi! 

For further details, drop by The Sacred: Varanasi & Vrindavan (for desktop browsers) and The Sacred: Varanasi & Vrindavan (for iPad).

Vivian Maier - Self Portraits is out!

Each photograph in this self portrait book was first printed by a master printer then scanned into the plates of the book. The book essay is by Elizabeth Avedon. Includes many never before seen photos and a section of her color self portraits. Available on amazon now!

Trip Report: Sundown Forest Deer Hunt 11/16/13 – 11/19/13

On November 16 dear rifle season opened in my part of New York State. So, I planned a four day trip into the woods to see if I can actually get one. I will not keep you in suspense; I came home empty handed. Regardless, I figured I would share the trip with you.

My plan was to hunt the southern section of the Catskill mountains. Specifically, I headed for the southern tip of Sundown Forest. I like the area because it offers relatively flat ground, at least what I would consider flat for these mountains, and I have previously spotted deer sign in the area. The down side of the area is that it has antler restriction. Generally speaking I am restricted to taking six pointers and up.

I intended to spend the opening day, Saturday, backpacking into the forest. I would set up camp, and then hunt the following two days, making my way out on the fourth.

So, on day one, I got to the forest and started making my way in. I would be bushwhacking the whole way in, trying to use the terrain features to make my way.

The are has some beautiful forest, starting with beech and hickory, and eventually transitioning into pine.

As you can see from the picture, I was carrying my Gregory Palisade 80 pack. That’s not because I had any extra gear. The pack was largely empty, and I had to leave my sleeping bag and jacket uncompressed to fill up the empty space. I brought the larger pack in case I got a kill. That way I would be able to carry out the meat.

I made my way into the pine forest, which was more open, and kept my eye out for signs. I didn’t have a specific spot in mind, so I had to figure out exactly where I was going to hunt. After some searching, I noticed a pattern in the direction of travel of the deer. There were a few rubs and crossing points that gave me the general direction.

It wasn’t sign of a huge buck, but it was a place to start. There was also some scat which looked like it may belong to a buck, although it was at least a few days old.

I made good progress, and in the early afternoon, stopped for lunch close to the part of the forest where I planned to hunt the next few days.

With sunset being at 5PM, soon after I started looking for a good camp site, which would offer me a direct route to an area where I could hunt in the morning. The fresh bear scat in the area gave me a pause, but it was too late to change plans.

I set up camp, and got dinner ready. It was a warm evening. I was a bit surprised, considering it had been snowing earlier in the week.

I spent the rest of the evening marking my way from camp to the spot where I was going to hunt in the morning, using biodegradable marking ribbon. Even though this is relatively open forest, if you travel out 50 yards from your tent, you will lose sight of it; 100 yards out, and you will have trouble making your way back.

Ironically, before getting into my tent for the night, I heard and then noticed that a bunch of turkeys were roosting in the trees next to my tent. The irony being that the Fall turkey season ended the day before. It’s as if they know, and come out to mock us.

The night was also warm. I had brought my Western Mountaineering Antelope MF 0F sleeping bag, which was overkill. Another thing I didn’t expect was the rain that started coming down during the night. I woke up around 5AM, and it was really coming down. When the sun came up, I got out to briefly to pick up my food bag, and then hunkered down in the tent, waiting for the rain to stop.

I hoped in vain that the rain would stop, but it just kept going. I personally don’t mind the rain, and typically backpack while it is raining, but the deer tend to bed down in weather like this, which makes spotting one difficult, particularly where I was. I came to this part of the forest because I think it is an area where the deer travel between their bedding areas and their food sources. The food sources usually tend to be fields and farms on private land, but I figured I can hunt them while they are on the move. Since they weren’t moving, there was nothing to hunt. When the rain didn’t stop after a few hours, I decided to get out anyway, and spend some time in the area I wanted to hunt.

As expected, no luck. I spent the rest of the day in the tent. I had myself some lunch in bed, and read from the book I had brought. I usually don’t bring things like books, but I expected periods of inactivity, and wanted to keep busy. The book? Early Riders: The Beginning of Mounted Warfare in Asia and Europe, by Robert Drews. If you like his other books, you’ll love this one.

I spent the rest of the day taking naps, reading, eating, and getting up to pee. When the sun started going down, I cooked dinner.

The following day was more of the same. The rain continued, getting even heavier at times. Fog blanketed the ridgeline where I had set up camp.

I mostly stayed in the tent and repeated the routine from the previous day.

I got out of the tent a few times to scout around and look at different spots. The trick in these forests is to find an area that is open enough where you can take advantage of the rifle, and be able to place a shot before a deer comes too close. Mostly, it was just a way to kill time.

Then, once again cooked dinner when the evening came, and went to sleep.

During the night the rain got even worse, turning into a storm. I figured I would have to walk out in some pretty bad weather in the worming and try to get out of the forest. However, around 4AM, the rain stopped. By the time I had packed up camp, you could even see some sunshine making its way through the trees.

It was day four in the woods, and I had to make my way out. I wasn’t in a rush however, so before starting, I spent a few hours early in the morning calling and waiting.

After being unsuccessful, I set out, heading west, and hoping to hit a ridgeline which would then take me out of the forest.

Eventually I made my way out of the pines, and entered into the deciduous part of the forest. I kept the rifle at the ready just in case. As a general rue of thumb, the moment you put the rifle away, you will accidentally run right into an eight pointer and beat yourself up for the next year. As I was walking, I noticed some fresh deer scat.

 

I was making good time, so I decided to stop again and spend a few more hours hunting the area. I set up near a dead tree, called, and waited. The weather was nice, and the ridge I had set up on was getting some nice sunshine.

After about two hours, I got up and continued on my way out of the forest. It was a very disappointing trip. Out of full four days, I only ended up hunting for a few hours on the last day. Not a good way to start the season.

For those of you who are interested, I had my usual backpacking gear with me. The “hunting” additions you can see in the picture below.

The rifle is a Savage 11-111 F in .308 with a Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40 scope. I also had a pair of Bushnell Legend Ultra HD 10x25 binoculars, a small bottle of doe urine, some marking ribbon, a Primos bleat in a can call, a Primos grunt tube, some T.A.G. bags (the B.O.M.B. kit) along with a few zip ties, and some Nose Jammer spray.

So, that’s it; a very uneventful trip. I wish I had something more interesting to share with you, but I don’t. I did get a chance to catch up on sleep, so I suppose that’s a plus.