Day Trip to Kamakura

Shelley and I haven't really discussed who's on our top 5 list of famous people that we could kiss if we had the chance. If I had to guess, I'm sure Matthew McConaughey would be right up there at the top - as would Carrot Top. But I never in my wildest dreams thought that my wife would have the hots for the Buddah. I guess I should have read into her getting into yoga with a bit more scrutiny than I did.


The Japanese can be very hospitable hosts. We certainly didn't expect to be welcomed to Kamakura with a sign welcoming the "Great Kannon." I admit I am flattered. Not to be a nitpick, but couldn't they at least spell our names right?

And finally, as Shelley said in her blog about our trip we happened upon a couple who were getting married in this very public place. On the one hand I felt excited to see this, but I also felt bad that I was opportunistically snapping shots of their special day. While I was taking these pictures, Shelley was watching Anthon, who decided that he wanted to just go exploring on his own. Well, that didn't see well with Shelley who went after and resulted in our son, who has a pretty good set of pipes, screaming all the way back to his stroller after Shelley caught up to him. Nothing like being the one with the screaming kid to disrupt a wedding ceremony. Like a good father and husband I pretended I didn't know them.




All of the pictures are linked to a page of photos I shot from the day. Or you can clik on the link to go there.

Hiking the Narrows

Over Labor Day weekend, our friends the Derricks invited us, our friends the Mulliners and another family to spend the long weekend playing in Zion National Park. The deal was that half of the couples would hike The Narrows on Saturday and the other half would hike on Monday, leaving our kids behind to be baby sat by the non-hiking couples.

It was Shelley's first time hiking the Narrows, while it was my third time. It had been a while since I'd hiked this, so it's easy to forget that it's 17 miles of traversing down a river, oftentimes not being able to see the bottom and the ankle-breaking, slick rocks that await the feet of weary hikers.

To me, the best part of the hike is the upper 10+ miles that are really only accessible if you hike from the trialhead downstream. This is where you can really get through some narrow canyons. We had the trail pretty much all to ourselves until we got a few miles from the bottom. Then we ran into day hikers who had made their way upstream. We knew we were getting close when we could see "hikers" in skirts or walking barefeet.

The day before, I had been inspired by a few local photographers who had galleries of their shots from Zion's and in particular The Narrows. So that inspired me to shove my tripod into my backpack and lug it down river. There were a few tense moments when the current, combined with a lack of sure footing, submerged my bag. But luckily no moisture made it in into my bag. While I don't think these pictures are professional quality, the gallery does contain some shots that give you a sense of the color and beauty found on the hike.

Here's a picture of the group. As you can see, the backyard of the vacation home has quite the view!

A Short Trip to Seattle

Our family went up to Seattle this last weekend to meet up with Shelley's parents and visit Ed's Mom, Shelley's Grandma, and Anthon's Great Grandma...all one person in case you didn't already figure it out. This was the first time that Anthon has seen his third Great Grandma. Since Shelley and I hadn't been to Seattle before, we made a long weekend out of it...spending one day in the city and driving through some of the islands in the Puget Sound, and then spending a day hiking around Mt. Rainier.

Shelley and I really liked Seattle. We found ourselves saying, "could you live here?" And by and large I could. Now we were there when it was the hottest four days of the year. And rain was nowhere to be found. But you can't beat the views of the Sound and the mountains.

Most importantly, it was great seeing family - his Grandparents and Aunt Rachel as well as the three new relatives he met for the first time, Great Grandma Emily, Aunt Patty and Uncle Barney.

Please click on either picture to take you to a small gallery of photos from that weekend.

Girls Trip to New York

A few weekends back, Shelley took a weekend trip with my Mom and one of my sisters, Becky, to visit another sister, Liza who lives in New York. From the looks and sounds of things, they had a great time. They shopped, ate great food, saw a play and bonded. I've uploaded pictures from the weekend onto our website for you to view.

I stayed home with Anthon and had a chance to bond with him, too. I think it was a great weekend for everyone involved.

PS...And before you wonder,yes, it's 3:20 AM and I am still up. No, it's not that I can't sleep. I have to wake up early for a 6:40 AM flight to Evansville, Indiana. And I got home from school late (10:30 PM) and I had to pack and do some school work stuff before I could go to sleep. And I just kept going and now that I'm really tired, it's too late to go to sleep. I'd just be up in an hour. So I'd rather be tired and strung out (like I am right now), than tired, grumpy and disoriented, which I'd be an hour from now if I napped.

Memorial Day Trip to Zion National Park

Shelley and our friends the Willards and Ragozzines planned a great trip to Southern Utah this Memorial Day weekend. One of the highlights was spending time in Zions National Park, where we climbed Angel's Landing and saw the sunset on the Canyon Overlook. Simply spectacular views.

As if that weren't enough, however. We stayed in LaVerkin, a town outside of Zion's, and stayed with Sarah Ragozzine's parents who spoiled us with their kindness, generosity and great food.

It had been a few years since I'd been back to Zion. I fell in love with the place while tour guiding Japanese folk. I'm looking forward to the day when our family can hike The Narrows all together. That might be a few years off.

Click on one of the thumbnails below. The one on the left takes you to a small group of photos, while the one on the right takes you to a home video shot during the weekend.

Photos from Zion

Zion Home Video

Traffic: a microcosm of Indian economic life

I think India is a country of contradictions. On the one hand there is a young and burgeoning middle class made up of talented, educated people. On the other hand, there is an immense number of poor people who are not engaged in the formal economy. So while India is full of promise and has a bright future ahead of it, there are significant problems that need to be addressed. The pictures in this post are all taken of things we saw on the roads while driving through the country.

What really put India into perspective for me was taking a long drive from Delhi to Agra where we spent the day sightseeing at the Taj Mahal. To me, driving in India is a microcosm of Indian life in general. You have a lot of people trying to go from point A to point B on roads that don't have the capacity to accommodate everyone. In the same way, you have over one billion people who are trying to get ahead in an economy that is supported by an industry that employs so few Indians, relative to the whole. In the process everyone improvises and makes do with what’s given to them.

Because the roads are still so bad, you get a lot of improvisation out there. People are routinely breaking all sorts of major rules, like driving on the wrong side of the road…for what seems like long stretches of time! But it’s how they get from point A to point B and everyone understands that how it is and they adjust to that wild card. There a ton of variables out on the road. Not only are you fighting against cars, busses, trucks and auto-rickshaws, but you have to include the animals as well! There are cows, water buffalo, camels, and dogs running around on the highways.

From an economic standpoint, we’re seeing the same thing: people are essentially improvising and doing what needs to be done to survive. So everywhere you see what are essentially unlicensed and illegal shops everywhere on the side of the road that sell their wares from helmets to produce. There are roadside barbershops and, of course, beggars. They do this to make ends meet and adjust to the conditions of life in India’s poor class.

What would help the roads is the same thing that could help India get its underprivileged active in the formal economy: investment in infrastructure. More roads, wider roads, newer roads would allow more people to have access to these highways. The result would be a more efficient transportation system, more road travel and a more organized highway system. From an economic standpoint, building infrastructure would create a lot of jobs and move labor away from the tremendously inefficient agriculture sector to the more productive construction and manufacturing sectors.

Up close and personal...

In India, you have to get used to people staring at you. It's just going to happen if you stand out a bit too much. We were not only stared at, but oftentimes we were approached for picturs. Or, I should say Shelley was approached by men to take a picture with them. I mean, who wouldn't? It's not everyday you get to see someone as beautiful as her! One guy went so far as to ask for her address...with me standing right there. Uh, nice try fella.

Anyway, I've posted just a few of the many pictures that we took with our new-found friends from India.

Our Trip to India, 2007

Shelley and I got back from our trip to India. As part of my MBA program at USC, we traveled to India to visit companies and research the economic and social trends in that country. This took me to both New Delhi and Bangalore.

After a week, Shelley flew over and we met up in Delhi and we spend time there, in Agra to see the Taj Mahal and then over to Jaipur and Shekawati in Rajasthan.

Please click on the thumbnails below to see the pictures from our trip. I've whittled down nearly 1,000 pictures taken to just 44. India was an incredible country that provided daily sensory overload. I'll post more about our trip in the next few days.

Shelley, Anthon in Houston & Utah

February and March were busy traveling months for the Cannons. While I was in Japan and India, Shelley and Anthon visited family in Houston, Utah and Evansville. Shelley then left Anthon with her parents to come travel with me in India. Is that clear as mud?

Anyway, the two trips to Utah, I think, was a big hit. Anthon was introduced to snow, his really, really large snow suit, and the joys of sledding. Click on the thumbnails below to see the pictures.

San Francisco from Cruising Altitude

On my way to Tokyo last last week, the best part of my flight was during the first hour as we flew over San Francisco. This is a veryunique view of one of the most beautiful cities on Earth. It's because of this view that I ask for a window seat on the right hand side of the plane en route to Tokyo.

The St. Louis Arch

While driving from St. Louis to Shelley's home in Evansville, Indiana, we stopped for a few minutes at the St. Louis Arch and took it all in. Man, this structure is huge! I had no idea it was that large. And for some reason I thought it was made of stone. But it's not...it's metal. Guess I'm not so smart after all.

Even though it was a cloudy day, I snapped what I think are a few interesting shots. This structure does really allow the photographer to shoot at some fun angles.

Thanksgiving in Utah, 2006

For the first time in nearly 18 months, Shelley's entire family was in one spot - Woodland Hill, Utah for Thanksgiving. This was a big occassion, since the last time we were all together, the two grandchildren had yet to arrive. It was also nice to see Anthon endure two 9 hour trips in the car from Pasadena to Utah and back to Pasadena. We were truly grateful for that.

Anyway, at most points during the long weekend, there were 17 - 20 people hanging around the house. Lots going on - a family dinner with 28 people, lots of football on Saturday (sorry to say my Utes didn't win) and a visit to the Salt Lake City Temple Square to see the Christmas lights. Clik on the pictures below to see the photos from the long weekend.