Oregon Coast - Circa 1989 Scanned from 35mm film print

I miss the mountains.  I grew up on the Oregon coast and lived a good bit of my life among the Blue Ridge and Appalachian mountains.  Here in Hampton Roads Virginia (aka Tidewater, Coastal Va, and other colloquial terms of endearment that aren't family friendly) we have nothing vaguely resembling a foothill, much less a proper mountain.  Our highest elevation in Virginia Beach is Mt Trashmore Park.  Yep, it's a city park (a knoll and a pond) made from an old city dump which stands about 60' above sea level.  There is one natural berm, White Sands "Hill" in First Landing State park, which my GPS says is between 55-58 feet tall depending on the day's cloud cover.  That's a lot of words to say it's pretty flat around here.  But that doesn't mean there isn't an abundance of nature to admire and protect.  

Jim Paddling Back Bay's North Landing River - Photo by Ryan Setzer

What we lack in mountains we make up for in spades with water.  There is water everywhere here.  In "Hampton Roads" the word "road" (short for roadstead) is a nautical term meaning a protected waterway where ships can safely anchor.  It's no accident the largest naval military base in the world is located here. 

The Virginia Beach oceanfront is a major tourist destination, the Chesapeake Bay is a fisherman's dream and the watershed that feeds it includes over a dozen major rivers and hundreds of smaller tributaries.  Wetlands, marshlands or whatever you want to call them (but you can't call them swamps!) pepper the landscape for hundreds of miles.  

The wetland region that is most near and dear to us is called Back Bay and the protected lands surrounding it comprise Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge.  We love to kayak all around this area to observe the amphibians, marine mammals, and water fowl that make this their home and others too that stop along their migration routes.  

We bought our first kayaks years ago so we could hunt geocaches that can only be gotten to from boat.  We immediately fell in love with the beauty of these waterways which you simply can't see from city streets.  

Two years ago I got involved with a project to study new transportation alternatives to and around this area. The goal of the project is to encourage more people to discover this jewel without paving away the delicate ecosystem we're trying to preserve.  With some federal grant money and input from us lowly citizens, the city explored several alternative transportation options including extending and improving bike and foot trails, creating new and updating kayak/canoe launches, extending the current tram service, and creating a water taxi circuit.  I was as excited as a kid who'd just gotten his secret decoder ring in the mail when I saw that the final version of this study has now been published.

I'll continue to stay involved with this project as it gets incorporated into the City's Long Range Plan, funding is fought for, and hopefully see some results from all this effort one day, years down the road.  It is a Government project, after all.

Healthy Living with Denise Corporate Logo - © Images by Design 2016

While I've been writing away here and waxing philosophically about parachutes and graceful aging, Denise has been hard at work on her projects too.  She launched her completely new web site, Healthy Living with Denise, a few weeks back and has been busy adding content.  She's got useful information about skin care, brain health, organic alternatives for your diet, homeopathy and feng shui for your home and office.  It's really starting to come together for her and I've been helping where I can by creating a new logo, collecting/creating images for her pages, and we've even shot some footage for a few YouTube videos that I need to start editing this weekend.  

Product Shots - © Images by Design 2016

She's been promoting her anti-aging products business too.  We've had some success with Google ads and Facebook promotions and she's starting to see customers roll in from across the US.  I don't use the skin care products myself (despite Denise's ploys) but I have started taking the brain supplement that supports Tau protein health and I clearly feel an improvement in my recall and clarity after taking this for a few months.  The stuff can't make me smart but it can slow down stupid!

We're busy people these days and Denise needed better tools for working her business around the clock, so after a little research we got her a new Microsoft Surface Pro tablet that just came in this past Wednesday.  We did an un-boxing video for that too, and will work that footage up into a complete product review after she puts some miles on it.  She came home last night all giddy from the improved productivity the first day.  So far, so good.  Just for fun you can check out the un-edited first clip on YouTube here.  We'd love to get your feedback.  I know the audio is poor but I've got a fix on the way for future projects.

Riders ready at the start for the 100 mile route - Tour du Cure Hampton Roads 2016

Last Saturday morning's alarm came extra early at 4:30.  I sprang out of bed full of excitement to participate in an annual event that we've enjoyed for the past 6 years - either as riders or volunteers.  The American Diabetes Association's Tour du Cure is a bicycle ride fundraiser for diabetes research.  Chances are, you know someone who lives with this disease.  

Some years our team has been just me and my son riding.  Other years we've added family and friends to our peddling posse.  My son was with with his mother this past weekend so I volunteered as a photographer again this year.  Between the pre-ride festivities and stops along the routes (the tour has 10, 25, 65 and 100 mile ride options) I shot over a thousand photos.  About half of those images made the culling to be posted for the participants to enjoy.  See the riders wearing the red jerseys with the triangle logo?  No, it's not the Russian Illuminati, those are riders that who currently suffer from diabetes.  "Go, Red Riders!"

Young Rider on the 10 mile course - Tour du Cure Hampton Roads 2016

Hopefully, these photos help complete the experience for riders and volunteers alike, encourage their friends and family to join in the fun next year, and/or generally raise awareness for this disease which could be curable in our lifetime with enough funding.  There's some amazing research going on now with stem cells, micro-technologies and immune system treatments.  If you're not sure how a bunch of strangely dressed folks cycling around country roads one Saturday a year can have an impact, well this single event raised $314,345.12 in pledges and donations.  With over 80 events across the US each year, that starts to add up to real money.  After expenses, ADA sends out over $150 million each year to diabetes research grants, champions advocacy projects and promotes information programs.  ADA is a pretty efficient non-profit too with an overhead of only about $27%.  

Fast riders along the 100 mile course - Tour du Cure Hampton Roads 2016

Volunteers working the registration table - Tour du Cure Hampton Roads 2016 

I would encourage everyone to get involved in some cause that you care about - something that hits home whether it be one of the many illness related research foundations, a local food bank, homeless/women's/youth shelter, animal rescue, environmental cause, whatever.  It only takes some of your time and maybe a bit of effort - we are all good at something. 

Finding volunteer opportunities in your area is as easy as clicking the link in this sentence.  We live in a fast-paced world with never enough hours in a day to squeeze it all in, but making the time to volunteer just a few hours here and there is not only worth while, but an incredibly rewarding experience.  

It seems just yesterday I was in my 20's, I could eat anything under the sun, drink like a fish, and had energy all the time.  But now just north of 50, I can no longer gulp down ghost peppers like popcorn without paying for it for a week.  Nor can I close down the bars then spring out of bed the next morning and make it to work on time.  Even rolling out of bed these days comes with some grunts and groans for the first few steps - at least until I've had my first cup of coffee.  

Me atop the 3000' peak of "Dragon's Tooth" just off the Appalachian Trail, Summer 2013.  Photo by Ryan Setzer

For me, April has always been the month to get outside and shake off the winter.  We burn our socks and put the kayaks into the water, we lace up our hiking shoes and hit the trails, dust off the camping gear and gulp down a weekend of clean fresh air.  

May is now only a week away.  The kayaks are still strung up and dry.  The camping gear is still stowed.  But at least this past Sunday we got back out on the trail for a brisk 8 mile hike.  It nearly killed me.  I was a seriously hurting unit by the end with my lower back threatening to make me an invertebrate if I took another step.  I was not as active as I needed to be this past winter, apparently.   I guess I can't let my aging bones entropy for 3 months and expect to just jump up and go like I used to.  It was a painful lesson - literally.  

We've got plans for extensive travel in the coming years and that includes plenty of walking, hiking and other physical activities.  I need a better regular physical routine - especially in those lazy cold months.  Fortunately, I've got an amazing personal trainer - Denise.  She sticks to her workout routine even through the winter and it includes cross-fit, running and Brazilian Jiu-Jitzu.  She chokes down a serious regiment of vitamins each day and fills our diet with healthy ingredients.  Omega-3 fatty acids, carbohydrates and antioxidants are part of our daily vocabulary.  If anyone can get me back moving like I should it will be her.

© 2016 Images by Design

We're restarting our early morning walks as soon as I get back from this short business trip.  I was going to take a photo walk-about this evening to keep the stiffness from this past weekend at bay, but as you can see from this view from my hotel room, that's not happening.  I guess it's a boring waddle on the fitness center treadmill for me tonight. 

This starting to get old stuff isn't much fun, but it sure beats the alternative.