Four days. No plans.
The highlights:
A lazy drive on Hwy 7 through Vermont and Massachusetts.
A visit to The Mount, Edith Wharton’s home in Lenox, MA from 1902 until 1911.
Hiking the Appalachian Trail from the Goose Pond trailhead.
Rhubarb and ginger ice cream at High Lawn Farm.
Cooling down in the afternoons with a swim.
Dinner at The Station Gastropub.
Pastries at The Lost Lamb Patisserie.
I was hired for my first retail job by a family friend who sold camping gear. He wanted to see if he could sell cameras, too. I was 15, an avid hiker, and knew cameras. I got the job.
His shop sold Olympus XAs. At the time (late ’70s), these were new, innovative cameras. Still are. The XA features rangefinder focusing and aperture priority metering in a tiny, lightweight body. A sliding cover protects the 35/2.8 lens. A proprietary flash (the A11 or A16) provided supplemental light. It was unlike anything else. And again, it still is.
I don’t remember selling a single camera, though I sold a lot of camping gear and hiking boots to justify keeping me around.
I have a thing for compact film cameras, and have shot with a couple of Minox 35s, a Rollei 35, and a Chinon Bellami. All are still in my collection.
None have the interesting and weird combination of features of an Olympus XA. After researching the XA line, I decided I needed some hands-on time with one. After a few months of watching eBay, I landed an XA with an A11 flash. I replaced the battery, loaded a roll of expired Fuji Sensia, and tested it out. The 45-ish year old camera works like a charm. Focusing and the meter are both dead-on, and the lens is sharper than it has any business being. Despite being a tiny thing, it handles well, and the controls fall readily to hand (finger?). The rangefinder patch is bright and focusing is quick. I love it.
In fact, I love it so much I bought a second XA at auction. It was an impulse purchase that came with an A16 flash and cost about half the going price of an XA in excellent condition. It’s the one in the photos, with the Gordy’s finger loop. And it works every bit as well as the first one I bought.
Here are a few photos I shot with the second XA in my collection.
The Olympus XA isn’t just unique. It’s a solid, easy-to-carry tool for film photography. I’m glad I finally got around to shooting with one after all these decades. Mine are keepers.
Last January, Jill and I took 2/3 of our kids to Belgium, The Netherlands, and France for a vacation. I’ll skip the long story about United losing Jen’s luggage and then sending it all over Europe to places where we weren’t. Trust me that it was funny, even in the moment when we were in Paris and United was thrilled to share that her suitcase was finally in Brussels. Where we never were.
I’m burying the lede, but Brugge (or Bruges, depending on your language preferences) was a delight. If you want a city that is human scale, Brugge is it. Walkable? Yes. Historic? Very. Picturesque? Oh yeah.
We arrived and parked the car, because there’s no need for a car in Brugge. The streets are cobbled and narrow, and you can walk almost anywhere in the city. So we walked. And walked. And walked some more. If I lived there, I would go everywhere by bicycle. As one does in Brugge.
We also climbed the Belfort in the city square, ate at some delicious restaurants, including the oldest continually operating pub in Europe, and sampled beer. You should know that Belgium is famous for its beer. It’s a well deserved reputation.
You can see where we went on this Google map, which includes my notes. Bonus, my Paris notes are included.
I went through a phase a few months ago when I bought several film cameras at auction. I’ve tested every one and found some keepers (Olympus XA) and duds (Yashica Electro 35). The Rollei 35 I picked up is a sweet camera. It has a retractable lens, zone focusing, and manual exposure control. The build quality is excellent. Mine was made in Singapore (others are German-made).
The lens is clear, and almost everything works as it should. The only question mark is the meter, which works intermittently. I’d keep the Rollei and use an external light meter, but I’m not fond of the 40mm lens. So, I sold it. So it’s on eBay.
Here’s a test shot using Kodak Gold 400.
Since 2013, the Ricoh GR has been my favorite travel camera. In 2018, I wrote about why the GR is so wonderful, and since then my opinion hasn’t changed. I have options (Lumix mirrorless, Nikon DSLR, and a Fuji X100, not to mention several film cameras), but when it’s time to pack my bags, the GR is my go-to.
So when my 12-year-old GR bit the dust, I replaced it with a GRIII. There are some upgrades over the old model:
The GRIII loses its built-in flash, but that’s not a concern of mine. I rarely used the GR’s flash, and when it makes sense I carry a LightPix Labs Q20II instead. More about this later.
My GRIII is the Street Edition. I didn’t buy it for the eye-catching orange lens ring (it also comes with a black ring) or slightly different body texture. I bought it because I had a trip coming up and it was in stock. Standard GRIIIs can be hard to find.
A lot of folks who are looking at GRIIIs ask, Should I consider the GRIIIx? I did, and decided the wider lens of the GRIII (28mm equivalent) is one of the things I love most about the GRIII. The field of view works better for me than the 40mm equivalent lens on the IIIx. I shoot the bulk of my photos with wide lenses. If that’s not you, this probably isn’t your camera.
The GRIII is simple but oh so flexible. Here’s how mine is configured:
I have a trip coming up, and I don’t have to think about which camera will go in my bag. It’ll be the GRIII, without a doubt.
The North Country hasn’t seen the sun in a while, so when it did come out I grabbed the opportunity to go for a ride. My route: South along the lake to Crown Point, across the Champlain Bridge, then north to Burlington, VT and Grand Isle, and across the lake on the ferry. Afterwards, a cold beverage on the roof and grilled hot dogs. Maybe summer is on the way.
Since coming back from Belgium and France in January, there’s been a lot. New jobs (me and The Boy), a new semester (Jill), ongoing work on the house (those 15 minute jobs turn into hours, you know). Still, Jill and I snuck away for a week in Colorado for a high school graduation, Mother’s Day celebration, and some sightseeing. Our stops: Grand Junction, Palisade, Paonia, Fruita, Colorado National Monument, and Glenwood Springs. Here are a few things we saw.
After dressing up for the Breakthrough T1D Capital Region Gala, Jill and I spent a weekend wandering and relaxing in Albany and southern Vermont. I’d never seen the Empire State Plaza, so we started there with a walk, then got back in the car and drove up through Bennington and Ludlow to Mt. Ascutney, where we stayed a couple of nights. We’re all about the food, and we hit Zoey’s Deli in Manchester (5/5 would eat there again in a heartbeat), Blake Hill and Sugarbush Farm for dinner picnic ingredients, Simon Pearce to watch glass blowing (fascinating and worth the stop) and eat a fancy lunch (they do magical things with burrata–the rest of the food was okay), and the Windsor Diner (excellent for breakfast).
Three bonus shopping spots: Post. (I could empty my wallet there on pens and notebooks) and Little Istanbul Gifts (spices!) in White River Junction and The Yankee Bookshop (well-selected books and snooty Woodstock clientele make for serious entertainment).
We walked and strolled and rode the streetcars and hop-on/hop-off bus and ferry. Here’s a bit of what we saw.
Btw, I think Lucinda is onto something.
If you want to immerse yourself in World War 2 history, the National WW2 Museum in New Orleans should be on your list to visit. It comprises eight buildings that cover a wide range of themes — the European and Pacific theaters, the Holocaust, faith in times of war, aviation, decorated veterans, and relics that are undergoing restoration — and is associated with the Smithsonian Museum. I could have easily spent a couple of days there. The photos give just a glimpse of all I saw.
The National WW2 Museum is in the Arts district, an easy walk from the Central Business District, and on the Hop-On Hop-Off Bus line.
