Stargazing

Buddha was sick on Sunday so we decided to keep him home from Church, but after being cooped up all day long, we were all going a bit stir crazy.  So at about 6pm, we decided to be spontaneous and drive out to Julian to stargaze.  We ran around the house collecting the stuff we would need (blankets, camera, snacks, jackets, etc.), then took off without a second thought.  I love going on drives with my family.  We're happily confined.  Many families talk of negative experiences with kids in cars, but that's just not us.  The Chief and I get to talk and the kids look around, ask questions, and play with each other (though we made an exception to our rule this time and turned on a movie for them).  It took us about an hour to get to Julian, but after driving around looking for the phantom Julian County Park for another half hour, I finally got out and asked a policeman where it was.  He chuckled and said it didn't exist, then told us a good place to go to stargaze.  We found his recommended park without difficulty and it was completely vacant.  After spreading out the blankets and hunkering down, we were treated to a glorious heavenly display.  It was STUNNING!  Okay, I thought it was stunning, anyway.  The Chief was a bit miffed by some interfering glow from the town's electricity and a main automotive thoroughfare was right next to us.  But I was so pleased that we could see the Milky Way where we were and there was one particular planet (no idea which) that was extremely bright.  The boys were fascinated (so fascinated, in fact, that Bugga fell promptly to sleep after eating his sandwich), the Pipster was cozy, and I was just content to be out of the house on an outing.  Sometimes The Chief and I feel like we're boring parents, so stuff like this helps boost our parental egos and makes us think that maybe, just maybe our kids will one day tell their friends how cool we are.  :D


Okay, so when I opened up this picture, I totally freaked out. I mean, AHHHH!, look at those glowing red eyes! Yeah. And then I realized that they were the reflectors on the fence behind us. Don't I feel sheepish. :|















Photography discoveries:

Taking pictures in the pitch black of night (there was only a 9% moon) is NOT easy. I mean, the flash does well enough, but knowing where your subjects are is a different story altogether. And taking pictures of stars is doubly difficult. That first starry picture was taken with a timer and no one touching the camera, but it's still blurry. And the second is The Chief's attempt at holding the camera through a 30 second exposure! Ha ha. I like the squiggly effect. :D