Sean Henri

Manhattan

April 25, 2010 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

Just another trip to the city.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, BlogSherpa, New York, New York State, NYC, Photos, Travel, Videos | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (0)

Burlington and Vermont's Scenic Byways

February 26, 2010 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

This was round 2 of traveling around Vermont in less than a month, this time with my friends Mindy and Kamil for a weekend in the Burlington/Lake Champlain area. To be honest, we didn't spend a heck of a lot of time roaming around Burlington itself aside from checking out some of the restaurants and bars/pubs/breweries at night for a few rounds of Switchback as well as some other local brews.

The best part of the trip was leaving Burlington and exploring the area. Saturday morning we went out for breakfast at Magnolia Bistro and then hit the road, driving north through the outskirts of Burlington before merging onto RT. 7.  We reached a small town called Milton and then swung right towards the mountains.  Our first real stop that day was the Boyden Valley Winery.  We had hoped they might have some cheese to snack on but it was just wine, good wine.  My favorite was the Glogg, which is served warm and apparently popular around the holidays.

From there drove to Stowe, stopping at the Stowe Mercantile to sample some food, and then continuing our drive south with stops at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill, Cabot Store Annex, and the Ben and Jerry's factory.

On Sunday morning we took the long, scenic route home, sticking to the scenic roads and byways. This gave us the best views of the trip.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, BlogSherpa, Burlington, VT, New England, Photos, Road Trips, Travel, USA, Vermont | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (0)

Some photo experimentation

December 26, 2009 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

Posted in:  Art & Design, Photos, Videos | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (0)

Driving from Yellowstone to Connecticut in a rental truck

November 23, 2009 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to travel to Yellowstone National Park for a work. The company I work for had been selected to restore nearly 200 lighting fixtures from the historic Old Faithful Lodge , so my co-worker and I were sent there to photograph the fixtures and then drive them roughly 2,800 miles across America back to Connecticut. (Project details here.)

The trip started in Salt Lake City, where we picked up our 16' rental truck, a bunch of packing supplies and a ton of snacks for the road.  That afternoon we drove nearly non-stop for 600+ miles through Utah and Idaho to West Yellowstone in Montana where we crashed for the night.

Since Yellowstone closes to the public for the month of November, we were one of the very few people within the 3468 square miles of the park when we drove in the next morning.  That meant if something were to go wrong, we' would pretty-much on our own. Fortunately we made it in and out without incident. No flat tires, no angry bison attacks, and no geyser burns. 

Since I was there for work I didn't explore the park as much as I would have liked to, but I did manage to see some cool stuff, including several geysers and a ton of wildlife including some bison and wolves.  The lodge where we were working was literally right along-side the Old Faithful Geyser, so every 90 minutes or so we'd take a short break to watch it go. We actually had to hike up to a scenic overlook of the geyser basin to sign the paperwork so we could leave - not exactly the worst way to spend a work-day.

The drive back took us several days, with brief stops at Belgrade in Montana, Mount Rushmore, Sioux Falls in South Dakota, and Chicago.  After a good night's rest in Indiana and a quick meal in Ohio, we pushed straight through back to Connecticut and got home early Saturday.  It wasn't exactly the classic all-American road trip, but it was still a great experience.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, BlogSherpa, Cross-Country Road Trip 2009, Photos, Road Trips, The Outdoors, Travel, Work Life | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (0)

The weekend in Inishmór

October 27, 2009 // 3 Comments  // Add yours »

The other week I made my second visit to Ireland this year. It was a much shorter trip than the one I took in August, and had a very different feel to it.  This time around I was there primarily to visit some friends of mine, whereas the last time around I was there to tour the country. My friend Rachel and her boyfriend James were kind enough to let me stay in her home in Limerick for the few days I was over, and for the most part we just relaxed. 

The one big plan for the weekend was to visit Inis Mór, one of the Aran Islands located in Galway Bay. The islands are known for their strong Irish culture and loyalty to the Irish language and are only accessible by a small plane or boat.  To get there we had to take about a three hour drive north past Galway and through Connemara to a ferry in Ros a' Mhíl. The ferry ride was about an hour long, and we arrived on the island sometime after dark.

The first thing that struck me was how quiet the island was. Aside from the few cars that were waiting at the pier when we arrived, there wasn't a vehicle in sight.  The sky was perfectly clear and we could see ten times as many stars as I could ever see back home in Derby, and aside from the waves crashing and a few teenagers playing on the steps near our hostel, there wasn't a sound.

At night we walked up the hill to a pub called Joe Watty's.  They had some of the best Guinness I've ever had and the experience was a memorable one.  There were some regulars, some sober, some drunk.. one guy with no teeth and drool all over his face who was stumbling from one table to a next trying to find someone to join him for a dance.  Then there some people visiting from the mainland of Ireland, including a man from Dublin sitting on a stool in front of the musician singing along, who dropped his pint on the floor then made his way towards our table for a sloppy sing-a-long of the Saw Doctor's "N17" - a song I had never heard before until that night.  By the time the night was over we found ourselves acquainted with a number of people, including three other Seans - a first in my life.

In the morning the three of us rented bikes for the day.  Since there aren't many cars this is the primary way to get around the island.  We rode from Killronan, the main town of the island, to a prehistoric fort on the cliffs about four miles away known as Dún Aengus.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Aran Islands, BlogSherpa, County Galway, Inishmór, Ireland, Ireland 2009, Irish Travel, Photos, Travel | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (3)

The drive from Dingle to Limerick

August 07, 2009 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

At this point in our trip we had given up entirely on worrying about any sort of a schedule, so we took our time driving north to Limerick.  We made our way through Conor Pass blasting Beatles the entire way, and then slowly wound our way back down from the mountains to the coast, pulling over to stop whenever something interesting caught our eyes.

By the time the mid-afternoon had come, we had already seen and done enough to fill an entire week. In need of a boost, we stopped at the first "coffee" sign we came across. We pulled in thinking we had come across a small cafe, but instead found ourselves drinking coffee in a someones kitchen and chatting about the weather.

Some of our stops included Lislaughtin Abbey, Ballyheighe - a place where I enjoyed some of my first beers in life ten years earlier, and a pub Kildare where we stopped for dinner. It was close to ten by the time we arrived in Limerick.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Adare and Around, BlogSherpa, County Kerry, County Limerick, Dingle, Dingle Peninsula, Ireland, Ireland 2009, Irish Travel, Limerick City, Photos, Travel | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (0)

Fungi the Dingle Dolphin

August 07, 2009 // 1 Comments  // Add yours »

After getting lost in the mountains we found ourselves arriving in Dingle about an hour and a half behind schedule.  In fact, we never actually pinpointed where our bed and breakfast was for the night.  Instead we just drove around until we came across it.  Prior to arriving I had exchanged emails with the owner, Katharine, and agreed that if we were going to be late we would call in and let her know.  Unfortunately we never got around to doing this, so by the time we arrived the door was locked shut and we were stuck out on the sidewalk.

Fortunately the people in the pub across the street where more than helpful.  The bartender called her on her cell and she raced down to open back up for us.  While we were waiting, the owner of the shop next door came outside and offered his assistance as well.  Nice people.

That night we followed the advice given to us by someone we had talked to on the street and made our way to a yellow pub down the street. After a few pints and about an hour's worth of traditional Irish music we stepped outside for some fresh air and were told about the "fine hourses" at the races that weekend in Dingle.

With a long day behind us and another planned for the following, we enjoyed one more pint then headed back to our B&B, the Lantern Townhouse, for some rest.

In the morning we took a walk from the B&B and visited the church where the study abroad program for Sacred Heart University is based.  After a quick, memorable tour of the church and a somewhat uncomfortable conversation with an English author about American culture, we walked towards the water with the hopes of taking a boat ride.

We spent the next hour chasing around Fungi the Dingle dolphin.  It was a lot of fun, and even a bit funny to zoom back and forth with a bunch of boats going "there's the dolphin!" every few minutes for an hour as if we had never seen one before.   Then again, I suppose it isn't every day you see a dolphin.

We finished our morning with lunch in a pub down by the water and then began our drive to Limerick.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, BlogSherpa, County Kerry, Dingle, Dingle Peninsula, Ireland, Ireland 2009, Irish Travel, Photos, Travel | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (1)

The Wicklow Mountains, Glendalough and the Rock of Cashal

August 05, 2009 // 0 Comments  // Add yours »

It was going to be a long day.  The night before we had stayed out late on a pub crawl and that morning we had approximately 240 miles of driving planned with many stops in-between.

After a quick breakfast in Dublin (sandwiches from a grocery store), we made our way south towards the Wicklow mountains. Our first stop was Enniskerry, a small village which I had visited three years earlier.  We grabbed a coffee and then visited "Aladdins Cave", an antique gallery on  Church Hill that is PACKED with cool antiques including paintings, silver, jewelry,etc.  After a long conversation with the gallery owner, John O' Brien, I picked up a circa 1870 Victorian-style tankard to make a pair out of the one I had bought at the same gallery during my last visit.

The next stop, a spontaneous one, was at Glendalough - home of an early medieval monstac settlement founded in the 6th century by St. Keven, a hermit priest, in a beautiful glacial valley.

Glendalough really impressed me.  It's one of those many places in Ireland where pictures could never do justice.  After walking through the gravestones and buildings, we took a few minutes to stick our feet in the water and relax for a bit.  It was freezing, like we had expected, but also refreshing considering the long drive ahead.

We continued through the mountains and then made our way towards Cashal, passing through Kilkenny along the way.  I had originally planned on stopping here, but with the stop at Glendalough we didn't have enough time.

Around sunset we found ourselves at the Rock of Cashal, much later than expected.  The castle was closed at this point, but we still enjoyed the views from a nearby hill.  For dinner we stopped at a local pub and it was probably the worst meal we had all week.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, BlogSherpa, Ireland, Ireland 2009, Irish Travel, Photos, Road Trips, Travel | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (0)

Fourth of July Weekend in Connecticut

July 05, 2009 // 2 Comments  // Add yours »

Here's a few of my favorite photos from this year's 4th of July weekend:

We had cake for my brother Justin during one of this weekend's parties on the river for recently passing his insurance exam.

A local dog who was after my cheeseburger.  He did not succeed.

We soon found out that this mustard had expired in 2006.

Fireworks along the Milford coastline on July 4th.  All residential, but not bad.

My brother Kevin and I took a break from the parties for a hike at Southford Falls State Park.

A view of the falls.

Mickey - our boat driver for the weekend.

Sunday night fireworks on the Housatonic - the best this week.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Derby, CT, Photos | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (2)

The Safari Caffeine Lounge

January 05, 2009 // 1 Comments  // Add yours »

Posted in:  Photos | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (1)

A day at the gallery

January 04, 2009 // 3 Comments  // Add yours »

Today was my first visit to the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven.  I've probably walked past it a few hundred times in my life but for whatever reason never decided to step in until this afternoon.

It was the last day of an exhibit called Benjamin West and the Venetian Secret, which focused on two of West's paintings and told the story of his embarrassment in an obscure 18th-century art hoax.  You can read about it here.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Art & Design, New Haven, Photos | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (3)

Pajama Party

January 03, 2009 // 3 Comments  // Add yours »

Why not? Beats a regular party.

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Photos | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (3)

One photo a day in 2009

January 02, 2009 // 6 Comments  // Add yours »

Few things tell a story better than a picture, so I'm aiming to post at least one photo a day for 2009.  Some will have words to go along with them, and some won't.  Here's one to get started:

Posted in:  A Day In The Life, Photos, Thoughts & Ideas | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (6)

Digging through old photos

December 07, 2008 // 2 Comments  // Add yours »

I found myself browsing through my massive stash of old photos this morning for no particular reason.  There's thousands..  It's amazing how many I've taken that I've never even seen.

Here's two from the Paul McCartney concert I went to two summers ago.  Might not be the best shots I've ever taken, but if you're one of his fans you'll probably enjoy them. 

I really like this one. I just wish that the microphone wasn't in the way.

Had a similiar one of these show up on bootlegs.  This one is a bit more crisp.

Posted in:  Paul McCartney, Photos | Permalink |  Digg This | Share on Facebook | Comments (2)