Small Thoughts for Small Minds

(All images are linked to a larger version - just click…)

I was in Charleston, SC, a few weeks ago. We (myself, a coworker, and a Swedish colleague) were there to show off our operator’s training simulator, along with a few other pieces of demo equipment, packaged in a 40′ container.

Here’s the container set up at the Wando Welsh terminal in Charleston (actually in Mt. Pleasant, but who’s being picky…)

Anders (my Swedish colleague) and I had a meeting in downtown Charleston. After the meeting, I took him on a quick tour of the city and surrounding environs.

Of course, we started with the big ol’ houses in the ritzy part of Charleston (below Broad). Here’s one example highlighting the sprawling live oaks that are so prevalent in that part of town…

As shown in a previous post, here’s a view of the Cooper River Bridge as seen (this time) from Patriot’s Point.

The aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown, is permanently docked at Patriot’s Point (in the news today for the inauguration of the Congressional Medal of Honor Museum). This is a panorama of three pictures stitched together.

On the way back to the terminal, I took a quick detour to Sullivan’s Island. We found a public beach access, parked and walked out to see the beach.

Not really a sunbathers-kinda beach, but I still was glad for a break (albeit momentary) in the work flow…

I thought it was interesting that this container ship was in the background of both this shot and the shot of the USS Yorktown.

Just to prove that I was there, Anders took a shot of me and gave me a copy when I was in Sweden…

This house was immediately adjacent to the beach access. I now know what kind of deck I will build on my next house…

Of course, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take a shot or two of the flowers growing in the scrub at the edge of the dunes…

As we left the beach, we got a call from my colleague, Tom (also based in Roanoke), saying that he couldn’t get the simulator to work and there were people waiting to try it. Instant guilt trip. (Tom had never started up the simulator on his own. Since I hadn’t heard from him, I assumed that things had gone well. If I knew otherwise, I wouldn’t have taken Anders on the whirlwind tour…)

And, just to show that I do actually work while traveling for business, here’s a picture of me and a few of my colleagues in Miramar, FL, for the conference we put on. (And, yes, I’m actually working. At that point…)