Woohoo! Just got my truck driving license!

[paddlenbike]

If you haven't had the float plane experience yet, you must do that too.

My go-to lens is a Nikon 18-200; it is the one on my camera most of the time. My favorite lens is a 10-24 wide angle. That lens puts so much foreground and sky in my photos that they look like they are coming from a full frame camera. But you can't beat the cost and clarity of a fixed 35 or 50mm.

[Kryptoroxx]

Seems you guys know a lot more about cameras than I do lol.

Glad to hear you're out there and doing well. Maybe you can make your 4runner amphibious. I remember that episode off the British Top Gear lol

[paddlenbike]

You'll get to see lots of sweet island cars too. Rusty, no shocks, no exhaust. Love it.


Lots of Mitsubishi Delica 4WDs and Toyota Master Ace Surf Super Touring vans with the awesome Sky Lite Roof package. I caught one in the wild here:

[DHC6twinotter]

Most of the cars I've seen so far are older and a bit beat-up. I did see an Audi A5 and a Land Rover a couple days ago, but that was about it as far as nice cars go. I just got back from lunch at a little pizza place here, and one of the waitresses I was chatting with mentioned that the nicer cars usually only come out in the summer, and she said they have some really nice classic cars in the area. The VW Syncro buses seem pretty popular out here, and I spotted a 4wd Tercel yesterday.

As far as cameras go, I'm leaning towards a Canon 70D. The prices are coming down a bit, and as much as I would like a full-frame camera like the 6D or 5D, I don't want to spend that kind of money on a camera. I'd like a wider angle lens too, and Canon has a new 10-18mm that has pretty good reviews, plus it's only $300. The new 16-35mm L lens is supposed to be one of the best wide angle Canon lenses to come out, but I dunno that I want to spend $800 for a lens (which is cheap for an L lens). I kinda want something wider than a 16mm anyways, so I dunno. The 10-18 might be the way to go for now, plus a better zoom lens for the eagle and whale watching out here.

A float plane ride is definitely on my to-do list here. I may have to take one for work every now and then, but I suspect most of my island hoping will be by WA ferries or private ferry services. There are at least 2, maybe 3, float plane bases on Orcas Island, but it seems the paved runway gets a bit more traffic, at least during the winter. Kenmore Air offers a flight from Orcas Island to Boeing Field (where the 737s are assembled), then a free 15 minute shuttle to SEA. They use wheeled planes for that route, and mostly piston and turbine powered Cessna Caravans, AFAIK. I'm going to try to get on at least one radial Beaver while I'm out here. My apartment is right behind the airport, so I get to hear the planes taking off. That's like music to my ears, but I haven't heard any radials yet. FedEx has a turbine Caravan that comes into the island once or twice a day.

On a completely unrelated note, the library here has two unisex bathrooms (I think). That confused me at first, but I looked all around for a gender specific sign, but didn't spot any. I went into one of them, but there was no urinal, so I hope I didn't miss a sign somewhere. I'll have another look on my way out tonight.

[Kryptoroxx]

I used to own a turbo diesel 4wd delica. Awesome vehicle. Kinda miss having it. It got decent gas mileage and how many 8 passenger vans can you rotate the middle seat up against the wall.