Today my family and I went to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park to catch the end of the butterfly exhibit. The butterfly exhibit comes around once a year and although its fun to watch all the butterflies fly around and look their amazing colors, it can be pressing when it comes to photos. It is always packed which makes maneuvering around difficult and it causes some people to become impatient. Like today, I saw a shoot and started to move in and some lady came in stood right in my way and she knew it; she also knew that I wasn’t particularly happy about it either, but what are you going to do. I did manage to come home with some butterfly images and I am considering going sometime mid-next week when it isn’t so crowded. I would like to spend more time photographing the butterflies and not feel like I am being rushed. I did manage to capture one of my Grandma’s favorite animals, the Gorilla and I was able to get some shots of one of my favorite animals, the Meerkat. I also got to photograph a youth male cheetah without much of a crowd. All-in-all today turn out great.

This morning I decided that I would take a trip back to Orange Empire Railway Museum because they have a train there that I really wanted to photograph. That train in particular is a steam powered train from Union Pacific number 2564. I did find the train and I was not expecting what I saw. This steam powered train is huge, and it would be amazing if OERM members will have the opportunity to restore in back to operation. It is currently being reserved for restoration, but OERM will need to build another building and purchase additional equipment to restore it. Here are some shots from our quick 30 minute trip this morning:

My cousin bought a new car. To be exact he bought a Chevy Camaro and he wanted to get some shots of it so that he can have a before and after shot. These are the before shots and in the next few days the dealer will be installing his rims, which I am sure will be doing some more shots. I never shot vehicles before so this was a new learning experience. If you’re asking did I get to drive it and the answer is Yes! Black Chevy Camaro – Before Rims:

Today my Dad and I went to the Orange Empire Railway Museum to check it out. OERM is a free to enter museum and is ran by volunteers, however it does cost $12 for an all day train ride pass or you can sign up for any of their membership options. We spent approximately a hour to a hour and half walking around the grounds and looking at the various trains, trolleys, and cars. We didn’t get to see everything, but we did get to about half of the grounds. We would have liked to continue, but it was extremely hot in the train yard and neither one of us had something to drink. I was hauling my gear with me, so I decided it was time to go.

The museum grounds are opened everyday from 9-5pm, but to get the full experience you must visit on the weekends. This is when the trains are operating and the hangers are open. To my surprise for being a free museum, it was not crowded at all. Most of the people there were families with small children and they were just riding the train and yellow-car back and forth and playing in the kids area. I am a very observant person, so while walking around I was trying to get a feel for some of the volunteers and how the react between each other, and there are some questionable ones.

Heading back to our vehicle at the train station two of the volunteers started to get into it. One was mouthing off and the other was yelling back I told you to take break, and it started to get heated. If there wasn’t children around, I am sure some words would have started to pop off since he was already trying so deeply hard not to. He eventually hopped into the Santa Fe train and went on the tour. I know that these people are volunteering their time, but at the same time children and families are around, so it should have waited until a more appropriate time or a place in private.

Would I visit the museum again?

Absolutely and despite the volunteers mishap, the museum is a great place for kids to view a bit of history, ride trains, and is a nice place to have a family picnic. The museum does have special events throughout the year and one of their most popular events is when Thomas the Train is running. Their next event is an Antique Truck show and that is happening on May 1st. Since this is an event, an admission price of $7 is required, or included with a purchase of an all day train and trolley pass for $12.

For more information about Orange Empire Railway Museum (OERM) please visit their site at: http://oerm.org

Pictures from our short trip: