Flying home Friday, August 10, 2007

Christian Hammer catches up on his reading Aug. 10 in the business lounge at the airport in Akron, Ohio.

After a short morning shoot, Christian and I are ready to head home. However, we didn't know what time we'd be finished today when we bought our plane tickets, so we booked a 5:40 p.m. departure. We got to the airport at 11:30.

We checked, but there weren't any seats available on any earlier flights to Portland, so we're stuck here for a while.

Fortunately they have a nice, quiet business lounge available. I was able to check my emails and download the morning's photos . I couldn't burn a backup copy of the pictures, though, because the DVDs are in my checked luggage.

I like flying from smaller airports. They usually have most of the amenities of the large airports, but the lineups are shorter, the walks are shorter, the staff are more flexible and personable, and there are fewer people waiting at the luggage carousel. The only problem is that they don't necessarily have flights going directly to your destination.

From Akron, we're flying to Charlotte, N.C., to get back to Portland. Oh well.

Thunderstorm Thursday, August 09, 2007

A severe rain storm reduces visibility in the Akron area Aug. 9, 2007. Tornado warnings were issued for several counties in the area. The storm downed several trees and cut power to numerous customers between Akron and Canton.

Two separate lines of severe weather stormed through northeastern Ohio Thursday afternoon and evening.

The first hit Canton around 1 p.m. bringing lightning, wind and heavy rain for about half an hour.

Another, stronger storm moved through the area around 5 p.m. The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for several counties.

(left) Rain beats off the windshield of a minivan parked under the carport Aug. 9 at the Quality Inn in Akron. (above) Christian Hammer wades through a 3-inch deep stream in the parking lot of the Quality Inn.

Touch down in Akron Monday, August 06, 2007

Kids hang out Aug. 6 in front of an abandoned building at the corner of Perkins and N Union St. in Akron, Ohio.

I'm on location in Akron, Ohio, this week.

It was an early start this morning--Christian (the art director for this project) picked me up from my apartment at 4:20 for our flight.

The trip itself was uneventful. We made a brief stop in Chicago for lunch, and continued on to Akron.

After securing a rental vehicle and checking into our hotel, we decided to wander around downtown to see what there was to see in Akron.

Like Portland, the temperature was in the mid-80s today. But it's humid. It reminded me what summers in Southern Ontario were like, and what I like about living in the West.

First impressions of Akron: I get the feeling that Akron was a hopping place in the 1950s. Like wherever it was Marty went in Back to the Future. But a lot of the downtown area hasn't really gone anywhere since. There is some really cool architecture around the University of Akron. But also a lot of vacant lots and boarded-up buildings.

Mike stands outside Pizza Pan on E Market St. in Akron, Ohio, Aug. 6. He says the pizza there is pretty good. Probably the best in town.