A few moments with the Man From Wales...
Hello! I am Michael Thomas, a Welshman (did you guess?) living in Silicon Valley in California, USA. I love to explore our wonderful world and of course take lots of photos! Here you can find various albums taken over the years.
Please contact me at manfromwales@me.com if you would like any of the photos. Also please feel free to leave me comments or click the FaceBook Like button to like an album or photo on your FaceBook page...
Thank you. I hope you enjoy browsing my photos as much as I enjoyed taking them! :)
Michael...
- Panoramas
Various panorama shots taken on my iPhone
Best viewed with your browser maximised...
- iPhone Photos
Pictures taken at various times and places with my iPhone...
- Colorado Road Trip
A road trip from Sunnyvale, California to Fort Collins, Colorado with Loren to see his folks. Most photos taken with an iPhone and occasionally a little Olympus.
- Solar Impulse
A visit to Moffet Field Hanger 2 to see Solar Impulse - the only solar powered plane which can fly through the night - shortly to set off to fly across America.
- Blaenavon In HDR
HDR photos from a quick trip up to Blaenavon to take a look around and visit family graves.
- Blaenavon
The last day of my visit. I wanted to see Blaenavon and it seemed like a good opportunity to visit graves and put some flowers. First stop was the Gwent Crematorium, which is where my good friend Paul is manager - as he would say - result! :)
- Haynes & Wells
A lovely, though rather chilly, day out at the Haynes International Motor Museum near Yeovil with wonderful friends Paul, Jo and Romana. On the way home we stopped off for a nice walk around the Cathedral and Bishops Palace at Wells.
- Oxford
A trip to Oxford with Paul, Jo and Romana to meet up with Susi and Rhiannon. A cold and dreary day to meet but nonetheless it was fun and nice for us all to meet up again!
- Golden Gate Bridge
A pleasant mornings drive through San Francisco to wander around the Golden Gate Bridge...
- iPhone Photos
Pictures taken at various times and places with my iPhone...
- Panoramas
Various panorama shots taken on my iPhone
Best viewed with your browser maximised...
- Moffett Field
Today Loren and I got in some fresh air checking out Moffett Field a few miles away in Mountain View. As well as being a Naval and Army air base over the years it was also home to the USS Macon - a huge aircraft carrying airship - from 1933 to 1935. Sadly the Macon was lost after crashing off the California Big Sur coast in 1935. Her sister, the USS Akron was based on the east coast of the USA from 1931 to 1933 until she too crashed and was destroyed. Sadly, Admiral William Adger Moffett, considered the architect of US naval aviation, was on board the Akron and was killed. Moffett Field was renamed from Airbase Sunnyvale CAL to Moffett Field in his memory in 1933.
- Big Sur Road Trip
The day after Thanksgiving I did a 420 mile round trip down the Big Sur coastline of California. Starting from San Jose I drove to Carmel and then down the coast - visiting Cambria and Morro Bay along the way. It was a stunningly beautiful drive and a gorgeous day to do it on!
- Seattle
The Summer 2012 road trip was to Seattle in Washington State, with a day in Vancouver, British Columbia. The trip was broken up into two days as the drive was quite long. The first stage was a 400 mile drive to Medford, just over the border into Oregon. The second stage was a 446 mile drive from Medford up to Seattle.
- Crater Lake
A side trip on our Seattle vacation to see the beautiful Crater Lake.
- Mt Rainier
The 14,411 feet high Mt. Rainier can be seen from almost anywhere in Seattle - except on the not uncommon days when it is covered in clouds!
- Vancouver BC
A quick and very rainy day trip from Seattle over the border into Canada.
- Museum Of Flight
The Museum of Flight is located at Boeing Field near Seattle - and is the largest private air and space museum in the world. It has over 150 aircraft including the first Air Force One and - especially exciting for me - it has a Concorde in its collection - and British Airways no less!
- James Middle School Graduation
- James and Enya
Today James and Enya played a duet for a music judge at the Solo & Ensemble Festival at the San Jose State University. They were judged to be Exceptional! :)
- Diamonds & Daffodils
It had amazingly been four years since our last visit to the Welsh graves at Rose Hill cemetery at the Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve near Antioch. As St David's Day is coming up we armed ourselves with daffodils, headed north and paid our respects...
- HDR Photos
From the ridiculous to the sublime! High Dynamic Range (HDR) photos.
- Odds and Ends 2012
Various random pictures taken through the year...
- iPhone Photos
Pictures taken at various times and places with my iPhone...
- Arizona Road Trip 2011
A holiday shutdown at work left a gap to squeeze in a 6 day road trip to northern Arizona. Basing myself mostly in Flagstaff I was setup to visit some very interesting attractions, including the Grand Canyon! At 2,198 miles it was quite a trip with a lot of tiring driving but the places I visited and the memories I made are priceless! :)
- Christmas 2011
A few photos of our 2011 Christmas
- Christmas In The Park
A quick sample of Christmas in the Park in San Jose. Unfortunately I ended up with my telephoto lens on the camera and was not able to use it so these are all hand held in the dark with an iPhone - not the ideal situation so please forgive the poor quality! :)
- Stonehenge
As previously mentioned, the top two places to visit on this trip were the Dr Who Experience and Stonehenge. Today we finally got to see Stonehenge! Even more exciting was that Rhiannon was able to take the day off and spend the day with us! :)
Paul had advised us to see Avebury, Stonehenge was already on the list plus we wanted to see Salisbury where Rhiannon lives, so all in all we had quite a busy day ahead of us!
- Cardiff
We spent a couple of days in Cardiff - one at Cardiff Bay and then we went back to explore the castle and shops...
- Golden Wedding
Mum and Dads Golden Anniversary was on August 5th and so we had a nice quiet lunch at the Ship Inn in Caerleon. We also had another lunch at the Three Blackbirds pub near Cwmbran on the Sunday when my fathers sister Maureen, and her husband Cliff joined us.
- St. Fagans
Today was a day greatly anticipated by the Man From Wales! For one he would be reunited with his high school buddy Paul who he had not seen for close to 30 years (yikes that long?!). Secondly he would get to meet his second cousin and not one but two second cousins twice removed! On top of that we got to explore St Fagans Welsh Museum to boot. As Paul would say - result! :)
- London
A whirlwind three days seeing the sights in London!
- Dr. Who Experience
When discussing our upcoming trip to Britain there were two major requests that came up - see Stonehenge and see Dr Who!
- Big Pit
Big Pit was a coal mine in Blaenavon which a good many of my relatives have worked in, including my Grampa Thomas who served in the Mine Rescue Service there as well as chipping out the black diamonds.
- Caerphilly Castle
A nice castle visit seemed like a good introduction to Wales so we headed out on a typical cool, gray, drizzly British summer day to the lovely town of Caerphilly - famous for its castle and its cheese!
- Roses and Pharoahs
A trip to the venerable San Jose Rose Garden and the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum...
- Winchester Mystery House
A trip to the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose - built by Sarah Winchester, widow of the rifle manufacturer William Winchester. Followed by a walk over the road to the place where the rich and wannabe rich hang out - Santana Row...
- Do You Know the Way to San Jose?
A wander around downtown San Jose to check out the Art Museum...
- Hakkone Gardens
A fun time out at Hakkone Japanese Gardens, Saratoga, California
- Donner Lake
- Coyote Hills Regional Park
Today I want to get out but not have too far to drive. I had wanted to check out Coyote Hills Regional Park for sometime and it offers a nice mix of hill and bay scenery.
- Ocean World Smith River
A visit to Ocean World in Crescent City and then a drive out to the Smith River National Recreation Area.
- Brookings
Brookings is a lovely town just over the border from California in Oregon. We explored the beautiful Azalea State Park and had fun wandering around the harbour.
- Trees of Mystery
A visit to Paul Bunyan at the Trees of Mystery near Klamath on the northern California coast on a cold and foggy day...
- Point Lobos Coastal Hike
Today I feel like doing something a little different and further from home then I normally go. I have been meaning for some time now to check out the Point Lobos State Reserve near Carmel in California. I have been told about this place by a friend in work and it comes very highly recommended!
- Cape Kennedy
A work related trip to Orlando allowed for a side trip to somewhere I have always wanted to go - the Kennedy Space Center...
- Death Valley and Las Vegas
I have wanted to experience Death Valley and Las Vegas for some time now. Last year I planned the trip but cancelled it due to work. This year it looks as though the same thing will happen but at the last minute there are some delays and so I seize the opportunity and go for it!
- iPhone Photos
Pictures taken at various times and places with my iPhone...
- Christmas 2009
Christmas normally has a habit of sneeking up on me and catching me totally unaware but this year it really caught me by surprise! By the week of Christmas it still felt as though it had no right to even be into December. Moving apartment did not help as it threw my schedule out and then our new IC chip came in at work which led to some very long days the week before Christmas...
So all in all I was not very well prepared this year - though of course I promise myself that I will do better next year! Everything withstanding it was still nice and relaxing. I had the kids for the weekend so our Christmas Day was on the 26th...
- Monolith Encounter
Everyone who drives around the South San Francisco Bay Area will be familiar with 3,486ft Mt. Umunhum even though they may not know its name. It is the one hill looking south that has an interesting rectangular shape on the top that some locals call the monolith after the famous object in Arthur C. Clarke's 2001 A Space Odyssey. Umunhum, by the way, is an Ohlone Indian word meaning "hummingbird resting place".
In fact the 'Monolith' on Mt. Umunhum is actually a six-storey building which was a US Military early warning RADAR station from 1958 until 1980. The building used to have a large RADAR antenna on top. The site is now closed to the public due to asbestos and lead poisoning.
I have seen the monolith from a closer distance at Almaden Quicksilver County Park and want to get closer. I have seen that this is possible by hiking the Woods Trail at Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve so today I head up there to do just that!
- Lassen Camping Trip
On Wednesday August 5th we set out bright and early for the 260 mile drive to Shingletown where we had a camp site booked at the Mt Lassen Kampgrounds of America. The journey was very smooth and we arrived early afternoon ready to setup camp and eager to explore the Lassen Volcanic National Park!
A storm came in the day after we arrived and it rained for most of the day - however the cool thing was that it dropped some snow and so the kids got to have a snowball fight at the Mt Lassen Trailhead!
We had a great time exploring the park and also got in a trip to the gorgeous Burney Falls and also to Redding to check out the Sundial Bridge, Arboretum and Turtle Bay and to Lake Shasta to check out Shasta Dam.
As ever the days passed far too quickly and the fun days and relaxing camp fire evenings soon came to an end and on Thursday August 13th we packed up, said goodbye to Al and our camp site and drove home...
- Rancho San Antonio
A nice hike in the hills at Rancho San Antonio near Cupertino.
- Medicine Buddha
The Medicine Buddha Festival
- Sutro Heights
A trip to Sutro Heights on the western side of San Francisco with Loren and Linda.
- Stanford
A trip to explore the Stanford University campus.
- Shoreline
Shoreline Park in Mountain View
- Overfelt Gardens
Overfelt Gardens in San Jose...
- Oakland
A New Years Day drive to Jack London Square in Oakland with Loren and Linda...
- iPhone Photos
Pictures taken at various times and places with my iPhone...
- Christmas 2008
A few photos from our 2008 Christmas
- Capitola
A day out to the very quaint little seaside town of Capitola...
- Ed Levin & Guadalupe
A visit to Ed levin Park near Milpitas and then the Guadalupe Rose Gardens with Uncle Loren
- Great America
A fun summers day to our local theme park - Califrnia's Great America in Santa Clara right by my office...
- Gilroy Gardens
A gentle day out at a very lovely theme park - Gilroy Gardens...
- Alum Rock Park
A lovely days hike at Alum Rock park, very close to San Jose.
- Thailand Second Trip
My second trip to fabulous Thailand. A good trip plus time for sightseeing, making a wonderful new friend and meeting a friend who I had not seen in almost 20 years!
- Black Diamonds
Our second St. David's Day trip to the Welsh graves at Rose Hill Cemetery at the Black Diamonds Regional Preserve.
- iPhone Photos
Pictures taken at various times and places with my iPhone...
- Christmas 2007
Christmas 2007 in my studio apartment in San Jose
- Thailand 2007
My first trip to Thailand - I always like to squeeze in some sightseeing when on a business trip! This was surely one of the most memorable - Bangkok is a huge city with so many spectacular and wonderful places to see...
- Oregon Road Trip
For our first long road trip we headed north to Oregon. I had visited Portland some years back and really liked the city. Within a couple of hours drive there were many fun places to visit so it seemed an ideal destination for us...
- Fun in the Park...
Various fun days hanging out in the park...
- St Davids Day
The Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve is the site of an old coal mining area once worked among others by a town of Welsh people. The lonely cemetery on Rose Hill is mostly filled with Welsh graves so we took some daffodils (the Welsh national flower) to put on the graves for St David's Day...
- Christmas 2006
Our little Christmas celebration...
- SS Red Oak Victory
- Calero County Park
Today we had a nice wander around the rather empty lake at Calero County Park south of San Jose
- Santa Teresa County Park
A very hot but fun hike at Santa Teresa County Park in San Jose
- Ed Levin County Park
A short hike around Sandy Wool Lake and on the hills at Ed Levin County Park in Milpitas
- San Francisco Exploratorium
On a very wet and windy March day we drove up to San Francisco and had some fun at the fantastic Exploratorium...
- San Francisco New Year Parade
The 2006 San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade
- Taiwan Trip
A business trip to Taiwan with a little time for sightseeing...
- Singapore Trip
A quick business trip to a misty Singapore gave just enough time for a few shots close to my hotel - the tallest in the world at the time.
- Pheonix Trip
A trip to a conference in downtown Pheonix, Arizona gave me a chance to explore...
- New Jersey & New York
A five week business trip to New Jersey gave me plenty of time to explore!
- World Trade Center
In the summer of 1998, while living in the Philippines, I spent five weeks working in my companies US office in New Jersey. I was able to visit Liberty Island and take some nice shots of the twin towers across the water in Manhattan.
On a seperate trip into Manhattan we planned to go to the top of the Empire State Building but as the queues were too long we headed down Broadway and found ourselves at the World Trade Center where the queues were shorter and so we went up to the top of the South Tower to the "Top of the World" observation deck on the 107th floor.
It was an incredible place to visit - the view from the 1,337 feet observation deck was awe inspiring and the glass in the windows of the 106th floor was set flush with the outside of the building so you could stand in the window and look right down - scary! There was also a cool simulated helicopter ride chasing bad guys around the city!
Unbelievably on September 9th 2001 the towers succumbed to cowardly terrorist attacks and a great icon and many, many innocent lives were torn from us. I am so thankful that the Empire State Building queues on that day were so long - I have still not had the chance to see the Empire State Building but at least I got to experience one of the great monuments of my time before it became just a memory...
- Oregon Trip
Some training brought me to Oregon for a week. During that time I met lifetime friends, Loren and Linda, and we explored a very cool city - Portland.
- Singapore Trip
- Colorado & San Francisco
Some training in Colorado Springs allowed me to do a bit of sight-seeing in Colorado and San Francisco before heading back to the Philippines.
- Netherlands
Random photos taken during the two years that I lived in Heerlen in the Netherlands
- Palamos Holiday
Photos from a holiday with my good friend Paul and his family to Palamos on the Spanish Costa Brava around 1980
- 1980's RAF St Athen Air Show
Photos from an RAF St Athen Air Show sometime in the early 1980's
- Old Slides
Photos taken in my teenage years and scanned from slides taken with a Zenith EM - a very wonderful camera! It was Russian - made from metal and thick leather, totally manual, no electronics, no batteries, and it was incredibly heavy. I often joked that in a tight situation it could also be used as a weapon!
Most of the photos were taken in and around Pontypool and Griffithstown in South Wales, UK - where we lived at that time. For me these photos hold a lot of very nice memories from my teen years - but I think they also they capture a fascinating slice of life in South Wales and the surrounding areas in the early 1980's.
I am re-scanning my old slides now with a higher resolution scanner than I had ten years ago and am amazed at how much better they look!
- Various 1979
Various photos taken around 1979
- Various 1978
Various photos taken around 1978
- West Wales
Various photos taken around 1976
- Gwbert On Sea
Various photos taken around 1974
- Cyprus Photos
My earliest photos. Many gone now but these few scans remain... Taken in Limassol Cyprus around 1969 to 1970.