"Some days are diamonds. Some days are stones" is one of my favorite John Denver songs. Today was a "stone". I left Henrico at 8:00, met fellow Firepixer Mark Baker in Stafford at 9:00, and headed for Arlingon and DC to get those photos I promised last night. We decided to stop at the new Station 9 in Aquia Harbor in Stafford. While the career crew was preping for the photo, they got a call. The driver yelled out the window for us to wait as they would not be long. A half hour later, they had not returned and we headed to Arlington. STRIKE 1. In Arlington, we were looking for new and identical pumpers at Stations 101, 102, 103, and 110. First stop was FS101. No one home. STRIKE TWO. FS 102 was next. You guessed it. No one home. STRIKE 3. 1 OUT. Undaunted, we headed to FS110. No one home. STRIKE 1. OK, we knew we would find somone at FS103. Nope. STRIKE 2. We tried to backtrack. Back to Station 102. Still empty. STRIKE 3. 2 OUTS. After a brief lunch, it was back to FS101. Luck was with us. What a great crew on duty. After quite a bit of conversation, we shot E101, our first pic of the day. The guys on E101 took us to their Logistics warehouse where we shot the Mass Casualty Unit and the Thomas Ambulace bus, but we had to shoot it inside. Won't go into that one and won't count the photo. After 1 and we have two photos. A check on E101's computer showed E102, E103, and E110 still not in quarters, so we left Arlington.
Our luck would be better in DC. Right? No! First stop was FS3. No one home. We later found out they were at a drill. Next stop was E4/T6, or that's what we stumbled on to. I had shot both of these rigs at the Seagrave shop in Richmond prior to their delivery. So, we pressed on. I guess by now there are at least 2 OUTS. FS12 was next. We did get the Hazmat and Rapid Hazmat here. Their engine was in the shop, but we shot E60 #S-104. On to FS26. E26 not home. STRIKE 1. WE did get Truck 15. Not sure if it will show in the photos, but all running lights are green. Pretty cool. Well, we are up to 6 photos now for our days work. FS4 is next. Here we shoot E4 and Air 1. We're warming up. E9 (relocated to FS4) was out. FS 11 was next. I'm not sure how some of you guys get your DC photos. We saw no place or way to get photos here and kept going. STIRKE 1. At FS20, their engine was also in the shop. We did get spare S-133. We missed the truck, and I saw no place to shoot it. STRIKE 2. Our final stop was FS29. Hey, both E29 and T5 were in the house. However, there was no room for photos. The engine was behind the gut box, and the truck would have been in the street before clearing the station. STRIKE 3. THREE OUTS. Let's head home.
I must say as dismal as the photography was the firefighters we met were equally as nice. We met some great guys today, so that made up for the lack of photos. Everyone in DC was helpful and did their best to accomodate us, and like I said earlier, the only crew we found in Arlington was great.
I had a great day with my friend Mark and the ride was wonderful. I got to see the Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetary, The Air Force Monument. the Capital, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Monument, Georgetown Universtity, all the tourist, and many other landmarks. I hope to have the pics (what few there are) loaded up and on Firepics by tomorrow night. I did take some station shots to prove I was there. I hope the mods won't spank me if I put them on this thread.
Oh, and I did get to speak to Firepixer Kevin Bryne, but he was coming on duty at DC15 as we were heading home. Next time, Kevin.
Jerry
Our luck would be better in DC. Right? No! First stop was FS3. No one home. We later found out they were at a drill. Next stop was E4/T6, or that's what we stumbled on to. I had shot both of these rigs at the Seagrave shop in Richmond prior to their delivery. So, we pressed on. I guess by now there are at least 2 OUTS. FS12 was next. We did get the Hazmat and Rapid Hazmat here. Their engine was in the shop, but we shot E60 #S-104. On to FS26. E26 not home. STRIKE 1. WE did get Truck 15. Not sure if it will show in the photos, but all running lights are green. Pretty cool. Well, we are up to 6 photos now for our days work. FS4 is next. Here we shoot E4 and Air 1. We're warming up. E9 (relocated to FS4) was out. FS 11 was next. I'm not sure how some of you guys get your DC photos. We saw no place or way to get photos here and kept going. STIRKE 1. At FS20, their engine was also in the shop. We did get spare S-133. We missed the truck, and I saw no place to shoot it. STRIKE 2. Our final stop was FS29. Hey, both E29 and T5 were in the house. However, there was no room for photos. The engine was behind the gut box, and the truck would have been in the street before clearing the station. STRIKE 3. THREE OUTS. Let's head home.
I must say as dismal as the photography was the firefighters we met were equally as nice. We met some great guys today, so that made up for the lack of photos. Everyone in DC was helpful and did their best to accomodate us, and like I said earlier, the only crew we found in Arlington was great.
I had a great day with my friend Mark and the ride was wonderful. I got to see the Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetary, The Air Force Monument. the Capital, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Monument, Georgetown Universtity, all the tourist, and many other landmarks. I hope to have the pics (what few there are) loaded up and on Firepics by tomorrow night. I did take some station shots to prove I was there. I hope the mods won't spank me if I put them on this thread.
Oh, and I did get to speak to Firepixer Kevin Bryne, but he was coming on duty at DC15 as we were heading home. Next time, Kevin.
Jerry
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