The main hobby that occupies my time is astronomy. Some of you may say that this is not a hobby at all but more of a job since it involves planning and setting up of equipment. Be that as it may, I still call it a hobby because it pleases me after all is said and done. As for observing equipment, let me tell you about that.
     I own two telescopes and a set of binoculars. The main telescope that I use is called a Schmidt-Cassegrain type telescope. This is one of the most common types that you see. The other most popular type is the Refracting telescope. The Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope that I own is 10" in diameter. It is made by the Meade Corporation and is pretty expensive to say the least. With this telescope I can view Star Clusters, Galaxies, and Nebula as well as the Planets. I can now say that I have seen 8 of the nine planets, Pluto being the one I haven't targeted yet.
     The picture on the left is a 3D model of what my telescope looks like. I have also made a short animation of it rotating so you can see how it works to a limited extent.  
     As for the other telescope that I own, it's called a refractor telescope. The one I have was originally bought in the mid 70's and it is also a Meade product. I haven't used it much though since I bought the 10" one.
     The refractor is a great telescope for looking at the planets and some of the closer objects in the sky. I take it out when I don't want to take a lot of time with set up preparations. As for what it looks like, I have included a picture of a type of refractor that is similar to mine. Later I will add a 3D model of what mine looks like but for now please enjoy this picture.
     A lot of people ask me why I like viewing the night sky and all I can say without getting into deep topics is that I walk away after a nights viewing with a smile on my face. There is so much beauty up there to see. And No, I don't know anything about astrology. That's an inside joke.

     As for other hobbies I have, I can say that Backpacking is one of them. I also Mountain Bike but I haven't done that much in the last two years.
     Is Backpacking a hobby or is it a sport? Well, all I know is that when I go on a long hike, I take myself out of the mainstream world and it re energizes my internal power system. You may be asking yourself what is he talking about. I myself don't know the exact reason but when I do go backpacking, even after the long hikes and the blisters on the feet, I come out of the mountains refreshed and ready to take on new jobs and ideas.
      I have been hiking since the late 70's. Most of this has been in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in California. Although I've been in these two areas over and over in the last 20 years, I can say that I see something new each time. When I plan a trip we usually go on a big loop so we don't see or have to hike back over terrain that we already traversed.
      Here are a few pictures of some of the areas that I have hiked into. The longest was a 10-day trip that was over 100 miles. My last big trip was a 50-mile loop in the area called Rae Lakes in Kings Canyon.

   

       When it comes to Mountain biking, I am not one of the extreme bikers that you see on magazine covers. I usually tend to ride my bike along the coast on bike paths and on occasion I take it into the mountains in the summer to traverse some of the Ski resorts. I've been to Mammoth Mountain several times and I consider this a really nice place to mountain bike. You can get an all day pass and get transported to the top of the mountain. From there you make the choices as to which runs to take down. Once back at the gondola you can continue into Mammoth town via some nice tree covered paths following a trail all the way into town. You don't have to be an extremist to enjoy this. I would say that someone with a sense of adventure would enjoy this so maybe I'll see you up there one of these days.
     As for the other mountain resorts, they have excellent runs also but they are not as long as the ones in Mammoth.
     Some other things I've done Mountain biking has been to enter a lot of fun rides. All of these have been for good causes and some are just plain fun. I guess that's why they call them fun bike rides. One that I have done several times is the Miramar air station ride. This was formerly the Top Gun training center for Navy pilots and is now owned by the Marines. You get to ride on the runway past some of the most high technology fighters that exist today. Unfortunately I only have one picture of me from the Air Station ride.

       Well this section could go on and on about things that I have done or like to do, but these are the main hobbies that I like to do.