Summer in the City: Takin’ a Break

Lens-Artists’ photo challenge for this week is Taking a Break. When the weather is hot (or even when it’s not), it’s always nice to take a break, such as… before a Beach Boys & Ringo Starr concert at Ravinia, young Parisians enjoying a warm afternoon in the sculpture gardens behind the Louvre, after work at […]

FOTD: Blue Netherlands: Cool Water in a Heat Wave

June 25, 2019 (Day 1 of Viking cruise) I’ve been busy the last few days and unable to participate in Becky’s Square July Blues. So to make up for it (just a little!) I’m posting three blue squares today -all taken in the Netherlands in late June of this year. Known for its Delft china […]

Journey to Egypt, Part 16: Besaw Island: a Visit to a Farming Family

December 30, 2018 On our third day of our Nile cruise on board the Aida, we had a leisurely day enjoying our cruise and visiting a farm family on Besaw Island. Sayeed is an attractive 35-year-old, intelligent, and thoughtful man. He was as curious about us as we were about him. After showing us around […]

Journey to Egypt, Part 14: Cruise to Edfu

December 29, 2018 Last night, our first night on our Nile cruise, I slept better than I have since the beginning of the trip! I loved my bed in our stateroom and the temperature was not too hot nor too cold (although the people in the staterooms across from ours did complain that their rooms […]

Journey to Egypt, Part 11: Luxor – Lunch, a Ferry Ride, & Dinner with a Local Family

December 27, 2018 A Walk to Lunch Back in the city of Luxor (about 850,000 population), our bus driver dropped us off in the vicinity of the place where we would have lunch. The restaurant was a few blocks away down dusty streets, and we had to walk. I was glad for this because as […]

Journey to Egypt, Part 2: Giza – Pyramids, an Ancient Boat, Camels, & the Sphinx

December 24, 2018 Our first full day in Cairo began with a trip to Giza to see the famous pyramids and the Sphinx. Egyptologists have identified 118-138 pyramids commissioned by ancient pharaohs as burial tombs. The oldest known pyramid is the step pyramid located in Saqqara, which we did not visit. Egyptian pyramid building was […]

A Photo a Week: Planes, Trams, Buses and Boats

Nancy Merrill’s weekly challenge this week is to show public transportation. I am posting some pictures from our recent trip to Amsterdam and Tanzania.

Ships on the Panama Canal

In March, we took a cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to San Diego, passing through the Panama Canal. Besides the amazing engineering that went into construction of this series of locks and lakes through the Isthmus of Panama, there were a variety of different types of ships passing through. My first career was in export shipping […]

Alaska 2016: Our last days – Fairbanks (Part 1)

September 1, 2016 We were on our way to our last destination in Alaska – the city of Fairbanks. We took a bus and had a young, attractive guide named Aubrey. I wasn’t able to take pictures because I didn’t get a window seat. Here’s the one good shot I got: My husband was next […]

CWWC: Thoroughfares in Ketchikan

Ketchikan, Alaska is a quirky and charming town in southeastern Alaska. I had time to explore some of it. Waterways are vital for getting around and many people have boats. Stairways are common, too, because the town is built on a hillside. Diaz Cafe is a Philippine restaurant along a main thoroughfare. Creek Street is […]