We interrupt this trip to continue my 365

by | Oct 13, 2025 | Photography

For those following along on our Columbia River cruise, I hate to interrupt, but as you can see if you click the 365 in the menu bar, I am in the middle of a 365 project. That means I take one photo and post it per day. And then, on Sunday night, I usually create a post that compiles all the photos from that week in one place. A note gets sent out about that post, and those interested in my photography get to see it.

These are my photos, numbers 280-286. Enjoy, and let me know in the comments which is your favorite this week.

The earth is art, the photographer is only a witness. –Yann Arthus-Bertrand

 

Last Days in Southern California—Lights, Lights, Lights and more Lights

by | Dec 17, 2024 | Uncategorized

I am starting this post on the 16th of December as we head north tomorrow morning, flying out of John Wayne Airport at 10:45. When we get back to SEA, we will jump in our car and head south to Olympia (not home) because tomorrow night, our grandkids have their winter band concert. Both of them play clarinet, and this is our fifth-grade granddaughter’s first concert. And the really cool thing for me is that we will spend tomorrow night there, which means I will wake up on my birthday at their house on Wednesday morning.

In the meantime, since I last wrote about our visit here, we have done some more cool stuff. After our Christmas boat parade on Friday (see my post here), Saturday was about Christmas at the Mission. San Juan Capistrano is home to a California of the same name. It’s the one that the swallows come back to every year. And this year they were having a Christmas celebration. It was very nice, but we were all a little underwhelmed. Steve and I kept telling each other how they could improve the whole celebration with a lot more lights. But I did get some decent photos of the decorations, the performers and the lights. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

After the show, we went for another of the amazing meals we have had since we got here. I think Jamie and Steve have spent the 18 months since we were here the last time finding new and wonderful restaurants. We did the pizza place the day before, and tonight, after the Mission, we walked about three blocks to Rancho Capistrano Winery. Delicious food and amazing wines.

On Sunday, we had a family day. Jamie’s sister Pam, her husband David and their daughter Analee, as well as our niece Cassie and her beau Omar, all came for dinner. Steve made some delicious rotisserie chicken, and Jamie made some amazing appetizers, baked ziti, meatballs, and so much more. We again ate ourselves to bursting. January is going to be a very dry and lean month for us.

This morning, I went out and took my usual walk, and just to prove that I don’t always take great photos, I took at least 50 and only found three I liked. One was a shot I took walking over Interstate 5. I am always amazed that this highway, which is about eight blocks from my brother’s house, is also about 15 minutes from my daughter’s house and about 40 minutes from ours. Kathleen drove on this road every weekday for more than 15 years to commute to work. When I was in college, I used to drive a truck on it almost every day. When I lived in Eugene, Oregon, I spent many an hour driving up and down that part of it. When I lived in Rogue River, Oregon, I lived about a mile from it. It’s kind of been the road of my life. So I had to take a photo this morning.

This evening, we went for an amazing Greek meal at Greek Bistro in Laguna Hills. WOW! It might even be better than Chris’ Taverna (my favorite Greek restaurant in Florida—I love Greek food, and we have a hard time finding it in Redmond). Then, after, we were off to look at some of the most amazing Christmas light displays we have ever seen. In case you haven’t seen the photos my brother posted of their house, they are REALLY into decorating for holidays, and they do a super classic job of it. Here’s what their place looks like this year. All of these pics are ones that I stole from him. It is truly impressive. You will note that every window has a theme.

And these are the ones we saw last night on our Christmas light drive (a tradition that Kathleen and I do as well). We were in a very wealthy section of Laguna Hills that I can’t remember the name of. The lights there were amazing.

The last few of those are a couple of places back near their home that had a LOT of lights. Living proof that sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. ?

That about concludes our trip to Southern California. We had a super time, ate and drank way too much, and my sister-in-law Jamie was a great tour guide. I would use her as my Southern California travel agent every time we are here. Plus, free room and board is quite the incentive. I am finishing this up at 3:30 AM on the day we go to the airport to fly back to Seattle, then drive to Olympia to see the kids play in their winter (Christmas) concert tonight and then home to our place tomorrow. Thanks for reading along on this short journey. I hope my photos have gotten you deeply into the holiday spirit. If this hasn’t done it, then maybe this video Steve found last night will—click here.

Deck the halls and light the lights; it’s time for some festive delights!  —Santa Claus

 

Birdhouses, T-shirts, Pizza and Christmas Lights

by | Dec 14, 2024 | Uncategorized

Yesterday started with a quick walk along the San Juan Creek, a route I have taken many times before. But it’s been more than 18 months since the last time, and it has changed quite a bit. The biggest change is the addition of a cute little park with a birdhouse theme that replaced a community landmark full of tiny birdhouses that were added on a regular basis. Due to liability issues, the city took it over and turned it into an actual city park. Both the old community-created park and the new “official park” provided me with a great place to take photos. Here are a few I got yesterday morning, along with other shots on my trek. Don’t forget, if you click them, you can see them a whole lot bigger. Really!

The rest of the day featured some rest time right up until we headed up the coast to Laguna Beach, where one of my favorite stores is Crazy Shirts. If you don’t know about Crazy Shirts, just know that I am addicted to them; I have owned at least 50, I have a brand new one on right now, and they last almost forever. Yes, they are spendy for tee shirts, but they are worth every penny to me. The only problem we had was that the traffic was horrid on the Pacific Coast Highway, but Steve and Jamie were wonderful about feeding my need for new shirts, and we made it up and back with less trouble than coming back from LA the day before.

After going “Crazy,” it was time for an early dinner before today’s main event. Steve and Jamie had found an amazing place for pizza—Truly Pizza. They are supposed to have some of the best pizzas in the world. I mentioned it in my post yesterday, and it really is a great place for pizza. Here are the two pies we had. They, along with some interesting salads and dessert, made for a “Truly” great dinner. Almost forgot—I need to mention that dessert. It was their own specially made soft-serve ice cream. We tried the flavor of the night—gingerbread with cherries on top and vanilla with (believe it or not) olive oil and sea salt. It was AWESOME! BTW: if you want to see the pies enlarged, just click them.

After dinner, it was time for the main event—the Dana Point Christmas Boat Light Parade. We boarded a boat to cruise the harbor and see some truly amazingly decorated boats. And, of course, I got pictures. It gave me a chance to take some photos I would not normally get. And before I got those I got some beautiful sunset shots. Sorry but here’s the old warning…Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

That was it. Tonight is a special “Christmas at the Mission” at Mission San Juan Capistrano. Plus, dinner with our niece Cassie and her significant other Omar. Can’t wait. Come back tomorrow. I should have pics.

Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling.  —Edna Ferber

We Take a Quick Trip to Southern California

by | Dec 13, 2024 | Uncategorized

I bet you didn’t expect to hear from me so soon. Don’t worry; you didn’t miss a note about us traveling. We are just taking a quick trip to Southern California to see Steve and Jamie. We came down on Tuesday, and we are flying back next Tuesday. I wasn’t even going to post about the trip since it is about family rather than really to any place, foreign or exotic. But I have been taking photos, and I am pretty happy with them, so I thought I would share them.

My sister-in-law Jamie is our tour guide this week. She told me she is paying me back for all the arrangements I have made on our overseas trips. She is doing an awesome job. Even the days of rest are planned, which is great. Day one was recovering from our two-hour flight. Man, did we need that ?. But I did take advantage of not having anything planned by taking my morning walk to Doheny Beach. No one was surfing ? but there were a couple of volleyball players. And I got to take some pics while walking. I am not going to give you the usual cell phone plea, but I will say that if you click one, the photos will show up in a slide show.

On day two, we headed north to Burbank to tour the Warner Brothers studio. It was a great tour. We did the TCM (Turner Classic Movies) tour and got to see and hear about the films and stars of the forties, fifties and sixties, tour the prop department and get our photos taken in a few recognizable television sets. Then, it was off to a very traditional place for lunch—The Smokehouse. Located right behind the studio, the scene is set in LaLa Land, where Ryan Gosling meets Emma Stone. We actually had lunch in the room where he was playing the piano. Food and drink were good as well. Even though we loved the tour and the lunch, the best part of the trip was the incredible ride home from downtown LA to San Juan Capistrano. The trip is about 75 miles, and it only took us almost two and a half hours. The most fun part was trying to choose our route using Google Maps, Apple Maps and Waze. What a great challenge ?. I took some photos, and here they are.

That will cover it so far. Today is day three, and I did another early morning walk with photos, but tonight, we are doing a Christmas lights cruise around the harbor in Dana Point. Before we step on the boat, everyone will indulge me with a trip to Crazy Shirts in Laguna Beach, and we will stop for an early dinner at Truly Pizza in Dana Point. It is an “award-winning pizza,” so I am really looking forward to it. Only go to the website if you are ready to get hungry. Watch for those pics in the next few days.

Whatever starts in California, unfortunately, has an inclination to spread.   —Jimmy Carter

 

 

My Top Ten Photos of 2023

by | Dec 31, 2023 | Photography

You didn’t expect me back so soon, did you?. I have to admit that I have never had such a busy December on this blog. We never (in the past) go anyplace in December…at least, we don’t usually go anywhere that I want to take photos of or write about.

But it is New Year’s Eve, so that means I need to post my annual “Top Ten Photos I Took in 2023.” So, without further ado, here they are. You have seen all of them before except one. I will let you try and figure out which one that is.

Honorable Mentions

It is really hard to decide on the Top Ten, so I give myself permission to have a bunch of honorable mentions. I will caption directly on these photos and show them to you in a gallery. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

WAIT! One other thing. If you are looking at these on a tablet or computer monitor, please turn your brightness up all the way. 

Number 10—The Parliament Building in Budapest

This was one of the more than 300 photos I took of this building earlier this month. Even harder than choosing my Top Ten was choosing which one of these shots to post here. The building just pulls you in. Night and day. If you see it and you have a camera in your hand, you want to take a photo of it. And at night, the attraction is worse!

Number 9—Cape Breton Church

I think what makes this photo (more than anything else) is the sky. We were VERY LUCKY to be visiting Cape Breton’s Highland Village on a glorious sunny day. This is another building that kept calling me to take its photo. And unlike the Budapest Parliament, I could walk around this church and catch it from every angle. This one was the best. The clouds makes it work.

Number 8—Lipizzan Stallion in Vienna

We were in Vienna earlier this month when we visited the Spanish Riding School, home of the incredible Lipizzan Stallions. We weren’t allowed to take photos in the actual stables but we were allowed to take them in an outer courtyard where there were windows into a few of the stables. This guy (enticed by our guide) stuck his head out. I chose this one because I love the technical quality. I was close enough and shooting with a low enough ISO that you can see individual hairs. And yes, that L-shaped mark is actually on him. I keep trying to wipe it off. I took it off in Photoshop but decided it was better to leave it. Still not sure if I should have.

Number 7—Tram #28

Probably the most famous of the tram lines in Lisboa, Portugal, is #28. It has the most turns and the most ups and downs of any of the tram lines. I have to say that I walked most of the line one day or another during our stay earlier this month. Of all the photos I took of the car itself, I like this one the best.

Number 6—The Cemetery in Vienna’s Jewish Ghetto

If you look back at my photography over the last ten years you will see less than ten photos in black and white. And six of those come from this month. Of all of them, this shot I took in Vienna earlier this month was my best. I liked it because of the cold, the snow, the grey skies, the dark trees—they all pushed me to make the photo black and white. BTW: for the non-photo folks out there, this is taken in color but converted to black and white when I process the photo.

Number 5—Cape Breton Farm

I took this photo within about 15 minutes of taking the church photo, which is number nine above. I think this one is better because it is like I went back in time to take it. That’s because the Cape Breton Highland Village is a Living Museum. That means that the docents working there dress up as they would have been in the time frame in their part of the Village. These folks are portraying turn-of-the-century farmers. Again, the sky really helps this photo, but not as much as it does the church. I only think this one is better because it is unusual. I should also add that I have already had this one printed on canvas, and it is hanging over our couch.

Number 4—Lighthouse outside Portland, Maine

When we did our cruise on Oceania’s Vista from Montreal to Miami, I was really looking for a photo that screamed NEW ENGLAND! I think I found it with this one. As we were sailing out, I stood on the upper deck and shot photos of the lighthouse as we went by. This is another one where I think I took upwards of 40 photos of the lighthouse, and this was the ONLY one where you could see the light shining directly at the camera. To me, that makes this photo special.

Number 3—Woman in Lisboa

On our first night in Lisboa, Portugal, I stepped outside the restaurant and saw some amazing holiday decorations I really wanted to photograph. So I walked down the street about half a block and took the photos. As I was turning to leave, I noticed this woman leaning on the wall of the restaurant where we had eaten. I love the look on her face. It is a combination of resignation that her husband is again taking photographs…that she just saw him take a photo of her…and that she still loves him anyway. I can see it in her “almost smile.” That’s what it’s all about, folks. Everything in my life comes together in one photo. I should add that she thinks I should not be using this picture. But this is MY Top Ten, and this one, for me, deserves to be in the Top Three. I mean, really—she is my number one…forever.

Number 2—Portland, Maine Street Scene

There is nothing I value more in photography than light. Great light trumps everything else. But this photo is all about the color, not the light. It is a very unusual photo for me. I don’t usually look for this kind of photo. In fact, when I took it, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. But then, when I saw it on my MacBook screen, I fell in love. I will admit to cropping it a little, but that’s about all I did to it. It is such a great study in yellow (one of my least favorite colors) because everything works.

Number 1—A Boat Caught in the Light

Remember what I just said in the previous paragraph about light. Well, this photo proves that I am right. When trying to decide between the two as to which was number one, the light in this photo won me over. That afternoon, as we sailed out of New York City’s harbor, the light was about as perfect as you could get—a great mix of sun, blue sky and intermittent dark clouds. When the sun hit the Tower and then dropped to the water, and then the boat moved right through the sun’s reflection, it was photographic magic.

That about does it for 2023. It has been a great year of travel, of taking travel photos and of getting to share our experiences with everyone who reads this. We will be back in June with a month-long trip to England, Scotland and Norway, and then again in October when we visit Madrid and do a Douro River cruise. And of course, there will be a few posts in between.

Lastly, I welcome your comments about which ones you like. Feel free to tell me what your number one or two are (if they are different than mine) in the comment section below.

Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution.   —Ansel Adams