When I was planning for this trip, I was focused on the three national parks we would be visiting. However, I couldn’t help notice on the map that we would be traveling near Telluride. If you don’t know, Telluride is a ski resort often visited by the rich and famous. I thought why not spend a night there if it’s not too expensive? So I searched on my travel sites, found a room I thought was quite reasonable, and booked…
Continue Reading “Are We Staying in Telluride or Ouray, Colorado?”
A picture with Seattle’s Space Needle easily identifies it as being a photo of Seattle. Another unique architectural feature in Seattle was completed in March of 2016, the Amazon Spheres. While it was not completed on the inside for almost two more years, the Spheres have become another recognizable symbol of Seattle and is worth visiting. A trip to the top of the Space Needle will set one back as much as $37.50 per person. However, a visit to the…
Continue Reading “Amazon Spheres, Seattle’s Unique Architectural Wonder”
Sunday morning dawned, and it wasn’t raining. It wasn’t the most sunny of days, but since it wasn’t raining, I was hoping we would be able to go to Lake Wenatchee State Park. When I had planned this weekend, I put Lake Wenatchee high on the list of activities. Despite the fact that we had come to Leavenworth a number of times over the years, we had never gone out to Lake Wenatchee. First, of course, we needed to stop…
Continue Reading “A Serene Shoreline Hike in Lake Wenatchee State Park”
It was a sunny Sunday afternoon in Lilongwe, Malawi when Bern asked me if I was interested in birds. His daughter had told him about a bird sanctuary nearby so he thought I might like to see it. Since I had taken him to some activities when he was in Washington, I think he felt a need to show me around Malawi. While I am not particularly into birds, I thought this might be a good opportunity to take some…
This post is a few weeks late, but I didn’t want to interrupt my series on our European trip. Now, however, I want to look back at these last four years of blogging. The actual day of my first post of Battered Suitcase was July 29, 2019. My first article was “Why Travel?” which has served as a bit of a guide to my posts over the years. My goal has been to help travelers have information on a variety…
Continue Reading “Celebrating Four Years of My Blog, Battered Suitcase”
Last year my daughter Andrea and I visited Bruges as part of our trip to see the tulips in The Netherlands. We had a fun and interesting time in this old city. This year as my wife and I were deciding where to visit in Europe, I felt like it would be good to take Silvette to Bruges as it had been such an interesting place to see. Originally I had thought we would go Friday, but the rain was…
Continue Reading “Returning to Bruges, Belgium on a Cold Day”
I recently saw a blog post where the photographer shared his favorite photos from the previous year. It dawned on me that I should do that. The point is not so much to say, “Look at these great photos,” but it gives me the opportunity to share about specific photos, and what I like about them. When I started this blog, the photos were always intended to be a major part of each post. However, I know that as one…
Continue Reading “2022 Favorite Travel Photos You May Have Missed”
After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast at our hotel, we were ready to begin our second day around Death Valley. It was another clear blue-sky day which started out cold, but quickly warmed up with the sun. Our first experience when we arrived in Death Valley was a drive through the hills on the east side of the Black Mountains. The drive is called Twenty Mule Team Canyon Road. Those of you who are older might be…
Continue Reading “Hiking Hills and Sand Dunes in Death Valley”
I realized recently that I have been to almost all of the national parks in California. Only two remained, Death Valley and Sequoia & Kings Canyon. I had tried for a few year to make it to Death Valley, but no one would go with me. Finally I convinced my wife to go, and so we began to plan our adventure. Death Valley has hit 130 degrees twice in the last few years. This of course was during the summer…
Continue Reading “Exploring the Highs and Lows of Death Valley”
Photo taken in Killarney, Ireland, July 2015
