Articles with photography

Travel Experiences that were Better Than Expected

Whenever people travel, they always have some kind of expectations about their time on the road. Maybe they’re hoping for some rest and relaxation. Perhaps they are looking forward to some new and interesting experiences. Sometimes as people travel there are certain activities that just seem to be a necessary activity to participate in or experience. These may not be something that excites them, but when they get back home they know people will ask about it so they just…

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Exploring the Unique Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve

Last week I mentioned that the central part of Whidbey Island was part of Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve. This is truly a unique situation in terms of the National Park System. 85% of the land within this reserve is privately owned. Nevertheless the national, state, county, and city of Coupeville have worked together to make this a place where the historical, cultural and geographic uniqueness of the region is preserved. Visitors won’t necessarily know they are in a national…

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Discovering Amsterdam from Land and Canals

Amsterdam is the largest city in The Netherlands and has a rich history as an industrial and economic leader. This shows in some of the unique ways the city has reinvented itself over the years. While there is much to see in this city, we toured the city in an afternoon knowing we were missing a lot. To get to the center of Amsterdam from our hotel, we would normally ride the train and be there in ten minutes. This…

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Tulip Time at the Netherland’s Keukenhof Gardens

Tuesday it was time to leave Belgium and head to Amsterdam for the main purpose of our journey, seeing the famous Dutch tulips in the Keukenhof Gardens. However, first we had to get there. We traveled by train. We planned a route that was to have two transfers of trains. Of course things happen. As our first train headed towards Antwerp, it was delayed a few stops before Antwerp. We didn’t know why as we couldn’t understand the explanation. Then…

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From Sunset to Winds at White Sands National Park

White Sands National Park is one of the newest National Parks in the US. Originally a National Monument, Congress changed it to a National Park is 2019. However, as we drove up to the park, some of the signs still said White Sands National Monument. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let’s start back at the beginning of Saturday. White Sands had been one of my prime destination for this trip. However, getting there turned out to be more…

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Descending into the Depths of Carlsbad Caverns

When I was a kid, my dad mentioned visiting Carlsbad Caverns and what a unique experience it was. Since then I have always wanted to visit it. While I said that visiting White Sands National Park was the reason for this trip, Carlsbad Caverns National Park was definitely a part of the reason as well. About 20 years ago my wife and I had visited Albuquerque. At that time I realized Carlsbad Caverns was quite far south so we didn’t…

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Scenic Vistas Along the Northern California Coast

The California coastline stretches 840 miles along the western United States. There are many beautiful locations along the coast, but most people think of locations in southern California such as San Diego, Santa Barbara, Big Sur, or Laguna Beach. However, heading north of San Francisco one can encounter some stunning views along the coastline that are less crowded and well worth the visit. Highway 1 runs along the California coast. It is a winding and twisting road. It will take…

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Astoria, Gateway to the Oregon Coast

At one time my wife’s parents owned a home in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Our children were in elementary school then, and we would go down to visit two or three times a year. Of course to get there we had to pass through the town of Astoria, and that’s what we did, we passed right on by. Occasionally we would drive up to wander through some antique stores, but for the most part we were unimpressed. It had been a…

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Impressions of More US National Parks

Last week I shared about five National Parks I had visited before I started my blog. I didn’t feel I remembered enough to give a lot of detail, but thought I would share some thoughts and experiences about these parks. Today I want to share about five more parks. While last week’s list included parks from Maine to Hawaii, this week the parks are all in the southwestern section of the United States. Yosemite National Park is a well known…

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Olympic Peninsula: Seabrook, Beaches, and Sunset Clamming

Our last day on the Olympic Peninsula was originally supposed to be a trip back north to explore Ruby Beach and other beaches in that area. However, on our way down the coast on Wednesday, we realized how long that trip was. After such a busy week, we just didn’t have the energy to drive back. We decided instead to just hang out along the coast near our hotel. It turned out to be a decent and interesting day in…

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