Articles with sunset

Family Adventures in Maui, Hawaii After Christmas

In England the day after Christmas is known as Boxing Day. In our family it’s known as Andrea’s birthday. Yes, my wonderful daughter chose to enter the world two weeks before her due date showing up the morning after Christmas. So every year we have to do something for her birthday. It hasn’t been easy. When she was younger, we would usually have a party for her before Christmas. We realized most people don’t want to think of a party…

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Serendipity: The Unexpected, Unplanned Moments of Traveling

I love the word serendipity. First I think it’s a fun word to say. More importantly is its meaning. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary it means: the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for. In other words finding unexpected good things. When that happens while traveling, it just makes the travel experience that much better. It can also offer moments of greater understanding or clarity about another culture or country. In this post I’d like…

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Beaches, Boats, and Bikes in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Costa Rica has been quite the adventure. We zipped over the jungle in Monteverde and rode the rapids in La Fortuna. A night walk was part of the agenda in our glamping site in Sarapiqui. Later we watched a turtle lay eggs in Tortuguero. Now we were headed to our final destination, Puerto Viejo. It was a rainy morning for our hour long boat ride back to the main road from Tortuguero. Because of the rain, they pulled the plastic…

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From Las Cruces Back to El Paso: Journey’s End

After our long hike to Dripping Springs and La Cueva in the morning, a cool siesta back at our Las Cruces hotel seemed quite appropriate. Later in the afternoon we headed out to visit the village of La Mesilla. We might not have known about it, but our neighbors had recently visited the area. When they heard we were coming to Las Cruces, they suggested we visit La Mesilla. It turned out to be a good recommendation. Coincidentally La Mesilla…

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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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Seaside or Cannon Beach, Which Place is Best for You?

I mentioned in my previous blog post that my wife’s parents once owned a home in Cannon Beach, Oregon, and we visited them frequently. We became pretty familiar with Cannon Beach over the years. Once they sold their home, we went down less frequently. Now, however, when we do go down, we stay in Seaside which is about ten minutes north of Cannon Beach. Despite the fact that the towns are fairly close to each other, they are different in…

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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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Iceland Interlude: Amazing Geologic Wonders

My daughter Andrea has been an avid traveler for some time. I have referred to her on numerous occasions. She has traveled with my wife and me to Spain & Portugal, Ireland, New England, Taiwan, Hawaii, and most recently Alaska. She is a second grade teacher living near San Jose so her summers have given her the opportunity to travel. I tell you this because this series is about our first father/daughter trip that we have taken. Last spring the…

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