Now, just as my wife and I are about to embark on another of our journeys, I thought that I would bring you some photographic memories of our prior excursions. What I have done is chosen just ONE from each of our little adventures, and each one is special, maybe not from a photographic sense, but in the sense that it alone can bring back a flood of fond memories.
This photo, from our first ever Alaska cruise is probably nice enough, though not nearly as crisp as I would have liked. But this particular photo became the basis for a painting, which still hangs in our bedroom. It is the reminder of what it felt like to be there.
This next picture is from our 2009 trip to Costa Rica. There as so many more scenic, more spectacular photos I could have used, but there is little question in my mind that this quiet shot of a Caiman sunning itself on the riverbank, really says it all for Costa Rica - you had to have been there.
Next is our 2010 trip to India, and of all the spectacular pictures possible (of the Taj Mahal, etc.), none speaks India to me like this photo of the one legged man, going about his business, caring for his two kids in the back of his home-made rickshaw. The look in his eyes, and those of his kids' speaks without having to know the language.
This one was really hard, because our next trip to Alaska (also 2010) was such an incredible explosion of photographic wonders. Picking just ONE picture seemed an impossible task. And why this one? Well, you've got to look at it awhile, to see the angelic form breaking off the glacier, to fall down into the ice cold water. There was just something rather poignant about the whole scene.
And this next photo is from 2011, and our trip to the Canadian Rockies. As we were winding up our great adventure (including an episode called the nosebleed from hell), this particular vista, with the ravishing sunlight, the immense mountains, and the changing colors of upcoming autumn all cascaded into my camera for a great farewell.
For 2012, our most spectacular excursion was a lot closer to home, and particularly close to what has become home for us. We spent a long weekend at Beaver Lake in NW Arkansas with family and had a really special adventure. Now, that's me at this end of the ski line, not that one out there!
2013 was our year of change, and especially our change of address. But first there was this little trip to northern California which we had to get out of the way, and, regardless of what you might think of California, no thinking is required in Muir Woods, just looking and absorbing.
Then finally, our trip out west, because we really needed it by this time. It was a great and grand photographic excursion, yet it seems the quiet of Bryce Canyon was there in our memories. It has been there for centuries, quiet, majestic and a bit tucked-away.
In any event, I hope that you can take a bit of our enjoyment for yourselves, as we are off again (July 25th) for another, and beware, there will be photos!