2014 - Kauai, Oregon, Tantalus, Crete, Turkey and more

My Flickr site for more pictures - 

Click here for the blog of 2014.

Slide shows of:

Kauai

Washington & Oregon State

Lake Lovely Water

Southern Alberta (mostly)

Crete - Part One

Crete - Part Two

Santorini

Selçuk & Ephesus

Pamukkale, Hierapolis, Aphrodisias

Sardis & Bergama (Pergamon)

Çanakkale, Troy, Gallipoli

2013 - Lake Lovely Water, Rockies, Seattle, Sheridan

My Flickr site for more pictures - 

- My YouTube video of Lake Lovely Water.

Lake Lovely Water - July 2013
Location of Lake Lovely Water

The group at the cabin with Mt. Lydia in the background.

I was invited again to go with Dennis Brown and some of his friends into the Tantalus area, specifically the Canadian Alpine Club hut at Lake Lovely Water. The core group from the previous two years was the same, but there were a few new people as well. As always, it was a very interesting group of people from a variety of backgrounds which made for many rewarding conversations. Different climbs, hikes, and lake paddles were done, and as always, we ate extremely well. :-)

The Rockies - August 2013
Location of Mt. Athabasca

Mt. Athabasca in the clouds.

I am blessed with many good friends. Two of them, Dave and Chuck, and I went again to the Rockies for some photography (Chuck and I), painting (Dave), easy hikes, and rambling talks over a variety of good ales and scotch. We spent the first part of the trip in the overflow campground in Jasper, making day trips to Maligne Canyon and Lake, Mt. Edith Cavell, a couple of nights at the Wilcox Creek campground near the Icefield Center south of Jasper. Another great time with good friends.

My set of Rockies pictures on my Flickr site.

Seattle - August 2013
Location of Chihuly Garden and Glass

Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle

Lynn and I made a three night trip to Seattle, a city we had not visited for about twenty-five years. It's a great place to walk around, whether it's the Pike Place Market, the attractions around the Space Needle, or the waterfront. We took a harbour tour and made a trip out the the Museum of Flight, just south of Seattle. Two of the more memorable times was visiting the Chihuly Garden and Glass, as well as meeting up with my old friend David Harris, who I had climbed with many years ago. 

My set of Washington State pictures on my Flickr site.

Sheridan Lake - October 2013
Location of Sheridan Lake

Cariboo colours.

Ken invited Chuck and I up to the family cabin at Sheridan Lake for some photography of the fall colours and general relaxation, although Ken was his usual hard working self doing a variety of maintenance jobs. Another good time.

A picture of Roe Lake at night.

The year 2013 was filled with a variety of events and experiences. My three camera related groups kept me busy with meetings and get togethers.I continued to do frequent walks and hikes into Golden Ears Park, along with walks in the UBC Research Forest. Lynn did a trip with her sister Karen and some other friends in October down the west coast and then bussed to Las Vegas for some "girl time". All told, 2013 was a very enjoyable year.

2013 - Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, and Northern Italy

My Flickr site for more pictures - 

Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, and Northern Italy
Location of Dubrovnik Croatia

- Croatia slide show Part 1

Lynn and I have travelled quite a bit in Europe and have enjoyed visiting new locations and experiencing unfamiliar cultures without doing the single light bulb hanging from the ceiling and travelling on the super cheap which both of us have done when we were younger. We read, watch programs like those given by Rick Steeves, and talk to our travelling friends. It seemed that Croatia and Slovenia were two places that we had not visited and certainly sounded like they were well worth visiting. That certainly turned out to be true.
We were fortunate that our good friends Ken and Anna, who we travelled with to Spain and Morocco, wanted to join us. We spent time researching and discussing and decided to fly to Dubrovnik and work our way up the coast. When we got to Trieste we would separate and Ken and Anna would go and visit northern Italy which they had never seen and Lynn and I would visit Ljubljana and a few other parts of Slovenia. We would then spend our last week of the trip in Verona while Ken and Anna would visit friends on the north end of Lake Como.

Lynn, Ken, & Anna on Dubrovnik's town wall

Dubrovnik
April 30 - WIt was a long day flying Vancouver - Frankfurt - Munich - Dubrovnik but Lufthansa got our luggage through in spite of the short connections. A bus from the airport to the northern gate of the old town brought us to a point where is was easy to walk down the main street of the old town (The Stradun) to meet the owner of the apartment we were to stay in for the next five days.
Dubrovnik is an ancient walled city that did not escape the ravages of the recent war following the breakup of Yugoslavia. It was shelled from above by the Serbs so many building have new tiled roofs contrasting with the few roofs that have old, faded roofs. It is a frequent stop on the cruise ship circuit and is very busy during the day with dense groups of cruisers led around by a leader with the usual furled umbrella or brightly coloured scarf on a stick.

The city is beautiful and the setting stunning.

We sat in cafes just outside the walls, did evening walks and enjoyed the old historic streets or enjoyed the views of the old harbour. 

Montenegro

We rented a car from a local company and made a day trip to Montenegro and went as far as the town of Kotor. The roads were good and Ken was an excellent navigator. In Kotor, there is an old path leading up from the old town to an old fortification. The day was warm and muggy, but the views made the effort worthwhile. The biggest challenge of the day was getting the car back into the return spot near the south gate of Dubrovnik. These old towns were designed for carts and horses, not cars!

Lynn descending the path down to the old town of Kotor, Montenegro.

Korcula
After spending many wonderful days in Dubrovnik we travelled north to the island (and town) of Korcula using a local tour company's bus. It took us to a point where a short trip by motor launch took us across the water to Korcula where our Sobe owner was waiting to take us to our rooms. What service! We would certainly stay at Apartments Lenni again. More on that later.

Lynn, Ken, and Anna enjoying Korcula

We spent two nights in Korcula, the home of Marco Polo, and walked around enjoying the view, (view from the north edge of town) and sampling the great local ice cream. Did I mention we had quite a bit of ice cream and gelato on our trip? :-)

Split
We caught the 6:00 am catamaran to Split after our second night in Korcula only to realize that Lynn and forgotten an important dental appliance in the bathroom of our sobe. She realized that about ten minutes before we were to depart. What to do????? We made the trip to Split across the glass smooth Adriatic, making a brief stop at Hvar. We arrived in Split, got to our sobe, and tried to figure out what to do about Lynn's dental issues. We talked to our sobe manager Ivo (Base Rooms), and he quickly said "No problem". He phoned Pero, at Hotel Lenni in Korcula, and he found what Lynn left, put it on the next day's 6:00 am catamaran, and Ivo picked it up when the ferry got into Split. It just confirms that the world if filled with very good people no matter where you go. Thanks again Pero and Ivo. :-)
Split turned out to be a much more enjoyable place than some programs on tv had suggested. I remember one saying it was an industrial town, which I suppose it is, but the old town and surrounding areas are wonderful! Our Sobe was in the middle of Dioclecian's Palace.
We used public transport to go to Trogir for a day trip. An interesting place and well worth the day.

- Croatia slide show Part 2

Plitvice Lakes National Park (A picture of one of the lakes.)
We picked up our rental car and headed for Plitvice Lakes National Park. The highways were good and we stayed at House Tina in the small town of Grabovac, just north of the park. It was a great place to stay. We spent a slightly drizzly day walking the trails from one end of the lakes to the other using the electric ferries to go from one trail system to the other. This was a very worthwhile detour on our road trip. Before leaving, we drove a short distance east of Grabovac to Dreznik Grad to see a reconstruction of an outpost fort which was used during the 13th century Ottoman wars.

Rovinj  (A picture of the old town near dusk.)
After two nights in Grabovac we drove north on highway 42, then turned west on the A6, then the A8 to go to Rovinj. The highways were very good and well signed. Rovinj is a beautiful seaside town and should not be missed. We stayed at the Park Hotel with a view across the harbour of the old town. We did a day trip south to Pula to see some of the Roman ruins, including a huge amphitheatre, with a brief stop in Bale. Well worth it.Another day we drove to the Tuscan like hill town of Motovun where we enjoyed the hill top view and a stroll around its old town. We then came back via the town of Pazin and its gorge which became famous in Jules Verne's novel "Mathias Sandorf". Although it was a bit disappointing, we saw new country and had some exercise.
My set of Croatia pictures on my Flickr site.

- slide show of Slovenia

Ljubljana  (A picture of Lynn at Lake Bled.)
After a very enjoyable stay in Rovinj, Ken and Anna, along with Lynn and myself left Rovinj and headed to Trieste using a scheduled bus. We knew beforehand that Ken and Anna wanted to go to northern Italy as Anna had never been to Italy while Lynn and I wanted to visit Slovenia. We arrived at the Trieste bus station, right next to the train station and Ken and Anna bought their ticket to Venice, while Lynn and I got organized to catch a taxi up to Sezana, the terminus of the train line in Slovenia. I soon realized that my waist pouch was no longer around my waist. It contained my passport, credit cards and wallet!!!!! Panic ensued. I used expressive vocabulary that I don't normally use in public! I quickly found out that the bus station didn't have a lost and found but was directed to where the bus that had brought us would be parked waiting for its return trip back to Rovinj and Pula. The driver was no where to be seen, but I waited by the bus hoping and praying my waist pouch would be on the bus. The driver arrived after a short while and after some broken English and hand gestures, he let me back on the bus and behold, the waist belt was on the seat!!! The buckle must have not been fully attached and had fallen off when I slung on my camera pack when we were getting off the bus. I had used this same fanny pack on numerous trips and this had never happened. I normally have my passport and credit cards in a cloth pouch around my neck to deal with possible pickpockets, but for this bus trip, I thought I would put it in my fanny pack. Mistake. I promised myself never to do that kind of thing ever again.
We caught a taxi and after about 20 minutes got dropped off at the train station in Sezana Slovenia. Apparently there is no connecting train lines between Trieste and Sezana due to the steep hillside separating the two towns, along with the severing of links during previous wars. Evidently there might be a connection further north, but I'm not sure. In any event, the taxi ride was no problem. After my trauma of temporarily losing my passport, we made our attempt of thanking the travel gods by tipping the taxi driver a very large amount. He did a double take and double checked if we meant it. We thought it was good karma. :-)
We arrived in Ljubljana and walked a short while to the Hotel Emonec where we found very comfortable accommodation. We used a scheduled bus to go to Lake Bled for a day visit. The advantage of the bus over a train is that the bus takes you right to the lake. We strolled around the lake on the wide pedestrian path and visited the castle overlooking the lake. The topography and vegetation reminded me a lot of British Columbia, but the buildings certainly didn't. This area has been a retreat for many years.
Another day we used a scheduled bus from the train station area to go to the Postojna caves, about an hour drive from Ljubljana. The cave system is huge and well worth the visit. Using the buses was quite straight forward and language was not a problem.
Slovenia was a very pleasant surprise. It had a different feel due to its different cultural background which we enjoyed, and was off the beaten tourist track. When we took the train from Sezana to Ljubljana we were the only tourists on the train, yet that didn't matter. It was no more difficult taking that train than any other we have used in western Europe. There were tourists in Ljubljana but they seemed to be more from central Europe! Slovenia was a treat. Don't miss it if you have the opportunity to go.
My set of Slovenia pictures on my Flickr site.

- slide show of Verona and vicinity

Verona
After three nights in Ljubljana we travelled back to Trieste using the train to Sezana, then a taxi down to the Trieste train station. We then travelled to Verona for our planned week stay in a VRBO in part of the old town just north of the Piazza delle Erbe. Verona turned out to be a very good central location for day trips. We used a bus to go to Sirmione on the southern end of Lake Garda, and trains for day trips to Padua and Venice for the second time. Verona itself had lots to offer for the tourist especially the huge Roman amphitheatre. We ended our stay with a Pegas Wine Tour of the Valpolicella area just north of Verona. Other than getting car sick, it was a great tour!


Milan
We took the train to Milan to spend our last night, giving us time for a quick tour of the Cathedral area. We had been here in 2008 so it was visiting familiar territory. The next morning we woke up only to find that our flight had been cancelled! Not postponed, but CANCELLED! We decided to forego breakfast and get out to the airport and find out what was going on. After finding the appropriate line up and talking to a Lufthansa representative, we found out that some workers at the airport were on strike and Lufthansa were going to put us on a British Air flight to Heathrow, then on to Vancouver. We were going to arrive at YVR only an hour later than scheduled. That was a relief!
It was a great trip and had lots of variety. The first part with Ken and Anna was wonderful as usual, and visiting a country we hadn't been to turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. Having the last week in Verona offered some relatively quiet time which was nice to have at the end of the trip.

2013 - Kona Hawaii, Vancouver Island, A Solo Trip to the Rockies,

My Flickr site for more pictures - 

 Kona Hawaii
Location of Kona

Our 2012 trip to Maui utterly spoiled me. It was so wonderful to get away from months of cold grey drizzle and be in sunny warmth. With that in mind, Lynn and I went to the big island of Hawai to enjoy the warm climate.
(picture of Lynn)

We stayed in the Royal Kona Resort on the southern edge of Kona. 

This is the view from our balcony.

Hawaii involved a lot of driving and one of the first drives we made was across the island, visiting the Mauna Kea visitor center, and the town on Hilo. Approaching Hilo, we stopped at a park and walked through some lava tubes. From there, we drove north and returned to Kona via Waimea.

Another day we headed for some volvanic action at Kilauea State Park. It is a fairly long way, so made for a very full day, especially considering we stayed until after sunset so we could see the glow from Kilauea's crater. While waiting for sunset, we drove down the Chain of Craters road to the ocean where we enjoyed the view of Holei Sea Arch.
We did another road trip, doing a northern loop which was worthwhile, but we also made another trip to the south as we didn't have time to see all the sights we wanted to see the day we visited Kilauea.

We visited Punalu'u Black Sand Beach and tried not to bother the turtles.

Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park

We also visited South Point Park, the southern most part of the United States. There was crashing surf, divers jumping off structures into the ocean far below, and memorials for loved ones.
We also did a day trip back to the Hilo area to visit the botanical garden just north of Hilo. Well worth the visit as well.
You didn't have to go far from Kona to get beautiful sites. At the old airport on the north edge of town was a park and picnic area that was well worth visitiing at sunset. (picture ) Sometimes all you had to do was walk along the sidewalk in Kona and enjoy beautiful views.

Vancouver Island

Location of Craigdarroch Castle

Lynn, Jason, Karen at Craigdarroch Castle

At the end of March, Lynn and I made a trip Sydney on Vancouver Island to visit with Karen and Jason.
Crossing the Straits of Georgia is always full of visual possibilities, even if it's just watching people feed the seagulls. Sydney is a great place to walk about. Spring was in the air, and the magnolia trees were in blossom.
Jason and I did some travelling about and found ourselves at Hatley Castle, the home of Royal Roads University, and the part of the set for Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in the X-Men movie series. While we were there, a group of people were celebrating Easter along with the Holi religious festival.

A Solo Trip to the Rockies
I ended up going to Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff, and Canmore in early April to some photography. My usual photographic buddies weren't able to come along and I am pretty comfortable being on my own so off I went. Being on your own on a trip like this is certainly different from being with your buddies, but it does allow you to do things exactly when you want. On the down side you don't have your buddies to bring up better suggestions. ;-)

Wapati campsite just south of Jasper

The Wapati winter campground just south of Jasper had a great heated bathroom and shower facility and I was able to camp very close to them. There were other "campers" as well, but they had motor homes or trailers. Jasper itself is filled with good restaurants and doesn't have the plastic commercialization of Banff so I always enjoy it.
I did a trip up to Pyramid Lake, and then on to Maligne Lake. Along the way, I found Medicine Lake completely empty, save for a small stream running through it. I also spent time in Maligne Canyon and it's interesting photographing it in early spring when there is still lots of ice. On the down side there is plenty of ice that you have to walk on, so my walking crampons came in very handy.
After a couple of nights in Jasper I headed south on the Icefield Parkway. I woke up in the morning to find it snowing and I was a little concerned about driving conditions, but after checking with Parks, I found out it should be fine. Being on my own, I play things conservatively, and I was prepared to turn around and go back to Jasper if things turned nasty. When I got to the Columbia Icefields, the roads were just wet, but it was blowing, cold, and lightly snowing. I spent some time taking pictures of Mt. Athabasca and remembering our climb up the Silverhorn Ridge that you could occassionally see in the mist. I stopped at Saskatchewan River Crossing to take pictures on the bridge, but I think the most memorable image is of a crow at my car looking as if it expected more food than what I was feeding it!
I decided to go to Canmore and stay in the Bow Valley Motel instead of the hostel in Lake Louise partly out of the desire for privacy and the price is very reasonable at the motel, and Canmore has some interesting galleries, restaurants, and Banff is very close by. I spent time on the Bow Valley Parkway between Banff and Lake Louise at Johnson Canyon, and of course I spent some time at the Vermillion Lakes on the west side of Banff.
I had a very worthwhile time. It's always good to know that you make yourself decent company and I always love going to the Rockies any time of year. On the way home I stopped at Lake Louise to do some photography and then drove home on dry roads with light traffic. It's about a 10 hour drive home and I am certainly tired when I get home, but it's a good kind of tired after a wonderful trip in gorgeous country. :-)

Lake Louise

2012 - Washington D.C., Jim Haberl Hut, Lake Louise, Manning, Kelowna, Diamond Head, Golden Ears, Swaneset

My Flickr site for more pictures - 

As Ken and I hiked past the Red Heather outhouse, one of the park guys working on replacing the steps up to it looked at me and asked, "Is your name Keith Rajala?" I replied "Yes", wondering how on earth he knew my name because he certainly didn't look familiar. He said, "Your web site is awesome", or words to that effect. I thought, "My goodness!" After a short conversation Ken and I continued on to the Elfin Lake campground intent of doing some afternoon and evening photography, and if luck would hold out, some sunrise shooting. Even though it did cloud up in the evening and the morning dawn with us thoroughly socked in, it was a memorable overnight trip. What it also did is motivate me to finally get around to working on the Red Lobster Journals for 2012. So with that said, let's take a look at some of the Lobster adventures from my perspective.

One of the significant changes in the winter of 2011 - 2012 was the lack of snow adventures. No skiing. No snow shoeing. There were a number of factors including poor weather, friends whose paths have diverged from mine, and other interests. I hope to do more in the coming winter, but I have many fond memories of past ones to entertain me until the next ones.

Washington D.C. - May
Location of the Reflecting Pool in Washington D.C.

- My slide show of our trip to D.C.

Lynn with the Capitol Reflecting Pool and the capital building behind her.

We took the AmTrack to Washington D.C.. It was our first time in D.C. and we looked forward to the collection of world class museums all in close proximity to the Washington Mall. It was very warm and muggy. I would not want to be in D.C. in the summer. I think it would be intolerable, at least for someone like me with Scandinavian genes. :-)

The museums were fantastic and the side trips to the Washington Cathedral, Georgetown, and Arlington Cemetery were well worth making. The Vietnam Memorial was a moving experience. The tour of the capital building was also well worthwhile. I am very glad to have been able to visit this history rich city.

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Jim Haberl Hut - July

 Location of the Jim Haberl Hut

- My slide show of the trip.

Alan, Kathy, Derek, Evelyn, Dennis, George, Les, and Ron

Like last year, my friend Dennis invited me to come along on a trip in the Tantalus Range just north-west of Squamish. We helicoptered up to the Jim Haberl Hut in early July and had glorious weather the whole time. Sunny days and wonderful sunsets met us each day. Alan, Dennis, and Les climbed Dione and all of us did various glacier walks. The north face of Serratus was sluffing itself of snow too much for people to feel safe on it, but we all seemed to have a very good time. The only wrinkle in that was Derek suffering a fall while walking on some rocks and slicing open one of his fingers. Fortunately George is a surgeon and Kathy and Evelyn are nurses! After a minor operation on the hut table, the finger was dealt with.

Keith with Mt. Dione in the distance.

The video accessible in the link above really gives a much better idea of the time we had.

Lake Louise - August

Location of the Lake Louise campground

Keith, Ken, Chuck, Dave

Ever since Ken and I have retired, we have made at least one trip to the Canadian Rockies for hiking and photography. We camped at the Lake Louise campground and made day trips along the shores of Lake Louise and up to the Plain of the Six Glaciers Tea House and along to the very end of the trail. One day we drove up the Parkway and hiked into the Bow Glacier Falls, and we even did some night photographyincluding star trails. Dave was able to do his painting, and we were able to do our hiking. As always, we were able to relax and have a great time.

Manning Park Photography - August

Location of the Blackwall upper parking lot

Chuck

Chuck and I went up to Manning Park at the end of August to do some afternoon and night photography. A room was booked at the lodge, and we headed up to the meadows in the afteroon for some shooting. We had an enjoyable time taking a series of pictures of sunset for a time lapse movie, but by the time sunset was over, it had clouded over. So much for star pictures! We ended up playing with light painting which turned out to be a lot of fun.

Kelowna - September

Location of Kelowna

Jason, Karen, Keith, Lynn

In early September Lynn and I went with her sister Karen and husband Jason to a time share they arranged on the west side of Lake Okanagan near Kelowna. It was a week of mountain biking, walking, relaxing, and wine tasting. It was tough! I even got some photography in. 

One of the things that was rather fun was getting some pictures of the Andromeda Galaxy using my wide angle lens as wells as with my 200mm.

Diamond Head - September

Location of the Elfin Lakes

Ken

I had been thinking more about night photography and the desire for clear air and I thought the 5000 ft elevation of the Diamond Head area above Squamish would be good. It's a beautiful area and not a hard hike. The down side would be the need to lug in our camera equipment. Working with tripods dslrs and the associated lenses and filters is normally wonderful, but the stuff is not light!
We hiked in during the afternoon and while passing some park guys fixing the outhose in Red Heather Meadows, one of them looked at me and asked, "Is your name Keith?". That rather surprised me since I didn't know him from Adam. He said, "Your website is great!", referring to the Red Lobster Journals. For him to know about the journals is one thing, but to remember my name and face? Remarkable! We later talked to him a couple of times around our campsite and while shooting around the Elfin Lakes. Mark, the brightness of your special headlamp was remarkable!
I got some nice shots of Mt. Garibaldi reflected in Elfin Lake, as well as the sunset reflected in it. Low clouds hung around the Squamish valley all day and they made me feel like I was in a separate world. As the last of the light went away, I pondered my time on the Tantalus Range in the distance two months before. As night set in, it became damp and dew settled on the cameras and lenses. We were able to get some star shots, but we quickly learned that we had to repeatedly wipe down the filters to avoid clouded images. About ten o'clock we packed up and walked back down to the campsite, only to find we walked into a very thick fog. No wonder our cameras had water droplets on them!
We got up early in the morning hoping for sunrise shots only to find that things were socked in all over the place. Oh well, a cool walk back down the road passing over ninety people coming up (it was Saturday at this point) and a drive down the potholed road got us to Tim Hortons for coffee and muffins!
Thanks again to Ken for a great time. If only my pack had been lighter! ;-)

Golden Ears Trails

My fellow Lobster, Alan, has spent countless hours creating and maintaining trails in Golden Ears Park partly because our provincial government doesn't consider it important enough to fund, even though it's one of the most used parks in the province. Here are a couple of maps that show some trails and routes as of the fall of 2012. It includes trails that go through demanding terrain.  Do not rely on the maps as things can quickly change in the woods. You are are responsible for your safety.

Click on the map for a larger version.

- southern portions of Golden Ears Park

- eastern side of Golden Ears with route to the summit.

2012 - Maui, New York, Washington D.C.

My Flickr site for more pictures - 



As Ken and I hiked past the Red Heather outhouse, one of the park guys working on replacing the steps up to it looked at me and asked, "Is your name Keith Rajala?" I replied "Yes", wondering how on earth he knew my name because he certainly didn't look familiar. He said, "Your web site is awesome", or words to that effect. I thought, "My goodness!" After a short conversation Ken and I continued on to the Elfin Lake campground intent of doing some afternoon and evening photography, and if luck would hold out, some sunrise shooting. Even though it did cloud up in the evening and the morning dawn with us thoroughly socked in, it was a memorable overnight trip. What it also did is motivate me to finally get around to working on the Red Lobster Journals for 2012. So with that said, let's take a look at some of the Lobster adventures from my perspective.

One of the significant changes in the winter of 2011 - 2012 was the lack of snow adventures. No skiing. No snow shoeing. There were a number of factors including poor weather, friends whose paths have diverged from mine, and other interests. I hope to do more in the coming winter, but I have many fond memories of past ones to entertain me until the next ones.

 Maui - February
Location of the Kahana Outrigger where we stayed

Lynn, Ken, Anna, Chuck, Terri

Winters in the Fraser Valley can be rather dreary affairs with concurrent weeks of gray and drizzle. In large part because of that, we decided to finally go to the Hawaiian Islands for some sun and warmth. My wife and I were fortunate that two other couples that we know very well were of the same mind. We decided to go to Maui.

Luau at the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort

It was wonderful to get away from the cold and experience warmth, sun, and surf ( picture ).We did a combination of typical tourist things like a luau at the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort. ( sunset at the luau ) ( The grand entrance at the Te Au Moana Luau ) ( a "fire dancer performs )

On our "Road to Hana" day trip.

One day Lynn, Ken, and I did the drive to Hana and then around the southern end of the island to form a loop. Yes, it is a very twisty road and you have to certainly take your time and be careful, but not the horror story as it is sometimes described. Perhaps doing it on a week day helped. One of the memorable stops was the black sand beach near Hana. ( picture )

What a whale watching day!

One of the remarkable things about the west coast of Maui in February is the number of whales that you see. Almost whenever you looked out to the west you could see a whale spouting or breaching. We did a whale watching with the Pacific Whale Foundation on their large catamaran. If only I had taken more motion sickness tablets sooner! It was a little rough but there were a lot of whales and calves breaching. Even though I got sick (no puking though!) it was still worthwhile.

Both Chuck and Ken were interested in photography so we went out for sunset pictures at least once. Napili Bay was a good spot for sunsets. ( Napili Bay Surf ) ( Napili Sunset ) ( Dream Surf )

Honolua Bay

Home Sweet Home

New York - May

- slide show of our trip to New York

Lynn had made a trip to New York with her sister Karen a number of years before but she was keen to go again and include D.C. as well. We had thought about Boston but we couldn't make our budget stretch that far.

Lynn at Rockefeller Center

So in mid May we flew to JFK, took a shuttle close to our hotel, and was greeted to the neighbourhood by a cockroach scurrying on the sidewalk. We got to our hotel quickly and easily, it was half a block east of Times Square and got a good sleep.

We walked. I mean we really walked. Lynn wore a pedometer and it was not unusual for us to walk 10 to 15 kilometers each day. We visited the Rockefeller Center, the Museum of Modern Art, and at my friend Dennis's suggestion, we took a boat tour around the entire island of Manhattan. This was a great way to get a perspective on the size and location of the island sites. Seeing Ellis Island made me think about the untold number of immigrants who passed through it on their way to a new life. Seeing some of the icons of New York like the Statue of Liberty and the Staten Island Ferry reminded me of how fortunate I am being able to travel and learn. Cruising by the financial district brought back memories of some of the articles I have read and documentaries I have seen that dealt with some of its excesses, corruption, and criminal behavior.
We visited the Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium on the west side of Central Park. I have been a fan of Neil DeGrassy Tyson, the director of the planetarium and so being there was a special treat. Following quite a few hours in the museum, we walked down the street to the Dakota Hotel and paid our respects. Just across the street was a the Strawberry Fields memorial. Even on a rainy day it was a challenge to get a picture without a lot of people in the picture. It was a sad and sobering reminder of how even the "lights of the world" are vulnerable to the crazies out there.
Walking through Central Park was interesting because every once in a while you would be reminded of a movie or tv show that was shot there. Visiting Apple's 5th avenue store was a hoot! I asked a young emplyee if it was ok to take pictures, and then asked him if he realized how lucky he was to work there. He smiled and said , "Yes." :-)

Ground Zero

Lynn had made reservations to visit the site of the twin towers collapse. What with all the ramifcations surrounding the 9/11 attack and what it precipitated both domestically and internationally it was a bit unreal. All that is physically left of the buildings are two enormous holes with water pouring over the sides like collective tears mourning the loss of so many people. The United States had never experienced an attack like this. They reacted quickly and we are still seeing the repurcussions of some of their reactions both on the domestic and international front.
( picture of financial area )

We followed our visit to ground zero by walking down to Battery Park and walking east and then north along the water front. We made the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Now there is an icon!
At my friends Dennis and Kathy's suggestion, Lynn and I made the trip up to the top of the Empire State Building at night. What a sight it was! I took my GorillaPod along and was able to squeeze my way to the edge and take some pictures.

Our hotel was in the middle of a name change that had provided some confusion. It was the Comfort Inn, but was becoming the Broadway at Times Square. From it, we walked through Times Square almost every day we were there. On the Friday night we were there I went out and spent an hour or two taking photographs. It was shoulder to shoulder with other tourists and "regulars" a lot of the times, but was great to be there and soak up the "buzz".It was quite the cross section of "Americana"!

One day Lynn and I did the "Met". The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a branch called "The Cloisters" , a site devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe so we took the subway out to visit that. It was like stepping back in time and into Europe. We then took the subway back to the west side of Central Park and walked across to the "Met" proper. The place really deserved a lot more time than we had. It is one of the world's major collections of the worlds art and is a must see for anyone interested in it.

I made a point of visiting the outside of John Stewart's studios! I visited B+H Photo! What an amazing collection of photography related products! We had lunch at the 2nd Ave. Deli - an iconic Jewish eatery. We walked up to the United Nations and pondered how well it was looking after the world. Well, I can dream can't I? We walked through Grand Central Terminal and noticed that even Apple had a very prominent store there!
On our last day in New York we did another walk through Central Park and visited the Guggenheim Museum before we travelled south to end the day walking the elevated "Highline" linear park and visiting some of the art galleries in Chelsea. We ended the day with dinner at a very enjoyable French restaurant in Chelsea.
New York is worth another visit. There was a lot more to experience and learn.