Our travels: Pictures Stories
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Our favorite travel company is Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT), which does small-group tours with a maximum of 16 travelers. They focus on cultural immersion, off-the-beaten-path destinations, and hands-on experiences. Here are the trips we have done with them so far:
Costa Rica
Machu Picchu and the Galapagos
Dalmatian Coast (We only did part of this trip because Tom tested positive for Covid and we had to return home).
Our future trips (already booked)
Pictures from our travel adventures
[Peru and Galapagos] [Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia] [India] [Africa] [Patagonia] [China, Mongolia and Tibet] [Egypt and Jordan] [Cuba] [France and Switzerland] [Madeira, Canary Islands, and West Africa] [Tom in Japan and China, 1982-1985] [Cruises] [River Cruise on the Rhine and Danube] [Domestic] [Winters in Florida]
Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, Galapagos, South Africa, Bush camps in Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe; Denmark; Norway; Sweden; Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; Germany; Estonia; Iceland; Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia; India, Mongolia, Tibet, China; Hong Kong; Argentina, Chile, and Patagonia; Australia and New Zealand; Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania.
Visits to Cuba. Mary's parents immigrated from Cuba in the 1950s and we have traveled there several times to visit family still living there. Cuba is always an adventure. On our first trip, trying to find the farm 90 miles from Havana where Mary's dad grew up, without addresses or phone numbers, someone suggested that we go to the town square, look for the oldest person walking by and ask them if they knew the family name. (Fortunately, Mary's speaks fluent Spanish, with a Cuban accent). On the third try, it worked; we found the farm, with two of her dad's brothers that he had not seen for decades.
Cuba, March 6-13 2013 Our first trip to Cuba, with a private guide.
Cuba, March 2013, with Mary's dad's family In Central Australia and Juaguey Grande
Cuba with Charlie as a guide, Oct. 2016
Trinidad de Cuba, Jan. 2017Domestic travel and Road Trips
Santiago de Cuba, Jan 2017
Havana, 2017
Cienfuegos, Cuba, Jan. 8 and 12, 2017
Road Scholar Trip to Cuba, Jan. 31-Feb 8, 2018
Road Scholar fellow travelers, Cuba, 2018
Hemingway in Cuba, March 2018
France and Switzerland
In July 1999, right after retirement, we flew to Geneva to visit a Swiss family who had been our next door neighbors in Maryland in the 1980s. They showed us many highlights of eastern Switzerland: the lakes, Laussane, Neuchâtel, the Jura, Bern, Zermatt and the Matterhorn, and made an overnight trip to Burgundy to visit Cluny Abbey and stop at a few vineyards offering tastings. Photos.
In September 2011, we traveled to France with friends and rented a car and house in Provence, just north of Aix. Each day, after Tom went to the bakery for the day's baguette and croissants, we would open up the map and pick out a destination for a day trip. After two weeks, we met up with our Swiss friends and we all drove to Marseilles for a few days before flying back home. Photos.
In May of 2019, we spent two weeks in Paris with our Swiss friends, in an AirB&B located in Montorguiel, in the 2nd arr. (We loved the 19th-century glazed commercial arcades in that region of Paris). We walked and metroed everywhere, ate some great food, and caught many of the highlights of the city and region, including Versailles and Monet's house and garden in Giverny. Photos follow:.
A Warm Sunday in ParisAtelier des LumièresA walk to the Pantheon and Notre-Dame.Collège des BernardinsLa VilletteRue Montorguiel et environsEnglish friends join us in Paris
Ladies Day OutMusée d'OrsayCentre Pompidou - Musée National D'artThe LouvreGiverny and the house and gardens of Claude MonetWalk along the Seine to Bercy Parc and VillagePlace des VosgesPalace and Gardens of VersaillesMontmartre and PigaleÎle de la Cité and Notre-DameWalk to the Eiffel Towerhttps://photos.app.goo.gl/u9KrjXJmQKq9yic63
OAT trip to Peru, Ecuador, and Galapagos, Nov. 2010
OAT Santa Cruz Island
https://photos.app.goo.gl/aKJudWpfargRfKfh6Tom and Mary in Peru Ecuador and the Galapagos
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Our tour of Peru and Galapagos
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Genovesa Iland
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Bartolome Island
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Rabida island
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Galapagos Day 1
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Ed Bartender makes pisco sour
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Curandero Enrique
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Saccayhuaman
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Buying handmade crafts in the Andes
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Machu picchu
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Urubamba Market and home hosted meal
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Schoodl visit
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Ollantaytambo a living ika town
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Ollantauytambo Ruins
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ubR3a7GeNbyt9L1b7Pisca and the Alpaca factory
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Pachacamac Ruins near Lima
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First day in Lima
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Ville el Salvador
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Old Photos of Baltra Island
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Africa, Nov. - Dec. 2011
Walk with lions
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Ngamo Village
https://photos.app.goo.gl/gUykBRL45A9QhGGS8Linkwasha camp Hwange National Park
https://photos.app.goo.gl/iJe7Ck369uVU3gyt6Lufupa River Camp
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Bush Planes
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People Pictures 1
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First web albu of africa
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Soweto South Africa
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Baobab Safari Lodge and Chobe National Park
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Victoria Falls
https://photos.app.goo.gl/rxB7J18gVXCZ5FqX8Wilderness Tented Camp Okvango Delta
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Wild dogs
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Highlights from our OAT tour of southeast Asia, 2012
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Wild street traffic in Vietnam
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OAT trip to India, October 2013
New Delhi
https://photos.app.goo.gl/TPoV9rgzhKqbcGYN9 Shahpura Village
https://photos.app.goo.gl/w8GbyP7Zw2fcBUVf7 Drive to Jaipur and first night
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Lk3ZJ3fsME2nXUye6 Giant astronomical observatory, Jaipur.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/2HWRE38GUFCiszrNA Astrological observatory
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qhu8qvC7WmNdrRT19 Rickshaw ride in Jaipur
https://photos.app.goo.gl/QdgJ2mUrE3Y4Gw516 Road to Rantahmbhore
https://photos.app.goo.gl/tc1wfpbQ9zAuefxK9 Nahargarh Ranthambhor
https://photos.app.goo.gl/12jVfE3fnow5KFqe7 Chowki Songhdwar Forest
https://photos.app.goo.gl/5SV7o5iFxL5EyzT3A Hot Air Balloon, Rajistan Counrtyside
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Svm8xXVpMLCV6FzY7 OAT adopted villlage school
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qQHTV7b3AgYRKXuR9 Amber Papace, Jaipur
https://photos.app.goo.gl/8qSiP9jszB4KvaCE6 Women's Cooperative
https://photos.app.goo.gl/XxCXx8J1kp89zTMF9 Camel riding
https://photos.app.goo.gl/L4aae3t6wyvg8qAg8 Mother Teresa's Orphanage
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1FLqtqh91P1ziA498 Chand Baori Step Well and the Harshat Mata Temple
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Tz89diQcdJpGWZjk9 Taj Mahal
https://photos.app.goo.gl/T4FGfYN3NBS8RrjA8 Tom of Akbar the Great
https://photos.app.goo.gl/H3VQThr8QmCZzfLF6 Farmer's homemade water wheel
https://photos.app.goo.gl/H3VQThr8QmCZzfLF6 Khajuraho Temple Complex
https://photos.app.goo.gl/B3V8gTHjey1U4YVQ7 Eid Goat Sacrifice
https://photos.app.goo.gl/tYNDdbbmWVgiVf5CA OAT Heart of India travelers
https://photos.app.goo.gl/iC13uogMx9k3fGhx7 Morning on the Ganges river
https://photos.app.goo.gl/QmmAoPcxZSomvZFb8 Sari Fitting
https://photos.app.goo.gl/18GDbM7L5QMgbs6B6 Farewell Dinner for India Trip
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Southern India trip extension: Riverboat Cruise and Bombay
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Jordan OAT People
Amman, Jerash, and Mount Nebo
Petra
Egypt Travelers
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Pyramids of Giza
Karnak Temple
Temple of Luxor
Valley of the Kings
On the way south from Luxor to Aswan
Edfu village and temple
Besaw Island and the temple of Horemheb
Kom Ombo and its temple
Daraw village and the Nile beach
Abu Simbel temples and the Eskaleh Nubian lodge
Aswan and Philae temple
Camel ride to the Monastery of St. Simeonhttps://photos.app.goo.gl/EJB9MHoqJAWkK6Y9A
OAT Trip to Mongolia, China and Tibet, September 2019
A walk in Beijing
https://photos.app.goo.gl/xUFEWw3dKiUFDr799 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
https://photos.app.goo.gl/GW8AMR395nW9q6Y87 Camping in Gobi Desert
https://photos.app.goo.gl/yGcaKSdjGdC59vWf6 Vulture Valley Nature Park
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qPYuAGGXfiheNpKKA Local people celebrating traditional nomadic Mongolian culture
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nRtk7jrqBxwUhVCL6 Camel Breeder visit
https://photos.app.goo.gl/odCWmTaRaLEaDLGK7 Drop in to a horse farm
https://photos.app.goo.gl/95i7i8hZiQic6gLw9 Hoyor Zagal Camp
https://photos.app.goo.gl/PmymWS6ss6gyz9MFA Erdene Zuu Buddhist monastery
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nYFi9HtEq4ZyvwZb6 Last Day in Mongolia
https://photos.app.goo.gl/k5GK5eomgCyJacuc8 The Forbidden City
https://photos.app.goo.gl/UzxxnYx2WNPUsnxc9 Summer Palace, Beijing
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9tFALMCVgEBTwsq8A The Great Wall of China
|https://photos.app.goo.gl/5rZ4sRidghugt3Kh6 The Wild Goose Pagoda
|https://photos.app.goo.gl/SY2RDiGPGzbb3Zf58 The Terracotta Army of Xi'an
https://photos.app.goo.gl/roNp5AvmQxLBiCts7 Moslem Street and Great Mosque
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nSmK9UNBCM7oo3ps5 School Visit in China
https://photos.app.goo.gl/SoPuuthxYgAmyoGq7 Market and Chinese cooling class
https://photos.app.goo.gl/mECk42U6GZbrMXEH7 Bullet train to Chengdu
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Zi5rRvL7f7a8Sv1a9 People's Park
https://photos.app.goo.gl/cATKeh63xzBcezzV8 Panda's in China
https://photos.app.goo.gl/GgGBrraH2C3jZRph8 Tibet
|https://photos.app.goo.gl/6qMopX5GEXUncxei9 Last Day in Tibet
https://photos.app.goo.gl/JiDfjQ6VH72efRwj7 Chongqing
https://photos.app.goo.gl/gt6bCunNmXPeSvcs8 Tai Chi and Mah jong lessons
https://photos.app.goo.gl/TCHvMKQgY43Kn3jw7 Yangtze river cruise 1: Fengdu
|https://photos.app.goo.gl/eEAkW8PUZCcwDkW2A Yangtze river cruise 2: Three Gorges
|https://photos.app.goo.gl/t8TB1U3UoF8MeEWh9 An impromptu farm visit
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WMcJBmEXKdLM7AJw7 Hong Kong
https://photos.app.goo.gl/p6Eg1NQ2a1h3DdXM8 Hong Kong Protest
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OAT trip to Argentina and Chile, day by day
Buenos Aires, Day 1After an overnight flight, we arrived early on Tuesday morning and spent the day exploring the city on foot.
Buenos Aires, Day 2Our second day in Buenos Aires included a visit to the central square,
a walk in a colorful neighborhood, a tango lesson, and a visit to a local tango club.
Bariloche, Patagonia, Day 3Here in Patagonia the landscape is so different compared to Buenos Aires, it's like we are in a different country.
Patagonian Countryside, Day 4Today we explored the countryside by bus, stopping at many points of interest.
Last day in Bariloche, Day 5Today we floated down a river, rode horses, and had an Argentine BBQ at a farmhouse.
From Argentina to Puerto Varas, Day 6We passed over the Andes into Chile.
Puerto Varas, Day 7Exploring the Chilean Lake district.
Castro, Chiloe Island, Day 8Chiloe Island is a small island on the Pacific coast of Chile that can only be reached by boat.
Chiloe family visits, Day 9We visited two families who live on Chiloe Island and participated in some of their daily activities.
Islotes de Puñihuil Bird Sanctuary, Day 10Penguins, penguins, and more penguins!
Punta Arenas, the most southern big town in Chile and is right on the Strait of Magellan.
Torres del Paine National Park, Day 12
Salto Grande Waterfall, Day 13We took a short hike to a pretty waterfall on a very windy day.
The road to El Calafate, day 14We drove across the mountains into Argentina.
Perito Moreno Glacier, Day 15The Perito Moreno glacier was named after a famous Argentine explorer and academic.
Last day in Buenos Aires, day 16Our flight back to the States is at 12 midnight tonight, so we had the whole day to explore.
Madeira, Canary Islands, and West Africa
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Cruises
We have generally preferred land tours to cruises, but as we age and have less mobility, cruises are becoming more and more attractive.
Cruise highlights
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Caribbean cruise, March 28 - April 4, 2011
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Day at sea, March 30, 2011
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St. Maarten, March 31, 2011
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St. Lucia, April. 1, 2011
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Barbados, April 2, 2011
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Caribbean cruise, Jan. 2013
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La Perlita, our favorite seafood restaurant in Cozumel
Snorkeling on Roatan https://photos.app.goo.gl/wNy1ujk2g1644WTM9
Panama Canal Cruise 2014
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AMA Waterways ("Tulip Time") river cruise to Netherlands and Belgium, April, 2015
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Keukenhof Gardens, Amsterdam, April, 2015
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Baltic Cruise on Princess, July 2017
Denmark; Norway; Sweden; Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; Berlin, Germany; Estonia; Copenhagen, Denmark
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Regent Cruise to New Zealand and Australia, January 2024Australia New Zealand Highlights
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New Zealand Jan. 4-5
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bBwwdga6Pnmea1BB6 High Country Jan. 10
https://photos.app.goo.gl/YnBGjquq4AnQUj6w7 High Country Jan. 8-9
https://photos.app.goo.gl/2ModsNQMHY1eShD47 Napier Jan. 7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/2kxPn6yRauLmGCWMA Gannet Colony Jan. 7
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Trip to the Chesapeake Eastern shore with friends, 2010
Our 40th wedding anniversary trip to Alaska, 2012
The Crooked Road Virginia's Heritage Music Trail, 2012
https://photos.app.goo.gl/vV8NkNwwDAYerJ5K9Phillipsburg and Glacier National Park, 2013
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Corning Glass Museum Sept. 11, 2014
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Montreal and Quebec Sept. 2016
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Wine Tasting in Upstate New York and Canada
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Road Trip to New Hampshire for "leaf peeking", Oct. 3-10 2018
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Pecos National Historic Park Oct. 14, 2015
https://photos.app.goo.gl/8qCMw1UzNAcZuQzL6 Tent Rock National Park Oct 14, 2015
https://photos.app.goo.gl/exVa7zvD9HdVdpo69 Puye Cliff dwellers site Oct 13, 2015
https://photos.app.goo.gl/L9xNLeHXkNvy1WDM9 Ride back from Taos New Mexico Oct 12, 2015
https://photos.app.goo.gl/37gz8DGSuF9jVWmL7 Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico Oct. 11, 2015
|https://photos.app.goo.gl/fpKaPbvDkj41CNEc9 Marsden Hartley 1877-1943 Oct. 11, 2015
https://photos.app.goo.gl/P4rj3Cpmw4pFby3N7 Georgia O'Keefe Museum Georgia's works Oct. 11, 2015
https://photos.app.goo.gl/MiAnxteKCs9mfL6v5 Morning Ascension at Albuquerque Balloon Festival Oct. 11, 2015
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nSqBAqwvoeLSDTUd7 Shape balloons Evening at Albuquerque Balloon Festival Oct. 9, 2015
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1gKhmzspSjpuA61x7 Other activities at the Albuquerque Balloon Festival Oct. 9, 2015
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Bandelier National Monument and Los Alamos Oct. 10, 2015
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Wr3qLzoTkwZ2dBLW8 ElMorro National Monument Oct. 8, 2015
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Acomo Pueblo Sky City Cultural Center Oct. 8, 2015
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yhA3vefhy7ckWmP2A El MalPais National Monument in New Mexico Oct. 7, 2015
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Yellowstone National Park with friends, Aug. 16-20, 2013
|https://photos.app.goo.gl/1wSd3aGYr4mMrdtr5 Cuisinart Institute of America, Jun. 8-11, 2015
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qRCoXxfcWF1BUSYa7 Vanderbilt Mansion Gardens Jun, 11, 2015
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Fakahatchee swamp walk Mar. 19, 2015
https://photos.app.goo.gl/DNCggBfRNmqgm5YQ7 Everglades March 6-9, 2015
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Canadian Side of Niagara Falls, Sept. 14-Nov.30, 2014
https://photos.app.goo.gl/JCP1ZRSMgwdky246A Niagara Falls and the Boat Ride Maid of the Mist Sept. 15-Oct. 6, 2014
https://photos.app.goo.gl/dvZkusKWZXXdnYjFA Zippo Lighter Museum Sept. 16, 2014
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Vajg7AniFhy9NaDJ8 Lavender farm, botanical gardens winery, and a nice lunch Sept. 15, 2014
https://photos.app.goo.gl/X4rkaHAzLR9e9YMD6 Corning Glass Museum Sept. 11, 2014
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Ponies on Chincoteague, Virginia, June 9, 2010
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Pike's Market, Seattle, WA. Video, 2009 1.03 minutes
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Shark Valley, Everglades National Park, Feb. 20, 2009
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Six Mile Cyprus Slough, February 2022
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Valley of Fire State park, June 17-18, 2014
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Shark Valley Bike Ride Everglades National Park March, 2017
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South Dakota Trip with Stan, Sept. 2021
Wind Cave NP Mammoth Site and Hot Springs
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nFomyXNecSbkSRA6A Pumpkin Festival in Rapid City, SD
https://photos.app.goo.gl/JZ3UbmjmB3T3Dotb7 Annual Buffalo Roundup in Custer State Park
https://photos.app.goo.gl/6SpkHKEq8sDCYzmj7 The Badlands and the Minuteman Missile Site
https://photos.app.goo.gl/t8ZP6D3RWMjSLhx5A Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore, Iron Mt. Road, Rapid City town center
|https://photos.app.goo.gl/uFG1FrwUm5FgfYAD6 Devil's Tower
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1b9696ZsGBmpca7K7 Bear Country, SD
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Winters in Florida
Both Mary and I grew up in Florida. Since retiring in 1999, we have been spending the winters there, returning to Maryland in the early spring. While there we enjoy walking, swimming, bike riding, bird watching, lounging by the pool, attending concerts and exploring the local nature sanctuaries.
Birds of South Florida, Feb. - Mar. 2017
https://goo.gl/photos/wDZ7gFsKk784HMJJ9 Naples Botanical Gardens, Oct. 2023
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wYUcWKo7sovKobh99 Pelican Bay Bird watch, Feb. 2023
https://photos.app.goo.gl/W64tnm1vomfcoogAA Bird Watching Freedom Park, Jan. 2023
https://photos.app.goo.gl/cTULN2WHB63zL82XA Birding Group, Dec. 2022
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bRYZRHvzQCLvTMWt9 Swamp Walk with Cat and Jordan, May 2022
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oYzdXY2NeadrAZg66 Birds of Florida with Captions, 2022
https://photos.app.goo.gl/v8AfV6jkkodjTme36 Harn's Marsh, Mar. 20, 2022
https://photos.app.goo.gl/FF5DiUoCg68sEXCY8 Landfill Predator Bird Services, Mar. 15, 2022
https://photos.app.goo.gl/8NE1FjrVbQsemJbG9 Sugden Park Birding Group, Feb. 16, 2022
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fMnfMxS95ZedTox68 Six Mile Cyprus Slough, Feb. 4, 2022
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Fh5wmuiWMXSCUw9q9 Six Mile Cypress Slough, Nov. 26-27. 2021
https://photos.app.goo.gl/4VACTyQQqba6rKXg9 WCA Bird Watching Group, Nov. 24, 2021
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Fn55ZQXqQZGDcMF17 New Installation at Naples Botanical Gardens, Nov. 2020
https://photos.app.goo.gl/vwGym53DS3x1W7nJ9 Walk at the Bird Rookery Trail, Feb.3,2022
https://photos.app.goo.gl/j2Ba1WQ8SYYo5kgL6 Eagle Lake Walk, Jan. 30, 2022
https://photos.app.goo.gl/8or1VAWfvjPs3Ew37
Photographic Extras
Park Panoramas
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Nkc2Eq6hYjRJWCXbA
Naples nature pictures
https://photos.app.goo.gl/jbMbQ4Ahu2cWg3Be8 The birds of south Florida
https://photos.app.goo.gl/v8AfV6jkkodjTme36
https://goo.gl/photos/wDZ7gFsKk784HMJJ9
Favorite photos
https://photos.app.goo.gl/PaLPY292BNoWjyeQA
Travel Map (as of 2019)
Cuba. In 2013, we were trying to find the farm 90 miles from Havana where Mary's dad grew up, but we didn’t have addresses or phone numbers. Someone suggested that we go to the town square, look for the oldest person walking by and ask them if they knew the family name. (Fortunately, Mary's speaks fluent Spanish, with a Cuban accent). People were friendly. On the third try, it worked; we found the farm, with two of her dad's brothers that he had not seen for decades.
Japan. In Japan to speak at a conference in the 1980s, I was taken out by my Japanese hosts to a restaurant where beautifully-clad “Geisha” style ladies waited on us. After the meal, and lots of sake and beer, one of the ladies brought in a small karaoke machine, pressed a button and handed it to one of the men, who sang along happily and passed it to the next man. As it worked its way around the table towards me, I started to worry. But when it got to me, the song selected was “Danny Boy”. Surely someone with a name like “O’Haver” would know the words to that song, right? I did not, but I hummed along to the tune and everyone seemed pleased, probably because of the sake and beer.
France and Switzerland. In July 1999, during a visit to our friends Blaise and Janon living in Geneva, Blaise said they were running low on wine and we went with them to what I supposed would be a local wine and liquor shop. But within a few minutes we were crossing the French border, and glancing at our map, I realized that we were in Burgundy, specifically in Beaujolais. As we drove north through little towns that we knew only from wine labels, we stopped at any vineyard that had a “degustation” (tasting) sign displayed, tasted and then bought a few bottles. At Macon, we picked up some bread, cheese, and other nibblies from different shops and had an impromptu snack on the banks of the Rhône. Eventually Blaise said it was too late to drive back home, so we looked for an in or B&B for the night. But everything was booked up and Blaise eventually realized that is was Bastille Day, a holiday in France. The only place we could find was a truck stop, which Blaise apologized would be a bit “basic”. Sure enough, it was almost comically so, but it served the purpose. The next morning, as we were checking out, the cashier said that breakfast was included and pointed to a door. We walked into a dining room with tables spread with crisp linen tablecloths and napkins and freshly-baked croissants and jam. The French have their priorities! We continued on to visit Cluny Abbey and then returned home.
In Switzerland, on a road trip to Zermatt, we stopped at a raclette restaurant to enjoy the famous Swiss melted cheese dish. When the waiters were scraping the cheese onto the dishes of the men, they included the bits of tasty cheese rind into their plates, but they omitted that on the plates of the women. We asked why, as the rind is the tastiest part. They replied that it is considered “indelicate” for women to eat the rind, which they call the “Religieuse”, the French word for “nun”.
India. During a visit to the temple complex at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, our Hindu guide explained that the crowds were lower than normal because it was Eid, a Muslim feast day. We asked what Muslim people did on that day and he explained that it sometimes involved sacrificing a goat. Someone in our group said that would be an amazing thing to see, and our guide replied that he had a Muslim friend who lived in that town and that he would call him and ask what his family was doing for Eid this year. Before long, the 16 of us were invited to their home, where we were served tea and listened to their son, who was home from university for the feast, explaining the story of Abraham and his sons. Before long, a full-grown white goat, with a garland of flowers around its neck, was led into the yard. It was quickly surrounded by the men of the family, one of whom produced a large knife and before you knew it, the goat’s throat had been cut, and as it lay dying, all the men were leaning over it, stroking its coat, and mumbling prayers. The family explained that the prayers were thanking the goat for giving its life for the Eid festivities. Not your everyday travel experience.
In New Delhi, we noticed a building that said Mother Teresa Orphanage and our guide remarked that he likes to go there to hold babies, most who have been simply abandoned at the gates of the place, just to give them some additional human comfort and contact. We asked if we could do that, and he said he could arrange it. The next day we returned and each held one of the infants for a half-hour or so. The place was very clean and the babies seemed very well cared for, but peering into the eyes of those little innocents, we found it hard to imagine what their lives would be like.
Mongolia. Our guide in Mongolia was remarkable. Her parents were educated teachers, but they had been banished to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution and she was raised doing farm work. But her parents tutored her and she eventually graduated from the university in Ulaanbaatar. Her English was excellent. At one point on a trip into the Gobi Desert, some in our group were discussing favorite works of English literature that we had read when she volunteered that she herself had always preferred the Bronte sisters to Jane Austen!
Southern France. In September of 2001, we and another couple rented a house and a car for two weeks near Aix-en-Provence. At one point, when the car needed gas, we could not figure out where the fuel port was, until the gas station attendant came out to help. It was a woman, wearing a dress, hose, and high heels!
Later that week, we went to the local village farmers’ market, but the other couple’s husband was not feeling well and so just the three of us went. One of the vendors, and older man, saw the three of us approach and said
“Americans?”
Yes.
“Rich Americans?”
No, not rich.
“Mais oui. Two wives!”
Mary claims that I replied:
“No. One wife, one mistress.”,
but I have absolutely no memory of that.Half-way through our stay, we went for a day trip, driving east along the Mediterranean shore through Cassis, Cannes, towards Nice. After seeing the artwork in the Fondation Maeght in St. Paul de Vence, we returned to our car, where we had been listening to Radio Riviera. The first words out of the radio were: “They’re evacuating the White House”. It was September 11, 2001. We immediately curtailed our trip and returned via the autoroute. At the first toll booth, although we were driving a Citroen and handing the man French money, he could nevertheless tell that we were Americans and immediately offered the most effusive sympathy imaginable. We had similar reactions from many of the French people we encountered that day.
China. Between all the “big” sites in China, sometimes the most memorable can be the small, unexpected ones. Our OAT group of 16 were passing through an agricultural region, with neatly tended fields and talking casually about what crops were grown there. Or guide asked if we wanted to stop and take a closer look, which we did, and before long we were walking among the fields close to the highway. Our guide spotted a farmhouse in the distance; she told us to stop there as she approached the house. The farmer’s wife came out of the house, they spoke for a minute or two, then our guide motioned to us to approach. Here husband came out to greet us and they made tea for us and gave us a tour of the house, which was full of furniture that he himself had built. They were so friendly. We had many questions which they answered happily. As we were leaving, a woman from an adjacent farmhouse approached and invited us to come to her house, too, but we had to continue our drive to the next scheduled site.
Cambodia. One of the stops was to a “tarantula” village, where one of their customs is catching and cooking tarantulas. Evidently this custom originated during a famine in the country when there was little to eat and wild tarantulas provided a potential source of protein. We went with a woman from the village as she found a tarantula nest in the ground, poked a long stick into it, and slowly pulled out a large tarantula (about 5 inches across). She quickly defanged it and brought it back to the village to wash it. I was not keen to eat such a thing, but then I saw how she was going to prepare it: with garlic, lemongrass, galanga, sugar, soy sauce, pepper sauce, salt, etc. How bad could that be? Another traveler and I volunteered to eat one; to me it tasted like a cross between overcooked fried fish and beef jerky.
Vietnam. In the bus with our 14 travelling companions, we passed a roadside open-air market. A bunch of very excited men were gathered around a chicken wire pen – it was a cockfight. That did not interest us much, but a young girl approached carrying a puppy, and our guide said she was inviting us to see and possibly buy one of her puppies. We eventually realized that they were selling them for food, not as pets. As much as we like trying exotic foods wherever we travel, we could not possibly even think of eating dog.
Africa. On a safari trip to Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, we lived in very comfortable tent camps and ate meals community with the guides, guards, and drivers. We had many very interesting conversations with them. One guide, a young man about 30, had very distinctive scars on his face. We politely asked if that was part of a tribal custom. No, he said; his mother had done that when he was an infant to make him less desirable to the slavers. Imagine that.
Tibet. Mary and I were sitting on a bench outside a temple in Lhasa when a young Tibetan couple sat next to us. Knowing no Tibetan, we smiled politely, but when one of us pulled out a cell phone, the man quickly produced his and showed us pictures of his livestock: yaks, one assumes. We responded with pictures of our garden in Maryland.