And they are OFF …. on the Race to Alaska
We sailed in our catamaran, Cat's Cradle, to Victoria last week to watch the start of the R2AK, the first (annual?) race from Port Townsend, Washington to Ketchikan, Alaska. The…
Biking and Birding on Texel
Given that we have just read Erskine Childers' excellent The Riddle of the Sands, we have decided to spend our last five days on Texel (pronounced "Tessel"), a small island…
Historical Holland
Kings Day is a national holiday celebrating the House of Orange's success at beating back the Spanish Catholics during the Middle Ages and creating the base of the diverse and…
Hollandish Patterns
We are on the island of Texel (pronounced Tessel) and are preparing to return home. These photos are ones that we like because they have 'interesting' patterns -- and we…
Exploring National Park de Hoge Veluwe
We conclude our wonderful barge trip and Mark and Cinda depart for Paris. We remaining four head by rental car east of Amsterdam to Hoge Veluwe National Park, the supposed…
Bountiful bulbs and buildings
Spring is tulip time in Holland. We pedaled to Keukenhof and locked up our bikes at the gate. As we walked through the colorful and fragrant gardens, we were…
Six friends — barging in locks and under bridges
Our group of six San Juan Island friends have barged and biked and walked and solved problems together for a week now. Bridges always concentrate our attention. Why? Many…
The Lowlands – by ‘Locaboat’
<< Previous.............................................. Next >> For a week we have been travelling, slowly, driving our rented boat along canals, under bridges and up and down in locks. We move a bit…
Amsterdam — That most liberal of cities
Our little group is converging in Amsterdam. Mark and Cinda are north by the train station, Sheila and Dave a bit south toward the Reiksmuseum and we are on the…
July 25, 1963
Celebrating 50 years of marriage in our 50th state, Hawaii
July 25, 1964Having our kids and their spouses choose Thanksgiving on the Big Island of Hawaii for our 50th wedding anniversary celebration was a true gift for us all. Scott,…
Day 4: After the Rains Came!
Day 4: Labyrinth Camp to the Visitor Center Rain it did – off and on all night. We subsequently learned a lot about the thin soils of this geological landscape.…
Day 3: Lovely Views
Day 3: Candlestick Camp to Labyrinth Camp This was a shorter day as we rode from Candlestick (a total of 16 miles) to a camp called Labyrinth, a name given…
Day 2 – Biking on the White Rim – A Long Day
Day 2: Airport Tower Camp to Candlestick Camp In the morning, we rode together for 16 miles and had lunch in the shade of one of our support vehicles while…
Mountain Biking the White Rim in Canyonlands National Park
We are 10 eager travelers. Three of us from San Juan Island (Leslie, Val and Eric) and seven from Colorado Springs (Shane, Charlie, Karen, Beth, Stormy, Mary and Bill). We…
Backcountry skiing with Shane in the Tetons
Shane Burns is celebrating his 60th birthday by any number of epic actions spanning skiing and writing astrophysics texts. He invited me to join him in some gentle but lovely…
What about those Jesuits?
In the 17th century, Spain sent Jesuit missionaries to the Baja peninsula. They came to spread Christianity. They did much more. They came to a place populated by hunter-gathers…
Whale watching from Loreto
We took these photos about 10 km off Loreto between Isla Coronado and Isla del Carmen. We saw first humpback whales with one breaching, then some fin whales, and finally…
Returning to Baja
We return to Mulege - 30 years later. Halfway down Baja's 1000 mile Highway 1, one drops out of the huge Desierto de Vizcaino through the tops of thousands…
Thinking … Inside the box
Part I- We spent an afternoon on one of our last days in southern Italy trying to learn more about intarsio after reading about the woodworking craft in one of…