“The whitewashed walls of Mission Espíritu Santo tower over the park. Workers with the Civilian Conservation Corps restored this Spanish colonial-era mission in the 1930s. Tour the colorful chapel and exhibits, ring the church bell, and learn about the mission’s ranching heritage.”
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/goliad

These photos were mostly taken February 6, 2024 but a few from other visits. Click on any image to see a larger view.

These photos were taken in East Anglia around 1990 when I accompanied my husband Gil on a business trip. I took him to where he had to be for the day and then took off in the rental car to drive on the left with a stick shift car. That wasn’t the only problem, it turns out most of the roads I chose were one lane, lined with tall hedges, and the road had lots of curves and hills. I expected to die on every curve and hill… But I found some fun things…

In March of 1991 I took a business trip to the KEK High Energy Research Laboratory in Tsukuba, Japan, close to Tokyo. We, the participants, were taken on an excursion to the Asakusa district in Tokyo to enjoy the temples there, which is where these photos were taken. Click on any photo for a larger view.

In June of 1994 Gil and I cruised in the Caribbean on the Windjammer Fantome with Windjammer Barefoot Cruises. This particular cruise was to what they called the “Lost Caribbean”, islands off Venezuela. The Fantome was a 282-foot four-masted staysail schooner that carried 128 passengers. On 27 October 1998, the Fantome was destroyed by Hurricane Mitch. All passengers and non-essential crew had been let off at Belize City, but 31 crew members perished. I find this post very sad, but also in a way an honor to them and everyone who has died at sea.

We took this trip probably some time in 1986 in our LeSharo motorhome (see below). At the time we lived near Chicago, Illinois and this trip traveled to Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming), Devil’s Tower National Monument (Wyoming), Badlands National Park (South Dakota), Mount Rushmore National Memorial (South Dakota), Custer State Park (South Dakota), and Pipestone National Monument (Minnesota).

Gil and I took a boat tour on the Atchafalaya Swamp in May 2017 on a trip to New Orleans. Here are some of the photos I took with my infrared camera. I liked them quite a bit better than the color photographs because they had more contrast because living leaves in sunlight show up white in an infrared photograph. I photographed the alligator in color…

Time out from Ukraine for some photos taken in Boston in July 2013. We were in Massachusetts and Maine to visit family and took a quick trip into Boston. Some of these were taken from a car – e.g., the bridge photos and skylines. The rest were in the Haymarket area (between the North End and Government Center).

We cruised from Sevastopol to Yalta. Yalta, like all of Crimea, although internationally recognized as part of Ukraine, has been under Russian control since 2014. The two special things we saw were Lividia Palace and Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

Kahn’s Palace (or Bakhchysarai Palace) was built in the 16th century and was home to a series of Crimean Khans. Bakhchysarai means Palace of Gardens and is an example of Tatar-Muslim architecture. We visited the palace by bus from Sevastopol.

Khan’s Palace is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered the gem of Moorish architecture comparable to the palaces of the Alhambra in Spain and the Topkapi in Turkey.

When we visited Sevastopol in October of 2013 it was in Ukraine. It has been occupied by Russia since February 27, 2014, before Russia annexed Crimea on 18 March 18, 2014. Sevastopol is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Before Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, Russia leased the port from Ukraine. Russia considers the port important even though they have other Black Sea ports, including Novorossiysk which is open for navigation year round. This post will (mostly) be about what we saw in October 2013.

Our first bus trip from the port of Sevastopol was to the National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos and St. Vladimir Cathedral.