st. augustine 2

worship candles, our lady of la leche chapel, st augustine, florida, 2005

one weekend we stumbled on festivities to celebrate the 440th birthday of the city of st augustine. we just missed a reenactment of the menendez landing, but did attend mass (it was held on sabbath!) in the prince of peace church, then walked through the grounds of the mission of nombre de dios.

lake eola

goslings, lake eola, orlando, florida, 2004



our family used to enjoy sabbath afternoon outings to downtown orlando's lake eola. we'd stroll the paved path circling the lake, feed the ducks, swans, and pigeons, watch the beautiful spray from the fountain, and let the kids roam the playground. unfortunately, rising crime and roming homeless detracted from the safe, family atmosphere. we bought a family membership to nearby leu gardens, and haven't returned to lake eola in more than a year.

klischies' house

thomas, screen door, orlando, florida, 2007

aunt barbara and uncle herb have lived in this house by the railroad tracks since 1968. a lot of our immediate relatives get together often for 'family night' which happened to be at their house just recently. my three-year-old and i had just watched an amtrak rumble through their back yard, and i snapped him opening their creaky screen door, like i may have done at his age.

tokeland, washington

crab shack, tokeland, washington, 2001

during a day of bird watching along washington’s central coast, my wife and i took a side trip to visit tokeland, a small fishing village on a salt marsh peninsula jutting into the northern part of willapa bay.

seattle 3

produce vendor, pike place market, seattle, washington, 2005

we arrived right at the market's closing time. grabbed this shot before they shooed us out and locked the doors.

seattle 2

pike place market, seattle, washington, 2005

squeezed our rental car into a vacant stall in a third-story parking garage, then ran through the rain to pike place market. bought a coffee mug at the original starbucks store, then braved a group homeless people huddled in the doorway of a nearby subway restaurant where we ate a sandwich supper.

seattle 1

for two winter weeks we traded sunny florida for cold, rainy washington, visiting my wife’s family. took a side trip up the kitsap peninsula to seattle via the bainbridge island ferry.

seattle, washington, 2005

nearing coleman dock i shot in the windy darkness with the camera balanced on the ferry’s outside handrail, to capture a unique view of the glittering skyline. the voyage brought back many memories of 1997-98 when i commuted via ferry from bremerton to seattle six days a week.

europetrek 3

fruit crates, alley, rothenburg ob der tauber, germany, 1995

i spent a day walking the streets of rothenburg, buying fresh fruit from a farmer’s market, exploring passageways that ran above the town wall, admiring a church with huge flying buttresses, and climbing a dark, circular staircase to the top of the town hall tower's dizzying spire to view the courtyard far below.

europetrek 2

swans, pond, dinkelsbühl, germany, 1995

dinkelsbühl is a walled city along germany's romantic road. people built their towns with homes, businesses, and churches located in fortified clusters within strong walls, as protection from attacking enemies. much of the area around these enclosures is still mostly empty farmland.

europetrek 1

during the summer of 1995 i spent 11 days car camping in europe. germany was my favorite country, with its autobahn, lush forests, medieval walled cities, and romantic castles.

neuschwanstein castle, schwangau, germany, 1995

this is one of crazy king ludwig’s famous fairytale castles, nestled in the mountains of the black forest. walt disney modeled disneyland's sleeping beauty castle after this one. i hiked the steep wooded trail from parking lot, took the tourist tour of the structure’s inside, then marveled at the panorama from the marienbrücke.

oregon coast

following a particularly stressful week at work, our family took a quick weekend to the oregon coast to relax.

waterfront, astoria, oregon, 2002

spent the first night in a really nice hotel in astoria (with an in-room whirlpool!). after supper we took a walk in the rain along some railroad tracks that ran behind the hotel and along the columbia river, astoria’s old industrial waterfront.

haystack rock, cannon beach, oregon, 2002

threaded our way down the coast, visited rainy fort clatsop, beachcombed at exclusive cannon beach, sampled cheese and ice cream at the tillamook cheese factory, then headed home after a stop at the portland rei.

more from st. petersburg

two more images from our anniversary trip.

abandoned store, st. petersburg, florida, 2007

we ducked under the awning of a strip of small, unique store fronts, to avoid rain drops. dodged several homeless people playing cards, also hiding from the shower. with their easy proximity to downtown i’m not sure why these buildings couldn’t be renovated into a line of upscale boutiques and shops. instead, they’re soon to be torn down to make room for new condos.

seaweed, wave, siesta beach, sarasota, florida, 2007

spent the afternoon on the sand in beach chairs beneath a beach umbrella, just steps away from the gulf of mexico. caught this glowing clump of seaweed just before sunset.

st. augustine

tower, castillo de san marcos, st. augustine, florida, 2005

st. augustine is one of our favorite areas in florida. it’s only three hours away, and we’ve been five times. the historic fort, the restored downtown buildings with quaint restaurants and unique shops, the picturesque waterfront, nearby wildlife areas, and the uncrowded beaches all make this northeast part of the state a worthwhile destination.