Category: Weather

  • Waikiki Beach

    Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA (October 1997) We stood at what had to be the ultimate Hawaiian tourist spot, on Waikiki Beach (map) with Diamond Head in the background. Most visitors looked to be Japanese, or honeymooners, or both. We appeared in the background of several dozen Japanese wedding videos totally by accident. We were never…

  • A Winter Day at the Beach

    Rehoboth Beach, Sussex Co., Delaware, USA (Photos from 2004, video from 2008) Sometimes we just have to get out of the house and do something during the middle of winter. It felt like we’d been trapped inside for months and we were starting to get a little stir-crazy. Regular readers will know that we don’t…

  • Rocky Mountain National Park

    Larimer and Grand Counties, Colorado, USA (October 2002) We came to Denver for a wedding but we arrived early so we could travel up to Estes Park, Colorado (map). That serves as the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. Summer quickly transitions into winter here. Trail Ridge Road through the upper elevations of park closed…

  • Talkeetna

    Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, USA (July 2010) We left Anchorage, heading up the George Parks Highway with Talkeetna on our minds (map). We cut up the Talkeetna Spur and arrived soon enough at the rural outpost situated along the confluence of three glacially-fed braided rivers, the Susitna, Chulitna and Talkeetna. It’s an unusual place for a…

  • Southeastern Alaska and the Inside Passage

    August 1995 Southeast Alaska Travel Index We captured this image a long time ago on our initial trip to Alaska in 1995. We took a small-ship cruise through Glacier Bay and to Juneau and Sitka. Then we spent several days in Juneau where we did a lot of hiking, went to a nearby glacier and…

  • Somewhere Between Juneau and Sitka

    Inside Passage, Southeastern Alaska, USA (August 1995) One of the benefits of small-ship sailing was our ability to fit through tight spaces where ordinary cruise ships would never dare to venture. To prove the point our ship threaded a needle between a rocky island and the shoreline, barely wider than the boat. The wall on…

  • Sitka Points of Interest

    The City and Borough of Sitka, Alaska, USA (August 1995) American history recognizes the 60-foot high promontory known as Castle Hill for a significant event (map). It marks the spot where Russia transferred Alaska to the United States after its purchase for $7.2 million in 1867. It also has a notable history from earlier times.…

  • Umpqua River Lighthouse & State Park

    Reedsport, Oregon, USA (May 1998) The Umpqua River Lighthouse seemed to be located surprisingly inland, further inland than any other lighthouse along the Oregon coast, about a half-mile from the shore it protects (map). An earlier lighthouse sat closer to the oceanfront on the other side of the river in 1857 but succumbed to fierce…

  • Sand Island and Eagle Island

    Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Bayfield County, Wisconsin (August 2007) We cruised past Sand Island and spied its famous lighthouse in the distance, a tan notch along a forested cliff. The Sand Island Lighthouse first shined in 1881 as a companion to the nearby Raspberry Island light. Ships heading east to Ashland couldn’t see Raspberry Island…

  • Rockland Breakwater Light

    Rockland Harbor, Maine (August 2009) A breakwater stretches along the mouth of Rockland Harbor providing refuge from storms and pounding surf. A lighthouse rests atop that long wall of rock assuring that no harm comes to mariners as they negotiate their way into the harbor. It’s easy to find the lighthouse. Visitors merely need to…