Posts Tagged ‘Travels’

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SkyWatch Friday: Smoky Mountains Sky

February 10, 2012

Afternoon sky in the Smoky Mountains, North Carolina. January 31, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

This is my post for Skywatch Friday, a meme for sharing views of the sky from all over the world.  To see more, or to join and share your own photos of the sky, click HERE.

A rock slide closed the interstate on the morning Betsy and I were coming home from Asheville, North Carolina.  Our choices for alternate routes were a very long detour on the interstates or a drive through the Smoky Mountains.  We considered our choices for about two seconds and headed for the Smokies.

The day started out with clear blue skies, but clouds developed in the afternoon.  I snapped this picture of the sky and mountains at an overlook on Newfound Gap road in North Carolina.  You have to look closely, but you can see the sunbeams that attracted my attention.  It took us longer to get home than it would have if we had taken the interstate, but the scenery certainly couldn’t be beat.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 18 Comments »

Our World: Oops!

February 7, 2012

Mom at Winslow Christian Church, Winslow, Indiana. October 5, 2006.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.)
This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

In October, 2006, Betsy and I drove my parents to Winslow, Indiana, which was Mom’s hometown and the place where Mom and Dad met.  This picture was taken in front of the church in which Mom grew up.  If you look closely at the base of the sign you will see that it is ‘In Memory of Mr. & Mrs. James Cassidy’ — Mom’s parents and my grandparents.

There’s only one small problem — the family spelled their last name ‘CassidAy’!

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Posted in Our World | 18 Comments »

Remembering Happy Days

January 30, 2012

Dad, Virginia Smith and Mom, Boonville, Indiana. October 5, 2006.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

One advantage of cold, wet winter days is that I have more time to work at my computer.

I recently came across some pictures that I took back in October, 2006.  Betsy and I had driven Mom and Dad up to Mom’s hometown of Winslow, Indiana.  On the way we stopped in Boonville, Indiana, to visit their friend, Virginia Smith.

Virginia was Mom’s best friend in school.  When they were seniors, Virginia started dating Leonard Smith, who was Dad’s best friend in the CCC.  Dad and Leonard were stationed at a CCC camp outside Winslow, working on what would become a state park.  Needless to say, it wasn’t long before Virginia and Leonard and Mom and Dad were double dating.

Virginia and Leonard got married shortly after Virginia graduated from high school, but my grandmother made Mom wait until she was twenty before she married.  Mom was a good daughter and didn’t get married until three days after she turned twenty.

Mom and Dad and the Smiths remained friends through the years.  Leonard died in the mid 1980s, but Mom, Dad and Virginia remained in touch and visited whenever possible.

Virginia died in 2010, and Mom died last year.  Now Dad — 99 years young — is the only one left.  But it was a blessing back in 2006 for Betsy and me to be there as these three remembered the happy days gone by.

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Posted in American Life | 20 Comments »

SkyWatch Friday: Morning in the Mountains

December 16, 2011

Early morning view from Hemlock Springs Overlook, Skyline Drive, Virginia. November 23, 2011.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

This is my post for Skywatch Friday, a meme for sharing views of the sky from all over the world.  To see more, or to join and share your own photos of the sky, click HERE.

There are advantages to driving in the mountains early on a foggy, misty mountains.  We left Skyland Resort on such a morning to make our way home on our Thanksgiving trip.  We had to drive north along Skyline Drive to get to an exit from the Shenandoah National Forest.

We came upon this scene at the Hemlock Springs Overlook.  The fog had lifted in our immediate vicinity, but much of the valley below was still cloud-covered.  A few peaks were just beginning to show themselves above the clouds.

Early morning view from Hemlock Springs Overlook, Skyline Drive, Virginia. November 23, 2011.

I liked this picture so much that I wanted to see what it looked like as a black and white photo.  I like this version just as much and decided to share it with you as well.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 14 Comments »

Our World: Where in the World has George Been?

December 13, 2011

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.)

This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

Isn’t modern technology wonderful?  I’m trying to get my photos organized and published, and one of the programs I use is iPhoto.  iPhoto has a ‘Places’ feature that identifies the location of a photograph.  Now that I have a GPS tracker the process is automatic, although I have to enter the location manually on older photos.

Over the weekend I noticed that I currently have 119 places identified in my photos.  The red pins on the world map above give a general view of where I’ve taken pictures.  The dots on the far right are on Beijing, People’s Republic of China, and the island of Bali.  I visited those places more than 20 years ago.

The red dot in the Caribbean is San Juan, Puerto Rico, where Betsy and I boarded a cruise ship on our honeymoon.

Most of the dots are in the U. S., of course, and by zooming in to the area around Fairfield Glade, I can see that there are many places in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina that we’ve visited.

I have no idea how many places I will eventually get identified, but I find the whole process very interesting.

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Posted in Our World | 17 Comments »

Scenic Sunday: Headforemost Mountain

December 11, 2011

The view from Headforemost Mountain overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia. November 21, 2001.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

This is my post for the Scenic Sunday meme, which shares beautiful scenes from around the world.  To see more Scenic Sunday posts, or to join and show your own pictures, click HERE.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, we spent the night at Peaks of Otter Lodge on the Blue Ridge Parkway while on our Thanksgiving Trip.  Since we wanted to drive the Parkway and then Skyline Drive, we got an early start from the lodge.  We were driving north, which meant we were gaining altitude as we left Peaks of Otter.  We encountered patches of fog/mist as we drove along.

When we arrived at the Headforemost Mountain overlook, we were treated to the scene above.  Actually I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a mountain floating above the clouds as we drove by, and I had to back up to get back to the overlook.

A closer view Headforemost Mountain, Virginia. November 21, 2011.

We spent several minutes just enjoying the view.  My telephoto lens gave us an almost surreal scene across the valley.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 14 Comments »

Our World: The Conservatory at Biltmore

December 6, 2011

Blossom in the Conservatory at Biltmore, Asheville, North Carolina. November 19, 2011.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.)
This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

It seems as if Betsy and I make it to the Conservatory every time we visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.  No matter what the season, the conservatory always seems to have beautiful plants in bloom.

Blossom in the Conservatory at Biltmore, Asheville, North Carolina. November 19, 2011.

Things were no different the week of Thanksgiving, when we once again got carried away among all the beautiful blossoms.

Blossom in the Conservatory at Biltmore, Asheville, North Carolina. November 19, 2011.

I wish I could tell you that I knew the names of all of these beauties, but I don’t.  I only hope that you enjoy these blossoms as much as we did.

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Posted in Our World | 17 Comments »

Scenic Sunday: Caledonia Cascade

December 4, 2011

Caledonia Cascade, Tallulah Gorge State Park, Georgia. October 14, 2009.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.)
This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

This picture of Caledonia Cascade in Georgia’s Tallulah Gorge State Park comes from my archives.  Tallulah Gorge is one of our favorite places to visit.  The gorge is two miles long and nearly 1,000 feet deep.  We’ve hiked both rims of the gorge and had hiked down into the gorge.  One of the attractions for us is the waterfalls along the river as it makes it’s way through the gorge.

Caledonia Cascade is a small ribbon waterfall that tumbles down the side of the gorge from a side creek.  It can only be seen from the floor of the gorge (where it is hard to get a decent perspective) or from the opposite rim, which is where this picture was captured.  You have to look carefully to see the cascade, but there is that bit of autumn color in the bottom corner.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 15 Comments »

Scenic Sunday: Abbott Lake

November 27, 2011

A view of Abbott Lake from our room at Peaks of Otter Lodge, Virginia. November 21, 2011.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

This is my post for the Scenic Sunday meme, which shares beautiful scenes from around the world.  To see more Scenic Sunday posts, or to join and show your own pictures, click HERE.

Betsy and I enjoy staying at the Peaks of Otter Lodge in Virginia when we are in that part of the company.  Last week we arrived after dark (driving the Parkway after dark can be quite adventure), but were treated to an early morning view of Abbott Lake from the balcony of our room.

Morning reflections in Abbott Lake, Peaks of Otter, Virginia. November 21, 2011.

Abbott Lake is man-made and is one of the attractions of the Peaks of Otter Park.  Fishing is permitted, but we just enjoy the beauty.

A small bridge on the path around Abbott Lake, Peaks of Otter, Virginia. November 21, 2011.

The park has several hiking trails.  One of the least strenuous is the trail around the lake.  It’s a great way to start the day.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 19 Comments »

Scenic Sunday: Bali Terraces

November 13, 2011

Rice paddies on Bali. June, 1987.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

This is my post for the Scenic Sunday meme, which shares beautiful scenes from around the world.  To see more Scenic Sunday posts, or to join and show your own pictures, click HERE.

When I visited Bali back in 1987, I was very impressed with the terraces that had been constructed to make every possible square inch of land.  These are rice paddies in the mountains of Bali.

The picture above was scanned from a slide.

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Posted in Scenic Sunday | 12 Comments »

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