John has a fun challenge for us this week – On the Move. He asks “How do you travel? Where do you go?”
I started my blog in 2013 as a way for our friends and family to follow us along on our four month RV journey to Alaska and back. The featured image is of our truck and fifth wheel in our campsite in Denali National Park in Alaska.
From 2006 to 2019 we spent many days on the move as we wandered around the United States and Canada in our trusty Chevy Silverado towing our home on wheels. We traveled from campground to campground, state to state, and through a few Canadian provinces. Sometimes we would be away from home for a week or two, other times for a month or more.
We towed our fifth wheel on interstates and back roads and sometimes took it on a ferry to get where we needed to go. I captured the first image in the following gallery as we waited our turn to board the small ferry to cross the Yukon River from Dawson City, Yukon. We also towed our camper on the Alaskan ferry from Skagway to Haines and on a Texas ferry on the way to Galveston.
During our RV travels we would often take excursions on different types of transportation. In Alaska we took a ride on the Alaska Railroad, rode a bus in Denali National Park, took wildlife cruises from Haines and from Seward, and landed on a glacier in a small plane.
In 2019 we made the decision to park the RV and take different kinds of trips. We went on our first ever ocean cruise 2022. We were hooked.
The Viking Sea was our home for two weeks as we sailed around the Caribbean on our first cruise.
We had some fun modes of transportation in some of the ports. We rode on a Wacky Roller bus in Dominica, an open-air Safari bus in Tortola, Henry drove us around St. Martin in a Talon 4-wheeler, and the Monster Bus in Costa Rica took us into the rain forest.
No matter how we move from place to place we always enjoy seeing new places, meeting people, and enjoying the scenery along the way.
Thanks to Egidio for taking us back to challenge #31: Landscapes last week. Your responses took us around the world with your wonderful landscapes of mountains, valleys, oceans, and so much more.
I hope you will join in for this week’s challenge. Be sure to tag your post with Lens-Artists and include a link back to John’s post Lens-Artists #374 – On the Move!.
Be sure to check back on Saturday, November 22 at noon eastern time when Patti will be hosting the challenge.
For information on how to join the Len-Artists challenge please click here.
Anne has challenged us to tell and show our thoughts on abandonment. I’ve seen many abandoned barns, homes and businesses when traveling along the back roads of the America. Each time I see one of these buildings I wonder what happened to the people that lived there or worked there. I wonder why no one wanted it anymore. Where did they go?
Honeymoon Cottage, Cedar Key, Florida
I have images of many abandoned buildings but I decided to focus on one of them that stands out in my mind. The Honeymoon Cottage in Cedar Key on the Gulf Coast of Florida was a stilt house that was built in 1959. It originally was connected to land by a narrow walkway over the water. I don’t have to wonder about why it was abandoned. Powerful hurricanes destroyed it.
We fell in love with Cedar Key when we first visited in 1997 and have returned several times since then. The abandoned wooden structure standing in the water always intrigued me. The header image shows the way the cottage looked when I first photographed it on a visit in 2003. I couldn’t help but think about how much fun it must have been to stay there and how sad it was that no one could use it anymore.
The rest of the images show how the the cottage continued to deteriorate over the years.
Honeymoon Cottage, February, 2009Honeymoon Cottage, November, 2009Sadly, in March, 2021 the only thing left of the Honeymoon Cottage was a place for the birds to perch.
We haven’t returned to Cedar Key since our last visit in 2021. Since then Hurricane Idalia caused significant damage to the area in August, 2023. Hurricanes Debby and Helene caused more damage in 2024. Some of the businesses are still closed and the community is working hard to rebuild.
Terri’s challenge is to share images of places or things that are on our bucket list.
I created a bucket list many years ago. I’ve been checking things off and adding more items ever since.
Checking travel destinations off my bucket list.
Ireland and Scotland
Dingle Peninsula, IrelandBeach on the Wild Atlantic Way, IrelandHighland Cow, ScotlandEilean Donan Castle, Scotland
Hawaii
Green Sea TurtleDiamond Head LighthousePearl Harbor National Monumemt
Alaska
Glacier CalvingBrown Bear Mama and CubPair of OrcasBald EagleHumpback Whales bubble net feedingLanding on a Glacier
New York City
Statue of Liberty with Manhattan SkylineThe Lake in Central Park West, NYC
Checking wildlife sightings off my bucket list.
Bull Elk Bugling in Cataloochee Valley, NCTrio of Whooping Cranes, TexasSwam with the Manatees, Florida
My bucket list is constantly changing. I keep checking things off and adding new ones. Terri’s challenge has inspired me to start checking off a few more items!
“Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!” – Auntie Mame
After going on this same cruise itinerary in 2022 we enjoyed the islands so much we wanted to visit them all again. This time we chose different excursions so that we could experience new things on each island.
February 17, 2024 Day 8: Wandering around the port of Barbados
We had two days to explore Barbados on our 2022 cruise. We spent the first day on a wonderful Photo Tour with Ronnie Carrington. The next day Henry went for a submarine ride in the Atlantis Submarine. You can read about both days at Caribbean Islands Adventure 2022 Barbados.
For our 2024 visit we wandered around the port of Barbados on our own. We enjoyed a leisurely morning on the ship and watched the Barbados Coast Guard come and go before riding a shuttle bus from our ship to the cruise terminal. We asked the driver for a good place to eat lunch and he told us to try Millie’s Snack Bar at the port. We love eating where the locals eat so we gave it a try. We knew it must be good when we saw the local police eating there. Our lunch was delicious.
Barbados Coast GuardLunch at Millie’s
February 18, 2024 Day 9: Panoramic Dominica and Jacko Falls
Our excursion for the day started with a scenic bus ride through the capitol of Roseau. Our driver stopped at an overlook on the side of the mountain for a view of the city before continuing up the mountain into the rain forest. We stopped at beautiful Jacko Falls in the Morne Trois Pitons National Park. Henry and I skipped the steep steps to the bottom of the falls and enjoyed viewing them from an overlook at the top. While waiting for the more adventurous people to return from the bottom of the falls we enjoyed a rum punch before hopping back on the bus for the journey back down the mountain to the ship.
On our first visit to the island in 2022 we went into a different part of the rain forest to see some other waterfalls. You can read about that adventure at Dominica Adventure 2022
February 19, 2024 Day 10: Antigua Catamaran Cruise and Lobster Lunch
On our first visit to Antigua in 2022 we took a scenic bus trip around the island. For our latest visit we wanted to experience the island from the water.
Our six hour Catamaran cruise in Antigua was just perfect. The crew was great, the skies were clear, and the scenery was spectacular with beautiful bays and white sand beaches. The captain and crew took care of us all day. We boarded the catamaran at the dock in St. John’s and cruised along the coast of Antigua with a stop for snorkeling and swimming near where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean Sea.
We sailed on the red Mystic Cruises catamaran A beautiful day in the waters of Antigua
The crew set up tables around the boat for lunch while lobsters were being grilled. They served us a delicious meal of lobster, beans and rice, potatoes, and a salad along with rum punch, beer, and champagne.
Grilled lobster prepared on the boatThe crew set up tables with tablecloths and served us our delicious lobster lunch
After lunch the captain pulled up to a beach so everyone would have an opportunity for a swim and a walk on the beach before returning to the cruise ship dock.
Great place for a swimAn old fort on top of the hill overlooking the beach
February 20, 2024 Day 11: Tortola Safari Bus Trip to Cane Garden Bay
In 2022 we had a great day cruising in the waters around Tortola on a catamaran. This time we wanted to see more of the island itself. We boarded the bus at the cruise ship dock in Road Town. It was a slow, bumpy ride on narrow, twisting, steep Ridge Road up a mountain and then back down to the other side of the mountain to a beautiful bay and beach.
This Safari Bus was our ride for the daySpectacular views from the road
As we traveled up the mountain we drove by a wall painted with the Ridge Road Mural. Several different artists created these scenes of life on Tortola. Our driver drove slowly as we went by because the road is too narrow for the bus to stop. There is more information about the mural in this article Behind the Ridge Road Mural.
We had about an hour to relax and enjoy the scenery at the Cane Garden Bay. We sat in the shade at the beach side restaurant enjoying the view before going back up the mountain to return to our ship.
February 21, 2024 Day 12: St. Thomas on our own
In 2022 we went for a catamaran sail to a beach in the U.S.V.I. National Park. This time we enjoyed watching the activity on the water from our ship before going ashore to wander around the Charlotte Amalie cruise terminal. The header photo shows the bay as seen from our veranda.
Dinghies at the yacht receptionHarbor at Charlotte Amalie
February 22, 2014 Final Destination: San Juan, Puerto Rico
After a relaxing and adventure filled cruise we arrived at our final destination of San Juan, Puerto Rico early in the morning. We disembarked about 6:30 a.m for our ride to airport. After two flights and a drive from the airport to our home we arrived relaxed, rested, and with many happy memories.
Tina has challenged us to show people. I usually don’t take a lot of people pictures and I’m not very good at taking them but I managed to come up with a few images for the challenge. The two musicians in my header image entertained us with Celtic music in a pub in Dingle, Ireland a few years ago.
We were serenaded with a Bob Wills classic while we enjoyed our steak at the Big Texan Steak House in Amarillo, TexasStreet musician in Galway, IrelandTwo crew members preparing a hot air balloon for launch at the Albuquerque Balloon Festival.Katz’s Delicatessen in New York CityCooking lobster on the ship VikingSea
I’ll finish with a gallery of three tour guides we enjoyed during our travels.
Our tour guide in Costa RicaOur tour guide in BelizeOur tour guide in St. KittsDur
Wandering Dawgs 