Cartegena, Columbia

I took this set of photos from the port area in early October 2013
The sunset was spectacular but the skyline at night is just amazing

Longwood Gardens

 Longwood Gardens, with the over 1000 acres of flowers, woods, and buildings will take an entire day to see and you might not find every 'nook and granny'. A beautiful home that was once occupied by Du Ponts, an amazing conservatory filled with every imaginable species of flower, and a topiary garden are just a few of the areas you will want to visit. Take the time and put this stop on your things to do in Pennsylvania list!

Clickity Click the pictures to make them BIG.

Winterthur Garden and Museum in Delaware

 I recently had the opportunity to visit Winterthur - an amazing Museum and Garden in Delaware. With almost 1000 acres and wonderful weather, this is an excellent visit for the day and the best part - it is free to walk the grounds. If you want to visit the museum, you will pay an entry fee. Put this on your to do list and if you visit in early April, the trees are bare, but the ground is carpeted with tiny purple flowers - a truly amazing sight. And clickity click to make pictures BIG!

Multnomah Falls

I had the opportunity to visit the Vancouver, Washington area and allowed a little extra time to do some sight seeing. After reading about Multnomah Falls online, I knew this had to be on my list. I was staying in downtown Vancouver and it is about a 45 minute drive to the falls but that is only if you don't stop and appreciate the beautiful area that precedes Multnomah Falls.

I will be posting more photos of our additional side trips we made throughout the Columbia River Gorge area. We packed a lot of fun into 4 hours.

This is a view of the entire falls that you see as you walk up to the viewing area. It is truly amazing. I thought we would have to hike back in to see this postcard moment but it is right next to the parking lot. It is crowded since this is a popular tourist destination, but we went in the afternoon and it wasn't that bad.

A photo of the path up to the bridge

 

This is the view from one of the switch backs that takes you to the bridge

Click on the pictures to make the pictures BIG

Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon is an easy drive from the Las Vegas Strip and a must see when in the area. The National Conservation Area showcases a set of large red rock formations: a set of sandstone peaks and walls called the Keystone Thrust. The walls are up to 3,000 feet high, making them a popular hiking and rock climbing destination. The highest point is La Madre Mountain, at 8,154 feet. The park can be seen by car on a 13 mile loop that has many turnout points for photos and exploring.

The drive to the park

People hiking among the rocks (enlarge photo to see)

Our visit was in March - note the snow on the surrounding mountains

A panoramic view of the valley

The red strata that runs through the mountains

Educational Las Vegas Attraction

 This is a must see stop when going to the Las Vegas area

Below are before and after retired inhabitants
'Then' is on the Left and 'Now' is on the Right

A very interesting place to visit if you love the history of Las Vegas

Valley of the Fire - Nevada

Valley of the Fire is a fascinating Nevada State Park about 50 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip. I would recommend this side trip to anyone visiting Nevada. During the Spring the temperatures are mild and the scenery is amazing.

Road through the Park

One of the many caves

The Cabins built in the 1930s as shelter

The Seven Sisters

One of the many rock formations that have a 'face'

Sunrise in Tortola

Antigua

 Next stop on the Eastern Caribbean Cruise was Antigua. It was an okay stop. The bay that our shipped docked in was beautiful - the water was an amazing shade of green....

...but once you left the ship it was meh. FYI -Carnival Freedom docked on the left and the Queen Elizabeth is docked on the right.

We headed back to the ship, which ended up being a smart move because a fairly, heavy rain storm rolled through.

The rain eventually stopped and left us a beautiful sunset as the ship prepared to sail away - next stop, Tortola!

Still missing my professional camera....

St Thomas

I took a little cruise to St. Thomas before the holidays, decided to chill and not make the trip about a photography expedition, so I only grabbed my point and shoot. Well, when I saw how beautiful the sunsets were, how interesting the towns were, and honestly just how many opportunities I had to take some amazing shots, I had separation anxiety from my professional camera. With that said, the images I did capture still emote the beauty of the Caribbean - enjoy.

One of the many alleyways that twist around St. Thomas' main shopping area

We walked down one of the alleys and we were greeted by a series of very old statues

Sunset as our ship was preparing to sail away

Sailing away into the night

This was an amazing stop

Monterey Aquarium

I went to the Monterey Aquarium this year and it is awesome. Had to share some of my favorite pictures, so enjoy.

Jelly Fish

Should I jump?

Amazing Seahorse

Miniaturization of Las Vegas

Since I seem to be in a Vegas mood, I thought I would post some photos that I applied a miniaturization technique to. This is a really fun Photoshop trick that anyone can do but you have to choose a photo with the proper prospective to get the full effect. Here is a great link to help you create mini- worlds.

Make photos large to see full effect - hard to see mini worlds in thumbnail pictures.

View of the strip from an upper floor of TI

View of NY NY from the corner just outside the MGM

Outside of Paris Casino....Las Vegas - just so we are on the same page

Enjoy!