Oregon Coast, USA

About two hours from our place in Portland, Oregon USA

The plaza in Brussels

Brussels in the rain.

Small boat tour of Amsterdam

     There are several large tourist boats that give folks a tour of Amsterdam. To try something different, we suggest Those Dam Guys who provide a tour for eight people in a small electric motor boat. Lots easier to see things and a good way to meet people from all over. The tour guides are ex-pats working as teachers or in tech and know the city well. The photo here is one I took as we went through under a bridge. The water level in Amsterdam remains constant thanks to engineering. The small ships need to get inside the city to make deliveries so these drawbridges are common. Not a romantic photo I will admit, but an average one.

Going back to Austria and Germany... and lots more

This is a road sign between Innsbruck and Liechtenstein. We were traveling the Tyrolean Alps and dropped down into Innsbruck for lunch. I was driving a Class B Mercedes Benz (Diesel). We looked at this sign for Munchen (Munich) and figure that it was not very far off the Autostada. When we got into Germany at Mittenwald -- a Sunday - the roads were packed and we could hardly find a parking space. I made the decision to go back to Austria and continue on to a town on the Austrian border close to Liechtenstein. We missed Munich. Well at the end of October (I think we will miss Oktoberfest) we will be staying about a week in Munich. We are letting others drive and are taking day tips to special sites outside the city. Will report next month on this adventure. (Which includes Frankfort, Prague (about a week), Passau, the cities of the Danube, Vienna. Budapest, and a time Slovakia. Five countries that I will actually see because I am not driving. 

P.S. On our way there we are staying 6 days in New England to start our tour of Fall colors.

Segovia Spain's Roman Aqueduct

This is what greets you at the parking spot as you walk up to the heart of Segovia Spain.

Young Man Eats Dutch Pancakes

His grandmother's pancake to his left.

The Bird Market near Notre Dame in Paris France

In a small Parisian flat it is easier to have a pet bird.

Loch Ness Monster

On Loch Ness in Scotland. Looking at the castle.

 Granddaughter, Sarah, mugging with statue of possible monster.

Sarah gets to drive the research vessel on Loch Ness, looking at sonar for the monster

Scientists have many theories about what the monster is. Boat wake, hoax, Atlantic sturgeon, and now the scientists say that the lake is full of eel DNA and likely monster sightings are of very large eels.  I also have a theory having been in, on, and around the loch a number of times. I believe that the monster is whatever you want it to be. The important thing is that Ness is a beautiful lake in the Highlands of Scotland. It is a great visit.

The Bridge Between Two Areas of Rhonda Spain

This is how you fill a huge chasm between parts of your town.

Photo by Mike McLellan

Planned wrong

      Five years ago we were traveling in a loop from Venice through the Italian Alps, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland (and back to Italy). We looked forward to seeing the Swiss Alps. The photo above is about all we saw. We have to go back and wait for a sunny day. It rained while we were there and the cloud layer was low. We saw the ground and part of some hills, but had no sightings of mountains. Following which we saw the lovely lakes of Italy and planned to fly over The Matterhorn on the way to Paris. Switzerland was socked in. Bad planning.

Not a pile of rocks...

Without a long lens, this group of hippos out on an island looked like some boulders. With a long lens this group turned out to be an extended family grazing.

Photo was taken at Askari in South Africa by Mike McLellan 

One of my favorite sights

I have no idea where I was, but we were in the air going somewhere.

I like going somewhere.

Two reflection ponds and fountains at the Alhambra

A number of years ago we read the "Tales of The Alhambra" by Washington Irving

and the Alhambra became a destination for us. It lies above the city of Granada Spain

and is everything we expected.

Narrow walkway in the Gothic section of Barcelona

     This area is crowded and is a walkway beside the cathedral (left) leading from one plaza to another in the Gothic section of Barcelona not far from the beach. As we were walking along this street we saw an artist doing a watercolor of this very scene. We stopped to talk and found him to be a teacher who lived outside the central city, but who came down to paint. We saw that he had another painting of this subject and we bought it. It hangs in our bathroom and I see it everyday as I shave. Someone with us, that day in Barcelona, saw this painting that we bought and wondered if there might be another. We told them that the artist was working on another one when we bought ours. The person hurried back to the walkway, but the artist was gone; probably sent away by the police who patrol the area. 

Rail bridge over the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh Scotland

The top of the Eiffel Tower from level Two.

Country Estate in the Scottish Highlands

Lots of grass around your estate? No need for lawnmower. Get some sheep.

Photo by Mike McLellan

The Scotch experience in Edinburgh

So, if you want to find out what your favorite Scotch tastes like ... you try each of of these.

They are all part of the collection.

I'd skip the process and just buy 25 year-old Glenlivet. 

Sunset over the Harbor off the Straights of Gibraltar

To the left would be Morocco looking over the Straights of Gibraltar.

Center is Spain and to the right and behind me is Gibraltar itself. 

Huge public sculpture in Seville, Spain

Baptismal Font in Notre Dame, Paris

I have photos of Baptismal Fonts all over Europe.

They interest me.

Why do we travel?

This is a photo of our grandson meeting other school children in Zambia. We were gathering for a school concert.
We do not travel to see how different our country and culture is from others.
We travel to see how much alike we are.
Everywhere we go we meet people who love their country, but also the world we share. We meet new friends and laugh together. We discover foods that we never knew existed and grow as an extended family around a dinner table.
While the United States is the most familiar to us, we have learned that it is not the best place. It is one of the wonderful places among many in the world.

African Wild Dog

We were in the Chobe National Park, Botswana, and the guide explained

that this critter is the most dangerous on the plains. We saw him/her in action against impala.

They are afraid of nothing.

Do not travel all the way to Brussels to see this little boy...

At about 18 inches high the tube makes him pee. It was wonderful when done. It is worth seeing in its crowded location in a commercial area. but do not go all the way to Belgium to see it.

There are lots of great places to visit in Brussels, focus on them.

If you miss this little guy, you have not missed much.

The Rodin Museum, Paris

Haystack Rock, Canon Beach Oregon

People at lower right give you perspective on size.

Tall tourist ponders Liechtenstein Parking Meter

The problems: Language, bifocal glasses, height, drizzle, and pants too big.

Roughing it in the bush in Botswana

On safari, staying in tents (with a bath) and going out each day to see endangered animals, we had to face the rugged life. Like this photo. We got up at 6 am  for breakfast. And around 10 am we stopped for a coffee/tea break. Everything served on the hood (bonnet) of a safari vehicle. A little more civilized than Dr. Livingstone found it.