After 43 days on the road, I am happy to be back home. Today’s travels took me from San Jose, California, over the Cascades, and to my partner’s home in the south Sound.
Hi, I’m Eric.
I’m an avid world traveler, photographer, and digital storyteller.
I share new stories of my travels here and am gradually retelling old travel stories, either by moving them from other sites or crafting new articles about them.
I’ve been to over 70 countries and territories around the world and am looking forward to seeing many more.
I am also a software developer and an explorer of my home state.
I hope you enjoy following this or another of my blogs!
After 43 days on the road, I am happy to be back home. Today’s travels took me from San Jose, California, over the Cascades, and to my partner’s home in the south Sound.
I’m in San Jose, California, for some meetings with my incredible team. Few pictures, as much of our time was in conference rooms, but we did take a day for a fun excursion to the Roaring Camp Railroad in the redwoods near Santa Cruz.
I spent the rest of the weekend in Mendocino and headed back to the Bay Area for a few days of meetings with the rest of my team.
Continuing on from my month-long trip through the Southeastern US, I spent most of this week representing my team and project at Internet Identity Workshop. IIW is a fabulous torrent of information and connections. Having attended before and had that same experience then, I made plans to have this weekend away and to myself.
Today marks the end our delightful time together in the Southeast. Today, I drove six hours back to Atlanta and flew another five hours to California. I’ll be there for the next several days for some work-related events and a bit of personal travel over the weekend.
Today is our last full day together on the Southeast. We were expecting clouds and rain but instead got a beautiful sunny day. We decided to visit one more plantation – the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, located on the Ashley River just outside of Charleston.
The AirBNB where we’re staying includes the use of kayaks, so I took one out just before sunset tonight.
We’ve spent this week in and around Charleston, first in Isle of Palms and more recently in another AirBNB on Bohicket Creek on Johns Island.
We spent a while walking the grounds of Bonaventure Cemetery before heading back to South Carolina to spend Easter weekend with some friends in Edisto Island.
This afternoon, we took a short trip to Wormsloe State Historic Site, the site of the home of one of the first British settlers in what would later become Georgia.
We’ve been spending this week in the already-sultry heat of Savannah, Georgia. It’s been around 30°C / 85°F most of the week, which – for those of us acclimated to Pacific Northwest climate – is quite enough, thank you.
From yesterday’s farm stay on the coast near Townsend, I drove down to Jekyll Island.
I found a last-minute AirBNB room on a farm in rural Georgia with goats and sheep and chickens and maybe an alligator in the river.
We left Charleston for points farther south along the coast. We’re spending a couple of nights in Hilton Head Island, before embarking on some separate journeys for a little while.
No big adventures for us today as it was a work day for me, but we did get out for a walk at sunset tonight. After a gray and blustery day, it was nice to see some color in the sky!
Some local friends suggested that we visit the Caw Caw Interpretive Center, a county-maintained wildlife preserve just outside of Charleston. We did and enjoyed a walk through a cypress swamp and former rice plantation.
It’s only March and already it is getting hot and sultry around here. This afternoon, we went out for a small adventure near Charleston: seeing the state park that commemorates the original Charles Town settlement from 1670.
Today, I left Wilmington and headed down to Charleston where I connected with Lisa. We’ll be in Charleston for the next several days. In both cities, I enjoyed the historic architecture.
Today was mostly a work day, but I did get the chance to explore a little bit around downtown while getting lunch and coffee.
Fortunately, I was able to get back on track and resume the trip as planned today.
Not the weasel. This isn’t an upbeat nursery rhyme.
Here goes a great new adventure! I flew today to Atlanta, Georgia, as part of a grand exploration of the southeastern United States.
I was in Utah for a long weekend. This was mostly a family visit, but I did get a chance to get out and enjoy the snowy mountain landscapes east of Salt Lake City a bit.
Once again, I was in for a real treat on my morning commute.
A short drive south of Olympia, Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve presents a most unusual landscape. Hundreds of small mounds of dirt, some as tall as a person make an oddly undulating grassland. Scientists have studied this landscape for nearly two centuries and have yet to agree on a convincing theory for how or why they were formed.
On a recent walk around Capitol Lake in Olympia, I spotted these ducks hanging out on a log.
Had a night to myself last night so I looked on AirBNB for last-minute getaways and found a steampunk caboose! Couldn’t pass that up, so I booked it and drove up there straight away.
We awoke this morning to news that our flight home to Seattle had been canceled. This gave us the opportunity to sleep in a bit and then go visit Botany Bay, near Edisto Beach.
Today was an easy, lay-low day, but we did get out to see the Angel Oak Tree, just outside of Charleston. This is a rare live oak tree with branches that go on and on forever, often going beneath the soil and re-emerging.
Today we explored Middleton Place, a centuries-old plantation that has survived from the 18th century and been preserved as a tourist attraction and historic landmark.
We had heard a strong recommendation to check out Hunting Island State Park, so “on our way” from our friends’ house on Edisto Island to Charleston, we checked it out.
Lisa had a bit of a head start on me, having spent Thanksgiving visiting her friends in Edisto Island. Today I flew from Seattle to Charleston and then drove to meet them.
Today, Lisa and I took the ferry across to Orcas Island and explored for the day.
We mostly worked today, but did make time for an afternoon hike through Iceberg Point at the south end of the island.
Lisa showed me around some of her favorite places on Lopez Island today.
Today it was time to head home. We left our AirBNB in the Garden District in the morning and had several hours before our flight back to Seattle. Being the road geek that I am, I wanted to drive some of the longest bridges in the country.
Friends told us that we should walk down a certain street in the Garden District at night and there would be a show to behold. Mind you, New Orleans in general does not disappoint when it comes to Halloween decor, but our friends were right. This house stood out.
These photos are mostly from our random evening walks around the Garden District and a few from when we went back to the French Quarter.
On our last full day of the trip, we decided to divide and conquer. I road-tripped again (shocker!) and Lisa explored the city a bit. My travels today took me to another coastal area, Grand Isle.
Our agenda for this day was perhaps a bit too ambitious. We departed New Orleans mid-morning, explored the Mississippi Delta region a bit, and then met some friends of mine from Washington who now live in the Gulf Coast of Mississippi State. The plan worked … but just barely.
Louisiana is famous for its swamps and bayous. And the gators that live within them. We took a sightseeing tour today with Cajun Encounters to the Honey Island Swamp near Slidell. And we saw gators!
With the conference nearly over, we decided to take an evening walking tour of the French Quarter and to learn about the city’s ghostly history.
On Sunday, we mostly laid low and explored the immediate area around our hotel.
After a few days meeting with my team in our Bay Area offices, I flew to New Orleans to meet my partner who would be attending a conference here for a few days.
The plan was to spend the night in Seattle, have fun watching a friend’s band play, and then set out for a weekend of visiting more parks in the San Juans, ideally to use my kayak to visit a couple of the marine state parks.
All great things must come to an end. Today we parted company and I flew home to Seattle. I had a window seat and was able to capture a few nice landscape photos on the way home.
We made most of our way back to Utah today, but this time via the “southern” route (i.e. I-70 as far as was reasonable).
This was mostly a lay-low day, but we took a brief road trip through the mountains west of Denver. Local guides suggested that Guanella Pass, an hour or so west of the city, would be an especially scenic route. It was.
So, it turns out it’s a long way from Salt Lake City to Denver. We drove this over two days with a brief stop in Wyoming. Mostly it gave us a chance to catch up and talk and do some shopping. There were lots of wide-open spaces and we didn’t take much time to stop for photos.
I flew down to Salt Lake City today. I’ll work for a couple of days from there and then my daughter and I will embark on a road trip together for a few days.
On our last full day of the trip, we took off a bit early to enjoy the sun and scenery.
We took this evening to satisfy a curiousity about Stansbury Island, which is not entirely an island any more due to lower lake levels.
This afternoon (Memorial Day), we visited Great Salt Lake State Park a bit west of Salt Lake City.
I’m in Utah for a few days for a family visit. I had a few hours to myself upon arrival and decided to check out the Ensign Peak Trail, which offered some nice views from above the city.
And now to business …
Adobe’s offices are near Union Square, so what follows are a few pictures from my time in the city.
As I am so often inclined to do, I took the long way from Port Jefferson into the city.
I had all day today to explore. I decided to head up the Connecticut coast for a while and then take a ferry from Bridgeport to the north shore of Long Island.
I arrived this evening a bit early for some meetings at Adobe’s New York offices. As is often the case with travel, there were some misadventures and delays, but it all worked out OK. The highlight of this evening was a stay at the TWA Hotel.
Today we drove north across central Washington for a park visit and a stay in mountains at Sun Mountain Lodge near Winthrop.
We worked from Pullman Thursday and Friday and then headed out in the afternoon. Not much to share from this day, except that I got to introduce Lisa to a favorite place in Richland, The Lodge at Columbia Point.
Remember when I said I had to be back in Eastern Washington right away?
Today we explored Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island State Parks.
There are … more efficient … ways to get from Salt Lake to Park City. But … why? You’d miss out on some amazing scenery.
For something a little different, I drove across the state today before heading to Utah for a few days to visit family. (Why? I need to be in eastern Washington right away when I get back.)
My partner and I took an impromptu trip to Portland and Astoria this weekend. We discovered two great hotels and added three new parks to the 146 Parks project.
The plan was to head east and visit a bunch of new parks for the 146 Parks project. That only sort of happened, but a good time was had nonetheless.
It was going to be a long day in any case. But when our 2am flight from San Juan became a 4:30am flight, there was no longer a direct flight available for us from Newark to Seattle. So … we took the long(er) way home.
This morning, we said goodbye to the treehouse and started our journey home. We had a full day to spend on the island, so we spent our lunch time in the southern coastal city of Ponce and then made our way to the very northeast corner of the island for a night-time bioluminescent kayak tour before heading back to the airport.
Happy New Year! Today, we drove down to the southwesternmost point of Puerto Rico to see Cabo Rojo and its lighthouse, Faro Los Morrillos.
We left Salinas this morning and drove through the mountains to the town of Utuado and then on to a most amazing treehouse near San Germán, where we will spend the last two evenings of our trip.
We are staying again in Salinas. What to do with the day in between? Do we go east or do we go west? A coin toss decided it and we explored the coast to the east of us.
We left San Juan this morning, rented a car, and explored the tropical rain forest in El Yunque National Forest.
Today we walked through the old city and its historic forts.
Having spent our first two days of acclimating and relaxing on the beach, we’ve now moved on to the historic district of Old San Juan.
This evening, we walked among the colorful streets and then to the Paseo del Morro, a trail along the edge of Castillo San Felipe del Morro.
So excited to start my first major vacation in … yeah, that long … and to share it with fellow travel aficionado and sweetheart Lisa Rozmyn.
I am on a brief solo road-trip this weekend. I woke up, looked out the window, and got outside as quickly as I could to capture this morning’s sunrise.
I often hike Dungeness Spit when I need a moment to myself. On this morning, returning from one such hike, Mother Nature sent me this inspiring visual with the receding fog.
My partner and I visited the Grays Harbor Lighthouse in Westport recently.
I had the opportunity for a long weekend away and decided to make some progress on my parks project.
This was a more quiet day. Few photos. I was ready to be home.
This was a day for moody cloudscapes and quiet contemplation.
After Taos, it was time for some high desert plains and some mountains. I landed this next night in the ski resort of Telluride.
Leaving Lubbock, I decided to continue satisfying my Panhandle curiosity. I drove north through Amarillo and into the far western edge of Oklahoma’s Panhandle before turning west to my destination for the night, Taos, New Mexico.
I’d long been curious about the Texas Panhandle region, but never had a compelling reason to actually visit. That reason recently appeared in the form of a family matter that required me to go to Dallas quickly, but left me with time to come home slowly and thoughtfully.
Herewith, Day 1 of my sojourn from Dallas to Seattle starting in west Texas:
Being the crazy photographer that I am, I awoke at 5am to capture sunrise at Mount Fuji. I was blessed with good weather this morning, and the resulting photo is the lead photo for today.
Any trip to Japan must include a ride on the famously-fast Shinkansen trains.
We spent today exploring the city of Kyōto.
And now, for something completely different …
I almost flew around the world in 72 hours.
I got to see a bit of the mountains of Tunisia today.
After a long day of exploring and photographing, it was time to go back to my hotel in La Marsa.
On the way back from Uthina, Sam suggested we stop by the coastal town of Sidi Bou Said.
After visiting the souks in Tunis, we went to visit an archaeological dig an hour or so to the south.
I hired a local guide to show me the sights of Tunis and surrounding areas.
I started this morning with a quick photo walk around the neighborhood where I’m staying.
In case you haven’t figured this out about me already, I like being a nomadic traveler.
Like the last two days, there was a plan for today.
Come to the Mediterranean, they said. It will be warm, they said.
Narrator: He took the bait.
As planned, I finished my circumnavigation of the island and headed back home today.
It’s dark. I’m asleep. There are elephants.
Huh?
Elephants. Yes. Definitely elephants. Many elephants. They’re running. Stampeding. Right outside my door.
This … could be bad.
I’m spending the today and the next two days exploring the island nation of Taiwan.
After Costa Rica, it was time to head home. We sailed for two nights back to Fort Lauderdale. Since my flight back to Seattle departed late in the day, I had the opportunity to go out on a sight-seeing tour in the Everglades “on the way” to the airport.
We sailed overnight from Panama to Limón, Costa Rica. Today’s shore excursion from Limón included a tour of a rain forest and a visit to the Tortguero Canals near the Atlantic coast.
We left Cartagena last night and arrived early this morning at the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal. We sailed into Lake Gatún, the first major inland lake on the canal, and then I took a shore excursion to see the new version of the canal and some local culture.
We sailed overnight to Curaçao, making this my second new island nation in as many days.
After leaving the Bahamas, we sailed for most of two days to get to Aruba, an island nation just off the South American coast.
In the first few days or this trip, I’ve flown from Seattle to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, boarded the cruise ship, and sailed to a private island in the Bahamas.
I’m back from my amazing trip to South America. Having had a few days to rest and catch up, I thought I’d share some reflections on how it went.
Before embarking on the long journey home, I took one last tour to see some highlights of Quito.
This morning I went for one more walk around downtown Cuenca before heading back to Quito.
Yesterday I flew down to the mountain city of Cuenca. Today I took a guided tour of the city. Lots of fun scenes to share!
I spent most of today flying from the south of Chile to the Ecuadorian capital, Quito. I had a long layover in Chile’s capital, Santiago, so I hired a cooperative taxi driver to show me around the city before I had to embark on the multi-hour journey north to Ecuador.
I did the Andes Crossing today and it was absolutely beautiful. The Andes Crossing is a combination of bus and boat tours that lead across the Andes between San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, and Puerto Varas, Chile.
Not much for photos today; it was mostly a day of relaxing and enjoying a much-needed shower after last night’s water system misadventure. I started my journey back north today. I’ll stay tonight in San Carlos de Bariloche, on the eastern edge of the Andes.
Today I took a tour west from El Calafate to Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, home to the Perito Moreno glacier.
This morning I strolled around La Recoleta Cemetery, near where we are staying. Our time in Buenos Aires was much too short, but such are the choices made in an ambitious trip such as this.
Looking across the river this morning, we could see on the horizon the skyscrapers of Buenos Aires. Such a difference from the sleepy historic town that is Colonia. We’ll be crossing over in a few hours …
And now for something completely different!
We’ve spent the last few days driving around and exploring various parts of rural Uruguay before winding up in the coastal resort community of Punta del Este.
Iguazú Falls was amazing. Today, we’ve moved on to Montevideo, Uruguay. We’ll be in Uruguay for the next five days.
Wow isn’t enough for this place. The name Iguazú (or, in Portuguese, Iguaçu) is adapted from an indigenous name meaning “big water.” That still isn’t enough to describe it. The important thing to understand when looking at each of the photos I’m showing here is that they each represent a small portion of the falls.
Today, we left Rio and took a short flight to the national parks that surround Iguazú Falls on the border between Argentina and Brazil.
No visit to Rio is complete without a visit to the iconic statue; wouldn’t you agree?
This morning I bid farewell to the convent/hotel where I was staying. Such a lovely hotel. Amazingly well renovated.
Today, I took a bus tour up to Praia do Forte, a tourist beach village about 80 km / 50 miles east of Salvador.
Today I took a brief driving and walking tour around Salvador.
Today I have arrived in Salvador, Brazil, where I will spend the next three days. I am absolutely thrilled with this last-minute historic hotel find in Salvador.
A delightful breakfast here at Hotel Santa Teresa and then it’s off to a new location in Rio. This was a great place to crash and rest up from the rigors of travel. On to the next place!
So it turns out that just showing up in Brazil without a rock solid-plan for what you are going to do and where you’re going to stay is … not great.
First impressions, while I enjoy lunch …
Rio is a study in contrasts. It wears its slums out on its sleeve. There is no escaping that part of the city as you are driven to wherever it is you’re going.
I have two hours in Atlanta and then south, south, south!
… and today brings me home. Mostly freeway miles, but the side trip through Harrington and Odessa on SR 28 was well worth it.
Today I explored the Columbia and Spokane River valleys on the way to Spokane. It was gray and snowy pretty much everywhere I went today, but that’s what I was looking for.
I had fun driving today, mostly looking for winter farm scenes in the high plains east of Wenatchee, before winding up in Omak for the night.
We hiked the Northrup Canyon Trail in eastern Washington today. Here are a few of the fun desert- and cliff-scapes we observed.
Today I went back into Yellowstone where I got stalled for a bit by a herd of bison in the road.
The idea was to drive from Red Lodge to West Yellowstone. Mission accomplished, but maybe not quite the way that was originally planned.
On this day, I trekked west across the rolling hills of South Dakota, Montana, and a small sliver of Wyoming.
So the plan was to follow US Highway 212 as far west as I could. On this first day, this led me through the sweeping plains of western Minnesota and eventually to the sleepy town of Redfield, South Dakota.
On this last day of the workshop, we returned to Amsterdam.
On this day, we toured the coastal communities of Katwijk and Haarlem and the ventured up to see the windmills at Zaansche Schans.
We spent the last two mornings at the famous Keukenhof Gardens, where Holland’s tulip growers gather to share their latest bulbs.
Today was the first day of a week-long photo tour of Amsterdam and the tulip gardens near Leiden. We took a walkabout through the city of Amsterdam today; tomorrow, weather permitting, we’ll be shooting tulips at the Keukenhof gardens. Stay tuned. Should be a great week on the photoblog!
I decided to take this weekend and drive to winter (i.e. that part of Washington that actually gets snow in winter).
After a week in New York City for business, I made some time to go exploring Long Island.
Over the last two weeks, I’ve been introduced to a whole new world – the country that we (the United States) invaded in the 1980s. To visit Nicaragua in the post-war world is a surreal experience. So much has changed in the years since … and yet, our presence there can not be forgotten.
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Thank you for following along!
