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.
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.
You can see more of my travel stories without having to check back randomly to see if I’ve posted something new.
Thank you for following along!
