Hello Dolly – Paddlewheel Cruiser on Canyon Lake

Apache Junction, Arizona.

In previous posts here, I’ve focused on Canyon Lake, a reservoir created by one of a string of four dams on the Salt River. In 1925, the Mormon Flat Dam was completed creating the smallest lake in the chain. The lake is about 50 miles (80 km) from Phoenix. Only about 15 miles (24 km) from the city of Apache Junction, the drive is scenic and winds through the Tonto National Forest and parts of the Superstition Mountains.

Grand Turk – Columbus’ First Landfall?

Grand Turk Island, Turks and Caicos.

Our last stop on our 2018 Caribbean Cruise brought us to the Island of Grand Turk, a British Territory. Of course, on our cruise, I didn’t learn that Grand Turk might have been the place where Columbus first “discovered America.” As usual, in research for this post, I found the tidbit of information on Wikipedia. Seems the outline of the island more closely fits descriptions of the landing location than other possibilities. You can read the details here if you are so inclined.

El Morro – San Juan’s Centuries-old Defense

San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Our family cruise brought us to San Juan, the second port on our itinerary. There was really only one place we wanted to visit on the island, Castillo San Felipe del Morro, known these days simply as El Morro. Strategically placed at the northeast entrance to the Bay of San Juan, this massive fort has protected the city for nearly 500 years.

Carnival Magic – A Family Cruise

Somewhere in the Caribbean Sea.

In late January, we departed for Florida on a family cruise arranged by one of my nephews and his wife. They have been on a few Carnival cruises and put together the ship with an itinerary. We would find ourselves on the Carnival Magic headed for the eastern Caribbean ports at Amber Cove, Charlotte Amalie, San Juan, and Grand Turk. Lynn and I have also enjoyed cruises over the years and though we prefer Norwegian Cruise Lines, we found little to complain about on the Magic. The opening image features the Magic and a British cruiser docked at Grand Turk. The ship, however, never made it to Amber Cove.

Weekly Photo Challenge – Smile

Somewhere in the Caribbean.

This week, I was reviewing images from a recent cruise to feature here on my Travel Tuesday series. I ran across this photo of my wife, (foreground), and my sister and her boyfriend, all enjoying conversation over dinner at sea. It made me smile and I couldn’t help but share the photo with my family and friends on Facebook on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, Ben Huberman announced the weekly photo challenge and said, “…point your camera at something or someone that puts a smile on your face (or just show a smiling face.)”

Cellpic Sunday – 4 March 2018

Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.

It was the fall of 2014 when we headed on board a ship for our last cruise. At one point, we’d put a deposit on a cruise to Cuba, having heard of the great photography options and the friendliness of the people from other photographer friends who travelled there. With the Presidential election and a changing travel policy toward Cuba on the horizon, I decided to wait to see how the political climate might change and we cancelled our deposit for now.

Cellpic Sunday – 18 February 2018

Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.

I promised a few Sundays of pictures from the Carnival Magic and our Eastern Caribbean cruise. Here’s a sunset at our six as we headed east toward our first stop. We didn’t know at this point that our first stop would be cancelled due to bad weather and the Captain’s choice to avoid the storm by going around our first port of call in the Dominican Republic.