Sea oats flutter in the breeze at Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach, Florida, from our July 2024 Florida trip.
On most of our trips to Cocoa Beach, I take a sea oats photo. It has become a tradition. And if you think it is a strange tradition, that is because traditions are made to be strange. And besides, I don’t mind being strange.
Thanksgiving week has arrived in the United States. The Thanksgiving holiday is this Thursday, and people all over will (hopefully) pause to think about all that they are thankful for. But that is something that we should all do all of the time, not just one day a year, because we have much to be thankful for.
The other day, Laura and I were talking about all of the things we are thankful for just from this year of 2024, and our list quickly got to be pretty long.
Koko Crater rises in the distance on the island of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi, seen from the Makapuʻu Lightouse Trail during our 2023 Hawaiʻi trip.
As we walked up the trail on our way to Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse, we stopped a few times to enjoy the view. And to catch our breath, as it was a slightly steep climb, even though the trail was paved. I loved this view of the shore and Koko Crater off in the distance. The blue water with the white waves at the shore is a perfect foreground companion to the volcanic crater rising in the distance.
Our Panama 2024 trip was more of a working trip than a sightseeing trip, but we still got to see a few of the sites while we were there, and it was interesting to learn some of the history of Panama.
One of the places we visited was Panamá Viejo, or Old Panama. Panamá Viejo was the original Panama City, although it was destroyed in 1671 during a raid by Henry Morgan1. After that, Panama City was built on a new site a few miles away. However, some of the ruins of the original city remain, and they are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
As we climbed up a mountain in Panama, we had an incredible view. A photo actually does not capture it well, believe it or not.
On this particular day in our Panama 2024 trip, we went to visit some of the church members in their homes. One of the homes was way up a mountain. Perhaps the title of the post is a little misleading, in case you thought we went mountain climbing, but maybe not quite so much…
In the previous post of a beach in Panama, I mentioned that getting to the beach was an interesting story in itself. And so as not to keep you waiting any longer, here is that story.
We had arrived by van, and we parked at the edge of the fishing village. But that was as far as we could go by car. So we started walking.
First, we crossed a suspension bridge over a canal1. I personally like bridges like this one, although I know that some people do not like them at all. At least this one was not suspended that high over the canal down below. I like how bridges like this shake when you walk across them, although all that motion does make it a little difficult to get a clear photo.
A group of palm trees on a beach in Panama, as seen during our October 2024 Panama trip.
If you know me, you know I like palm trees. And beaches, too. So it was fun to see these palm trees while we were in Panama. However, we did not go out to the beach for a lazy afternoon of sitting in the sun. This was a working trip and not a recreation trip, after all.
Happy Halloween! Trunk or Treat has been a tradition for us at our church event for several years. You can see some of Laura’s past creations here and here.
For this year, Laura decided to go with our recent experiences, so that our trunk was a trip to the Panama Canal!
Because this event was at our church, and because our trip to Panama was a church trip, we thought that most people would get the connection. We did have lots and lots of visitors from the neighborhood around our church building who probably did not get the connection, but most everyone knows what the Panama Canal is, so we figured it would be just fine.
Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS streaks across the night sky, as seen from our front porch.
Several others have posted photos of this comet with a very long name on social media and elsewhere lately, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon and take my own photo, too. I am not always a bandwagon jumper, but I decided to be for this occasion.
The lights of Panama City, Panama, shine brightly at night as seen from about 38 stories up, during our Panama 2024 trip.
When you saw the title, you might have thought that this was from the Panama City in Florida. However, this is from the original Panama City, the one in the country of Panama, the city that sits at the Pacific end of the Panama Canal, and the city for which the one in Florida was named.
