The view from Makapuʻu Point on the island of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi, as seen during our June 2023 Hawaiʻi Trip.
During our trip, we had hiked up the trail to see the Makapuʻu Lighthouse. But before we climbed, I was not quite expecting to see the view that we found there.
The exterior of the Lincoln Memorial, built to honor the memory of Abraham Lincoln, in Washington, DC.
During our July 2023 visit to Washington, I wanted to be sure to see the Lincoln Memorial. I have long admired our 16th President. His way of thinking, his sense of humor, and his compassion are always admirable to me. Perhaps you remember how we found a Lincoln site in Tolono, Illinois, or our visit to one of the Lincoln-Douglas Debate sites. That made the Lincoln Memorial a “must see” stop during our visit to Washington, as I am certain it is for so many people.
The sun sets past the lagoon and ocean near the Disney resort of Aulani on the island of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi, as seen during our June 2023 visit.
As you may know from reading the trip report, we went for a walk just about every evening that we were there. Part of that was to work off some of the calories we had eaten (do vacation calories even count?), part of that was to unwind from the day (not that we were stressed, but it is always good to relax at the end of the day), and part of that was to enjoy the beautiful scenery and sunsets. And as you might imagine, photos were taken on most of those nights, too. Not quite every night, but most of them.
Clouds create an interesting pattern behind the Washington Monument in Washington, DC.
At the end of July, Laura and I took a trip with our friend Karen to Winchester, Virginia. Our main goal was to see Karen’s daughter Katie in two shows. But we also visited Washington, DC, on two different days. Laura had never been there before, and I had last been there 35 years ago, so we were excited to see some of the sights, including museums and monuments.
Looking down the shore at Kaʻena Point State Park on the island of Oʻhau in Hawaiʻi, as seen during our June 2023 trip.
If you have read part 4 of the trip report, you may recall reading that I took lots of beach photos, but that I did not include all that many in that post. This is one of the many that I did not include. Not that it was not good enough to “make the cut”, but just that I had too many to choose from. I decided to hold on to most of them to post at random times. The next post after that day of the trip report might not be all that random, however. But there are still plenty more to share later on.
Evening View The ʻEwa tower of Aulani - A Disney Resort and Spa is seen across Koholā Lagoon in Hawaiʻi during our June 2023 visit.
Each evening during our stay, we would go for walks along the Ko Olina lagoons. The views from our walks were quite nice, to say the least. The Ko Olina resort area is along a series of four lagoons, and a path goes along the edges of each one.
A palm tree is silhouetted against the sunset sky in the Ko Olina resort area in Hawaiʻi, as seen on one of our evening walks during our Hawaiʻi 2023 trip.
Each evening, around the time that the sun was setting, we would go for a walk along the Ko Olina lagoons. We would start at Aulani, walk to the end of the walkway (or until we reached the end of the lighted part if it was dark), and then walk back.
The View A nighttime view of the Aulani resort and the surrounding Ko Olina area in Hawaiʻi, as seen during our 30th anniversary trip.
For our 30th anniversary, we wanted to do something special. As you may recall, we took a trip to the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi for our 25th anniversary. Why not do something similar, but visit a different island? And why not go with friends? The Riedels’ 30th anniversary is just a couple of months before ours. So we all decided to take a trip together.
A Volkswagen Beetle is parked by the side of the road in Cozumel, Mexico, as seen during a stop on our 2022 Disney Cruise.
You may already know that Beetles are popular in Mexico. Even though I know that, I still always enjoy seeing them, and I have tried to capture one on each of our two visits. You can see another VW Beetle in the post Street Views in Mexico from our 2016 cruise. That one was in Progresso, while the one pictured here was in Cozumel.
Cheyenne Bottoms near Great Bend, Kansas, is a large marsh habitat that provides a stopping place for migrating birds on the Central Flyway bird migration route. I took this moody-looking photo during our visit in April 2023.
As you might guess from the name, Cheyenne Bottoms is a low area right in the middle of the Kansas plains. The entire Cheyenne Bottoms takes up 41,000 acres. Over 19,000 acres are the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area, while another 7,300 acres are managed by The Nature Conservancy.
