Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !

The New York City party was great.

We really enjoyed our traveling companions and I think they were very pleased with their books and videos. That's, after all, what travel-ography.com is all about.

I did miss my deadline I had promised for releasing our schedule of trips for next year. Too many loose ends and we were way too busy at the photography studio.

Adventures that are being planned include:

Las Vegas around the first week of April. Gamble if you like but we're betting that you'll enjoy what we're planning, which is a trip based on discovering the Las Vegas strip without spending time at the casinos. There is so much to do and so much to see. We've been there dozens of times and Las Vegas remains one of my absolute favorite destinations (and I don't gamble)!

Boston over the 4th of July. The 'Pops' on the 4th by the Charles River is fantastic. What an historic and beautiful city, and where better to be on our nation's birthday. This will be a wonderful adventure.

Many others are in the works including Washington D. C., Chicago, New York City, Minneapolis, Branson, Rocky Mountains, and others.

Time just ran out on us and now we'll be away from a computer for a few days...so, we hope to post more detailed info shortly after the first of the year.

Happy Holidays !

Steve and Linda

All are Welcome !!!

We've been working feverishly to get everything ready for our travel-ography.com New York City Release Date Party, which is scheduled for this coming Monday afternoon (Dec. 17th) at 4 p.m., with the premier showing of the DVD video of our just completed trip to NYC at 4:30 p.m.

All are welcome to stop by Steve Larson Studio in Grafton for cider and cookies and to enjoy the show. Plus, the travelers that went to New York with us will be able to pick up their beautiful Coffee Table Books, Photo Albums and DVD Videos designed just for them.

These travel-ography.com keepsakes turned out amazing (if I do say so myself) and I think they will be much appreciated by our traveling companions.

The books are spectacular and really capture the 'feel' of our trip.

The custom made song, which defines our DVD's, was just completed tonight (Sat.) and I'm pretty proud of that, as well.

So here's hoping in the midst of this busy holiday season, you can take a few minutes and join us for this fun event. We also will be releasing info on some of our travels we have planned for this coming year.

Remember, a travel-ography.com adventure would make a wonderful Christmas gift to share with someone you love.

Steve

'Take a Deep Breath....'

'Take a deep breath.....and then exhale slowly.'

I can't tell you how many times I've had to call on that thought the past few weeks.

Between photographing countless young athletes holding basketballs, hockey sticks or striking a wrestling pose (which we enjoy doing, but must do quickly so their parents, family and friends can proudly wear those little sports buttons at the games)...photographing families for Christmas cards (that deadline is also looming!)...still taking dozens of high school senior pictures (more 'creative' than ever !)...we are very busy at the studio.

Plus, we've been working feverishly to get everything ready for our travel-ography.com New York City Release Date Party, which is scheduled for this coming Monday afternoon (Dec. 17th) at 4 p.m., with the premier showing of the DVD video of our just completed trip to NYC at 4:30 p.m.

All are welcome to stop by for cider and cookies and to enjoy the show. Plus, the travelers that went to New York with us will be able to pick up their beautiful Coffee Table Books, Photo Albums and DVD Videos designed just for them.

One little 'confession'.....I'm still writing the song for the DVD Video. I know...but it will get done.

Each video we produce from our travel-ography.com adventures features a song (personalized about our trip) we write and record . It's pretty fun !

Excuse me....I had to take another 'deep breath...and exhale slowly'.

We hope to see you at our party, as not only will we be sharing the New York City excitement and memories...but we will be releasing our travel-ography schedule for upcoming trips. Something many of you have expressed an interest in for possible Christmas gifts (a great idea !).

Monday, December 17th, at 4:00 p.m. at Steve Larson Studio in Grafton with the New York City video (which is 'G' rated) being shown at 4:30.

Everyone is welcome !

Steve and Linda

Radio City Christmas Spectacular...

As I sit gazing out the window at the beautiful 'snow globe' weather conditions, my thoughts turn to the wonderful time we shared with our travel-ography.com group in New York City just 3 short weeks ago.

Which reminds me...to remind you...about tonight's television program on NBC (Channel 11 for folks in our area) at 7:00 pm.


It's the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular and it is the very show that was taped while we were in the audience with 6,000 other amazed guests (we even practiced cheering before the show).

As one member of our group so perfectly summed up the show, "I have never seen anything, and doubt I will ever again see anything, quite so beautiful and spectacular."

It should be well worth watching...tonight (Sat. Dec. 1st) at 7:00 on NBC.

As I promised on my last post, here's a little story which really ties our group to the show. Two of the young stars of the show were young boys, one about 10 and the other about 14. After the show, our group went to the stage door at the side of Radio City Music Hall to meet with a Grafton girl, Lisa Blanchard, who has been in the show for about 10 years...(yes, that's the same Lisa, who for the past few years was in charge of those delicious 'Wagon Masters' at West Side Drive In in Grafton).

Anyway, while waiting for Lisa, out the door came a young man, who I recognized as the young star in the show. He was with a woman (his mother), who confirmed this to me and I asked if he'd pose for a quick picture with our group. He seemed surprised, and thrilled, that a group of North Dakotans would like to include him in their picture. His mom said that we really 'made his day'.


Minutes later, after Lisa had joined our group, out comes the 14 year old and he posed for a photo with us, as well.


A couple of very nice young men, who we'll always remember and who probably will remember us for some time. Two young stars in a city of 8 million.

And Lisa...she is as beautiful as ever, and really delighted the group by going out with us for hors d' oeuvres and dessert after the show and sharing several 'Radio City' and 'New York City' stories with us. Thank You Lisa ! It was great seeing you again.


Enjoy the show tonight !

We will be announcing, in just a few days, our 'release date' party time for the coffee table books, DVD video and photo albums for our New York group. As always, everyone is welcome.

At that time, we will also release our preliminary schedule for our 2008 travel-ography.com adventures. Many of you have recognized that one of these trips would make a perfect Christmas gift...and we certainly agree!

Happy Holidays !!

Steve and Linda

Program Reminders from NYC.....

Here are two program reminders of special interest to the group that just traveled to New York City with us....programs that should be enjoyable for all of us, as we enter into the 'holiday season'.

Tonight, on NBC, Al Roker (pictured below giving us the 'thumbs up', as we were watching him at his weather desk in NY) hosts the lighting of the tree at Rockefeller Center.


We saw the tree just after it was brought into NYC and put in the place where it will stand proud and beautiful during the holiday season. We were told it is the tallest tree ever to grace Rockefeller Plaza at a majestic 80 feet.


And there also was quite a story surrounding its discovery and selection.

Apparently, a neighbor sent photos of the tree in to the selection committee without telling the owners of the property the tree was on in Connecticut, I believe. When the committee member showed up to tell the man that the tree had been selected, the man had to tell him it wasn't his tree and they both went over to the neighbors to deliver them the surprise news and see what would happen next.

Long story short...the neighbors were flattered and came to the conclusion that the tree probably was close to the end of it's life and, therefore, said 'yes, you can have the tree for New York City and the rest of the world to enjoy'.

The second program note also involves our recently completed trip to the 'Big Apple'.

We were fortunate enough to enjoy the 'Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular' on the night when it was taped to be shown on NBC at a later date as a special to honor the famed hall and the Rockettes 75th Anniversary.



Well, that 'later date' is this weekend, as the one hour special will be shown on Saturday night, December 1st, on NBC. It was a spectacular show and one that I'm sure will really put you in the 'holiday spirit'.


Matt and Meredith from the Today Show were even there the evening we saw the show. After the show, I was able to get photographs of several members of our group with 3 of the 'stars' of the 'Spectacular'. I'll include a couple of the photos and a little story about them on my next travel-ography.com post.

(All above photos were taken on our trip...click on them to see a larger version.)

Happy Holidays !!!

Steve

'Happy Thanksgiving'

Happy Thanksgiving !


We're still catching up following our fun filled four days in New York City with the travel-ography.com group. What a city!

Cheryl V. took the two photographs below showing the 'Big Apple' looking in two different directions from the breathtaking perspective of the top of Rockefeller Center.



We were in New York City on Veteran's Day, so as an added bonus, we were able to see the spectacular parade honoring our nation's veterans. The following photograph was shot as the parade wound down famous 'Fifth Avenue' (the same route today's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will take).


Here's hoping you and yours can enjoy this very special day in America and be among family and friends.


God Bless America....and....Happy Thanksgiving !

Steve and Linda

The 'Big Potato' ? .....

We're back ! From our travel-ography.com adventure in New York City !


We maybe didn't make quite enough of an impact to change NYC from being called the 'Big Apple'....to the 'Big Potato' ....but we did show a lot of New Yorkers just how kind and generous....and fun!...a group from North Dakota can be.

Oh, and did I mention.....resilient ?

With Broadway theater shows on our mind, we landed at LaGuardia Airport at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.....only to find out that at 11:00 a.m. the stage workers were all going on strike, thus shutting down all of Broadway's productions until further notice.

Did we flinch.....yes. Did we fold.....heck no !

After mentally going over our options, I asked my cousin Sheila, who lives in Manhattan, and had spent much of the day with us showing us around her city, if she had any suggestions for an 'off-Broadway' show, since the news had only reported the strike to affect Broadway shows. She suggested a show she had personally seen three times, and at 1:00 a.m. Linda and I had located and purchased 12 very difficult to find scalper's tickets to the 'off-Broadway' play/musical called 'Altar Boyz'.

This little known 'gem' was terrific, blending a perfect mix of harmonious songs, with sidesplitting humor. It was an extremely well written, well produced production performed in an intimate little theater seating 360 very appreciative people.

Plus, it was only 5 blocks from our hotel. Just another of life's little situations where you can sometimes make lemonade when handed a lemon. Everyone on the trip was a very good sport about it and I think really enjoyed the show.

I'll share more of what turned out to be a fabulous trip on future travel-ography.com blog posts.

By the way, the photo of our group was taken by cousin Sheila, as we strolled through beautiful Central Park, just a couple of hours after landing in New York City.

As always, click on the photo to enlarge it, and click on the 'X' if you are reading this on email or on the 'back arrow' if reading this on our blog and you will be returned to the blog.

More later,

Steve

A Terrific Turn out....

What a great turn out we had yesterday for our Duluth and the North Shore Drive Release Date Party.

Just about everyone who went with us on the trip stopped by the studio and enjoyed some coffee, cider and cookies (my mother-in-laws 'famous' chocolate chip cookies !), as well as some fellowship with their newly made friends from the trip.

It was great to see everyone and, especially gratifying to Linda and I, to see how much everyone enjoyed the photo albums, the coffee table books and the DVD video. After all, new friendships and lasting memories, in the form of photographs, is what travel-ography.com is all about!

One thing I noticed is that some of the folks were interested in some of the other travel-ography products from the trip that they didn't sign up for (ie: maybe they had chosen the book and now would like either the photo album or the video DVD, as well.

So, I thought I'd mention that these items would make great Christmas gifts from family or friends...and maybe, just maybe, you should drop some hints. We'd be glad to accommodate any orders of the images of our trip in any form (book, photo album, DVD, enlarged prints, calendars, etc.) and would do so in a timely fashion.

Just thought I'd mention this since these are very cool items and are being offered at very reasonable prices. Pictured below are some of the items.



Now it's off to New York City on another travel-ography.com experience! We'll share some of the highlights on this blog site when we return.

Steve

Release Date Open House....

Celebrate with us this afternoon (Wednesday, Nov.7th) from 4:00 to 5:30 at Steve Larson Studio.

It's our Release Date Open House, as we deliver our Coffee Table Books, Photo Albums and Video DVD's to those who traveled with us to Duluth and the North Shore Drive in late September.

The premier showing of the DVD Video 'Duluth and the North Shore Drive' will take place at 4:30.

Coffee, cider and cookies will be served.....and All are Welcome !

Come see what travel-ography.com is all about.....we think you'll be amazed.

Steve and Linda

Nike Logo....

I'm outside the other day photographing a young man by his car for his senior pictures, when we hear this unmistakable honking sound and look to the sky.



There, in all of nature's glory, is a flock of geese apparently advertising for 'Nike'.

Speaking of advertising, there are some really catchy and comical commercials out right now. A few that I find particularly amusing include; one for Avis and Garmin GPS...where a guy driving his car is directed to 'turn right at the next intersection' by this soft, pleasant feminine voice. To which, after getting this 'longing' look on his face, he blurts out "I love you". There is a painful silence, where the driver has an almost chagrined look on his face. Suddenly the silence is broken when the female voice, once again, matter of factly, states something like 'In one mile take the I95 exit and head south'. To which the relieved male driver says, "You're right, let's just keep it professional." A very catchy advertisement in my opinion.

A more upbeat and highly visual commercial that I have to watch every time it comes on is the Arby's ad, where two lab scientists get exciting over an Arby's sandwich instead of an amazing display of Irish Riverdancing by a line of lab monkeys. Watching those monkeys dance absolutely amazes me every time. Just watch their faces and their feet. A scream.

Then there's the Sears battery commercial on the radio, where 'Positive' and 'Negative' are carrying on a conversation. Part of it finds 'Positive' saying "What a beautiful, brisk morning." with 'Negative' responding "It's so cold I'm freezing my 'bolts' off." I almost drove off the road I was laughing so hard. Reminded me of an old cheer we used to shout in high school...'Nuts and Bolts...Nuts and Bolts...We got Screwed !'

I better switch topics. Although humor is on my mind, as I'm watching 'Saturday Night Live' hosted tonight by my favorite news anchor Brian Williams. The show is excellent. I usually don't watch SNL because it's on pretty late but tonight I'm watching for two reasons. First, because we gain an hour tonight, as we leave daylight saving time....and second, because we're going to be on the 'Saturday Night Live' set next weekend, as our travel-ography.com group heads to New York City. It's pretty unreal just thinking about it.

Also, I'll be watching tomorrow's New York City Marathon, which will be on NBC at 2 p.m. The footage of the race should show a lot of the very spots we'll be walking next weekend. Wow ! Including the finish at Tavern on the Green in world famous Central Park...just two blocks from the hotel we are staying in!

A quick bit of info on the marathon. More than 38,000 runners are expected to try navigate their way over the 26.2 mile course, which winds through all five New York City boroughs and over five bridges, with more than two million spectators watching. Hopefully they are all finished by the time we get there.

A quick sight we'll see in the park that will actually look pretty familiar to us North Dakotans.


This skating rink is located in Central Park, again, just a couple blocks from where we are staying.

I'll end this blog post by steering you to another blog....the one our son, Rob, is authoring. Go to www.roamingrob.com and see the first picture Rob has been able to post from his adventure in Indonesia. The internet was not sufficient in Indonesia to get photographs on his blog, but now that he has moved to Malaysia...voila...our first picture we've seen of him in two months. We think he looks like a happy, and younger, version of Tom Hanks in the movie 'Castaway'.

Happy travels,

Steve

New York in November....

Eight days....and counting.

It always seems when you plan something exciting it seems so far off in the future. Then, suddenly, it's here. The future is now...or at least almost now, as our trip to New York City is only a week and a day away.

From the tranquil scenes in Central Park.....



.....to the undeniable rapid 'pulse of the city' culminating at Times Square.....

We plan on putting ourselves right in the middle of the action !


The last couple of times we've been to the 'Big Apple', I've seen this sign in the subway. And I can tell you, Gene Kelly couldn't have said it any better.


New York City....Here we come !

As a special bonus, we just received confirmation today that my cousin Sheila (an actual local, who lives in Manhattan !) will be joining us for part of our stay to make sure us North Dakotans 'fit in'. You'll love Sheila.


As always, click on any of the photos I have taken, and you can view them much larger. Then, simply hit the little 'x' (if you're reading this as an email message) or hit the 'back arrow' (if you are reading this on the travel-ography.com blog) to return to the message.

By the way, New York in November isn't all that is on our minds these days. In fact, the Duluth group will again take 'center stage' this coming Wednesday, Nov. 7th.

We're having an open house for about an hour at Steve Larson Studio to celebrate the release date of our Coffee Table Books, Photo Albums and Video DVD's from our recently completed adventure in Duluth and along the North Shore Drive.

The books, albums and video turned out fantastic and I'm sure all will agree that they make for some wonderful memories of our time together. After all, that's what travel-ography.com is all about!

The Release Date Open House is from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. this coming Wednesday, the 7th. The premier showing of the video, 'Duluth and the North Shore Drive' will be at 4:30.

The folks that traveled with us received special invitations, but everyone is welcome to stop by the studio on this special afternoon and see what travel-ography.com is all about. We'd love to see you there.

Steve and Linda

The 'Unexpected' in Central Park....

It's just a little more than two weeks until our group, travel-ography.com, travels to New York City.

We have some terrific travelers going with us and we hope to visit as many of the 'must see' sights as 4 days and 3 nights will allow. However, sometimes it's the 'unexpected' sight or event that really provides a treasured memory of one's travels.

A couple of 'blog posts' ago, I mentioned that we will walk to Strawberry Fields in Central Park and see the memorial tribute that celebrates the life of John Lennon. It is a very simple and peaceful memorial that you could almost walk by without noticing. But every day, hundreds of folks do stop by and spend some time in this small portion of the park, just across the street from the Dakota Hotel, where the former Beatle was gunned down more than 26 years ago.

On that blog post, I added a photograph I had taken of the 'Imagine' stonework, where so many have laid roses and other mementos in tribute to Lennon. In the background of the photograph was an elderly man sitting on a park bench, appearing to be deep in thought.


More on this man in a moment.

The last time Linda and I were in New York City, we were strolling through Central Park on a beautiful November afternoon, when we came upon an 'event' of which we had no prior knowledge.

There, before us, was a middle aged man with a guitar, performing for a diverse group of people, who had gathered on a small hillside overlooking a serene lake, which was dwarfed by a beautiful backdrop of the skyscrapers of Manhattan looming in the background.



We found the music of this troubadour in the park incredible....but it was his stories, between songs, that were quite captivating. One such story followed the request from a young girl to play a Beatles song. Before playing the song, he told the crowd that there was someone very special among us....then he pointed over toward me. He continued by saying that the gentleman seated on the park bench (I was seated on the bench) was an instrumental figure in the history of music in America. He then stated that this man, sitting right next to Linda and I, was the man who brought the Beatles to America....Sid Bernstein.

Mr. Bernstein, we found out, was a big time music industry concert promoter and had, indeed, been the man who contacted Beatles manager Brian Epstein in 1963 in Liverpool, England and won him over by promising to put the Beatles in Carnegie Hall. Ed Sullivan, the host of the popular TV talent hour bearing his own name, found out about Mr. Bernstein's deal and signed the Beatles to perform on his show on that historic Sunday evening, February 9th, 1964. Three days later, the Beatles performed to a frenzied American crowd at Carnegie Hall, and Mr. Bernstein looked like a genius.

Anyway, after exchanging smiles and a polite hello, we watched as several people came over to talk to the elderly, gentle man, who brought the Beatles to America.

The next day we walked back and again listened to the guitar man in Central Park for awhile, before walking a few hundred yards up a wooded trail that led us to Strawberry Fields. The mood was somber, as people of all ages paused to reflect on the life, and death, of a musician, whose songs and lyrics had meant so much to so many.

I was photographing a couple of roses, that had been placed on the memorial, when I looked up and noticed, none other than, Sid Bernstein, sitting in quiet contemplation on a park bench just to the side of the memorial. Choosing not to disturb him, I quietly took the photograph shown below of 'the man who brought the Beatles to America', undoubtedly reflecting on the senseless loss of one of the worlds most revered musicians, as the 25th anniversary of Lennon's death drew near.


'The man who brought the Beatles to America'

A little bit about that guitarist, who became one of our 'unexpected' highlights of our trip to the 'Big Apple'. It turns our that he has become quite famous. His name is David Ippolito, but he is known locally as, 'That Guitar Man from Central Park". In fact, he has a very good web site called www.thatguitarman.com.

Ippolito has been performing impromptu concerts on a hill along side the scenic little lake in Central Park for the past 15 years, mostly on weekends. He is a charismatic vocalist and storyteller, and although he specializes in Beatles music, he sings songs from a wide variety of genres, including some he has written and recorded himself. I also recently read, although I didn't see him on TV, that he had won $64,000 on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire'. Apparently, he's talented and smart.

Anyway, just a little story on how the 'unexpected' often turns out to be a travel highlight. I hope we get to see him this November with our travel-ography.com group. If not, we'll probably run into something else 'unexpected' that will add to the memories of our trip.

Steve

'Top of the Rock'...

The energy on the streets of New York City is unbelievable....'action' everywhere. Being there is truly an 'eye opening' experience unlike any other. If you like constant commotion. We do.

However, we have also found a place where one can temporarily escape the hustle and bustle and enjoy a spectacular view from high above the Manhattan streets. That place is Rockefeller Center.....850 feet above ground.....'The Top of the Rock'.


There's a certain peace at 70 stories above New York City and Linda and I were among the first people to enjoy the breathtaking views of the city when 'The Top of the Rock' reopened two years ago.

The Observation Deck was first opened when the Center opened in 1933, but was closed to the public in 1986. Two decades and $75 million later, the Top of the Rock reopened on November 1st, 2005, as a three floor panoramic experience.



Linda and I were there, just days after it reopened, and the photographs I'm posting were taken at that time. In fact, the 'experience' was so new, that the 'ground rules' hadn't quite been set (or at least weren't enforced very strictly) and Linda went a little higher than we were supposed to be allowed and captured the following photograph of some of the people enjoying the great view.


We will be visiting 'The Top of the Rock' with our travel-ography.com group in just a couple of weeks (Nov. 10th-13th).

Steve

It's Contagious...

Did you ever notice how a smile is contagious? Or a yawn? Or singing? Dancing?

I'm sure you get the picture.

Just being NICE is also contagious. And it certainly isn't very difficult or doesn't cost much to be NICE. I discovered this simple premise at a very young age and it has served me well through the years. I've steered clear of many confrontations just by being NICE and I know I've received a great many favors because I was NICE to someone. It really isn't that hard to be NICE and the world becomes a much happier and better place if you are NICE.

It's one of my favorite four letter words.

That being said, I would be remiss not to mention the great fortune we had on our recently completed Duluth trip, as every tour guide, hotel worker, waitress, etc. were all extremely friendly, helpful and nice. It's something I think all of us on the trip noticed and were very appreciative of.

Take this gentleman for example.


He served as our guide when we went inside and up the spiral stairs to the top of the famous Split Rock Lighthouse. He not only looked the part, but he seemed genuinely happy in what he was doing. As I mentioned before, everyone we came in contact with was very NICE.

This has all been leading up to a special 'thank you' to our extremely NICE (and very competent, I might add) bus driver.....Don.

I don't know if he reads this blog or not, but his patience, sense of humor, willingness to offer help and suggestions and cooperation did not go unnoticed. To the best bus driver we could have asked for, on our very first travel-ography.com excursion, a big and sincere THANK YOU, Don.

Less than a month away !

The group that is going with us to New York City has less than a month to wait for a very exciting adventure into the most exciting city on Earth.
The 'pulse' of the 'Big Apple' is undeniable. From Times Square, to the Theater District on Broadway, to Central Park, to Museums, Restaurants, the Statue of Liberty, and did I mention 'shopping'....we'll do and see as much as possible during our 4 day 3 night stay.

Bring it on !!!

Much more about New York in the following posts. You can subscribe to this blog absolutely free simply by signing up at the top of the page.

Steve

Lost Travelers.....

Hello, again.

You probably thought you had a 'lost blog writer' since I haven't entered a post for almost a week.

Truth is, we've been crazy busy photographing about 1,000 children and students this past week and then following up by carefully preparing all of these wonderful images and sending them off to our professional photo lab. It's a pretty big job....but certainly worth it.

In fact, just today a mother called from another school we had photographed and told me how appreciative she is that we have documented, by virtue of priceless photographs, her children as they have grown through the years.

She said the pictures have not always been 'perfect'....but have always been 'precious' (bumps, bruises, missing teeth, blemishes, braces, oversized glasses, etc. included). Now there's a mom with a great attitude and perspective on what school photographs are really all about and her call really warmed my heart.

This is one of my favorite school pics we took this year. I figured that since this is a travel blog I just had to share this photo. Who knows, this young man just may be our pilot on some future travel-ography.com adventure.



Now that you know what we've been doing, let me get to the title of this particular post, which is not 'lost blogger'.....but 'lost travelers'.

We continue, every day since our return from our Duluth trip, to hear positive comments on what a great time everyone had on our very first travel-ography.com adventure. And I must say, Linda and I had just as good a time as everyone else apparently did.

However, there was one element to the process that I must confess I wasn't really prepared for....that being the prospect of having some of our party get 'lost'.

It happened on our first stop on the second day, as we all hopped off the bus to enjoy the sights and sounds of the beautiful and powerful Gooseberry Falls, along the North Shore of Lake Superior. It was a magnificent morning, made even more so by the fact that the forecast had called for inclement weather.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying the various stages of the falls, taking photographs and hiking on an assortment of paths that all gave different perspectives to this awesome display of Mother Nature. A time had been set to reboard the bus and everyone, after enjoying fresh air and falling water, walked back at their own pace and got on board. Almost everyone!

I was one of the last ones to board, since I had ambitiously hiked quite far back into the woods to photograph a part of the falls that I new would be beautiful. At that point, I had shared the great view with two of our more 'adventuresome travelers'....Linda and Phyllis. As I hoisted my camera and tripod to my shoulder, I started back, while noticing that they went just a bit higher for an even better view. Assuming they would be following, I made it back in pretty good time and even stopped for a couple of other good shots along the way.



Once back on the bus, we took a head count and noticed we were two short. I knew which two.
Linda (wife) and I walked back down the trail but didn't see them. We searched two or three alternate paths but still no sign of them. Finally, just as we were going to call in 'Search and Rescue' (kidding !), there they were, a bit tired and a bit out of breath, but with big smiles on their faces. They had become lost after making a couple of wrong turns (and asking the wrong person for directions on how to get back). I didn't let on at the time, but I sure was relieved that nothing had happened to either of them and that the worst thing to come out of this slight misstep would be the gentle ribbing they would take from their fellow travelers on the bus. All ended well.

Although, I might ask you to look back on the previous post and note that, while I said 33 people were with on our trip, there are only 31 on the group photo by the big ship. Guess which two are missing. Once again, their 'adventuresome spirit' had separated them from the group. I must say, however, that Linda and Phyllis were a delight to have with us and because of this, I'm going to try 'photoshop' them in to the group photo. They'll be the ones wearing the 'blaze orange' or 'hiway department green'. Ha Ha. The trip wouldn't have been as fun without them.

I think the above photo I captured, shows why the adventuresome ones were so adventurous. As always, click on the photo to see a larger version, then hit the 'back' button to return to the blog....or if you are reading this in email, hit the X to return to blog.

By the way, Bob was missing for a few minutes at the Split Rock Lighthouse later that day, to the point where we had him paged. I must admit, Laurie and I were a little concerned for him too, but, alas, he had ventured to a better vantage point to get a good photograph of the lighthouse and was found shortly thereafter. It was kind of 'cool' to hear the man's voice on the loudspeaker blare throughout the grounds: "Would Bob of the travel-ography.com tour group please report to the motorcoach."

Later that night, Bob and Laurie again had left the group and went down by the harbor to see if they could see a big ship come in. After waiting over an hour, they finally saw faint lights approaching in the distance. Thinking of the rest of us, Laurie called the hotel and reported to us that a '1,000 footer', one of the largest ships on the lake, would be entering the harbor within minutes. Most of our group had just retired for the evening, however, Linda and I literally ran the three blocks to the harbor and made it just in time to share the remarkable moment with Laurie and Bob. When a '1,000 footer' comes in, especially at night, it's a pretty special sight.

I'll share more stories from our Duluth adventure in future posts.

New York in November is only one month away! And we have a great group going with us on this exciting 4 day and 3 night journey to the 'Big Apple'.

Ironic, that today I had planned to start posting a series of photographs from the last time Linda and I were in New York City, and the first one was going to be of the Strawberry Fields Memorial to John Lennon in Central Park. It turns out that today would have been the former Beatle's 67th birthday and to commemorate the event, Yoko Ono unveiled the Lennon Imagine Peace Tower in Reykjavik, Iceland.

The tower is a beam of light, radiating from a wishing well bearing the words "imagine peace" in 24 languages. The plan is for it to be lit each year between his birthday, Oct. 9, and the anniversary of his death on Dec. 8.

To see the 'Peace Tower' will be a priority of travel-ography.com.

Anyway, here's the photograph I took a couple of years ago in Central Park and it has quite a story attached to it. The man in the background is, none other than, the man credited with bringing the Beatles to America. I'll tell the complete story in an upcoming post.


We'll be visiting this site when we travel to New York City this November 10, 11, 12 and 13.

I can't wait !!!

Steve

It was the People !!!

Amazing !

Our first travel-ography.com trip is over.

Thirty three of us journeyed to Duluth and up the North Shore Drive this past weekend. It was an absolute blast! I think everyone had a great time. I know Linda and I did.

We had wondered before the trip what our favorite part of it might be.

Would it be the spectacular fall colors that were at their peak this time of year?

Or how about the enormous ships that generate much excitement when they enter or leave the harbor in Duluth.

Maybe it would be the mysterious mansion or the lighthouses or the waterfalls or the gondola ride or the dining experience in Canal Park (the 'happening place' in Duluth).

Truth is...it was none of the above.

Although all the things we did were interesting and exciting, my favorite part of the first ever travel-ography.com experience was........the people!

Thirty three of us got along great, made new friends and shared some wonderful memories that will last a long, long time.

Yes, my favorite part of our first trip was easily the people we were with....and because of that, Linda and I will be leading many more travel-ography.com journeys in the future.

Thank you so much to everyone who was along and made this experience very special.

Steve

PS...I'll share more stories and photographs in the next few days. We're sort of busy with the other side of our business right now, as we're photographing over 1,000 students this week.

Whew !!!

Magnificent Morning !

Wow !

We started this morning off with a visual feast of some of the most breathtaking beauty I've ever seen.

As we journeyed toward Walhalla at about 6:30 this morning, the sight of an enlarged, glowing harvest moon softly setting in the west captured our attention. After turning and heading west, this spectacular sight of the 'moonset' was playing out right before our eyes...right over the center of the road.

As I took this fantastic photograph of one of nature's beautiful, but rare, displays...I turned to the east and clicked the shutter again to show the stunning contrast, and beauty, of the morning sky.
Linda and I agreed that we were truly fortunate to have witnessed such a 'magnificent morning'.

My emotions have already been running rampant this month, as September has been very busy, exciting, and yet, difficult.
Two of our three children left for far off lands earlier this month and I'm still trying to adjust to them being so far away. Rob, who has been working with us at our photography studio, decided it was time to 'see the world' and departed for Bali, Indonesia with just a backpack, a computer and a camera. He plans to write and share photographs of all the wonderful places he will see. So far we've followed his progress on www.roamingrob.com and his adventures have been fascinating....like reading a good novel, where you just can't wait for the next chapter to begin. Only words so far, as pictures have been difficult to upload with the limited Internet capabilities in the region he is in.


Meanwhile, Abby, our youngest, accepted an offer to move to Logrono, Spain for a year and teach English to the Spanish students. She and her boyfriend, Ben, who is in the same program, left from the Minneapolis airport 10 days ago and I must admit, I had a pretty big 'lump' in my throat. I think the opportunity to immerse themselves in another culture and, not only teach, but learn, will be wonderful for both of them.



Rob's cat, Otis (who, by the way, did not go with in the backpack) seems confused. We keep leaving the house with a family member and coming home without them. I think he understands that they will eventually return but I know he misses them.


Thank goodness our oldest, Tony, and his wife April are still in the area (if you can call Minneapolis the 'area'). If fact they will be joining us in Duluth this weekend for our first travel-ography.com adventure. Tony was the first to leave the 'nest' a few years back when he accepted a position in St. Louis. At the time, that seemed like such a far away place.

Actually, as we watched our three children grow, we always hoped they would turn out confident and independent young adults. I guess they all three did. Quite ironic coming from a dad whose favorite moments found the five of us packed in our minivan traveling the country. In fact, we encouraged them to travel and see the world.

Please feel free to follow both Rob and Abby's exploits in the coming months. The websites are abbyinspain.com and roamingrob.com .

A couple words about the Duluth and North Shore Drive trip this weekend....I can't wait !!!

I think we'll have a great time, get some fantastic photographs, and make some new friends.

And, besides colorful trees, big ships, waterfalls and lighthouses, if my memory serves me correctly, we'll see hundreds of sea gulls.


There are sea gulls everywhere, even immortalized in artistic statues.


It should be a 'cool' trip.

Steve