Friday Photo

Noodle stall, Hoi An, Vietnam, originally uploaded by benedict.adam. A Vietnamese lady sells noodles from her cart in front of a typical building in Hoi An, the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage site in Vietnam. Great street noodles are available all over the city of Hoi An, as well as the lanterns that can be seen in the [...]

Kite flying in Jakarta, Indonesia, originally uploaded by benedict.adam. One of the better things to in Jakarta, in front of the presidents last erection, watch the kids fly kites as the sunsets. Of course we haggled hard, bought one too and joined in, I was particularly pleased with my handmade kite as it had a drawing [...]

This shot was taken after a very early morning trip to see the 3 coloured lakes of Kelimutu. The fairly sketchy drive from Moni on the back of 2 kids motorbikes took us up a steep windy, pot hole ridden road, through a river before both bikes managed to break down. Luckily for us a [...]

Keeping on the Venezuelan theme, another photo from the fantastic country. Old American school buses are the main way to get around in Venezuela, travelling in one is a great experience, each one more elaborately customised and music pumping than the last. This one was photographed just before leaving the fantastic Puerto Columbia.

While camping out in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, our guide woke us all up in the middle of the night, just in time to get a great close up photo of this tree frog, before he grabbed it and carefully chucked it back into the darkness.

The 25 miles of U.S. 550 between Silverton and Ouray, Colorado is called the Million Dollar Highway. It is also part of the San Juan Scenic Byway, and we enjoyed the drive on our way to Telluride from Durango, even the scary parts just south of Ouray.Those scary parts include steep drop offs and no guard rails going through the Uncompahgre Gorge. It is recommended that you drive the route south to north so you can be away from the edge of the road, especially on the S curves. These pictures were taken in a safer area with pullouts.

The 25 miles of U.S. 550 between Silverton and Ouray, Colorado is called the Million Dollar Highway. It is also part of the San Juan Scenic Byway, and we enjoyed the drive on our way to Telluride from Durango, even the scary parts just south of Ouray.Those scary parts include steep drop offs and no guard rails going through the Uncompahgre Gorge. It is recommended that you drive the route south

Photo by Scott CarpenterOn a quest to find even more "scenic panoramic vistas" for my brother when he visited us in Colorado, we drove the Guanella Pass Scenic Byway from Grant to Georgetown. It was a fun drive, if a little scary.This last photo was taken at the pass, where we didn't stay longer than it took to snap a few pictures. We did learn an important lesson, though. In September, it is cold and windy at the top of this mountain, so bring hats and mittens if you want to go exploring; a jacket isn't enough.Other photos from Scott's visit:Mayflower GulchLoveland Pass

The House of Dionysus (so named because of the above mosaic) has a fun story attached to it. According to our tour guide, while they were excavating the ruins, in a room thought to be the nursery, they found children's handwriting on a section of plaster low on the wall. It said, "Hercules, Hermes stole your marbles." The plaster with the writing was carefully removed and can be viewed in the museum on Delos. Later on, Doug and I wandered through the museum, but we missed the plaster section. I also didn't find any mention of it in our book on the ruins of Delos, so I don't know if the story is true or not, but it is fun to imagine.This is another house on the island. I also have more pictures of the ruins on Delos.

Photos by Tim Wilson on FlickrIt looks like we are going to have a white Christmas this year. The boys are thrilled and have been outside playing in the snow, building jumps on the sledding hill behind our house. Minnesota in winter can be a wonderful place, and I think these photographs show a part of that.

The Bridge of Sighs connects the old prison in Venice to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace. The bridge was built in 1600, but the current name is from the 1800's when Lord Byron made up the story that condemned prisoners would cross the bridge to their execution and sigh over their last view of Venice.

Dunnottar Castle by MJ Mac on FlickrBothwell Castle by tama67scotland on FlickrWhenever I think about traveling somewhere, I love to look at pictures on Flickr. It's like going through a beautiful coffee table book on travel, full of possibilities and inspiration.

I found these pictures of Ocean City when I was going through my digital picture files. They brought back some great memories. It's been a rainy week here in Minnesota, and it's nice to remember warm and sunny days.Related Post: Ocean City, Maryland

My article on The Best Fall Road Trips included information on autumn in Asheville, North Carolina. In the comments, Rob from Go Budget Travel agreed with Asheville as a great place to visit. A big reason is the beauty of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I found these photographs of the parkway by zen♫♪ on Flickr.

Here are more pictures taken by my brother, Scott, during his visit with us in Colorado. These are from Mayflower Gulch, just west of Silverthorne near Copper Mountain. There is an easy 2 mile walk with beautiful scenery that leads to the site of Old Boston Mine. (His other pictures were from Loveland Pass.)If you are interested in free, or open source software, you can check out Scott's blog at MovingtoFreedom.org.

Autumn colors at the Alluvial Fan in Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park, Colorado.National Parks Traveler has more information about seeing the fall colors at National Parks.*related post: Rocky Mountain National Park

I'm excited because Doug and I will be in Washington D.C. for our anniversary next month. Just thinking about our trip brings back memories of when we lived in Maryland. These pictures are from a road trip we did on the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.At the southern end of the drive, one of our last stops was at the Blackrock Summit parking lot at mile marker 84.8. A short 10 minute walk led us to Blackrock and a fun climb up to some amazing views.

This week has been packed full of fun!  Midweek, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage of Athens had their summer REALTORS® Appreciation Event featuring a visit from the famous Wells Fargo Stagecoach & Harry Dawg (mascot for the University of Georgia).  I thoroughly enjoyed talking with Donna Stallings, who recently joined the Athens, GA Wells Fargo branch - and her super sweet husband Jim, who was one of the first real estate appraisers I worked with, pictured here in front of the Wells Fargo Stagecoach. There were REALTORS® everywhere, to the right is Brenda Thompson of Carriage House Realty, Cathy Scarborough of Coldwell Banker Upchurch Realty, Harry Dawg & myself.   We all enjoyed the BBQ and networking and some, like Jeannie Cheek of Wells Fargo got happy with Harry Dawg & a frisbee!  It was a pleasure to talk with Jeannie Cheek and her husband David, who I sold a home to several years ago!        I also had the

Looking through photographs from our year in Colorado, I found several pictures of the Loveland Pass that my brother took when he came out to visit us. It brought back some fun memories, and I decided to share two of my favorite pictures with you.I thought this shadow from the clouds looked like a monster opening his mouth to take a big bite out of the mountain.Thank you to Scott Carpenter for the pictures from the Loveland Pass in Colorado. If you are interested in free, or open source software, you can check out his blog at MovingtoFreedom.org.

Hiking in Tettegouche State ParkView of Shovel Point from Palisade Head roadThese photos were all taken by my son, Connor, during our camping trip in Northern Minnesota. The last shot made me laugh when I saw it on our computer. I didn't know he had taken it like that, so it was a fun surprise.Related Posts:Camping at Temperance State ParkHiking in Tettegouche State ParkMore State Parks on the North Shore of Lake Superior

Cheese CurdsIt rained the day we went to the fair, and although we still had fun, it wasn't a good day for taking pictures. I found these great shots on Flickr. Thank you to smcgee for sharing her photos under a Creative Commons license.

With Volcán de Agua in the backgroundFrom Fodors: The only remnant of the once-enormous Convent of St. Catherine is this beautiful yellow arch that spans 5 Avenida Norte, a street locals call Calle de Santa Catalina. The convent was founded in 1613 with only four nuns, but by 1693 its growing numbers forced it to expand across the street. The arch was built to allow the sisters to pass from one side to the other unseen.* Thank you to Jennifer Victor-Larsen for the last photograph

Thank you to Jennifer Victor-Larsen for these pictures of Chichicastenango.Something that really struck me was how differently the Mayan children behaved compared to American children. In a busy market like this, American children would be running all over, making a lot of noise. The Mayan children were usually sitting or standing close to adults, and playing quietly or watching other people. Young girls would carry smaller children tied on their backs like the mothers did. I can only imagine the reaction of a ten year old girl from the United States if you expected her to carry her two year old sister or brother around on her back all day while helping at the market.

Community Laundry WashbasinsOn work days, we sat in the back of a pickup truck as it drove up this very bumpy dirt road. At the end of the road, we got out and walked up a paved path, then dirt paths to the work site located in the neighborhood of Cerro El Niño in Pastores.One of the houses we could see during our walk up to the work site.The dirt path that led us to the work site.You had to watch your step on the dirt paths because of erosion, but it wasn't too bad. It was a mess when it rained, though.

This was a great evening to be down by the lake. We sat on the dock and watched the sky change as the clouds shifted and the sun went down. It felt like we were under a painted dome ceiling. I tried to capture that with the top picture, but I don't think the effect comes across on the photograph. Hopefully you still get an idea of it.

This little boy was quite entertained by the street performer. His reactions kept the rest of us entertained, too, although the busker was a lot of fun even by himself.I liked the signs on this part of rue du Petit-Champlain. I wonder if that photographer has a photo of me?Looking at art on rue du Tresor, otherwise known as Artist Alley.

Wow. Quebec City is beautiful. At least the old city is, which is where we are staying and the only place we've seen so far. We arrived at the Chateau Frontenac in time for high tea and an interesting tour of the hotel. With a bit of time before dinner, we went outside to explore the area.It was chilly, in the 40's, but it was sunny, and I still wore my sandals. It was fun to come across this street, where yesterday's picture from flickr was taken. The sun was in a bad place for the shot, so I angled it, but I'll try to get another shot later on when I have more time.I love it when Doug travels to fun places for business and I get to tag along.

My brother took this picture in Kauai, Hawaii. It was taken with just a 2mp camera, but it reminds me of the HDR photography that Trey Ratcliff does. I can only imagine what it would have looked like if Scott had used a higher quality camera.When I asked him if I could use the photograph, Scott told me he was also doing a Friday Photo Post on Hawaii on his blog, Moving to Freedom. Coincidences like that make me smile.Scott Carpenter shares his photographs under a creative commons attribution-share alike license.

This weekend we are heading up to the cabin to put the dock in the lake. During the summer we sit on that same dock and watch incredible skies like this. It is a great way to spend your time, listening to the water lap against the rocky shore and the loons calling out. Eagles fly above, blue heron visit the empty dock one cabin over, and an occasional otter plays in the water. The boys will go swimming, fishing, or take off in a kayak or paddleboat.Going "up to the lake" is a tradition for many people in Minnesota, and driving in the mass exodus on Hwys 94, 10 and 371 is the price you pay for the chance to spend time on a lake up north. We are lucky that Doug's parents have a cabin on a lake outside of Brainerd so we can sit on that dock up north.Doug's dad took the picture of the storm clouds. We arrived the next day, so missed the show, but I love this picture.