Radically Retired

Category: Travel

  • They’re Everywhere!

    They’re Everywhere!

    In 2013, hubs and I spent 10 days exploring the Caribbean island of Curaçao.

    On a walkabout around the capital city of Willemstad, we came across a courtyard adorned with two giant murals that depicted both every day life and some of the history of the city.

    Here’s a closer shot of one of the sections of my feature photo:

    Here’s the historical one:

    This one needs lots of post processing. I’ll edit out a few of the distracting elements in the photo, and try to improve the clarity. This is a complicated one so I’ll wait until I’m further along in my photo editing course.

  • It’s ALL Grand

    It’s ALL Grand

    Whether man made or Mother Nature made, there are more marvels in this world than one could hope to see in a lifetime.

    After a few days on the Vegas Strip and Fremont Street, we took my cousin, Carrie out of town to Laughlin, NV.

    On the way, we showed Carrie the spectacular and historical Hoover Dam (hubs and I had been there several times before). On our second day at Laughlin, we took in the West Rim of The Grand Canyon (first time for all of us).

    There’s nothing that beats the feeling of sharing these incredible sights and experiences with family.

    Beyond imagination for the time it was built
    Hubs, me, and Carrie ready to explore
    Carrie and Me (close cousins since Carrie was a little girl)
    Carrie was impressed
    These water diversion tunnels can cause anxiety just looking down into them
    We walked from NV to AZ
    Love this story!
    So much to learn here!
    We weren’t near the edge
    This is as close as hubs could get to the edge
    You have to see it to believe it!
    Carrie is a community theatre actor in our home town. She knows how to pose for a shot
    Joshua Tree Forest between Laughlin and the West Rim
    Now this is dining ambience!
    The skywalk is on the Hualupai Reservation
    Another great pose
    Memories are made of this
    She and the Joshua Tree
    Hubs and me lapping up the scenery
    Carrie and Hubs taking one last look
    Our hilight was the skywalk over the Grand Canyon. Hubs, who suffers severe acrophobia, chose to be the photographer from afar.
  • 2016 – The Year of the Monkey

    2016 – The Year of the Monkey

    Once we completed our 2016 exploration of places in Arizona we hadn’t seen on previous visits, we headed to Nevada, picked up my cousin, Carrie, at the airport, and proceeded for the nest week, to tour her around the Las Vegas area.

    Carrie had never been there before, so the fact that her visit coincided with the Chinese New Year made the trip for her all the more fun – and definitely extremely colourful!

    Can you find all of the monkeys?
    Carrie was in awe
    We put on many miles just checking out the decorations
    Yep – This is us 😂

    Outside of China, I’d bet that Las Vegas is the next best place for Chinese New Year decor.

  • 2016 – A Day in the Movies

    2016 – A Day in the Movies

    Old Tucson is the set location of many western movies and TV shows, both recent and vintage.

    We spent an entire day here, and found it to be better presented and much more interactive than Tombstone.

    Streets of the old west
    Featured in many movies
    We loved this TV show
    Hubs stepped back in time
    Petroglyphs
    Nice spot for a rest
    Water features were soothing
    The Stage was getting ready to pull out
    All actors were engaging and informative
    This gunfight was very realistic
    I rounded a corner and was met by this fella
    You can take the boy off the farm …
    Can you do the can-can?
    The stunt guys were fabulous!
    Missouri’s most wanted
    The plank sidewalks added to the realistic feel
    Many of the buildings were 3-d vs false fronts
    This guy was one of my fave actors

    If you’re visiting the area, and you’re a fan of western movies and TV shows, I’d highly recommend setting aside a day to see Old Tucson. You won’t be disappointed.

  • Everyday Life

    Everyday Life

    This mural, also in the Cathedral Area of our Capital City, possibly speaks to times long ago (when folks still dried their laundry on a clothes line).

    There were some distracting elements in the original photo, which I removed by cropping and by using the clean up tool in the native photos app on my phone.

    Despite removing some of the bottom designs, I think the cleanup tool did an ok job.

    Original
  • 2016 – A Cacti Forest

    2016 – A Cacti Forest

    The Saguaro National Park just out of Tucson is an incredible place to see.

    During our visit, we learned that it can take a Saguaro Cactus up to 100 years to grow the “arms” that we’ve come to recognize from old western movies. Those arms are needed to store extra water for the cactus, which can reach heights of 50 feet and weigh 6 or more tons.

    One truly has to experience it to get the full and awe-inspiring effect of a forest of these giant old fellas, extending as far as the eye can see.

  • Artsy and Fun

    Artsy and Fun

    The Cathedral Area in our province’s capital city is an artsy-fartsy district that a person could spend an entire day exploring.

    From little clothing boutiques to sidewalk cafes, to a variety of bookstores, and to art installations on the walls of both businesses and homes, the Cathedral Area holds an “old meets new” sort of charm.

    In a previous post, I featured a photo of a mural that I was disappointed in because I was too close, so cut off the end of it.

    I returned last week and used the 0.5 lens on my camera and voila!

  • 2016 – Archaic Openings

    2016 – Archaic Openings

    After a full day at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, we spent the next day touring Mission San Xavier del Bac, AKA “The White Dove of the Desert”, just 10 miles south of downtown Tucson.

    On this visit, I was preoccupied with photographing doors, windows, gates, and arches … any and all openings at both the mission school and this historic church, completed in 1797.

  • 2016 – An Aircraft Extravaganza

    2016 – An Aircraft Extravaganza

    After our day at Tombstone, AZ, our next stop was the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, AZ.

    That’s hubs in my feature photo, anxious to get the visit started.

    My father-in-law was a pilot overseas in WW2, so this place was high on the “must see” list for hubs.

    We arrived around 0930 and stayed until after 1600 hours. The 24 hour clock (aka military time) was used all through my nursing career, and it seemed appropriate for this post.

    In truth, I enjoyed this massive place too. While hubs read every single word on every single sign, I was in my glory snapping pics.

    Here a few of the over 150 photos I took there:

    Aircraft from every branch
    The paint jobs were fun
    Grrr!
    One of my fave paint jobs
    It was cool to get so close
    Hubs read everything
    The bone yard
    Inside a fighter plane
    Measuring?
    Air Force One – This one was used by JFK
    The space hangar was a fave for both of us
    A light lunch at The Flight Grill
  • Easter Eggish

    Easter Eggish

    I’d often heard about the excellent meat offerings at the Ukrainian Co-op in our capital city, Regina, Saskatchewan.

    When I Googled the address, the images that came up were all the incentive I needed to convince hubs to take me there to get some photos.

    All sides of this building are covered with colourful and historical murals.

    My feature photo shows where we parked our truck on arrival. We soon discovered that this was an exit, so we had to walk around to the opposite side to locate the entrance.

    The walk was worth it.

    If you’ve ever seen a hand painted Ukrainian easter egg, you’ll know how I chose the title for this post.

    From Google Images