Photography

In May 2023, we returned from Portugal with over 400 photos. For this blog. I picked just a few favorites with a story to tell. A separate photo album covers our time in Magical Madeira. Arrival in Cascais The idea to visit Portugal began with an invitation from the Jacobs Foundation to attend a conference on the theme of how learners can adapt to our changing world. As the timing fit my 60th, Audrey and I decided to make it a birthday trip. ...

Our May 2023 visit to Madeira was a magical experience. After arriving on a quick two hour flight south from Lisbon, we soon found ourselves in a paradise of flowers, butterflies, steep mountain landscapes, flowing water, and adventure. Our first stop after picking up a rental car and checking into our hotel was to visit a lookout point, Cabo Girao. Here a skywalk juts out from a cliff, 580 meters above the ocean. The cliff drops straight down, especially as we looked through the glass floor of the skywalk. After taking in the spectacular views, we drove to a spot at sea level where a waterfall crashes down on the road; we watched some cars drive through the waterfall. Then we stopped at Porto Sol, a colorful beach town, where we enjoyed a cocktail at a cafe overlooking the ocean. ...

To see Micah run the San Francisco Half Marathon, I arose at 5:30 am. Driving up 280, I watched the most beautiful sunrise unfold over the East Bay hills. There was no traffic in San Francisco, so I arrived at the Golden Gate Bridge parking lot by 6:20 am and the clouds were still pink, with some sun coming in from the east. The top-ranked marathoners were already across the bridge. You can see just their heads in the photo, if you look carefully. ...

On a warm July Sunday, Ollie and I set out to climb Windy Hill with no particular expectations. Leaving from our house on Town Trail, we gradually started to climb through the trees, which opened up at this familiar old corral. But today’s hike was special because the sky was amazing–full of wispy, swirly clouds. When we reached the first water stop, a bench with a view in the shade, we could see the twin peaks of Windy Hill in the distance but the sky stole the show (above picture). I thought to myself: “Ollie, hope you like this kind of Sunday church service!” ...

One of my favorite spots on the North Fork of Long Island is the historic seaport of Greenport, established 1838. From Mattituck, it’s a 20 minute drive through vineyards, farmstands and the small towns of Cutchogue and Southold. As a boy, I always loved visiting Preston’s Marine Supply, a real boating and sailing supply shop. On this visit to Greenport, I was attracted to the rusty old shipyard. At first I saw the shop buildings and wandered over. Then I found lots of decaying old boats, apparently permanently housed on land. I particularly liked the peeling paint on one sloop. Finally I noticed the wild running, drippy colors on the hulls. ...