Photo: An Easter Couple

Here is another photo of  Easter Eggs.  I think we will need to practice more for next year.  The rabbit on the left looks a little grumpy.

This week we have photos from our recent cruise in Mexico's Sea of Cortez posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  

Photo: Abstract Keith Haring Easter Egg

Happy Easter.  When decorating this Easter egg. I was inspired by Keith Haring when painting this Easter Egg.

My husband said that it looked too good to eat, but at least we could preserve it in a photo.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos from a cruise that we took a couple of months ago in the Sea of Cortez, up the east coast of Baja California, in Mexico.

Photo: Bright Eyed Easter Egg!

Tomorrow is Easter, so it is time to share a photo of a decorated Easter egg from our kitchen.

Food and art.  What could be better?

This week we have photos of the Galapagos Islands posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Happy Valentine's Day!

Enjoy this macro photo of a plant in my yard.

The flowers look like tiny roses.

Don't forget to bring flowers to the one you love.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This week we have photos of the Sepik River tribes and villages posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Happy Heart Rock Day!

Happy Hearts Day!  I was hiking a few weeks ago in Sedona and came upon this natural heart rock that someone placed on a rock on the trail.  It seemed the perfect scene for Valentine's Day tomorrow.

This week we have photos of the Sepik River tribes and villages posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Celebrate the New Year!

Sometimes we go away for the holidays, and sometimes we stay home.  When we stay home, we will have friends and family over for dinner.  Fortunately, we have friends who are excellent cooks, like Sharon, who is the author and photographer of Phoenix Daily Photo.  Our friends that they will join in the cooking and we will serve various courses all evening.

This photo shows our dining room table, with party hats for the guests.  We brought the hats back in our suitcase from a New Year's Eve party that we attended a few years ago in Santiago, Chile.  They seemed too festive to use just once.

This week we are posting some additional photos from our recent trip to Ethiopia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Red and Green Holiday

Happy Holidays!

Here is an interesting door I took during the holidays last year in Nicaragua.

It looked perfect for a red and green holiday so I am sharing it with you today.

This week we have photos of the spirituality of the people of Grenada, Nicaragua posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Holidays Cactus and Lights

This shows some of the holiday lights at the Desert Botanical Garden casting a glow on the barrel cacti.  It is a treat to walk among the 8,000 hand-lit luminarias and other holiday lights at the Desert Botanical Garden, which we do every holiday season.  This year the DBG has the added bonus of the Chihuly installation.

This week we have photos of the spirituality of the people of Grenada, Nicaragua posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Luminarias at the Desert Botanical Garden

Because they don't allow tripods at the luminaria nights at the Desert Botanical Gardens, one way to try to get a clear, hand-held photo at night is to get down on the ground and use the ground to steady the shot.

But then instead of a tripod being a tripping hazard, perhaps the photographer is a tripping hazard.  Better have a spotter to be a buffer for those who are looking at the luminarias and the plants instead of the path in front of them.

This week we are showing photos of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Luminarias on a trail at the Desert Botanical Garden

The Desert Botanical Garden luminaria evenings allow people to walk along the garden trails illuminated by luminarias, with musicians, food and drink located at different places in the garden.

They do not allow tripods, however, as it is dark, there are a lot of people walking around, and it would be a tripping hazard.

This week we are showing photos of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Luminarias at Sunset

It is now the holiday season, and luminarias are a holiday tradition in the Southwest.

This is a photo of the luminarias at sunset in the Desert Botanical Garden.  This is a phoot from last year, but we will be going again to the DBG's luminaria displays a little later in the holiday season this year.

This week we are showing photos of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Veterans Day Statue Rolling Down the Highway

Today is Veterans Day, so I am showing this iPhone photo taken while driving on Interstate 10 between Tucson and Phoenix.

You can imagine the surprise at seeing a flatbed tractor-trailer pulling a giant statue.  Upon a second glance, it revealed itself to be a statue that recreates the famous photograph of a sailor kissing a nurse to celebrate the news of the end of World War II.

The photo below shows the sign that accompanies the statue and that references a website that explains it.

On Veterans Day, I should give a special commendation to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, both of whom are dedicated professionals helping veterans.  He is a clinical psychologist and she is a social worker at a VA hospital in Minnesota.

I should also commend my late father-in-law, a career naval officer, beginning with serving in the South Pacific during World War II, and my uncle, a career army officer and Vietnam veteran.

This week we are showing photos of the street cathedral and street scenes of Grenada, Nicaragua, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Halloween Spider

Here is a spooky Halloween spider.

Happy Halloween!

I took this photo awhile back at a special exhibition at the Desert Botanical Garden.  THis was about 15 feet high.

This week we are showing photos of the cathedral and street scenes of Grenada, Nicaragua, posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Happy Independence Day

I know that this is not Scottsdale, but I could not resist posting this photo for the 4th of July.  This is a photo of Faneuil Hall in Boston, taken from the portico of Quincy Market.

Independence Day seems more appropriately part of the history and culture of the 13 original colonies where people risked everything to support independence from Great Britain.  What is now Scottsdale at that time belonged to Native Americans, and Arizona was ruled by Spain, later to become part of Mexico.  Arizona did not become part of the U.S. until the 1840's, 100 years after Faneuil Hall was built in Boston.

In fact, the first American Revolution was not the colonists declaring independence from the British in 1776.  Nearly 100 years earlier, the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 drove the Spanish out of what is now New Mexico and reestablished Native American rule, but the Spanish returned about 12 years later.

This week we have photos of a night at the opera in Paris posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Easter Eggs

Happy Easter!

How many of you have dyed easter eggs?

My Mom and I did some for Easter and I have not done that in years.

We decided to add to the dyes by using markers to make our own designs.

Enjoy your day!

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  In keeping with the Easter theme, we are showing photos of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, believed to be the site of the Crucifixion.

Photo: Easter Eggs Extravaganza

Have you made Easter eggs this year for Easter?

Here are some fun designs that my Mom and I made for Easter.

We just used markers and dyed the eggs.

This week we have photos of Jerusalem posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  We are featuring photos that show both the Muslim and Jewish holy sites, including the Dome of the Rock and the Wailing Wall.

Photo: The Infiniti Easter Egg

Easter is coming!

This is a photo of the endless Easter Egg.

Sort of an infinity type design.

It is fun to do Easter eggs.  Go get a kit and make your own.  People love them.

This week we have photos of Jerusalem posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  We are featuring photos that show both the Muslim and Jewish holy sites, including the Dome of the Rock and the Wailing Wall.

Photo: Christmas and Best Friends

Here is a photo of my two favorite people: my Mom and my Husband.

We all went to the Desert Botanical Gardens Luminaria festival.

Happy Holidays! Enjoy the Day!

Enjoy our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Happy Christmas Eve

Here is a photo of a decorated christmas tree at the Desert Botanical Gardens.

We enjoyed the Luminarias festival and saw this wonderful full moon and the large decorated tree and felt it demonstrated the spirit of the holidays.

Enjoy our travel photos at Viva la Voyage.

Photo: A Bug Wishes Merry Christmas to Everyone

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

This large praying mantis piece of art was at the Desert Botantical garden last year.

It looks so festive, I thought it would be good to use today to wish everyone Happy Holidays!

Enjoy your time with friends and family.

Today is Sunday so enjoy our photos of the doorways of the ancient Khmer temples of Siam Reap, Cambodia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.