Photography, Travel and Retirement
All photos taken on March 16, 2022.
Something was different today on our forest walk. The air felt different, our moods were different. Was it, could it be, dare we hope that…..spring was here? Nah, best not to get our hopes up too soon.
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All Photos taken on September 19, 2009.
Kōtoku-in is a Buddhist temple of the Jōdo-shū sect, in Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is renowned for The Great Buddha of Kamakura, a monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amitābha, one of the most famous icons of Japan. It is also a designated National Treasure, and one of the twenty-two historic sites included in Kamakura’s proposal for inclusion in UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.
(Source: Wikipedia)
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All photos taken on September 19, 2021.
Our next stop was a 19 minute walk away. Kamakura was a great walking city.
Tsurugaoka Hachimangū is the most important Shinto shrine in Kamakura. The shrine is a cultural center of the city and serves as the venue of many of its most important festivals with two museums.
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All photos taken on September 19, 2009.
Once we were in Kamakura, we did not have to worry about what to see or how to get there. Kunika took good care of us. From Kita-Kamakura station, we walked the short distance to Engaku-ji Temple, a Zen Buddhist temple founded in 1282.
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All photos taken on September 19, 2009.
Kamakura was the capital of Japan from 1185 to 1333 as the seat of the Kamakura Shogunate, and became the nation’s most populous settlement from 1200 to 1300 during the Kamakura period.This city, 47 minutes by train away from Tokyo is a popular domestic tourist destination in Japan as a coastal city with a high number of seasonal festivals, as well as ancient Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. We had visited here only briefly in 1982.
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All photos taken on September 19, 2009.
Way back in my first post on this series, I talked about Kunika, a home stay student that one of our dear friends, J had hosted for an entire school year. In the good old days of not knowing everyone’s E-mail address, we relied on snail mail to make the initial contact and let here when we were coming and asking if we could get together. As the day of our departure drew closer and closer, we still had not heard from her and we grew worried we would miss meeting up with her, altogether.
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All photos taken on March 12, 2022.
Out of the Blew ©
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All photos taken on March 8, 2022.
If you don’t like the weather here, just wait 5 minutes is an oft heard refrain in our part of the world. We were conflicted on whether to do our weekly forest walk today or not. The forecast promised a mix of sun and cloud and limited or no snow.
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All photos taken on March 6, 2022
We’ve all heard that saying…”What Goes Up, Must Come Down”. It can refer to a variety of things, such as hiking in the mountains, climbing a lot of stairs, firing a gun up into the air, well, maybe a bit less on this last one.
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All photos taken on February 6, 2022.
Turns out I was a bit optimistic on our arrival time at home by about half an hour, but I was right that we would get home before dark.
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All photos taken on February 6, 2022.
At long last, the fog seemed to burn off and we were left with sunny blue skies and very wet roads. We were lucky to have lots of washer fluid with us, as we had to continually use the wipers to clear the windshield.
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All photos taken on February 6, 2022.
Given that it was a good 10 hour drive from Kamloops to home, we were up early, so we could leave close to first light. I grabbed some things from the breakfast room downstairs and brought them back to the room. We opted to go to Starbucks to get a coffee for the road and that proved to be a bad idea.
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At this time of year, most of us think of our Mothers, even if only for a day. My Mom has been gone for many years, but I often think of the things she taught me and how she cared for me when I was sick or hurting. 48 long years later, I do still miss her.
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All photos taken on March 5, 2022.
Winter sunrises can be quite beautiful, but the one I captured on this March morn was unexpectedly beautiful. After cold temperatures and 15 cm (6 inches) fresh snow, the cold air was full of ice fog and hoar frost covered the winter scene.
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All photos taken on March 5, 2022.
With everything covered in morning mist and icy rime, the sunrise looked promising so I drove West of the city to catch the arrival of morning. Above me, the high tension power lines crackled under the influence of the frosty rime, covering all stationary surfaces. As I snapped away, I became aware of my fingers turning into ice. Hmmm. Time to warm up.
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All photos taken February 5, 2022.
Arriving in Kamloops, we gassed up before checking into our “usual hotel”. After sanitizing the room, we phoned Pizza Now for a large pizza and headed out for fine in-car dining. The pizza did not disappoint.
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All photos taken February 5, 2022.
Just before shutting down my laptop the previous evening, I again checked all the weather reports along our route to home and was disturbed to see that 10-15 cm of snow was predicted between Hope and Merrit and that this could affect our drive home. Knowing that forecasts have been wrong before a shut my mouth and crossed my fingers. No use worrying until the morning.
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All photos taken February 5, 2022.
Not to belabour the point, but there are few places more scenic and filled with life than Lost Lagoon. No matter the weather, Lost Lagoon never disappoints. We lingered longer, before moving on.
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All photos taken on February 5, 2022.
Our duties done and suitable weather along our return route home meant that it was now time to make the long trek back to Alberta. Ahhhh, do we really have to? Before climbing into the car, we opted to give our heads and the roads a bit more time to clear and headed off for one last snowless walk.
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All photos taken on February 4, 2022.
To say that our hotel room had a water view could be construed as being generous. If we stood on one leg, close to the window, cocked our head sharply to the right and squinted, we could just see the sunset over English Bay, sort of.
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All photos taken on March 2, 2022.
Walking through Bunchberry to get away from the current news cycle, I realized that the trees in the forest are of much better character than many narcissists, who masquerade as world leaders. No need to say more, the definition and the photos say it all so much better.
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All photos taken on February 28, 2022.
Our lethargy and our lack of enthusiasm for walking a long distance on icy sidewalks took us into Edmonton for a short walk today. Parking at the Kinsmen Sports Centre we walked North across the new Walterdale Bridge on the East side and then back South on the West side.
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All photos taken on February 3, 2022.
We had 30 minutes to spare between Benji shopping and picking B up from his appointment. We thought we were going to a seafront park in Richmond, but we ended up in a Marina and Marine Services development.
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All photos taken on February 4, 2021.
While we were in Vancouver, we did our best to help B & K out by driving them to appointments, walking Benji and shopping for groceries and meals. From time to time, we could all use a helping hand.
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All photos taken on February 3, 2022.
Hey, Benji here. They’re back again and they want to take me out in the rain. This better be good or I am really gonna get peeved. I mean, nobody likes the smell of wet dog, not even me and I am a dog.
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All photos taken on February 3, 2022.
If you always waited for perfect weather before venturing out for a walk in February in Vancouver, you might never get outside. Today the rain was intermittent and we opted to take Benji, the Wonder Dog for a walk down to the beach.
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All photos taken on February 2, 2022.
Out running a few errands this date, before the snow, rain and sleet hit, we found ourselves on the South side of False Creek. After parking the car, we wandered by this mural by famous mural painter Okuda San Miguel from Spain.
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All photos taken on February 28, 2022.
Boredom, malaise, lethargy, whatever you opt to call it, it is a terrible thing. As winter dragged on, Covid sapped a lot of our enthusiasm and recent world events have just about finished us. It was one of those “why bother days” when I suggested we go on a small adventure into Edmonton. Not a huge walk, as winter walking has taken a toll on these old bodies. Sure, cleats help you stay upright, but….
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All photos taken February 25, 2022.
As the winter weather dragged on, we got less and less interested in trying local walks along icy paths. Having purchased some new nanoSpikes from MEC, we set off this day on a route along the North city boundary to give them a try. The temperature was about -7 and the wind, which always seemed in our face, whichever way we turned (Blowmont) made it feel colder then the view out our window had indicated.
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Photo taken February 1, 2022.
Walking around Vancouver, we passed this memorial to Every Child Matters. We stopped to pay our respects. I need say no more. This is a sad chapter in Canada’s history, as well as that of many other colonial nations.
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All photos taken on February 1, 2022.
False Creek is a short narrow inlet in the heart of Vancouver, separating the downtown and West End neighbourhoods from the rest of the city. It is one of the four main bodies of water bordering Vancouver, along with English Bay (of which it is an inland extension), Burrard Inlet and the Fraser River.
(Source: WIkipedia)
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