Blog Travel

When we spent time in Georgia (the country), we were fortunate to be able to see many different regions of the country.  Our first trip out of Tbilisi was to Kakheti, the easternmost region of Georgia which is bordered by Russia and Azerbaijan.  The Kakheti province is probably most famous for its wine.  In addition to wine, Kakheti has churches, fortresses, and scenery.  Kakheti has always been an important region of Georgia.  Hundreds of years ago, when Georgia was occupied by the Persians, the Kakheti region was the richest region in Georgia, so the Persians would tax the harvest instead of destroying Kakheti, which is what they did to many other regions of Georgia.  That is until 1616, when the Georgians rebelled.  While Kakheti can be visited on a day trip from Tbilisi, there are a lot of things to do, so we suggest spending two days in Kakheti with an overnight stay. Ujarma Fortress Gombori Pass Alazani Valley Alaverdi Cathe...

The Scottish Highlands have two separate travel components.   One includes castles and distilleries and other touristy sites.   We found these were best enjoyed on a Scottish Highlands road trip.   The second is the natural beauty of the Scottish Highlands.   This second aspect of the Highlands is best enjoyed slowly.   We found that the best way to enjoy the Scottish Highlands was on an active holiday on a Scotland cruise.   We joined a seven-day Caledonian Canal cruise with Caledonian Discovery, a company that runs barge cruises along the Caledonian Canal and through the lochs of the Scottish Highlands, including the famous Loch Ness.  The cruise is kind of like a Scotland river cruise, except you travel through lochs and canals instead of a river.  The following are some of the things we did and saw on our Scotland cruise to give an idea of what it’s like to explore the Scottish Highlands on a barge cruise. Our barge cruise along ...

The Salton Sea is one of those decaying places photographers love to visit.  Nature is reclaiming neighborhoods that have long been abandoned, though some holdouts continue to call the Salton Sea home.  The Salton Sea stinks like sulfur and rotting flesh.  The barnacle shoreline is covered in petrified fish that died gasping for breath.  Streets that appear on the map suddenly end in dirt and sand.  Neighborhoods are ghost towns, full of gutted homes with graffitied walls and decomposing furniture. We both used to visit the Salton Sea as kids.  Rome used to go fishing for tilapia.  I’d tag along with my mom and her friend who loved bird watching at the Salton Sea.  You can check off hundreds of bird species from your bird watching checklist at the Salton Sea.  What we didn’t visit as kids were the Salton Sea ghost towns.  Our trip to the Salton Sea was prompted by my desire to practice some night photography and capture...