Out & About
We all love to travel and talk about it later. I wouldn’t want to exclude myself here either. Instead writing excessively about my travels I’ll show pictures of the places I visited and that I recommend, too.
I visited my mother for 3 weeks in October/November 2006. She lives in Koblenz which is considered the most beautiful corner of Germany. It has an abundance of cultural monuments, historic buildings, and the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress high above the Rhine. I love visiting Koblenz and exploring its surrounding area. While I visited my mother I took 3 days off to visit my father’s hometown in Sachsen-Anhalt, which in contrast to the Rhine area has a very solitary aura, but offers also some interesting highlights.
Koblenz German Corner and Ehrenbreitstein Fortress
St. Pankratius Hamersleben and Prussian Telegraph Station
On my birthday in 2006 I escaped for 2.5 days to the Pacific. I visited Westport that has the largest marina on the outer coast of the United States’s Pacific Northwest. Though the marina offers a variety of tourist activities including whale watching tours and recreational charter fishing, I didn’t partake in them. I just rode my bike on a trail next to the Pacific. And that was a pleasant experience, too.
Pacific Ocean and Westport Marina
On a weekend in June 2006 I visited Orcas island with the Mountaineers single group. While there we explored the island close to the camp and watched the solstice parade. It was nice participating in different group events and sharing some common duties like cooking breakfast or dinner.
San Juan Islands and Solstice Parade
Mountain Lake and Docile Deer at Camp Site
Whistler in Canada, British Columbia, ranks as the number one ski resort in North America. But as you can see from the pictures below, it is also a great place to visit during the other seasons. I visited Whistler with the Mountaineers single group in summer of 2004. I not only immensely enjoyed Whistler and the nearby town but also the scenic drive along the coast of BC to Whistler.
Whistler Canada BC and Cablecar
Westcoast Canada BC
Victoria island is located south-west of Canada. I met a friend and her sisters from my hometown on this island in summer of 2004. They toured South-West Canada with two RV’s and were totally enthused from the countryside.
Victoria Island, Canada BC and Whale-watching Boat
Victoria Beach and Island Camp Resort
In September 2003 I visited with some group members from the Seattle Astro organization a very unique part of Washington State. It is the south-east corner of Washington on the border of Oregon. The people from the astronomy club like to go there because the sky is very clear therefore making observing the stars child’s play. But the real unique part is the majestic Columbia River Basin. While I was there I also visited the Mary Hill Museum of Art and the Stonehenge Memorial. The Mary Hill Museum is a castle-like mansion overlooking the Columbia River built by road builder Sam Hill for his beloved wife Mary. Close by is a replica of England’s neolithic Stonehenge. I very much enjoyed this broad rugged region with spots of oases in-between.
Columbia River Basin
Mary Hill Museum and Replica Stonehenge
After I had seen pictures from China at my sister’s place my desire to visit China had been awakened. Since my nephew completed an internship with a German company, Obi, in China I decided to book a tour to China. I asked a friend whether she would like to accompany me and we booked our travel for September 2002. Our tour included 3 cities: Bejing, Xi’an and Shanghai. This trip was pretty interesting. Seeing old and new directly next to each other and in very imposing dimensions was a real unique adventure. Just seeing the Chinese wall is worth the travel. The pictures from China are out of the travel catalogue and from tickets because the films from China, which I had given for development to Costco, had oddly enough no pictures on them. I hope that I’ll visit China once more. This country is too big and multifaceted for just one travel.
Chinese Wall and Tour Map
Forbidden City and Suzhou Garden
Terra Cotta Soldiers and Summer Palace
Xi’an City Wall and Great Mosque
Seattle has a few museums and parks that are quite unique. I enjoy visiting them from time to time.
EMP Museum and Volunteer Park at the Asian Art Museum
Museum of Flight and Pow Wow at Indian Day Break Center
Golden Gardens Park at Puget Sound
Seattle Skyline
© 2007 SUM – Ute Medley. All rights reserved.
