Lens Artists Challenge #388: Your Journey in 5 – 10 Images

I didn’t hesitate when Sandy called and asked if I wanted to go on a cruise through the Panama Canal. YES! That trip has been on my bucket list just waiting to be fulfilled. I wasn’t thrilled to be on a ship for 16 days, but if that’s what it took. And, better, Richard, my husband, came with me. Ann-Christine’s challenge was perfect timing for me.

What a fun trip that ended up being. Traveling in October, it was mostly a senior tour. Leaving from San Francisco, California and ending in Galveston, Texas; we were mostly Californians and Texans. We enjoyed each other’s company–no State conflicts!

I was also concerned about the ship being a Carnival ship, but that was great too. The ship’s interior was beautiful, the food great and the entertainment awesome. The most photogenic part were the elevators.

Now for the reason I went on this trip–the Panama Canal! We went through the old locks. The new locks are reserved for larger ships. The last picture shows our ship entering the lake mid-way through the canal.

The Lake

Entering the Atlantic Ocean was a mirror image of exiting the Pacific Ocean. I went to the cabin to rest and watch the rest on the television.

It was an amazing experience. We did visit other ports in other countries, but with a limited number of pictures as directed by Ann-Christine, those will have to wait.

We also took the opportunity to visit the Huston Space Center before we came home. My homecoming is another story to be told next week as I lead the challenge. Stay tuned!

Thanks Ann-Christine for pushing me to process my canal transit images. Be sure to link to her post when you respond and use the lens artist tag. In the meantime, stay safe and be resilient.

The Adventure Continues: Sydney Australia

What I described as my dream come true began here in my LAPC challenge post. My dream was to visit Australia and Leanne Cole. But my journey didn’t end there. My friends (who invited me to tag along with them and their family) had arranged for us to visit Sydney and Cruise the South Pacific, visiting New Caledonia. My previous post showed you Melbourne and sights along the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne to Port Campbell.

From there, we flew to Sydney to begin another adventure. Our adventure began with not being able to hook up with Uber for a ride to our hotel. We ended up taking a taxi to Bankstown where we stayed for a few days until it was time to board our cruise ship. One day was spent in a shopping center, picking up items we needed. Another day was spent doing laundry. My friend Sandy caught a cold. You get the idea. We relaxed and rested. We did get into Sydney one day and took a Hop On and Hop Off Tour Bus.

My friends and their family had already been to Sydney, so I was eagerly looking out the window. They didn’t seem to want to get off and I didn’t see any reason to do so. Here are pictures taken through the bus window while it was moving! Again, like in Melbourne, the buildings were amazing. There were many small parks scattered throughout the city.

We did get off to see the Opera House, and we weren’t the only tourists there!

So that was our one day visit to Sydney. I was impressed with the amount of parks and the beautiful buildings. I also appreciated the rest we received after a whirlwind week in Melbourne. Seeing wild cockatoos and hearing other types of birds was also a treat.

Next we board the Carnival Splendor and head for New Caledonia. Stay tuned.