Remarkable Photos: Reliving the Story More than Just Words Can Ever Weave

Somebody said, "Once you learn to care, you can record images in your mind and film. There is no difference." When I married Bill on a private cruise ship in Seattle in 2008, I was thrust into a never-ending honeymoon. After the ceremony, we cruised North America in an RV full-time. On this third try at marriage, I learned how to be a wife and an American. I was also encouraged to maintain a blog about our adventures. Since Bill also had the foresight to add a Nikon DSLR to our bag of essential tools, photos began to populate my posts (plus Facebook and Twitter).

The Wheel at Brighton, England

In 2015, after completing forty-nine continental US states, nine Canadian provinces, and six Mexican states, I published a book with some fifty photos about our love story: Carolina: Cruising to an American Dream. Later, we ended up snowbirding in Phoenix’s Viewpoint Golf Resort during the winters. But the honeymoon continued in faraway lands outside of North America. As a matter of fact, our itchy feet have already reached 30 countries.

The Close at Salisbury, England

Fish Soup at Enderun Colleges in Manila, Philippines

In the middle of all this, however, the inevitable happened. Our bodies gave us unmistakable hints. We needed to slow down and take more rests between trips. We sold our RV and bought a home base at Viewpoint’s resort living community with more than enough amenities to fill the time. Part of the draw was some 50 clubs. One of them, the Viewpoint Photography Club, became my favorite.

The club showed me how one picture could be “worth more than a thousand words.”. I was lucky the senior members took pains to teach me how to capture remarkable photos. I look at my earlier attempts and regret how I was not able to capture those scenes as well. Sadly, they are lost forever. Today, I have become increasingly proud. My photos can now relive our adventures more than just my words can ever weave.

Pelican at the Healdsburg Sanctuary in Melbourne, Australia

For example, I have this photo of blue doors that could very well have not seen the light of day. In 2015, I was advised not to proceed to Tunisia because a massacre of tourists had just been orchestrated by the terrorists in Tunis, the capital. But my friend and I had already bought nonrefundable tickets. So we did not listen to anybody’s advice. We still went.

My granddaughter Krishna at the Buckingham Palace, England

my friend the Kangaroo at the Grampians National Park, Australia

Luckily, another friend happens to be the wife of the former Italian ambassador to Tunisia. She told us to book at a little hotel, a former residence of a Tunisian leader, and to use a driver they know for going around. It was really a bed and breakfast tucked away in the suburb of Dar Said, considered safe by those who know. Would you believe that a few weeks after we left, another massacre was perpetrated by the terrorists? It was a miracle that we happened to be there during the few days of peace, at that little spot of quiet, in a strife-ridden country. My photo of the blue doors that led to our room won Best of Show in the first Photo Show I ever entered.

a hibiscus in Cozumel, Mexico

Today, we are “Cruising Past 70” in a slower, more relaxed pace, staying six months in our home base during spring and fall when the desert is beautiful. We go to Mexico, our vacation home during winter. And we take a road trip to visit our children in Colorado, Calgary, Idaho, and California, sometimes to Alaska and Australia, too. This gives me more time to learn more about photography. As I polish my travel essays, I hope my photos will also tell deeper stories.

In the steady march of time, as the photography guru Ansell Adams once said: "When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence." That may be near impossible, according to Bill, but these words of wisdom will keep me grounded during our last phase when we will simply be cruising from a rocking chair. There my words, photos, and memories will keep me traveling in the landscapes of my mind.

PHOTOS ARE FIRST PLACE WINNERS at Viewpoint Photo Shows (2016-18)

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