Diversions

A Year of Traveling Can’t Be Completely Serious

Sprawl!

Penny Jackpot!!

Not your mother’s conference

Vegas, baby.

Sea Lions

Pelican

Scenes from a run

Markus loaned me a BIKE!

Amazing reconstructed architecture

Markus’ daughter’s dance.

Check out the bahhhgpipes!

C’mon, Germany. Really?

Finished with a fun trip with the Disse family in Munich.

I’ll be back … it’s a loop trail

Maria … marry me.

He stole my body!

Fantastic that he saved this.

Lifting before ‘roids

Very basic stuff.

Absolutely hilarious.

Graz bonus trip … to the Arnold Schwarzenegger museum!

Gorgeous in fog.

Like an album cover … at the ancient well

Fortified hill

Beautiful overview

Graz really has it all … can’t wait to return!

Symbol of the City

On the bus from Milan

US Embassy

Awesomely winterized fountain

Milk dispensers!

City of bridges

Ljubljana – most beautiful city in the world (just ask the mayor).

DaVinci’s canals!

Gelat … ohhhh

The Cathedral at night

Poor bull. I did my part with three spins

Polytecnico Milano!

Coffee … Italy … the best.

Milano – friends and food … fantastic.

Hinterzarten … now, and then (when Leslie was there in school)

Amazing fossils on campus

City Hall at night

View from the castle

View in the castle

Tubingen – beautiful old city

EAWAG has fizzy water dispensers!

Beer carrier … smart

Handball … more fun live!

The Schirmer clan

Carved turnips … finally, a use for the veggie!

The Book!!

Classic food truck, Swiss style

Made to feel at home in Zurich with the Schirmers

A run in the forest

Last I saw of Mario on the run

Super Mario’s neighborhood

Scene from a bike ride on the big lake

My free Zurich bike!

Stunning colors!

Zurich … outdoors

Vineyards in Fall

A run by the lake

Home of the Olympics

McD = loss of soul!

Lausanne – beautiful in the late Fall!

Kyoto – city of 1000 temples and shrines!

Kiyumizu Temple, Kyoto

Golden Temple, Kyoto

Shinto shrines … only in Japan

Tokyo Parks

$500 kids’ backpacks!

Vending machine heaven

Umbrella locker!

Kimono close up

Beautiful kimono

Samurai outfit

Swords

Graveyard, Tokyo

Driver’s view

Umbrellas outside

Golf facility!

Car too big? Garage too small?

Korean/Russian owned slots

Golf advertisement

Lots of public toilets!

Stores are crazy full.

Famous Tokyo U professor

High Speed Train cleaners

Halloween is taking hold!

Old meets new

Kids!

Soccer by the river in Kyoto

Receiving an award

Best poster winners

Monks on the road

Cutting a stamp

Luke = the force that moves water

High tech!

Hundreds of them!!

Pickle sticks!

Special cookies in Kyoto

It’s everywhere!

Loads of bikes everywhere

Umbrella holder!

For sale … < $200

Clever!

Kosugi loaned me his bike!

Street scenes

Saga

Nagasaki

Tokyo

Not bad.

Really?

Oh, come on!!

I guess ‘Tiger’ was taken?

International influences

Scenes from the Tsukiji Market

The boss of vending machines

Washer? Dryer? Both?

In action

Auto door opener

Parking solution

Random cool Japanese stuff

International influences!

Parking solution

Auto door opener

In action

Washer? Dryer? Both?

The boss of vending machines

Cool Japanese stuff

Tokyo day scenes

Tokyo night scenes

Bus to ourselves

Clever fare system!

Artsy

Artsy 2

Artsy III

Bus ride down from Unzen

VERY old hot sprint hotel!

Japanese style room

Beds laid out

Selfie in Kimono

Scene from room

Temple

‘Hell’

More ‘hell’

Temple detail

Unzen

Fish at a tourist shop!

Classic scene in Obama

Public egg steaming!

World’s longest foot spa

Buy fish raw, then steam it!

More fish

Obama scenes

Da Bus

Artsy!

Many fields

Bus stop, Japanese style

Harvest time!

Steam in Obama

More

Tour

Had to take this one!

Deposits in pipes

Overflow!

Bus ride to Unzen Hot Springs

Deep, short tubs

Again, awesome toilets

The bowl is a great idea!

Japanese bathroom culture!

Hideki … 007 look!

Dragon dance!

Japanese Association of Hydrogeologists

Origami Swan collections

Delicate and beautiful

Clock stopped by explosion

Shadow burned onto wall

Hypocenter

Atomic Bomb Museum, Nagasaki

Nagasaki street scenes

Dejima – Dutch Island in Nagasaki

Seaweed cultivating

Temples everywhere

Scenes from a train/bus

Detail at Yoshinogari Historical Park

Dead body in jar

Pop culture meets Yoshinogari historical Park

Vending machine land!

Castle

Note the stones on top … good luck!

Real Japanese wedding!

Hikiyama float

‘Tai’ Fish – red snapper

Another cool float

Best … toilets … ever.

Cool cultural aspects of Japan

Size (of gate) matters

Left hand, right hand

Shrine

Emperor’s symbol

Good luck wishes

Shinto shrine

Very bad idea

Legendary fake food!

Tokyo Airport sights

Absolutely FREE bike in Zurich

Sukop jam session!

Baby gators!

Everglades ride

Massive manatee

Gotta have flamingoes!

FL beach scene

Incredible white sand

Kitch, like only FL can!

‘Glades

Dad with the Gator

Kayak crew

Cyprus in Ichetucknee Spring Park

LOTS of turtles

Awesome kayak trip through N Florida with the UF crew!

Falls near Quebec

John Molson on majorly narrow bridge!

Great bike ride with John Molson, Quebec City

I miss Fall!

Last minute plan to get to Quebec after oversleeping!

Awesome bike ride near Ottawa

Oh, Canada!

Highest point in the Laurentian Park

Awesome Ottawa rental bike!

I like trains.

Rudy’s son’s practice!

Caught an Inbreds concert  – Helen, Dave and crew!

Dave really is the coolest dude.

Snacks for the Waterloo talk.  Nice!

THAT is a small snack tray.  Frontier Airlines!

Good lift to London!

Latent Leafs fan!!

More fun than a box of hammers.

Bear at the Denver Convention Center!

Bikes on Trains … what could be better?

Denmark – way ahead in wind farming!

Weapons horde – Mosgaard Museum

Bog man … creepy!  (Mosgaard)

Amazingly lifelike sculptures – Mosgaard

Lovin’ the Vikings!

Loke

Thor’s hammer!

Great human history exhibit

Long time dead

Cool sculptures in Viborg Museum

Wicked cool old Viking Age shirt!

Scary … and wrong

I like to think of this as art appreciation.

 

Bike commute to Foulum!

Can you pick out my rental car?  Hint, it isn’t a BMW or Audi.

The Black Lab – nice venue for the Darcy in Houston for the Geological Society

None more Brit than the Brits abroad – Houston Black Lab Pub

The temple of football at A&M

Classic Texas scene between College Station and Austin

Very cool sandbox at the TWDB – interprets topography AND allows water to accumulate and flow!

The sandbox’s name

On a short stop home, Luke and I saw a land tortoise in a trailer!

Nothing like making fun of a statue – during my somewhat ill fated bike ride in Perth.  Karma.

The Darwin crew in front of a termite mound.

Sunset in Darwin.

The only safe croc.

Aboriginal Art in Darwin

The Strand – Townsville.

Boa – near Ayr

Koala – Billabong Sanctuary

Kangaroo (male!) at Billabong.

These (cassowary) are the most frightening of the Australian lot.

Does he (?) look angry to you?

Wombats have a bony butt plate to seal off their hole entrance from dingoes.  Ouch.

Too big to fit in the frame.

Not recommended.

Lots of empty beach in Australia.

I’m not a car guy … but, I love these!

Wasn’t tempted to approach!

Even their trash-eating birds are different.

Long bike ride and a weekend market. Nice. Hobart.

I’ll believe it when I see it!

Koala in the wild … OK, in a parking lot in Adelaide, but I’m not picky!

Some rare kind of Wallabee.

Australian Rules Football in Melbourne … surprisingly not so confusing.

Aboriginal Art in Canberra.

The ONE AND ONLY kangaroo that I saw in the wild (Canberra)!

Pigeons … Aussie style.

Opal.

Majorly old fish fossils.

Aboriginal Art in Canberra.

Nice spot for dinner! (Near UNSW)

‘Better than Bondi’ Beach

Ocean was not as cold as I expected!

Sydney’s ANZAC memorial.

View from the bridge.

Managed to fit in a run with my sightseeing.

Sydney Harbor … too picturesque not to!

Enjoyed a bike ride through Lima!

Me, on the coast near Lima.

My favorite thing … a bike ride. This one in Lima on Sunday on mostly closed streets!

Me foreground, Lima background

The Negev Desert

Watering Hole near Beersheba

Amazing human augmented caves from 1000’s of years ago – Bet Guvrin-Maresha

The Mosada closed at 4 … should have thought of saying that to the Romans!

Rocks on shore coated with salt.

Floating in the Dead Sea is as cool as I had heard. But, the water tastes wicked!

Camel. Very much the horses of Israel. That is … why does anyone ride them anymore?

Jerusalem … too much history to even absorb in one place!

Jerusalem Market

Wailing Wall

Looks like an Album Cover – Soil Rocks! Only Jacob Bear is missing … but, I did meet him!

Ben and Luke playing pickup soccer in Pretoria

Drum and dance band in Soweto

This is a photo op WITHOUT predators in the area.

Photo by me, edited by Luke, in a park in the middle of Bloemfontein!

Music at a festival in Bloemfontein

Water collection cisterns on Robben Island, near Mandela’s cell. Hydro is everywhere!

White Rhino.

Kruger National Park was UN-BE-LIEVEABLE. This was a highlight … the leopard had just left. Really.

Luke, sleepy

Leslie, studious

Luke, even sleepier

Ben, thinking

Boys, posing

Family in Montpellier

A full day bike along Valencia’s greenway was fantastic.

The boys found a place to play futsol in Valencia. I napped.

Columns like trees in Sagrada Familia

The Sagrada Familia stained glass is breathtaking.

Jesus Carrera, my boys, and his daughter celebrating St. John’s

I love this guy! Jesus celebrating the solstice!

The Lez Spring, Montpellier

Flow maintained by pumping.

Built and run with crazy old technology!

An actual aqueduct in Montpellier.

Leslie and Luke at the Cite du Vin in Bordeaux. The family spent SIX hours there!

The Capucin Market in Bordeaux – definitely counts as entertainment!

‘Nuff said.

Camping (finally) – this time in a VW bus!

Roman Bath sculpture or alien encounter??

This time in my life I went to the Roman Baths. Another amazing interaction with antiquity.

Rafael put us up in an awesome place close to the University of Bristol!!

Live jams in Dublin aren’t everywhere, but they are worth seeking out!

Newgrange was stunning. Amazing to sit where humans sat 5000 years ago.

Ahmed and Dorian in Edinburgh. Don’t worry, Dorian WAS sampling whisky (no e) earlier

This may have been my first PROPER whisky. Very nice, smokey, peaty, drinkable!

A post-prandial walk over the mountain in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh at night … the fog descends.

The view from the Rundetaarn with Peter and Pernille. “It’s the fear of WANTING to fall ….”

In most places, it’s a bike ride OR a beer. Not so in Copenhagen.

View from the tower near Christiania with Peter and Pernille. Crazy outdoor steps. See here.

A parade of hundreds of rollerbladers in Copenhagen. If only I had known!

I like trains.

Not sure where this fits, maybe categorized as TMI … but, until this trip I haven’t been a fan of tubs. Now, they are the savior of my traveller’s-back!

Modern at at the van Gogh Museum.

An amazing van Gogh collection near Wageningen.

View from the spire

500 years old

1000 years old

Way cool

Some views from Koln’s Dom. (Click the picture for a caption.)

Concert by Sander’s talented daughters, leading to a multilingual songfest. Awesome!

On a hike in Germany … complete with an actual castle!

A very German past time – watching the massive mining operation! (It is pretty impressive.)

Great view of London.

Cool museum! Better yet, I got to bike there!

Also a cool museum, but very weird.

Jamming with Pony and his son!

Great night of mandolin and singing with Terrance … no photo, but evidence!

borrowed Max’s bike for a a quintessential PDX 20 miler!

borrowed Max’s bike for a a quintessential PDX 20 miler!

Trying to figure out the camera timer

After a bike ride with Edgar

Goodbye to Bart and Mary – hey, they stole my mandolin and coffee!

Bart and I did some cider tasting – many were as bad as you might imagine!!

Donuts, Seattle style!

Handmade chocolate thank you from Hideo’s wife!

On a too-rare trip home, I got to help Luke combine his two main passions.

Three talented Mines musicians and me. Great jam session!

Great memories evoked walking around Golden, CO!

Fun session at Steve Holbrook’s house!

Art (?) installation at MSU

For my older son, Ben, who distrusts bears.

Warren Wood’s field vehicle … an Aston Martin. Nice.

Rented a bike for a 35 mile ride in Orange County

UGA combines water gardens with art installations!

Hotel ‘Gyms’ … the bane of my existence!

I finally convinced him it was m c SQUARED!

Known for the chili, but improved by the beer.

Luke, in Boston, with split allegiances

Got to play soccer against 20 year olds with my old friend Bill Barbieri in DC

Note to self … I am no longer 20!

Midas Touch beer, from a 2700 year old recipe, in MD

Missed the start of the Iditarod by one day, but saw the prep!

Ronnie Dannan Hydrologist and Ice Sculptor

Ice Sculpture Fairbanks

Permafrost Tunnel with Kenji and Bob Bolton, Fairbanks

Kenji’s Reindeer! Fairbanks

Skating with Josh Koch in Anchorage!

When in Calaveras County, CA, one meets with Mark

Jamming with John Kramer and Friends, Sonora CA

My older son, Ben, wanted to visit Stanford … and eat sushi!

Run along the canal in Davis

Snowshoeing with Kyle and Ian Blasch and their dogs, Feb 2, Boise

Skiing at Bogus Basin with Shawn Benner and Kyle Blasch Jan 31, Boise

A trip to the field counts as fun!

Jan 30, Calgary AB

Crooning with Masaki and Larry Jan 29, Calgary, AB

NAU vs N Dakota men’s basketball Jan 21, Flagstaff AZ

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