Island Hopping Dec2025 #5 - There's something magical when you are out on the water. A little different from the troop carrier I was on in 1968, headed to Vietnam. I do remember sitting topside one evening, and watching one of my top-5 sunsets. Maybe we'll go Island Hopping again in the Spring.

Island Hopping Dec2025 #4

walking around in the early morning dark... 5 years ago, on 15Dec2020 I'm actually sort of looking forward to this (again)... My flight is booked for a short visit next month, and I'm hoping my brother brings a warm jacket to the airport. insert praying hands :)

I was going to share my Hotel le Carmen shots tomorrow, but the photo of the sidewalk across the street from us appeared today on FB, by InfoCebu. The comments on FB are interesting to read. --- One of these days I'm going to walk down the driveway leading to the Hotel le Carmen... "A COMFORTABLE HAVEN IN TROPICAL CEBU". My walks in this area have been more of an exercise in meditative and slow walking since the tumble I took one year ago, and this old repair job in the sidewalk made me smile.

"𝗢𝗦𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗔 𝗕𝗟𝗩𝗗 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗪𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗞𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗖𝗘𝗕𝗨 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗕𝗘 🚶‍♀️ 🚶‍♂️ 🚶‍♂️ 🚶‍♀️ LOOK: The stretch of sidewalk along Osmeña Boulevard is a breath of fresh air—clean, wide, and shaded by trees, with nothing but dry leaves on the ground. It’s the kind of space that invites early morning walks and quiet moments. If only sidewalks like this existed all throughout the city, walking in Cebu would be a daily pleasure rather than a challenge. InfoCebu Exclusive"

a walk in the UW Arboretum, Oct 13 2018... leaves, color, and black and white

Holy Moly! I like "Homeland"! I'm into Season 2, Episode 10...

When I take breaks from my other activities, I read/listen to Audio books, and/or watch Netflix series that ran for multiple years and I haven't watched. Right now, I'm reading John Adams (second President of the US) by David McCullough, and I'm into Season 2 of "Homeland". Yesterday, earlier in the day, when my eyes were telling me to take a break, I was reading about how Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd President of the US, "joined Adams in France (1784) alongside Benjamin Franklin... to help negotiate treaties during the Revolutionary War". In the afternoon, I was watching "Homeland", and there was a scene with two of the main characters' high school age children talking about their homework: Jefferson sure did live it up. Wine, books... and Slaves How could he write, 'All men are created equal' 'from a plantation?' Dude was all confused You ever been there? Monticello? --- Interesting...thinking about how I was just reading about Jeffererson and his Monticello home... ps -one of the high school students in Homeland was played by Timothée Chalamet, who 10 years later (2024) won best actor awards for his portrayal of Bob Dylan

Island Hopping Dec2025 #3 - It's difficult to explain the beauty and pleasures of island hopping. This was only our 4th such trip, and I want to go on many more! When we snorkeled at Nalusuan last time, post Odette, there were fewer visitors, and their long dock was a line of upright and many fallen concrete pillars. With so few visitors then, the fish reminded me of the best days at Hanauma Bay on Oahu, in Hawaii. The large Parrot fish, eels and reef sharks were missing, but I Loved all of these guys. The last photo is one I took of the "Tourist Police" last time. His blue sunglasses were perfect with all of the other blues in Island Hopping. A small boat came out when we were snorkeling and told us that we go go onto the small island and walk around if we wanted. They would take us in for a small fee.

Island Hopping Dec2025 #2 - It felt so good getting out on the water again. I was using my telephoto lens when we left port, and I was liking the boatman's sunglasses - the contrast between him and the skyline of Mactan Island. The blue colors of the water is always amazing! When you get closer to land and the different sandbars etc., there are different shades of blue colors. I also liked when we got closer to different islands and I could zoom in on the houses and trees... and passing other Bangka boats. and...

We went Island Hopping with Nate and Airi on Wednesday. It was another blue sky and puffy white clouds day. When we boarded our Bangka boat in Maribago, it was low tide, so they brought in a smaller boat to get us out to the larger Bangka. Maribago, on Mactan Island, isn't far from JPark where I took some photos the other evening. There are over 7,600 islands in the Philippines, and we passed by some of them enroute to our first stop on Nalusuan Island. I wanted to go to Nalusuan because we visited that island 4 years ago, not long after it was hit by Typhoon Odette. The long deck that was completely destroyed by Odette has been replaced by an equally long concrete one, and a bunch of people were snorkeling at the end where you can see other Bangka boats anchored. I think I took about the same number of photos as the number of islands they have here :), so this will be #1 of this year's island hopping posts for us.

sitting here in the early morning Cebu dark, watching the line of car lights coming down Osmena Boulevard towards the Fuente Osmeña Circle... from an 11Dec2023 post - I remember the days when I would take Mom on drives around West Seattle. We would be stopped at an intersection, and she would look at the people driving by and people walking around. She would tell me something like "look at all these people, going places and doing things..." "Where are they going?"

This post is from 6 years ago - 7Dec2019. Like in Bothell WA, where these photos were taken, I still get up in the early morning dark, but my walks in Cebu now are warmer 🙂, more colorful, and with a lot more people! Looking at these Bothell Winter photos: I was always bundled up well because of the cold, and walking in the early morning dark through a small American town...quiet joy...

I took these photos when I was wandering around the Coral Seaside Restaurant at J Park last night, while we were waiting for drinks and snacks...

watching a sunset at the Shangri-La on Mactan yesterday with Nate and Airi...