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Photos and commentary from my travels around the globe

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China 2026 – June 14

The Forbidden City in Beijing, China, is the world’s largest ancient imperial palace. Commissioned in 1406 by the Yongle Emperor, it served as the home of 24 Ming and Qing dynasty emperors and the epicenter of Chinese political power for over 500 years. Today, the complex operates as the Palace Museum and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Rectangular in shape, the Forbidden City is enormous, covering an area of 72 hectares, and boasting more than 9,000 bays of rooms. It is divided into two parts – the Outer Court for national affairs in the south and the Inner Court as living quarters in the north. It is not only an immense architectural masterpiece, but also a treasury housing a unique collection of 1.8 million pieces of art, including ancient calligraphy and painting, imperial artifacts, ancient books, and archives.

Located to the north of the Tiananmen Square, the rectangular Forbidden City is enclosed by a 10 meters (33 feet) high outer wall and surrounded by a 52 meters (57 yards) wide moat. It has four gates: the Meridian Gate (Wumen) in the south, the Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwumen) in the north, the West Prosperity Gate (Xihuamen) and the East Prosperity Gate (Donghuamen). On each of the four corners of the outer wall, there is a delicately structured corner tower.

The palace allows a south-to-north unidirectional route. Visitors can only enter through the Meridian Gate (Wumen) in the south and leave from the Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwumen) in the north or the East Prosperity Gate (Donghuamen).

This has been one of my toughest venues to photograph because of its size and scale, along with the crowds we encountered. When I return home, I will do a better identification of the photos – for now, just enjoy.

Tiananmen Tower & Meridian Gate

Gate of Supreme Harmony & Hall of Supreme Harmony

Other Palace Photos

Imperial Garden

Gate of Divine Prowess & Moat Views

Leaving the Forbidden City, we traveled to the central site for the 2008 and 2022 Olympics – viewing the “Bird’s Nest”, the Cube for water sports, the Olympic tower, and the tower for the Olympic flame.

Editorial Comment: Google is blocked by the government, so getting emails and searching needs to be done through a VPN. adding another layer of effort to using the internet – so be it – I shall continue on.

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China 2026 June 13th

Heading out today! Flight from MCO to LAX, then overnight to Beijing. We leave on June 11th but arrive on June 13th – losing a day crossing the International Date Line. Early morning arrival (6:40 a.m.) with a transfer to our hotel, then our sightseeing begins. Today, we visited the Temple of Heaven Park, built in 1420 but reconstructed several times due to damage from fires and during WW2 damaged by the Japanese. The complex runs north-south along a ceremonial path. The most iconic structure is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (Qinian Dian). A triple-tier circular hall built entirely of wood without nails, standing on a three-tier white marble terrace. At the other end of the path is the Imperial Vault of Heaven – a smaller circular hall (under reconstruction) surrounded by the famous Echo Wall, where sound can be heard long distances due to its acoustic design – too bad, no longer due to defects in the current wall. Along the pathway is the Danbi Bridge, which represents the emperor’s journey between heaven and earth. There is a three-tier open-air altar made of white marble used for the Winter Solstice Ceremony, with a center stone (the Heavenly Heart Stone) that produces a clear echo when you speak. The park complex is surrounded by century-old cypress trees, some up to 600 years old.

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

Cultural Relics

Imperial Vault of Heaven

Temple of Heaven Park – Other Views

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April 2026 Travels

Cassen Park – Ormond Beach

Cassen Park is a newly renovated 3.7 acre riverfront park located along the Halifax River, which consists of a bait shop, boat docks, a fishing pier that stretches under the Granada Bridge.

Mud Spring Trail within Welaka State Forest

Welaka State Forest is located along the east bank of the historic St. Johns River. The Florida Forest Service maintains the integrity of the forest’s natural systems while allowing limited outdoor recreation use and environmental education.

A gentle 1.7-mile hike leads to Mud Spring, a natural basin in Welaka State Forest pumping out up to 1.4 million gallons of water daily into the St. Johns River.

Johns Landing Trail

A second trail in Welaka State Forest, Johns Landing Trail is a 4.5-mile hike which meanders along old roadbeds to the St. Johns River. 

Seward Johnson Sculpture Tour – Ormond Beach

Ormond Memorial Art Museum & Gardens is once again honored to display a sculpture from the “Art Imitates Life” installation by world-renowned American artist Seward Johnson (1930-2020). All 12 life-size, life-like bronze sculptures are located on both public and private property along the Granada Boulevard corridor from A1A to Lewis Street. They are so realistic; you’ll be tempted to stop and chat. In fact, they are often mistaken for “real” people!

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Cypress Gardens – Moncks Corner, SC

Needing a break while driving back from a golf outing in Myrtle beach I found Cypress Gardens in Moncks Corner SC about 30 minutes outside for Charleston. Cypress Gardens is a 170-acre preserve and gardens. The centerpiece of the garden is the 80 acres blackwater bald cypress/tupelo swamp, surrounded with both boat and foot trails.  I spent about an hour and a half exploring a major portion of the 4.5 miles of walking trails enjoying the garden areas and watching the boaters try to navigate through the swamp.

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Valentine’s day Weekend Get Away

We were able to get a room at the 17Hundred90 Inn and Restaurant at a late date, so we jumped on it and a four-day getaway to Savannha Ga. On Friday we arrived in the early afternoon and had lunch at The Nest, visited the American Prohibition Museum before checking in to our B&B then onto dinner at Garibaldi’s.

On Saturday we headed out early for breakfast at Debi’s on Bay, then a 2-hour walking tour of the Historic District (Genteel & Bards Tours), lunch at Dub’s Pub, spent the afternoon on our own walking tour of various other districts in the city. Finishing the day with a wonderful dinner at Circa 1875.

Sunday started with breakfast at Quinn’s Breakfast and Lunch, then a round of golf at Crosswinds Golf Club (finishing just before the rain came). Drinks and dinner at Repeal 33 closed out the day.

On Monday after a fun weekend we headed back to Florida with a stop at St. Simons Island to see the islands lighthouse.

If your heading to Savannha consider trying these places.

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February 11, 2026 – Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

At the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, there is an abundance of nature and wildlife to observe. Over 500 species of wildlife and more than 140 species of freshwater and saltwater fish have called the refuge home. Additionally, the refuge is a popular place for birdwatching and to date 358 species have been identified here. Black Point Wildlife Drive is a 7-mile, self-guided automobile tour where you will have a chance to see birds, alligators and other wildlife.

I started the day by driving the Gator Creek Loops before entering the Refuge, getting a preliminary view of the watershed and wildlife. I arrived near sunrise but with my luck the day started off with fog and heavy cloud cover. Still an enjoyable ride and some acceptable views of nesting and flying birds.

After hiking the Scrub Ridge trail an unimpressive mile plus loop I headed to the Manatee Observation Deck to see a couple but the water was so cloudy photos were useless.

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Tracking birds on a cold Forida Morning

It’s 35 degrees but bright and sunny so I decided to check out the wildlife at Bulow Creek SP and Betty Steflik Memorial Preserve. I wasn’t disappointed but I wish I brought along my 600 mm lens.

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Washington Oaks Gardens State Park – November 13, 2025

After spending time hiking in the River to Sea Preserve (Ocean to Matanzas River) near Marineland, I decided to revisit the Coquina Rocks along the ocean in Washington Oaks Gardens State Park. It had been at least three years since my last visit and shockingly the vista has significantly changed. As a result of the recent hurricanes and storms, the sand was washed away, and the rocks were at lease 50% more visible.  

Coquina rock is a type of sedimentary rock (specifically limestone), formed by the deposition and subsequent cementation of mineral or organic particles on the floor of oceans or other bodies of water at the Earth’s surface. In other words, the rock is formed by the accumulation of sediments. 

I spent an hour and a half wandering the rocks and walking the beach – even if it was in the low 40’s in the sunshine state. 

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Japan Tour 2025 Day 18

The final tour day started with a ride on the bullet train from Fukuoka to Osaka, a trip of two and a half hours. The ride was very smooth, but the train didn’t give any indication of how fast we were traveling. Generally, the train travels up to 200 mph. Notable on this trip and what we noticed all around southern Japan, is the significant number of tunnels you go through. I can’t even estimate how many we traversed. Because the land is so mountainous, most roads and rails must go through rather than around the hills.

We had an early dinner and went to bed, planning on making an early flight the next day. Well, our travel plans had a shakeup. A 5 am text informed us that our connecting flight to DFW was canceled, and we were rebooked later in the day. At about noon, we received another text saying that the rebooked flight was canceled, and we were then rebooked for two days later. Well, we took our first leg flight from Osaka to Tokyo and tried to work with AA customer service to get an earlier flight out rather than waiting the two extra days – after two hours searching we managed to move are return flight back a day by flying Tokyo to JFK, JFK to Miami the on to Orlando.

Hope you enjoyed our adventure. We arrived safely in Ormond Beach late on Tuesday night.

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