Category Archives: Home Leave in USA

Rediscovering America: Oregon

The last four years have been given us amazing travel opportunities.  The world is full of interesting things to see; wonderful people to meet and get to know; and of course this all translates to great video and photo opportunities. Not … Continue reading

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Getting Better at Black and White

I love my Kodak Monitor 620 – this camera from the 1940s has taken a bit of time to master – especially since I’m new to film / analog photography anyway –  but I’m finally getting quality images out of … Continue reading

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Final Stop in the Great Western States Odyssey: Crater Lake

In our continuing Western States Odyssey in a rented 31-foot RV, our final stop was a return to the place we had originally intended to be our first stop: Crater Lake.  Unfortunately, we had gotten a late start and ultimately … Continue reading

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Scenes from Eastern Oregon

One of my favorite places in the U.S. is Eastern Oregon. Some people find the landscape boring, but I’m definitely not one of them. There are so many interesting, hidden little places to see, especially on some of the lesser-traveled … Continue reading

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Cliff Diving into the Truckee River

They say few things are as American as baseball, apple pie….and add to that “jumping into the old water hole.” As we headed west from Reno/Sparks, Nevada, the temperature climbed steadily toward the maximum it would reach that July afternoon … Continue reading

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Reno and Squid Hats

…so the (teen) kids didn’t want to see the inside of a casino when we stayed overnight in Reno.  Apparently gambling has gotten a bad rap in our family, which is not a bad thing as far as I’m concerned. … Continue reading

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The City By the Bay

Marin County Coastline The latest turn in our Western States Odyssey took us into San Francisco.  And if you’ve never had the opportunity, a great thrill ride is to take a 31-foot RV and drive it over the Golden Gate … Continue reading

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Really, Really Big Trees

Our continuing RV Odyssey in the Western States today took us through what botanists like to refer to as Really, Really Big Trees.   The Avenue of the Giants was particularly impressive – not really captured accurately by this timelapse: … Continue reading

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More Adventures in ‘Murr’ca

Today was an eventful day in our Western States RV Odyssey.  For those just tuning in, we are touring Oregon, California, Nevada and Idaho in a rented monstrosity of an RV, in order to satisfy a Congressionally mandated Foreign Service … Continue reading

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The Great American Fast Food Odyssey – part 2

Yesterday I posted about our efforts to satisfy American fast food cravings while on “home leave” after a 2-year absence.  And about how the menus change gradually, but how after two years the all-familiar fast food menus suddenly appear loaded … Continue reading

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The Great American Fast Food Odyssey – part 1

Foreign Service Officers (i.e. U.S. “diplomats”) are Congressionally mandated to spend a decent amount of time in the United States between tours – presumably so that we maintain a good understanding of our home countries while we’re out representing America … Continue reading

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