2011: A Cooling Odyssey

Crown Fountain, Chicago, Illinois, USA

The wonderful Crown Fountain, at the western edge of downtown Chicago's Millennium Park, is a cooling oasis for body and mind.  Usually crowded with hordes of tourists, this little boy somehow got a moment all to himself.

Flags for the Flagships

Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Chicago, Illinois, USA

At Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD), American Airlines' Concourse K is a skylit hall adorned with the flags of many nations with a modern globe as its centerpiece.  Timeless and modern all at once, the hall transmits positive energy to the hustle and bustle.

Love is in the Air

Pink Azalea, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
The beautiful blossoms of this pink azalea tell us that love is in the air, especially for the birds and the bees.

A Peaceful Piedmont

Piedmont Park, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Lake Clara Meer is a beautiful man-made lake in Atlanta's Piedmont Park. Locals and visitors alike love to walk around the lake, site-see, people watch, feed the ducks, and just have a good time. The 189-acre park is beautiful in all seasons and offers many fine views of Midtown Atlanta.

Flying Zoo

Frontier Airlines Aircraft, Denver, Colorado
Based at Denver International Airport (DEN), Frontier Airlines has a fleet of aircraft decorated with various wild animals. Whenever we fly Frontier, we're eager to see "who" we're flying. If you're in Denver, a quick trip over the bridge between the main terminal and Concourse A is always a welcome diversion for plane-spotting!

Roll Up, Roll Up for Some LOVE

LOVE entrance, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
On this Valentine's Day, we send you some LOVE. Featuring the music of the Beatles, this Cirque Du Soleil show is presented at the Mirage Resort on the famous Las Vegas Strip. The resort has LOVE and psychedelia throughout the lobby and casino floor.

Imagining Summer

Lummus Park Beach, Miami Beach, Florida, USA
This picture was taken in the middle of October, but you'd never know that by the scene. In fact, it was over 80 degree Fahrenheit! No wonder Miami Beach is so popular during fall and winter.

A Bunch of Tight Spots

Parking Deck, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Every day, millions of folks scramble for parking spaces in congested cities. This lot is so tiny, the cars hang out over the sidewalk. We suspect this is an older, valet only parking deck because there are no safety rails to prevent folks from falling and because all of the cars are backed in.

Meal of the Pilgrims?

Fish and Chips, Provincetown, Massachusetts, USA
We dined on this tasty lunch of fish and chips alongside Provincetown Harbor. We doubt the Pilgrims ate such a fine meal, let alone with a cola and cole slaw, during their historic P-town stopover in 1620.

Doing the Rounds at the Mall

Spiral Escalator, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
We were amazed to find this spiral escalator in The Forum Shops at Caesars. There is a pair of escalators going up while making a complete rotation (360°) and another pair doing exactly the same going down. It was a lot of fun riding on these.

Memphis on the Mississippi

Memphis, Tennessee, USA
In this aerial shot of Memphis, you can easily see downtown, the Pyramid Arena, the Mississippi River, the Hernando de Soto Bridge (with a tip of Arkansas), General DeWitt Spain Airport, and the confluence of Interstates 40 and 69. Landmarks like the Peabody Hotel, Beale Street, and Sun Records are in the picture, but cannot be seen clearly.

A River Runs Through It

Rivers and Canyons, Arizona, USA
This unknown river and its tributaries and canyons are somewhere in northwestern Arizona. Captured on a flight between Los Angeles and Denver, you can almost see the carving action that takes centuries to unfold.

Nice Ice

Evergreen Lake, Evergreen, Colorado, USA
Colorado is definitely a place to go for skiing, but it is also fun to go ice skating on one of its beautiful lakes with a mountain view. At Evergreen Lake, in the small mountain town of Evergreen, you can rent skates and have fun on the ice.

Worth Much More Than A Nickel

Nickel Creek, Fabulous Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Nowadays, plenty of folks take pictures at shows. We never used to take photos during concerts, but by the mid-naughties it seemed to be normal for folks to whip out their camera phones and grab snapshots. So, we joined the bandwagon and took this photo during a wonderful concert by Nickel Creek at Atlanta's Fabulous Fox Theatre. Nickel Creek may not be active anymore, but we have special memories of this evening.