I'm a guest blogger today!

I am a GUEST BLOGGER  today on this blog:

http://lifecruiser.com/archive/hi-my-friends-lets-travel-again-part-2-of-a-journey-across-u-s/

check it out and enjoy - happy travels!

Lights, lights, lights....

Key West lights

Key West Christmas lights


Hi my friends,

these Christmas pictures were made in Key West, Florida.
Yes, that's THE "crazy" place down on the road at the end of the rainbow and at the end of everything!

We were living down there for many years and enjoyed all the craziness. We left that piece of paradise before we went to "crazy" too....LOL... Living there was a great, fun time for both of us. But, everything comes to an end once and then it's time to discover new horizons. We left the island and moved up more North and started to plan our travels.

It's called with other words: Follow your dreams!
And that was exactly what we did, we followed our dreams and started traveling.

See you again tomorrow?
Susanne



If you're still in need for a great CALENDARS 2010, here you can still get it!

Sue & Sue are meeting in Paducah,KY

Yesterday, I had the great chance to meet a very nice blog friend of mine in Paducah, KY: Sue Henry, she is an excellent fine art photographer and I love to visit her blog! We had a great time together. While eating Ice creme, we were talking about this and that and of course about photography! I've enjoyed every single moment to meet you, Sue!
Thanks for taking your time.
Please, visit her blog at:
http://suehenryphotography.wordpress.com

Pretty house facades on Broadway Street in Paducah, where also our meeting point was: the Ice creme shop - the right place to meet on a HOT June afternoon :)

After so much talking, David got hungry and we get the great insider tip, from Sue, to try the "WHALER's CATCH" Seafood Restaurant - it was agood tip, Sue - thanks again! :)

WAHLER's CATCH - Restaurant in Paducah
Located in the Historic Johnson Building on Second Street, Paducah, Kentucky, Whaler's Catch Restaurant has a rich and varied past. Commonly known as "Whaler's" by local Paducahans, the first-of-its-kind fresh seafood restaurant and fish market was started in 1977 by Roberta Shelby Morse.

The food was delicious and the interiour deco was a bit of a maritime New Orleans atmosphere, very nice!

Next time, we will visit the National Quilt Museum for sure - we spent to much time eating in the Restaunt :)

National Quilt Museum Paducah
The National Quilt Museum was constructed in 1991 for use by the museum.

Its facility has been integral to the museum's success. The 27,000 square-foot building was specially designed by Paul Gresham of Gresham & Associates, Inc. and constructed by Vanguard Contractors for the activities of the museum. The museum includes three galleries; two classrooms, one of which can be divided into two spaces for smaller classrooms; a lobby; an atrium; a conference room; a Museum Shop and a storage vault in addition to staff offices and work areas.
The galleries were custom-designed for effectively exhibiting even very large quilts.

Indian Sculptures in front of the Quilt Museum
The National Quilt Museum is proud to bring On the Trail of Discovery, five life size bronze sculptures celebrating the Lewis & Clark Expedition to historic downtown Paducah. The statues were donated by Bill and Meredith Schroeder, founders of the museum. The Lewis & Clark Expedition statues provide exciting outdoor art, accessible day and night.
The sculptures are a permanent addition to the museum’s front lawn and link the museum to the history of Paducah and to Paducah's historic riverfront.

Click into the picture, to read the text to ON THE TRAIL OF DISCOVERY better - it belongs to the photo above.

Nice window details in the Main Street in Paducah

This reminds me to a scene out of "West Side Story" - but it's the Brick Lane in Paducah

Paducah has a lot of treasures to capture with the camera :)

Grandma loves her Quilts :) a window decoration at a gift shop

I have enjoyed our stay in Paducah, yes! Around every corner you'll find some pretty subjects and details. Take your time and visit Paducah too - and meet Sue! :)

Hi my friends,

FINALLY, I got my good old FAST connection back and I'm able to post again :)

And I got also my health back again, it was a bad day for me today: I got sick! And I think it was probably from the Oysters I eat yesterday.

Now I'm back to life again and I'm happy to show you my last impressions of Paducah and our nice meeting with Sue Henry! Let's keep in touch together, Sue! :)

Stay with me... we are heading to Nashville tomorrow!
Susanne and David

A Pretty Day at the Mississippi River Shores

We arrived in Cassville, Wisconsin. Here, David has a cousin who owns a very nice resort called, "Eagles Roost Resort & Motel" - The resort has five rental cabins and Motel with a wonderful view of the Mississippi river and its side water ways.

View of the cabins.

Davids relatives are very nice and friendly people, they invited us spontaneously to stay a day or two in one of the Motel rooms.

Thank you very much, Ron and Linda
for your great hospitality! We have really enjoyed sleeping in real beds again...LOL... and we are now relaxed and ready to start our next traveling adventures!

The Mississippi River rolls by Cassville as it has for thousands of years and the residents spend much time on the river with boating and fishing.

It must be like heaven for all fishing friends. You can rent fishing boats at the "Eagles Roost Resort" and spend some hours, days, weekends or even weeks out here at the Mississippi shores in Cassville.

There were small boats riding the river up and down.....

...and there were also bigger and very attractive, nostalgic looking boats at the "good old Mississipp" to see...

with a real paddle wheel on the back... that was fun to see!

Beautiful landscapes and pretty clouds

Every day comes to it's end with nice sunset reflections over the water

It's a pretty sunset today!

Reflections of the trees at the Mississippi shores
(click in the photos to see them bigger)

Hi my friends,

we spent two happy, quiet and relaxed days on the Mississippi shores, - one more of all the hundreds of great places we have seen on our travel. I think, tomorrow we will be may on the road again - we want to explore Wisconsin a little bit more :)

Thank you for all the comments!

Stay with me and see you there...! :)
Susanne and David

Traveling back in time...

After seeing the Bridges of Madison County we drove a looong and very BAD in shape road - it was actually I-92 - to Kalona, Iowa, hoping to see some Amish there.

A very picturesque Main Street in Kalona was greeting us

History of Kalona
Unofficially named "Bulltown" in 1879 for a local successful shorthorn breeding service, the town originated as a train station of the English river Township railroad system. Built in the middle of the prairie and without any roads for a year, "Kalona," as it became officially known, was the name of the service's famous registered sire! It was a typically quiet country town until the mid-1950's when Highway 1 was paved, streamlining the way to and from Iowa City for commuters and visitors. Kalona has grown rapidly over the past 35 years and is today the second largest town in Washington County

Pretty flower decorations all over town

Bakery in Kalona
The Kalona Bakery, located in downtown Kalona, has been serving Kalona for the past 26 years. We offer a wide variety of pastries made fresh daily featuring our made from scratch Grandma’s Old Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls. We also offer a variety of breads, dinner rolls, cookies and Amish made pies. We also specialize in made from scratch Angel Food Cakes and Old Fashioned Amish Country Egg Noodles. If your in town for lunch stop in and enjoy one of our fresh made sandwiches with a bowl of home made soup or Grandma’s home made potato salad. Sandwiches are available all day. We’re open M-F 6 am to 5:30 pm, Sat 6 am to 5:00 pm and Closed Sundays.

"The Tuscan Moon" - a very good and inviting restaurant with life music in the garden

Hand painted mail boxes in front of the little post office of Kalona

Kalona Antique Company
An 1890's church houses the Kalona Antique Co. 19 dealer antique mall, Plus Antique Furniture Warehouse. Specializing in oak, pine, walnut, and mahogany furniture, quilts, glassware, primitive, and collectibles.
We are open Mon-Sat 9-5. Closed Major Holidays and Sunday's. Dealers welcome. Eve 319-656-5157. Offer a large selection of quality antiques. Step back in time with us!!
Web Site: http://www.kctc.net/kac/

Today, the Kalona area is home to the largest Amish Mennonite settlement west of the Mississippi River, something that began when three Old Order Amish families established homesteads near Deer Creek the year Iowa became a state.

About the Amish
Since first arriving in the area in 1846, the Amish have changed very little in their beliefs and lifestyle. The Old Order Amish have no telephones, electricity, cars, or other modern conveniences. On driving through the gently sloping countryside, one might see an Amish farmer and his young son plowing or harvesting with a two or four horse team. Even along Highway 1, horse-drawn wagons hauling hay, corn, hogs, and logs are a common sight. The New Order Amish permit rubber tires on their buggies and farm vehicles, while the "Beachy" use electricity and telephones, drive cars, and own modern conveniences including farm equipment.

Diesel power against horse power :)

It was for the first time in my life to see these people with their horses and buggies on the road! It felt for me like I was traveling back in time :)

RAM Charger versus one horse power

Today, the Kalona area is home to the largest Amish Mennonite settlement west of the Mississippi River, something that began when three Old Order Amish families established homesteads near Deer Creek the year Iowa became a state.

A pioneer spirit still thrives today in the progressive business community with its one-of-a-kind downtown and countryside shops and cottage industries. Thanks to a home grown, cutting-edge medical instruments company, Kalona is even known in the international high-tech marketplace.

A 25-acre city park with its municipal swimming pool, playground, and wooden shelters is ideal for reunions and social gatherings. The Kalona Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center offers facilities for numerous occasions, from catered receptions to professional seminars. Motel facilities, bed & breakfasts, campsites with fishing privileges, and RV hook-ups are available for overnight stays. For golfers, an award-winning 9-hole course south of town is playable for green fees.

Kalona welcomes you to refresh yourself in the simple pleasures and appreciation of the area's rich heritage and living history. You'll understand why enthusiastic visitors from all over the world describe the town's atmosphere as "wonderfully authentic."

The visionary local telephone cooperative plans to install a digital fiber optics network rivaling any proposed in the state or country. Yet, while Kalona will be in touch with what's happening everywhere on the planet on a minute-by-minute basis, the cooperative won't be connecting Amish farms and homes into the network.

Hi my friends,

thank you so much - again - for all your nice comments and compliments to the last post of the covered bridges in Madison County.

It was raining here last night and we decided to stay another day here in "Amish country" to relax for another day on this very nice campground in Kalona. Tomorrow probably we will be heading towards Amana, another big Amish Community with a lot of shops and good food! I'm sure I will do again two or three photos to show it to you on my blog. ;)

Stay tuned and see you there...!
Susanne and David

My Wordless Sunday in Wyoming

It's like out of a fairy book!

On the way up to the Bryce Canyon

First we had to pass trough the "Red Canyon"

And this was the picture I have seen there: The majestic Bryce Canyon!

The elevation was more than 8000 feet - and I could feel it very well, the air was thin and I had a hard time to breath.
No wonder people say: The Bryce Canyon is breathtaking :)

Tourists from all over the world came to see this wonder work of Mother Nature, I heard also Swiss people discussion the amazing view :)

I can only say: Enjoy these view!

Speechless about so much beauty

The "magic" entrance - to another world maybe ? :)

The full view (with my wide angle lens)

Close up shot (300mm lens)

It looks almost like the temples of Bali :)

I couldn't get enough to photograph these "Hoodoos" :)

I can not say which one of the two Canyons are more beautiful - they are bot majestic and so different from each other. I liked them both and I'm so lucky and happy that I had the chance to visit both of them.

Hi my friends,

Grand Canyon - Bryce Canyon and all the other pretty places we went trough.... I have seen now so many beautiful and amazing landscape in our pretty soon 4 moths of traveling and every state here in the U.S. has his own beauty to share with us. I'm often totally overwhelmed about the beauty of America - and about the size too...LOL...

We are just now almost in Salt Lake City in Utah. I like this green state with its still snow covered mountains and with all the green valleys. It's very special!

Dave is still recovering from his bronchitis, but he is getting better every day, so we have to move on a little bit slower as usual, heading probably up to Montana - slowly, one day we will be there.... :)

Thanks for all your kind comments and visits, I appreciate every single one!

Stay tuned with me... :)
Susanne and David