Happy Friday! A few weeks ago, there was a photo challenge that I missed participating in. The prompt was ‘Lucky Shot’. I didn’t have time to post anything that week, but if I had, this shot would be it. Imagine throngs of people standing on the side of a cruise ship as we sail away from the port in Sydney, Australia. There aren’t any open spots to get a good shot of the skyline and the opera house. Most people are WAY taller than I (I’m 5’2″), and it’s very lucky that I got this shot by standing on my tippy-toes, reaching my arms up as high as I could, and clicking the shutter button on my phone. Total luck!

I have SO many photos on my phone from our 4-ish month travels to Southeast Asia and Australia. Too many to post, so I’m sharing a small sampling – an A-Z style photo compilation. Here we go:

A is for Australia’s coastline

B is for Blue Mountains National Park

C is for Cockatoo

D is for Dancers in Vietnam

E is for Equator (we passed the equator twice on this trip. First, traveling south to Australia, then again going north to Hawaii. The cruise crew makes it fun and even gives everyone a certificate!).

F is for Firetruck. We heard a fire alarm, and then we were evacuated from our hotel room. It was not a drill. Thankfully, only a bit of smoke damage from someone burning their breakfast.

G is for Great Barrier Reef. Looking down at the reefs through the glass-bottomed boat! Yes, next time I’ll take sea sickness medication and actually snorkel for a better view of the reef!

H is for Horse (Chinese New Year – Year of the Horse)

I is for Infinity Pools. At least a couple of hotels we stayed in had infinity pools.

J is for Joe and Jill…we were surprised to read some familiar names so far away from home.

K is for Kookaburra, Kangaroos, and Koala Bears

L is for Lizards and Lanterns

M is for Monkeys

N is for New Year (Chinese New Year) Festivities

O is for Opera House (see featured photo above)

P is for Palm Trees and Pearl Harbor

Q is for Quiet Beaches

R is for Rice Paper. A Vietnamese woman shows us how she makes rice paper.

S is for Sheep and Sheep Dog

T is for Temples and Topiaries

U is for Under Gorgeous Skies. The photo on the left is facing west, and the photo on the right is a few seconds later, facing east. We were curious what made the sun rays show up on the opposite side of the setting sun – and of course, we had to look it up:

Per Google: Sun rays in the east at sunset are caused by anticrepuscular rays, an atmospheric phenomenon where sunlight (blocked by clouds in the west) travels across the sky and appears to converge on the eastern horizon. These parallel, low-angled light beams are often intensified by atmospheric dust or moisture, creating a “reversed” sunrise effect.

V is for Vaianu Cyclone. We had to hunker down and wait out a cyclone. We missed a couple of ports, but we’ve been to those locations before, so we weren’t as sad as some other travelers!

W is for Wentworth Falls. Climbing down to the bottom was a workout!!!

X is for Xercise. 272 stairs to climb at Batu Caves in Malaysia.

Y is for Yellow Sanctuary

Z is for Zoo. Yep, those are bats. :o)

That’s it for now. We are home and getting our RV ready for the next adventure. We’re definitely in our Go-Go years, so we’re making the most of it. So many NEW places to visit! It’s a blast!

Have a terrific day, and I hope you learn or do something NEW today too!