In May, I enjoyed going through all the photos on my phone, picking out 26 and creating an A-Z-style compilation (HERE is the link to the previous post). So, I’m doing that again. Most of these things are extremely random. That’s why I want to do a post – to remember the randomness of them all! Here goes:

A is for Apostle Islands, Wisconsin (main photo above). There aren’t many places that we put on our “must return” list, but this is one place that is on the list! We didn’t get a chance to kayak through these cliffs and caves, and we think that would be awesome. So, we’re coming back…eventually!

B is for Bridge. This is the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan (and I’ll include the Fun Facts sheet about the bridge that I found in our campground’s laundry room). And, in case you didn’t know: you pronounce Mackinac and Mackinaw the same, whichever way it’s spelled. Mackinac is the French spelling, but both are pronounced MACK-in-awe.

C is for Commandments. I snapped this photo at the bottom of Horseshoe Falls, in Munising, Michigan.

D is for Dented by a Deer! Thanks to a deer, we now have new dents in our truck. Hubby temporarily “fixed” the part that was so bent we couldn’t open the door…with duct tape! That Dear Deer couldn’t just dent one panel of the truck…he had to dent the front panel, the driver’s side door, AND the driver’s side cab door. Ugh!

E is for Eagle. Yep, that’s an eagle. Really, truly! Clearly, I need a more powerful camera lens! :o)

F is for Fish Boil. We had heard that one of the “must” things to do in Door County, Wisconsin, was to go to a Fish Boil. So, of course, we did. When the cook throws kerosene on the fire, it’s not only for the show, but the fish oil and scum boils over, and the fish is ready to eat!

G is for Grandfather Clock…the largest in the world!

H is for Houses… birdhouses. When hunting for Dambo Trolls, if you see any birdhouses similar to these, that means you’re getting close!

I is for Island. There are a lot of little islands in Rainy Lake, in Voyageurs National Park. If any bit of land has a tree on it, it’s considered an island!

J is for Jack Pine Lumberjack Show. It was fun cheering for “our” lumberjack, Ian, and booing for the other team’s lumberjack (I can’t remember his name). :o)

K is for Kitchen…and trying my best to stay out of the kitchen during our various pickleball games!

L is for, of course, Lenore! My hubby saw this street sign near Astoria, Oregon, and on the way back from wherever we were going, we pulled over to get a shot. Cuz, why not?!? :o)

M is for Monarch…as in butterflies! So cute. I snapped these little guys at the Green Bay Botanical Garden.

N is for National Lakeshore. Our boat tour of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore was beautiful, and we’re SO happy we chose to sit inside (many people weren’t so happy sitting on the top deck when it started to rain!).

O is for Oregon Shakespeare Festival. We attended A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It was very good!

P is for Pasties (pronounced PASS-tee for singular or PASS-teez for plural). It’s a portable meat hand pie, originally brought to the area by Cornish miners. We had to try one (while in Michigan!), they were… just OK. :o)

Q is for Quacking! These ducks all make a beeline when they see people on the pier. Dinnertime!

R is for Rafters. The Paradise Lodge at Mount Rainier National Park has some cool lanterns hanging from some cool rafters!

S is for Sea Stars. I used to call them star fish, but now that I know better, I do better, haha!(“Sea star” and “starfish” refer to the exact same marine animal, but “sea star” is the term because these creatures are not actually fish.)

T is for Teeny Tiny Camper! This little guy was perched up on some kind of platform, just on the side of the road in Tillamook, Oregon. How do people find the time to create such things!? Did they actually use it at some point? I want the backstory! :o)

U is for Underground. We visited Lava Beds National Monument in Northern California and went underground into some lava tube caves. The monument contains over 800 lava tube caves.

V is for Voyageur (whew! V wasn’t too hard to find this go around!). This giant Voyageur is just outside Ranier, Minnesota, near Voyageurs National Park.

W is for World War II. This tugboat, Tug Ludington, participated in D-Day. Thank you for your service! It now lives in Kewaunee, Wisconsin.

X is for Xercise. We climbed 207 steps but were rewarded with a great view of Lake Huron and this arch on Mackinac Island. We rode our bikes around the island (which is only just over 8 miles). Pro tip: ride clockwise rather than counter-clockwise. We did this, and we avoided the masses of people going the other way. Yay!

Y is for Yellow. Acres and acres of yellow!

Z is for Zoo. We rode our bikes on the Ahnapee Trail in Wisconsin and came across a small town zoo. We had the place to ourselves. There were goats, pheasants, a white fox…and not much else, haha!

That’s it for the random A-Z photos! Certainly not all of them, but I’ll be able to recall at least these 26 bits and pieces from our 2026 summer travels. I hope you have a terrific day and get to do or learn something NEW today!

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!