It is hard to believe that it has been more than five months since the last time that we boarded an airplane to go someplace new. Several years ago we started taking photographs through the windows of the airplanes, cars, and trains that we travel on. We actually find it interesting to look back not only at the locations that we’ve visited, but also the journey itself, to, from, and around the various countries. When we visited Acapulco in Mexico this past February, just prior to countries shutting down, we boarded a plane prior to the sun having even starting to rise. We watched the sunrise as we flew into Houston to catch our connection to continue on to Mexico. We look back at that particular journey with a combination of sadness and longing to travel once again.
First Hint of the SunriseThe Mountains of MexicoLooking Out of Our WindowSun Just Crossing the HorizonFirst Sign of the CoastAnother Airplane on the Tarmac at Sunrise
We don’t have time for any extended trips at the moment, so we have been taking shorter, weekend trips for the time being. It is a great time of year to hop in a car and find places near you that you have never visited before or perhaps haven’t gone to in a long time. Since travel is often more expensive during the summer months when many families are taking vacations, driving to local destinations is also a nice way to keep costs down. The downside, of course, is often spending hours upon hours stuck in the seat of a vehicle.
Colorful Scenery
Different Geology
On the Road Again
We never used to take photos from the car when would travel to places, but now we often do, just like we now take photos from the window of a plane when flying to a different country. Taking photos through the windows of a moving vehicle doesn’t always produce the greatest results, but capturing the changing scenery is actually a nice reminder of how beautiful some of the places are that you travel through on your way to your final destination.
Plateaus in the Distance
Winding Through the Mountains
Storm on the Horizon
Another drawback to traveling during the summer can sometimes be the weather. First of all, it can be quite hot, which likely means that the windows are rolled up and the air conditioning is on instead of enjoying the fresh scents of nature. Another issue can be rain or, even worse, hail. Driving through torrential rain storms with water standing on the highway can be as much of a white-knuckle drive as driving through a snow storm in the winter. We certainly ran into a little bit of everything during our drive from Colorado to Santa Fe, New Mexico, this past weekend.
When you have spent so much time and money planning a trip, it is always disappointing when the weather doesn’t cooperate and it either rains or snows so that you can’t see how truly beautiful a place is. Everyone wants those travel photos with the clear blue skies and the sun shining brightly on the statues and buildings. Unfortunately, Mother Nature has a mind of her own. We always try to check out the weather trends for a location before we go so that we know when it might be a rainy season and then try to avoid those times. Even so, it is important to make sure that you try to be as flexible as possible and plan some indoor activities such as museums or tours of a palace. During our time in Germany, we had many rainy weekends, so in the end, we just made the most of the time that we had and decided not to complain about something that we couldn’t control. In some ways, photos of a rainy day can be more interesting than those on a sunny day. These are some pictures of our trip to Paris when it rained almost the entire time, but thankfully it wasn’t our first trip to that wonderful city.
