R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 178
January 2, 2015
December 31, 2014
Dravuni, Fiji — Part 2
Dravuni in the Distance
Dravui is a charming little island with friendly residents, sunny beaches, and blue waters.
A Dravuni Beach
Even the children enjoyed greeting our arrival during recess.
Recess with the School Children
A walk around revealed some rather nice flowers, as well.
Dravuni Flora
Dravuni Flora
And the homes appeared well suited for the climate and surprisingly comfy and charming.
Dravuni Home
But some of the best photographic opportunities were closer to shore.
Anchoring the Palm
Dravuni...
December 29, 2014
Dravuni, Fiji — Part 1
Tendering onto Dravuni Island
We had one more stop to make in Fiji before continuing our transpacific crossing. This time it was the island of Dravuni just south of Viti Levu. Dravuni is incredibly small — less than a third of a square mile/.8 km². The highest point of the island is 130 feet/40 meters. The resident population numbers around 125.
A Dravuni Beach
Being so small it only takes about forty-five minutes to circumnavigate it in a small motorboat, which we did. But be forewarned. Once w...
December 26, 2014
Fun Photo Friday — The Best of Viti Levu
Fiji is Tugging at My Heart
Hope you enjoyed this week’s travels to the Fiji’s Viti Levu. I promised on Wednesday to show you the charming school from the village we visited, and here it is:
Rainbow Schoolhouse
And here are the students:
Tourist Recess
Here are more of my favorite shots from our two ports of call here on the island:
Filed under: Fun Photo Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, Television Tagged: cruise, Fiji, Fun Photo Friday, Lautoka, MS Oosterdam, Navua River, photography, R. Doug...
December 25, 2014
Holiday Repeat — A Spillane Christmas Carol (Humor)
On Wednesday I presented an old piece I wrote for the now defunct El Paso Manuscript Club’s annual Christmas Writing Contest for the year 2000. It was a poem written in the style of Edgar Allan Poe, and it told of the apparent murder of Lenore — a department store clerk — by an irate customer doing his Christmas shopping just a tad on the late side.
Today I present the companion piece (same contest, different category), the followup investigation of Lenore’s death as conducted by a character s...
December 24, 2014
Viti Levu, Fiji — Suva and Navua River Cruise
The village
Our next stop on the island of Viti Levu was the Fiji capital city of Suva. But we didn’t spend long here, as Ursula had us booked for a little adventure. After a short bus ride we boarded boats for a ride up the Navua River.
Navua River boat ride
Our first stop was to a charming traditional communal Fiji village where we were greeted by friendlies. That’s good, because only a few hundred years ago the Fijis were known by another name — The Cannibal Isles. Fortunately everyone we met...
December 23, 2014
Holiday Repeat — If Edgar Allan Poe Had Written A Christmas Carol (Humor)
Be sure to catch the Mickey Spillane-inspired sequel to this tale on Christmas Day:
A Poe Christmas
Once upon a snowstorm dreary, through which I trudged all weak and weary,
Past many a quaint and curious number of advertisement lore
I saw the ad, above some wrapping; on the door I started tapping
At first it was a gentle tapping, tapping at the storefront door
I must gain entry to this store, as there was nothing then I wanted more
Searching for this and nothing more
The toy was here for which I sea...
December 22, 2014
Viti Levu, Fiji — First Stop Lautoku
Today I’m back to my normal Monday-Wednesday-Friday blog schedule, and I’ve returned to the topic of our Sydney-to-Seattle cruise earlier this year. But in keeping with this week’s holiday spirit I’m also running repeats on Tuesday and Thursday of my ever-popular holiday humor tales. Tuesday I’ll bring to you If Edgar Allan Poe had ‘Written A Christmas Carol.’ Thursday you’ll find here a repeat of the sequel to that tale with my follow-up A Spillane Christmas Carol.
Lautoka Sugar Mill
Our ship...
December 19, 2014
Fun Photo Friday — Christmas Lights 2013
We’ll finish this week’s Christmas lighting celebration with a Fun Photo Friday that originally ran back in 2013:
Well, it’s time for the annual Christmas Lights blog. This year El Paso’s San Jacinto Plaza is undergoing renovation, so the annual downtown light display was moved to the park just outside the main city library, and is comparatively subdued over years past.
Nevertheless, the display is still impressive.
Visitors came to gawk. If they took chill there was hot chocolate nearby.
And if...
December 18, 2014
The Christmas Lights of Eastridge — Part 3
Once again, this Eastridge series originally ran back in 2012:
Today we shall conclude our photographic tour of El Paso’s Eastridge neighborhood and its fantastical Christmas lighting displays.
As you can see in the picture above, sometimes, even the automobiles get into the act.
This photo is my favorite from today’s offerings:
The rest of today’s gallery is shown below. Click on any image to enlarge it:
Filed under: Photography, R. Doug Wicker Tagged: Christmas lights, Eastridge Christmas displa...
