A sister ship to the African Queen, moored beneath a highway bridge over the Nile near Aswan in Egypt.  How many voyages up and down the river she must have made.  Now she lies still in her mooring, under the uncaring canopy of a modern steel and concrete bridge. 

She has had a most satisfying existence, and doesn’t want you to feel sorry for her.  She waits for that time when someone will free her and take her on new journeys.  She wants to be in motion again, like her ever-flowing river.

– with love for the journey.

Photo by Lou Ann Granger, Egypt, March 2009

Go, said the bird, for the leaves were full of children,
Hidden excitedly, containing laughter.

– T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets

Accidental photo alchemy, a hurried photo from a moving bus.  The park in Dominica was full of people on that warm island day.

Best I could do was snap a photo, and try to figure it all out another time.

– with love for the journey.

Photo by Lou Ann Granger, Dominica, April 2008

Some signs are for you.  And some signs aren’t for you.

This sign on Eastbound Interstate 70 in eastern Utah doesn’t seem to be for me.  I have pondered and pondered it for several years since first seeing it.  Carefully noted its location about 1 mile east of the Moab turnoff.  Slowed down to try to get a decent picture.

Looked for the corresponding sign on the Westbound I-70.    Discovered it is nearly 40 MILES to the east!

I confess, it is a mystery.  What am I supposed to DO about the “Eagles on Highway”?

Someday I’ll steal this sign and hang it on the wall in the Wanderlust Cafe. Where it might make a whole lot more sense after imbibing some wine or hibiscus juice.

– with love for the journey.

Photo by Lou Ann Granger

One of the men told me he thought well of Cairo.  It was interesting.  “Take it from me,” he said, “there’s a lot in seeing places, because you can remember ‘em afterward.”
– Rudyard Kipling

This was a hurried moment in downtown Cairo.  Captured while rushing past many intriguing stores and shops on a quest for some art supplies for the Nile expedition the next day.   Feeling hot and harried, no time to stop and visit, just collecting first impressions on a busy sidewalk.

Yet, buried in the depths of what started as a very ordinary photo, there lie unexpected layers and textures, which are only uncovered afterward on reflection.  Reminding me, once again, that the real journey continues long after I return home.

– with love for the journey.

Photo by Lou Ann Granger, Cairo, Egypt
postprocessing with Topaz Adjust plugin for Photoshop

When I looked at this picture for the first time in a long time, I immediately saw the object of my desire, a little Greek goddess doll who was hanging in the window.

Oh, my little goddess is beautiful and has her own separate story to tell you.  I promise it will be soon.

But first I want to celebrate the little discoveries hidden away in the corner of a long-forgotten travel memory.

– with love for the journey

From a photo by Lou Ann Granger