Usually, we take at least two or three vacations each year, and have been to Bar Harbor in Maine every year from 2004 up to 2011. We have also visited a number of other locations in Maine either on our way up to Bar Harbor or on the return, and I have included details in separate sections for several parts of Maine where we have spent time. We have also visited Cape Cod, MA, and Newport, RI, on a number of occasions. In early November 2010, we finally visited Mystic in Connecticut. We found it far to "touristy" for our tastes even out of season, but did fall in love with nearby Stonington. We also visit New York City on occasion, and plan a visit to Boston, MA sometime in 2012 or 2013. In 2011, we visited Newport, RI (twice), Cape Cod, MA, taken a long trip up the Maine coast to Bar Harbor stopping off in Portland and Belfast on the way up and Portland, again, and the York area on the way back, and a two week trip to Alaska. This resulted in our adding several hundred new pictures to the site.
We love to travel, particularly in the U.S., as we can do "road trips" here which we both enjoy. Generally, we stay in mid-priced hotels, often chains like Best Western, Holiday Inn and Comfort Suites. As we tend to spend very little time in the rooms, and do not need much in the way of hotel facilities, these serve admirably. They also tend to have refrigerators and microwaves in the room which is very useful. In late August, 2011, we fulfilled a long-term ambition to visit Alaska, and I have added a large number of pictures to the site. This was the first trip using my new Fuji camera which has more than three times the resolution of the old Sony.
Vacation plans for 2012 include Cape Cod, Newport, Alaska, New York City and, possibly, Boston. We may not achieve all these, but Hope Springs Eternal and all that.
While away, we make a point of trying to visit any local lighthouses. Most are not open to visitors at all, or have separate visitor centers, and a few are in private ownership. Still, it is fun trying to get the photographs. Generally, we add only lighthouses we have seen and photographed ourselves, though there are a few exceptions.
Except for the vacations listed under "Older Vacations", from when I was living in England, we have taken all the vacations included here together since 2002. The Mediterranean cruise was a gift to us from Deborah's parents, and the recent Alaska cruise was a gift from her mother. We have had a number of other vacations to the UK, Australia, the Philippines etc. But, unfortunately, we have little or no photographic record.
Most of the pictures are ours. In some cases photography is not permitted; the interiors of some houses, for example. In these cases, I have used third party pictures and credited them appropriately, where necessary. Please see the copyright page for details of re-using any images.
Use the links at the top right of each page to go through all the vacation locations. Many of the locations have a number of sub-pages with their own menus. The link at top left goes back to the previous location in the list.