Although not in our top five Most Viewed posts, Morocco was perhaps our Number One destination in 2018.

It was about this time last year that those nice folks at Gallivance (Terri and James Vance) published Best of the Blog: The Top 10 Faves, and ever since then, we’ve wondered what you, our readers, would find fascinating among our ramblings for 2018.  After all, we’ve been near (our home town of Knoxville) and far (Maine and Morocco), but never really thought of what you enjoyed reading about the most . . . until now.

Come to think of it, looking back is a good thing.  We just may want to do less of one place and more of another based upon what you like.  (Now there’s a concept — pleasing our readers!)

So, with thanks to the Vances for inspiration (good writing, humor, great photos, too), here are our top five Most Viewed posts of 2018.  Ta-da!!!

Most Viewed Number 5:  “Food, glorious food:  West End Market, Cleveland, Ohio”

Now, this one was no surprise to us:  everyone we know who travels seems to love eating food of the area.  And after a trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and the house in A Christmas Story, we decided that a big market like West Side was just what we needed to see (and sample).  With a plethora of fresh veggies piled high for the taking and some regional specialties we just don’t get that often in Tennessee (think perogies, apple provolone stuffed tenderloin, and pizza bagels), it was definitely love at first sight — and first bite — at West Side Market.

And we were glad that the market was ginormous.  It gave us an opportunity to walk off what we sampled — from macarons to ginger snaps and then some.

You can be sure we’ll be frequenting more Farmers Markets in 2019.  In fact, you can hardly beat the Knoxville’s Saturday set-up in our downtown Market Square.  So watch for more food, glorious food.

Most Viewed Number 4: “Sunrise at Acadia Dock”

Shoulda known this one would be in the Top Five.  Sunrise photos rank right up there with puppies in a basket and cuddly babies in knitted caps as favorites.  But these sunrises were special to us.  We woke early almost every morning during the month we spent in Castine, Maine, just to walk to the dock and stand with the locals in silent reverence for God’s paintings on the water.

Sunrise: Castine Harbor.

We loved it all — from boats tied up and waiting, to watching lobstermen hard at work before dawn, to the launch each day of the Maine Maritime Academy’s training boat, the Bowdoin.

Bowdoin, training vessel for Maine Maritime Academy

In fact, those early morning strolls down the street, cup of coffee in hand and jacket zipped up, remain some of our fondest memories.  But coming in at a close second after clapping for the sunrise was hiking up the main drag to enter MarKel’s Bakehouse for a whiff of those moist right-out-of-the-oven blueberry scones.  Would go back in a heartbeat!

Morning light: Castine, Maine.

Most Viewed Number 3: Out of this world:  Monhegan Island, Maine

Speaking of going back — one night in Monhegan is definitely not enough.  From the boat trip on choppy waters to the laid-back, no-improvements-needed landscape of this little island Down East, it was, hands-down, one of our sites and sights to remember from all of our U. S. travels.

Main road in Monhegan – pleasantly untouched.

Just like our early morning adventures in Castine, Maine, we wanted to see Monhegan at dawn.  So getting up early and trekking to the top of the hill where the original lighthouse and Monhegan museum stand was a no-brainer.  We had to do it, and we did.  And the reward? A panorama of houses and unmanicured yards and dirt paths leading up the road apiece.  It’s life as it was fifty years ago, and that’s why people come to see it. And it’s what keeps the locals there even through brutal winters.

Greeting the sun: buildings at Monhegan Island Light

If you’re ever in Maine wondering whether to spend a couple of days in Monhegan or not, we say, “Go for it.”  It’s artistry, community, and raw beauty all in one — something you can’t find packaged together much anymore. If this post isn’t enough of Monhegan (and one post really isn’t), try taking a look at this one as well:  “Five places to see: Monhegan Island, Maine.” 

Most Viewed Number 2:  “Variations on a Theme: Island Cottages, St. George Island”

Near Apalachicola, Florida, lies an expanse of beach that, although lined with residences, doesn’t seem crowded at all.  It’s because the founding fathers or the current municipal fathers (or both) have seen fit to leave St. George Island almost untouched.  You rarely see a restaurant.  And there are few rental places, few beach shops selling air-brush t-shirts, and almost no dune buggies whizzing past.  Just beach.  And that’s the beauty of it.

But there are viewing spots — now, more than ever.  Island cottages are nestled in and among the older beach houses so that we who want to visit St. George can get a glimpse, no matter how high up, of that beautiful blue water and untouched sand beach.

Lined up for your island vacation at St. George

So, here’s to the skinny houses, the ones that seem precariously perched on stilts so that residents can sit on skinny porches, raise their binoculars and search for dolphins swimming by.

All in a row: St. George Island

This was one of those posts we put together for the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge, and we must admit that we miss those weekly suggestions for posting sent to us by the WordPress folks.  It only takes a few words from the blog people to make the photo bugs within us search our memories (and our hard drives) for just the right thing. But since that’s no longer done for us, we probably need to do that on our own a little more often.

Most Viewed Number 1:  “Weekly Photo Challenge:  Silence in a Garden”

And here it is:  Number One!  Again it was a WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge response that catapulted this little three-photo post to the Most Viewed status among our blogs in 2018!  Perhaps readers share our desire to “sit a spell” in a relaxing place, like a garden, and let the cares of the world pass us by, even if just for a short while.

A weathered garden bench invites visitors to sit a spell and enjoy the quiet.

Or perhaps it’s the power of WordPress to help us network and share posts with so many people who blog on a regular basis.  Whatever the reason, we are delighted that a garden spot in Knoxville, Tennessee, was the Most Viewed Post of 2018.

And maybe we need to rethink big trips — like the one we took to Morocco — for popular posts.  Not one of our Morocco posts landed in the Top Five; instead, viewers liked sunrises, beaches, and gardens more.  (And we love those as well.)

We’ve been photo bombed — by a cat in Meknes, Morocco. Oh, well.

Thanks to you, our viewers, we look forward to another year of blogging.  We’ll finish up our series Marvelous Morocco just in time to head to Southeast Asia for a January 2019 itinerary that includes meandering the streets of Hanoi, sleeping two nights on a junk in Halong Bay, snapping endless photos of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, and reveling in the colorful city of Bangkok.

We wish for all of you a very happy 2019 — whether you travel far or near.  It’s all good when you love where you are in the world.

Thanks for following Oh, the Places We See.

Rusha and Bert Sams

Pre-dawn view of Pawleys Pier from the Sea View Inn.

It’s just been in recent years that I’ve chosen to get up before dawn.  Oh, I did it before retirement, of course — to soothe a waking baby, to catch an early flight, or to set up a conference room for a morning meeting.  But now, I can choose to see dawn unfolding. And nowhere do I love it better than on the beach at Pawleys Island, South Carolina.

Quiet time before sun-up

Recently, we stayed a few days at the Sea View Inn, one of the few remaining Old South bed and breakfasts that serve three low-country meals each day.  So getting up meant having time for myself in my place in the world without even having to make coffee. It was there, each and every morning, hot and ready for the taking, even before dawn.

Bathed in early morning light, the Sea View Inn on Pawleys Island.

Before the guests awake: Sea View Inn

I left the porch and moved slowly down the beach, passing houses whose windows were lit with morning glow.

Greeting the sun at Pawleys Island.

With salmon tones in the background from the almost-up sun, Pawleys Pier jutted out to greet the seas and make ready for sunny days.

Pink light before dawn at Pawleys Pier

Colors changed from smoky pink to peach and orange with a hint of yellow, but just a hint . . .

Orange skies replace pink as the sun’s stonger colors come into play.

until the sun peeked over the horizon, bathing all in early-morning glow.

At Pawleys, I never take dawn for granted.  Never ask for clear skies or cloudy ones with interesting configurations.  Come what may, it’s my place — albeit a temporary one —  just as it is.

To see places loved by other writers, check out WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Place in the World.

Towels drying on the line: Cinque Terre

to boats lined up and waiting at the base of the famous postcard-pretty hillside where small apartments and houses vie for space on the mountainside.

Boats lined up in Manarola

Half-opened shutters exposed their lines to the morning sun.

Green shutters: Cinque Terre

And wavy lines of umbrellas shaded bathers on a crowded coast

Umbrellas on the beach: Cinque Terre

while two churches stood out among other buildings with their  distinguished lined facades.

A lined facade in Cinque Terre

Distinctive entrance: church in Cinque Terre

Find more lines — straight and curvy —  at Weekly Photo Challenge: Lines.

Bubble blowers on the sidewalks of Prague.

Keep moving and you’ll see street vendors who make the most of their small display space by hanging their wares above you, dangling in the air.

Suspended marionettes in Prague

And roofers must have been quite busy as early as the 9th century topping buildings with red clay tiles that you can best see from Prague Castle.

Prague’s red clay roofs

Be sure to check out all the interpretations of this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Prolific.  

Early morning sun brightens the waters of Castine harbor where the sailing vessel Bowdoin resides.

Coastal Maine offers glorious sunrises if you’re willing to wake up early, bundle yourself in layers, and stand on a dock for the morning show.

And you’re never alone.  From birds gliding overhead to lobstermen checking traps before dawn, docks like Acadia in Castine put on a spectacle like no other.

Leaving Acadia Dock before dawn is the Maine Maritime Academy tug awash in early-morning sunlight.

Sunlight filters through lobster traps at Acadia Dock, Castine, Maine

Dawn comes in layers.  First a subtle orange or salmon or pinkish sky.

Aglow in morning light, a lone tethered boat stands ready.

Then a peep of light that quickly washes over anything in front of it.

Sunrise: Castine Harbor.

To a full-blown wake-up of morning activities.

Morning light: Castine, Maine.

Just another sunrise?  No such thing.

For more sunrises and sunsets, visit the WordPress DailyPost Weekly Photo Challenge:  Rise/Set.

For more posts on the beautiful state of Maine, check our Travel Series:  Autumn Down East.

Bowdoin setting sail from Acadia Dock in Castine, Maine

Many people have asked us what our favorite place in Maine might be since our trip in the Fall of 2017.  Of course, there are many, but for Tennessee landlubbers like us, sailing the Bowdoin on Penobscot Bay has to be a memory for a lifetime.

Bowdoin, training vessel for Maine Maritime Academy

It was the dream of Donald B. McMillan to sail to the Arctic Circle, and that dream in 1921 led to the hiring of a Naval architect, William B. Hand, to design the schooner Bowdoin (named after McMillan’s alma mater Bowdoin College) that would eventually make 30 trips to the Arctic, 25 under the command of McMillan. After serving several owners, Bowdoin finally came under the ownership of the Maine Maritime Academy (located in Castine) for use as a sail training vessel.

Cadets learning to sail aboard Bowdoin

When not in use for training cadets, Maine Maritime Academy allows community residents and visitors to set sail if crews are available.  And that’s how we were allowed to sail the smooth waters of Penobscot Bay one golden October afternoon.

Sailing at sunset on the Penobscot Bay

Hoisting the sails, experiencing the quiet of a sail boat on placid waters, and seeing Dice Head Light from the deck of Bowdoin remain some of our fondest memories of Maine.  Most assuredly, we were in a favorite place.

See other favorite places in the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Favorite Place.

Aging in place with no change in sight: Monhegan Theatre.

Much of Maine could be said to be out of this world — the raw beauty of its rocky coastline, old-style clapboard homes dotting the landscape, and the quiet that falls over the state after Columbus Day when residents hunker down for long, cold winters.  But nowhere was an other-worldly experience more pronounced for us than in the remote, almost untouched island of Monhegan.

With a rocky shore for a side yard, this house faces the elements on the island of Monhegan.

We knew we were headed to a place that time forgot.  After all, that’s why artists and writers and part-time bloggers like us go there: to see how people live simply and without fanfare in a day-to-day existence envied by many. We were told to bring our own food because “nothing’s open in late October.”  “Pack it in, pack it out,” the owner of Shining Sails told us, and we thankfully heeded the warning, or we wouldn’t have even had granola bars handy for supper.

Maybe only at rest for the winter, but possibly at rest for several years. No hurry on Monhegan.

Tourists are rarely seen or heard after the season ends.  And the scarcity of people coupled with remnants of another time reminded us that not much gets “packed out.”  It just ages in place.

Rusting in place.

Homes boarded up for the winter take a stoic stance against the elements.  Isolated and humble, they almost resemble colonies long abandoned. Until spring when tourists return and doors open to salty sea air again.

Facing the morning, a house closed for the winter endures the elements all alone.

Monhegan Island is out of this world.

For more “out of this world” photos, check out this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge.

To see other posts on travel in Maine, see Autumn Down East.

Celebrating Dolly Parton’s birthday on January 19, this librarian at Lawson McGhee Library reads books from Imagination Library to kids at the party.

Most of America (well, the world, for that matter) knows Dolly Parton for her hit songs (“Jolene,” “9 to 5,” “I Will Always Love You”) and movies (Coat of Many Colors, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias).  And maybe you’ve even belted out a few Parton tunes just as we have, imitating this lively lady with a presence as big as her country music voice.

Happy birthday, Dolly!

Folks in East Tennessee, however, know her for another reason — Dolly sends books to kids ages birth to six free of charge every month through  the Imagination Library, an organization founded in 1995.   To celebrate the dedication of the 1oo millionth book, Dolly herself will hand over the book to the Library of Congress on February 27, 2018. (You can watch it live beginning at 10 a.m. streaming on YouTube and Facebook.)

Imagination Library has donated 100 million books to kids, thanks to Dolly Parton and a host of volunteers.

In Knoxville, kids and parents celebrated the singer’s 72nd birthday in January at Lawson McGhee Library and area branches.  Kids poured in to listen to books read by librarians and to sing “Happy Birthday” to the lady who had put books in their mailboxes month after month.

Faces in the crowd told most of the story.  Whether sitting cross-legged on the floor or waving a noisemaker or coloring Happy Birthday pages, kids celebrated the lady with big blonde hair and and an even bigger heart.

Dolly loves music, performing and giving away books.  But we have a feeling it’s really the faces in the crowd that Dolly loves most.  After all, they’re the future singers, performers and readers who want to be just like Dolly!

For more information, click on these links:

• Wikipedia: Dolly Parton;
• Imagination Library;
• Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to Dedicate 100 Millionth Book to Library of Congress
• Facebook: Imagination Library
• Twitter: @DollyParton
• Instagram: Dolly Parton

For more faces in the crowd photos, check out the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Faces in the Crowd.  

Lined up for your island vacation at St. George

It would be hard to miss these island cottages on St. George Island.  On either side of the lighthouse, they stand tall with their backs to the Gulf while winking at passers-by on Gulf Beach Drive.  They may seem like tiny homes (all the rage now on HGTV), but actually, they’re quite large with most boasting 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, and plenty of room for at least 10 occupants.  Ample decking is a bonus if you want to sip coffee and watch the waves roll in.

Palm tree variation and big time yellow!

You might think they’d all be alike. But there are definite variations on this theme of cute, tall, leggy homes vying for a premium space on the sand.  Some vary in color; others in adornments, signage, and palm fronds.

And they’re here for the duration, standing tall in their similarities with a few notable differences. Like little welcomimg ducks in a row, they seem to say, “Come in and stay awhile.  You’ll be glad you did!”

All in a row: St. George Island

To see more entries, go to Weekly Photo Challenge: Variations on a Theme.

For more information on rentals in St. George Island:

Collins Vacation Rentals, www.CollinsVacationRentals.com

Resort Vacation Properties, www.resortvacationproperties.com

A quiet garden path dappled in morning light invites guests to climb and explore.

Although much of the U. S. (especially in the South) is blanketed with snow this week, many of us are dreaming of gardens lush and lovely.  Last spring, in Knoxville, one homeowner opened his garden during the Dogwood Arts Festival garden tour.  It was a chance for those of us who love flora and fauna to stroll quiet pathways and imagine ourselves indulging in nature’s beauty as we paused for a few moments of silence.

Beautiful spring garden in Knoxville, Tennessee offers a silent respite.

A weathered garden bench invites visitors to sit a spell and enjoy the quiet.

More photos reflecting a sense of calm can be seen here: Weekly Photo Challenge: Silence.