Without commitment, you’ll never start, but more importantly without consistency, you’ll never finish.

The LOUNGE13

We’ve enjoyed hearing from our followers as much as we’ve enjoyed putting posts together. Thank you so much for your interest in us and for your comments that connect — even though we live miles apart. Following you has brought us closer to people and places around the world, and for that, we are grateful.

In 2019, we hired Michael Wender, a web designer, to upgrade the appearance and format of Oh, the Places We See. Our fresher look (using the Christopher theme) coupled with a commitment to continue blogging even during a pandemic have netted us more followers and more satisfaction with what we want our blog to portray: the joy of travel — near AND far.

So which posts have been our most popular? According to WordPress stats, here are the most visited, most read (we assume) posts from each of the last five years. We’re a bit surprised at the topics, but we’re maybe readers search for big cities and famous names. And why not?

Most Visited — Last 5 Years

2017: Seven swanky lobbies to see: Vegas Hotels

Oh, those lobbies in Vegas — playgrounds of the rich and famous, or so we thought. But they’re open for all to see and enjoy, just for a walk down the strip.

Part One: Seven swanky lobbies to see: Vegas Hotels

Part Two: Seven swanky lobbies to see: Vegas Hotels

2018: Five things to do in a day: St. Petersburg, Florida

St. Petersburg’s got a lot going for it — shopping, beach, and friendly residents. But what we loved most was The Dali, a fascinating repository of art by Salvador Dali, complete with docents willing to share “their stuff” with the masses. A great place to visit!

2019: Whitney to High Line to Chelsea Market: A newer New York

Give us an opportunity to select one city to see, and we’d probably choose the Big Apple. Vibrant, exciting, and massive — we loved seeing department stores at Christmas, riding public transportation just so we could listen to people’s accents, and touring museums like the Whitney. The High Line brought innovation to light, and we could see this whole area unfolding in a positive way.

2020: Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #113: A Labor of Love

In the last year or so, we’ve participated in the Lens-Artists Photo Challenges almost every week. What fun it is to see how other photographers interpret the challenge words of the week with posts of their own! In #113, we were asked to serve as guest hosts, and we chose the theme “A Labor of Love” to show how people around the world do their work with commitment, diligence, skill, and yes, happiness.

2021: Life is short, take the curves: Needles Highway, SD

A trip to South Dakota netted us scenery like no other, but Needles Highway took our breath away. No wonder so many bikers flock to the area for glimpses of monolithic rock, natural tunnels, and curves that only a stalwart rider could handle. Could we go back to SD? In a heartbeat!

For us, there’s more that we’ve loved on our travels, and so our top five may differ from what the stats show. We’ve loved (and now miss!) traveling — sometimes to work with Habitat for Humanity, sometimes for the pure pleasure of sitting on a Viking long boat. Our travel agent, Lauren Gunnels of Ortelius Travel Advisors, is ready to plan a new trip for us when the time is right.

But following the onset of COVID-19, we’re grateful we can still travel by car and see sites and sights in the good ol’ U.S. of A. Click on any of these posts, and you’ll see why and how we’re discovering new ways to get around and enjoy life together. And yes, we recommend getting vaccinated, wearing masks, and practicing social distancing.

Some of our favorite posts:

Five places to see: Monhegan Island

Our last dreamy town: Onancock, VA — Road Trip 2020

Hoodoo you love? Bryce Canyons National Park

Elkmont: Once upon a time in the Great Smokies

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #157: Getting Away

Although numerous bloggers, photographers, and followers on WordPress have influenced us, we dare not try to thank them all. We would, inadvertently, omit someone. So, thanks to all of you for sharing your lives with us and helping us dream of more places to visit.

We appreciate your comments, new ideas, and virtual friendships.

Let’s keep finding new ways to see this glorious world of ours and enjoy each other’s company.

Travel wide-eyed,

Rusha & Bert

And it was that phrase “the quality of light” that brought me to a source of inspiration that those of you who follow Oh, the Places We See have picked up on: I LOVE morning on the beach.

Inspiration is that state in which mind and heart are connected.

Deepak Chopra

Because we’ve been going to Pawleys Island, South Carolina — same beach, different rentals — for over 40 years, mornings during our week in the summer have been a strong source of inspiration, thought, and planning for a long, long time. As an educator, I used summertime to rethink and repurpose some of what I had done as a classroom teacher, and it was that thinking that inspired me to plan for the coming year and recharge my bank of creative energy.

Early morning — even before sunrise — became my quiet time as I joined the few people who walked their dogs, looked for shells, or just pulled up beach chairs for God’s morning surprise.

At times, I couldn’t tell the exact location of the sunrise. Clouds and mist covered the sky. But I found the wait to be the part of the joy, the anticipation of a new day, a new school year, and a new me, in some cases.

And it was in these early-morning moments that I planned new ways of introducing books I’d taught for years — The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, The Great Gatsby, Grapes of Wrath — in new ways, as I tried to relate old ideas to modern times and share how today’s issues are surprisingly similar yet different from those shared in the classics.

Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.

Victor Hugo

Today, retired as I am now, I still love getting up before dawn, carrying my coffee and camera with me, and standing on the beach. I’m no longer waiting for the inspiration to teach, but I am still trying to figure out how life works, what my place is, and how I can contribute meaningfully to making the world a better place.

And, no surprise here, the beach is still a lovely place to be inspired!

For more entries in this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #160: Your Inspiration, check out Patti’s blog and the responses below.

And if you’re so inclined, leave me a message. I’d love to know what inspires you — naturally or otherwise!

Travel with inspiration in mind,

Rusha

Beauty is the illumination of your soul.

Beginning with a reference to Louis Armstrong’s song “It’s a Wonderful World,” Amy introduced the 153rd Lens-Artists Photo Challenge with the theme of Wonderful World. And indeed what a wonder our world is!

No matter your country, your experience, your age, or your vantage point, you have probably seen and felt the awesome beauty of the world all around you.

From the foreign intrigue we feel as we travel to unknown lands . . .

to the beauty we see when we’re all alone.

We delight in seeing man’s built environment snugging up to the beauty that only a higher being can create.

It could be that we don’t even sense the wondrous world in which we live until we’re alone in its grandeur searching for answers only known to the universe.

But we greet the day — and vow to keep the wonder in it.

After all, it is we who recognize — and sometimes make — the wonder of it all.

For more entries into Lens-Artists Challenge #153, head to Amy’s blog and check out the entries attached below.

Wisdom is Wonder.

Jimmy Don of wonderful Waco, Texas

Travel wondrously,

Rusha & Bert

All the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow.

Launching the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week is Ann Christine inviting us to share shades and shadows. With two trips under our belts this year, we’re finding shadows that we didn’t even remember as we review our photos and note them with interest.

Previously, we shared a post — Shadowplay: Castine, Maine — featuring the artfulness of tree branches on white clapboard houses in a beautiful town Down East. But since we’ve recently returned from a trip along Route 1 in Maine once again, we’re sharing more shade and more shadows — like the photo above taken in New Harbor as we walked past it on our way to a puffin tour.

Along the coast of Maine, shadows — long ones, in fact — hover over homes and gardens, along craggy shores, and into the sweetest gardens.

You can only come to the morning through the shadows.

J. R. R. Tolkien

But in Newcastle, Maine, the view from our garden window at the Newcastle Inn revealed a shadowy spot for a New England respite, complete with flowering shrubs and perennials and a lovely glimpse of the Damariscotta River.

At our other favorite vacation spot, Pawleys Island, South Carolina, morning shadows defined the walkway to our beach cottage for the week as light played with the wooden posts, forming a grid of lines and rows.

The brighter the light, the darker the shadow.

Carl Jung

And just after sun-up, those who woke early were treated to shadows formed by the rocking chairs on the oceanside porch. Ah, morning at Pawleys!

Both light and shadow are the dance of love.

Rumi

To see more examples of shade and shadows, head to Ann-Christine’s post here. And if you want to share a post of your own, add the tag Lens-Artists.

Travel in the shadows,

Rusha & Bert

Into this climate of fear and apprehension, Christmas enters, Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope, And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air. The world is encouraged to come away from rancor, Come the way of friendship.

At Christmas time, we’re reminded of the many friends we have not only in the U.S. but around the world. May each of you experience the holidays in your own ways, ever mindful that connections with people and beliefs in the good of this world that can make us stronger.

Wishing you happy holidays and the blessings of the season.

Rusha & Bert

Photo: The Chapel at Pawleys Island, South Carolina – Christmas 2020

In every walk in nature, one receives more than he seeks.

A week at Pawleys Island, South Carolina, wouldn’t be complete without one or more early morning walks. Since we stay in what’s called the Bird’s Nest on the South End, a walk in the historic district begins right around the corner from us along Atlantic Avenue.

On one side of the street, the marsh at Pawleys offers something extra: crab docks in the creek, some reachable only by way of far-reaching boardwalks. Most docks are private, so taking pictures requires that I stand on the side of the road and look longingly into peaceful waters where herons fly over and early-morning kayakers paddle slowly to enjoy the view.

I listen to the hum of insects and watch tiny crabs scurry along mud banks as they dip in and out cautiously but quickly while I stand still and watch the morning unfold.

It’s the peace that brings me back year after year: nature’s quiet sounds before sun-up, before the onslaught of beachgoers pulling in to set up tents on the ocean side.

On the other side of the street, I look longingly and lovingly at beach homes in the Historic District. These second- and third-generation homes, some built in the 1700’s, give Pawleys the distinction of being America’s oldest seaside resort. Today, newer houses take the place of old ones, some irreparably damaged by Hurricane Hugo (September 1989), but the blend of old and new helps Pawleys maintain its “arrogantly shabby” status.

In 2012, Liberty Lodge, for example, celebrated ownership by the same family for over 100 years. Additionally, the lodge is said to be the home of the inventor of the Pawleys Island Rope Hammock, and you can still purchase these hammocks and have them shipped to your house at The Original Hammock Shop in “downtown” Pawleys!

The LaBruce/Lemon House built on 10 acres of land in 1848 was originally owned by the LaBruce family, successful rice planters in the area. According to a historic marker on site, “two small dwellings on the property were slave cabins,” but I can’t verify which two since I avoid trespassing if at all possible! In 1952, the Lemons of Barnwell, SC purchased the properties and currently lease some of them as summer rentals.

My walk takes me past houses, possibly owned by year-long residents, with beautifully landscaped lawns, at least on the street side. Typical of this area, you can see live oak trees with their long, far-reaching branches as well as plants that can stand the summer heat.

At the edge of the historic district stands one of the original houses remaining on the island — the Pelican Inn built in the 1840s as a summer home for Plowden Charles Jenrette Wedston of Hagley Plantation. According to the Pelican’s website, “the structure is representative of the majority of the island’s original houses, which were commonly made with cypress lumber, wooden pegs, mortise and tenon joints, and hand cut nails.” The Pelican’s whole space — eight rooms — is available for rent by groups only.

My walk ends as I pass one of my all-time favorite homes on Pawleys, Maurice Cottage. This low-country house with its wide wrap-around porch, black shutters, and sideways stance to catch the ocean breeze is one I look for and photograph every summer. It reminds me of what Pawleys used to be — a summer home for owners of nearby rice plantations who needed an escape for fishing, shelling, and family time together.

And for one week every summer, Pawleys is our home as well!

Your part-time beach dweller,

Rusha

Congratulations to Pawleys Island, named #9 in the list of “25 Best Beaches in the U. S. in 2020” by TripAdvisor!

The best surfer out there is the one having the most fun!

Are you thinking this could be Huntington Beach in Southern California? What about the white sand beaches of Oahu where photographers capture surfers beneath towering waves? Well, it’s neither: This is little ol’ Pawleys Island, South Carolina, where waves are low but spirits are high.

On the morning after Hurricane Isaias pummeled the island, we left our condo during the early morning hours to survey the damage and see if anyone was stirring. And, much to our surprise, about 70 enthusiastic surfers were already in the water on both sides of Pawleys Pier waiting for Isaias’s residual high waves to push them forward. It was sight to behold.

Since we’re not surfers at all, we were curious about the process. We watched as patience took over for each would-be surfer (all boys but one), turning eager swimmers lying on boards into scrutinizing stand-up surfers, waiting for that bulge in the ocean to possibly be the Big One!

After I tried again and again to capture the art of surfing and the excitement with only an iPhone, I’ve determined that National Geographic probably won’t be sending me on assignment to catch the action in Ventura — or anywhere else, for that matter. (It was still fun taking picture after picture — with varying results!)

But no problem. If I could be as excited as the lone kayak guy among all those surfers who, when he crested the waves, would let loose with a big shout and a raised paddle, then I’d be content.

After all, surf’s up somewhere. And on that day it was in Pawleys Island at the North End. Who knew?

Surf while you’re young,

Rusha & Bert

This series grew out of a desire to share pictures from our one and only trip after the onset of the corona virus! So, join us in celebrating travel in America — and our love of beaches, one in particular. Other posts in the series:

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #109: Under the Sun

Beach Week: Renourishing the South End of Pawleys

Beach Week: Shells & Sunsets, North End of Pawleys

Beach Week: Pawleys Pier

If you believe that this life is all there is and there is no greater power than man, you must walk to the end of this pier at sunset.   

Donna Calhoun

Although we’ve vacationed at Pawleys Island, SC for over 35 years, we’ve never stood on Pawleys Pier. We’ve stood around it — left side, right side — and looked up at it from the beach. We’ve stood at a distance and taken pictures of storms rolling in and of our kids standing firm as waves crashed around them. We’ve even found the best spot for catching the sunrise — just right of the pier, looking under and through the stout, sturdy poles.

But we’d never been ON the pier before this summer. Pawleys Pier is private, open only to owners of the condos at Pawleys Pier Village — and renters like us who get to “borrow” the pier for a while as we soak up the ambiance of Pawleys North End.

The pier may be at its finest in the early hours of day when aspirations of catching fish are at their loftiest. Old and young, men and women, experienced and novice — all arrive at the pier looking to catch something, anything. Or looking for a good time trying.

And the pier serves all of us — fishermen and plain ol’ watchers — with anchors for poles, benches for sitting, tables for cleaning, and rails to rest on.

When we saw one man tugging away at his line, we asked him what he was catching. His reply? “Pier Fish.” My innocence about all things fishy made me ask, thinking this was some ocean fish, maybe even a big catch, but I stood corrected: “No, ma’am. This isn’t a fish. I’ve caught the pier!”

It’s hard to believe that in seven days at the beach, we didn’t fish even once. But we took advantage of the pier each and every day — greeting the sun, talking with the guys with poles, and looking out at the North End beach.

After all, the best thing about a pier is that feeling of being out in the ocean with the world wrapped all around you!

Enjoy the pier,

Rusha & Bert

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me),

it’s always our self we find in the sea.

The North End of Pawleys Island, SC might be known as the wild child of this “blessed isle.” After all, the North End, with its wider, white sand beach, seems to stretch endlessly without boundaries, expanding even further into the sea at low tide.

Unlike the houses at the South End that now look out over a newly renourished beach, houses at the North End are set back from the ocean — and always have been. But they still access the beach. Long wooden walkways provide the connection as they stretch endlessly (it seems) toward the horizon.

In the early morning hours, people on the North End walk the beach, surf, or set up fishing poles in the hope that there will be fish a-jumpin’ between the North End of Pawleys and the southern tip of Litchfield that you can see in the distance.

At sundown, people gather on the soft white sand (remember, this end of Pawleys hasn’t been renourished yet) to play, talk with family and friends, or walk out onto sandbars at low tide.

If shelling is your game, then you must go north at Pawleys. And most people do. Shells are almost non-existent on the South End, but plentiful on the North.

Those in the know are searching for mostly one thing: the Pawleys Island shell, Imperial Venus Clam.

Recently, the South End has been renourished, which explains why shell seekers have had a hard time finding any PI shells there. According to John Henry Longmire who makes silver castings of Pawleys Island shells for his shop Longmire Jewelers, “You can’t find ’em much any more on the South End. The new sand has covered them all up!” Thus the migration to the North for those who are intent on finding these gems of the sea.

My limited shell seeking experience this year, even on the North End, netted me no PI shells — but perhaps these treasured little shells could be tied up in debris washed ashore by Hurricane Isaias. The hurricane did indeed leave its mark on the North End: debris washed up on the beach, and huge chunks of sand broke off the dunes, destroying several of the wooden walkways.

To us, the best time to visit the North End is sundown, simply because you get a better view of the golden hour there. Drive north to the end of Pawleys, park at Shell Road access, and meander the sand pathway to the beach. It’s a long, uneven route, but the panoramic view of sand, ocean, and big sky when you get there will be reward enough.

And, if you want a really good shot (which I never seem to be able to manage), set your camera so that even when you shoot into the sun, you’re able to capture the beauty of the North End bathed in the last light of day. Then, with your back to the ocean, say good night to the Blessed Isle.

Celebrate the sea,

Rusha & Bert

Please check out our other posts on Pawleys Island:

Lens-Artists Challenge #109: Under the Sun

Beach Week: Renourishing the South End of Pawleys

To go out with the setting sun on an empty beach is to truly embrace your solitude.

After publishing this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #109: Under the Sun, we felt the need to share more about the beach we love. Actually, Pawelys Island, South Carolina, is an old beach, but, as we shared, there’s a lot of “new” under the sun at Pawleys. So, for our first installment of this week-long series, please join us for a look at what began in October 2019, a result of 20 years of major fund raising and planning: the renourishment of the South End.

According to “A longer walk to the ocean” written by Charles Swenson for the Coastal Observer, the town of Pawleys recently completed the placement of 1.1 million cubic yards (comparable to 80,000 dump truck loads) of offshore sand on about 3 miles of beach from the tip of the South End to Pawleys Pier. Marinex Construction dredged the sand from the ocean and, working around the clock, covered the whole beach, including the 23 rock and timber groins, with over 100 feet of dry sand at a cost of over $14.3 million. Take a look at a 2019 picture of houses near the Birds’ Nest section revealing where, at high tide, water reaches almost to the base of the houses.

Now, in 2020, the “new” sand extends the beach many feet out, leaving the ocean a greater distance from the homes. To some (us included), the renourished beach resembles a moonscape — a sandscape, if you will — of grayish sand and shells extending nearly the length of a football field to the ocean that is only accessible past the newly-formed “edge” of sand.

Our favorite beach seemed empty when we arrived for our usual summer beach week: groins were gone, a wide expanse of coarse sand had replaced the fine white grains we were accustomed to , and we didn’t have the same crowds to dodge as we set up our tent. (Well, that last part may be a positive!)

It didn’t, however, take long for folks to find their spots, albeit a bit further from the homes, but on the beach nevertheless. On the positive side, Pawleys now has more room for social distancing with the same familiar great view of the ocean.

One night, however, ended the dry spell on the “new” beach: the night before Hurricane Isaias touched down. That night conveniently coincided with the appearance of a full moon. So when people arrived in the evening sundown hours at the public access formerly known as Broken Groin, they saw water moving slowly but surely over the new sand and up to the houses for the first time.

That event, of course, changed the landscape again, and, as one beach visitor said as he moved his beach chair to a spot further back for the third time, “The ocean wins again!” Here came the water. There went the sand. (For more on the impact of Isaias, read “Storm tests island’s renourishment project” by Charles Swenson.)

So, what do we make of the renourishment of Pawleys? First, it was definitely needed. And, second, if we had been at Pawleys this spring, we would have come by often to watch the process as one resident told us he did every day. Mainly, however, we are pleased to hear that homeowners seem relieved that their houses on this beautiful barrier island will remain intact for a few more years.

But we have to admit: it takes a little getting used to. It’s a new Pawleys in many ways.

See you at the beach,

Rusha & Bert

Photo at top: View of South End of Pawleys Island in 2019 when groins were visible.