The photos that follow are roughly in chronological sequence from Abner's and my trip across the country and back. If you want detailed information on any of these, you will have to wade through the admittedly lengthy post of the story of our trip.

Natchez architecture is known for the large group of Antebellum houses, but there are many other historic buildings as well. the church above and bank below are examples of non-residential historic buildings that dot the downtown area.

Natchez sits on 200 foot high bluffs above the Mississippi. One morning Abner and I were out for a walk and saw several big barges and tugs heading upriver. The bridge in the photo above is the one we took to Louisiana. When Natchez was a business center in the early 19th century and there were no bridge, plantation owners whose properties were frequently on the flat Louisiana side of the river had to be ferried across to their land.

Longwood is a gigantic octagonal mansion that was never finished. The builder finished only the ground floor where his family lived out their lives. Construction ceased due to the Civil War and was never restarted afterwards. It is fascinating to walk through the partially built parts of the house and see, in some cases, tools and partially finished elements like door and window frames that have remained unchanged for more than 140 years.

These two shots are of Stanton Hall in central Natchez. This house was built by a wealthy Irish immigrant who died shortly after moving in. It is in very good condition and can be toured.

While there are dozens of Pre-Civil War houses in Natchez, there are some Victorians as well. Judging from the looks of things, the economy of Natchez must have returned to prosperity withing a decade or so of the end of the war.

The house below is Dunleith. It is one of the few in the South with a portico on all 4 sides. It is currently privately owned and is used for events. The ground floor rooms can be seen by tourists, and I had a private tour. It is really quite beautiful.

Above is the view of the Mississippi River looking north from the Natchez bluffs.

These are more scenes of Natchez.

The photo above is of the oldest house in Santa Fe, and one of the oldest non-native built house in the US. According to the sign on the house, it was built in 1646.

I was stunned by the freeways in West Texas. The above shot shows the alleged speed limit, to which for the record, no one seems to pay any attention. Below is the view from the driver's seat of one of these amazing slots that they cut through solid rock to keep the freeway going dead straight.

Above is the cathedral in central Santa Fe. The two lower shots are of buildings in downtown Santa Fe. As you can see, you can have any color you want on your building as long as it's brown.

This tiny gate provides entry to a private home close to the center of Santa Fe. I doubt that it is more than 5 feet high.

The above photo is of Lower Angora Lake, and below is the view out the back of Larry and Mary Kay Young's house at Tahoe Keys. In the early morning when I took this picture, the mountains are actually purple.

The photo above shows the view from Beth Kiyosaki's deck. Below you can see Beth on the deck which was just being finished the day we arrived in Abiquiu. As you can see, her house is still under construction, but it sure is a wonderful spot.

Upper Angora Lake sits at the base of Echo Peak. The size of the granite boulders and the clarity of the water are truly breathtaking.

Lower Angora Lake, shown below, has a few cabins on it. What splendid isolation.

Above is the approach to the front door of Faye and Jay's beautiful house in Aptos. Below, Jay and Abner are on a trail through the woods behind their house. What a great setting. Monterey Bay on one side a few hundred feet below, and a forest loop to walk through across the street. What more could a dog ask for?

When we were at Tahoe, we hiked to Angora Lakes. There are several large logs that float around the lake. The kids being towed around on the upper shot were squealing with pleasure, and the two lounging ladies below looked pretty comfortable with their perch as well.