This week it’s Tina’s turn to close out our 2023 Lens-Artists challenges. The team is taking a holiday break. See the note at the end of my challenge response for the details. Tina writes, “In December of 2022 the Lens-Artists team introduced a “Last-Chance” challenge. The idea was to review the year’s images and choose favorites that never quite fit any of our 2022 subjects. The challenge was very popular with our followers so we’re bringing it back this week. The “rule” is that your chosen photographs must have been taken in 2023, and must not have been included in response to any of our 2023 challenges.” You can view her entire challenge post here.

This year, Lynn and I traveled across the country and three continents. I have many images awaiting processing, so for my response, I picked some of the photos from places we visited in 2023 and processed them specifically for this challenge. My opening photo is a view of Saint Augustine Beach. I’d never seen a city-supplied road on beach sand. The sand layer is thin enough to support standard automobiles, so the city built a one-way route from north to south for a few miles along the beach. Small pole markers delineate the lanes and signage notes where people and cars are to be. The street in front of our rental unit ended at the edge of the sand so cars could simply drive onto the beach.

When we left Florida, we stopped at Port Canaveral to board the first of three cruise ships we sailed on in 2023. At Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, our tour of the city included a walk down the Street of the Umbrellas, a popular and colorful tourist attraction.

On the way back to North Dakota, we stayed a couple of days in San Antonio. I’d had a business meeting there a few years ago, but Lynn didn’t go along. We spent some time cruising and walking the River Walk, visited the Alamo, and used the time to break up the long drive home from Florida. During lunch, one day, I asked the street performers to play for us.

In March, we headed to Brazil where we boarded a cruise ship for a transatlantic sail from Rio de Janeiro to Barcelona. One of our stops along the way found us in the center of the historic city of Salvador, Brazil. The colorful architecture was beautiful, and I was surprised at the wide streets we found in this old part of the city.

When we arrived in Barcelona at the end of our cruise, we were booked into a hotel for a couple of days to see some of the attractions in the capital of Catalonia. I was to learn that the Catalonia region of Spain has a distinct cultural identity, with its own language (Catalan) and traditions. We also journeyed to Montserrat and the monastery that was built high on the mountain. The monastery was founded in the 11th century, but what surprised me the most was that I learned Joan of Arc was buried there. At least, that’s what I thought the tour guide said. That seemed weird since she died in France.

Well, not so much. A bit of Internet searching and the translation of the plaque near the tomb told the real story. The plaque notes (translated), “Tomb of John of Aragon. Prince of the Royal House of Catalonia, nephew of Ferdinand the Catholic. Count of Ribagorça, first Duke of Luna, Lord of Amposta, Viceroy of Catalonia 1 of Naples on July 5, 1528”.

After a long summer break from traveling, we were on the road again for our annual fall road trip, this year spanning some 7700 miles (12,390 km) throughout the southern United States. In Florida, we learned of the mangrove forest in the brackish water of the Everglades. What better way to see them than on an airboat. The young man who guided us through the wetlands struck a pose when I asked permission to take his photo.

One attraction in Florida that I long wanted to visit is the facility at Cape Canaveral well known as the primary launch facility for the United States Space Program. The attraction does not use public funds to operate, and it is a day well spent learning about those heady days of the space race to the moon.

On our journey, we spent some time in Savannah, Georgia. This view of a tree-lined sidewalk is representative of the iconic Savannah. This image was captured as our tour bus went by one of the college campuses in Savannah. Unfortunately, I don’t recall which campus we went by when I took the shot.

Our third cruise of 2023 found us on a journey from Los Angeles to Miami via the Panama Canal. On the way, we visited two cities we’d never seen before. At Manzanillo, our tour guide stopped near the beach where this sailfish sculpture draws visitors from all over the world.

As we left Manzanillo, we continued south on our journey through the Panama Canal. It is fitting to include a sunset image to close out my final photo challenge-response for 2023. May the new year bring you joy, peace, and prosperity. Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year!

As we approach the close of 2023, the Lens-Artists team has an important change to announce. After having been an integral part of our team since its inception in June of 2018, Amy of Share and Connect will be leaving the team to begin an exciting new adventure. She and her husband will be traveling more extensively and making some happily-anticipated visits with family. We wish her all the best and look forward to her posts as she continues to respond to our challenges whenever possible.

This will be the final Lens-Artists challenge of 2023. We will return on January 6 to begin the New Year with our traditional Favorite Photos of 2023. We look forward to seeing you all again then. If you’d like to join in the fun for next year but aren’t quite sure how to get started, check out the details here. Warmest wishes to all during this festive season. May your holidays be filled with joy, connection, and peace. May the coming year bring you new beginnings and a heart full of hope.

John Steiner