Remembering Family and Friends

I travel alone, but I always carry family and friends in my heart as I journey. Frequently, I come across a sight, an image, a color that immeditately calls someone to my mind. Then even if it's a not a particularly memorable shot, I feel compelled to snap a photo of it. Take this zaftig sculpture that sits on a promenade along the harbor at Banyuls-sur-mer. Created by Aristide Maillol, she was given to the town in thanks for the sculptor's visits there. I almost backed into her as I photographed the colorful harbor and its bobbing boats. My surprise gave way to delight...I knew my friend, Mickey would love to see her sitting there by the sea since she's a huge Maillol fan. Snap!

I saw St. Jacques everywhere I walked in Conques. OMG...throw a sombrero and a cape on my brother, Jim and hand him a walking staff....he could be St. Jacques! Even the names match..St. James in English. Snap!













Every time I'd see one of these adorable deux cheveaux automobiles puttering along a country road or parked by an old stone building, I'd think of my brother, Walt...the car guy! Not that he'd ever in a million years drive one of these antiques, but he would certainly appreciate the loving care that their owners lavish on them to keep them shiny bright and running. Snap!





Some of my most vivid memories of my dad as I was growing up are trips to the beach where he would surf fish. Standing thigh deep in the salty water, he'd fling the heavy tackle out into the crashing surf hoping for a catch. His fishing rod and reel seemed huge to me, and I was always amazed that he could stand for hours in the cold, frothy ocean. When I spied the fishermen casting out into the brilliant blue Mediterranean waters at Collioure, I immediately thought of my dad doing the much the same thing along the coast of southern California back in the 1950's. Snap!



How do you remember family and friends when you travel?