Alexandria, Va. Trip a Bittersweet One

 

It has taken me a while to feel ready to write this post. I love to share my travel photographs such as this view of the U.S. Capitol with the Potomac River in the foreground. 

Alesia and I flew to the D.C. area early last November, not to sightsee but for a sad family gathering. 

My older brother Matt passed away on Oct. 14, 2025 at age 66 after a two-to-three-year battle with stage four prostate cancer. See his obituary. 

We, along with many family members, attended his Requiem Mass on Nov. 7 at the beautiful Basilica of St. Mary on Royal Street in Alexandria. 

The Basilica of St. Mary was founded in 1795. It was the first Catholic parish in Virginia. George Washington himself helped fund the church, donating the equivalent of $1,200. The church was located in a different part of Alexandria at that time. It moved to Royal Street in 1810. 

More on St. Mary's rich history here.

Matt was a good brother to me and it is still difficult to fathom that he is gone. Our big Catholic family of nine is now down to six. We lost our father, Michael, last February. I wrote about the sad but lovely family gathering in Estes Park, Colorado., where we bid a tearful farewell to Dear Dad. My youngest brother Tom left us in 2018. I posted about Tom’s passing in Alabama. 

I knew my tribute to Matt on this site was coming. The busy Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s holidays, plus finishing up the fall semester at SC State occupied my time. Plus, I just procrastinated. 

 

Matthew David Harwood was such a good and kind man. He lived his life by his own code and rules. He worked hard at his craft, which was art, and was very successful and accomplished at it.

Fun While It Lasted- Farewell Coosaw Stroll Magazine

 

Last January a magazine company began a monthly publication for my neighborhood, Coosaw Creek Country Club. Stroll, free to residents, had a polished high-quality glossy look. It was advertising- driven and each issue seemed to have plenty of ads with new local businesses appearing regularly. 

Within a few months, I met the publisher at a clubhouse event. She invited me to contribute a bird-themed article and photographs for each month’s issue. 

I didn’t need to be asked twice! Birds and bird photography- that's definitely in my wheelhouse. I've published two books full of my bird and nature photographs: "The Birds of Magnolia Cemetery: Charleston's Secret Bird Sanctuary" and "Nature-ly Fun! Bird Photography from A to Z." Both, along with my other books, are sold on Amazon and by me personally. 

My first “Peck of the Month” piece appeared in the March 2025 magazine. Following are the articles I wrote in subsequent months. I really liked the layout done by Stroll’s production team. 

Saluting “Sister City” Savannah!

We kicked off 2026 with a two hour 15 minute drive to Savannah, Ga. Savannah and Charleston are sister cities, we heard several times. This visit made me realize what a compliment this is to both Southern cities, and that they do nicely complement each other. 

Alesia and I rendezvoused in Savannah with my big brother Mike and his wife Christine. They live in Sarasota, Fla. One of the highlights would be our excursion on the Georgia Queen, learning about the old city’s rich maritime history during a 90-minute tour of the Savannah River. More on that later in this post.

Over a long post-holiday weekend, we walked, boated, dined, and even had a pirate ghost encounter! 

Our accommodations were the Andaz Hotel, a Hyatt property near the riverfront and City Market. Alesia and I had a nice experience at the Andaz several years ago so we knew it was a fine hotel in a central location. We parked our cars in an adjacent city garage and didn’t use them until we left on Tuesday. Tip: The hotel parking is much more expensive than the city garage just down the street. 

Within just a few-mile radius of the Andaz Hotel there is so much to see and do. From Saturday to Tuesday the weather became clearer and warmer. This photo is of Alesia in the City Market. The top of the Andaz Hotel is seen in the background to the left of the clock.

Savannah is a very walkable city. Monday, according to my iPhone’s health app, I logged a whopping 13,394 steps. That’s almost seven miles.

This photo is of us at Forsyth Park, Savannah’s oldest (1840s) and largest park (30 acres). 

Xuan Chi Diep: The Hanoi Horseman

 

A Sunday, Nov. 2 visit to Magnolia Cemetery produced a nice variety of bird photographs, including the effervescent Roseate Spoonbill. See my "Bustling with Birds" post here. 

And a striking Little Blue Heron. 

But what was most striking to me was this sign leaning against a tall magnolia tree. “In Memory of Xuan Chi Diep” it reads. There’s no date, no context, just what you see. 

If I ever noticed the sign before, I do not remember. That’s one of the things I like about Magnolia Cemetery and its 150 acres: seeing something new, though I’ve been here a few hundred times over the years. 

The memorial sign, dislodged from the base that once held it straight, and the Magnolia tree that now supports it are located next to a unique white zinc monument that I wrote about and photographed in my 2014 book, “In the Arms of Angels: Magnolia Cemetery- Charleston’s Treasure of History, Mystery and Artistry.” More on that book here. 

Xuan Chi Diep? So what’s the story here? There must be one. I decided to use the holiday season break from my teaching job to find out. 

And find out I did! 

Marking a Blog Milestone: 500,000 Page Views!

Fast and Furious! On Nov. 11 I noticed my blog’s “Total Pageviews” counter read, as you see, 497,978. That’s getting close to half a million! 

One week later, on Nov. 18, the number eclipsed 500,000. Before leaving SC State for the day, I noticed the number was around 499,640. By the time I settled in at home that evening, the number had climbed to 500,061. 🍾 I didn’t pop the champagne, not literally anyway. But wow! I’m excited to reach such a milestone. In May 2010 I launched my BirdsEyeViews blog with this short post titled "Time to Blog!" I wrote a post in May of this year to recognize 15 years of relentless blogging. Actually relaxing is the better word because I’ve always found this hobby a good one, time well spent. Satisfying is another appropriate word. 

Back in early June when I did the 15th anniversary post, the counter was in the 390,000s. I’m struck by how in the five and a half months since that post I’ve had more than 100,000 page views. That’s about 20,000 views a month. My blog is definitely getting more looks these days. Why? Not sure. I've always made good use of embedded links, label words and descriptive headlines. That helps, I'm thinking.

Magnolia Cemetery- Bustling with Birds!

Charleston's beautiful and historic Magnolia Cemetery continues, for me, to be a great place to visit, especially when it’s one of those “It’s so pretty out, let’s do something” Sunday afternoons. And especially when beach season is over. 

Such was the case on Sunday, Nov. 2. Upon entering the cemetery, the front lagoon quickly came into view and so did lots of birds in the trees by the pond. 

Not just any birds either. This is the colorful paddle-billed Roseate Spoonbill. Such a unique bird! 

A second Roseate Spoonbill was on site, joined on a live oak tree by a trio of White Ibis. 

Fall Chicago Visit: Skyscrapers, Churches, Theaters, Zoos- and Protests?

 

***Favorite Photo***

Next to Charleston, my favorite city in America also begins with Ch: Chicago! 

In the late 1980s-early 1990s we lived in "Chicagoland" then over the years, Alesia's work would bring her to the Windy City, and a few times I was able to join her. In more recent years, we have been back several times to visit our son Justin who lives and works in the city. 

So on Oct. 16 our latest trip began dark and early with a 6 a.m. flight. With the time change, we landed at Chicago O’Hare Airport a little after 7:30 a.m. 

This is a favorite picture I took from the airplane that shows two of the city’s most famous and tallest buildings: Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) and closer to Lake Michigan is the Hancock Building. 

***Favorite Photo***

We always like to stay downtown near the Chicago River. The Marriott Renaissance Chicago Downtown at 1 W. Wacker was our home for three nights. Though staying on the 13th floor we had good luck being able to check in before 9 a.m., and we made it for the complimentary breakfast just before the concierge room closed at 9. Whew! I needed a hearty breakfast after being up since 3:15 a.m. EST. 

From our hotel room, we had this view of the iconic Chicago Theatre. On Sunday, the theatre had a 50th anniversary screening of the cult classic “Rocky Horror Picture Show.” With the cheapest tickets at $60-plus, we did a hard pass. 

***Favorite Photo***

Unexpected Bird Encounter!

A trip to the Wescott shopping center turned into a bird outing yesterday afternoon! The water reservoir near Marshalls had dozens of wading birds. I saw Wood Storks, White Ibis, Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets. I didn’t have my Canon DSLR so I used my iPhone 12, and it did fine. I later tweaked the images with the Snapseed photo app.

This may have been the most Wood Storks I have ever seen together in one place. 

Wood Storks have several collective names: muster, clatter, swoop, phalanx and…what…filth? A filth of Wood Storks. Doesn’t sound right or good! 

A Bridge Not Too Far for Charlie Kirk

 

My previous post on Sept. 10 was about the great views from under the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge that connects Charleston and Mount Pleasant. (By the way, this is my 450th post, dating back to 2010 when I launched this site). 

Sunday, Sept. 14 found us on the Ravenel Bridge for a somber yet uplifting event. 

This was a vigil for the late Conservative political activist Charlie Kirk who was killed by an assassin on Sept. 10 while hosting an outdoor forum at Utah Valley University. 

Kirk, 31, was an influential advocate for Christ, families and “old fashioned” American values. A gunman has been arrested and may eventually be executed for his crime in a state that has the death penalty. 

After a Sunday dinner at Cracker Barrel (happy that the controversial logo change didn’t happen!), we trekked up the bridge, joining hundreds of flag-bearing patriots. 

See my short video below...

The weather could not have been more accommodating. Not too hot, very pleasant conditions. 

Jesus joined us too in spirit and in this picture brought by, I think, a College of Charleston member of Turning Point USA, the organization Charlie Kirk founded when he was 18 years old. 

The gentleman on the left is Cameron Limes, a news reporter at WCIV Channel 4 TV. 

Vessel Viewing from Under the Ravenel Bridge

 

My exploration of places to see the big ships of Charleston took me recently to Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park. 

I was hoping to see at least one huge container ship steam by on the Cooper River heading into port or going the other direction out to sea. 

It was a pretty day for photography, right? My plan was to first visit a store in Mount Pleasant and then go to the park. But as I drove on the bridge I could see a container ship heading my way. So I called an audible and hurried to park at the park. 

My hustle paid off as I arrived in time to see a Maersk shipping line vessel approaching the bridge. 

I’m interested in capturing images that show the massive scale of these ocean-faring ships that transport thousands of containers each voyage around the world.