Five years ago today, I committed to the first step in my retirement. Because St Joseph is the patron saint for real estate folk, I put my house in California (where I'd lived for 21 years as my "forever home") on the market on his feast day and left for a week. I didn't want to be subjected to being temporarily evicted any time a realtor wanted to show the property.
Flying to Seattle, I also initiated my first trip focused on taking more photographs of cathedrals to add to my "collection". I'd been to the Emerald City previously, and seen St James, the Roman Catholic cathedral. My research had 2 more, plus I planned on a day trip by ferry to Victoria to see the Anglican and RC cathedrals. Near the B&B, I spotted the golden onion domes of an Orthodox church, which turned out to be the fourth cathedral in Seattle.
So in Seattle are St Nicholas' Russian Orthodox, St Mark's Episcopal, Saint Spiridon, and St James'; in Victoria I visited Christ Church, and St Andrew's cathedrals. [Anecdotally, I dropped my "good camera" outside Parliament house, and had to use my "shirt-pocket camera" while in Victoria, but was able to get the Nikon fixed the following day back in Seattle. I've since given that camera to my grand niece.]
After four days in Washington, I headed to Portland, a city I'd been to many times and have great fondness for. It was the end of Holy Week, so in addition to visiting and photographing the three cathedrals in the City of Roses, I was moved while attending Maundy Thursday services at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. I'd made the long walk back from Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox, and (after going through some hoops) been inside St Mary's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
Returning to Pleasanton, I had five offers for more than my asking price, and closed the sale a month later. Departing in my lightly packed 8-year old Toyota in pouring rain, I set to cross the United States and add more photographs of cathedrals to my collection that became my photobook Cathedrals to the Glory of God. Continuing with this St Joseph's theme, my first stop was in San Jose, where I entered both the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph, and Trinity Cathedral, two very different church buildings.
Sixty-five hundred miles, 2760 photos and 38 days later, I started my retirement in Florida with my last travel day's pictures of St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Tarpon Springs and the Cathedral Church of St Peter in St Petersburg, under brilliantly sunny skies.
[The stained glass window of the Holy Family at the beginning of this post is in St John's Cathedral, Knoxville, Tennessee.]