A Puzzling Place

Home again, but where have we been?

You might be able to guess by looking closely at these photos.

Hints:
The harbor (below) shares something with a river in India.
We celebrated a quiet Fourth of July. The real celebration was on the First.
The lake, like several others here, is surrounded by an island.

Name the place and win a TV-B-Gone! Imagine.

The lucky winner will be the person who is the most specific.

If you are among the few we told where we were going for six days, sorry, but you are ineligible.

If you can't name the place, just enjoy the photos.

Taking a Break

I’ll probably go through serious writer’s withdrawal, but I’m taking a break for a week.

Enjoy the Fourth (and Third and Fifth etc.) of July. Consider spending part of the time with this query:

Are we as a nation, and as individual Americans, helping others and ourselves achieve the “unalienable rights” of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”?

And, if so, how? If not, why not?

And with your own life and liberty, what particular "happiness" are you pursuing?