Category Archives: Uncategorized

Yup, we are flying “calm air” to Churchill . There’s our little plane that had about half its seats stacked high with boxes strapped to them. I think only about 15 passengers When we first started planning this trip, Brant’s primary goal was to see the northern lights. As we approached the date over the…Continue reading “Churchill to Los Barriles: At last, polar bears and the northern lights – Life’s Been Good To Us So Far!”

When we first started planning this trip, Brant’s primary goal was to see the northern lights. As we approached the date over the past several weeks, heavy cloud cover was predicted, perhaps even rain. At one point we even considered cancelling the trip as it was a pricey adventure to be sitting in a hotelContinue reading “Churchill to Los Barriles: At last, polar bears and the northern lights”

This has been the driving portion of our nearly 2 month trip. So lucky I am to be with a guy who patiently zips along for hours at a time with no complaints. It is a time in the trip that you hope for boredom as the alternative is generally of a car problem solvingContinue reading “From Limerick to Lake Chandos: the lake life in 2 countries with waterfalls in between”

Love having posts to remind me later of our trips but when we stay with friends I don’t want to overstep privacy boundaries. I do however want to say that I still can’t believe that since retirement we have met so many fun, kind, and helpful friends. I have heard that your world shrinks afterContinue reading “Canada at last: Montreal to PEI”

As always we are just bumbling along, leaving keys in an unlocked car (because we think that’s what they said to do), taking turns eating lunch at a sea shack (excellent Cullen skink), and jumping in a van whenever everyone else does… having no idea if it’s taking us to the ferry. I laughed inContinue reading “Benbecula to Glasgow: “the only thing missing are the palm trees””

The train to Loch “Lockasomething” was an easy walk from our hotel (as was the bus). Uncrowded, comfortable (well except for sitting in someone’s reserved seats initially ) and a beautiful ride there. We arrived to be picked up by Donda who delivered us to our Air bnb in Portree. We talked him into stoppingContinue reading “Blue (occasionally)Skye! : trains, cars, buses, cabs and ferries”

Brant did a great job of driving. I loved how locals gave him a quick… toot..toot to say thank you. At least I think that’s what they were saying. Would we come back? I would love to. Way more to explore and a beautiful place to relax in a seaside Croft. Our cab driver whoContinue reading “Shetland to Inverness: with a wee bit of a day trip to Ullapool …not Liverpool”

The Shetland Islands are comprised of 100 islands (Scotland in total has about 900), but only 16 are inhabited. Few can be reached by plane and most can’t be approached by boat much of the year. After watching the surf on a windy day we could understand why. We arrived in the large town ofContinue reading “Northward bound on Shetland: Ewe would love it here!”

A remarkably pleasant propeller plane flight to Sumburgh Airport at the tip of the Shetland Islands. We had taken the air tram to the airport the night before…inexpensive and simple… the tram literally across the street from our hotel. We stayed at an airport hotel and just dragged our luggage via sidewalk to the airportContinue reading “In the south of Shetland:”

We walked through some beautiful gardens in Sioux Falls and a river walk. Interestingly in about 4.5 miles of walking we did not see one restaurant or store. First stop Sioux Falls to establish our medical care. It was remarkably efficient…though I think we perplexed them…especially when they asked us where we parked and weContinue reading “Three cities in 1 week: Sioux Falls, Brooklyn and Edinburgh…a great combo!”

Happy New Year! We are currently going through the tedium of shuttering up before we head out on the annual bucket list trip. It really does feel like it’s end of a year in August and a new beginning. Every August I find myself making resolutions for October and regretting those not resolved while cheeringContinue reading “Happy LB New Year: Feliz Año Nuevo!”

As I’ve said before, our visitors inspire us to take time off from chores and explore. We have been wanting to go to San Miguel for years, and so very glad our friend Tricia arranged a stay at her friends really amazing zero lot home (calling it an apartment does not do it justice). GivenContinue reading “San Miguel de Allende: At last and worth the wait!”

It’s April again and still finding new stuff most every day but also delighting in the rhythm of life. I say that because I just found 3 pairs of cardinals in one of our orange trees as i sipped my coffee. This year we decided to go to Carnaval in La Paz. Besides the factContinue reading “The Magic of the Desert:”

Brant and I love that we live in a place that is fun to visit. Even if we get to be boring company there is always a beautiful beach out there. That said we had terrific holidays with family and friends. So what do you do when the last group leaves for the airport? YouContinue reading “Oaxaca: A special opportunity to see a special place”

Time for another Christmas Card Blog that sadly won’t be set to music as Brant did for so many years, but it does instantly become part of our running blog aka our digital photo album. Some traditions change… I went back and reviewed my old Christmas entries in an effort to not be too repetitive.Continue reading “The (Belated) Christmas Blog: ….Traditions and resolutions…both worth keeping!”

I questioned the wisdom of visiting too many cities on this trip…Brooklyn, Porto, Lisbon, Lyon, Nice, Sete, Bordeaux and Paris, but I have to say in retrospect each was truly separate and distinct. Honestly I think the people were very similar in all the cities…for me it’s the architecture, geography and food that varies. IContinue reading “From Bordeaux to Paris: All is good but Starting to miss a good margarita!”

Time to leave Oppede as we had a week or so to get to Paris and catch a flight home. We had a hard time with decision making as there were just too many options but decided to fo to Sete in part because a friend wanted to meet us there for lunch. The otherContinue reading “Leaving Provence: Now for the rest of the story!”

I do this blog to create memories of our travels and so that we can remind us of what we did and how we felt about each place. I try to avoid the extraneous details and of course try to gloss over any tedium. I think this trip has created the longest list of “goContinue reading “The Provence I imagined….but we needed a few more days to seize here!”

Hated to leave the gorges but many more towns to see. Next up is a town in Northern Provence. The drive was easy except for my constant desire to stop and see things. In regards to food nearly all has been very good to excellent. The timing of meals can be tricky though. Lunch isContinue reading “Reilhananette to Oppede: we really need to change Siri to a French accent but then we wouldn’t understand her”