Showing posts with label On the Road. Show all posts
Showing posts with label On the Road. Show all posts

August 25, 2016

Trip to Kentucky

We have been in Kentucky since early June, and I have been absent from my blog.  Shame on me!  It seems that since I opened a Facebook account, I post more frequently there.  I didn't take too many pictures this year on our drive, but will share a couple with you.

We like to stop in Fruita, Colorado and eat at this great little pizza place (and craft beer) called Hot Tomato.


Also in Fruita, and very near Hot Tomato, is an iron art piece called "MIke the Headless Chicken."  OK, it is a bizarre story, and unbelievably there is a festival too.



We had a nice visit with my sister, Becky, in Colorado Springs.


I've taken some pictures since we have been back, but they turned out a bit blurry so I'll post some pictures soon.

You see, I get to go on another European vacation - Germany (bike ride on the Rhine) and two weeks in Spain.  I will try my best to share some of the trip while we are still there, but definitely will do so when we return.

I hope you are all having a great summer.

November 16, 2015

California Bound

We have been having a nice trip back to California, and had dinner with old friends who live near Dallas.

In Odessa we stopped by the Stonehenge replica. 

We hope to visit the real Stonehenge in England someday. 

A visit to old town Mesilla, NM is always a nice break - and the New Mexico Mexican food is the best!
The Basilica of San Albino is a beautiful church on the Mesilla Plaza. 
The wind came up before we left town, and we are traveling in our first real dust storm - not much traffic except the tumbleweeds. 

July 5, 2015

California to Kentucky

I have been absent from my blog since the end of May, and thought I'd catch up with a post about our trip to Kentucky the beginning of June.

We spend every summer and fall in Kentucky.  We take about a week or more to drive from California to Kentucky in order to see family, and to also see a little bit of the country along the way. We didn't stop at any of the National Parks in Utah this year, but there are places to stop and see the beautiful state just about everywhere.

Utah

Utah

Utah
John has a son near Denver, and I have a sister in Colorado Springs, so we ended up spending four days in Colorado - such a beautiful state.

Fruita is the first town after crossing the border from Utah, and we have eaten at The Hot Tomato a couple times now.  They serve pizza with homemade sauce and craft beer - yummy.

Hot Tomato Cafe
 The Enstrom candy factory in Grand Junction was making toffee, and there were samples - did I say yummy?  I bought a box for my upcoming visit with my sister.



The visitor center in Eagle is a great stop.  There is a cute gift shop that is in what looks like an old house, and a museum in a white barn.  They are next to the river, and there is a path along the river.

John outside the visitor center
Eagle Visitor Center Front - so cute!
That's the river on the right
There was still snow on the ground when we got to the Eisenhower/Johnson tunnels - brrrr,

Eisenhower Johnson Tunnels
We had a great visit with John's son.  Living so far apart isn't as hard when we get a chance to see them at least once a year.

Maura, Jim and John
Next we went to visit my sister in Colorado Springs, and she hosted a barbeque for us.

Pallas and Becky
Becky had to work during the day on the second day we were there, so John and I visited Garden of the Gods.  It is spectacularly beautiful and free to visit.

Garden of the Gods

John at visitor center overlooking the park
That's Pikes Peak in the background


Plaque


Our Docent

Balanced Rock

Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods

John outside trading post
After leaving Colorado we headed through Kansas.  The stop at the visitor center gave me a chance to clown around with some "old friends".

Pallas on the Yellow Brick Road to Oz
In Topeka we stopped at the First Presbyterian Church to see the beautiful Tiffany windows.  They are stunning.  I wasn't able to get any photographs that would do then justice, so I bought a little book and you can check out their website in the link.4

One of the Tiffany windows in the church


Antiques in Topeka, Kansas
Of course any trip wouldn't be complete without stopping to do a little antiquing.  I bought a few linens and an architectural salvage piece that I will post a picture of in a future post.


October 5, 2014

Lovely Ireland

The second half of our trip to Europe this summer was to Ireland.  Each couple (3) rented a small car, and we played follow the leader for seven days.  In addition to driving on the left, my husband rented a manual transmission and the gear shift is on the left.  I drove a manual transmission for years, but didn't think I'd like shifting with my left hand.  He did all the driving in our car, and he took to it like a duck to water.

Ireland was not only beautiful, but the people were so friendly.  My dad's grandfather was from the Dingle area, and I was able to arrange to see the actual Baptismal and Marriage records at the Dingle Parish church.  I was able to take many pictures of the records so that I was sure of getting a good clear shot because I knew I couldn't go back to take more.

The food was really good, the pubs had incredible seafood stew and pints of Guinness.  The brown Irish bread is the most delicious I've eaten; some of the bread had nuts, and others had rosemary.  We were able to attend Irish Folk music concerts as well as see Irish Riverdance style dancing.  The weather was wonderful, and it only rained one day.

I hope you enjoy these pictures of Ireland:

Cashel
Cashel Palace Hotel 17th Century Bishops home

Our room at the hotel - It was common in Europe to have beds pushed together to make one large bed

Both the bedroom and bathroom had a view of the Rock of Cashel

Restoration work underway

Inside the ruins

Inside the ruins

Walking to Rock of Cashel from the hotel

The ruins of a nearby Abbey

Our hotel at night
 Inch Beach not far from Dingle:

I felt like we had come upon the California coastline

Surfers

Beautiful beach and coastline


Beautiful Farmland

Farmland looking out to bay


Don't forget to go clockwise in the traffic circle - nearly to Dingle
 Our hostess, Vivienne O'Shea, at the B and B was so nice, the hotel was roomy and spotless.  Vivienne's breakfast was delicious, and she made the best homemade scones as well as a made to order cooked breakfast.
Coastline B and B in Dingle

Our room

Dingle Bay - Gaelic and English

Dingle Bay view from hotel
Downtown Dingle

Downtown Dingle

Dingle Bay

Young people playing Irish music on Dingle Bay

Murphey's Pub

Cute shops in Dingle

Another B and B with a pretty yellow door

B and B

An old boat used as a planter

Cute building with yellow door and windows

Dingle Music Shop where we attended a live concert

St. Mary's Catholic Church - Dingle, Ireland

Bunratty Castle

Inside Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle at night
Cliffs of Moher

Cliffs of Moher

Cliffs of Moher
Church Ruins

Sun coming through window of ruins

Ruins are a common sight along the roadways in Ireland

Ruins in an Abbey

Details in Abbey Ruin
Little Cafe in Cong, Ireland

Cong, Ireland

Cong, Ireland - buildings are quite close to the road

Museum about "The Quite Man" movie

Colorful buildings in Cong, Ireland

John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara
in "The Quiet Man"
filmed in Cong, Ireland
Our rental cars - we drove the red one

Our group on the morning we left Dingle, Ireland