Camping Trip Interrupted

Face Rock

Last week, my guy and I, and our good friends, took the campers to Gold Coast, Oregon. The first few days were amazing, then the smoke rolled in. Due to multiple fires in the area we had to cut our time in this beautiful state short. 

Normally we have a plethora of driving choices, but by Wednesday morning, all but 1 of the roads home were blocked by fire. Rather than wait to see if I-5 reopened we decided to take 299 - can I just say YIKES! It is a beautiful, twisty, hilly drive that wouldn't be too bad if we hadn't been pulling our camper. Fortunately, my guy and his buddy both have mad driving skills so we did fine but I am glad that drive is over.

Here are some fun pictures from our trip: 

If you travel near Bandon, Oregon, be sure to check out the West Coast Safari. Their animals were beautiful and well taken care of. The park grounds were cleaned regularly and staff were available to answer questions. I love petting zoos and thoroughly enjoyed these guys.  

This little one was very vocal 

The Oregon coast is stunning. The rock formations are fun to explore, especially during  low tide when you can find tide pools full of ocean life. 

And sunsets are amazing on the beach!

One of the best parts of the drive home on 299 was the Redwood forest. Talk about primordial. These trees are stunning and SO BIG! I have never seen "The Redwoods" before so it was an awe inspiring experience for me. I could almost hear the fairies laughing. The bottom picture includes my friend so you get a better picture of how large these amazing trees are. 

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Below you can see the difference in air quality. The same rock is in both photos. The first photo was taken Sept 6 at about 4:40 pm. The second picture was from our drive home, Wednesday, September 9th taken around 11:30 am. 

My heart breaks for those living near any of the fires that are currently raging across the US. Our area is inundated with heavy smoke. It is so bad that since our schools have increased how often the air is replaced within the schools due to Covid-19, they have not had a full week of in-person instruction yet because the increase in air circulation pumps smoky air into the schools. 

I really hope 2021 is a better year! 

Something to Look Forward to

Photo by Rian Castillo

In February, we are heading to the Turks and Caicos Islands. This is one of my Dad's favorite places and I am looking forward to spending time in a place the he loved. I am hoping to be done (or at least close to being done) with my Master's program. I am only a capstone project away from my master's  degree and the end is in sight!!

I am taking the week in the Turks and Caicos off. No school. No studying, No Work! I promise to share pictures of our adventures.

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Vacation Part 1 - Blarney

Blarney Castle

I can not begin to describe how beautiful Ireland is. There are not enough words for all of the shades of green that I saw, seriously, it is stunning. Not only is it a beautiful country, the people are friendly and the beer is good. I am a big fan of Guinness and enjoyed my share of pints while touring through the Irish countryside. I am ready to go back, in fact I am ready to buy property there and call it my second home :0) Now to win the lottery so I can afford that...

It rained a lot during our trip, starting with our first excursion to Blarney. I thought a lot about the rain on our flight to Dublin. How would it affect our trip? Would we still be able to explore all the out door sites? The weather channel predicted rain for most of our trip. Here is what I can tell you, an Irish rain in August is completely different from a Nevada rain in any month. The rain was not cold, it was just wet. We explored the castle grounds, in the rain, for hours. We were soaked but not cold. Now, to be fair the rain was more of a hard mist or very light drizzle, not a driving rain, but it was still not cold and actually added to our experiences. I recommend good, light weight umbrellas but I put mine away and just had fun. If you are carrying a backpack make sure it is waterproof or be sure to pack a larger plastic bag to protect its contents.

Bench just Outside of the Castle

View from the top of Blarney Castle

Me kissing the Blarney Stone

Tribute for the Fairies

WOW! This was natural. 

Walking back to the Gardens

Trees in Sweaters

The Witches Stone

One of the many flower gardens

All of the above pictures were taken in the gardens of Blarney Castle. We had no idea how much there was to see, we thought we'd climb to the top of the castle, kiss the stone and move on. Nope! We loved exploring all the nooks and crannies of this amazing place. After playing we did stop for lunch and shopping at the Blarney Woolen Mills shop which is situated right next to the castle grounds. 

If you are planning a trip to kiss the Blarney Stone be sure to allow yourself several hours to explore the extensive gardens. There are so many things to see as you wander around, you just never know what you will find, from wooden mushrooms and the Witches stone, to trees with sweaters and lush flowers. It is an experience that should not be rushed!

Next stop... Limerick