Ireland via London

 I recommend County Cork. 

Aerial view as we departed Cork, Ireland (2019)

Why Cork? My employer had an office in Cork and my team planned an in-person meeting there. My travel costs would be paid by the company. It was the perfect opportunity to spend a few extra days there and bring my husband along. 

We landed in England on the 4th of July. That was no coincidence. I did that on purpose. It was a symbolic expression of my feelings about US politics. We spent three lovely days exploring London, then flew to Ireland. 

londoneye.com

Carma & Oliver ride the London Eye

We did the Hop On Hop Off double-decker red bus tour of the city, the London Eye, and a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath. (The henge has been photographed enough, not featured here.)

Westminster Abbey (click images to enlarge)

It's a long walk from the Visitor Center to Stonehenge!
Be prepared for summer swelter - bring more water!!

I did not make it to Stonehenge. Overwhelmed by the heat and dehydration, I stayed behind while my husband made the trek alone and took photos of a site that was overcrowded and has already been sufficiently photographed.

Bath was a great destination! It is an ancient city where Romans went to soak in natural hot springs. 

Head of a Roman Statue in Bath, England

View of from a bus: Bath, England 2019

Skeleton found in Bath
https://www.romanbaths.co.uk/

Patio restaurant near The Roman Baths Museum
https://www.sallylunns.co.uk/our-menu/

Why was a skeleton on a bicycle? Answer: Tourism 🤣
(And yes, I lost weight intentionally since 2019)

_

Bath Abbey
     https://www.bathabbey.org/   

One of the carvings that interested me on Bath Abbey,
why not?

Enough about London. Three days is not enough. We would like to go again, except there are many other places to go and things to do. Alas, Earth is amazing! 

On to Ireland. May I say first and foremost, the most lovely people I had met, until I went to New Zealand -- now it's a toss up! Kiwis win because of how they took care of me when I had an accident. But that's a different story. 

A favorite moment in Cork, Ireland

The above photo represents the one moment that captivated me and encapsulates my experience of being in Ireland. I would gladly live anywhere in County Cork. It is lush green. It obviously gets plenty of rain (and I love rain). These dainty dancers are a type of fuschia plant I have not seen anywhere else. I am charmed. Spellbound. 

We also had a lot of laughs at the antique jail in the downtown Cork area, and a comedy show. 

Old County Jail

prisoners' etchings on the jail wall

Blarney Castle was worth it. The gardens surrounding the ancient structure are too vast to photograph, feature many unique flowers, and one of the gardens is all poison plants. Most intriguing!

Oliver & Carma at Blarney Castle & Gardens
(taken in front of a small whatchmacallit near the castle)

View of another part of the castle from the top of Blarney Castle

View of part of the castle as seen from the top

Under the castle is a cave visitors may enter.
As to exiting, that's anybody's guess.

Lupine photo I took in the Poison Garden
https://www.facebook.com/blarneycastleireland

We rode a city bus out to the rural countryside and back. Here's one of my favorite pics.

Scene from a bus

I was listening to these two gentlemen seated in front of us, snapping photos of scenery along the way, and became amused with the symmetry of his hand gestures reflected on the window. I have about a dozen shots similar to this, different hand and finger positions. This is how I amuse myself. 

I love their accent. 

I have too many snapshots of Ireland. These are a few of the memories I cherish. Traveling with my husband is a joy -- he is the nicest companion! He is full of wonder and loves to ponder all sorts of mysterious and quirks of the day. I look forward to our next trip, and hope my travels inspire you to enjoy life! Each day presents a new possibility. 

Oliver in the Old County Jail

snail on a fence

Blackrock Castle Observatory
http://www.bco.ie/

Mural by the River Lee near Blackrock Castle

Die Laughing

Wild Donkeys and Wildflowers

Carma pets a donkey that became friendly after an offering of carrots. 

Travel does not always have to mean going far. This year, 2026, I am doing mostly local travel. Instead of spending a huge chunk of savings on a one- or two-week trip somewhere exotic, I am spending more time in California, mainly within 100 miles of my home. 

Yesterday, we went for a Spring hike on Two Trees Trail in Box Springs Mountain Reserve. The trailhead is located at 430 Two Trees Road, Riverside CA (Maps). There is a small parking area, free. This trail gets very steep in parts. It is sandy and some steep slopes can be slippery. Wear good hiking shoes. It's a good cardio workout! The trail goes up and down hills covered with boulders and wild native plants. The wildflowers here are mostly yellow. 

The wild donkeys of Riverside are beloved, docile creatures. Some have been injured, even killed, by motorists, because they often graze near roads where people who mean well have offered them food from their car windows. DO NOT DO THAT. It causes the donkeys to lose their natural fear of traffic. Instead, go to one of the many trailheads in the area. Here is the best entry point to visit donkeys. 

If you want to pet a donkey, you are going to have to give them a reason to come near you. They really like carrots, and carrots are a healthy treat for them. I have also given them celery and apples. It works best to cut these treats into bite-size pieces. Otherwise, they take a bite and the remainder drops into the dirt. I'm sure they do not like chewing on grit any more than we do. 

The young donkeys have a hard time with big chunks. 

Although some of the donkeys will come to people, having learned that some of us share treats with them, most of them are skittish and keep a safe distance. They are in fact a wild herd. Nobody owns them. Locals love and care for them. We have street signs cautioning people to drive with care in areas they are known to wander. 

Since they have such a strong preference for carrots, next time that is the only treat I will bring. I buy a big bag of whole carrots and chop them into pieces. Next time I will do more small pieces for the young donkeys. 

After treats, some will usually stick around to be petted.

There are hundreds of trails all over southern California. November-February is the best time for desert hikes. July-September, the hottest months, is the best time for coastal hikes. March is the peak time of year for wildflowers. Please don't walk on wildflowers! Stay on the trails. We get millions of visitors from all over the world. Too many have trampled wildflowers to death. So please don't take selfies in a field of wildflowers. Keep to the groomed trails! Help us manage to keep our ecosystem healthy!

Do not feed wild creatures junk food! Processed foods have an unnatural, crazy high amount of salt and the kinds of fake fats that are bad for you and everything else. 

For birds, the best thing to offer is birdseed or raw unsalted sunflower seeds. Bread and cereals are never good for birds of any kind. 

When you see signs that say DO NOT FEED THE WILDLIFE (or any specific birds, fish, or animals that are cared for in a protected sanctuary), restrain yourself. Just don't do it. Please. Many creatures are close to extinction because of human error. Inform yourself and do what is best for the wildlife. Thank you.

September in Wildwood Canyon

Autumn in SoCal

Oak Loop Trail, Wildwood Canyon

Autumn hike, Oak Loop Trail

Deer on Oak Loop Trail

Autumn in SoCal

Autumn is different in SoCal. We do not have hills covered in trees that turn red and gold. Our colors are a unique palette of pastels and muted earth tones. Our landscape is a kind of desert. We do have sand dunes out in the middle of the Mojave Desert and in Death Valley, however, most of our sandy slopes are covered with mesquite, sage, Joshua Trees, cacti, ice plant, and other drought-tolerant native shrubs and blooming trees. 

Joshua Tree National Park

Bladder Sage (Scutellaria Mexicana)

Cholla Cactus Garden

The above purple and white paper-like balloon flowers are among the most fascinating discoveries made during a visit to the Joshua Tree National Park, west of Coachella. 

You may have heard of Coachella -- a huge, outdoor, weekend music festival held every year, attracting tens of thousands of music lovers and kids out to have a good time! Stay hydrated, my friends 😁

Closer to the southern exit/entrance of Joshua Tree National Park, which connects with Redlands Fwy I-10 and Pinto Road, is the lesser known Cholla Cactus Garden on Pinto Basin Road. 

So far, I have missed the peak blooming season in this national park! The blooms do not last long on most cacti. 

Death Valley National Park is still on my list of places to visit in the winter. Maybe next year! 

Lastly, while on the topic of winter hiking in sunny SoCal deserts, I leave you with the Slot Canyon Trail. If you roam the world in search of interesting trails through wilderness, this is a fun one! It is not too hard to find and only costs a few bucks (cash) to park. This pays for public restroom maintenance and trail management. Rain and wind loosen boulders. Hike with care! The Slot on CA-78, southwest of Borrega Springs (Maps). 

Slot Canyon Trail

Ola! Hallo! Bonjour! Hei!

Favorite Places - Pacific Northwest

Bull Elk in Hoh Rain Forest, 2016

Forests are my happy place. And a rain forest is the absolute premium experience for greenies like me. That's why in 2016 while thinking of a great vacation, I suggested the Pacific Northwest to my husband. 

"It's the only rain forest in North America!" I really wanted to go to Iguazu Falls on the Argentine-Brazil border, but I was afraid. Afraid of international situations that might arise involving corrupt officials, kidnapped Americans, and other risks that world travelers shrug off. Why am -- was I so terrified of international travel? In my twenties I worked with an insurance advisor and saw policies protecting companies who employ Americans in foreign countries against kidnap/ransom situations. I never forgot that. It probably isn't as high a risk as I feel it to be, but obviously that made a hard impression on me. 

Oliver at Lake Quinault Lodge

The internet makes it so easy to plan the perfect trip! I searched for rain forests and discovered Hoh in what is known by modern European-Americans as the Olympic Peninsula. To the indigenous people who lived in the region thousands of years before Columbus got lost on his way to India, there are many names for the areas: Hoh, Makah, Quileute, and Quinault. I booked a room in a cottage at Lake Quinault Lodge for a week in early October 2016. I wanted rain. 

In general, I prefer traveling during off-peak seasons to avoid the clutter of tourists and kids who need a nap. 

We took an Amtrak bus from Santa Rosa to the Stockton train station and went north from there via train, passing through parts of northern California I had never seen before...Sacramento, Oroville, Redding, Mount Shasta. I love trains.

I love that you get to see the landscape up close and in sumptuous detail. There were still plenty of gold leaves on broadleaf trees in early October. 

Oregon has been my favorite place in the world since I lived there briefly at age seventeen. I spent three months in Dexter and Eugene, and just prior to that a month in Malott, Washington, picking apples. It was unforgettable, the peace and quiet of walking in a misty forest. The ground soft with damp pine needles. The scent! I have always wanted to go back there, to live there, but I don't know anyone, and I guess I was afraid to move to Oregon on my own and make a go of it. I didn't know where to begin at that age. The internet makes migration and exploration so deliciously accessible! 

I had visited Seattle in 2012 as part of a work-related trip and had fun exploring the downtown area for a day with a colleague. Her name was Jill. She and I had a fantastic day at the Chihuly Glass Garden, and I wanted to see it again and show it to my husband. It was that exquisite. 

We picked up a rental car near the Olympia train station and spent a night in a motel near Aberdeen, arriving at Lake Quinault the following afternoon. 

The cottage room was cozy and quaint. I have very simple needs. A clean bed, a good shower, a mini fridge, coffee maker and microwave. It's the natural scenery that makes a vacation everything I need it to be: a serene break from city life. 

The Hall of Mosses in the Hoh Rain Forest beckoned and I aimed to gaze upon it. To feel the silence of a sacred place. Some people sit in old cathedrals, and I've done that, too, but it's not the same. It's not the magnitude of feeling that I get from standing in the midst of ancient giants draped in green velvet shushing my city mind. There's nothing else on Earth quite like a rain forest. 

And then there are these magical, unexpected, unforgettable moments. You take photos, but really they live in your heart much stronger than the images we share with the unfortunate souls who do not have the luxury of experiencing such places. 

It was really big and something big took a big bite!

Woolly Bear Caterpillar in the forest surrounding the Lodge

Museums can be interesting, too:)

Fun junk art sculptures in a lot adjacent to Peninsula Foods Store in Quilcene

Last day at Lake Quinault Lodge

Finally you have to say goodbye to this glorious preserved wilderness and sit on the train tracks for hours staring at the industrial grime of a city, and you tell yourself you'll never take the train again. But eventually you forget that and years later you're on a train, loving the scenery of an exotic place. Vacations are like that. 

❤