Travel Journal

     I've kept a journal when I traveled for years. It's been great to go back and read about the day to day vacations I only remember as vacation blobs (beautiful blobs, but....just a generic summary and not the day to day details).  It's also been a great way to remember the things I wanted to remember before returning.  In the last few years I've added some 'scrapbooking' to my journal, as opposed to keeping a full album for the trip separately.  Now I might do a few pages in a larger book I'm keeping with chronological life moments, but I don't have as many full albums anymore because....time.  

     I've also slowly been teaching myself the most efficient way TO scrapbook on the go.  I know I used a two page spread each day.  I have a few walk throughs on youtube on past journals, but this last trip (Hello, Oahu), I took a few photos of what my set up looks like.  

I now travel with a pouch with my glue, a few paper scraps, some enamel drops, a mini stapler and little strips of washi, but I try to do most of my decorating beforehand.  

I attaching a few things to each page I think I might like to use when I decorate the page.  In this case, I made a little pocket using half an envelope beyond the house.  I put in some litlte squares I used for extra space for journaling, and a place to put my photos.  I also make little date tags in advance with my label maker.  This way I could use more than two pages, so I don't put the date on the pages until I get to that day.  

I use a canon ivy, which really prints great little photos AND you can buy your paper with a sticky back.  

I'm on my fourth travel journal now, and they sure do take up a lot less space.  I'm sure I'll go back to the 'big books' someday, or on really different vacations, but for now, I'm loving the travel journal life!

Oklahoma

      This year has rocked my world.  In particular 2020 so far, not just the 'school year'  I usually measure things by as a teacher.
     I'm not ready to dissect it yet, but after a LOT of changes at work.  A lot of unknowns.  After quarantine for all, and a personal battle with Covid-19  I feel stole a huge part of the last 6 weeks from my personal life and those of my immediate family.  Lots of things to say about that eventually.  Praises to be shared as well.  This weekend I need something normal.  I'm sure we all do.

       Last weekend I packed my facemask, and my hand gel, and gloves, and I drove North to Oklahoma.  Just two hours, but it's the farthest I've driven BY almost 2 hours in almost 3 months.

     I sat by a lake away from the new normal these days and I got to feel, for just a moment, like, even as we take these lessons we learned over the last few months, there are going to be things that still can feel the same.  Sweeter, not worse.  My iPhone and I looked at the details of these flowers, by a lake, and then we drove home again and I took a little bit of that back home with me.

Oahu 2020

 I just got back from my 6th trip to Hawaii.  You might say, it's my favorite.  I used free airline miles to get there, so I took two days off work with the intention of flying back a week later (with a few days left of my spring break-the best deals leave on strange days and times).  To keep a long story short-it was wild b/c when I left the Corona Virus was just ramping up and it made me a little nervous to fly, but by the first morning I woke up in Hawaii, I feel like the world absolutely fell apart (in order to come back together).  Schools started shutting.  Restaurants.  By the time we left the Island, they went from two cases on a different Island to 15 on Oahu.  Restaurants were take out only.  Stores closed.  Sites closed.  The day we left the beaches closed, there was a curfew enforced, and visitors were asked not to come for a month.   With the airline rush, we tried to stay away from groups as much as possible.   We had two beautiful days, but everything going on was always on my mind.

 We stayed at the Outrigger Waikiki and we could hear the ocean.  I left the balcony door open several nights just so I could listen to the waves.

 We also went to eat at a place called The Reef (one of my favorite spots-it used to be the Shorebird).  You grill out with a great view of Diamond Head.  While we were waiting, I walked out to the beach and saw 4 large sea turtles swimming around.

 Two days we rented a car and drove around the Island.  I'm convinced if you don't love Oahu, it's because you haven't ventured around the Island and taken in the gorgeous beaches and views.

 We stopped at Turtle Bay for lunch at their poolside view.  The view was stunning of some pretty heavy waves, and the food was delicious.  Side note-you can park for free, but the lot is quite a hike, so you can also valet for $10.  They will let you valet for free if you are handicap.

 We stopped at Pipeline where the waves, even 'small' on these days, come in with so much power.

 I also grabbed a snow cone in Haliewa.  This is where I learned (years ago) how much I love snow cones with an ice cream center.

 I also stopped at Dole Plantation.  I can't get over how adorable pineapples are as babies and always visit them in their 'nursery'.

 There were only two days with beautiful sunsets, but, I'll take 2.

 The whales were in full force.  You could see them spout from the shore all around the island.  Another good way to spot them is to look and see where the boats are hanging out!  We took a cruise out and got to see a mama and her calf.

 It also rained, a LOT (probably 3 full days).  It had something to do with there being no trade winds, but the locals were talking about how unusual it was to have this much rain, so you know it's impressive.  There were flash flood warnings, and Kauai even had a tornado watch, which the newscaster said they had never heard of (though I'm sure it has happened before).

 It rained so hard that the dirt was washing down from the mountains and the beach water was brown for about a yard.  We were driving around one of these days and there was some pretty epic water that I normally would not want to drive through.  In the future, I'd stick to the hotel.

All things considered, Oahu is always amazing, but it was a different reality this time with so much going on in the world, hearing about the super market shortages back home, the pandemic, and death toll rising.  It just reminds me to always have supplies, even when I leave (which I had bought some of before leaving), and to not take for granted my health or the people out there dealing with this virus.  The flight home every cough and sneeze made me cringe.  I'm grateful for the good memories in the mist of a trying time, and so far, I've stayed healthy.   I know so much of that is beyond my control, and I'm grateful for the memories.  I, for sure, look forward to going back once things have settled down and the world is healthy and well.

Presidential Library

One of my goals is to visit all the presidential libraries of the presidents who have been president during my lifetime.  I found myself at College Station last weekend to visit a family friend who has been ill, so I left my house early so I could see Bush 41's library.  

 It was so interesting to see things like the motorcade, political adds, tv reels, and items that dated the time period.

 I also remember this dress worn at the Inaugration!

 There are quite a few personal items the family chose to share with the library, and it was so interested to see those moments frozen in time...or rather, behind glass.

 They have a piece of the Berlin Wall, and there was a section dedicated to desert storm.

It was so strange to walk into the rooms and see news reels rolling where the president announced different life changing events and to be able to remember that moment in time that I lived in real time once upon a memory.  I was in 5th or 6th grade during a lot of these events, but they have remained fresh in my memory.  

Glamping in Oklahoma

 This past weekend I headed across the border of Texas to Broken Bow, Oklahoma.  My pals and I rented a luxury cabin to celebrate my pal Kelly's b-day.  She actually has another month before she is 40, but she's about to travel the world and not be home to be celebrated, so we had to take advantage of a free weekend.

I found the cabin on Air BNB and it was absolutely stunning with two story views, a game room with a pool table, great seating inside and out, a grill, hot tub etc.  

It's unusually hot, so we ended up spending a lot of times in the Great INDOORS and enjoying all the cabin had to offer!  

 I made a bucket for each girl with personalized blankets, cups, cookies, and popcorn.

Night one I had a big spread with the gals arrived, and we munched all night....and the next afternoon too.  Dessert was pie (Kelly's favorite).  We went to lunch the next day in town, but other than that it was a weekend of girl talk, heads up, grilling, hot tubbing, and smores.  

I tend to overplan my life, so one of the best birthday gifts that I accidentally got was a weekend to disconnect with the to do list, and connect with fun people.  Here's hoping we can do it again before another 10 years pass!

Atlanta, GA

Last week, I headed to the Atlanta, GA area.  One of my goals this year (before I turn 40 in :gulp: a day) was to see both of my godchildren.  One lives in Fort Benning (1 1/2 from Atlanta), the other lives in Tampa (6 hours away).  Both mama's agreed to meet me so I could see the kiddos AND spend time with them.  Group one is my friend, Maurine and her 4 kiddos and mama.  This was the first time I got to meet Aurora (who turned 1 a few days later).  I held her, got to hang out with the boys, and explore the area a bit.  We stayed in an area about 30 minutes outside of Atlanta called Stone Mountain.  It's a state park (I think?) that's centerpiece is the largest slate rock in the world, only 10% is outside of the ground.  You can hike (no) or take a tram (yes) to the top and walk around and enjoy awesome views of Atlanta and the surrounding area.

There are all sorts of areas (suspended bridges, dinosaur themes, water play areas, there was a large bug exhibit this go 'round, in the winter there is a snow hill, and in the fall a pumpkin patch-ish area).  We spent some time in the 'historic' area where you could walk through old houses, churches, schools etc to see what life was like a hundred years ago, play with some games on the lawn etc.  

They had a petting zoo on site.

And we happened to be there when they had fireworks, though they have a laser show every night during the summer, and throughout the whole year.  

The next day we spent at the Atlanta Aquarium.  Get the early bird tickets (arrive before 11) online, we didn't (whoops) and they only have a set number that had sold out by the time we realized it was only online.  It said the aquarium takes 3-4 hours, and it's right next to the Coke museum (right across the lawn), but we actually took 7 hours.  There were several great shows, and my favorite was a tank you could ride a conveyor belt under while enormous sting rays, turtles, sharks, and whale sharks swam all around.  

This is the best picture I have to show how enormous those whale sharks are compared to the people.

They had a room where you could sit and just gaze at this enormous tank, and divers went down and did a talk every hour or more.  It was an amazing aquarium with so many things to see and do that are included in the ticket price, and a lot of 'extra's of behind the scenes with the animals you could also add on to your day.  They had a food court (pricey), but worth stopping for lunch for us.

Next up, my friend Regan and goddaughter, Micah picked me up and took me to their historic home on Fort Benning's army base where Regan's husband currently serves/works.  We spent time doing day to day things, but it was really fascinating b/c the base was a training base for airborne army men and women, so we got to see them practicing different 'jumps' and rappelling down lines to practice their form when exiting a helicopter.  Maybe it's more fascinating to me b/c jumping from anything is on my list of 'never.'

After a few days, we abandoned the nugget and Regan and I went to Atlanta to see the New Kids on the Block.  You either know, or you don't, but there is no concert like a NKOTB concert.  I've been before (and even went earlier this year), but it was Regan's first, though we have loved the band for 30 years and it's all we talked about the first 10 years of our friendship (and still could probably occupy too much time if we let it).

There was confetti, fireworks, 80's music, and lots of screaming women, we were two of them.

Britain and Ireland Highlights

 I spent the first two week's of June touring Britain and Ireland.  I've shared more pictures on Instagram, but I had to give the trip one blog post, though I could never do it justice in photos or words.  I went to Ireland and Scotland three years ago and loved it so much I wanted to go back, but this time I wanted to see more of England's country side.  We started and ended our trip in London.  This was my second stay in London, and this time I wanted to see some of the famous neighborhoods.

 One of my favorite was Notting Hill.  The colors of the buildings, the doors, and the shops were right up my alley.  All the flowers were in bloom, and it just made the walk worth the trip over.

 I told my Mom for my (upcoming) birthday, I really wanted to find an afternoon tea somewhere in the city.  I don't like tea, but I like all the things that come with the tea.  We booked the Savoy, I beautiful hotel in London with a piano player entertaining us throughout the whole tea, and the most incredible tasting scones I've ever had.  I like scones, but these scones....make me love scones.

 We also headed through some great cities in England, Stratford Upon Avon, and Shakespeare's birth home (above), York, and we took a cruise on Windermere (below) in the Lake District, which was gorgeous from start to finish.  The roses climbed the buildings, and gardens were exactly like a Jane Austin scene.

 After a few days in England, we headed to Edinburgh.  The Royal Mile that leads to the castle is one of most interesting streets I've ever walked (and shopped) b/c it climbs towards the castle with colorful and varied store fronts.

 We then went on to Dublin, and the Highlight there was a side trip to Glendalough.  It was the stunning ruins of a monastery that has stood here for almost 1000 years.  It never ceases to amaze me the proximity we are given to ruins to climb about and explore.  In the US, if it's 100 years old it's roped off and protected, but these stones have somehow stood for centuries.

 I also got to tour the Irish National Stud farm, and really, baby ponies, need I say more?  Sure there were race horses that have one millions of pounds, but...baby ponies....

 We went to Waterford and see the expert crystal designers at work, which exceeded my expectations.

 And I toured a small piece of Wales for the first time, including the most stunning vineyard where we had dinner prepared by the family.  It was my favorite meal the entire trip (Glyndwr) and even more beautiful that the vineyard was the garden that surrounded the house.

 Another fun stop was Stone Henge.  It poured down rain during this stop, but beyond the mystery of the location, just to say I've stood here....it was definitely on the list of places to see.

 After a whirlwind 10 days, I found myself back in London.  I headed to Covent Garden this time and we enjoyed Sunday Roast at Hawksmoor.

 We also went to the Churchill War Rooms to see where the English govt operated during WW2.

 I walked away, having seen so many things, I'm still processing, but I hope it'll be one of many trips across the pond.