I took a trip to Paris in May 2007 with my sister, her daughter, and their friend. We rented an apartment in the Marais District from a friend of mine from California.
Our apartment was about four blocks from the Seine and after we rested, we took off to look around. It was amazing to see all the beautiful buildings and that famous river we’ve heard so much about!
I like this picture because of the couple stealing some moments together on the banks of the river Seine. It is one of the first pictures I took on our trip.
Paris France
Before we left, I studied the Rick Steves’ book on Paris and came up with a list of places we might want to visit. Everyone was willing to follow my suggestions! We went to the Montmatre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Père LaChaise Cemetery, the Louvre, Musee d’ Orsay, and Versailles. We really packed in a lot of sights in 7 days!
Back then, I was taking pictures on one of those small Canon SD600 cameras. I don’t know what type of phone I had back then but it must not have been very good if I didn’t use it for pictures. I took 305 pictures, they are still in my iCloud photos and I still enjoy looking at them and remembering our trip which means another one from this trip might show up sometime!
Today I’m sharing a photo from February 2006. The same sister and her family that we went to Mexico with, we also took a few ski vacations together over the years!
We took a 2 or 3 February vacation trips to Mont Sutton located in Sutton Quebec. It was approximately 6 hours away from our home in Connecticut. We would meet up with my sister and 2 or 3 other families from Rhode Island at The Junction Restaurant in Troy Vermont for lunch. From there, we would cross over the border into Canada. We would stay every trip at an auberge right next to the slopes and rented the entire first floor wing of 8 or so rooms to make sure we had a game room for the kids and so we wouldn’t disturb any other guests! The hotel served us breakfast and dinner and we all brought coolers of food, a microwave, and whatever else we needed to come back to the rooms and have lunch if we wanted. All we had to do was ski.
The Sutton bird
This picture was from our 3rd trip to Canada. It was crazy to see this up in the tree but even funnier was what I thought I saw on the slope. My husband and I were on the chairlift, and I saw a small group of people on the side of the trail. I looked closely and then said to him “why is there a canoe on the trail?” He thought I was insane! What I was looking at was a snowboarder sitting on the ground with his board up on its side edge. From the direction I was looking, it looked like a person in a canoe!! 😂😂 I have a very vivid imagination!
Every time I see this picture in my favorites album I think about all those fun trips we took, and the canoe on the ski slope.
While in California to visit friends and family, my husband and I spent two nights in Morro Bay with a day a Hearst Castle.
Our son told us about a hotel he and his wife stayed at – The Landing at Morro Bay – so we stayed there. It was awesome! It was a motor inn of the 60s and we had a second floor room with a view, cathedral ceiling, and king size bed. There was also plenty of room to put clothes away, as well as a microwave and mini-fridge.
The view from our room
Once we got there and unpacked, we headed into the cute little town where there was a street fair going on. Not knowing what we were going to see elsewhere, we were hesitant to spend money but I did but a necklace of abalone shell and a pearl. Then we headed out to the wharf for food and shopping. We were starved so we found someplace right away – Blue Sky Bistro on the Bay – which of course had a view of the Rock!
You cannot get away from the Rock
We found a great place for breakfast both days – Carla’s Country Kitchen. While we were there, I noticed a framed basketball jersey with the #1 and Wixom on the back. I thought it was someone from Morro Bay who made it big in the WNBA or NBA. Nope, it’s Carla Wixom, the owner of Carla’s Country Kitchen. She was elected mayor of Morro Bay in November of 2022!
We spent Sunday at Hearst Castle (post for another day) which was incredible. After we were done there, we headed back to the wharf and the Blue Sky Bistro for appetizers and then a restaurant that “sounded good” but we both wished we’d stayed and had dinner at the bistro.
Another day and the rock is still rockin’ 😂
Before we headed out on Monday morning for our 4-1/2 hour ride to Laguna Woods, we drove over to the park to walk around and get a closer view of the rock. Here’s what we found out – “Morro” is Spanish for domed rock, or turban. Explorer Juan Carrillo gave it its name in 1542. Of course, prior to his arrival, the area was the home of California Indians for thousands of years. But what is it? The rock is one of a chain of volcanic plugs. 26 MILLION years ago, there was a volcano there and the rock was a plug. In the millions of years past, the volcano eroded away and left the harder rock of the plug. There is a chain of 4-5 of them from Morro Bay down to San Luis Obispo.
It has a break wall on one side of its and then across the back on the other side. I don’t know how else to describe it!
Clock wise: Side break wall, the rock, cairns on way to back break wall, back break wall, ancient cactus(!). We were confused by the hideous power plant (looking back at Morro Bay from the rock). Selfie at the rock, route for the rest of the day.
It was hard to leave the rock once we got out there, watching the waves hit the wall and seeing boats come in and out. There were a few otters in the water, playing around in the bay that we watched for a little while. Definitely peaceful! But it was time to check out and head on down to Laguna Woods! Maybe we’ll get back there in one of the years to come.
Perusing through a box of pictures, I found the journal and pictures from a trip to California at the end of July 2007. Our son was going into his senior year of high school and we needed to get the trip in before football practice started!
I’m so glad I kept a journal because there was a lot I’d forgotten and it really brought it back to me. Especially our day at the Moaning Caverns in Murphy, California! They are located about an hour from Twain Harte where Mark’s dad lived. When we would travel to visit him, I always made sure I found a couple of fun adventures so Cody wouldn’t be bored. The website looked very interested and he and I decided we were going to rappel down into the 165 drop. For perspective, the Statue of Liberty is 151 feet. The following is from my journal:
“Oh my GOD. 1st we watch a video with rules like NEVER let go of the rope, NEVER put your hand on the J-bar – real fear inducing. Then the person goes over them again. There were 5 of us. 2 girls went 1st then Cody then me then another lady. We have a seat harness & a chest harness. The chest harness has 2 carabiners & they attach the J-bar to it after weaving your rope through the bars.
Then you duck under a rail and grab onto the rope and feed the rope up toward the J-bar that makes you go down. So I’m hanging onto the rope with my feet on the wall and moving myself down. You can see a ledge so you go down to it and then there is a small narrow hole. You put your back to it and move yourself down. I’m going through this little hole sweating and questioning my decision. There’s another small flat spot and beyond that you see the walls far away and a lot of air space.
8/1/2007 Moaning Cavern Rappelling
I go through that last hole and go over the side. Bang around a little desperately, want walls to put my feet on but there is nothing except me, a rope, and a seat harness. It is freaking scarier than para-sailing last year (story for another day). My heart is pounding. I’m shaking like a leaf. Rocky (my husband’s nickname) knew I was freaked (they were at the bottom watching) because I was silent – no shrieks, no shouts – just silence. I was doing two handed pushing on the rope & even separated the bars a few times so I could go faster and get it over with! It’s hard to even look down because you’re at an odd position. Everyone on the walking tour is watching and when you get to the floor, you go just below (deeper into the hole!) and the guide pulls you in. I was shaking so much! I had to sit down. Cody said it was the “scaredest he’d every been“. After it’s over you have to walk up the 265 stairs to the top.”
I like to say “I’ll try anything once and if I don’t like it, I won’t do it again.” That DEFINITELY applies to rappelling! While looking up the Moaning Caverns there is no mention of a rappelling adventure on their site. Wise decision Moaning Caverns!
We were in Fort Collins, Colorado in early September for a family wedding. Because it was on Sunday evening, we decided to stay an extra day and fly home on Tuesday.
At one of the events for the wedding, someone mentioned they drove up to Laramie Wyoming to visit the Wyoming Territorial Prison! It was an hour away and all we had was time.
Easy shot up the highway!
Once we said goodbye to everyone at the air bnb we shared with family, we headed out. When we got to Laramie we looked online for a restaurant for breakfast.
The remains of Sausage & Biscuits and our pretty inexpensive bill
Accomplice Beer Company in downtown Laramie is a bar / restaurant / brewery. No beers for us but we cozied up to the bar and had a delicious breakfast.
The Wyoming Territorial Prison was surprisingly close to town. In its prime it was probably a long way from town!
The welcome center to the prison
They have a welcome center to buy tickets and of course a variety of gifts to purchase! We knew we’d be back after our self-guided tour.
The first building was the wardens house and it was decorated for the era it was used.
Love the way pictures were hung!The warden’s residence
Around the grounds were carriages that were used during the time of the prison
I’m sure some prisoners reminisced about robbing one of these! And I’m sure they didn’t like seeing this around!This must have been a very uncomfortable ride!
Inside the prison, we walked through the two floors and throughout there was information about the rooms and the prisoners who were held there. The most famous prisoner was Butch Cassidy. His story is a little different than the movie!
In a cellWash roomGeorge Reeb, prisonerInformation on prisonersSharing a cell
After going through the prison, we walked through the prison yard and over to a building their used to make brooms for sale. We had a lot of these brooms in our home growing up and of course, we had to buy one to bring home! We had to get creative to get in in the suitcase but it survived!
Inside the prison yardOne of the watch towersThe broom building
On our way home we were just amazed at the wide open land and the clouds! The clouds were so huge and they looked close enough to touch. I couldn’t stop taking pictures of them!
Big, beautiful, fluffy clouds!
We didn’t really notice on the way up to Laramie, but on the way back we were also amazed by the changing landscape between Wyoming and Colorado. It’s fun to watch it unfold through the miles.
We were excited to add Wyoming to our list of states visited but we’d like to explore more! Someday…!
My husband and I spent a week in Lake George in August. We brought our boat and stayed in a 1950s type resort about a mile or 2 north of downtown Lake George.
Our second hike of the week was at the Cook Mountain Preserve out of Ticonderoga.
We (I) always make a point to find someplace to hike because I really love to hike. But we (I) always manage to get lost! This trip was no exception because we got sort of lost finding the trailhead! First we drove to the “destination” but it was far past the trailhead. So we backtracked and you couldn’t really see the trailhead from that direction so we turned around again! We found it on the third try.
I made sure we signed the book and the time we started out just in case we disappeared on the trail! The trailhead had a map posted as well as maps to take with you (done, still managed to get lost).
The trail started out fairly flat but once it started on the Ridges Trail it was fairly steep – 680 feet over a 1/2 mile – then more gradually to the views. We had our hiking poles and I’m glad we did! The trails were clear so there wasn’t much climbing over and under.
Trail signsOn the trailMushrooms along the wayTwo view optionsview of Lake GeorgeHeading to Lake George view
We got to the Lake George view and were a little disappointed! I thought we’d have more of a view and I had to really walk around to find a good view. We sat for a bit and had a snack and then moved on to the Vermont view.
farmland down belowLooking into VermontFrom a different viewWhere I was standing and what’s in the distanceFarther in the distanceEven Farther!Mount Independence in the distance
I spotted the flag on top of the mountain and remembered a trip to Fort Ticonderoga we took on the motorcycle. We never went to Mount Independence but I know we saw it from the Fort. This was definitely the better view.
Purple mushroomsOdd looking mushrooms Puffy and weird texture mushroom No hike is complete without a selfieHe just keeps walking as I take pictures!More mushrooms!The best meal we had to that point all week!
We were pretty tired by the time we were done and stopped at this general store for lunch which was delicious! The owners were really nice too!
A conversation with a taxi driver in Lake George NY has prompted me to sit down at my piano and start playing again. Sounds strange right? Here’s how it happened….
We needed a ride from Bolton Landing back to our resort cabin on Friday after we dropped our truck and trailer at the marina. We would spend the day on the lake and then take the boat out of the water to head home on Saturday. We were going to wait for the trolley but given the “well, yeah the schedule says 9am, but you never know”, we got from the gatekeeper at the Sagamore Hotel, we decided to pay the $45 one way. Not the end of the world. It is about a 20 mile ride after all. Next time we’ll definitely find a place to stay that either has a launch or is very close to a marina!
So anyway, we got into the cab, me in the front because my husband wouldn’t be able to hear him anyway (left ear has less hearing than the right!). We started talking, “where you from, trolleys, subways, NYC, travel, California, East Bay and finally, Tower of Power! Evidently he lived in California and saw then in their heyday as did my husband.
We started talking music and instruments and he is a guitar player. He and his friend enjoy playing along to music and recording themselves. He asked if we played any instruments and I said I played the piano but after 5 years of lessons I stopped and I haven’t really found myself playing very much.
He talked about how much he enjoyed playing and how the time went by when he did and how relaxing it was. I realized he was absolutely right! When I sat at the piano, working out a song, or even a section, everything else fell away. I didn’t think of anything going on around me.
When we reached our resort, I thanked him for the conversation and told him he inspired me to start playing the piano again. When I took it up in 2017, it was never to become perfect at it, but to enjoy learning and hearing what I could accomplish. I needed to be reminded and I have a Lake George cab driver to thank for that.
My husband and I like to travel and we like to think about and plan our trips.
We were busy last year and early this year traveling for fun and family illness and we were both a little burnt out on air travel! We’ll be heading into the next state for a week next month at a lakeside cabin resort and towing our fishing boat. Simple plans!
But! We do have big travel plans to make for a trip to Morocco next late April/early May! My cousin and her husband own a Riad in Fez that I want to visit so much. She is the daughter of my first cousin and we hosted a couple of family get together when they traveled to the US. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen them but I enjoy following their daughter on Instagram.
Have you been there? If you have some highlights be sure and let me know in the comments!
I’ve spend most of my adult life working towards being secure. We have a beautiful home that is now set up for aging in place with an addition and full bath with laundry on the first floor. We’ve built up our remodeling business to be successful with a second generation in place. I think (oh, be more positive Nancy!), I KNOW I am secure so I guess that leaves adventure!
I enjoy adventure! Actually I always have enjoyed adventure. My travel or event motto has been “I’ll try anything once. If I don’t like it, I don’t have to do it again”. Win tickets to see a band play briefly at 7am in New York on the morning news show? Heck yeah! Tickets to a NY Giants football game the Sunday after thanksgiving and we’re in a suite and my husband won’t go with our son? Of Course I’ll do it! Drive in the pouring rain to get there? You betcha!
We’ve been fortunate to have taken some pretty fun motorcycle vacations and there has been a lot of adventure in them! They started as motorcycle trips and then the other female in the group of 6 and I got involved with the planning. They became vacations that we used motorcycles as transportation.
2013 our first motorcycle vacation to the Blue Ridge Parkway. This was a side trip to Chimney Rock. Begrudgingly made by the “travel director”. This is when I knew he would no longer be in charge.
I’ve been a willing participant to help with the driving when my niece moved from Connecticut to Pensacola Florida and from Connecticut to Las Vegas with sightseeing trips thrown in.
2011 Pensacola Florida to drop off my niece’s belongings, spend the night and then drove on to New Orleans for a few days. She drove back to Florida and my sister and I flew home.
My husband was never as willing to “give it a try” but I think over the years because of our motorcycle trips, he’s been more adventurous so I now I have a read and willing partner. He even planned our summer vacation at a cabin resort at Lake George with our boat!
October 2022, on our Viking Cruise from Paris to Normandy and back with my sister and her husband.
My husband and I took a Viking cruise with my sister and her husband in October of 2022. We started in Paris, cruised the Seine to Normandy and returned. It was really magical! We both agreed our favorite day was the round trip by bicycle to Monet’s garden.
Ready for Day 3 aboard the Viking Skaga
We started the day in La Roche-Guyon and visited the town for 2 hours before taking off to Vernon and Monet’s Garden. It was delightful and I’ll share that excursion at another time!
We met our guide on the pier and everyone taking the bike ride was fitted for their appropriate bike and helmet. I applauded all the people that rode but some would have been better suited for the bus trip there. Not being mean, just truthful. We had a bike crash before we even got over the river. On the green in front of the pier there were monuments in recognition of the Allied troops liberating Vernon.
Monuments on Vernon Green at Pier
The ride was about 3-1/2 miles both ways! Luckily there are bike paths that we rode on. We did have to cross some streets and that was a little hairy! We stayed up close to the guide so we could ride freely and not fear crashing into the back of someone.
Once there, we stopped at the Elise Saints-Radegonde de Giverny (church) and we visited the burial site of Claude Monet and his family.
Giverny churchSweet cherub hanging from the beamMonument for Claude Monet
Then it was on to the grounds of Monet’s home. What a breathtaking sight! I had no idea what to expect and we couldn’t have asked for better weather. The sun was shining and the flowers were all in bloom. The colors were so vivid, I don’t think it was possible to take a bad picture. I selected some of my favorites to share.
A sample of the flowers and boats in the waterI was just lost in the scenery. I wasn’t worried about losing my people, we were all doing the same thing!
We made our way to the house and the garden around it.
A view from the houseI took this from inside the house. When I looked at it, I thought I took a picture of a painting!
We had a half hour left before we needed to meet our group, so my husband and I sat and had a latte and a tart as a snack before our bike ride back! We took a different route back and we thankfully didn’t have to cross any streets.
On our rideThe view from our rideA little park we all gathered at before heading to the boatSomething out of a fairy tale!
We gathered at a park and our guide and her helper had cider and the absolutely most delicious macrons I’d ever tasted in my life. It was so difficult not to eat them all right there! After our treat, we rode back to the boat and said our goodbyes.
From there it was dinner and a walk around the top deck to take in the full moon and think about the bucket list day we enjoyed.
Thoughts From The Passenger Seat 