Southern California

Headed to Orange County, CA. September 26, 2009. We stayed at Worldmark Indio by Wyndham in Indio, California. . . about 15 to 20 minutes west of Palm Springs and a bit more laid back. It's a very beautiful area, dessert surrounded by mountains. The property itself is VERY nice.

And apparently late September is a great time of year to visit. It's just before the "season" begins and it can be very hot. Actually, it was very hot when we first arrived. September 27th was 112 -- but without the humidity we have at home -- it didn't seem THAT hot.

Picture shows the view from our balcony. The other picure is the resort and it's pool area.

Day Two. Due to the heat, we decided that we would head to higher elevations; by going up the Palm Springs Tramway. We took the 10:30 am up - leaving from the station at 2436' elevation and going up to 8400' elevation.

The tram car revolves as it makes the trek up -- a weird sensation but it allows for a 360 degree view. Unless of course, the folks to your left keep backing up to stay in their same location by the open window!

Some pictures of the tramway car and the tramway are below.

Don't Try This At Home!

A stark contrast to Lincoln Forest. But it was still scenery and quite different from Virginia.

It kept Glenn busy!

Unfortunately, whenever Glenn is in any new territory, he tends to drive like this. Lucky for us -- there weren't many other vehicles on the road.

New Mexico - Las Cruces to Carlsbad

We drove through Alamagordo and then headed east up into the mountains. Even at the beginning of the climb into the higher elevations we could see White Sands glistening below.

The S Trestle - we originally thought it was part of the log flume but then saw photos that showed rail in this area.

The first observatory we visited required driving up from 3600 elevation to 9200 elevation. The drive went through the Lincoln National Forest and the Sacramento Mountains.

A gorgeous, sunny day, light wind and awesome views!

A dirt road took us on a "shortcut" in the direction we wanted to head; which was out of the mountains and heading east towards Artesia.

We interrupt Ireland post to blog about New Mexico!

Since it has been at least a month since we returned from Ireland I decided that I would continue pictures and information about Ireland on wildbluetravel.net. By mid next week there will be a page devoted to Ireland with more pictures posted there.

I am in New Mexico for a short 4-night trip with husband, Glenn. With only 4 nights, 5 days it is hard to see it all -- but we decided on a short tour to south-eastern New Mexico. As we fly roundtrip Alburquerque, we will get to see a bit of the state as we drive.

To begin with -- as this is a "budget" trip -- we decided to go with an economy car. Not a good choice! We have decided that, at our age, we are beyond economy. I guess we are just used to power locks, power windows, cruise control, a trunk that opens with a latch in addition to a key, a grab bar above the doors, and self-cancelling turn signals to mention a few limitations.

The drive out of Alburquerque went smoothly -- we were out of town within 5 minutes and cruising down Interstate 25...and drove down to Las Cruces.

I've always heard about this town: Truth or Consequences. We were going to stop but were starting to feel the effect of getting up at 3:30 to catch the 6:00 am flight to NM.

Shortly before we got to Las Cruces we decided to get off Interstate 25 and take the local highway the last few miles. We went by acres of plantations of large trees, which we later discovered were pecan trees. New Mexico is the largest pecan producing state.

Early morning heading out of Las Cruces towards Alamagordo which would take us across the White Sands Missle Range and through a border patrol inspection station. I guess we didn't look suspicious as they asked if we were enjoying NM and waved us through!

Of course, we had to stop at White Sands National Monument; which we did for several hours. We were there early so hardly any other people. A sort of other world experience!

The picnic shelters really looked like something out of the future...especially against the sand.

We did have a lot of fun walking around on the dunes and then running down them -- I was barefoot -- sand was soft as powder although a "mite cold".

We headed through and over the mountains taking a slight detour to see not one, but two observatories. The detour entailed a few hours, a dirt road, and beautiful scenery. Needless to say, we didn't make it to Carlsbad Caverns today. Tomorrow I'll post pictures from our trip through the mountains. James, you remember our infamous Schnebly road detour?

Irish Jaunt - Day 5 - Visit to a working farm

We dropped into Rathbaun Farm and met a family as they carried out their everyday chores. The farmer, Finton, explained that their main export was lamb -- with most of the lamb going to France.

The farm converted to organic about five years ago and the transition was not easy. We witnessed the sheep dog retrieve some sheep. He was an old dog, about 14 years old but he still performed his job well.

Afternoon tea and scones was served to everyone and we all had the opportunity to visit the thatch house. As we were leaving, Finton brought his two mares to visit. As it was springtime, the mares were pregnant and there were baby lambs all over!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Irish Jaunt - Day 5 "The Cliffs of Moher"

I decided it might be easier to try to incorporate a "photobook" to help me complete this blog with pictures about a recent trip to Ireland. The photobook below should have many more beautiful photos in it -- but truth be told -- I think I was so busy looking at the scenery; I simple forgot to take more pictures.

So forgive the "sign" pictures. . .but we did have a lot of fun with Irish signage. More on that later.

Make a Smilebox photobook

Irish Jaunt Day 5 - Continued

This is a continuation posting of a trip to Ireland this past March.

On day 5 of our tour we crossed the Shannon estuary by ferry and entered County Clare.

A gas power plant on one side. . .

and a coal-fired power plant on the other side.

Plus pretty scenery!

Some of the roadside castles we passed along the way to the Cliffs of Moher

Next stop: the Cliffs of Moher.

Saint Patricks Day in Killarney

Note: This blog is being written after our return home.

Our tour driver/guide made sure we were in "off the ring" in time for the St. Patrick's Day parade. Killarney is the largest town in the area and the parade went on for about 2 hours. Once you've seen one parade you've seen them all. Well, sort of. The Irish have a quirky sense of humor as evidenced in some of the pictures. I didn't see their banner so I'm not sure what these kids were representing.

And this guy looked like a priest with a hockey (?) stick wearing a football helmet.

The float in this video was the "Meals on Wheels" float. Get it?




I think it was a taxidermy cow. At least he didn't mooooooove.

This float was dedicated to President Obama's first state visit to Ireland.


The parade is over; the crowds flooded into the restaurants, ice cream shops and the pubs.

Somehow, we were lucky enough to actually get a seat in this pub; happened to be where all the tour drivers were as well. This was taken hours after the parade -- when the bartender actually had a minute to take our picture.

Irish Jaunt - The Ring of Kerry

We headed out early to travel the road that winds around the beautiful Iveragh Peninsula, better known as The Ring of Kerry - the Grand Atlantic Cost Tour of County Kerry. It is known throughout the world for magnificent and inspiring scenery. Here mountains, valleys, lakes and sea all blend into a breathtaking landscape. We began in Killarney's lakeland as it is considered the gateway to The Ring of Kerry, but a tour can be started at any point.

We were told that this young man was late; as apparently he is normally on the road with his donkey and wares for the passing tourists.

We passed through and by, towns with names like Glenbeigh, Carhirciveen and Sneem, and made a mid-morning stop at Waterville. Charlie Chaplin favored this town when he wanted to escape. The pictures below don't do it justice. Waterville is surrounded by mountains, rivers, lakes, and sits directly on the seashore of Ballinskelligs Bay. It is renowned as an anglers' resort. Golfers also frequent its 18 hole championship course. In the midst of its superb scenery there are special attractions for the archaeologist, antiquarian, artist and botanist. There are general sporting facilities for adults and children. The area is rich in examples of megalithic stones, ancient forts, souterrains and early monastic dwellings. The people of the village and district are very friendly and it is a charming little town!

Everyday attractions on this tour of Ireland's Gulf Stream coast are narrow mountain passes, bubbling streams, bogland vistas, tranqil lakes and archaeological treasures.

To the left is an example of Ireland's stone ringforts. These forts are about 2,500 years old and can be seen around this area. This particular fort has an interesting feature for it's time; a system of interior stairways - ten in all - leading to various platforms used by the defenders.

The main roads are studded with scenic viewing points, parking spaces and picnic corners. Villages dot the coastline and are within short distances of each other. There are sea cruises to offshore islands like The Skelligs.