2 days for 1 and borrowed pictures

IRELAND
October 18 – November 1, 2008


October 18 was not counted as this was a travel day. The flight left O’Hare at 7:15 PM and arrived at 8 AM local time on the 19th.

Day 1 (October 19th) We arrived! Unfortunately the charge in the batteries did not. Not a single battery had any power left in it when we arrived. To make matters worse the car we got from the rental place had a broken cigarette lighter so no car charging for us. We didn’t think to check the power in the car because there were already all sorts of delays getting into the rental car that we were anxious to get on the road. They warned us that there would be a toll on the way out of Dublin. The only good thing about that is that you can pay it ahead of time at the airport. You can also pay the tolls on the internet later!
Finally on our way, we headed to Enniskerry. We had lunch there at a place called Poppies. My first authentic Irish breakfast. Yum! We drove around the town a bit and then headed to Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains. Driving through the Wicklow mountains was an amazing experience. Truly beautiful scenery, if only we had the camera (of course that would have put us well over 700 pictures I’m sure.)
Glendalough is a 6th century settlement started by St. Kevin (no wonder Kevin wanted to stop here! :-) ) Very striking ruins including a large tower and many tombstones. We walked through the ruins of the church as well. There’s even a building known as St. Kevin’s kitchen – they say it’s because of a structure that looks like a chimney.
For two excellent pictures of the ruins follow this link http://www.wicklowmountainsnationalpark.ie/MonasticCity.html
We made it most of the way to Kilkenny before the GPS battery died. Fortunately we were close enough that we found our way. We stayed at a lovely little Bed and Breakfast called Knockavon (on Dublin Rd.) We settled in early since it had been a long day for us (close to two actually!)

Ireland preview

Cliffs of Moher video should have been first but it's a 10 minute video so it's WAY to big for posting right now. More Ireland stuff to come...

Philadelphia, PA area

The Windsor Suites
1700 Ben Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103

• cheapest
• walking distance
• charge for parking
• breakfast
• fridge & microwave
  

Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel
17th & Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103


Crowne Plaza Hotel PHILADELPHIA-CENTER CITY
1800 MARKET ST., Philadelphia, PA 19103


City Pass and Philadelphia pass available through orbitz
http://www.philadelphiapass.com/
http://www.citypass.com/city/philadelphia.html?id=Eq6sA22B

Hershey - http://www.hersheypa.com/ *museum closing 9/2
Kitchen Kettle Village http://www.kitchenkettle.com/kitchenkettle/iehome07.php
Good N Plenty Restaurant http://www.goodnplenty.com/
Willow Valley Resort http://www.willowvalley.com/
Red Caboose Motel http://www.redcaboosemotel.com/
Strasburg Railroad http://www.strasburgrailroad.com/
Corn Maze and others http://www.amishnews.com/featurearticles/crazycorn.htm
Hershey's chocolate world http://www.hersheys.com/chocolateworld/
Shady Maple Smorgasbord http://www.shady-maple.com/home

Philadelphia http://www.gophila.com/
Lights of Liberty
Independence Hall http://www.nps.gov/inde/
Congress Hall
Liberty Bell
Christ Church (Ben Franklin's Grave)
Betsy Ross House
US Mint
Old City Hall
First Bank of US
Ben Franklin National Memorial
Franklin Institute Science Museum
City Hall
Big Bus Tour

Potential Trips 2008

Where should we go in 2008? Can we fly or drive?

1. Philadelphia, PA is a good possibility. Lots to see...
2. Amish Country in Indiana is also good. They have theater!
3. Missouri has some possibilities but would need to put more of an agenda together to decide where in the state
4. There's always the possibility of visiting family in San Francisco.
5. Return to Tennessee and actually have time to enjoy the visit.
6. Canada - need passports :-(
7. Wait until fall and look at areas further south (ie Georgia, Mississippi, Carolinas)

Las Vegas, Nevada

I know it's been forever since I said I would start this blog. But I admit it dropped to the bottom of the priority list for awhile. So in an effort to get the ball rolling I thought I'd try and give this a start. Pictures and details to come later...
So why specify Nevada, I mean EVERYONE knows where Vegas is. Well there's actually another Las Vegas in our beautiful country. It's in New Mexico, for the record. :-)
My husband and I went to Vegas last October, which turned out to be a great time to visit. Neither of us are gamblers and we had been to Vegas before so we were at a loss when our original reason for the trip fell through and we had non refundable tickets. We made an effort to try and find some off the strip activities to entertain ourselves. First off, accomodations. We stayed at the Grandview. It's a bit up the ways on Las Vegas Boulevard so it's not nearly as busy. Since we were there a few years ago, the new hotel/casino opened next door. While the Grandview has it's "issues" (specifically no free wireless in the rooms) it's not a bad place to stay. We had a place to heat and eat leftovers! And if we needed the internet they did have a business center with a few computers that could be used by guests.
The most memorable place we ate was Cafe Heidelberg (604 E. Sahara). It's a German cafe with food that made us both think our grandmas were alive and cooking! It's off the strip so it's quiet. I've seen some mentions of it lately in travel guides so that may change in the future. And not all that easy to find in it's strip mall type location. We went for lunch so we were seated right away. Dinner is usually busier (but the only have a handful of booths) but they take reservations.
The other wonderful dinner was Lotus of Siam. Very traditional Thai food. Also hidden and off the strip. (953 E. Sahara) http://www.saipinchutima.com/ We had reservations and were seated pretty quickly after walking in the door. The waiter was very helpful at suggesting food that would suit us. My husband has some food allergies and they were very accomodating of this.

Introduction

We only travel once a year, so I would hardly call us experts. But sometimes you find that really cool place you want everyone to know about. So here they are! (Or will be...)