Grace Bay, Turks and Caicos, Nov 2023

 Grace Bay, Turks and Caicos, November 5-9th 2023

Hubby and I enjoyed a short getaway to Turks and Caicos. It is a British territory, close to the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic. The Turks Islands consist of 8 major islands and many smaller islands inhabited. The US dollar is used and they drive on the left side of the road like the UK. We stayed at a beach resort located in the Grace Bay area of the island of Providenciales.  

Hubby loves to snorkel and there is some great snorkeling right off the beach at Grace Bay. 

Nothing soothes the soul like a day by the ocean.

Life is short, take the beach trip. 

We had beautiful weather and saw some great sunrises and sunsets. 

Every day we saw at least two Green Herons hanging around the pool area, I think they had feast on the tiny lizards we saw running around. 

I liked watching the parasailing from my beach chair.  

An ocean breeze puts a mind at ease.

Another sunset at the beach.  

"May every sunrise hold more promise and every sunset hold more peace."

Thanks for visiting! Take care, have a great day!  

Museum of Shenandoah Valley, Winchester Virginia

Museum of Shenandoah Valley, Winchester Virginia

On Aug 30th-31st we went on an overnight getaway to Winchester Virginia. Our main reason was to see the Sean Kenney's Nature Connects exhibit happening at the Museum of Shenandoah Valley. Nature Connects is an exhibit of Lego sculptures. The life size and even larger critters made from Legos were amazing to see. 

1. The museum was a little walk away from the gardens. 

The artist Sean Kenney, created the Lego sculptures.

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird made of Legos was beautiful and well done. 

The Monarch butterfly Lego sculpture was a beauty too. 

The Bamboo forest and Asian Garden with tea house and water features was pretty. 

The Glen Burnie House gardens had a beautiful rose garden, perennial garden and a vegetable garden.

There is a sculpture stroll with a sundial, various sculptures and statues. 

The Glen Burnie House

This was a fun and different outing from our usual nature and birdwatching outings. The next morning after checking out of our Winchester Hotel we headed to the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah Nat'l Park and continued our drive home.

Kilkenny & Glendalough, Ireland 2023

Kilkenny & Glendalough, Ireland 2023

May 16th, our last morning was spent in Kilkenny before the drive back to Dublin. We didn't head right back to Dublin, we stopped in Glendalough for a few hours for some sightseeing. 

Before our tour started off again, we had time to walk around Kilkenny in the morning. A walk along the river and around the Kilkenny Castle grounds and park. 

A view of the river, next to the Kilkenny Castle wall. 

We didn't have time for the Kilkenny Castle tour, but we did walk around outside. 

By 11 am we were back on the road heading to Glendalough located in the County Wicklow.  The Wicklow National Park and Glendalough known as the Valley of Two Lakes.  Also accessible is the Monastic City. At the Monastic City we saw the Gateway and St Kevin's church, the cathedral ruins and the beautiful round tower. 

The early Christian Monastic settlement was founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century and from this developed the 'Monastic City'.

The City consists of the monastic remains, the most impressive is the Round Tower.

The Gateway to the Monastic City

I like this heart shaped carving around the bench. 

There are various hiking trails in the park, the green trail takes you to the lakes.

Upper Lake, one of the two lakes in Glendalough.

" We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone." unknown

I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!  

KiIkenny, Ireland 2023

 Ireland May 15, 2023

On this day we were heading to Kilkenny Ireland with stops on the way at the Cahir Castle, the Rock of Cashel and the last stop our lodging in Kilkenny. 

1. Cahir Castle, located in the Tipperary County of Ireland. It is in the Cahir town center and sits on a rocky island in the River Suir. The castle dates back to the 13th century. When Lord Cahir died the castle became the property of the Irish state and named a national monument. A gaggle of Domestic Geese have become famous in the town of Cahir, on and around the Castle grounds. 

Domestic Geese at the River Suir and Castle walls.

A larger view of the Cahir Castle and the River Suir.

The castle grounds include a couple of cannons.  A cannon ball can even be seen stuck in one of the castle walls, apparently from a siege back in 1599 by the Earl of Essex.

Rock of Cashel located in Cashel, Tipperary County Ireland. It is a complex of buildings dated from 12th and 13 centuries. 

The Cathedral has a central tower and the rest is the massive residential castle. It was built between 1235 and 1270. 

The round barrel tower is part of the Cormac's Chapel, the oldest section said to be built between  1127 and 1134

Hore Abbey is seen from the Rock of Cashel complex. The former Benedictine Abbey was given to the Cistercians in 1270. Now known as the ruins of a Cistercian Monastery. 

After our tour of the Rock of Cashel we headed to the town of Kilkenny for our lodging for the last night of our guided Ireland tour. 

" We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone." unknown

Thanks for visiting and for the comments.  Take care, enjoy your day!

Killarney, Ireland 2023

 Killarney, Ireland 2023

May 13th-14th, we had two nights in Killarney. So we are back on the road leaving Dingle heading to Killarney.  The tour is on the road to the Ring of Kerry. We had a photo stop at  Inch Beach located in Kerry, it  is a sand spit jutting out into the sea between Dingle Harbour and Castlemaine Harbour. 

Another stop was for lunch, we stopped in Portmagee, hubby and I had a nice lunch in the Skellig Seafront Cafe. We walked around the coastal town being followed by a cute kitty, it is a nice village with pretty views. You can catch a boat tour here to the Skellig Islands which is a UNESCO Heritage site. 

A view of the marina area of Portmagee.

Here is a hazy view of the Skellig Islands. 

Our driver/guide made an extra stop at the Kerry Cliffs, it is similar to the Cliffs of Moher with gorgeous scenic views.  It was hard deciding which way to walk on the cliffs, to the right or left.  I went left and hubby went to the right.  

A view from the Kerry Cliffs, you can see the Skellig Islands in the distance. 

The Killarney National Park  was the last stop for the day before heading to our lodging for the next two nights. 

Ladies View the scenic overlooking Killarney's three lakes.

The Torc Waterfall is 20 meters high, located in the Killarney National Park and located only 7km from the town of Killarney. 

On the 14th, we had a day of rest. My next post will be on May15th when our tour picks up and heads to Kilkenny.  

I hope you enjoyed this post on our Ireland trip, we have seen so much just in one day, more on Ireland to come soon. 

" We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone." unknown

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!