Happy 31 baby!!

 Next week, Larry and I celebrate 31 years of marriage!! In this day and age, that's kind of a shocker.  

We had a whirlwind romance,  our first date was on my 18th birthday.  We went to Reunion Tower in Dallas and had a big fancy dinner and I was impressed!  We were engaged 3 months later and married 3 months after that.  Larry asked me to marry him on the top of a mountain in Colorado!!  

Larry took me to Lake Louise, Canada for our honeymoon!  Growing up in Dallas, I had never really seen snow before.  Well, in Canada in November, there is a LOT of snow!  We even went skiing!  We stayed at the fancy Chateau Lake Louise, right on the frozen lake.  It was an amazing adventure!  That started my love for travel!!  I was like, there is a giant world out there and I want to see it!

A lot has changed in the last 31 years!  3 grown kids, new son and daughter in law, 4 grandkids!  We moved maybe 14-15 times.  We've gotten to travel everywhere!  Come see our push pin map sometime!

But the thing that's changed the most is my love and devotion to Larry.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into (in general with marriage, but also being married to LARRY KILGORE!😜)

It's been a fun ride and I can't wait to see all the new adventures we take.  It's just the best with you, Larry!!

Happy 31 years!!!  💕🤟  Here's to many many more!

Amsterdam!

I absolutely love traveling.  I love the planning, the going, the seeing.  Everything.

We just got back from a quick trip to Amsterdam and it was fabulous!

We flew from Dallas to London and then onto Amsterdam.  We landed in Amsterdam around 2 in the in afternoon.  I had printed directions on how to get from the airport to the hotel.  But somehow we got on the wrong train or something and ended up going the long way to the hotel.  There's trains, buses, metros and trams and I only researched metros, because that's what I'm used to riding in Europe.

Anyway, we were both really tired and Larry had suggested we stash our luggage in a locker at the train station because we had tickets to see the Anne Frank museum at 5:30.  These tickets I had to buy in advance because they sell out days in advance.  I really wanted to get to the hotel and change clothes, brush my teeth and refresh so I insisted we get to the hotel first.  Well, we ended up on the longest metro ride with about 17 stops! and our hotel was at the end!  ugh...  Well, we got there, freshened up and had a moment to collect ourselves. Then we got better directions to the Anne Frank house.  A bus!

So off we went.  We got there in time for our reservation. I showed them my printout.  They said we only had bought one ticket.  What!!  I thought I bought two!  Oh no!!  Well, I kinda lost it from sheer exhaustion.  But Larry was ok walking around and waiting for me to go.

It was so interesting to see the actual place that the Frank family and several others hid for almost 2 years.  The actual place! (not allowed any pictures inside- so this is all I got)

The next day, we had reservations to see the Corrie Ten Boom house in Harlaam.  It's about a 15 min train ride from Amsterdam.  Trains are easy breezy there!  Nice ride, beautiful countryside. Harlaam is a quaint little town.  

The house where Corrie Ten Boom's family hid the Jews during WW2 was so interesting!  We got to crawl inside the place where the hiding place was!  We heard all the stories of their bravery.  So interesting to see the perspective of this one from Anne Frank's house.  Both were hiding places, one was a more permanent place, one transitionary.  Corrie Ten Boom's house was bathed in prayer and scripture and Jesus.  No mention of any of that at Anne Frank's house.

The next day, we hit the ground running in Amsterdam.  We ate good food, took a canal cruise, enjoyed lots of coffee and tea.  We went to the Dutch Resistance museum and learned how the Dutch resisted the Nazis.  Some people resisted, some collaborated, some adapted. Really interesting interactive museum with lots of displays and things to read and listen to. 

The last day, we made our way by train to the town of Zaanse Schans (every town had at least 2 A's and a couple of J's, K's or Z's).  It was windy and rainy there but so cool to see the Windmills!  

As we were walking down the street, we noticed a church just starting their service so we went in!  It was such a unique experience!  An older lady came over and translated for us.  They were very welcoming!  The service had no set "program".  There were about 50 people and we all sat quietly.  When someone wanted to sing a song, they announced the page number and everyone sang!  No instruments or big production.  When someone wanted to pray, we all stood and prayed.  A Scripture come to someone's mind, they read it.  Communion was passed around.  We loved worshipping with other believers!  As we left, the lady that translated for us says "Until we meet again!"  Yes!  We will see her again!

Loved our time there!  Sad for vacations to end.  Now to catch up on my sleep!! Ha!!

Croatia & Slovenia 2019

We just got home from an amazing adventure!  Croatia & Slovenia!  Here is our route:
We started in the south of Croatia in Dubrovnik.  That's where a lot of Game of Thrones was filmed. And we ended in the Capital of Croatia, Zagreb!

First day all travel...  Flew from Dallas to Frankfurt, to Munich to Dubrovnik.  Dubrovnik was abolutely stunning!  The islands, the coast line, the old town!  Just wow! Our hotel was really close to the beach, so after our long walking tour of the town, we came back and hung out on the beach for the afternoon.  The water was crystal clear.  Beach was unexpected--pebbles!  

Next we headed up the coast to the town of Split.  I enjoyed it, but it was a bigger city and we didn't spend a lot of time there.  It was so hot there too!  

Driving up the coast, we stopped in an island town, Trogir.  Really cute place, walked and had coffee and enjoyed just watching the sea. 

Next up was the one place I really wanted to see!  Plitvice Lakes!  This place did not disappoint!  Sixteen Lakes connected by waterfalls!  With a cool boardwalk that you walk around and see everything.  So many people though!   But the beauty was just phenomenal!  We stayed the night at a hotel in the park.  It was an old hotel so no AC! ugh!  All our hotels were gorgeous.  This was the only one I wasn't too fond of. 

Next day, we made a quick stop in the town of Opatija.  Just enough to stretch our legs and have lunch.  We lunched by the sea and the waves were just ripping!  

Onward to Slovenia!  We stayed the night in the the amazing town of Bled!  Our hotel was right on the lake!  This was an unexpected treasure!  Such a fairy tale!  Beautiful lake with a castle on one side and a little island in the middle with a church on it.  We hiked, and went to the castle.  Got to hoop on top to the castle! Then we went down the summer toboggan!  Long lines but really fun!  This was definitely one of the highlights! 

Hated to leave this place, put then we went to the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana. Quaint little town on the rivers.  Walked a lot and had some great lunch there too-Steak!!  So good!

Last stop was the capital of Croatia-Zagreb.  We enjoyed the cultural dance and dinner that we had here!  Lots of good food and games! A full moon that night too! Walked a lot in Zagreb as well.  

My favorites:  

First of all, the tour.  We did Gate1 Tours (for the 3rd time) and we just love them.  They take care of you.  You have free time, lots of optional tours, great accommodations, the tour guide is awesome, local guides at the towns.  I just can't say enough good about them.

Another favorite, Bled, Slovenia!  Loved loved loved that town. Oh, I forgot to mention the caves!  We stopped at some caves in Slovenia and they were bigger than anything I've ever seen in the states!  Way bigger than Carlsbad!!

The coffee.  I just love European coffee.  Maybe it's the atmosphere, maybe it's the cafes, maybe it's the little cups and saucers, i don't know but I really really love the coffee in Europe.

Such a wonderful trip.  Enjoyed every minute of it.  Can't wait for the next trip!!

What's your favorite memory from a vacation??

Tips for Travelling

I absolutely love to travel!  I've had the privilege to go to lots of places but my favorite is Europe!

I've been to Ireland, England, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,  and Moscow!   And that's just in Europe!  I've gotten to go visit around 30 countries so far. According to the Visited App, I've seen 13% of the world!

I have a friend that is planning a six week tour of Europe this summer and I just get so excited thinking about her trip!

I know that these kind of trips are so eye opening.  They expand your horizons.  They broaden your thinking.  You learn so much history.  You see some spectacular things.  And your love of travel will deepen.  The more you see, the more you will want to see!

So, what's my biggest tips on travelling overseas?

Before you go & packing:

Packing cubes -  These are absolutely essential for packing!  They keep everything nice and organized and you can fit so many more things in your bag.  As you go through the trip, you can keep your dirty clothes separated too.  Love using these!

Pack light - Europe has lots of cobble stone roads and a lot of stairs! You don't want to be wheeling around a big suitcase with those obstacles!  It's much easier to take a backpack. Or at least a small carry on suitcase and a backpack. Pre trip- I usually get everything I think I want to take and dump it in a pile about a week before I go.  Then a few days later, I go through it all again and take out about of third of it.  If you "might" need it then don't take it.  You more than likely won't wear it.  Don't take anything that you won't wear at least twice. Plan on wearing things multiple times. Take more tops than bottoms. Definitely take 2 pairs good walking shoes because there will be tons of walking.

While you are there:

Journal - One of my favorite things after a trip is looking back at my journals.  It's hard to remember all the things I did so a journal is the way to go!  While I'm travelling, I will take my journal and sit at a cafe, drink some lovely coffee and write down the things we did that day.  It's a great way to memorialize the trip and also rest my tired feet and people watch!

Money belt- So I carry a day pack for walking around during the day.  Some sort of cross body bag that I can throw in a water bottle, wallet, my journal, maybe a few snacks.  I also will wear a money belt under my clothes.  This only has emergency credit card and extra cash in it.  If for some reason my bag gets stolen (and thankfully I've never had that happen) I can have some extra cash and a card. On this same note, keep a photocopy of your passport and cards in you luggage and with your family at home. That way if anything happens, you will have the information to cancel cards or go to the consulate for passport. You do not need to carry your passport around during the day- just keep everything safely locked up at the hotel.

Money out of atms - I've found the best way to get money exchanged is to just get it out of the ATMs there.  It's a pretty good exchange rate and it's very convenient.  Just make sure and tell your bank before you go that you'll be travelling and the dates.  There is sometimes a foreign transaction fee but it's no more than a couple dollars usually. ATMs are everywhere there- mostly on the streets and most places take cash over cards.

Rick Steve's books - I can't tell you enough how helpful these books are!  He has all kinds of tips on seeing things on the cheap, where to stay, how to get tickets for attractions, very helpful maps.  He has some great self- walking tours, must see things in each city, etc.  Just find the book for the place you are going and read it / highlight it as you are travelling there for your must sees!  His website is also super helpful!

Ride metros - Every major city will have a metro.  Get to know them!  They are usually a great way to get from place to place.  You will see the locals and experience the culture!

City tourist cards - In a lot of the places, you can buy a City Pass card.  These cards will offer several of the big tourist attractions at one discounted price.  Most include a hop on/off bus too!

Take lots of pictures - It goes without saying, but take lots of pictures!  Don't forget to get yourself in them too!  I have several framed photos on my walls at home, great memories!

Ditch the souvenirs - The first time I went overseas, I brought everyone back a souvenir, well it turns out people don't really want them.  A better option is to buy postcards wherever you are.  You can mail them home of just put them in your bag (plus- they don't take up any room!)

Tours vs On your own

I've done it both ways, tours and on my own.  There are pros and cons to both.

Pros of a tour:
You don't have to plan where you are staying and what you are seeing.  There is free time too.  Most of the dinners and breakfasts are included.  Sometimes tours can be less expensive because it's a package deal. Here's where we've done most of our tours.  We did this one to Ireland.

Pros of on your own:
You can plan your trip how you want.  You are flexible if things change. You can stop as long as you want at places.

Also-- I've only in the last few years started bringing my hula hoop!  It's totally do-able and I love hooping at cool landmarks and pretty places!  I've got a hoop that you can Twist & Go and also a snap together one!  Check them out! Made by the lovely Geri!


So, where will you be going on your next adventure??

The 2017 Eclipse

We headed up to Nebraska on Saturday to see the Great American Eclipse of 2017.  I had never seen a total eclipse.  I've seen some partial ones.  I knew it would be cool but I really had no idea.

I expected there to be lots of traffic and lots of people.  There were..but not near the amount I thought there would be.  Maybe because it was boondocks Nebraska?  I don't know.  We even saw a school in session on Eclipse Day!  Why?  Best education ever is to see totality.

Anyway.  Eclipse day comes and we start watching the skies.  The morning looked good-not too many clouds.  So we played some Monopoly and waited for the countdown.

One hour until first contact- the clouds started rolling in.  No way were we going  to drive 10+ hours to miss this amazing event.  So we packed up all our camping stuff rather hurriedly and started chasing blue skies.  Thankfully, in Nebraska there are a lot of dirt roads and lots of places to pull over too.  So off we went.

We found a patch of blue sky and pulled over just in time to see first contact.  I had a cool app on my phone that we could check if we were in the totality range and then it announced when to look for certain events and what was coming next.  We set up our chairs and got out our snacks and watched as the moon started coming in front of the sun.  Such a weird sight to see the sun start to shrink.

Then the clouds started rolling in again.  So we threw everything in the truck and started chasing blue skies again.  As my phone announced "15 minutes until totality"  we prayed we would find blue skies before totality hit.  Up ahead the sky started to clear and we pulled over in the middle of a dirt road surrounded by corn fields and hay bales.

The anticipation for totality was mounting.  What were we about to see?

As it started to get darker and noticeably cooler,  I could tell something remarkable was about to happen.

Birds suddenly got quiet.

Shadows were extremely short for the middle of the day.

There was a hush that fell over everything.

Then totality.

Glasses came off and my eyes got to see the moon blocking the sun.

How to describe it is very difficult.  The only way I can think to describe it is that it felt like we stepped through a mirror into another dimension.  Darkness in the  middle of the day.  Looking at a huge hole in the sky with long streaks of corona shooting outward.  Frogs started croaking in the middle of the day.  Time seemed to slow down.  My mind could scarcely take in what I was experiencing.  2 minutes and 39 seconds.  And then it was gone.  Everything slowly started returning to normal.

What a remarkable thing to experience!  It was surreal.

 It was spiritual.  Will this be even a glimpse of what it will be like to enter Heaven?  Will the Lord in all His Majesty and Beauty have to be eclipsed so that I can look upon Him?

It was unlike anything I've ever seen before and I can not wait to see another one.

Adventure is out there

I love to vacation!  And travel!  And explore new things!  Even if we can't get away for a long period of time we take every advantage of our weekends!  If you think about it- I get 2 weeks vacation a year- that's 10 days PLUS there are 52 weekends in a year--that's 114 days!  So that is 124 days a year to explore and have adventures!  Not to mention the occasional 3 day weekend!  Bonus!!

So what kind of things can we do in just a weekend?  Well, lots!!  It doesn't really have to cost anything either.  If you are going on the cheap then pack a lunch and dinner, take advantage of a campground to spend the night or an Air bnb, and find out the free events that are happening near you that weekend.

Adventurous ideas:

• Go to a museum in your town
• Find the botanic gardens in your area
• Google bicycling near me and find a new bike path
• Your local library usually has a list of free events and concerts in your area.  Go! and take a hoop too!  It's a ton of fun!
• Walk to your local coffee shop.  You'll be surprised little things you notice about the neighborhood that you hadn't noticed while driving.
• Take a board game or backgammon or cards and go to a park and play in the sunshine!
• Find a little small town a few hours away and explore their town square
• Go geocaching!  You will find so many cool local things you didn't know existed by finding these!  They are EVERYWHERE!
• Google Adventures near me and see what pops up!
• Find out when the local festivals are in your area! Maybe there's a parade you could check out!
• Go to the library and pick up books that look interesting and just sit and read 

The point is have fun!  Do what you like to do!  The laundry will always be there, the chores will always be there!  (just get it done quick so you can go have fun!)  

Don't put off an adventure today!  Even little small things add up to a LOT of fun!