Our bucket list trip, to Italy8

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2 fast days in Rome and Vatican City

Doorways of … Italy

Part 5…out west

I’m not sure if i ever said the real reason we went out WEST…. well it was to visit with our Grand Daughter. Colorado is  great distance form New York air travel is about 1,670 miles. a pretty good distance, so we tried to make the best of our time.

she’ll be three next month. so while she was in day care. we did some traveling around .

this is Breckenridge,Colorado. which sits at 9600 ft. and the summit of the ski resort is upwards of 13,ooo which is upwards of 2 miles above sea level., and yes i did feel like i was sea sick. it didnt matter how much water i drank. i felt so bad i didnt ever have a cocktail.

it was so pretty and so many things to do there.

its only been a ski resort since 1961. they have kept a lot of the charm,by keeping alot of the historic buildings. before all of the skiers took hold, of course it was a place for prospectors

many trails off the main roads, and places to just unwind.

and then when you think your feeling better .because of the altitude , you try a Little shopping  but soon realize you ned to find some shade and rest again 🙂 remember this was after all in July and the temps reached over 100 degrees:)

well, that about does it for me.  if you came along for my little journey, thank you:)

Out West….Part 4

Well our time in San Francisco was short-lived, as we intended , it was time to get to the train station.

We arrived a few hours early and were lucky enough to get on an earlier train.

We were surprised, we didn’t have to show our passports, or even our tickets, b4 we boarded. No proof of who we were at all.

So…  we all got comfy and then some one came to look at tickets, but never Asked for any other proof. Anyway…..

There were times the trains were so close I had to get away from the window, just one of my phobias :).

So the trip was really on.

some very interesting turns

a small town we went through.

yep… this close

it was a while b4 we actually got out of California.

One of our very first stops was a town my husbands’ cousin lives in

Davis California.

We were only there about 5 min. .. And off we went. Going at a pretty decent speed.

coal.coal and more coal

. And it was some time before the train stopped again.

a view from the viewing car.

a view from our seats.

this is the sight-seeing car, we did meet many nice people.

well that will do it for today.   up next is all the mnts. and a River. and a few more towns,

Out West …Part 3

in Part 2, i explained how we stayed at this Bed and Breakfast all i can say is, next time ill do al of my own planning.  we used our auto club for all of this, ony because i was nervous about screwing something up.ive never been out west, and we were taking more modes of transportation than i was accustomed to taking care of.. planes, trains, auto:) and that was just to get to our final destination…. to see our beautiful Grand Daughter…cross country 🙂

so anyway, this was on the 3rd floor. and it was an extra room off of our bedroom, I was thankful for it, because i don’t sleep well, so it was my little hide away in the middle of the nite, and id play words with friends:)

 

a very elegant building , everything you would expect in Francisco. and of course it was on a hill. the history is deep. with this building, and it was one of the original  Historic painted Ladies..  

the best part of this was meeting some of the people we ate breakfast with this is an Author, of self-help books,from Texas . she came to help get her Grand Daughter situated in the big City . and then there was wine and cheese offered every evening.

the kitchen. and as you can clearly see, theres a micro wave and a te kettle.but no where coud i find tea bags. oh well 😦        I fell in love with al of the stained glass.

 

as grand as it looks , I could not even get a cuppa when i wanted, there was only some one there in the morning to serve the breakfast (which was a cold breakfast) and then again at 6 pm to put our the wine and cheese. and… that was it!!!  and, this place was not centrally located, i could not just run out the door, and get a coffee or tea. but it was for 2 nites, and i survived 🙂 if anyone looks this place up, a lot of the reviews are fantastic.. I’m not exactly sure why. im not a snob, when it comes to staying at places. but i can tell you if i ever make it back to San Francisco again, ill do all of my own booking.

if you stopped by thanks in advance.

 

 

My Trip Out West…..Part 2

This was the first time i’d ever been to San Francisco , we left our home with beautiful hot July weather to cold damp low 60’s, even though we were told it would be cold , and i tried to pack appropriately  , I froze  , since our time was limited we spent the day at Fisherman’s wharf. lots to do, tons of restaurants to choose from, old buildings repurposed,and plenty of tours to pick from.and just a great walk,all around the Bay.

even things for the little people  to do.

the City By The Bay.

since we were short on time, and Uber’d around the 36 hours we were there.  we decided to spend it at the Wharf. this is a shot i was able to get on our way back to our B&B.

looking forward to sharing  photos of this place next time.

if you stopped by thank you. have a wonderful day.

A trip out West

So ,ive been gone from WP for almost a year. just busy i guess. between funerals, weddings and vacations.  so i thought id post about the most amazing adventure we took over the end summer.

we first took a jet  from New York City,  yep that’s the 911 memorial down below

next stop…. San Francisco  we only had 36 hours to catch a few glimpses of the wonders…

had to go to fisherman’s wharf. spent the day there, since we Ubered every where.

ive always wanted to see Alcatraz. ever since i was a little girl, all the movies with this big rock .. i wasnt leaving till i saw it. we didn’t have time for a whole tour, so we did the next best thing.. took  a boat ride, went under to 2 famous bridges, and circled around “The Rock” it  was an amazing, if i ever get back there, i will find time to do the whole tour.

i learned so much, it was like a little city, i wasnt aware, when the prison was open, everyone stayed on this big rock. families of the guards included. they had their own farm, a store, a church.. you name it.

we also saw a Great White Whale, while on the boat. every one has seen the clouds that cover the bay bridges, so i wont go there 🙂

so the next day we caught a bus that took us to the train station.and there we caught the Zephyr. a train line that goes from Chicago  to San Fan.  we thought it’d b more fun to go from San Fran. to Col. where our Daughter lives.

 

it was pretty amazing

the seats were pretty comfy for the most part. the food wasnt bad, and the scenery was unbelievable. although … it was a very long trip.. to Colorado, 2 long nites. we thought we’d be fine WITHOUT a sleeper, well live and learn is all we can say 🙂

 

a view from my seat. the cars ahead are the sleepers (in the first photo) the train was so long, and there were so many curves, and steep hill and mnts. sometime we were going 5 mi. an hour.

im going to leave you with this….

and tell you, the first nite, we were stuck in the desert, for what seemed to be forever, and dusk was setting in, and i swear it seemed as thought the tumble weeds were growing. ….. to be continued.

if you happened to stop by thank you, in advance.

Black and White People

 

well here it is the end of the month and Fraggy and I do our little photo exchange thingy, this time it was B&W anything. My Brother-in-law came to town, so I figured I show him something’s that have changed since he’s been gone.. and I kept with the theme of B&W.

 

this is Ontario State Park.

we use to have a beach, a natural shoreline beach.. well Lake Ontario pretty much destroyed that this year. the floods were crazy bad, if you live along the lake

 

something about this photo I really love. this is the terminal building where the fast ferry use to be.. now we have restaurants by the water’s edge , which is pretty nice..if you can find a nice day

 

a newer establishment, along the river’s edge, I liked the old buildings

 

I’ve talked about the Public Market before, there was major work done over a long period, but it’s finally done and its really something to be proud of so this was my next stop with my brother-in-law

 

people come just for the cheap eats, and get together with their friends. it really is a great place to meet up.

 

cant you just hear this little boy begging mommy for a doughnut:)

 

gotta get some coffee

 

and theres always lots of music

 

every one is generally happy at the Market

 

and this guy was in such a hurry to get to the market, I don’t think he looked in a mirror:)

 

whatya need,we got it

 

can’t go home with out some kettle corn..can ya?

 

and how bout some organic foods… they got it all

 

and.. well it doesn’t matter where ya go any more, there’s always someone a bit down on their luck, this guy was going through the garbage looking for bottles and cans. in sure the cops will be behind him shortly.. at least to cover up:)

 

one of the last nites we say my Husbands Brother we took him to College town, and went to the beer garden. thank god there was liquor..I don’t do beer:) and I was able to get some really nice photos as well

 

and this guy just wanted to eat by the water

 

 

 

 

well thats my little city, Brother in law went back to kansas, and its been raining ever since.

 

Can you believe its the end of July already? I sure cant. the weather has been crazy. if you stopped by, thank you. have a great week-end.

 

One Fine Day

 

This past Mothers day  ,we took a hike at One Of NY States #1 parks. Lovingly called The Grand Canyon Of the East.  Letchworth State Park. Only 1/2 an hour from our house

A Niagara Falls and Grand Canyon  affair all rolled into one

we were so lucky to come as early as we did,

Glen iris Inn

this fine restaurant is home to many weddings and even just a lovely meal. we didn’t have a reservation , so there was not a chance in hell of eating there.

I knew we’d never get into the restaurant, so we found a nice spot to have a little lunch.

 

even if the park was packed, there are so many spots to choose from.

after a bite to eat, it was time to finish our hike

 

and… of course no hike is complete ..with out walking a million or so stairs

 

yep.. that’s the man, making sure I don’t tumble..or get lost:)

 

and no trip anywhere is complete. Until you use the facilities 🙂

this is one of the best parks around and to have it so close to home, I’m not sure why we don’t go more often. but they also have camping here and ill save that for another time, we did walk around and look at all the types of cabins they had , I don’t camp!!!!!

if you stopped by , thanks so much, and if your ever find yourself around this are, make sure you take at least a ride through.  this state park has so much to offer with its changing landscapes, and constant beauty.

 

 

 

 

Manatee State Park

  I had such an awesome time on my journey through Florida. like i said earlier.. im starting some where in the middle of my trip. somewhere in this link is a web cam and any one can see how many Manatees come to this location  each day. the day we went there were over 200. and im told that was a low number.  but for me it was over whelming, in all my years of going to Fl. ive never been able to see these creatures..EVER!
https://www.floridastateparks.org/sites/all/themes/adaptivetheme/at_core/scripts/html5.js?ojxf68

at first i thought it was a joke, and this was all i was going to see…..

we weren’t fortunate enough to be able to swim with them .

the water is so crystal clear, and with the reflection from the sun..it was hard to get decent photos… but heres a young one coming up for air.

all those shadows…..yep the mother load of Manatees

there were some workers trying to get them to swim more so we could see them better, and they take very good care of these obsolete creatures.

its such a beautiful park, so well maintained, and it only costs $3.00 a car to get in.

it was here LittleOh lost some body parts and her camera. she thought this was a Gecko’ trying to get her.

plenty of places to sit , wash your feet.. if you need to 🙂  but you know i love my benches:)

gift shops and cafeterias along with  vending machines

rest rooms were impeccably clean

the whole area was just breathtaking

plenty to look at here.. but take a closer look.. theres’ mamma manatee and her baby. i was so thrilled. only wish i could have gotten a better shot of them. the sun was so bright.

so it ws tiem to g=o visit my friends’ Daughter and G’kids.  and after  that..

what else….. food and drink.. when Im in Fl. i like to eat as much fish as i can. so i had grouper fingers. and… fish dip.     my friend doesn’t  like seafood at all, she had …a pork chop.

cheers.

so yeah we drank and ate some where in Lake Mary. at a place called Duffy’s

all i can say is.. watered down  vodka!!!

so we moved on the the next bar, after all we didnt have to drive our hotel was just a few feet from this concourse

another Irish bar, and this was when i knew i had been drinking watered down vodka…at the other place.   but any way, this was the outfit the females wore. they were cute.. 

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heres litttleOh all put back together again. ,

well that will do it for today, if you stopped.. and i hope you did:)  i hope you liked what you saw.. and please have a great rest of the week…oh yeah and week end..since today is Thursday:)