Sojourns

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

2010-10-16T16:21:00.000-07:00

All aboard the Hogwart's Express!

To the castle or Hogsmeade first?

To Hogwart's, of course!

Dropping by Hagrid's...

On to Hogsmeade and inside Olivanders....

On the way to lunch at the 3 Broomsticks and Butterbeer!

Dessert at Honeydukes - chocolate frogs!

Farewell cards at the Owl Post...

Death Valley

2009-05-15T04:10:00.001-07:00

The vast salt-laden valley

Golden Canyon

A "burning bush"

2009-04-20T17:18:00.000-07:00

2009-04-18T04:24:00.000-07:00

A Moving Picture tour of Europe, of a Sort.

2009-03-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

We got to our hotel room in Rone after a 9 hour flight, and we were given about 30 minutes to rest before we headed off on a city tour. Rhonda didn't waste any time...

We toured many sites around the city, then we met at the Pantheon to head off to dinner. There was a neat band playing by the fountain...

By Florence we realized we hadn't posted as many videos as we intended, so we remedied that situation...sort of...

Oh, another amazing thing did happen at Florence - Rhonda got an impromptu haircut by a smashing Florentine...

So then she had to do the traditional thing and rub the boar's nose to ensure that we would return to Florence.

We did the tourist thing at Pisa...

But then redeemed ourselves by getting the angelic sounds of reverberation in the baptistry while someone was singing...

Then we saw the changing of the guard in Monaco at the palace. All pomp and circumstance!

I love it in Europe that people go out in the evening, whereas in America we tend to go home and stay in. These folks are all gathered in a piazza, doing a traditional Catalonian dance in Barcelona, Spain...

And, as a change, current music on the street - and a little old lady in blue dancing away.

I had to get this last clip from YouTube. I suppose I was too overwhelmed by this when I was there - this man playing this song in Park Guell designed by Gaudi was one of the most exquisite things I've ever experienced. It moved me to tears...

Explorica

2009-03-21T07:14:00.001-07:00

Home from Europe! More to follow...

Past Archives Projects

2009-02-24T04:25:00.000-08:00

While I'm in Cumberland Gap working on an archives project, it has made me think of other wonderful details I've been able to participate in. Right now, in the mountains which still have some snow in their nooks and crannies, I'm thinking of Cumberland Island. It was once the playground of the Carnegies, so I wasn't expecting such visions of magnificent ruin to meet me everywhere.

Dungeness, the Carnegie home, burned and is now just a shell.

Their recreation home, before and after...

Even their old cars were a graveyard of ruin...

And speaking of graveyards, Cumberland Island is where the spunky Katy Greene, widow of Rev. war hero, Nathanael Greene (also who my home county and town are name for) is buried on the island. She owned the first Dungeness house.

Still, there were wide expanses of beautiful beaches, where we had our lunch, and the restoration of the mansion, Plum Orchard, was great to behold.

Plum Orchard

For places and legends we long for...

2009-02-12T19:22:00.001-08:00

Thinking on the desert...

2009-02-02T12:28:00.000-08:00

While the biggest snowfall we've gotten is falling outside, I can't deny that I'm loving every second of it ~ and of being snug inside to watch it. I have my scrapbooks spread out to work on here in a bit, but right now I'm musing on the desert. I can't but help compare the seasons and remember some of my favorite places in the hot, dry beauty of the legendary West.

The Painted Desert

The Petrified Forest

Exploring Cliff Dwellings

A Navajo lady weaving a rug

The surreal and stunning beauty of White Sands

and...

The incomparable sunsets and storms

Trafalgar

2009-01-26T15:01:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking over the cold winter months...thinking of places I've been. And, since a friend and I have been posting favorite classic movies on our blogs, this place just seems to fit for this post.

The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle was the most decisive British victory of the war and was a pivotal naval battle of the 19th century. The Franco-Spanish fleet lost twenty-two ships, without a single British vessel being lost. Nelson was mortally wounded during the battle, becoming and remaining Britain's greatest naval war hero. (Thanks to Wikipedia for the info.)

One of the resaons, I wanted to see the site, though, was because of the famed romance between Lord Nelson and Lady Emma Hamilton. It is immortalized in the movie, "That Hamilton Woman" with Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier at the height of their own love story.

Visions of Trafalgar, Spain...

Valle Crucis

2008-12-08T18:41:00.000-08:00

This weekend, my sister and I crossed the mountains to visit the small, charming town of Valle Crucis, NC. They were holding their Fireside Christmas tour. We bought tickets at the original Mast General Store. It was filled with all sorts of vintage things.

The tour route took us to several enchanting bed and breakfasts...the first was the Mast Farm ~ not the homestead of the man who began the general store, but a relative. It was a beautiful house built in the early 1900's.

My favorite room at the Mast Farm Inn..

Our next stop was the Baird House Inn ~ this was one of the oldest houses in the town, built originally in the 1700's!

The Inn at Mill Pond was a wonderfully refreshing place of serenity. The colors were white and grey, and most of the work was done by the owner ~ a talented and amiable Cuban-born man who had lived many places in Europe.

Baubles at the Taylor House...

An Episcopal Mission was established at Valle Crucis. The town, in fact, got its name from explorers who looked down at the confluence of the rivers and found they made a cross.

Of the two friendly donkeys who came to see us, in fact, one of them had a cross on its back. The legend goes that it is a descendant of the type of donkey that carried Mary and Jesus on its back.

Sojourns

2008-11-29T16:30:00.000-08:00

Travel is something that gives me hope, broadens my outlook, changes my tastes, and brings me joy. I have dreams of Romania, Alaska, snow-covered peaks, over 300 national parks, 50 states...I could go on. I want to dedicate a place to remember my favorite journeys as the winter deepens ~ and to plan of those yet to come.