Hurricane Utah

Hubby and I as well as Nia and Mikey, our dogs, are in Hurricane, Utah for the week. It was Hubby’s idea to see if we liked the area during the winter to get away from cold and snow in Oregon. So far, in Oregon we haven’t had hardly any snow but the temperatures have been cold. We learned from people who live here you don’t say it hurricane, you say her-kin.

We were looking for an Airbnb around St. George where one of his friends lives. After looking for a dog friendly place and one that didn’t cost too much we settled on a house in what we thought was the outskirts of Hurricane. When we used the pinpoint you get when you first pick a house it looked like the house was on the edge of town near a cliff. We found out it was on the corner of a street at an interstection to a major highway and a well used street. The first night the traffic kept me from sleeping very well. Luckily, the traffic died down the next few nights.

Our first day here, we drove around checking the area out. We saw signs to Sand Hollow State Park. But when we arrived and saw how much it cost to get in, we turned around and went up to an OHV area where there were about 20 Jeeps lined up and they people were having a meeting. We visited with a man there with an ATV and he said he’d been coming to those sand dunes since he was 12. He looked to be in his seventies. We walked out about the the dunes a little ways and then loaded back up into the car. We drove to St. George, bought some groceries, and returned to put the groceries away, then went out driving around looking for more places to explore.

Our second day we drove to Zion Park. First we drove up through the tunnel which was interesting. We couldn’t figure out why we saw what looked like a tunnel entrance in the side of a cliff with nothing leading up to it. After going through the tunnel, we realized it was a “window” in the tunnel to “light” the tunnel. After going through the tunnel we saw a small herd of Mountain goats. half a dozen people were parked or standing by the road taking photos of them.

It is the off-season so we didn’t have to take a shuttle and could drive our own vehicle up the Zion Canyon. The views were breathtaking but we were disappointed that all buy one trail didn’t allow dogs. Which meant we couldn’t get out and explore with the dogs.

We saw deer on the drive as well as wild turkeys and of course the mountain goats.

The next day we spent the morning looking for Three Falls in the Hurricane area. We found the trailhead and had a short nice hike up Gould’s Wash, but we never did find the falls. When we followed the trail we discovered leveled tiers in the side of the hill where they had built an asphalt road and were putting in houses. So either we didn’t find the right trail or they covered the trail that led to the falls.

That is one thing I don’t like down here. You see hundreds of houses that look a like in clusters all over in the valleys. They are building on farm ground. How are they going to feed all of these people moving in if they cover up the good farm ground with houses?

After that hike we came back to the house and walked to a historical museum down the street but even though the sign said open the doors were locked. so we wandered down to the Bonrue Bakery and had lunch then around the block and back to the house. We sat in the sun in the backyard watching the dogs until it was time to head to St. George to hang out with Hubby’s friend and his wife. They took us up Snow Canyon, then to check out Kayante, a community of houses that are four feet below ground level and keep the natural landscape. It was interesting but the houses felt claustrophobic to me. After that we had dinner in their community restaurant. The food was delicious.

Snow Canyon outside of St. George, Utah.

Today we are headed up to se Bryce Canyons. I’ll have photos of that in the next travel installment. So far this has been a fun mini vacation and we will definitely be back next winter.

Walking Keeps Me Active

I can’t believe how mild the winter has been so far. It almost makes me wish we hadn’t made plans to spend a week in Hurricane, Utah the end of the month. It was our idea to try out getting out of the winter weather when hubby finally, actually retires from farming.

We sold our farm in SE Oregon and bought a house in NE Oregon. There are usually harsher winters in the NE than the SE. We thought we’d take a short trip this year to see if we would like spending time in southern Utah to hike the areas there and in Northern Arizona to stay fit. If someone knows of the best trails to walk/hike in the Hurricane area, I’m all ears.

But so far, the weather isn’t making us want to go anywhere. We’ve only been below freezing a few days at a time. There’s been rain, but not much snow. Maybe by the end of the month when we are ready to go, we’ll be ready to get out of here.

Along with getting away from the weather, we have been back and forth between NE and SE Oregon, hauling our things to the new place and slowly getting moved in. I still have a room, two walls, and three closets to paint. I won’t do any more painting than that until we get the remodel finished, which won’t happen until next Fall, most likely.

But I have lots of stuff to put away, especially books! I ordered way too many this past year, thinking two of the events I attended would sell more than they did. So I have totes and boxes of books that will go on my new rolling bookcases when we get them finished. When they are finished, I’ll have photos of my new office on one of the posts.

Nia loves chasing the squirrels in our yard, the park, and the golf course.

I’m excited to have a huge window to set plants in front of. I might be able to keep some alive now that they will get some indirect lighting instead of shade.

I think the biggest thing I like about the move are the walking trails Nia and I can walk on every day, as well as the golf course nearby, and I’m going to take a yoga class. I feel like this move will keep me moving and fitter now that I no longer have to go down and feed horses and cattle every morning and break water for them in the cold winters.

I’ll have fun posting for you when we are in Hurricane, so stay tuned for that one. I’ll also be making a trip back to Deadwood, South Dakota in June. I’m attending the Wild Deadwood Reads event. I attended the first one in 2017 and then the second one. After that I didn’t make it back. This summer, since I’ll be in NE Oregon while hubby is still in SE Oregon helping the people who purchased our farm and staying on to show the person taking on his manager job for the farm next door, I will have a lot of free time on my hands and decided I wanted to do the Wild Deadwood Reads again. A friend is going with me, and we are going to have a blast! Here’s the info if you’re going to be in Deadwood July 13th for the PBR Rodeo.

It is a multi-author, multi-genre Book Fair in the The Lodge at Deadwood. It starts off at 8 am with breakfast with the authors. At 9:30 the ballroom opens and the authors are there visiting and selling books until 3 pm. Check it all out here: https://wilddeadwoodreads.com/

This is starting to look like a great year!

Last of our 2024 Trip

It’s hard to believe it has been a year since we came back from our epic three week trip to the Netherlands, Spain, England, Scotland and Ireland.

This post is about our last days in Ireland. After this I’ll have to come up with some more fun travels to take so I can keep the travel segment of this blog going.

One of the first villages depicted at the heritage museum.

Day 24 of our trip was a move-on day. We headed to Straffan, Ireland, where your next Airbnb was. Along the way, we stopped at the Irish Heritage Museum. It was an outdoor museum where you moved from one scene to the next. It began with the first people of Ireland and continued until they gained their independence. There was also a falconry on site. Angie and Rietta both held a peregrine falcon. From there, we traveled on, arriving at Straffan late and settling in.

The next day, we drove to the Cliffs of Moher. The high cliffs and ragged rocks along the swirling sea were definitely breathtaking. We walked through an entrance in the side of the hill, wondering what could be inside, and discovered a large, underground, indoor museum. The interactive museum was extensive. It was set into the hill so it didn’t detract from the scenery. There were also shops built into the side of the hill.

On the way to the cliffs, we’d read signs to Bunratty Castle, and we saw it from the highway. On the way back to Straffan, we stopped there and had an excellent tour of the castle and the old town. There were houses set up as they would have been in medieval times, and some in the Victorian era. One lad in the Victorian era regaled us with tales of his heroics, his family, and life during that time period. He was entertaining.

On Day 26, we walked around Dublin. As we were walking to the Dublin Castle, we passed an alley across the street. I saw young people coming out of it, so I stared down the alley to see where they were coming from. I kept walking and walked into a three-foot-high orange traffic cone on the sidewalk.

At first, I couldn’t figure out what I’d walked into, and then I felt myself falling. I landed on my left hip and shoulder. Both my granddaughter behind me and my daughter in front of me tried to catch me, but it happened too fast. I was so embarrassed, I laughed and had tears. An Irish woman working for a construction company witnessed the incident and remarked that it was unfortunate they hadn’t captured it on video. LOL That’s how I started my tour of Dublin!

This is stairway is where the Irish Presidents are inaugurated.

The Dublin Castle and Government apartments were interesting. They weren’t giving tours of the medieval part of the Castle, but we were able to see the apartment areas. It has history, art, and heritage. I enjoyed it.

A beautiful hallway that is used for events.

Beautiful architecture and art in this sitting room.

Then we walked around Dublin, had lunch in an Irish Pub, and went to the wax museum. While the museum had a lot of Irish history, the admission price seemed a bit steep for what we saw. After that, we walked some more, crossing the Ha’Penny footbridge.

We ended the day with a stroll through Dublin Castle gardens and a sweet treat.

Day 27, we drove to the airport and flew home. Angie and Rietta were happy to head home, but I was game for more traveling. I’m hoping to go back and see a few other countries in the next few years.

Happy Canyon Night Show

I have wanted to attend the Happy Canyon Night Show during the Pendleton Roundup for years. This year, I finally just bought tickets and told Hubby we were going.

When I told my oldest daughter we were going, she asked which seats and in a few days she said she and her husband had tickets not far from where we were sitting. I picked a box seat. I wanted to see it all, not knowing that probably about halfway up the stands might have been a better view. But I’ll try that the next time I go. 😉

What is the Happy Canyon Night Show you ask? It is Oregon’s Official State Outdoor Pageant and Wild West Show. It has over 100 cast members from the Pendleton area and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla. At one point, I think 100 tribal members were standing on the set. It was powerful seeing children, women, and men in historical clothing standing along the rims of the elevated set.

This is the set for Happy Canyon Night Show. This was before it started.

In 1916 the show’s writer Roy Raley wanted to add Native American life before the explorers came to the area. He asked Anna Minthorn Wannassay to help him write the tribal life scenes of the Columbia River Plateau tribes.

Anna had been a student at the Carlisle Institute in Pennsylvania, graduating in 1906 and returning to the Pendleton area. Raley knew of her love for history and community involvement. At Carlisle, Anna had participated in Dramatic Arts. This came in handy as she helped Raley with the script.

In 1917, they performed the added tribal scenes, and the audience loved it. Each year, Anna and Raley added more and more scenes to the show. They preserved history with their show.

I, Hubby, and my daughter and her husband enjoyed the show.

It starts with the tribal members welcoming one another and the start of a day in the life of tribal members before the non-Indians appeared.

There is a scene where four boys return from scouting, having vision quests, and establishing their identities. The chief calls all the tribe together, and the boys tell of their deeds to become men.

Then Sacajawea arrives with Lewis and Clark. The tribe welcomes the weary travelers, giving them food, and company.

A chief’s son has been killed. The first clash with the white man begins. In retaliation, the tribe steals a white girl (who, by the way, had good lungs! Her screams were ear-splitting) The chief appeals to the medicine man, who says the only choice is war. But scouts and plainsmen rescue the girl. I loved the part where they jumped off the cliff into a pool of water under the waterfall. Then the lights went out. All I could think of was “how can I get this into a book with a person found in the pool dead the next morning?” 😉

Cover wagons arrive. They stop for the night and have singing, dancing, and revelry. The Indians attack! There is a lot of noise from gun blasts, people falling on the ground, and horses charging around the wagons and through the people. Then the Calvary arrives chasing off the Indians.

The part that broke my heart and brought tears to my eyes was seeing the tribe, riding horses and walking, with their heads bowed as they were pushed from their beloved home. The scene was the most heart-wrenching and sad. Even the small children had their heads bowed and walked with sadness. (I was so overwhelmed I didn’t take a photo)

Then they changed the backdrop, and it was a frontier town with townspeople rollicking about. This part of the show for me, seemed to last longer than it needed to. I would have loved more of the Native American culture and history.

Then there was a trick roper who was fair. And a trick rider, who was having an off night. Or more likely, her horse was having an off night. It didn’t want to stay in the small area. It kept bolting for the exit.

After the trick roper and rider, there was a Cowboy and Cowgirl Mounted Quadrille. They square danced on horses. It was fun to watch. They did it at a lope and it was thrilling.

This and when he carried the American Flag from here down to the ground, were my favorite scenes.

Next time I will make sure my phone is charged so I can take more photos and hopefully better ones. The night picture taking wasn’t easy for me or my phone to do.

Before the show we walked among the vendor booths. There were a lot of different tribes represented at these booths. And lots of beautiful beadwork. We also walked through the Teepee village where many of the tribal members stayed for the week of Roundup.

You can see the teepee village in the distance. The stage coach was used in the Happy Canyon Night Show.

The stage was so large that you couldn’t always see everything that was going on. Even my hubby said he wanted to see it again because he felt he had missed so much. And that, my friends, means I’ll be getting tickets for next year!

Ireland

I’m picking back up with the trip I took last fall with my oldest daughter and a granddaughter. The third leg of our trip was in Ireland. After crossing from Scotland to Ireland by ferry, we rented a car. It was the first time we’d rented a car during the whole trip, but it was definitely worth it.

After being kind of stranded in Scotland without a means of transportation, it was a freedom to be able to drive ourselves where we wanted to go.

We spent the night in Belfast, Ireland and picked up the rental car the following morning. Since we were at the northern end of the island, we decided to hit one of the major sites. My daughter did a good job of staying on the left (wrong) side of the road. It took her a bit to get used to the difference.

We loaded into the car and headed to Giant’s Causeway on the north coast of Ireland. We took the walking tour and spent time in the gift shop. Then we returned to the car and drove what was supposed to be 4 1/2 hours but turned out to be more like 6. By the time we stopped for lunch and a few missed turns, we made it to our Airbnb in Bullycullen about 9 pm. We were all tired. After unloading and eating dinner, we went to bed.

The Giant’s Causeway features hexagonal pillars of rock formed from an ancient volcanic fissure eruption.

The next day, we headed out when we were rested and drove to Blarney Castle. We toured the castle and all decided we didn’t need to hang upside down and kiss a rock that millions of other people had kissed. Next, we sauntered around the beautiful gardens, lime house, ice house, caves, and towers. It was a wonderful afternoon of exploring.

The gap up there is where the kissing stone is.

Cave used to retreat from the Blarney Castle.

Day 23 of our trip we explored close to where we were staying. A brochure at the house talked about the oldest lighthouse in the world. We set our GPS for Hooks Head, less than half an hour from where we were staying in Bullycullane. The wind picked up as we drove to the peninsula. The tour guide was excellent! So much history and storytelling combined that we were enthralled. My granddaughter thought it was great and wished she’d recorded the monologue.

She was also the only one who could answer one of the tour guide’s questions about the man who had the lighthouse built. The wind was so strong that when we stepped out of the lighthouse, we were held in place by the wind, barely able to take a step. The history of the lighthouse goes back to a monk who believed a light needed to be lit at all hours of the day and night to keep ships safe. He first built bonfires on the rocky peninsula. Later, a stone conical tower was built with a fire basket on top. The monks carried buckets of coal up the four levels to keep the fire lit 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Later a better lighthouse was built.

From there, we went to Wexford and shopped. Each of us purchased at least one piece of clothing. Then we had a delightful dinner at a bar and Bistro.

I’ll continue our Ireland stay in the next Travel installment.

Steens Mountain SE Oregon

We did our nearly yearly trip up on the Steens to see the wildflowers a week ago. There had been so much snow up on the mountain that the roads didn’t open until a couple weeks ago. We like to go for my birthday at the end of June, but the roads had just opened and we were busy. Lucky for us, the wildflowers didn’t disappoint.

There is a small waterfall in the background.

The left photo is at the edge of Kiger Gorge. The photo is farther up the road.

Steens Mountain summit is in the background.

I thought these orange-yellow almost succulents were interesting in this photo. As you can see there were still patches of snow everywhere.

This is the same type of plant as the orange and yellow plant in the lower photo.

We also saw the wild horses in their usual spot near a watering hole. Some were even in the water.

The next trip we make will most likely be with grandkids to swim in Fish Lake then we will most likely make the fall trip to see the colorful aspen leaves.

Beautiful Alberta Canada

I had my first look at Alberta Canada and it will not be my last. My daughter had to get her daughter back to school in Turner Valley, Alberta Canada after she was a bridesmaid in her sister’s wedding. Because my daughter was driving up one day and back the next after having spent a harried week getting ready for and doing the wedding, I offered to ride along so she didn’t have to drive back alone.

We left Cove, Or at 6 AM on Sunday morning. We arrived at Turner Valley at 8 PM. We only made a few stops along with way for gas, rest areas, and food. For the most part we moved right along to get my granddaughter back by 8 PM. After helping her get her stuff into her room and saying goodbye we continued up to Calgary where my son-in-law had reserved a hotel room for us.

By the time we got there, we were tired, but a funny thing, my sister-in-law and her husband who are riding their Harleys up to Alaska were also spending the night in Calgary and it was a hotel only a block away from where we ended up. So we met them for dessert at a Denny’s that was in between our hotels.

Monday morning we slept in until 6:30. Grabbed breakfast at the hotel and headed to Banff. My daughter wanted to see it. And I had heard a lot about it and wanted to see it as well.

I had crossed the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. but I have to say the Canadian Rockies are majestic and beautiful! I couldn’t stop pointing out the odd peaks, the trees, the sheer height and mass of the mountains.

On our way up to the granddaughter’s school I spotted a moose in a marsh, then we had oodles of elk a ways off the road and some right next to the road. One that almost walked out onto the road in front of us. But all those times, I was so in awe, I forgot to take photos. So the next day I had my phone ready to take photos of wildlife and we didn’t see any except for two small bull elk in the street of Banff.

Because we didn’t have a set time to get home on Monday, we did stop a few times to take in the scenery.

In Banff we got out and took a photo of the Fairmont Hotel. It is just WOW! It’s large, regal, and the setting of the mountain behind it just makes it all the more remarkable.

After Banff we headed south and came across Numa Falls. It was amazing to see the glacier blue water falling, splashing and rushing down the falls.

I took a photo of the icy blue river we drove alongside.

And then we came to a spot where the highway literally goes through a crack in the rocky mountains. The crack was made by time and water.

A waterfall splashes down over rocks and through a deep crevice.

The trip was beautiful and awe-inspiring. We arrived back home by 9 PM Monday night. I want to go again but spend time getting to see some of the things that we just read the signs. Perhaps once hubby retires we can do some sightseeing.

I’ll leave you with this video I took from the car.

Last Days in Scotland

This was the day that we walked the most. Leaving Kilbryde Castle where we were staying, we headed to Doune Castle in Doune, Scotland. We left around 9 am to give ourselves enough time to get to the castle by our 11:00 ticket time. We made the four miles with 30 minutes to spare.

As we entered the castle they gave us devices that recited the information at each stage of the castle. It was fun learning about the history, seeing where the food was prepared, where they slept, and entertained.

The hole in the corner of this area was for smoke. It was a spit for cooking large animals and hanging large pots to cook.

This was a doorway out of the kitchen area in to the prep area.

This was the hole for a toilet. The grate is over it to keep people from tossing trash. They did say that when a prisoner of war was held in the castle, he escaped by going out toilet hole.

This was the basket that held the wood to keep the guests warm during a banquet. It sits in the middle of the banquet hall.

The banquet hall. I can’t remember how many people they said it could accommodate. but it was large.

Looking out one of the windows toward the courtyard. It was pretty and a large area.

This was the fireplace in the family’s main room above the banquet hall.

This was where the Lord would hear grievances and proclaim laws.

It was a fun tour. Afterwards, we found the business district of the town and a quaint cafe called Buttercup. We had a wonderful lunch. I had creamed mushroom, sweet potato, tarragonsoup with loaded fries (which we all ate). Even though I was full, I couldn’t pass up the gingerbread cake. It was delicious!

With overflowing stomachs, we headed back to where we were staying. On the way, we passed by a playground and Angie decided to take a ride on a small zip line.

We walked slowly back to Kilbryde Castle, enjoying the sunshine and pretty scenes. When we arrived, I looked at my Fitbit and we had walked 9 miles.

The next day, we stayed at the castle being lazy. Midday, Angie and I took a stroll around the paths in the gardens and down by the river. I took a lot of photos of flowers still in bloom and the changing leaves. In the afternoon, we played cards and I packed for the next leg of our vacation.

Old rock steps down to the river.

We woke at 5 am, and the taxi arrived at 6 to take us to the bus station in Sterling. We had less than an hour bus ride to Glasgow and then a two-hour bus ride to Cairnryan to walk onto the Ferry. The Ferry ride took about two hours. We purchased a chicken wrap, ate the rest of the chips we brought with us, and then found a room with bench seats and the movie Super Mario Bros playing.

When we landed in Belfast, Ireland, we discovered the hotel we’d reserved was 30 minutes away. The taxi driver was full of good information. We spent the evening changing up some of our sightseeing due to the places the taxi driver told us. Then we watched some TV and went to bed.

The next post will be about Ireland.

Great Deals and Fun Times

I had a fabulous time at the Left Coast Crime conference in Denver, Colorado last month. I was lucky enough to be on two panels. One was about Animal Sidekicks. Here’s a photo of that panel.

Me, Lori Roberts Herbst, Meredith Taylor, Kate Lansing, C.B. Wilson

You can bet I talked about Dog, Mugshot, Sheba and the equines, Dot, Jack, Horse and Jethro.

I didn’t get a photo of the other panel titled Crime in Small Towns: Setting, Secrets, Scandal. The panel for that one was Glen Erik Hamilton, Rodney Carpentier, Becky Clark, and Tony Wirt. We had a lively discussion about why we liked to write about small towns and how they made our stories work better than a large city would. I always find it interesting to learn about other writers worlds and who they see them.

And there was fun time. The Sisters in Crime Colorado put on a Mystery Merge Carnival Extravaganza. I met up with some of my Ladies of Mystery blog pals and participated in some of the games and frivolity. Here is a photo of Pam Beason and myself in the mugshot booth.

BOOK DEALS

This month I have a lot of different book deals going on.

My Isabella Mumphrey books in ebook and print (when purchased from me) are 25% off. They are Romantic Suspense with an Indiana Jones/MacGyver heroine. Check them out here: https://www.patyjager.net/romantic-suspense/

As part of the Indie Audiobook Deals, I have the Audiobook box set of the first three books in the Gabriel Hawke Novels on sale for $4.99. It’s a steal! https://www.patyjager.net/product/gabriel-hawke-novels-box-set-1-3/ or use the IAD link for a couple of other vendors: https://indieaudiobookdeals.com

And if you are a Kobo AUDIOBOOK listener, the first books of each of my Mystery Series are on sale this month at Kobo. https://kobo.com/p/stock-up-audiobook-deals

Good things ahead!

April 12th and 13th, I’ll be at the Warner Grange in Canby, Oregon with over 40 authors. It’s the Spring into Reading event. We’ll be there from 11 am -5 pm. I’d love to see some of my readers.

Book Info

The audiobook for Wolverine Instincts finally passed inspection and is now uploaded for purchase. You can purchase it directly from my website: https://www.patyjager.net/product/wolverine-instincts-audiobook/ for $9.99 or use the universal ink to purchase at your favorite audio vendor: https://books2read.com/u/m2yARG

In the heart of the wilderness, the hunter becomes the hunted.

Gunshots shatter the quiet of Oregon’s Eagle Cap Wilderness, drawing Oregon State Trooper Gabriel Hawke into action. Following the sound, he stumbles upon a shredded cage, the sharp musk of a wolverine, and a dead hiker.

Tracking footprints through the rugged terrain, Hawke uncovers a second victim. It’s clear—he’s hunting a killer who’s hunting humans.

With Dog by his side, Hawke’s search leads to two brothers, one gravely injured. Enlisting the help of pilot Dani Singer, he gets the injured man to safety before returning to the wilderness.

Teaming up with a reclusive, disabled veteran who knows the Eagle Cap as well as he does, Hawke pieces together the killer’s twisted game. They suspect a poacher—one as ruthless and elusive as the wolverine he’s still chasing.

In a deadly wilderness where survival is the only rule, Hawke must outsmart a predator who knows no bounds.

SPOTTED PONY CASINO

I’m currently working on book 7 Crap Shoot. It was slow going until I received information. Now I’m making my fingers fly and my story move along so I can get the book out by my deadline.

CUDDLE FARM MYSTERIES

Book 1, Merry Merry Merry Murder in the new Cuddle Farm Mysteries had come back from my beta readers and there are some things I need to fix. Two thought the beginning slogged, and two thought there should be more contention between my main character and the sheriff, and there were a couple of timeline things to fix. But overall, they all loved it! Good news for my readers!

I’ll have a “Christmas in July” event to promote the release of the book on July 15th. As soon as my PA gets the event set up, I’ll have a link here for you to join the fun! I’ll have gifts and fun times.

SHORT STORY

I also have a short story that will be coming out in the next Windtree Press anthology- Navigate. The story is about a character from my Spotted Pony Casino Mystery series. The title of the short story is: Changing Course.

GABRIEL HAWKE NOVELS

I have been brainstorming the next Gabriel Hawke book which I’ll start writing when I finish Crap Shoot. My brother knows the person in charge of the dog sled race that happens in Wallowa County. I’ll be interviewing that person and hopefully someone in the county who participates in the race. If you couldn’t tell by this info, the next book will be set during and about the dog sled race that happens in Wallowa County in February.

FUN FOR ME

That’s about it for writing information. On the creative front, I’m getting ready to take another pieced top in to be quilted, and I’m busy cutting 5″ by 5″ squares for a pastel colored quilt for the granddaughter who graduates next year. When I’m not writing, I’m quilting. I love discovering fabric and bringing them together in an attractive pattern.

London and Bath

Day twelve we left Santander, Spain for London, England. After the flight, we took the bus to the Tube station. The Tube trip was not something I’d like to do again. I like a bubble around me and I found out you can’t keep that bubble intact in a large city. There were too many people and maybe one out of 10 spoke with an English accent. We checked in to our hotel and discovered we were in a basement room.

After checking in we took a hop-on hop-off bus around London to see all the historical places we’d heard of or seen in books or movies. The ride would have been boring if the guide hadn’t been entertaining. My granddaughter thought he was funny. Which he was. He’d call out to people walking on the street and make comments about how people were dressed as well as tell the history of buildings and areas.

After the bus ride, we returned to our basement hotel room. It was an experience.

The next day was interesting! We took our time getting up, eating breakfast in the hotel, and slowly made our way to the bus depot, purchasing snacks for our lunch on the bus ride to Bath. We arrived at the station and saw a bus leaving for Bath half and hour before our scheduled bus and thought it was our bus. It turned out it wasn’t. We spent another 2 hours in the bus station waiting for our bus as it was running late.

We spotted tables and chairs and thought it was a communal eating area. We pulled out the food we’d purchased and had it half eaten when we were told we couldn’t eat food that hadn’t been purchased from the store next to the tables. Picking up our food, we moved to the seats in the waiting area.

The bus to Bath finally arrived. We waited and waited and they finally loaded us. The bus went around the block with a buzzer going off and the driver took us back to the station. They unloaded us and our luggage as they waited for another bus to arrive. When that bus showed up we were loaded and not 15 minutes into the ride, I received a message from Airbnb that the place I’d rented had damage from a storm and the roof fell in. Lucky for us Airbnb reached out when they heard of the cancellation and gave me some options of places that were similar in price to the one I’d booked. I picked one and they accepted us. It turned out the place I picked was quiet and closer to the area where we planned to explore.

Bath

Our first day in Bath, we started with a tour of the Roman Baths. The history was interesting going back to 600. The change of countrymen and religions through the ages intrigued me. learning how so many buildings were built on top of the others fascinated me. Also, they came to excavate the original ruins of the baths. It is a unique historical site.

After the tour we had a British lunch of fish and chips. It was good!

After the meal, we strolled through the shops until time for the free walking tour around town which is sponsored by the Mayor of Bath. They split the group down the middle so I ended up in a group by myself and the girls were together.

The tour took us to all the major historical places with a running dialog from our guide. I liked the fact the architect and major industrialists used a theme throughout the building of the town. Being separated from the girls let my mind wander and not worry whether they were having a good time or needed something. During this walk we were soaked. I thought I’d brought a raincoat with me but my shoulders and back were soaked and my pants were wet. The paper sack I’d been carrying the things I’d purchased in, disintegrated during the walk and I had to tuck my purse under my jacket even though it wasn’t protecting all of me. I placed the small items I’d purchased in my purse and shoved the shirt I bought up under the shirt I was wearing and tucked the bottom into my pants so it wouldn’t fall out. I look odd with lumps all over my torso but I kept my purchases moderately dry.

The wet courtyard where we started and finished.

Because of the rain, we hadn’t taken all the photos we wanted, so the next day we walked to the buildings we’d learned about the day before and took photos. As we walked and talked, we realized the two guides told different versions of the history.

This was the Crescent where dignitaries stayed when they were in Bath for the Season.

After re-walking the tour route, we checked in at the Therme Spa to see if there was a chance I could get a massage and the girls wanted to go in the water. We were able to book a time in the afternoon. From there I went to a store and purchased a good raincoat. I didn’t want to be wet again on the trip.

We made it into the Bath Abbey in time to take a tour. Again, it was interesting to hear all the history about the Abbey. In Europe their history goes back so much farther than United States history. It’s kind of mind boggling. From the Abbey, we strolled across the street and had a traditional hand pie for lunch.

The day before on the tour, my guide had pointed out a bridge that was made to look like a continuation of the street with business along it so people wouldn’t know they were leaving one part of town and going to another, or so my guide said. We headed to that bridge after we ate.

The bridge made to look like a street when you walk across it.

Back at the spa, the girls went off to enjoy the rooftop pool and other amenities while I had a massage. When I came out of my massage, they were waiting for me to show me all the fun things they discovered and take me to the rooftop pool. It was a fun relaxing afternoon. From the spa, we went to the train station to check in and get our tickets for the next day. We timed ourselves walking back to where we were staying so we knew when we’d need to set out for the train in the morning. The next day we were headed to Scotland.

	patyjag on Always Moving Forward
	dianamcc on Always Moving Forward
	patyjag on Last of our 2024 Trip
	Sharon Marchisello on Last of our 2024 Trip
	patyjag on Sweet Deal Coming

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Good things ahead!

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