On the road again

 

Wildflowers  at Mt. Rainer

Grandkids

After four months overseas, we were home for the summer and I was back working again. However, we decided to continue our adventures since it was still 2011.  A tour of the western states for an extended summer and some of the eastern states during fall colors is our goal.  Our craving to be outdoors during the good weather months; wanting to hike and see friends near and far, have put us on the road again. We are being drawn at this time in our lives to go places and to fulfill our karmic connections. We have decided to live without regret and be an example of living without fear and trepidation on our journey.

Julie, Rick, Kanobe, Eowyn, and Ireland on the coast

 We left Ashland August 16th toward Sacramento for a family reunion at my parent's house.  My siblings,  children and grandchildren, as well as my sister's children were there.  Dad was ready to make some changes to the house after the loss of mu mother last year. All of us volunteered to help in this process and celebrated several birthdays.  We had a great time together and got lots accomplished with everyone's help. Next, on to Eugene to pick up the three eldest grandchidren for camping at Cape Perpetua on the Oregon coast.
We had terrific weather and a great time. The grandchildren have been homeschooled and have great curiosity and enthusiasm for life and its opportunities. We hiked and played games and enjoyed them completely.  My daughter and son-in-law are doing a beautiful job as parents, while we watch them grow up so quickly.

Rick and the grandkids

Ireland, Eowyn, Rick and Kanobe

Next, we were off for a few  days in Mt. Rainier. The morning was foggy, but as we ascended to the higher elevations along the White River, we camped amidst stunning scenery and hiked where the wildflowers were at their peak.

Rick driving Aunt Mary's convertible

On to Seattle. We met up with some friends, Jerry and Suzanne, who are part of the folk dancing and music community here. We enjoyed their wonderful hospitality for a couple of days and contra danced where Suzanne was the caller that evening. We then stayed with my adoptive aunt, who had mentioned to me last year that she would like to clean out her closets and needed some help. We offered to help with this project and had fun together reminiscing about when she and my Mom were in school together; going through  family photos and such. Mary Frances and my mom were best friends in high school, and throughout their adult life. I enjoyed hearing the stories about my mom in her high school days.

ferry landing on Orcas

On Labor Day, we headed north for the San Juan Islands. We drove via Whidby Island and hiked Ebey's Landing. We then boarded the ferry to Lopez Island. We stayed with our couchsurfing host, Carol,  a busy single mom who is the island's only nurse practitioner. She invited us for dinner with her extended family to celebrate Labor Day and her grandkids going back to school. They told us about the island's best hikes and activities, which took us to a secluded cove filled with seals, jellyfish and an orca whale.  From here we went to their namesake island, Orcas.  Our couchsurfing hosts, Keith and Abigail, work at Doe Bay, where Rick lived years ago.

Doe Bay at sunset

 They set us up with a nice campsite and use of the hot pools and sauna.  We visited their small cob house and picked blueberries in the evening. The next day we played tennis and swam in the lagoon nearby. We hiked in Moran State Park to Cascade Falls and met a couple that shared mutual friends in Ashland. We then hiked and swam in Twin Lakes and up to Mt. Constitution-- the highest point on the islands and a spectacular view. From here you can see Mt. Baker, Mt Rainier, and the islands below and those in British Columbia.

Abigail, Keith and Rick                                     

Top of Mt Constitution

Sunrise loop hike at Mt Rainier

View from Doe Bay hot pools

Wildflowers at Mt. Rainier

 While at the top of the mountain we ran into friends from Portland who are in the folk dancing and music community, who were also staying at Doe Bay for a wedding.  When we returned there we heard the familiar sounds of fiddles and music filling the air, as we  greeted some of our favorite musician and dancing friends from the Pacific Northwest. Our next island was San Juan. We went to Salt Kiln State Park and Roche Harbor, walking along the docks. While eating lunch, we watched a line of salmon jumping 2-3 ft above the water for half an hour. We stopped at a beautiful farm where the farmer invited us to see his garden and gave us some fresh artichokes and broccoli for our dinner that night: such island hospitality and charm... We then traveled from Friday Harbor to Sydney, Canada and caught a ferry from Schwartz Bay to the Gulf Islands. We went to Salt Spring (the largest of the Gulf Islands) and Galiano. On Salt Spring, we stayed on a farm with a group of people living in community. Erin  was our very special host.  On 9/11 we hiked to a small cove for a group meditation at sunset, then shared dinner and great conversation. We helped trim garlic to enter in the county fair, and collected seeds from hot peppers, as Erin is one of the island's seed savers. One of the other gals living on the farm is the founder of Mudgirls, a female cob contruction crew. They have a great website to check out if you want to see beautiful cob structures built by women, Mudgirls.com.

Mudgirl home

We picked blackberries, and added gooseberries for a breakfast cobbler the next day. YUM! Then on to Galiano Island, which only has about 200 residents and is very quiet. We found a beautiful high bluff to camp overlooking the bay.  The weather to this point had been sunny and warm, but changed a bit today as we headed toward Vancouver to visit the places on our list before it gets too cold. In Vancouver, we went to the VanDusen Gardens and then through Whistler and the Winter Olympic Park. We ventured through Canada's largest organic producing valleys and moved quickly, only staying two nights as the weather has changed and is cold and raining. We crossed over into northeast Washington and on towards Yellowstone. The weather was much warmer and we are coming into another warming trend so we should have some nice warm fall days ahead of us.

Van Dusen Gardens

Watching the ferries from our campsite on Galiano Island

Campsite on Galiano 

Van Dusen Gardens

It's not a long way to Tipperary

Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland

  Cathedral door 

  "I heard its a long way to Tipperary?" and "Where be the Stone?" were questions Rick made a point to ask on this section of our trip. He did get serious answers and directions to both. We have just finished 121 days of wonderful travel and been through twenty airport security checkpoints and six immigration lines, with ten airline carriers in six different countries and hundreds of new experiences. This all adds up to a fantastic four months of travel and adventures.  We flew into Dublin from Edinburgh, Scotland, picked up our small rental car, and headed downtown.  A great young couple, Nat and Leah, were our couchsurfing hosts for the first two nights in Ireland.  Nat attends Trinity College, where he is getting a masters degree in ethnobotany, and Leah works in several health shoppes. They were a big help in getting our bearings and travel plans organized.  In Dublin, we enjoyed our experiences in the Temple Bar district with lively Irish music. We walked all over the city to tour the Dublin Castle, Christ Church cathedral, the Ha'penny bridge and much more. One highlight was Trinity College. Leah met Rick and I for lunch at at a vegetarian restaurant, and then we met up with Nat at the college campus. He took us to see the Book of Kells, and the "old library."  The Book of Kells is a manuscript of the four gospels from early Christianity, with elaborately decorated pages which are turned each day for display. The old library has a two hundred foot vaulted timber barreled roof, and is the most beautiful library I have ever seen. We appreciate Nat and Leah for taking time out of their school and work schedules to do some activities with us around Dublin.  From there, we headed west to the opposite coast and Galway.  On the way, we drove through the Burren, which are flat tablelands of limestone strata, rising in stages above the coast. It is a lunar landscape with barren terraces, little streams, underground rivers, caves, and swallow holes. The wildflowers grow in  cracks between the rocks; both barren and beautiful at the same time.

The Burren

Dolmen

One example of the rock walls that are everywhere

 We stopped at a dolmen(ancient tomb) and several  beautiful overlooks, as well as a farmers market in one of the villages.  In Galway, we enjoyed more Irish music in the pubs and had another great couchsurfing host.  Lydia is originally from Poland, but has made Ireland her new home. We had several hours of nice conversation getting to know each other, learning more about Poland and the places to see there. We enjoy so much our connections with the amazing people who open their homes and hearts,  making opportunities to learn and understand different cultures, and the events that magically bring us together. We briefly share our lives and interests, but the effect of these encounters last so much longer than the time spent together.  After Galway, we went to the town of Tralee via several small villages, including Bunratty, with its castle and folk village, and the medieval town of Limerick. We passed the Adare castle and church,  along with numerous other worn down bits of abbeys, castles and churches along the motorway. Upon arriving in Tralee, we were greeted by a loving family that are our new hosts.  Andrew, and their three children, were born in Ireland, while Sona is from Slovakia. These folks are the reason we travel the way we do. We were treated like part of the family from the moment we came through the door. We shared meals together, visited and talked about life, children, travel, games, politics and everything in-between.  Sona and I cooked together like sisters, with the kids running about the kitchen. We created new friendships that made it hard to leave. Later this year, they will be moving to Slovenia.  I hope our paths will cross again. From Tralee, we took day trips to the Dingle peninsula and the Ring of Kerry.  Both these areas have scenic roads that skirt the peninsulas, close to the coastline, with extraordinary scenic beauty. There are numerous stopping points that are unique and different from anything we have experienced.  We saw beehive huts, thatched houses, and classic examples of the rock fences that dot the countryside. Six kilometers off the coast, on the southern tip of the Ring of Kerry, lies the remains of the settlement of Skellig Michael. A monastic settlement for a thousand years, it is truly an inspired story of our quest for the divine. http://www.skelligexperience.com/skellig_michael.html  Strong winds prevented the boats from taking us there, but we will remember the devotion of those before us, who lived on that island. There was truly a lot of scenery and places to see before arriving in Cork.  We found a place to eat, and, for the first time in Ireland, paid for a night's lodging at beautiful B&B, where Rick was able to bargain a great rate from a fellow vegan.
We really have the luck of the Irish.

Skellig Michael 

Irish landscape

Gorgeous day on  Dingle Peninsula

More coastline

The Irish built a lot of rock fences everywhere

Typical thatched house

Beehive huts

Blarney Castle

Rick kissing the Blarney Stone

View from top of the Blarney Castle

Druid forest around Blarney Castle

Dunguaire Castle

Town of Dingle  (Dingle peninsula)

 We thought we might as well increase our "luck," so we headed toward the Blarney Castle.  The castle was not obvious when we entered the town, so Rick rolled down his window and asked a few of the locals, "Where be the stone?" and we were on our way.  Seeing the Blarney castle, and surrounding grounds, was a true gift. We hadn't planned on going there, but were glad we made the time. It ended up being one of the most beautiful castles and settings we saw in all of the UK and Ireland. The fairy-like surroundings along the river, the druid forest, rocks and caves with ferns and moss, were magical.  I could live out my days as a fairy, playing amongst the grounds of this castle. After several hours, we had to move on, and arrived at the Cahir castle for lunch. This is one of the largest castles we saw, featured in many films, including Braveheart. We then drove to the Rock of Cashel and the Hore Abbey. This is a majestic castle and church complex on a prominent hill, which overlooks the abbey and an expansive green valley. When we went to view the abbey, we were stopped by two guards, who asked to see our passports and recorded our visit, since the queen was coming the following week.  Apparently her ancestry was tied to the abbey, and this would be her first visit to the site. We were only a few miles from the town of Tipperary. And in one of the postcard shops, Rick jokingly asked if it was a long way to Tipperary.  The lady at the counter very sincerely, and seriously said, "Oh, no, it is only about 9 kilometers from here," and gave us the directions. We did not go to Tipperary, but Rick was very satisfied that we had been so close.

Cahir Castle

 Our next stop was Kilkenny. We walked the castle grounds, located on the banks of River Nore.  The town's older center has narrow winding streets, with terraces of Georgian houses. The surrounding area is a fertile agriculture plain, which supplies a busy market center. After dinner, we headed for a small village, in the countryside near Buncourty.  We stayed the night at the home of our host Mico.  Mico is originally from Oregon, later married and Irishman, and now calls this land her own. She creates organic tea blends as a home business, and sent tea for us to deliver to her mom who lives in Ashland. And so the connections continue. We took an early morning hike with Mico and her dogs, and then went north. This would be our last full day in Ireland, and we covered a lot of ground.

Hore Abbey below the Rock of Cashel

The Rock of Cashel, above, as viewed from the abbey 

 On to the monastic settlement of Glendalough. Glendalough means the "glen of two lakes." This was also the hermitage of Saint Kevin, around the sixth century.  His piety and knowledge attracted many disciples, who founded a monastery between two lakes in this valley. The setttlement has miles of trails that loop around the lakes, amidst the caves were Saint Kevin meditated. We walked in his footsteps, experiencing the serenity that attracted others to this site.  Driving in this area also took us to the first Irish weaving mill, and incredible mountains and roads covered with trees, creating arches and green tunnels, for miles and miles. The homes and farms along this route were stunning. We then drove through the Wicklow mountains, a range of granite hills that extends forty miles just south of Dublin. This is a solitary region of hills flecked with brown and purple rocks, dark lakes and conical peaks. By  late afternoon we were back in Dublin, and parked again at Nat and Leah's house. We walked into the city for another great dinner at Cornucopia, an excellent vegetarian/vegan restuarant. We then headed for Gogaraty's Pub and more live music.  Later, when we felt like we had done just about everything we could during our stay, we walked back to Nat's and Leah's to connect with them and fill them in on our adventures.  At 4:00 am we were on our way to the airport, for the long journey home.  On our way we relived many of the amazing moments and highlights of our trip.  We are amazed at the amount of grace we were given, and how fortunate we were to be able to do a trip like this.  Rick and I managed to be around each other 24/7 for 121 days, and mostly enjoyed each others company. Despite all the crazy things going on in the world, we found new friends, places to eat and sleep, and learned so much.  Families everywhere are going through much of the same things we are in America, with a scarcity of jobs, high food and gas prices, the cost of quality education for their children, climate change, and figuring out how to live in a world that is shrinking so rapidly. We are all searching for love, in one way or another, and trying to feel at peace with ourselves. We find that we are all struggling souls trying to live a happy existence in a world that we think we know.  This is the end of our journey but I will create one more blog. Our 2011 adventures have not officially ended. We still have seven more months to go!
After returning to southern Oregon for a few days, we headed to Seattle, Washington, for the annual Folklife Festival http://www.nwfolklife.org/ that we attend each year over the Memorial Day weekend.  It is such a wonderful experience that I will share this with you as well. Until then, I hope you are enjoying the "NOW" moments of your life.   Sincerely, Julie and Rick

St. Kevin's in Glendalough

Green tunnel roads on the way to Glendalough

Street scene from the Bunratty Folk Park

Glendalough Valley

Spring in the UK

Our adventures continue in Great Britain, during the nicest spring weather the UK has every seen. Everyone warned us about the rain and dreary weather that can be experienced here, but that was not to be the case for us. We arrived  in London just before Easter weekend, which was also the week prior to the Royal Wedding. The warm, sunny weather has the Brits in a spin, and the excitement is mounting in the country that will have two long weekends in a row---one for Easter, and one for Will and Kate's big day. Moms were buying shorts for their tots, exposing their white, glaring skin which had never see this much sun, and for so many days in a row! News reporters were in line with us, getting through customs and immigration lines, ready to cover news of a far different nature than their recent assignments in Japan. The tabloids, shop windows, and the signs outside pubs are all  reminding us of the big day. Despite the millions that were descending on London for this auspicious occasion, we instead are headed north to our first destination outside Bedford, for a three day spiritual conference. Here, we met up with our Ashland friends, Rick and Carlotta, who would be joining us on our adventures for the next two weeks.

Rapeseed(canola) field

Roman Baths

 Figuring out the road directions and driving, was the task before the two Rick's. My Rick has had quite a bit of driving experience navigating on the "wrong" side of the road. By default he was the primary driver, while    the other Rick did a fabulous job as co-pilot, spending time each night studying the maps and preparing for the roundabouts and road changes. We were all enchanted with the scenery accross England. The grass was beyond green against the blue sky, with an intense yellow rapeseed growing in expansive fields on all sides of  us, with more yellow from gorse in full bloom and  a variety of trees either blossoming, or leafed out. The countryside and villages were spotlessly clean.  We saw houses, buildings, churches and castles dating back to the 16th century, and earlier in many places. It's thrilling to be in new countries and customs. The mind goes through fits and starts, inquiring about the hows and whys of different cultures, costumes and dress, cars and roadways --even how their version of the English language is spoken, while everything is a feast for the senses. 

up the stairs in the cathedral overlooking York

road signs were a bit different

Cathedral in York

Cafe where the first Harry Potter story was written < Ediburgh

Urquart Castle overlooking Loch Ness

The two Ricks at the Fairy Glen

Car and chauffer

Seeing Scottish tartans being made

Meditation spot at Findhorn

Part of Hadrian's Wall

We all had grand days in places like Avon, Bath, Avebury, York, and the small village of Cornbridge.  Stratford-on-Avon is the birthplace of Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway. We toured Anne Hathaway's house and the beautiful surrounding gardens. We spent a long, full day walking through Bath. The cathedral, the Roman baths, Jane Austen's home and soaking in the thermal waters were just a few of the days highlights. Our next stop was the village of Lacock, where we saw the abbey and the grounds that we discovered was another filming spot for the Harry Potter movies.  We then arrived at Avebury, which predates Stonehenge by two hundred years. It is an expansive area of standing stones that remain a mystery to this day, as to why and where the stones were placed.  From there to the town of York, an ancient walled city filled with one of England's most spectacular churches. We hiked the stairs to the get a bird's eye view from above the church spirals. We walked atop these city walls, peering down into well kept gardens, viewing the architecture of  many centuries.   Another highlight for us traveling together were our picnic lunches each day. We ate in grand parks, with majestic castles, abbeys, churches, or monuments for our lunchtime scenery. The enormity of these structures, which dot the countryside, restored, or in ruins, create a powerful place to stop and ponder what it would have be like to be living centuries ago. Our last evening in England was in the small village of Cornbridge, which positioned us to walk along Hadrian's wall.  Hadrian's wall was built by the Romans over 2000 years ago to keep the Scottish out. It was built across England and covered about seventy miles. The wall was 8 feet wide and 12 ft tall in most sections, constructed of rock and turf. The longest sections remaining are in the Cornbridge area, providing an expansive viewpoint over a vast area. We hiked along the wall and up the hill to get a sweeping view of this unique piece of history.

Lunch at Eilean Donan castle

From here, we headed north, crossing into Scotland. A bagpiper greeted us at the border, so we had the grand and exciting entrance into this country.  We decided to have a really long day of driving, so we could have the maximum time for the places we wanted to see most.  Our long day in the car was rewarded with many great stops along the way. One was Loch Ness and the Urquart Castle, which is on the waters edge of the Loch (lake). We did not see Nessie rise from the water, but know she is in there somewhere. We found that the Urquart castle is where one of Rick's great grandfathers(Alexander Forbes) died in 1301 defending his home against the English invaders. Our friend, Carlotta, is of the Mcleod clan, and it was fun traveling through Scotland learning the history of her ancestral roots and the many struggles and battles, such as the ones fought against the McDonald clan. We ended up eating our lunch that day with Scotland's most photographed monument, the Eilean Donan Castle, as our backdrop.  It was a breezy, but otherwise beautiful day to enjoy these powerful sites. We landed late that evening in the town of Forres. Here we stayed at a lovely B&B with terrific hosts. We arrived on the eve of the Royal Wedding, and watched some of the history of the royal family and all the activities around the UK. Our host said she would provide us a 'royal' vegan breakfast the next morning and we went happily off to bed. I arose at 6:00am to see the pre-wedding coverage. Once Kate walked down the aisle we headed off for the days activities. Rick and Carlotta droped us off at Findhorn, and took the car exploring the area. We had a fabulous day touring the grounds and meeting some of the residents of  this eco-community. Findhorn will soon celebrate it's 50th year as a progressive settlement for conscious and environmental living. They have developed the "Living Machine" which takes sewage from the community and turns it back into water that is cleaner than european drinking standards. They have creative and varied types of eco-structures and beautiful gardens, a health food store, and much more. It gave us a chance to learn more about this community first hand. I have had a fascination with Findhorn since I was about 15, and it was exciting to finally be there. I wish I could just whip up more places like this for people to live, as easily as I can create things in the kitchen.

The view of  Dunvegan castle from our cottage on the Isle of Skye

Our next destination was the Isle of Skye, where the Dunvegan Castle is located. This is the castle of the McLeod's, wherein lies much of the secrets to Carlotta's heritage.  We had a cottage located across the bay from the castle, which filled our view from the front window.  Here Carlotta and I made some lovely dinners together, had a chance to do our laundry, and relax a bit before the last legs of our long adventures. Here on the Isle, we took a boat ride to see the harp seals, and get a view of the castle from the water.  We spent three days exploring this area. Highlights were our hikes up to a magical promontory, the Fairy Glen, and a lovely white sand beach, as well as driving around the other two fingers of land that are a part of the isle.

Typical village scenes in England

Rick connecting with the locals in Lacock

After a  good time on the Isle of Skye, we headed inland, with some lovely stops along the way. We took the ferry across to Fort William, and worked our way to Glenfinnan Monument, another great picnic spot. For Harry Potter fans, this is where the scenes were filmed of the train traveling over the curved trestle, with the mountain scenery in the background. The Glencoe Valley provided some majestic sights that are unique, and unlike what we see anywhere here in the states. Our last destination in Scotland was Edinburgh. We found a really nice vegetarian restuarant for dinner, and walked around the city for a couple of hours in the evening to get acquainted, as we have only tomorrow here..

I finally made it to Findhorn

Our last day in Scotland was spent at the Edinburgh Castle and walking down the Royal Mile to the queen's palace. We went from one side of the town to the other, and to the monuments up the hill for a greater view of this wonderful city. We met Rick and Carlotta for dinner on our last night traveling together. This is where we head onwards, while our friends stay a few nights more before flying to Denmark. It's been really nice getting to know them better and creating some wonderful memories.  I am sure we will reminisce about the special moments on this part of our journey for years to come. Now, off to Ireland.....