Granny's Favs!

On an enjoyable Sunday afternoon day trip we came across this little local pub, nestled into the side of a steep mountain. We stopped to stretch and I just had to take a picture. It turns out that this became one of my favorite memories of our trip! See the video at the bottom to help you understand why :o)

Kylemore Abbey was originally a summer home. Can you imagine?
We were visiting the stone bridge that was used in a few scenes of the classic John Wayne movie, "The Quiet Man". I turned around and was blown away by what I saw - Kylemore Abby. It was literally breath-taking!


One of my favorite surprises of our trip was this impromptu Ceili session! We had stopped to stretch (and use facilities!) and stayed for tea. There were many patrons inside sharing, laughing and singing. Along comes a gent with a guitar and a banjo. He and one of the patrons, who had a 'squeeze-box' started playing. Well...no one can sit still with this kind of music, let along a couple of active pre-schoolers! The locals seemed to enjoy them also, we caught them looking out the window and smiling. We were also able to go inside for one tune, and to watch the locals watching the girls was priceless! I had a ball in that short 20 minutes or so we were there, just soaking it all in!

Monsoon Clouds

Driving up to the Mogollon Rim Sunday for a speaking opportunity, we were able to watch the monsoon clouds gather. They are definitely unique -- the pictures don't do them justice, but we wanted to give it a try! We've had a few dust storms in the valley since we've returned from our travels, rain in the outskirts of the valley and in the northern part of the state, power outages and the like, so we are definitely in monsoon season. This is probably the most powerful weather season in Arizona. It is also when we get the bulk of our rainfall for the entire year.
Monsoon cloulds are unique because they seem to just mushroom up higher and higher into the atmosphere. You are able to watch them move and grow.
When you see the flat bottoms on the clouds you know there is a good chance for some rainfall. I am reminded of how incredible our world is, and how majestic it's creator.
We enjoyed clouds, wind and rain during our stay overseas, but they looked, felt, and acted very different from our own Monsoon Clouds.

23-Hour Travel Marathon

Doesn't is seem that if you travel for 23 hours straight you should be able to go completely around the world in this day and age?!
Well, that's simply how long it took us to get back to AZ from the UK a few days ago. By the time we wove through all the customs, security, and airline queues there was not even any time to sit and 'wait' for our plane, which I guess is a good thing. One, we had enough time between each of our 3 flights to get through all the queues, and two, we didn't have a lot of down time between flights.
Regardless of the time travel, queues, and crowded planes & airports, it was a wonderful and fully enjoyed trip and I wouldn't trade any of it (except maybe the lost cell phone)!