 Tropical Depression/Hurricane Nicholas snuck up on us. We were already on the road to Texas when it hit. But we were still over 100+ miles away from the Gulf Coast and managed to miss most of the rain. It was downgraded to a tropical depression this morning and is dragging itself slowly over southeast Texas, leaving thousands in the dark and dumping a foot of rain. #OMG! While waiting for the storm to pass, we decided to stay north of the Gulf Coast and visited River Park in Boerne, Texas. We had a lovely picnic on the river and avoided most of the weather. The river was up due to the rains, but it was a nice break. There was plenty of wildlife out enjoying the overcast skies, and I'm sure, avoiding the high winds and rain south of us.. If you need a break watch the video... 
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 (Texas, USA) Hi Travel family! I hope you are well and safe as we end September. I have just returned, (still have to unpack) but wanted to write this while its still fresh in my mind. For my family travel has been almost nonexistent this year, for oblivious reasons, of course, but my work obligations + the need to clean up my mothers estate have pushed me to venture out in to the world again. I was both excited (A TRIP! YESSS!) and also rather hesitant to commit to a 29 day adventure.  (New Mexico, USA) So September was a huge change from the pervious months of staying at home and working via Zoom. These last few weeks I have either been in work meetings, dealing with family issues, driving, or working with clients. But we were able to go for a picnic, a couple of hikes and visit a few of our favorite places while traveling in Texas and New Mexico. Life is defo different with almost empty hotels, less traffic and social distancing in cafes. But even so, I feel very blessed that we were able to do these things and still stay safe. Besides the pandemic there was also an unexpected hurricane, complete with Texas floods, as well as smoke from the Cali fires to content with. Read a bit about the Hurricane here.  But in-between all this we did sneak away for some fun. Let me just quickly share some trip highlights and I will blog about the adventures in greater detail after I tackle the laundry, lol.  We were in Roswell about 4 days... and it's always good fun.   Empty hotels..I must say this is a BIG change.  It was also difficult to find places serving, except fast food. We did a small bit of shopping too.  We were looking for Halloween decoration but instead we seem to be skipping right into Christmas.  Picnic on the creek in Boerne, Texas  Complete with ducks, swans and geese!  An afternoon spent in Palmetto State Park.   And from the lushness of the coastal plains of Texas to the High desert of New Mexico.  And everything in between, lol!  I have sooo many picts to sort through! But in the meantime I hope you have a great evening and enjoy the end of September.
I will be back soon with more of our adventures :D  Greetings from Texas!  Windblown, but okay...  Driving into Texas before the storm... Go to Texas they said.. It will be fun, they said.. Then there was a Hurricane!  So this week we planned a few days on the Texas Gulf Coast....I've been craving the waves and since we are still banned from leaving the US (Damn Covid!) It looked like Texas was the best bet. Between work, family obligations, social distancing and preparing for the upcoming holidays, this looked to be the best time to sneak away for a few sunny days....but then Beta appeared. It came up quickly and everything changed! Current Advisory on Tuesday Morning:  Current conditions where we are aren't too bad, we are outside of the flash flood zone.  From https://abc13.com/weather/beta-makes-landfall-flash-flood-warnings-until-530-am/6134994/ Last night I decided to find a new hotel, (further away from the Gulf and out of the predicted flood area) and we will wait out the storm today. Rain in Texas can be very unpredictable and I have been caught in flash floods before, so we will just play it safe and stay in.  We decided to stay about 75 miles away from the coast. So far there has been wind and rain, but all-in-all it's not too bad. We will just sit inside and wait to see what the next few days bring.
Speak soon~  Hey! How are things? I'm in the middle of planning a trip today and was thinking about some of the more interesting questions folks ask me when I'm traveling. Now don't get me wrong, for me travel is a way of life and meeting interesting people and having adventures is part of the fun. But I must be very approachable, because people do not hesitate to ask me off hand questions at every turn. Is it just me or does this happen to everyone?  Most often asked question or statement:  "You don't look like your passport!" Said by every customs agent everywhere. I usually reply, "Thank God! Because I was ill then," or something like that. They have never given me any real grief over it, so I must not look THAT DIFFERENT, lol (The picture is rubbish and I will not post it, lol but take my word for it!) But I honestly don't tend to look the same in any pictures and since I color my hair as a hobby, I do tend to look different everyday. (As you may have noticed on here.) Next common question: "Where's your husband?"  They usually look uncomfortable when I tell them he has passed away. I don't get offended anymore when people (men) ask. I guess for some people (men) it's tough to imagine a woman traveling that much? Another really common question I hear is: "What are you doing here?" or "How did you get here?" People seemed surprised that anyone would visit their region or even their countries. Usually I answer pretty straightforward, by telling them a plane or a train or a bus or whatever. I always run into people who have never left their own countries and cannot image anyone coming all the way from America to see their area. Travel really is a mindset as much as anything else.   (Actual Rotterdam station) Leaving Rotterdam, Norway a youngish train attendant was talking to me about which route was best to take to get to the port and seemed to be caught off guard by me returning to America via a ship. "How long does it take? It takes 6 months, right?!" Funny but a lot of people still seem to think it takes months to cross the sea. #WTF?!  We are going on a bigger ship than this! It usually takes about 7 days to make the crossing from NYC to Southampton UK. It takes a bit longer from Norway but still not over 2 weeks even with stops along the way. The number one question French women ask me, when they find out I grew up in south Texas: "Are cowboys real?"  Yes, they are. But most of them are not like on TV. Another common question I hear is: "Is Trump for real?" It is usually asked by everyone who sees my American passport.  Your guess is as good as mine! Another common question or actual statement I hear often in England is: "There is nothing older than 200 years in America! Nothing there to see so you come to Europe!" Ugh! I usually just smile at this and walk away, because its not my job to educate people.  But if you want to learn more about ancient sites in America I'm working on another blog post... This is Chaco Canyon in New Mexico it was occupied from around 800A.D., to the 1,200s. There are plenty of Native American sites across America that are even older.
What are you often asked when you travel? I'd love to hear so leave me a comment below. See you at the airport!  I haven’t really spoken about Harvey. As some of you know I am from Texas, (United States) and while Texas is a large state - roughly the size of France actually, it's all connected. Many nice people have asked if I was affected by this massive storm and if it hit close to my home or family. The short answer is yes. It hit close and the rains following the hurricane devastated “my part of Texas”.
What Happened: More than six million Americans endured more than 30 inches of rain as Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Texas coast. The storm set historic records for rainfall in the United States, dumping 33 trillion gallons of water as it made landfall. According to the Red Cross, rain flooded an area in Texas roughly the size of Michigan, and nearly 52 inches of rain fell in Mont Belvieu (a suburb east of Houston), making it the highest total rainfall of any storm in the country’s history. Harvey displaced 1 million people—early estimates suggest nearly 43,000 headed to shelters, while NPR reported 7,500 people evacuated to Texas State Parks. A Reuters assessment believes 30,000 homes were flooded, resulting in approximately $23 billion in property damage, though experts agree the full environmental impact is still unknown. That’s not a typo that's a BILLION with a B and although the storm is over, the recovery has just begun. I grew up spending summers on the gulf coast. My friends and family still live in the area. It was difficult to watch all of this and almost impossible to not to rush right in afterwards. I’m actually going to Texas in a few weeks to help as much as I can. I promise to blog/video the entire trip. What I’m Doing To Help: I’m going to be dropping off a donation and lending a hand where it’s needed. If you want to help too I have added a 10 page Hurricane Preparedness Guide to this site. This report includes a 5 page Emergency Supplies Checklist. The whole report and the checklist are only $2.99 with the proceeds, after paypal fees, going towards Harvey relief. No matter where you live disasters happen and it pays to be prepared - so buy the report to learn how to protect your family and know that the money is going to a good cause. See you at the airport~  #TrueStory Is this you too? Are you ready for Halloween, cooler temps and fuzzy sweaters? I must admit, there is a part of me that loves the cool crisp air that comes along with the autumn season. I want to be able to enjoy my pumpkin flavored decaffeinated beverages without breaking a sweat. Not to mention, I have recently purged/donated 4 XXL trash bags worth of old summer/spring clothes - part of my 'out with the old and in with the new' challenge. So I’m Uber excited to wear all my new fall purchases. Whose with me? Let's grab those sweaters, long socks and new boots! #FAIL Sadly it was 89' here today... But the weather here in New Mexico is unpredictable, so who knows what next week will be like? In the meantime check out what I happened on in the market today. That's right! The Halloween decorations are going up! And actually all things Thanksgiving/Turkey Madness was also being arranged on the next shelf....OMG! Holiday's here we come! I did my part and bought organic pumpkin. I actually am NOT that crazy about pumpkin, I can take it or leave it. I like one good piece of pie or one good cup of pumpkin spiced coffee a season. But figure I might as well get with the program and grab some now, before it's all gone.  So when in doubt, buy organic pumpkin!  #2Soon? Come on! If they can start selling Halloween Decor, I can bust out the Ghost stickers. This has been a crazy week. I had planned to jump on a plane this weekend and go to south Texas, but it just didn't work out. I should be going before the months out- I need to see for myself the damage and also check on things.
I promise to post pictures as I make my way there and of the area. My family is fine and most of my friends were spared the worst of it, except those in Houston. It's such a tragedy, but I know almost everyone will rebuild. Texans are strong and very loyal. Here's to hoping for a good September, no matter what you are facing or where you are in the world.  *Warning Picture Heavy Post*  OMG! I found another old, forgotten half finished post! Did I EVER finish a post or what? WTF?!? This one is from a road trip I took last May (2016) - I drove from south Texas to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I believe this trip was to look at houses. Which actually I didn't do. I knew what I wanted, researched the area and made an apointment to look at one house... And it was of course perfect!  From raised planting beds, to the garden tub and multiple fireplaces it was our perfect place!  But when we left from Texas on this initial trip we didn't know that yet. I can't believe that was over a year ago!  So let the 12 hour drive continue!  Texas touches New Mexico (and old Mexico for that matter) but South Texas is not close to NM.  You drive and drive and drive and barely make it outta Texas..  Thank goodness I get great MPG!  As I was saying we drove and drove and drove in Texas...  And then called it a day..  And then, finally we were in New Mexico. And all the Alien Craziness that is Roswell. Don't get me wrong, I love it or I would not stop there so often, lol. So we spent the morning roaming around Roswell taking pictures and buying Alien T-shirts, lol.  Roswell ~ is a quirky town, but well worth a visit if you are in the area. Err, actually this was my 3rd visit in 2016.  Every visit I have attempted something new.  I may be having too much fun with snapchat, lol!  But Roswell begs to be photographed, just when you think there is no more alien craziness...something new is found.  They are everywhere..  Everywhere!     I love buying books from local authors...  OMG!  Welcome Earthlings!  Can't argue with that.  Ozzy!  It's good enough for Ozzy, it's good enough for me.  Oh my!    Aliens and a Bottomless Lake - seems legit!  Good Night Roswell!  The Roswell Daily Record (From Wiki) This is what started all the UFO craze for this sleepy little town. After spending a day taking silly alien photos, I got serious and drove on into ABQ. The weather was amazing and it was a perfect day for a road trip.  Hello from "Breaking Bad" land...  We checked into out hotel and went about exploring.  The south west is truly amazing and so beautiful!  Thankful for a safe trip and the start of another great adventure! See you at the airpot!  No dead men in this journey, but it was still a long trip. Click here to read about that Post. This was another 11 hour drive that I made last 3 days, lol #Committed  Although the road was on fire! I did not take as many pictures this time. But I have a train trip to Santa Fe planned soon and I'm sure I'm gonna spam you big on that adventuntre. I have not been to Sant Fe in years! It's such a cool city (so why don't ever go visit? Idk?) Have a look at these random pictures from the latest road trip, as I ponder why I haven't been anywhere lately..  Do you snapchat? I actually have been having a lot of fun with the app.  Still in Texas - driving to New Mexico.   Still in Texas-  I said enough driving! And we stopped for the night.  I so love it when your hotel provides bottled water. (As you have learned from being here, no one in Texas drinks tap water.) Next Stop Carlsbad, New Mexico!  It was a bit warm... No cave visit this trip. But I will be back there soon.   Most of the drive is like this...not very exciting.  There was odd "weather" on this trip. See the rain? In that one spot?  Yes, I somehow ended back up in Roswell, again. WTF?  Alien in proper work attire.  lol- naked alien!  And back on the road again, sorta.  So warm that my car went back in time!  And then we arrived back home....Finally.   Brilliant sunsets and clouds as the rains started to roll in.  So it was a pretty boring trip. We stopped to eat and for fuel and I took no pictures...#Fail
But when you are driving 1,115 miles boring can be a good thing, lol. More adventures soon- |
Author Welcome to my (I'm excited to travel again) blog, my healthy Vegan lifestyle blog and my life! It's a lot, but it's my passions and I just love to write about it. Here I share tips, stories and photos from my adventures and life. This is the place where people can find daily inspiration to travel and motivation to live healthier lives and laugh a bit too! 
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