Hey everybody 👋 Since we were hosting two sets of friends visiting the South Island, we flew from New Plymouth to Queenstown instead of going across the Cook Strait with our car. We rented a car for 6 weeks instead. We weren't sure if our car could hold us and our luggage so PAUPAU stayed in the storage shed. 🚙 As we left New Plymouth,...

We headed southwest from the Taupo area for the 4 hour drive to Ngamotu / New Plymouth. 🚙 We heard about the annual car festival called Americarna but were never been in town for it. We missed it again but this poster in the elevator made us smile. I heard that 'dressing up' referred to dressing in the style of the 1950s and 1960s sinc...

This is a focus post about a few hours at the Orakei Korako Geothermal Park outside of Taupo. If that doesn't sound interesting, I would skip it. 👋 We spent a night in a cabin on a farm on our last night in between Kinloch and Taupo (Feb 8th). The neighbors were pretty quiet. 🐮 We drove over to the geothermal park for a self-guided tou...

Hey everybody, once again, I want to start by sending strength and hugs to all of you. ❤ These are still turbulent times and we need each other to get through them. Thank you for the outreach. 💪 This covers 3 weeks so is a longer post. We were fortunate to go back to the village of Kinloch on the north shore of Lake Taupo. This was ano...

Before I get to the post, I want to send strength and hugs to all of you. ❤ These are turbulent times and we need each other to get through them (along with some strong politicians to resist and stand up for us). 💪 This is a LONG focus post about our second set of pet sits so if that doesn't sound interesting, I would skip it. 👋 I post...

Hey everybody, thanks for all the responses to my last two posts. It was a hard few months (with some good times too) but we got through it together and appreciated all your kind words and thoughts. We are so lucky to have so many wonderful people in our lives. We love hearing from you so thank you. ❤ We planned out our travels for mos...

Hey everybody, we got back to Colorado from the UK in September and spent most of the fall in Nebraska to be closer to Steve's mom and family. I wrote about losing her in a separate post but we did get to enjoy family time and took a few trips for special events along the way. This is a summary post from mid September until late Decemb...

I posted about Steve's dad, Ed, back in 12/10/23 and I am using the same photo for this post. I met Steve's mom, Margaret, in April 1987 AFTER we were engaged. I can only imagine her reaction learning that not only was Steve engaged while he was attending graduate school at the University of Texas but to someone she had never met. We w...

This is a focus post about our visit to Hidcote Manor and Gardens in the north Cotswolds. If that doesn't sound interesting, I would skip it. 👋 Hidcote Manor and Gardens is a world-famous Arts and Crafts-inspired garden nestled in a North Cotswold hamlet, created by passionate plantsman and talented designer, Major Lawrence Johnston. C...

This is the last post about the three weeks we spent in Somerset in an historic home with 2 lovely dogs. We felt very lucky to have found the opportunity to experience many wonderful places in the English countryside. 🏴 There was a vintage Rolls Royce show at the Wells Cathedral on September 9th so we took the dogs with us to check it ...

I was working on this post when we got the terrible news of more gun deaths in the US (including another school shooting in our beloved Colorado). Again, I am uncomfortable sharing our travels when things are so awful for so many people. However, many of you have encouraged me to continue, so I will. However, please put this aside and ...

Our final pet sit in the UK this year was in a very old house in the Somerset countryside with two Welsh Springer Spaniels Alfie (11) and Lara (2). 🐾 We loaded up the dogs to check out the Moat Boat Race in Wells (just a 20 minute drive). 🚙 The race was in the moat surrounding Bishop's Palace. 🚣♂ The Bishop's Palace is the residence of...

We had a day off between pet sits so stopped for a night in Taunton on August 23rd (about 3.5 hrs southwest of London). We checked out the town after dinner where we found a war memorial (expected) and a person walking around on stilts (unexpected). 😲 We found a very beautiful cafe the next morning (Cornish Bakery) before heading back ...

Hey everybody, I hope that you are enjoying the last days of summer in the northern hemisphere / winter in the southern. We are good but It is scary out there - please share your coping / resistance strategies. 🙏 We flew back to London from the Isle of Man on August 14th. We had 4 weeks of pet sits in southern England booked starting i...

This is a focus post with photos of architecture seen while walking around the Isle of Man (mostly Douglas). If that doesn't sound interesting, I would skip it. 👋 👋 👋 👋 👋 👋

Note: This is out of order of our travels since I forgot to send it before moving on to the Isle of Man visit - oops! This is a focus post contains many photos of the Ohlsdorf Cemetery in Hamburg. If that doesn't sound interesting, I would skip it. 👋 The Ohlsdorf Cemetery is the largest rural cemetery in the world and the fourth-larges...

Hey everybody 👋 My grandfather on my father's side, John Leonard Kenna, emigrated from the Isle of Man (IOM) in 1928 and as far as I know, never went back. I used to visit his farmette when I was growing up in New Jersey and he lived with us when I was in high school in Austin but did I ever talk to him about his journey? Nahhhhh ... w...

This is a focus post of photos taken of buildings and houses seen while walking around Hamburg. If that doesn't sound interesting, I would skip it. 👋 👋 👋 👋 👋

On August 7th, we flew from Amsterdam to Hamburg. We were reminded about the Hanseatic League (13th to 17th century trade association) as it was referenced throughout the city. It really helped to travel with a history teacher too. 👩🏫 We stayed near the towering St Michael's (St Michelis) church. 🔔 We had delicious German fare at Oma's...

This is a focus post is photos of the architecture and bikes seen while walking around Utrecht in the Netherlands. If that doesn't sound interesting, I would skip it. 👋 👋 👋 👋

We left London on the Eurostar train on Saturday, 8/3 to meet up with Steve's cousin Patty and her husband Davoud (they lived in Wiesbaden Germany). Saw some pretty English countryside before going through the 'chunnel'. 📸 The views in Belgium and the Netherlands were not too bad either. 👀 We arrived in Amsterdam and took a 30 minute t...

Well, we were at the end of our 41 day pet sit so this was the the last post about our time in London. We have had a terrific stay and have made plans to come back again in July 2026. 🇬🇧 We finally made it to the Victoria and Albert Museum (aka V&A). Henry Cole, the V&A's first Director, declared that the museum should be a "schoolroom...

This is a second focus post with random photos taken on our travels around London. If that doesn't sound interesting, I would skip it. 👋 👋 👋 👋

This is a focus post about the Wallace Collection in Manchester Square London. If that doesn't sound interesting, I would skip it. 👋 The Wallace Collection is a national museum housing unsurpassed masterpieces of painting, sculpture, furniture, arms and armour, and porcelain. The Collection was given to the British Nation in 1897 by La...

This is a focus post about London transportation. If that doesn't sound interesting, I would skip it. 👋 As mentioned, the London train system was super convenient. However, when we got ready to leave the house, I felt like a NASA engineer planning a shuttle mission or a parent trying to schedule their child's school and sports activiti...

Hey everybody, I hope you are ready for more London looks. 👀 This was one of our nearby cafes - lovely coffee and pastries. 🤐 After seeing the Pitzhangar Manor (designed by John Soanes), we planned a trip to the Sir John Soanes Museum. This was his London home near the Royal Academy of Arts where he was an architecture professor. Most ...

Hey everybody 👋 We got some much needed rain so the indoor plants got a nice shower. 🚿 Got to see this up close during our second visit to Liberty's. To celebrate Liberty’s 150th anniversary in 2025, this history is coming to life. Over the course of three months, we invited our network of artisans, makers, designers and visionaries fr...

This is a focus post with random photos taken on our travels around London. If that doesn't sound interesting, I would skip it. 👋 👋 👋 👋 👋 👋

Hey everybody 👋 We are just one week away from leaving London so I will try to get up to date on this travel blog. You can expect a few more posts this week. 💌 --------------------------------------- July 15th - we headed over to the Garden Museum which was across the Thames from the Houses of Parliament. It was a breezy day with coole...

This is a focus post about an art installation at an estate home. If that doesn't sound interesting, I would skip it. 👋 We visited Pitzhangar Manor & Gallery and enjoyed the Mirror, Mirror art installation by Permindar Kaur. Mirror, Mirror is the largest solo presentation of Permindar Kaur’s work ... Kaur’s installations use a visual l...