http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Axel-and-Laurie/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Axel and Laurie en-us Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:59:48 +0000 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:59:48 +0000 Call us crazy but with all this prime outdoor real estate around here it just made sense to go spend a few nights under canvas. We were also excited about spending some quality time with Mr. Henry the dog. So we went to our friendly neighborhood camping outfitter and geared up Although we plan to eventually do some real backwoods camping carrying everything on our backs we decided to try t http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Cle-Elum/blog-439229.html Hi Axel here. I was ordered to Korea to support bilateral exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian from 1229AUG. While I didnrsquot get to do a lot of tourism here are a few pictures of what I saw and did. I was assigned to the staff of U.S. Forces Korea for the duration of the exercise and learned a LOT about Army operations. This was my first experience in Joint operations. Despite the global http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Seoul/Itaewon/blog-438947.html Since arriving in Seattle 18 months ago several people have raved to us about Victoria British Columbia telling us about the cityrsquos charm and savoir vivre. So faced with our impending departure from Seattle for good we decided that now is our chance. Axel did virtually all the planning with a few guiding principles from Laurie 1. Good eats is key. 2. Fun is important.Friday 10 J http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Vancouver-Island/Victoria/blog-438904.html Today is our last full day in Ireland 61516We grabbed breakfast in the hotel restaurant which is decorated in very contemporary furnishings and stark whites everywherehellip ldquourban chic.rdquo The Dylan is very trendy with leatherclad surfaces throughout the elevators and bright red carpeting in the common areas on our floor. When we checkedin yesterday the ldquoreceptionistar http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-438347.html Today we drove to Dublin our last stop in the Emerald Isle. As happenstance would have it Lauriersquos younger sister Patty lives in the city where she is studying at Trinity College. We made good time crossing the width of the island on motorways. We made our way straightaway to our hotel a hip boutique called Dylan located just a few blocks from St. Stephenrsquos Green. Patty came to http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-437519.html Our home for our time in the Connemara is tended by a British couple the Skeltons who have been doing the B B thing for many years first in their native Portsmouth and now in Ireland. We really enjoyed interacting with the couple. While Dave is the front man and the one we interacted with most often it is pretty obvious that Diane rules the roost. Although he is well into his sixties Dav http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Connemara/blog-437150.html Someday when he has time Axel will write beautiful prose about our second trip to France includingChristmas shoppingThe Nutcracker at the OperaNew Years at the Crazy HorseVersaillesFood Food Cheese Wine Food.Family. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/blog-351105.html Our touring day in the Burren highlighted something that we noticed on our very first day in Ireland the odd system of road signage. On our first day we observed Lauriersquos favorite sign Walking on Water. The road signs though proved even more intriguing. Other than the fact that many intersections have no signage whatsoever and that many small country roads are not numbered the signs http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Connemara/blog-351102.html Someday when he has time Axel will write beautiful prose about our first trip to France and introducing Laurie to his mother stepfather and grandparents. In the meantime these are Lauriersquos highlightsbull They served warm croissants on the planebull The Arc de Triumph is really really really TALLbull Lots of Artbull FOODbull Meeting Axelrsquos France familybull Amazing http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/blog-332401.html After spending a glorious night with the howling Atlantic outside and a glowing hearth of peat at our bedside we awoke to radiant sunshine. Breakfast in the sunny veranda room facing the Atlantic was remarkably good. Laurie picked the fluffy pancakes with warm maple syrup and Axel experimented a bit with the smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. The salmon was mixed in after the eggs were scramble http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Clare/The-Burren/blog-340361.html Having made the reservations Axel was excited about the next stop on our Irish adventure Moy House. It certainly looked very romantic online but sometimes pictures can be deceiving The four hour drive from Dingle took us up the West coast of Ireland across the River Shannon into County Clare. Crossing the Shannon required a ferry crossing as Ireland still relies on ferries rather than bridg http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Clare/The-Burren/blog-340360.html Howling winds woke us several times during the night. It seemed like the full force of an Atlantic gale was battering the walls of the house. Despite the doublethick window panes it seemed at times like the wind was blowing straight into the room. In the morning as we dined on the best breakfast yet we watched sheets of rain blowing horizontal outside the windows. Given that Dingle is in a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Kerry/Dingle-Peninsula/blog-340359.html Driving day. Day 3 involved the longest bit of driving of the trip and so required a departure from Waterford at a reasonable hour. We also had plans to stop at Blarney castle outside of Cork to kiss a stone along the way more on that later.Ireland is not a very large country. East to West the greatest distance is perhaps 200 miles. Nevertheless such a trip can easily take 56 hours becaus http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Kerry/Dingle-Peninsula/blog-340357.html As expected getting up on our first full day in Ireland was not difficult. No alarm clock required By 6 am we were wide awakehellipas if we had just taken a long afternoon siestahellipOn the docket for day 2 was a visit of Cashel another one of Irelandrsquos mustsee sites. And you guessed ithellipit was more ruins For those who donrsquot know Ireland has four provinces which ar http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Waterford/Waterford/blog-339353.html Laurie was in charge of travel arrangements. Axel was in charge of lodging food and proposing a touring itinerary. Yoursquod think wersquove done this beforehellip The Emerald Isle came into view in the early dawn of the 16th in that last 20 minutes of grogginess before touchdown. The flight was completely uneventful and the landing smooth as silk in the still morning air. While we had http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Waterford/Waterford/blog-339352.html The Steiner Family in its entirety went to Harbour Island in the Bahamas httpwww.harbourislandguide.com for the celebration of the family matriarch Gilberte's 80th birthday post Christmas and New Years. The week was filled with joy celebration sunshine and snorkeling. The entire clan stayed at the Coral Sands Resort and we literally drank the hotel under the table 61514 httpcora http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Bahamas/Harbor-Island/Dunmore-Town/blog-332061.html The Mississippi Delta was shiningLike a National guitarI am following the riverDown the highwayThrough the cradle of the civil warI'm going to GracelandGracelandIn Memphis TennesseeI'm going to GracelandAxel was sent to Memphis Tennessee to assist with a lateral promotions board for two weeks. In the middle Laurie flew in on her way back from Maryland to check out Graceland and enjoy a few s http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Tennessee/Memphis/blog-329888.html Laurie was able to spend about a week in San Diego with Axel while he was there for the summer working. San Diego is rich in history culture and food. There was much to explore.First stop after fixing axel's cell phone was Balboa Park and its gardens.Balboa Park is renowned for the lush landscaping and lovely gardens on its 1200 acres offering a magnificent backdrop for the cultural attract http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Diego/blog-329158.html After waking up in Barstow we made a beeline for San Diego. We checked in to the BOQ at 32nd Street Naval Station and took off so that Axel could show Laurie all of the San Diego sights.Firs stop Point Loma. It was on Point Loma that we learned a very valuable lesson water and cell phones donrsquot mix. We decided to take pictures from the cliffs despite the fact that high tide was quickl http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Diego/blog-329156.html Today we drove from Vail Colorado to Barstow California. Along the way we made stops in Utah to bear witness to the glorious mesas and Las Vegas to experience the thrill of gluttony and overconsumption at its best.We started the morning at our cozy Vail BB. From there it took almost 3 hours to make it back down the west side of the Rockies. Between fits of fear of ldquofalling off the side http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Nevada/Las-Vegas/blog-329152.html