Political intrigue….back room deals…..off the record discussions…..research for newspaper articles that quote, “unnamed sources.” In Washington D.C., this is most likely business as usual for the past 150 plus years in this town of politicos, lobbyists, elected officials, congressional staff members and the like. The question becomes, “where does all this occur?” When in the District of Columbia and in search of an adult beverage you might find some fun in exploring political bars and pubs, as this is most likely where quite a bit of this sort of activity occurs. Being the intrepid travelers that we are, along with a twisted curiosity, we set out over several weekends to discover these “dens of political dealings” using the cover of tourists exploring museums and monuments in our nation’s capital. As a bit of a disclaimer, these ... read more

In a country where we quickly determined there was more scenic diversity than advertised we began our journey to the southwest and southern part of this fascinating land. Our trip was already two weeks old and we’d seen and experienced so much, it was almost difficult to imagine what we could find next that would match what we had already experienced. But we found it…..and more. Dingle First….a little background. When we were in Dublin at a pub called the Brazen Head for an evening of story telling and music (to be described in our future Dublin blog), we had the good fortune of striking up a conversation with Johnny, who was the storyteller. He was extremely proud of his land and when we told him we would be in Ireland for the better part of ... read more

It was time to flee the larger city of Belfast and begin in earnest to immerse ourselves in what we picture (and perhaps most people as well) as one of the true experience of these two nations, coastal driving. It is after all an island, the third largest in Europe, and 20th largest in the world. Okay, enough geography. We jumped in the “Jukemobile” (we rented a gray Nissan Juke) and navigated our way out of Belfast in search of the coast. We are always drawn to the coast. It is almost as if we don’t get near water, we are just not as happy as we can be. And we want to be happy! Mr. Weather (Dave) has been providing updates on the likelihood of our changing weather twice a day for the past few ... read more

And of course, there will be those of you who wonder, “Why did they go to the Isle of Man?” The simple answer is because it was in the neighborhood of Ireland, which we have set out to explore for the next few weeks. A longer answer is that MJ has wondered about the isle for a couple of decades due to its relationship with the banking industry and those who invest. At any rate, we were, already going to Ireland, so why not pop over for a few days? When we began to plan our trip to the Isle of Man (IOM) we had contacted a B&B on the far north part of the island as it looked quite cute, but the lady wrote back and apologized for not being able to take our booking, ... read more

Back in the States for almost eleven months, the call to travel was fairly strong within us. Now for reference, we’re living in California wine country, so sympathies may be hard to come by, but nonetheless we are who we are, explorers of this big blue marble. Each December, we travel back to Ohio where we are both from, to visit family for the holidays. MJ in her infinite wisdom suggested that we extend our time off. Sheer brilliance! A few ideas were batted back and forth, but then Vienna was suggested. Dave will tell you he’s not sure who came up with the idea, but MJ says the idea was his…..and so the planning began. In preparation for this voyage, we were contemplating the fact that we would be out of the country for New ... read more