Remember to pace yourselves on St. Paddy's Day!

This one is for the Irish in each of us (at least one day per year, anyway). Last year on our trip to Ireland, within about an hour of landing, our group was taken to the Man O' War pub in Dublin near the airport. This place was established in 1595! Other than dirt and rocks, I don't think we have anything that old here in the good ol' USA.

This is a picture of the bar, which, not surprisingly, had plenty of taps dedicated for local brews Guinness, Smithwick's and Bulmers. But, I found it very surprising that they had Budweiser and Coors on tap. Best I can figure, that's what they served whenever someone orders water.

Wishing you a very Happy (and safe!) St. Patrick's Day!

Fun Photo Friday The 13th meets St. Patrick's Day Weekend

Here's my Fun Photo Friday, which combines a Friday the 13th theme with St. Patrick's Day weekend. This is the cemetery at St. Patrick's Church at the very sacred Hill of Tara, County Meath, Ireland.

Old Point Loma Lighthouse

Cabrillo National Monument State Park is right here in our hometown of San Diego, and I personally have only visited it twice. Yet it offers some of the most beautiful views of San Diego, the coast, etc. It is also home to this, the Old Point Loma Lighthouse. Darcy and I visited the park in December 2013, on the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and they had a very cool display of WW II vehicles, guns, and a simulated air raid. We were even able to go into the WW II bunker (pix of that in the near future!). It was a great experience, and also an amazing place to photograph.

Great spot for lunch, when you're next in the area...

Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park is a beautiful place to hike around and take pictures. Darcy and I decided to take our time returning to San Diego from Lake Tahoe on of our summer trips, and wound up taking the east entrance into Yosemite. We drove toward the meadows, parked the car, and then hiked a little to find the perfect place to have lunch, which is pretty much anywhere in Yosemite. We had our dog Phoenix with us, and this was in her twilight years, so did not hike very far, but wound up here. It holds a very special place in our hearts.

Fun Photo Friday: Beach Weekend!

Fun Photo Friday: Enjoy your weekend!

Stop and smell the, well, not roses...

We love to stop at Mono Lake throughout the year on our drives to and from Lake Tahoe. It is a very peaceful place, located a very short distance outside the eastern gate to Yosemite near Lee Vining, California. Almost every time we pass by it, it seems like Bailey is poking us to make the stop (usually because she has to go to go pee or poo). On a trip back in 2003, we had my kayak, so I launched it (with the Ranger's permission) and paddled around the tufas, which are the calcium-based limestone rocks that are formed from the chemical reaction they have with the carbonate in the lake water.

I'd say "stop and smell the roses" as a summary to this one, but you won't likely find any rose-smells near mono lake. Still, it's a beautiful place, and is a high-encouraged stop along your travels.

Check out my Mono Lake photos in my gallery by clicking here.

As seen along the Scenic Byway 12 in Utah

Puebloan Granary

There are a lot of great things to stop and see along "The All-American Road" Scenic Byway 12 in Utah. After leaving Escalante, we stopped at a roadside marker that pointed out an ancient Puebloan granary that can be seen right along the road. The granary was carved in the sandstone several hundred years ago by the Puebloans, who used it to store and protect food supply.