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Death Valley is Full of Fantastic History
Sis Adventure 3.0, Part 1, Death Valley National Park As always, traveling with my sister is an interesting adventure. This time, headed to Death Valley and Joshua Tree for a week, the entertainment began before we even left town. We had lodging in Death Valley at Stovepipe Wells – more on that later, but we were camping in Joshua Tree. So how to pack for camping when you are flying out? We decided less was more, so we threw a tent, a tarp, 2 sleeping bags, and 2 sleeping mats along with 2 fire pokers into my giant Biaggi Zip Sack bag. Miraculously, everything fit! I will cover Joshua Tree…
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Mysterious Maya Marvels of Mexico
I’ve been teaching about the ancient Maya civilization for the past 14 years, however, for all the times I have been to Mexico in the past, I have never toured the ruins! I know, crazy! I have always gone to the beach, on a catamaran, or snorkeling. So on my trip to Mexico this summer, I was going to do just that, tour several ruins. I was SO stoked! My husband traveled with me this time, as we were going to Cancun for our anniversary. We stayed at Planet Hollywood Adult Scene All Inclusive Resort. It was nice, but quite the party place. So, if you’re looking for peace and…
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10 Sites to See When You Sail Croatia
Have you ever taken advantage of an opportunity that was not even on your radar? In 2020, I came across the opportunity to book an island hopping trip to sail Croatia for summer 2021. Croatia was never a country that had been at the top of my bucket list, but this trip was too good to pass up. I mean, who could pass up beautiful turquoise water, crystal clear beaches, and a little bit of history, right? Especially when the price tag was so incredibly reasonable. I said sign me up! And it was AMAZING! The trip ALMOST didn’t happen thanks to crazy Covid, but a few months before our…
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Eight Days from Edinburgh Part 5
Imagine walking along your oceanfront property shortly after a storm to discover that the wind has blown away enough sand that some sort of stone structures are peering out from beneath. This is exactly what happened around 1850 in the Orkney Islands, where I will take you in this post. So for those who love history as much as I do, hang on to your hats, because at 5,000 years old, these are the oldest places I have visited! To give you an idea, they predate the pyramids of Egypt, and had been vacated for several hundred years by the time Stonehenge was built! Let’s first talk about getting to…
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Eight Days from Edinburgh Part 4
When I was a little kid, I shared one of my nicknames with a famous monster, Nessie! I always wanted to someday visit Loch Ness in Scotland to look for Nessie. So, here’s to making childhood dreams come true on this leg of our trip! Day 4 for us started out in Uig on the Isle of Skye, and we had a very scenic drive across the island and over the sea back to the mainland. We would be driving across the middle of Scotland about 130 miles (about 3 hours drive) to Inverness, however, three big stops were on the itinerary, so we got an early start. To get…
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Eight Days From Edinburgh Part 3
This post will be shorter than most, but don’t let that fool you! This leg of our trip was one of my most favorite days! I knew it would be because of the three historic stops, but I had no idea how breathtakingly beautiful the beaches were as well! Today you will join us on the Isles of Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland! It takes some time and effort to get there, but it is TOTALLY worth it!! To get to Lewis & Harris requires one to either take the ferry, or fly into Stornoway on the northern end of Lewis. To fly in is pretty…
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Wild West Kansas Sisadventure 2.0
When I agreed to go on this road trip with my sister on our long President’s Day weekend, I had no idea what I was getting myself into! All I knew is that we were going out to the middle of nowhere in western Kansas to look at rocks. She teaches science, so it is her thing. I am always down to travel, so when she asked me to go, I of course said yes. I knew we would find some historic stops along the way, because as you know, that’s my thing! We found a few historic sites that I am excited to share with you! Getting there When…
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Eight Days From Edinburgh Part 2
Welcome back! So, if you missed Part 1 you can go back and read it here. Part 2 begins in Edinburgh where we left off and takes us all the way “over the sea to Skye.” And we only got lost twice! Remember, we stayed at the Holiday Inn which was right across the street from Enterprise where we rented our car. We just walked across the street to get the car, which was great! We did get the excess coverage and roadside assistance just in case we needed it as we had to quickly adjust to driving on the other side of the road. Our first challenge was getting…
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Eight Days From Edinburgh Part 1
My husband and I took this trip in 2019 for our anniversary. It. Was. Amazing. In my typical style, I crammed as much into eight days as I possibly could focusing on ancient to medieval history and then also a few stops at filming locations for my two favorite TV shows, Outlander and Game of Thrones. Our trip was actually 15 days: 2 travel days “across the pond” and back, 8 days in Scotland, and 5 days in Ireland (both Northern & Republic – you can read about the Dingle Peninsula in the Republic of Ireland here). We drove ourselves for most of this trip, and put over 900 miles…
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Seven Historical Sites to See in Kansas City
One of the things I did this summer was to explore in my own backyard! Here in Kansas City, during “normal” times, there are plenty of things to do! There is something for everyone! And while we are best known for our barbecue and our Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs, there is much more to our city! I will be focusing on sites that are related to history, of course! I have even narrowed my seven sites down to ones that are still open to the public despite the pandemic! A few of these places I have visited before, but there are also several that I had not despite…
