Paris
Olympics website: https://www.paris2024.org/en/
Venue: https://www.paris2024.org/en/venue/vaires-sur-marne-nautical-stadium/
Other things to do: https://olympics.onlocationexp.com/paris2024/what-to-do/
Research - https://www.headout.com/blog/paris-olympics-2024
Stade Nautique de Vaires-sur-Marne
Rte de Torcy, 77360 Vaires-sur-Marne, France
Sports: Canoe, Rowing, Para Canoe, Para Rowing
Metro Stop: Vaires-Torcy (RER E, Train P)
The Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium will be served by Bussy‑Saint‑Georges station (RER line A), from where a special direct shuttle bus will transfer spectators to the venue, and by Vaires Torcy station (train line P from the Gare de l’Est in central Paris). The calm-water lake (rowing and para rowing) will also be served by a shuttle bus from Chelles Gournay station (RER line E).
Getting from airport to Vaires-sur-Marne / Torcy
From Charles de Gaulle, you can take the RER B Train into the city
Public transport app - https://www.ratp.fr/en/apps/bonjour-ratp ; you need a Navigo pass already to scan into the phone to use the app to purchase tickets. If this sounds confusing or you don’t plan to take the metro a ton for a shorter visit, then I’d just purchase a pack of tickets at a station and use those.
Train tickets - https://www.sncf-connect.com/en-en/
Train travel planning - https://parisbytrain.com/
Seattle
Research…
Self guided Trail to Treasure walking tour of Pioneer Square
Other self guided Walking Tours
Underground tour Beneath the Streets
6/19 - 12-8pm Juneteenth Celebration @ Jimi Hendrix Park
6/21 - Make Music Seattle day
possibly Seattle Night Market - but I can't figure out what day it is held
List of things - Visit Seattle, mostly museum stuff
Bainbridge Island Ferry - flexible
Cruise around the harbor (there is a happy hour one!)
From a resident
Waterfront (Alaskan Way)
Pier 54
Ivar’s Restaurant
Ye Olde Curiosity Shop
other gift stores
Pier 57
Miners Landing
the big wheel
Wings Over Washington
Crab Pot Restaurant
Fisherman’s Restaurant and Bar
Pier 59
Aquarium
Pier 67
Edgewater Inn (Beatles)
Pike Place Market
Seattle Center Space Needle
Chihuly Glass Museum
Science Center
Westlake Center shopping mall w/ Nordstrom flagship store
Columbia Center - Skyview Observation
Seattle Underground Walking Tours (Old Town)
Woodland Park Zoo
Woodinville (17 mi away) - Chateau St Michelle & 130 other vineyards
Cornwall
We had a spectacular time and our Boscastle National Trust home base was the perfect choice!
Our first day we drove south to visit Lost Gardens of Heligan and then St Michael’s Mount - spectacular! Luckily it was low tide while we were there so we were able to walk to it. But some of the roads we took to get there were a bit harrowing!
One day we took a great boat trip with Padstow Sealife Safaris and spotted a bunch of puffins! So excited to see quite a few pairs flitting around us, and one that was hanging out in the water fishing!
Then we fortified ourselves with an authentic Cornish pasty and set off on a hike. We planned to go on the South West Coast Path from Boscastle to Tintagel and back but that was a bit aggressive for starting late in the day. The path looks like it runs along the top of the ridge but looks are deceiving! It was a spectacular hike but my fitness app said we did the equivalent of 53 flights of stairs one way... we took the bus home!
We had a delicious "proper" Cornish Cream Tea at The Good Stuff and then we were off to surf in Bude! We rented from the incredibly knowledgeable folks at Zuma Jay Surf Shop and had a fun time in the not-too-cold water. The next day we popped in to check out the surf at Crackington Haven where I found a Cornish flag rock!
And we visited Tintagel Castle during our first real downpour of the trip - wow!
The last day, on our way to Winchester to drop Steve off for his workshops, we stopped in Beaminster where Steve’s 8x great grandfather lived and was buried. We looked in the graves surrounding St Mary’s but weren’t able to make out any headstones from the 1600s when he was there.
Hyannis MA
We are heading to Hyannis this summer for a family reunion, so I thought I’d put together a list of possible things to do!
Maritimes: Lubec
Had a great trip via 2 ferries from Sat Martins to Lubec, through Deer Island and Campobello Island where we spotted a whale and gathered some sea glass!
Lubec was our destination because that’s where our great great great grandparents landed in the US after leaving Ireland!
In Lubec
On the way to the airport, we saw a momma and baby deer, just like when we arrived!
Rocky and Ellie on the flight home!
Maritimes: Bay of Fundy
Fundy Coastal Drive and Hiking
Saint John and the Reversing Falls
Home Sweet Home
Maritimes: Prince Edward Island [2022]
Lighthouses!
Anne of Green Gables!
Other adventures on PEI
Our home away from home, and pretty much private beach for sunsets!
Maritimes: Bar Harbor [2022]
We flew into Bangor, with a quick cribbage game on the plane, and drove to Acadia National Park.
Acadia National Park
including a lovelyy lunch at the Jordon Pond House, hike around Jordon Pond and a drive on Park Loop Road where we saw a momma and baby deer plus a gorgeous sunset over the Desert Island shore.
Topped off the day with blueberry pie and blueberry martinis at Paddy’s!
Westbound Cross Country - October [2021]
On the way home, we planned to take 6 days. We only stopped for gas, bathroom, and sleep.
Westbound, October 2021
Day 1: Phoenixville PA to Fayette OH (PA, OH)
Harrison Lake State Park
Day 2: Fayette OH to Kellogg IA (OH, IN, IL, IA)
Rock Creek State Park
Day 3: Kellogg IA to Sterling, CO (IA, NB, CO)
North Sterling State Park
Day 4: Sterling CO to Sevier, UT (CO, UT)
Fremont Indian State Park, Sam Stowe Campground
Day 6: Sevier, UT to Oceanside CA (UT, AZ, NV, CA)
Eastbound Cross Country - Aug / Sept [2021]
For our fourth trip across the country in COVID time, we planned to take 7 days, including a stop at my 50th state, ND, with my relatives in WI and Dave Grohl’s hometown of Warren OH. Otherwise we only stopped for gas, bathroom, sleep.
Eastbound, September 2021
Day 1: Oceanside CA to Sevier UT (CA, NV, AZ, UT)
Fremont Indian State Park, Castle Rock Campground
Day 2: Sevier UT to Sinclair WY (UT, WY)
Firehole Canyon Campground
Day 3: Sinclair WY to Medora ND (WY, MT, ND) via Devils Tower
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Cottonwood Campground
Day 4: Medora ND to Pelican Rapids MN (ND, MN)
Maplewood State Park
Day 5: Pelican Rapids MN to Oconomowoc, WI (MN, WI)
home stay
Day 6: Oconomowoc, WI to Mosquito Creek Lake OH (WI, IL, IN, OH)
Mosquito Creek Lake State Park
Day 7: Mosquito Creek Lake OH to Phoenixville PA (OH, PA)
Westbound Cross Country - July [2021]
On the way home, we planned to take 6 days. We only stopped for gas, bathroom, and sleep.
Westbound, July 2021
Day 1: Phoenixville PA to Grand Rapids OH (PA, OH)
Mary Jane Thurston State Park
Day 2: Grand Rapids OH to Kellogg IA (OH, IN, IL, IA)
Rock Creek State Park
Day 3: Kellogg IA to Ogallala NE (IA, NB)
Lake Ogallala State Park
Day 4: Ogallala NB to McKinnon WY (NB, WY)
Firehole Canyon Campground
Day 5: McKinnon, WY to Sevier, UT (WY, UT)
Fremont Indian State Park, Sam Stowe Campground
Day 6: Sevier, UT to Oceanside CA (UT, AZ, NV, CA)
Eastbound Cross Country - May [2021]
For our third trip across the country in COVID time, we planned to take 6 days as we added time to visit my aunts and uncles in Wisconsin . We only stopped for gas, bathroom, sleep and that visit.
Eastbound, May 2021
Day 1: Oceanside CA to Sevier UT (CA, NV, AZ, UT)
Fremont Indian State Park, Castle Rock Campground
Day 2: Sevier UT to Sinclair WY (UT, WY)
Seminoe State Park
Day 3: Sinclair WY to Luverne MN (WY, SD, MN)
Blue Mounds State Park
Day 4: Luverne MN to Oconomowoc WI (MN, WI)
home stay
Day 5: Oconomowoc, WI to Yellow Springs OH (WI, IL, IN, OH)
John Bryan State Park
Day 6: Yellow Springs OH to Phoenixville PA (OH, PA)
Westbound Cross Country - October [2020]
For the way home we consulted the COVID outbreak map, trying to avoid stopping in virus hotspot counties. We decided 5 days of driving is lots more manageable and made campground reservations for all but the last night. We only stopped for gas, bathroom and sleep.
Westbound, October 2020
Day 1: Phoenixville PA to Beverly Shores IN (PA, OH, IN)
Dunewood Campground in Indiana Dunes National Park
Day 2: Beverly Shores IN to Ashland NE (IN, IL, IA, NE)
Eugene T. Mahoney State Park
Day 3: Ashland NE to Hayden CO (NE, WY, CO)
Yampa River State Park
Day 4: Hayden CO to Overton NV (CO, UT, NV)
Echo Bay Lower Campground in Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Day 5: Overton NV to Oceanside CA (NV, AZ, CA)
Eastbound Cross Country - September [2020]
For our second trip across the country in COVID time, we planned to take 6 days as we added time to visit Steve’s cousin near Dallas. We only stopped for gas, bathroom, sleep and that visit.
Eastbound, October 2020
Day 1: Oceanside CA to Willcox AZ (CA, AZ)
Willcox KOA
Day 2: Willcox AZ to Lake Colorado City TX (AZ, NM, TX)
Lake Colorado City State Park
Day 3: Lake Colorado City TX to Hickory Creek TX (TX)
Hickory Creek Campground
Day 4: Hickory Creek TX to Memphis TN (TX, OK, AR, TN)
T.O. Fuller State Park
Day 5: Memphis, TN to Dublin VA (TN, MS, VA)
Claytor Lake State Park
Day 6: Dublin VA to Phoenixville PA (VA, MD, DE, PA)
Westbound Cross Country - August [2020]
For the drive home, we took 4 days as well, but that last day was over 14 hours, and it was rough! We only stopped for gas, bathroom and sleep.
Westbound, August 2020
Day 1: Phoenixville PA to Chesterton IN (PA, OH, IN)
We decided to take a different route, to hit up some different scenery. The first night we were not able to make a reservation, but stayed at a private campground near Indiana Dunes, arriving after sunset, and took a lovely beach walk in the morning.
Day 2: Chesterton IN to Ashland NE (IN, IL, IA, NE)
We made it to Eugene T Mahoney State Park just past Lincoln at sunset for night 2. It’s a huge park just off the freeway, with mostly RVs, and quite a few “Gladys Kravitz” lookie loos.
Day 3: Ashland NE to McKinnon WY (NE, WY)
For the third night we did not have a reservation and decided it was best to stop before the sun went down. We arrived at Firehole Canyon Campground within the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area in Ashley National Forest just before sunset and it was absolutely stunning. Sunrise was even better - it’s a spot we want to return to!
Day 4: McKinnon WY to Oceanside CA (WY, UT, NV, AZ, CA)
Our last day of driving was long, over 14 hours!
Eastbound Cross Country - July-Aug [2020]
For our first trip across the country, we planned on 4 days of driving, and it was long but worked out well. We only stopped for gas, bathroom and sleep.
Eastbound, August 2020
Day 1: Oceanside CA to Grand Junction CO (CA, AZ, NV, UT, CO)
We trekked from Oceanside CA to the Saddlehorn Campground at Colorado National Monument in Grand Junction CO the first day! Quite a long haul, about 12.5 hours. We were in 5 states - California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Colorado! Top temp we noticed was 116, After we got out of the coastal region it never dipped below 100.
We arrived past 10pm, so setting up the Tepui tent for the first time, in the dark, was a bit of a challenge. We had forgotten key info about how to configure the ladder, but eventually got it all set. It was breezy and comfortable that night, and the next morning we were able to take in the stunning views from inside the tent! We chose Colorado National Monument because I remembered it fondly from the cross country trip I took with my Mom in the early 90’s when I moved to California.
Day 2: Grand Junction CO to Sylvan Grove KS (CO, KS)
We also arrived after 10 at our second night’s stop, Wilson State Park in central Kansas. We tried to stop at a KOA just after sunset, but they considered us an RV so would not let us take an open tent spot as the RV spots were full! Lesson learned, future trips we opted for reservations instead of assuming we would be able to pop in when we decided to stop driving. There are no spots - you just grab empty space in a field, so it was a bit difficult in the dark. People were still up and partying around campfires and did not wear masks at all, which caused us to be very careful at the restrooms.
Day 3: Sylvan Grove KS to Marshall IL (KS, MO, IL)
Night 3 we were able to find an open gorgeous woodsy spot at Lincoln Trail State Park. We had an entire section, including the bathroom, to ourselves as it was Sunday and had rained that day which cleared everyone out.
Day 4: Marshall Il to Phoenixville PA (IL, IN, OH, WV, PA)
The next day we drove all the way to Mom’s!
Cross Country Trip Prep
We were able to borrow a Tepui rooftop tent which is amazing!! Pop up or break down takes less than 10 minutes, compared with a normal tent which would take much longer even after you find a flat rock-free spot! It really contributed to making the trip smooth, especially since we often pulled into campgrounds after dark.
We got a bunch of “toys”, and repurposed some things to make the trip easier and self contained. Absolutely essential was a recharger that could take USB or normal plugs which gets juice from a cigarette lighter! Some favorites: thermoelectric cooler that plugs into a cigarette lighter; solar lighting that also has a USB charging port; Litter Genie, normally used for kitty litter but great to use to avoid stinky trash; a “kit” stored in a zipper clutch purse with utensils, paring knife, corkscrew, bottle stopper, small measuring cup (primarily for muesli mix!); rechargeable lighter, citronella candles, Off to keep the biters at bay; bath kit of soap, shampoo/conditioner, facial scrub sheet, and bath mitt which we pop into a pocket beach towel; rechargeable flashlight with USB charging port; rechargeable fan with bendable legs; kitchen sink sponge holder which we fasten around the gearshift, to put phones in - it has “drain” holes on the bottom which can be used to arrange cords to keep them out of the way; and of course a mascot to put in photos - we found cat sunglasses (there is such a thing!!) to keep it fun!
Since COVID is a threat, we decided we only wanted to stop for gas, bathroom breaks and camping. We carried a ton of hand sanitizer, rubber gloves and of course masks!
That meant we would need to carry all of our food, and water for the most part. We carried a 1 gallon Brita UltraMax dispenser for rinsing water, and also another 2.5 gallon water jug with a spigot for drinking water.
The first trip, we prepared way too much food for meals: muesli mix (plus a few non-refrigerated cartons of oat milk to add the night before), tortilla rollups with hummus or cream cheese, vegetarian “sausage” rolls (huge success!), gazpacho (did not work), baked butternut squash risotto (another big hit), wild rice with butternut squash (ok), and spinach pasta (worked well). We packaged 2-servings containers of each meal making it easy to pack, serve, and clean up!
Another huge hit was cold brew coffee - Grady’s Cold Brew Kit comes with a ‘pour and store’ pouch that makes it very convenient, just add oat milk! Oh, and wine!!
For snacks, we brought homemade oatmeal cookies, peanut butter pretzels, goldfish, mixed nuts/dried fruit, hummus with carrot/celery sticks (did not work well), individual yogurts and power bars, plus grapes, apples and clementines. Again, we went a bit overboard because we weren’t sure what to expect. In the end, the best choices were grapes, peanut butter pretzels, goldfish and oatmeal cookies.
In the end we decided to keep most of the food in the back, and portioned out snacks for the day, to avoid dealing with too much unnecessary space taken up in prime spots, and also to keep an eye on how much we were consuming. Collapsible bowls with lids are really convenient, while keeping space requirements to a minimum!
And insulated cups with straws were important to keep us hydrated, along with a small refillable container in the cooler to give us access to cold water!
It took a few iterations to position things that we needed on top and avoid having to repack or unearth too many items, but here are the results!
To see lists and research we compiled for the trip, head over to sustainablebliss.com.
Scarborough England [2018]
We took a day trip from York to Scarborough, which was really gorgeous and very walkable. We had breakfast (and 4-across) at Sunny's, went to Anne Bronte's grave, to Scarborough Castle (next set of pictures) and walked down to North Bay, stopping to watch some skaters at HairyBob's Skatepark and Dirtjumps, around to South Bay and took the funicular back up to town!
And the main attraction: Scarborough Castle! Spectacular!!
York England [2018]
One of the fun things to do in York is pick up a Cat Trail map and explore the city!
Harry Potter Stuff!
Food!
Where we stayed - the Beehive!
