Stores that carry "FIRE" season clothing

[MJC]

Just popping in to share this update on airport lounges.https://www.cntraveler.com/story/the-best-ways-to-get-airport-lounge-access-for-every-type-of-traveler?mbid=nl_111218_Daily&CNDID=53507426&weekend_photo=0&utm_source=nl&utm_medium=email&utm_brand=cnt&utm_mailing=tvl_traveler_news_newdb_ACTIVE_2018_1112_bonus (1) remainder&bxid=MjY1ODU1MTg5NDgwS0&hasha=8885cc10258039e7f6282bdc967e6043&hashb=633672665b8fda984ec6e587efae599b22d9d1bd&spMailingID=14603922&spUserID=MjY1ODU1MTg5NDgwS0&spJobID=1520931349&spReportId=MTUyMDkzMTM0OQS2

 

[awhfy]

Our 49th anniversary today. Picture on left is us at 17&19. We were babies!  Melody

[Joby]

Happy belated anniversary, Melody!

[awhfy]

i Think after looking at these two pictures the Earth ladies have decided I’m likely an Ice!  Melody 

[Joby]

We're back from our quick road trip. We had a GREAT time! The weather was good all the way from Denver to San Jose.

 

Our itinerary was:

 

1. fly to Denver--spent the day lounging at the hotel and pool (we were going to go into Denver and see the Dior exhibit at the Art Museum but, we were too tired. We had been up since 2:30 am (for a 6:15 am flight) and decided to just hang out as they gave us an early early check in and free breakfast.

 

2. drive from Denver to Moab, Utah. We did run into snow in the higher CO elevations but nothing major. Also ran into fog.  We found a new to us chain--Freddy's Steakburgers that we liked a lot. The fries were soooo tasty!  Thought about you driving through CO, Melody :) We spent 3 hours at Arches national Park in the late afternoon. The lighting was just beautiful and the sky was perfectly clear and blue. We LOVED Arches NP, we would love to go back when we had more time to spend.

 

3. drive from Moab to Las Vegas. We had never been to Vegas before. We got in around 1:30 pm and it was another perfect weather day. It was a Saturday and we found a 2:30 vigil mass to go to and it was right on the strip :) We stayed at Bally's, which had a great mid strip location. They even gave us a free birthday upgrade to a Jr. Suite with a view. Our view was of the High Roller Observation Wheel at the Linq. So pretty at night. We walked around, had dinner and played the slot machines. I bet a whole $17, won $20 and quit. My DH didn't even play. We saw many of the highlights--Paris, the Eiffel Tower, the Bellagio Fountains, the volcano at the Mirage, Caesars, people watching 😳... A really fun time!!!

 

4. drive Las Vegas to San Jose. Didn't stop much, this was our long drive day. It was interesting to see all the agriculture in CA.

 

5. drive San Jose to Monterey, CA. This was a fantastic day! We drove down to Point Lobos Sanctuary on the coast. Saw our first sea otters! Wish I could have gotten some photos but, they were fairly far out and quick! From there we drove up the 17-Mile Drive to Pacific Grove, went to the Butterfly Sanctuary in PG, and checked in to our lovely B&B right on the ocean. They gave us a free birthday upgrade to a full ocean view room. We had a lovely dinner at Passionfish of Albacore Tuna and Trout and a great bottle of local Pinto Noir. Delicious meal!!! The coastline in this area is just lovely, would love to go back.

 

6. got up, drove to the airport and flew home.

 

We haven't been to any of these spots other than Denver. It was certainly a quick road trip but, quite enjoyable. MY DH's company needed a larger truck moved from Denver to San Jose and they agreed to let me tag along for free and it was my birthday week.  I tried to plan it so that we could hit some interesting places along the way and not just drive. We were quite pleased with how it turned out.

 

I'll post some photos in a few days.

 

Hope everyone has the happiest of holidays!

 

 

[awhfy]

Kim!  Great trip!  Happy birthday to you. Wish we could’ve met up, Denver is about an hour & a half (dependent on traffic) north of us. Our two favorite National Parks are Bryce & Arches. Freddy’s Steakburgers fries are yummy. You gamble like I do 😂😂One of our favorite places is the Monterey peninsula. We lived in San Jose for 3 years & made the trip as often as possible. Hope your holidays are marvelous. Melody

[Joby]

Thanks, Melody. 

 

We thought Arches reminded us a little of Garden of the Gods. Do you think so?

 

I should have proofed my post a little closer— it should have said Pino Noir not Pinto😂

 

So many beautiful places in our country to see!

 

 

[Sailor_Sally]

Kim , You crammed a lot into your trip . It sounds like so much fun.Happy Birthday & Happy Holidays !

[awhfy]

21 hours ago, Joby said:

Thanks, Melody. 

 

We thought Arches reminded us a little of Garden of the Gods. Do you think so?

 

I should have proofed my post a little closer— it should have said Pino Noir not Pinto😂

 

So many beautiful places in our country to see!

 

 

Arches does remind us of Garden of God’s on a much bigger scale. We walked thru the Garden thus morning, pretty chilly

[Joby]

I miss our activity here :(  I thought about just posting this on the EARTH thread where everyone posts now but, decided to give the ol' FIRE thread a bump :)

 

Even though it's not too active on this thread I wanted to post and say my DD and I just got back from a week in London. We had a marvelous time! Wherever we travel, I always try and check out the fashion of the area. I'm not the fashion expert that many of you are here and on the EARTH thread but, I am aware of it and try to look around and notice.

 

I was surprised in London, I thought it might be dressier but, it wasn't necessarily so. In fact, we went to the theater one evening and saw "Phantom of the Opera" and I was a little disappointed in the dress there. We saw NO ONE really dressed up, some dressed as we were and MANY in shorts, jeans, tees, etc.

 

Overall, the people on the street were not what I would call fashionably dressed. I would also guess that many were tourists though. We tried to dress up just a bit--no shorts, tennis shoes, backpacks...It was fairly warm for England-temps in the 80"s most all days and in the 70"s at night. We had NO RAIN during the days at all. A couple of times it rained overnight but, not a drop during the days. We felt really blessed!

 

I'm almost done with my photos--still need to cull but, when I'm finished I'll post a link here for anyone who wants to look.

 

My DH and I are going to Yellowstone for 2 weeks in August. We're sooo excited. We've been planning it and have had reservations for 18 months! Hopefully, we'll have good weather, lots of wildlife sightings and beautiful views. It's been on my "list" to see to for ages.

 

I love keeping up with everyone and reading all the exploits on the EARTH thread!

 

 

[Anita Latte]

I'm so excited to hear more about your trip and see your photos Kim!!!

[purduemom1]

We were in Paris in May and I too was a bit surprised that I did not see more fashionable dress. Like you, Kim,  i saw mostly shorts,, tees, leggings, jeans and all types of shoes. At least I never felt “underdressed”!

[Member123]

Phantom of the Opera !!!!

 

😍😢😢😢

 

<sniff> <sniff>

[Anita Latte]

NO Phantom singing!!! No crying!! Don't worry...be happy...

[Sailor_Sally]

Maybe the heat wave did the fashionista's in.

[purduemom1]

3 hours ago, Sailor_Sally said:

Maybe the heat wave did the fashionista's in.

LOL!

[Joby]

So nice to have some chatter over here!

 

Here is a link to my photos:

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pXjtiq18ehMnULV26 

 

If you click on the 1st photo, it will enlarge all the photos and tell you what the photo is.

 

This was a quickly planned, shoe-string budget trip. We found a super cheap airfare at the beginning of May and jumped on it. We had a ball! Saw everything we wanted to, ate good food, shopped and had a lot of fun.

 

Anita, I know you were interested in how our lodging turned out. Our lodging worked out well (we stayed at the London School of Economics dorm--Carr-Saunders). It was perfectly located in an interesting neighborhood, close to a Tube station and a busy shopping street (Tottenham Court Rd). It provided a full buffet breakfast each morning which was good and we didn't eat again until dinner usually.  We shared a twin bedded room which was really small--enough room for both beds, a night stand, a wardrobe and a sink/mirror. There was no A/C in the dorm and it was quite warm for London. We had a small oscillating fan I got from reception and our window opened at the top only. It was OK to sleep. We were gone all day long and only back to the dorm to shower and sleep. We had to use a shared bathroom and separate shower. The whole week we were there I'll bet I only saw 3-4 other people in the bathrooms and never a single soul in the shower. The shower I always used was in its own private room with locking door. The cost was fantastic for central London! For the 2 of us (DD and I), it was fine--clean, well located, breakfast included and cheap!

 

We flew "Basic Economy" on United Air--carry-on only and no choice of seats. On the trip TO London we had middle row of middle row seats on a full flight :( Not comfortable to sleep at all but, we knew that going in. On the trip home, we had a very nice gate agent and a 1/2 full flight, so he gave us back to back window seats with no one next to each of us. Perfect! So much nicer than our flight to London. But, again, it's just dealer's luck with Basic Economy.

 

We used only public transportation and walked between 7-10 miles PER DAY. My feet were sore at the end of the day :)

 

Our weather was great--no rain at all during the day and warm temps.

 

My favorite things we did--watching the Changing of the Horse Guards, seeing Phantom of the Opera, Evensong at St. Paul's Cathedral and the Verger tour at Westminster Abbey. Also loved the Queen's Rose Garden, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London...loved it all.

 

As I mentioned and you will be able to see a little in the photos--I didn't feel it was really dressy in London or the surrounds. Maybe it was the heat, maybe just being around tourists, maybe I missed the fashionistas, maybe they just don't dress up as much anymore, IDK. Just my observations.

 

We're off to Yellowstone next week. I've never had 2 big trips so close together before. Sure has kept me hopping :0

 

Hope you enjoy the photos!

 

 

 

 

[MJC]

I love your photos, Kim. It sounds like you packed a lot into your time there, and saw lots of interesting things with little time to plan. Good job on the packing, too.

 

The color and clarity of your photos is fabulous, even the interiors that are especially challenging, like cathedrals.  Any tips you can pass along?

[Joby]

Hi Margaret,

 

Glad you liked the photos :) No real tips--on our big camera I have a film setting and I always choose "Velvia" ( it's the type of film old time nature photographers  always used). It's used for brighter colors that are usually seen in nature. I would love to have some tips on the inside Cathedral shots but, I've found that my phone takes better photos in subdued lighting than either of my cameras, so that's what I used. I also play with the lighting on my big camera much more than the settings. Our Photojournalist son is a whiz with all of the settings--me not so much!

 

When I (we) travel, we are always on the go, we don't rest much on trips. My thought is--what if I never get back here, what have I missed....we can sleep in when we get home and there's nothing to do 🤣

 

Your next trip sounds amazing! Can't wait to hear about it.

[Joby]

Finally finished our Yellowstone/Teton photos from our trip in August. It was so beautiful in Yellowstone. I was amazed by all of the color. I saw some really great FIRE colors 🙂

 

Hope you enjoy the photos.

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RGxQutzakGgXj7Nb7

[Anita Latte]

Love the photos Kim. I have been to so many of those places. Really good to see them again. DH has a lot of family in Wyoming...and he lived there briefly as a child. His mom was born and raised around Montana...and that whole area of the country is where they lived for several years. When DH and I lived in Colorado, we made several trips up there. When I was in 5th grade? my entire family on Dad's side spent the holidays in Jackson Hole...I have photos of me on that long boardwalk around the springs...I remember the smell...

[Joby]

Aaahhh yes, the smell....the Old Faithful area was kind of other worldly with the smells, steam, eruptions and noise. We really loved this trip!!! Wyoming and Montana are such beautiful areas of our country. The area that just blew us away unexpectedly was the Big Horn Canyon area. We were alone there for most of the time and the wild Mustangs, abandoned farm, wide open landscape and beautiful colors were just breathtaking!

 

It's fun to see other people's photos of places you've been before, isn't it?

[awhfy]

Kim your photos are wonderful. We love the Yellowstone area. Great colors in your photos. 
 

here’s a couple of our Hawaii ones. Melody

[Joby]

Melody,  I think the colors were the biggest surprise at Yellowstone. I had no idea they would be so beautiful!

 

Anxiously waiting for more Hawaii photos 😁

[awhfy]

Here’s some more Hawaii. The views looking down are from our hotel room in Honolulu at the Hale Koa, we scored an ocean front room on the corner on the top floor!  The ship picture is the Celebrity Eclipse at anchor in Kona. Melody