If you are hanging out in SoCal you need to have some places to eat, and lucky for you I spent the summer doing just that. From Palm Springs to Laguna Beach and some places in between I’ve got you covered. (Check out my SoCal Tourist post for things to do!)
As this is an Actual sentence spoken to me, this Summer I wanted to actively see more of the places near me. While more often than not I don’t go more than 20 minutes away when I do I head to San Diego, so this year I decided to head North. Lo and behold, there are a lot of other cool things to do if I dare to venture a little farther from home.
So if you want to adventure around Southern California, these are the things worth your time.
The final installment of the Ireland Diaries is here. If you haven’t read the others you can find the links to them below 🙂
Sligo and Easkey were the final places I visited on my Ireland journeys and it was also the part that I was most excited about. My cousins on my dad’s side live in Ireland and, with the exception of one, I had never met any of them in person before. We had been chatting on the phone and emailing and skyping etc since we were little kids but that was all.
Our whole lives we spent every year hoping it would finally be the year we could meet. It only took me 21 years but I did finally get my grandparents to take me to Ireland to meet them, and it was like we had been hanging out in person all our lives.
Welcome back to another post in the Ireland Diaries. If you’ve missed the others you can find them HERE.
Getting to go on a train trip was one of the things I was most excited to do when I went to Ireland. I told my grandpa that he could choose whichever trip he wanted as long as there was a castle to see. The trip we chose went from the Heuston Station in Dublin to Cork, then a van ride up to Cobh, and a train ride back. It takes about 3 hours by train to get from Dublin to Cork and the ride there didn’t seem as long as I expected. Though it may have been because I dozed part of the way.
Continue readingThe fourth installment of the Ireland Diaries is finally here!
I was going to include the journey through the Guinness Storehouse in my other post, but then decided it deserved its own. My uncles and my dad were adamant that I visit, since they hadn’t gone before, and everyone wanted to know what it was like. The Guinness Storehouse, as stated on its website, has “seven floors of fun and excitement as you explore the story of Ireland’s most iconic beer.” Guinness Brewery began in 1759 in Dublin, Ireland, and from what I heard a lot of people told me that they think Guinness tastes better in Ireland. I personally think it’s disgusting but more on that later.
Ireland is beautiful. That is the only way this story can begin. I waited my whole life to go there and it did not even, in the slightest, disappoint. I think it exceeded my expectations, which is why it gets a whole series of posts because it deserves it.
For today’s post, we are going to start at the beginning, because it is a very good place to start.
The Beyond Van Gogh: Immersive Experience is an exhibit that is currently happening around the country. The exhibit’s purpose is to show the artwork of Vincent Van Gogh in a way never experienced before. With the use of projection and original scoring, you can view 300 of Van Gogh’s art as though you are in the paintings.
My uncle bought us tickets for my birthday last year, but it didn’t come to San Diego until this month. I thought it was worth the wait.
You begin in a room filled with projected information depicting Van Gogh’s life and includes quotes and empty frames creating the walkways. They are also a fun photo opportunity.
In part 2 of the Ireland Diaries, we find ourselves in the heart of Dublin for the sights and eateries of the city.
The Temple Bar area is filled with things to do, from nightlife (or so I’ve heard, I am a grandma and go to bed early ;p) to delicious food and shopping. The main Temple Bar building is beautiful with hundreds of string lights, especially at night. The Temple Bar Trading Company has great Ireland souvenirs for all the people in your life. They had some great postcards which I got for my uncles and they had other cool things like shamrock seeds and lots of shamrock-shaped jewelry.
Continue readingLake Tahoe is one of my favorite places. I have been going up there since I was 2. My grandparents have a house and I would always go spend up to 3 weeks with them in the summer, doing swim lessons, being on the lake and winning library reading contests.
Did you know Lake Tahoe is the second deepest lake in the U.S? It has a ton of cool history and was even frequented by Frank Sinatra.
The lake goes across the California and Nevada border so it’s easy to spend the day going back and forth between states depending on what adventures you are having.
There are apparently a ton of cool trails for hiking but as I am not at all a hiker, I have compiled a list of fun things to do that do NOT involve hiking.
Summers spent in Lake Tahoe have always been some of my favorite memories. I got to go up with my family last week for a few days and spend some time with my grandparents. I am always quick to recommend checking out South Lake Tahoe because there is so much to do.
There are always certain nonnegotiable items on the to-do list but this year we tried some new things too!
