As soon as we approached Inishcleer, aka Clare Island, we saw Granuaile’s Castle. It’s most famous for being the stronghold of the Pirate...

Kylemore Abbey is one of the most visited attractions in Connemara. Naturally, it was on our itinerary. Although the Benedictine nuns...

During the potato famine that began in 1845, there was a road building project whose purpose was to allow people to earn money for food....

The previous evening the Captain reported that a storm was coming in, so he moved the ship to Killary Bay. The ride there was a wee bit...

I was excited when we anchored off Kilcummin in County Mayo because it is the birth home of my friend Padraig. He has lived in California...

When the ship anchored at Mullaghmore, I immediately noticed Classiebawn, a castle built in the 1860’s by English Prime Minister Lord...

There are many sayings about Ireland’s weather such as “rain before 7, fine by 11” and “soft weather.” Which is to say that one must be...

The island of Ireland is split into two parts—Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, which...

As I walked down the pier in the port town of Dún Laoghaire, I was in awe of the expedition ship on which I was embarking. The Greg...

One of the best ways to get over jet lag is to walk, walk, walk. I was happy to see that Aurora Expeditions, the outfit running my...

When I was much younger, I viewed travel to somewhere as the prelude to an adventure. Travel was a conveyance—something to move me from...

Every time I take a photograph, I capture light. That's what makes us able to see. I've always been fascinated with trying to emphasize...

I was cleaning up an old hard drive when I came across photos from Morocco that I had not yet moved to my newer computer. As I was...

What's around me depends on the day and time. So when the 365-Day Project gave me that as a topic, I was standing in the kitchen deciding...

In the near future, I'll be embarking on the Greg Mortimer, a 132-passenger adventure ship. As I'm meeting it in Dublin, I wondered where...

Cleaning out hard drives is really no different from cleaning out closets. Each item stored on it evokes a memory. If it doesn't then...

The Los Gatos-Saratoga branch of the Association of University Women has an Armchair Adventure Travel special interest group. The first...

Not too long ago I wrote about a hike in the snow I took at Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park. Just 45 minutes prior to the hike, I...

While walking outdoors today, I saw hundreds of bugs flying through the air. At first I thought they might be those tiny gnats that seem...

Paris and Rome have their catacombs, but Seattle has its underground. The burgeoning town was started on tide flats in what is now the...