Welcome to Beyond Ordinary Guides, where we curate gorgeous imagery, locally cherished spots, and accessible stories. We hope you enjoy!
At 9:30am we departed on a 60 foot wooden yacht with four other tourists in addition to our crew and headed southeast. The whale sharks hang out about an hour and 15 minutes from MIrihi Island Resort in the South Ari Atoll. Of the 26 atolls that make up the Maldives, the South Ari Atoll is the best place for a whale shark sighting.
The white wooden gate to the garden swung shut, the metal latch clanging against itself. It's was an unusually warm day in Pescadero - 80 degrees and sunny. So warm in fact, that when our tour guide shooed the goats out of the loafing barn to say hi, half of them immediately turned back around once her shooing stopped to return to the shade. The other half was so excited to see us that they all peed at the same time, in a row. We were at Harley Goat Farms in Pescadero for the adult-only tour of the farm and it had already exceeded my expectations.
Have you ever biked across the Golden Gate Bridge? After a year and a half in the city, we decided it was time for us to try out this tourist staple.
As far as I could tell from google maps on my phone, we essentially wanted to take Bay Street to Lyon Street and then Pacific Avenue along the Presidio. What I couldn't see at the time under the blue line of the directions was that Lyon Street dead ended and turned into steps about halfway to Pacific Avenue.
I recently read an article in Haven Magazine that questioned whether we can look great and grow at the same time (their answer was no). I think there may be the select few who can do both, like the people who look fresh after a long red eye international flight. I am not one of them. After a long flight I have dark bags under my eyes, blotchy skin, and disheveled hair. I fail to gracefully get my overstuffed carry on baggage from the overhead bin and I yawn as I pass the flight attendants saying, "Thank you." No bueno.
Whatever it costs you to get to San Diego – five hours of driving, gas, granola bars – San Diego will give you much more back.
Why I thought it would be sunny and warm in Ireland, I have no idea. But alas, I did think that it would be bright and toasty for me on my summer vacation and therefore thought that one cotton knit cardigan would be sufficient as a jacket when combined with my rain shell. The just-above-freezing temperatures proved me wrong.
To be honest I had mixed feelings about a vacation in Ireland. Yes, everyone and their mother, father, great-uncle, and second-cousin-once-removed who has visited loves it, but that was part of the reason I didn’t know what to expect.
