You've heard the stories - narrow roads, driving on the left, cows and sheep, cliffs of insanity, busted hubcaps, and the ever-present tour buses. Yet driving in Ireland can be done - and can infinitely improve your travel experience, as you can see things that most travelers aren't able to.

Ah, the Emerald Isle. It’s a place of visual perfection, of green vistas, rainbows, and landscapes so beautiful that you have to pinch yourself that it is real, and you are HERE. But there’s one caveat – those Irish roads. Well, two caveats – driving on the other side of the road, and those Irish roads.

Ironic, really – it took traveling to Toronto to discover an American original.
 

The Bay of Fundy is a place where the rhythm is naturally created by the 12 hour cycles of the ocean tides.

The Bay of Fundy – a Natural Wonder

The Bay of Fundy is a special place in so many ways, a perennial favorite for travelers from around the world. I went to have a look thanks to New Brunswick Tourism and Tourism Nova Scotia. 

This summer, my sister and I took a road trip together around Nova Scotia. We were limited to six days, which was about twenty days less than we wanted to have, but we found this Canadian province to be packed with beautiful landscapes and seascapes, historic forts, M'ikmaq Indian lore, Scottish music, well preserved Victorian towns, small fishing villages and more lobster and scallops on our plates that even we who love our seafood could eat.

This story is mainly for the ladies. Sorry, guys. Based on the conversations I’ve had with my customers, it seems women have more trouble than men packing light. Who knows why? My client base is primarily female as well.

Still, there are a few pointers here for men. What about how to choose color? That’s good basic wardrobe advice for anyone. And looking good while you travel? Pure travel packing genius.

Here are photos of some animals, made in stone, at Kjørstad, Eidsfjord, Vesterålen. It's a 40 min drive from my home. You can see cormorant bird, cow, eagle, fox, puffin, black grouse, seagulls, a stone church, a stone man, and a turtle.

They are placed around in the woods, not far away from the gravel road. A person made these things out of rocks. Take a look...

If you only have time for one small-town festival this summer and you want it to be filled with enough silliness to make you forget all the serious stuff going on in your life, consider the Annual "Cheeseburger in Caseville"  Festival. It is too big for a weekend and runs every year in August. As you reach the city limits, you’ll be greeted by more pink flamingos than flock anywhere else north of Miami as the small beach town of Caseville morphs into Key North.

Courage: it is an aspect of character with many facets.  It can be courageous to speak out; it can be courageous to stay silent. It can show courage to move forward. At other times and circumstances, and for the same person, it can take more courage to stay in one place. It can take courage to reflect; it can be equally courageous to act quickly. Courage, along with its companion integriy, may also be touchstones which help guide choices such as those. 

Originally called Michilimackinac Island, there were at least fifty-five spellings to twist newcomers’ tongues around the lyrical name. To make life easier, Michilimackinac was shortened to Mackinac and later, when the British arrived to stake a claim to the fur trade, they began spelling it "Mackinaw" which was in accord with its pronunciation.