Happy Birthday Grandpa

Family Camping - Lake Hemet

Lake Hemet, one of the most popular vacation spots in Southern California for waterpark play, camping, fishing, RVing, festivals and weddings.



Photos from our weekend:

Happy 43th Anniversary to Us!

Our 43th Wedding Anniversary is not just a celebration of our Wedding day; it is the Fête of every day of being married to a sweet, loving and considerate man like you – every 15,695 days thereof. Happy Anniversary Honey. (photo is of us in 1973 when we were dating)

A post shared by Z. Smith (@zwriter1) on Aug 3, 2017 at 5:42am PDT

Picking Up the New Used Motorhome

Hitting the road early, to beat some of this Las Vegas heat. We will be home later this afternoon. #LasVegas #RVLife #CircusCircus

A post shared by Z. Smith (@zwriter1) on Jul 24, 2017 at 6:19am PDT

Fun Grandson Day

A nutritious breakfast at Home Sweet Home - then a quick trip to Opa and Oma Rufi's Home and then Ice Cream at Cold Stone!!!

Reef's Paw Patrol Birthday Party

Reef Indy has been looking forward to his birthday party for weeks.  He picked out the 'Paw Patrol' theme.  He also went with mom to pick out his cake.  It was a  perfect California Saturday; just right for the Jumpy Water Slide.  Reef had a wonderful time with friends and family. 

Post by Oma Loves U.

Family Sunday

It is not often that Oma and Opa get to enjoy the entire family together.  We cherish our family time greatly.  This Sunday was very special.  We started our time together with breakfast at out family favorite, Home Sweet Home. They were so nice to fix up a special table for us to spread out in.

Auntie gets to feed Coast Oak.

Not sure what Reef Indy was explaining,
but Dad and Uncle Mo are very interested. 

Then after relaxing together at the homestead, we all drove south to downtown San Diego to meet Grandma and Grandpa at the Tilted Kilt for lunch.

We loved the food and drink at the Tilted Kilt.
Our waitress was super nice and efficient also.

Smile Auntie Sitara and Uncle Moses

Then we were off to the ball game at Petco Park. The Padres and Dodgers remain tied in the 17th inning after over 5 hours of playing. Unfortunately, the Dodgers then broke away with a four run inning and the Padres did not answer back with any runs. What a fun and interesting game.

Beautiful Petco Park - Downtown San Diego, California.

Reefie has his glove ready to catch that foul ball.

Home-plate umpire, David Rackley finally gets up after
being struck in the groin by a foul ball in the fifth inning!

Opa grabbing some time with Coast.

Sitara and Moses enjoying the action;
Not quite sure what Grandpa is doing.

Reef listens intently as Grandma explains the game of Baseball

The adults received a Reusable Padre Shirt Bag,
but more importantly, the kids got a plastic bat and ball

Our Ireland Adventure Day 14

The Clontarf Castle Hotel - Returning the Renault Fluence

Today is our last full day here on the Emerald Isle. We enjoyed our breakfast at the Glenleary B&B and our very nice chat with host Ann, before traveling back to Dublin for our last night. We will be flying out to return to reality tomorrow. 

We drove from Northern Ireland back to Dublin taking the contemporary freeway route, about 137 miles on the M1. The trip was very calm and easy. Our hotel for the night, the Clontarf Castle Hotel is a modern hotel that incorporated an 1172 Norman Castle. It was very nice but not our favorite.

Paul and I ate (and drank) in the hotel bar and join the locals as they cheered a friendly soccer game (with Slovakia). We also groaned in unison as the Irish goalkeeper Rob Elliot injured his knee.

This Irish trip proved to be a perfect adventure. Paul and I enjoyed every moment of our time here. Most importantly, the Irish people were very helpful, friendly and fun. “Céad míle fáilte” is one of the most loved Irish expressions worldwide and it literally means a hundred thousand welcomes. We felt welcome wherever we went.

I did not expect the food to be so tasty and healthy. Our meals were reasonably priced, well-prepared, and always plentiful.  I will true miss my morning ration of Irish Bacon. 

We drove our rental car, a Renault Fluence, to discover breathtaking beautify universally located on this island. Paul and I felt peace and tranquility as we roamed.  Ireland’s scenery must be seen to be believed. I would recommend Ireland to anyone who wishes a vacation and memories of a lifetime.

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• Our Ireland Adventure Day 14
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Our Ireland Adventure Day 13

Old Bushmills Distillery and the Giant Causeway 

We had planned to stay at the Lough Eske Castle this morning and be lazy. However, deciding to follow the advice from the locals – we added the Bushmill Distillery Tour and the Giant Causeway to our agenda. First Philip cooked us a lovey breakfast . . . . made per order; then we were off to Northern Ireland.

After about three hours on the road, Bushmills distillery was our first stop. It was a fun tour and Paul found himself an awesome warm jacket; but photos were not allowed and that was a bummer for me. However, while Paul was shopping, I made a friend . . . the free sample man. Boy did he get me going. He even gave me a sample of the Bushmill’s Honey which I liked a lot. Paul came back to a tipsy wife.

Going to the Bushmill’s Distillery was very special because today is Grandpa Smith’s (Paul’s Dad) birthday. He always talked about going to Ireland but did not make it before he passed. Bushmills was his favorite Irish whiskey and we shared more than a glass or two in the past. Today Paul and I both tasted the Bushmills in his honor.

We had a very nice lunch at the Causeway Hotel bar. The place was hopping, but the service still very friendly and quick.

The Giant Causeway is known as the jewel in the crown of the fabulous coast of Antrim. What a gorgeous place to go for a walk; and walk we did. Paul and I walked both trails and got in a four mile hike. The only drawback was the hordes of people who were on the same path.

The weather, which was rainy on our three-hour drive morphed into the perfect brisk but sunny Irish day. I will let the photos above speak to its beauty. 

We checked into the Glenleary B&B. The room was very large and our host Ann very accommodating. Tomorrow we will drive back to Dublin and prepare for our trip back home.

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Our Ireland Adventure Day 12

Happy Easter - Checking Into the Lough Eske Castle Hotel

 

Our B&B decorated for Easter and we each received a small chocolate egg, so we enjoyed that homey Easter atmosphere. However, we did miss our family a bit.

After a nice breakfast, we quickly packed up and left St. Judes for our next adventure. The drive to Lough Eske Castle  was one of the longest of this trip – approximately three hours. While it rained considerably, the trip went quickly and well.

The hotel is housed in a restored 17th-century castle on the shores of Lough Eske close to Donegal. We were escorted to a Courtyard Room that looked more like a small apartment, very plush and modern. It is impossible to believe that this was originally the castle's horse stables

The five star hotel offered numerous activities, but Paul and I took the opportunity to hike around the castle grounds. As you can see from the photos below it is beautiful here. 

We ate both lunch and dinner at the castle bar. The Gallery Bar also offers a classic list of cocktails, aperitifs, after-dinner drinks, Irish coffees, European wines, and a collection of over 90 fine whiskies. At lunch I splurged and bought a shot of Midleton Very Rare – what a joy.

We were honored to chat with locals, mother and daughter, at dinner. They recommended that we go to the Bushmill Distillery – the oldest distillery in Ireland. They also suggested we check out the Giant Causeway. Paul and I love following the recommendations from locals.

The topic turned towards politics and both ladies were horrified at the possibility of Trump as the next American president.

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