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Author: Lisa

** All photos are property of Lisa (or friends) and not to be reused or shared. ** Recent retiree. Looking forward to seeing even more of this beautiful world than I already have. I visited all 50 states as a kid, with my parents and sisters. We did long car trips every summer, with our station wagon, camper and tent for the kids, visiting all the National Parks, historical markers and other sites that interested Dad. I get my love of our beautiful national parks and history from my Dad. As an adult, after spending time in South Carolina, Alabama and Texas in the US Army I then was stationed in West Germany. I saw most of western Europe while there for almost 3 years. Divorced with one child, I wanted to show my daughter the same amazing sites I got to see. We didn't visit all 50 states together but did visit 36 or so, as well as 50+ countries and all 7 continents together. Now that I have all the time in the world, I have a long list of places on my bucket list. I'll be traveling solo, just me and my dog named Boo. A 11-year-old rescue dog I adopted last year, he's a great companion and loves car trips.
Lisbon Christmas Markets

Lisbon Christmas Markets

Kelly M and I decided to go to Lisbon to see the Christmas markets. We took the Flixbus from Lagos to the Lisbon Oriental station. The bus stops at Portimao and another location before taking the highway north. It’s about a 4 hour trip. I thought the train would be faster but from Lagos you have to take a fairly slow train to Faro then can catch the express to Lisbon so it can take just as long. We left…

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Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

I spent two very busy weeks in Washington D.C. just over a year ago. Even though I didn’t do everything I wanted to, I wasn’t planning on returning so soon but this was where I had to come for my VFS (visa) appointment for Portugal. Like most large, world class cities, there is always something to do, so I found plenty of new activities to enjoy. The AirBNB in the Eastern Market I had in April 2022 was booked unfortunately….

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Manassas National Battlefield Park

Manassas National Battlefield Park

I stopped in Manassas National Battlefield Park on the way from Hampton to Washington DC. I arrived around noon and saw the exhibits at the visitor center then joined a Ranger walk for the Henry Hill battle site. This was the site of the major battle during First Manassas/First Bull Run, July 1861. After that walk I went over to Chinn Ridge for a second Ranger walk. This was the site of a major offensive during Second Manassas/Second Bull Run…

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Colonial Virginia: Jamestown to Yorktown

Colonial Virginia: Jamestown to Yorktown

I stayed in Hampton close to the waterfront; it was a lovely area. I drove around the peninsula for a week to see the several historic sites. Fort Monroe I spent the first day at Fort Monroe. Advance timed tickets to the Casemate Museum are required. This was a great museum, lots of artifacts and history about the fort, including the cell where Jefferson Davis was held for 2 years. I spent the entire day here. After the museum I…

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Civil War: Endgame at Appomattox

Civil War: Endgame at Appomattox

Appomattox Court House National Historic Site I’ve been wanting to visit Appomattox Court House to see where General Grant took Lee’s surrender. I missed this site 18 months ago when I was in Virginia and Washington so planned a stop this trip. Leaving Cincinnati, I drove to Concord, Virginia for two nights, to spend a day at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. After a 9 1/2 month siege of Petersburg, trench warfare and cutting off the railroads supplying Petersburg…

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Weekend in Cincinnati

Weekend in Cincinnati

Using my NPS site map, I decided to stop in Cincinnati for a couple nights on the way to Washington for my Visa appointment. I wanted to the see the Taft historic site. I booked a great AirBNB for 3 nights. I visited the William Howard Taft NHS Saturday morning for several hours. There is a nice visitor center with a video about Taft and his family; the home was the one he grew up in and you can visit…

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Mackinac Island, Michigan

Mackinac Island, Michigan

I spent a week in Saint Ignace and went to the island by ferry. I wish I had checked prices better for some of the B&Bs or hotels on the island, I definitely would have enjoyed more time on the island to explore. While visiting I learned Mackinac and Mackinaw are pronounced the same – with a ‘w’ sound but both should be spelled with a ‘c’. Both came from Michilimackinac. I also learned there was a national park here…

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Balearic Islands, Spain

Balearic Islands, Spain

When planning my trip to Portugal, I asked Kelly M if she was interested in another trip, either to Mallorca in the Balearic Islands or Malta. The flights to Malta from Faro were more expensive and complicated so we flew to Palma, Mallorca for six nights. I’ve always wanted to visit the Balearic Islands. We also booked a one day tour of Menorca from Palma. We flew into and stayed in Palma. Palma The first night we walked all the…

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The Algarve, Portugal

The Algarve, Portugal

This was both a visit to a friend, Kelly M, who lives in Lagos, as well as a scouting trip for a rental for a move to Portugal. Kelly M is not the Kelly I’ve traveled with for years, but we also worked together. She recently retired and moved to Lagos. I flew into the Faro airport and she picked me up. We wandered through the Faro Old Town, visited Igrega do Carmo and Capela dos Ossos (chapel of bones),…

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Finger Lakes, New York

Finger Lakes, New York

After a month in Michigan, and a week in Niagara Falls I needed somewhere to go close by before flying out of O’Hare to Portugal in September so decided to return to this lovely area. I visited some things I had seen 3 years ago, but many things weren’t open in 2020 due to COVID and I found plenty of new things to do. Kelly came out for a week, also. I had a 2 bedroom right outside of Geneva…

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