Off the Beaten Path in Ireland: The Road to Torr Head and Carrick-a-Rede

March 19 – 24 Northern Ireland If there was a way to somehow distill the essence of Ireland such as to contain it in a bottle so that it could be taken as an elixir at the end of a particularly long and difficult day; a sort of tonic that could lift the senses and… Continue reading Off the Beaten Path in Ireland: The Road to Torr Head and Carrick-a-Rede

Off the Beaten Path in Ireland: Escaping the Ring of Kerry

April 4 – 9 Iveragh Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland  Many things have been said of Ireland’s Iveragh Peninsula, which is better known for the (in)famous coastal road that circumscribes it: the Ring of Kerry.  The “inspiration of poets and writers”, “magnificent coastal scenery”, a “mystical & unspoilt region”, are the words of some.  In actuality,… Continue reading Off the Beaten Path in Ireland: Escaping the Ring of Kerry

Aotearoa by Pictures: Part 1

July 2010 North Island, New Zealand When I recently purged the hard drive on my Mac in a vain attempt to rid myself of some obscure, persistent error afflicting OS X, I came across several previously unpublished photos from our two months spent RVing in New Zealand during June and July 2010.  Rather than archiving… Continue reading Aotearoa by Pictures: Part 1

Looking Down the Tyrrhenian Coast

August 31 – September 9 Amalfi & Cilento Coasts, Campania, Italy Twenty minutes into our ascent from Sorrento town up the cliffs near Sant’Agata, and Ollie was puking up his breakfast. Such was the nature of the roads in this part of the country that his delicate tummy was simply no match.  And so we… Continue reading Looking Down the Tyrrhenian Coast

Going Underground in Naples

Naples, Italy August 29 – 31 The sun had rolled slightly away from its zenith at three in the afternoon when we pulled into the gnarled streets surrounding Naples’ central storico (historic district).  Despite this, it’s cruel heat still radiated over the ancient paving stones at Plebecito Square, and scarcely a soul ventured outside while… Continue reading Going Underground in Naples

Wild Westfjords

A room with a view

August 6-10, Westfjords, Iceland The two young Parisians sharing a farmhouse with us at the base of the Vatnsnes Peninsula were trying to conceal their amazement/horror as I single-handedly attempted to scrounge up a passable meal for our two kids.  It was 11pm and the sun had finally slipped into the Arctic Sea beyond the… Continue reading Wild Westfjords

The Red Road Through the Never Never

Karijini National Park, Western Australia March 30 – April 3 Ryan was beginning to think he was going blind. It was approaching four in the afternoon, and he had been behind the wheel since seven in the morning, with one stop at a fly-bitten outback roadhouse for over-priced gasoline and a couple of meat pies.… Continue reading The Red Road Through the Never Never

One Eye to the Indian Ocean

Kalbarri and Coral Coast, Western Australia March 21 – 29 At long last, we emerge from the island continent of Australia. With some 5,096 road miles logged, it seemed fitting that we were rendered incommunicado for nearly all of two months. After all, with fewer than 21 million people spread over 3.5 million square miles,… Continue reading One Eye to the Indian Ocean