outdoors
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Batumi Singing Fountains
On our first walk on the boulevard by the sea (Batumi Boulevard), my hope was to end at the Batumi fountains which I had read about. The fountains move in synchronization with music and with lights in the evening. However, we walked in the wrong direction. The boulevard or promenade is 7 kilometers long and since we had walked probably several kilometers in one direction, we decided to leave the search for the next evening. The second night found us once again stopping for ice cream and this time, we ordered the next size up with was still less than $2! Yum! We walked as it got darker and came…
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Batumi Boulevard: A fun walk
Our hotel, the Hilton Batumi was in the perfect location to enjoy both the Black Sea and to take leisurely walks along Batumi Boulevard. The boulevard is a multi purpose pathway along the sea and is bordered on the other side by different hotels and restaurants. There are several paths so that bikes, scooters and such can have a pathway separate from walkers. There are also many trees bordering sections of the boulevard. Our hotel was very near the octopus structure where children and adults enjoyed roller skating. It is such a picturesque spot! It also offers a little bit of shade. We stayed 3 nights in Batumi and we…
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Adventures in the Kakheti Region
We rented a car for a week in preparation for our trip to Batumi and took advantage of having a car with AC to take a trip a couple hours out of Tbilisi. My husband wanted to visit the monastery of St. Nino and we booked a horseback ride nearby. As usual we used the Maps.Me map, but we still had to ask for directions! On the way, we saw a small fortress near the road and stopped for a bit. We can never pass up a fortress! There are a lot of lookout fortresses and towers throughout the country. Georgia used to be part of the silk route and…
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Tbilisi Botanical Gardens
This is our 3rd time going to the botanical gardens in Tbilisi. They are just a short steep walk up behind our hotel, and it was the perfect outing the morning following our arrival. The city had gotten a lot of rain the weeks prior to our trip, so there were a few areas where you couldn’t go because of some landslides, in particular the waterfall where everyone had dipped their toes the last time we were here. However, since we were taking our time, we discovered a few new areas we had never explored. Since it was late May, early June, the roses were in bloom! We enjoyed them…
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Centennial Park, Atlanta
During our staycation during Spring Break, the boys and I joined my college friend Staci and her family at Six Flags and the Georgia Aquarium. Before lunch, needing a little break and outside time, the boys and I walked around Centennial Park. I was surprised that I had not seen this area of the park before. We really don’t go down to Atlanta very often as we often have to deal with traffic: a 45 minute drive can take 2 hours with the right (wrong) conditions! But when we do, we always enjoy our time downtown. The iconic ferris wheel has been near Centennial Park since 2013. I actually have…
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Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix, Arizona
I’ve been back from visiting Jodie (here’s her blog if you don’t know her yet) and Rob in Arizona for a few days and back in the swing of things. It was a wonderful time turning online friends into in person friends. Thank you for your hospitality and making me feel welcome! I enjoyed time with like minded people and Jodie and I were such birds of feather. And I love Arizona! I had visited twice before, once on a visit to Sedona in my late teens, and again a couple of years ago for my brother’s wedding in Scottsdale. I’ve always love cacti, so visiting the botanical gardens was…
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Sunrise, Sunrise
Anytime I take a picture of a pretty sunrise, the Norah Jones song “sunrise” comes to my mind. A couple of weekends ago, I ran 7+ miles with my friends and when we parted ways, the sun was coming up. I slowed down my car to a crawl as I headed home (just 5 min) from where we meet to take some pictures. There is something about a new day welcomed by a pretty sun and some clouds. Even better if there is a water body for some pretty reflections. I’ve been enjoying our longer runs for the past few weeks. I have decided to run the half marathon again…
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The world through my 17 year old’s eyes
Ever wondered how your children view the world? Do they see beauty where we see beauty? Do they take the time to stop and “smell the roses”? I asked my son to give me 5 pictures for this post and I was pleasantly pleased that he does what I do: he takes the time to admire the beauty around him sometimes and with the ease of having a camera because he has a phone, he sometimes immortalizes that moment with a picture. Sunset by Chili’s Sunset over the tennis courts Sunset over school The sky is on fire! Foggy Morning A bientôt! Please take a minute to subscribe to the…
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Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park
With life’s recent challenges, I have had to make sure to take time for myself to recharge. Last week, I shared part of my husband’s and I day date (in Marietta, GA) and today I am sharing the first part of our little outing. We decided to hike Kennesaw Mountain since it is about 30 minutes from our house, it’s a fairly short hike and it was a beautiful cold winter day. We brought along some snacks and water as we originally planned to walk this trail with the boys. One of the local vendors of our summer farmer’s market has been holding a small table/booth at a store downtown…
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A Walk down Church St in Marietta, GA
Last weekend, my sister in law came to the house to hang out with her mom so I could get away for a longer period of time without worries. My husband and I decided to go to Kennesaw Mountain and since our boys decided they would rather play with their neighbor friends, we ended with a day date of an afternoon away. After our hike (which I will share next week), we went to Marietta which is just a few miles away. We pass under this bridge every week on our way to church and since we parked on the other side, we got to walk on it on our…