Watery Wednesday - Twin Lighthouses of the Algarve

While visiting Portugal's Algarve coast, I fell in love with these twin lighthouses which sit at the mouth of the Arade River.

The water is murky, and that is because I took this picture in February 2010 during the rainy season.

We took a walk out to the lighthouse on the Ferragudo side of the bay to try and capture the waves crashing against the jetty.

Please take the time to see some more fantastic photos of water by some great people at "Watery Wednesday"

We Made It to Our 1st Home Exchange.....In Tennessee, That Is

Over 2,000 miles and 5 days later, we arrived in Kodak, Tennessee to begin what was the first of two home exchanges we will be doing while visiting this beautiful State.

I'll tell you, this is just what the doctor ordered after 4 months of surgeries and cancer treatments for the Melanoma that was discovered this past June.......a beautiful cabin with nothing but windows and a huge deck with a hot tub.

But nothing compared to the amazing views of "Douglas Lake" and the "Great Smoky Mountains"

You couldn't escape the views, no matter what room you were in............

We enjoyed a nice relaxing evening, Stijn in the hot tub and me just enjoying the view

And just when I thought the views couldn't possibly get any better, I woke up to this the next morning.

A great way to start the day, wouldn't you say?   It's going to be a great day!

I have some more pictures of this beautiful place at "Where's Debbie".  Just click on the album "We Made It" when you get there!

Gatlinburg on Dwellable

Stylish Blogger

I was quite surprised to see two lovely blogs awarded me with the Stylish blogger Award!  I would like to acknowledge Light, Liberty, and Learning and From My Somewhat Serious Mind for their thoughtfulness! Thanks ladies for passing the award on to me....


The rules of blogging world indicate I must share 7 things about myself, and choose 15 other Stylish blogs to receive recognition. First, about myself:

• I LOVE to travel.....in case you haven't noticed
• I retired at the age of 45
• I have 4 grandsons that I adore
• Wine please!
• Yes, I'll have cheese with that
• My favorite season is fall
• I want to be on the Amazing Race!

Now for those wonderful blogs you should go check out RIGHT NOW!

• Watery Wednesday
• Photos by Senior Hiker
• Let Your Light Shine
• Adventures with Jessica
• Gina's Travel Blog
• India Travel
• A Brit In Tennessee
• Writerquake
• Living in Williamsburg Virginia
• Travelling
• J_on_Tour
• Criminal Movies
• Hootin' Annie's
• The Old Geezer Blog
• Expat Mum in Portugal

These are some wonderful blogs with great variety! You will find inspiration, humor, beautiful photos, creative crafts, travel, and adventure... Please check them out- I'm sure you will find a new favorite!

Tennessee Bound - We're Almost There!

We got an early start the morning of October 23 because we had a long drive ahead of us starting in Kansas City Missouri and ending in Nashville Tennessee!


View Larger Map

After driving from one end of the State of Missouri to the other, we did have time to make a nice stop in St. Louis and see the "Gateway to the West." 

The majestic Gateway Arch, attracts more than four million guests each year. At 630 ft., our nation's tallest man-made monument has plenty of exciting activities. Take the tram ride to the top, see a documentary film, or just enjoy the view.


We didn't make it to the top, but we did enjoy walking along the cobblestone streets of Laclede's Landing past several restaurants and shops.

Laclede's Landing, the last remaining historic area of the original St. Louis riverfront, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. This 19-century, nine square block, 22-acre district is filled with cobblestone streets and cast-iron street lamps and brick buildings, and is one of the city's premiere entertainment districts offering small shops, unusual restaurants and nightclubs.

I could have spend all day here but we need to be in Nashville in time for dinner! 

We spent the next two days in Nashville with longtime friends of mine (which by the way I haven't seen for about 10 years) and enjoyed catching up while having a dinner of grilled "Melt in your Mouth" filet mignon and sipping on wine in the backyard!

Life is Good!
Next stop, Sevierville Tennessee for our first home exchange!

If you would like to see more pictures of our day, just click "Where's Debbie" and then click on the album "We're almost there".

Tennessee Bound - Across the Plains of Kansas

Once again, I apologize for such late and sporadic posts about our trip to Tennessee.  I only had Internet when we would have time to stop by the local Starbucks.  Which by the way was over 6 miles away!

Since this post is going to be pretty short, I thought it might be fun to add a map of our route.


View Larger Map

So this post is about our day on Oct 22. That morning we continued on I70 after leaving Denver Colorado. Our destination on this day, Kansas City Missouri.

I must warn you, this was a pretty boring drive, with not much to see or do except for the occasional stop for stretching and gas. I’ve been on this route once before when I drove to East Kansas for my mother’s funeral service back in 1999. I thought maybe driving it once more would be a bit more interesting since this time was for a much happier occasion. We did however see this beautiful church just before we left Colorado.

So no pictures of beautiful scenery or landmarks. Well except for maybe the oil drills that dotted the Plains.

Next stop, Nashville Tennessee!


If you're just stopping by my blog for the first time or you’ve missed my last post, click HERE if you would like to see how the first part of our trip went.

Tennessee Bound - From the Desert to the Rockies

As you may have figured out from reading my blog, I love to travel! I really don’t care where to or how I’m going to get there. It’s the journey, not (necessarily) the destination.


We decided to leave Las Vegas the afternoon of October 20th and get a jump start on our over 2,000 mile drive to the eastern part of Tennessee. Three hours later, we spent the night in Cedar City Utah.

So when we were planning a trip to Tennessee a couple of months ago, it was decided to make it a “Road Trip“. A date of October 22 was set to begin our journey, but in true “Debbie” fashion, we left 2 days earlier!

The next morning was our first long day of driving. Destination, Denver Colorado.

After heading north on I15, we did see some beautiful scenery driving west on I70 through the States of Utah and Colorado.

Fall is definitely in Utah!

While driving east through Utah, we found a great spot to stretch a bit and see some interesting rock formations.

Apparently, this is a hot spot for the Native Americans in the area to sell their handmade items to tourists.

I know that the colors of fall in the west can not compare with the colors we will soon be seeing in Tennessee, but you have to admit, these yellows of Colorado are gorgeous!

As we drove through the Rockies, it was evident that ski resorts may very well be opening soon.

A special treat for me after arriving in Denver was the chance to visit with a dear friend of mine. This was the first time in 37 years that we’ve seen each other.

I am reminded of a road trip we took to Provence France when I see the moon over the snow covered mountains of Colorado as I did in the Haute-Alps de Provence. (you can read that story by clicking here)

A great way to end the day……wouldn’t you say?

If you would like to see more pictures, just click "Where's Debbie" then click on the album "From the Desert to the Rockies"

Colorado on Dwellable

Watery Wednesday - Sunrise in Tennessee

First let me apologize for not posting something for Watery Wednesday last week.  We started our trip to Tennessee and having an Internet connection has had it's challenges!

So I'm hoping this picture I took this morning makes up for it!

I took this picture from the deck of the house where we are staying during our home exchange near Sevierville Tennessee.

Don't forget to see more beautiful pictures from others at "Watery Wednesday"

Tennessee Bound!

I am so excited!!!  We started our journey to Tennessee this past Wednesday, two days earlier then planned.  I'm terrible that way, plan a day to leave and always bump it up a day or two.

We left Las Vegas and so far have driven through Utah, Colorado and Kansas.  We are in Kansas City Missouri at this moment and getting ready for our drive to Nashville Tennessee today.

We will be doing two home exchanges in the Gatlinburg area over the next two weeks while we enjoy the fall colors and do some exploring.

So I hope you will enjoy the stories to come!

Well, I've got to get going!

Gatlinburg on Dwellable

Watery Wednesday - The Great Barrier Reef

In May 2009 I had the opportunity to go back to Australia on a second home exchange.  This time I took the 7hour drive to the north to see the Great Barrier Reef.

Yes I did do some snorkling, even though the water was way too cold for my liking.  But you can't go all the way to the Great Barrier Reef and not snorkle.....right?

You can read about my trip to Australia by clicking here.

Don't forget to click here for more Watery Wednesday photos! 

Watery Wednesday - St Malo France

One of my favorite birthday presents from Stijn was a trip to the coast of France a couple of years ago.  In St Malo we had an amazing view from our room over looking the coastline.

We saw many beautiful places but the most fascinating was St Malo, which has one of the best known tidal ranges in the world.

The Bay of St Malo can pride itself to have one of the greatest Spring tides in Europe, thanks to its geographical position. Spring tides are especially strong tides (they do not have anything to do with the season Spring). When the Atlantic Ocean is caught in the bottleneck of the Channel, the sea waves rush through very quickly and at an extremely great force.  The tidal range is the difference between high and low tide - on average it is more than 40 feet around St Malo. 

So a walk to the Citadel was a fun challenge in the early morning!

By the end of our day, the tide was out and if you wanted, you could walk for miles out on the beach!

You can read about our trip to the coast of France by clicking here.

Don't forget to check out "Watery Wednesday" for some more fantastic watery pictures from around the world!