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Author Archives: joehawkins80
Rising Sun — A Month in Japan
Spring 2025 Trip Notes & Itinerary Overview: A 32-day, 10-city journey across Japan, mostly by train (with a couple short flights and a few days by car), covering the Big Three (Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto) and several smaller towns on … Continue reading
3 Weeks in the (North of) Ireland and Scotland
Spring 2025 Trip Notes & Itinerary Overview: What started as a weekend trip for an Irish wedding turned into a two-week road trip around the north of Ireland — both Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic’s counties Donegal, Mayo, Westmeath … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
Tagged Antrim Coast, Aviemore, Ballynahinch, Belfast, Bushmills, Connemara, Craigellachie, Donegal, Edinburgh, Europe, Giants Causeway, Glenveagh, Inishowen Peninsula, Ireland, Londonderry, Mount Druid, Northern Ireland, Pitlochry, Scotland, Slieve League, Speyside, Travel, Trim, Whisky
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Northern Exposure: 4 Weeks in Scandinavia
Fall 2024 Trip Notes & Itinerary Overview: A four-week, five-country tour of Scandinavia — okay, technically it was Scandinavia plus Finland (a Nordic country, not Scandinavian) and Estonia (a Baltic country, neither Nordic nor Scandinavian) — starting and ending in … Continue reading
If It’s Tuesday, It Must Be… 2 weeks in Amsterdam, Ireland and London
Spring 2024 Itinerary & Trip Notes Overview: Having just wrapped up a 3-week trip in South Africa, we had planned to head home until we learned our entire family — three daughters, two sons-in-law, and baby granddaughter — would all … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
Tagged Amsterdam, Camden Town, Dublin, Europe, glendalough, Ireland, London, Netherlands, Sligo, the-netherlands, Travel, Wicklow Mountains
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Where the Wild Things Are: 3 Weeks in South Africa
Spring 2024 Itinerary and Trip Notes Overview: A three-week road trip through the best of South Africa, with roughly equal time spent in Kruger National Park, the Garden Route, and Cape Town. Itinerary: Kruger National Park (6 days split between … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
Tagged Africa, Big 5, Cape Town, Franschhoek, Garden Route, Kruger, Kruger National Park, safari, South Africa, Travel, wildlife
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3 Days in Istanbul
Spring 2024 Trip Notes & Itinerary Overview: A quick 3-day, 3-night layover in Istanbul, Turkey, on our way to South Africa, with quality time spent in the Eminönü, Sultanahmet, Karaköy and Kadiköy neighborhoods. Bottom Line: Why Istanbul, and why only … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
Tagged blue-mosque, Europe, hagia-sophia, istanbul, Istancul, topkapi, Travel, Turkey
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BVI to Panama in 8 Weeks: A sailing adventure
Winter 2024 Itinerary & Trip Notes Overview: A two-month sailing journey with a crew of five aboard the yacht Morpheus, crossing the Caribbean Sea from the British Virgin Islands to Panama City, with stops throughout the BVI, USVI, Spanish Virgin … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
Tagged BVI, Caribbean, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Morpheus Sailing, Panama, Panama Canal, Puerto Rico, Sailing, USVI, Virgin Islands
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Tropic Thunder — 5 Weeks in Southeast Asia
Fall 2023 Trip Notes & Itinerary Overview: Our first trip to Southeast Asia was originally conceived as a scuba diving adventure in Indonesia with daughter Emily. This morphed into a 5-week, 5-country tour (“Tropic Thunder“) when daughter Anna announced she … Continue reading
Posted in Travel
Tagged Asia, Bai Tu Long Bay, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Ha Long Bay, Hanoi, Hoi an, Langkawi, Laos, Luang Prabang, Malaysia, Penang, Singapore, Travel, Vietnam
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A Week in Mexico City
April 2023 Trip Notes & Itinerary Overview: One week in Mexico City during Easter Week of 2023, visiting our daughter, Anna, who decided it would be a cool place to “work remotely” for a couple months. Bottom Line: Mexico City … Continue reading
The Highland Games — 4 Weeks in Scotland
June 2023 Trip Notes & Itinerary Overview: Four-week road trip through the Scottish Highlands by car, starting and finishing in Glasgow. Itinerary: Glasgow (3 days) > Oban (2 days) > Glencoe (1 day) > Isle of Skye (3 days) > … Continue reading
Once in a while you get shown the light... 