Vacation
Travel & Vacation: Golconda Fort – Hyderabad, India (Part 2)
At the top of Fort Golconda looking down on the front of the fort and the old city of Hyderabad
The highest point on Fort Golconda is approximately 394 feet and the exterior wall is 6.2 miles in circumference. There are four smaller forts within Fort Golconda.
Fort Golconda had a lot of huge boulders, these two were on the top of the temple area. The wall in front was a 10 to 15 foot wall and the trees were large.
Fort Golconda had cannons, drawbridges, royal chambers, temples, mosques, stables, markets, and many other things to see.
Large India coachroach was running along the wall beside me as I was going down the stairs…..ewww……
The bottom sole of someone’s shoe laying with some other trash along the path in Fort Golconda.
I am convinced that some people literally wear their shoes until the walk right out of them….all that is left laying on the side of the path (in several areas) are the bottoms of their shoes. Just shoes how random things can be!
Looking down onto the a section of the Fort Golconda, it was a huge fort!
Yes, I walked down several flights of those stairs. The stairs were steep and uneven but it was a neat experience. I cant count the number of times Jake and I were stopped inside the Fort to shake someone’s hand, talk with them, and let them take our pictures. Many of the people we met had never talked or seen with anyone from “The United States of America” and were super excited. It made me chuckle but also gave a lot of great opportunities to talk with people from the area!
Looking up to the area where the royalty chamber overlooks the rest of the city
The rock wall that you see next to the picture is full of many stones, several of them coming lose. On one of the stairways one of the stones broke lose when Jake was walking by and fell out.
These are a crazy set of stairs and these are just one set.
I cannot imagine all the soldiers during the old days running up and down these stairs in their full gear. I kept thinking if I fall….I am going to bust out all of my front teeth out.
The place where the women in the fort went to worship, beautiful!
It was pretty amazing to look at, I can only imagine how beautiful when it was full of people.
Ladies Mosque, the men and women had separate places to worship.
Most places we went you had to take off your shoes prior to going into a temple. I am assuming “chappals” must be sandals?
Men’s place of worship, it looks awesome even after many years!
Picture taken with ones of the guys we met in Fort Golconda.
This picture was after going through the part of the fort that had bats flying around and whispering through the channels in the walls. Several of the people we met showed some neat parts of the Fort (well….maybe not the bats)
Delivering the goods in the fort with a tractor
The clapping portico is a place in the fort that when you stand in a specific spot and clap your hands you can be heard throughout the entire fort.
If you stand on this tile and clap everyone in the entire fort can hear you.
The place this tile was put allowed noise to travel quickly and easily throughout the entire fort even all the way to the top where the royalty chambers were located. This was one of the ways the soldiers would communicate and alert the royalty of danger.
We were told that Golconda Fort now does an amazing “Light and Sound” show in the evenings. They use light, sounds, and narration to tell the history and stories of the Golconda Fort. Jake and I decided to not go after several friends recommended that we avoid it at night because mosquitoes and bugs were really bad during the evening event. It would have been neat to see but we figured staying healthy and not getting munched on by bugs was a better choice for us.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Golconda Fort – Hyderabad, India
Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, India. The external walls of the Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, India and my “tour guide” (aka Jake) waiting patiently for me to snap a picture.
Jake and I were able to spend one Saturday and see several places in Hyderabad. Thankfully we had a great driver that got us from place to place, there was only one spot he wouldn’t let us go by ourselves. The Golconda fort is over 400 years old and was once famous for its diamond mines. It is said that the world-renowned “Kohinoor” diamond came from this fort.
A map of the Golconda Fort, the girls are fascinated with maps!
We had many people offer to give us a tour of the Fort (some were quite persistent too) but since Jake had gone with a guide previously he knew enough of the details and history to show me around. The Golconda fort is built on a granite hill and has 8 gates (or Darwazas as they are called in local language).
Inside the main gate (called Fateh Darwaza )at Golconda Fort
In the 16th century the Qutub Shahi kings built the Golconda Fort. The fort was originally called “Golla Konda” in Telegu which is the official state language of Hyderabad.
Place where they set up a farmer’s market in the fort
The area next to the market was the gardens where they would grow fruit trees and other vegetation. When we were there it looked like they had replanted several trees in the gardens.
The view as we were hiking up Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, India
The story regarding the fort has been told many different ways and has variations like any piece of history….. Around 1143 a shepherd boy found an idol in the rocky hill called ‘Mangalavaram’ which was given to the king, Kakatiya, who built a mud fort. Over the next 60 plus years the Qutub Shahi rulers transformed the original mud fort into a beautiful granite wonder. Golconda Fort remained a marvelous granite fortress until the Mughals invaded and plundered the fort.
The “Queen’s Pool” at Golconda Fort.
Pretty massive pool, not sure if it was used as a pool or a water retention for the rainy season or both. We went to the first in the early morning because while we were in Hyderabad the temperatures were getting over 100 degrees with humidity and not always any breeze. Thankfully they had trees planted along the way so we could enjoy a little bit of shade as we hiked up the fort.
Looking through the fort to the city of Hyderabad below us
It was pretty amazing thinking about how much time and energy it must have taken to build this huge fort. The fort overlooks the old city of Hyderabad.
There are stray dogs everywhere and since one of Jake’s co-workers got bit by a wild stray dog (and had to go to the hospital) I decide it was safer to give the dogs a pretty wide path….you never know!
This dog was actually looked pretty healthy but I wasn’t taken any chances.
Entrance to the Sri Jagadamba Mahankali Temple inside Fort Golconda
The sign lists the people on the “trust board” for this particular temple. The temples were one spot that I didn’t notice any litter and seemed to have people in the area watching the activity going on in the temple.
Jagadamba Temple inside Fort Golconda
We had to take off our shoes to go up to see this temple. The guy is currently lighting the candles and preparing the area for the next worship. It broke my heart seeing people praying, worshiping, and giving to this idol (and to many other idols throughout our trip)…..they have to work hard to “earn favor” and good standing from this idol made out of rock.
An altar where they burn incense and hang items to bring good luck before entering the Jagadamba Temple.
Seeing this brings tears to my eyes. The people I met were amazing, kind, and generous yet this altar is a reminder of how traditional Indian religion affects many generations.
I was amazed at all the liter inside the Fort which is a historical monument.
This made me appreciate those who work hard to keep our national parks and monuments clean. On the flip side there were not a lot of places to dispose of your trash. Many of the local people will go completely barefoot even on the hot stones or rocky ground. I lost count of the number of shoe soles I found laying along the paths like the person literally walked in their shoes until they fell off their feet.
Entering the royalty chambers of Fort Golconda.
I bet it was pretty amazing during its height season, wouldn’t it be neat to get a glimpse of what it looked like during that time!
India wild “squirrel” oh how Skipper would have loved to chase this one scurrying around looking for food in Fort Golconda
Aw….we found a trash can with the words “Use Me” written on it….funny part is there is trash all around it but not much in it!
Hyderabad has several official languages, one of them being English. Thankfully almost everyone we met could speak English so it was fairly easy to have a conversation with people and they were eager to talk with us too. I did notice that the men and boys would walk right up to us shake our hand and talk. The women and girls were much more reserved, often times I would feel someone looking at us or hear giggles, if I made eye contact or extended the invitation to start the conversation only then would the majority of women speak to us.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: First Day in Hyderabad, India
Alligator made out of bread at the breakfast buffet in the hotel. Some of the animals they made out of bread everyday were pretty amazing.
I was so excited to finally see Jake again after being apart for almost a month! He was waiting patiently at the airport when I arrived at 2 am in the morning in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. It took me over an hour to get through security, customs, and find my luggage. Jake had to work that day so after breakfast together at the hotel I was left to entertain myself. It was pretty easy to stay entertained, there are so many things to see. I literally could have stood at the hotel window and watched all the activity on the street below with all the cars, trucks, people, rigshaws, auto-rigshaws, stray dogs, and everything else it was quite mesmerizing.
I explored a little bit but stuck near the hotel, went swimming, and tried to keep myself awake so I could adjust to the different time zone. India is 9 1/2 hours ahead of our time here in South Carolina. Thankfully Jake didn’t have to go in until later that morning and he had a driver come pick me up late that afternoon to take me to his place of work so I only had a few hours to entertain myself. Here’s a few pictures from my first day in Hyderabad:
I loved the Hotel’s packs of sugar, each sugar pack had little ants printed on it.
It was so much fun to meet the people Jake had been interacting with for several weeks. The guy that brought us coffee the first morning I was there for breakfast always had one waiting for us at our table before we sat down. A couple of the hotel staff said it was great to finally meet me, Jake had talked about me and they had seen me on Skype. The service and people at the hotel were amazing.
The hotel had a beautiful roof top pool.
After exploring for a little bit I decided to get my vitamin D and go for a swim. It was refreshing and relaxing, I only saw two other people in the pool the entire time I was at the hotel maybe it was the time of day or just not a popular activity. It was a very peaceful place to hang out.
Watching traffic from the hotel, the red box looking item in the back right of the picture is a police box (you can actually see the police officer sitting in it).
You see these a lot at busy intersections in town that don’t have traffic lights. During rush hour the police officer will come out into the middle of the street and direct traffic. It looks pretty crazy seeing a person standing in the middle of cars going every direction. As you can see in this picture cars, motorcycles, auto rigshaws and everything else are sharing lanes. There were many times I could have rolled down the window and touched the person next to me because the vehicles get so close in traffic (especially the motorcycles) and many times there are no lanes marked or you’ll meet a vehicle going the wrong way. With all the traffic there is also a steady stream of honking even during the night.
A lot of construction going on in HiTech City, Hyderabad.
Jake was even there when the first McDonald’s in the HiTech City of Hyderabad opened. These are just a few of the buildings going up next to the hotel where we were staying.
Guards at the gate outside the hotel, before a car can enter the hotel property it must be checked by the guards.
Twenty-four hours a day they had a set of guards on the outer perimeter at the gate and another check point with guards prior to entering the hotel. See the shiny rectangular object in the middle of the picture, that is a mirror they use to check under the cars for bombs. Every car had to be checked prior to entering the property.
Taking a few minutes to relax and catch up on all the news in India on my first day in Hyderabad! The Times of India newspaper – March 16, 2012
Pepsi was in India but it looked and tasted different.
I am not a huge soda (or pop as some call it) drinker but I noticed in Hyderabad Pepsi appeared to be more popular. The can looked different and when I snagged a sip from Jake the taste was noticeably different too. Another interesting thing I noticed is that our cans are 12 oz cans the ones I saw in India were 11 oz cans.
Jake received a beautiful boutique of flowers upon his arrival in Hyderabad. By the time I arrived several weeks later the flowers had dried but they were still really pretty!
It was a really sweet and thoughtful gesture from the people he worked with overseas. The people we encountered during our time in India were very gracious and hospitable.
Part of Jake’s team in Hyderabad. It was really neat to meet everyone and spend a little time with them.
I came over towards the end of the work day and was able to talk more with the different team members over their evening snack. Two of the workers gave Jake & I their snack so that we could see what it tasted like. This is just another example of the kindness and generosity we experienced while visiting India.
Jake’s office in Hyderabad
Even though we saw this office many times on Skype during our time apart it was nice to see it in person!
Catching up on my current events with “India Today” while waiting a few minutes in the lobby for Jake.
We ended the evening with a quiet, romantic, and delicious dinner together.
After a busy day of trying to stay awake so I could adjust to the new time zone this was the perfect way to relax and catch up. The food was amazing and the service from the restaurant staff was excellent! Jake was so thoughtful, he had picked out and bought a pearl necklace for me which he gave to me that evening. I didn’t realize until reading about it but Hyderabad is also called “Pearl City” and well known for its pearls.
Just as we got back to our room at the hotel a beautiful display of fireworks started going off outside our window, talk about perfect timing! A lot of times on Friday evening during a Holiday (and I arrived on a Holiday week) they will celebrate by lighting off fireworks. I arrived on the weekend of the Hindu “Ugadi” Holiday which is celebrated as New Year’s Day and the celebration of Spring.
It was a great first day in Hyderabad. I am thankful for the opportunity to travel and experience such an awesome culture!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Flying Overseas with Qatar Airways – Doha, Qatar
The airplane was huge! I was not able to get a picture of it because I boarded at night, this picture was taken the next morning and yes that is ice frozen onto the window! Beautiful views from the airplane!
Recently my husband spent a month in India working. Thankfully I was able to go over to spend some time with him and visit family. My parents were sweet enough to watch the girls for us and take them to school so I could fly over and see Jake. I was super excited to see Jake after being apart for almost a month. I am not sure how military and other families handle all the travel time because a month was a very long time for us to be apart and there were some tough days. Being apart a week here and there has been fine but by the time it came for me to spend two days traveling I was a little nervous going through several different airports and countries by myself but it was worth it knowing Jake was on the other end. I was gone for two weeks, went through 12 airports, and thankfully my luggage never got lost! Aww….there is so much that has happened over the past couple months, looking forward to sharing with you!
Traveling on Qatar Airways was very pleasant considering how long we were on the airplane. The “moving map” was probably my favorite thing to keep up on my TV screen as I was reading I would occasionally look up and see all the details of the flights.
This screen shot shows:
- Local Time at Origin: 9:41 am
- Local Time at Destination: 4:41 pm
- Outside Air Temperature: -44 degree Celsius
- Ground Speed: 568 mph
- True Airspeed: 561 mph
- Altitude: 35000 feet
Since we were going to several different locations we actually were traveling on several different airlines – US Airways, United Airlines, Qatar, Kingfisher, and IndiGo. Kingfisher was the only one that we had any major complications with and that was because the government froze all its assets and it went bankrupt the week we were flying with them. All our scheduled Kingfisher flights got canceled, at one point they re-routed our flight to a different city, the schedule had to be juggled around, and we had to switch airlines for one of the flights but otherwise it was pretty smooth trip. Qatar was my favorite, which is good since it was the longest leg of our trip both ways. They had bigger seats that reclined more, individual TVs, headphones, pillow, blanket, delicious meals, and a goody bag (with items like ear plugs, socks, toothbrush & toothpaste, a blind fold). I flew coach the entire way and it was a great experience for me.
When you look at the map it really doesn’t look too far, until you realize you just flew halfway across the world! The longest part of the trip was from Washington, DC to Doha, Qatar.
What an amazing blessing it was to fly overseas. I met some of the most wonderful people from around the world during my trip. I was able to share stories and experiences, learn about many different cultures and families, laugh with other women over silly stuff even though we couldn’t understand everything each other was saying, give out disposable toothbrushes to fellow travelers, and so much more. Even though a couple weeks have passed since traveling I am still processing all the great things about the trip. I am thankful for the wonderful opportunity and the people I was able to meet during my trip. It really was a true joy just talking with people from around the world and I pray that through my conversations, actions, and interactions that I made a positive impact on the lives of the people I met.
Almost to the end of my long flight! On the map you can see Ad-Dammam, Bahrain, and Qatar. It is my first time in Doha, Qatar!
Even though I traveled over on my own it was a really pleasant experience. I am thankful for the many people I met. I sat next to really neat and thoughtful people. Only one person had a panic attack in flight which was a really “interesting” experience. The guy having a panic attack was in the back of the airplane (row 37 and I was in row 13 with my headphones on watching a movie) and I could hear him yelling. He was yelling for one of the guys sitting next to me. Thankfully the stewardess didn’t have to restrain him but I did have a several different people that I sat next to since the stewardess had to juggle around some passengers. My heart went out to all the families with small children as they tried to keep them content for so long, they must have been exhausted by the end of the trip. There were many exciting stories and crazy little things that happened along the way which made the experience a fun adventure!
The girls are convinced they are ready to go overseas now! They really want to go this summer but since we were just there, they don’t have their passports yet, and the summer is already full we told them maybe the next time we travel overseas they can come. I think the best part of the flight, according to the girls, was that they served us ice cream for a snack (they’ve never had ice cream on a plane before)!
My family loves to travel, both flying and road trips. Over the years (and after many trips) we have discovered ways to make the trips more enjoyable for whole family. Do you travel overseas a lot? What airlines have been your favorite? Do you have any tips for flying with your family?
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: “We Love You” Folder
Jake’s Folder of “Love” Notes
Awhile ago the girls and I made a “We Love You” folder for Jake to take with him when he travels. Even though we love the opportunities when we can go with him it is not always possible to go with him on every trip. When he goes on a trip and we cannot tag along we send our “We Love You” folder with him along with notes or drawings from each of us. Jake enjoys seeing the pictures and reading the notes while he is away. We have a blast putting something special in the folder for him.
Here are a few examples of items we have put into his “We Love You!” Folder:
Love note to Jake
Karlie’s love note to Daddy
Brina’s love note to Daddy
Drawing from Karlie
Sweet note from the girls
Note to Daddy from Karlie
Note to Daddy from Brina
I Love You note to my Handsome Man!
Travel & Vacation: Swag Carpet
Swag carpet…..
Growing up my grandparents had a bright orange shag carpet in their basement….boy that brings back memories…..well instead of “shag” carpet we changed it up a bit and did “swag” carpet not too long ago. When we travel without the kids it is always fun to bring back something little for them as a special treat or surprise. It is not always the same thing and we try to present it differently as much as possible to spice it up a little bit. Awhile ago Jake went on a trip to a conference and got a lot of “swag” gifts, you know all the goodies that vendors give out as gifts to market their products to you. He arrived home a few hours before the girls got home from school so we decided to take all the swag (along with their special gift) he had gotten and cover their bedroom floor. At the conference he received a lot of t-shirts so he should be good on those for awhile now!
Brina discovering the necklaces and Karlie finding the airplanes
When the girls opened the door they stopped……in…..their….tracks…..what in the world!? They were totally surprised to find their entire floor covered with shirts, cups, and various other swag goodies. Brina was the first to find the necklaces Daddy picked up for them and Karlie was fascinated by the paper airplane cutout that you put together. It was hilarious seeing their expressions!
Cute little fish necklace Jake brought back for the girls
Jake brought home a cute necklace for each of the girls. They loved their pretty necklaces and have worn them to church, on Date Nights or other special occasions. But most of all enjoyed having Daddy home to play with again!
Karlie and Brina fascinated by the blue silly putty
They each picked out one of Daddy’s swag shirts to keep as a nightshirt. Karlie picked out one that had a rocket on it and Brina picked out one that had a splash of bright colors (a “rainbow of colors”). After trying on their shirts they sat down to play with their cool blue silly putty for awhile. It is amazing how entertaining little goodies can be.
Even though I love to travel it is always wonderful coming home. I am thankful for the amazing opportunities Jake, myself and our family have been given. It is an adventure traveling and exploring new places, but hanging out at home making memories together is just as precious!
FREE 16 oz Hot Beverage at Pilot & Flying J Travel Centers
Pilot Travel Centers has a coupon you can print on their Facebook Page for a Free 1 o6z Hot Beverage at Pilot and Flying J Centers .
- Go to Pilot Travel Centers Facebook Page
- Like their Facebook Page
- Click on the Coupon Section
- Print the Free 16 oz Hot Beverage Coupon (the “print” button is a link directly beneath the coupon)
- The coupon is good through March 31, 2012 .
If you are traveling soon or have a Pilot or Flying J Travel Center nearby this is a great deal. We used a couple of their coupons last month when we were traveling.
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week we made a quick trip out to the midwest, Nebraska & Kansas, to attend a Pro Ag conference with my family. The girls had a blast with Grandma while Jake and I (along with other family and friends) attended the conference. We learned a lot of great information (still processing all of it) they covered a lot in a short period of time. We were also able to squeeze in some time to spend with extended family during the trip too. It was a quick and busy trip but we were able to fit in some fun along the way! 🙂 Now that I am back home I have a pretty big week planned out, praying I will be able to tackle the majority of the items on the list for the week!
Here is the update on last weeks goals:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday – I was not able to do this with the conference last week
- Read a book to the girls everyday- during the conference they were with Grandma so they probably had books read to them but I didn’t read them
Spend some time with extended family
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – did well until all the traveling
Read and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
Business Goals
Attend the Pro Ag ConferencePay all bills that come in the mail this week
Ministry Goals
Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requestsMeet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – still working on this one
Here are my goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
- Read a book to the girls everyday
- Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week
- Schedule a Date Night with the Girls & Re-Schedule My Date Night with Jake
- Finalize the Girls Birthday Party Items
- Set up a dentist appointment for the girls
- Pick up the girls new glasses
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday
- Finish reading Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk
- Read and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
- Set up an appointment to get updated on shots / vaccinations
- Finalize Upcoming Travel Plans – dates set / plane tickets purchased / visa
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
- Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
- Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
- Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the Master Bedroom & Bathroom
- Get the majority of our 2011 Personal Taxes completed
Business Goals
- Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
- Write a Guest Blog Post
- Schedule Meeting with Accountant for Business Taxes
Ministry Goals
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Email Alms & Legs Ministry Team regarding our upcoming meeting
- Put together the Alms & Legs Meeting Agenda
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
- Start working on our personal 2011 taxes
- Put money aside for upcoming trips
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results
Family Activities: Enjoying Time with Extended Family (Part 2)
There are so many things I have to be thankful for in my life with family being one of the top on the list. As a child I had the privilege of knowing and having wonderful memories with all four of my Great Grandma’s. All four of my Grandparents are still healthy and are now able to be a part of my girls lives. It is exciting to see my girls spend time and with their Grandparents and Great Grandparents because I know these precious times together are memories they will cherish. I posted a few other pictures in an earlier post. Here are a few pictures from our most recent visit with our Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles in South Carolina.
Great Grandpa CE reading books to Karlie and Brina. The girls were super excited about all the fun playing and book reading while everyone was visiting us.
Uncle Josh helped the girls put together a huge marble mazes! They were quite impressed with his building skills and loved racing the marbles through the maze. Karlie is racing her marbles while Uncle Josh helps Brina put hers together.
Grandma Penny coloring with Brina. Thankful for a time to relax and enjoy spending time with family. Brina’s was thrilled to have some time coloring with Grandma Penny.
Karlie is quite pleased with the lego, marble maze, and horse farm that Uncle Josh helped her put together.
We had a blast with everyone visiting for several days. The time flew by quickly and before we knew it everyone was leaving. The girls did pretty well with saying goodbye to everybody but as they watched the car drive away they started crying….. When asked why they were crying Brina said “I had so much fun I wasn’t ready for them to go yet.” and Karlie said “It went by too fast…I don’t think it was really 4 days…” I am thankful for the opportunity to spend time with family; these moments spent together become treasured memories for the entire family.
Travel & Vacation: Carriage Tour in Charleston, SC
Our family had the opportunity to go on a Carriage Tour through Charleston one of the weeks we were traveling in that area for work. The tour was packed full of amazing history of Charleston and all of us enjoyed it (including the girls).
Carriage horse in Charleston
Brina having fun saying “Hi” to all the horses in the carriage barn
Karlie relaxing while waiting for our turn to ride the carriage!
Going on a carriage tour of Charleston. The girls LOVED riding in the front and watching the horse as well as soaking in all the history of Charleston. Jake and I went on one of these rides before the girls were born. It was a lot of fun and we learned more pieces of Charleston’s history!
Beautiful iron work outside the front doors of one of the local churches. The history of the many buildings along the ride was really neat.
The architecture of the churchs and homes was pretty amazing. I didn’t want to take a bunch of pictures into peoples personal homes so I snapped more of the churches during the tour.
See the oval sign under the light, it is a “fire insurance” sign. After the great fires in Charleston if your house had one of these signs that specific fire company would come put out your fire. Also, many of the Charleston homes have a “privacy” door on their porches as seen in the picture above to allow the families to cool down in privacy on their porches during the warmer months. It wouldn’t be decent seeing a lady in her “under garments” as she cooled off on the porch therefore privacy doors became a popular addition to the homes.
Beautiful houses in Charleston. This house used to by at the waters edge and is now several blocks from the shore! Charleston used to have “HAVE” and “HAVE NOT” sections of town, this house was in the “have” section.
On the left side of the picture you can see a brown brick building through the trees. After the really devastating fires in Charleston many of the wealthy families built their kitchens and servants quarters in a separate building outside of the home to help prevent fires from engulfing the entire home which also allowed a little extra time for the fire company to arrive and put out the fire.
Charleston’s old jail house. Our guide had a lot of “interesting” stories about the old jail house. Supposedly it is “haunted” and you can take tours during the day or a ghost tour at night through the old jail.
Many of the houses in Charleston are visibly leaning due to age and the variety of natural things including settling that have occurred over time. Also, you’ll notice that a lot of the houses are narrow as you see in this picture. Not much of a front or side yards with a street on three sides but the house has some history!
It was beautiful and peaceful touring Charleston on a carriage. If only I could remember ALL the cool pieces of history our guide shared with us that day!
Daughters of Confederacy building in downtown Charleston. This building is near the market area.
Brina and Karlie saying goodbye, petting, and thanking the horse for the history tour of Charleston. They really have a soft spot for animals and loved the long ride through Charleston just as much as we did.
Jake and I were able to “surprise” the girls with this carriage tour. I was able to get tickets at a discounted rate through Groupon, but the company we received the coupons for refused to accept the reservations because they were too “busy” that day. Thankfully we were able to get another carriage company to basically accept their competitors coupon otherwise we would have had two very disappointed girls (and Momma). Even though it was a busy time, we had to switch carriage companies, and it was warm we had a BLAST touring the city and learning all the history.
If you ever go to Charleston this is a wonderful activity to do with your family, just make sure to budget or plan ahead for the tour because without a coupon it could be a little pricey especially for a large family or group. Even though the carriage rides are open pretty much year round if you are going in the summer and it gets above 94 degrees (or somewhere near that temperature) the carriage companies have to pull the horses off the street because it is too hot for them. It was a great experience for all of us!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
