Tag: cool weather

Where to Travel in October – Transylvania, Romania

It has been a long while since I have had a true autumn experience. I have not been able to travel to the places in the world that explode in the fall foliage as it spreads its blanket across the earth. It used to be one of my favorite times of the year, where I would wear jeans and long sleeved shirts as I ventured out to experience the change of seasons. Since I have moved overseas, I have lived in places where autumn is not a season. It is either a continuation of the hot weather that I have lived with all year long, or it is a short two week jaunt into a colder, unbearable weather. So when I had the opportunity to go on a long fall break, I looked around the area I was living to find that perfect location where I could go and enjoy fall. Some place with the leaves, the crisp weather, and if at all possible, a little of the creepy feel that comes with Halloween being right around the corner. There was one place that fit the bill, Transylvania. It is perfect. It has the hilly mountains filled with deciduous trees. The cool, crisp weather comes with low hanging clouds that will blanket the land in a fog that adds to the creepy atmosphere. There is also the legend of Dracula that looms over the whole region that makes it feel like I have walked into a scary movie. It has every thing that I would look for in a vacation of this type.

So I am off for a week full of the autumn experience. I can’t wait to experience that cool, crisp air, and walk through the lanes full of fallen leaves. I hope you can join me in the experience as I write about all things Romanian as I travel off to Transylvania for the fall.

A Walk Around Black Butte Ranch – Oregon

Summer has been hiding behind the clouds ready to pop out. It isn’t quite the weather for shorts and swimming pools yet in Central Oregon, but it will come soon. That does not mean that I need to hide in my house and wait for it to come. I could still get out there and enjoy the view of Black Butte Ranch. I just need to plan a little better and make sure I am wearing pants and warmer clothes.

Black Butte Ranch boasts some dramatic views no matter what the weather is. It might even be better during those cool, cloudy days because it add something more to look at in the sky than just a warming blue. It is also early enough in the season that the people have not flooded into the resort yet and taken over the paths. The cool weather reinvigorated me, making the length of this walk tick away with each happy step I took.

It felt as if the empty roads were built for me alone, and each bend gave me another view of the spectacle that is the natural landscape of Central Oregon. I am happy to be out of the towns and cities right now, and am able enjoy these quiet streets. It would be a different scene in Bend, or Redmond, or even Sisters as they get their businesses and restaurants ready for the summer rush that will happen as soon as the nod from the Governor comes, telling them that can ramp things up again.

It will nice to get back to that normal way of life, and hints of it keep peeking out from my periphery. But until then, I will enjoy the lack of crowds and having the feel that the ranch is mine alone.

A View from the Sidewalk

I have enjoyed being back in the cool air of the Pacific Northwest again. It is refreshing after the heat wave that I was experiencing in Thailand. I am in that position of making sure to keep my contact with other people to be minimal, so I have, for the most part, stayed inside. But I have taken a moment every day to get out and walk around. It is nice to walk on these streets free from the crowds, and enjoy the weather.

Every where I look, I see those little pieces of Americana that I have missed during the last couple of years. There are the tree houses and graduation celebration signs in people’s front yards. There is the sound of lawn mowers trimming the yards, and there are people out walking their dogs. I do have to remember to keep to the sidewalks. After two years of sticking to the edge of the roads and paying attention to the sounds of oncoming cars and motorcycles, I forgot that there are places where you are supposed to stay off the road, and stick to the safety from the sidewalk.

It is a different view from the sidewalk. There is always so much to see from there. People like to put a little bit of themselves in their yards, and it is fun to see their personalities. Sometimes the yards are well manicured and sometimes they are a little more sporadic. Every once in a while, there is a little joke that offers up a little laugh. It makes these walks more enjoyable to take.

My favorites are the free libraries that can be found all over the Pacific Northwest neighborhoods. On our little one mile walk, we came across three of these book deposits. People in the neighborhood can take a book or drop one off, and each little library offers a different collection of books to browse from. There are ones that cater to a younger audience, and some enjoy the thrillers that can be found all over the place, while others have a more literary selection.

It was nice to get out to enjoy this activity again, and make it home without being a hot, sweaty mess. I am looking forward to the day when I get back to the more populated parts of town, and enjoy this cool weather even more. But I still have a few more days of quarantine to go through as well as another vaccination shot. It is still nice to know that it is getting closer to enjoying a more normal life, and to be back in America to enjoy it.