Maldives Dream Vacation

The biggest question Hubs and I were asked about our trip to the Maldives was, “Why the Maldives?” That’s a legitimate question. I mean, the Caribbean is much closer if all we wanted was a beach resort vacation. Florida is driving distance if we simply wanted to go to the beach. But no! This was our first trip since January 2020 to Tennessee. We wanted to make it a big one. We succeeded! This trip is probably the best vacation I’ve ever been on.

To get to the Maldives was an ordeal. First of all, we had to have negative Covid-19 PCR tests, despite both of us being vaccinated. So we had one done, but they told us we wouldn’t get the results back in time. So we got another one done for a nice little penny. Then both the results came back within 24 hours of each other. Seriously? I saw this to be a bad omen. Fortunately, I was wrong. 

Our actual journey included a two hour drive to the airport, an hour and a half flight to another domestic airport. Then we flew 14 hours to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. On the flight the attendants treated us as if we were on our honeymoon and gave us extra dessert and champagne. They even made us a card! From there, after a seven hour layover, we flew another four or four and a half hours to Male, Maldives. From Male we had a two hour wait for the 45 minute seaplane flight to our final destination of the island of Fushifaru. Due to rough waters we had to land at another resort and then take a 10 minute speedboat ride to Fushifaru. 

Once we got there we were greeted like royalty! We received star necklaces made of palm leaves and were led to the main center by the beating of drums. The whole royal crew requiring this escort? Only Hubs and I. Out of a possible capacity of 150 guests, while we were there we had the company of 13 other guests. This was due to Covid and India and China being red zones with the new variant first breaking out. Normally, most guests would be traveling to Fushifaru from that part of the world. 

Honestly, Hubs and I loved this. The trip felt like we were on a completely private island. In way we were since the whole island is the resort. We were waited on by staff who knew our names and learned our orders. We were able to eat (some of the most delicious food ever), drink (and drink some more), and relax on the beach just the two of us. I cannot imagine being there at full capacity and having to do things like wait. Haha! 

We enjoyed this dream for seven days. Despite it being monsoon season we only saw a grand total of 15 minutes of rain. It was gusty and the currents on one side of the island were strong, but overall the weather was immaculate. 

Our room was on the sunrise side of the island. We woke up and watched the sunrise nearly every morning. We had our own private infinity pool and access to the beach. The room was comfortable and beautifully decorated with a sliding door opening up the porch and pool. A unique feature was the outdoor, but totally private and modern, bathroom. The room itself had universal plugs which was really convenient. A turn down service was provided twice a day. At night they would leave little goodies for us, like oranges or a little bottle of rum and can of Coca-Cola.

sun rising behind the clouds

Hubs at our private beach spot

our nearest neighbor

There were many activities to do while there which were included in our stay. We kayaked, snorkeled, tried paddle boarding (which is really hard!), and went on a sea turtle excursion. The last one was extra, but completely worth it. We saw unicorn fish among various other types, coral, and two sea turtles while we snorkeled along the reef. Dolphins swam alongside our boat on the way back to the island. Our favorite activity, other than snorkeling, was watching the hermit crabs. There were hermit crabs every where! Each evening and night the resort offered something. One night it was learning about the history and culture of the Maldives. Another night there was a flair bartending show. 

hermit crabs are so cute and social!

On one particular day it was Global Wellness Day. Hubs and I learned how to make sushi rolls and got to do yoga on the private sandbar. That night there was a DJ and we danced the night away. Who made up the dance crew? Another couple from Bulgaria, our host, and me. Don't worry, Hubs joined in the dancing the next night. 

When it was time to leave I did not want to go. I knew we had the doggos to get home to, but I was not happy about leaving paradise. I felt like the staff were more like friends and everything had been so perfect. It was hard to go back to reality! 

If you ever have the chance to go to the Maldives, GO! If looking for a specific spot, Hubs and I 100% recommend Fushifaru. 

 

~Sarah~

Veni Vidi Vici

If you have been reading these scattered, rambling posts for a while then you know I’m a teacher. However, after 10 years, I have made the hard decision to resign from my dream job for the time being. Why? Good question.

Teaching is a job where you have to give all of yourself, no matter what, all day long. It’s mentally, emotionally, socially, and even sometimes physically, exhausting. I understand every job and career comes with its own stressors and hardships, but teaching is different. And don’t come back with, “at least you have summers off!” That’s pretty much the one major perk to this career. 

For me personally, I didn’t feel I could give that 110% anymore. I felt tired and cranky all the time and was constantly finding something to complain about rather than reasons to rejoice. I wasn’t happy anymore and it was showing in my performance. My school, coworkers, admin, and kids were all amazing and they deserve someone who can give more than I can at this moment in my life. I am so sad and bummed about leaving all of the people from school; they truly were my second family. After much discussion with family and friends and much prayer, it became clear to me that I needed to take a break from teaching. This may be only a year or it may be forever. I hope to still work with kids in some capacity. Working with animals, outdoors, and/or traveling would also be wonderful. 

So what’s next then? Another great question. Starting pretty soon I’ll have a job working at a barn and helping care for horses. I also tutor through a program at the local tennis organization and I’m tutoring through VIPKid. 

My heart is heavy with this choice because I will miss it. Perhaps one day I’ll be led back into the classroom. For now I’m excited to see what the future holds for me, Hubs, and the doggos. 

~Sarah~

"The Song That Doesn't End"

 "Yes it goes on and on my friends! Some people started signing it…" and it was UNPRECEDENTED! 

2020 was a tough year for, I think it’s safe to assume, everyone. The year started out in rural Tennessee with Hubs and the doggos. The weather was freezing and rainy but we were able to get in some really nice hikes. On the downside, Hubs got an ear infection. This was before we could presume every illness was Covid-19. Remember those days? Before masks? Good times.

Then the day happened where we left school, Friday the 13th, and didn’t go back. Let me tell you, virtual teaching and learning is not great. I tried to take advantage of the new set up by riding in the mornings and then coming home and grading, answering emails, and Google Meets sessions after lunch. That went on until the summer. 

This summer Hubs and I actually had no big trips planned after the Ireland trip. Now of course we are antsy to get out and go somewhere, but the world is still at a standstill. We took the opportunity to work on our property where we want to build. We got the home site cleared and a driveway and culvert put into place. We also got the trailer (from the Trailer Trash post) FINISHED and moved out onto the land! 

Now that 2021 is here, the Capitol has been stormed, our school has mastered (if that’s possible) synchronous teaching, and Covid-19 vaccines are being administered… well, it’s still a year and it’s only February. 2020 is proving to be the longest year ever. 

"...some people started singing it not knowing what it was and they’ll continue signing it forever just because…"

~Sarah~

Ireland: Final Chapter

One would think that with all this craziness going on I'd find the time to write. False.

It's finally time to complete the Ireland saga. Hooray! It's only been 14 months since it happened! 

After Hubs left the hospital and the rest of the family had headed home stateside, aside from the two of us plus my stepmom, we postponed our departure from the Emerald Isle for a few more days. We wanted to give Hubs at least one pleasant memory from this trip. On the way to the bus station I saw two rainbows!

(insert leprechaun joke here)

 

We packed up from the Rosebud Inn and headed closer to Shannon. We took a bus to Kinvara and stayed at and AirBnB. That place had sweet little puppers and cows. It was really nice and quiet, except for the cows. 

"Never touch a bull on the head."

The town in Kinvara was super cute. Our first day there we ate at Keogh's Pub & Restaurant. The last day we had some delicious pizza at Tide Full Inn. If I remember correctly, this restaurant was owned by a husband and wife pair. The husband was Italian and the wife Irish. They were having a heated debate or something, I believe in Italian, when we left. It actually added to the experience. 

Our full day we took an early bus to the Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs were beautiful. It was a tourist place and was pretty crowded, but there was enough space to find a quiet spot to soak in the view and fresh air. I was so pleased we were able to go. Before we knew all the trip details, Hubs had asked to visit here. Now we were able to enjoy a beautiful part of a wonderful country together and fever-free! There were little merchants along the walk around the cliffs and a couple panhandling folksingers. 

Cliffs of Moher

The only downside to visiting the Cliffs was Hubs accidentally left his phone on the bus. We spent the evening changing passwords and log in settings. The bus company was very compliant and helpful which made the loss a little more palatable.

We went exploring around Kinvara and made our way to an actual Medieval castle. I tried to go in further, but it was closed for a private event. It was still really neat to be able to see and touch a structure that was about 1000 years old.

castle

Scaling the defense castle

Overall this trip was an experience. I mean that in a positive way! We were able to bond as a family and strengthen those relationships. Seeing my family love my husband and care for him still makes me teary eyed. Ireland was perfect in every way; the kind people, the culture, the weather held out, the planned parts of the trip went so smoothly. The only kink was us bringing our own figurative baggage (and by that I mean incubating a tick-borne disease). 

If you have a chance to go to Ireland- GO! Especially if you want to walk the Western Way. 

Thank you, Ireland, for showing us "cead mile failte" (a thousand welcomes)!

-Sarah

  

Ireland: Act Two

Welcome back to the dramatic portion of this Irish saga.

• Day 4 A & E

What should have been a lovely Thursday and our fourth hiking day quickly devolved into the start of a five day stay at the hospital. 

Last view of the beautiful Western Way

Hubs was so miserable and now complaining of abdominal pain. He finally caved and let us take him to the hospital. The tour company had private drivers take us to the trail head each day and then our luggage to the next bed and breakfast. That was a sweet little place called Moher House. (My family said the dinner the owner cooked for them was delicious.) Hubs and I rode ahead with the luggage around 9:30 AM, the BnB owner said that was ok, but Hubs was in such bad shape we asked the driver to take us to the nearest clinic. He called his own personal doctor first. She was busy so we went to the family clinic. The sweet man waited for us. The clinic doctor referred us to the county hospital’s A & E. A & E stands for accidents and emergencies; it’s their version of the ER. 

We arrived in the A & E waiting room at 11:15 AM. We then waited there for nearly  three and a half hours. Once we got a room in the A & E, Hubs was at first seen by the A & E doctor who took some initial blood work. An hour later a nurse hooked Hubs up to some fluids and paracetamol (Tylenol) to get his fever down. The room was maybe an 8’x10’ space with basically a dentist’s chair and a sink. The doctor returned and discussed the results of his test. Hubs’s kidneys were not functioning properly and his white blood cell count was extremely low indicating an infection. I sat on the floor for the next six or so hours. Then he was seen by a surgeon intern. Then he was seen by the surgery team who decided he was not a candidate for surgery. They referred Hubs to the medical team. The medical team came in another half out later and asked him the same questions as the A & E nurse, doctor, surgery intern, and surgery team. All this time Hubs never received more fluids or medicine for his fever.  

Hubs on his way for an X-Ray

It wasn’t until just before midnight they moved Hubs to a room in the main hospital. Thankfully he got a private room and not a gurney in the hallway. Hubs was given more fluids and paracetamol. I stayed the night with him in the hospital. He was starting to turn yellow from his liver not functioning correctly. He remained dehydrated despite drinking fluids all day and the IV. Seeing him like that was heart wrenching.

• Day 5 Hospital

Friday morning we are up and enjoying the view of the hospital roof littered with random debris and covered with squawking seagulls. The doctor, yet another one, came in. This would be Hubs’s case doctor. After tests, x-rays, scans, they decided Hubs’s “bloods were deranged” and even slightly worse from his initial tests. His white blood cell count was so low we had to wear masks in the room with him to keep him from contracting something new. 

named for County Mayo
(not the same Mayo Clinic as in the U.S.)

DD didn’t do the day 5 hike with the rest of the gang so she could be with us. Dr. Dad had been texting and calling the infectious disease doctor from the hospital where he worked. He was able to share the results with her and she concluded it was (what Dr. Dad had presumed days ago): ehrlichiosis. I’m sorry, what?! Dr. Dad had repeatedly asked Hubs if he had had any tick bites recently. About two weeks prior to the trip, Hubs had been in the woods and had multiple tick bites. When Dr. Dad first suggested it was a tick borne disease to the Irish doctors, they were unsure because Hubs had no rash. Apparently Ireland only knows about Lyme disease. (Lyme disease is not prevalent where we live.) Ehrlichiosis is very similar to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, but minus the spots. All Hubs needed was an antibiotic called doxycycline. Praise the Lord we were in a developed, English-speaking nation with modern medicine. Hubs was put on a very low dose of antibiotics and was starting to make a slow recovery.

After hiking, my sweet family was going in shifts to visit Hubs so I could get a break from the hospital and check out the town of Westport. DD was Dr. Dad stayed the night with Hubs so I could leave and actually sleep in a bed and get a shower. He also wanted to talk to the doctor when he came in early the next morning. DD and I had rooms in a BnB called the Lurgan House down the road from the rest of the family. They had an apartment atop a little bar called McCarthy's Lodge and Bar. 

sneaking away to enjoy Westport

• Day 6 Hospital

Saturday. Praise the Lord! Hubs is FINALLY feeling like a human again. Now here’s the real kicker. The hospital we were admitted to? It was a university hospital. They don’t discharge people on the weekend because the doctors aren’t there on the weekend. We begged the on call doctor to let us be discharged, but no. Sunday maybe? We’ll see.

my poor, sweet Hubs

DD was able to work with the BnB owner in Westport to get us a room in a different BnB called the Rose Garden which was located closer to the hospital in Castlebar. 

All of the BnB owners were so kind, so accommodating, driving us around themselves or arranging things for us. It made the experience bearable knowing that these strangers were genuinely concerned. In fact, after we returned home the owner of the Moher Lodge called DD to check in about Hubs.

view from the Rose Garden
that's the hospital in the background

• Day 7 Hospital

Sunday. Well, everyone except DD, Hubs, and I were headed back to the States. When booking the trip DD had purchased travel insurance so we were able to reschedule our flights. We decided to have our own little mini-vacation for Hubs and extended our stay an extra two days.

By this point we had given up hope about being discharged before Monday. We played a lot of rummy and had a seemingly endless supply of tea and toast.

• Day 8 FREEDOM

The doctor from Friday, the last one we saw in the morning, was back. He wanted to keep Hubs under his care as a case study. DD said no. I’m so glad she was there. I don’t know that I would have had the gall to take a stand. Hubs was feeling immensely better, had his coloring back, his appetite back, and was fever free since Friday. His test results had improved leaps and bounds. 

After DD convinced the doctor to discharge us, to catch our flights we already rescheduled (she wasn't very clear on the new departure date...hehe), Hubs and I went down to billing to settle up. They said the discharge order hadn’t come through yet and they’d mail us a bill. They never asked to see our licenses, our insurance cards, our passports… I suggested they at least double check our address. It was wrong; we had to correct it. (Flash forward to weeks later: our insurance covered every penny. The total bill for the 5 day, 4 night stay? $5000. That’s it. All inclusive.)

Why did we wait to be discharged? Why did we not simply leave? We were afraid our travel insurance and health insurance would not cover anything if the discharge papers read "AMA" (against medical advice). 

At 1 PM Hubs walked out of the hospital for the first time since going in at 11:15 AM the Thursday before.

love this man

Since we changed our flight home from Sunday to Wednesday, Hubs was actually able to get a vacation day or two in. I believe I’ll continue that story in the next post.

Thank you for reading and STAY HEALTHY! 

-Sarah-

Ireland: Act One

Western Way

Six months after this trip I am finally ready to rehash what happened! I waited so long to see what memories would stand out so I could focus on the highlights for y’all. I’m going to divide this trip into two parts: part one will be before the hospital and part two will be after. And yes, we had a hospital visit, but all is fine now!

Quick overview of our trip first. 

Our group consisted of my dad (Dr. Dad), stepmom (DD), brother (Bro), sister-in-law (Curgz), stepbrother (CC), half-sister (Elf), Hubs and myself. We hiked for 5 days along the Western Way from outside Galway to Westport. We hiked carrying our day packs and all of our luggage was transported ahead of time by the company.

Act One

• Galway to Oughterard

The first leg of our trip we flew into Shannon and then hopped a bus to Galway. Galway was a cool town; it had the right amount of tourist kitschiness where the city felt alive and welcoming, but not so much to be patronizing. With our belongings were safely stored away at our AirBnB, half of us went out and about and the other half stayed behind and napped. While gallivanting around we had a Guinness at a pub called The Skeff. Starting here and moving forward, every single person we met and socialized with was the kindest, chattiest person. I mean, I’m a Georgia girl and I know Southern hospitality, but the Irishmen put us to shame! Hubs at this point said he felt ill so he slept, or tried to, most of our Galway experience. Poor man, he had a nasty infection in his finger and was on antibiotics for it. Then he started feeling feverish so Dr. Dad started him alternating ibuprofen and Tylenol thinking Hubs was reacting to the antibiotics and long travel. Unfortunately, we were very wrong.

Dr. Dad in the streets of Galway

sisters who love street art

We took a bus from Galway to Oughterard. Oughterard would be our jumping off point the next morning. That evening Hubs became so feverish the owner of our bed and breakfast offered to call her doctor but we declined thinking he would recover during the night. Again, we were wrong.

• Day 1 Hike

Hubs, Bro, and I being ourselves

After a delicious traditional Irish breakfast we were dropped off at the trailhead and commenced our beautiful first day of hiking. We trekked from Oughterard to Cornamona. Bro was in charge of making sure we stayed on course. Whenever we asked him how much farther it was always, “Just two more kilometers.” He said this for, I don’t know many kilometers, but at least 4 or more miles. (Two km is actually equal to about 1.25 mi.) The hike ended at the doorstop of a local pub. A ride provided by the tour company came and picked us up after we had our celebratory Guinness. On the way to our bed and breakfast we got to drive past Pirate Queen Grace O’Malley’s castle.

"how much farther?" "only about 2 km"

• Day 2 Hike

perfection in a picture

The second day was the toughest day. (From my experience at least; apparently day four was very strenuous but I did not hike past day three.) We hiked from Cornamona to Connemara.  The trail wound through some local farms and then went up a steep hill to St. Patrick’s shrine called Mám Éan. CC, Hubs, and I took our sweet time on this hike. CC and I like to look at everything and take pictures and sweet Hubs was having major fever chills and aches. We made our way down the hill and to our next bed and breakfast. That was a little farm in Connemara. Hubs immediately showered, ate, and went to bed. My siblings and I lingered at the cozy lodge/restaurant/pub down the road for way too long. We closed the place down. Word to the wise: be wary of a drink The Skeff staff called “fluffy duck”; it’s two parts Baileys and one part Hennessy. 

Dr. Dad and DD at  Mám Éan

the siblings about to close this place down

love love love and wine

• Day 3 Hike

here we go!

This third day Hubs and Elf rode straight ahead with our luggage to the next bed and breakfast in order to sleep. Hubs still felt terrible and Elf had had too much fun the night before to enjoy a day along the Western Way. (By the way, that bed and breakfast was haunted, I swear. In the middle of the night I awoke with the feeling I was being watched. I rolled over and saw two dark figures on the wall. I blinked hard and looked to see what would cause the shadow. When I looked back, they were still there. I blinked again and they were gone.) The others and I hiked from Connemara to Leenane.  Ireland reminded me so much of Iceland with its green rolling hills, the rocky landscape, and the numerous amounts of sheep. After a day of hiking we went to a pub for some delicious local mussels. We even walked past the mussel farm from which they came! And yes, we did make plenty of "muscle" farm jokes. Poor Hubs didn't get to eat with us, but I did bring him back a "toasty" (a toasted ham sandwich) and some mussels. At the end of this day he was so incapacitated that the next morning he and I went to the hospital.

I don't typically like mussels but I devoured these

That ends the first act and leads us into the second act of this saga. I will pick up on that next post.

-Sarah-

Bonus Pics! 

Connemaras in Connemara!

buckskin stallion

his mare was grazing with their colt and sheep

Ireland Bound!

Y’all, in two weeks I am headed to Ireland!

As part of my sister’s college graduation, she’s the last one of us to graduate, my dad and stepmom have put together a family trip to Ireland. My dad, stepmom, my brother and his wife, my younger brother and sister, Hubs and myself are the travel party. My dad and stepmom have done this trip twice before, but it’s been about 20 years. They fully expect this third time to live up to their memories of their previous trips.

The plan is for us to fly to Shannon and then hike in Galway. The trip is a hiking trip! But, it’s the best kind! It’s the kind where your belongings are sent ahead and you hike through the Irish countryside, stopping for a picnic, then hike to the bed and breakfast. You get to bed and breakfast for teatime and then you have a few hours to clean up and relax in your room where your things are waiting for you. Then you head to the a local pub for dinner and a Guinness. Off to bed and then do it again the next day!

We will hike about 7-11 miles, about 4-6 hours, each day. We will do this for five days. Hubs and I are excited because we have been wanting to do a hiking trip like this since Machu Picchu. This one will be nice because we have learned a lot since then and we won’t have to carry so much. And bonus: no stairs! The Inca roads and stairs were amazing, but even now five years later my knees ache thinking about them.

I’ll be sure to post once we get back with some awesome stories and gorgeous pictures.

What are y’all doing this summer? Let me know in the comments below!
Whatever you do, please be safe and have fun!

-Sarah

Trailer Trash

This semester has been all go, go, go! I now have 3 jobs. I tutor a group of kids through the local tennis organization and I teach English online to kids in China. On top of that, Hubs and I have quite a few new projects happening. We have: the never-ending master bathroom remodel, the new 15 acre property we want to build on (and I mean WE build, more on that later), and lastly the 25 foot 2008 Pioneer camper.

This camper. Hubs found it on Facebook marketplace and texted me about it. I replied, “Cute!” He replied, “I’m going to buy it,” about 45 minutes later. He didn't mean eventually, he might he was on his way. It was for sale for $2,500 and looked to be a good shape. The owner said it had previous water damage but they fixed it. When I first walked inside it smelled a little musty, but everything has a fresh new coat of paint and was pretty clean. Hubs showed me in the bedroom where the water had leaked in causing the ceiling to bow a bit. That’s easy enough to replace. 

A few days later Hubs decides to tear out the warped piece of ceiling. Previous damage my butt! The insulation was soaked from the prior day’s rain. He ripped down more, soaked, Ripped down the wall to find rotted wood frame and dripping insulation. Following the dripping water we found water pooled under the flooring. Great. We rip it all out and find the source of the leak. It’s where it had been “fixed” along the front roof edge. 

Finding out it was not old damage

Water pooled under the floor

Over the course of the past few weeks Hubs has, with very little help from me or anyone else, reframed the floor, wall, and ceiling, replaced the front roof piece, insulated most of the flooring, and stripped the old, deteriorated sealant off the roof. I’m sure there has been a lot more work gone into this project, but i’m not really a detail person. My dad has been kind enough to allow us to park and renovate this trailer outside his barn.

Two roofers hard at work

Why even buy a camper? Well, we wanted something to travel in and take the dogs. The van trip from 2017 was a little cramped with all four of us. Our puppers are getting older and we want to explore places with them while we can. The main reason was to park on our new property so we had somewhere comfortable to stay for the weekend while we prepped the land for building and farming. It’s not a far drive, but we’d get a lot more accomplished by staying there. And a camper would be much easier than a tent with the dogs. 

Hello!

Our little piece of paradise

I'll keep you all updated on the camper's progress. In the meantime I'll see if Hubs and I can come up with a name for it (her?).  Until then!

-Sarah-