It overlooks miles of rolling moorland and forest with its exterior covered by Virginia creeper. Its interior decor is burnished copper kettles, polished brass and archaic agricultural implements. There are framed photographs that reveal how few changes have been made to the outside over the years. It has a warming log fire during the winter months.

The Pheasant Inn offers the visitor a warm and friendly welcome, though it remains an authentic rural inn, instead of feeling like a themed parody of a country pub.

It gets its beers from the local Wylam Brewery and serves the best of British cuisine, Food to die for.

The menu is chalked on a blackboard in simple English language and many of the dishes are produced in house. A favourite meal is the Onion and Goat's Milk Tartlet, served with a garnish of lightly-tossed salad.

Many diners opt for the Game and Mushroom pie, a masterpiece of game meats and mushrooms in a rich, savoury gravy which releases clouds of appetising steam when the pastry crust is cut into. The pheasant Inn also offers an extensive range of steaks and cutlets.

The desserts are equally wide ranging and mouth-watering. Visitors should sample the fresh strawberry and raspberry tart with almond pastry and whipped cream or the poached bilberry sundae that is topped with cream.

It has an extremely well-trained staff, who are exceptionally helpful and courteous. There is an abundance of car parking. Unfortunately the Pleasant Inn is not fully accessible for the disabled.

The Pheasant Inn lies nine miles west of Bellingham on the southern bank of the River North Tyne.

Friendly People

Many visitors to Scotland comment on the friendliness of the people in contrast to their visits to other parts of Britain which shall remain nameless. The country has its fair share of crime, particularly in the city areas, but assuming you do not wander around at night alone, you should enjoy a trouble-free visit. You will find people to be helpful and friendly in the disposition and very down to earth.

Beautiful Scenery

The Highlands are outstanding for scenery and well worth a visit. The mountains are majestic and the panoramic views that open up to you are breathtaking. There is so much to see on a round trip of Scotland with the opportunity to vist castles and distilleries which are dotted around the entire country.

Home of Golf

Scotland is famous as the Home of Golf with the main attraction for visitors being the Old Course at St Andrews. The area of St Andrews is a very pleasant place to visit and all the more so if you have a keen interest in golf as there are five main courses in one area.

Scotland is a place that will not disappoint should you decide to visit. With so many sights to see and historical background, it has so much to offer that more than makes up for the bad weather experienced throughout the year.

Myrtle Beach in November

When my friend asked me what I wanted to do for our 40th birthdays I replied, "I have a bet on a boxing match that I am going to watch."  Needless to say she was mortified, but kept her cool.  She quickly and excitedly replied, "Let's jump in my Lexus and drive down to Myrtle Beach.  I was perplexed.  The summer was over.  She knew I was not only a sun worshipper, but an ocean lover.  "What are you talking about?"  I reluctantly replied, "Let me think about it."  I did my research and realized although it was chilly in New York the weather in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina averaged around 65 degrees.  I wouldn't be sunbathing or swimming, but I could still frolic on the beach.  The crowds would be almost nonexistent and deserted shopping centers would allow us to be footloose.  I decided to go and I am glad I did.  We had a great time!

Traveling

The drive down was uneventful and pretty boring.  We left in the early morning hours on Thursday, November 14, 2007.  We beat all the traffic and the Lexus provided a more than primo ride.  Neither of us was too concerned or impressed with the scenery as we'd see it many times on separate occasions.  We made a pit stop in a small town called Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina off of I-95 to see some of my relatives and were back on the road again shortly thereafter.  As we got closer to South Carolina we began shedding layers of clothing.  I became more and more excited knowing we were getting closer to the warmth.  Finally, 11 hours later we were in Myrtle Beach.

Becoming Acquainted with the Beach

We stayed in a beautiful set of condos on the south end of the beach off Kings Highway.  As soon as we entered the room I made a beeline for the balcony.  I couldn't believe the scenery, a marvelous postcard backdrop.  The beach was vacant, the ocean was rough.  I was in my glory.  I immediately retired to the balcony in a chair to rest a bit before we hit the town, to find a place to stuff our faces.  I love seafood even more than I love the beach.  The forecast did call for rain later that evening and into the next morning, but we did not let that stop us.

Out on the Town

After we settled, we decided that since we had a full kitchen we would find the nearest grocery store and purchase some items to save some money.  We found a Food Lion grocery story in the area and picked up dinner for later that night and breakfast for the next couple days as we were sure we would want to sleep in every morning.  The food prices were considerably lower compared to what we were used to and we found ourselves buying food to lug back with us.  Consumers get further discounts with their Food Lion card, which you can get immediately upon filling out a short form.  "How cool," we thought.  We drove up and down Ocean Boulevard checking out the scene and realizing very quickly how nice it was to not have to deal with the traffic and crowds that normally seek refuge in Myrtle Beach during the summer months.  I was in Heaven.  I was also exhausted though.  The drive was relaxing, but very tiring.  We scoped out a couple souvenir shops we wanted to hit and a restaurant called the Crab House and then made our way back to the condo.  I needed to retreat and bask in the comfort of the ocean's abode.  As the sun made its departure, I lay on the couch watching the ocean disappear into the darkness and all that could be heard was the sound of the waves.  I had claimed my spot on the couch in front of the patio doors; although, we had two queen-sized beds and a full-sized bed.  I didn't want to miss the spectacular scenery showing.  We cooked some vittles, watched some television and I jumped on my laptop taking advantage of the serenity and finishing up a few chapters of my book.  Shortly, after I went to sleep on the couch.  I did not want to miss the sunrise.

The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Sunrise

It was a magnificent specimen, the rising of the sun, as the ocean tickled its feet.  I took these spectacular pictures with my cell phone and used my webcam to record the sounds of the tides and waves calmly touch the shoreline to use for my morning meditation.  As marvelous as the scenery was in the daytime, it was equally as beautiful at night.  My only problem was neither my cell phone nor webcam were able to capture the million stars that graced the skies.  I have a high tech telescope that I left at home and I kicked myself a few times for forgetting it.  I had no idea!!!  I should not have been so hard on myself though; there wasn't enough room in the Lexus because we had bought so much food!

November 15, 2007: Rain, but Not a Total Bust

The following day it rained most of the day and my friend and I decided to take her mother-in-law up on her offer to check out a company called Wyndham Resorts to purchase some property on Myrtle Beach.  We sat through the presentation and found ourselves signing on the dotted line shortly thereafter.  I wanted more of what I had seen, the relaxation the peacefulness.  I was sold quickly and all I could think about was the many times I was going to frequent Myrtle Beach in the coming years.  My friend and I made a pact to go down at least once every other year, preferably on our birthdays.  We made our way back to the condo as we were not feeling the rain and decided to just stay indoors and relax.  After all that is what we truly came there for and we did plenty of it.

November 16, 2007: Fun in the Sun

My friend and I awoke to a similar marvelous sunrise and I was convinced that that particular sun couldn't be the same one that graced the New York sky.  It looked different, it was shaped different, it shone different, it felt different; it was just different.  I cooked fish and grits for my friend and I and we chowed down on the balcony under the morning sun.  I was content staying in the room for the remainder of our trip, but my friend was hell bent on getting out and spending some money.  I wanted to at least get out on the beach and build a sand castle or two, so I jumped into my sweatsuit and sneakers and headed for the shore.  It felt odd to not be donning my bikini, as one can imagine, but calming just the same.  My friend and I wrote messages in the sand to our kids; took pictures with our cell phones and sent them off.  It was a fine time to be turning 40.  Everywhere we went we let people know that we had just turned 40 and we not only got compliments, but also received some trinkets for free.

Shopping

My friend and I departed the beach.  I didn't go willingly; in fact I was kicking and screaming.  It was time to hit some shops and purchase some trinkets.  I had a long list of people I had to buy for and I managed to find everything I needed.  My friend bought me this wonderful lime green beach hat.  She's so expressive and thought it was the prettiest thing in the store and it was.  I was very appreciative to say the least.  We didn't do any big mall shopping; although we passed a few outlet stores on our quest to find the perfect souvenir shop.  We found that they basically all sold the same things and had the same prices, but we hit them all anyway.  Like most beach towns the surrounding areas are pretty much of the same, beach front restaurants, souvenir shops and night clubs; we just had them all to ourselves.  We did not frequent any of the night clubs as this was not our focus or reason for coming.  We would have come for Bike Week if we wanted that.  Instead, we opted to do what grown ups do and just relax, shop, enjoy the scenery and stuff our faces.

Eatery

There were many seafood restaurants to choose from and we had a very difficult time picking just one, but we finally decided on The Crab House.  We were not concerned with location (on the beach) or even price.  We wanted the catches to be fresh and the service to be excellent.  With the exception of another couple we were the only two people in there.  Again, I felt like I was in Heaven.  One waitress, all to ourselves and she was perfect.  Our meals consisted of a jumbo shrimp appetizer, a crab leg meal complete with baked potatoes and veggies and unlimited salad from the very fresh salad bar.  We ate with our crab bibs and took turns taking pictures of each other making literal pigs of ourselves.  It was a great time.

Reflection

We made our way back to our condo, stuffed and tired from the day's events and decided to take our grown up naps.  I fell asleep to the sounds of the ocean purring and rocking me to sleep like a lovely lullaby.  I fell asleep feeling the stress of the city leaving my body and allowing my dreams to finally materialize.  I had felt as though I had not dreamed so vividly in quite some time as I dreamt of living on the beach and being a beach bum.  This was not an unfamiliar dream, but one that had been repressed and all I had really needed was the ocean's sweet music.

Once we awoke we had to pack for our early trip back as we both had to get back to work.  We talked about our property that we had acquired and went over all the literature we had received.  We made advance plans for our return to Heaven and sealed our pact to come back at least once every two years.  I spent my last night out on the balcony reflecting and thought to myself, "I actually was going to turn her down."  I was so happy that I didn't as the night fell and the million stars came out to bid me a fair goodbye and I spoke out loud, "I will see you all again."

In my defense it should be pointed out that Bar Harbor was not the main focal point of the vacation I took this summer with a friend. We had spent a week at a cottage in Prince Edward Island, and on the suggestions and urging of my friend, Bar Harbor was inserted into the itinerary for our drive home. She convinced me that Bar Harbor was somewhere that she had always wanted to visit and her life would not be complete if we didn't visit it. Now!

First of all, travel by car is not for everyone. Secondly, car travel is better if it IS the vacation, rather than merely the means of getting from Point A to Point B. We chose driving because despite absurd gasoline prices it was still the most economical means of travel, as well as the fact that neither of us had driven to these areas and wanted to take in the scenery. I think that the ideal situation would be to drive to your destination, spend a restful week and fly home.

Having said that, our side trip to coastal Maine was delightful. Even if the weather was not delightful. Like most areas in central and eastern North America in summer 2008, rain was a constant irritation.

This car trip certainly brought back memories of car trips my sister and I had endured with our parents growing up. Back then we had no idea how far places were and how long it would take us to get there. Well, despite being considerably older, I still had no idea how far places were and how long it would take to get to them. At least on this trip that was the case.

And, did you know that Bar Harbor is on an Island? Of course you knew that. It was only us that discovered this interesting fact as the drive along Bar Harbor Rd. through Ellsworth on the way to Mount Desert Island seemed to take forever. This is where the difference between driving to get somewhere and driving to enjoy the scenery became quite evident.

Considering how tired we were after a day of travelling by car to get to our 'dream' destination, we were extremely pleased with what we found when we arrived in Bar Harbor. We were able to find a very adequate hotel despite arriving without reservations. The hotel we checked into was right on Eden St. at the north edge of town, and we quickly discovered that there was a shuttle bus that passed on a continuous route from the outlying hotels to the center of Bar Harbor. Of course we also quickly discovered that if you weren't right there when the bus passed your hotel it was not going to wait for you. Not to fear though because as I mentioned the buses kept a regular schedule. One caution though. You would have to enjoy bus travel because it is a very "up-and-down" journey and you would need to have a seat or strong arms to hang on to the rail.

Bar Harbor is a very interesting place and our very short stopover just wetted our appetite for more. Another visit is definitely in store. With any luck the weather will be better because a little bit of fog and rain seemed appropriate, but too much rain just put a 'damper' on our visit. Many restaurants and shops will give you plenty to do while in the center of town and the National Park is fantastic. I have to make special mention of one particular shop that got a lot of attention from us. That was a store called Christmas Vacation on the right hand side of the street heading toward the water. You will know it when you get there. Awesome! Ask them if they have any Flamingos!

So, for anyone traveling along the east coast of the United States I would recommend a side trip to Bar Harbor, Maine. You just never know what you will find there. You may even find me there!

River Boat

As we know there are still so many canals and rivers across the town. This public transportation still can be found in several locations to people across the rivers. This transportation often becomes the only way to reach their certain destination.

Becak

This kind of transportation was banned within Jakarta city due to causes traffic jams. My self didn't agree with this statement since there are so many factors why Jakarta has serious traffic jams problem.

Anyway, this traditional transportation is widely missed by people who live in housing complexes with small roads which are not serviced by another modern transportation.

If you come to Jakarta, make sure you tray to enjoy riding becak. It still can be found at several places, especially at complexes house area.

Delman (Horse-Drawn Carriages)

Jogjakarta, the special district in Central Java - Indonesia is the most popular city that still uses this traditional transportation. Usually, foreign tourist never missed to try this special transportation.

In Jakarta, this transportation is often rented by a Betawi family to transport kids around the neighborhood to celebrate a circumcision ceremony. When rented for parties such as this, they are often decorated with traditional Betawi ornamentation which lends a very festive air.

Ojek Sepeda (Bicycle Taxi)

It rarely found but still exist. The operation is much like motorcycle taxi but for short distance only. You can imagine if they carry the passenger for the long distance, aren't you?

From here we still need to take a walk around 300 meters. The trip that must be taken by following through the steep ladder, headed towards the location three waterfalls. Fortunately the available steep ladder is made from concrete cement so as the visitor do not experience the difficulty when crossing it. Upon arrival at location, several sellers of food/the drink and the appearance memento lined up and a group of young man welcomed with the wave of pop music that was trend, hoped for the small change throw to empty tin on the way. It is not difficult to find the source of hot water of these small seven waterfalls, because located on the side right-hand from the road to enter. The small seven waterfalls personally indeed took the form of the hot water current that come out from stone gaps with the height approximately 1 meter. Water that flowed visible issue hot vapor and the stones that are passed by this water changed became colored red brownish. Investigated to the side of which hot water flowed, I found scenery that has never been seen by me whatever beforehand. One cliff brown young is come between by the green color of appearance emitted the smoke. All this part of cliff is passed through hot water that flowed slowly to the lower cliff, so as to appear like the stone to have vapor. The combination of the color that is interesting and very beautiful to be enjoyed, it proved something that the natural color indeed always harmonious and it is very beautiful scenery.

A ladder on the right side of this cliff, make the visitor able to descend, enjoyed picturesque scenery from the lower side of cliff. Apparently not all water that flowed in this stone is hot water, it proven from water that flowed close to the step is water with the colder temperature. As a result when this cold water reach at the bottom and the mixture both of them made the temperature of water to be colder compared with its upper part.

Close to this area, there is a box of the cleanliness contribution without the guard standing in the edge of the ladder. An article on this box is mentioned the "Sarabadak Cave". But when I try to seek what part that is acknowledged as this Sarabadak Cave, I can not find out the location that is meant. It is just several small gaps in the cliff that definitely do not deserve to be acknowledged as the cave. In a glance, nothing special in this cave area, but if you try to look at the detail of the gap between the cliffs, its unique scenery. You can clearly see the contents of the whole cave.

A part of the Sarabadak Cave, there is also the historic location that is located outside the gate of small seven waterfalls but it close enough, approximately 100 meter. Whether this place is used to be belonging to the king or the leading figure, no body knows. Apparently, when being found by the inhabitants has taken the form of the place like available now. This place consisted of the stone that is compiled formed the step ladder and the other one is cubical form. This place is named Batur Sengkala, that it seems the inhabitant's local words are often used by ancient senior figures as the resting place for a moment from the far trip.

The Legend

Sheikh Maulana Maghribi was a Muslim scholar / Mullah. He was a Prince from Turki. One day after At Daybreak, he saw the mysterious light shone on the side South-east. He wanted to know from where the mysterious light came and what meaning that. He broke to find out. And he was accompanied by his friend, the Pilgrim Datuk and his worker. They sailed headed to the side of the arrival of this mysterious light. Afterwards after Sheikh Maulana Maghribi arrived in the Gresik Coast, this mysterious light apparently on the side west and finally they arrived in the coast Pemalang, Central Java. In this place he asked his workers to come home. In the meantime he was accompanied by the Pilgrim Datuk to continue his trip by walking headed to the side of south while spreading the Islam religion. Afterwards Sheikh Maulana Maghribi lived in the Banjar Cahayana.

In this place he was affected by the serious itchy illness and had difficulty being cured. After middle night prayers he received the inspiration that he must go to the Gora Mountain. After arrive in the slope of the Gora Mountain he asked for the Pilgrim Datuk to leave him & was waiting at the place that emitted the smoke. Evidently there had the source of hot water and Sheikh Maulana Maghribi mentioned him "seven waterfalls" that meaning that a source of hot water that had seven springs. Every day Sheikh Maulana Maghribi bathed in an orderly fashion in the place, in this way he recovered from his itchy illness.

The inhabitants around this place acknowledged Sheikh Maulana Maghribi as "Man from above the sky" because he came from a far country. And Sheikh Maulana Maghribi was named the Pilgrim Datuk Rusuhudi (in the Javanese language meant the Just Shelf or the Loyal Servant). This place was famous and was named "Baturaden". The reason was that Sheikh Maulana Maghribi recovered from the itchy and safe the illness at slope of the Gora Mountain. Further he replaced the name of the Gora Mountain to Slamet Mountain. Slamet in the Javanese language was significantly safe. The place where Sheikh Maulana Maghribi recovered it was considered as the place of the shrine by the person around. Many people from other city around Slamet Mountain visited this place on certain shrine day.

There is several campgrounds along the parkway where you can camp. There is some cabins and a few lodges. If you need gas or food you can get off of one of the exits that goes to a nearby town. Also all along the parkway there is stuff to do, that in not too far from the parkway. Sometimes we will drive along the whole parkway on our trips and camp at the different campgrounds along the way. Other times we will stay on the North Carolina side of the parkway.

The parkway is a nice place to get away from the big towns. There is a lot of pretty flowers. Some times you might even get to see a black bear. When you walk the trails and look around at the scenery, it is so peaceful. Now on the parkway, you do see a lot of bikers enjoying the scenery. There is a lot of tunnels to go through. The Blue Ridge Parkway is pretty in the spring, summer and fall. I have been there all of those times and have enjoyed the trips. The overlooks can look different at different times of the day or when the weather is different. It is all pretty!

In the evenings we like to go to a near by overlook and watch the sunset. It is really pretty and you can get a lot of pretty pictures. Sometimes we like to take some music and play it will we camcord the scenery. You also might see us sometimes on the video dancing to the music. Our relatives like to watch our camcorder stuff so we try to make it interesting for them. You never know what kind of silly stuff we might do on the parkway.

If you like scenery than the Blue Ridge Parkway is a place for you to go. If you like nature stuff go to the parkway. You can also camp with a tent on the parkway for a week and still be cheaper than going to some other place and paying for a night or two in a motel. When it is raining, we enjoy hearing the rain hit on the tents. It is very relaxing! For you who like to take lots of scenery pictures than the parkway is also for you. The parkway also has some places along it if you would like to get a postcard etc... to take home with you. If you are looking for a scenic drive to go on try the Blue Ridge Parkway. I think that you will enjoy it very much.

The place I stayed at was a little hotel that had separate rooms. There were two bedrooms included along with cable and a refrigerator. It wasn't too fancy but I liked the idea that it convenient, economical, safe, and quiet. The place I would recommend anyone going to Colorado Springs is Beverly Hills Hotel. You will find one man who owns this little place. There is a maximum of 12 apartment size rooms and each one has its own parking. There are horses in the far back of the hotel.

There was horseback riding offered but you had to get up early to get on their list. They also closed by 5pm. Don't plan to go out and come back later since they will probably be full or out on a trail.

Up the street towards the back of the horse ranch you will come across parts of Garden of the Gods. There are residential homes around the area as well. The Garden of the Gods runs several miles around. You must drive very slowly as the roads wind around tightly but there aren't too many cars driving around. Many tourists decide to jog or hike through the mountains and from there climb the rocks. This area was so relaxing and was truly healing. Wildlife was all around. I saw Deers crossing roads and Eagles flying around.

You will need to ride up the mountain to Pikes Peek as well. The elevation is so high that I became very dizzy when I reached it. It took a little while before I could get myself together well enough to take pictures. The scenery was absolutely amazing. You could see far away mountains that had some frost on the tops. The air was clean but the clouds were coming in to give some rain. You have to be careful going back down despite the slow speed of the train. You can still get very sick depending on if you have high blood pressure or various other conditions. This ride may not be good for you then. Many tourists take the plunge and hike up to Pikes Peek. There is plenty of wildlife there as well.

If you are looking for a place to take the family Colorado Springs is definitely a place I would recommend. There are economical places to stay and eat. There is plenty to do that doesn't cost very much or anything at all. There are plenty activities you can do with your family that wouldn't cost a dime. You can also take a jeep tour or balloon tour that is offered around town. There are places to rent canoes and rafts as you try to go down some rapids or calm waters. All of these are low priced adventures.