Epilogue 2
This will be our last post for this trip unless we decide to add some final thoughts into one more post at a later date. We have added several videos from this trip to a Playlist on YouTube. It is … Read Full Post
Epilogue I
We have been home for five days, and today, Stephanie tested positive for COVID. She had a slight cold when we got home, and tested several times per day since then, all negative, but today at work, boom, a positive … Read Full Post
Iceland Land Trip for Summer of 2024
Stephanie and I decided to try and revive our trip to Iceland that we had originally looked into in 2022. That trip was originally planned as a 15 Day Viking Cruise Line trip from Iceland to New York, and it … Read Full Post
Iceland Planning Update
Well, we are now financially and mentally invested in this trip. Today we pulled the trigger and reserved our campervan for August 7 – August 22, 2024. We rented the campervan through a company called CampEasy, they are a family-run … Read Full Post
Preliminary Trip Itinerary
The trip itinerary will be developed as we further plan our land trip to Iceland currently scheduled for August, 2024. The Map shown below is the typical Iceland Ring Road route, but this particular map also includes the portion in … Read Full Post
Planning Update – Flights
Last night we booked our flights to Iceland’s Keflavik Airport (KEF), which is the main International Airport for Iceland. The airport is located about 52 km from Reykjavik, the Capital of Iceland largest city. We had initially been waiting to … Read Full Post
Planning Update – Reykjavik Accommodation(s)
Today was spent trying to find a place to stay in Reykjavik for our planned two nights there after we drop off the campervan. Since August is the high season, we already knew from some of the preliminary planning we … Read Full Post
Planning Update – Upgraded Campervan & The Volcano
Note: This post was updated on April 9 to show actual pictures of the new Luxury 4 x 4 CamperVan. CampEasy has received the actual models and so there are photos of them available on their website. References and photos … Read Full Post
Planning Update – Global Entry Application, What A Mess!
Today’s post will be about our efforts to obtain Global Entry capabilities. For those not familiar with Global Entry, it streamlines the Customs and Immigration process when you return to the US from abroad. It also includes TSA Pre-check, which … Read Full Post
Global Entry Update – Our Global Entry Cards Have Arrived
The last update on our travels to Iceland included a lot of information on the Global Entry Application and covered our ordeals with the scheduling of the Interview. This update will cover our actual experience of going to the interview, … Read Full Post
Planning Update – Time To Establish Our Route Around Iceland
I was reading some of our past planning posts and realized that we never gave an update on the extension to the campervan rental. In Planning Update 3, we discussed that we were asking for a price to extend the … Read Full Post
Sad and Stressful Life Events Happened Recently
Stephanie was getting a little anxious about this trip, as well as our trip to China in September, only because her mother was not doing that well in Long Term Care. Since we already had so much time and some … Read Full Post
Making Google Map and Driving Routes For Each Day – Days 1 to 5
NOTE: This post has been updated based on the routes we actually followed on our trip. All of the maps reflect our choice to drive around Iceland in a Clockwise Direction. Here are Google Maps showing all of the places … Read Full Post
Google Map and Driving Routes for Days 6 to 10
Here are the Maps and Driving Routes for Days 6 thru 10. Click on the “Full Screen” icon on the upper right of the map to see the map in more detail. NOTE: These have been updated to show the … Read Full Post
Google Map and Driving Routes for Days 11 to 15
Here are the Maps and Driving Routes for Days 11 thru 15. Click on the “Full Screen” icon on the upper right of the map to see the map in more detail. Iceland Day 11 Map Iceland Day 12 Map … Read Full Post
Google Map and Driving Routes for Days 16 & 18
UPDATE: Since we actually did not arrive in Iceland until August 8, a day later than planned because of weather delays in route, we only had 17 Days in Iceland and lost our Extra Day. The maps below show the … Read Full Post
Important Map Refinements Made
The maps we had completed basically covered all of the sights we planned on seeing, plus the campgrounds that we selected at the end of each day. There were still three important additions we needed to make. We needed to … Read Full Post
Airfares Sure Work Differently These Days – Post Pandemic
We have been traveling for quite a few years and airfare has substantially changed over that timeframe. I don’t really remember how airfare worked long ago when I was going on ski trip vacations. During most of those trips, you … Read Full Post
10 Days And Counting Until We Depart for Iceland
We have been busy doing a few things getting ready to be away for this trip, mainly trying to get caregivers scheduled for my mom, and also getting everything squared away with our house/cat sitter. Tripwise, we have been putting … Read Full Post
Leaving In Two Days……..We Hope
Rarely do I use colloquial expressions in our blog, but today I am going to use one, “When it rains….it pours”. In this case, it represents both a figurative and literal meaning. The Figurative….. It has been a tough week … Read Full Post
Trav-HELL Day 1 – On Our Way To Iceland….well…….
The day finally came, we were on our way to Iceland after having planned this trip over a year ago. Now, where to begin, I guess the beginning is as good a place as any as long as I can … Read Full Post
Still On our Way To Iceland – Travel Day Two or Trav-HELL Repeat?
Our Uber driver Herby dropped us off at the Newark Delta Departure Terminal at about 5:30 AM. The long ride made us stiff, and it was hard to get moving again. We had already done a lot of walking this … Read Full Post
Iceland Day 1 – We Finally Arrived
We knew we needed to wait until the JFK flight arrived a little after 9:00 AM to get our luggage from baggage claim, or “reclaim” as they call it in Iceland. We had about 90 minutes to wait so we … Read Full Post
Iceland Day 2 – The Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Southern Coast
We really enjoyed our night at the Mosskogar Campground. It was perfect for the first night, and although we thought we did not want to be next to the bathroom building, it was actually better, we could see when it … Read Full Post
Iceland Day 3 – The Tip Of The Snæfellsnes Peninsula
It was rainy when I got up this morning and headed to the bathhouse to visit the restroom at about 8:00 AM. It was barely raining now, but it had obviously rai ned harder earlier in the morning. Of course, … Read Full Post
Iceland Day 4 – The Snæfellsnes Peninsula Northern Coast & Beyond
We slept pretty well last night, we are getting more used to the bed and especially to the smaller size of the bed. We (well me) are not big fans of the bedding we have, the duvets are thick, but … Read Full Post
Iceland Day 5 – The Westfjords South Coast
For the first time, we had a sunny morning when we woke up. I was up at about 6:30 AM, mother nature was calling so that meant a trip to the bathhouse, about 75 feet from our campsite. It was … Read Full Post
Iceland Day 6 – Northern Part of the Westjfords
After having had such a beautiful and sunny day yesterday, this morning we awoke to cloudy skies and a light drizzle. I am not sure that we can get two days of sunshine in Iceland at this time of the … Read Full Post
Iceland Day 7 – Leaving the Westfjords
It was a fairly sunny but cool morning when I woke up at 6:30 AM and headed to the restroom. It was not far, but getting out of a warm bed to put on more clothes and to walk to … Read Full Post
Iceland Day 8 – Rainy & Sunny Northwest Coastline
It was really windy when we were heading to sleep last night, and then sometime in the middle of the night, it started raining. I woke up at one point and could hear the rain falling on the roof and … Read Full Post
Iceland Day 9 – North Central (Rainy) Coast
The rain started last night and continued into the morning, raining hard at times. We should have known it was going to rain since we hung our bathing suits out last night to dry. Once again, our hung out to … Read Full Post
Iceland Day 10 – Husavik, Rain and Relaxing
We slept in a bit this morning as planned. I was up at about 7:00 AM, and headed to the restrooms. I was surprised at how many more campers were here this morning. There were actually more cars than campers, … Read Full Post
Iceland Day 11 – Does It Really Snow in August – Yes!
We had a windy night last night, along with some rain, but by the morning, the rain had stopped and it was just cloudy. We were hoping that this would mean the weather might start to clear, we had already … Read Full Post
Iceland Day 12 – Will We See Any Sunshine Today
We both slept well last night. The wind was buffeting the camper a little, but it sort of rocked us to sleep. We ran the heat on low all night, and it was a perfect setting, not too hot. I … Read Full Post
Iceland Day 13 – Hoping For Sunshine
Our campground in Seydisfjordur was really crowded when I looked outside in the morning. We don’t know how many people arrived later in the evening after we shut all of our curtains and relaxed in the quiet confines of our … Read Full Post
Iceland Day 14 – How Can The Weather Change That Much Overnight
The title of this post says it all. After having such a wonderful evening last night, we were awoken by a steady rain and winds that must have been gusting to 25-30 mph or higher. The entire camper was rocking, … Read Full Post
Iceland Day 15 – Glaciers, Waterfalls Hiking and yes ……..Some Sunshine
I woke up at about 6:15 AM this morning and headed to the bathhouse for a restroom break. Most times at this early of an hour, I hardly see anyone, but today, the campground was abuzz with activity and people … Read Full Post
Iceland Day 16 – The Golden Circle, Last Full Day Of Iceland Adventures
Today is our last day touring Iceland. Today we will be going to sites in what is known as The Golden Circle. It is the easiest route to see iconic Iceland sites that are close enough to Reykjavic to see … Read Full Post
Iceland Day 17 – Returning Our Camper Van to CampEasy
I woke up at about 6:00 AM, it is just natural for me. I think that I will be glad to sleep in another bed, it is not that the camper bed is that uncomfortable, but I always struggle with … Read Full Post
Time To Leave Iceland – Flying Home
The alarms were set to go off at 4:45 AM on both phones, but I was already up just a few minutes before, so I turned mine off. There was some people moving about in the hallway, and the room … Read Full Post