Roaming Rocks

Sharing Kindness Rocks along our many adventures!

Kindness Rocks…our story and what to do if you find one!

What are they?

Kindness rocks usually have inspirational messages or drawings on them and are left for people to find in public places like parks, hiking trails, hospitals and coffee shops. The purpose of Kindness Rocks is only to sprinkle some positivity around the community. Caitlyn and I were set to go on a 6 week road trip and thought we would paint rocks to leave in the places we were going. We thought it would be better to leave a piece of ourselves, rather than need to buy souvenirs every where we went. We have continued painting rocks since then and now try to paint the year in rocks. This past year we painted over 2023.

What do I do if I find one?

The choice is yours!

You can leave a comment on the bottom of this post.

or

You can tag us on Instagram and Facebook at Nicoles Roaming Rocks or just add #nicolesroamingrocks to any of your posts.

There are no rules on what to do if you find a rock. You can take it home to keep forever, hide it again in another location, or even save it until you are ready to pass it on to someone else. Whatever you decide we just hope you have enjoyed the message. There are absolutely no string attached to our stones and we just hope people were briefly amused by their discovery.

Although not required at all, we love to hear where are rocks end up and if they had special meaning to you. On my blog post Discovery of Stones, I have shared some of the responses people have sent us to let us know where they found them.

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Camino de Santiago – Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

It was quite the amazing trip. I walked over mountain ranges and ancient bridges. I walked through towns, cities, ruins, vineyards and wheat fields. I got to be outside every single day. Although I started this trip on my own, I was never alone in spirit. H, Cat and all of my friends and family were cheering for me on the sidelines, and I felt their support. Most people I met had a story to tell and wanted to hear mine as well. Almost everyone I met were kind and it was rare that we weren’t looking out for each other. We made instant friendships and built bonds but seldom learned each other’s last name. We shared bunk beds and bathrooms and were just grateful to have a hot shower and a place to sleep at night.

An adventure of going to new places, meeting new people and trying new things is really my happy place. Being open minded to those new places, new people and new things was very important and I found that the more open I was, the more I tended to enjoy them. I got the opportunity to meet and hang out with people that I would never come across in my daily life and it was amazing. Most people have a kind heart and good intentions. We are all just trying to find our way and do the best we can.

At times we cherished the camaraderie of the other pilgrims but other times we craved solitude. I was alone about 60% of the time. I had a lot of time to think about previous situations and conversations with friends and family. A lot of things came up. Luckily, I haven’t had any real trauma in my life but I had time to work through a few small issues and realized that boundaries are important. When I was growing up, there were several times that I needed support or help. I turned to my parents first and they just weren’t able to accommodate. I used to be very resentful of these situations, but in hindsight, I feel quite fortunate because I learned that no matter how bad things got, I could always figure things out on my own.

At this point in my life I do have an innate knowledge that things will always work out. They might not work out as planned but they always work out – and sometimes they are even better than I thought they would be. It was interesting to meet people on the Camino that didn’t believe that to be true. For them, the problem wasn’t the problem. The problem was the way they perceived the problem, and this defined how they thought, felt and responded to the problem. Instead of asking for help, they just assumed things wouldn’t work out. Instead of accepting that we were on an amazing pilgrimage, they focused on how things weren’t as comfortable as they were at home. Instead of assuming Spaniards had good intentions, they assumed the answer would always be no. It was an interesting observation. I realized that a person’s outlook on life is a very important trait that has big effects on me.

Life was simple: walk, talk, eat and sleep. That said, this hike was physically much harder than I thought it would be, but I learned I am very adaptable and capable of pushing my limits much farther than I ever thought I could. My body just kept moving forward. It wasn’t like I told my feet to move forward with each step. I just told myself where I was headed, and my body figured it out. There were times I was ready to give up or be done for the day and the universe would step in and show me a butterfly, have a friend walk up to me who I hadn’t seen for a few days, the weather would change, or a food truck would appear out of nowhere and I would find energy I didn’t know I had. Mind over matter, I guess. The amazing thing was that no matter how much pain I had during the day, the body rejuvenated itself every night and I woke up the next morning ready to go. The other awesome part of this hike was that I ate more chocolate croissants and drank more cafe con leches and wine than I have in a lifetime and I still managed to lose a lot of weight!

My best memories are not from the large attractions or major points of interest written in the guidebooks but in the obscure, random things that I came across by mistake or off the beaten path. There were several amazing moments that come to mind: In a small church in a deserted town, a nun blessed me and gave me the best hug I had had in a long time. Another evening, I was being silly with a group of friends and laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe. On a different day, I walked with a priest while he read the Bible in Latin for 2 hours. I will cherish the entire trip but it’s the obscure moments that I will forever hold in my heart and know that upon returning home, I need to remember to get off the beaten track and go out on a limb because that is really the place I thrive and love to be.

Day 11, 12 and 13: Spanish Road-trip (Barcelona)

After returning our rental car, we caught an Uber to our Airbnb. Our driver was an aggressive driver who made us laugh the whole way. We were happy to get there alive but sad that the ride ended.
Room with a view!
We grabbed a snack and a cocktail at the restaurant close by.
…and then went to the Flamenco show. We had great seats and enjoyed the show.
Cat even met the lead dancer when we were leaving.
We actually returned to the local restaurant for dinner and had amazing steaks and called it a night.
The next morning we got up early and caught the bus to the pier.
We had a great breakfast
..and caught a bus to go kayaking and snorkeling trip on the Costa Brava. It was a little chilly but an awesome day out.
We got back to town and went to Lucciano’s, the best ice cream place we have ever been.
We got up the next morning and took the on again/off again bus tour around the city.
H fell asleep.
We ran into my friend Xavier, who happened to be in port from a cruise that he was on.
We toured the small neighborhoods and Las Ramblas.
…visited the local sites
And finally ended the tour at the Sagrada Familia.
La Sagrada Familia is the largest unfinished Catholic church and to be honest was the most beautiful church that I have seen during my visit in Spain. It has been under construction since 1882 and is one of the last of Gaudi’s projects before he passed away.
There was amazing stained glass windows.
The roof was beautifully detailed and the columns coming down were meant to resemble trees and branches.
A dog is included in the Last Supper scene and is interpreted as Fidelity (Fito) since this was the moment Christ recognizes Judas’ betrayal.
The magic square is designed to add up to 34 in every direction.
We ended our night and trip with a great meal at Casa Cheli where Cat had octopus and we celebrated an amazing family vacation!
We left our Airbnb before sunrise to start our long journey home.
The flights home were uneventful and we were happy to get home safely.

Day 10: Gill Spanish Road-trip (Valencia)

Our bus ride to the Russafa part of town was very boring and uneventful. (Which I think H and Cat preferred!). We started at the Russafa Market and saw lots of things we didn’t see yesterday. Pig hearts, cow tongues, octopus, pig feet, seaweed and cow hooves. The fresh flowers were gorgeous and the roses were beautiful

We read great things about this neighborhood but forgot things shut down during siesta so almost everything was closed. We walked by a few private parties (one was actually cooking paella) and bars but nothing exciting was happening. The garage doors of the parking garages were cute so we got pictures of them as well but headed home in the early afternoon.

We got home and went for a 4 mile walk along the beach looking for a place to have dinner. Funny that we ended up at the same restaurant that we ate at our first night in Valencia. I’m not going to lie…..if you know me you know I am a creature of habit! Valencia is known for its paella so we felt obligated to try it. We were not disappointed at all!

Day 9: Gill Spanish Road-trip (Valencia)

Today started out with a doozy of a bus ride to town. The bus driver took the wrong turn and the passengers lost their minds! The “F” word was getting shouted a lot and everyone was screaming at him as if he committed a crime. We weren’t quite sure what was happening at first but soon realized. We thought it was hilarious that people were getting so upset. I’m sure there was a logical reason that he turned but we didn’t understand and let me tell you…. people were so mad for having to walk an extra block.

We headed to the València Market and we’re treated to some amazing fresh foods! Cat tried the horchata and really liked it. I think I will stick to the fresh orange juice. We also got fresh strawberries, chocolate, empanadas and bocadillos.


We walked around town a bit and found more doorways to enjoy.

I loved this marketing! “Here is the jamon of love” and they sold the jamon shaped like hearts! It doesn’t get better than that!

We went home and enjoyed an amazing afternoon nap. Afterwards, Cat found a sunset cruise for us to go on. It was perfect! It lasted an hour and a half, got us out in the ocean for a bit, had great views and got us back before I could get seasick!

We ended the night with dinner at the restaurant, “Calm Beach” and headed home. It was a good day!

Day 8: Gill Spanish Road-trip (Drive to Valencia)

We saw so many different landscapes today! Mountains, pines, beaches, shrubs, vineyards, orchards, ghost towns, major cities.

We decided to stop in Lorca for an extended lunch and walk around to stretch our legs. We went to the cathedral but it was closed. There were tons of beautiful buildings and doorways. We were happy to see that they were repairing an older building rather than tearing it down to build a new one.

We had a good wander through town and found a lovely restaurant. They recommended the salmorejo which was a traditional Andulucian tomato soup with boiled eggs and jamon that was divine. We tried a few other dishes that were all really good and the service was great! I also loved all the signage in the square.

We saw several Camino arrows in town. One of the other routes must have come through this town.

One thing that has been a constant nightmare that needs to be mentioned is the parking garages. They were horrible when we lived here before and they haven’t improved. The first thing is that they are incredibly small. They are also very dark. The spots are very tight and there are always pillars in the way. There are multiple ramps but they are super steep. Driving a stick shift up/down the steep ramps with tight turns is enough to make your hair turn grey! That said, the technology they have for payment is awesome. When you pull the ticket, it takes a picture of your license plate. The system recognizes your liscense plate when you try to depart, knows that you have paid at the machine, and opens the gate without having to do anything.

As we left, we took the wrong turn and ended up going up a super steep skinny laned road. Again, it was super nerve wracking and I was so glad H was driving instead of me! We did get to see the castle and Parador as we were driving out of town.

Our apartment was lovely and close to the beach. Once we got settled we went for a nice walk, had a lovely dinner and called it a night. It was a good day even though we were in the car for a lot of it. 475 miles to be exact!

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