Mike and Eleanor's Adventures

Dresden Sunday and Heading Home

2011-06-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning we went to church with the local Community of Christ Congregation in Dresden. It was so great to see our old friends and share in Communion with them.

After church, we started our trip home. We drove for 8 hours, 2 of which we spent sitting in a long traffic jam on the autobahn (that's right sitting), to the Germany and Denmark Border. We spent the night there and then drove the rest of the way to Gothenburg on Monday. We dropped off the car and had one last walk around the town and a nice meal and a British Pub type restaurant.

Tuesday morning we left the hotel at 7:00 A.M. and arrived home in Redmond a little before 11:00 P.M. that night. For those who are counting that is 25 hours of travel.

The trip was wonderful and everything we could have hoped for.

One footnote, the price of gas is Europe is about $10 a gallon. It made $4 here seem not so bad. :)

Dresden Saturday

2011-06-11T08:37:00.000-07:00

Saturday was for me an amazing day. I had been invited by the class of 2011 to be their keynote speaker at graduation. I taught these students in grades six and seven, mostly math. It was great fun to see them as seniors. Of the class of 21 students about half were students that I had taught. I attended a breakfast at the school in the morning and spent time visiting with the students I knew and getting to know the new students.

Graduation was at 2:30 in the afternoon. My address to the graduates was titled "Steps on Life's Journey" and I shared with them "steps", values, that have been helpful in my life and might be of use to them. I received several positive comments afterwards, which of course made me feel good about the effort.

In the evening, a celebration banquet was held to honor the graduates. It was a great time and several of the students personally thanked Eleanor and I for coming to their graduation.

This day was the actual purpose of our trip and we built the vacation around it. My cup was truly filled. In education you don't often see the result of your efforts. Today I was able to see that I guess I taught more than math during my time at D.I.S.

Dresden Friday

2011-06-11T08:23:00.001-07:00

On Friday we spent the day with Qianhan Gong and his mother Fang (Fong). Another wonderful day. We toured Dresden International School on its new campus, visited the city center of Dresden, which has undergone many improvements since we left, went to graduation practice and had a wonderful home-cooked Chinese meal. Qianhan also played and sang for us.

Dresden Thursday

2011-06-11T08:18:00.001-07:00

We spent three nights in Dresden and had a wonderful time. We arrived on Thursday and then spent the afternoon and evening with our friends Katja, Andreas and their daughter Monique. We brought trail mix and instant oatmeal from Costco which were a big hit. We walked along the Elbe River, shared a wonderful meal at an Italian Restaurant and celebrated Andreas' Birthday. A wonderful evening.

Mosel Valley

2011-06-11T07:21:00.000-07:00

This was our worst weather day as it rained so much, but it was as one of our most fun touring days. We visited the Mosel River Valley, which is beautiful wine country. Our first stop was Castle Eltz. This is one of the best restored castle in this part of Germany. It is very cool. We were going to do a hike from the river up to the castle, but it was raining pretty hard so we drove to the castle. Photos are not allowed inside, so no pix from there.

Then we drove to a cute little village called Beilstein. We had Spargel (white asparagus) soup for lunch in an outdoor cafe by the river. (the rain had slowed to an occasional shower by afternoon) Then we hiked up to Castle Mitterwich there which is in ruins but still very cool.

Our last stop was the city of Cochem. We hike up the hill again and visited Castle Reichsburg. Another cool castle with a view of the Mosel River and the city.

We drove back to Bacharach and had a wonderful meal at our hotel.

Bacharach

2011-06-11T06:54:00.000-07:00

We made the three hour drive to Bacharach with a stop in Trier. Trier is a city that dates back to Roman Times with gates (picture and baths). We wandered around here and then on to Bacharach. Bacharach is a cute little town on the banks of the Rhine River. I would suspect the industries are tourism and wine. The vineyards are on very steep slopes. Looks like hard work!
We stayed in a charming old building in a “tower room” that was very cool. Our first day we hiked up to the castle\fort overlooking the town (picture) and then enjoyed a very nice 42nd anniversary dinner.

Luxembourg

2011-05-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning we drove for about three hours to Luxembourg. This is the one country in Western Europe that we haven’t visited. We stayed in a very nice hotel that was a ways from the city center. We walked down hill and then back uphill to the center. Luxembourg is a beautiful city and we enjoyed our afternoon just wandering the streets. We ate outside at an Italian Café and had a great meal. Then we hiked back downhill and uphill to our hotel.

Hamburg and Cologne (Koln)

2011-05-29T11:50:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Hamburg after and 8 hour drive from Gothenburg. We changed clothes and spend a wonderful evening with Peter and Heidi Elfeldt. We toured the city with them and St. Michael’s Cathedral. We shared a wonderful meal with then and discussed the summer wedding of their daughter Steffi and Devin Jackson, that Mike will be doing.
The next day we visited the downtown, the Ohlsdorf Cemetary, which was filled with beautiful flowers, the waterfront, Mike go his Hard Rock Café T-Shirt, St Nikolai Memorial (Picture) and hiked around a large lake near the center of town.

Saturday we drove to Cologne and stayed in a hotel near the Rhine River. We walked around the city, particularly the large Cathedral or Dom. Mike added one more Hard Rock Café T-Shirt to his collection. We finished the evening with Gelato to help with the walk back to our hotel.

Sweden

2011-05-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Gothenburg after a long days flight, and a crazy hike through the airport at Stockholm to find our connecting flight to Gothenburg. We were with two other couples doing the Volvo pickup and walked more than a mile by my pedometer. Unfortunately, one suitcase didn’t arrive. It contained our camera and electronic stuff, chargers etc. We arrived Tuesday about noon and the suitcase didn’t get there until Wednesday night. So not many pictures were taken.
We love our new car and are looking forward to driving it around Germany.

Seven Mile Beach

2011-02-05T17:57:00.001-08:00

We were up at 5:30 to hike the full length of Seven Mile Beach. Turns out we have a little inflation here as the beach is only about 5.5 miles long. Maybe Hurricane Ivan took part of it?!

Anyway, we started in the dark at 6:30 (picture) and hiked the entire length. The beach is beautiful, and we had a great hike. Afterward we went to breakfast and gained back most of the carbs we had burned!

The hikers are Corey and Georgia Anderson, Katrina Petz, Chelsea Carter, Eleanor and I.

Stingray City

2011-02-01T19:26:00.001-08:00

On a beautiful sunny day, we took a boat tour to snorkel and visit Stingray City. It was great fun to be around the stingrays. They live near a sandbar that we got out of the boat and stood on. (3'-4'deep). They first caught a stingray and had each of us hold it, touch it, give it a kiss and wear it like a cape. Then we fed them a squid. You hold the squid in the water and they come by and take it into their mouth, it feels like a strong vacuum sucking the piece of squid out of your hand.

Then we went on to more snorkeling. We say a Moray Eel, lots of fish, coral and star fish. We took pictures with an underwater camera, not yet developed, if they turn out we'll scan them and them post them as well.

Botanic Gardens

2011-01-28T12:02:00.001-08:00

We toured the Queen Elizabeth Botanic Gardens and they were very cool. There are many beautiful flowers and plants. We saw parrots, snakes (non-poisonous) and several Blue Iguanas, which are endangered, but protected and bred here at the gardens. They love flower blossoms, so I picked ones off the ground and fed them, very fun.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of the iguanas, large poinsettias, and gardens in general.

Pedro Saint James

2011-01-28T11:35:00.001-08:00

We visited Pedro Saint James which is the oldest surviving structure in the Cayman Islands, dating back to 1780. It has been many things through time including a house, site for the legislature, jail, court house and bed and breakfast. At one time the owner build the top floor to resemble a castle and it is also known as Castle Pedro St. James. In 1992, the Government of Cayman spent 6.25 million dollars and restored it to original architecture.

It is a beautiful building with mahogany and slate floors and amazing wood work. The house is near the ocean with a beautiful view of the Caribbean. Our guide was a very cool older gentleman who was a walking history of the house. Pictures include the outside kitchen (caboose), bedroom and views of the house.

Hero's Day

2011-01-24T18:42:00.001-08:00

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Monday, January 24th, was a national holiday in Cayman, Hero's Day. We had a great day. First we went to the Turtle Farm, which was free because of the holiday. They have turtles that range from the egg to 600 pounds. They have a tank of smaller turtles that you can catch and hold. (Picture) They also have an aviary with beautiful native birds, including a very friendly parrot. (picture) We hiked down a short nature trail with beautiful trees and butterflies.

After the Turtle Farm, we drove to the beach home of Steve and Berna Cummins. Berna (Nee Thompson) was in college at Graceland with us. Their home is amazing and just down the beach from Mark Cuban's (owner of the Dallas Mavericks) home.

Miss Josie

2011-01-21T14:41:00.000-08:00

Eleanor and I visited Miss Josie on a warm, Tuesday afternoon. She lives in Bodden Town. Josie was the first public health nurse in Bodden Town. She is now retired and lives with her sister. We visited a small park and museum that she has helped establish. The museum aka Nurse Josie's Seniors Center (picture) was created in large part to her efforts. Inside, are many historic and traditional Caymanian room furnishings. Outside is the park and an historic kitchen complete with a "Caboose", which is a stove which they used to cook on. The "Caboose" had a sand base on which a fire was built and then the meal was cooked over this fire (picture). The kitchens were built outdoors and away from the house because the roofs were thatched and if the kitchen caught fire, the house wouldn't be destroyed.

It was fun and interesting to get to know Miss Josie better.

Britainnia Golf Course

2011-01-17T18:12:00.001-08:00

For my birthday Eleanor gave me a round of golf in Cayman. I played today on the Britannia Course, a Jack Nicklaus design. It is a difficult 9 hole course with a lot of water and iguanas. The weather was great, 80 degrees, and I had a wonderful time for my "birthday" playing the course twice. I saw 30 or 40 iguanas on the course. These are a couple of the best pictures.

The Green Iguana goes bye-bye

2011-01-16T19:35:00.001-08:00

There are two types of Iguanas on Grand Cayman,blue ones which are endangered and green ones which were illegally imported, prolific and are pests.

In front of our house was a large 2.5 foot long green iguana. We were visiting with one of our friends here who had just explained what pests they were. She called the gardener from across the street (her employee) and she came armed with a 10'long flexible pole to smash the iguana and her dog. She missed the "smash attempt" and the iguana, which was really fast, took off into the next yard. The gardener pursued and called the dog. The next thing we saw was the dog racing down the street with the iguana in its mouth. So, the green iguana went bye bye!

Mastic Trail

2011-01-14T05:05:00.000-08:00

On Wed. (Jan 12) we spent the afternoon hiking on the Mastic Trail. This is like a park trail here in Grand Cayman. The information said the trail is about two miles, it may be closer to three one way. The hike is out and back through the jungle. Since it is the dry season here, there were few bugs and the trail was not muddy. One section of the trail was very difficult for hiking as it was all on coral. It is much like hiking on a lava bed, with lots of vegetation all around!

Unfortunately the vegetation is very thick so you can't see many animals. We did see some birds, Island Dove, is one of the pictures, some beautiful flowers and a couple of snakes. I think one was a Rosy Boa. There are Mahogany Trees and there used to be logging in this area. We did hear some birds that sounded much like the birds in the old Tarzan movies, but could not see what they looked like. Also, we saw no parrots, though there are supposed to be some in this area.

We'll probably go back and do this hike again, maybe in the morning to see if we can see different animals.

Going to Hell

2011-01-10T16:56:00.001-08:00

It was warmer (low 80s) and more humid today. The Cable Guy finally arrived and fixed the cable box so we can watch the Oregon Game tonight..Go Ducks!

Today we took a trip to the village of Hell. There are some wicked looking coral formations, some tourist shops and a post office. Hell really wasn't much, I hope that is a true statement for the after life as well.

We walked again along 7 mile beach. The water is warm and the sand soft, it is a beautiful beach.

First Sunday

2011-01-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

Our first Sunday was a very nice day. I walked about three miles along the beach road and then we went to church. We were supposed to arrive at 10:00 which we did, but we are learning "island time", we were the first to arrive by 25 minutes. Church was scheduled for 11:00 but started closer to 11:30. (we sang songs and did some sharing) The last person arrived at 11:48 and church really go going about 12:00. The service was wonderful with about 15 people in attendance. It was fun to meet the members of the congregation. After the service, we drove one of the ladies home. We arrived back at the mission house about 2:00 P.M.

After Sunday afternoon naps, we took a nice walk along the beach and found some cool shells and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

Waiting for the Cable Guy

2011-01-09T18:58:00.000-08:00

Friday and Sat. were a little on the boring side as we spent most of the day at the house waiting for the cable guy to come and fix the cable box. He brought a new box on Friday and it didn't work, they were supposed to bring a new one on Sat., but didn't. We were pretty much stuck to the house both days. Boring. In the morning I did walk to town and visit the Hard Rock Cafe to get my HRC T-shirt. Bright green this time. We did get a drive around the island in on Sat. afternoon. Very flat terrain. The highest elevation on the island is 60 feet.

Some observations: Shopping is much like in the U.S. with IGA being one of the food chains. The stores are good size, but smaller than the mega-markets in the U.S. Driving on the left side is getting better, there hardest for me is making a right turn, I want to go to the right side of the road. Our welcoming geckos are inside as well as out, we helped one find his way out the door today. Many of the workers here are from neighboring, poorer islands, particularly Jamaica. The people are very friendly.

Pictures are from a sunset walk on the beach on Sunday.

First Day

2011-01-07T05:10:00.001-08:00

The pictures with this post are of the interior of our house and the lanai. The house was substantially rebuilt 5 years ago after major damage from hurricane Ivan. It is a lovely place to live. Each day, cruise ships come into port and flood the harbor and downtown area with tourists. This day there were four ships in port.

On our first day I walked and Eleanor jogged along the road near our house. It runs along the ocean, but most of the views are of houses that have their backs to the ocean. We drove into town (on the left side of the road, this is a British Territory) and did some shopping at a food store affiliated with IGA and a "mini Costco" no membership card required. We also walked along the Seven Mile Beach. It is a beautiful beach that stretches for hmm..7 miles!

In the evening we hosted four of the members of the local congregation and did some planning of worships and activities for the first quarter of the year.

Arrival in Grand Cayman

2011-01-05T19:15:00.001-08:00

We arrived in Grand Cayman on January 5th as scheduled. We left Redmond with a temperature of 15 degrees F. and arrived here with a temperature of 78 degrees F. It is 10:00 P.M. and I type this in my shorts and am sweating.

Our trip was fine with one little scare. We left Redmond and flew to Portland and then on to Dallas. We spent the night at a La Quinta Hotel that was supposed to be near the airport, but wasn't Then the fire alarm went off at 5:00 A.M. so our night's sleep was quite short.

We then flew from Dallas to Miami. The prettiest sight was in Miami and was a man walking down the jet way with a black wallet in his hand. The back story is that when we got off the plane in Miami we went to buy lunch. I reached in my pocket and no wallet (which meant no passport!). This would likely have meant the end of our trip. We rushed back to our arrival gate and were told nothing had been turned in. We asked if they would check my seat (26F thank you very much). A man went to do this and returned ambling down the jet way talking on his cell phone...with my wallet in his hand! Praise God! It had slipped out somehow, never had that happen before in all our travels. It goes in the front pocket from now on!

We met Vernon Webb and he took us to the "Mission House" which is a wonderful 3 bedroom, 3 bath house near the beach. We unpacked and then later he returned and took us out to dinner and on a tour of the island. It seems a very nice place. Vernon is wonderful and the church building is really cute. (Pictures later) Anyway they need some help get things going, we meet with their leadership group tomorrow evening to start our work. Looking forward to it, it seems they need a congregational consultant and someone with pastor's experience. We may know a couple like that. The pictures are of our welcoming Gecko, the van we drive and our house.

Christmas

2011-01-05T18:39:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas with family, especially our grandson, Karsten. We had 10" of snow on the ground the Sun. before Christmas which was beautiful. Mostly we enjoyed visiting and "playing" with Karsten. Eleanor built an easel with help for him to draw on with chalk, markers and later, paint. The also build a wooden car and a bird house. Karsten help grandpa Mike feed the birds and do the recycling.

For New Year's, Eleanor's two brothers and their wives visited as well as her mom and friends from Vancouver. We had a great time playing the card game "Baseball", taking hikes etc.

Everyone left on Sunday, and then we had 1 and a half days to get ready for our trip to Grand Cayman.

Thanksgiving Trip Final

2010-11-29T16:21:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal and enjoyed our time with family and watching the Ducks win. I took one more great hike in Fern Canyon. It was raining but still very beautiful. We drove back to Fairfax down Highway 1, very beautiful along the ocean. Nice time with Michael and Deb and Zachary at their apartment. On Sunday we saw Harry Potter Part One, great fun. On Monday, we got to babysit. Awesome day, we took Zach for a walk in his stroller and just watched him all day.

Tomorrow, (11-30) I fly back to Redmond and Eleanor will stay and babysit for the next 3 weeks. I am sure the time will go by fast, because it always does in December.

Thanksgiving Trip Day II

2010-11-25T14:30:00.000-08:00

Spent Wednesday enjoying the location and family. Eleanor and I hiked along the headlands near Mendocino, beautiful. We watched some TV, held Zachary and had Chili for Dinner. Michael arrived around 7:00 after driving up from work.

Thursday morning I walked along the headlands again and we watched football.

Thanksgiving Trip I

2010-11-23T18:50:00.000-08:00

We are now in Mendocino, CA in our rental house. We are going to spend the next few days here with Michael, Deb,Zachary, Don and Gail. (Don and Gail are Deb's parents.)The first day of our trip down was exciting as we drove through 4+ of snow. We spent night in Redding, CA and then drove the rest of the way to Mendocino. Our house is cool and the area is amazing. And of course we get to spend time with Zachary.

Baltimore-Last Day

2010-10-26T16:05:00.001-07:00

Our last day of the trip, we said good-bye to Jim and Janet Cooke and then drove to Baltimore. We checked into the hotel and then drove to the harbor. There we stopped at the Hardrock Cafe and I bought a t-shirt, walked around the harbor and had dinner. We dropped the rental car off and then back to the hotel. We fly out tomorrow at 10:00 A.M. Pictures are the U.S.S. Constitution, Hard Rock Cafe Building and dinner our last night.

Philadelphia

2010-10-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time in Philadelphia with Jim and Janet Cooke. Sunday night we viewed Janet’s art masterpiece of Madonna’s through history, 96 of them. They are amazing. We had a nice dinner and Skyped with Chris, Joanna and Karsten.

On Monday we toured the historical sites including the National Constitution Center which is amazing and reminded me what our country and liberty are all about (not the things you hear so much on TV and in campaigns.). We also visited the Liberty Bell and Elfreth’s Alley which is reputed to be the oldest residential street in the U.S. We had a wonderful dinner and also a rousing game of dominoes.

Elkton, Maryland

2010-10-23T15:30:00.001-07:00

We spent two days with my sister Sue in Elkton, Maryland (Northern Maryland). Friday night we visited and watched the Texas Rangers advance to the World Series of baseball. On Saturday we went to two small towns near the near the water (Chesapeake Bay) Northeast and Chesapeake City. We had a very nice lunch on the water and then hiked out to Turkey Point Lighthouse. The people in the picture are my sister, Sue; her son Chris; her daughter Karyn and her husband, Brian and son, Bryce. Of course, Eleanor and I are in some of the photos.

On Sunday we took a drive to Fair Hill Reserve and enjoyed a nice hike there. This is property that used to be owned by the DuPont Family and has been donated to the state. The leaves were just starting to turn so were very pretty. We then met Sue's horse, Ruby, who is large (draft horse) and gentle.

New York City

2010-10-22T18:27:00.000-07:00

We had an awesome time in NYC. We parked in Weehawken, NJ and rode the ferry and a bus to the Times Square Area and then walked to our hotel. We had dinner at the Hard Rock Café and I bought my t-shirt and then we attended “The Lion King”, and amazing production.
Wednesday was a marathon day, we actually walked eleven miles. After breakfast at the hotel we walked to Times Square and bought play tickets. Then we took the subway to Battery Park and rode the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Several years ago for Christmas the family paid to have Eleanor’s father’s name inscribed on the wall they were developing as a part of the renovation of Ellis Island. It was cool to see it there.
After the ferry ride back we walked to “Ground Zero” but you can’t really see much because it is under construction and there is a 6 foot fence all the way around. After lunch, we took the subway back to Times Square and then to went to our hotel for a nap.  Then we walked to Grand Central Station, huge; then on to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, huge and beautiful; then to Rockefeller Plaza. We rode the elevator to the “Top of the Rock” and it was amazing to see the city from that height. After dinner we saw “West Side Story”. A classic, but the dancing and music were terrific.
Friday morning, we walked to about a mile to Central Park and then walked around there. Pretty cool to have so a neat park in the middle of the busy city. We then checked out and rode the bus to the ferry terminal and the ferry back to Weehawken. A great two days.

October 2010 Trip-Grafton, Vermont

2010-10-19T14:51:00.000-07:00

We spent Monday and Tuesday nights at the Old Tavern Inn, in Grafton, Vermont. It is a great inn that serves wonderful breakfasts and has excellent rooms. We met the other three couples that we traveled with in Italy last year and had a great time with them. On Tuesday we explored the little village, took a great hike of about five miles in the hills on cross country ski trails, drove to nearby Chester and found the future home of some new friends we met at the wedding (they are renovating an old grist mill for their retirement home) and had a wonderful dinner at the Inn Restaurant. The falls leaves are a little past prime and most of the red leaves were on the ground, but it was still beautiful.

October 2010 Trip-Santa Barbara

2010-10-19T07:44:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Santa Barbara on Friday afternoon and went to the beach for “fiesta” celebration with those attending the wedding. The weather wasn’t so great, cloudy and cool, but it was nice to see old friends. After the fiesta, we checked into our hotel and then toured the Santa Barbara Mission, known as the “Queen of the California Missions”. Friday night we had dinner with Sue Coleman and Suzanne (Harry Coleman’s sister).
On Saturday we took a walk on the beach in the fog and light mist. Saturday afternoon was the wedding, fortunately the fog and mist lifted a little and the ceremony and rooftop reception were able to go on as scheduled. The wedding was simple and very nice; we then walked the four blocks to the hotel for the reception. Drinks and snacks were served on the rooftop of the Canary Hotel overlooking the city. Unfortunately it was cool and cloudy so not as pretty as it might have been. We had dinner and dancing inside and it was great fun. We had time visit with old acquaintances and make new ones.

We left early to drive to LAX for our early morning flight to the East Coast and the next part of our trip.

October 2010 Trip-Solvang

2010-10-16T11:15:00.001-07:00

We left Redmond at 7:55 to an announcement that there was fog in Portland and if it didn’t clear we would return to Redmond. We got to Portland and the only place there was fog was right along the Columbia River, unfortunately, that is where the airport is. We circled for awhile, and then diverted to Seattle. We were able to get a flight from there to Los Angeles and arrived only 10 minutes later than we were scheduled. The best part was they even managed to get our luggage there on time.
We drove to Solvang, CA, a Dutch themed town near Santa Barbara. We walked around the town and drove around the area. Were took a short hike to a water fall. It was a nice relaxing day and a half.

Last Night in Rome

2009-09-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

We left Athens and flew back to Rome and booked a room at the Hilton Hotel at the airport. This is good because no taxi is required (you can walk to the hotel) and they have a free shuttle bus into the city. We rode into Rome one last time. We walked about 5 miles in about 3.5 hours. We went back to the Pantheon because it was closed due to a wedding and here are some pictures on the inside. The Pantheon is celebrating its 1400th birthday this year. It is the longest building in continual use in Rome.

We had a nice pasta dinner in one of the squares and then visited the Trevi Fountain again and then checked out the Coliseum at night and took pictures of the Column of Traiana. Rome is a beautiful city at night.

We took the shuttle bus back to the hotel and packed up for our morning flight back home.

Last Night in Athens

2009-09-27T22:11:00.000-07:00

On our last night we had a fabulous dinner in the roof-top restaurant of the hotel. The food was great and there were beautiful night-time views of the Acropolis and Zeus's Temple.

Delphi

2009-09-27T21:31:00.001-07:00

On Sunday, our last full day in Athens, we took a tour to Delphi (del fee). It was very interesting. This site was selected because according to legend a large rock had punched a hole to the earth’s core allowing Mother Nature to communicate with the outer world. Nine times a year pilgrims would bring their questions the Temple for direction in their lives. They would write there questions on tablets of clay, or silver or gold depending on their degree of wealth. Many also left valuable gifts to please Mother Nature. The questions were collected by priests and the head priestess and presented in the Temple, There apparently was no “Oracle” or special place. Tthese folks then interpreted the answers and returned then to the pilgrims. The answers were very ambiguous and open to interpretation. If you interpreted the answer correctly the Gods have helped you, if incorrect, you made the wrong interpretation. An example given is the Emperor Nero. He asked if he would live a long time and was told beware year 87. He assumed he would live many years until he was 87; he was killed in his early 30’s by a guard who was 87! (At least that is the story!)

Delphi is a large area consisting of a market place, several treasuries to store valuables and the temple itself. The temple area was closed due to “technical” reasons, we think that meant excavation so we weren’t able to see it up close, the columns in the picture are the remains of the temple. The building with columns pictured is one of the treasuries that has been restored. Delphi was destroyed by Christians around two or three hundred A.D. It was also covered by rock slides. The Romans took away many of the statues and some are now in Rome and some are at the bottom of the sea due to shipwreck. A few were recovered during excavation and are in the Delphi Museum. Pictured here are the Sphinx, who guarded the temple, the Gemini Twins, Socrates, and the Charioteer. The most famous of these is the Charioteer. It is made of bronze which was more valuable than gold in the ancient times. The last picture is the Tholos-Temple of Athena and Python”. Snakes, particularly pythons were an important part of the Greek beliefs. This temple has been restored.

Athens Day Two

2009-09-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

We spent this day walking around and looking at more of the ruins (We walked 11 or 12 miles today!). It is all pretty amazing. Much of this civilization began more than 2500 years ago. We first toured Hadrian’s Gate which was build by the Emperor and led to the Temple of Zeus, which is just huge columns now. We then walked to Ancient Agora and looked at those ruins. One of the photos is of the best preserved temple.

Then it started to rain, so we hustled to Hard Rock Café and shared a good hamburger and salad. Then back to the hotel for a nap. Then we went back out and visited more of the historical sites. We hiked to the top of a large hill across from the Acropolis to see the Monument of Filopappos. From there I took the photo of the Acropolis across the way. Along the way, we visited “Socrates’ jail, or so what some historians think might have been his jail.

We walked back into the city and had dinner in a café along a pedestrian walkway and enjoyed people watching and listening to many different languages. One the way back to the hotel we viewed the Acropolis all lit up (my camera doesn’t do night photography well so no picture) and I managed to find some Gelato for dessert.

Athens Day One-Wow

2009-09-26T11:08:00.000-07:00

We had one more breakfast on our beautiful balcony and then said goodbye to Tassos our host. We were the only ones staying here so it was like our own private apartment complete with private pool. We had a delightful taxi ride to the airport with a cabbie who spoke some English. His favorite word was “bravo”. “You liked Santorini? Bravo, Bravo.” Etc.

We had a 45 minute flight to Athens and then a thirty minute cab ride to our hotel which a very nice 5 star place (We have never been able to quite figure out the star thing in Europe, it seems like the hotels decide what star they are, usually 3 to 5. This one is definitely a 5 star.) called the Royal Olympic. We chose it because the rate was good and it is very near the Acropolis and all the historic sites.

Then we headed out to explore the city, and the historic sites are amazing. We visited the new Acropolis Museum that just opened in June, the entry was only 1 Euro. Then we climbed up to the Acropolis (which is all the area on top of the hill) and viewed the ruins including the Parthenon. It is under renovation. Some of the ruins have been renovated 2 or three times through history. The earlier renovations didn’t establish good foundations so they had to be redone. Also pictured is an amphitheater that has been built on the site of an old one and is used for modern day concerts.

Our next stop was Mars Hill. (the last picture) This is the same Mars Hill from which the Apostle Paul preached to the Athenians nearly 2000 years ago. One of its main characteristics now is that it is very slippery. The rocks are marble and worn smooth. I can’t imagine walking on it with a little rain.

We ended the evening with dinner at the Hard Rock Café and I purchased another t-shirt for my collection. This was a great first day and the ruins here are amazing.

Santorini, Day Two

2009-09-25T11:48:00.000-07:00

We started with breakfast on our balcony overlooking the sea. We then took the bus into Thira and hiked the trail from Thira to Oia (eea). The hike took three hours and was about 9 miles in length. We followed the rim of the Caldera with a view of the sea the whole way. We were accompanied for about 2 miles by George (named after a Greek friend) before he stopped to admire the view with Eleanor and then returned home. (picture) We walked the last three miles with a couple we met on the trail; she was from Germany and her husband from Peru. We had a delightful visit. We walked around in Oia and had lunch at a café with a fabulous view. (picture)

We returned home by taxi and spent time by the pool, which we had all to ourselves. We had a light dinner on our balcony and watched the sun set. All in all, it was a fabulous day.

Santorini Day One

2009-09-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

Because the wind was still blowing and there were plenty of white caps, we were dreading our ferry ride from Paros to Santorini until we saw the boat. It was huge, the kind that carries cars and trucks. We had a great 2.5 hour trip and visited with several Canadians we met on the boat.

When we got off the boat, it was crazy with people offering rooms and places to stay. The city bus was full of people and luggage, there were 4 taxis and all were claimed. What to do? A little man offered us a room, which we didn’t need, and then he offered to take us to our hotel. Only 20 Euros he said. It seemed a little high, be we had no idea so we said yes. He took us straight to the Caldera Dolphin, and sang to us in Greek most of the way. It was definitely worth 20 Euros!

Our place is fabulous, check out the pictures. We sit on the rim of the caldera. Santorini is part of what was once a huge volcano. We spent some time by the pool, which we had all to ourselves and then took the bus into Thira, the main city. We had a wonderful dinner with an amazing view. We then took the bus back to hotel. It was an adventure because the route was much different and we weren’t sure we were even on the right road, and it was dark, but in the end, our stop was right at the driveway to the hotel. Oh, and who says guys can’t multi-task? Our driver was drinking a soda, smoking a cigarette, honking at anything that moved, talking on his cell phone and oh yes, driving the bus.

More Paros

2009-09-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

Monday was a quiet day for us. We spent some time at the beach, we found a place out of the wind. We also took the bus to the largest city of Parikia and wandered around there. The shops were mostly closed due to siesta and the city nothing special, but we did find a place to charge the camera battery, so more pictures. 

Tuesday we took the bus to Naoussa. Our plan was to enjoy the beach and tour the town. It was much too windy to be on the beach, so we toured a little and then headed back to our time share. We did visit this cute shop where Eleanor bought a candle holder from this cute lady who had been doing ceramics for 30 years. We ate lunch by the beach and enjoyed the sun for awhile. We are ready for our trip to Santorini.

There was one good thing about Paros on the Mountain Dew front. I keep my eye out for Dew as we travel in Europe, but we rarely see Pepsi, let alone Mt. Dew. The little store here in Drios had two cans of Mt. Dew Code Red, well at least they used to have! :)

The wall Eleanor is standing by is part of a fortress that was made of temple and column ruins. It was very unusual.

Paros

2009-09-21T00:36:00.000-07:00

We had a great first day on the island of Paros. Our timeshare unit is nice, but different. It is called traditional Greek. It is marble and stone the furniture is very different, but it is comfortable. We are taking pictures with a disposable camera so I’ll post those after they are developed and scanned to give you a better idea. We ate lunch on our terrace (ground level) with the local feral cats in attendance. We have found cats all over Italy and Greece and no mice.

After reading our books and a short nap (by me) we took the bus to Lefkes, about 15 Km away. We walked through the quaint little town and then 5Km down a road\path that dates back to the Byzantine Empire and is more than 1500 years old. It was very cool. We discovered the next bus was about one hour and 45 minutes so we walked down the road about another 5Km to the harbor and had a little dessert, fresh cooked Greek donuts (they were warm when served) with ice cream. We rode the bus back to Drios where we were staying and Eleanor may a nice pasta dinner for two.

Travel

2009-09-21T00:29:00.000-07:00

We use many different forms of travel while in Europe. Once we landed in Rome we took a train to the city center and then a taxi to the hotel. Taxis can be an adventure, the best rule is to ask before you get in what the fare would be (estimate). We didn’t do this and when we got to the hotel, the driver said the meter was broken and the fare was 35. This seemed high, but when I paid him he was surprised but the amount. We figured out later his English wasn’t that good and he was probably trying to say 13 or 15. I should have had him write the number. Oh well, another lesson learned.

While in Rome we walked a lot (about 30 miles in 3 days) and took the bus to get across town. You don’t have to walk as much as we did, but we enjoy it and you see more of the city. We arranged a driver through the hotel to take us to the airport for our rental car. I like doing this, because you pay a flat fee that the hotel tells you. In this case it was 60 Euros for the four of us (Scott and Penny were with us in Rome). The train would have cost us 44 Euros (11 each) and then the transportation from the hotel to the train station so this was a good price.

At the airport we picked up our rental car. I used Hertz for the first time, because they had the best price. They were so busy you had to take a number and wait. After 45 minutes or so we got our car and hand-held GPS. We headed down the road and after awhile discovered there was no charger for the GPS, so it was good for about 2 hours. (Hertz refunded this charge.)

Travel in foreign can at times be interesting. Here is a story about a toll road. We were entering the autostrada (toll road) and the ticket dispenser that ran out of tickets, the bar came down on both sides, so we couldn't back up. We pushed the help button and got directions in Italian and then Italian English (think accented English through a drive-through speaker box.) We think they told us to tell the toll taker we got on at Tivoli entrance. When get got to the exit the toll guy spoke no English and looked at us like Tivoli (I'm sure we were pronouncing it correctly!) was on Venus. Finally he said okay, okay and punched some buttons. The toll came up 51 Euros, which is about 10 times what it should have been. He said No, No and tried to correct it. Finally, he pointed and said office which was just across the way. We drove to the office to get this fixed and of course it had closed 20 minutes earlier. So on our trip back to Rome, we were able to get the ticket correct to 4 Euro and 10 cents.

At the end of our trip in Tuscany we drove back to the airport in Rome, driving around the outside of Rome was okay, but I would not recommend driving in the city. We flew to Athens and took a cab to our hotel in the port city of Rafina, near Athens. This time I asked the fare and we figured out it was 26 Euros. The driver didn’t like being asked but took us directly to the hotel. I paid him 26 with a small tip. Eleanor said, “You have to quit doing that.” I said, “What?” Then she told me the meter which she could see and I could read 16 Euros. So rule number two, don’t pay without checking with Eleanor.

Sunday Morning we took a ferry to the Island of Paros with stops on the Islands of Thanos and Mykonos. It was very windy and the ride was very rough when we were in the open sea. They hand out “barf bags” to everyone and several used them. Fortunately, we made the trip with sound stomachs. So far on Paros, we have traveled by cab (the hotel paid this one), bus and foot. While riding the bus back to our resort, it pulled into a gas station and filled up with diesel, another new experience.

One last note, theft of and from luggage is a big issue in Europe. When we flew into Athens we noticed most of the luggage was coming off the belt was locked. I don’t think this would work in the U.S. I have found compartments on my bag unzipped twice, once at the airport and once on the ferry. The only thing I seemed to be missing is the battery charger for our camera. I don’t know if it fell out at the airport, was taken or I left it at home. Anyway, no digital pictures for the blog until I find a way to charge the battery.

Umbria

2009-09-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

Umbria is the section of Tuscany where we stayed; it is in the Southern part. We spent the rest of the week, Wed. through Fri. touring small towns and churches and castles in the area. All of these were delightful with each having its own character or feature. The towns we visited included Bevange, Deruda (where we shopped for ceramics), Spello, beautiful hilltop town and Spoleto, home a large fortress on a hill with an ancient viaduct nearby and Montefalco.

We also had two fabulous meals prepared for us by the staff at the Villa. On Wed. we had a pizza and salad meal. The pizza was cooked in a wood fired oven. I ate until I was more than stuffed. Friday was a traditional Italian meal. The starter was brochette with olive oil or with olive oil and tomatoes, also, onion fetata. The second was a pasta dish with sausage, cream and parmesan cheese. I could have eaten this as a meal by itself. The main was baked chicken (in the wood burning over) and fried potatoes. Dessert was biscotti (small cookies dipped in wine). The best thing I can say for myself on Friday is that I didn’t overeat!

Saturday, marked the end of our stay. We took some final pictures with the villa in the background and went our separate ways. Joe and Gloria, Penny and Scott were off to Venice. We took Ron and Doreen back to the airport in Rome for their trip home to Pennsylvania the next day and we flew to Athens to begin the next leg of our journey.

Florence

2009-09-16T01:31:00.000-07:00

Tuesday we took the train, 2.5 hours, to Florence. Joe, Eleanor’s brother, made reservations at the two main museums, Galleria del l’Accademia and Galleria degli Uffizi. The main feature of the Galleria was Michelangelo’s David, an amazing sculpture that he did on a piece of discarded marble. The picture here is of a copy in a piazza as no photos are allowed inside the museum. The Uffizi holds a huge collection of Renaissance Art. Artists include, Michelangelo, DaVinci, Bertellini and on and on. Most of the paintings were of religious scenes, the most popular being the Annunciation, when Mary is told she is going to give birth, the Crucifixion, the Adoration of the Magi and the Coronation of Mary as Saint. Some critique from Mr. B., they didn’t do babies well at all, Mary reading to baby Jesus from the bible seemed to me a little inaccurate, and there were a variety of very interesting looks on Mary’s face in the various paintings of the Annunciation.

In addition to the museums, we also walked along the Arno River and toured the huge Cathedral. I also ate my daily gelato. All in all, Florence is a beautiful city and we could have spent much more time here, but alas, we had to catch the 8:15 train back to Assisi.

Assisi

2009-09-16T01:14:00.001-07:00

On Monday, it was off to Assisi, a beautiful village on a hill about 10 miles from the villa. This is the home of St. Francis and has been a village of peace for hundreds of years. It was fascinating to wander up and down the streets and in and out of the many churches. We hiked all the way to the top to the fortress. Then during lunch there was a huge thunderstorm which we watched from the café. After lunch and little more touring and then back to the villa for some rest.

In the evening we went to the small village of Bevagna, about 6 miles away. We had a wonderful Italian meal in a small family café. The cook (guy) and server (possibly his wife) spoke little English, but it all worked out. Ron got the best laugh when he ordered rabbit by saying “Bugs Bunny”. Italian is very similar to Spanish, so my Spanish background (high school) has been helpful.

Sienna

2009-09-16T00:18:00.001-07:00

Sunday, we drove to Sienna. We met Ron and Doreen, the 4th couple sharing the Villa with us at the train station. We then took the bus into the city, actually that would be up to the City as it sits on a hill. Sienna is a beautiful small city. We walked to the Piazza and had lunch. During lunch, a drum and flag group marched in and performed. It was pretty cool. They have horse races around the piazza in the summer. They bring in dirt and the horses race around the piazza 3 times. The horses represent the various neighborhoods, with the winner getting bragging rights. As near as we could tell, the drum and flag group was from the winning neighborhood (see video).

We also toured the city hall and the cathedral and had a great dinner on the piazza. While eating the drum and flag group returned for more celebration.

The Pantheon and off to Tuscany

2009-09-13T01:52:00.000-07:00

We walked to the Pantheon which is the oldest building, used continuously in Rome. It was pretty amazing, unfortunately it was closed for a wedding so we could only view it from the outside. This is a beautiful neighborhood in Rome and we walked through some beautiful piazzas and a couple of cathedrals.

Then it was traveling time. We took a shuttle to the airport and rented a car and then drove to the villa “Fattoria del Gelso” near the village of Cannara in the Umbria section of Tuscany. Fattoria del Gelso would translate as Mulberry Farm. The villa is fabulous and we are looking forward to our week here. We plan to relax, tour small villages and visit Florence.

Friday in Rome-a Marathon Day

2009-09-12T23:58:00.000-07:00

The Hotel Isa where we are staying has a roof top restaurant and that is where our breakfast is with a view of the city, including St. Peters. After breakfast we walked to the Vatican. We entered the square and check it out. It turns out that the entrance to the Vatican Museum is at the back of Vatican City so we started out around the city (country) the wrong way it turns out. It took 35 minutes instead of 10 to reach the entrance (oops, my bad!). But, how many of you can say you walked all the way around a country and did it in 35 minutes. The Vatican Museum is amazing and filled with 1000s of works of art. Some of the literature says that there are 4 miles of hall in the museum. We walked a lot of it and finally arrived at the Sistine Chapel. I have no idea how Michael Angelo painted all of this. The room was a little smaller than I thought, but was totally covered with paintings. In a word, amazing!

We then toured St. Peter’s Basilica and the square. It is huge and again packed with tons of works of art. About this time we have walked more than 5 miles and it is time for lunch. We had lunch in a nice little café on a pedestrian street, then our first gelato of the day and back to Hotel Isa for siesta!

We rode the bust to the Coliseum and toured there and then Palatine Hill and the Forum. I was all old and amazing. Just check out the pictures. We then walked to the Trevi Fountain which is very cool. We had a wonderful dinner and then walked back to the hotel. My pedometer put us at more than 15 miles! Videos are of St. Peters, The Colosseum, and the Forum, which was the series of buildings in this valley.

Our Adventure begins

2009-09-12T23:52:00.000-07:00

Our trip begins on Tuesday night as we fly to Seattle and spend the night in a hotel near the airport. We get up at 3:15 A.M. for our long day. We leave Seattle at 6:00 A.M. and fly to Dallas, then to Chicago and then the 9 hour flight to Rome. The route is a little circuitous because we are using frequent flyer miles. Other than a sore butt for sitting most of 18 hours the trip goes well.

We arrive in Rome and take the train into town and a taxi to the hotel, which isn’t ready yet since it is 11:30 A.M. local time. We walk about and see a couple of sights near the hotel and have some pizza for lunch. A little after one, we return and our room is ready. After a nap and shower (we had to ask how to turn the shower on, you have to tilt the handle, those tricky Italians!), we are ready to go. Our friends Scott and Penny have arrived also so we head out to explore.

Our first stop is the Spanish Steps, then on to Hard Rock Café so I can get my t-shirt. We then go to the Gallery Borghese. This is an amazing small gallery. Bernini’s is the featured work and it is amazing. He looks a lot older then a young boy, think 18 and ripped, but the detail is amazing. It is marble and done in 1624. There are also some other amazing sculptures and amazing ceiling paintings. (no photos allowed)

We walked through the Park Borghese and saw an amazing view of Rome from the hill. We then had a really nice dinner at a café on the piazza Popolo. Then back to the hotel to crash after a long couple of days.

The Tradition

2009-09-12T23:45:00.001-07:00

I was a walking scorer for the Tradition Golf Tourney at Sunriver, OR about 35 miles from our house. It was fun to watch the Seniors play up close. (They swing so easy and the ball goes so far.) My highlight is in the pictures, scoring for Tom Watson, who is an amazing player and kind person. I also scored for Gary Player, Bob Gilder and Scott Simpson, among others.

Spectacular and International Youth Forum

2009-09-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

For the last 17 years Eleanor and I have be staff of a Christian sports, arts and leadership camp at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa. This year was an international year with a youth forum in addition to Spec. There were campers from Tahiti, Australia and Europe. It was a great time with about 1000 youth from all over and 50 or so as a part of our delegation from the Northwest.

Alberta

2009-09-08T11:20:00.000-07:00

In July we made a trip to Alberta, Canada. We made two stops on our trip, first to visit our good friends from Dresden, who now live in the Philippines, Simon Gillespie and Kelly Arndt. We stayed with Kelly and Simon in Wetaskewin and had a great time. We visited sites in Edmonton, including the Capitol and the Mutart Gardens. While there, as the ministers who performed their wedding ceremony, we blessed their new wedding rings.

We then drove to Wainwright, Alberta for the wedding of Eleanor's nephew, Garth Rasmussen and Jenna Silvey. The wedding was in the small town of Rib Stone. Though the town was small, there was a large and beautiful Community of Christ Church. The wedding ceremony and the reception were terrific.

We had a wonderful time meeting Jenna's family and visiting with Eleanor's family.

Our trip was great with the only downer being that the weather wasn't all that great. It was only around 13 or 14 degrees. ....Okay so that was celcius, but in the 50s and 60s by the farenheit scale.

Memorial Day in Minnesota

2009-09-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

We spent our Memorial Day Weekend in Minnesota with our good friends from Dresden, Del and Jean Laqua. We had a wonderful time. Our first day we visited Interstate Park on the Wisconsin and Minnesota border. It was beautiful with very unusual geological formations caused by glaciers. Our second day we visited the North Shore of Lake Superior and the city of Duluth. Very beautiful as well. Our third day, Memorial Day, we saw the Twins play the Red Sox in baseball, visited Hard Rock Cafe to get a t-shirt for me (Mike) and had a wonderful barbecue at Don and Gail Post's. These are Michael's in-laws. All in all it was a wonderful time, highlighted by our renewing friendship with Del and Jean.

Spring Trip

2009-09-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

We had an awesome trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to see Chris and Joanna a little and 1 month old Karsten mostly. :) We also shared our time with Jim and Janet Cooke, Karsten's other grandparents. Besides visiting, we toured a little and I played some golf. The golf courses were beautiful, my game not all that great, but I did see a moose on the course two of the days. We also celebrated our 40th anniversary with a dinner out that included Chris, Joanna and Karsten.

The Trip Home

2008-08-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

We stayed Saturday night in the small town of Storfors in south central Sweden. The town wasn’t much but the Hotel Storfors was awesome (picture). It was like a very nice bed and breakfast. The room was the largest we had on the trip and dinner was wonderful. On our walk around the area, we saw a combination soccer\basketball court. The soccer goals were right under the baskets. (picture)

On Sunday morning I played golf (see entry) and then we packed up and headed for our last stop of Gothenburg. We got gas (in case you are wondering, a rough estimate put the price of gas between 9 and 10 dollars a gallon. It was a little cheaper in Sweden than in Norway. Our car got 27.4 miles per gallon which was nice.) and washed the car. The car wash was located at the gas station and you rent the stall, for about $8, and have unlimited water and a power sprayer. You provide the soap and rags. After the wash, we drove to Gothenburg and dropped the car off at the Volvo Factory and spent our last night at the SAS Radisson with dinner at the Hard Rock Café where I added to my t-shirt collection.

On Monday morning, we took a short walk around Gothenburg and then headed to the airport for our flight home. The trip home went well, flights were good and we arrived home tired, but with many wonderful memories.

Lundsberg Golfklub

2008-08-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning I played a second round of golf at Lundsberg Golfklub. This was a nine-hole course that provided a very interesting outing. The price for green fee, rental clubs, balls and tees was about $50 so not too bad. It goes down hill from there. Rental clubs consisted of picking out clubs from several different groups to make a set. These were clubs that you would find in a garage sale…in the 1980s. No drivers and grips as smooth as silk (for non-golfers that is a bad thing). I opted for clubs by Prestige, 3 and 5 wood and irons. There was also a 21 degree rescue club that I selected. I only used it once and it felt like the loft was more like 7 degrees. The putter was by Insight (a better name would have been “no sight”). I bought a bag of tees just like at home and a 6-pack of used golf balls. There were a Precept, an Ultra, a Tri-tech, a Slazenger, a Blitz (more on this later) and a Firestone (not Bridgestone, Firestone).

Now to the course, there were two 400 yd. par 4s, a 200 par 3 and a 625 yd. par 5, the second longest hole in Sweden. There 5 normal length holes. This sounds challenging yet doable, until you add to the equation the equipment and almost 3 weeks of rain. The course was basically a bog in many places and hadn’t been mowed in a long time. Since I played at 8:00 in the morning (second person out, golf is more of a mid-day thing here) the greens were covered with heavy dew. The best thing I had done was wear my waterproof running shoes so my feet stayed dry. In fairness, the course would probably be fine with regular clubs and dryer weather.

I didn’t really keep score to start with because there was a scorecard but nothing to write with. I started to keep score in my head, but the numbers got too big. I hit some pretty good shots. The ones in the fairway usually plugged, the ones in the 4-6” rough were hard to find. I did par one hole, a “difficult” uphill par 3 that was 133 yards long. I was down to using the Blitz ball (the mainline ones has disappeared in the mud or the trees, oops). I wacked the Blitz with my Prestige 7-iron and hit it to the fringe. I used my sand wedge out of the long fringe to get 5 feet from the hole. Then in a brief moment of insanity the Insight putter actually opened its eyes and the Blitz went into the hole! The crowd (of one) went wild. I was thinking I might be onto something with the Blitz, but alas it sailed off into the trees on the next hole.

I completed hole number 9 with my last ball, the Firestone, and almost lost it only once. So I did finish. I was a fun experience, but not one I would recommend unless you have never golfed in Sweden and want to say that you have. But the best thing was…I got the hat!

A Wonderful Day

2008-08-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

On Friday we left Roros and headed for Tallberg, a small resort area in Central Sweden on Lake Siljan. As we drove through the beautiful country side crossing from Norway to Sweden we passed countless lakes and rivers and then...a small herd of reindeer. They were very cool and walked right down the middle of the road, hence the up close and personal pictures.

We chose the Tallberg area by chance as the computer came up with the Green Hotel as one with a vacancy in the area we wanted to drive to, about 4-5 hours from Roros. The Green Hotel was amazing. An old style lodge with brand new rooms and a beautiful view of the lake(see picture at sunset). We had a wonderful dinner there (salmon) and walked by the lake.

I also discovered a nine hole golf course there and was able to add Sweden to the list of countries in which I have golfed. The course wasn't the greatest, but it was fun to plan amongst the aspens. I shot a 47 which wasn't too bad considering the quality of the rental clubs and the condition of the greens: the grass was long, the speed slow and they had a ton of break! One unique feature of this golf course is that all the water hazards had life preservers (picture) not sure what that meant, but since I was playing alone, I stayed well away from them! :)

Roros

2008-08-23T22:24:00.000-07:00

On Thursday Eleanor's mom, Mary, and her brother John and his wife, Mary Anne left to return home. We still had two more days in our timeshare, but as the was poor (45 degrees and raining) and it was too wet to hike, we decided to leave. Our first stop on our new adventure was Roros, and UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is a wonderful small town in East Central Norway. Like every town we visit here there is a beautiful church. The houses were quaint and very well maintained, they look like they are painted every year. There is a Copper Mining Museum that is a tribute to 300 years or so of copper mining. The downtown, main street, which has many cute shops, was designed to from broad to narrow to make the street look longer. Check the picture and see if you think it worked!

Are and the not so big falls!

2008-08-22T13:40:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday we took a trip to visit the ski resort town of Are (pronounced ora). It is a pretty cool place though it was very quiet in August compared to what it must be during ski season. It also had a very neat stone church.

On the way back to Storlien, we stopped at a large water fall, Tannforsen with was very cool. The waterfall was very impressive and noisy. In the winter they build ice sculptures and an ice cavern where they even hold concerts. The lady who told us about the falls said it was okay but we probably wouldn't be that impressed since we had Niagara Falls. Of course we do live about 4000MILES from Niagara Falls, so found these falls quite impressive thank you very much!

Mountain Hike

2008-08-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we took two hikes, the first was a short one between two lakes on a board walk trail. The second was a great hike up the ski mountain to the summit. It was called the flower trail as there were many flowers (most not in bloom now) and signs describing them. Unfortunately for us the signs were in Swedish, so we couldn't read them. When we reached the top we had a view of the surround area. We are very near the border between Norway and Sweden so we could see both countries. Apparently there are reindeer in the area, but we didn't see any. We also saw these signs about 2 meters tall (6 feet) with red Xs on the top. We thought at first that these were the border signs, but it turns out they mark snowmobile trails in the winter! All in All it was a great hike with amazing vistas.

Fedje to Storlien

2008-08-18T07:42:00.000-07:00

We spent two days, Friday and Saturday driving from Fedje to Storlien where we spent a week. We had two ferry crossings and saw some amazing scenery with waterfalls, lakes, fjords and mountains. We stayed Friday night at the Hotel Videseter. It is at the top of a canyon and our room had the most amazing view. (picture) When we arrived in Storlien we discovered that our condo is designed for a skiing family. That would be two single beds in one room and bunk beds in the other two rooms. The bunk beds were definitely a problem for us older folks, but we were able to rent a second unit for John and Mary Ann. Our unit is the red one in the photos.

Finally, can you notice any differences in the two cabins\houses that are side by side? Like maybe one of them needs to cut the grass on the roof. Many of the houses have regular roofs and then plant grass on top of them. Not sure why, but it is interesting!

Fedje Hike

2008-08-18T06:05:00.001-07:00

On Thursday morning we took a hike across the island of Fedje. It was damp with many bogs and also very rocky. The trees were very short due to lack of soil, wind and short growing season. I hope you enjoy the images. I did these in the order of the hike.

Fedje and Its People

2008-08-18T02:29:00.000-07:00

Fedje is a small island northwest of Bergen. It is right on the North Sea and is the furthest point west in Norway where people live. When Eleanor's father, Joseph, was a small boy he lived here for a time. He still has relatives that live here. The island is rough and rugged and subject to winds and storms right off the North Sea. In this place, we found some of the most wonderful people.

We arrived Wednesday and were met by Eve who informed us that Haldis (wife of Joseph's cousin Norval, who is deceased) had prepared dinner for us. It was a wonderful Norwegian meatball dinner. They were so gracious. Eve was our chauffeur for several trips during our stay.

We stayed in these cute cabins right on the harbor, the only distraction was the noise of seagulls from time to time.

On Thursday morning we took a hike on the rugged island (separate entry), and in the afternoon John and Karsten (cousins), had chartered a boat captained by Otto to take us out into the sea to scatter Joseph's ashes. Otto, age 82, was amazing and was so delighted to help the family "say goodbye". He refused to take any payment for the use of his boat. Otto took us to a beautiful place outside the harbor, but still sheltered and here Eleanor's brother John scatted Joseph's ashes. It was a beautiful setting. We said a prayer of good-bye (with hats removed as per Otto). Otto then took us on a short ride amount the small islands and joined in our pictures. His last words for us were, "See you in heaven!"

After the boat ride, Cousin John and his wife, Reidun, hosted us for dinner. A wonderful meal of sea trout, similar to steel head, and gave us a tour of the island. We found to be a special stop on our trip, made so mostly by the wonderful people.

Stavanger and Bergen

2008-08-13T00:46:00.000-07:00

Our travels in Norway continue with one night stops in Stavanger and Bergen. Both are beautiful cities on the water. Stavanger is a little smaller, but both have pedestrian shopping areas and nice areas to walk. We met one of Eleanor's cousins, Karsten, for dinner in Stavanger. On the drive to Bergen we made to ferry crossings on big ferries like the one in the picture In Bergen there is a funicular (tram car) that takes you to the top of a hill overlooking the city. We took this up near sunset and then walked down (about 2 miles). My knees were a little sore by the bottom. Our next stop is the island of Fedje, where Eleanor's father also lived as a child. We will spread the remainder of his ashes there.

Flekkefjord

2008-08-11T08:13:00.000-07:00

Flekkefjord is a small town on the southwest coast of Norway. Eleanor's father lived very near here on the small island of Hidra when he was a boy. We visited to to see good family friends of Eleanor's mom, Inger Lindholm and her son Magna and his friend, Britt. We toured the fjord that Flekkefjord is located on in Magna's boat. We also spread some of Eleanor's father's ashes on the island of Hidra at the harbor and on the hill overlooking village, near where he lived. We also saw a very unusual attraction, a wake boarding park. Boarders are pulled around by cables operated by a mechanical cable system. (No boats) It was a beautiful place to visit and fun to see family friends, but also sad saying goodbye again to Eleanor's father.

Oslo

2008-08-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

After picking up our new car we drove to Oslo, to meet Eleanor's mother and her brother John and his wife Mary Ann. We arrived around 6:00 P.M. We had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe and I bought a shirt. After dinner we walked around the city some and met up with Eleanor's family. Pictures include dinner at HRC, ice cream by the harbor, the Nobel Building and Oslo Harbor.

New Car

2008-08-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Gothenburg, Sweden went quiet well. On Friday we went to the Volvo Factory to pick up our ne w car. The car is a C70 which is a hard top convertible. It was a great experience to get the new car and be treated so well. We then did a tour of the Volvo Museum. Volvo began making cars in 1927. Pictures are of our car, a car like the one my parents owned in in the late 1950's and some of the original cars from the museum which used wood for the frames.

Chris Comes to Visit

2008-07-02T16:43:00.000-07:00

Our son, Chris, arrived home from his teaching job in Germany on June 25th. He spent four days with us and we did quite a bit. We visited, did some car shopping, golfed and took a nice hike on the Metolius River. There is a fish hatchery there so here are some pictures of the fish. They are rainbow and brook trout. We had a great time. Chris left on Monday, June 30th. He drove to Yosemite, in his new red car, to be with Joanna, his wife. They will spend the summer there and then move to Jackson, Wyoming where Chris will teach K-2 in the Teton Science School. He will be a part of the Journeys program.

John Day Fossil Beds

2008-06-04T16:21:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day Weekend Eleanor's brother Joe and his wife Gloria came to visit. On Monday we took a day trip to the John Day Fossil Beds. It is an amazing place. There are three parts and we only visited two of them. The first stop was the best. This was the "Painted Hills". The colors were very cool and we even got some sun to shine on them. The second stop was the fossil beds. Some interesting fossils here, but since it was raining, I didn't get good pictures. There were some very cool rock formations.

Eleanor's Birthday Surprise

2008-06-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

Eleanor's surprise trip began on May 11th as we drove to Vancouver, WA to stay at her brother Joe and sister-in-law Gloria's place. She had no idea where we were going other than we were flying early Monday morning and where we were going was warm. After dinner, our good friends John and Ruth Smallwood arrived and Eleanor learned that they were going with us.

We flew out at 6:20 in the morning and landed in Phoenix. We got our rental car and then drove to Eagle Mountain Golf Course and played a round of course. This is a place where Eleanor and I tried to play several years ago during Spring Break and cut our round short due to rain and wind that actually was peeling the sheet metal roofing off the clubhouse. Today the weather was gorgeous and the golfing pretty good. Eleanor had two birdies and a par. She also nearly got a hole in one. A good start for a birthday trip. After golf we had dinner and drove to Tucson where we stayed at the Rancho Vistoso Resort. (Eleanor finally found out where we were going!)

Tuesday was cool and even rained a little, but no problem, because we were touring Kartchner Caverns. These are amazing, living caves that are being preserved as near as possible in their natural state. The number of people that can visit is limited and you go through an airlock to enter. You are not allowed to touch anything in the caverns and no pictures are allowed. After the caverns we visited Eleanor's nephew Craig, his wife Erica and family. It was a good time for "Grandma Practice".

On Wednesday we played golf at Rancho Vistoso Golf Course and then had a wonderful birthday dinner out. After dinner, Eleanor received her birthday book with all your wonderful cards and notes. It was a great success. Thank you so much for sharing in her birthday in this way, since she wouldn't allow a party.

On Thursday morning, John and I played the Arizona National Golf Course, home course for the Un. of Arizona. One of the highlights was seeing a bobcat hunting rabbits on the course. We won't talk about scores here, just to say it is a very difficult course. In the afternoon, we visited the Sonora Desert Museum. This is a fantastic museum with many desert animals in there natural habitat.

Friday we drove back to Phoenix and then flew to Portland, the surprise birthday trip over. It was a great way to celebrate turning 60 since neither of us feel that old.

Sunshine and Baby Alexis

2008-06-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

After we dropped Del and Jean off at the airport on March 29th, we took a flight to California to visit Eleanor's mom and participate in the blessing of Alexis Dumin, Eleanor's niece who was born on February 14th. That Sunday I spoke about the blessing of babies and Eleanor blessed baby Alexis. We had a wonderful family time together at Eleanor's brother John's house. (He and Mary Anne are the grandparents.)

On Monday, we drove to Lake Havasu City with Eleanor's mom to visit our friends Leon and Susanna Fuhrman. They have wintered here for many years and have a lovely two bedroom house. The weather was nice, not too hot and not too windy. On Tuesday we toured L. H. C. and took our picture with the London Bridge in the background. On Wednesday, Leon and I played golf and then we drove back to Banning.

We spent Thursday in Banning and I played another round of golf and then Friday we flew home. A quick but fun trip and a relief from the cold spring in Oregon. Yes, it snowed when we returned home!

A Visit from Friends

2008-06-04T14:27:00.001-07:00

In March, our good friends Del and Jean Laqua came to visit. We had a wonderful time seeing sights, talking about old times in Dresden, eating some great food and just being together. Del and Jean flew into Portland and we visited Timberline lodge on our way to Redmond. We enjoyed church and then Easter dinner with friends at our house. Two wild pheasants got into a territorial dispute during Easter dinner and Jean caught it on film. We hiked at Smith Rocks on Monday and Tuesday we drove to Crater Lake and saw a bunch of snow, including a few flakes adding to the total. On Wednesday we had a leisurely day and then drove to Sisters and had dinner and saw the movie "In Brueges". We don't recommend it. On Thursday we went to the High Desert Museum and then Friday drove back to Portland via the Columbia Gorge and Multnomah Falls. Then Saturday our visit was over, but we parted with many great memories.

Home, Censorship and Other Random Thoughts

2008-02-05T09:08:00.000-08:00

Our trip home went well. We flew Air China from Beijing to San Francisco and the United puddle-jumper in to Redmond. Our good friends John and Ruth met us at the airport. We went out to dinner (about 5:30) and then home. Went to bed at the normal time and jumped back into a normal schedule. It worked pretty well. We had been awake about 30 hours from when we got up in Beijing, but we both slept on the the plane at least a little bit (3 hours +-). We returned home to snow, so Saturday I was out cleaning the driveway. Pictures are of our last night in Beijing and me shoveling snow.

We experienced first-hand censorship in China. I could not access (read) our blog site or other blog spot sites during our stay. It was blocked by the Chinese Government. There was an article in the Bend Bulletin when we returned home about "The Great Fire Wall of China". It seems the government routinely blocks sites that allow free speech. Interestingly, I could post to my blog and I could access and read my “Facebook Account”.

Here are some other random thoughts about our time in Beijing.

Traffic in Beijing is crazy. It used to be the city of bikes but not any more. There are cars everywhere and more being added to the tune of 1000 per day. There are more cars then the roads can handle during rush hour and the design is poor on many intersections. There is a lot of horn honking and cutting people off. The good news was that it was windy so no smog.
Pedestrians cross streets at their own risk. Cars turning right or left do not stop even if you have a “green man” to cross the street. We tried to cross with groups thinking that cars would be less likely to run down 4 or 5 people than 2.
The shopping centers we visited had mostly U.S. and European stores. Most of the pictures of models were Caucasian.
Music was interesting. In some places there was “Chinese Music” but with some interesting exceptions. When we were at the Great Wall there was a P.A. system playing…Kenny G. We went to Pizza Hut one night thinking that a pizza sounds good (it wasn’t) and song was “Don’t You Make my Brown Eyes Blue” not the Linda Ronstadt was playing. The same song played over and over the entire time we ate. I wasn’t sure if there was supposed to be some hidden meaning such as “Pizza Hut Pizza will make you ‘Brown Eyes Blue’” or if the CD player was just stuck. We also observed the salad bar become place for the building of small mountains. We didn’t realize you could get so much on one small plate. I believe one time though has a whole different meaning here.
There were Starbucks everywhere on our trip. I think a better export than McDonalds.
We were approached all the time with requests for us to purchase something, hats, gloves, guide books, tour guide services, etc. After a while you learn to say no and keep walking.
We didn’t really note a Communist\Socialist influence here. There seemed to be many rich and many poor (see #6). It wasn't much different than Capitalist cities.
Chinese New Year was a big deal in Hong Kong with many decorations. It seemed to be less emphasized here with only a few places decorated.
We found taxis to be more or less crooked. We got scammed for 3 times the normal rate from the airport to our hotel by a private driver (we should have know better and gotten a regular taxi). Other experiences included double the rate because “meter broken”, the correct rate returning by meter, but the incorrect change and the traditional “long way” to the airport. Fortunately, cabs aren’t too expensive.
The history and tradition here is amazing. The Forbidden City, Great Wall and Temple of Heaven are some of the coolest things we have visited in our travels.

Temple of Heaven

2008-01-31T01:18:00.000-08:00

Thursday was our last full day in Beijing. After the morning run to Starbucks (a daily routine here), we opted for another walking tour. This time we walked to the Temple of Heaven (about 4 miles). It was interesting to see a different part of the city. (picture)

The temple is located in the middle of a large park. It is a very quiet refuge in the middle of a noisy city. There are decorations for up for Chinese New Year (picture). There were people there playing cards and other activities. (pictures) The Temple of Heaven is the place where the emperor of the Ming and Qing Dynasty went to pray for good crops. Their religion, which was a form a Daoism, also called for animal sacrifice, which took place here as well. The building is beautiful and very ornate. (pictures)

Afterwards we walked back to the hotel with a stop at a shopping center for lunch. Our last night we had dinner at a nice restaurant in the hotel. Tomorrow we head for home.

Walking Wednesday

2008-01-30T05:07:00.000-08:00

Wednesday was our day to walk and explore. We slept in and then headed out for Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. On the way we met these really nice students who spoke good English and were studying art. They invited us to see their exhibit and the next thing you know we bought some. I think it might be the Chinese version of Timeshare Sales. (picture, they really were nice!)

We walked on to Tienanmen Square and around it. It is quite large with the tomb of Chairman Mao in it. As big as it is, it was once a part of the Forbidden City (which was the home of the emperor in Feudal Times). (pictures)

We then walked on to the Forbidden City. During our walk we passed up 20 or so opportunities to buy hats and gloves, 2 more art shows and 5 or 6 opportunities for an English speaking guide. The Forbidden City is huge with 4 major court areas and many displays. It is very clear that the emperor lived a very grand life style. (pictures and video)

In the evening we went out to dinner. We ate at a Chinese place and used our chop sticks. (picture) There were street vendors selling all kinds of barbecue things, but being dog and cat lovers we passed. (picture)

A check of the pedometer at the end of the day indicated we had walked 10 miles.

The Great Wall of China

2008-01-30T01:48:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday afternoon, we spent two hours at the Great Wall of China. I was amazing and we actually WALKED ON THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA!!!! The Wall is about 3000 miles long and is more that 2000 years old. It was erected as a defensive wall to protect the Chinese from the Mongolians. Some parts of the wall are now in disrepair and some parts are preserved for tourism. It was a very cold day, low 20's and very windy. The Wall is very steep in some places and requires quite an effort just to climb it. From the pictures you can see one side is higher and is the defensive side. There are also lookout towers frequently along the way. The sound quality gives you an idea of how windy it was in the exposed areas of the Wall. Words really can't express this experience, but it was better than amazing!

Beijing Tour A.M.

2008-01-30T01:22:00.000-08:00

s.

On Tuesday morning we met Ding our tour guide and set out on our tour of the Beijing community. On the tour we met Steve from Portland and Sam from Seattle. Since there were only nine people on the tour, the U.S. Northwest was well represented. We went first to the Ming Tombs which contains the tombs of 13 of the 16 Ming Dynasty emperors. Each emperor was buried under 27 meters (60+ feet of earth). One tomb was opened and the fresh air did extensive damage so no more have been opened. Visitors here leave money as an offering which is burned as a sacrifice in special ovens. (picture) The buildings are ornate and beautiful. This day was very clear and cold. It was in the 20's and windy.

We then toured a jade factory, for which China is famous. Most of the time was spent shopping for jade which we did not participate in. The picture is of a jade tiger. We then had lunch in a Chinese restaurant, which was excellent.

Then a visit to an Herbal Medical College. The Dr. gave us a tour and then we got a free consult using Eastern Medicine. The Dr. checked our pulse and looked at our skin and tongue. We both suffered from low kidney function from our "Yin Kidney" as opposed to our "Yang Kidney". For Eleanor this meant possible diabetes and for me, in spite of my strong pulse, a problem with frequent urination. (Hello, most men my age have this problem!). Anyway for a little over $100 each we could take some herbs we were unfamiliar with to help with our health issues. No Thanks!!!

Beijing Arrival

2008-01-29T02:43:00.000-08:00

Our trip to Beijing went well. You can see the communist influence as there are few bill boards and little advertising. But as we soon found out capitalism is a live and well. We had many opportunities to "negotiate"purchases from street vendors and some shops. We got ripped off by the taxis twice in our first day, but learned that they do understand the word meter. Our hotel is awesome (pictures). We walked to the Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square. We'll do a more extensive tour later in the week. We were asked twice by kids if they could have their picture taken with us. I don't think it was celebrity status, but probably Eleanor's blond hair, or that they hadn't been around Caucasian folks before. We asked on group where they were from and they said "local village". We took that to mean a small local village somewhere outside of Beijing.

We took a taxi to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner (30 min. ride in terrible traffic) and when we got there it was closed for a private function :( I was still able to purchase a shirt!! :) So we went back to the hotel and had a nice dinner there.

Random Thoughts about Hong Kong

2008-01-29T02:24:00.000-08:00

The transportation system is excellent here and inexpensive. Bob and Yvonne live in the country, but you can easily reach the city by bus or taxi (which is inexpensive). Once in town there is a light rail system that covers the city.
The people of Hong Kong use Smart Cards extensively. These are like pre-paid phone cards. You purchase one for about $6 and place a dollar amount on the card. Then when shopping, getting on and off public transportation you just scan your card and you are done. The cards are rechargeable. It is very convenient, no messing with money or change.
The wildlife is a little different in Hong Kong. There are wild cows (oxen) that roam the country side. (picture) Other mammals include monkeys and wild boars. But the snakes take center stage. Fortunately it was cold while we were there so no danger. There are various vipers that live in trees. Cobras that spit their venom. And my favorite, the python, which can grow to 6 meters and one recently killed and ate a husky about one mile from Bob and Yvonne’s house.
This is the most densely populated city we have visited, with huge apartment buildings 20-40 stories high everywhere and more being built.
Environmentally, Hong Kong was not impressive. The air quality was poor and not much recycling. The cities are kept very clean, but when we hiked in the country there was trash everywhere.
The primary scaffolding material was bamboo. The picture shows it being used on a low building, but it is also used on high rises as well. (picture)
Due to the British influence cars drive on the left side of the road.
We found the people of Hong Kong kind and helpful.
Of course there aren’t snow days here, but they do cancel school for typhoons and Black Rain. Black Rain is rain so hard the visibility is terrible. Flash floods are a result as well, so school is cancelled.
Burial traditions call for the living to take care of their ancestors. They leave food for them and bury them with their backs to the mountain and facing towards the sea. If a better burial place becomes available, the body is moved. (picture)

Exploring the New Territories

2008-01-29T02:08:00.000-08:00

Bob and Yvonne live in a portion of Hong Kong called the New Territories. It is outside the city and have many excellent hiking trails. On Sunday, the four of us and Pfoten wend for a beautiful 6 mile hike along the bay and through the jungle. It was a great way to end our stay here. On the hike we visited a museum and saw several abandoned houses.

Hong Kong Saturday

2008-01-26T06:19:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we went in Hong Kong with Bob, Yvonne, Jorgen and Catriona. We enjoyed a wonderful brunch at the Excelsior hotel. We ate on the 34th floor with a beautiful view of the city (pictures include the 6 of us, Eleanor and Bob at the chocolate fondue fountain and the city).

We then did some shopping and Bob, Jorgen, Eleanor and I took an escalator that runs for about 1/2 mile up the hill towards Victoria Peak. Since is was very cloudy we didn't go up to the peak, but we did enjoy seeing the various parts of the city.

We walked down to the harbor and observed the process of reclaiming more of the harbor to create land for development. We then took the ferry across the bay and it was cool to see the city as the sun was setting. (see the video). Then a stop at Starbucks (yes Starbucks) and then we road the tram home.

It was another fun day in am amazing city.

Pictures include decorations for Chinese New Year and the city skyline at dusk.

Kau Sai Chau Golf Course

2008-01-26T05:38:00.000-08:00

On Friday I arranged to play a round of golf at Kau Sai Chau Golf Course. This adventure starts with a ferry ride to island where the course is located. When I arrived and check in I was given a key to a locker and access to showers, towels etc. for when I finished. (Like I was going to be hot and sweaty.) The weather was cool, about 50, and rainy. (so no sweating!)

The course was very nice and well maintained. It was long with several long tee shots over canyons and valleys. My score was not great, probably near 100. I could blame that on several things: the weather, the rental clubs which weren't very good, my long layoff form golf (two months), or the spirits (I'll get to that in a moment). I don't have an exact score to report because first I broke the pencil, which I replaced, but then the score card got so wet it fell apart and I couldn't write on it. I did manage to par two holes, one of which is a long par 3 over a part of the China Sea. It is called "Devil's Hole" (picture) and is reputed to be one of the most difficult holes in Asia. So not all was lost.

The shot of the day landed on a small protected plot in the middle of the fairway. This was unique for two reasons, first, that I would hit a shot in the middle of the fairway and more importantly, it was a burial site. Fortunately, I was entitled to a free drop, unfortunately, my next shot was very bad. I am sure the spirits had something to do with this. Unfortunately, I lost the picture of this spot:(.

Anyway, I finished the day wet and soaked, but I can now say that I have played golf in Asia and I had a great time.

Photos include the first hole, a couple of me, the "Devil's Hole" and the club house.

The Monastery of the 10,000 Buddhas

2008-01-25T16:04:00.001-08:00

This monastery added another amazing to our list of places we have visited. It is situated on a hill in the middle of the city, but as you walk up the steps (seemed like 10000 of these as well, but about 1/2 mile) There are Buddhas lining the entire way. (pictures) There is a beautiful view of the city from the top, but due to clouds and rain, it doesn't show in the pictures.

At the top there are several shrines and burial places. Here also, relatives bring food for their dead ancestors. Monkeys like this custom and come and steel the food. ( We didn't see any monkeys this day.)

The monastery was started in 1949 under the leadership of Reverend Yuet Kai. It was completed in 1957. Reverend Kai died in 1965 is and is preserved in gold leaves and lacquer in front of the main alter at the temple. (A little freaky) Here is the website 10kbuddhas.org. There aren't many pictures here, but if you Google 10,000 Buddhas you can find other sites with more pictures.

Pictures are of the various Buddhas and temple sights. See if you can find the non-Buddha in the picture of the 3 Buddhas. (Hint, he is not wearing gold!)

Renaissance College Hong Kong

2008-01-25T01:53:00.000-08:00

We toured Bob and Yvonne's school. Bob is the secondary principal (6-12) and Yvonne is a teacher's assistant in Catriona's 1st grade classroom. The school is built right in the middle of the city and is surrounded by high rise buildings. From the outside it looks like an office building as well, with 6th levels. Inside it feels like a refuge from the city around.

The are about 1200 students currently, pre-school to 12th grade and about 25 countries are represented. The students wear uniforms and there is a book store where students buy their own books and can then resell them at the end of the year, just like in college. The building is 2 years old and is state of the art. One of the photos shows a three-level building with a swimming pool on the bottom, gym in the middle and soccer pitch on the roof! Another is a picture of the elementary wing. The picture with the writing on it is the performing arts building with a courtyard in the front and the soccer pitch on the roof. There is also a picture on the primary playground with is on the second floor on a roof.

All in all, it is an amazing place.

Hong Kong, First Day

2008-01-23T17:06:00.000-08:00

For some reason, Hong Kong has been a place I have always wanted to visit. I'm not sure why, James Clavell novels? Shopping? (probably not) The English-Chinese connection? Still not sure why, but anyway, here we go... We traveled into the Kowloon portion of the city with our host Jorgen, who is from Dresden as well, he is married to Catriona who taught with Eleanor. We took the bus into the city and then walked though the Chinese (older part). The streets are filled with shops and restaurants. Each street is dedicated to a product. We walked down the "shoe" street. All the shops sold shoes. Other streets would include clothing, pets, flowers and so on. We had lunch in a very nice little Japanese Restaurant.

We then walked closer down to Victoria Harbor, passing through Kowloon Park. This is a wonderful green space in the middle of the city with many birds, koi and turtles. (picture) The city of Hong Kong will host the Equestrian portion of the Olympics. This is the a monument counting down the start of the Olympics. The red flowers are poinsettias, they grow all over here.

The area of the city nearer the harbor has been rebuilt with designer shops and stores, Nike, Gucci, etc. Jorgen did find the Hard Rock Cafe for me so I could buy a t-shirt. We then walked along the waterfront of the Harbor. It is an amazing sight. This is all just on the Kowloon side. The Hong Kong side of the bay is on the other side and is a huge city as well. There are museums and the "Walk of Stars" along the harbor. The picture is of Eleanor and I with the old train station clock tower in the back ground. The video is of the Hong Kong skyline from the Kowloon side, unfortunately it was a very smoggy day.

We then took the MTR (mass transit rail) bus back out to Bob and Yvonne's house where Yvonne had prepared a wonderful meal for the six of us. (picture).

It was a fantastic day and Hong Kong did not disappoint me one bit. And there is still tons more to see.

Hong Kong

2008-01-23T05:51:00.000-08:00

We arrived on Monday night in Hong Kong and our good friend from Dresden, Bob Stearns picked us up and drove of through Kowloon on the way home to his and Yvonne's apartment in the New Territories. Bob was my principal in Dresden and Yvonne was the librarian at Eleanor's school. There apartment is amazing, with a beautiful view of the bay and also their dog, Fulton. We me Fulton in Dresden as well. The pictures here are of the apartment and of course Pfoten.

The Philippines-Some Random Thoughts

2008-01-21T22:22:00.000-08:00

Here are some random thoughts and facts about the Philippines.

The people were very warm and friendly to us.
The air quality is not good.
There is still a strong U.S. influence in terms of language and products.
There is a wide gap between rich and poor.
There is security around stores, houses (of the wealthy), schools, etc. They are all armed.
Veterinarians make house calls for pets. (Kelly and Simon's cats Popi and Lali are pictured. They were adopted off the streets)
Mountain Dew is available here.
The cost of many things is cheap, but as the dollar declines it gets more expensive. The exchange rate was about 42 pesos to one dollar which is down from the 50's to one dollar.
There are a lot of large vehicles, SUVs etc. (see number 4)
Gas used to be cheaper here, but is now $4 plus per gallon.
We felt safe the entire time during our trip, though at times we were definitely in the minority.
The traffic is very congested and it makes getting around a slow process.
We learned there are at least 4 types of "horn honks". Hello, careful I'm passing you, look out and #!!##. We heard a lot of horns as we traveled around.
There are a lot of shopping malls in Manila, many with designer shops. (see # 4)
There are some very cool sights outside of the Manila area. Try to see some of these if you travel here.
I learned that golf balls are dangerous items. On the way home from our trip to Cebu 3 golf balls in my backpack were identified and I was told that they were "not allowed". I could check them if I wished. Since I couldn't figure out how to get a luggage tag on such a small box, I surrendered them. I am sure they will appear soon on a course near Cebu. (Note: It seems they were okay for the trip from Manila to Cebu. hmmmm)
Most of the island is Catholic (80%). This leads to large families and more people. Many people practice other religions such as Buddhism or attend a protestant church, but still maintain their Catholic connection. Just call it covering all the bases.
May-September relationships. It is common to see older men 50-70 with very young (teenage) girls or boys. The older person gets "companionship" and the younger gets out of poverty. Sad.
The work at Wendy's there are minimum height requirements. Women must be at least 5'2" and men 5'5".
The thing that made our trip the best was having great hosts.

International School of Manila

2008-01-21T21:24:00.001-08:00

On Monday afternoon we toured Simon and Kelly's school, the International School of Manila. It is a state of the art building for 1800 students grades pre-12. There are three separated schools, Elementary, Middle and High School. Simon is the assistant principal of the elementary school (pictured here with Eleanor in their staff room) and Kelly (pictured in her classroom) teaches high school English. The school has two auditoriums, three pools, a beautiful track and rugby field (no that is not a football field!), three libraries, computer labs and on and on. It is a beautiful place to work. Pictures are of the track, pool and elementary playground.

KILUS Foundation

2008-01-21T21:07:00.000-08:00

On Monday we visited the KILUS Foundation, a multipurpose environmental cooperative. This is an amazing operation that turns trash in to usable goods. We met Edith Santiago who is the President of the Co-op. She and her husband lived in Bloomington, Indiana while he studied Environmental Studies at the Un. of Indiana. They formed the Co-op in 1997. KILUS takes trash, juice containers, and turns it into clothes, purses, shoes, carpet, fashion accessories and carry bags. They provide income to women in the neighborhood who work in the small factory making the products. They also provide income to others by purchasing the trash (juice containers). The pictures are of Edith and some of the products. You can view their website at www.kilus.org

Sebu

2008-01-20T16:36:00.000-08:00

For the weekend, Simon and Kelly booked a beautiful resort for us near the city of Cebu in the southern part of the Philippines, the Plantation Bay Resort. We flew down on Sat. morning and back on Sunday evening. Karen Stevens, who taught with Eleanor in Dresden and is now teaching in Manila, joined us as well.

We had a wonderful time, no adventures here like the trip to Tagaytay! The resort is five star with fabulous rooms and a great swimming area. On Saturday it was raining so pool time was limited, though we had a wonderful seafood dinner. (picture). Sunday the sun was out and we swam, snorkeled and got some sun (Mike got a little to much, but oh well.)

This weekend was the Sinulog Festival, similar to "Fat Tuesday". There were many tourists and a big parade in Cebu. A small troupe of kids did a performance for us at the resort. (Picture)

The other pictures are of the building our rooms were in, one on the pools and one of Simon and Kelly in the pool. On Sunday we celebrated Simon's 32 birthday.

Tagaytay

2008-01-20T16:20:00.000-08:00

On Friday we took a trip to a famous volcano in the area name Tagaytay (ta guy tye). It turned out to be a small adventure. The drive took about 90 minutes. The crater is out in the lake and you take a boat to the island. You can hike or ride a pony to the top of the crater. We didn't have time for the trip to the top of the crater, so we signed up for the boat ride. The pictures are of the boats and the island. The live part of the crater is in the middle of the island. The adventure was the boat ride. The wind was blowing 30-40 m.p.h. and the waves were three to four feet. We got tossed about and drenched!! I mean we were wet through and through.

We then had lunch reservations at a 5-star restaurant nearby! Fortunately the dress was casual and the food excellent. We sat in our wet clothes, enjoyed our lunch and slowly dried out! My slightly damp MasterCard was accepted so I didn't have to use my completely soaked Philippine Pesos.

And so, another new adventure!

Manila

2008-01-16T23:42:00.000-08:00

Our first day in Manila was a relaxing one. We slept until 8:00 (which by our body clocks was 4:00 P.M.). We had breakfast and then walked around the shopping mall area where Kelly and Simon live. They had scheduled a trip to the Spa for us and so the massages were great and left us very relaxed. We went to dinner with Simon, Kelly and Karen Stevens at the Hard Rock Cafe (so Mike could get a t-shirt). Karen was Eleanor's teaching partner the first year in Dresden and now teaches here. We had a great time. (See picture).

On day two, Simon and Kelly had booked one of the local cab drivers to give us a driving tour of Manila. It was a very interesting time. We say the very wealthy and the very poor. We also saw tons of traffic and pollution. Highlights were the Chinese Cemetery (picture), Fort Santiago , the famous Bamboo Organ (picture) and the Memorial to those who died here in WWII. In this picture note the Star of David instead of a cross in the front middle. It was the first time we had seen this. In the Chinese Cemetery, people of all faiths are buried. Some of the mausoleums are as big as houses and have caretakers. They used to have air conditioning, but the government turned off the electricity for this. Families also leave favorite snacks and beverages for those buried. I could see a Mountain Dew in my tomb, but then I'm not Chinese so I guess I'm out of luck! We also saw hundreds of Jeepneys (picture) which are used for public transportation. This tradition started after the war with the Jeeps that were left behind being converted to carry people in the rear compartment. Now it is the main form of public transportation.