Life, Times, and Random Observations

One Last Chance to See the Sights

2011-09-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

It took until my last day of work at the bank on Friday to get all the numbers "spot on" as they say here. After we spent a little time to "tidy" things up, I returned from the operations center back to the main bank office to say so long to everyone...I then went out to dinner for what seemed like the first time! I went to a steak place called "RARE". When you order a filet here, you need to know how many grams you'd like it to be. I had a choice of 300 grams or 450 grams. I actually had no presence of mind to visualize what 450 grams looks like or how big that would really be but I just interpreted my choices to mean 8 ounces or 12 ounces (and was hoping it wasn't something like John Candy had to eat in the movie The Great Outdoors when it arrived).

So I am waiting for my dinner and wondering why it is taking long... and where my salad is? The menu said dinner comes with a side salad. I am waiting and waiting and then here comes my steak, potatoes, vegetables....and side dinner salad. Now I know it is a small thing but I thought all people like to have their dinner salad..... before dinner. It turns out in AUS if you want salad before dinner, you need to tell them you want your salad as an entree'!? I guess that means you get it on its' own plate before your actual dinner. I was informed by my waitress that salad before dinner is actually an american custom. In AUS, salad comes with your dinner. So now my dilema is, if I eat the salad first the steak will get cold. If I eat the steak first, my salad my wilt and get soggy.....seems I still have lots to learn.

I woke up Saturday morning wondering what to do besides starting to pack for the long haul home. The sun was shining, spring was in the air, people have been shedding their winter jackets for days now (although some still head up into the high country for snow skiing), people everywhere are preparing for Fathers Day Sunday Sept. 4th (a really big deal around here), and I..... just wanted to be outside. I got the idea to jump on a tram and go to the local zoo....because a) I found out that would be easy to do by tram and b) Simon and Garfunkel said "everything's always happening at the zoo".

After walking all around trying to figure out where to get a tram pass and the right tram line number to get on, I arrived at the Melbourne zoo. It was a beautiful day to be outside. I saw all the usual creatures, real live kangaroos, and koala bears too. I forgot that many young parents with children in strollers all flock to the zoo on such days so getting around myself was a bit hectic with strollers.... and skinny walkways.... everywhere. It was a nice pleasant time though.... and fun watching the elephants and giraff's feeding.

It was also fun to people watch and go about their everyday lives. I got to hear a mom yell and scream at her kids with the full accent and funny words....like "I am going to spank you flat as a lizard if you don't get over here"!?

After I had my fill... I headed on tram line #55 back to the city where I visited Swanston street (jambed packed with shoppers). On the way there, the tram operator announced the stop for the "hey" market. You know.... I have heard of a "straw" market....but never a "hey" market. Now I find myself wondering if there really is such a demand for "hey" or "straw"....and why do we need an entire market (or tram stop) for such? I will have to see what that's all about. In the shopping district, a silver painted guy caught my eye as he was playing the part of a "mime" riding the local trams....very entertaining.

I had walked my last step about 4PM and although it was just a 30 minute walk back to the hotel, I was walking all day....so I opted for a cab....I wasn't "going" very well....and was coming down with a sore throat / cold (probably caught from all the kids / germ bags at the zoo). I thought great, this will make the 24 hours of flying tomorrow a real joy!

With only hours left in Melbourne, I was determined to go out to dinner again....sore throat and all. This time to Donavans down in St. Kilda on the beach (recommened by my work friends). The first thing I did was get the whole dinner salad subject matter taken care of. Dinner was great but very expensive (in fact, everything here is very expensive). Only the cab fares seem reasonable. For the first time ever in my life, I had a steak that cost $80 AUD. That's about $88 USD. All I could think to myself is my Lord, how is this guy going to pay for his huge family of 8 people sitting right next to me? Are we going out to dinner or making a mortgage payment here......I think I am about ready to return home!

Saying Goodbye to New Friends

2011-09-02T04:34:00.000-07:00

As I walked away from the bank today after saying good bye to my new friends, I stopped and took a picture of the building where I spent most of this week. It was an educational experience and a cultural experience too. It was sort of weird saying so long to the people here at the bank because we all knew that chances are, we will never see each other.... ever again. We will certainly talk with one another over the phone, but trips like this overseas just do not happen too often.

We all felt happy to associate a name....to a voice... to a face. To my new friend in operations Tony Todara, I wish you good luck with your new family member Tony. Enjoy your 5 weeks off of work getting "acquainted". I know the conversion has been a "bit of a prick" and left you feeling "necked after work", but your help and effort was greatly appreciated.

To Paul Jeffries, I wish you health and happiness. I enjoyed talking with you Paul and learning all about your work (and your world travels too) very much. To the rest of the team (Mark, Guarav, Jenny, Sammy, and Orianna), it was a pleasure to meet with you. Special thanks to Sahil for making all the local arrangements and most of all, thanks to everyone for so much cooperation in getting this upgrade done.

My acknowledgements would be remiss if I did not mention the one and only Peter Pappas. You are one of a kind Peter, it was great working with you "mate". You are a person filled with personality. I wish your "Footy" team the best of luck. I may even follow the AFL a bit.... even after I return to the US....I want to watch and see how they "crack-em".

You know.....I must say that travelling around the world and making new friends builds character. It shows you that people don't always see the world through the same lenses you are wearing. Meeting the nice people here at ANZed and working with them all week..... is something that will stick with me forever.

De-Cafenated.....

2011-09-01T04:15:00.000-07:00

So after being here for several days, only today I find that the closest thing to normal American coffee with cream is not actually a "long black" at all, it is a "flat white". Yep, even the coffee machines around here have the word "flat white" on them. I was told early on that a long black is the way to go but after trying a flat white today, I am sticking to it. Neither of these choices is anything like Starbucks but "flat white" will do for the remainder of my journey. I did ask for half and half in one cafe' and they looked at me funny asking "half and half of what?". They honestly do not know what half and half is. They have "milk" and "skinny milk" and even some other forms of milk in between but don't even ask for cream (I did that once and they think cream means make your milk foamy by injecting steam into it). My god, I have never tried so hard to get a good god damn cup of coffee in my life.

It is not how you say it, it is what you are saying....

2011-09-01T00:42:00.000-07:00

I think there is only place on earth where people are more keen to security measures in the financial services business arena than the US.....that's right, it is Australia. At the bank today, I learned that ANZ has security officers that walk around the buildings and departments just sort of watching and monitoring. One co-worker told me that when he walked away from his PC once without locking it first, an officer came over, sat down and sent an email to his boss! I couldn't quite understand what he said in the email but the boss wrote back......replied to the email and you can just imagine. They do this to teach a lesson to the people! We were working with some reports today and when we were done with this one pile, I simply grabbed the pages and threw them in the trash can next to my work area....the guy next to me about fell out of his chair diving for the can! He said that if a security officer walked by and saw that.....it could be his job! Now all this could have to do with the PAYMENTS area I was working in where employees are literally authorizing millions of dollars in cash movements (between other banks) every day. Anyway, I was very intrigued by all this....

At the end of the day, the guy I was working with (Tony) says he is absolutely "necked". Now I wanted to say listen dude, I am not really interested.....but he laughed and could NOT believe I have never heard that word! I told him I know what naked is, just not necked. Clearly, he was tired. After work I went into a store to do some shopping and when you do this, the clerks come up to you and say "How are you going?". Well, I just said I am not going anywhere but in the store?!? The funny thing is that I would get it if they said, "how are you doing?" or "how is it going?", but nooooooooo, they want to know "How Are You Going". The next time someone says that to me, I am going to say....... "By Walking", that is how I am going!

Big City....Bright Lights

2011-08-31T04:47:00.000-07:00

Haven't had much of an opportunity to add to the blog these last few days. It has been all work followed by utter exhaustion at night after work. I have completely conformed to the new time zone now as yesterday was the first time I stayed up past 8PM and thought nothing of it. Working with the people at the office has taught me more about the cuture of the people who live here. For some odd reason, most men here are extremely skinny. I don't mean some, I mean almost every one of them. I am convicned that if I see someone who looks a little heavy, he's not even from here. I don't know why this is but I can tell you there are odd things on the breakfast buffet here every morning at the hotel. How about a big bowl full of 10" long carrots that are 1" in diameter? Yeah, nothing like a big ole carrot with your Starbucks......wait a minute, there is no Starbucks. I am told the closest thing I can find to American coffe is a "long black". Even the coffee machines have "long black" buttons on them. So what the hell is a "long black?". Near as I can tell, this black gook comes out of the machine when making coffee and the black stuff keeps coming out for longer peiods compared to other coffees.

They have salads on the breakfast buffet too....I mean like dinner salads with onions.....not to mention smoked salmon. Salmon comes with everything....breakfast , noon, and night. I have been eating so much salmon, my skin is staring to feel a little scaley (not really)! The food is weird though, right next to every salmon plate at every meal is lean HAM. These people eat more HAM than anything else. Like in London....HAM is like their steak. Anyway, I have never seen so many skinny males in my life.....you must see it to believe it.

The language continues to catch my attention. The people here use very common English words but in combinations that are odd. I over heard a fellow worker today on the phone saying these exact words....."Fair enough, I will ring up my mate so we can have a bit of a chat...and I am sure he'll take care of it....straight away". The people don't call people on the phone....they "ring them up".

We had a video conference today which was interesting in that the people we were meeting with were from New Zeeland, Auckland, and Wellington. Last week, I couldn't tell you.... where these places are on a map, but now I know people who actually live there. On the Victoria license plates, it says "The Place to Be". Queensland (another state way up north) is considered "the sunshine state". Yesterday we met with IT support .... on the phone in Bangladore. I still am not sure where the hell that place is! What seems weird is that the people all around here are very engaged with other surrounding countries.

Anyway, life here is just like any big city. You have to get out in the bush I guess to see something that is unique to the region. It's weird for me that people here go UP NORTH for warm weather vacations in the winter time.....yes, UP NORTH is closer to the equator. I used the term "dear in the headlights" today and people sort of laughed..... because they don't have deer here....they have kangaroos..... and those things are hit by cars much like deer are back home.

Anyway, found a free moment this evening to jot down a few things as I took the photo attached outside my window. It looks like any other city but spend a day listening to all the people having conversations.... and you'll soon find that "Dorothy, we are not in Kansas anymore", we are in the land of "Ozzies".

Getting Familiar

2011-08-28T13:52:00.001-07:00

After waking up (very early) Sunday morning I felt like a new person. I have learned more than once that when travelling so very far away, it really does take some time to recover...and feel normal once again (whatever normal is). It was a beautiful sunny morning so I decided to venture out for a walk and see how far I was from the bank I was here to work with. There is a nice river walk along the banks of the Yarro river that take me much of the way to where I need to be. One of the photos above is a fancy walking bridge across the river and my hotel is in the background. There are businesses and apartments all along the river through town. After about a 20 minute walk, I arrived at ANZ Bank (they don't say Zeeee here though, it is ZED). Technically I am working at A N Zed. Weird but true.

There are actually a number of tiny quirks in the language I am finding. The people here don't call anyone on the phone....they "ring" them. I overheard a person talking to another saying "I rang my mate and told her I'd be late". Just sort of struck me funny.

I stopped at the Melbourne visitor center which was near the bank and talked with some nice people there about where to go and what to do. They advised me to jump on a tram and go to the beach where there was always interesting things to see and do. I included a picture of what the TRAM looks like. They are sort of a hop-on / hop-off transportation system and reminded me of the trams in Portland.....important to have ticket on hand in case an "inspector" hops on they say!

I walked around the beach front and just enjoyed the sunny day walking around and seeing people and how they lived. After I became tired of walking aimlessly, I jumped on another tram and headed back to more familiar turf downtown (about 3 miles from the beach), and eventually back to my hotel.

It seems everything in this city is all about RUGBY. It is on just about every TV station there is. I have been watching because of little choice and I think I am learning a bit of how the game is played. One thing for sure....it is a very rough sport! It reminds me of the "ultimate fighters" and UFC fighting.....with the only difference being someone just gave a bunch of them a very round football and threw a whole bunch of them out on a field and said have at it....half of you try and take the ball this way, the other half try and take it that way....now go beat the crap out of each other as you try.

My day ended about 8PM as I could stay awake no longer. I crashed once again but this Monday morning.....I am feeling even more normal now.

On the Ground Again.......

2011-08-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

Melbourne is on the southern edges of the country and the weather seems to be a bit nicer than Sydney. After we landed and I made my way through customs, I was asked to participate in training a dog that smells baggage and lets authorities know that "something a'int right". The officer said the dog needs motivation and encouragement so success once in a while is important for the dog. The guy sticks a sausage that is a foot long inside my zipper bag and asks me to proceed to the next check point. I told the guy the damn sausage was so large (an inch thick) I think that I smell it! I thought if the dog misses this one....... The pooch nearly went ballistic as I walked by, go figure. Apparantly..... neither explosives OR FOOD is allowed to be brought into Australia!

I made my way to the STAR bus which is a hotel shuttle serving the downtown hotels. A local rep for the bus there helped me find where I get on the bus, helped me with my luggage loading the bus and then refused to accept a tip for his help. The bus driver came over and helped out too and even he would not take a tip. Then the door man at the Hilton helps me with all of it and wheels all my luggage into the hotel and right up to my room! He will not accept a tip! Well, in reading the local magazine a little later it says tipping here in Australia is not customary. They will be accepted in some places and situations, but it is not a custom and not expected. In some businesses, an employee is not allowed to accept a tip. WOW! Steve Weiland must have loved being here!

I unpacked and took a long shower to clean the essence of "airport" off of me. I went out for a walk along the south wharf and the banks of the Yarra River which runs throught the city. I quickly realized that utter exhaustion was settling in and my head started to ache. Doing the math, I realized that I had slept for about 8 of the last 50 hours. I thought about what sleep depravation does to a person.......then headed back to my room and was fast asleep by 7PM local time.

Brisbane for Breakfast

2011-08-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

The flight left LAX at about 10:30PM PST and as soon as we levelled off, dinner was served. I watched a movie while dinner was served but didn't finish it. Not 2 hours into the flight I hit the magic button that told the seat to go completely flat out 180. I completely passed out but awoke wondering "did I fall asleep"? Am I...for the first time ever going to have trouble sleeping now? I thought to myself, I should have listened to Colleen and take some drugs! I laid there half awake wondering about my sleep plan....about how am I going to spend my free day recovering from travel? The deck 2 cabin was black and I thought to myself, I might be the only one awake! I grabbed my phone and lit the clock up....It said 9:50 AM LA time! I had been unconscious for about 8 hours! I was shocked at how great I felt! I figured my snoring must have kept everyone around me up until they just couldn't stay awake anymore.... so they all just passed out. Minutes later I was drinking my first cup of coffee. Two hours later everyone was up and anxiously awaiting breakfast.

Then the announcement came: We have good news and bad news, the good news is that we are ahead of schedule, the bad news is that Sydney will not let us land until 6AM local time due to an airport curfew, and....we don't have enough fuel to circle Sydney while we wait for the airport to open! Sooooooo.... ladies and gentleman, we are going to Brisbane International Airport! They will not let us off the plane to walk around there (customs was not prepared for our clan), but they will give us some fuel!

So we landed in Brisbane, were served breakfast on the ground, and were entertained out the window by the guys who rolled out of bed a bit unexpectantly to come and re-fuel our plane. When the process was done we rolled back out to the taxi way. It was light now so we could see outside and it was rather clear to me that the taxi ways, runways, and the entire airport in general, didn't seem made for 747's. I was sure our wheels were going to hit the mud!

We did make it out though and United was kind enough to hold my plane in Sydney so I could get to Melbourne. They did make us hustle though, the airport looked like an upscale mall but I missed most of it on the run. I was doing great until I was randomly selected to be make sure I wasn't carrying any explosives as I went through "international carry-on bag transfer". It is now 10:40 AM local time Saturday morning August 27th. Don't ask me where Friday August 26th went, but we are about to land in Melbourne. Good morning Australia!

Decisions....Decisions

2011-08-26T20:22:00.000-07:00

On the way into LAX, I kept thinking about my sleep plan except....I couldn't decide. Then I realized that while in LA on the ground this would be my only chance (for hours on end) to relay my thoughts on my fantasy football selections to my wife (we have a pretty tough crowd in the league...if you delay your choice too long, everyone starts writing really nasty emails to you). After reviewing my final fantasy football selection options and sending them off to Peg via email, I heard the announcement, it is time to begin boarding.

They use two seperate entrances to board the 747-400 so my first confusion was which door to use? After deciding that any old door should at least get me on the plane (or as Richard Pryor always preferred....IN the plane), I was quickly faced with another decsion about where to go. Now when boarding a cruise ship one always is concerned with "which deck are we on? For the first time that I can remember though, I had to figure out "which deck" of the plane I was on! Turns out I was up one deck so I took the stairs up to my seat some two stories above the LAX tarmac and sort of gazed around wondering what all the control buttons around me do? For a moment I thought to myself "what the heck are all these buttons and switches for?", am I supposed to be flying this thing? I quickly learned that 8 of the illuminated lights simply repositioned my seat from head to toe. After finding the perfect spot for all eight controls, I texted each member of my immediate family and told them that "if my plane runs out of fuel somewhere over the Southern Cross, I just wanted them to know that I love them very much". More about fuel later (I almost jinxed us!). About the same time that my last text message was sent, we were rolling down the LAX runway (yeah I cheated a little).

Phase I Segment I Complete 4 Hours Down 18 to Go

2011-08-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

As I suspected, the flight to LA seemed like a Sunday drive in the country. Does anybody actually go for a Sunday drive anymore? What happened? Anyway, I get to sit in the red carpet club even though I am not a member....nice. Time to re-charge the electronics and catch up on the Fantasy Football draft. I will have to leave Peg my next 4 picks because the long haul puts me out of touch with the league.

My flight to Sydney is being delayed a bit because they do not want anyone landing there before 6AM. Clearly they do not understand the anxiety of the people on a full 747-400 after they have been in the air for 16 hours.

I am being told I will have dinner and breakfast on this long haul but nobody seems to be able to tell me which order they are coming in. Once I figure that out, I will come up with a sleeping plan. I have never had to plan my sleep before....then again, I've never had to count on my wonderful wife to draft my fantasy football team either.

The Journey Begins

2011-08-25T14:48:00.001-07:00

Preparing for my trip to Melbourne, Victoria Australia was pretty much the same as preparing for any business trip, but it just felt different. I never needed a visa to go to Defiance, Ohio or a foreign currency to go on a trip to Miami (although when in Miami I do wonder if USD is accepted everywhere).

The weirdness I feel inside is simply the distance involved I think. I feel like I am headed for the dark side of the moon. I will never be farther away from the ones I love. I am sure that once I arrive, everything will seem normal...I just will not know a soul in the entire hemisphere!

It is now 5:00PM CST on Thursday (sitting in ORD) and they tell me I will arrive in Melbourne on Saturday morning at 9:40 AM. Hmmmmm....it seems I am heading through some sort of time warp as I change hemispheres. At the right time, I will recline myself and sleep while trusting the crew(s) to keep us on course. Flying first to Los Angeles, the Chicago to California trip will never seem as short.... as it will tonight.....knowing the long haul is just ahead.

I find comfort in knowing that when I arrive, the signs will all be in English and the people will all speak English (or some form of it anyway) . I also find comfort in knowing the local Hilton will make me feel right at home. Home though.....will never be so far away.

What It Is All About

2009-07-06T12:02:00.000-07:00

The book Carie got me for last Christmas had a line in it that said that Parents are always trying to teach kids all about life but kids are actually trying to teach parents, what life is all about. There is a lot of truth in that statement. As parents, we get all caught up in work, in schedules, and all sorts of things, and then when spending some time with your grandchild, you pick up on little things you once knew, but somehow forgot.....like how amazing it is to see an ant crawling. Only a two year old could figure out how to pick up an ant, show it to her grandpa, and let it go again without killing it! It was amazing to see how Madison could be just fascinated with tree bark. It seemed she could look at it for hours. I think she could probably see little creatures I can't even see anymore! Tucker is absolutely amazed with just about anything you put in front of him....especially your own face......the little guy will return a smile at the speed of light.

Panoramic Maddy

2009-07-06T10:15:00.000-07:00

As days went by, Madison became more and more independent. She would just leave the yard and go over to visit the neighbors house as they were weeding the garden, etc. I stitched 5 photos together here to show Madison off on her own!

A Flower Girl

2009-07-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

I have never seen anyone quite so intrigued with flowers as Madison. Everywhere we went, she wanted to pick a flower and take it with her. The flowers just somehow catch her attention and at that moment, she must have one. At one point, the flowers on the side of the house were too tough to pick.....so she grabbed my hand, pulled me over to the flowers, and made it very clear that she had to have one!

Fun in the Sun on a Sunday

2009-07-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July cookout with the Conroy family had Grandma and I hopping all day. Cousins Valerie, Joey, and Tommy all had a ball playing with the kids. My only regret is that I didn't get a chance to take any pictures. Maybe Aunt Martha will send us some because she took lots of photos of all of us!

Sunday we discovered that Tucker likes SesameStreet.Org just as much as Maddy. I never saw him bounce so high in his bouncy bounce as when Cookie appears on the screen and eats the apples as fast as Count can count them. I thought he was going to jump out of that bouncer!

Sunday was a gorgeous sunny day so we all went outside for some photos and exploration.

Saturday's Lesson...Bubbles 101

2009-07-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

On Saturday the 4th of July, Madison taught me that one can easily be fascinated by both the blowing of bubbles and being on the computer. Clearly one should not confine themselves to the computer alone. Imagine my surprise when she started popping bubbles one by one with her fingers while singing the A, B, C's. Who would have thought that each bubble can represent a letter of the alphabet? I was worried whether I still had enough juice to get to Z....and what her reaction would be if I didn't!

Welcome to Grandpa and Grandma's House

2009-07-06T08:54:00.000-07:00

We were paid a visit Friday after lunch by our grandchildren! Unlike previous visits though, this time they would be staying with us for a whole 3 nights so mom and dad could get away for the 4th of July weekend festivities in Land O Lakes, WI. We quickly re-discovered life with very little children. They are mesmorized by the smallest things one can imagine. After not having them for so long......and then having them once again for days, I wondered to myself exactly when in our lives as people do we lose the ability to be mesmorized by simple little things? And who would have thought that tiny little children can teach grandparents a thing or two....like it is entirely possible to eat yogurt with either end of a normal spoon? And when it seems one cannot possibly get any more yogurt out of a cup, all one has to do is reach in with your fingers and you will find even more? Little ones remind you too that there are other ways to communicate besides email and iPhones. Maddy taught me that if she gets her blanket and comes over to stick her finger in my mouth, that means she wants to go to sleep....works every time.

Mom told us that our 7th month old grandson was a p-machine but we actually found him to be more of a smiling drool machine. Tucker's lower lip looks just a little like my leaky faucet except he doesn't have a built in drain! Mom's instructions warned us that sometimes and for no reason at all, little Tucker would stop smiling and start expressing some wild unhappiness via his vocal chords. We had this exhilerating experience about 7 hours into the weekend.....thank God we knew what it was! Funny thing is, it never once happened again!

Another Year Gone By.....

2009-06-28T16:54:00.000-07:00

It seems like yesterday that my brothers and I were at the Countryside Golf Course in Mundelein, IL playing 18 holes and enjoying the sun, the fun, and the beer. That was actually a year ago though, and now we once again have found ourselves out on the course....lie'n about what we're lay'n......never care'n about what we're sayin, and talkin about our lives.

Golf really is a great game. It gives us all an excuse to get together and enjoy the sunshine, the green grass, and getting a year older. None of us are any good really, but every once in a while we'll hit a great shot, possibly get a par, and think to ourself.....damn I'm good, so I need to keep playing this game. The truth is none of us are very good at all, and we often lie about our score. The important thing though is that we keep on trying and keep on playing. We're all another year older now and probably deeper in whatever....but it makes no difference. The game of golf gives us all an excuse to see one another, laugh about our misfortunes, and remember that we all started our life journey together as very young boys, under the toughest of circumstances.

None of us are likely to improve as players of this game, but hopefully we'll continue to make time for days like this......because even the good lord knows, our days are numbered. When we get together, most talk is about the past and most of that is nothing but the good times. Somehow, we only seem to remember the good times. Somehow, the worst of times are automatically filtered out of our brains and out of our conversations. It is the good times that come to the surface.

It may only be once or twice a summer, but I am quite sure the three of us will soon play again. As for this day, we only got 17 of the 18 holes in but Bob and I are going to give John a pass on this one....because when he got that phone call at the 16th t-box and started talking about a need to get home all of a sudden, we all just knew it was time to go!

2009-06-22T17:32:00.000-07:00

After being completely skunked on Saturday, we knew our luck barometer could only move in one direction. We fished again Sunday morning on Forest Lake. The fish seemed to be over the thunder and lightening and once again were ready for feeding. The sun came out, the day got hot, but we were still able to land a few in Wiseman's Bay. We ended up catching 24 decent size fish for the weekend. Had the storms not arrived, who knows what would have been possible.

What a Difference a Day Makes

2009-06-21T12:55:00.000-07:00

After our fish fry dinner at Bents Camp we headed back onto the water, this time to our favorite Bass lake deep in the woods....Tower Lake. I could tell you exactly how to get there, but I then I would have to kill you as this is classified information. The night seemed perfect for fishing and we got there at just the right time, but thunder storms started brewing so canoeing too far from the launch made me a bit nervous. It seems the fish became nervous as well because on a night we would normaly have them jumping into the boat, we were only able to land 3 bass making it 19 for the day. The elaborate cloud formations, the thunder, and the cracklit lightening in the distance were enough to make me want to paddle back and pack it in for the night. We never actually got rained on but we knew (as did the fish) that "sumpin was up".

We made it back to the cabin for a late night campfire and as Billy would say, "some chillin". We couldn't decide what movie to watch before going to bed so Billy closed his eyes and grabbed one off the shelf. Ironically, it was Twister! As we were watching the cows and semi trucks fly through the air (and hearing a fierce rainstorm outside the cabin) we noticed water dripping off the wood stove pipe and trickling down the wall where the wood stove enters the chimmney. The water inside the cabin walls was a first for me. I attributed it to the unusual terrential rain that was now falling sideways outside.....and went to bed. There is something about sleeping to the sound of rip-roaring rain!

We woke up Saturday morning to sunshine, blue skys....and warm weather. I decided it was time to fix whatever was wrong with the lawnmower and put Billy to work. Side Note: If you've ever thought about owning a summer home, please keep in mind that they are only meant for people who don't think they have enough work to do around their main residence.
It turns out the mower wan't working because some of the local mice decided to do some new construction inside the air filer chamber. I will say they were well protected from winter weather as there wasn't one R-value of warm air loss going through that air filter when they were done building!

After cleaning the air filter and demoloshing the mice family home, the mower worked like a charm and Billy cut the grass for me while I checked out the water levels in our fishing boat and canoe. It wasn't long before we were fishing once again, this time on Forest Lake (not a bite), then on an un-named Lake (still no bites), then George Lake (still skunked), then Wood Lake (now wondering what the Hell as happended to our fishing). After 19 fish yesterday, I was reminded while fishing, that the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. It appears that the thunder storms of the previous evening had completely spooked the fish into lethargism (if that is even a word). Let's just say they were not biting. On Saturday June 20th, 2009 we did not land a single fish.....and between the two of us, there had to be some 300 casts that day.

We did get a little sun burned though, and we did take some time out for a great dinner at the Red Man Inn. I never saw anyone clean 20 barbecue rib bones as well as Billy did on Saturday night. Despite no fish, we had a good time trying and we found a few new fishing spots in the process (good weeds/structure). I mentioned no name Lake above, not because I am trying to keep a secret, but simply because according to our maps, it simply has no name! After giving up at Wood Lake, we once again ended up at the campfire pit, where Billy had a new fire all ready to go. We both grabbed a drink, sat by the fire, listened to the loons, and wondered how bright the stars would look tonight. I told Billy I was surprised that he didn't ask me if he could bring one of his friends up north this trip....to see what it is like up here. I told him I was ready for that question and would have gladly let him do so if he asked, but he never even asked. He said he didn't ask because he thought I wanted it to be a "me and him" sort of thing. Somehow, not catching one fish today seemed just fine with me.

Some Things Never Change....Some Things Do.....

2009-06-19T14:25:00.001-07:00

While watching all the problems in the office being dealt with on my blackberry (and not worrying a bit), Billy and I canoed around Joyce Lake Friday afternon. This lake can be found a few miles South of Hwy B. in Land O Lakes while driving on Hwy. S. It wasn't long before we caught our 9th fish of the day and that quickly turned into 10, 11, and so on. By the time we left Joyce Lake, we still had problems at the office, wet clothes from the rain, and no less than 17 fish either up to the canoe side or in it, for the day. We started catching them so often we just started shaking them off the hook and didn't even bother bringing them in the boat. Of all the fish we got, only one was a northern pike (Forest Lake), 3 were smal mouth bass (Joyce Lake), and then somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 or 13 large mouth (both lakes). The biggest of the day I caught as we were leaving Joyce Lake....a largemouth that must have been 3 or 4 pounds (see photo).

We sometimes wonder about the mystique of up north and why we return whenever we can. I think the reason is that things do not change there. The water may go up and down, but the little red cabin pretty much just stays there waiting for the next visitor. For every new store that ever appears in town, there is another that just shut down. I am sure many people drive through Land O Lakes and wonder whether it is being built up, or torn apart. While the town never changes and the lake life never changes, one thing for sure....we do change. I cannot tell you what a difference it makes when Billy stands up in the canoe here in 2009, when just a few years ago, you could not tell he was even in the canoe! And while making our way to the store called the Tackle Box this morning, I could clearly see that it looked very much the same as it has for years, but I still knew that the years have gone by however, because Billy was driving the truck when we parallel parked in front!

Well, time for a little rest, a little dinner at Bents Camp , a little time to fix the gas line, a little of watching Billy split wood with an AX, and we will then be off to Tower Lake for a little more fishing.

A Road Often Travelled

2009-06-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

The truck was packed, the batteries were charged, and at 5PM Thursday Jun 18th, Billy and I were heading north on Hwy. 45 for the 47th parallel. If you check your world Atlas, you will find the 47th runs right through Eagle River, WI. We were heading north for yet another fathers day weekend of fishing and living the cabin life for a few days. The drive went much easier than I expected as we had dry traffic-less travel almost the entire way here. We wasted little time getting gas at one stop, a couple of burgers at another, and finally cream for the morning coffee at our final and third stop. We pulled into Andrules Hide-A-Way at 11:04PM and according to my GPS friend, we would have been here at 10:34PM if we never stopped at all. Then again, the GPS is not able to see my gas guage. We unloaded the truck, got comfortable real quick, and were sleeping by mid night.

Billy woke up about 7:30AM Friday morning to find the lake just a little lower, the pier a little longer, and the grass a little higher. We had some breakfast, got gas for the boat, bought the 2009 license, and quickly discovered why the 5 1/2 motor tank had no gas....the primer/pump in the gas line had dry rotted to the point a hole broke through. When I went to prime the gas line, the gas was spewing out of the primer all over. We quickly decided it was a good morning for canoe fishing. By 8:30 AM we were between the islands on Forest Lake and just barely making our way through the lilly pads when Bill caught the first fish of the year!

A Welcome Back....To Reality

2009-06-01T14:31:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed many things about sailing on HAL (Holland America Line). We always tell people that we have no favorite cruise line really, because they all differentiate themselves by a collection of little things. One of the little things HAL does is that they allow you to stay in your stateroom as long as you like on dis-embarkation day, even after your number/color is called for leaving the ship. The other nice little difference on HAL is that they will still deliver you a room service breakfast on the day of dis-embarkation. Most other cruise lines have no room service on the last day. A difference of much larger proportion is the HAL beds, I think the matress on our bed was about 16 inches thick and perhaps the most comfortable of any of the cruise lines!

By 8:30AM, our number (one of the last) was called so Peg and I began to leave our sureal European experience. The airport Marriot in Barcelona was more efficient than expected upon arrival on the dock with their shuttle driver waiting for us / our luggage right outside the terminal (holding up a sign so we could find him). For 10 Euro each, the driver was bussing people to the Marriot by the airport (BCN). We dumped our bags in our tiny European hotel room (which had no normal electrical outlets for anything) and was about 1/3 the size of a normal hotel room.

Peg and I jumped on a free shuttle to the city center in Barcelona. The driver left us at Plaza Espanya (sort of in the middle of things). Ironically I was telling Peg how fun it was in London to take a double decker Red bus around the city when one of these busses pulled right up. We thought it would be a great way to see all of Barcelona by jumping on the Orange line for the east side of town and then transfer to the green line for the west side. I got some great pictures of churches and other architectural marvels including some of the facilities used for the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona. We walked down the Las Ramblas area where everything seems to be happening in the city except being Sunday, most businesses were closed. It was odd to see so many stores and shopping centers completely closed because it was Sunday! After shooting pictures all day we ended up in a small cafe enjoying some of the local wine and food (pizza and payeia....a seasoned rice dish filled with seafood in this case). After we had our dinner, we headed back to the main plaza and found hoards of people heading up to the local stadium for a footbal game (these people are more passionate about soccer than Amercians are about the NFL). We were amazed at all the people. In the midst of it all was a large group of young people dressed in goth / completely black clothing and weird wigs. We could not for the life of us figure out what these demonstrators were trying to say or what their point was. Even the locals looked at them weird.

We caught our shuttle back to the airport hotel and were now totally exhausted. I felt especially worn out just thinking about the 4:00AM wake up call for the 6:55AM flight to Paris and then the change of terminals / more security checkpoints / more passport station checks / topped off by our 8 1/2 hour flight to Chicago where we would fly ahead of the sun all day. Right now we are decending into the Chicago area and the local time is 12PM Non. My watch says 7:00PM still. As we fly over Lake Michigan, the monitor on the seat back in front of me says we have now travelled 4,082 miles since leaving Paris this morning, and we have about 60 miles to go!

We are definitely back in reality now.

Next Stop.....The Eastern Coast of Spain, Wake Me When We Are There

2009-06-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

We sailed away from Italy Friday night traveling just north of of the island of Corsica. I have no idea what is there but I did notice a huge ferry in Livorno taking people and cars to and from Corsica. It is a large island just off the coast of Italy about 20-30 miles or so. I didn't know this of course until one day Peg and I were checking out the world map books on display in the ships' library. They had a special table set up for these giant world map books with two of them open all the time across the table for people to view. The books were 3 feet tall by 2 feet wide!

Saturday was sort of an odd day as cruising goes. We woke up to a day at sea as we crossed the Mediterranean heading for Barcelona, Spain. The day was odd because we were going to pull into Barcelona at 5PM that day and dock the ship for the last time of our cruise. The morning started with a special presentation of the ship crew members. No less than 300 of the crew from all walks of ship life got up on stage in the main show room as the crowd (and we) all cheered in appreciation for all that the crew had done for us in the past two weeks. The crew ended the presentation with a song about love and people from all walks of life.....and learning to get along together. The show was great and it was the crew's way of saying good bye to everyone. The theatre was packed and I would be lying if I didn't tell you that the moment was a bit emotional for everyone. It reminded me a bit about something we heard a performer say one night. It was something like, "how is it that people will come on to a ship as total strangers and make new best friends of almost everyone they encounter, but on the streets of a city....people walk by each other and wouldn't give you the time of day if you asked?". It is a strange but true observation.

After the lines were tossed and the ship was tied, many people headed into town to see Barcelona. Peg and I decided to relax and wait until Sunday morning when we actually dis-embarked the ship to go into town. We spent our final day / night on the ship going to special shows that were put together by the singers and other special entertainers of the cruise. We saw the Irish Celtic Band "Live Wire" perform once again and the tenner known as Drew Preston.... sing a few more songs. Saturday evening, just the 4 lead singers from the song and dance team performed a unique show called a tribute to Broadway. These 4 singers were perhaps the most talented we have ever seen on a ship. Each and every one of their shows was just filled with energy and spectacular performances. Saturday night was no exception. After the last show, we packed our bags, prepared for the early morning exit, and called it a day. Saturday was weird in that we sailed into the port and sort of watched our cruise come to an end....slowly but surely.

The Gateway To Tuscany

2009-06-01T14:11:00.001-07:00

We left Rome at 8 PM Thursday and began sailing across the Tyrrhenian Sea for Livorno, Italy. By the time we woke up, the ship was already tied to the pier and people were disembarking the ship for tours to Pisa, Florence, and other spots in the Tuscan region. It seems Livorno is a gateway to Tuscany. Peg and I were too tired to take on anything real adventurous or involving additional travel today so after breakfast and getting dressed we just wandered into town and eventually came upon a tour boat operator selling rides through the canals of Livorno and telling all about the history. The boat was very much like a motorized Gondola and turned out to be fun.

This was a pretty low key activity so we paid the 10 Euros each and went along for the ride. I thought of it as a vacation from our vacation. The waterway took us all through the town and the guide told us all about the various buildings and the history behind them (including stories about which structures were damaged in the war and how some structures were never repaired...see the cracks in the walls of the fortress built to protect the town from the sea). It was a very relaxing day and we spent the entire afternoon back on the ship.

We later learned that while the taxi/tour operators wanted 100 Euros and more to drive the 15 miles to Pisa, one could hop on a local bus to the train station (bus #1 at the town square in Livorno) and the train woulld take you to Pisa, Florence, and back all for about 9 Euro.

Our french friend we met on board named Suresh did this with his wife Veronia and said it was very easy...and they had lots of fun. They got off the train in Pisa and went by the tower for a while, only then to re-board a later train that took them on an additional one hour ride through Tuscany to Florence. Suresh said the cathedral in Florence was absolutely amazing. I had no idea the train to Pisa was as easy to take as the one going to Rome (just a different direction). We did hear later in the evening tht some of the people who did the shore excursion through the cruise line did pay a lot for it and also had no idea it could have been done so much cheaper by train. In reading about Pisa, I found out that there has been some excavation work done at the base of it so the tower is actually leaning a little less these days (about 5" less). Engineers have excavated the base of the tower in such a way that they hope the base will continue to move and the tower itself will right itself by about another 15 inches! It did occurr to me that if the tower stops leaning all together, Pisa may not get all the tourists there to come and see it!

While we did miss Florence and Pisa, we enjoyed just hanging out on the ship for a day of relaxation. The people who did make it all the way to Florence (about 1.5 hours from the port) all seemed to just love it. Florence and Pisa are for sure on our list of future things to do, but it sounds like taking the train is the ticket!

We left Livorno by slowly pulling away from the dock and turning the ship towards Spain. Looking at the port made us realize that visitng the country of Italy was a sureal experience. Having only been there for the first time in our lives, who could say whether we would ever be back again? Of course we would love to return, but life truely is like a box of chocolates.

If we ever do return, I want to go back to the Straights of Messina and this time stop there to see the town. I talked to a crew member who has been sailing the Meditteranean Sea for 7 years now, he told me the stop in Messina on the island of Siciliy is his favorite place amongst them all.

When in Rome....Avoid the Romans

2009-05-29T09:22:00.001-07:00

The arrangements for our day in Rome....did not go even close to plan. After several changes in plans and then Peg experiencing difficulty with her knee after all the walking (especially Pompei), I ended up on a train to Rome from Civitevechia on my own. Peg knew the walking was going to be just too much for her now swollen knee.

If cost is very important to you, taking the train is by far the best way to go to Rome from the cruise port. It may not be the most comfortable (poor air conditioning, limited seating, etc.). As many web sites will describe, the train station is about 4 or 5 blocks to your right as you leave the port. I bought a train ticket for 9 Euro and found out later that it is good for all trains and busses all day. The person selling the tickets spoke no English (no capiche) and basically waived me off when I tried to ask a question. I did find a uniformed person closer to the platform that was able to describe that I needed to go to track #3. The trains to and from Roma run every 30 minutes and the trip takes about 1 hour 20 minutes. I read it was a good idea to get off at the St. Peter Square train stop (about 3 stops short of the main Roma station) but I didn't do that and instead opted to go all the way in to the main station. I ended up having to get a cab because the main station is a good mile or two from anything else it seems. I had no idea of even what direction to walk in. I didn't study this as much as I wished I had because we were going to have a driver for the day before all of the plans changed.

The cab driver at the Roma station wanted 25 Euro to go about 2 or 3 miles to the Coloseum (at least one other cab driver wanted $50!). I ended up sharing a cab with another couple and before long we were at the Coloseum. The Coloseum is a massive place and a bit overwhelming at first. There are people everywhere wanting to sell you a private tour or some special deal. There are guys dressed like Roman soldiers wanting you to pay them for pictures. A few of us from the ship ended up getting talked into a private tour with about 15 people. If you go in on your own, the line is about an hour long to enter. If you are in a group, they let the group right in and bypass everyone. The entry fee was about 12 Euro and it cost me 25 to be in the group (which included the 12 Euro entry fee) and avoid the line. If you consider how informative the speaker was AND how short your day is going to be, I have to say it is well worth it! I learned in Pompei that if you do not do a private tour guide, you will see all sorts of things but have little idea of (or have to guess at) what you are actualy looking at.

I learned that the Coloseum was actually once all faced in white marble which was later stolen off the structure...leaving the brick and stone structure it is today. I also found out the floor to the arena was actually supported by stone pillars and walls but constructed of wood and covered with sand/dirt. All the wood is gone today of course, but the stone and brick walls still stand. You can see the corridors where wild animals were kept and make shift primative elavators were. It is very erie to see the underground of the arena today. The tour guide pointed out where the emporer, the senate, etc.would all sit. Apparently it was free to attend the happenings in the arena but there was definitley seating sections for different classes of people.

There were two main entrances for the gladiators, both identified by the very tall arched entrances (one on each end of the arena). There are still very small amounts of marble to be found. We walked across one such section of white marble. In one corridor, there is the remains of a white marble life size horse on display....I was amazed to find it was only recently uncovered and carefully excavated in 2008. The horse has no head or legs, but it is clearly a horse... complete with saddle / all pure marble. A single hoof to the horse was also found and is also on display there.

Toward the end of the private tour a few of us from the ship split up and went in different directions. I met Al, Wayne, Wanda, and Nikki from northern Florida and Wayne seemed to know his way around as he had done all of this before. I asked them if they minded me hanging around with them for the day as we were all sort of in the same boat together (a few hours left in Rome, a ship leaving at 8PM, and an unknown train ride of 1.5 hours back to a town I can hardly say much less spell). At this point I had seen the Coloseum, the Forum, and the Arch of Constantine, when everyone decided they really wanted to fo to St. Peters Basilica in the center of Vatican City. While there were so many things to see and do in Rome, I decided that focusing on one thing like the Vatican might be the best idea rather than chasing all over after other sites to see.

We took bus #571 from the main bus stop across the street from the entrance to the Coloseum and in a few miles, we were at the entrance to St. Peter's and blown away by how long the line is. After pondering the idea once again of a private tour guide... and walking right in, we noticed this long, long line moves VERY fast. After wasting 15 minutes wondering what to do we got in line and ended up inside St. Peters Basilica in about 20 minutes! The sites inside are too awesome to describe and the pictures do not do justice to the place. The building itself takes the shape of a cross. There are more alters, statues, paintings, stain glass windows, and other religous scenes inside St. Peters than you can possibly imagine. You literally cannot believe your eyes. At the center of the building where the cross shaped structure....structurally crosses, there are the words at the alter which say ".......and upon this rock, I shall build my church". It was pretty awesome to see and hard to believe. We were all so taken back by the Basilica, Wanda and Nikki insisted we try and get into the Sistine Chapel. In Italian, it is called Sistina Capella.

I was getting a little nervous because now it was 2pm....and we had the 1.5 hour train ride ....and we didn't know where the train station even was.....and we had to leave the Basilica, walk around the vatican walls and up to the vatican museum entrance and go through the museum to even get to the chapel. We went for it though. I would recommend that one NOT go for the private tour idea at the vatican. Just go through the line at St. Peters and make your way to the museum. There seemed to be more groups than anything else at the museum entrance so individuals were actualy moving through quicker! We found ourselves now walking the halls of the Vatican City Museums being more amazed at every turn. It looked a little like the people at the Vatican stole all the marble from the Coloseum! Since most chapels we went through were painted from ceiling to floor, we all became a bit confused as to just where Sistina Capella actualy was! Many of the pictures were taken in the hallways leading to the Sistine Chapel. Once inside, we were all asked to turn our cameras off which I respectfully did, but many people ignored the guards and were snapping away. Of the 138 pictures I took yesterday, none are inside of the Sistine Chapel. It is an amazing place (painted ceiling to floor). I later learned that Michael Angelo worked at the Vatican for 26 years painting the chapel and also many of the works inside the main Basilica. He never finished the Basilica entirely but people he trained did so....well that is what I over heard anyway.

By the time we were done in the museum, it was 3:30 and the train station became our number one priority now as we were out of time. Not too many local people speak English so getting directions became humorous. There were 5 of us asking various people for directions to the train and we at times had 5 different answers! We eventually made it to the St. Peters station and caught the 3:59 back for the ship. We made it in plenty of time but it was no laughing matter for the people I later saw running down the pier as the gangplank was being raised and we were heading for Livorno.

My day in Rome was very hectic. The walking seemed endless and the stairs were countless. The museums at the vatican were numerous hallways really, and you get the impression walking along the way that you will never actually get to....the Sistine Chapel (although we did). The train ride back to the port was so crowded, you were cheek to cheek with those standing around you.....and nobody was getting off the train soon. I was completely beat and couldn't believe what little I saw compared to all that there is to see in Rome. It really did not help that the European Cup Football championship was being played in Rome the night before (always played on neutral ground). Team Barcalona defeated the team from Manchester, England. Thousands came into Rome for the game, most without tickets! They just wanted to be there......as did I, and that is why I went. My recommendation from this learning experience is to start or end a cruise in Rome. By starting or ending a cruise in Rome one can spend a few nights in a hotel and see everything. Visiting for a day and trying to take it all in....well, just cannot be done. You can visit, you just cannot take it all in. If your cruise finds you in Civitevechia for a day, then figure out what ONE thing you would like to see in Rome....and go for it. Be sure to watch your pockets, apparently we have expert pick pockets in Rome, even worse in Spain we hear. We have already heard of two stories on board where people were picked, one gentleman lost $200 Euro, another lost everything at a security checkpoint entering the Coloseum. In the end, I got lucky. I met some great people who sort of knew what they were doing, and we all had fun, but getting around was not all that much fun. The train is cheap.....but you get what you pay for. The people I saw at the dock getting out of Mercedes Mini Vans looked a lot more relaxed than I was (of course they paid $400 Euro for the day compared to my $34 Euro).

I hope to return to Rome one day and when I do a hotel will be involved. As for this visit, Peg made the correct choice in doing what she had to do, and now her knee is all the better for it!

The Ruins at Pompeii

2009-05-27T07:02:00.000-07:00

Once again, I guess I should have been paying more attention in European History class. I remember the word Mt. Vesuvius but I don't remember it being a volcanoe that buried the ancient city of Pompeii with lava and ash in 79 AD. Peg and I walked through the ruins today and were surprised to find that it was an entire city that was preserved by the lava. We thought we would walk in a simple circle and see everything....wrong! The ruins really make up and entire city of theatres, markets, temples, homes, and other public areas. It seemed like it was at least a mile long and almost a mile wide. The most awesome sight was the forum where we walked into the arena just as gladiators once did to fight wild animals (and each other). You could see the corridors where the wild animals were kept just inside the arena walls. I found the temples to be just as awesome with many roman pillars still standing today. We were able to tell where the people lived in their homes and how some homes were nicer than others. The kitchen areas had either generic stone counters or counters faced with marble. Perhaps the most surprising to me was the distance of Pompeii from the top of Vesuvius, it seemed like 10 miles away so the thought of lava coming down and covering the city (and even preserving bodies) was wonderous. I later learned that the city was actualy covered / burried with ash as well. The idea of ash
travelling far is more believable than lava. During the uncovering of the city the workers found many pots and other decorative roman figures. All of the items found are on display, you just cannot touch any of them as they are locked behind bars. If we do this again, I think we will pay the extra $10 Euro to have a walking tour guide. These guides take 10 people at a time. If you want your own private guide, it is $100 Euro. We passed many of the guided tours and found that if you have lots of time, the guided tours are very informative and add meaning to the scenes in front of you.

After the tour of the city of Pompeii, we headed back to the ship for some relaxation and swimming (once again very hot today, high 80's). We heard that there is a huge soccer game in Rome tomorrow and thousands of people are arriving....even without tickets from Spain. Our taxi driver told us people are even flying into Naples and hiring taxis to drive them to rome (2.5 hours) for the game because flights to Roma are sold out. We are told that Rome is actually completely crazy on a normal day....I am not sure we are quite ready for what a major soccer competition does to the normality of the city (if there is such a thing). We have heard they are stopping the sale of liqour early today because of all the fights that break out between the fans at the events. Tomorrow should be real interesting.

Heading for Naples

2009-05-27T00:46:00.000-07:00

After pulling away from the dock at Sicily, I was surprised to find the ship was going to head East again. I was sure we were going to sail around Sicily heading West because I didn't think there was enough room for the ship to go through the tiny strip of water between the island of Sicily and mainland Italy. As it turns out, we sailed through the straights of Messina. I felt like we were going between the islands up north on Forest Lake! Messina was rather flat and sloping to the sea but at the tip of the toe... of the country of Italy, it is very mountainous! We were on the top deck talking with people and I didn't have my camera so one regret I have now is that there are no pictures of the straights. Peg and I watched the sunset from our room. Later in the evening we passed by the Stromboli Volcanoe in the dark. There wasn't a lava flow but the red ash was spewing into the air and made for a fireworks like display. The ship pulled to within hundreds of yards of the shore for all to see.

We found directions for how to get to a train in Naples that will take us to the ruins at Pompei, so that is our plan for the day. Hopefully, we will have some good pictures by the end of the day.

Catania, Sicily

2009-05-26T06:31:00.000-07:00

We missed the 5:15AM viewing of Mt. Etna before pulling up to the pier in Catania. As it turns out, I am glad we didn't set the alarm though because you can see Mt. Etna from just about every vantage point around the city. We took a bus tour this morning from the port to a little village called Taromina (about an hour drive from the port by bus). The village was originally built by the Greeks in the 3rd century BC, and was later completely ronovated by the Romans. At the end of the village is the remains of famous Greco-Roman Theatre built of stone. We took many pictures here and listened to the stories of how Greek Tragedies were performed here. The Romans turned the amphitheatre into an arena and built facilities for wild animals (you could sort of fill in the blanks as to why there were wild animals). The Romans it seems, had sort of a sick sense of entertainment! I have been trying beers from each of the countries visited. So far I like them all!

The bus tour guide was really great....she spoke of Palermo, Messina, Catania, etc. Just listening to her made me want to watch the movie Patton again as it seems so much of the movie centered around the island of Sicily. We were told that Sicily is the largest island in the Meditteranean and has three points (sort of an upside down triangle). What I did find surprising is that Mt. Etna is actually an active volcano and erupted just last May 13th, 2008. One can easily see the steam coming out of the crater all day. I am pretty convinced that the view of Mt. Etna is the same standard desktop background image you can choose using Windows XP. They told us that it takes a clear day to allow us to even see the peek but we saw that mountain top all day.

We drove by a cemetery where soldiers of World War II were buried, it was a grim reminder that the movie Patton.... was much more than a movie.

On to Naples.....

Our Only Sea Day....

2009-05-26T06:25:00.000-07:00

On Monday the 25th, we had our only sea day. We sailed from Santorini across the Ionian Sea and headerd toward Sicily. The captain told us we would be passing right by Mt. Etna at about 5:15AM on our way to the port of Catania. The cruise has been going very well thus far and the sea day was a welcome one because you actually need a rest from all the sightseeing every day. Going on a cruise through Europe has a much different meaning than going on a cruise to the Caribbean. Here it is all about the ports, the cultures, the history, and the people. The ship chose our sea day to be te second formal night of the cruise so Peg and I got dressed up and took some pictures around the ship. We have been doing what is called AnyTime Dining for dinner each night which basically means we go to the dining room whenever we want... and they sit us at a table with whomever they want. I refer to it as Dining Roulette. We have been pretty lucky actually as almost everyone seems normal (whatever that is). Most people seem to be from Canada (we haven't had a table yet where one of the guests wasn't from Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, etc.). Every night we sit down and everyone shares their war story of what it took to actually get to Venice. Last night we met an older couple on vacation with their son Peter who is an artist. His medium is black and white photography. He was travelling with mom and dad through Europe (they actually arrived 2 weeks before the cruise in Berlin, Germany and took a train to Venice). Peter was doing a piece he called the doors of Europe and was photographing every unusual door he saw. Since telling us about this I started noticing all the unusual doors we happened upon and I thought, what an original idea. I hope he writes a book about them one day and publishes all the pictures. Meeting Peter and seeing all the art shops throughout our tavel thus far made me think of Jamie and how she would so love taking a trip like this. The places we have been to thus far are just filled history.... and from the history has come so much in the way of art.

Spectacular Santorini....Eyes Wide Shut

2009-05-25T00:37:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning we gradually sailed into one of the most beautiful places on earth. Amidst a number of Greek isles (too many to count), the port town of Fira on the island of Santorini is high up on the cliffs from the shore. When you get off your tender boat, you have a choice of a long Donkey ride up a switch back path or a ride in a gondola style cable car. We opted for the donkeys going up and the cable car coming back down. The donkey ride was quite an experience as they do seem to have a mind of their own. Guides walk the switch back path all the way to the top in order to keep the donkeys under control. Some people were actually attempting to walk the path.

We dismounted the donkeys near the top and were left with a short walk albeit almost straight up! To be honest, walking up the steep stairs was a bit of a challenge in the 88 degree weather. All the temperatures here are mentioned in celsius so you have to do the conversion in your head. It is roughly like this: take the celsius number and multiply it by two and then add 32. This will give you the approximate farenheight temperature. So 25 celsius is about 82 degrees. The actual conversion is 9/5ths of the celsius number + 32 but that math is a little harder to relate to after a few drinks!

Once we made it to the top of cliffs we visited a few shops and before long we were in a cab with another couple from Toronto, heading for Oia. Once there, Peg and I took photos of the homes and blue domed churches overlooking the cliffs. The main attraction to Santorini has to be the scenery (well, unless you are into shopping because there is an abundance of that there too). The towns of Fira and Oia are as high as 1,000 feet above the shore. After taking a number of photos we headed back down the cliffs by cable car this time. Peg kept her eyes closed the entire way down. Somehow, it all seemed safer that way....

Not a Typical Weekend.......

2009-05-24T00:51:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning we found ourselves just a bit further down the coast of mainland Greece and still in the Ionian Sea on the island of Cephalonia. The island is just south of Corfu and still in view from the western shore of mainland Greece. Cephalonia is the 6th largest in all of the Greek islands. We anchored in a cove near the town of Argostoli where the tender boats took us in. Peg and I had no specific plans today other than to relax a little. We thought about taking a tour up to Lake Melissiani (the mythical nymph Melissa drowned herself here) but opted instead to visit a local beach where we ended up having the entire beach to ourselves. It is said this is where the legendary figure Odysseus went for rest and relaxation. I thought if it was good enough for him, we could certainly give it a go.

We took a few photos and relaxed in the sunshine but did not stay at the beach long as our ship was leaving a bit early today and heading much further east. In the middle of the night we sailed into the Sea of Crete.... and are now sailing up into the Aegean Sea where we are slowly making our way to the island of Santorini. Santorini is only 60 square miles in size and has a coastline of about 43 miles. The island is 70 miles from Crete and 130 miles from Athens. We are told that Santorini is one of the most picturesque islands in the world (so I will be taking some pictures I guess). We met a couple last night at dinner who were on the cruise just before this one doing a
back to back 24 night trip. Santorini was the only stop this cruise... that they had stopped at already.... on the last cruise. The people told us to take the tender boat ashore, ride the donkeys up the cliff (the town of Fira is on a cliff and there is little or nothing actually on shore where the tenders pull up) and then jump on a bus to Oia where there are cafe's and such built over the side of cliffs. The people also told us they saw people attempting to walk back down the donkey path on their way back to the tender boats (not a good idea as the donkey path becomes a bit slippery and messy...and it is not because of rain). Our plan will be to take the donkey's up and ride a cable car (gondola style) back down to our tenders. So instead of cars, trains, planes, and taxis....today will be tender boats, donkeys, busses, and cable cars. I hear the anchor going down...so that means it is time to get dressed, make sure the camera batteries are charged, and head ashore to Santorini....the farthest EASTERN point on the globe (from Chicago) we have ever been.

Corfu Greece.....

2009-05-22T07:38:00.000-07:00

One of the side benefits to the cruise experience is that you end up learning about things you didn't expect. I probably should have learned more in World History back in my freshman year of High School. Unfortunately at the time, I simply chose to just try and get through it. Today it seems so much more fascinating. Very early this morning while still sleeping, we left the Adriatic sea and entered the Ioanian sea, then squeezed between a very narrow passage between the island of Corfu Greece and the mainland country of Albania. Over night we travelled 210 nautical miles from Dubrovnik to Corfu. The island of Corfu is long and narrow and sits only a few miles off shore from Albania and mainland Greece. Corfu is the 7th largest Greek Isle which really is saying something considering there are 3,000 Greek Islands (I think they are counting every rock coming out of the water). Before today, I did not know that the island of Crete is the largest Greek Island. Then again I didn't know that the Greeks have a great tasting beer called Mythos or that 40% of all men who live here have a first name of Spirow, but that is another story.

Peg and I boarded a tour bus and headed for the west side of the island. There we visited a resort like community where it is believed that Ulysses came to and was greeted by friendly people after the Trojan war. Aparantly Ulysses was the brains in the operation of the war with Troy. He was the one who engineered the idea of taking ships apart and using the wood to build a huge horse filled with Greeks to concur the people of Troy. I did not know that the Illiad (sp?) and the Oddessey (sp?) were composed by Homer (who was blind). The Illiad tells the story of the Trojan war and the Oddessey tells the story of what happended and what life was like after it. I may have some of this wrong but that is what I understood from the tour guide anyway. Like I said, I wish I studied harder in high school!

We visited a Greek Monestary where 7 Greek Monks live high on a cliff. The place is called PalaioKastritsa which means Very Old Palace. In the Greek church the old custom was to bring valuables to the church and give them up in return for being healed or having a less painful childbirth experience. The church was awesome inside and out. We then headed for old Corfu where we had lots of free time but on the way there, we stopped at a place high on a mountain overlooking Mouse Island. We were supposed to be there for a photo opportunity but I actually found it more interesting because the very newest Starbucks had just completed construction there and the views over the cliff were outstanding.

We ended our day in Old Corfu which was very much like Venice even though there was no waterways. The poor island (for all of its walls and fortresses) had been taken over through the years by Romans, Venetians, the French, and the British. The west end had a huge problem with piracy forcing all the local people to move high into the hills where they could not enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the western shores. Everyone who invaded Corfu left their mark behind. We actually went by ancient Roman baths and an ancient Roman curch (all built of stone) that are still being uncovered by archeologists today.

OK, now I have to get ready for tomorrow. We are about to sail away from here and head for the island of Argostoli. I have no idea what that place is all about, but I am sure I am going to find out!

Islands, Countries, and Continents

2009-05-22T01:11:00.000-07:00

The WALL from off the coast of Croatia:

Standing on top of Wall looking across the channel:

On top of the wall:

Boat ride up and down the coast of Dubrovnik:

After a great night of sleep and the feeling of being 100% adjusted to the new time warp we are in, we found ourselves in a new country today. The city of Dubrovnik sits on the east side of the Adriatic sea. The geography would remind you of northern California where the sea crashes into the rocky coast. Again it was a very warm day.

We took our time getting out but eventually found ourselves on a shuttle bus to the old town of Dubruvnik which is encapsulated by rock walls as high as 80' tall. We learned the Croations built this wall around the entire city to protect the town from would be invasions from the French, the Austrians, and even from our friends the Venetians. I didn't know it until I got to Dubrovnik but Venice actually ruled the world between the 12th and the 14th century. Venice continued to control all sea trade well into the 17th century. Apparantly Dubrovnik was a very strategic port as it represented a link between the eastern and western world. Just east of Dubrovnik, Croatia is Bosnia and then Romania which borders the Black Sea.

The most incredible site to be seen in Dubrovnik is the wall. It is a rock structure which took the people 600 years to build. It surrounds and protects the entire old town section. One of the wierdest things you notice walking into the old town Dubrovnik is the marble streets and walkways. Today the old town is for pedestrians only and no cars are allowed in.

We made our way to an inexpensive panoramic boat ride outside the walled city and then walked the wall itself. One of Peg's cruise clients told her once, "If you ever get to Dubrovnik, you have to walk the wall". Now I know what he meant by that. When you are on top of the wall, you see all the old buildings but the roofs appear to be new. I was told that back in 1992, Dubrovnik was bombed with over 200 airial bombs dropped on it from above and 80 people were killed. The wall path itself is 1.2 miles long.

Peg and I had dinner with a couple the other night that said they have been to all of the Caribbean islands.... and that they don't want to cruise to islands anymore. Now they only want to cruise to countries or continents. After visiting for one day inside..... and on top of... the walls of Dubrovnik, I can appreciate their desire.

More Photos from Venice....

2009-05-21T07:09:00.001-07:00

Before moving on to Dubrovnik, Croatia I wanted to add a view more photos we took in Venice. Saling away from Venice meant time to get ready for dinner. We never miss that!

Venice is so famous for the Gondolas, we actually took a Gondola tour of the city ourselves.

The city is known for its' bridges, you have to feel sorry for people bound to a wheel chair.

The religious scene was taken inside one of the archways at St. Marks Basilica. Just outside the Basilica are two towering posts that mark the original entrance to Venice when it could only be reached by sea.

It is not uncommon to have a Gondola traffic jam as can see in the photo above. It was amazing however that these guys never bash into one another or even hit the buildings they come so close to.

Piazza San Marco.......

2009-05-21T01:42:00.000-07:00

Before leaving Venice on Wednesday, it occurred to me that for all that we had done and seen, we still had not been to one of the most famous landmarks in Italy, the Piazza San Marco square. We had the choice of water bus or walking so I decided a long walk would be more interesting. It was about 1.5 miles through the streets and canals of Venice to St. Marks Basilica but it was well worth it. These pictures were taken from the square on Wednesday morning. Our ship left Venice on Wednesday at 2PM local time and headed for Croatia. Leaving the city of Venice was a site to see with historic sites on both sides of the ship. I think one could spend 10 days in Venice and still have plenty to do. We may or may not ever be back, but our stay in Venice Italy was certainly one to remember. By 3pM Wednesday, we were sailing the Adriatic Sea.

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words....

2009-05-20T08:20:00.001-07:00

Words cannot quite explain all that we did in Venice, so here are a number of photos that tell the story. These were taken Monday evening of the day we arrived in Venice.

Time Transitions.....

2009-05-20T03:54:00.000-07:00

After checking into our hotel room around noon on Monday Peg and I were completely exhausted and as much as we wanted to start doing things, it wasn't physically possible. We rested / slept for a couple of hours but the noises of the day and the paper thin hotel room walls prohibited us from falling soundly asleep. By late afternoon we found ourselves on the rooftop pool soaking up the 85 degree sun, and trying to imagine how early in the day it was back home. After a short swim we decided to put on some walking shoes and take the water shuttle over to the central island of Venice. We were instantly amazed by the water access ways, the bridges, the local shops, and the people. Imagine a city with no cars, only boats of all types. The most popular boat of all is the Gondola. We had to do it, so Peg and I jumped into a Gondola for a quiet ride through the canals of the city and a residential area. We learned it costs 30,000 Euro to build a Gondola (we actually went by a Gondola factory). We also learned that a 90 square meter apartment costs approximately 500,000 Euro in Venice. Venice is a city that is built on water so if you do not have a boat, your only choice is to walk. Peg and I walked and walked until we could not walk anymore. Many of the walkways / streets are very narrow and some of them were so narrow and empty they appeared at first to be unsafe. We actually found the entire city was very safe and easy to get around in though. They say when you go to Venice, you simply get out and walk! As the pictures show, that is exactly what we did. We ended up going back to the hotel Monday evening abou 8PM local time by shuttle boat. Peg laughed at me as I was falling asleep sitting up on the shuttle (head bobbing) with people staring at me wondering...what's with this guy? We slept for 12 hours and didn't awake until 9:30AM Tuesday. When you travel as far as we did you find yourself wondering NOT what time it is, but what day it is!

Cars, Planes, Buses, and Boats

2009-05-19T02:18:00.000-07:00

While the landscape over France proved to be mostly green farmland, we quickly found ourselves over mountains that easily compare to the Rockies. The mountains north of Venice were all snow packed but the scene quickly changed as we headed into the valley surrounding Venice. We were happy to see our bags made the entire trip with us, and before long we were on a 5 minute walk down to the pier where the water taxis were all waiting for us. It took us about 30-40 minutes by water taxi from the airport to the Hilton on Gudecca. As you can see in the photos above, our taxi ride away from the Marco Polo Airport was very much like a shore excursion in itself. It was 80 degrees and humid, it was 5AM in Chicago, and we had now been on just about every mode of public transportation you can imagine in the previous 12 hours but most importanly we were on vacation, and nothing else seemed to matter.

The Long Hauler...

2009-05-19T01:58:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon we made it to the airport in plenty of time and I was happy we had plenty of time because the security lines in terminal 5 have just a bit different flavor than the typical security lines. This wasn't much of a surprise considering the 100's of people in line represented almost as many countries! We boarded early, squeeezed into our seats and before knew it, we were on our way. Time seemed to fly (no pun intended) as we were served dinner, watched a movie, and tried to fall asleep. Before I knew it, it was daylight and we were circling the Charles DeGaul airport over Paris. The pictures here were all taken at the same time. Peg felt she needed the large sunglasses to hide her eyes! The trip to this point was stress free but the CDG airport was an experience to remember. They bus people between terminals at CDG and the departure monitors have no apparent sequence to the flights listed. Have you ever looked at 200 flights listed on a departure monitor with no apparent order? We gave up looking for our flight and depended upon the departure card we were given in Chicago. We headed for terminal 2F and got lucky because that was at least the correct terminal. After getting in another line to have our passports reviewed, we finally got to our gate where they put us on another bus to the plane. We had 90 minutes between flights and not a minute to spare! With a sigh of relief, a seat in 12A and B, and sleep depravation, we were on our way to Venice, Italy.

A long time in coming....

2009-05-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

Well, the day has finally arrived. Our bags are packed, the plans are all made, and now we await our ride to terminal 5 at ORD. For all the travelling I have done, it it hard to believe this will only be the second time I have stepped foot into the international terminal at O'Hare Field. Our flight leaves at 5:15 PM local time which will land us in Paris at 1:30AM Chicago time. Of course it will be rush hour in Paris by then (8:35AM there). After a short stop in Paris (and bus ride from terminal 2E to 2F) our next plane takes us to Marco Polo airport in Venice, Italy. Who would believe that for us to get to our hotel, we now must get into a speed boat (locally referred to as a water taxi) for a 30 minute ride to Gludecca (one of the many islands which make up Venice). The Holland America Oosterdam will be awaiting there in port but the people already on the ship from the previous cruise are spending the night on the ship before they disembark on Tuesday morning. After our long journey, Peg and I are hoping for enough energy to visit the canals of Venice in our first Gondola ride. After one night in a hotel Peg and I will again jump into a water taxi and motor over to the embarkation pier and check into our stateroom on another dam ship. We again will spend the night in Venice before leaving for Dubrovnick, Croatia. I wish I could tell you I know all about each of the places we will be visiting but I do not. I can hardly spell the names of the countries we will soon be walking around in. I can also tell you though that there will be plenty of pictures, lots of film footage, and endless blog posts. This is truely a trip of a lifetime and it will not go undocumented. If you are reading this, I invite you to check back often for updates. Peg and I have never done anything like this, we have never been to any of these places, and we can today only imagine what is in store for us. We wish every one of you was going on the ship with us, but this blog will have to do. Please do come along...through the words and pictures I will do my best to share along our journey through the Mediterranean Sea.

You Just Never Know...

2008-11-19T20:28:00.000-08:00

Like I have said so many times before, you just never know what a day holds in store for you. On this day, the 19th of November, 2008 the 22nd birthday of my only stepdaughter, I found myself in downtown Pittsburgh, PA walking up 4th street to a brand new bank known as TriState Capital bank. Just before I walked into the door, I get a call from my daughter Carie telling me she thinks this is it......my grandson is about to be born. My jaw dropped and all I could think to myself is that somehow, I need to get home. Carie wasn't sure so she told me she would confirm later but the confirmation I received was actually one of a false alarm. I had a sigh of releief inside because I really want to be there when she gives birth to this my 2nd grandchild. The day was rather normal after that event. I enjoyed calling Katie to tell her just how close it came to Carie having her new baby on Katie's birthday! At the end of the day, I wandered down to the Hilton hotel bar only to meet several Pittsburgh Steelers foootball fans all gathered in excitement for the game Thursday night (my hotel is across the street from Hienz Field and the Steelers stay here before every home game). The NFL network trucks are parked all around Hienz Field which I can clearly see from my 23rd floor hotel room. The team at this time is all hunkered down on floor 9 (which nobody can get to) as they have completed their pre-game meetings on the concierge level of my hotel. The fans were everywhere and most of them giddy having got autographs from their favorite people. I met Jennifer at the bar who couldn't even talk she was so excited because she had just got the autograph of owner Dan Rooney and several other players on her Steelers hat. She felt bad once I told her that the hat would be much more valuable if only Dan Rooney had signed it! She had the autograph of Hienz Ward (who normally never signs anything) as well as other Steeler players she could not identify. Then.....she sees a familiar face and calls "JACK" over to join our converstion. I shake Jack's hand, say hello, and feel on his hand the Superbowl Ring of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2005-2006 season. Jack Kearny I learn is the head of Steelers security for the entire team and after chatting a bit, he said he had to go and do the bed check on floor 9 for the entire team. Before Jack walked away, another woman next to me takes a picture of the ring and emails it to me on her I-Phone. It was a sureal experience as all I could think of is my brother Bob and how much he loves the Pittsburgh Steelers. To think I was in the midst of this craziness was unusual, sureal, and inspirational. I had to tell the story and no better way than the blog. Jack said so long, and headed up stairs. Just for fun I pressed floor 9 on my way back to my room but it blinked at me as if to say, no freaken way dude. I headed back to my room to jot this down because times like these (like blog entries), are just few and far between. My good friend Bill Monsour is combing the town to see if he can get tickets for the game for he and I tomorrow night. The Steelers are 11 point favorites over the Bengals but most importantly, big Ben is my fantasy football quarterback. If he doesn't score me some points tomorrow, I just may have to let him know what I think. If I do get into the game, I will take a picture for you Bob, cause times like this don't come often. Who would have thought that a superbowl ring would actually be awarded to the head of security for a football team? Then again., who would have thought that my grandson would wait until today, to tease me regarding his entry into this world. Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know just what you are going to get. What a day. To Bill M. my friend, I hope you get those tickets. To Katie G., happy birthday dear, I wish I was home to celebrate it with you! To brother Bob, I wish you were here to meet Jack Kearny because nobody would have enjoyed it more than you. To my dear daughter Carie, I love you very much, and I wonder if the events of the day have anything to do with your son, my grandson, about to be born, playing one day....for one of the greatest football teams in the history of the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers!

Farewell To Friends

2008-05-16T19:01:00.000-07:00

After a 5 1/2 hour flight from HON to SAN and then another 4 1/2 hour flight from SAN to ORD, Peg and I have just completed our journey home. We walked in the door, realized we were back in the real world, and I decided I wasn't quite ready for the real world so I am writing one last blog entry that will officially end our vacation. If this is the first time you are seeing this blog, you need to scroll down several stories to the one that begins the vacation. The stories are in chronological sequence and were recorded as the days went by. The vacation entries start with our flight to San Diego and finishes right here. In between these entries, you will see a number of pictures that document our adventure. The pictures help illustrate the stories and show what it was like to be on this vacation. What probably is not perfectly clear in the pictures and stories is that we met and dined with 8 other people that we have never met in our life. The group is shown in this photo but the picture doesn't justly depict the fact that these are some of the best people you will ever meet. In our 10 days together we shared stories of life, of children, and other cruise experiences too.

One night in the theatre we saw comedian Norm Crosby on stage (now 80+ years old). He drew an analogy of how people on a cruise (that know nothing of each other) will sit together and talk, and by the end of the cruise become best of friends. He compared this to two similar people who pass each other on the sidewalk, look down, and wouldn't give each other the time of day if they asked. There is something about being on a ship.....

To Joe and Cookie, Ray and Denny, Chris and Janice, Jim and Donna, Aloha friends....and Mahalo for helping to make our dream vacation so wonderful!

Leaving Honolulu

2008-05-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

We spent the remainder of Wednesday lounging at the hotel and enjoying the great views of Waikiki from our hotel room. We started packing for the long two day journey home. Our vacation was starting...... to come to an end. We flew Hawaian Airlines back to San Diego and I am sitting in the San Diego airport at this moment waiting for our flight back to Chicago. It took 5 1/2 hours to cross the Pacific via 767 but 5 1/2 days via Radiance of the Seas. The voyage is one we will never forget. We will likely never get the same opportunity again.

Visiting The Past

2008-05-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

We woke up Wednesday morning and headed to Pearl Harbor. We were determined to visit the Arizona Memorial.I was previously un-successfull in getting out to the memorial due to the masses of people that line up to go there each day....that's right, each and every day the memorial is visited by 1'000's of people. I heard one park service ranger claim there are 4,000 people per/day. Each boat ride out to the memorial holds about 100 people. Peg and I arrived at 9 AM and we were told that we would be on boat 14 leaving at11:00 AM. When you do the clock math, you quickly figure out that 4k people is pretty accurate. When we received our boat tickets (completely free by the way) we were stampeeded by a group of Japanese people who we quickly learned have little regard for who they step on and bump into and through. There were as many Japanese people at the memorial as US Citizens.

We decided that with a two hour wait, our time would best be spent by visiting the Punch Bowl which is a National Monument. Thousands of service men are buried in the punch bowl along with my own Uncle from whom I got my name. We stopped at the entrance information office to find my Uncle Harold Olson is buried in Section P lot 1044 (very near the entrance) and his body was placed there when the monument first openned in 1949. Harold was killed on April 4th, 1945 (at the age of 22). I was unable to find out what was done with his body for the 4 years after he was killed. In any case, the office worker there told me that the records show Harold was buried there in 1949 when the monument first openned and he has been there ever since.

The monument is a dormant volcanoe which is high on the mountain overlooking the city of Honolulu. It is a gorgeous site and a wonderful tribute to people who served our country. Every war is represented at the monument, including the Korean war. I never knew Harold, but I know he was my mother's brother and that she lost her brother when he was 22 years old. I also know she named me..... after him. It is difficult to imagine the pain felt by his loss back in 1945.

Visiting Harold's final resting place (thousands of miles away from where he grew up on Sumac Ave. in Waukegan, IL) gives me a very warm feeling inside. The picture shown was taken by Peg with me kneeling at Harold's headstone. What is not apparent in the photo, is the hundreds of headstones that surround Harold's and say only ... UNKNOWN

After taking a few pictures, we headed back to Pearl to meet our tour boat. The tour was preceeded by a 23 minute movie of actual footage taken back in the time leading up to and including the attack on December 7th. The film was very educational. I guess I didn't realize the US placed an oil embargo on Japan and refused to lift it unless they stopped their aggression in Southeast Asia. I also didn't realize that one of the Japanese commanders responsible for planning the attack went to college at Harvard University here in the US (and actually was opposed to attacking the US because he knew what the US retaliation would be like).

The film was filled with real scenes from those days in 1942. It showed the band from the USS Arizona performing in Honolulu (having fun) the night before the attack. The film also recorded the armor piercing bomb dropped onto one of the 4 gun turets of the ship. Below the turets lie the ammunition stores and explosives so the single hit took by the Arizona was immediately devastating. Walking over the memorial was a little erie knowing that so many men were still entombed by the rusted walls of the ship below.

We were asked by the park service officer before heading out to the Arizona to remain as quiet as possible while visitng because it is a MEMORIAL site that we were visiting and that doing so, should be done with respect. He specifically mentioned no loud talking, calling, or yelling. My only regret is that Peg and I ended up on a shuttle boat filled with a touring group of Japanese people (as in about 90 of them). When we got to the site, it became clear to me that the Japanese people didn't understand a word of English.

The film taught me a few other things I didn't know.....After the attack, the USS Utah was stripped and turned into scrap metal. The Arizona was left untouched as a memorial. Every other Naval vessel in Pearl Harbor that day was repaired, restored, and re-entered active service duty.....every one of them. The film mentioned that Japan never anticipated the spirit of the American people and how they would ban together......and come back after them.

Sailing on the Shores of Waikiki

2008-05-15T13:14:00.001-07:00

After lounging all day Tuesday we decided to go on a catamaran sail off the shores of Waikiki. We boarded the MaiTai Cat down the beach and had a great time taking in the city views and meeting new people. Peg's newest friends were a group of college girls from Villanova on their way to Tokyo. The girls were great fun as was the Mai Tai experience. There were places off the beach that we could see right to the bottom even though the water measured 40' in depth.

After sailing, we headed back home because Wednesday we were headed for the Arizona Memorial with a stop off at the punch bowl cemetery to visit Uncle Harold.

Arrival in Oahu

2008-05-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

After sailing out of Hilo Monday evening, we went to dinner and I noticed the lights starting to flicker. Soon, the entire ships power went out and the captain announced that we are experiencing a blackout. The only lights on the ship were powered by batteries and the Radiance of the Seas was floating / blowing in the wind. Fortunately, the wind was taking us OUT and further from land. My first fear was being blown onto shore! After about an hour or more, they got it all figured out and we were sailing for Honolulu.

We arrived about 7AM into Honolulu harbor and soon realized our cruise was coming to an end, but the good news was that our vacation was not. We said good byes to all the great people we met on the cruise, disembarked, and then headed for our hotel on Waikiki beach. Tuesday was a very relaxing day. We lounged around, took a long walk down the beach and passed all the hotels. Most of the day was spent enjoying the resort we were at, the Hilton Hawaian Village.

Volcanoe Alley

2008-05-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

Our bus tour Monday afternoon took us to the Volcanoe National Park. You are looking at a view of Halema`uma`u from the Jaggar Museum overlook. The plume color switched from brown to white some weeks ago.... and has been mainly white since. The white plume still carries ash, but the rock fragments are hydrothermally altered lava that is white in color.

One of the primary components in volcanic gas is water. At the vent, the plume is transparent, because it is very hot and the water is in vapor form. A short distance above the vent, however, the plume cools and the water vapor condenses into tiny droplets. This makes the plume an opaque white, just like regular clouds in the sky. These clouds basically cover Kona (other side of the island) each day and make it seem like a rain storm is coming. The cloud like matter though, is simply from the volcanoe.

On this day, Peg and I walked through a lava tube from a volcanoe that erupted years ago. The tube was 15 feet high in some places. The night before heading into Hilo, the ship pulled up close to where the lava from another volcanoe is flowing into the sea (and making the island bigger). The dark night picture with the fire inside is a scene from our cruise ship balcony at 1AM in the morning. We were actually much closer (and scared some people) but I was a little late with the camera as this picture was taken after the ship started sailing away from the shore.

Our tour bus driver should be working as a geologist, and not driving a bus. It was a VERY informative tour and I know more about volcanoes now than I can even describe. This experience was much like watching glaciers break off in Alaska and fall into the ocean.

They Don't Grow Like This in Wisconsin

2008-05-14T17:28:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Hilo, Hawaii on Monday morning and we had a long day planned aboard a tour bus. Our first adventure on the tour bus was a stop at Rainbow Falls where there was also a forest of Banyan trees. I didn't know what a Banyan tree was until I saw this. Basically, the branches grow long then sag to the ground. They then re-root themselves and the process begins again. This picture shows the base of ONE Banyan tree. The shade created by these monsters is un-real. One tree creates the shade of a small forest. These trees are common in all the islands. In Maui there is a Banyan that occupies an entire acre.

Random Shots

2008-05-13T17:50:00.001-07:00

It occurred to me today that there are a few pictures I have not yet shared but do a better job telling the story of our vacation here. I thought I would post a few of the pictures for those who don't care to read my boring descriptions, and instead just want to see some of the pictures.

Kailua Kona...The Big Island

2008-05-13T17:33:00.000-07:00

Deep sea fishing in Kona, Hawaii was something I could only see on Saturday morning fishing shows until now. This morning I was on the first tender off the ship and heading for the fishing harbor where there are more charter fishing boats than I have ever seen. Maui Jim sponsors an annual Blue Marlin classic here in June where the biggest Marlin caught in the 4 day tournament will net the winner 500k. The King Kamahamaha Hotel sports two Blue Marlins (mounted of course) over 1,000 lbs.

Today I went fishing with Captain Billy and his first mate Tim. There were 4 other people fishing with me and we all got along great and had a good time. For 4 hours we rotated out of the fighting chair every 15 minutes. If you were sitting there when any of the 5 poles got a bite, you reeled in whatever was on the hook.

The picture here is a 28lb. Mahi Mahi (also known as a Dorado in Mexico and Dolphin Fish in Florida). Here in Havi He, they call it Dolphin Fish. I wish I could tell you I reeled this in but I didn't. The fish was caught by another guy on board named Paul. It was a bit early in the year for the Blue Marlin but we had great fun anyway.

One day I will catch my Blue Marlin, I don't know where or when, but catching a Big Blue is on my bucket list.....

Golfing to Remember

2008-05-13T15:09:00.000-07:00

Before heading for our Luau yesterday we stopped at the concierge and made arrangements to play golf in the morning. They set it all up for me and I was given an 8:44AM tee time on the Emerald course at Wailea. The annual skins game is played on the Gold course at the same location but I opted for the Emerald course because it only had 84 sand traps instead of 94 (and they just airated the greens on the Gold course)! I was shuttled up to the Emerald course about an hour early only to find I had my own cart with GPS on board and a hot coffee waiting in the cup holder (I was paired up with three other guys) .

They gave me a set of Nike SQ to play with and plenty of time to warm up on the range before we started. The other guys and I were amazed at how each hole was overlooking the ocean from high up on the hillside course. The course was truely more beautiful than anything I have ever seen. Just to give you an idea, the Merrit club was not even close! The fairways were lined with flowers, lava rock formations, and about 20 different breeds of palm trees. What made the day so great was the fact I was able to play from the fairway almost the entire round! I had one birdie and one par and the rest were mostly boggies (OK, maybe a double boggy here and there). In the end, I shot a 99 and considering the championship course I was playing, I was very pleased!

While I played golf, Peg just lounged at the pool and enjoyed the resort. At the end of the round, Peg and Imet up at the resort and we jumped back in our car for the ride back to Lahaina. We turned in our car and tendered back to the ship. We felt the need to pinch ourseleves just to see if we were really awake or only dreaming (it was that awesome).

The entire Maui experience was just fabulous and I am not sure my words can accurately describe just how wondeful it was. Simply said, it was an experience of a lifetime (not so much the type of experience that makes you want to come back and do it again....too expensive, just the type of experience you will always remember and enjoy every time you think of it).

While getting ready for dinner aboard the ship on Saturday, I looked at Peg and said, "Oh My God, I have to get ready for tomorrow morning because we are pulling into Kailua Kona, Hawaii and I am going deep see fishing on the Kona coast!".

A Grand Arrival

2008-05-11T20:00:00.001-07:00

We arrived at the Grand Wailea Resort about 12PM and were greeted with flowers around our necks and the now all to familiar word....ALOHA! We spent the afternoon walking the grounds in amazement and swimming at the pool. We took the picture above from the Lanai and enjoyed relaxing before walking to the resort next door.... to a Luau. The resorts in Wailea are absolutely beautiful and at least one step up from the Kaanapali Beach resorts which are also very famous. I made arrangements to play golf in the morning. We were so tired after the Luau that we ended up crashing at about 8:30PM and got a good night of sleep for the day ahead.

Land Ho...

2008-05-11T19:56:00.001-07:00

After days at sea, we finally have the image of land outside our stateroom balcony. We never really made much of a deal out of seeing land, but I woke up early before sunrise just so I could sit outside and watch as the ship sailed between Molokai and Maui and eventually into Lahaina harbor on Maui. You never saw so many happy people as there were this morning....because we were able to load onto tender boats and step foot onto land once again. Ironically, it was on some of the most beautiful land anywhere to be found on earth.

I called Enterprise who quickly came to shore to get me from a local resort hotel and within 45 minutes, we had a Mustang convertible for 39.80 per/day! I picked up Peg as she landed on her tender boat and we headed for Wailea which is about 25 miles down the coast from Lahaina.

Somehow, being on land made us feel normal once again.....

Endless Days at Sea

2008-05-08T15:21:00.000-07:00

5-8-2008 Ships Log (Really Bill's Log) Thursday 287 nm Northeast of Maui, 2023 nm from Ensenada Mexico

Well we have learned first hand what it is like to be at sea for a week. The ocean surely is massive. A couple of days ago at about the 1/2 way point of the journey, we spotted some sea gulls flying over the water. We later leanred that the only way such life exists this far from land is by ship. The gulls latched onto a ship somewhere and eventualy left (at the wrong time). They find after flying for hours that there is nowhere to land and live except in the water! We were told the birds eventually just perish. It was a very weird feeling to be 1,000 miles from any sort of land whatsoever.

There is today, much anticipation amongst the people on the ship because at sunrise tomorrow we will be anchored off the shore of Lahaina, Maui. There has been Hawaian hula dancers and performers on the entire trip with us so they have everyone in the Hooky Lau mood. We will be anchored in Maui for two days as the ship will not leave for the big island until very late Saturday night. The time is now 5 hours earlier than CST (Chicago). The captain had us turning back the clock (an hour) every other night. Peg and I are now exhausted and ready for bed at about 9PM each night!

I spent an hour in a golf simulator yesterday and played Pebble Beach (18 holes) and learned that the damn simulator is very acurate and measured my game very much like it is in real life...I shot a 105 for18 holes. I would love to have one of those things in my basement!

The ship is beautiful and we have come to know it well. Peg and I took a walk around deck 5 today and saw the Helipad. The captain told us that medical emergencies is the primary purpose of the Helipad and also noted that if an emergency ocurred at sea while we were 1,000 miles from land, he could only hope that the medical staff on board could handle the situation as no helicopter would / could make the 1,000 mile trip to the ship. We have had two emergency announcements this week known as "Alpha Alpha Alpha" over the intercom system. They say "Attention...Attention.....Alpha Alpha Alpha...Dining Room, Port Side Table #408or Casino". An emergency team rushes to these locations and does whatever they can. When we first heard the call, someone at dinner said, "What does Alpha Alpha Alpha mean?". I said I don't know but it didn't appear the call was for a Triple AAA gathering of some sort! We still don't know what happened and how the poeple involved are (the crew is very quiet about such things). For all we know, there is more than just food in the on board refrigerators!

So today we are relaxing once again and enjoying the thought of being on land tomorrow. It hasn't quite sunk in that we will be walking on some of the most beautiful land anywhere to be found. Peg and I are staying at the Grand Wailea Resort for both days (about one hour from Lahaina) Our dinner table friends have been there and tell us it is one of the most beautiful resorts anywhere on earth. I tell business associates everywhere I go, that I only work for one reason....and that is to go on vacation. We laugh about it as they see a picture of an island and a cruise ship on my powerpoint presentations, but those closest to me....know it's TRUE! If you are reading this blog, please know that my only regret about this experience, is that you are not here with us to enjoy it together.

Time on My hands

2008-05-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

5-6-2008 Radiance of the Seas (Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean)

It is now Tuesday morning (I know because the floor in the elevators has a DAY Plate telling everyone what day it is). We woke up this morning and saw our geographical position on TV. Peg said "It looks like we are about half way there". The screen changed to show that we have travelled 1,154 miles and we have 1,159 miles to go! I would say are half way there!

We didn't realize when leaving that it would be cool the first couple of days. I figured Mexico is warm, Hawaii is warm, our trip should be warm...NOT! The last two days felt like we were heading for Kodiak Isalnd instead of a Hawaian Island. Each day though, is getting warmer outside. Monday's belly flop contest has been rescheduled for Thursday. When you take mental note of such things, you pretty much realize you are on vacation.

Peg and I are like gym rats in the morning, and ship wanderers in the afternoons. RCCL brought on a bunch of Hawaian dudes and dancers in CA so we would be entertained at sea. I went to a historical presentation of Hawaii where I learned that ALOHA means Hello, Good Bye, and I Love You. The presenter said the word Family is really an acronym for "Father and Mother, I Love You". I am not sure how true that is, but the thought is a good one.

When not wondering around taking pictures and writing, I find my way to the casino. I have discovered that the secret to winning at black jack is not to use any systematic approach to betting. The secret is simply have an incredible amount of time on your shoudlers, betting very little most of the time, and after losing about 3 or 4 hands in a row, betting the mother load.....cause it is now YOUR time to win! I won't say here just how much $ my tactics have earned me, but I will say this cruise continues to pay for itself!

The people we have dined with have been great. There are 10 people at our table. Janice and Chris from Pittsburgh, Jim and Donna from Denver, Ray and Denny from Austin, and Joe and Cookie from San Fransisco. Ray and Joe are both retired and have been for years. They never met in their life before sitting at our tabe but they both worked for United Airlines for many years before retirement. Joe was a mechanic, Ray was a pilot and both lived in CA. There had to be countless times when Joe was working on a plane that Ray was flying. What are the odds of these gentleman sitting next to each other at a dinner table on a ship with 2,100 people on it? Whatever they are, it cannot possibly be as good as the odds of me winning a little more money at black jack today!

Anticipation Becomes Reality

2008-05-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

5-3-2008 12:45PM Sand Diego, CA Convention Center

After a hectic arrival amidst 6,000 cruise ship passengers at the airport, we boarded a bus for the San Diegoconvention center. There we checked in for the trip and received a bus pass for our transfer trip to Ensenada, Mexico. Thank God our bus number was #5 leaving at 3:45PM because we met people with bus # 51leaving God knows when. We had about 3 hours to ourselves in downtown San Diego so we wandered away from the convention center and walked about 5 blocks down to the sea port harbor. There we found naval ships, cruise ships, air craft carriers and the annual Red Bull Air and sea show taking place over the harbor!It was very festive and clearly attended by thousands of local residents. Peg and I watched sky divers jump out perfectly good airplanes and trailed smoke streams all the way to the waters edge. We took a few pictures of the beautiful sky line and eventually walked back to the convention center.

The bus transport was very interesting as we rode some 90 miles away from San Diego, across the heavily guarded border (in both directions) and very quickly noticed the poor improvished lands of Mexico. We could not see any people in what looked like hundreds of worn down towns and homes. We assumed they all crossedthe boarder in search of a better life. The ride down was often hugging the cliffs edge of high mountains overlooking the Pacific coast. Peg sat in the window seat and often had to close her eyes. We were greetedby an extra friendly crew at dockside as the crew was well aware that all the passengers went through one helluva day to get to the Radiance of the Seas. We walked on, dropped our carryons in the room, grabbed a drink and enjoyed what seemed like our own vessel. There were 46 some busses behind us but really 47. While we were bus #5, we passed bus #4 on the way down as he was struggling making up the mountain. Later in the evening, the captain announced one of the busses broke down, and that he had no idea when we would be leaving Ensenada.

After a great late dinner and seeing a very funny comic in the main theatre, we went back to #7036 to call it a day. We had been up for 21+ hours at this point, and we knew we were just not up for any sort of sail away party. The ship set sail very late as we were awakened with some rocking and rolling. We each took some motion sickness pills (just in case) and crashed once again. The ships log shows it is 2,243 miles to Maui. We woke up, turned on the TV, and discovered we only have 2,043 miles left to go!

Hawaii EPIC Begins

2008-05-05T13:46:00.000-07:00

5-3-2008 09:37 AM Flying somewhere over North America

When planning an epic trip of distance proportions, you cannot help but think ofall the things which could go wrong. Maybe it's just all the miles I have put on that hasme always thinking pesimisticaly about travel days. What if I oversleep? what if the weatheris terrible? what if the flight is cancelled? what if I get a flat tire on the pot hole expressway that takes me to the airport? what if...? The waht if's are continuous.

As it turns out,there was no traffic, the weather was great, I pulled up to curbside checkin where a sky cap was standing and WAITING for us so he could grab all 4 of our 51 lb. suitcases and get them on theconveryor belt for San Diego. I parked the truck (right next to an elevator center where a spot wasopen to make it easy to find later). We quickly made it through security (after a TSA gal openned up the turnstyle section for Peg and I alone to drop out of a long line and right on through). After a Starbucks and an Egg McMuffin, we boarded our flight with more overhead room than we needed, some empty seats, and took off for sunny San Diego. Come on now.....one of our suitcases probably won't be there, I just know it.

Trails in the snow....and in Life

2008-01-30T20:07:00.000-08:00

On January 24th, 2008 11:34PM aside the frozen waters of Plum Lake in Sayner, WI there was a terrible snowmobile accident. I have crossed the lake myself more than once on my own snowmobile, although I faintly remember doing it at night... only once. Sayner is in the center of the northwoods snowmobile wonderland. It is centrally located between Boulder Junction and Eagle River looking east and west, and it is also centrally located between St. Germain and Land O Lakes looking north and south. On the 24th of January 2008 a relatively famous news anchor man for CBS2 News in Chicago sat on the back of a sled and rode across Plum Lake to his death on the far side of the lake. Anyone who has ever ridden sleds in the north woods knows what happens when you exit a wooded trail onto a frozen lake and into the wide open flat surface.... where you can see for what seems like miles. The cold, the dark, the speed, the wide open ice, and sometimes the alcohol of the day, are all numbing.

Having watched CBS2 news on many weekday mornings and enjoying the wit and humor of one Randy Salerno leaves me shocked, sadenned, and stunned.... having learned of what happened in my old neck of the woods on that Thursday night. It leaves me thinking of the weekends where friends and relatives came up to visit and we put 200 miles on the sleds in one day. It also reminds me of the late night stops at bars for warmth. I still remember several of us toasting to 205 miles one Saturday night (with whiskey shots that left our heads spinning). Thankfully it was a short ride to the hotel.

When I see what happened to Randy it reminds me of what could have happened to me on many occasions. It reminds me of how fortunate I was to be able to go snowmobiling whenever I felt like it, and to enjoy all the north woods trails had to offer. Those that went sledding with me know that there were accidents, there was damage to sleds, and at times people were hurt at least a little (when I think of Stu, I must say some were hurt more than others). For all of us that have done this and enjoyed this, we should feel lucky tonight.

What happened to Randy Salerno could have happened to me or others close to me. I feel sorry for the loved ones he left behind. Through all of this, I find myself remembering what a special experience sledding is. I remember the cold, snow white wilderness, the black ice of some lakes, the fog on my face mask, the challenge of a difficult trail, and sharing the wild experiences of the people I have ridden with.

I have a hard time realizing that it was almost 10 years ago that I rode those trails and knew them like the back of my hand. Now 10 years removed from the snowmobile scene, I find I must extend my bucket list....to get back on a sled and ride 200 miles in a single day once again. I'd love to go with any family and friends that were up for it. I would love to enjoy the beauty of the northwoods once again, in this way. The only thing I would change is that now I would start very early in the day and head from Eagle River to Land O Lakes for breakfast. After I was warm again and full of coffee, I'd leave Land O Lakes and ride by the red cabin to make sure she was all right. I'd continue on the trail west to Boulder Junction where I could warm up and have lunch. I'd then make my way to St. Germain and eventually north, up to Plum Lake where the trail meets the lake ice. There I'd stop to say a prayer and remember a man I never knew....but also to thank God that something so tragic had never happened to me.

I think I'd then head back to Eagle River and call it a day because as the night gets late, the trails become more dangerous.... and I wouldn't want to put myself at such risk. After all......I want to enjoy being a grandpa.......and there are 22 more items on my bucket list.

To the wife, family, and friends of Randy Salerno....may God Bless.

It's Just Time....

2008-01-27T07:10:00.001-08:00

OK, almost 6 months have past so it is certainly time to post something here. The chances of anyone seeing it may have diminished because I am certain people have stopped looking here for anything new. I think sometimes sitting down to write takes an inspiration of sorts, and I have just been waiting for that little bit of inspiration. It's fun to keep up with my children by reading their blogs (although it's a bit difficult keeping up with what Tony is saying)! The latest pictures of Madison are so cute!

It's hard to believe I haven't written anything in 6 months! As I look back over the 6 months, I can tell you that I most recently taken renewed interest in the finishing of my basement creation. Creating something in the form of construction is a very long laborious task when one takes it all on himself. It is almost a test of persistance. It also is messy and dirty and over the years, I have had to just get away from construction for a while and take a break here and there. The break is sort of a revitalization period whereby you develop new energies to start the next big thing. I am enjoying it these days and so the work continues, and one day we can all have a celebration in this new living space.

When not working on the basement, I find myself working and travelling, sometimes on a cruise, sometimes to new places. In the past 6 months I have visited Poughkeepsie NY, Portland OR, Lancaster PA, State College PA, Tampa FL, Miami FL, Boston MA, Baltimore MD, Danvers MA, Dallas TX, Ft. Worth TX, Los Angeles CA, and Cozumel Mexico (and that was mostly before Xmas). My February 2008 is just about allocated as I am off to Denver and LA next week, then return home before a mid-month trip to Tulsa OK, and I finally finish off the month in Portland OR (yes Tony....Dad is coming 2-27). I actually enjoy being in all the many places, I just don't really enjoy getting from place to place.

I am looking forward to the weekends this month because I get to visit with Jim and Jamie, babysit my granddaughter for the first time, go to a dinner theatre and dine with my wife (gift from Billy and Katie), and then end the month visiting with Tony at college out west. If I was actually making my bucket list, I probably could not have planned it out any better. Speaking of bucket list (I have started one), I am going to limit my list to the 25 rows on a lined sheet of paper. Somewhere on the list is going to be "Going to a Superbowl". Another line on the list is going to be "Staying at the little red cabin for 5 weeks straight". In my 5 weeks, I just want to fish, swim, golf, cook out, have friends come to visit, visit some old friends too, and then fish some more. All to often we go there for a week or less and the time is over before you know it. By going for 5 weeks, you feel being there, you feel the north woods and all it entails, and you feel the aura of a simpler life. When you sit by the fire late at night, you take time to remember the history of the place and what it has meant to so many. I have been to so many places and even had many places I have called home over the years, but the red cabin is the only place where I've internally anchored, so 5 weeks straight in LOL is definitley on the bucket list.

OK, 23 more lines to go. I have been thinking of them and from the looks in the mirror lately I had better start doing some of them so I may be scratching some off as they are getting added.
I think I will add one line with each new blog. The next 23 blogs will be the rest of my bucket list.......now there is an inspiration!

Once again, far away from home....

2007-08-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

Well, it certainly has been some time since the last blog. For some reason, the travel distance from home seems to invoke the blogging spirit. On this 12th day of August 2007 I find myself on the shores of Puerto Rico at the Caribe Hilton. Everyone here appears to be on vacation....except me. The winds are crashing the waves upon the shore here, but the private beach is protected by the rip-rap rock penninsula. I can see the top of a cruise ship in the distance looking towards Old San Juan. They will be leaving late tonight after giving all the mainland visitors time to board the ship. I will simply watch as the ship pulls out (with even more people on vacation) and heads for somewhere in the southern caribbean.

I will be at Banco Bilbaio Viscayez tomorrow, BBVA for short. It's OK though, if you have to be out of town working.... better San Juan, Puerto Rico vs. Toledo, OH. Here the weather is hot and humid but the Margarita's are cold and refreshing. The ocean air feels soothing, and the waves crashing into the shore can put you in a trance. Tomorrow I jump in a cab to God knows where. The bell captain told me that it will take me one hour by taxi...... but if I need to park a car (which I do not), I better leave 2.5 hours prior to my meeting because it is a struggle for parking on the island (he was serious). I believe PR is 40 miles wide and 130 miles long (I will check this) but there is really nowhere to park your car. There is a very fixed amount of land here.....and every vehicle that is imported to PR makes it that much more difficult to find a place to park. Tomorrow, I will arrive to the bank by taxi cab!

Back To Reality

2006-12-02T12:24:00.000-08:00

Our last day of the cruise was a sea day and I spent most of it out at the pool. I entered the pool pole contest where two people shimmy out over the pool on a long pole and proceed to try and smack each other off the pole using a pillow case full of balloons. I almost won....but lost and was wacked into the water. Then I entered a volleyball competition and had lots of fun beating the ships crew VB team. After sailing all day Friday from Grand Cayman Island, we arrived back in Miami on Saturday morning. We were parked at the pier before 6:00 AM. Even when you get up in the morning on the last day, even before you get out of bed, you can feel the reality of what lies outside the ship. No more room steward, no more room service, and no more cruise. At this point..... it is all about how can we get you outta here ASAP. Even some of the friendliness seems to go away.... it is as if the crew is saving and storing up their cheerfulness for the next arriving customers. This view outisde the rear of the ship is the Port of Miami. The Miami arena (where the Heat plays) is very close by. The picture is of the RCCL Majesty of the Seas. Our disembarkation was very quick and very not crowded. We jumped into a cab and headed for our Ft. Lauderdale hotel. Before we knew it, the cruise port was no longer in sight and the only cruising Peg and I were talking about..... was cruise vacations for other people....In other words....back to work. I did learn that when you jump into a cab at the Port of Miami, you can ask the driver about a flat rate to anywhere you want to go. I should have done that because just getting to the FLL airport is $65 on the meter. Anyway, we are drifting out of vacation mode and back into work mode......and I mean drifting. Past cruisers will know what I mean. We have heard of the terrible snow storm up north but at this point it is hard to imagine with all the heat here in Florida. Well, I am going to spend my last 2 hours of warmth in the south...... out by the pool....where I will ponder my next cruising adventure.

Spanish Bay Resort

2006-11-30T13:48:00.000-08:00

We spent the day at sea on Wednesday and pretty much just relaxed after working out in the gym all morning while listening to the instructor give a class about detox and learning all sorts of health stuff about toxic poisons we put into our body. I learned that the largest organ we have is our SKIN! I didn't know skin was an organ. When we put anything onto our skin and rub it in (like sun tan lotion) it is absorbed into our blood stream. So we take in poison via absortion. We also breath in poisons from the air, and consume poisons via consumption like alcohol. I was
impressed by all the instructor knew but in the end he wanted everyone to register for a detoxification for your body (only $100). I asked him a few questions but bypassed the $100 deal. After dinner, Peg and I had some wine..... and went to the dinner show which was very entertaining. Peg and I ended up on the NEWLYWED game! I talked her into volunteering but she never thought we would get selected......we DID! It was fun (we didn't win). She was asked what is the first thing I touch in the morning when I get up.....she told the crowd of 300 people he touches HIMSELF! When the guy asked me what my favorite condoment was, I said TROJAN....the crowd loved it! The guy then said, "No, not condom.....condiment, like what do you like on your meat.......more laughs. Anyway, it was all fun, we won tee shirts too!

On Thursday, Peg and I spent the day at the Spanish Bay resort. We laid in the sun, walked on the beach, went snorkeling, and fell asleep in my chair until I snored. It doesn't get much better than that. The picture is our shipped parked at Grand Cayman. Now it is 5PM Thursday and time to pull out. We are parked here next to the Carnival Conquest and the RCCL Radiance and Majesty (4 ships in port today......and waaaaaaay many people). Tomorrow is a sea day but more importantly, the dining room has Lobster for dinner tonight......and I am going for two!

Fishing in Key West

2006-11-30T13:39:00.000-08:00

After saying so long to Tony Sunday night and going to bed early, Peg and I made it up at 3:30 AM for that 6:30 AM flight. All went pretty smoothly but one could not believe how busy it is at ORD at 6:00 Am on a Monday morning after Turkey Day. We felt we were there in plenty of time but the TSA security line took all extra time away from us and by the time we got to our gate, it was already time to board. Three hours and a bad movie later we landed in Ft. Lauderdale and hopped an Airport Express to the Port of Miami. Before we knew it we boarded the Celebrity Century we had heard so much about and were greeted with glasses of Champaign. Our room 8174 is awesome....the flat screen TV on the wall will let you order movies, review your account balance and even allow on board gambling via TV (all on your account). I passed up the TV gambling for the real thing after we sailed away and let me say that roulette was very very good to me on this our first night. We had a great dinner with 6 people from Canada (Saskatchawa) who drove to Miami 2,700 miles to go on this cruise! We were dead tired so we crashed and I got ready for my fishing adventure in
Key West. Once we pulled in to Key West On Tuesday morning I went light tackle fishing with 3 other guys and the captain aboard our Boston Whaler craft with a 200HP Evinrude motor. We went 9 miles out into the Gulf and could not see land anymore. It was really rough most of the time but I didn't even notice it because we were catching so many fish, mostly of the snapper variety. The two in my hands were typical for the morning and these fish really fight hard! The
captain was happy to have them as they were fantastic eating according to him. Our buddies in the next boat caught a 70lb. jew fish (ugly monster sort of thing) and ran into a school of cobia as well. We were not that lucky but the day was fun, the weather was great, the captain was a riot and before we knew it the Century left Key West and we were heading for Grand Cayman Island.

Time has a way of making you forget.....

2006-11-10T19:23:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been a long time. Seeing the posting of babybrock has inspried me! So many things have happened in months gone by but this blogging thing is all about the now. Last night I started my eighteenth season as a basketball coach in some capacity (5 years at Bethlehem Lutheran, 5 years at Fox Valley Lutheran, 1 Year at The University of Wisconsin Center, 3 Years with the Libertyville LadyCat Travel Basketball program, and now my 4th year with the Gurnee Park District recreational league. This year I have 7th and 8th grade boys. Last night was another beginning to a basketball season. I have a great guy helping me for the 2nd year in a row (Doug Cygan) whose son is also on the team. Before the first practice, I looked at this as another responsibility I needed to step up to (since I had already volunteered ahead of time). After showing up, seeing the boys, and taking them through one hour of practice, I came home realizing how much I have missed this game I love so much. I feel there is so many things that one learns throughout a basketball season (ups, downs, teamwork, success, and failure too). The similarities to real life are endless. I never believed in the tee shirts some of my high school players would wear (e.g. "Basketball Is Life"). I do believe though, that much can be learned about life.....through playing on a basketball team. I look forward to this season, I look forward to trying to give the player who can do it all, something else to add to his trickbag, I look forward to helping the player who has no experience....become a major contributor. I mostly look forward to helping a player learn to do something.....he never thought he could do. Last season ended with a very average player (maybe even below average,) getting himself open, catching a pass, and scoring a game winning basket....for me, it doesn't get much better than that. It was such a joy to see this young man do something that he probably never imagined he could do. I am sure my own daughter goes home every night with little joys like this. I am sure she feels these joys on a daily basis in the classroom. I don't get this same great feeling working in the corporate world each day, but I do find it on the basketball court, and in that way....much about life can be learned playing basketball. Thank God a new season has begun.....I cannot wait until our next practice.......and thank God babybrock is back blogging again!

The Walt Disney Studios Experience

2006-08-14T20:32:00.000-07:00

Well, my current and most recent business trip has been very much unlike others. I am usually visiting a small bank in Walnut Creek, CA or Florence, KY or even Nashville, TN but this week I find myself on the back lot of Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, CA. This is a picture of the building I worked in all day today which is just past sound stage 6, Desperate Housewives is filmed in there.....didn't see any though!

I parked in the ZORO parking lot after showing the proper credentials. The Frank G Wells Building which is what you see here was a short walk down a back lot road. It was a very cool experience. The nature of most of our business clients has lots to do with OIL, Banking, Insurance, etc. Blah, Blah, Blah......but big time movie making, now there is some fun data to convert and set up! There is a division of the company for almost every film that is made (not to mention many bank accounts). Anyway, dealing with the issues of a huge production company like Disney was a welcomed experience. Right outside of conference room A was this antique movie camera you see here. This camera was originally used to obtain layered effects in the movie Snow White. Anyway, I hope to get back here soon and perhaps see more of what goes on behind the scenes. The security was interesting, I had to go through all sorts of things to get onto the lot but once on, it seems like I could have wondered anywhere I wanted to! Next time I will!

No Tea Party at Boston Harbor.....

2006-07-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

I finsihed work around 5 Thursday and headed out to treat the client to dinner and cocktails. I never ventured through a huge construction zone just outside my hotel the previous night but I wish I did. On the other side of the construction (the last phase of revamping the city with tunnels and such) was the Boston Harbor waterfront (lined with hotels) We headed through the walkway of the Boston Harbor Hotel to find a beautiful waterfront walkway lined with bars and resaraunts. In the middle of this Hotels waterfront was a BARGE where a band was setting up. At first it seemed like this is probably just a small hotel band trio coming out to entertain the guests. As the band came out (we were sitting right in front of them) they were introduced and the moment they picked up the guitars, we immediately found out that this was no ordinary after work hotel band. Listening to Walter Trout and the Radicals (for the next 3 hours) had to be the most powerful delivery of the BLUES I have ever experienced. OK, I know I can add up the concerets I have been to on my fingers, but this was just one of the most amazingly talented groups I have ever witnessed. Their performance included many solos and it seemed each artist tried to out perform the previous one. Just look at this dude! It was just the best time....and all happened by accident, none of this was planned at all. I ended up buying one of his CD's (which I listened to and like....but it doesn't compare to the show) . These dudes travel and play everywhere so check out their home page and get out to see them if you can. It was an experience I will not soon forget and I instantly fell in love with the harbor front there in Boston. We saw lots of tourists....and it appears Boston does attract lots of visitors with all of its' history and such. Next time I get out there, I may have to save some time to get down to visit Martha's Vineyard.

Cheers........

2006-07-06T04:16:00.000-07:00

I have been travelling a little more than usual lately. After spending a night in Raleigh Durham last week, I find myself in Boston, MA on this Thursday morning. After arriving last night I went for a walk in the neighborhood. I am in the downtown financial district and visited the Quincy Market where all the tourists and street performers are. It took me 2 blocks to run into my first homeless person and 3 blocks to be appraoched by a young couple begging for spare change. I wasn't just imaginging in London, I believe they must be doing something there to take better care of their people in distress. God Bless the Queen!

I walked by Cheers and the bar inside looked exactly like it did on TV. I thought about going in for a beer but I imagined myself being a bit too much like the accountant dude.... (can't remember his name....Norm?). A great line from the show is when he walks in, the bartender asks him "hey what's going down?" and he responds...."my ass on this bar stool!".

I ended up back at the hotel before long as I found little here that was nearly as inspiring as what I saw in London.

I enjoyed reading my son's latest post regarding his 4th of July and it inspired me to write something. I have been to a lot of places in the past 7 months (Newark, Portland, Anchorage, Honolulu, Pearl Harbor, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Louisville, Nashiville, West Palm Beach, Miami, Raleigh-Durham, and Boston to name a few) and probably a few places I cannot even remember. I suppose I could add St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Tortolla, Key West, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel too. Today.... I wish I would have written something about all those places.... while in those places. There is truth to the saying "out of sight, out of mind". There is nothing like being in the place and in the moment.

Blogging is a way to share and document some of those experiences. I hope that when Tony is 64, he will sit and re-read everything he has written. I cannot imagine anything giving one more enjoyment than re-living moments that were actually written about in detail.... through ones life.

All of this said, I have nothing exciting to say about Boston yet, but it is my first of two days here......and right now, I have to get to work!

Saying Goodbye To London....

2006-06-11T03:41:00.000-07:00

I am up, I am packed, I have had breakfast, and I am ready to go. It is only 6AM at home. Somehow I felt like I had to write one more time before leaving the United Kingdom. This picture I took from a river boat ride down the River Themes, going under the Tower Bridge at the Tower of London. The cool thing about the city here is that you will see an ancient structure like this right next to the most modern of office buildings. The city has truely conserved the history of this place. While under the bridge, there was a 61 gun salute going on from the Tower shores. This was not a normal 61 gun salute as they were using 8mm cannons which were drove onto the shore with military vehicles! I just happened upon all this by accident. I didn't get to go inside the tower of london and see the dungeons, torture chambers, or the crown jewels, there were just too many people!

Well, the car is waiting for me downstairs to go to Heathro (3 hours early for this international flight mind you). I will arrive in Chicago at about 6:30PM central time, but it will be past midnight according to my body clock! I am hoping a cool glass of wine when I get home will help me adjust to the drastic change in time zones. Once again, I will be at work tomorrow morning, it just so happens that it will be in a place that is 6,400 air miles from here.

If you have enjoyed reading of my travels, then that makes me even happier that I took the time to document them. If you haven't enjoyed reading this documentary, then why are you reading this now? Well, I am heading for the Air India terminal.

Until I get to see you all again ....and share perhaps, some of the video tape I have of this trip.....I love you, God Bless You, and God Bless The Queen!

Mind Your Head...........

2006-06-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

The use of the english language here never ceases to amaze me. When listening to one speak, you find yourself familiar with all of the words that are being used, but it is the context or the accent or the combination in which they are used, that makes the language quite off. If you look at this picture, you understand all three words, but look how they are put together! Here you will see signs like this all over.....mind the gap, mind your head, way out, etc. The other day one of my colleagues had to leave us and start moving quickly to the rail (the train). He said very seriously, "sorry lads, I got to get on....straight ahead to the rail". He meant he had to start moving quickly and start running toward the train, so he didn't miss it. I understood all the words, it just sounds funny in the way they are put together.

I have learned quite a bit while here....you really have no choice but to learn if you are going to get by. I feel I could get anywhere I wanted to go on the subway....the signage, etc. makes it very easy for one to follow. Just for fun, I thought I would show you a typical view on an underground rail car while bouncing around the city.

Anyway, today I took a river boat ride down the themes river and got off at the tower of london. I didn't visit inside the tower because there were a billion people trying to get in today. I moved on to Oxford Street and did a little shopping. It was very hot today though, so I made my way back home.....and now I am starting to think of all the things I am going to be doing to get home in the next 24 hours such as transportation to Heathro, customs, times, etc. This may be one of my last posts from London England.

Their First, Their Last, and a whole lot of history....

2006-06-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

I took a walking tour today which was actually an extension of a bus (hop on and off) tour. At 4PM each day in London, the Big Bus company takes people on a walking tour through the SOHO district of London and tells them all about the band from Liverpool who came to London in 1961 and tried to make a name for themselves. The tour covers the Beatles life here through 1969 when they played their last live performance ever.....even though it was an impromptu performance. The building in this picture was where the Beatles performed in London for the first time in 1961 (very close to Picadilly Circus...latin for Circle). They were already famous in Liverpool but wanted a record and needed to come to London to win over a record company label. Thier manager did all he could but only 17 people showed up in this theatre to watch them. They went through lots of changes including switching drummers when Ringo Star came on the scene. I didn't know this but their first record company was so nervous about using Ringo that they recorded every song twice, once with a show drummer, and once with Ringo. They used the show drummer versions on singles and Ringo on the album cuts. When John Lennon was later asked if Ringo was the best drummer in the world, he jokingly said, hell, he ain't even the best drummer on the Beatles! It was a great tour and I filmed almost the entire portion where the guide was telling us stories. He also pointed out places where Eric Clapton and Jimmy Hendrix became famous. He told us the story of Jimmy Hendrix's last live performance in a little club that is still there. Jimmy Hendrix died of a drug overdose in London two days after playing at the club the tour guide took us to. We stood in front of the club as he told the story.

When YOKO ONO entered onto the scene, the Beatles really started to fall apart. They recorded Let It Be in a recording studio they eventually moved into (recorded in the basement) but one day decided to take all their gear upstairs and play on the roof. That was in 1969. The building can be seen here on the right. It was sort of a residential area and the people all came out and went wild. A bank manager got pissed off (figures) at all the ruckus and called the police. The police came and almost broke down the door to the studio so they could get up on the roof and stop the hysteria below. The Beatles stopped playing, John said in the microphone, "Thank you all for coming to our audition"....and the group never played together again...ever. The tour was awesome, it was great to hear such a great speaker know so much regarding the history of that band. I would love to share the video I have of the highlights of the walking tour . The tour took us by an awesome building that was very modern and had the letters "pml" over the entrance. The guy said, "ladies and gentleman, welcome to the in-town studio of Paul McCartney Limited. He also said he has been doing the walking tour for 2 years, every day at 4PM and never has seen Paul yet! So there you have it, it seems like years and years they were together but it really wasn't. These buildings though, represent where they played their first "gig" in London, and their last "gig" together. Tony....this is the SOHO you must see in your lifetime. Tomorrow I hope to find a way to get to Abbey Road......

Another Amazing Experience.....

2006-06-09T04:59:00.000-07:00

I met with the client today and had a great chat with them over coffee, sweets, and tea. We discussed where we are and where we are headed. The associate director of the corporation could not be more pleased. He thanked me for travelling so far to meet him, to hear him, and to clearly understand his position and his plan. We ended the meeting with him saying.....Bill, if you hurry along....you will see the changing of the guard just down the road at the palace. I couldn't believe it. He wanted me to catch this event. As my title suggests....today was truely an amazing experience. We have all heard the expression "Changing of the Guard" but until you see the event, the expression has little meaning. I always have my camera with me now, so I took lots of footage and lots of pictures. Lots of patience got me a front row position at the gate! I was still with my newest best friend Michael Dugard from Cassapian....Duggy for short. Michael was excited that I got to see this but after a while said he needed to be a bit rude and leave.....after all, this happens every day! This day was a little special in that they are preparing for the Queens Birthday Sunday. Michael and I said so long and fare well. He was awesome to work with and the people we worked with together loved him too.

At the palace, there were bands playing, police everywhere, guards marching (with real automatic rifles), horses, and lots of people. It was a very festive event. The poor guards were dieing in the heat of the day. Anyway.....it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and everyone should attempt to see this in their life time. As I was standing in front of the palace, home of the Queen of England, ruler of all Great Britan, I thought to myself.....life has been very good to me.

Sunshine on My Shoudlers.......Makes Me Happy

2006-06-08T15:58:00.000-07:00

Well, for those of you looking for an updated blog........leaving comments tends to lead towards more blogs! Just kidding. I actually do not even know where to start. My last two days at work with people and with the Cassapian people have been amazing. I continue to learn lots about the country and lots about the language here. I thought it was side walks that are walk paths but those are actually what we call alley's. Sidewalks here are actually referred to as pavement. When walking around it is important to stay off the road and on the pavement. The London tubes are un-real. They are probably the most modern form of public transportation I have ever seen. Some of the stations are 8 stories deep! You learn lots about the language via signs. They have no EXIT signs here in London, the EXIT signs all say Way out. You simply follow Way out signs and you will eventually be out of where ever you are. I also noticed that where ever we would have a sign Watch Your Step..... they have Mind The Gap! When walking over areas that are not level, you must Mind the Gap! The picture I have included in this blog is of one of the oldest Cathedrals in England and is where Prince Charles was married to Diana (St. Pauls Cathedral). This church is very close to where our Weiland partner offices are in Guildhall, Blackstone House. I didn't go in but I might attend mass there Sunday morning just for the experience of a lifetime. Speaking of Blackwell house (remember everywhere here, there is a building called a house of some name) , inside is a LIFT (what we call an elevator) that is the OLDEST LIFT in England. You have to see it to believe it. I made the mistake at lunch today by telling my business friends all about how much I love cruising. They started laughing at me and mentioned to me that the word CRUISING here means a gay man "out looking" for another GAY man! You should have seen their face when I spoke about the fun it is to go cruising! The differences in language go on and on. I learned today that the people of Whales do not like the English people. They have gone so far as to put travel and road signs up in WELCH (and English) just to piss off the English. Nobody from London reads the Welch signs, but they are there anyway just to piss people off. I also learned that while Whales and Scotland, and other surrounding areas have a local parliament, they are governed by the queen of England based in London. Did you know that when the British flag is full mast, it means the queen is in the palace? Half mast means she is on Holiday (what we call vacation). The British flags adorn the streets around the palace.... tomorrow I hope to see the changing of the guard at 11:30 AM local time. These dudes are amazing in that they do not MOVE! Today the Cassapian folks took me to dinner at London Bridge. I remember a nursery rhime about London Bridge falling down, but I can tell you it hasn't because I was there today! I never thought when I was a little kid that I would be eating under London Bridge one day! As we were having a drink outisde a bar there, a zillion people went running by in a 1 mile run for homeless people......the only issue I have is that I have been all over the city streets and I haven't seen any homeless people! I cannot find any garbage, any homeless people, and I haven't seen a Mexican yet. I am not prejudice mind you, but there are absolutely ZERO Mexicans here. We went out for a coffee this morning and a guy swept up a cigarette butt off the sidewalk right it front of me before I stepped on it. Anyway, more will come to me later, but today was a bit surreal, I found that Paris is a 2 hour train ride away (40 minutes under the English Channel), french fries are not called that at all (they are chips),
and people here love the sunshine more than anyone I have ever seen. It has been shining for 3 days and the guys here tell me it never comes out, that is why so many are outside! The sun has been shining ever since I arrived on Air India 124.

Oh My Oh My....The London Eye

2006-06-06T10:53:00.000-07:00

Sometime not long ago British Airways decided it would be cool to have a Ferris Wheel sort of structure that would raise people in space like capsules hundreds and hundreds of feet above the earth. They call it here...the London Eye. It is quite amazing to see the entire city from this
capsule and after seeing this structure from far away......I just had to do it. It is about a 30 minute ride round trip and if all people get on and off as they are told, the thing never stops moving. You actually get in one of these capsules as they are moving. The good looking guy there in yellow might look familiar. It probably is a good thing Peg was not with me as we raised to the top. The bottom of these things are almost clear glass around you and it sort of a freaky site looking down. My ticket came with a complete brochure about how it was designed and built, and all the things you see when you are on top. This was one of my highlights of the day! I learned another off term today.....they don't have sidewalks here, they are called foot paths. People have to stay on foot paths and bikes have to stay on the road. I also learned all about the tubes today. The tube will take you anywhere. i got a 3 day pass to ride as much as I want for 15 pounds. The circle line does just that.....goes in a circle around the city. I took the the circle line from Westminster station to the Mansion House station. I got off there to see St. Paul Cathedral and then went to Guildhall to find Blackwell House where I am going tomorrow to meet our friends from Cassapian. Every building here seems to have a house name...there is Douglass House, Blackwell House, Vincent House, etc. It is sort of a name for a building instead of the address of the building. Some buildings do have numbers though. Tomorrow I am working at 30 Buckingham Gate....in the Cayzer House. The zip codes are cool too. The first 3 letters of the zip code tell you right away what part of the city is being referred to. I am staying and working in SW1 (westminster is in the south west portion of the city...district 1) . After learning how to use the tube and riding it a bit, I went to speakers corner in Hyde Park. I thought this was going to be some people getting up and speaking about something they were unhappy about but it turns out to be a bit of a historic place where this was done years ago. It may be being done now...but it wasn't when I was there. I bought an ice cream cone, sat in a chair in the park, and for a moment I just enjoyed the moment. I enjoyed the fact that I have had this chance to visit a country so very far away. London is 6,400 air miles from Chicago. This puts me about 9,000 miles away from my son.....and farther away than I have ever been from those I love. This is a nice play to live I must say.....it took me until about 4PM to realize I have been all over this city today...walking for miles in the city, in the residential areas, and at the touristy places too...and NOT once did I ever see a homeless person, a person soliciting money, any garbage, any scary people....I never even saw an unhappy person! There is something very strange about this place! Anyway....I have tons of pictures and will post more too. Now it is time to focus on work, and to get ready for meeting people tomorrow who are more interested in work issues than they are all the things I am getting to experience while being here. I hope to have more time free because now that I know the tube system...getting around to see anything and everything is all the more easier. Even though today is 6-6-6, the day could not have been better!

My London Fog has lifted......

2006-06-06T05:47:00.000-07:00

Well today I feel like myself again. After a good night sleep, a healthy breakfast and a fresh shower, I was ready for some walking. I took lots of pictures and video. A couple blocks just outside my hotel is westminster abbey, the tower of big ben (shown here), and the london eye. One hour and twenty minutes after I took this photo, the chimes from big ben rang at noon. like washington dc, this place is a tourists dream. after leaving the london eye, i headed up mall drive through st. james park at to the buckingham palace. the park and all its' surrounding are very clean and well kept. it was a beaautiful day for video tape and my london story has quite a bit of footage thus far. most things are normal here but every once in a while you pick up little strange differences in language. there are no LINES here, if you have to wait in line for something, you get into a Queqe. Everything here has to do with a "bit of a". It is a bit of cool day, there is a bit of crowd over there, and there is a bit of a traffic jam everywhere. Everyone is very friendly. after leaving the palace i went down buckingham gate and found where I needed to be tomorrow for a 2PM meeting. On accident I found a barber shop and got my hair trimmed for 10 lbs. actually, it was 9.90 lbs and I got a 10 pay back. so far i have learned that a penny here is called a pence and a dime is a 10 pay. you have to think twice about money here. for a tip i gave the girl two coins that looked like quarter and i thought they were pounds. after looking closely, i found they were two pound pieces. so i got my hair cut for 9.9 pounds and the tip by mistake was 4 pounds. all i know for sure is that i have lost pounds ! anyway, i wil catch up with my work now.....and be sure i am ready for tomorrow. my next adventure is to take the underground to where i am meeting people tomorrow morning....i have a lot to learn about the tubes today.....more later.

Hell and Damnation...

2006-06-05T14:49:00.000-07:00

I left Sunday's baseball game in Vernon Hills at 6PM and headed for ORD. The instructions I got were to be there 3 hours early for a 9:30PM flight. Having never flown to Europe or the UK, I thought I would follow instructions. I knew this was about to be a bad experience because as I arrived at ORD economy parking, I learned that the largest lot (Lot E) is now CLOSED for the summer and they are cramming everyone into the other remote lots.....and they are cramming people into little busses..... and cramming their luggage onto the busses, and stopping at 6 different parking lot locations to cram more of these things ON and OFF the busses. I couldn't believe it when a guy was cramming past me (sitting down) and caught a woman's fingernail in one of his bags hardware! He ripped her fake nail off and she screamed ....first in pain ....then in dis-belief. With the bus fully crammed, the driver says he is not moving until everyone is sitting somewhere! This one dude had to sit in another dude's lap! I was going nuts...... I finally arrive at the remote train station and make my way up.....first time ever to exit at teminal five. When the doors openned, a million international people atempt to load the train before anyone could even get out. I was starting to see why they were saying 3 hours ahead! I fought my luggage out the train and up the escalator but a guy behind me got anxious at the top....made a quick move....and dumped my laptop case off of my suitcase roller. I recollected myself and found a sign that said Air India Flight 124 (3 Hour Delay)! I hadn't quite hit damnation yet, but I was definitely entering HELL! It was exactly 6:51 PM and I have just been informed my flight will board at 10:30PM! So I put my bags through one xray machine just to get into the check in line, check my bags in......walk them over to the TSA dudes for more XRay. I look around and am surprised at the fact I am about the only caucasian (I am surrounded by people of the Indian decent). At first I thought wow, look at all the Indian people going to London. Then I find that London is just a refueling for where they are really going......INDIA! Moaib is exactly 8 hours beyond London. Well, after a good dinner at the local Hilton (BTW this is a great travel tip...if you have time at ORD, forget the terminals and head over to the HILTON where they have 2 great sit down restaurants) I go back to terminal 5, buy a large water and prepare to board cause it was almost 10:30. Our 747 pulls up, lets off the people....and trys to open the only cargo door available (at the ass end of the plane). The door opens up 1/2 way and stops. No kidding....i was already in hell but I was NOW at the entrance to damnation. The people who got off now cannot get any luggage and the captain will not allow us to board until the problem is solved. Four hours later (yes 4 hours) they announce the door is open and let's board. I was asleep in 59A before we ever took off but the take off awoke me to find it was now 3:30am and we were now 6 Hours late leaving ORD. The only other planes this airline had, were in India.....so there were no options. Durring this ordeal, we watched 3 British Airways planes leave for London!

Accepting the fact that I had now been through both Hell and Damnation, we flew all night and I slept 6 hours of the 8 hour ordeal. We landed at Heathro (a very large ultra-modern airport now) and I had few problems getting through customs. I felt sorry for all the people going on to Moaib because they wouldn't even let them off the plane. The guy next to me said they cannot go through customs anyway because the UK doesn't allow people from India into the country without a Visa. I guess I felt a little lucky here. I jumped into a Hotel Link bus and drove around London for a while before getting to my hotel here at about 7:30 PM local time. Rush hour here is nuts and the double decker busses are everywhere. Being too tired and beat to do anything, I went downstairs and had 2 pork chops for dinner before returning to my room to write this. it is 5PM Chicago time now....... but oh soooo late according to me! I have been in transit for 24 hours. I am ready for sleep, I am ready to think good thoughts of my life, my wife, and all my children, and to start a new day tomorrow............ with a one way ticket OUT of hell and damnation.

54 Rings.....

2006-05-16T20:01:00.002-07:00

We have been talking about it for years now, but on May 12th, 2006 we did it. We cut down a pine tree at the family cottage that was causing damage to the property. Her roots were heaving the sidewalk and tilting it back towards the house. This has been causing water problems in the garage for years. This wasn't just any tree as found in the woods around the cabin. It was one of two pine trees planted as babies in the summer of 1951, just in front of the house.

I am sure my father had no idea in 1951, that these trees would grow to great heights, be visible from far distances out on the lake, and one day 54 years into the future...be cut down by his three sons on a rainy Saturday afternoon. How could he have known? The tree was down and in pieces in a matter of hours. We left the stump as a beer holder for the person operating the barbecue grill in days ahead, and while waiting for the steaks to get cooked, one will be able to count all 54 rings in the tree stump (OK, most of us will need our reading glasses....but they are all there).

In a mini celebration on Saturday night 5-13, John, son in law Jim, and myself toasted the tree stump at midnight with shots of jagger bombs. The youngest of the brothers had already gone to bed and had difficulty finding humor in the words and comments of the oldest brother (this is what a lack of jaggerbombs will do to you)!

In any case, I never toasted a tree stump, or a tree removal for that matter....but this was special. We still have the 16mm movie that shows the planted tree at 3 feet tall, and little Margie running around the front yard at the age of almost one.

While the tree is gone, the roots are still there and the stump is still there. The rings will remind everyone, of how old she became before she had to be destroyed. The movie marking the event will be copied and shared, and perhaps one day the movies can be spliced together...the day she was planted, and the day she was cut down. One would only have to look at the pictures on the wall inside the cabin to appreciate all the memories, the fun, and the events that took place, in the years during which..... that pine grew so tall....

A Wonderful World....

2006-03-31T21:10:00.000-08:00

For those who were waiting to hear the blow by blow about our vacattion, I must appologize. The Celebrity Zenith is a nice ship for being so old, but she doesn't have the high techness needed to update a blog in a few minutes or less. I could hardly respond to an email much less post a blog. The web response time was horrible (netscape only) and the cost was .50 per/minute. At that price, you all can wait till now to hear about the events and such.

The cruise was great....mostly being with great people made it great. Arnie and Bobbie are wonderful to be with.....easy going, fun no matter what, just want to relax and enjoy. Even when things didn't go quite right, time with them was still great!

I got to do a little working out, a little reading, a little sun, and more than anything, a lot of just kicking back. I thought a 5 day cruise would go by too fast but it was fine....just enough of everything....enough gambling, enough sun, enough food, and enough of doing nothing before realizing you cannot live your life (or a vacation) doing just nothing. Everything was smooth....the trip down, the days at Diane's, the Polo, the ship boarding, the cruise, and the return. I liked the idea of coming back on Thursday..... for work on Friday.... to prepare for Monday. It seemed to mesh well.

Our shore excursions did not work out to well....one snorkel trip was cancelled due to high seas and another should have been cancelled due to high seas. Have you ever tried snorkeling in 3 foot waves? Forget about it..... We had the most fun just sitting around, talking by the pool and listening to the greatest cruise band I have ever heard ("Changes" from St. Lucia).

We returned home to normalcy...a little taner, very relaxed, and happy to know the Munsons just a little better. We met Doug and Jean (a retired art collector and his wife from St. Augustine, FL) and Bill and Robette from the south shore of New Jersey (two people dedicated to helping unfortunate [disabled] / Autistic people) on the cruise at our dinner table. It was nice talking to them and learning about them.

While the Celebrity Zenith is a little old and a little worn, she was still in great shape and a pleasure to experience. As for shore excursions, we have learned to be even more inquisitiive....as in .....how many people will be on our tour? We love people....but sometimes there are just too many! For the tour operators, it is often about money......and sometimes they forget that what makes a tour special is the right number of people (not too many and not too few).

Anyway, vacation is over.....Reality is back. I can look forward to the next vacation like this (I think next October) but I will not dwell on it. Instead I will look forward to simple weeks and weekends, time spent with family and friends, celebrations of sorts (Carie will be getting her masters degree, Tony will finally return home for a visit, Jamie will soon be a year older, Jim and Jamie will celebrate a wedding anniversay in May.....and no matter what else I have to say about life, I know it will simply go on).

I did get two more tee shirts this vacation and I wore one to work today. More memories, more pictures, more video, and ......more to remember. The quilt just got bigger. I know I will never see or hear from them again, but I wish the best of luck to Bill and Robette because people like them are few and far between. I wish Jean a happy remainder to her life, and Doug all the art in the world....and I hope that we cruise again with Bobbie and Arnie, because we had a wonderful time with them, and vacations are meant to be filled.......with wonderful times.

This Shirt......

2006-03-25T06:12:00.000-08:00

Today is the day. We are all in the process of getting up, packing up our things, and heading off to do what I enjoy more than just about anything....going on a cruise. It is a gorgeous day today although cool (70 will be the high in west palm beach). we will board the ship in a couple of hours. Peg got an email this morning from a client who just returned from their cruise (14 days to the panama canal and back). It is always so nice to hear people express their happiness with their vacations. The client described many details of the things she loved, but ended her note to Peg with this:

"Thanks again for all your help in securing our verandah suite. It was a special treat to come to our room everynight and spend time sitting outside enjoying the night and the stars. I will defintely refer any one who asks about cruising to you. I know they will be in good hands."

These words are actually what make Peg's job so fun. Getting constant feedback and appreciation is not something we find in the every day workplace of most jobs.

I used to count the days until vacation and then drink too much for fun. What I really enjoy more these days is time away, relaxation, a chance to work out and try and get back into healthy shape, and going on little adventures doing things I have never done before (scuba diving, deep sea fishing, para-sailing, etc. I have done all 3 of these things in the past 15 months).

This will be a short cruise but a relaxing one. I got my favorite VB.Net book with me and hope to understand all there is to know about ADO.Net on sea days. The 5 days will go fast and before you know it, we will be home. Until then I intend to enjoy each day to the fullest, and appreciate all the moments of the trip. I thought that if I break the 5 days down into moments, it will be a much longer vacation.

I told Peg that when my days are done I would like to have a quilt made of all the cruise ship tee-shirts I now own. I am saving every one of them, even if they get stained with paint, oil, grease (or red wine) they still remain in my dresser. I would like to tell you I remember every one of the islands and all the events but the truth is, I don't. I do remember lots of good times, lots of laughs, and amazing sites in general.....did you ever see a cruise ship clear an overhead bridge on the Chesapeake Bay by 6 feet? We did, we were on it.....another amazing view. It is the people though, that seem to make a difference. It is the people you are with and the people that you meet. Last summer, Peg and I met and had dinner with Una.... from Ireland, who is the HR director for 750 crew members of Grandeur of the Sea....very interesting person. What was really impressive is that she knew every crew member by name and never hesitated to stop and chat with them while walking around the ship.

Well, time to go now....I will end this rant by saying the only problem with making a quilt at this point, is that I do not yet have enough tee shirts. I will add the Celebrity Zenith to my collection this week.....and I want to add many more in the future........but my real hope is that all of you can be with me for some of those future adventures because while the sites and views are amazing, the tee shirts leave marked memories of time spent together with what's really important to me, the people I love so much....

Drifting Away....

2006-03-23T19:05:00.000-08:00

Well, we left the house at 5:30AM sharp and headed for Mitchell Field in Milwaukee. As usual, the Milwaukee check-in was very smooth....no worries. There is always lots of people on the early morning flights out of there but it flows smoothly. We ended up having a long conversation with the TSA dude about fishing......as he was checking out Billy's fishing poles. I almost had to say to him....."get back to work, there are people coming!".

It was very warm when we arrived, and after an hour or so we were headed for West Palm Beach to Diane's home. It reminded me of the many times I did this routine to visit Peg, but this time it was Peg and I together and the first time she had been back to West Palm Beach since our wedding.

We had a relaxing night and morning before going to a POLO match in Wellington Thursday. If you are not familiar with it, POLO is a very interesting game that lots of people get excited about....but really just has a lot to do with money....lots of money and lots of wealthy people. You for sure have the feeling that we are not in Kansas anymore.

The weather was great most of the day and we all just sort of enjoyed being there and starting to forget about work. Forgetting about work is not easy, we have banks and corporations with software issues all over the map.....and somehow I am trying to just forget about these issues for a while so I can enjoy being away. There are always issues....it's really how one deals with them in the end. Sometime we have a real crisis and sometimes we have just a Joe Smith crisis. It is important to know the difference.

The cruise business has taken a few hits today. Our honeymoon ship (the STAR Princess) caught fire on its way to Montego Bay and the Celebrity ship Milenium had a shore excursion go bad with 11 people dieing. Through it all, we are looking forward to a great trip out of Miami on Saturday afternoon. Arnie will be here tomorrow night and we will get a good night sleep before boarding on Saturday.

Billy is with his dad (they went to a Panthers game yesterday) and he called today to say he was having fun. We probably should call Katie tomorrow and tell her we have all left on a vacation while she has headed back to school!

Anyway.....vacations do teach you a valuable thing about life. There is life and there is work, between them a balance is needed..... I love my work and I would not say that if I didn't mean it, but I choose life.

Already There........

2006-03-19T15:23:00.000-08:00

Well.....time away is upon us. I can feel it. I don't know why and I cannot say for sure, but for some reason, I have been working harder, longer, and more intensely than I have in years. For some reason, there is a sense of urgency about work, people at work, things that need to get done at work, and important issues to deal with at work. There also seems to be a cloud of stress over it all as well. It hasn't always been like this. Seems it has been very much a country club atmosphere for a long time. I used to be so focused on fun things to do outside of work but now it seems work is all there is... and fun things to do outside of the job have seemed scarce.

This is perhaps why I am looking forward to some time off. It has been at least 9 hours a day, 6 days a week since Christmas day. Even now, it seems like time will be stolen from the job to try and have some fun. In any case.....fun is going to be had!

We are leaving Wednesday to head down to West Palm Beach to spend a few days with one of Peg's dear old friends Diane. She is very excited about having us which makes it even more exciting to be going! Saturday Peg and I will board a Celebrity Ship (Zenith) with 2 of the very best people we know (Bobbi and Arnold). Saturday night we head out for the Western Caribbean but it really doesn't matter because I will have stopped caring about anything... 3 days earlier.

When you think about it, that is what a vacation is.....a place far away from where you normally are (like work), where you don't seem to have a care in the world (like worrying about responsibilities). Just getting away seems so good for the soul. In that light, we could just as well be going to a hotel in a town far away or to Land O Lakes, or to visit Colorado Springs, or wherever. I guess you could say that a vacation is a state of mind (or an escape from a prevailing state of mind).

When I think of Tony out in Portland and what being there has done for him, I guess you could say that getting away from it all......might apply to more than just vacations. In any case, I am out of here in 3 days......but I will post daily if possible to share my experiences! Somehow, that is part of the fun too! If you are reading this, there is a damn good chance that I wish you were going away with us.....

Guilt Recovery

2006-03-15T19:05:00.000-08:00

OK....I have finally done it it. I have created a blog for those close to me to see. I have finally adopted the idea as a great way to share feelings with those I care about. I am not sure why I am doing this.

One thought that came to me was my Uncle Ray. He told me a long time ago that he wanted to document his life. He had this urge to share his life with me and others. He especially wanted us to hear what he had to say, after he was gone. This is sort of a weird thing but I have come to the conclusion that he really was an emotional person. I am convinced that I also have this character trait and probably got it from my mothers side of the family......like him.

Uncle Ray did have an interesting life and I will hope to write more (what I know) about it in the future. For now, suffice to say that maybe he had a great idea. Maybe I should be sharing more of my life with those I love through words and thoughts that I have. I would hope that these words would stick around for years to come whether I was here or not. That is perhaps one of the coolest things about blogging. The words and thoughts will stay with those that really care....forever.

Perhaps the second thing that really caused me to start this thing was my special experience attending Carie's 3rd grade classroom yesterday. It really is hard to put the whole experience into words. After walking through the doors to the school I was a bit overcome by this guilty feeling of "why have I not yet done this?".....and "Why has it taken me so long to bring myself to this place I have heard so much about?". I don't really have the answer to these questions. I suppose I have been a bit intimidated by the things I have heard from Carie and Jason. In a weird way, the details are a bit scary. The funny thing is that I felt completely at ease the moment I arrived at the door. I had the chance to attend a real meeting with teachers and administrators.... where discussion surrounding real people and real problems took place.

I am so used to meetings where the focus is money...all money, how much in? how much out? how much time? how much cost? The meetings I attend never discuss opportunities for people to experience simple things in life. The discussion never turns to "what can we do to make a difference in a persons life?"....and yet, that was the ONLY focus of this meeting! What an enlightening experience!

There was the initial shock of meeting the students...they were different than I imagined....really a loving bunch and you could see in their eyes that they just wanted to be loved, and paid attention to. As if I wasn't already feeling guilty enough, one student asked me if I brought cupcakes for them?

All afternoon I was meeting people and eventually they would comment on what an awesome teacher my daughter was. The interesting thing was.... they were not saying it to make me feel good or to be socialable (they didn't care about that). They really wanted to just tell me how awesome of a teacher Carie really is....because that is what they thought. Words cannot describe the level of pride I felt inside to watch Carie interact with the students and teach them a lesson about geography......where Wisconsin is, where Land O Lakes is, where her brother Tony lives, and why it is important to know that there is a world outside the ghetto of Milwaukee.

One thing my visit made me feel beside guilt, is one of anxiety. Now I want to go back. I want to help the boy who is stuck on his 4X's multiplications while others are on their 8X's. I want to help the little girl who thought Washington DC is the capital of Canada and another thought that the state of Wisconsin is a picture of George Bush. I want to talk with the young girl who had to be physically dragged from the room by an aid because she would no longer cooperate with the teacher. And more than anything, I want Carie to know that when she is cremated, her ashes should be spread around the rooms at the Academey of Learning and Leadership in Milwaukee, WI..... because what she is doing there, means more than anything the rest of us will ever know.