12/3/11 We are now sitting in the airport waiting for our flight to Houston so I will try to post some pictures from our Holy Land cruise and the transatlantic. If you want the information about these places, you will have to scroll through the previous posts.
One of the beautiful views from the Isle of Capri, near Naples, Italy:

One of the more unique and interesting places in Capri was this perfume factory and shop:

Elaine and the view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives:

Graves on the Mount of Olives, a prime (and expensive) place to be buried:

Olive trees in the Garden of Gesthemane:

Front of the church built in the Garden of Gesthemane:

Oscar Shindler's grave:

Street cart selling Jerusalem bagels:

Walls and one of the gates of the old city of Jerusalem:

Narrow streets in Old Jerusalem:

Inside of the church that was built over the rock and tomb where Jesus was laid after his crucifixion:

One of the mosaics in that church:

One of the little shops along the Via Dolorosa in Old Jerusalem:

Snacks for sale in the narrow street of Via Dolorosa:

Men playing board games near the shops in Old Jerusalem:

Jewish man in traditional garb in Jerusalem:

Women at the wailing (or Western) wall in the women only section:

Man in fancy fur hat, a form of traditional garb for wealthy Jews:

Sign when we went to Bethlehem, which is in Palestine:

Graffiti on the wall separating Palestine from Israel:

View of Haifa from the top of the Baha'i gardens:

Closeup of part of the immaculate Baha'i Gardens in Haifa:

Church of the Immaculate Conception built over the ancient town of Nazareth:

One of the mosaics of Mary and baby Jesus sent from Thailand:

Back view of the church:

Ruins of the town of Nazareth located under the church:

They grow and eat a lot of pomegranates here:

First view of the Sea of Galilee with the Golan Heights towering over it:

Baptismal site on the Jordan River:

They even grow bananas in Israel:

12/1/11 Opps, it is now Dec.1 and I haven't posted for almost a month because we have been just too busy. Once we returned from the transatlantic cruise, we had to retrieve our car at Darran & Marielle's in San Diego. The next day we drove to Park Sierra, where we had left our RV, and we started loading it up with everything we thought we might need to clean, repair, and paint the vacant rental house in Santa Clara. The next day we drove to the house and got started. We had hopes of parking on the street near the house but Santa Clara police told us in gruff terms that we could not "live" on the street. So we went to the Santa Clara Elks Lodge, which was only 3 miles from the house. It was a bit expensive, for an Elks Lodge, but it worked out quite fine.
Luckily, the former tenants had not left a bunch of junk and they had also done a partial job on cleanup, so we were able to start painting almost right away. Elaine's daughter Tarra, and her husband Alonzo, helped us with some of the cleaning and repair work, plus they got some of their contacts to come over and give us bids for work that we couldn't do, such as carpet repair, exterior painting, shed roof repair, etc. So, by Friday, Nov. 18 we felt like it was in decent enough shape to put an ad in Craig's List and start showing it. Within 30 minutes we had 3 calls and the first 2 people who came over applied to rent it. The next day we got 2 more applications. The first couple who applied qualified and they are now our new tenants. They have also been very helpful in getting some things finished even after we left the area. We continued painting and fixing and finished the interior on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. Hooray!
Thanksgiving we had a delightful time and delicious meal at Tarra & Alonzo's house in Fremont. Their 3 girls were there too and it was a fun family time. The next day we went back to Park Sierra to get our rig ready to travel to the Southwest for at least part of the winter, and also to start packing for our 2 one week cruises to the Caribbean which start on Dec. 4.
We then headed south and one of the first things that happened was our tow bar snapped a spring on one side, so the arm wouldn't stay extended. That meant driving the car separately. At least no damage was done to the car or the RV when it collapsed in. We have contacted Blue Ox and apparently it will be a fairly easy and inexpensive fix once the part arrives.
So now we are preparing to leave our rig and car and fly to Houston on Saturday. Our cruise friends, Duane and Dorothy McCarthy, who were with us on the transatlantic cruise a few weeks ago will be our hosts overnight, and they will also drive us to Galveston to the ship on Sunday. This 2 week period in the Caribbean will be a welcome vacation after all the hard physical work we did on the house. When we return, Dec. 18, we will have to make some decisions as to where we will go next. We DO plan to attend Boomerville in Quartzsite between Jan. 14-30 and also go to the big fireworks festival called Winterblast in Lake Havasu City in Feb. Hope to see some of you in these 2 places! The pictures I promised to post from the Holy Land cruise and the transatlantic cruise will be posted tomorrow, hopefully! Thanks for your patience.

11/3/11 My Goodness – it is November already (!) and the days have been flying by while we are cruising on the Mariner of the Seas. Since we have started the long trek across the Atlantic now, we are having 6 sea days in a row before we arrive in Nassau. This is Elaine's favorite part of cruising because it means long, lazy days on the ship, where we have all our needs met by the labors of somebody else! For example, we just finished having a nice lunch in the dining room with our old cruise friends, Duane and Dorothy McCarthy and 6 of their old friends, whom we didn't know before. Now we have several hours of down time before meeting friends in the Diamond Plus lounge for drinks. Later this evening there will be a special party and ice skating show for returning Crown & Anchor members in the top tiers. Then we will attend a first-rate violin performance in the theater by a lady we have seen before on another cruise. Tough life, isn't it?
The ports we have visited since my last posting have been fun and interesting. Our time in Athens turned out to be fine because it was Sunday and they usually don't have strikes and riots on Sundays when no one is working. We did see riot police in Syntagma Square, but all was well. At 11AM on Sundays the changing of the guard at the Parliament building becomes a big event because there is a marching band, and the entire regiment in their really unique uniforms marches in too. Then they do some tricky routines with foot stomping, balancing on one leg, pivoting and rifle maneuvers, before two guys actually replace the 2 that have been on duty. I got some really good pictures, which I will post when we are back in the USA. Elaine says she has never seen so many men wearing skirts in public!
By the time we got to the Acropolis, we had been walking around a while and Elaine was tired because of her cold, and I had a headache. There were big crowds to get in so we decided to just walk the perimeter on our way to the train back to Piraeus and see what we could, and then do an extended visit to all the ruins on our next visit. It was a lovely, sunny day and just walking around was enjoyable. Getting into Athens from the port was easy and cheap using the Metro. Whenever we can explore on our own, we always get so much more out of the experience.
The day we had in Athens was right after we had been in Kusadasi, Turkey and we found out from the news on TV that they had a huge earthquake in the eastern part right after we had left. Our hearts go out to those poor people when we see all the crumpled buildings and hear the stories about the deaths, injuries, and the rare instances of rescues. Many of our friends e-mailed us to make sure we were OK, and we appreciated it that we were the recipients of such caring concern. Thanks to those who wrote.
The next port was Chania, Crete, and we had a short day there, but it was charming. Once again it was easy and inexpensive to get to town using the public bus which picked us up right at the ship. The local market was right where we got off the bus and we got to have samples of raki and ouzo, two of the Greek liquors we have heard a lot about. They taste like licorice. We walked through the old, narrow, cobblestone streets filled with shops and restaurants, down to the port area. It was constructed during the time when Venice was a major world player, and thus is like a Venician port. There is also a fort on one side and a lighthouse on the other side of the harbor entrance. When we returned to the bus stop, firefighters and police were gathering in droves in the square and it looked like some sort of demonstration was going to be taking place, so we got on the bus and returned to the ship. Later we learned that the ship sailed late due to the difficulty of getting all the passengers back on board once those demonstrations started and the bus route changed. Good thing the bus drivers didn't decide to join the work stoppage!
The first cruise ended on Oct. 26 when we returned to Civitavecchia. It was rainy and cold so we stayed on the ship for a very nice special lunch for back-to-back cruisers. Then we started running into all our old cruise friends who were coming on board for the transatlantic. It was great to see everyone again: Carol & Byron Hall, Len & Letty Reeser, Duane & Dorothy McCarthy, Ken & Carolyn Kimpton, Susan Matthews, and June & Ralph Shortill, all joined us. The first night in the Diamond Plus lounge was chaos, even though they had moved us to Ellington's, a much larger lounge than before. Things are somewhat better organized now, although there still isn't a lot of available seating because there are so many return cruisers for these long transatlantics.
Palma de Mallorca, Spain, is a lovely island off the east coast of Spain which we have visited once before. Royal Caribbean has sunk to using deceiving tactics such as putting in the daily Cruise Compass that shuttle buses are “required” here and in Funchal, Madiera, and they are charging $12 per person for them! We knew they weren't so we just walked out of the port and caught the public bus with David & Diane for 1.25 Euros each way. Had a lovely day poking around this scenic and historic city. The cathedral there is immense and easy to see from all the way across the harbor. Gaudi did some of the renovations near the altar about 100 years ago, so next time I want to go in and see it even though it costs 4.5 Euro to get in. We have trouble convincing ourselves that we should pay to get into churches....
The next day we were in Cartagena, Spain and again we lucked out and had lovely weather. This is a small and scenic town we have visited about 5 times so we mostly just walk around, shop a little, and did some computer stuff at the free WiFi at Burger King, near the port. It was interesting to see in the supermarket that they are now selling wine in 1 liter waxed cardboard cartons at very reduced prices, such as we had in 2001 when we were in Chile. It tastes great too. And, there were some small boxes too, like juice boxes, three in a pack, for about 1 Euro. Additionally, they have some wine in plastic 1 and 2 liter bottles, like Coke bottles. We didn't try any of that. One of the benefits of the cardboard boxes is that you can bring them on the ship in your daypack and they don't confiscate them because they don't know it is wine! We also passed a bride getting out of a limo in front of the church in a very gorgeous wedding dress, with the church all decorated and everyone looking so spiffy. Of course, she didn't look as pretty as Marielle, our new daughter-in-law who just married Darran in San Diego.
Our day in Funchal, Madiera was actually hot, but of course, these islands are off the coast of Africa, yet this one is Portugese. Lots of our friends went off to do the toboggan ride from Monte, the town near the top of the steep hills towering over Funchal. They have wooden sleds which they slide down the steep cobblestone streets with strong men wearing shoes with rubber tire soles who turn them, slow them down, and stop them when necessary. A ride costs 25 Euro for one or 30 for 2 people. I have yet to convince Elaine that we should try this, but Letty & Len loved it. We walked around and also went to the market with Byron & Carol. Letty wanted us to pick up some poncha for them; it is a local liquor made with rum, lemon or tangerine juice, and honey, so we tried it at a bodega. It was good but sweet, and we didn't get any for ourselves. The town is so scenic with streets and sidewalks inset with black and white stones in patterns, and lots of narrow pedestrian streets, which open onto small areas where there are tables and chairs outside for people to sit around and drink coffee, beer, or smoke and talk. We stopped at one in a quiet area and had a local beer called Coral. It was good, but not unusual.
The next day we were in La Palma, Canary Islands, and again the weather was warm and sunny. The Canaries belong to Spain. We were going to catch a bus around the island with Ken and Carolyn, and Diane Wilson, but it was a bank holiday so the bus schedule was erratic, and we might not have made it back to the ship on time. Instead we walked through the scenic little town to the other end where there was a replica of one of Christopher Columbus' ships, the Santa Maria. There was also a scenic viewpoint from a fort located fairly high above the town and the seafront. The town was loaded with beautifully restored old buildings with wooden balconies, most of which had wonderfully colored flowers artfully arranged all over them. I'm sure the town will seem very different if we go there again when most of the businesses are open. This time it seemed like a nice, quiet, sleepy, picturesque town with no stress and lots of beauty, with a very comfortable climate. The island itself has very high mountains that seem to rise very quickly from the seafront towns, so it is not heavily populated.
That was our last port until Nassau, and then one week from today this cruise ends in Galveston. The weather has still been sunny and warm on the ship but we have been experiencing big swells, and fairly often there are big booming noises at the front of the ship when it gets hit by rogue waves. We are hoping that the “motion in the ocean” doesn't get any worse because then people will start to become seasick. Also, the ice show and the production numbers in the theater, with lots of dancing, will have to be postponed.
Elaine is over her cold and we are able to work out in the gym every day and also attend some lectures and other activities. Probably I won't post to this blog again and until we are back in the USA and I can add some pictures. Thanks for cruising with us!

10/22/11


Our latest travel adventure has been fun so far. On Oct. 12 our friend Flo Palumbo drove us to the San Diego airport. We were there way too early, considering it was merely a “puddle jumper” flight to LAX, but they had told us to be there 3 hours early because our flights were international. At LAX we had no problems getting our British Air flight to Heathrow, which arrived at 10AM on the 13th. Then we had a short wait before the flight to Rome. Arriving at about 4PM, it took a while to get our one checked bag and get to the train. Had to take one train to Trastavere Station, which took about 30 minutes, and then catch a different train to Civitavecchia, which took 1 ¼ hours. So it was dark by the time we arrived. It was also a fairly warm evening. On the train we met Nobi and Brooke, a couple from San Francisco who were taking our cruise and also staying at the Villa Susanna with us. We all walked to the hotel, which was about 5 blocks away. It was a very clean, no-frills place where we were warmly welcomed by Luigi, given a map, and suggestions for dinner places. We four had a very welcome red wine and pizza at a local restaurant and got better acquainted. The shellfish spaghetti others were eating smelled and looked wonderful, but when we tried to order it, they were out, darn it. Maybe we can get some on our next day there – the 26th.
Villa Susanna was a nice quiet place, with everything we needed and at a good price, considering this is Europe. The next morning we had cold pizza for breakfast and hauled our luggage into the main part of town where we caught the free shuttle bus to the ship. It was like coming home to board the Mariner of the Seas, since this is the ship we took Around the Horn in 2009, a 46 day cruise, and in January of this year we took all our kids onboard for the last Mexican Riviera cruise the Mariner did before moving back to Florida. We had a happy reunion with David and Diane Wilson in the Windjammer buffet over lunch, and fell right back into the usual routine of having Happy Hour drinks in the Diamond Plus lounge. As usual, we have been seeing people we have met on other cruises.
Our first port day was in Naples, where Elaine and I have been before. That time we walked through the city to the train station and went to the ruins at Pompeii, the city which was covered during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79AD. This time we walked to the hydrofoil station and took a fast boat to the Isle of Capri. Thank goodness we weren't taking a regular boat because it was very windy and there were fairly high waves with whitecaps. Upon arriving on the island, we took the funicular to the town above the port area. There were tremendous views and the small town is full of boutique hotels and expensive stores. It was quite a charming place, and we enjoyed walking to the Gardens of Augustus. On the way we passed a place where there were old stills outside as part of the landscaping in front of a perfume factory and store. It is an industry that has been in effect here since the 1300's. The clifftop views from the gardens were incredible, as Capri has quite steep slopes. There is also a natural arch in a sea stack off another part of the coast, so we walked through another part of the town to see it. The fun of doing all these walks is to see the flowers, houses, streets, stores, restaurants, etc. on the way and see how the people here have lived for hundreds of years.
After 2 sea days, we arrived at Ashdod, Israel, which is the port nearest to Jerusalem. We had booked a tour through Guided Tours Israel so that we could explore in a smaller group than if we had done a shore excursion offered by Royal Caribbean. Our group had 16 and we were hauled around in a comfy Mercedes van by a very competent driver and an enthusiastic guide named Isaac. There was some trepidation about what might happen this day, because it was a holy day, and also the day when the big prisoner exchange was going to take place. Israel wanted one of their soldiers back, he had been kidnapped 5 years ago by the Palestinians, so in exchange, they released more than 1000 Palestinian prisoners, many of them terrorists. However, as we drove to Jerusalem, it became obvious that the holiday was working in our favor because traffic was lighter than usual. The streets are very narrow, hilly and winding and our driver was an expert at getting us to the sights.
Our first stop was at the Mount of Olives, where there are thousands of graves because the Jews believe that at the second coming, anyone buried there gets raised from the dead. A grave there today costs about a million dollars. Suddenly there was lots of gunfire, which our guide said signaled the successful prisoner exchange and everyone's joy that the Israeli soldier had been returned alive. We went to the very beautiful church towards the bottom of the hill with an ancient olive grove. Then we walked through the Zion Gate through the old city walls and into the heart of Jerusalem. Here we spent hours exploring the Jewish and Christian quarters, Church of Holy Sepulcher, the Via Dolorosa (the walk that Jesus did with the cross, so the stations of the cross are marked), tried a Jerusalem bagel, walked across some roofs for a good view back at the Dome of the Rock and Mount of Olives, and shuffled our way through the Shuk, or marketplace, full of small stalls and very much like the convoluted streets and bazaars called souks in Morocco, Turkey, and Syria. Then we went to the Western Wall, also called the Wailing Wall, which was VERY crowded, due to the holy day. Our guide gave each of us a small piece of paper, told us to write a wish on it, and then we were supposed to roll it up and put it into a crack in the wall. The papers are eventually collected and buried in a holy place. There is a men's section of the wall and a women's section. The wall is supposed to be holy because it was part of the original temple.
After a visit to the Garden of Gethsemane, we dropped off our guide and crossed into the Palestinian Territory to see Bethlehem and the church of the Nativity. Israeli citizens are not allowed in Palestine, so we had a different guide there. At the end of that, we were taken to a big shop which sold nice jewelry, and lots of religious items. Shopping is required for all tours in Palestine because their economy is so depressed. We didn't buy anything.
The next day we were in Haifa, which is in the north. It is a hilly city, like San Francisco. The world center for the Baha'i faith is there and the gardens and buildings which stretch all the way up to the highest street are the most incredible we have ever seen. The gentle Baha'i faith believes in the unity of all the major faiths, tolerance, peace and justice. The sounds like a great philosophy to us! From there we headed out of the city to see Nazareth and the Annunciation Church (largest in the Middle East), Capernaum, Tabgha, Sea of Galilee, a kibbutz, a baptismal site at the Jordan River, and the Mount of the Beatitudes. Going on this tour was the best way to see the countryside which is much greener than near Jerusalem, and where most agricultural pursuits are taking place. The Sea of Galilee was a lot bigger than we expected and towering over the eastern slope were the Golan Heights. We now have a better understanding of the topography and some of the difficulties the Israelis have been facing since 1948.
Yesterday we were in Rhodes, which is one of the most interesting walled cities we have ever been in. It is a Greek island, but only a few miles from Turkey. In its long history, it has been held by a wide variety of countries, (Italy, Turkey, Germany, Greece), and also the Knights of the Order of St. John, which have all contributed to its charm. So there is quite a variety of ruins, churches, mosques, minarets, etc. here, and wonderfully convoluted streets within the old city walls. Of course, shops, stalls, boutiques and restaurants have all taken over the best spots along the main walkways. There is a nice promenade along the waterfront, and we had a beautiful day to explore on our own, with David & Diane. We tried to follow a walking tour I had downloaded, but it was impossible so we just wandered around and got lost and it was delightful.
Today we were in Kusadasi, Turkey, which is about 10 miles from the ruins at Ephesus. We all had been there before, so we skipped the tours and wandered around the town on our own. It is mostly about shopping and the streets are clean and pedestrianized with nice shops and restaurants all over. We walked through the old part of the city where the buildings are distinctly dilapidated, the streets are dirtier, and clearly where the local people live. Most of the cities we have been walking around are infested with cats of every age and condition, probably because they can find food and shelter easier than dogs. One of the Turkish carpet sellers got us into his place and gave us a lesson about the different qualities, materials, and prices. David & Diane were interested in getting a carpet for their bedroom, so we looked in a couple of other places too. At the end of our excursion, they went back to the first guy to see if they could bargain for one that had caught their eye there.
Tomorrow we will dock in Piraeus, the port for Athens. There is some question as to whether we will be able to go into the city, because of all the strikes, protests, and outright rioting that have been taking place there, especially in Syntagma Square, one of the tourist areas. We would like to see the changing of the guard at the Parliament Building and also visit the Acropolis and the Plaka, since we have never been to Athens before. We are hoping that it will be calm tomorrow for our excursion.
Elaine has picked up a cold and is taking it easy this afternoon so that she will have some energy for tomorrow.
Internet minutes are costly on the ship and I haven't been taking my netbook off the ship to find WiFi places, so I have not included any pictures with this report. Once we have a chance to add pictures at a later date, I will share them with you.

10/11/11 It is sunny in San Diego as I am writing this in Darran & Marielle's apartment. We took the newlyweds to the airport yesterday morning and they are now in Puerto Rico, enjoying their honeymoon. I'm sure they needed some rest time after all the preparations for their wedding, which was so perfect and beautiful. The ceremony was at 5PM Saturday on the lawn of the Dana Hotel, overlooking Mission Bay. It was sunny and a comfy temperature. I didn't get very good pictures of the ceremony because we had to stay seated in the first row, but I will post a few of the ones we got before and after.
Here is a picture of the newlyweds with her parents, Ann & Bill Gomez, and Elaine and Mary (the Moms):

You can see how beautiful both Marielle and her dress were. Here is a picture of her with her sister, Meg, her matron of honor, holding onto her train:

Marielle's parents put up lots of bucks for this event and many of their family members and friends came from New York, which is where Marielle and Meg were raised. Here is a picture of Ann & Bill walking Marielle down the aisle:

Darran's best friend, Brian Lowe, and his wife Jen, have been such supportive friends for Marielle and Darran while they have lived here in San Diego. Brian has been the main force encouraging and helping Darran start his own construction company, which renovates commercial spaces. Brian was Darran's best man and Brian and Jen hosted a wonderful rehearsal dinner in their backyard on Friday night. It was a tropical BBQ, the food was delicious, and they had entertainers which did dances and music from many of the South Pacific islands. My pictures didn't turn out very good because it was dark, but here is a picture of Brian and Jen at the wedding:

When Darran was in junior high and high school in Roseville, his best friend was Kody Bush and he practically lived at the Bush house when he wasn't in ours. Both Kody and his brother Chase were groomsmen in the wedding and here we are with them:

Terri & Chuck Bush and their youngest son, Jesse, sat at our table at the wedding, which was a real treat for us after all these years of not seeing them:

Maybe you can tell from these pictures that the reception was held in a very beautifully decorated room at the Dana, with wonderful food, great service, and lots of dancing music. The party went on until nearly midnight. We all had ample opportunity to interact with people we hadn't seen for years, and also meet Marielle's family and friends from the East. Darran's Dad, Bob Clemo, hadn't seen his sister and her family for nearly 20 years. Here is a picture of him with his sister, Joyce, who came from Colorado:

For 4 days we were blessed by having all the rest of our kids, their partners, and families with us at the beach house we rented. Here are some pictures of them:
My daughter, Laura, with her fiancee, Dennis, and her girls, Michaela and Paige:

My son, Thomas, lives in San Francisco and drove down with my niece, Kathy, and her daughter Camille. His partner, Robert, couldn't attend due to a recent surgery, so here I am with Thomas:

Kathy is the only daughter of my sister Myrna, who passed away in 2005. Here she is with her daughter, Camille:

Elaine's daughter, Tarra, her husband, Alonzo, and their 3 girls, Ari, Alia, and Analy were such a big help at the condo, and also these girls enjoyed the beach so much, just watching them made us smile the whole time:

I'm sure there are other people I should mention or pictures I should include, but probably I have taken enough time already. Please forgive me if you are reading this and I left you out. Today we are rushing to get laundry done, pack, and do the last minute prep for our flight to Rome tomorrow. Luckily our RV friends, Flo Palumbo and Co Eisele are nearby in their RV and are going to join us for dinner tonight and then drive us to the airport tomorrow. Don't know when we will have a chance to post again, since we will be on a ship for 28 days starting on the 14th.
Watch this space for more travel tales and less family oriented reports....

10/4/11 This is our last night at Park Sierra, after a hectic couple of weeks of packing, socializing, and getting ready for our next batch of travels. Tomorrow we leave here, in our car, heading for San Diego. Elaine's son, Darran, will be getting married to the perfect woman for him, Marielle, on Saturday evening. Tomorrow afternoon and evening we will be staying with our long-time friends, Kathy Cleveland and Sally Wurts, at their condo in Poway, near San Diego. Thursday, we will drive to Pacific Beach, an area of San Diego where Darran lives, and where we have rented a large beach house located between Mission Bay and the Pacific Ocean. After we get the keys and do a bit of shopping to stock it with a bit of food for the hungry family, we will be enjoying the solitude while waiting for the kids and grandkids to arrive. Elaine's daughter, Tarra, her husband Alonzo, and their three daughters, Ari, Alia & Analy will probably arrive first. Late in the evening, my daughter Laura, her fiancee Dennis, and her 2 daughters, Paige and Michaela, will arrive. Friday, my son Thomas, will arrive with my niece Kathy, and her daughter Camille. So there will be 14 of us staying at the beach house. Luckily, it is really 2 condos hooked together, with 5 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, 2 kitchens, 2 living rooms, and 2 patio/decks w/ BBQ's. The beach is 2 blocks away and Mission Bay is just a few blocks in the other direction. The Dana Hotel, where the wedding will be, is also just a few blocks away.
Friday evening we will all attend the rehearsal dinner, at the home of Brian (the best man) and his wife, Jen. Saturday is a beach day and then at 5PM, the wedding. Sunday will be another free day to enjoy the beach house, then everyone leaves on Monday. Elaine and I will stay in Darran & Marielle's apartment for 2 days while they are on their honeymoon in Puerto Rico. On Wednesday, the 12th, friends will drive us to the airport, so we can catch our flight to Rome. On the 14th we will board the Royal Caribbean ship, the Mariner of the Sea, for a 12 day cruise to Turkey, Greece, and Israel. Our good cruise friends David & Diane Wilson will be with us. Then we 4 will stay on the ship for the next cruise, which is a 16 day transatlantic from Rome to Galveston. On that cruise we will be joined by at least 6 other cruise friends. We will be back in Galveston on Nov. 11.
Wile we have been here at Park Sierra, we have been having some fun social times. Our friends Flo & Co brought their friends Pearl and Cheryl with them, and were also joined by another rig of women: Ann, Susan & Anne, all from Superstition Mountain Resort in Apache Junction. We had them all over for Happy Hour one night and then they all brought dinner another night. Here is a picture of Pearl, Cheryl & Anne.

At the other end of the tables, our Park Sierra friends Glenda & Elleen were enjoying their time with Ann, Susan & Flo

Saturday was Susan's birthday, so we all went to the Queen's Inn Wine and Beer Garden in Oakhurst, and followed it up with dinner at the Sweetwater Steakhouse.

Both the wine and the food were excellent, although the service left a lot to be desired.
There were lots of food events with Park Sierra people too. Here we are having dinner at the clubhouse with Vicki & Jan, Brenda & Dave Niel, and Wally & Verna Baker.

There were also several excellent dinners at Dave & Brenda Neil's place, our across the street neighbors, because they had friends visiting. Happily, we were included because Brenda is a fabulous cook! Here is a picture of Elaine, Brenda, Judy Tillery, and our other neighbor, Jeanne Taylor, on the Neil's patio:

Our other neighbor, Carol Rodely, was taking care of her grandchildren for a few days, so they made cupcakes to share. Her she is with Camille, offering us some:

One of the first days we were back, we attended a very nice wine tasting and dinner at Birdstone Winery, because we are members of their wine club. They had live music, prizes, and as always, wonderfully delicious wine to go with the nice appetizers and dinner. We sat at a table with 6 people we did not know, and had a delightful evening with them:

Yesterday we had a Happy Hour here at our lot to welcome back our neighbor Jeanne, and also say goodbye to our friends before we leave again. About 20 people were here and we enjoyed having them very much. The weather had turned cool, so we had a fire in our pit which was toasty warm. Quite a change from just a few days ago when the temps were in the 90's!!! Here are our friends Gloria Taylor, Ken Kimpton, Elaine, Roy Jensen, and Rich Baumann. Of course other friends were around, probably at the food tables!

Please check in again after this weekend because I hope to have lots of wedding pictures posted!

Sept. 18
As I am typing this, we are driving south on I-5 in northern California on our way back to Park Sierra. The sun is shining and we are enjoying that after fairly cool and occasionally rainy weather in Washington and Alaska the past few months. I haven’t posted since the beginning of our Alaska cruises on Sept. 2, so this update will be lengthy. Those of you who check this blog merely to see where we are and how we are, can quit reading after this paragraph if you want – we are both doing well, although I am recovering from a cold I picked up the last 3 days on the ship. Of course, we also picked up a few pounds despite the fact that we worked out in the gym nearly every day. Now the task is to get those off before the next two cruises start on October 14!
The Radiance of the Seas is a beautiful Royal Caribbean ship, which we were eager to compare to the Jewel of the Seas, her sister ship which we sailed on in April-May first to England and then to the Scandinavian countries and Russia. The Radiance had just undergone about 3 weeks in drydock before she started the Alaska season, so there were some major differences in the ships. Our cruise started in Vancouver, always a beautiful city and mostly sunny the day we sailed. Here is a picture of Elaine on the ship with the Vancouver downtown skyline behind her.

We sailed out of Canada Place, right on the downtown waterfront, with beautiful views all around the entire harbor area. It was exciting to sail under the Lion’s Gate bridge which connects downtown to North Vancouver. That evening we joined our cruising friends, David & Diane Wilson, Carol & Byron Hall, Mark Lorenzetti, and Pene DeMore at Chops Grille, one of the specialty restaurants, to celebrate David’s 65th birthday.

Diane had surprised David with these Alaska cruises as his BD present and secretly convinced all of us to join them on the ship. Chops is always the best restaurant on the ship and our dinner together was delicious and also fun.
After a day of cruising along the Canadian coast, and up through the lower part of the inland passage, we reached Ketchikan. I will let the pictures tell most of the story: Elaine and I are standing on the dock across from the gangway in Ketchkan in this shot, and you can see there are lots of small boats there and wooden rustic houses on the hill.

In most of the Alaska ports the hills and mountains rise dramatically up right behind the town buildings and the towns are small. Ketchikan is in what’s called the “rainforest”, and it rains at least part of the day, an average of 360 days a year! This rain gauge was near the docks

to remind us of this fact. Happily for us, it wasn’t raining! This is also “the king salmon capitol of the world” (self proclaimed), and this is the time of year when the salmon are returning to the rivers and creeks where they were hatched in order to spawn. So we headed up to the area of the creek where we could see them. This is a fish ladder.

It enables the fish to get off to the side of the raging river to swim and jump upriver in calmer areas created by the ladder. Here is a picture of some of the salmon resting in one of the fish ladder areas:

You can see the rushing water of the main river on the left. We saw quite a few dead fish lying alongside the river on some grassy areas too.
Proceeding down the creek on a wooden boardwalk, which is called the Married Men’s Trail, we came upon many wooden buildings built partially over the creek, which used to compose the Red Light District when this was a mining and logging town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Now most of them are either restaurants or shops to entice tourists. Dolly’s House was one of the more famous (or infamous) and long-lasting bordellos, and it is now restored as a museum with one of the “girls” offering tours for $5.

Of course, right where the cruise ships dock there are lots of gift shops selling genuine Alaska artifacts, tee shirts, jackets, etc. While we were on Creek Street, we started shopping for Ulu knives, which are implements used by the native people to do everything requiring cutting, even filleting fish.

We already have one which we mainly use to chop veggies. But ulu knives make great gifts because they are one of the few Alaska souvenirs which is useful. Diane wanted one for her daughter, so we started the search for a unique one which took us to a lot of stores in every port for the entire 2 weeks! While we were shopping, we saw a some very nice baskets, made by First Nations people, such as these:

Especially valuable and attractive baskets are made of baleen, which are the fibrous filaments found by the thousands in whale mouths, used to filter the krill that they survive on out of the seawater.

Later on we learned that many items being sold to tourists such as whale bone handled ulu knives, baleen baskets, carved walrus ivory, etc. are not allowed into Canada and would be confiscated by customs people when we returned to Vancouver. Many people had these items shipped, or mailed them home.
Totem poles carved by the First Nation people, or Inuits, are found in a couple of centers in Ketchikan.

We noticed some scattered around the downtown, and a few in front of people’s homes:

When we returned to the ship, I took this picture of a home located across the inlet from Ketchikan:

It shows all the methods of transport needed by someone living on the Inside Passage, where it is not possible to drive into the towns– you must come by boat or plane. These people have a float plane, several boats, and a car to drive into town.
Juneau, the state capitol, and our next stop, was overcast when we arrived but the setting was still stunning, since the mountains surrounding the city are so steep and waterfalls cascade down above the houses:

Some of the buildings have decorative murals on them

Our gang took the local bus out to the Alaskan Brewing Company:

Elaine and I like Alaskan Amber beer, and in the tasting room there were 9 beers on tap, with each person being allowed 6 free glasses to sample. There was also an informative talk about how the brewery got its start:

They have lots of colorful gear for sale and very friendly staff. By the time we left, it was raining, so we took the bus back to the ship.
We arrived in Skagway very early in the morning so we missed seeing the town as we parked, but later got this shot showing what a beautiful setting this place has.

Here is a picture of the main street, showing a cruise ship parked at the end of town and mountains with glaciers on top towering over everything.

Here is a closeup of the glacier:

Skagway developed as a gold rush town in 1897 because of its location near the passes leading to Dawson City and the gold fields. First it was a tent city, then wooden buildings and boardwalks emerged, which still exist today, after being restored, I’m sure. Most of the buildings are now shops selling everything tourists demand:

Because it was near the end of the season (our cruise was the last for Radiance in Alaska this season) there were huge sales in every town, with 50% off merchandise in most places. Having no intention of making this a shopping trip, we ended up buying some nice sweatshirts, shirts, and fleeces just because they were so inexpensive and of good quality. Shopping tip for the future: Juneau and Skagway were the best places to shop with the biggest discounts and the most selection. Skagway also has some creative ways to see the surrounding area such as the White Pass to the Yukon, the Chilkoot trail, and Emerald Lake :

The Red Onion Saloon is from the Gold Rush days and is a lot of fun today too. The White Pass and Yukon railroad takes you through a stunning area, but is a bit pricey at about $120 per person.

This picture shows the locomotive with the huge blower on the front which is needed to remove snow from the tracks in winter

We didn’t do any out of town excursions since we spent quite a bit of time here in 1995 in our RV and had explored everything then, including hiking part of the Chilkoot Trail. Here is a picture of our group heading back to our ship (in the background) with several full shopping bags, and you can see by the way we are dressed, it was a cool day!

Sailing out of Skagway, in the Inside Passage, we had some incredible scenery to watch.




This is when we really appreciated seeing Alaska from the water since people who drive up and back miss these water views. In 1995 we drove our RV up and returned to the USA by taking the Alaska Marine Ferry which you can see here:

It doesn’t look very big but it carries lots of trucks, RVs, cars and people all over the Inside Passage. We took our RV off at every port and spent several days exploring each place – it was great!
The next day the amazing views continued as we entered Yakutat Bay and our ship went very close to the Hubbard Glacier.

In this next picture you can see the front of the glacier and the “river” of ice behind it.

It is one of the longest glaciers at about 76 miles, and it starts in the Yukon! The face of it, on the water, is about 6 miles wide, and our ship got to within ½ mile of it. Ships don’t go any closer because of “shooters” which are ice fragments that break off under water and shoot up, possibly causing hull damage. There were several loud booms, and some big pieces of ice fell off the face, which is called “calving”. Here is a closeup of the Face:

Later the sun came out and shone brilliantly off the snowcapped mountains towering over the glacier:

The ship stayed at the glacier for several hours, doing 360 degree turns, so that everyone on the ship would have a good view and plenty of time to take pictures. Later, as we sailed away and down the Inside Passage again, we had many hours of scenic viewing of the mountain range running along there, and the tallest mountain called Mt. Elias.

On Friday, Sept. 9 we arrived in Seward, on Alaska’s mainland, where most of the passengers debarked. About 66 people stayed on board for the return cruise to Vancouver, and they had a very nice lunch for us in the dining room while the ship was being prepped for the incoming hoardes. Then Diane, David, Elaine and I went off to explore Seward

You can tell by our jackets and hats that it was very cold. Seward is also in a gorgeous setting:

Our ship was docked near the small boat slips and tall mountains with glaciers on top were all around. There are nearly 100,000 glaciers in Alaska! Seward is mile 0 on the Iditarod Trail.

Miners blazed trails to the gold fields in central and western Alaska and sled dogs carried supplies from ships to the goldfields using this trail. Now the Iditarod starts in Fairbanks and ends in Nome every year and is merely a strenuous race. Seward is the smallest town we were in yet there was a free shuttle from the port to the downtown. We walked around and noticed lots of RV parking right along the waterfront. At the boat slip area a charter boat had just come in and hung up the day’s catch for a photo:

I should have taken this picture with someone in it so you could see how big these halibut were – the center one weighs over 100 pounds!
The second week of cruising we visited the same ports, which worked out well because we mostly had different weather and/or experiences in each place. The Hubbard Glacier day was overcast this time and we could see the colors of the glacier better than when the sun was shining on it.

There was also a large number of icebergs in a stream near the glacier

and in this shot you can see that some showed the blue color:

Icy Strait Point was formerly a place where there was a salmon and crab canning facility mostly run by the Hoonah nations people. It has been acquired by Royal Caribbean and the huge cannery building turned into a museum and also shops.

We took the tender in with Diane and David and went for a walk through the nearby forest.


Royal Caribbean has built the world’s longest zipline here, but we didn’t take it as it would have cost $99 pp. Then we walked through the old cannery. Here is Elaine near the huge crab pots they used:

The canning equipment was old but has been restored and explanations were posted.

Some of the Hoonah nations people let us take their picture:

The tenders returned us to the ship

As we were moored there, we saw the spouts of lots of humpback whales.
Of course, besides the ports, ship life is also enjoyable. Byron & Carol received an award for achieving Pinnacle status – that means 700 cruise points with Royal Caribbean!

The rest of us are merely Diamond + members but that is enough because we get free drinks every evening from 5 to 8:30 in the Diamond Lounge which had great views and fabulous service, by Jaime, from Brazil, and Rodrigo from Mexico. Here is Jaime with one of the drink trays:

The last night he picked up Rodrigo for this picture:

Here is our gang in the lounge:

On the ship there were some new specialty restaurants (which we paid extra for) so we tried 2 of them. Here is our gang at the Samba Brazilian Grill, which had wonderful ambiance, great views, beautiful dishes, delicious appetizers and side dishes, and 9 main course meats served on a sword with the waiter slicing off as much as you want. ALL of the meats were extremely salty and very over cooked. We would never go there again.

The second restaurant, Izumi’s, was a sushi place and I had my doubts because I don’t like it that much. But the food was fantastic! Look at this lunch assortment:

And here is my happy sushi lover enjoying it:

We went back twice.
On cruising days we often ate at the Park Café in the Solarium, which had good food, a nice atmosphere, no crowds, was free, and had good service. Here are Pene, Mark, and Elaine in the Solarium:

This ship had the youngest captain in the fleet and maybe the best we have had yet. We met him several times at various functions and because he is Norwegian, I think he looks like my youngest brother, Jerry.

I’m sure the ship was as fabulous as it was because his presence was constant everywhere on the ship and he always gave so much credit to his crew.
Thanks for traveling with us!!!