tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333165010408715042024-03-19T05:08:52.431-04:00Tall Chick In The City"Runnin' wild and lookin' pretty..."
A window into the world of a 6'6" woman Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.comBlogger498125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-71133614342236705792021-05-28T19:05:00.000-04:002021-05-28T19:05:03.327-04:00#497 No Fear<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7__NbfEYMtsaNIqzmRfXbp4Hsavc2oFYi-Yf9P_AGhRYrbYazIilE2G0aZeFOF8SEirb64623bE6QJTZ0ZCWLhRSMkx8TZWJUYFgRDiZOBVZbPqPuSKRvgBVOJKSMSgD7Bv4-w4yoaw/s230/no+fear.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7__NbfEYMtsaNIqzmRfXbp4Hsavc2oFYi-Yf9P_AGhRYrbYazIilE2G0aZeFOF8SEirb64623bE6QJTZ0ZCWLhRSMkx8TZWJUYFgRDiZOBVZbPqPuSKRvgBVOJKSMSgD7Bv4-w4yoaw/s0/no+fear.png" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Today
I faced one of my childhood fears head on.
And I came out victorious. Let me
set the stage for you. </span><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
didn’t have furry pets as a kid. I had
the occasional fish and took care of the class hamster once. My best friend the next street over had a
white toy poodle named Fluffy. Her older
brother owned two large Doberman Pincers and brought them over a lot. Fluffy was more dangerous than the
Dobermans. So even though I didn’t own
dogs, I was around them enough to feel comfortable around them. Until the day I delivered phone books. </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My
oldest brother, David, was in high school and played the violin in the
orchestra. As a fundraising activity,
the students delivered phone books to people’s homes. I tagged along with my mom to help. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">All
went well until I ventured into a fenced yard to place the phone book on a
front porch. I didn’t think about a dog being
inside the fence. No one warned me not
to go into a fenced yard. Halfway up the
walkway, here comes the dog roaring at me from the back yard. I screamed, probably threw the phone book
down (or at the dog) and ran back to the fence gate. Luckily I was nimble and thin. I quickly slid my skinny self through the
narrowest of gate openings and then collapsed in a heap on the sidewalk. I managed to close the gate behind me. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
dog nipped the back of my right calf just enough to break the skin and draw a
little blood. Back home, my other
brother, Paul, told me I had rabies. A
police officer came by to talk to my parents and me, and said they were investigating
whether the dog had all of its shots (it did).
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">All
was ok, except for several years after that I was terrified of dogs in
public. Dogs chased me on my
bicycle. A dog cornered me on a
neighborhood street while wearing roller skates. Talk about freaking out – at one point I was
on one side of a bush and the dog was on the other, and we circled the bush
like we were in a wild west movie. I managed
to get out of that situation unscathed and roll home. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My
fear subsided as I got older, but certain situations brough the fear back to
the surface. One Sunday afternoon while
visiting my parents with my brothers and families, I walked my middle brother
Paul’s kids to the park. They were maybe
six and eight years old. As we walked
through the neighborhood to the park, I saw a lone dog approach in the
distance. My spidey sense prickled up
and I sprung into action, lifting each of them up and over a fence so they
would be inside a stranger’s yard, but out of harm’s way from the dog in case
it attacked. Never mind that the yard
might have had its own dog. (We’d walked
that way before and I’d never seen a dog in that yard. That’s what I tell myself now.) I acted calm, but they looked at me like,
“Why are you putting us in these people’s yard?” Meanwhile, the dog moseyed by paying no
attention to the crazy girl tossing children over a fence. I picked them up and put them back on my
side, and we proceeded to the park. No harm,
no foul. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Much
time has passed since then. I’ve been
chased on my bike now and then. I’ve
emptied water bottles as they nipped at my heels. I now have a bike route with no dogs (watch,
next time there will be one). I walk a
lot in my neighborhood and have never been bothered by dogs. Until today.
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
was almost home and here comes one dog I’ve seen before. Some kind of terrier. Harmless.
Right behind him/her, another dog that looks like a dingo (who ate my
baby!). It ran toward me (from behind)
and barked. I turned and instinctively
yelled, “Stop!” and held out my hand. It
stopped for second, then continued forward, barking more. I repeatedly yelled, “GO HOME!” in an angry
tone and finally it stopped, backed up a little like it was scared of me, and
retreated. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
funny thing was that I didn’t feel scared.
A little alarmed, yes. But the
pit-in-my-stomach fear wasn’t there. I
think I was a bit more angry than anything.
“How dare you disturb my lovely walk?”
And as I continued on my way, I was proud of myself for coming through
in the heat of battle. I realize things
could have gone the other way. I could
have encountered an aggressive dog who wasn’t scared of me. But I didn’t.
And it worked out. I live to walk
another day. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My
moral? Sometimes you can surprise
yourself. Fear is natural and
healthy. It keeps us from doing stupid
things (sometimes). But some fears are
unwarranted and irrational. Hopefully we
learn to know the difference. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I’ve
faced many fears in my life. Public
speaking. Dating. Traveling by myself. Asking a guy out first. Going away to college. Each time after I’ve jumped in, I look back
and am thankful I took the leap. Public
speaking is not my favorite thing to do, but I’m thankful I was brave enough to
share my knowledge with others. Dating
can be torturous, but once you get past the awkward beginning, it can be pretty
great. I went on several week-long
bike/camping trips alone and ended up making lifelong friends who I now join
yearly for more fun bike trips. My
college experience was one of the best times of my life, y’all! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">There are so many wonderful experiences I would
have missed out on if I had listened to my inner irrational voice of fear. So get out there! Do something by yourself (safely). Ask out that guy/girl. You’ll never know if they’ll say yes if you
don’t ask them. And if they say no, at
least you know and you can move on. Take
that class. Enter that race. Go to that reunion (yes, I’ve gone to high
school reunions alone too – and had a blast).
Look fear in the face, put up your hand and say, “Stop! Go Home!”
Then get out there! </span></p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-20245763255808747282020-11-26T11:16:00.008-05:002023-03-10T16:30:23.436-05:00#496 True Love<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtk93lb0Z5yC4sd9hsZfxJMPpKO-jyy2i6tN7LcDxbPs7BtZzIMmJZKex9rhwmCMk3QRFF9skOtVplVkiqB2Dxl_tWexXeGfniVqvR8DdQPaTtmdBZiqUvmmtwn0Nup34XVvOk4AtYGg/s1650/true+love+sheet+music.png" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1650" data-original-width="1276" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtk93lb0Z5yC4sd9hsZfxJMPpKO-jyy2i6tN7LcDxbPs7BtZzIMmJZKex9rhwmCMk3QRFF9skOtVplVkiqB2Dxl_tWexXeGfniVqvR8DdQPaTtmdBZiqUvmmtwn0Nup34XVvOk4AtYGg/s320/true+love+sheet+music.png" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">One
of my true loves is music.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I listen to
music every day, whether I’m in my car listening to the radio or a CD (yes, my car has a CD player), at work
streaming Spotify, or my ultimate favorite – live concerts.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">In 2019 I went to nine concerts.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">(I just counted my tickets that I keep in my
scrapbook.)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
year?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Zero live concerts.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I streamed a few – the Opry, Radney Foster,
Junior Brown, and Sammy Hagar and Tom Petty’s birthday concerts (separate
events).</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Fun but not the same.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">My last live concert was Dec. 28, 2019.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It was a doozy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I
am outspoken about my love of Harry Connick Jr.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">(See posts 48, 352,427, 444)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I
follow him on Instagram and late last year heard he was bringing a show to
Broadway to celebrate Cole Porter.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> I imagined h</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">ow
great it would be to see him in person again, and on Broadway no less!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">When the dates came out, I noticed it was a
limited three-week run in December – </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Harry Connick Jr, A Celebration of Cole
Porter</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">In late November I sent an
Instagram message to Julie (who has been with me to see him in concert and at
his TV show) about going to New York to see the show.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I was partly joking.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I included a photo of his IG post and added,
“We need to go to this!”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">She replied,
“Okay!”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">It was that easy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">We picked a date, made reservations and flew
to New York for one day.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Since
Julie was still working the week of and after Christmas, we booked flights
arriving late Friday, Dec. 27 and departing Sunday, Dec. 29.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">After checking into our hotel around 10 p.m.,
we were too excited to go right to sleep and walked to Rockefeller Center to
check out the Christmas tree.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Twenty years ago we visited New York in early November and saw the tree bound with ropes
and no lights.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Disappointment.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">This time we were determined not to miss
it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We milled around the moderate crowd,
walking right up to the tree.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Incredible!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We were in awe gazing at the </span>approximately<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> 50,000 LED multicolored lights,
then entertained ourselves by watching the skaters, and people-watching in general.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">New York never disappoints.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Around the corner we saw the amazing Saks Fifth
Avenue Christmas light show and later, St. Patrick’s Cathedral.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaljW0E7aiTUYbOlAdz0THyJb9RRhyphenhyphenPdHv7riFEe7JALPCiuD1ALar1lsAdY2Osg7uD1orwbTYSIYOYW3VuQ75bgn9ej3MlYujLuDT4GC70Km2oKc_l80n1an6CDUUy5Q1_5zZYlYiwA/s2048/03_LGJO+at+Rockefeller+tree.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaljW0E7aiTUYbOlAdz0THyJb9RRhyphenhyphenPdHv7riFEe7JALPCiuD1ALar1lsAdY2Osg7uD1orwbTYSIYOYW3VuQ75bgn9ej3MlYujLuDT4GC70Km2oKc_l80n1an6CDUUy5Q1_5zZYlYiwA/w320-h240/03_LGJO+at+Rockefeller+tree.jpg" title="We finally saw the tree!" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sanLiEmmtfbJrPKft7p3rWNBJOAhgFRhCmUxkMzTiczr3Fd8EiKKHZyPiIc3qBj3K-yx5VedtwtnFYwXIxTf4OWjnZQksRD2OYm7guYVUFFmS_ZaagOXaIizVLS8hXDPClnAaUbr-A/s2048/04_Rockefeller+tree.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sanLiEmmtfbJrPKft7p3rWNBJOAhgFRhCmUxkMzTiczr3Fd8EiKKHZyPiIc3qBj3K-yx5VedtwtnFYwXIxTf4OWjnZQksRD2OYm7guYVUFFmS_ZaagOXaIizVLS8hXDPClnAaUbr-A/w240-h320/04_Rockefeller+tree.jpg" title="In all its glory!" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvN-DbYoOCXAYqmSumTJQGec7mWnqPG8p5D9nGf8WDmkyMRiQVb5qJl5-DP3mzXnTLT92FhBQmXIgTuZHfAXPdm3Q-ULYsnVFF8aA4EZytCnZ_7pMiogFgyTkb0q9eGy4NVJZrEK-P6w/s2048/13_tree_ice+skating.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvN-DbYoOCXAYqmSumTJQGec7mWnqPG8p5D9nGf8WDmkyMRiQVb5qJl5-DP3mzXnTLT92FhBQmXIgTuZHfAXPdm3Q-ULYsnVFF8aA4EZytCnZ_7pMiogFgyTkb0q9eGy4NVJZrEK-P6w/s320/13_tree_ice+skating.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwtwTnWVnhqmL-o3MU7gv5mDmP0zRHZqZlb4EtxXTHs3zKJ4o112LGH4b_0bevq4ao67_6xOmFea-WOqRB4eQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ever
the planner, I mapped out some holiday hotspots for us to see if we had time.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Our first Saturday stop was Columbus Circle and the
shops thereof.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We ended up walking
mostly around Central Park and trying to get into The Plaza.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWbCym2ak01DyG0MEQzLFTGwpPi1k7eXyPPF4Xx7QVnTQIz53YL_YZfLFiGUuIbZtCGhR70LJYvxhQ7GYisKVKEdrx2eltNxeOLnIKiXKan6AiAbCAArlw-nyt_kKRWMhJOyMl6ZLyw/s1749/2019NYMap.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1352" data-original-width="1749" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWbCym2ak01DyG0MEQzLFTGwpPi1k7eXyPPF4Xx7QVnTQIz53YL_YZfLFiGUuIbZtCGhR70LJYvxhQ7GYisKVKEdrx2eltNxeOLnIKiXKan6AiAbCAArlw-nyt_kKRWMhJOyMl6ZLyw/s320/2019NYMap.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGd4nvEXRwT6DOvloAtw_kq5sf90N5hbZkXwZ70yhY96etJ-GE4X4zF3MaXTCdsagzPvodZTkF4bNN_GtmvmOmVO7x-MpBTFfaPtRv2XR9NaKUj6qXHoWBzheoNWR0dRgSGmiO2xanfw/s2048/31_Plaza+door.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGd4nvEXRwT6DOvloAtw_kq5sf90N5hbZkXwZ70yhY96etJ-GE4X4zF3MaXTCdsagzPvodZTkF4bNN_GtmvmOmVO7x-MpBTFfaPtRv2XR9NaKUj6qXHoWBzheoNWR0dRgSGmiO2xanfw/s320/31_Plaza+door.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5IgqMaIV6gvxGwkk5xgTADabGUaKuhMVneuKxdVLQ2Kyk2FWaCYZH6fViXDeQjA0LyqXEnfHn8Xe7Yqpqhs03QeBvsL7vjjAsqpsozKh9nLNGdxejP0fGKnU5mk8XvTPE3ra4SL3zw/s2048/29_Plaza.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5IgqMaIV6gvxGwkk5xgTADabGUaKuhMVneuKxdVLQ2Kyk2FWaCYZH6fViXDeQjA0LyqXEnfHn8Xe7Yqpqhs03QeBvsL7vjjAsqpsozKh9nLNGdxejP0fGKnU5mk8XvTPE3ra4SL3zw/s320/29_Plaza.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>It’s a good thing we saw the
Rockefeller tree when we did.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The crowd
multiplied Saturday and there was no getting anywhere near the
tree.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">On to the next stop – Bryant Park
and its Christmas market.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We browsed the
shops, taking in the smells and festivities, and resting our tired feet at a
small table for a snack.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">On
to Macy’s to check out the Christmas windows and interior
decorations.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">As we continued on to the
Chelsea Market Place, we saw the High Line a few blocks to our right.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Although it was on our list of things to see,
we stuck to our holiday-themed locales.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We spent a long time at the Chelsea Market and both agreed it was our
favorite place.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Christmas market at
Union Square Park was already closed, so that was a bust.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZIY1rVAMdPiOq8wNdLDNrbR07eEkFViiqHjXGsJuE7Fkl412F8LTt9jD7TMvhoo5_jNQMPuSn6tYmcBNGg4Wx86-e0VyIaWCtIiuhCYlkPN_878aJV7sj9HKMxMiA4gsEXY5p8sIbg/s2048/19_Chelsea+Mkt.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZIY1rVAMdPiOq8wNdLDNrbR07eEkFViiqHjXGsJuE7Fkl412F8LTt9jD7TMvhoo5_jNQMPuSn6tYmcBNGg4Wx86-e0VyIaWCtIiuhCYlkPN_878aJV7sj9HKMxMiA4gsEXY5p8sIbg/w240-h320/19_Chelsea+Mkt.jpg" title="Chelsea Market" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqkbv6zkuJRc-pRSai2z0dxqm3OmDJn57pp4555pBGcXqD_l6306fAdZuAWdgPX3jLXCOKBzaXhFBifGdcW3VAcyfwZwgaytSB0fsAUPFHM_0CBy6oOR8NtaNsPq4dFoUAVnOyBqK6Q/s2048/21_spices.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqkbv6zkuJRc-pRSai2z0dxqm3OmDJn57pp4555pBGcXqD_l6306fAdZuAWdgPX3jLXCOKBzaXhFBifGdcW3VAcyfwZwgaytSB0fsAUPFHM_0CBy6oOR8NtaNsPq4dFoUAVnOyBqK6Q/w320-h240/21_spices.jpg" title="Beautiful colorful spices" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
failed to mention Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment stoop being on my list of things
to see.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">After Union Square Park we realized
we were a few blocks away from this historic landmark.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We had to see it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> For me, t</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">his was a close second behind the Chelsea
Market.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgtcrB19Ug9F7e-D1LPSkcMecvJPo6jnRL1OnOiZusCB-D2OwPa9yzv_wbAY0iyecCq0fRx63CEhSI10ilg5NxIDMOFoVjM4t_Vpc5fiUwIQAZ0O6AKaw_MilO8BdJ4XOw6BTMFGiVA/s2048/24_LG_Carrie+Bradshaw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgtcrB19Ug9F7e-D1LPSkcMecvJPo6jnRL1OnOiZusCB-D2OwPa9yzv_wbAY0iyecCq0fRx63CEhSI10ilg5NxIDMOFoVjM4t_Vpc5fiUwIQAZ0O6AKaw_MilO8BdJ4XOw6BTMFGiVA/s320/24_LG_Carrie+Bradshaw.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
hit everything on the list!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We were
tired and we still had Harry’s show, so we returned to the Travel Inn in
Midtown and collapsed on our beds after taking some ibuprofen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We’re in our 50s after all, and even though
we’re both active, we were a little worn out and sore after walking 15
miles.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We ventured out for dinner (I don’t
remember where?) then it was time for the main event – Harry on Broadway at the
Nederlander Theater.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-EYHWbBGuEc9cxwLMsHbARjND962V5ApUC-NNSyTAldR9Uhjn0q_f9Uw-umnglLWy6iO_SOOI8ZUbMBkvm8l3AIsaBTRmUSZ5BjQv9vl6pAJ9vLw4Iy4H4niIT3YLzNrImeskZbyTeQ/s2048/32_Harry+poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-EYHWbBGuEc9cxwLMsHbARjND962V5ApUC-NNSyTAldR9Uhjn0q_f9Uw-umnglLWy6iO_SOOI8ZUbMBkvm8l3AIsaBTRmUSZ5BjQv9vl6pAJ9vLw4Iy4H4niIT3YLzNrImeskZbyTeQ/s320/32_Harry+poster.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNZ5SQYA92OcAr_OWBDQyZgwfxTj0d6upcjO8AXacdGtQ_QPScNldFlBTB-xZGP3cZDeDxbu4nHi3xDE93wllDYUGBLb8bvO341FQQp3tWv3VodgffFUGxGZhGH-4z0YD8wukSeRp5A/s2048/33_LGJO+Harry.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNZ5SQYA92OcAr_OWBDQyZgwfxTj0d6upcjO8AXacdGtQ_QPScNldFlBTB-xZGP3cZDeDxbu4nHi3xDE93wllDYUGBLb8bvO341FQQp3tWv3VodgffFUGxGZhGH-4z0YD8wukSeRp5A/s320/33_LGJO+Harry.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
am calm around celebrities when I see them in public or backstage, but
sometimes I turn "crazy" and make signs.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">(I saw Brad Paisley in concert with my niece and asked her to make a
sign for me that said, “I’m six foot five and I look damn good!”)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">For Harry I made this sign to hold up during
the show:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkXOhZBwLjglKvF-m2-0-sYk5sPAgz-NJ4VJtf4zMbKAbVKu1qTNCGY2CEY4Pfjdqpy8jXCT3YfWhnlXdNHQrHp2BZNh9xKXOJz6XkFf20Ec4v3y8adZuARImnBytnyR22bJoDRky-RA/s2048/35_poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkXOhZBwLjglKvF-m2-0-sYk5sPAgz-NJ4VJtf4zMbKAbVKu1qTNCGY2CEY4Pfjdqpy8jXCT3YfWhnlXdNHQrHp2BZNh9xKXOJz6XkFf20Ec4v3y8adZuARImnBytnyR22bJoDRky-RA/s320/35_poster.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>The
show began and I realized that it was not a typical concert, but a somewhat scripted
show.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I held the sign up a few times
hoping he’d see it and maybe say something, but I soon gave up.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Our seats were in the back on the main floor,
but most Broadway theaters are on the small side, so we still had a great
view.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The show was amazing!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cole Porter is an Indiana native so I was familiar
with some of the songs, but I bought the CD before the show so I could sing along (quietly) during the show. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
exited the theater and overheard one of the ushers say that Harry comes
out after the show, so we hung out by the side door.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Maybe a half an hour later, his daughter,
Georgia, emerged with her video camera.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">When Harry appeared soon after, my "crazy" appeared and I held up
my sign.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">When he saw it, he smiled
(somewhat) and said, “That’s awesome.” and then moved on to the next person
after signing it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I did manage to take an awkward selfie with him before he moved on.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhMFu_zEo4KvV4Qd3E-qdBotTx9zbfzZ3Yn1WcUg8716-QJHDmWh5HPRCNqmYinBvFxJrjEwJz8dZqjCPQhdPrzJ_SgWJzsQn0Ph7AOomL12II6b_D8ZqeJwZv7hJIPwMjOQ59k5x0g/s2048/34_LG+Harry+selfie.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhMFu_zEo4KvV4Qd3E-qdBotTx9zbfzZ3Yn1WcUg8716-QJHDmWh5HPRCNqmYinBvFxJrjEwJz8dZqjCPQhdPrzJ_SgWJzsQn0Ph7AOomL12II6b_D8ZqeJwZv7hJIPwMjOQ59k5x0g/w320-h240/34_LG+Harry+selfie.jpg" title="Stalkie with Harry" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKgYxPOTpAflVtaZ7oWT6c39JvBuYzsTz17JiHIcPViEMutRpBPjBcRYdk6YGypGo_fISAi-Qt414Kcq7KyumWQm5GPL0mmgOkuG7b14eVey67ldkR7gZlVC4I3JxOYqNf5Q4j-AAVZw/s960/36_Harry+JO.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="712" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKgYxPOTpAflVtaZ7oWT6c39JvBuYzsTz17JiHIcPViEMutRpBPjBcRYdk6YGypGo_fISAi-Qt414Kcq7KyumWQm5GPL0mmgOkuG7b14eVey67ldkR7gZlVC4I3JxOYqNf5Q4j-AAVZw/s320/36_Harry+JO.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">After
the show we took one last look at the Rockefeller tree. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Back at the hotel, we fell into our beds for
the second time that day.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I fell fast
asleep with visions of Harry dancing in my head.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Our flight left the next morning. What a weekend!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Fast
forward to January 2020 - I was at a small music venue with another friend to
see one of my favorite local artists (I don’t count this as a full concert).</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Our conversation drifted to my recent New
York trip and my friend commented, “You must be loaded!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Who goes to New York for one day?!”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Her tone was a little harsh.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I know she wasn’t angry at me, but I was
taken a little off guard.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Number one –
I’m not loaded.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I did spend a lot of
money on the weekend, but I watch my pennies in other areas to be able to do
things like this.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Number two – to answer
the question, Julie and I do!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It began as a “joke,” but I’m thankful to have a friend who is ready and able to
fly somewhere at a moment’s notice.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Especially since we won’t be going to any in-person concerts for a long,
long time.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-50505915079690285312020-10-28T18:06:00.003-04:002020-10-28T18:06:50.772-04:00#495 Utah, But I'm Taller<p style="text-align: left;"></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxlupJEHqBRhAdAUY3cmiznqdo5VC54DghvYi4GlxqOci_8-nn6qKjd5gGNplhOEBjGaUj1dEFs60Wb8WTMtq_3fAf7b_Y2VEBuas1CMbEsfSzS3eUz9xiCjZDW_VuvlATqchoi0rEQ/s2048/36_LG_hugebike_Fruita%252CCO.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxlupJEHqBRhAdAUY3cmiznqdo5VC54DghvYi4GlxqOci_8-nn6qKjd5gGNplhOEBjGaUj1dEFs60Wb8WTMtq_3fAf7b_Y2VEBuas1CMbEsfSzS3eUz9xiCjZDW_VuvlATqchoi0rEQ/s320/36_LG_hugebike_Fruita%252CCO.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Like many others’ summer plans, mine did not go as
expected due to the Covid-19 pandemic.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">During January/February I constantly checked my vacation day chart to
figure out how I was going to do everything I wanted to do.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hole In The Wall Gang Camp, bike trip, hiking
trip, Division I women’s volleyball championship.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I kept hoping I had counted the days
incorrectly and more days would magically appear.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">They didn’t.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">And then the world stopped.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">For the past 10 years I’ve met friends somewhere for a
week-long, organized bike trip.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The one
constant has been Steve.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">His now-wife
Deanna joined a few years ago, and his friend Tracy hit two rides (all three
are from Florida).</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andy, Boris and Duane
(from Ohio) have made appearances.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">As
have Bob (St. Louis) and Little Linda (North Carolina).</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">If you couldn’t guess, I am Big Linda.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Steve and Deanna originally planned a two-week trip to
Utah in May to visit Tracy (Tracy married Dave and moved to Utah last
year).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After their flight was cancelled,
they postponed and decided to go mid-August.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I had contemplated squeezing in a week in May, but could do the entire
two weeks in August since everything else was cancelled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We drove.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Here’s how it went down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">August 15<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Steve and Deanna left Orlando earlier in the
week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was to meet them in St. Louis,
but they had brake trouble and spent the morning in Tennessee at a mechanic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stopped to have lunch with Bob, and drove
on to a </span><a href="https://koa.com/campgrounds/wakeeney/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">KOA
in Wakeeny, Kansas</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">, arriving at </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">10
p.m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d never stayed at a KOA
before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I received late word from
S&D that they pulled over to sleep (they drive a utility camper/van and
sleep inside), and they’d meet me at the KOA in the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was a little uneasy about staying at the
campsite by myself, especially arriving so late.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I set up my tent quickly, thankful for the
cool breeze.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to shower before
going to sleep, but didn’t want to be in the shower alone at night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After lying there for 30 minutes unable to
fall asleep, I got up and showered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
fears were unwarranted – the campsite was quiet, safe and clean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being so late, I encountered no one in the
bathroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shower stalls were nice –
complete with bamboo benches and floor coverings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The warm water felt heavenly after a long day’s
drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s all I needed – back in my
tent, I fell asleep right away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">August 16<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">S&D arrived around 8:30 a.m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I took my time getting ready, tearing down my
tent while they took a morning nap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After lunch at our camp-site picnic table, we left around 11:30 p.m.
headed to Vail, Colorado.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Travel time was
around six hours and we gained an hour going from Central to Mountain
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We checked in at </span><a href="https://www.thesebastianvail.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Sebastian
Hotel</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Deanna’s
son Cameron works at </span><a href="https://www.thesebastianvail.com/experience/leonora"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Leonora</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">,
a restaurant attached to The Sebastian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We had drinks and a plethora of tapas for a nice, relaxing evening on
the patio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicxYasJhBRG0QjuIODISRe42X7S9A4v0bOuiRtjKUhn4lyzAc2sBpng_C6bTFHrsbaA7t8x0xws2RyB2Pj24mRCgtwPCC5pYQWINgD7mi5Xhoe_HawSXW6mr7yvjckr7Aihyxe9BGGOQ/s2048/01.5_Vail_Steve_LG_guns.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicxYasJhBRG0QjuIODISRe42X7S9A4v0bOuiRtjKUhn4lyzAc2sBpng_C6bTFHrsbaA7t8x0xws2RyB2Pj24mRCgtwPCC5pYQWINgD7mi5Xhoe_HawSXW6mr7yvjckr7Aihyxe9BGGOQ/s320/01.5_Vail_Steve_LG_guns.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I had only spent one night in
my tent so far, but it was nice to be in a hotel for a couple nights.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Again, I was slightly concerned about staying
in a hotel.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Normally I would share a
room with S&D, but I wanted my own room during the pandemic.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The hotel was clean, everyone wore masks
inside, and I was careful in my room to wash my hands before eating anything or
touching my face.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’m diligent about
cleanliness in hotels anyway.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some
precautions I’ve taken for years:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I wash
my hands after handling the TV remote, especially if I eat anything.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I bring flip flops to wear in the shower, and
also to wear while walking around the room.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I never walk barefoot in a hotel room.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I remove the bedspread, fold it up and put it away (I read they don’t
wash those very often).</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">August 17<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After a wonderful night’s sleep in a king bed, I met
S&D at </span><a href="https://www.yetisgrind.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Yeti’s
Grind</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> in the middle of Vail Village for
breakfast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not a coffee person, so
had their excellent oatmeal topped with granola, nuts and dried fruit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was my first time in Vail Village (and Vail,
period).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s so quaint and reminds me
of a European village complete with flowers in window boxes and brick streets
(that are heated in the winter!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmt3Z7uE1sOp1PXY9n_DRDqUzEdIuldk6n1hIRFmgNUAryjInMnK7qlIdUCfIBcMnE50Fnb8jYxnBwe8Sbd9pcn7oQ9QXVLsc7UJuZWVJ3vy_timEnTVMrZlSjhO2w88rTkOUaUKV1rg/s2048/03_Vail_village_SteveDeanna.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmt3Z7uE1sOp1PXY9n_DRDqUzEdIuldk6n1hIRFmgNUAryjInMnK7qlIdUCfIBcMnE50Fnb8jYxnBwe8Sbd9pcn7oQ9QXVLsc7UJuZWVJ3vy_timEnTVMrZlSjhO2w88rTkOUaUKV1rg/s320/03_Vail_village_SteveDeanna.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6zq3xIN2XAEBlEN8KyBzN-ELY7-pvluJzId7qng_i0WsJICoKKwwP-aCrwUfYcMaei15FZsBI1Qr9aW0MiObfwrgtU1fsxNXptYmms7QS0IscV4aHoKR1mL7olnp-U80zgzrkxi46Ug/s2048/04_Vail_village_condos_stream.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6zq3xIN2XAEBlEN8KyBzN-ELY7-pvluJzId7qng_i0WsJICoKKwwP-aCrwUfYcMaei15FZsBI1Qr9aW0MiObfwrgtU1fsxNXptYmms7QS0IscV4aHoKR1mL7olnp-U80zgzrkxi46Ug/s320/04_Vail_village_condos_stream.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP34ae8blACgtWNE1MLg10pa5eu9J_vHMmI4rf1hlNe2EeHLgc5yN6JOGlFcEVCbILrrU07dEW1fWBkH7E1sc_Cv7FfYc1baezexIW2B1O_Ew3pyhTAz4PNgYcn1K4Z12a7jMnSK1ghw/s2048/08_Vail_village_moose.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP34ae8blACgtWNE1MLg10pa5eu9J_vHMmI4rf1hlNe2EeHLgc5yN6JOGlFcEVCbILrrU07dEW1fWBkH7E1sc_Cv7FfYc1baezexIW2B1O_Ew3pyhTAz4PNgYcn1K4Z12a7jMnSK1ghw/s320/08_Vail_village_moose.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>After
a leisurely start to our day, we rode our bikes on the Gore Creek Trail and saw
lots of beautiful, enormous homes. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
loved the temperatures in Vail – cool mornings and evenings, warm but not
stifling afternoons.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Zero humidity.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj9-mcKDS70rNS0lne8pZSzaGI0dpCHv5B068I8bq1EAiJre6P7ug1-_8QKDEiCftMuI9VX2BAs69TKfPRI5PtMh5-NV9hdzsU3tcS9N4GMY_y80-VdVOW-Hc52JUZv3GIsH3ncUPJ0w/s1280/01_Vail_Steve_LG_ride.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj9-mcKDS70rNS0lne8pZSzaGI0dpCHv5B068I8bq1EAiJre6P7ug1-_8QKDEiCftMuI9VX2BAs69TKfPRI5PtMh5-NV9hdzsU3tcS9N4GMY_y80-VdVOW-Hc52JUZv3GIsH3ncUPJ0w/s320/01_Vail_Steve_LG_ride.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>Ate a delicious al fresco lunch at </span><a href="https://vintage-vail.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Vintage</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">,
also in the village. They had two
hummingbird feeders hanging outside, and the hummingbirds went crazy around
it. After strolling through the village
with Deanna (Steve took a nap), we took a short bike ride going the other
direction on the Gore Creek Trail. After
the ride, we sat by the Sebastian pool in our bike clothes. After a quick nap back in my room, I cleaned
up and met S&D to walk to dinner at </span><a href="https://www.yamasushivail.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Yama Sushi</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">. We dined with Cameron and his friend
Candace. (Candace Cameron! Get it?)
I don’t eat sushi often and normally stick to California rolls. I let the others order and we had a nice
variety of sushi. It was all amazing and
very fresh. I also tried unfiltered
sake. It kind of tasted like
bananas. We ended the evening with a
leisurely walk back to the hotel and called it a night. Wow – we did a lot! </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">August 18<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Move day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
didn’t mention earlier that we parked in a public lot that was a 10-minute walk
from the hotel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the summer the
lot is free so we chose that instead of paying for hotel parking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took extra effort/time to store our bikes
in Cameron’s apartment, but was well worth it to save some cash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After another leisurely morning of coffee
(and oatmeal), and after loading the bikes on our cars, we left for Moab,
Utah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cameron joined our caravan on his
motorcycle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fires closed I-70, so we
took a detour that doubled our drive time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What should have taken four hours took eight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the sights we saw!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We took Independence Pass and saw the
Continental Divide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stopped in Leadville,
CO for a break and had dinner at </span><a href="https://karmakitchenfruita.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Karma Kitchen</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">
in Fruita, CO.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arrived at the </span><a href="https://www.sunrvresorts.com/resorts/west/utah/canyonlands-rv-resort-campground/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Canyonlands
RV Resort and Campground</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> around 9:30 p.m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A long but scenic day in the car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht1PDtlpYf1KOGQZ0mxyzB6YONeMw3yZd5XERne3WWgi9H5ptyDAuW6mEik2nHAzRkJWm5Vct0R3d6XiY0VPFSYDTBeOm6IOsFzifBo5mjhCDGhpv6Q-95RvArkoQZ9W64MSvl6biZJg/s1600/18_Continental_Divide_LGDeannaSteve.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht1PDtlpYf1KOGQZ0mxyzB6YONeMw3yZd5XERne3WWgi9H5ptyDAuW6mEik2nHAzRkJWm5Vct0R3d6XiY0VPFSYDTBeOm6IOsFzifBo5mjhCDGhpv6Q-95RvArkoQZ9W64MSvl6biZJg/s320/18_Continental_Divide_LGDeannaSteve.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">August 19</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We rose early to get mountain biking in before the
heat of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tracy and her husband Dave
arrived in Moab yesterday to bike with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We chose to do some of the </span><a href="https://www.utahmountainbiking.com/trails/klonzo.htm"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">KlonZo
Trails</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
started with a beginner trail and I handled that fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I brought my brother Paul’s 20+ year-old Gary
Fisher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He doesn’t mountain bike, so has
tires that are smooth in the center and knobby on the sides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I rolled up to Tracy in my Gary Fisher and
she immediately said, “Going old school, huh?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Absolutely!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We did an
intermediate trail next (a guy in the parking lot said it wasn’t too
hard).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Steeper inclines and the altitude got the
best of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ladies continued on a bit
and then caught the Zoltar trail until it met the gravel road that led back to
our cars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The guys did the rest of the
intermediate trail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good decision for
us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mind you, we were riding mostly on
huge rock formations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fun, but difficult
and a bit intimidating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought I did
well on my old-school bike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We chilled
at the cars and cheered the guys on when they rolled in an hour or so
later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSlir1zmp8oRRuMXaIfWX6T-__jmv7Ur1ZQyJeGHAljWG-n6xCTTGdZhbLIcw7ojAZSBXsWf4uLRiP-0rBJDdCT_vgE1Hhw3JgfVI-acBR3OiQ4jp61H_RtdDimLS2S96HF7bDEKvukw/s2048/20_bike_KlonZo_TH.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSlir1zmp8oRRuMXaIfWX6T-__jmv7Ur1ZQyJeGHAljWG-n6xCTTGdZhbLIcw7ojAZSBXsWf4uLRiP-0rBJDdCT_vgE1Hhw3JgfVI-acBR3OiQ4jp61H_RtdDimLS2S96HF7bDEKvukw/s320/20_bike_KlonZo_TH.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYWudwrlBotTJZyseTDuRmC-pUFu4J_KFK4-LwgHk3RLhAK8qq1TNoyUK0UcuUOXlc0X-71PmSysuDKyqjzzSJfhok01hYtJPYIfuLh43ekG46gQMx8qyck03JH83lVXaf3OhmOe2VKg/s1024/21_KlonZo_group.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYWudwrlBotTJZyseTDuRmC-pUFu4J_KFK4-LwgHk3RLhAK8qq1TNoyUK0UcuUOXlc0X-71PmSysuDKyqjzzSJfhok01hYtJPYIfuLh43ekG46gQMx8qyck03JH83lVXaf3OhmOe2VKg/s320/21_KlonZo_group.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAK06vP8bbqHomMrz4sUkp_cPoXX155v3HPY65ksEBoN_xhDPfe7egzlzLjqkpJldCFKnFHm9NdOgIDwXDRh0ER2nvI6I6Bmk4s3nNSBbDQD3PTJxm1cXb_CUwo7HIIY1Oj1fMaeI9OA/s2048/23.5_KlonZo_group.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAK06vP8bbqHomMrz4sUkp_cPoXX155v3HPY65ksEBoN_xhDPfe7egzlzLjqkpJldCFKnFHm9NdOgIDwXDRh0ER2nvI6I6Bmk4s3nNSBbDQD3PTJxm1cXb_CUwo7HIIY1Oj1fMaeI9OA/s320/23.5_KlonZo_group.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We had lunch back in Moab at </span><a href="http://www.anticaforma.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Antica Forma</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">,
then drove through </span><a href="https://www.nps.gov/arch/index.htm"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Arches
National Park</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> around 3 p.m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, we were there during the hottest part of
the day, but there weren’t many other people around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVY5Ls0HqONzrg-5mCdW00h3gOqKjgJ54FLFffMK8fhILqrcSyjDN8vggxn5fJEyDYmjMTVRSFO9WyfzcKYnwxkXYs-kYbMf_iscVCdUPWqxFEWTrEhScGHUl6KNzAIaK-GGh8x0GTA/s2048/25_Arches_ParkAvenue.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVY5Ls0HqONzrg-5mCdW00h3gOqKjgJ54FLFffMK8fhILqrcSyjDN8vggxn5fJEyDYmjMTVRSFO9WyfzcKYnwxkXYs-kYbMf_iscVCdUPWqxFEWTrEhScGHUl6KNzAIaK-GGh8x0GTA/s320/25_Arches_ParkAvenue.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gqRYuo0lWQxxpb22Ctkfwymtfjf4AqKBeHTrU232xgfGeXdHVIt_lpiKnV4SmBkqU2UIQ-mx0hE2Tw1f6rVW5quDgWG3UccUDYfuLRJCHNNIhH63O58QERxbR2M2HaA4io9pRQEmjQ/s2048/31_Arches_tree.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gqRYuo0lWQxxpb22Ctkfwymtfjf4AqKBeHTrU232xgfGeXdHVIt_lpiKnV4SmBkqU2UIQ-mx0hE2Tw1f6rVW5quDgWG3UccUDYfuLRJCHNNIhH63O58QERxbR2M2HaA4io9pRQEmjQ/s320/31_Arches_tree.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJlROFCI1MWPr6S6mh4yCFnaQEGgcs7oR8SHR-mc3TFw17LVd-8Z9RouakOSy3uHbixklqEbeyYY8dl0CSzQ-Hvq0qcf8_uELY8VDTSptG8-NZPRX_xG8QaxUfoax9eU4vBdv-hkX6Q/s1008/33_Arches_rock_group.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJlROFCI1MWPr6S6mh4yCFnaQEGgcs7oR8SHR-mc3TFw17LVd-8Z9RouakOSy3uHbixklqEbeyYY8dl0CSzQ-Hvq0qcf8_uELY8VDTSptG8-NZPRX_xG8QaxUfoax9eU4vBdv-hkX6Q/s320/33_Arches_rock_group.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Oh yeah – while riding, my brother’s bike
computer registered 103 degrees. It
didn’t feel like 103 though. After Arches
we returned to the camp site and got in the pool. Ahhhhhh.
Off to dinner at the </span><a href="https://www.moabdiner.com/Home"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Moab
Diner</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">, then in bed by 10 p.m. </span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">August 20<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Cameron left early returning to Vail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tracy and Dave left for home (Heber City,
Utah) after breakfast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>S&D and I
intended to check out </span><a href="https://www.nps.gov/cany/index.htm"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Canyonlands
National Park</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
donned my Utah T-shirt for today’s travel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(I bought it at a Wal-Mart about 15 years ago because I thought it was
funny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I may have worn it once since
then, and thought this trip would be the perfect time to dust it off.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhB6vVhh7NFktH8su4yJp6STNPc_3-D6cTIugSi0_K2uohiqT9Z5G314n0Nj2lelWIZnZvUj6EOGis7gvYkrzrJM1dyl78PuAOIPwsG4TVefUT6w90hODKV1ICKni_WUsOvXF-13ws1w/s2048/40_Moabsign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhB6vVhh7NFktH8su4yJp6STNPc_3-D6cTIugSi0_K2uohiqT9Z5G314n0Nj2lelWIZnZvUj6EOGis7gvYkrzrJM1dyl78PuAOIPwsG4TVefUT6w90hODKV1ICKni_WUsOvXF-13ws1w/s320/40_Moabsign.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zQcp11jt-Nq_gLoEqP_P6OhkfizUrtUv1fKOHOvfLcaVwB39BLfqNACwD5MKw6ebcTNuPf4x69Y049R_OZIQJRA4KcJf9MdN51itGNvbHCmHfE2vdaBBMDkQeZ5rfEKJ5L2lDiY1mQ/s2048/41_Moab_bikelane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zQcp11jt-Nq_gLoEqP_P6OhkfizUrtUv1fKOHOvfLcaVwB39BLfqNACwD5MKw6ebcTNuPf4x69Y049R_OZIQJRA4KcJf9MdN51itGNvbHCmHfE2vdaBBMDkQeZ5rfEKJ5L2lDiY1mQ/s320/41_Moab_bikelane.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJ8vOIvEH4Dduu_nvsWVhr3t6VERrCo9hRaF8TdvDrMoeM_d-UUG9OjZ3y7On6qr2b5UoYw3ePcMiJ1q7dT1mYlQEF2m_Qu3bLHeDguF2K2IYvJ6Ddnfwnl__gmaTmvKlgdEbZBXH6Q/s2048/44_near_Canyonlands_LG.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJ8vOIvEH4Dduu_nvsWVhr3t6VERrCo9hRaF8TdvDrMoeM_d-UUG9OjZ3y7On6qr2b5UoYw3ePcMiJ1q7dT1mYlQEF2m_Qu3bLHeDguF2K2IYvJ6Ddnfwnl__gmaTmvKlgdEbZBXH6Q/s320/44_near_Canyonlands_LG.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We turned onto UT 313 from US 191 and soon
found out we’d have to drive about 25 miles just to reach the entrance to Canyonlands. We drove a few miles, stopping a couple times
to take some pictures, and mutually decided to skip Canyonlands. I was content with our decision at the
time. It’s only more rocks, right? Now I wish we’d soldiered on since we were
there. I feel silly that we missed
it. And I found out after I got home
that Canyonlands is an International Dark Sky Park! I wish I had investigated that more. Next time.
We got to Tracy and Dave’s around 5 p.m.
They live in the </span><a href="https://www.redledges.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItcSj9Ibx6wIVyrzACh1H5gGEEAAYASAAEgJTMfD_BwE"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Red
Ledges</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> development in Heber. I’ll take a moment to say that when Deanna asked
me about staying at their house, I was uneasy.
Nothing personal; I wasn’t
initially comfortable with the idea of living in someone’s house during a
pandemic. After talking with Deana and
Tracy, I changed my mind. Dave works at
home. Tracy currently doesn’t work
outside the home. We each had our own
bedroom and bathroom. My other option
was a nearby RV park. It looked nice,
but I felt having my own bathroom space was cleaner than using a public
bathroom. The other pluses – sleeping in
a bed and the convenience of going downstairs to my room, as opposed to driving
back and forth to a campsite. Their
house was plenty big enough for all of us to spread out while inside, but we
spent most of the time there sitting on one of their two outdoor decks. We enjoyed a relaxing first evening of dinner
and sitting on the lower back patio watching the deer, coyote and
hummingbirds. And playing with their
dogs, Ally and Otto. </span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtC3qgUQtP72XLDNAAq82i7DNPKLEocqEbRlecGr5H4luzim5fWh6zHVSUAfYn-kcPu0PgcSMxDMnCzfaN_XHlnRUDUU1GTI4332rqmher6YKjy0TDlm3sMQLzsJ6C8Kp459zkZZXs0A/s2048/52_RedLedges_LGrock.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtC3qgUQtP72XLDNAAq82i7DNPKLEocqEbRlecGr5H4luzim5fWh6zHVSUAfYn-kcPu0PgcSMxDMnCzfaN_XHlnRUDUU1GTI4332rqmher6YKjy0TDlm3sMQLzsJ6C8Kp459zkZZXs0A/s320/52_RedLedges_LGrock.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJb21iesrUq4FlH9Gblt5Ovv3CMPEhAJOGHhrtxUOx7ul3axa_eUkdacj3lN7sVLWdTObVEA4ZI2bL8us0vTsWUXCgkLaiNQuMka-pva6sIHX8jwmXChhnww-mbNc6l89eZggIAmnbhA/s2048/88_deck_view.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJb21iesrUq4FlH9Gblt5Ovv3CMPEhAJOGHhrtxUOx7ul3axa_eUkdacj3lN7sVLWdTObVEA4ZI2bL8us0vTsWUXCgkLaiNQuMka-pva6sIHX8jwmXChhnww-mbNc6l89eZggIAmnbhA/s320/88_deck_view.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5Y6yFGaCcYuLKeUMJY9cYWIrSxKPv7WfwhcJVLH3SIOf-E5ZUcVVTahOwoLxj-b57jghLlfrxI6C9KB0DPjjmUrVmoUWfb3OgCmqX7uGOl2UTN_TO5kuLTmAnYkixqo0_yfqm_e73A/s2048/55_Ally_Otto_bed.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5Y6yFGaCcYuLKeUMJY9cYWIrSxKPv7WfwhcJVLH3SIOf-E5ZUcVVTahOwoLxj-b57jghLlfrxI6C9KB0DPjjmUrVmoUWfb3OgCmqX7uGOl2UTN_TO5kuLTmAnYkixqo0_yfqm_e73A/s320/55_Ally_Otto_bed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">August 21</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Another mountain biking day – we drove to the Aspen
Grove Marina and rode the </span><a href="https://www.utahmountainbiking.com/trails/strawberrynarrows.htm"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Strawberry
Narrows</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We rode out and back, around 10 miles (we
didn’t do the entire trail), with a rest stop at a clearing overlooking
Strawberry Reservoir.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The view reminded
me of Lake Bled in Slovenia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyOXgOq3OoFIgAbv8O9Qc6dsUp5rG2sYG-aghYTywpkWdcZYPpwaRd83ycxQNvcOKJ_2e-jUgJH3Zdun6khuEAo6sAkocLNa2bTbmcwTlZeFj7T-j16n06mIBUJGKTutyI30rWghYtkw/s2048/54_StrawberryNarrowsTrail_LG.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyOXgOq3OoFIgAbv8O9Qc6dsUp5rG2sYG-aghYTywpkWdcZYPpwaRd83ycxQNvcOKJ_2e-jUgJH3Zdun6khuEAo6sAkocLNa2bTbmcwTlZeFj7T-j16n06mIBUJGKTutyI30rWghYtkw/s320/54_StrawberryNarrowsTrail_LG.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Steve suggested
I ride his e-bike today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why not?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt a little guilty using assistance
(low), but got the hang of it and especially enjoyed the drop seat on the
descents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(With the e-bikes, you can
ride with no assistance, or press the button for low, medium or high
assistance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You still have to
pedal.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Had lunch afterward at the <a href="https://danielssummit.com/index.php/our-amenities/">Daniels Summit Lodge &
General Store</a>, taking in the picturesque mountain views.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After dinner at the house, I visited a friend
I know from Indiana who lived a short drive away in Heber.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shannon, her husband Mike, and their two
girls have lived in Heber for several years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I know Shannon from my high school basketball days, and we got to know
each other better when we were named to the 1986 Indiana All-Star Team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s been trying to get me to visit them for
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Steve mentioned Tracy moved
to Heber, I couldn’t believe it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“<i>I</i>
have a friend who lives in Heber!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had
a nice girl’s visit on her friend Velanie’s front porch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">August 22<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Today was a rest day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We enjoyed a pancake breakfast, then visited the local bike shop (</span><a href="https://www.slimandknobbys.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Slim &
Knobby’s</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">) and later, another bike shop closer to
Salt Lake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tonight was my dinner with
Shannon and her family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mike made ribs
in a </span><a href="https://pitbarrelcooker.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Pit Barrel</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Delicious!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Velanie joined us again and we had a great time visiting in their
beautiful backyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shannon and I don’t
see each other often, but when we do, we pick right up where we left off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good friends are like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has a beautiful family and I’m so
thankful I was able to see them, even for a short time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLPUOWdMJxy9I7i7CDPD8lo4rZ1FjHfBbOjmiNBMXHX0HN0fAwzLECdKAuJK6933Phn2OGuO1ebGEhvrwkwOaqwiL_A1aEmloYrG-b62dj0iKjUkhXXsx5T0THglzXVwHUW7Hj5JSbNA/s2045/Shannon_LG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1602" data-original-width="2045" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLPUOWdMJxy9I7i7CDPD8lo4rZ1FjHfBbOjmiNBMXHX0HN0fAwzLECdKAuJK6933Phn2OGuO1ebGEhvrwkwOaqwiL_A1aEmloYrG-b62dj0iKjUkhXXsx5T0THglzXVwHUW7Hj5JSbNA/s320/Shannon_LG.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">August 23<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After a day of leisure, we were back in action with an
early morning drive (6 a.m. departure) to the </span><a href="https://utah.com/uinta-mountains"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Uinta Mountains</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We did the </span><a href="https://www.deseret.com/2009/8/6/20332961/hike-of-the-week-17-lakes-loop-uinta-mountains-summit-county#hikers-pass-by-lily-lakes-on-the-way-to-wall-lake-the-trail-goes-between-the-two-lakes"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">17
Lake hike</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> from the Crystal Lake Trailhead, which
was six miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What stunning views!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We saw various remote campsites along the
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I would love to do backcountry camping
someday.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHcmpE2i8GndimS3qaaO5wM2Aulja9maFmjXCIB2XBPIxbVU2EvWZRMfJCcnJaiiNiE7R5Lb2OR3-4XOD_V-v58k1MPF6y2n6KPojRbFqX9Eo3yI1rQFNpgX9AgJHS3_ESV3GeE-cEsw/s2048/62_Uinta_hike.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHcmpE2i8GndimS3qaaO5wM2Aulja9maFmjXCIB2XBPIxbVU2EvWZRMfJCcnJaiiNiE7R5Lb2OR3-4XOD_V-v58k1MPF6y2n6KPojRbFqX9Eo3yI1rQFNpgX9AgJHS3_ESV3GeE-cEsw/s320/62_Uinta_hike.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLtNzclNK0hVfDHahrU_tRn8gOtv3rQwXtuRg7gh9yswwMO18hBPXtpdAXginoYV8R5F2awjj4jeLoJbP0V0ZYEOXuip4zkfORgZXQ_6xfRL-5drreixivaD9x-OPWdsUUTyoesAUTSw/s2048/63_Uinta_hike.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLtNzclNK0hVfDHahrU_tRn8gOtv3rQwXtuRg7gh9yswwMO18hBPXtpdAXginoYV8R5F2awjj4jeLoJbP0V0ZYEOXuip4zkfORgZXQ_6xfRL-5drreixivaD9x-OPWdsUUTyoesAUTSw/s320/63_Uinta_hike.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQD9QpGASdjQpyDpuTo-MFqzQI0WePxadqqdDWC1awnsH31kgSlCbfsQdt-B-WBrtBFaxDj08MJrLkMGlXsGca2s9IEWj0bxmkbAgwdadEcFQjB1Hdwvuorun7QBZR2vFpy2fxbngrg/s2048/64_Uinta_hike.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiQD9QpGASdjQpyDpuTo-MFqzQI0WePxadqqdDWC1awnsH31kgSlCbfsQdt-B-WBrtBFaxDj08MJrLkMGlXsGca2s9IEWj0bxmkbAgwdadEcFQjB1Hdwvuorun7QBZR2vFpy2fxbngrg/s320/64_Uinta_hike.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We arrived home in time for me
to watch most of the Indianapolis 500 on my computer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No fans were allowed into the Speedway this
year, but at least they had the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Takuma Sato won his second on a yellow flag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not an exciting ending, but there was plenty
of excitement during the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the
race, we drove to Park City and walked around the main street poking our head
into some nice (and pricey) shops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
we arrived at Park City and were driving around looking for a parking garage,
we heard a strange scraping sound at one point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We couldn’t figure out what it was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Once we parked, we saw a couple in the garage who told us that a
skateboarder caught a ride by holding on to the back of Dave’s Jeep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The skateboard was the scraping sound!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So “Back To The Future!”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-j3_0LB_ZSCjZjb5ImD1pxv6N-MOns0lN71wJBv7EjB0WGkMbgD3eKlcjI26QhY269_1G-HxDRqx-R5qhneebltjUh5fUK97rqWtLL3AFEQyHB_NVn340SUWICgSe9w0MbLT4pcTStQ/s2048/70_ParkCity.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-j3_0LB_ZSCjZjb5ImD1pxv6N-MOns0lN71wJBv7EjB0WGkMbgD3eKlcjI26QhY269_1G-HxDRqx-R5qhneebltjUh5fUK97rqWtLL3AFEQyHB_NVn340SUWICgSe9w0MbLT4pcTStQ/s320/70_ParkCity.jpg" /></a></div><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">August 24</span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Big day today – we drove to </span><a href="https://www.deervalley.com/things-to-do/activities/mountain-biking"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Deer
Valley Ski Resort</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They have ski lifts that take your bike to the top of the mountain!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who knew?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Apparently everyone in Utah.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodxlJV2X4R5d9zXR9jFXdSCtF8kp__cj6lEWkYHV7mzD9MbclDZR008wZHDNmErLDgAHGhh9kYbgUOVUrdyyHd_UV94kFXv4wXZwy8XX9crM0HEtlgbhy_OiSTBXZgph3SVhXI1eYNg/s2048/73.5_bikelift.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodxlJV2X4R5d9zXR9jFXdSCtF8kp__cj6lEWkYHV7mzD9MbclDZR008wZHDNmErLDgAHGhh9kYbgUOVUrdyyHd_UV94kFXv4wXZwy8XX9crM0HEtlgbhy_OiSTBXZgph3SVhXI1eYNg/s320/73.5_bikelift.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
rode Holy Roller (Easy), Deer Camp and Sunset (Intermediate) and some others.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We had a successful first run.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">At the beginning part of the second run on
Holy Roller, I got a flat back tire.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
had a spare, but when I looked at it, it had a shrader valve and not a
presta.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Oh no!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I felt like an idiot, but that was the tube
Paul gave me as a spare and I didn’t pay attention to the valve.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Luckily, Steve had an extra that would fit my
bike.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">In his car.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Deanna and I sat at the top and waited for
the others to ride down, get the tube, and return to us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the meantime, Deanna comforted a woman who
had just broken her collarbone on the first part of the trail.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">She sat waiting for the Deer Valley EMTs with
her husband and two sons.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Deanna broke
her collarbone a few years ago, and told the woman, “You will ride again!”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">As she talked to the woman, I made an S-O-S
signal in the dirt in case no one returned for us.</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZv72UHOi3-vTsk0JLnc6dYPzgXc3Z-WmLRAN_xxZfztCKZO0SxDluo2PRek3D9KR0JaFQzqOt5uALxeHbLU8XM4EJy50FAd_VEon-mbDHPJVDlUVplo8vln-z5K50MSg9BQG_5TO-ww/s2048/75_SOS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZv72UHOi3-vTsk0JLnc6dYPzgXc3Z-WmLRAN_xxZfztCKZO0SxDluo2PRek3D9KR0JaFQzqOt5uALxeHbLU8XM4EJy50FAd_VEon-mbDHPJVDlUVplo8vln-z5K50MSg9BQG_5TO-ww/s320/75_SOS.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohtKQWkqPjG7HQ9jNcfcqTUjlVuqvJX0zBfhtVSemJ_7n_3coDtJ4dTMqL12q_L7VBlGxOo_06OHbq4S_si_uSLwmE6Fg0J4YgljqlgcL58Mw2VwCpYAu2RJW3x0uO4CmkzDR1A_CJw/s2048/73_DeerValley_view2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohtKQWkqPjG7HQ9jNcfcqTUjlVuqvJX0zBfhtVSemJ_7n_3coDtJ4dTMqL12q_L7VBlGxOo_06OHbq4S_si_uSLwmE6Fg0J4YgljqlgcL58Mw2VwCpYAu2RJW3x0uO4CmkzDR1A_CJw/s320/73_DeerValley_view2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJfsNPK2lOk1_OQklF6J1AC2jUC4Q9R4wx9HXMFXxmnltQc-N9uMGvybO2HWlTi2VXebh6jb0Kq47fhTh0fZcF8da_rvzE9RxgI2gfP6kQ2-JsjwCWmKqBgHdlQUDHPPjuXOzaEu0ZxA/s1600/79_DeerValley_SteveDeannaLG2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJfsNPK2lOk1_OQklF6J1AC2jUC4Q9R4wx9HXMFXxmnltQc-N9uMGvybO2HWlTi2VXebh6jb0Kq47fhTh0fZcF8da_rvzE9RxgI2gfP6kQ2-JsjwCWmKqBgHdlQUDHPPjuXOzaEu0ZxA/s320/79_DeerValley_SteveDeannaLG2.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>They eventually did, we changed the tire, and
resumed our ride.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I thought it was
supposed to be an easier trail, but it was still pretty difficult and
rocky.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s mostly downhill, but still
had to dismount the bike several times.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">After we finished the second run, the guys wanted to do a harder trail
so we girls found some chairs and enjoyed the view waiting for them.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">About an hour later they finished their run
and we decided to head to the car.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
thought about taking the gondola down one more section to the parking lot, but
decided to do the Tour Des Homes (Intermediate) trail instead.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">(According to the Deer Valley website, “This
is the least difficult trail down to the Snow Park base area.)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It was great – we saw some fabulous homes and
saw moose – two close up in someone’s back yard and two in the distance.</span><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10S4cIF2VOGwoLVfRwZjOB1D9CejVqZUkG1hFkGpVal-TJcSBMKGwJccwxR1WvFRYoxYS7y-hjRA8Za9Lj3zY09DACkth4x5fmp2H0ZA3tlNa127Smqv2q7hsbNHc7pYA-7bXy8_CnQ/s1080/80_TourdeHomes_moose.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10S4cIF2VOGwoLVfRwZjOB1D9CejVqZUkG1hFkGpVal-TJcSBMKGwJccwxR1WvFRYoxYS7y-hjRA8Za9Lj3zY09DACkth4x5fmp2H0ZA3tlNa127Smqv2q7hsbNHc7pYA-7bXy8_CnQ/s320/80_TourdeHomes_moose.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We made it to a slightly declining gravel
road that led to the parking lot.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">About
100 yards from the end, I heard a commotion behind me.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I turned and saw Deanna in a ball on the
ground.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">She tried to avoid a hole in the
side of the road and ended up hitting it and going over her handlebars.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Deer Valley EMT came quickly (they saw us
from the main buildings by the parking lot) and initially concluded that she
broke her collarbone.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">They worried she’d
also hurt her back so put her on a board and loaded her on the ATV, taking her
to a waiting ambulance.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I felt so bad
for her!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">She kept saying, “I’m
sorry!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’m sorry!” about ruining the
rest of our trip.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I was more worried
about her and her injuries.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">They took
her to University of Utah medical center.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We later got word she did break her collarbone, along with 10 ribs.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">(FYI most humans have 24).</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Her back and head were fine (thank goodness!).</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We weren’t allowed to see her in the hospital
due to Covid, so Steve and Tracy took her extra clothes and her phone, while
Dave and I watched National Geographic shows about the Grand Canyon and
Yosemite.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">August 25<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In the morning Steve found out Deanna would spend
another night in the hospital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We four
drove to </span><a href="https://www.sundanceresort.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Sundance</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">
for lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5ejJrdCvAsvWkx_lYcJIaowz90GdnE0SpODoo36oGwphK1OIK7uJ_2HES1-h0QRZBD92Iz3dPj2CkJm43Hm-6OvVsQBGgIHcz96BS89r5ex03191G-wq8fmv6f0u4OaR4WwR6Mk7mw/s2048/85_Sundance.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5ejJrdCvAsvWkx_lYcJIaowz90GdnE0SpODoo36oGwphK1OIK7uJ_2HES1-h0QRZBD92Iz3dPj2CkJm43Hm-6OvVsQBGgIHcz96BS89r5ex03191G-wq8fmv6f0u4OaR4WwR6Mk7mw/s320/85_Sundance.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQr9I364gb3cbjnHX6Di4l01ZwgPcQH6lEUkoFchF4ehrJivBjs1c6rQ-v522TGBobmQhrWBRmmoIEj0pmjKHTXTARu-TcPysTeDlohm4fQ98e5A8d2ZwcGAMW2qRYqVjhrUKsHiy7w/s2048/86_Redford_quote_cropped.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1794" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQr9I364gb3cbjnHX6Di4l01ZwgPcQH6lEUkoFchF4ehrJivBjs1c6rQ-v522TGBobmQhrWBRmmoIEj0pmjKHTXTARu-TcPysTeDlohm4fQ98e5A8d2ZwcGAMW2qRYqVjhrUKsHiy7w/s320/86_Redford_quote_cropped.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It’s lovely, but not what I
expected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s so small!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s basically a ski resort with three
restaurants and a Sundance store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s
it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I found out the Sundance Film
Festival takes place mainly in Park City.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After lunch we drove through the Wasatch Mountain Range – amazing!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back in civilization, we stopped at </span><a href="https://www.scheels.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Scheels</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d never heard of it, but it’s like Dick’s
Sporting Goods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kept tabs on Deanna, had
a nice dinner at home, and sat on the back deck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">August 26<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Tracy and I took an early-morning walk around the
neighborhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a lot of activity
in the Red Ledges with all kinds of homes still being built.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later in the morning, Steve and I rode the
e-bikes to explore more of the neighborhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We got turned around and couldn’t figure out how to get back to the
house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I started to get tired, then
remembered I was riding an e-bike so I upped the assistance to medium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Problem solved!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After lunch, Steve, Tracy and I drove to pick
up Deanna.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the way we stopped at
Costco and a </span><a href="https://www.sundancecatalog.com/category/sundance+catalog+outlet.do"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Sundance
Outlet</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> (Tracy appeased me by stopping here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could have spent the afternoon there, but
felt a little pressure to not take too much time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got a great deal on a colorful top – regularly
$98 and I got it for around $25!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally
heard from Deanna that she was being released so picked her up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Had dinner and relaxed outside again,
focusing on Deana and keeping her comfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">August 27<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">With Deanna out of the hospital and the rest of our
trip cancelled, I decided to drive home a little early.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>S&D and I were supposed to leave August
25 and visit Zion National Park, Lake Powell, Arizona and the Grand Canyon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tracy said I was welcome to stay with them as
long as I liked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After thinking about
it, I thought it best to leave for home and let Deanna convalesce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that time, I wasn’t sure how long S&D
would stay before driving back home to Florida.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If I left today, I could be home by Sunday and save three PTO days as
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I toyed with driving home in two
days, stopping in Kearney, Nebraska.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That would be two 12-hour days, which didn’t sound fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ultimately, I chose a route closer to what I
originally intended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, I drove to
Lake Powell, with a quick drive through </span><a href="https://www.nps.gov/brca/index.htm"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Bryce Canyon</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgepgsEeywjPgWyB-i1eN4p4KDY-4EnySgC5xwKQ_NI9bJ5ueR6hg8xr1pBCoshLNrDAZzSVxFgxIGLX4siJcDQKdP8P5e3qh7tiDZuWH89t_SNo8WxNc1HUMDgri3RKbR_MCfte1bZA/s2048/93_Bryce_RainbowPoint.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgepgsEeywjPgWyB-i1eN4p4KDY-4EnySgC5xwKQ_NI9bJ5ueR6hg8xr1pBCoshLNrDAZzSVxFgxIGLX4siJcDQKdP8P5e3qh7tiDZuWH89t_SNo8WxNc1HUMDgri3RKbR_MCfte1bZA/s320/93_Bryce_RainbowPoint.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Z9RTzg96YPdh3f2GnvolpUH9g2CdJC19rFkVcvSDXtKFbbWmaLD21wJ9uHG6t4iOt2W1NWPL9JS7eXP52FbWV64di5sn53uxiSGfvfhrfB86A48QE2wYDWYEz4GFgO_1AFGR8IlrBg/s2048/96_Bryce_RainbowPoint.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Z9RTzg96YPdh3f2GnvolpUH9g2CdJC19rFkVcvSDXtKFbbWmaLD21wJ9uHG6t4iOt2W1NWPL9JS7eXP52FbWV64di5sn53uxiSGfvfhrfB86A48QE2wYDWYEz4GFgO_1AFGR8IlrBg/s320/96_Bryce_RainbowPoint.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Our group plan had omitted Bryce, but when we
come back out this way again (we WILL come out this way again!), Bryce is on my
list to explore more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rock
formations and colors are spectacular!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
also like that there is a surrounding forest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It took me an extra three hours to drive into and out of Bryce along the
scenic drive and get back to the highway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To stretch my legs I did the one-mile hike at Inspiration Point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I arrived at the </span><a href="https://www.lakepowell.com/rv-camping/wahweap-rv-campground/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Wahweap
RV & Campground</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> at Lake Powell around 5 p.m.
Pacific time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I didn’t realize Arizona
was on Pacific time!?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a nice
campground next to a lake (hence the name).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9DnzFBMYTFnfnMlnSgMD6zWWJ_8sk2l47UHFG-RX-dIWxJAsWJVYqQ1KHhnG7DSUYEpY-rqrs-AbOiRhVtmKmR69QDAixZZ_TrMeYYEwiRHfCLqw1054f-iNX-xf4MTh0ZHSLRM7zQ/s2048/98_LakePowell_jackrabbit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9DnzFBMYTFnfnMlnSgMD6zWWJ_8sk2l47UHFG-RX-dIWxJAsWJVYqQ1KHhnG7DSUYEpY-rqrs-AbOiRhVtmKmR69QDAixZZ_TrMeYYEwiRHfCLqw1054f-iNX-xf4MTh0ZHSLRM7zQ/s320/98_LakePowell_jackrabbit.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The wind was ferocious, so I had a challenging time setting up my
tent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure why (maybe since I
was by myself?), but I didn’t put anything inside my tent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Usually I put my sleeping bag and pad inside
and maybe another bag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I staked it well,
pounding the stake hooks as far into the rocky soil as I could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My plan was to get food in Page, a short
drive from camp, and then watch the sunset at </span><a href="https://horseshoebend.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Horseshoe Bend</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I planned to shower when I returned to camp
since it was still 90 degrees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found a
taco place and brought my dinner to Horseshoe Bend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After parking, I walked 15 minutes to the bend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I timed it just right, sitting for 30 minutes
or so enjoying my tacos perched on a rock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I alternated between taking in the incredible rock formation and a
spectacular sunset, and watching in horror out of the corner of my eye as other
sightseers walked out to the edge of a rock to take photos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One slip and…I don’t want to think about
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGc2JR13zENPuA2-pEm6c3C61ffGz4nDb5z2yaSQA5MjcO_4VHAsVPtdHBA5Umu3hWGGnbUrB8pfnd4cDr8BbphmDeXeRWA2pCBR6i1UyGqGMIMOy-fwObd_FkhLNaUv7yY7t-pR9qdA/s2048/103_HorseshoeBend.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGc2JR13zENPuA2-pEm6c3C61ffGz4nDb5z2yaSQA5MjcO_4VHAsVPtdHBA5Umu3hWGGnbUrB8pfnd4cDr8BbphmDeXeRWA2pCBR6i1UyGqGMIMOy-fwObd_FkhLNaUv7yY7t-pR9qdA/s320/103_HorseshoeBend.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">After the sun disappeared, I walked
back to my car and returned to the campground.
Except when I got to my campsite, my tent was GONE. I got out of the car and looked around. It was like it had never been there. I retrieved a flashlight from my car and started
walking with the still-gusting wind. I
passed three empty campsites and finally saw a family and asked, “Did you see a
tent fly by here at any time?” The
little boy asked, “A what?” I responded,
“A tent.” Again, he asked, “A
what?” “A TENT.” The mom finally said she saw something a
while ago and then I saw it in the distance, wrapped around a prickly
shrub. By this time it was around 9 p.m.
and it still felt like 90 degrees. I
extracted the tent from the shrub and wrestled it apart in the wind, breaking
the poles. Sigh. I stomped back to my car and found refuge
from the wind in a bathroom building enclave, folding up my tent. I threw it and the broken poles in my trunk
and then got in the car. The camp office
was closed. Should I sleep in my
car? It was too hot. And I wouldn’t sleep. While I still had camp Wi-Fi, I looked up
motels in Page. I settled on a </span><a href="https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/travelodge/page-arizona/travelodge-page-az/overview?CID=LC:TL::GGL:RIO:National:14891&iata=00093796"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Travelodge</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
for $47. Sweet! I wish my tent hadn’t broken, but I was
thankful to have a king bed and air conditioning. What a night!
Some may wonder if I feel safe staying at a motel as a female traveling
alone. I love a good motel, especially when
traveling with a bike. I back my car
right up to the door and appreciate the easy transfer of my bike and other
belongings. Yes, the door opens to the parking
lot, but there are adequate locks and a door chain. The room was clean and reasonable. I slept like a baby. </span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">August 28<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Today I drove from Page to Rio Rancho, New Mexico,
just outside of Albuquerque.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked at
the Waze app prior to leaving and saw that the Petrified Forest and Painted
Desert are right off of I-40.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I
continued to drive with my Garmin, I realized I hadn’t yet hit I-40.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I finally stopped and looked at my map and
realized I was going a different way than I intended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Garmin led me south on 98 out of Page,
connecting with 160, then to 191.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>SO out
of my way!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I finally reached I-40 I
was past the forest and desert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gah!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would have to backtrack an hour to get to the
forest and desert, so I skipped them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Note to self:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Always look at a
paper map prior to departure to make sure the Garmin is going the way you want
to go.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My reason for stopping in Rio
Rancho was to see my mom’s cousin’s daughters, Donna and Pam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pam has lived in NM for 20+ years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Donna and her husband Burl just moved there
this past June.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their other sister,
Barb, lives part time in Anchorage, Alaska and part time in Rio Rancho.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She and her husband Wayne usually arrive in
September, so I missed them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I only
spent two hours in Rio Rancho, but it was so fun to catch up with them and see
Pam’s home, and to meet Pam’s partner, Mar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhCH6bMAmclVwd2CGsvlJuiQlofYMugVQwLgu_k3_38SY6pveTW1UbH8ujXRubhthyphenhyphen7O8KU0iJqO5-Xn5NOvapCCbryhZZuM_Kh4S1HVp3x36nxkLRfx1WF-3PtqHA_KEFZHQCU_-5Vw/s1600/104_Cousins_RioRancho_DonnaPamLG.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhCH6bMAmclVwd2CGsvlJuiQlofYMugVQwLgu_k3_38SY6pveTW1UbH8ujXRubhthyphenhyphen7O8KU0iJqO5-Xn5NOvapCCbryhZZuM_Kh4S1HVp3x36nxkLRfx1WF-3PtqHA_KEFZHQCU_-5Vw/s320/104_Cousins_RioRancho_DonnaPamLG.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">They were so nice and had pizza and salad for my visit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From there I drove three more hours to
Tucumcari, NM to spend the night at another cool motel – this time the </span><a href="https://www.rte66motel.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Historic Route 66 Motel</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While this motel was great – also clean and a
good value, it was my second choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
wanted so much to stay at the </span><a href="https://blueswallowmotel.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Blue
Swallow Motel</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">, also in Tucumcari.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rooms look so cool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some even have garages!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the rooms were twice the cost of the
Route 66 ($50 vs. $100).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I ever get
back to Tucumcari with friends, I hope to share a room at the Blue
Swallow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">August 29<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My reason for going on to Tucumcari was to have a shorter
drive day today to Aurora, Missouri.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Up
at 6:30 a.m. Mountain Time, I left at 7:15 a.m., stopping in Amarillo to check
out the <a href="https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2220">Cadillac Ranch</a>,
a row of colorfully spray painted Cadillacs sticking halfway out of the ground
in a field along I-40.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s an easy stop
and worth checking out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgNpQqHaGUvjH1xr8u4b12Oyp-WrZxLZeXlhuivHrkKUOYnmjfEfhjPnaHn-J4MI1IZFsQcG_tTdrB6BczpiOi-oLEs-tPJ2DN51qBXD_JadE07DoZPM18z3QSHsvs1ARcfJiCh5mOJQ/s2048/107_CadillacRanch_Amarillo%252CTX.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgNpQqHaGUvjH1xr8u4b12Oyp-WrZxLZeXlhuivHrkKUOYnmjfEfhjPnaHn-J4MI1IZFsQcG_tTdrB6BczpiOi-oLEs-tPJ2DN51qBXD_JadE07DoZPM18z3QSHsvs1ARcfJiCh5mOJQ/s320/107_CadillacRanch_Amarillo%252CTX.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0lD_Fw5X9uAeIo5-xJDnJgaSr_6pDcVXlHgR4FPesmxvvBjbAqYnIlbvRYqdJ-YBk3nL6ooJCcX6GMsXdeAvYWbi0Tova9SWsg8W1Nk08-WTB2QbljPD3qi950O_DTK7j89tJNOKVww/s2048/109_CadillacRanch_Amarillo%252CTX3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0lD_Fw5X9uAeIo5-xJDnJgaSr_6pDcVXlHgR4FPesmxvvBjbAqYnIlbvRYqdJ-YBk3nL6ooJCcX6GMsXdeAvYWbi0Tova9SWsg8W1Nk08-WTB2QbljPD3qi950O_DTK7j89tJNOKVww/s320/109_CadillacRanch_Amarillo%252CTX3.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I arrived in
Aurora around 6:30 p.m. Central time, ready for a front porch visit with my
favorite Missourians, Kelly and his wife Mary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Along with their wonderful company, I enjoyed the picnic supper they
provided – pulled pork, potato salad and deviled eggs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And they sent me home with a container of
chocolate chip cookies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mmmm!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On top of that, they gifted me with a new
favorite hat with “MO” on the front.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I left
their house around 8:45 p.m. to my final destination of the trip – my Airbnb in
Republic, MO, half an hour away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
place was so nice!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And even though it
was well-stocked with snacks, I didn’t eat anything (so rare for me!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was late, I’d had a wonderful meal, and I
was ready for bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">August 30<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Last travel day!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was up at 7 a.m. Central and home by 4 p.m. Eastern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After unpacking the car, I was determined to
wash the millions of bugs off of the hood and grill, and clean my bike, which
had traveled hundreds of miles on top of the car, not to mention riding on
dirty, dusty trails.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ambitious, yes, but
I knew I’d sleep better knowing they (along with myself) were both clean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back in the house, I talked to Deanna.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was doing well on their drive home and
they’d stopped in Wyoming for the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">What a trip!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After initially thinking I wouldn’t get to go anywhere over the summer,
I’m glad I took a little chance to go on this adventure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some may think I was reckless, traveling during
a pandemic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt comfortable and safe
at each destination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had no problem
using public restrooms at gas stations or camp grounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I (and others I encountered) wore a
mask.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I washed my hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kept my distance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Heber, we created our own bubble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only regret is Deanna’s accident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> She is on the mend and I hope to revisit some of the places we missed on this trip. </span>What a wonderful way to celebrate Steve and
my 10<sup>th</sup> bike anniversary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Happy
anniversary, Steve!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s to many
more!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-61996186028857669772020-09-16T11:38:00.000-04:002020-09-16T11:38:25.551-04:00#494 The Prayer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNW2vWQTczmFvCrGyCswPT6XG0lKWw1fduGj7KOnNtMYxf8B_aRnWOtfTOLbpxAMgTSjCF2T83S2RUp-ye5-aXJ8Xsg4bxvkwR52PcItNSfdWvfj04AdaFjG0dsNxQ6aZ75IBVggA5Rw/s1203/20200606_DavidNoraWedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="918" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNW2vWQTczmFvCrGyCswPT6XG0lKWw1fduGj7KOnNtMYxf8B_aRnWOtfTOLbpxAMgTSjCF2T83S2RUp-ye5-aXJ8Xsg4bxvkwR52PcItNSfdWvfj04AdaFjG0dsNxQ6aZ75IBVggA5Rw/s320/20200606_DavidNoraWedding.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">One of the many sad byproducts of Covid-19 is that a
lot of weddings have been canceled.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Weddings are a tricky events. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">[I
know this not by planning my own (YET!), but by being in and attending many, as
well as being an event planner.]</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">In most
instances you must reserve the venue at least a year in advance.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">You plunk down deposits on food, flowers, the
photographer.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">It’s big business.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">If you have to cancel, it’s my understanding
it’s rare to get all your money back.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">So you
lose money and then have to pay more money to do it on another date.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">No wonder brides get stressed out.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I’m thankful that one wedding went off without a hitch
this past summer.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">My oldest brother,
David, got married June 6.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">It was going
to be a small affair anyway, and luckily, small gatherings were allowed by that
time.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Despite being happy about the occasion, I was still a
little nervous about being inside in somewhat close proximity to people I
didn’t know.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Where have these people
been?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Were they taking the pandemic
seriously?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Masks weren’t mandatory.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">How many would wear them?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Would my parents be safe?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I was a bridesmaid, but didn’t know any of the other
bridesmaids, so I kept my distance from them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I wasn’t trying to be unfriendly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Just safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When one of the
bridesmaids got close to me, I’d back up to keep the space between us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A constant game of cat and mouse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I was the first one to walk down the aisle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had planned to wear a mask, but didn’t, as I
was spaced apart from the other bridesmaids and the attendees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I began my walk when the music started.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The song, which I was not aware of ahead of
time, was </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt_OkgSOrkU"><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Prayer</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">, </span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">written by David
Foster and Carole Bayer Sager, and performed by Celine Dion and Andrea
Bocelli.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Music can affect me very
deeply, and once I heard Celine singing, I started to tear up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve been listening to a lot of Bocelli
lately, and this song in particular is just so beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I held it together, didn’t go into an ugly
cry and made it down the aisle to my spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Deep breath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ceremony went wonderfully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Godby!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I was more uncomfortable during the after-ceremony photos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The photographer kept telling us, “I know you don’t want to, but get
closer together.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still wasn’t wearing a mask.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one in the photos was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Except for the last photo, when they thought
it would be funny for us all to wear masks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Gah!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">David and Nora didn’t plan to have a reception anyway,
so they had individually-boxed cupcakes and little bags of Hershey kisses for
attendees to take home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After photos,
they changed, packed their car up, and left pretty much immediately for their
honeymoon (they drove to Branson, Missouri).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I would like to give special props to my cousin,
Diane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is the ultimate event planner
and transformed the church and narthex into something really special.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m so happy for David and Nora, and pray that God guides
them with His grace in their marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-30315298251068606102020-09-08T13:10:00.000-04:002020-09-08T13:13:36.836-04:00#493 There Once Was A Girl On Nantucket<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’ve had a fascination with Nantucket Island for many
years. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Did it begin with the TV show
Wings?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">(see Post No. 492).</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is it because it’s an island and I love
water?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is it the cedar-shingle houses
with the blooming hydrangeas?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
lighthouses?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The quaint shops and
cobblestone streets?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yes.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">All of it, yes.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">And after loving the island for so long, I
had the opportunity of a lifetime drop into my lap.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I was sitting at my desk one workday in 2002 and
my friend Julie called. “What are you
doing next Tuesday?” she asked. I looked
at my calendar. July 23 was clear. “Nothing.” I replied. She then uttered the most glorious words I’d
heard in a long time. “Do you want to go
to Nantucket for the day for $99?” (or
something to that effect). Oh. My.
Gosh. One of my dreams was coming
true. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Julie’s friend’s sister (?) worked for ATA Airlines
and we were able to get the family rate on a non-stop flight from Indianapolis
to Nantucket Island. Are you
serious?! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">On the morning of our adventure, we were up at the
crack of dawn and flew to Nantucket.
Julie, her friend, her friend’s mom and me. I still couldn’t believe it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The island was just as I had imagined. Lovely cottages with gardens in full
bloom. A quaint main street with a
plethora of shops and restaurants. Fresh
seafood. The smell of saltwater in the
air. Pure heaven. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyUSHjtaJel5ZRvTQNHTier4LTAtTuk63b1mREtPUkzQ0Aygm8i7JOKYeBRwdcqMxvOpt_3N1GlQTAFpIzgFU-GSd0tP7iQeXiIym9yCzOwrwsD19Kc-uyUbZ7xAEZ3NcJy4V85HZNIg/s640/town2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyUSHjtaJel5ZRvTQNHTier4LTAtTuk63b1mREtPUkzQ0Aygm8i7JOKYeBRwdcqMxvOpt_3N1GlQTAFpIzgFU-GSd0tP7iQeXiIym9yCzOwrwsD19Kc-uyUbZ7xAEZ3NcJy4V85HZNIg/s320/town2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Main Street</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We walked around for a while having such a fun time
and then for some reason I got it in my head that we should rent bicycles.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’m into bikes and the thought of cruising
around seeing the sights by bicycle seemed like a good idea.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We could see more of the island in less
time.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Eventually Julie agreed and we
split from her friend and her mom, and we went to a bike rental shop.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The map looked easy enough and not too long
of a ride.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">And that’s where things went
downhill.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Once you left the main town, there was not much to
see. There’s water and tall grass. And some lighthouses. Pretty, but not super exciting. And it was hot. Wow it was hot away from the water. We brought shorts to change into, but no
extra undies. And what we thought was a
short jaunt turned into a much longer ride.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When we got back, we stopped at a public restroom and
tried to clean up with soap/water and paper towels so we wouldn’t reek on the late evening plane ride back home. Thinking back, it was <i>kind of </i>funny. Why was I so insistent on renting bikes? Why not do a boat ride? Why not just walk around more? I wish Julie had said, “Stop asking about
bikes! It’s too hot!” But she is a good friend and was trying to
appease me. The fault was mine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyjLQjhDXeGqWM25mTRcgsrk7WK2KCAZKRojXnjCZ1ydUZNEXniJxAgTHK4mwtVIyP8r6CKSE51416rJMvZ7O5hyLrvILlraumLaJrKlfdnHcDXQHqcSilrG1lXl349gwZgj-qrF-jw/s640/LG+on+bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="426" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyjLQjhDXeGqWM25mTRcgsrk7WK2KCAZKRojXnjCZ1ydUZNEXniJxAgTHK4mwtVIyP8r6CKSE51416rJMvZ7O5hyLrvILlraumLaJrKlfdnHcDXQHqcSilrG1lXl349gwZgj-qrF-jw/w213-h320/LG+on+bike.jpg" title="I was smiling. Julie probably was not." width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was smiling. Julie probably was not. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In looking for photos of this trip, I couldn’t find
any. None. I know I had some, because I have a colored
pencil drawing of the Sankaty Head Light that I drew in an art class not
long after that trip. Luckily, Julie
found some photos and sent them to me. Unfortunately, no pictures of her or the
others. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUSdsVdnrSfeikA7FHKYpMM3P1qJD3j1VmVi4ZKHNPA-wvBrIkG4iUa1AqUO2LBAFspKeK8rlZNRgmorMYJROPmNBxeD-twaHztIGoKfyPgPr06WnTB5n0ZnyChgalE1vCRrP24eDM5A/s800/Brant+Point+Lighthouse2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="538" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUSdsVdnrSfeikA7FHKYpMM3P1qJD3j1VmVi4ZKHNPA-wvBrIkG4iUa1AqUO2LBAFspKeK8rlZNRgmorMYJROPmNBxeD-twaHztIGoKfyPgPr06WnTB5n0ZnyChgalE1vCRrP24eDM5A/w215-h320/Brant+Point+Lighthouse2.jpg" title="Brant Point Lighthouse" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brant Point Lighthouse</td></tr>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhjW9Hrrr66HOY3QW1gR5mq-eN2P6xvsMyyIMytzlR05dRNXTnTbR_jfFwiw1E2rvJTpybexMzSd-Et0J-X-4F1X1YTNkzQkYpnkKCGyrpN0SIU4mvPGta6F-KkfgkkCDWuSMqyN0lYg/s640/LG+at+Brant+Point+LH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="434" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhjW9Hrrr66HOY3QW1gR5mq-eN2P6xvsMyyIMytzlR05dRNXTnTbR_jfFwiw1E2rvJTpybexMzSd-Et0J-X-4F1X1YTNkzQkYpnkKCGyrpN0SIU4mvPGta6F-KkfgkkCDWuSMqyN0lYg/w217-h320/LG+at+Brant+Point+LH.jpg" title="my photo shoot at Brant Point" width="217" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my photo shoot at Brant Point</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOKeVVjfQb-SYrkArlBN9hXxjMHWhngBzLZz-aXK_9GzBPQ1ghuRiXbJoRyNMgwV-_dyQT-SIe-RncbP8OUE3hDoo5__A8NHL2SdY4bQY3zC4naP5MVRmpRGTU6fhchTDkPwerkhghQQ/s800/Sankaty+Head+Lighthouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="800" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOKeVVjfQb-SYrkArlBN9hXxjMHWhngBzLZz-aXK_9GzBPQ1ghuRiXbJoRyNMgwV-_dyQT-SIe-RncbP8OUE3hDoo5__A8NHL2SdY4bQY3zC4naP5MVRmpRGTU6fhchTDkPwerkhghQQ/w320-h202/Sankaty+Head+Lighthouse.jpg" title="Sankaty Head Light" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sankaty Head Light</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXCyaAWhkQD9kQa1yca6B5JeDyXlVbuHTAlTD0Oe-B29YTE1sy5hsTn4LuG9wxG6G2u_4WdH2bxCKNtRPykzvb8EoMk1GqN5yGIWOX9MyRqyoc7FGgP57OiT9yv7ZKKnfIaEd4vsWjKw/s2048/20200907_210025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXCyaAWhkQD9kQa1yca6B5JeDyXlVbuHTAlTD0Oe-B29YTE1sy5hsTn4LuG9wxG6G2u_4WdH2bxCKNtRPykzvb8EoMk1GqN5yGIWOX9MyRqyoc7FGgP57OiT9yv7ZKKnfIaEd4vsWjKw/w320-h240/20200907_210025.jpg" title="my interpretation of Sankaty Head Light" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my interpretation of Sankaty Head Light</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">One random side note on the trip – we saw the actor </span><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005282/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Mike O’Malley</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
several times on the island, and I swear he was on our plane too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Over the years I’ve thought about how I would like to
go back for a longer trip. Or for my
honeymoon (someday…) Until then I’ve discovered
a way to transport myself to the island by reading </span><a href="https://www.elinhilderbrand.net/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Elin Hilderbrand</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
books, which are set on Nantucket. The
first book of hers that I read (and still my favorite) is <i>Blue Bistro</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My one trip to Nantucket was fabulous and memorable. ATA is no longer in business, so I’m thankful
that I had the opportunity to make a quick, inexpensive trip. And
that Julie invited me and I could share the experience with her. What a Beautiful Day! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-3945794344134982522020-07-27T18:15:00.001-04:002020-07-27T18:15:18.940-04:00#492 Wings<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some of you may have caught on that a lot of my blog
titles are song titles or relate to music in some way.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Music plays a huge role in my life and I like
to challenge myself to make it relatable to just about anything.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">If you thought that this particular blog title has to
do with Paul McCartney’s band from the 70s, you’re wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The title also has nothing to do with birds,
eagles, or fairies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This blog is about
my favorite sit-com of all time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Wings ran for eight seasons from 1990-1997.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most well-known cast members are Tim Daly
(Joe Hackett), Steven Weber (Brian Hackett), Crystal Bernard (Helen Chappel),
Thomas Haden Church (Lowell Mather) and Tony Shalhoub (Antonio Scarpacci).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The show was about the Hackett brothers and
their small airline, Sandpiper Air, on Nantucket Island.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Helen ran the lunch counter at Tom Nevers
Field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lowell was the mechanic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Antonio the cab driver.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And let’s not forget Roy Biggins (David
Schramm), who ran rival airline Aeromass, and Fay Cochran (Rebecca Schull),
Sandpiper’s lone employee besides the Hacketts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Other characters are Alex Lambert (Farrah Forke), Brian’s girlfriend for
part of the series, and Casey Chappel (Amy Yasbeck), Helen’s sister, who
appeared on the last three seasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Brian Haley replaced Thomas Haden Church as Budd the mechanic on season
seven, but the poor guy didn’t get much air time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he was no Lowell.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Why do I love this show so much?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has the perfect mix of witty repartee,
silly comedy, a thread of sexual tension, and a lot of heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The characters are outstanding and play off
of each other perfectly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Hackett brothers are great looking and direct
opposites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nice-guy Joe is responsibly
trying to run the airline and has to deal with Brian returning to the island (after
running off with Joe’s fiancée).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brian
is bent on having as much fun and the least responsibility possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Helen is somewhat neurotic but yet totally relatable
as the chronically single woman trying to find her place in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will she die a lonely, old woman with her
cello?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will she end up with Joe?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or business man Davis Lynch?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Roy is the evil nemesis but still lovable at his core.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He never fails to bring the perfect
zinger at the perfect time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fay is just so out there; you can’t help but love
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when you think she can’t be any
more bizarre, she is the voice of reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She survived several husbands and her full name is Fay Evelyn Schlob Dumbly
DeVay Cochran.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Antonio appears in season two and becomes a regular in
seasons three through eight, adding another layer of amusement, almost matching
Lowell. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Almost. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What can I say about Lowell?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lowell is a simple man who works for both
Aeromass and Sandpiper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has a unique
outlook on life and the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
doesn’t always get the jokes he is the butt of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lowell left the series in season seven, entering the Witness Protection
Program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A sad day at Tom Nevers Field
and on the island.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I watched Wings during it’s original running years,
and also loved watching it again in syndication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the mid-to-late 1990s the USA Network
ran it twice a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two back-to-back,
half-hour episodes in the morning, and two more in the evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved the show so much I wanted to keep
them for my future entertainment and began recording them on a VCR.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kept a written record of the episodes I had
already recorded, so whenever there was a repeat, I would delete the
extra.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ended up with 10 VHS cassettes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaD4H5j88u9RKFehHUXkQ2GoKyRfn8S_ufQHvgVBIG9HbOhLK6Gxfxl5OKMJcAWZJwQPlrmRMdb-QOzjvvXTvq9kQVbciVT45YYzyFoqUq8ttxT54C6W0GIfgK9UVSsjZsy97KIbxAQg/s2048/label.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaD4H5j88u9RKFehHUXkQ2GoKyRfn8S_ufQHvgVBIG9HbOhLK6Gxfxl5OKMJcAWZJwQPlrmRMdb-QOzjvvXTvq9kQVbciVT45YYzyFoqUq8ttxT54C6W0GIfgK9UVSsjZsy97KIbxAQg/w320-h240/label.jpg" title="I threw out my paper list of episodes, but also wrote them on the VHS tapes" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I threw out my paper list of episodes,<br />but did write them on each VHS tape. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">When I moved into my current house, I stored these tapes
in my basement.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">They sat there,
untouched, for 20 years.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I had a VCR up
until a couple years ago, but never watched the episodes.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I guess there were too many other things to
watch.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">A couple years ago, a friend
gifted me the complete Wings series box DVD set.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I’m sure much better quality than my VHS
collection.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Still, I didn’t make time to
watch it.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXmlyuHP_q0zKkiWdEMQe2WKn-PI9vfnK8BZqfocDCUQXCrHgXS8Y30TYZS4V2mS4t0Vj1jCpffAtfd_V7CyfgwoXB41dYJwFcJF2Rr2zvvm6ltBZu-2bWlZbGyRn1in9GOON_HpPLKA/s2048/DVD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXmlyuHP_q0zKkiWdEMQe2WKn-PI9vfnK8BZqfocDCUQXCrHgXS8Y30TYZS4V2mS4t0Vj1jCpffAtfd_V7CyfgwoXB41dYJwFcJF2Rr2zvvm6ltBZu-2bWlZbGyRn1in9GOON_HpPLKA/s320/DVD.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and I had worked at
home for a few days, I lamented the lack of background TV shows during the
afternoon.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The usual, “So many options
but nothing on.”</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then I had a eureka
moment – I could watch the entire Wings series!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Which I did every afternoon from mid-March to early May.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I was right back in it – laughing at the
right moments and finishing their lines.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">During a time of uncertainty, I looked forward to my
daily dose of hilarity while getting my work done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess you could say that Wings carried me
up and away from the worldly troubles for a few hours a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Thank you for flying Sandpiper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-75934806068881729792020-07-17T18:11:00.003-04:002020-07-17T18:11:38.566-04:00#491 Who Let The Cat Out? <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I don’t have any pets.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s not that I don’t like animals – I love them!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">But I have been known to say, “I like other
people’s pets.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I grew up with pets that
lived inside of a bowl.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">When I was
around 10, I found a puppy down the street and my mom let me take him home
until we found a home for him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">He whined
so much, especially in the mornings when he needed to go out.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I hate to admit that I was relieved when he
was gone.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Apparently sleep outweighed
cuteness.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Occasionally someone will tell
me I need a dog or a cat.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Selfishly I
don’t want to have to be home at certain times to let out a dog.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cats take care of themselves, but there’s still
food and vet bills.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">So I continue to
enjoy other people’s pets.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">While Aaron and Tracy were on their honeymoon, I
looked in on their two cats, Butler and Lulu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Butler, Aaron’s cat, is friendly and snuggly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (His name comes from the fact that he looks like a butler.) </span>Tracy’s cat, Lulu, likes to be left
alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each night after work I stopped
at their house to get the mail and hang out for a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I will admit it was nice to have “someone” to come
home to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Butler was happy to see me and
we’d snuggle in the recliner for a while before I’d let him out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(He is like a dog in that sense.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’d purr, lick my fingers, bite my jewelry
and then just chill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d let him outside,
read my book and about 10 minutes later I would hear a faint scraping sound,
which was him wanting back in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was a
little nervous he wouldn’t come back, but he has a Tabcat pet tracker on his
collar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though I don’t really know
how to use it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lulu made a couple
appearances, but when she saw me, immediately went back to the bedroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The week went smoothly. Butler usually stayed outside no longer than
10 minutes due to the cold temperatures.
After that he’d hang out with me while I read, and I’d head home after
about 30-45 minutes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Sunday, my last day checking on them, was a lot warmer
– in the 60s and sunny. I stopped on my
way to a meeting and of course, when I <i>had</i> to be somewhere, Butler
didn’t come back in right away. Ten
minutes. Fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes. I opened the front and back doors and called
for him. Then I Googled the Tabcat thing
and watched a video on how it works. The
lights flash more the closer you get to the cat. Thankfully, Butler returned and I had plenty
of time to get to my meeting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I’m back to being on my own. I do miss that little furball. Maybe one day I won’t be so selfish with my
time or money. Or I’ll marry someone
with a pet. Until then, I’ll have to
wait a while to get more kitty snuggles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-M3_UNIYVuz11X1oWWSThJvzAEIHfjoQEQQW4FntekTaRCNtVn8cqKJPl2zvd8Xnmfqkok9MPT4AQWuyyMiezeKTS0sxZwZMAAerhewnDBXsg8A0rrjTvKfeJuXMBIE6McnITJDyOg/s1600/Butler_Aaron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-M3_UNIYVuz11X1oWWSThJvzAEIHfjoQEQQW4FntekTaRCNtVn8cqKJPl2zvd8Xnmfqkok9MPT4AQWuyyMiezeKTS0sxZwZMAAerhewnDBXsg8A0rrjTvKfeJuXMBIE6McnITJDyOg/s320/Butler_Aaron.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butler likes a high perch</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkn-Iqr4SzoWD_Vu-iO3lUxfdEaT-_r4cwbHrlvTmeHZF_evBhPuq8zmr8bEDiISF5JMVNHLwI1lE_rtkoSQyoxQv1kbrmzdQCUiQ8aDNmhNsJUmMb1xbqU-YzTUb9Z7Im5WFovq4zIQ/s1600/Butler_LG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkn-Iqr4SzoWD_Vu-iO3lUxfdEaT-_r4cwbHrlvTmeHZF_evBhPuq8zmr8bEDiISF5JMVNHLwI1lE_rtkoSQyoxQv1kbrmzdQCUiQ8aDNmhNsJUmMb1xbqU-YzTUb9Z7Im5WFovq4zIQ/s320/Butler_LG.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-56631157888260171702020-07-10T16:45:00.002-04:002020-07-10T16:45:59.694-04:00#490 My Sweetheart<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Two years ago, my niece, Megan, got married.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">This past January, it was my nephew Aaron’s
turn.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Most couples get married in warmer
months, so when they announced their wedding date, I asked him, “Why
January?”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I received a typical Aaron
answer, “We don’t like to be hot.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s
true – they don’t.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Aaron sweats like
crazy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">When he played outside as a
little boy, his thick brown hair was always soaked.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">So, January it was!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Vk63COwFvAUwfN0IuiC9SEYtvoyMNDTObEDKg114jguZCOYP7CMikXnJ-DETlcSY0Wdb6sZZ0_wCXdXXreFbsz_IANnUgqpFd0xIJEvMs0hSQGJTXm29FzRNFYwne2QEY6Q3p4Q5iA/s1600/06_marriage+puzzle_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Vk63COwFvAUwfN0IuiC9SEYtvoyMNDTObEDKg114jguZCOYP7CMikXnJ-DETlcSY0Wdb6sZZ0_wCXdXXreFbsz_IANnUgqpFd0xIJEvMs0hSQGJTXm29FzRNFYwne2QEY6Q3p4Q5iA/s320/06_marriage+puzzle_cropped.jpg" width="230" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They put together this "puzzle" during the ceremony. </td></tr>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Their ceremony and reception were held at <a href="https://www.thenestevents.com/home">The Nest Event Center</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as Megan’s wedding was held on a
beautiful summer day, Aaron’s wedding was on a beautiful winter day, complete
with a sprinkling of snow flurries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It <i>was</i>
a nice day for a white wedding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIBnfDQQkd4H0j8m9CXVya7UrgJP38SjBxWrvXhkCXFmC3HmOTUMmiXSjvfVm9yrioirVMblZ7hTsHFDnbNndXOxqSilRNoUUEdPnGfNLUXn_w9o_KIREciRF2U_zyPOJ6OPxhDo19vA/s1600/07_Tracy_Aaron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIBnfDQQkd4H0j8m9CXVya7UrgJP38SjBxWrvXhkCXFmC3HmOTUMmiXSjvfVm9yrioirVMblZ7hTsHFDnbNndXOxqSilRNoUUEdPnGfNLUXn_w9o_KIREciRF2U_zyPOJ6OPxhDo19vA/s320/07_Tracy_Aaron.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm pretty good at the married couple shot.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Most marriage vows include the words, “for better, for worse.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite the joyfulness of
Aaron and Tracy’s wedding day, there was an underlying sadness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tracy’s father, Harley Bontrager, passed away
unexpectedly at age 66 exactly one week before their wedding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My heart broke for Aaron and Tracy, and for
Tracy’s sisters and the rest of their family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I am so proud of how they handled themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They took the worst thing that could have
happened, leaned on each other, and created a special day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I am so happy for the sweethearts, and wish them God’s
blessing on their marriage. Cheers to
Mr. and Mrs. Godby!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-72713071943449627892020-05-21T17:35:00.001-04:002020-05-21T17:35:46.064-04:00#489 Heather Bassett Skelton<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Have
you ever known someone who was a force of nature?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone who would enter a room with such life
and energy that you weren’t quite sure what was happening?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone who seemed to know everyone and could
strike up a conversation with a total stranger? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I think of these characteristics, one
person immediately comes to mind:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Heather Bassett Skelton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
first got to know Heather when I was a freshman at Auburn University.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">She was a junior.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We were in the same “sorority” – the Auburn
Lady Tiger basketball team.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I came to
Auburn as a shy, reserved young woman, attending college far from home.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I always marveled at Heather.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">She knew everybody on campus and would talk
to </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">strangers</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> on our road trips.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">How did she do that?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Why</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
did she do that?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Two
years was not enough to be on the team with Heather, but I have a lifetime of
memories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She bounced a check she’d
written at McDonald’s to pay for fries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She flew into and out of the locker room before and after practices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Always on the go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was smart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was gorgeous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was tan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She had a megawatt smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0dEyvXlr53vO-6u4xYA6b2bpv_GRqTlm8N8qax8R-5l_AKfKT2ev4AHQ4akdyARzWxOKdOjiiVBKgc-OB-zf39iFiyFztUQbJUR_TlTZihKWoA9NolRh-_mzpN1eN5xevYLRVFZuVQ/s1600/Heather%252CLG%252C+Patty.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0dEyvXlr53vO-6u4xYA6b2bpv_GRqTlm8N8qax8R-5l_AKfKT2ev4AHQ4akdyARzWxOKdOjiiVBKgc-OB-zf39iFiyFztUQbJUR_TlTZihKWoA9NolRh-_mzpN1eN5xevYLRVFZuVQ/s320/Heather%252CLG%252C+Patty.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heather, me and Patty - 1987</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqz4MZ1irGEAoGl8EL6CWl_S7hmCd19azfihmiMg-ahQgULiqV7dGp9W-unxOzdHiL5axl6p7LTmSdSWshiXoIeRrVPgZ2zjepiEZ9n1Q4__V6PWjkYyV8GBR-E5Vtprey2MN-6KJt0A/s1600/Halloween.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1233" data-original-width="1600" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqz4MZ1irGEAoGl8EL6CWl_S7hmCd19azfihmiMg-ahQgULiqV7dGp9W-unxOzdHiL5axl6p7LTmSdSWshiXoIeRrVPgZ2zjepiEZ9n1Q4__V6PWjkYyV8GBR-E5Vtprey2MN-6KJt0A/s320/Halloween.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team Halloween party - 1987</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">She
didn’t get a lot of playing time on the basketball court, but you wouldn’t know
it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">She was one of the hardest workers
I’ve ever been around.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We designated her
our “All American Practice Player.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">She
was assigned to be a player on an opposing team and would shoot the lights
out.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Once our coach got so mad at us at
a practice that he walked out.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We all
looked at each other like, “Well, I’m outta here too.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Not Heather.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">“C’mon y’all!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Let’s keep
practicing!”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I can’t remember if anyone
stayed.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We thought she was crazy.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmglGq3mO4kQMnMhxOmR-nO-ShxDNOu60VZb8PkjqF_yTxHMjojZMtKaNrUQIhMlYAvazLOJPukRZD23AoGXNVNXZo3hBen1JK_7g_tCtMn2E-TTcNLla6zjs3B8Ue13pH18wNGTbWSg/s1600/Airport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1123" data-original-width="1600" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmglGq3mO4kQMnMhxOmR-nO-ShxDNOu60VZb8PkjqF_yTxHMjojZMtKaNrUQIhMlYAvazLOJPukRZD23AoGXNVNXZo3hBen1JK_7g_tCtMn2E-TTcNLla6zjs3B8Ue13pH18wNGTbWSg/s320/Airport.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lisa, Heather, Vickie, me, Lotta - 1988</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_9xe3ilv0fLA0Ptt0AEv3x4tr4Yql46bS8spgYVBxcZCHK43fm_fXDuSqiX76vGeY7xpE-D_rIeZ-pH8FS-LiIfi8H5PsaGVAG5S2VPO9p6_n3FqDv3nXUEPh4-0xGTdXmSI9gvNeg/s1600/FFBanquet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1147" data-original-width="1600" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_9xe3ilv0fLA0Ptt0AEv3x4tr4Yql46bS8spgYVBxcZCHK43fm_fXDuSqiX76vGeY7xpE-D_rIeZ-pH8FS-LiIfi8H5PsaGVAG5S2VPO9p6_n3FqDv3nXUEPh4-0xGTdXmSI9gvNeg/s320/FFBanquet.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front: Lisa, Lynn, Heather<br />Back: Karen, me, Vickie, Lotta, Sharon<br />1988 Final Four banquet<br />Tacoma, WA</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBa_gva1z-GOurRpg5PWmCuvHaLzaAG7uaCu8_-6quZcS3-RSl3K2iTCAvGnvqR07Iw9XPbOJn6iPv8VO0hSaiW8cdQAIzaNTmwILTkIIOucGrhLab1RX9jntl-p9lMYeJtVpcnCSq1A/s1600/LynnHeather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1138" data-original-width="1600" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBa_gva1z-GOurRpg5PWmCuvHaLzaAG7uaCu8_-6quZcS3-RSl3K2iTCAvGnvqR07Iw9XPbOJn6iPv8VO0hSaiW8cdQAIzaNTmwILTkIIOucGrhLab1RX9jntl-p9lMYeJtVpcnCSq1A/s320/LynnHeather.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roommates Heather and Lynn at the 1988 Final Four</td></tr>
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</o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">She
had a huge heart.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">She was dramatic.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">You never knew what would happen to her
next.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">She fell going </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">up</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> the metal
stairs at an Auburn baseball game and split her jean mini skirt.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’m sure she was embarrassed, but she laughed
it off and added it to her repertoire.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">During
my sophomore year I had a crush on a guy and Heather offered to give us a ride
in her two-seater car one afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
sat in the passenger seat and I sat on his lap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thanks for the assist, Heather!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">After
graduation, Heather married and settled down in Georgia with her husband and
two sons, running her own marketing company.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was generous, sending cool office gadgets and creating funny
T-shirts for our basketball reunions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
was fortunate to meet her youngest son Blake on one trip back to Auburn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not soon after, I helped to arrange a basketball
care package for him after he’d devised a way to give personal hygiene products
to the homeless – Blake’s Blessing Bags.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the time he wore the number 45 for his
basketball team and I called him my “45 Twin” (that was my high school and
college basketball number too).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having a
big heart himself, he soon switched back to his mom’s number 22 in her honor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCpdrwXVg3G9dYa7P7CqBpg1hbmp53beA9BrsfUEeuqvq7WwJ6Z9h81ZqGw5u6Q7A5TbuF3TTRc6xIjXoDvANFTsFSAROqUkz27IXmJiLWmqp_VpaexDp9Gnn0x96fKPhehlRaxlyqiw/s1600/heather+and+blake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCpdrwXVg3G9dYa7P7CqBpg1hbmp53beA9BrsfUEeuqvq7WwJ6Z9h81ZqGw5u6Q7A5TbuF3TTRc6xIjXoDvANFTsFSAROqUkz27IXmJiLWmqp_VpaexDp9Gnn0x96fKPhehlRaxlyqiw/s320/heather+and+blake.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heather with her youngest son, Blake<br />Auburn, 2016</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_0CYFFmIzjJvdKPRUZQvBXDNjLEuUcePgKv_GtI978kmuT0IR-y_x8ZlO9FoebBAtuvlrV24VeFjsW0d7LyhCaLWJcy_YQ8DKuiDVSE3-zwi2neaEXAU1YxZc7Vgn89Cfsrlf0CYlQ/s1600/vickie+lg+heather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_0CYFFmIzjJvdKPRUZQvBXDNjLEuUcePgKv_GtI978kmuT0IR-y_x8ZlO9FoebBAtuvlrV24VeFjsW0d7LyhCaLWJcy_YQ8DKuiDVSE3-zwi2neaEXAU1YxZc7Vgn89Cfsrlf0CYlQ/s320/vickie+lg+heather.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, Heather, Vickie<br />Auburn, 2016</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Heather
battled cancer for many years.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">She was a
fighter, so I always expected her to ultimately be ok.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">She embodied the line from the Auburn Fight
Song we sang before every basketball game, “Ever to conquer, never to yield.” </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">She drove three hours to and from our last
reunion (see Post No. 483), picking up a teammate at the Atlanta airport along
the way (and apparently driving way too fast).</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">She kept us laughing the two days we were together once again as
teammates.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Valiant and full of
life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">During that weekend, I finally
understood that things were much more serious, but I still believed she’d get
the W.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I was wrong.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGlr_acjYiOl_H_tvD3GWYQ0wRKC_1kRSUSd_Y5UWXRd0CFWKOrUxzzQpyWfSgO4sM35YfhKUtxJVI3R1cNvmkIdmzJskMV-jQlOchlcRHM-KWg8GHb4zIKtK-qFvusdPLW11tznoKQ/s1600/group+hospitality.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGlr_acjYiOl_H_tvD3GWYQ0wRKC_1kRSUSd_Y5UWXRd0CFWKOrUxzzQpyWfSgO4sM35YfhKUtxJVI3R1cNvmkIdmzJskMV-jQlOchlcRHM-KWg8GHb4zIKtK-qFvusdPLW11tznoKQ/s320/group+hospitality.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lady Tiger reunion<br />Auburn, 2020</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">After
the reunion, Patty, another teammate, sent the occasional update from Heather’s
husband.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Last week we got the message we
were all dreading.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Heather, always the
winner, was losing.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We quickly arranged
a Zoom call and last Friday had a three-hour chat in honor of our friend.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We all took turns talking about what she
meant to us and to the Lady Tiger program.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We laughed.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We cried.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We tried to get Patty to unmute Charlene.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Patty put together a slideshow of photos with
Heather and some of us, and played England Dan and John Ford Coley’s song, </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QZjJU-mtFU" target="_blank">Love Is The Answer</a></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">One of the lines goes,
“Who knows why, someday we all must die.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Later on, the chorus repeats, “love one another.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When you need a
friend, love one another<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When you’re near
the end, love one another<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We got to love, we
got to love one another<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.coileandhallfd.com/memorials/heather-skelton/4213875/obituary.php" target="_blank">Heather passed the next day.</a> Even
though she left this earth much too soon, she earned her ticket to paradise and
she will be shining down on us all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-24488998291220268102020-05-08T17:04:00.000-04:002020-05-08T17:04:49.909-04:00#488 All By Myself<span id="goog_479043598"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_479043599"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLtZuVjBRzrONofEgrmJbhkDwiU84V8xWX45Nn7bfuf2hkomkD5vSZGYS8BHGdP2rh4Be-7qZUgOSBQ_3dHJYU88ShmucpQ1remKQPe7yFQ9qtOFtylLZhYq2ku8KmiaS-p8SFXY0A_g/s1600/all+by+myself.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="500" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLtZuVjBRzrONofEgrmJbhkDwiU84V8xWX45Nn7bfuf2hkomkD5vSZGYS8BHGdP2rh4Be-7qZUgOSBQ_3dHJYU88ShmucpQ1remKQPe7yFQ9qtOFtylLZhYq2ku8KmiaS-p8SFXY0A_g/s400/all+by+myself.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I was a couple weeks into the COVID-19 stay-at-home
mandate when one of my favorite movies came on TV - </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bridget Jones’s
Diary. </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s a comedy about a single
woman (Bridget – played by Renée Zellweger) and her dating trials.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">During the beginning credits, Bridget is on
her sofa in her pajamas.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The song, </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGOatyfiUAM" target="_blank">All By Myself</a></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">, sung by Céline Dion, is playing.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bridget looks sad and lonely, and eventually begins to </span>sing<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> (karaoke
style) along in dramatic fashion.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Something I would do.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Only out
loud.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As I watched, I thought, “Should I even be watching
this right now?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m going to be by
myself for the next month (or however long)!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Of course I watched; it’s Bridget.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was soon laughing and cheering for her and Mark Darcy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Two months later, how am I doing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How are you doing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may not be all by yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may have your own “trials.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Me, I’m doing just fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, I’ve had some practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it’s not just that I’m 50+ and
unattached.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Almost 30 years ago, I began
my first adventure playing professional basketball overseas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Talk about being all by myself?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Try being in a foreign country and not
speaking the language.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Phone calls were
expensive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No email.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No cell phones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No Internet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No Zoom or face time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
legit aloneness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">From late 1990 until spring of 1995 I played in Europe
and the Middle East, specifically France, Israel, Sweden, Austria and
Switzerland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mostly lived in
apartments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Israel I lived in a small
house in a neighborhood. In Austria, a hotel room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Practice time varied from twice a day to
three times a week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Most places I was the lone foreign player.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(At that time, teams were allowed one or
two.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In two instances the other foreign
player was married and/or had kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
native players usually had full-time jobs and some lived in another city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was on my own most of the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What did I do to pass the time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I wrote letters and kept journals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cooked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I went on walks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never had a
car, so either walked or took a bus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
enrolled in a French language class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
Sweden, nightfall came early, so I slept a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I watched a lot of TV, sometimes in another language.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, I watched MacGyver and Roseanne in
French just to see familiar faces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Israel
and Sweden were the best countries for TV because the American shows were in
English.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other countries had limited
channels in English – MTV, CNN and NBC Super Channel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m a Letterman woman all the way, but I did
watch the Tonight Show on a regular basis over there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kept up with the U.S. news by watching the
Today Show every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I made friends with some teammates and took a few
weekend trips to their nearby towns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
even went out a few times with them to local clubs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember that I was still very shy during
this time and I was not one to invite myself to go out with anyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I wasn’t (and still am not) a big
partier/club person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the occasions I
did go out, I felt like Carrie Bradshaw in Paris with Alexandr Petrovsky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She sat there with him and his friends at a
restaurant and they all talked around her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She couldn’t understand a thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That was my first experience with feeling lonely while surrounded by
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They meant well to include me
and at first spoke in English, but I understood they couldn’t keep it up the
whole night just for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was the one
in a foreign country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My parents visited me for two weeks in France, Israel
and Switzerland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My brother, David,
accompanied them to Switzerland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those
times were the best, being able to see the local sights and share experiences
with them, and have someone to talk to on a regular basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Playing overseas isn’t for everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know plenty of players who either just
didn’t do it, or tried it and hated it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Was I homesick?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would I do it again?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Absolutely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The positive aspects outweighed the loneliness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was able to see the world, play a sport I
enjoyed (and get paid) and make new friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And me playing overseas was another important step in breaking out of my
shell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point in Sweden, I heard
someone speaking English and I ran over to them and started talking to
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never would have done that at
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My “desperation” for connection
forced my hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever works,
right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Ultimately what got me through my years playing
overseas was my faith in God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even
though I sometimes felt alone, I knew I wasn’t truly alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God was with me every step of the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Compared to living alone overseas, being “confined”
during the pandemic is a piece of cake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
in my home country, surrounded (distantly, of course) by family and
friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have books and more TV
channels that I need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Phone calls are
free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have Internet!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am lucky that I can work at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I pray for all who are working out there in the thick
of things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those who feel real
loneliness during this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those out
of work and in financial distress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
hope you find the coping mechanism that works for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may feel all by yourself, but try to
remember you’re not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We really are all
in this together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-89624645107026760232020-04-16T17:41:00.000-04:002020-04-16T17:41:39.452-04:00#487 Trash Yoga<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYsw3rHDrHpTYG_s_tDQPjk6IzcOwA-rtfO5nffvLSTGYw-B6YysLZq6Ne0gfSz7wYvGk1Em3c0i6Iq2TM9sBq-KF9DNezMHKmq7zHThe_GSmLrqeM-gt1tVq-pzT2Z3NessteM3ODQ/s1600/97100-athletic_black-lg-t-trash-pose-raccoon2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYsw3rHDrHpTYG_s_tDQPjk6IzcOwA-rtfO5nffvLSTGYw-B6YysLZq6Ne0gfSz7wYvGk1Em3c0i6Iq2TM9sBq-KF9DNezMHKmq7zHThe_GSmLrqeM-gt1tVq-pzT2Z3NessteM3ODQ/s1600/97100-athletic_black-lg-t-trash-pose-raccoon2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s been a few weeks since my first trash pick-up
day.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">During that time I bought more
trash bags (it’s an essential item, yes?) and have been out two more
times.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">My methodology is to pace myself
and carve out one day a week to the process (one full bag = approx. one
hour).</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">There is so much yet to pick
up.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It seems insurmountable.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yet I am making a dent each time.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Progress!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">And I don’t want it to be a “chore.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I want to enjoy it as much as possible, while I’m doing it and afterward
when I walk or drive by.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As I mentioned earlier, I adjusted my process and it
is working well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I drive to a close-by
street so I don’t have far to carry the full 33 gallon bag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bring a two-gallon bucket and a padded
garden kneeler, and my garden gloves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
am close to the street at times so do not wear any earbuds to listen to
music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I pick up trash, I put it into
the bucket, dumping any liquids out onto the grass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the bucket is full, I straighten up and
walk to the large bag and dump it in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve found this helpful as a way to stretch and not be hunched over the
entire time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Occasionally I will put one
knee on the garden kneeler and quicken my pace using two hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a nice little system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The area where I have been working has about 10 feet
of grassy area next to the road that extends to a vast wooded area with
brush.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s where things get tricky,
and where the “trash yoga” comes into play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I discovered the hard way that some of the brush plants have
thorns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My attire consists of leggings
and a long-sleeve shirt and sometimes a jacket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s occasionally chilly so that’s the reason for the leggings, although
they helped protect from the prickly plants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The trash particles are embedded in the ground and the brush.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you can imagine, I must contort myself
into all kinds of positions to not only grab the trash, but avoid the thorns
and not poke out my eyes (my glasses help with that too).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">One of my main thoughts on my first outing was to bend
over in a manner so as my behind was not facing the street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m wearing leggings after all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I’m not doing this to gain catcalls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although I did receive one honk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d like to believe they were expressing
their appreciation of me cleaning up the area and not of my ass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As I repetitively stretched into my crazy positions I
thought, “Wow!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is like yoga.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trash yoga!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Could I have originated a new term?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I Googled it and found an Instagram site </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/trashyogasf/?hl=en"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">(@trashyogasf</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">)
with photos of people in yoga poses next to actual trash items on the street (mattresses,
vacuum cleaners, sofa cushions).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
pretty funny, but not exactly <i>my</i> trash yoga.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I may be on to something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">You may think that picking up trash is smelly and
unpleasant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not necessarily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m happy to report that I have not picked up
anything smelly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did pick up a diaper a couple weeks
ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No smell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Really?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Someone actually tossed a diaper out of their car window?!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the items are fast-food related.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cups, plastic tops and straws, not always
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Food wrappers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beverage bottles (mostly alcoholic).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plastic grocery bags.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Condiment packets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yes, one opened, empty condom
packet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">What do I smell out there?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wild onions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For real.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I trample around
reaching for debris, the light aroma of wild onions wafts by my nose like one of
those cartoons where someone is baking a pie and you “see” the smell travel out
the window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s quite nice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Aside from the pleasant aroma, what I love most about
picking up trash is the result.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
three outings I have almost cleaned up one side of the street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It looks amazing!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I smile as I pass by now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not to pat myself on the back, but to simply
enjoy the view of what should have always been a natural area clear of
rubbish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Ed2ghZJGFTj8hyphenhyphenl0WzzmNy_nzeBGp31irBuoZsxFiLDIzeQg6z2637y8FqeqIMnWYAuTJrphSXvFbLBm221zICZuiWgFqHe54vj-5i-J-fd51Y3qSbso6jSMY9FfdaVnVrJR27ch0Q/s1600/20200404_before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Ed2ghZJGFTj8hyphenhyphenl0WzzmNy_nzeBGp31irBuoZsxFiLDIzeQg6z2637y8FqeqIMnWYAuTJrphSXvFbLBm221zICZuiWgFqHe54vj-5i-J-fd51Y3qSbso6jSMY9FfdaVnVrJR27ch0Q/s320/20200404_before.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trash Yoga #2 - Before</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGx04j02jUCH6auktnNVofZOk87CzvICetnfKwUHzDjdE5FJRTVvRWkPLQ-w8ik8cvXLNCBCkK1LMW-P9pp40KxKVC7tcZeCKELsNeEjHKbFzIOIrPO0V-TlBhKcxxbB2iXX7lifinFg/s1600/20200404_after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGx04j02jUCH6auktnNVofZOk87CzvICetnfKwUHzDjdE5FJRTVvRWkPLQ-w8ik8cvXLNCBCkK1LMW-P9pp40KxKVC7tcZeCKELsNeEjHKbFzIOIrPO0V-TlBhKcxxbB2iXX7lifinFg/s320/20200404_after.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trash Yoga #2 - After</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_VJuPDWbjc-wilhOrbmguUsxuyNfwXLAsUTtwP1Fd-0bmvSCvV8xPWnaqx4jeV48qcJkf0teig2QAsYsTZRHJYVAHQhWjvMXTPJgBcSWiTZwOit3WnszN-ImWuH7mKG3jdxYqHvfpA/s1600/20200411_before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_VJuPDWbjc-wilhOrbmguUsxuyNfwXLAsUTtwP1Fd-0bmvSCvV8xPWnaqx4jeV48qcJkf0teig2QAsYsTZRHJYVAHQhWjvMXTPJgBcSWiTZwOit3WnszN-ImWuH7mKG3jdxYqHvfpA/s320/20200411_before.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trash Yoga #3 - Before</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Qiapc0D5215O5sVZMPWaTb_I8kmU6rQMLNe-udD9lPpBY5xIKnWn-QDASQE0QzRTAJyME4AWj9P6TiGU0HJRX8A9r95gCJz31BGFNYP9QWy9toO8khelGfWRn4b5apL6aUu6aPAANg/s1600/20200411_after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Qiapc0D5215O5sVZMPWaTb_I8kmU6rQMLNe-udD9lPpBY5xIKnWn-QDASQE0QzRTAJyME4AWj9P6TiGU0HJRX8A9r95gCJz31BGFNYP9QWy9toO8khelGfWRn4b5apL6aUu6aPAANg/s320/20200411_after.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trash Yoga #3 - After</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">When we are free to roam about as we have in the past,
my goal is to support the Adopt-A-Block program of </span><a href="https://www.kibi.org/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Keep Indianapolis Beautiful</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
and get my immediate neighborhood involved.
Hopefully that spirit would spread further out to other
neighborhoods. And if passers-by see how
much we care about the cleanliness of our environment, maybe they will think
twice before tossing that diaper out the window. </span></div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-11208880295781881102020-04-06T16:56:00.000-04:002020-04-06T16:56:00.788-04:00#486 Trashy Women<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Le-WsaGFBorG8IXy6N7g-8XyEytUz5HH4yZ0OSpx-MtaGnJoOtr5Vll12fc3IRfdDD7iOPhBw7ovVeYiDfn_pBhX8o_h5RqD5fXPZpxHUUPThR7mRQm4t_20eTUaDOsv_HdNtpmUSg/s1600/Trashy_Women_-_Confederate_Railroad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="221" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Le-WsaGFBorG8IXy6N7g-8XyEytUz5HH4yZ0OSpx-MtaGnJoOtr5Vll12fc3IRfdDD7iOPhBw7ovVeYiDfn_pBhX8o_h5RqD5fXPZpxHUUPThR7mRQm4t_20eTUaDOsv_HdNtpmUSg/s1600/Trashy_Women_-_Confederate_Railroad.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">There is a bridged intersection near my house that I
have passed (driving and walking) countless times over the past 20 years.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The bridge passes over a creek.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">What should be a beautiful area of water and
trees is an eyesore.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Litter is strewn
along the side of the street and is embedded in the surrounding brush and
trees.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The thought has crossed my mind now and then to pick
up the trash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m embarrassed to admit
that I have never actually done it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I forget by the time I get
home. I’m out walking and don’t make the time to stop and pick up crap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Being “trapped” in a house during a pandemic makes you
think about things differently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why not
now?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I took a break from my walking
routine and decided to finally pick up some trash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Like with any seemingly well-made plan, obstacles arose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I soon realized that I didn’t have any trash
bags.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Big problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have 12-gallon kitchen trash bags, but have
been meaning to get yard bags for a couple months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the winter I don’t use them and the task
kept moving down my priority list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
determined to get out there, and as I stood in my garage searching the shelves,
I spotted a trash bag filled with old bicycle tubes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Success!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I pulled the tubes out, grabbed my garden gloves and rake and was on my
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I told myself I would work until I filled up my one,
lonely trash bag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I chose one small area
that descended to the creek.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a
mess!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took me an hour to clean up
that one spot and fill the bag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a
difference! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My back was not happy, but
my heart sure was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSpnQ8KSG-ksv1_VgV-PYakcBudQBL6DshoYlI6OUSKw0Ji7Y8iYVGj0vc_qup7RUH4c3oy0MeYeEysU-gci3fmatcX45m_Lo0NIqFCIwLTXbsZxDhG9sNPZykPN5QRw8WNpNlT34ZSg/s1600/before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="576" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSpnQ8KSG-ksv1_VgV-PYakcBudQBL6DshoYlI6OUSKw0Ji7Y8iYVGj0vc_qup7RUH4c3oy0MeYeEysU-gci3fmatcX45m_Lo0NIqFCIwLTXbsZxDhG9sNPZykPN5QRw8WNpNlT34ZSg/s320/before.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaHN1y3O60vhif3lxAIWfsEooenv3Wogqlnu_CNcnaxY2XjxelO5SAxOGLtvEp2PmUQg7sH3phEJKMcu8paylaoJyB95EWzBMFVo-HJl_BX7Ks1b17z552VoVJeNrZQ-11OSjlKfOEg/s1600/after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="576" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaHN1y3O60vhif3lxAIWfsEooenv3Wogqlnu_CNcnaxY2XjxelO5SAxOGLtvEp2PmUQg7sH3phEJKMcu8paylaoJyB95EWzBMFVo-HJl_BX7Ks1b17z552VoVJeNrZQ-11OSjlKfOEg/s320/after.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Why did I want to do this? For my neighborhood.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">For the environment.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pain and simple – I hate litter.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’ve jokingly told friends that if I was in
the Miss America pageant, my platform would be litter.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It amazes me that people are so lazy that
they can’t take their trash home to dispose of it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s not that hard, people!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Next time (there <i>will</i> be a next time), I will
have more bags.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll ditch the rake and
bring a garden kneeling pad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll also
drive my car close to the area – I walked and then had to carry the bag back to
my house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a lot heavier than I
expected!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Some women resent being called “trashy.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suppose I would if it was in the usual
context of the word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a country music
fan, I take a little different spin on the description.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If someone happens to see me picking up litter on the side of the road and calls me trashy – so be it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-3053392009378158992020-03-25T17:59:00.003-04:002020-03-25T17:59:19.842-04:00#485 Keep Your Hands To Yourself<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgodA4T5lilh_YMsoCoiDOjeiPN0fNyWD1otYHkRtF1SPc7yMl7jWfjxatVXkqQbAm-hl8PlEKq93ZkQaqCAv-bKPm-zVAaJ8yKeNM7tB8f7AtbtfkF_n_14T5a-vT6ObKOS-9JiO_oSQ/s1600/keep-your-hands-to-yourself.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="500" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgodA4T5lilh_YMsoCoiDOjeiPN0fNyWD1otYHkRtF1SPc7yMl7jWfjxatVXkqQbAm-hl8PlEKq93ZkQaqCAv-bKPm-zVAaJ8yKeNM7tB8f7AtbtfkF_n_14T5a-vT6ObKOS-9JiO_oSQ/s320/keep-your-hands-to-yourself.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">As one of my former bosses occasionally says, “What in
the wide wide world of sports is going on here?” (As a side-note, I always thought she was
referring to ABC’s </span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wide_World_of_Sports_(American_TV_program)">Wide World of Sports</a></span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> TV show, which aired from the
early 60s through January 1998. In
looking that up, I also see that is a line in Mel Brooks’ movie </span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0VNHe5fq30">Blazing Saddles</a></span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">. Sue
me - I’ve only seen Blazing Saddles once. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Back to the madness at hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What IS going on here?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I jokingly call it the zombie apocalypse, but
I am taking it very seriously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So much
has happened so quickly, my head is spinning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Like millions of other across the US and the world,
I’m home for the time being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
thankful that I can work remotely and have a nice little setup at my kitchen
table right next to a window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t
like working from home for long periods of time, but it’s going well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I pray for those who are drastically affected
by this and have either lost their job or are experiencing a reduction in
pay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Going into week two, I miss my friends (from work and
“regular” life).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I miss my family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I miss my work chair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I miss my routine:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>gym, work, tennis, concerts, dinner with
friends, watching the basketball tournaments on TV and in person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I keep reminding myself it’s only an
inconvenience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m healthy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m doing my part to keep others healthy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m not necessarily afraid of the coronavirus
itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t have any underlying
conditions and am under 60, so I’m fine going to the grocery and drug stores.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not panicking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t buy pallets of toilet paper or hand
sanitizer (I already had enough TP, thank goodness).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve been to Aldi twice to get some basics
and it wasn’t bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My new goal is to see
how long I can go without going back to the grocery store (although I am “on
call” to for my parents).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Speaking of my parents, I am concerned about
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are 92 and 87, and otherwise
healthy, but I worry about them catching COVID-19 at the grocery or at church
(which is now closed).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I worry about
them being even more isolated, since I am no longer visiting them weekly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m trying to call them a couple times a day
to check in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last week I braved Kroger
to get groceries for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I continue to wash my hands and keep them away from my
face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Am I the only person who has been
doing this as a part of their daily life for years?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I now wonder if people thought I was anal for
my clean-hand practices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides washing
my hands after using the bathroom, I wash my hands first thing when I get
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wash my hands when I return to
the locker room after working out at my gym.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I keep an old garden glove in my car to put on when I get gas (I have
been lax with this the past few months, so will start using it again).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I use hand sanitizer at my desk at work when
I have a snack and at a restaurant when I’m too lazy to walk to the restroom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My normal routine includes exercising most every
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m a firm believer that regular
exercise not only makes you feel better, but have a better frame of mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My gym is closed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My weekly tennis group is cancelled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Never fear!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have lots of exercise books and “plans” in my repertoire so I’m good
with indoor exercise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plus my gym is
posting workouts on Instagram and I’ve been doing free yoga on </span><a href="http://www.downdogapp.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none;">www.downdogapp.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The temperatures have been rising some, so I have been walking
outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Being mostly an introvert, I’m cool with hanging out
at home all day during the week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as
I mentioned earlier, I miss people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Strangely,
it’s more fun to be at work in a building with other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most people probably think, “I’d love to work
at home all the time!” and then you do, and realize how isolating it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s ok for a couple of snow days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not so much when it’s several weeks and you
fear it may turn into months, and you don’t talk to anyone, and you could get
so much done around the house, but you have to work (hence the term working at
home).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The commute is great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dress code is awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A good trade-off I suppose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I try to keep up with new coronavirus information in
the mornings and evenings, while not being overwhelmed with news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t watch the news 24-7.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s too depressing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I keep Friends, Ellen or Dr. Pimple Popper on
in the background.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I listen to
Spotify.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the evenings, I’ve been reading
more, stocking up on books before the libraries closed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My hope during this widespread time of crisis is that
people realize all the things they have been missing and haven’t made time
for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Notice I said, “made time.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not that we don’t have time to do
something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t <i>make</i>
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We are now being forced to slow down our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All-of-a-sudden we have the luxury of
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To have dinner together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Take walks together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have movie nights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Play games.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Just be together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why is it that
in “normal” times it’s a race to see how much we can cram into our lives?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s like we’re all trying to out-do each
other to see how busy we can be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hear
my friends constantly say they are “crazy busy.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why does it have to be that way?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why can’t we be more balanced and not run
ourselves ragged?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do hope things
change for the better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We don’t know how long all of this craziness will
last.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be informed from trusted news
sources.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t hoard groceries or
supplies (there is enough!!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Take
breaks from following the news. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Take
care of yourself and try to keep a familiar routine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eat well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Get outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stay safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And keep your hands to yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-72769504794153982332020-03-09T17:10:00.002-04:002020-03-09T17:10:23.291-04:00#484 Back In The USSR<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZPykN0rsRWcMqtTuyiFb8gmyAhcOkUyW97wcrDvSZ4b-jFFFLDQ7X-RYsG0YKA5AiU7VcuwYwxCiIhIS5GFJXS_kyyxu6Cfu5aspk8gZ-sDRaQlmw3TQLAANXmqVQoemWxSuW66PGQ/s1600/196_hammer+and+sickle+statue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZPykN0rsRWcMqtTuyiFb8gmyAhcOkUyW97wcrDvSZ4b-jFFFLDQ7X-RYsG0YKA5AiU7VcuwYwxCiIhIS5GFJXS_kyyxu6Cfu5aspk8gZ-sDRaQlmw3TQLAANXmqVQoemWxSuW66PGQ/s320/196_hammer+and+sickle+statue.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">A little over two years ago, my friend and tall
compadre Tammy moved to Moscow to live.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We communicate frequently via email and Facebook Messenger, and with her
previously living in Florida, I feel like not much has changed.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Much has changed for her though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only a new city, but a new country, and
one with an entirely different climate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
new language.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New co-workers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tammy has never met a stranger, but as
someone who has lived in other countries, I can identify with the loneliness
that can occur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Russia had never been on
my list of countries to visit, but I thought it was time to pay Tammy, and
Moscow, a visit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I arrived in Moscow on a Friday afternoon last August
and spent a little over a week with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I flew out of Chicago (thanks Keith and Denise for the rides to/from the airport!) to save several hundred dollars and had a
connection in Helsinki, Finland. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let me
take a moment to say that the airport in Finland was the nicest I have ever been
in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone associated with the airport
and the airlines had meticulous manners and uniforms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The décor was stylish and incredibly
comfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had reclining
individual sofas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a pleasure to
spend a few hours there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">After dropping my bags at Tammy’s apartment we hit the
ground running, walking to Red Square and the Kremlin, and having dinner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tammy had just purchased a new Ikea sofa for
my visit (it converted to a bed).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I fell
into it that night and slept great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXta6Pi5nhE2-TqaiNCsVV9nYX3KgBFPwvlAiZhtz3OpARilsGfZfklZysELgLFK-P1OCXz9SPEJ07RsYginoi3vS3PTc_83_P3-OxSTEo0Z4unzpkLT-YNQElK816hGPPYrQgMWyRrA/s1600/04_FriendsForever.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXta6Pi5nhE2-TqaiNCsVV9nYX3KgBFPwvlAiZhtz3OpARilsGfZfklZysELgLFK-P1OCXz9SPEJ07RsYginoi3vS3PTc_83_P3-OxSTEo0Z4unzpkLT-YNQElK816hGPPYrQgMWyRrA/s320/04_FriendsForever.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friends since high school, keeping in touch despite living in<br />
different states and now different countries.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMuZwz4fuxAQ9vzNQUjqXG-eRbaQKls4o2Ad8aroz1FThI4HJQd25V9oq_sBCvCc9xlBXbZk7G5X8g5ffb_40MQLXdmgGwkIiUpqMi6dUBODfs9-lBSyUN4eGHsnPZE2PUPezt7oHncA/s1600/29_stylized+Kremlin.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMuZwz4fuxAQ9vzNQUjqXG-eRbaQKls4o2Ad8aroz1FThI4HJQd25V9oq_sBCvCc9xlBXbZk7G5X8g5ffb_40MQLXdmgGwkIiUpqMi6dUBODfs9-lBSyUN4eGHsnPZE2PUPezt7oHncA/s320/29_stylized+Kremlin.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kremlin</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjamAtVub-BHHbAZtcK6-szgK2I5Knzrr94vGGADB-Zx0hi2PXHsVAhA_ytHzXWuDqspD4epGnMvtIdM11HeAInZ3ffBOyC-Gx1pREq-VQxH0pDk9E8p05JbITv1Wbzc31ALM6QXHHQ/s1600/10_lightscostumes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjamAtVub-BHHbAZtcK6-szgK2I5Knzrr94vGGADB-Zx0hi2PXHsVAhA_ytHzXWuDqspD4epGnMvtIdM11HeAInZ3ffBOyC-Gx1pREq-VQxH0pDk9E8p05JbITv1Wbzc31ALM6QXHHQ/s320/10_lightscostumes.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meeting two of Tammy's friends near the GUM department store.<br />
(They dress in period costumes and charge for photos. I got one for free.) <br />
Even in August, Moscow is lit up like it's Christmas.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Saturday, we awoke to rain.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Luckily, we had tickets to see Swan Lake at the
Bolshoi. I was told the temperature had dropped from the previous weeks of 80
degrees, so I had to layer thoughtfully for our 45-minute walk to the ballet (I
have no idea why we didn’t take public transportation).</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I brought a sleeveless dress and light
sweater specifically for the ballet.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
wore black running tights under the dress, and my black Nike sneakers.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I also wore a colorful scarf Tammy had just
given me (which happened to go with my dress), and a sporty rain jacket.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Not the fashionista I usually try to be.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I carried my dress shoes in a backpack, as
Tammy said most women changed shoes upon arrival.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The rain came down in buckets so by the time
we arrived my shoes and socks were soaked.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I expected us to go to the ladies room to change, but Tammy wanted to
change first and check our bags at coat check, and then go to the
restroom.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Here’s where things got
comical.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I tried to be as ladylike as
possible in pulling my tights down while not pulling my dress up.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I got a few stares and they were more than
the usual, “Wow, she’s tall!” stares.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
managed to work the tights off and then wrapped my wet shoes in my rain jacket,
stuffed them in my backpack, and took that to coat check.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dressy shoes on, I was transformed from a
soggy walker to a proper ballet attendee.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2DyW5EdT7H726fi-zQYRGSnh0g2Or86wyYf2nXRZeM42UO3MMntWrp-28yS3LmuRR6Y-wAwboYEcvSO2Puw8nx4QMp-2RdoFHblE1B74HJDQjEMhYxpizMRdEbEVJT-he1jCw6m1eA/s1600/216_Tammy+LG+Bolshoi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2DyW5EdT7H726fi-zQYRGSnh0g2Or86wyYf2nXRZeM42UO3MMntWrp-28yS3LmuRR6Y-wAwboYEcvSO2Puw8nx4QMp-2RdoFHblE1B74HJDQjEMhYxpizMRdEbEVJT-he1jCw6m1eA/s320/216_Tammy+LG+Bolshoi.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A night at the ballet.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The ballet was wonderful!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">What a thrill to watch a performance at the
famed Bolshoi.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I later learned that
“Bolshoi” means “big” in Russian, so it’s literally the big ballet.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I will admit that due to traveling several
hours and being in a different time zone, I got sleepy during the show and closed
my eyes a few times, which was also comical.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’d watch a dancer stage right, close my eyes, and when I opened them
again, the dancer was stage left.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">That
happened a few times.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Where did they
go?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIioiDcO_8WrGTzJWLCMHwhJahu-t0IXwH_klNJ10kFnwZK3HSY_tuVx9uXi10I5WL1a9u6Iyyj-DooCzikaFnGuJEP81xD2Ssz7LlnriwrHiDX3AmTrtv-PWNm3UUeaNQX9KfQXs6XA/s1600/20_Bolshoi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIioiDcO_8WrGTzJWLCMHwhJahu-t0IXwH_klNJ10kFnwZK3HSY_tuVx9uXi10I5WL1a9u6Iyyj-DooCzikaFnGuJEP81xD2Ssz7LlnriwrHiDX3AmTrtv-PWNm3UUeaNQX9KfQXs6XA/s320/20_Bolshoi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bolshoi Theater</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">After the ballet we went to a Georgian restaurant and
had the most incredible bread/cheese dish – khachapuri. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipbADv7o2KYZh4PDmeO0CMfXGjY_2v7Ndqb6NWstg1LdWJtpjMmQI0BdXyUXf02zR-Ttg6jVfftX5MuuSz8ERI8NZvfu096lPm2xtvX2P1hm1HFI-AWN1C99xqGPM1L4cGubixCawYsA/s1600/khachapuri.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipbADv7o2KYZh4PDmeO0CMfXGjY_2v7Ndqb6NWstg1LdWJtpjMmQI0BdXyUXf02zR-Ttg6jVfftX5MuuSz8ERI8NZvfu096lPm2xtvX2P1hm1HFI-AWN1C99xqGPM1L4cGubixCawYsA/s1600/khachapuri.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Khachapuri is amazing! I have yet to find a Georgian restaurant in town. </td></tr>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We had the
standard version with a sunny-side egg in the middle.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s an amazing dish regardless, but on a
cold, rainy day, warm bread and cheese is especially yummy.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The sun showed its face after dinner and we walked
around a bit more and even stopped at some fun swings at Mayakovskaya Square.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A successful first day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOAG4V-mvwXa_TRl4dlDzz8izqdHZwdrukc4G4dIDPdQg-cE5O_oOmx_rJ2ZVQQmAgfBuYnbD1eUHbwdqaRGEnuUiox6HRpD4GsFkhaIxUnHC2emQFebbGQM4DDm4qzdm_8LyfXC6XzA/s1600/16_swings.mp4" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOAG4V-mvwXa_TRl4dlDzz8izqdHZwdrukc4G4dIDPdQg-cE5O_oOmx_rJ2ZVQQmAgfBuYnbD1eUHbwdqaRGEnuUiox6HRpD4GsFkhaIxUnHC2emQFebbGQM4DDm4qzdm_8LyfXC6XzA/s320/16_swings.mp4" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We spent days two and three on bikes.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">All day.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We left her apartment both mornings and returned around 8 or 9 p.m.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">It wasn’t like my usual bike tours where we
hammer the miles.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">This was leisurely
city riding, stopping and starting, visiting parks and monuments and churches
and stopping to eat.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I loved it.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">You may wonder what kind of bike I rode, since I own
unusually large road bikes that measure 61 to 64 cm.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Tammy is 6’3”, but she rode her own hybrid
bike.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">One of her friends generously let
me borrow their hybrid bike.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">We walked
out to the bike garage by Tammy’s apartment and I finally saw the bike.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Tammy didn’t mention her friend is around 5’
tall.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I asked Tammy if she had a hex
wrench to raise the seat.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">(Some seats
have a lever to adjust and you don’t need a wrench.)</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">She did not.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I knew I wouldn’t be able to ride this bike comfortably for any
distance.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">She made a comment about
stopping at a bike rental place along the way.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">(Later on, after we’d ridden an HOUR she casually said, “There’s one of
the bike rental places I’d told you about.)</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">We took the bikes over to the entrance of her apartment building and got
our gear ready – water, snacks, etc.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Two
of her male co-workers happened to walk by and as I stuck my hand out for an
introduction I said, “Hi, I’m Linda.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Do
you have a hex wrench?”</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Thank goodness,
he did.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">My knees were saved!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZ87ODwtcjSwHqd8mi6suBuE0g7UTlQfcquK6eFroajsgFonZvC8tKNYn4wYg3gW7ukUclRzuusw8W0NNQ-9rZ1KSwywFwdaOHHzt1HOqvyE7oSLa58bEsBpDOOljfXlZiNXU-YNMjg/s1600/204_LG+on+bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZ87ODwtcjSwHqd8mi6suBuE0g7UTlQfcquK6eFroajsgFonZvC8tKNYn4wYg3gW7ukUclRzuusw8W0NNQ-9rZ1KSwywFwdaOHHzt1HOqvyE7oSLa58bEsBpDOOljfXlZiNXU-YNMjg/s320/204_LG+on+bike.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready for Day 1 on the bike</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some of the sights we saw on our rides:</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">the Moskva River, Park Zaryad’ye (and an ice cave),
St. Basil’s, downtown modern Moscow, Olympic Park, some people practicing on a
trapeze, the statue of Peter the Great, a Russian outdoor spin class, a men’s
pro volleyball tournament, the Novodevichy Cemetery, the Cathedral of Christ
the Saviour.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We sat along the river
people watching.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I had the most
delicious hotdog and rice dish at the Gorky Park Meat Beat festival (music and
meat – what a combo!).</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYccBMziaNNAs9szCdRvABHGzgAxV3w4svIp75Azdkq-oUBBBtvl-ftYVGeQ8i_nETf5BtSNGbh14KZ1l6GaTeSkguV8pxyBzmoN9-2C7i3iXKueUN8VLUS1vSvf1OOZvF_e9IiTUdEg/s1600/31_Moskva+river.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYccBMziaNNAs9szCdRvABHGzgAxV3w4svIp75Azdkq-oUBBBtvl-ftYVGeQ8i_nETf5BtSNGbh14KZ1l6GaTeSkguV8pxyBzmoN9-2C7i3iXKueUN8VLUS1vSvf1OOZvF_e9IiTUdEg/s320/31_Moskva+river.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moskva River</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmbn-nuE2GwcS1YgUVaEW80GS24ukEmchq8JYIKnz5yFjNskXh92QmPb6IC9pm9b-8liXP2soLmGM0Gh6ZmS_2K2M2IlD1X18IfDdNwh4MoZ7tPGJpWRtcEAo1e77TXXXaOnO3F58yg/s1600/70_MeatBeatfestival.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmbn-nuE2GwcS1YgUVaEW80GS24ukEmchq8JYIKnz5yFjNskXh92QmPb6IC9pm9b-8liXP2soLmGM0Gh6ZmS_2K2M2IlD1X18IfDdNwh4MoZ7tPGJpWRtcEAo1e77TXXXaOnO3F58yg/s320/70_MeatBeatfestival.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gorky Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwe1mfFwnsBx-GVHfHf8VZe7BtNzJW9OHYYYooCwzFBulZVmXIcN10XzMZR6BgL1MlMNsr9A21HdUfrNk0v8EzR3b13eufUq6K3Bh2S5nZoXd6x3CLAwpo1_BV75GbXFQPuGYKllnMaw/s1600/39_ice+cave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwe1mfFwnsBx-GVHfHf8VZe7BtNzJW9OHYYYooCwzFBulZVmXIcN10XzMZR6BgL1MlMNsr9A21HdUfrNk0v8EzR3b13eufUq6K3Bh2S5nZoXd6x3CLAwpo1_BV75GbXFQPuGYKllnMaw/s320/39_ice+cave.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ice cave in Park Zaryad’ye</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvzHhFy3EBiRKLWrYJDmObma1HlWVTyqhqvaFcNklznQ4dPY3KaSjjx-jiHFYRBzXWKBMC30JpEo233PCu8XThM_6rXp45GFQDDyZw_SloELsFJAmDq45BZS8MS-svLQxwkrQTX5ZyuQ/s1600/58_Peter+The+Great.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvzHhFy3EBiRKLWrYJDmObma1HlWVTyqhqvaFcNklznQ4dPY3KaSjjx-jiHFYRBzXWKBMC30JpEo233PCu8XThM_6rXp45GFQDDyZw_SloELsFJAmDq45BZS8MS-svLQxwkrQTX5ZyuQ/s320/58_Peter+The+Great.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter the Great statue by Zurab Tsereteli</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DZ5x3UNu8aNs2bN0PobPO2L8RAndkErSnQDxSQJESZmA32i35Sce2PnahnMp5PXaRCxDMZO-iPKKDUNy4YH6O6XqH5E3uMhqKFWkDG-TFgbcjRVWUIZIT_XOhQYM1FqtX7McozY0rw/s1600/42_St+Basil%2527s+Cathedral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DZ5x3UNu8aNs2bN0PobPO2L8RAndkErSnQDxSQJESZmA32i35Sce2PnahnMp5PXaRCxDMZO-iPKKDUNy4YH6O6XqH5E3uMhqKFWkDG-TFgbcjRVWUIZIT_XOhQYM1FqtX7McozY0rw/s320/42_St+Basil%2527s+Cathedral.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Basil's</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTyeZRWKxR4kwCSRRFchVGSZU6fEb8T4kRBZPUQMzghju7ffWjEFjSVI26P4Wl2vWq8q2KEyN8Kmxjc0y7_PqNUCevE-L8phxoe5BUS-dmnoLxejzEPxxU4qV-PrBxnOonsQkbWkUOg/s1600/86_Cathedral+of+Christ+the+Saviour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTyeZRWKxR4kwCSRRFchVGSZU6fEb8T4kRBZPUQMzghju7ffWjEFjSVI26P4Wl2vWq8q2KEyN8Kmxjc0y7_PqNUCevE-L8phxoe5BUS-dmnoLxejzEPxxU4qV-PrBxnOonsQkbWkUOg/s320/86_Cathedral+of+Christ+the+Saviour.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cathedral of Christ the Saviour</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHFCqqrs2AKLWcSLdmUdnzEV2bJv9H61Rwr-0iT70zJR-RCOTKP1USRdwQ6vRT54gFtkVBUhOEF29L_7FMf1_zss2btXQQqZHTy8iKVYdIvYgEBxfdFQhjxM5T_5PlJl8jtaZQnw6Fw/s1600/76_Novodevichy+Cemetery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHFCqqrs2AKLWcSLdmUdnzEV2bJv9H61Rwr-0iT70zJR-RCOTKP1USRdwQ6vRT54gFtkVBUhOEF29L_7FMf1_zss2btXQQqZHTy8iKVYdIvYgEBxfdFQhjxM5T_5PlJl8jtaZQnw6Fw/s320/76_Novodevichy+Cemetery.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Novodevichy Cemetery</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I am comfortable biking on city streets (I commute to work in warmer months), but riding in Moscow took it to a different level. Or should I say, riding along the river’s wide sidewalks on a busy Sunday afternoon took it to a different level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tammy led the way through a constant swarm of people and I followed, weaving my way through them all, while constantly ringing the bell on my handlebars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked her how to say, “be careful.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Russian it is spelled </span><span lang="RU" style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">быть осторожен</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Which phonetically sounds like “osta-roznya.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or something like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said it a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a miracle I didn’t hit anyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We did have a good laugh at another’s expense – as I rode it was hard to keep my eyes on the sidewalk and not on the river and the landscape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We saw two younger women riding their bikes toward us and apparently one of them had the same problem, because she ran her bike right into a bench.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was ok, and we all had a good laugh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">After
two days of riding (and miraculously, no sore behind!) we took a metro to the
Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve, a palace museum and park reserve in the south of
Moscow, and the location of Catherine the Great’s palace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moscow is full of parks and this one was
huge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We talked to a young man and his
dad as they worked out at one of the outdoor fitness areas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also had a nice conversation with an older
gentleman in another area of the park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tammy speaks pretty good Russian, and although it seems like most
Russians don’t speak English, those we met spoke it well enough for us to have
a conversation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Mu151tpIIKpUD7Mu8nteHInCfMLSDEf-mzqBU4cAe1kQgVIv_Qmp2RuiHQzPwrgCyYEykLvb6enwi5oH_1A_uxCsfemNUSTBU6YzdJGqn4QMcQ7fQ6pSlij_3QJEOZNyBAWEJ2c0Bw/s1600/119_Catherine%2527s+palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Mu151tpIIKpUD7Mu8nteHInCfMLSDEf-mzqBU4cAe1kQgVIv_Qmp2RuiHQzPwrgCyYEykLvb6enwi5oH_1A_uxCsfemNUSTBU6YzdJGqn4QMcQ7fQ6pSlij_3QJEOZNyBAWEJ2c0Bw/s320/119_Catherine%2527s+palace.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Catherine the Great's palace</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tammy
had to go to work Wednesday and Thursday to prepare for the start of school the
following week.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I knew I would miss
her company, but was initially excited to explore the city on my own.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I had a map and picked out a few stops – GUM
(a large, high-end department store near Red Square, the Moskovsky Zoopark
(Moscow Zoo) and the Zurab Tsereteli Museum.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Wednesday,
I planned to go to the museum, but got lost, so walked to GUM, ogled the Manolo
Blahnik shoes, ate some ice cream and sat on a bench the rest of the afternoon
to wait for Tammy to meet me after school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I thought ahead and wrote down how to say, “Where is…” in Russian in
case I got lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tried to ask a man on
the street where the museum was and he just looked at me like I had two
heads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was fine with resting
anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had biked and walked for four
days and my feet and legs were tired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
sat by a fountain in a park next to the Kremlin and read a book and people
watched, enjoying my break.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Both
the zoo and the museum were within 20 minutes of Tammy’s apartment so I visited
them Thursday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The zoo was fun, but the
animal areas seemed smaller than I’ve seen in the US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The museum was incredible!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had never heard of Tsereteli.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s a sculptor and painter originally from
Georgia (the country).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He created the
Peter the Great statue we saw over the weekend along the Moscow River.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also made the Teardrop Memorial, a gift
from the Russian government to the United States after 911.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a talent!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After both of those, I headed back to Tammy’s
apartment and took a nap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPWOUBFRGqfgT4tNGjg2sHrtl85mM3qzDWb4TLWH4T1qSSPWjzw2Igj-ALRpNT4nPxWgZH_8IaAi_uJxJS4BoTlGlxWhV88W6UY6IuPNe80Q9rm1BcUn5yMlKgZL2YcsnaKNHXfdO9OA/s1600/150_Siberian+tiger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPWOUBFRGqfgT4tNGjg2sHrtl85mM3qzDWb4TLWH4T1qSSPWjzw2Igj-ALRpNT4nPxWgZH_8IaAi_uJxJS4BoTlGlxWhV88W6UY6IuPNe80Q9rm1BcUn5yMlKgZL2YcsnaKNHXfdO9OA/s320/150_Siberian+tiger.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Siberian Tiger</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-izKRJCr9Aau6ihwPDvC0H9BkYHN_aIWE9BgWrUdj6b1ogi1VEIwbjAX9NXBxDtLZqYLNiaXD-GJwshQenXkFsbCmm-K3chjwXpvmma7J6OSNd6AtB7ZgA_UP29g3rNGLxMJzXu0yIg/s1600/152_Zurab+Tsereteli+Museum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-izKRJCr9Aau6ihwPDvC0H9BkYHN_aIWE9BgWrUdj6b1ogi1VEIwbjAX9NXBxDtLZqYLNiaXD-GJwshQenXkFsbCmm-K3chjwXpvmma7J6OSNd6AtB7ZgA_UP29g3rNGLxMJzXu0yIg/s320/152_Zurab+Tsereteli+Museum.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front of Tsereteli Museum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwmUKJr2yuR67H4WRTz845ZesrJaCg6eRPkldqXR-RamSUCH68BKa35Mj3c1iWw2Ya6HGIISbKsiAiWXnaiMHyGqobKkDYht0XQBd5KkdA0Yf6FG4sJ0xeodPX9N1DMwmzZR3fEHVUYw/s1600/157_sculptures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwmUKJr2yuR67H4WRTz845ZesrJaCg6eRPkldqXR-RamSUCH68BKa35Mj3c1iWw2Ya6HGIISbKsiAiWXnaiMHyGqobKkDYht0XQBd5KkdA0Yf6FG4sJ0xeodPX9N1DMwmzZR3fEHVUYw/s320/157_sculptures.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sculptures and paintings</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqVT0wK7teAgTzJvHlytsPN58x9MHWm1tlbuh7WgSJiH6yYEkPdZHC_9QsEZsiz4gNcRdRHd-K4IG2-31wf2PG5Cvs_P4wVHVOQwd0ogChKHdSvTz08ydL3Fkvlph1Hap3dWEzgcqd6Q/s1600/180_back+courtyard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqVT0wK7teAgTzJvHlytsPN58x9MHWm1tlbuh7WgSJiH6yYEkPdZHC_9QsEZsiz4gNcRdRHd-K4IG2-31wf2PG5Cvs_P4wVHVOQwd0ogChKHdSvTz08ydL3Fkvlph1Hap3dWEzgcqd6Q/s320/180_back+courtyard.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Backyard" of museum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The one disappointment of my time by myself in the city was that, unlike other European cities I've been to, Moscow didn't have the random street shops. Bread, gifts, clothing, jewelry, pastries, etc. I could wander happily for hours </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">window shopping</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> in Paris or Venice. Not so much in Moscow. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">One
night mid-week Tammy and I went to the equivalent of a Russian Best Buy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After two years in Moscow without a TV, she
thought it was time to get one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was
able to purchase one after using her limited Russian and with the help of
Google Translate on her phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
comical. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are both kind of clueless
about technology anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Throw in a
complicated language and it’s high quality entertainment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Tammy
had a light day at school Friday so I met her there around lunch time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The school consists of a middle and high
school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She teaches health and PE.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I helped her move some things around, met
several staff members and got a workout in at the school fitness center.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later that night we met her friend Jenny for
dinner (she was in Italy for Tammy’s 2018 birthday trip).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSV_ISavMUz1oAhd2CVgYpRp5HEcxzLskCFTQixCUwgJvCtyMvvMiXcEAbvUUkpvv93oyXup4n34cnioZ1PPDtoxCIGzfTUO-dDVpElneBWH4r5RDBsmXVhkDQhfPsAzQrvnV6CJuKmg/s1600/184_Penguin+sports+travel+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSV_ISavMUz1oAhd2CVgYpRp5HEcxzLskCFTQixCUwgJvCtyMvvMiXcEAbvUUkpvv93oyXup4n34cnioZ1PPDtoxCIGzfTUO-dDVpElneBWH4r5RDBsmXVhkDQhfPsAzQrvnV6CJuKmg/s320/184_Penguin+sports+travel+map.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Travel map for her high school's sports teams.<br />If you look closely, they travel to other countries, not just cities.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">After
being off the bikes for a few days, we felt it was time to ride around
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of her fellow teachers took
us on a tour of several parks Saturday morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We rode through the city and then hit some forest trails in between
parks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So fun!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The coolest park was VDNKh (Exhibition of
Achievements of the National Economy).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Each building represents one of the Soviet republics, and they surround
a lush center garden/fountains. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
enormous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the winter, they flood the
interior part and create the </span><a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/11/25/moscow-unveils-a-winter-fairytale-at-europes-largest-ice-rink-a68299"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">world’s largest ice
skating rink</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Saturday
afternoon, we took a metro to the Izmailovsky Souvenir Market.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another huge area with flea market vendors
and any kind of souvenir you could imagine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tammy bought a Russian fur hat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
got a cool shot glass for my nephew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One
section was like an old Russian garage sale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mostly junk, but still incredibly interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One booth had a typewriter with Cyrillic
keys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As I
mentioned earlier, Tammy has grasped the Russian language very well in her two
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I read a small part of her book, <i>Russian
for Dummies, </i>while eating breakfast on my “alone” mornings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The hardest part is learning the Cyrillic
alphabet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I admire her for immersing
herself in the culture and language.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her
apartment building has a security gate on one end, and every day when she
leaves and returns, she talks to the guards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One in particular is Anatoli.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
doesn’t speak much English, so he has helped her with her Russian words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said she’ll talk to him for about 20
minutes every day telling him about her day and where she’s been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the school, she spoke to the Russian women
who worked in maintenance jobs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their
faces lit up when they saw her and she carried on a brief conversation with
them, again, learning from them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
these instances with the cleaning ladies, Anatoli, and even the few people
Tammy and I talked to in the various parks, you realize how small the world is
and that we’re all just people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We may
speak a different language, but we’re all the same inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
American-Russian relationship is a tricky one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I grew up learning about Cold War Russia in school. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My image of the country included bread lines,
poverty, war, bitter cold and gray skies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Seeing Tammy’s photos and hearing about her experiences made me want to
not only visit her, but learn more about the country and its people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nine days in Moscow did not afford me the
knowledge of the entire country, but here’s what I did learn:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Russians love their parks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are very artistic and you can see it
above ground in their buildings, decorations and monuments, and below ground in
their metros.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The vast majority of
Russians I met were incredibly friendly and proud of their country, and happy
to see two American “girls” loving spending time in their country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We
packed about as much as we could into the week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tammy is a wonderful tour guide (she has had many other friends visit)
and we always have a great time together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I hope to visit her again and possibly go to Saint Petersburg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got a three-year travel visa by mistake, so
I should get my money’s worth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I
can truly be Back in the USSR.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-13965099918151934842020-02-26T13:01:00.000-05:002020-02-28T11:01:48.461-05:00#483 We Are Family (I got all my sisters with me)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJwJ3VD0dvAnYeDnqIdAwhqCf4ad-WLdJ_tR5fdkNygCB5E6ozPZPN9PxZa1w5i1J9ne2mpOf7FQllhFFV9oTUjkVEmy9Fbf_nqbi7EwBA4P4YvvVp-EEAe-FFTsJikm22Qw9HhEglnw/s1600/AU_Auburn+Lady+Tiger+Basketball.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJwJ3VD0dvAnYeDnqIdAwhqCf4ad-WLdJ_tR5fdkNygCB5E6ozPZPN9PxZa1w5i1J9ne2mpOf7FQllhFFV9oTUjkVEmy9Fbf_nqbi7EwBA4P4YvvVp-EEAe-FFTsJikm22Qw9HhEglnw/s320/AU_Auburn+Lady+Tiger+Basketball.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My original 1980s T-shirt. I still have all my Ts and sweats.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Going away to college doesn’t always mean going
away.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Depending on the circumstance,
it’s not always desired or feasible or even possible.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">And going away may mean two hours for some and 10 hours for
others.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I’m in the 10 hours group.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I attended Auburn University in Auburn,
Alabama.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> In 1985, w</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">hen I first told people where
I was going, most thought I was staying in-state (there is an Auburn,
Indiana).</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> The Alabama </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Auburn was not yet “on the
map” in my neck of the woods.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Something inside me told me to go “away.”</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I certainly missed my friends and family, but
after I got over my homesickness, I loved being truly away.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I felt bad that my parents couldn’t attend
all of my basketball games, but they were there for quite a few, home and away.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">As the years pass, I’ve found the biggest
drawback to going away to school (over 500 miles) is that it’s not easy
(nor inexpensive) to go back.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I wouldn’t trade going to Auburn for anything, but
will admit I’m a little envious that my Purdue-graduate family members can hop
in a car and be in West Lafayette in a little over an hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, it’s either a 10+ hour drive, or an
hour-and-a-half flight to Atlanta and another hour-and-a-half rental-car
drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Save time or save money. I’m
fortunate that these days, I am able to save time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We’ve had basketball reunions several time over the
past thirty years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first one I
attended included an alumni basketball game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(I would not like to do that now.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We reunited for a game in Coach Ciampi’s last season, and have had one
or two during the present coaches tenure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They’ve all been fun, but quick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Come in, go to a game, try and catch up during the game, which in turn takes
attention off of the game itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then
it’s over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The latest reunion took place a couple weekends ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was strikingly different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe because we’re older (early to mid-50s).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe we’re wiser.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe because we grasp the reality that we
all won’t always be around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lisa H. lost
her young daughter Kayla last year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ann,
Chantel, Lynn and Heather have battled cancer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Late last year, Patty and Helene visited Heather, who is still in a
fierce battle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That prompted talk of a
reunion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Charlene is an assistant coach
at LSU, so after looking at the basketball schedule, we chose that game for our
reunion weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Not all were able to make it, but they were with us in spirit. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I think the biggest difference is that we took time to
just be together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Helene opened up her home
for our Saturday night gathering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
made Stromboli (our coach’s wife used to make that all the time), we had other
party food and, of course, drinks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
watched the Auburn men’s basketball game on TV (Vickie’s son currently plays on
the men’s team).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We relaxed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We laughed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We cried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We played Catch Phrase.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Patty asked us to write questions on 3x5
cards and then we went around the room answering them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(What is said in the house stays in the house.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We trusted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We hugged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> We held hands. </span>We stayed up until 2
a.m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Well, <i>I</i> left at 2 a.m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some stayed overnight at Helene’s, so I don’t
know when they actually went to sleep.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCoeRzfZB05yVIT4_C9Nm8DGtwMC1ihhT3vLMAu45D-tI4s3uxchEz02WVkfnXES-sw_fi4TVsDTlVg0Rhm-Q7YX2pL-tld8h_CEwzdCKluzvTCp4X9LuCz02-9zEFXrAgBDGfwcP-AQ/s1600/Charlene%252C+Patty%252C+Helene+holding+hands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCoeRzfZB05yVIT4_C9Nm8DGtwMC1ihhT3vLMAu45D-tI4s3uxchEz02WVkfnXES-sw_fi4TVsDTlVg0Rhm-Q7YX2pL-tld8h_CEwzdCKluzvTCp4X9LuCz02-9zEFXrAgBDGfwcP-AQ/s320/Charlene%252C+Patty%252C+Helene+holding+hands.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "matriarchs": Charlene, Patty and Helene</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkC2NjCYCLFxlRco2CM5hyphenhyphenHb9wXpfgOEybE_AhxuTi5E-184pddsxQIF9602dOBmrNP8Fs2RgB0S5FujYHH45y35PPRgegnouzJWNRPu8-ceMMZ0jK6qH0N7lpj_O7sqSrfASIA3CbyA/s1600/in+Helene%2527s+kitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkC2NjCYCLFxlRco2CM5hyphenhyphenHb9wXpfgOEybE_AhxuTi5E-184pddsxQIF9602dOBmrNP8Fs2RgB0S5FujYHH45y35PPRgegnouzJWNRPu8-ceMMZ0jK6qH0N7lpj_O7sqSrfASIA3CbyA/s320/in+Helene%2527s+kitchen.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hanging out in Helene's kitchen</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sunday consisted of lunch and the women’s game –
Auburn was victorious over LSU (sorry Charlene!).</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Since we had spent so much time together
Saturday night, we were able to pay more attention to the game.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We saw Coach Ciampi and a few other
players.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dianne, one of our managers,
still works the scorer’s table.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Susan
Nunnelly, who announced our games back then, is still announcing the games.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">A smaller group went out after the game and
then back to Helene’s house.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">post game photo op</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I had a few roommates during my time there – Karen,
Tammi, Lynn and Jocelyn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others lived
down the hall in the dorm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The older
ones had their own apartments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We spent
countless hours together in practice and on road trips, which is an incredible
bonding experience, but did we all <i>really</i> know each other?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found out things during this weekend that I
had never known.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not that they were
secrets, just things we didn’t talk much about then, or I wasn’t around when
they happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgicm8BSyxa4taJSsI9qcX9WME6sptYXXW_MdBSU7mtUlqmgsmVBdASCFeT44F9oXZYxwUwEf9QCms6VZykGZoXJKqLihof83U42cVGJkPzVMxEzEO0LscnLzxVFad4YEP1EcYJ4xeNig/s1600/20200217_103200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgicm8BSyxa4taJSsI9qcX9WME6sptYXXW_MdBSU7mtUlqmgsmVBdASCFeT44F9oXZYxwUwEf9QCms6VZykGZoXJKqLihof83U42cVGJkPzVMxEzEO0LscnLzxVFad4YEP1EcYJ4xeNig/s320/20200217_103200.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lisa S. and me at the golf course where we had our 5-mile run in 1989 pre-season.<br />
We're smiling. We weren't smiling then, Mike Pauley! </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Even though we are scattered around the country, we picked
up where we left off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was great to
reminisce about the old times as well as catch up on what everyone is doing
now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The real beauty is that we accept
each other as we are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We met each other
by chance 30+ years ago, but we stay together by choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t have any sisters, so they are all my Lady
Tiger sisters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> "And we fly just like birds of a feather" </span>War damn eagle!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-76957097845486659052020-01-17T17:05:00.000-05:002020-01-17T17:05:06.026-05:00#482 I Say A Little Prayer<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FCwXFO6nOCbDMK46yhSeA5BffrMm5VIlzrz4hMziUws-4bztUtb3te3Sk2nimsLfi60UlHNAp4CdiMMssSJpzncaozt1YLAyJlFSLTRekHC-rSwIZaUwIBvsW9yE6rGTBKtyZtUvtw/s1600/bagel+love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FCwXFO6nOCbDMK46yhSeA5BffrMm5VIlzrz4hMziUws-4bztUtb3te3Sk2nimsLfi60UlHNAp4CdiMMssSJpzncaozt1YLAyJlFSLTRekHC-rSwIZaUwIBvsW9yE6rGTBKtyZtUvtw/s320/bagel+love.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I sometimes take a class at my gym in the morning, and
on those mornings, I am famished when I get to work.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I want to eat everything.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">As I walked into work on this particular day,
I shot out a quick thought/prayer that someone would bring bagels into the
office.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Do </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> ever bring
bagels?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">No.)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Oh, I have snacks in my snack drawer
(almonds, bread and peanut butter, popcorn, etc.)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">And I always mix up a bowl of oatmeal for a
post-workout second breakfast, complete with blueberries, ground flax seed and
walnuts.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I will not starve at work.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">But there were no bagels this morning.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">And I was fine.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I had my snacks at the requisite times
(usually 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">And lunch
was good. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">When I walked to the kitchen late in the day to wash
out my silicone popcorn popper bowl, what did I see on the table?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BAGELS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I laughed out loud.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I ate
one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A little late, but it was wonderful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My former boss, John, has been posting daily prayers
on Facebook from the book, <i>Draw the Circle:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The 40 Day Prayer Challenge.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On
my bagel day, it was Day 17 – Do Not Delay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Below is what he posted: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Oh
Lord, pay attention and act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Delay not,
for your own sake, O my God.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Daniel
9:19 EVS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Until
recently, I attached an ASAP to every prayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I wanted God to answer my prayer as soon as possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this is no longer my agenda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t want easy or quick answers because I
have a tendency to mishandle the blessings that come too easily or too
quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I take the credit for them, or
I take for granted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So now I pray it
will take long enough and be hard enough for God to receive all the glory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I’m
not praying ASAP prayers; I’m praying ALAT prayers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As long as it takes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m going to get in my prayer circle, and I’m
not coming out until God answers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
praying with confidence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that
God never over promises or under delivers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He always delivers on His promise, but He does it on His timeline!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Most
prayer requests have to be refined.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
had to wait a while for my bagel, and it popped up when I least expected
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went on with my day when it didn’t
show up when I really wanted it to, and I managed to have a great day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
have been praying for a husband for about 40 years (so has my mother).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During this time, I have gone
about my life and am managing to have a great life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of my days are not full of rainbows and
unicorns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have good days and bad days
like everyone else. Me wanting a husband is a fraction of what my life is
about, just like the bagel was a tiny part of my workday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I still want(ed) both of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
will continue to pray, but will try to keep John’s ALAT prayer devotional in
mind as I do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s easy to get
discouraged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have single friends (male
and female) that lament not having that special person in their life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They talk of giving up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“There’s no one out there for me!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I give up!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have thought that too from time-to-time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it’s not true!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that one day I will walk around a
corner and what will I see?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>MY BAGEL<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A little late.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I have no doubt he will be
wonderful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-33499227388090190832019-11-22T17:17:00.004-05:002019-11-22T17:20:26.274-05:00#481 Be Thankful<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4W054WRz1XyZWCbBaPYm1W-3rsRG3zsttB64A1MHtTj7lNHycvZZ_UdcPXjP5ssS9ocFNE0jKlmUxEXVTD6HKFb8o6hpaoXwUfArPr6IDWVrvHl3ibLtFcQYRxolo0WdT1B5pgxNMQ/s1600/20191122_155649copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4W054WRz1XyZWCbBaPYm1W-3rsRG3zsttB64A1MHtTj7lNHycvZZ_UdcPXjP5ssS9ocFNE0jKlmUxEXVTD6HKFb8o6hpaoXwUfArPr6IDWVrvHl3ibLtFcQYRxolo0WdT1B5pgxNMQ/s320/20191122_155649copy.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this week's message on my work letter board</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">My
last post talked about feeling blessed, so now I want to broach the topic of
being thankful.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Just in time for
Thanksgiving.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
morning I woke up at 5 a.m. to go to a class at my gym, as I sometimes do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have the routine down and get things ready
the night before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the morning all I
have to do is brush my teeth, get dressed, throw my bags in the trunk, and
go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the bags is my gym bag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other is my backpack, in which I carry my
lunch, a book, reading glasses and my cell phone, among other things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Lately
I’ve been checking the Waze App on my way to/from work to gauge the traffic
situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This morning after I closed
the trunk of my car, I realized I hadn’t checked Waze. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided not to check; it was 5:30 a.m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There shouldn’t be any traffic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
I had re-opened the trunk to get my cell phone out of my backpack, I would have
realized that my backpack was still in my house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since I didn’t do that (and didn’t pay
attention that the Bluetooth sign wasn’t on my car screen), I found out after I
got to the gym, some 20 minutes later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My
first instinct was to go home immediately and skip my workout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But wait!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Since my class was so early, I could do it and would have time to shower,
drive home, and still be on time for work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The one good thing about an early class. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Despite
the “rocky” beginning, my plan was falling into place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Until I drove closer to my street and saw
numerous flashing lights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were
fire trucks everywhere and no one was able to turn into or out of my
street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I parked on the side of the main
road in the grass, and decided to walk to my house to retrieve my
backpack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As
I walked, I saw what had happened – one of the houses had caught fire, with a
gaping hole on the side spewing smoke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neighbors
were huddled in their front yards, some still in robes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stopped long enough to talk to a few women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They didn’t think anyone was inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I continued walking down the street and as I
passed the cars that had lined up to get out, each person rolled down their
window to ask what was going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
relayed the small amount of information I knew, and told them they wouldn’t be
getting out soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I finally got my
backpack, walked back to my car, and was on my way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite the fire delay, I made it to work
about five minutes early.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sometimes
our day doesn’t go as planned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today it
was my backpack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tuesday it was my underwear
(which is why I always keep a spare set in a zip lock baggie in my gym bag – I’ve
had a forgetful week!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Usually it’s
something trivial and not life-altering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s ok to be annoyed, but try to keep in mind that unless someone has
been seriously hurt or died, it’s not that big of a deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This morning I was thankful I was able to participate
in my gym class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was thankful I was
able to go back to get my backpack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(And
even if I hadn’t, I would have survived the day.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was thankful no one was hurt in the house
fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was thankful it wasn’t my house
that had burned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was thankful I got to
work on time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(And thankful that even if
I hadn’t, my co-workers would have understood my lateness.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Even
with all the “madness” going on in the world, there is much to be thankful for.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s easy to remember this around
Thanksgiving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s keep it going
throughout the year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Oh
yeah, thank you for reading!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">X, LG</span></span></div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-20857361371925335522019-11-15T12:15:00.000-05:002020-04-06T16:56:45.576-04:00#480.5 Blessing (Follow Up)I know ya'll are dying to find out what happened with the electric blanket, and I have some news.<br />
<br />
Mom called me at work Monday afternoon to gloat about her success at Kohls. They bought an electric blanket that was originally $140-something. With all the discounts and coupons and Kohls cash, she paid $40. Well played, Helen. Well played.<br />
<br />
And I was right - their old electric blanket is close to 50 years old and was a gift from my dad's parents. How's that for longevity?<br />
<br />
Wishing continued blessings to you all,<br />
<br />
X,LGLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-90817508591821590572019-11-08T17:13:00.002-05:002019-11-08T17:13:35.435-05:00#480 Blessing<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My mom and dad are 92 and 86 respectively. They sometimes call me at work to look
something up on the Internet. Usually
they ask me to print an obituary for someone who lived in another state. Today, I attempted to help them purchase an
electric blanket. Attempted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My parent’s electric blanket bit the dust last
week. I estimate that it may have been
at least 20 years old. Maybe older. Their requirements for a replacement: queen size and dual control, meaning there
are two heating zones so they can each control the temperature on their side of
the blanket. Shouldn’t be too
difficult. That’s what I usually say at
the beginning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I spent about 20 minutes spanning two phone
conversations during my lunch break trying to purchase a blanket. I did a quick search for some reviews and
found a few. First site- Target. But when I looked closer, two controls, only
one zone. Second site – Kohls. They favor Kohls because my mom has a Kohls
charge and constantly has coupons. I
found one blanket that had two controls and hoped it had dual zones (their site
is not as descriptive as Target). Ok,
let’s do this. While on the phone with
my mom she gave me her Kohls charge number and the coupon code (it was fun
trying to find the code number). I gave
her the color options and told her it was made of fleece. “It’s free?” she asked.
No, it’s fleece.
F-L-E-E-C-E. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I need to pause and say that 1) my mom is hard of
hearing, and 2) my office has no ceiling and is in an area with a 30-foot,
barrel-shaped ceiling which allows sound to bounce around haphazardly,
entertaining random people down the hall.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I’ll also add that the last time my parents bought an
electric blanket (if it wasn’t a wedding gift from 57 years ago), they were
probably $50. Now they are upwards of
$200. I told her the price of the one at
Kohls and she was shocked. “That
much?!” We need more coupons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Back to the fleece.
After several attempts to clarify, I heard my dad in the background
finally say, “It’s FLEECE.” Which reminds me of a scene in <i>Christmas Vacation</i>. </span></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/id1qqJVYF0s/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/id1qqJVYF0s?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">With that settled, I started to place the
order. Kohls charge number entered, I
finally got the coupon code. Then she
says, “Well, Monday is Veteran’s Day and I can get another $10 off (my dad
served in the Army Reserve) so maybe we’ll wait until Monday.” Although I think they had to use that coupon
in the store, to which they finally decided to go to the store Monday and place
an order at a kiosk (can you do that?). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Let me finish by saying I love my parents and am
thankful they are still on this earth. They
have been a blessing to me in ways too numerous to count over the years, so I am happy to
help them with anything. I took some
deep breaths during the ordering process, but at no time was I upset. It’s just funny. Life situations <i>are</i> funny. Every time I have a conversation with my mom
at work I want to hang up and say to anyone within audio-bouncing earshot, “I’m
sorry about that.” (The last, most
humorous, conversation with her was when she called asking for the last name of
my nephew’s fiancé. I must have spelled Bontrager
five times, stopping, starting, repeating, laughing inside. Not laughing at her, mind you, just laughing
at the absurdity. (Why couldn’t he have
met a girl with the last name of Smith?)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">I know I’m not the only one who helps their
parents out in this manner. (My brother Paul helps them out with their electronic issues.) It’s the
circle of life, right? Just remember they are a blessing, and it's a blessing to be able to help them out. </span>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-75012689947250899852019-08-06T12:27:00.000-04:002019-08-06T12:35:45.303-04:00#479 The Year of 50: An American Girl in Paris<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbvzhDl9aV59j0GHitsPuG1CzxNB6kb-tAXGt6F_6ddTqficSw8VGcWVAi89-CAnapfo5DDnuiFuVFHxiBlUunzsTGsCUzcGuwUNj_Pf1pa3GL41HTFnH_Vcjzcv_O2RJ0rnBOieF5Q/s1600/150_LG_Louvre+pyramid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbvzhDl9aV59j0GHitsPuG1CzxNB6kb-tAXGt6F_6ddTqficSw8VGcWVAi89-CAnapfo5DDnuiFuVFHxiBlUunzsTGsCUzcGuwUNj_Pf1pa3GL41HTFnH_Vcjzcv_O2RJ0rnBOieF5Q/s320/150_LG_Louvre+pyramid.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sitting in the outside "courtyard" of the Louvre</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Just when I thought my Year of 50 festivities had come
to an end, up popped another trip.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">My friend Kerstin and I had talked about someday going
to Paris.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Someday got a little more specific
with both of our 50</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> birthdays approaching (she’s also an October
baby) and we contemplated going in 2018.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">At first, I thought I could still swing it, even after
my castle adventure with Tammy in July.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">But after
paying my Visa bills from all my trips I decided that it would be too
expensive.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I encouraged Kerstin to still
go, and she found two friends from Germany (where she’s originally from) to
meet her there.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">In late October Kerstin mentioned that she had been
tracking flights and bought a ticket for around $600 and was going in early
December.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The wheels began to turn in my
head.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">$600?!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’ve paid over $500 to fly to Connecticut when
traveling to The Hole In The Wall Gang Camp!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">She gave me her flight numbers.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I called Delta and talked to the nicest
woman, who helped me get on the same flights for $660.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">She asked the reason for my trip and I told
her about both of us turning 50.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then I
asked about exit rows and told her my height. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">She fixed us up with FREE exit row seats on
the way back (none were available on the way there).</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">In a matter of an hour, I had booked a trip
to Paris!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">A friend of mine had visited Paris in spring of 2018 with
her family and had recommended their Airbnb. I got the information from her and
booked it.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">It was located near Parc des
Buttes-Chaumont, a few miles northeast of the city centre.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">It was a great location – metro and bus
stations were down the street.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I loved
checking out the park.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We could even see
the Eiffel Tower from a distance at night.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Here are some of the trip highlights:</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></u></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Legroom</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The legroom in the standard seating area wasn’t
bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After they closed the doors, one of
the flight attendants offered us two seats together in an exit row. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hallelujah! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></u></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Notre Dame</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Notre Dame was first on our list and was
incredible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve been in my fair share
of cathedrals, but this one ranks high up there, along with St. Peter’s
Basilica.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So massive, and yet so
beautiful, with the rose windows and ornate decor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can’t aptly describe it to others – you must
experience it for yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Watching it
burn on TV this past April made it that much more personal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m thankful that it was not a total
loss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sBy4UyLhMR-8T8KDj3GAsqhCiQjrQG_yfTmoMRA4wsiaVbaNBNvYaQpHUDovAyqoNXL73BagLlVmdF8km5xNL4ORpb_bj5CzF8sPDPN-LLl5G4myBjNhMq8H7hJcIu3Ok8HQchIa1Q/s1600/42_back+view+of+Notre+Dame.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_sBy4UyLhMR-8T8KDj3GAsqhCiQjrQG_yfTmoMRA4wsiaVbaNBNvYaQpHUDovAyqoNXL73BagLlVmdF8km5xNL4ORpb_bj5CzF8sPDPN-LLl5G4myBjNhMq8H7hJcIu3Ok8HQchIa1Q/s320/42_back+view+of+Notre+Dame.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the back of Notre Dame and the Seine</td></tr>
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<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Deportation Martyrs Memorial</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This memorial was listed in my Rick Steves Pocket
Paris book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Located underground behind
Notre Dame on Ile de la Cite, it is a memorial to the 200,000 individuals
deported from France to the Nazi concentration camps during World War II.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I likened it to 9/11 Memorial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very somber, but also beautiful in
places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I highly recommend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipraSarj3gQWDb6OLPCv94VMaStD1yUh77XYTWmAUBOHiN7OtJlEAP7u6Rq8gn3hSSDzV1ITJ1OdsE5TAtarkePC_-rbSoc5ZuzjDUybMEsajQzZmGzMiy6XFXInx3kn2-WmHUkp87_g/s1600/41_Deportation+Martyrs+Memorial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipraSarj3gQWDb6OLPCv94VMaStD1yUh77XYTWmAUBOHiN7OtJlEAP7u6Rq8gn3hSSDzV1ITJ1OdsE5TAtarkePC_-rbSoc5ZuzjDUybMEsajQzZmGzMiy6XFXInx3kn2-WmHUkp87_g/s320/41_Deportation+Martyrs+Memorial.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the memorial. Each light represents one of the 200,000 people deported.</td></tr>
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<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysees</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">One of the most iconic structures in Paris next to the
Eiffel Tower, I think I took a photo of the arc at every angle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The day was rainy, but still enjoyable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We stopped in several shops along the Champs
Elysees (and a café, of course) to get out of the rain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sun did eventually make an appearance and
made the sidewalks and street glisten.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsuDzmc_HS6qmRg7Qq4byAlMSVcisrs_G27MtcZalSmOUW_PTaJVEYfz-n0W7xHgvl1IadCkK2KtNM8iQwkTtY-agf8hTf7QAM-ZDVwqHq4gLQ4t47RrjjnUQAqqpbpFuMfe9AIg6Z5g/s1600/74_Arc+de+Triomphe+view+down+the+Champs-Elysees_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1600" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsuDzmc_HS6qmRg7Qq4byAlMSVcisrs_G27MtcZalSmOUW_PTaJVEYfz-n0W7xHgvl1IadCkK2KtNM8iQwkTtY-agf8hTf7QAM-ZDVwqHq4gLQ4t47RrjjnUQAqqpbpFuMfe9AIg6Z5g/s320/74_Arc+de+Triomphe+view+down+the+Champs-Elysees_cropped.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I kept stepping out into the street to get a good view of the Arc. </td></tr>
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<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Eiffel Tower</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We chose to go up into the Eiffel Tower at night to
experience all of the lights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being that
it was December, the lines were relatively short, but we did stand in the cold
for a bit about halfway up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would
rather brave the cold than stand in line for hours in the heat of the summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What an amazing piece of architecture!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And what views!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tower lights up in the evenings every
hour for five minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We timed it
perfectly and were back on the ground to catch the bedazzling show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMnILOqI5JpZbWu7dXy__AhTLo3ukilNPjyxu5QHcGM7_2ihLIpY4nQ7LB-OWNVvQbygGlfx2Qf0HuTbMkRdNFiveTqnn3awoDR9RK_qA3tKkA3VYTgDumUyHsLSOAEdhtTQoYcYJMNg/s1600/97_Eiffel+Tower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMnILOqI5JpZbWu7dXy__AhTLo3ukilNPjyxu5QHcGM7_2ihLIpY4nQ7LB-OWNVvQbygGlfx2Qf0HuTbMkRdNFiveTqnn3awoDR9RK_qA3tKkA3VYTgDumUyHsLSOAEdhtTQoYcYJMNg/s320/97_Eiffel+Tower.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwBZJEAy40tKEoexaI80aXasYulu9EiFrSNRdsTFyW9IJP_Y-yhMpvBBfFQaNcxF6ddBk5_HClmjOMnkbO2IA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Louvre</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ve heard how massive the Louvre is and they aren’t
joking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, we followed (mostly) Rick
Steves’ advice and hit the hot spots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You could spend days in there!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjitlLGN3CQ616RGOA_38WqI-L1oyYpGlXHtUCKKaUoBv4OzBTog22aZkFeaarOGT2BCDDZHm1XaxdV9asgqqS_uyoacQomRFR1Nbi4Crdd5SLFs55L_jmDmz5bL55YvWrCFGnnd1KkzA/s1600/136_Mona+Lisa+-+Leonardo+da+Vinci_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1348" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjitlLGN3CQ616RGOA_38WqI-L1oyYpGlXHtUCKKaUoBv4OzBTog22aZkFeaarOGT2BCDDZHm1XaxdV9asgqqS_uyoacQomRFR1Nbi4Crdd5SLFs55L_jmDmz5bL55YvWrCFGnnd1KkzA/s320/136_Mona+Lisa+-+Leonardo+da+Vinci_cropped.jpg" width="269" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mona Lisa</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJeTc8A5FrThgcxOKl5EJPK56SXdhn5ujfjuBI1LMB-AObMam8UKTqFf_Mb3UjMx6KGi5eDnIibMDxbqO-wdQ-Ecp5SG027on6MZSjC6j1HwehAGUWM2U1aUc0nko1_tWZd2FWXaF3Sg/s1600/131_Venus+de+Milo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJeTc8A5FrThgcxOKl5EJPK56SXdhn5ujfjuBI1LMB-AObMam8UKTqFf_Mb3UjMx6KGi5eDnIibMDxbqO-wdQ-Ecp5SG027on6MZSjC6j1HwehAGUWM2U1aUc0nko1_tWZd2FWXaF3Sg/s320/131_Venus+de+Milo.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Venus de Milo</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ponte Des Art – Love Lock Bridge
(from Sex and the City).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">I
love Sex and the City and had a short list of places featured in the last two
episodes of the last season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we
walked around the city, none were quite close enough for me to say to the non
SATC fans, “Hey!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s go over there and
see the fountain where Carrie washed dog doo off her shoe.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I WILL return to Paris again, and I will
definitely see those places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The closest
I got to any of them was while inside the Louvre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked out a window and saw the bridge
where Big told Carrie, “…you’re the one.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Sigh)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was close enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvUm3rVoEFFMWVARlIu36dcUc7OwKJ5iWR_JuGXc2KP3_Jq_8j4geqf9ZGjrgZeTs15558VQGROlBGZelkFLiJfGEC8umnT8JOoKbfFXq7HsqZFV7sjSUKuK1Cx5dgTYwiCStRtaHuIA/s1600/143_Ponte+Des+Art+-+Love+Lock+Bridge-+Sex+and+The+City+-+from+inside+Louvre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvUm3rVoEFFMWVARlIu36dcUc7OwKJ5iWR_JuGXc2KP3_Jq_8j4geqf9ZGjrgZeTs15558VQGROlBGZelkFLiJfGEC8umnT8JOoKbfFXq7HsqZFV7sjSUKuK1Cx5dgTYwiCStRtaHuIA/s320/143_Ponte+Des+Art+-+Love+Lock+Bridge-+Sex+and+The+City+-+from+inside+Louvre.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My view of the Ponte Des Art bridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfyN0s6EDn44a4JUJsh3xCuH8FiJZpN1GIhHE7ty37W34MQrUDMWwN9FuQA1HvAdVCmjYBG72qDyrfb2j3Ja5OCYpUtWIcl3N-2bzCAkPmTdgabzB3Xh7RdZV_WhCeyAKjkxAVHFN_KQ/s1600/bridgeParis.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="1000" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfyN0s6EDn44a4JUJsh3xCuH8FiJZpN1GIhHE7ty37W34MQrUDMWwN9FuQA1HvAdVCmjYBG72qDyrfb2j3Ja5OCYpUtWIcl3N-2bzCAkPmTdgabzB3Xh7RdZV_WhCeyAKjkxAVHFN_KQ/s320/bridgeParis.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big and Carrie on the bridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Versailles</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s
worth a day trip to see the </span><a href="http://en.chateauversailles.fr/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Palace
of Versailles</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">, the former French royal residence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Beautiful grounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Extraordinary
buildings and décor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So much
history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s interesting – Versailles
was created to be a “country home” away from the big city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then they had to create a farm on the
property to get away from the country home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Queen’s Hamlet and the immense gardens and fountains were my
favorite part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc35HapTTtwO2nMOp-ltozQHDO8jQWIJu44LNP8HKI01VKmsWTPBxC_aSbbscLrj6HH5R38WSIUEP2Cic2IY3WC19zq6wm6UOS9kget7tmBJP5GeBf9f4RQwB5-_Q6pzhcESNGdpDfow/s1600/161_Versailles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc35HapTTtwO2nMOp-ltozQHDO8jQWIJu44LNP8HKI01VKmsWTPBxC_aSbbscLrj6HH5R38WSIUEP2Cic2IY3WC19zq6wm6UOS9kget7tmBJP5GeBf9f4RQwB5-_Q6pzhcESNGdpDfow/s320/161_Versailles.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Versailles front courtyard. Massive!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9HNMUpfBqnv_c1WYa0OTknjkzxJf1Ht96vSPRuXgTy63ki_pD1B-H9YQBJhU2ZARDjV6Df5Rc5ejnl_BvJK_X2LrsG8Nul5eV_R3VpW_Yx8P46ncvU2nESa6i_FNHR-inxIlzt1gsQ/s1600/172_LG_KH_hall+of+mirrors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9HNMUpfBqnv_c1WYa0OTknjkzxJf1Ht96vSPRuXgTy63ki_pD1B-H9YQBJhU2ZARDjV6Df5Rc5ejnl_BvJK_X2LrsG8Nul5eV_R3VpW_Yx8P46ncvU2nESa6i_FNHR-inxIlzt1gsQ/s320/172_LG_KH_hall+of+mirrors.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kerstin and me having fun in the Hall of Mirrors.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1JbRK9s1vHh7khlF4UDqv4lZDFZgLirNYaijhTzkEquilGdiQuLkuIyrq7pMGo2LgMLuSgq38QwbgUza3EgBRUL3lpSX8fvPur5CmQRnfCx11TkKeSpQS7yCAS0JkyrFi1luBLYr8tA/s1600/180_view+down+the+Royal+Drive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1JbRK9s1vHh7khlF4UDqv4lZDFZgLirNYaijhTzkEquilGdiQuLkuIyrq7pMGo2LgMLuSgq38QwbgUza3EgBRUL3lpSX8fvPur5CmQRnfCx11TkKeSpQS7yCAS0JkyrFi1luBLYr8tA/s320/180_view+down+the+Royal+Drive.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View down the Royal Drive, with Latona Fountain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Montmartre/Sacre
Coeur</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Montmartre is an artistic part of town that sits on a
hill north of Paris’ city centre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our
first stop was to tour the Sacre Coeur (The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of
Paris) and go up into the tower for a spectacular view.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After our tour we grabbed a crepe at the
market at Square Louise-Michel and sat on a bench people-watching and basking
in the warmth of the sun before wandering through the narrow, cobblestone
streets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinORNT6LSrNezdPNbnyTKBXlh-F4ci6OLZeseZVfuFnarWqYK8aVsfRW8QXCTfs1zB752uMv4BhxPYo_peAmbtskWhp0FxS5vIEETP_A3IxRUWRhRkiWhbV-aXDKb_KKkKWWRvdk2l-Q/s1600/209_Sacre-Coeur.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinORNT6LSrNezdPNbnyTKBXlh-F4ci6OLZeseZVfuFnarWqYK8aVsfRW8QXCTfs1zB752uMv4BhxPYo_peAmbtskWhp0FxS5vIEETP_A3IxRUWRhRkiWhbV-aXDKb_KKkKWWRvdk2l-Q/s320/209_Sacre-Coeur.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sacre Coeur</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzbTXLeZTxKw4Z6TdEdDaetvyiluzQLsnJUADsILjQL4t3ZobfBmgpszrW-xX0KBh3lfBAnG85RFS7q9e0U7w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We meandered down Boulevard de Clichy to see the famed
Moulin Rouge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We didn’t catch a show but
was fun to see the building.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJMEJXywHPfTjckk6oAqOLIupal0Eh7qfi_BtD5KbFOXcI9SJLRWV853kwmG2GHX2QjPOWJi4mvp1XJibN6uWwRsKwfKa_L3MpRRx48B6uUY3yD7FVlIZCdA83A8I5jQtYs7zi__Wqw/s1600/231_Moulin+Rouge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJMEJXywHPfTjckk6oAqOLIupal0Eh7qfi_BtD5KbFOXcI9SJLRWV853kwmG2GHX2QjPOWJi4mvp1XJibN6uWwRsKwfKa_L3MpRRx48B6uUY3yD7FVlIZCdA83A8I5jQtYs7zi__Wqw/s320/231_Moulin+Rouge.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moulin Rouge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">From there we came across Montmartre Cemetery, which
was fascinating and reminded me of cemeteries in New Orleans.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Everything is above ground.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">It looked like a neighborhood complete with
“house” numbers.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Really
interesting.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">One grave stood out and I
learned about the Italian actress and singer, </span><a href="http://dalida.com/angleterre.html" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">Dalida</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOb9tH_2Bkzt3uXRkBrgzmRp6CEQsCb7hw_F0XV6GyUNhIqjBHFx_Z7oTb422r-eGmL0GX4PnBsGGuKjNuyvyMlkVnGh4mKzv4xyQ481NACt8fpN-sauPK9dmzZIhUaDLIV3vwV6KRwQ/s1600/223_Montmartre+Cemetery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOb9tH_2Bkzt3uXRkBrgzmRp6CEQsCb7hw_F0XV6GyUNhIqjBHFx_Z7oTb422r-eGmL0GX4PnBsGGuKjNuyvyMlkVnGh4mKzv4xyQ481NACt8fpN-sauPK9dmzZIhUaDLIV3vwV6KRwQ/s320/223_Montmartre+Cemetery.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Montmartre Cemetery</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsbo7RMvwjsrNawl_ie7ezFkMehv5sUa3QFVcxTQPDxQ5gIrZ8cK9CMzvCI67gb7JSnU51xzP8d1e43xhMTy4RXF480W1O9bJzSVZAT6bsRpIlAhiTdLJlgcmwFBoX9hULyZ9I-He0UQ/s1600/226_Dalida_Montmartre+Cemetery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsbo7RMvwjsrNawl_ie7ezFkMehv5sUa3QFVcxTQPDxQ5gIrZ8cK9CMzvCI67gb7JSnU51xzP8d1e43xhMTy4RXF480W1O9bJzSVZAT6bsRpIlAhiTdLJlgcmwFBoX9hULyZ9I-He0UQ/s320/226_Dalida_Montmartre+Cemetery.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stunning memorial to Dalida</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rodin</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Rodin museum is miniscule compared to the
Louvre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The original sculptures are
housed inside, while larger replicas are outside in the lovely garden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ39c6xY0rNfaHXKRZ0ld7DlxdPZzlOTDGyCP0MqbUb8W091K2bb_F_XjB4gtn4AJ3hPyYdqX6TfdnkQgAI4mlxbdNM91KP8YbAw91uSz00DMrQ4nETR7QWm2O3jwY1YCf_xNzfNf4fw/s1600/251_The+Thinker_Rodin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ39c6xY0rNfaHXKRZ0ld7DlxdPZzlOTDGyCP0MqbUb8W091K2bb_F_XjB4gtn4AJ3hPyYdqX6TfdnkQgAI4mlxbdNM91KP8YbAw91uSz00DMrQ4nETR7QWm2O3jwY1YCf_xNzfNf4fw/s320/251_The+Thinker_Rodin.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original Thinker</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><u>Food</u>!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">While in Paris, we had to have crepes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had several variations – sweet and
savory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a wonderful Nutella crepe
in a café along the Champs-Elysees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One
night we had fondue (us non-vegetarians had meat and potatoes along with
bread).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a great pasta dish at </span><a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187147-d1128479-Reviews-Tribeca-Paris_Ile_de_France.html"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Tribeca</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
on Rue Cler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mission was to have
boeuf bourguignon in Paris and I was successful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We even found a great Chinese restaurant
near our apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ate breakfast each
morning at the apartment – what a spread!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Wonderful breads, fruit, jam, yogurt and avocados.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6HRJmGybIf0LV7KQ1Xlq1JAVdWmskZdCPTJa0_NrUv7OiG5-mGQ1ng8TpYKSaTkV-AtCiivltO9rtzrT2WlDUFz3sXnu0jAZ9gZFHC2Zzo413358mWjz5szbytKO9B1gX7hKi2sKD2g/s1600/45_crepes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6HRJmGybIf0LV7KQ1Xlq1JAVdWmskZdCPTJa0_NrUv7OiG5-mGQ1ng8TpYKSaTkV-AtCiivltO9rtzrT2WlDUFz3sXnu0jAZ9gZFHC2Zzo413358mWjz5szbytKO9B1gX7hKi2sKD2g/s320/45_crepes.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crepes!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf0bLLGYdyJDguertvanoParZnZlJ850cpjjrUnvM05Z4Nvv0OcnQ3jUVsbsZD2Jh9CZPK7zl4YocIaQjlbw3noEVo6qrIOW9HvljAoYz2k_KfgRWPtDL5A2KX36RNgUSZ0KoZAiQTcw/s1600/50_sweet+treats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf0bLLGYdyJDguertvanoParZnZlJ850cpjjrUnvM05Z4Nvv0OcnQ3jUVsbsZD2Jh9CZPK7zl4YocIaQjlbw3noEVo6qrIOW9HvljAoYz2k_KfgRWPtDL5A2KX36RNgUSZ0KoZAiQTcw/s320/50_sweet+treats.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We stopped at a cafe for some sweet treats and a hot chocolate</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhv2hIxlHcSEfdjhbBuZRhLgV045GN3LatlvF8ZWJ1rX_NpEEBU29mtrlhiUYeuFvTumDM0grrrwdVlukKXPP0mkmi-V7cB5fQxRkA7lxIk83O2NZZbJgUNOLUJSiZmOeyqLuTGYp9Kw/s1600/54_apartment+breakfast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhv2hIxlHcSEfdjhbBuZRhLgV045GN3LatlvF8ZWJ1rX_NpEEBU29mtrlhiUYeuFvTumDM0grrrwdVlukKXPP0mkmi-V7cB5fQxRkA7lxIk83O2NZZbJgUNOLUJSiZmOeyqLuTGYp9Kw/s320/54_apartment+breakfast.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast at the apartment</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9APXFK8JrRjQLoTmPRMKZ4kZkB1Fl-YuH0Olgqib4jfDm0RwnZQTN7PqimezdKkUbYqJHSCoLmC5zM0hZDZvRuTBFjcm2sDbu2T7OYv2T5e08BELS4qwWRyJXyxJpzj1xNYNJ7sew8w/s1600/69_crepe+on+the+Champs-Elysees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9APXFK8JrRjQLoTmPRMKZ4kZkB1Fl-YuH0Olgqib4jfDm0RwnZQTN7PqimezdKkUbYqJHSCoLmC5zM0hZDZvRuTBFjcm2sDbu2T7OYv2T5e08BELS4qwWRyJXyxJpzj1xNYNJ7sew8w/s320/69_crepe+on+the+Champs-Elysees.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nutella crepes along the Champs-Elysees</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkN3lAtx-sUx3_L8WKcmDgYT24IS3xQZ7HPK-5kQg4icMhwSyqnRbBE7rIDVYvSSRl5hQR0aj6uOILObmDtv-a1ojrk7z34T2puksx54Lt1eIRJQiAZjelRSJn2diwSwL_XP0dqQjyA/s1600/93_dinner+at+Tribeca%252C+Rue+Cler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkN3lAtx-sUx3_L8WKcmDgYT24IS3xQZ7HPK-5kQg4icMhwSyqnRbBE7rIDVYvSSRl5hQR0aj6uOILObmDtv-a1ojrk7z34T2puksx54Lt1eIRJQiAZjelRSJn2diwSwL_XP0dqQjyA/s320/93_dinner+at+Tribeca%252C+Rue+Cler.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pasta at Tribeca</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVos2OjtEzX_ZT_FWpOGTk5dERknt4_dYZmKmi3iJ37vwsXSpBYuie2re70DskOt7GxIBV4n6ZuizTevSopWldiXA4Ax530uzqYNgw_2PW6I89asN5S57P8c-YUQRdbxzF2JdY_-8Kw/s1600/152_boeuf+bourguignon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVos2OjtEzX_ZT_FWpOGTk5dERknt4_dYZmKmi3iJ37vwsXSpBYuie2re70DskOt7GxIBV4n6ZuizTevSopWldiXA4Ax530uzqYNgw_2PW6I89asN5S57P8c-YUQRdbxzF2JdY_-8Kw/s320/152_boeuf+bourguignon.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boeuf bourguignon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Christmas Market</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">One of the best parts of traveling is finding things
that are not on the list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Christmas
market at Jardin des Tuileries was our best find of the trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We loved it so much we went twice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The market was a feast for the eyes and the
stomach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Photos cannot do it
justice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we walked through the
market, we made mental notes of what we wanted to come back and eat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not enough euros and not enough room in the belly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brats, vats of potatoes and cheese, frites, hot
pasta that they would ladle onto a wheel of cheese on its side to soak up the
cheesy goodness, chocolate, pastries, nuts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Along with the food, there were carnival rides and gifts, and some
drinks as well, but I saved my money for the food (and a hat), opting for an
enormous serving of cheesy potatoes with ham and onions, and cut up
sausages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We returned the night before
we flew home but that night was very cold so we didn’t stay as long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gn0xYhEtHjlqVHTY5D4INeRI7Nxl_R7TF0S8Hzv75T5dnSWRvKqY7myRYS-NLkigEZDEk_qH6mkV6d0hiU8drFGMGhQrNaOsegtLq0Uwk-3KK2ja0EHLY4-7jiGTd7zSJ3riyOkpNg/s1600/154_Christmas+market+at+Jardin+des+Tuileries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gn0xYhEtHjlqVHTY5D4INeRI7Nxl_R7TF0S8Hzv75T5dnSWRvKqY7myRYS-NLkigEZDEk_qH6mkV6d0hiU8drFGMGhQrNaOsegtLq0Uwk-3KK2ja0EHLY4-7jiGTd7zSJ3riyOkpNg/s320/154_Christmas+market+at+Jardin+des+Tuileries.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ferris wheel at the Christmas Market</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Yz4WeU9uFRVqjVrrCIr0VJM8tAPfwMSn870AZD1eI6KoeXPg6qYdCWFMebCBv1KuGIYXU6gT5MK2KYcTHTfCURZyEEP1X3IJ68hlo2j7vD_XGnvj1ANGutI7WiVO_XhFUVu8DSRaKQ/s1600/155_croustillons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Yz4WeU9uFRVqjVrrCIr0VJM8tAPfwMSn870AZD1eI6KoeXPg6qYdCWFMebCBv1KuGIYXU6gT5MK2KYcTHTfCURZyEEP1X3IJ68hlo2j7vD_XGnvj1ANGutI7WiVO_XhFUVu8DSRaKQ/s320/155_croustillons.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Croustillons are like large donut holes with sugar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiht-LK-Oix7rgHcibvNEcGiruV3kXqzR6yvk_dnknaHyy5tx2P-_cgAoQrrrrmcn-Dvn-QcRSrJX1FMchE4d8sexvqVD3bRAufOVQUY6y1xzU3IZtkXKmi7odHqY1JNhUBjvPad6mMDA/s1600/157_chocolat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiht-LK-Oix7rgHcibvNEcGiruV3kXqzR6yvk_dnknaHyy5tx2P-_cgAoQrrrrmcn-Dvn-QcRSrJX1FMchE4d8sexvqVD3bRAufOVQUY6y1xzU3IZtkXKmi7odHqY1JNhUBjvPad6mMDA/s320/157_chocolat.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So much chocolate!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE1Am8xCcKGrp6EyG5E_UsRCi0M6zcHFZmngbfnqyA4X-MdwgPYy21AFQTc2RMWx2rJPSGYECK4xTGn4IFeeeM6IvSEXP45rEGmyTkaLciavCHBspBbZWvgTPRqW5lTuP7tY-AnMUyGQ/s1600/264_potatoes%252C+ham+and+sausage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE1Am8xCcKGrp6EyG5E_UsRCi0M6zcHFZmngbfnqyA4X-MdwgPYy21AFQTc2RMWx2rJPSGYECK4xTGn4IFeeeM6IvSEXP45rEGmyTkaLciavCHBspBbZWvgTPRqW5lTuP7tY-AnMUyGQ/s320/264_potatoes%252C+ham+and+sausage.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheesy potatoes with a brat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Airbnb</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As I mentioned before the Airbnb was a great
find.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The size suited us, with one
bedroom and one pull-out sofa in the living area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kerstin’s two friends (another Kerstin and
Natalie) stayed for the weekend so we had our own rooms for the rest of the
stay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were a couple of funny
occurrences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One night as we played cards,
we started hearing noises.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We stopped to
listen, and realized people were having sex in another apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We heard it one other night as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thin walls!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2w4ZBmsQ4KkWUfPgqxWwCHAYK1jfT4rxwZ9jEuw6DVX4Av3Fkm320yg1QZdEQEBFqUI7-6Y9mOcPye0yisCY2Iw0fF2Pl7IqbHIIjI2qxc5XG0btEBb_RXr1mgulrN64kD7AwgrwEug/s1600/17_view+from+apartment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2w4ZBmsQ4KkWUfPgqxWwCHAYK1jfT4rxwZ9jEuw6DVX4Av3Fkm320yg1QZdEQEBFqUI7-6Y9mOcPye0yisCY2Iw0fF2Pl7IqbHIIjI2qxc5XG0btEBb_RXr1mgulrN64kD7AwgrwEug/s320/17_view+from+apartment.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from apartment</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Parc des Buttes Chaumont</u><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">This public park was a few blocks from our apartment. At 61 acres, it provided a great morning workout, with winding paths and hills. I walked two mornings and came across a couple of groups - one was older people doing Tai Chi, another was Asian women doing some kind of line dance (that's the only way I can describe it.) I wanted to join in both, but just observed as I walked by. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjIneg6t1z-HNvTC1cIpT93fzR3XKaUV15hTWcFSoLXYzbB1udp0O_lHpBhw6WGb5k8ZxW4SVIA7j-sQjGZxs9H59mHQnvPzGvduZVtn21-6WyQUTCNHY_XQej79kSR_8jxV5RvXKVA/s1600/242_Parc+de+Buttes-Chaumont.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjIneg6t1z-HNvTC1cIpT93fzR3XKaUV15hTWcFSoLXYzbB1udp0O_lHpBhw6WGb5k8ZxW4SVIA7j-sQjGZxs9H59mHQnvPzGvduZVtn21-6WyQUTCNHY_XQej79kSR_8jxV5RvXKVA/s320/242_Parc+de+Buttes-Chaumont.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many paths in the Parc de Buttes Chaumont</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Friends</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ve known Kerstin for almost 20 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What fun it was to meet two of her lifelong
friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They spoke English very well
and we had lots of laughs during the weekend they were with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One evening back at the apartment we played
Spot It, which is a matching card game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After several rounds I decided to learn a new German word for each
subsequent round.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(When you lay down a
card that has a matching photo, you say the name of that item – pencil, car,
etc.).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I learned baby bottle
(babyflasche), lightning (blitz), car (auto), apple (apfel) and lips (lippen).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Another time, as we walked through a train tunnel,
they were all talking in German and Natalie turned to me and said something to
me in German.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I smiled and nodded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then she burst out laughing, realizing what she'd done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently she was comfortable with me pretty
quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As I look back on my Year of 50, it feels a bit
extravagant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully I had the
vacation days and the means to make these trips happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most importantly, I was able to share these
experiences with my current (and new) friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is the
greatest blessing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Here's to the next 50! </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-48364990129932616962019-06-24T13:02:00.001-04:002019-06-24T13:02:49.956-04:00#478 The Year of 50: Live from New York...I'm 50! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPuvZukRSwFW09E8LyzKZQLLLZBhcK2Wi3mrW6lE90lgPPi6C2e6PsXnqUSIqiiuJzynIK9KJmKXKqZZjCZljC8dU6dq3_uzfgHUYJvU4QIQJd4KOoHPF5xnMKpYTbqDr_tAfeWvftQ/s1600/36_stretch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPuvZukRSwFW09E8LyzKZQLLLZBhcK2Wi3mrW6lE90lgPPi6C2e6PsXnqUSIqiiuJzynIK9KJmKXKqZZjCZljC8dU6dq3_uzfgHUYJvU4QIQJd4KOoHPF5xnMKpYTbqDr_tAfeWvftQ/s320/36_stretch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">October is one of my favorite months, not only because
it’s my birthday month, but I love Halloween.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I’m not into the spooky/scary stuff so much, I just love a chance to
dress up and act silly.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Halloween is my
perfect excuse.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ve attended my share of Halloween parties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once I went to a party with my friend Alyce
and didn’t know a soul, which was convenient because that year I dressed up as
Mary Katherine Gallagher and fell down all night showing my underwear to
strangers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<img alt="Image result for mary katherine gallagher falling down" src="https://www.bing.com/th?id=OGC.c15d501b134e721e3be1e61edeccbf33&pid=1.7&rurl=http%3a%2f%2f38.media.tumblr.com%2ftumblr_lm5fl8UMzN1qkcqgio1_250.gif&ehk=QXSKjaEmFhiB6PhzEV9IrQ" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">With this being a 50th birthday party, my costume had to be another Molly Shannon creation - Sally O'Malley. I've loved her for so many years and was so excited to actually be her AND be 50. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">This was my first Halloween/birthday party to throw on
my own. What fun! Thank you to my brother and sister-in-law
(Paul and Lori) for allowing me to have the party at their house. My house would have been a bit crowded. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzi5F5gic5vljGoNCFV4I2DlqgRWufKDnG75SSk3wNI7wckP5S9tVgPlbXpNLPCCnuEUIKptNIJvoT06FRZ1BiKfkpHO0MZxOC7B6azp9Mzi7uOUQ4ccm71hYSd3M2ZaoWGDl6uaacPg/s1600/05_fingers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzi5F5gic5vljGoNCFV4I2DlqgRWufKDnG75SSk3wNI7wckP5S9tVgPlbXpNLPCCnuEUIKptNIJvoT06FRZ1BiKfkpHO0MZxOC7B6azp9Mzi7uOUQ4ccm71hYSd3M2ZaoWGDl6uaacPg/s320/05_fingers.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finger cookies</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6jMPdCwfgZts2WSxBKq7MO7wGhzqHhVjkMGp_XqMcy8mxAG28ocfRvPSwvlfevdw70qnHkn7bMqb-2Rh3eyXooYmT_MWf33xiSoDHHrJwsVgNOsb2kJdddk3XsYMLIi0GBw5X0wvNg/s1600/06_bats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6jMPdCwfgZts2WSxBKq7MO7wGhzqHhVjkMGp_XqMcy8mxAG28ocfRvPSwvlfevdw70qnHkn7bMqb-2Rh3eyXooYmT_MWf33xiSoDHHrJwsVgNOsb2kJdddk3XsYMLIi0GBw5X0wvNg/s320/06_bats.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Had to have bat cookies!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKmLjtoxLMnBk4lXyPYQ5EP0mf9zqHzAre5PBJhT9uIYR80jwqJH_RxhM2Dc0lA4bs6sqWxy_agSWlNMcYZQ7Cn1TqRG9Or0-V2VFQubbySUAFOqFJF51aMZAiv2IfBqLK_NjdBCQrSg/s1600/10_fireplace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKmLjtoxLMnBk4lXyPYQ5EP0mf9zqHzAre5PBJhT9uIYR80jwqJH_RxhM2Dc0lA4bs6sqWxy_agSWlNMcYZQ7Cn1TqRG9Or0-V2VFQubbySUAFOqFJF51aMZAiv2IfBqLK_NjdBCQrSg/s320/10_fireplace.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDOE7IoRlATO-s1MF2af_fXAa-LsFXQQ_63hsZZGF7bb0_DaWf2ADzj7ipqrGkSb7P2XQWvXNpU_PGYQvERIu1OBDmeqKMoLMDO5hhZEld33bx1rbX9N3NTdW3-Fw81Eq_be70v88Jw/s1600/11_spider.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDOE7IoRlATO-s1MF2af_fXAa-LsFXQQ_63hsZZGF7bb0_DaWf2ADzj7ipqrGkSb7P2XQWvXNpU_PGYQvERIu1OBDmeqKMoLMDO5hhZEld33bx1rbX9N3NTdW3-Fw81Eq_be70v88Jw/s320/11_spider.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's one big spider! </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I invited a mix of family, work friends, high school
friends, and other “new” friends thrown in for good measure. It couldn’t have gone any better. I suggested folks dress up as Saturday Night
Live characters. I’m not a dictator and
didn’t demand it. The majority
complied. Several came in their own
creations. A few didn’t dress up at
all. The main thing is that they came
and I greatly appreciated it. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiql020rnyHiwvEMTQ_koOI-VLwwPeR-Hu8YKdtRZ2iFzC4p2X5HZYqSOkpqTDRr_GzhjMb31LnH6Ak44Ss32ltTG_icd5QSubpJGYTMiZa9USiOM2LtVWod2ZUqubpf5wNgK-MhidwHg/s1600/18_megantaylor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiql020rnyHiwvEMTQ_koOI-VLwwPeR-Hu8YKdtRZ2iFzC4p2X5HZYqSOkpqTDRr_GzhjMb31LnH6Ak44Ss32ltTG_icd5QSubpJGYTMiZa9USiOM2LtVWod2ZUqubpf5wNgK-MhidwHg/s320/18_megantaylor.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taylor (we need more cowbell!) and Megan (Dooneese)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0psmckWPQe9o1HnZYv_IJ_7gp2yygSnI0CdDRIF4FvmZ0nuguQe9WCGsCbU0wFADRTF1kbNuJIUQ3GE8_F_tJvAR4cxQfkaeAmcjskRuVR7rdwKetBst-mRbg5zSsX32hKUB8jOgDVg/s1600/21_karenwayne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0psmckWPQe9o1HnZYv_IJ_7gp2yygSnI0CdDRIF4FvmZ0nuguQe9WCGsCbU0wFADRTF1kbNuJIUQ3GE8_F_tJvAR4cxQfkaeAmcjskRuVR7rdwKetBst-mRbg5zSsX32hKUB8jOgDVg/s320/21_karenwayne.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wayne and Karen</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9iriPjoTTaohURVF3f2qnZmNfQpHRMRInJlpjZojDcOZy-ZadlQ13cZ576G0t-VciP_bIsZNqezYacUobK450JCNZu_GnzhE6c809XBEoOUwjfmLCIvVgsSuSgVa8JA239yixhin4A/s1600/22_lisa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9iriPjoTTaohURVF3f2qnZmNfQpHRMRInJlpjZojDcOZy-ZadlQ13cZ576G0t-VciP_bIsZNqezYacUobK450JCNZu_GnzhE6c809XBEoOUwjfmLCIvVgsSuSgVa8JA239yixhin4A/s320/22_lisa.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cat lady Lisa</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaj_WbSYy9bkij0kfjcxaCIh-WhFCwTLHEM0ET00kfdMKJ3wOzIZGIVe-E5bGVvGQIqAkEoyntUYbiqjKuwYrh4Ap9IBij3jS8wtGMLJLgIx-iJhBNQzLaDd1fgf2DgkdN2B6oD4zfqA/s1600/23_kellyjimmy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaj_WbSYy9bkij0kfjcxaCIh-WhFCwTLHEM0ET00kfdMKJ3wOzIZGIVe-E5bGVvGQIqAkEoyntUYbiqjKuwYrh4Ap9IBij3jS8wtGMLJLgIx-iJhBNQzLaDd1fgf2DgkdN2B6oD4zfqA/s320/23_kellyjimmy.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly (Lisa Loopner) and Jimmy (Todd DiLaMuca)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ypl5yAQjWwTfI9-nYEtiIJ7x3_FiIiQkrRHFdId6Mqkyyn4mM4NAiTy171ROHndi-q_pSqxtbGrIBvVfw7s0wAk2b2ylgUwv33IdxE3SqDYzzYAwAjf4vLcukzJeuXF3x-Pn8Te5TQ/s1600/24_julie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ypl5yAQjWwTfI9-nYEtiIJ7x3_FiIiQkrRHFdId6Mqkyyn4mM4NAiTy171ROHndi-q_pSqxtbGrIBvVfw7s0wAk2b2ylgUwv33IdxE3SqDYzzYAwAjf4vLcukzJeuXF3x-Pn8Te5TQ/s320/24_julie.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie (Ruth Bader Ginsberg)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfukbbY3AOqYOrUmQU-6k9ifL1Rj-0MlJLoBPiL2RCeOU02vFHdpWgTJmZ4RpHtC4WCywGlpYQ0kTXMEer-JXdNhZJxe8jP3L7BmwlRGyb4CBwOOrftrnyU0g4Ql2ue5HrP-8POSxvZw/s1600/26_trinaliam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfukbbY3AOqYOrUmQU-6k9ifL1Rj-0MlJLoBPiL2RCeOU02vFHdpWgTJmZ4RpHtC4WCywGlpYQ0kTXMEer-JXdNhZJxe8jP3L7BmwlRGyb4CBwOOrftrnyU0g4Ql2ue5HrP-8POSxvZw/s320/26_trinaliam.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Liam (Jack Jack) and Trina (Evelyn Deavor)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhidp4I-b4JWSf5Ac0IDDJWC8KdUrbxKtitvUdUaLHLVKRYV0XjFx1fCWWiFtOORRzDtnRyz59wRdL7uLIlZtk7z6sbn2Y-KPRcrMccxtlkgpA7INPzMEGOQprPEKeMz-QvKItTWZ-CgQ/s1600/28_paulloriLG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhidp4I-b4JWSf5Ac0IDDJWC8KdUrbxKtitvUdUaLHLVKRYV0XjFx1fCWWiFtOORRzDtnRyz59wRdL7uLIlZtk7z6sbn2Y-KPRcrMccxtlkgpA7INPzMEGOQprPEKeMz-QvKItTWZ-CgQ/s320/28_paulloriLG.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linda (Sally O'Malley), Paul and Lori (cheeburger cheeburger)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgNivEyT_CuZoVWWbzmnXoYGCaY6-uND1NRcZMYBUMPE1uyx4aDUucFsKu6SX9QgHYIsE9HeQgbO0Dz04PHC0qoYhp8y9hcy5SsW4e6w_CD1hY1kFe0XoF68kExaRP2HPkqZgIMmGP1Q/s1600/31_LGViv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgNivEyT_CuZoVWWbzmnXoYGCaY6-uND1NRcZMYBUMPE1uyx4aDUucFsKu6SX9QgHYIsE9HeQgbO0Dz04PHC0qoYhp8y9hcy5SsW4e6w_CD1hY1kFe0XoF68kExaRP2HPkqZgIMmGP1Q/s320/31_LGViv.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linda and Vivian</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLubB0pJZdZymJvvMU3t4geKXq_AU_zWbzSvoAbgjCE6vVA8XJ9v64YEukSoiijkrCM24AOOEZZhuhbwDhZn_4FVs94xk8tp7A7v66mRkGAA7fGAsE30hOcigPlOAR7fAzzMkSJqNDfQ/s1600/32_kristakennycurlywig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLubB0pJZdZymJvvMU3t4geKXq_AU_zWbzSvoAbgjCE6vVA8XJ9v64YEukSoiijkrCM24AOOEZZhuhbwDhZn_4FVs94xk8tp7A7v66mRkGAA7fGAsE30hOcigPlOAR7fAzzMkSJqNDfQ/s320/32_kristakennycurlywig.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Krista (Collette Reardon) and Kenny</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpoPRrzWCCRmgB49yZihnLHMGUbhE37tglMHiQZdv0btDMwOIAbqOfERwEzZwMa5k14m-Y_TqgwhgPorp-CwDjUESgA-c8qedCO1S0NdKr4ZXWuo_Nr__4mpOebfw24s0EUxaXBSCEw/s1600/34_WC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijpoPRrzWCCRmgB49yZihnLHMGUbhE37tglMHiQZdv0btDMwOIAbqOfERwEzZwMa5k14m-Y_TqgwhgPorp-CwDjUESgA-c8qedCO1S0NdKr4ZXWuo_Nr__4mpOebfw24s0EUxaXBSCEw/s320/34_WC.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Warren Central "gang" throwing our sign</td></tr>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzUsRRMLGmHaDSk8ruxZfnDEQiQ4X_UDmp9tLfeO2cdHrF0fGTQEodW1k9LSTzrMNlfh_wyMCxCSpBxx4Z3Dg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The biggest surprise of the night was my parents. All week they said they wouldn’t make
it. Their excuses? It was too late. Too far to drive. Too dark.
Etc. The doorbell rang, I opened
the door, and it took me a minute to recognize them. My dad dressed up as a patient, and my mom
dressed as a caregiver. (Kind-of
swapping places.) Hilarious! Must be where I get my love of costume
from. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">What a way to cap my Year of 50. I am blessed beyond measure with a wonderful
family and an amazing group of friends. </span></div>
Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-12419701326497966142019-06-18T17:05:00.001-04:002019-06-18T17:07:22.810-04:00#477 The Year of 50: Austin<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My friend Julie turned 50 in April of 2018.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wasn’t excited about the number,
but she was excited about going on a trip to celebrate it with her
friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After much debate and prodding
to pick a date and place, she chose Austin, Texas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And due to her roller derby conflicts during
the spring/summer, we booked a weekend in September.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A nice excuse to prolong birthday
celebration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Our cast of characters that were able to join were
married couple Cathy and Herb, Lisa, Cincinnati Kathy (Lisa’s friend from,
where else? Cincinnati), the birthday girl, and yours truly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Party headquarters was a modern Airbnb house
not far from downtown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s a rundown
of our weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bats.</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of us had seen the famous </span><a href="http://www.austincityguide.com/listings/congress-bridge-bats"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Congress
Bridge Bats</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
witnessed this phenomenon last spring but was hoping to see larger numbers in
the fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On our first day the weather
was chilly and rain began to fall when we reached the bridge to wait for the
bats to emerge at dusk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We waited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And waited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And waited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And shivered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And waited some more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We watched the kayaks below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We watched the people on the boats
below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We prayed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our stomachs rumbled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No bats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After 1 ½ hours we gave up and found food at the </span><a href="https://www.bangersaustin.com/#home"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Banger’s Sausage
House and Beer Garden</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">, then continued on to </span><a href="http://littlelucys.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Little Lucy’s Donuts</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
for dessert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite no bats, it was a
fine start to the weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(We tried
once more on our last night to see the bats, but still nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is going on?!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We may not have seen bats, but we saw a beautiful sunset.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE4UNyUzhjedQjHhD2aJ7ZlE1SgNN0w5yePiK5HHuhNsUCnqx9H7iolimF9PwrKJ5Tar4hYonH3cUtvNpGZXIMkauIFEg88QCZ0Oe0OYNYG6-iAeN0rPVZiOp-u3y7iXYSLuDepAoV7w/s1600/79_bats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE4UNyUzhjedQjHhD2aJ7ZlE1SgNN0w5yePiK5HHuhNsUCnqx9H7iolimF9PwrKJ5Tar4hYonH3cUtvNpGZXIMkauIFEg88QCZ0Oe0OYNYG6-iAeN0rPVZiOp-u3y7iXYSLuDepAoV7w/s320/79_bats.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Later on we saw some bat-shaped bike racks. Does that count? </td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Texas Stars.</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Rain continued the next day so we toured the
Texas State Capitol building. An unusual
choice. It was really cool and we were
fascinated by all of the Texas stars we saw throughout the building. Chairs.
Light fixtures. You name it, it
had a star on it somewhere. We needed
our donut fix for the day and stopped at </span><a href="https://www.voodoodoughnut.com/locations/voodoo-doughnut-austin/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">VooDoo
Doughnut</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">.
This place has the craziest donuts I’ve ever seen. I’m partial to cake donuts so kept it pretty
simple, but the others went all out. Man
can’t live on donuts alone, so we had pretzels and beer at </span><a href="https://www.easytigerusa.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Easy Tiger</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">. More carbs!
Any place that has Tiger in the name is good with me! </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rotunda in the state capitol</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Roller Derby.</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Our main attraction for the day (heck, the
weekend) was the </span><a href="http://www.txrd.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Texas
Banked Roller Derby</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">, more specifically, the </span><a href="https://www.universe.com/events/calvello-cup-championship-2018-tickets-austin-HG8RZ5"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Calvello
Cup</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">, named after a well-known roller derby
personality </span><a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Ann-Calvello-the-flamboyant-villainess-of-2501749.php#photo-2671900"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ann
Calvello</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">. What
a night! If you clicked on the Calvello
Cup link, you saw that the dueling teams were the Rhinestone Cowgirls vs. Putas
del Fuego. (Go ahead and look up the
meaning of the second name.) Banked
roller derby is a little more “show” than flat track. They have pillow fights, and other
shenanigans during breaks. And if it’s
your birthday, you can go onto the track and get spanked by the teams. Beware – they hit HARD. And they don’t smell like roses (in the video below you can see me holding my nose). I guilted Julie into going onto the track
since it was her birthday trip, and since my birthday was upcoming, I went with
her. I just wanted to go onto the
track. A way-cool girls band performed
before the bout and during breaks. Check
out </span><a href="https://www.midnightbutterflyband.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Midnight
Butterfly</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> if you get a chance. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Calvello Cup action.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Janea. </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">As luck would
have it, my good friend Janae lives in Austin!
We spent our day in Austin last spring with her and her friend Janna,
and she was able to meet us at the derby.
And she’s the one who tipped us off on the birthday spanking
ceremony. I met Janae when I played with
an Athletes In Action fall team back in 1997(?) and trained in Cincinnati,
where she’s from. She’s lived in Austin
for the past several years and I’m so thankful I got to connect with her. She’s one of those people who you don’t see
for a long time, but you pick up right where you left off. All we do is laugh together. She’s awesome! </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">San Marcos
River.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
next day we took a leisurely tubing trip on the San Marcos River.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Such
fun to sit back, relax and enjoy the water and scenery (including really cool
tress and roots, and lots of turtles).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fitting into a tube can be a challenge for us tall folks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My butt sits a little lower than most, but I
was still comfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Give it a
try!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lisa, Cincinnati Kathy and Julie floating down the San Marcos River </td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">ABGB.</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> After tubing we cleaned up had refreshments
at the Austin Beer Garden Brewing Company.
Every Sunday they have live music and dancing. I packed my cowboy boots just for ABGB and it
didn’t disappoint. (My packing skills
were put to the test fitting size 12 cowboy boots in a carry-on bag and having
room for other clothes.) We visited ABGB
last spring on a Final Four side trip and I turned down a dance offer from an
older gentleman, then felt guilty. This
time around I was more receptive, and when tall Edd approached me to dance, I
obliged. What a small world it is – he
went to high school in Indianapolis and I enjoyed hearing about his life
path. You can meet some really cool
people if you open up a little. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCgR1XL5KuavPJYK2XVQIwbrIY58E8VAIzjwwYtEzz7ie1kjeinaSpb7WqITi_beAwtKn3vWgQDZghsLCNZi-B6hZExNV66RZrpLua2uRm3q-Hj9H9xp87Me16UzlsGaQMxmKOVUARw/s1600/71_LGEddABGB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCgR1XL5KuavPJYK2XVQIwbrIY58E8VAIzjwwYtEzz7ie1kjeinaSpb7WqITi_beAwtKn3vWgQDZghsLCNZi-B6hZExNV66RZrpLua2uRm3q-Hj9H9xp87Me16UzlsGaQMxmKOVUARw/s320/71_LGEddABGB.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me dancing with Edd.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">University of
Texas. </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
had time before our departing flight to see the University of Texas
campus. Lunch at </span><a href="https://www.fricanosdeli.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fricano’s Deli</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
and a little shopping at the University Co-op.
While at the co-op we saw a real Texas star – Hall of Fame former Lady
Longhorns coach Jody Conradt. Julie gets
points for her eagle eye and stalking photography skills. I’d never met her or played against her
teams, but I played at the same time she coached and she knows my coach. I introduced myself, telling her where I
played, and she was very nice and seemed pleased to talk to me. She looks fantastic at (then) 77-years
old. I will admit as I walked away, I
was sweating a little. She’s a legend,
after all! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jFEfT_CzDTo28ztV9rzae4mivZog7PiVBxtXWwvQtUCyRdaBCTzxbDpp2GvvmQclXChuR3upLknwEi-ueGdXRNo0ADq3F8N03HC5bSKW_ou3WDSBAzjHSo2J0TAo6eZp4N-x115ifQ/s1600/84_JodyConradt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="743" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jFEfT_CzDTo28ztV9rzae4mivZog7PiVBxtXWwvQtUCyRdaBCTzxbDpp2GvvmQclXChuR3upLknwEi-ueGdXRNo0ADq3F8N03HC5bSKW_ou3WDSBAzjHSo2J0TAo6eZp4N-x115ifQ/s320/84_JodyConradt.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Stalking" Jody Conradt</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Airport</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">. Austin’s airport had some fun shops that we
perused before taking off. We had a
close call on our connecting flight through Atlanta. As we landed, I checked my watch and saw that
our flight home was boarding. I ran
ahead to save a spot for the others but they held the plane for us. Again, sweating! Whew! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7LcmJmHMArwIWqqpiXkqfhdVyCQQSaaHW_JKVZyA9Mgjyk9o4MYNI8bM71v851vSP848mBcY9pnbcc36BUCWsL4R-9r7eQHjxKeRWQpnwO-XY-DfweVSA1cp1AdoE2j_vvb2NlDy6VA/s1600/86_JOcoffeecup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7LcmJmHMArwIWqqpiXkqfhdVyCQQSaaHW_JKVZyA9Mgjyk9o4MYNI8bM71v851vSP848mBcY9pnbcc36BUCWsL4R-9r7eQHjxKeRWQpnwO-XY-DfweVSA1cp1AdoE2j_vvb2NlDy6VA/s320/86_JOcoffeecup.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birthday girl</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Julie may not have been thrilled to turn 50, but I’m
thankful she allowed me to come along for a fun weekend.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I hope she enjoyed herself – I know I
did!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yeee haw!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-70424517136431684462019-05-08T12:51:00.001-04:002019-06-03T12:26:35.794-04:00#476 The Year of 50: Dungeons and Dragons<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This entire trip was definitely a tale of two cities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What a contrast between tiny Montegiove, Italy, population 95, and the
bustling city of Ljubljana, Slovenia, with just under 300,000 residents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ljubljana
is the capital and largest city in Slovenia.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">After World War II, it became the capital of the Socialist Republic of
Slovenia, part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Slovenia became an independent country in 1991
and is part of the European Union.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">But
enough about the history, let’s get back to the second week of the trip!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Besides
the contrast in size and inhabitants, there was quite a disparity in the
temperatures.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Tucked in the mountains,
Montegiove was warm during the day, but comfortably cool in the mornings and
evenings.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Ljubljana was just plain
hot.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Stiflingly hot.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">And our hotel air conditioner didn’t work
well.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tammy and I slept in the first morning and spent the afternoon wandering and getting a feel
for the city. Since we were trapped on a
train the day before, we needed our exercise and decided to climb to the top of
the hill to tour the </span><a href="https://www.ljubljanskigrad.si/en/the-ljubljana-castle/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ljubljana Castle</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">. It's quite interesting with many different features: a photography exhibit, puppets, dungeons and the castle tower, which provided a spectacular
view of the city and river below. And we
quickly learned that Ljubljana is the <a href="https://www.visitljubljana.com/en/visitors/things-to-do/entertainment/article/ljubljana-city-of-dragons/">city
of dragons</a>. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnKNH2fGPys-uJsZAXQ5_eFCPM92rh-tTw_gj_4Z65TXb0truT03WbtSmqVmks4GWsz__uw-i0On_l_cmKCEwSmwiRr3cREAShM2x6pPRqYh5nbCSLaaqZxyk_7zEMBIfj3DWT3fLWZA/s1600/197_river+view.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnKNH2fGPys-uJsZAXQ5_eFCPM92rh-tTw_gj_4Z65TXb0truT03WbtSmqVmks4GWsz__uw-i0On_l_cmKCEwSmwiRr3cREAShM2x6pPRqYh5nbCSLaaqZxyk_7zEMBIfj3DWT3fLWZA/s320/197_river+view.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lovely view of the Ljubjanica River</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JpsXxkS8i3Z479GbHb8mNiXkndOVE3vAlx-sJ7675kfbHvOvecybDC6yCX-YKc-xjRgDzowOwPKZ8IXfFXY7pi08vBZGNaxd5vF5txPceuh04k-3OZbDK6efVkF_6N2kRvwXR-smyQ/s1600/224_dragon+statue.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JpsXxkS8i3Z479GbHb8mNiXkndOVE3vAlx-sJ7675kfbHvOvecybDC6yCX-YKc-xjRgDzowOwPKZ8IXfFXY7pi08vBZGNaxd5vF5txPceuh04k-3OZbDK6efVkF_6N2kRvwXR-smyQ/s320/224_dragon+statue.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the dragons at the Dragon Bridge</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">After
a huge dinner of goulash and a side salad that could have served as a main
course (I ate every bit of it), we relaxed on a boat tour of the Ljubljanica
River. We capped the night off with an
Aperol Spritz at </span><a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g274873-d8758246-Reviews-Lockal-Ljubljana_Upper_Carniola_Region.html"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Lockal</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">, a bar located
near the </span><a href="https://www.visitljubljana.com/en/visitors/things-to-do/sightseeing/butchers-bridge/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Butcher’s Bridge</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">, also called the
Love Bridge. Similar to bridges in Paris
and Venice, lovers put a padlock on the bridge as a symbol of
their eternal love. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipl1wadWGlgGzfTnHXZJ3Y8B07R_pePJDWxPaAx-VYKoiQVNYoM0b9bRnNg4j73WhUfISRlynM2kYDQK-_0BxBLTG6ICPni18SYVyGP9LSM27Sks5WEwfYJ_Hu62Jr1VEI5P2MAn8hqQ/s1600/227_goulash+with+polenta+and+salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipl1wadWGlgGzfTnHXZJ3Y8B07R_pePJDWxPaAx-VYKoiQVNYoM0b9bRnNg4j73WhUfISRlynM2kYDQK-_0BxBLTG6ICPni18SYVyGP9LSM27Sks5WEwfYJ_Hu62Jr1VEI5P2MAn8hqQ/s320/227_goulash+with+polenta+and+salad.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goulash and polenta, with a "side" salad. Delicious!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuNSJCecw688zNmoftnp9BQbVIqAQqM2XQlCxiUFevuhe-V_rV8ZddhfvkaaRm-lGnAVvRRF7o4O0f3tgnVtWgAvmnsiE12_24KNw-wuE0VioAwVfXKdhXZxPvdOjSrNwZkJqUHRXtgQ/s1600/220_boat+ride.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuNSJCecw688zNmoftnp9BQbVIqAQqM2XQlCxiUFevuhe-V_rV8ZddhfvkaaRm-lGnAVvRRF7o4O0f3tgnVtWgAvmnsiE12_24KNw-wuE0VioAwVfXKdhXZxPvdOjSrNwZkJqUHRXtgQ/s320/220_boat+ride.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love Bridge</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
next morning we explored more of the surrounding city area by kayaking on the
river for a couple hours.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">It was nice to
get away from the hustle and bustle and see houses and gardens.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I even saw the backside of a naked older man in
the distance as he worked in his garden.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">You never know what you might see out in the
“wild.”</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9VC1psKIG3U700GLu2PLVGa8_1KGc-UG10clpB4qXe2_B2PN5ETrXNim3qKchs0Ys3R-jtwhQC2gq_D94mdwOGhlGdD4aSZDxjLqehipFljnkGtm_swxQphHw6foo8dbhNyaSmtYgmg/s1600/LG+kayaking.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9VC1psKIG3U700GLu2PLVGa8_1KGc-UG10clpB4qXe2_B2PN5ETrXNim3qKchs0Ys3R-jtwhQC2gq_D94mdwOGhlGdD4aSZDxjLqehipFljnkGtm_swxQphHw6foo8dbhNyaSmtYgmg/s320/LG+kayaking.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Our
evening consisted of a “free” city bike tour.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We noticed the ad in our hotel and emailed to make a “reservation.”</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I inquired if they had bikes big enough for
Tammy (who is 6’3”) and myself.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Of
course!” we were told.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
arrived at the instructed meeting point and met our group, consisting mainly of
younger guys staying in the local hostel.
Jan, our guide, walked us to a parking garage where he kept the bikes in
a locked closet. I tried to not be a bike
snob, but these bikes were less than ideal.
And not large enough for Tammy and me.
We made do on the 2 ½ hour tour.
They were rusty and had low (or even flat) tires. As I rode along, I thought, “This is a risk-management
person’s nightmare.” No waivers. No helmets.
I put my fears aside and enjoyed the tour. Jan was informative and entertaining. What a rebel I was with no helmet! After the tour, we had a nice dinner at </span><a href="http://www.restavracija-most.si/index.php/sl/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Most</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">, not far from the
Lock Bridge. (This restaurant was so
good, we went back again the next night.) </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SRCqQto4OXPvuxvUG4v9nyLnk3X_ENOhVeS-Ux2rmjRmNfD5KpxUqORoCmsQzoRPAn_QkR9Tobxpk6ToPAG-wYsXJAPZMLOmDBghDxAAZvCdhJbcZHhQldhZS_ckszLpoyX1bhyphenhyphenyoQ/s1600/267_bike+tour_LG%252C+Tammy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SRCqQto4OXPvuxvUG4v9nyLnk3X_ENOhVeS-Ux2rmjRmNfD5KpxUqORoCmsQzoRPAn_QkR9Tobxpk6ToPAG-wYsXJAPZMLOmDBghDxAAZvCdhJbcZHhQldhZS_ckszLpoyX1bhyphenhyphenyoQ/s320/267_bike+tour_LG%252C+Tammy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a break along the Ljubljanica River</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Our
third day was a big one – traveling almost 60 kilometers to </span><a href="http://www.bled.si/en/what-to-see/natural-sights/the-vintgar-gorge"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Vintgar Gorge</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">. We took a taxi and arrived early to beat the
crowds, and I’m thankful we did. You can
enter from either end, but after walking from one end to the other, we needed
to go back from whence we came to catch our ride. It was way more crowded on the walk back and
not as peaceful. Our walking tour took
about two hours total. We didn’t rush,
but could have spent more time there if we didn’t have to catch our
taxi. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZTVuBJMQVKm1eya3v_tyQ7emxdx9jiKyZCrwrwpvFVacj8X_krSkH7rWVqRhnLkw3zSWkk63FVH57TGjfoP69QStJzjW_elc1f_xay3qGD4lDMfjyVQktQyxISs4RMUERvndjIHHig/s1600/282_gorge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZTVuBJMQVKm1eya3v_tyQ7emxdx9jiKyZCrwrwpvFVacj8X_krSkH7rWVqRhnLkw3zSWkk63FVH57TGjfoP69QStJzjW_elc1f_xay3qGD4lDMfjyVQktQyxISs4RMUERvndjIHHig/s320/282_gorge.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
highly recommend visiting the gorge.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">It
was wonderfully cool after a few days in the city heat.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The experience was absolutely beautiful -
peaceful with the sun streaming through the rocks as it rose overhead, yet
powerful with the water rushing through the jagged rocks and the roaring
waterfalls.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Our
driver dropped us off at our second stop – </span><a href="https://www.slovenia.info/en/places-to-go/attractions/bled"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Lake Bled</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">, which is 6 kilometers south of the gorge. Lake Bled
is like being in a fairy tale. Which is what Tammy said about 20 times during our afternoon there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We </span>toured<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.bled.si/en/what-to-see/cultural-sights/the-bled-castle">Bled Castle</a> and then d</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">ecided to
walk all the way around the lake. The
path around the lake is approximately 7 km. We
were told it takes one and-a-half hours to walk around the lake
straightaway. We took our time, stopping
to explore different sites along the way. I didn’t
realize how close to the edge of the lake the path would be, and how tourists
just jumped into the lake wherever they wished.
There is a dedicated beach area, but otherwise, it’s a free-for-all. I wish I’d worn a bathing suite under my
clothes. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxN5N7w8WVgOdgMhMx-VW4DazBtuIykRT4tPOGj301WD-LITmRr12pmHC__EvRmzbepEe29CsTV3wcv-RwHF8Uyp_ANvfqc1g43E0jqYo1iLXDizlEVwbCxWkwG4OduuNvyknLeMFewQ/s1600/320_bled+castle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxN5N7w8WVgOdgMhMx-VW4DazBtuIykRT4tPOGj301WD-LITmRr12pmHC__EvRmzbepEe29CsTV3wcv-RwHF8Uyp_ANvfqc1g43E0jqYo1iLXDizlEVwbCxWkwG4OduuNvyknLeMFewQ/s320/320_bled+castle.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Bled Castle</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tammy
had heard about a scenic spot at the top of a hill with an aerial view
of the entire lake.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Of course, we had to
see it.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">There are actually two hills (</span><a href="https://www.bledoscope.com/mala-osojnica/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ojstrica and Mala Osojnica</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">).</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> We took one of the paths and </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I believe we chose the former.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">It took us 30 minutes to hike up and 30 more
minutes to get back down.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The path is
very steep in places, and very rocky.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Though strenuous, the hike was pleasant due to the cover of the
trees.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Occasionally we would pass other
hikers headed down the hill and ask, “How much further?” or “Is it worth
it?”</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We received varied answers as to
the hike’s length, but everyone agreed that the hike was worth it.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">So we kept on.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then we saw this. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUNtqDLWarVbzk_L7cilIQMPWVyKJeOi60bNuzvUq_rm2uWPhfKZNVZZK2K4NdfUzMLUC89_hxwiETlOM6MLDQttqGPP2TyOww7cfodrHUgqA90YgJ5td7BNogdwWN0BHq56kmIQnCoQ/s1600/324_stairs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUNtqDLWarVbzk_L7cilIQMPWVyKJeOi60bNuzvUq_rm2uWPhfKZNVZZK2K4NdfUzMLUC89_hxwiETlOM6MLDQttqGPP2TyOww7cfodrHUgqA90YgJ5td7BNogdwWN0BHq56kmIQnCoQ/s320/324_stairs.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wish I had a photo of my face upon seeing these stairs. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We </span>conquered<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> the stairs, but found a new challenge in that the path became more confusing and w</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">e walked around in circles a
bit before finding the lookout point.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">As you can see, this view was definitely worth it.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
trip down the hill was a little more uneventful. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">And even though I didn’t wear my bathing suit,
I took a dip in the lake anyway.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
jumped in wearing my quick-drying hiking shorts and sports bra.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">It felt amazing and I know I smelled better
after the long hike.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">After
that climb, we rewarded ourselves with lunch and the famous Lake Bled cream cake.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Our last adventure of the day was taking a
boat to the <a href="https://travelslovenia.org/church-of-the-assumption-of-mary-bled/" target="_blank">Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary</a> on Bled Island (could the name be any longer??).</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tammy wanted to rent a boat to row ourselves
to the church.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The price was the same,
but I was happy to let someone else power the boat after our hike. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">If I ever make it back there, I’d love to try
the SUP to the island.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Another risk-management
nightmare – no life jackets on the boat!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">There are 99 steps from the dock of the island up to the church grounds. You can get married at the church, and it's said that if the groom carries the bride up the 99 steps, they will have a long and happy marriage. And the bride must remain perfectly silent. I'm sure that's an interesting experience. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj20r1EKCHAzCaVz8GW6wDDVIC1EYfcwgXviSbF72j_HSFKGQ89kvpgQI2pIvkX1VKDNV8_bZ8IewB1VNmhm-07xa0T3A3hZaWyGS-NFE2XUmlDhkSS6PQ32sHtOwEans4CzWbjzjw48Q/s1600/330_church+on+the+island+stairs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj20r1EKCHAzCaVz8GW6wDDVIC1EYfcwgXviSbF72j_HSFKGQ89kvpgQI2pIvkX1VKDNV8_bZ8IewB1VNmhm-07xa0T3A3hZaWyGS-NFE2XUmlDhkSS6PQ32sHtOwEans4CzWbjzjw48Q/s320/330_church+on+the+island+stairs.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Agh! More steps! These are the 99 steps at the church.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
will note here that we took a bus back to Ljubljana.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Time was not an issue on our return and it
was much cheaper than a taxi.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
spent the rest of our time in Ljubljana doing a little more biking (we rented
from a hostel), checking out the market and other shops, and enjoying the
city.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">My
intent was to write about my trip sooner.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">However, due to my lateness, I am able to share a story from a few
months ago.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I attended a local travel
expo and while browsing, I overheard one of the men from a travel company tell
a couple, “There’s not much to do in Slovenia.”</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">After they finished speaking with him, I walked up behind them and admitted
I had overheard what he said to them.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The man immediately said, “That’s not true!” and we laughed as we compared
our visits. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Slovenia
was never on my list of places to go.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’m
thankful it was on Tammy’s radar and that I agreed to accompany her. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I would recommend it to anyone, especially first-time
European travelers.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> It's easy to get around in the city, </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">with a lot to do in Ljubljana proper, and within a
relatively short driving distance.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Most
everyone speaks English.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">All the
restaurants we went to had English menus.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">It may not be the easiest place to get to (from Italy anyway), but it’s
well worth the effort.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Just like the fantastic
view of Lake Bled.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-28226883914458869832019-03-20T17:11:00.000-04:002019-03-20T17:11:14.977-04:00#475 The Year of 50: Trains, Buses and Automobiles<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOIcwnqiTl6FaDLfF1IE-TiQ023324DqtEctD38zt9_yKzw6WC7f0Lv8bQDo0pj4lQpT7E4Ux-nnPXUGbL9-EhZY9l4O_lK8iwF3CtguSbC6GUPAJykWVm_jLZjqRvcEBzN_M-RAOy4Q/s1600/194_sign+at+Ljubljana+hotel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOIcwnqiTl6FaDLfF1IE-TiQ023324DqtEctD38zt9_yKzw6WC7f0Lv8bQDo0pj4lQpT7E4Ux-nnPXUGbL9-EhZY9l4O_lK8iwF3CtguSbC6GUPAJykWVm_jLZjqRvcEBzN_M-RAOy4Q/s320/194_sign+at+Ljubljana+hotel.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sign at our hotel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">After
a relaxing week in Italy, Tammy and I moved on to part two of our adventure –
Ljubljana, Slovenia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Our
first order of business was readying the apartment for our departure.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">The instructions requested that we leave
nothing in the refrigerator.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I hate to
waste food, and even though we had a smorgasbord for dinner the night before
and had a hearty breakfast the morning of our departure, we still didn’t consume
everything.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">We stuffed cereal, bread, prosciutto, cheese, fruit and vegetables in our
bags for the long train ride, and gave the milk and extra yogurt to Mara (not only did she make our
splendid Italian feast, but she showed up to clean the place too).</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We
dropped the rental car off in Chiusi and caught a train to Trieste, a seaport
town in the far northeastern corner of Italy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The trip was over six hours and we realized about an hour in that there
was no food or drink service on the train.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was a regional train and apparently we were the only crazy people to
stay on it that long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank goodness for
our bags of food!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I rationed my water
for the duration of the trip. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
tempted to hop off during one of the many stops along the way and get water,
but didn’t want to get left behind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">After
arriving in Trieste we found a great restaurant, </span><a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187813-d13171230-Reviews-Cio_La_Emporio_del_Gusto-Trieste_Province_of_Trieste_Friuli_Venezia_Giulia.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ciò Là - Emporio
del Gusto</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good food and a friendly owner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The calm before the storm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
bought a Flixbus tickets from Trieste to Ljubljana ahead of time, so we just had
to find the bus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How hard could it
be?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Never ask that question.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We found the bus station, but no one could
tell us where the bus to Ljubljana would be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The bus station board didn’t show it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We wandered back and forth asking everyone, finally finding a young
woman and her mother from Finland waiting for the same bus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They mentioned that the bus that took them from
Ljubljana to Trieste that morning was two hours late.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things were not looking good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Our
bus was supposed to leave at 8:45 p.m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One bus did arrive, but all hope was shattered when we realized it
wasn’t ours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We pleaded with them to
let us on, as it, too, was headed to Ljubljana, but we were denied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They also couldn’t tell us where the other
bus was or when it would arrive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At 9:45
p.m., still no bus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would this bus be
two hours late?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or more?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We didn’t want to take the chance, so Tammy
sprang into action and found a taxi to drive us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was around two hours and we paid a total
of 160 euros.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily, the Finnish women
agreed go with us and we split the cost four ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We arrived at our hotel by 11:30 p.m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mamma mia!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Our
hotel was nice enough, but what a shock to go from a spacious, three-bedroom
apartment to a cramped hotel room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
were spoiled!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I fell into bed, thankful
again that I had made it, but missing the swimming pool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333316501040871504.post-32923279463436536502019-03-05T21:12:00.000-05:002019-03-13T15:52:48.241-04:00#474 The Year of 50: Mamma Mia!<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Last year, my friend Tammy had <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>talked for months about renting a castle for
her 50<sup>th</sup> birthday and inviting various friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Initially she looked at a location in France,
but decided on a fabulous place in Italy – <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.castellomontegiove.com/">Castello di Montegiove</a></span>,
located in the Umbria region halfway between Florence and Rome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I flew into Rome and met Tammy and her friend Jenny at
the airport.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They both teach at the
International School in Moscow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
rented cars and drove two hours to the castle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After stopping in Fabro for groceries and gelato, we made it to the
castle, which is nestled in the commune of Montegiove.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I had seen photos of the castle, grounds and
surrounding countryside before I arrived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was one of those situations where you see it online, and it looks
amazing, and you hope it’s that amazing when you get there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve heard the stories where it’s not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we approached the castle on the winding
roads, our eyes got bigger and bigger, and our mouths might have even dropped
open a bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything I had seen online
was just as incredible in person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf82g1XfqkJt93kyA3zXdd9-8XEG9BQWrSbhgS6owmpiVZtD0poT5IRTIAXS7nK3bfmi33cGknX4Ldlq26TZF874LdOt1aCieXsgRuHewZ3i49LPvKEOYiuI0QDkBnNs7GhXaJykqsAQ/s1600/03_castle+arial_LI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf82g1XfqkJt93kyA3zXdd9-8XEG9BQWrSbhgS6owmpiVZtD0poT5IRTIAXS7nK3bfmi33cGknX4Ldlq26TZF874LdOt1aCieXsgRuHewZ3i49LPvKEOYiuI0QDkBnNs7GhXaJykqsAQ/s320/03_castle+arial_LI.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The castle and our apartment (circled)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ajOMeZPK6emOwwO2zUvPqXvdW61jS0kEDWYfxGGgk2GJN-2ZtS-d4UlJfq6APHVxD3vWuYs5DU-5yGv7G8nHRi7xRaVm5GAH1bdNKp9cVnt52VfTVC4FrA0SqNRw4nMDDgwgIAX3xA/s1600/62_wine+tour+arch.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ajOMeZPK6emOwwO2zUvPqXvdW61jS0kEDWYfxGGgk2GJN-2ZtS-d4UlJfq6APHVxD3vWuYs5DU-5yGv7G8nHRi7xRaVm5GAH1bdNKp9cVnt52VfTVC4FrA0SqNRw4nMDDgwgIAX3xA/s320/62_wine+tour+arch.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking out from the castle grounds. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirQX0u9UqjLbwNjPSKBggw8SbzcLCXWl_pHvr8jgl0csIf-GFNDliSTeGVMtlz7uwngNgC8jvdrCvoIO8oEKj_PB-wyU5URAPfY3MvoOT1lgQifrHaqfNhjDcK05NuAzm7WeapF6fxsA/s1600/176_window+at+sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirQX0u9UqjLbwNjPSKBggw8SbzcLCXWl_pHvr8jgl0csIf-GFNDliSTeGVMtlz7uwngNgC8jvdrCvoIO8oEKj_PB-wyU5URAPfY3MvoOT1lgQifrHaqfNhjDcK05NuAzm7WeapF6fxsA/s320/176_window+at+sunset.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset through one of the Il Maraiolo windows. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Castello<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span>di<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span>Montegiove<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> is a family-owned property with
a castle, rental properties, farm and vineyard.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Owners Lorenzo </span>Misciattelli<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and his wife, </span>Rikke<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">, live in the actual castle.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">They moved to the property from Denmark in
2002.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lorenzo’s great grandfather owned
the castle and Lorenzo would visit him over the summer as a child.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s quite the estate.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Tammy booked <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.castellomontegiove.com/il-moraiolo/">Il Maraiolo</a></span>,
the largest of the apartments (converted from olive mills), hoping more of her
friends could make it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It sleeps six, so
with only the three of us able to go (and two more arriving later in the week),
we each had our own room for most of the week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The first day traveling to Europe is always
exhausting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My flight took off in the
evening and after the overnight flight, I arrived at 9 a.m. the next day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never sleep well on a plane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Supposedly the best way to overcome jet lag
is to immediately conform to the time zone to which you just arrived and go to
bed at your usual time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No naps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Difficult to do, but it works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For this trip I got a little boost from the
infinity pool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Italy is oppressively hot
in the summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Heat and fatigue are a
powerful combination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We took a dip at
around 5 p.m. and the cool, refreshing water revived my body and spirit enough
to stay up until dark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Someone asked me what my most memorable moment of the
trip was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were so many.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The one that immediately springs to mind is that
first day in the pool, arms folded on the infinity edge, looking out over the
rolling countryside, thinking, “Ahhhhh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
made it!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixm7dD4X30WcTrzI7KrTBaexH4ga9zoOqGZpshjIKWVht1yrg2QwyZvLDfp49R9bVrvkHNfPnDgVh5XrQt6Oe_JImnCdugOwuUM4VXkEKZT56R47dr78YJwXrjwQa4aipy6M6T4zYPVQ/s1600/12_pool+_7_22.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixm7dD4X30WcTrzI7KrTBaexH4ga9zoOqGZpshjIKWVht1yrg2QwyZvLDfp49R9bVrvkHNfPnDgVh5XrQt6Oe_JImnCdugOwuUM4VXkEKZT56R47dr78YJwXrjwQa4aipy6M6T4zYPVQ/s320/12_pool+_7_22.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pool was on the opposite side of the grounds from our apartment. What a view!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">During the next week at the castle, we fell into a
routine of a leisurely breakfast, yoga, walks, pool time, reading, writing, and
visits to the local wine bar, <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/labottegadimemmoegilda/">La Bottega di Memmo e
Gilda</a></span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only places within
a short walking distance from our apartment were a church and the wine
bar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We heard the church bells
constantly and frequented the wine bar for dinner multiple times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We had dinners in and out, with our most memorable
being a traditional Italian dinner of lasagna, chicken, zucchini and eggplant,
and salad made in our kitchen by Mara, a local from the commune.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For dessert?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A pan of tiramisu
with a candle that played, “Happy Birthday” when you lit it (for Tammy).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNTWBByRKCdwi6x-Z8qKphi6XFOnyEiqSAPUbpNknmwpVa92-XZ4Dy89CEcXYIZM4vokTQYzLNvDxwe_UPxNvR_M9pAuAAwLuy4l9kOiV4HxkYs1luME5mttEFcQkEu2Owsn6m7q3-Q/s1600/178_Italian+feast%252C+group.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNTWBByRKCdwi6x-Z8qKphi6XFOnyEiqSAPUbpNknmwpVa92-XZ4Dy89CEcXYIZM4vokTQYzLNvDxwe_UPxNvR_M9pAuAAwLuy4l9kOiV4HxkYs1luME5mttEFcQkEu2Owsn6m7q3-Q/s320/178_Italian+feast%252C+group.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buon Compleanno Tammy!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Our evenings were low key.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One night we watched <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Under The Tuscan Sun</i> (Tammy had never seen it!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other nights we played games.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
brought UNO and Spot It.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Laughter rang
through the apartment each night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tammy’s friend Jenny, and later joining us, Dana and her son, Benjamin,
were so much fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’d think a
13-year-old boy would be bored hanging out with not only his mom, but three
other “older” women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is a delightful
kid and seemed to have a great time with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He isn’t your “typical” teenage boy though – he and Dana currently live
in Kenya.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sent him home with my Spot
It game and he was so appreciative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“But
you love this game!” he told me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes,
but I can easily get another game at Target.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s a little more difficult to order one from Amazon to be delivered to
Kenya.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As lovely as the castle and grounds were, we did get
out and see other sites in the area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.fonteverdespa.com/en/spa-tuscany/1-0.html">Fonteverde</a></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
spa in San Casciano dei Bagni.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tammy
wanted to get a massage, so who was I to argue?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We each had a separate, hour-long massage and then lounged in the
thermal pools, which were wonderful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Check out the website for the incredible scenery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Day
trip to <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.italia.it/en/travel-ideas/lakes/lake-trasimeno-and-its-villages.html#prettyPhoto">Lake
Trasimeno</a></span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We heard that
Colin Firth has a house on/near the lake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We walked along a paved bike trail and saw sunflowers as far as the eye
could see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next time I would love to
explore some of the towns around the lake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Day
trip to <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/orvieto-what-an-italian-hill-town-should-be">Orvieto</a></span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a walled city with a beautiful <a href="https://www.orvietoviva.com/en/the-duomo-of-orvieto/">duomo</a> in the
center.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along with strolling through the
streets, we took in a panoramic view of the city and surrounding countryside
from the top of the <a href="https://www.orvietoviva.com/en/torre-del-moro/">Torre
del Moro</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hike
to <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVWMW-RNie4">Greppolischieto</a></span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We chose one of the shorter trails from the
castle and hiked a couple hours to this tiny village.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We saw a few cars and motorcycles while
walking on the dirt road, but once we got to the village, we saw no one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From what I can tell, it’s a place full of
rentals and no one actually lives there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was cool to look across the hills and see the castle from whence we
came.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="file:///E:/Blog/La%20Scarzuola">La Scarzuola</a></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This unique site is right down the road
from the castle/village.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We took a tour
and it is a fascinating place!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve never seen
anything like it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tour guide was
quite entertaining as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Some funny happenings in Italy – Each night before going
to sleep, I read in bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One night, I
saw something crawl on the floor out from under my bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a SCORPION.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I promptly grabbed my flip flop and pounded
it to death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was at around 10
p.m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rikke had told us to be on the
lookout for scorpions, but let us know they weren’t poisonous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, it was startling to actually see one
that close.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next morning I told
Jenny and Tammy, and Jenny asked, “Is that what I heard last night?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some have asked me how I went to sleep after
that happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I shone my flashlight
under the bed and all around the room, saw nothing, and fell fast asleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The second time we visited the wine bar, Tammy walked
through the door in front of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
owner’s mother was inside with two of her friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She saw Tammy and her eyes travelled from
Tammy’s feet up to her head and her eyes grew large.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I walked in behind Tammy, her eyes got
even bigger and she exclaimed, “Mamma mia!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We all burst out laughing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tammy
speaks a little Italian so she conversed with the ladies a bit, but our
communication mostly consisted of laughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">On our last night, Tammy and I moved the patio chairs
so we could lounge and watch the Blood Moon lunar eclipse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was very cool and we were lucky to see it,
as it wasn’t visible in North America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What a way to end our first week of her birthday celebration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoaLnmkYuT_ULfudzlvKvGVZnOXKTPPYULfq9Sbh_Azbc12DbgUd7PJecya-OGBNtOdRDFUeRHnfV8ftWWyEKuof6ZTp-xuF7g-nJcsJkc4bncy3LWjCgYdUA2fX1ou1eOy_MkL5hoNQ/s1600/190_blood+moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoaLnmkYuT_ULfudzlvKvGVZnOXKTPPYULfq9Sbh_Azbc12DbgUd7PJecya-OGBNtOdRDFUeRHnfV8ftWWyEKuof6ZTp-xuF7g-nJcsJkc4bncy3LWjCgYdUA2fX1ou1eOy_MkL5hoNQ/s320/190_blood+moon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The moon is right in the center. This wasn't the closest moon photo, but I liked the trees.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Along with wanting to stay in a castle, Tammy wanted to visit Slovenia.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">She’d heard so
many good things about it, so I agreed to accompany her for a second week of
adventure.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">And what an adventure it was!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<br />Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13107376806514564400noreply@blogger.com1