Sounds great Stu, have a great time. Thanks Corey. My apology is really more that I have been scarce here after making so many friends here and meeting so many of you. I hope to remedy that quickly.
Got back home this evening. Had a great vacation and even got to go to Seattle and see the Mariners play Tampa Bay. Gonna take a few days to get reprinted but here we are.
Well we are home, but hot in the process of a 80th Birthday party for my sister-in-law, wife's sister, where we have over 80 people coming from all over the country. She is a remarkable woman who is greatly responsible for our move here. She now lives in our cabin right next door to our house. Remarkable in many ways, for instance she has 15 - 20 grandchildren. As they were growing up she used to have almost all of them here at her house every summer for about a month. They would work around the house in the morning then play in the afternoon. Carmen would take them rafting, she even got certified to lead on rafts, tubing, sliding rock, tubing, hiking and many other activities. Most of them will be here for the party. Anyway through the weekend we are now tied up with this activity. Best to all, will check in next week with my thoughts on football, College World Series, and even the ladies softball College World Series which was a bitter disappointment for the Gators but the Championship still resides in the state of Florida.
Haven't come here because internet minutes are limited and they get burned quickly by very slow service on the ship. Having a great time. Highlight so far was today (Edinburgh Castle). Tomorrow we are at sea and then Sunday going to the Landing Beaches in Normandy. Losing money in the casino. It's not gambling unless you plan on winning.
We went on a cruise last year and due to past experience I avoided the casino except to walk through on the way to somewhere else. Besides they smoked in there.
Finally made it to Philly for nephew’s wedding this afternoon. Starting the trip home tomorrow. Will have slept in 16 different beds by the time we get home.
Went to Normandy yesterday. Saw Gold Beach and the remnants of the Mulberry Harbor that the British erected there. Then saw the American Cemetery, Omaha, and Pointe Du Hoc. Very moving experience. Now back in Southampton but going to disembark and head for Paris this afternoon. Prior stops were at Guernsey, Blarney (yes, I kissed the Blarney Stone), Dublin, Liverpool, Belfast, Glasgow, and as mentioned before, Edinburgh. Missed our stop in Inverness because a storm and high winds prevented docking.
Well our trip, certainly not as exciting as Stu's has finally come to an end. For stats fans: We traveled 4069 miles We were in 16 states and 2 Canadian provences Traveled on 18 interstates We spent 67+ hrs. in the car We slept in 16 different beds. It's great to be home and I can't wait to see my chiropractor tomorrow.
Spent last two days in Paris. Beautiful architecture. Otherwise kinda weird. Heard Parisans don’t like Americans but many were very helpful stepping in to guide us in the subway, etc. Had one nice server when eating out. Others were all terrible. Rented a small flat near St..Paul’s. 4 stories with spiral staircase. Yuck. Saw the usual outdoor stuff and the Monet Museum. Louvre closed on Tuesdays which probably was best since couldn’t have seen much of it during short visit. Today take Eurostar back to London. Renting another flat there.
In less grand ventures... I'm taking Carson down to Montgomery today and we'll be spending the night and attending his College Orientation on Thursday. To add to the fun, I'll be bringing Harlow with me. Momma gets a full day off from us. The real fun so far was trying to find a hotel that didn't have a review of 'found blood on sheets, found dead hard frog in my room etc. We finally found one. I'll be checking out spots for JOCO and Mom for when they (hopefully) make it out this way for when Carson moves in on campus. Should be fun, could be a disaster.