Statue of St Sofia
After three days on our own, and a move to a new hotel, we finally joined up with the Gate 1 tour group. Our new temporary residence is the Kempinski Hotel Zografski Sofia. This 5 star hotel has a lovely view, is modern and more luxurious than our previous hotel, but the location is further from the center of town. Continue reading
The Central Baths (Tsentraina Bania), Sofia, Bulgaria
In September, 2011 we set off for a two-week excursion to explore the Balkans. When we travel we are open to doing it on our own with little preplanned, or booking a tour, or a combination of the two. In this case we booked a packaged tour with Gate 1, but flew into Sofia, Bulgaria three days early so we could recover from jet lag and do a bit of exploring on our own before meeting up with the group. Continue reading
Varadero Beach
After spending a week in and around Havana, we traveled about 75 miles east to Varadero Beach. Varadero is a resort town in the province of Matanzas. It is situated on a long (12 miles), narrow (3/4 mile) peninsula. Also called Playa Azul (Blue Beach), it is one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean. Known as a tourism area famed for its sandy beaches, it was a favorite hangout for famous Americans such as Al Capone and the millionaire Dupont. Continue reading
Museum of the Revolution
Housed in what was the former Presidential Palace up until 1959, the Museum of the Revolution is located in Old Havana, just a short walk from our hotel. It is listed as a “must see” for Cuba, and was included in our tour. The museum details the time frame when Cuba’s president Fulgencio Batista was in office, through the Cuban Revolution when Castro took control, the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The admission fee was low (approximately $6), but they did charge extra if you wanted to take pictures inside. The building when in its prime was lavishly decorated, in part by Tiffany’s of New York. Continue reading
Havana, Cuba
Since it will still be about three months before we do any international traveling, I thought it would be fun to share a few of our more recent trips to give you an idea of what travel looks like through the eye of my camera.
Last year just before my mom came to live with us, we joined a small group tour organized by James Lewis (jameslewisrn.com) to Cuba. It was a legal and licensed people-to-people trip structured for those in the medical profession to get continuing education credits, interact with others in the medical field in Cuba, and donate some medical supplies. We each took with us a small amount of supplies chosen from a list we were provided prior to leaving. Continue reading
Nope, definitely not Kansas
I have a tendency to overuse “other worldly” in describing places that are different, or spooky, or look like I could be on another planet. In this case – I stand by this description. Continue reading
Well, I am a bit of a light weight when it comes to hitting the trails. One of my goals is to get into better physical condition so that I can take on tougher terrain, but for now the easy and moderate level is my comfort zone.
Here is the list of hikes we chose from.
The name Bumpass Hell sounded intimidating, but in fact was listed as a moderate level, 3 mile hike (round trip) with around 300 feet of elevation change. It was at a higher elevation than I was used to ranging from 8100 to 8400 feet. So bright and early, after passing a surprisingly restful evening in our stripped down cabin, we headed out. Continue reading
We have just returned from a wonderful 10 day road trip to Southern Oregon and back home via Eastern California. Earlier this year we made this same trip north traveling along the California coastline. What contrast!
Driving Highway 1 is all about the ocean, beaches, cool weather and finally up north, the giant redwoods. This time inland we experienced heat, dessert and mountains. Having never been to Lassen Volcanic National Park, this seemed like the perfect time to correct that! Continue reading
OK, so our home has now been sold, we have moved out and are eagerly awaiting getting on the road.
Our son is taking over our business for us, so my husband will be spending some blocks of time over the next few months getting Dane comfortable with running the company. Tim and I started the company in 1991. The company consumed us for many years, often 16-18 hour days, 7 days a week in it’s infancy. It took that time and devotion to make it grow and eventually thrive. Like many others, we were deeply effected by the economic downturn and the company is a shadow of it’s boom-time glory. It is now time for the next generation to take the helm and create his own legacy. Continue reading
Our home has been up for sale for two weeks now. We are determined to get it sold sooner rather than later. One of the things we had to do in preparation of listing the house was to declutter. Loads of our belongings have already been given away, thrown away, donated or sold. The less we possess, the lighter I am feeling. Continue reading
A Note From Abroad 