BRADSHER’S
January saw us off to Mesa Arizona to visit my old Navy buddy and his wife. Brad & I have been friends since early 1964 when we met at a Navy school in Vallejo CA. In fact Brad and Alexis dated a few times well before I ever met either of them.
We spent the weekend reiterating old Sea Tales (that’s the Navy term for outrageous lies)😂 and catching up on the goings on in each other’s lives.
FEDERER
Alexis and I are big tennis fans but not big enough to pay the prices to swelter in the heat of the major tournaments & matches. In early February Roger Federer, long time #1 in the world was playing a charity match in San Jose against the USA#1, Jack Sock.
We thought we’d never have a better chance to see top tennis players live so we gassed the car and headdd North.
Although we have toured Roland-Garros (French Open) and Wimbledon stadiums seeing these guys and a doubles match between Fed/Bill Gates & Scck/Samantha Bee was way more exciting.
MARATHON TIME
By this time I had decided to do my annual marathon back East. I had narrowed it down to Scranton, PA (Oct 7) and Syracuse, NY (Oct 14). Both cities about equidistant from Binghamton and their marathons in a workable timeframe. But for now it’s training and as a part of that the Redondo Beach Super Bowl 10k and the Rotary, End Polio Now 10k. The training continued on a weekly basis until October.
BEATRIX
March found us in San Diego for a meeting of the Beatrix Potter Society. More Alexis’ gig than mine but I enjoy it too. Then in early April we scooted up to the San Francisco area to spend some time with our friend Judith.
WISCONSIN DELLS TO BRANSON MO.
April 22 we embarked on a trip to the Wisconsin Dells and on down to Branson Mo. Why the Dells? you might logically ask. Well, we’d never been there and are not likely to return 😊. I must say it’s a lovely area for camping, hiking, fishing and hunting but those are activities in which we no longer indulge. Also. Alexis had never been in Wisconsin and she wanted a look around.
We stayed in a Time Share in the Dells and it was below par to say the least.
While there we made a nice drive up to Chippewa Falls to visit with Julie, our babysitter of some 45 years past. We very much enjoyed that visit.
From there it was down to Branson. Again, one might ask, why!? Alexis’ cousin Debbie and family live close by and we had a delightful visit with them. Returning to Branson we soon found ourselves bored to tears. So we departed early and ran up to St. Lou in time to visit the Arch. On the drive up we went through the town of Uranus, Mo. I wanted to stop at the fudge factory but Alexis wasn’t having it!😂
We did manage to take the ride to the top of the Arch. Interesting. Below is the view from the top with the shadow across the river..
Next on our list was a “Canyon Lands” tour which took us through Salt Lake, Dead Horse Point & Moab, Utah, Canyon Lands National Park & Arches National Park.
DURANGO
Today’s schedule had us taking a scenic drive up the Million Dollar Highway and the San Juan mountains to Silverton, then taking the Silverton to Durango, narrow gauge steam train. However the 416 fire shut the train down and we had to continue on the bus, a continuing scenic drive.
Option 1, a 1.5 hour drive through the fire zone (if they let us) or option 2, a 4 hour drive around. Luckily, we were able to exercise option 1. That meant following a pilot car through about 10 miles of temporally single laned road.
Silverton, a town of only about 500 summertime residents, depends almost solely on the train and the tourists it brings for its economy. Today it was practically a ghost town. Worse yet, it was announced that fire danger will keep the train from running until the end of June. That’s an economic disaster for the town.
We will get a different train ride later in the week but our schedule is in flux due to today’s cancellation of the train.
Today we rode the Cumbres & Toltec train from Charma to Antonito, because the Durango line is shut down by the fire. This required wake up @ 5:30 am and all aboard the bus for a two hour+ trip from Durango, CO. to Chama, NM. Once there we did the usual for nearly an hour.
Because of the Durango shutdown extra cars, requiring an extra engine to pull thru the grades, were added to the run.
As we were ready to cross Lobato trestle we had to stop the train, decouple the first engine and let it cross alone. The trestle can’t take the weight of both engines.
We were on a flat stretch of track so one engine could pull it. Once the first engine was clear, the second engine pulled across with the train attached. It stopped to recouple, leaving our car, the 5th back, on the trestle.😱 within a few minutes the operation was complete and we were on our way into the hills.
It is a spectacular run through the mountains with amazing vistas that the camera can’t begin to capture. However, the trip was too long for this weary traveler. We finally pulled into Antonito a little after 4:00 pm only to load back on the bus for another three hours to Santa Fe.
By this time, yours truly was not only weary but right on the edge of churlish.
Ah well, tonight a good night’s sleep and in the morning it’s off to explore Santa Fe starting with a private tour of the Georgia O’Keeffe museum. Life is good!
We also visited Mesa Verde cliff dwellings. Some areas were too difficult for us to get to but we did get up close to some of it.
TORONTO
The 2018 Rotary convention was held in Toronto Canada in late June so off we went. Our pilots for this flight were both women. The first time I have been aware of an all female flight deck crew. Go ladies! The very graciously allowed me to snap a picture.
On to Toronto for the opening Parade of Nations, always an impressive ceremony. Unfortunately I was unable to get any decent snaps. RI President Riseley, Justin Trudeau & Princes Ann were among the dignitaries who addresses the convention.
A side trip to see Niagara from the Canadian side was a highlight.
ALASKA
Returning home from Canada we didn’t even get out of the airport. Rather we picked up our grandson Matthew at LAX and boarded a plane for Alaska and a cruise from Anchorage.
Day 1. After the long flight from LA we spent the night, What was left of it in a local hotel. In the morning we went out to eat. Then we went off to the Alaskan Heritage center where we saw many displays of First Peoples work and art including their living spaces and Totem Poles.
Matthew was allowed to heft a stone ax and a spear throwing stick and he generally had a good time.
About 3:00 pm we went to the HAL Hotel and got checked in and ready for tomorrow’s train ride to Denali.
Day 2. Up at Oh dark thirty to get some breakfast, had to have our bags out by 5:00 am. I repacked, putting just what I’d need in my small backpack and shipped the larger one to the ship. More about that later.
The train was a very nice setup. A dome car and plenty of room to roam. We set off on our eight hour trip through the gorgeous Alaska landscape. There were some spotting of moose in the distance but in the main, we simply enjoyed the soaring beauty of the land.
Day 3. Again an early up, on the bus at 4:45 am for an excursion into Denali Park by bus. We hope to be able to see Denali (Mt. McKinley) which spends about 70% of its time shrouded in clouds. We saw it in all its glory the last time we were here, seven years ago, to see it again today would be a real odds buster.
Our first spotting was a cow moose browsing about 30’ away from the roadside. It’s amazing how hard it is to spot such a huge animal when it’s so close but natural camouflage really work. A bit later our first glimpse of Dall Sheep. And I do mean a glimpse, even with my binoculars I could see little more than a white dot on the mountainside.
As the trip progressed we had several sightings of caribou (Reindeer), and no, we never spotted Rudolph, moose, grizzly bears and more sheep.
We didn’t beat the odds, McKinley remained hidden behind the clouds, peeking out for brief glimpse like the lady with the seven veils, for the entire trip. Nonetheless, the views of other mountain peaks within the park were spectacular! Returning to the hotel at about 3:30, we got some lunch and a brief nap. Then it was off to the Iditarod champion, Jeff King’s Husky Homestead training camp for a cuddle with the puppies, a demonstration by a team working on a treadmill, and a presentation by Jeff King (three time Iditarod winner) on the race. Quite interesting. The highlight, I think was his description of racing for 9-11 days, running the dogs six on/six off and his work of caring for the dogs during over five hours of that off time, averaging 4, 45 minute rests per day for, for him, nine straight days.
Matthew immensely enjoyed the trip. Especially when ever we told him (truthfully) that we were getting more and better animal sightings than when Alexis and I were here nine years ago.
As we were ready to board the ship I came to a disturbing realization; 1) I needed my passport to board and 2) I’d sent it on ahead with the things I didn’t need for Dinali!😱 A number of words that I’d mastered in boot camp came to mind but I won’t repeat them here. At any rate, Alexis and Matthew boarded while I twiddled my thumbs, mostly playing solitaire on my phone, until my bag was delivered to our stateroom. Alexis then brought it out to me and I proceeded through the boarding process. I won’t make that mistake again!
Aboard ship he pretty much split his time between the Lido (food) and the swimming pool and he was delighted with that as well. Now he wants to do a trip to Kenya with us.
We hit the usual ports of Seward, Juneau and Ketchikan and took in the historic sights. The cruise ended in Vancouver where we were met and given the grand tour by fellow Rotarian, Peter, who splits his time between Redondo Beach & Vancouver.
The highlight of the cruise was Glacier Bay where we could get quite close to the glacier.
FRANCE
Not being ones to let the grass grow, we barely had time repack before heading to Paris for a month. Alexis departed the day after our return and I had the luxury of an additional 24 hours.
Our Paris stay was a bit different. While staying in the shadow of Montmartre, the area was pretty rough. We never felt unsafe but it was gritty and didn’t have the Paris feel of other arrondissements where we have stayed.
Alexis had walked up to Sacré-Cœur the day before I arrived, she took the short path, a mere 200 steps. We returned the next day but walked the streets (my walker wasn’t going to climb 200 steps! It was a looong slog. Subsequent trips were made by bus.😏
We visited all our usual haunts including the American Church, Musée d’Orsay (my favorite), Louvre, many cafés, and the weirdest museum in Paris, the Museum of Hunting and Nature. Of course we also visited the Cathedral & churches. We also did something we have resisted on previous trips, the Moulin Rouge. Yes, it’s a tourist trap and yes, it’s claim to fame is mountains of mamnaries, but it seemed time to do it once.
My training for the October marathon was a bit sketchy but I did get some, including a long run along the banks of the Seine done.
TOULOUSE
After a month in Paris we headed south to Toulouse, an area of France we had not previously visited.
Here we did another home exchange, our 25th. The place was lovely and included a pool but as with most European places, had no air conditioning. 😢 Our first night there we went skinny dipping just to get cooled off.
We visited the Basilica of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse and enjoyed. After a while there is a certain sameness to the cathedrals and churches but each is also unique and worth exploring.
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Cecilia also known as Albi Cathedral, is the most important Catholic building in Albi, France and is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Albi. First built as a fortress in the aftermath of the Albigensian Crusade; begun in 1282 and under construction for 200 years, it is claimed to be the largest brick building in the world.
In Toulouse we visited both the Airbus factory & the Airbus Museum, we found them mildly interesting but not compelling.
Traveling Jim 