December 12, 2010
Italy – Siena (day 2)
Jeanie and I started our day with a couple of hours of extra sleep. This was to be a slower day in Siena followed by a bit of excitement on our trip to Rome. Siena is a medieval Tuscan city, rich with art and history in addition to the beautiful country we saw on our first day. Like Venice, Siena is a good walking city. We got around most of the day on foot. Like every city we visited, the structures are truly ancient. We do not build today with the same sense of time that was used when these buildings were created. They took hundreds of years to create structures that would last for thousands of years. It is amazing to look at a wall and be told that it is well over a thousand years old and think of the designers and the workmen who poured their very lives into it. And see it still standing for me to admire. And there are hundreds of such buildings all over the place.
Romulus & Remus
I had heard of the legend that Rome was founded by Romulus, who was one of twins raised by wolves.
I didn’t know that his twin, Remus, was supposed to have founded Siena. There were many statues and bas reliefs of the twins like this one both in Siena and Rome. I have a personal connection to this story also. My paternal great-grandfather (my father’s father’s father) was one of twins and his name was Romulus. Want to guess his brother’s name? I can remember visiting my great-grandfather, Romulus. They tell me that he used to set me on his knee and tell me bear stories (or as he said it, “bar” stories). His twin brother’s name was of course, Remus (Clinton) Anderson. Other than that, I do not know anything about him. If anyone in my family can enlighten me, please do.
Shopping
http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swfThere is of course shopping to be had and we did our part for the economy of Siena. I found a terrific cutting board made of olive wood for myself. Whilst the ladies were choosing scarves, I noticed my (favorite) niece, Erica had chosen a corner of the store next to some fancy hats to rest her weary legs. As much as I love to shop for scarves, I felt that I needed a distraction. The juxtaposition of the fancy hats and the beautiful young model inspired me. I think it surprised her at first, but she soon got into the spirit as I took the opportunity to create this photo series which I shall call, The Many Hats of Erica… If the slideshow doesn’t appear and you are reading in email or Facebook, click this link to see the original https://jimazing.com/blog/2010/12/italy-siena-day-2
Piazza del Campo
The heart of Siena is the Piazza del Campo, a large, open quadrangle in the middle of the city. 
It’s like a city park with no nature. No trees, no bushes, no flowers, no grass, no dirt, just a stone “floor” surrounded by stone buildings. I love a park with lots of nature. This held a much different kind of beauty for me. Like so much of historic Italy, the beauty was in an appreciation for the creative expression of people over many centuries.
They hold a horse race in the Piazza twice a year called The Palio. I can only imagine the throngs of people in the middle of the square as 10 horses race around the perimeter on the stone street. I’d like to attend once just for the experience. It was nice just walking around and enjoying being there. The photo is Jeanie and me enjoying the Piazza.
The Underground Museum
Franco took us to see the Duomo di Siena (the Cathedral) and we spent most of the rest of our time in the Museo Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova. This museum goes through a cathedral area and then plunges underground into the catacombs where there are paintings, sculpture & artifacts from the region going back to hundreds of years BC. Had it been solely up to me, I would have stayed in there for weeks.
Have you ever noticed that the really great stories are always born from tragedy. They are the kind of story that no one wants to experience first hand. One of the tragic histories of the middle ages that happened right here was the black plague. A hand written list hung on the wall of the people who died in Siena from the black plague and who were buried right here. Because the people did not understand how the plague was transmitted, they simply dumped bodies into these catacombs like a mass grave. Franco showed us this human bone that was there in the museum where excavation appeared to be going on. Sobering!
Adventures in Train Travel
Well, the decision to stay wasn’t mine to make and our time in Siena was over. Franco returned us to the train station and we began our journey to Rome. Like our trip from Venice, the trip to Rome was in two segments. The first leg to Chiusi was uneventful. It was more like a commuter train with lots of stops along the way. Our train to Rome was more like a “real train” with compartments for privacy (for those willing to pay extra). At Chiusi, we were a little less confident about getting on the next train. We weren’t absolutely sure where to wait. It was a great stress relief for me to have extra margin of time built in to figure all this out.
Our train pulled into the station and there was a throng of people getting on. We had assigned seats in car number two, but when the train stopped, we were standing in front of car six. No problem, we are sure there will be time to get on, but the train lunged just a bit, which confused us all into thinking it was leaving. All five of us realize (true or not) that we have to get on that train right away. We’ve seen enough European spy movies to know you can walk between the cars, so we all got on the train with the intention of moving forward through the cars until we got to our seats.
The entranceway of the car where we got on was too small to hold us all at the same time. Erica was first in line and confused about what was happening (she hasn’t seen enough European spy movies yet). Cathryn told her to just leave the bag she was normally responsible for and move on to the next car. This finally gave me room to get on the train. Erica, Jeanie and Jared all moved forward through the doors into car 5 without any problem. Then the train began to move and the doors closed between the cars. No big thing. The doors between the cars were automated with big buttons to open them like an elevator. However, unlike an elevator, if you block the door, it doesn’t sense it and and reopen. It just continues to press against you until you activate the button again; very difficult to do while struggling with bags.
As the train began to move, Cathryn was juggling the bags she was responsible for plus the one she told Erica to leave behind. I had on a backpack and was handling one of our suitcases which prevented me from helping her. The doors kept closing on us as we forced our way into the vestibule between car six and car five. Finally together through the first door, Cathryn reached for the button to open the door that would let us into car five and it did not respond. She got a look on her face that said, “No freaking way!” and tried again. Sure enough, it didn’t even respond. I think I reached over and hit it too, but the doors did not move. Fortunately, she and I both seemed to be thinking the same thing… this is going to make a great story. She sat down on the floor with her bags around her and began to laugh. Here we were stuck between the cars and our companions were completely out of our sight. We didn’t know but that they had already found their seats in car two.
Meanwhile, the rest of them were just a little ahead of us and waiting for us to catch up. They began to wonder what happened to us and also what they would tell the conductor when he asked for their tickets, since they were in Cathryn’s bag and none of us spoke Italian. It is easy enough to make yourself understood when you are trying to explain something expected, but this… Jared came back to check on us and when he saw our predicament, he did what any good storyteller would do. He got out his camera. This photo is a composite of the photo he took with the photo we took of him. We talked with hand signals and then he walked away. By this point I was ready to finish this story and begin the next one. The floor where the two cars met was moving back and forth, which did not feel safe. This potential story was quickly losing its charm.
I noticed a bumpy thing on the door that was large enough to grab, so I pulled on it and the door opened. Of course it would not stay open without someone holding it. So, I held it open for Cathryn and then struggled to get my suitcase through while holding it too. We were finally all in car number five. Cathryn and I still had not gotten our composure nor did we have good control of our bags. One of us made a self deprecating reference to those “stupid Americans!” when this large Italian woman comes around the corner where we are laughing at ourselves and trying to regain control. If looks could kill, the look she gave us would have instantly dropped us both. Stupid Americans, indeed!
The rest of the trip to our seats was less eventful, but involved a lot of standing in line and speculating whether this train made any stops along the way, or whether we might have to stand for the whole 3 hours. It stopped. Some passengers disembarked, and we found our seats. We retold the story and laughed about it together. Then we passed another train going the other direction. The wind from that encounter caused a loud bang on the window right beside me and I thought it was all over. I wondered aloud whether I might have a change of underwear in my backpack, which of course brought a whole new round of laughter.
When we arrived in Rome, we found that our hotel, the Mecenade Palace was just a quarter mile from the train station, so we walked to it and checked in. We had a fine dinner in the hotel restaurant overlooking the Basilica of St Mary Major. Our waiter, Vito, was soon to become our next Facebook friend from the trip.
December 11, 2010
Italy – Siena (day 1)
Now that our trip is a couple of weeks in the past, the view from a distance (in both geography and time) makes certain parts of it fade and other stand out. Our visit to Siena was and still is my favorite part of the trip. I could have spent the week there and been happy. Venice was a close second. I value a long look at a small item over a quick look at a lot of things. In a way, Siena provided that for me.
Siena was different from the other cities in one very important way. We had a personal guide, Franco Fadda, who came highly recommended to us. We engaged with Franco to show us his Siena. Franco has the intimate knowledge that comes only by being a native of Siena and his genuine warmth and gift for communication made for an incredibly rich and wonderful visit. Franco picked us up at the train station and after a quick stop to check in at our hotel, took us out of the city and into a most beautiful countryside. As we drove in the car, I thought how much it reminded me of the foothills of North Carolina. Later as we travelled through a river valley, it brought back warm memories of travelling in the Kanawha River Valley when I was a child on the way to visit my grandparents.
Lunch was the La Fontana at The Oil Farm. If you go to Siena on your own, you won’t find visiting the Oil Farm to be an option. The only way to get their is to be taken by someone with connections. Not only is Franco “in the know”, he was clearly good friends with Alberto and Martia, the owners of this farm. We had fabulous meal. Seriously, the best I can ever remember. The food was delectable, but the experience was so much more. Located in the middle of “nowhere” in Tuscany, on this little farm, this older couple grow their own grapes and olives and press their own olive oil (hence the name, The Oil Farm). In fact, the “dining room” was the pressing room where they pressed the oil that we had for our bread–oh the bread! If that were not enough, all the food they served was organically grown there on the farm! Our menu:
http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf
- Appetizers (Antipesti):
- Grilled bread with pecorino
- Olives
- Artichokes
- Black cabbage
- Thinly sliced, marinated zuchini
- First course (Prima piati) –
- Pasta with pesto and tomatoes–The pasta was hand made that morning!
- Second course (Secundi piati)
- Grilled chicken (Smoothly spiced, like I have never tasted)
- Carduci (celery)
- Zuchini (yummy, but completely unlike the appetizer)
- Radichio
We were too full to even think about desert. Afterward, Franco explained the pressing process and how they didn’t waste any of the olive parts from the pressing. They dry the pits and burn them for fuel. To show us, he took us out back, which clearly wasn’t “part of the tour”. It wasn’t a mess, but it was definitely “lived in”, which made it that much more meaningful to me. The fact that Alberto didn’t mind our wandering around in his back yard and taking photos of the beautiful views from there made it feel like we were visiting family. In fact, in my memory, it feels like a dream. When we arrived, it had been pouring rain and by the time we were able to step out in the backyard, the rain had completely stopped. The grass was deep green and the rocky walls of the house framed the vineyards and olive groves, which stretched over the hills as far as you could see. The surrealism of it all was punctuated by the peacocks on the roof.
All too soon it was time to say goodbye to Alberto and Martia. We had two more places to visit and the day was fading much too quickly. The next stop was the Collemattoni vineyard, where we were treated to a lovely sunset followed by a wine tasting by Franco including:
- Rosso di Montalcino 2004 and 2005
- Brunello di Montalcino 2007 and 2008 (07 was my personal favorite)
- Olive oil (I had never just drunk Olive Oil)
- and Grappa (which had quite a kick!)
It was now after dark, and our last stop before dinner was at the Abbazia di Sant’Antimo (St. Antimo Abbey), a Benedictine monastary that was begun in 780 AD. The building was completed in in 1100 by Charlemagne as a thanks to God for ending the black plague (premature thanks, but thankfulness is always in and for the present). We arrived just in time to hear some of the singing of Gregorian Chant for Vespers. Enjoy the recording below.
Chant at the Abbazia di Sant’Antimo
If you cannot see the audio player above, and you are reading this in email or on Facebook, please visit the original post here: https://jimazing.com/blog/2010/12/italy-siena-day1 so you can hear this recording.
For dinner, Franco took us to Osteria del Gatto. Again, this is not somewhere the tourists even know about. It is a hidden gem in Siena. Marco, the owner (aka Gatto) – loves cats. This is where I finally got to eat the Ribollita dish that Cathryn has been raving about for years! The Wikipedia article on ribollita doesn’t do it justice. It was a terrific and tasty dish.
As much fun as the day was, it was full and we were pooped! We traveled from Venice to Siena and the rest of the day was packed well into the evening. Jeanie and I were so tired that we slept right through breakfast the next morning.
December 4, 2010
Italy – Venice
This blog post was originally posted on my blog site. In case the audio does not translate well into Facebook or email world, you can click this link to see the original.
As I prepared to write about our trip to Venice this morning, I saw this news story about Venice having extreme flooding. We were there just two weeks ago. I am sure thankful we didn’t wait a couple of weeks. Great timing!
The Bells
We arrived on Nov 20th in Venice and took a Water Taxi to our hotel, Casa Santa Maria Formosa. The hotel was right on a canal and right around the corner was a bell tower. The bells ringing is one of my most pleasant memories of the whole trip. The bells just seemed to start up at random times and go forever. It may always be like that or maybe it was because we were there on a Sunday. In any case, I love experiencing the sounds of a place. These sounds were particularly magical. I made a recording (attached below) that starts with the clip-clop of someone walking on the cobblestone street by our hotel. About 15 seconds in, the bells take over. Enjoy. Venice Bells
About Venice
Even though it rained a lot of our visit, I loved walking around Venice, looking in the shops and seeing the city. Venice is truly a walking city. There are no places for cars at all. I knew that before experiencing it, but I could not picture that in my mind. Photos cannot capture the experience you get from walking the streets, seeing the buildings and bridges over the canals. Truly experiencing the city connected a lot of dots for me. Imagine a hundred tiny islands all connected by foot bridges, then build 3-5 story buildings and cobblestone streets to connect them. Fill every square millimeter of space so that you see no grass, no dirt, no trees. Oh, and while you are doing this, make sure the buildings are made to last hundreds, no thousands of years! We truly do not understand the scale of time it took to build these structures.
Gondolas
We walked around from our hotel to St. Mark’s Square the first day. We were tired and really wanted to take a nap, but determined to stay up to force our bodies to acclimate to the new time. Just outside the square, on the Grand Canal, were the gondoliers with their shiny black gondolas. Unlike most of the Italian touristy options we experienced later, these guys were not at all pushy. We stood as a group trying to decide if we wanted to do a gondola ride.
This decision making process reminds me how everyone experiences internal competitions of their own values. There are things that you and I value and sometimes they clash and we have to decide one over another. Additionally what that these values are differ from person to person and even moment to moment. (I can argue with myself for hours, days, years about what I really want). When you add more people to the mix, making a decision can be daunting. In that moment with the gondola decision, the values I was pitting together were; thriftiness (I am a cheap tightwad at heart), authenticity (I didn’t want to “waste time” doing a stupid tourist novelty. I wanted to experience the authentic Venice) and respect for others (I was aware that my desires could throw a damper on the desires of others and I didn’t want that).
One of us walked up to a gondolier to find out how much the rides were. There was a long ride and a short ride. For the five of us to take the long ride was €100 (about $150). My tightwad value got a huge boost with that tidbit of knowledge. No way I was going to spend that kind of money for a novelty or cheap tourist attraction. Cathryn, who must have been doing her own calculating and “valuing”, chimed in and said she would pay for it for all of us. So we thanked her for her generosity and got in the boat. I thought that at the very least, we didn’t have to walk for a while… and we were tired.
Boy was I wrong about it being just a novelty. Our gondolier, Claudio, took us up the Grand Canal and through many of the smaller canals throughout the city. Along the way, we peppered him with questions about himself and the city. He was the one who explained how thousands of years ago, this was a lagoon with many small islands and that people began building them up and connecting them with bridges. Jared asked about the oldest buildings and Claudio began talking about Genghis Khan. He frequently would interrupt himself or us to say, “This building was the home of Mozart,” or Vivaldi or Marco Polo… I have never felt so close to history. Cathryn, thank you again for your generosity and providing the wonderful gondola experience!
China Town
Later we found ourselves at the Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal where we found lots of street vendors and trinket shops so we named it, China Town. 
Dinner was a small restaurant near our hotel where our waiter was a German transplant to Venice named Elvis. Throughout the trip, we met a few remarkably warm and engaging people. Elvis was the first to make that list. He didn’t mind sharing his story and listening to ours. And of course, he goes down in history for recommending Erica’s meal that night, Pizza with French Fries on top. Another that we met in Venice was our hotel concierge, Mike, who was a transplant from the Philippines. Mike was full of great information about the city, where to go and what to do. He answered many questions about what it is like to live there. I called him our concierge, but he was much more than that. He toted all of our luggage up two flights of very steep stairs, fixed our breakfast every morning. He not only ensured that we had a water taxi arranged to take us to our train on Monday, he made us coffee and then rushed us out the door to ensure we didn’t miss it. Thanks for everything Mike… and thanks for friending on Facebook.
Leaving Venice
The water taxi experience is unique. These boats are not small, but they have to navigate the narrow canals and get around the gondolas and other boats too. I really appreciated the expertise of these pilots. They made it look easy.
I’ll end this with the connection at the Train station. We arrived way earlier than we needed to, which was fine by me. I have a high value for stress free segues. Early arrivals allow time to figure things out, which in turn lowers the stress. We left the hotel before they served breakfast, so we went to the restaurant in the train station. I walked up to the bakery counter and told the lady what I wanted. She explained that I had to pay first at another counter, then bring my ticket back to her to get my food. It was very inefficient, but at least they weren’t busy, so everything went smoothly. (This was not the last time we’d experience this setup). I left Jared in the restaurant and walked back to Jeanie and our luggage. It seems that his experience was not so pleasant. He ordered and paid for food and then was told that he didn’t pay for what he wanted. He argued with them until they finally gave him his food. I only noticed the inefficiency. Jared got to live it! Fortunately, we caught our train without a problem. Next stop, my favorite destination on the trip, Siena.
A view from the Rialto Bridge Sunday night
December 3, 2010
Italy – Preparations
My sister-in-law, Cathryn calls me a few weeks ago and says she’s thinking of going to Italy for Thanksgiving and would Jeanie and I like to come too. She probably would have called Jeanie, but since she had worked the night before, she was sleeping. I said, it sounded like fun and that we would talk it over. I told her that there might be a problem if Jeanie didn’t have her passport. Later that day, when Jeanie woke up, I told her that her sister had a wild idea for Thanksgiving. She guessed Vegas. When I told her Italy, she was in! I asked her about the passport and she reminded me that she had one. She needed it when we went on our cruise. So, she sent a text message to her sister to let her know that I told her about the plans. It simply said, “I have a passport.” I think Cathryn’s reply was something like “Giddie Up!”
Over the next few days, we checked the logistics of my taking a week off from work and next thing you know, we were making plans… real plans… reservations! It was really happening!
Cathryn has been to Italy several times, and she has a real talent for organizing & arranging things like this. So we basically let her put the whole thing together (& she did an awesome job). The plan was start in Venice, then train to Siena, then another train Rome with a possibility of a day trip to Pompeii. And that’s just what we did.
When we started the planning, we were pretty sure that Danae & Molly would have already moved from Charleston to Washington State and we needed a distraction. Mark was transferred to WA by the Navy and Danae and Molly were waiting for the house to sell before joining him. But the house took longer to close than anticipated and they were still there when we left for Venice. Actually Mark left that same morning to drive across the country with their dogs. Danae and Molly took us to the airport, where we embraced and said our goodbyes. The two of them would be flying across the country to WA a week later, the day before we returned to the states.
At Cathryn’s suggestion, we took sleeping pills on the plane so we could get some rest. The night before us was going to start much too early and be way too short. We were traveling to a magical place where the sun rises six hours before it is supposed to.
August 3, 2009
Family Vacation
We’ve been back for almost three weeks and it’s just a little bit late to be posting stuff about our vacation, but we had such a wonderful time, it would be a shame to go without chronicling it. For those of you who follow me on Twitter and Facebook, you already saw what we were up to in real time. You already know we traveled there on July 4th and about our trip to Pacifica where we ate Gorilla Barbecue (made with real gorillas-NOT). You already know about the fireworks in Berkeley and brunch with the Summers at Berkeley’s first “green” café. You know that as much as I love my new grand-dog, she stinks when she rolls in another dog’s poo! And the blackberry picking trip and the Eucalyptus trees… and that was all before Molly arrived (with her parents of course)!
It was a terrific visit. It was so good to get away from the busy-ness of life and just relax. Berkeley itself is such a great place to visit. In some ways it’s like stepping back to another time for me. It’s a walking friendly city and not so friendly for driving. Erin & Justin live just a couple of blocks from UC, downtown and the BART. I absolutely loved walking around town. Jeanie and I enjoyed brunch at a little cafe one morning where Handel’s Water Music reminded us to relax, we were on vacation. We strolled through shops and bookstores. Such a relaxing, fun time.
I read a whole book! It felt so good to read a fairly sizable book in a week. Galileo’s Daughter was a stirring account of Galileo’s life including much about his run-in with the Church, but also about his relationship with his family–especially his oldest daughter, (many of her letters to her father still exist). The story of his life, the scientific and historical setting was fascinating. The stirring came from my own experience and how his story reminded me of my own. I’m finding that the importance of reading for me is not so much from the “lessons” I learn from others, but from the stirrings I feel and explore based on the reading. Galileo’s experience was tremendously important in history, but it is history. I am alive today and I’m no Galileo. I don’t want to be Galileo, but his story stirs me in many ways. Those stirrings are about the way I am “wired up”. The more I explore and reflect on those stirrings, the better I’ll understand who God has made me to be. (The phrase I just wrote rubbed me the wrong way, so much so that I almost re-worded it. I made it sounds like it’s all past tense. As if the work of creation is done and my role is merely to figure out the puzzle that is me. I believe that I am uniquely equipped to be the best Jim Anderson I can be. The more I understand who I am, the more effective I will be. But at the same time, I’m still a work in progress. I’m still being influenced every day by the world I live in. I still have a lot of growing up to do.
When the Ogrens arrived we did some touristy things like visiting the sea lions at Pier 39 and driving up to Muir Woods and the Marin Headlands. Mark’s brother Jake and his new bride, Ashley joined them and they headed to Napa Valley for a day trip. While they were gone, Erin and Jeanie went off to get their toes done and Justin and I walked around town. I talked about my stirrings from the book and Justin shared some of his thoughts. I felt like the two of us connected on a whole new level, which I enjoyed tremendously.
Molly was a real princess. We had so much fun watching her grow. She has just learned to clap. Danae said she was imitating us because we would clap and call out, “Yeah… Molly!” which made her clap. Actually, what I think she was learning was manipulation. She learned that by merely touching her hands together, she could turn these big people into silly clowns. She enjoyed her first carousel ride and her first swing on the playground. If they gave out awards for best traveling baby, she would have won hands down. 
Be sure to check out the photo of her sleeping on the plane in the slide show!
I think all of us would agree that this was just about a perfect trip. The weather was cool and sunny and the dispositions were mostly cheery. We spent a little more money than we intended, but that’s to be expected on a vacation. I hope you enjoy the photo slide show below. It was so hard to narrow down the hundreds of great photos to a somewhat manageable size, but it was worth it.
October 26, 2008
Random News
Trip to the Mountains
Jeanie and I spent this past weekend in the Mtns of NC. Our main purpose was just to get away and take a break from the pressure cooker that life has been lately. This was our first time at a Bed and Breakfast and I think we chose well. The Mast Farm Inn is an old house that has been restored as a B & B. They treated us very well! We used to live up there and still have lots of friends in the area, but we chose not to let anyone know we were coming. We just didn’t know what the weekend would hold. We did end up visiting with several good friends. Other highlights:
I visited my trees. Last year I wrote about my job planting trees. There was one particular site that was near where we lived that I have visited many times. They have gotten rather large! I wonder if they will be harvested anytime soon for lumber. (click the photo to see it larger)
We have wonderful memories of hiking at Price Lake, so we took a trip around “memory trail”, which was a muddy mess in one section. It was cloudy and cool at first, but by the time we finished, the sun was out and it was a beautiful day.- Since the sun came out, we visited the Lynn Cove Viaduct. I also worked on the construction of this bridge for several months, which I also wrote about last year. It is very cool to visit something so much bigger than I am, but that I played a small role in building.
- I started reading Reaching Out, by Henri Nouwen. I wanted a book that would drive me to reflective thought and meditation. Nouwen usually does that well. This was no exception. The timeliness of this message in the place I am in life is remarkable. It feels like Nouwen is interpreting events, thoughts and stirings that I have had over recent months and years.
Finished “A Thousand Splendid Suns”
My sister-in-law recommended this to me (and loaned it to me too). A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini reminds me a lot of his earlier work the Kite Runner. The setting is Afghanistan as he follows the lives of two women from different backgrounds, but who’s lives come together. Both stories have helped me to understand a little better about the history and ways of life in Afghanistan. If nothing else, when I hear anything about the Taliban, I now have a vivid picture of some very evil men. I recommend both of these books by Hosseini’s. Thanks Cathryn.
Erin’s Latest Accomplishment
I am so very proud of all of my daughters. They are each making their respective marks on the world in huge ways and I am proud of them all. Every once in a while, one of them just takes things completely to the next level and I cannot ignore it. I will not belabor the point and I’m getting too choked up to describe it anyway, please check it out for yourself here. Can’t you see me in her?
February 25, 2008
The Cruise
We are back from our Disney Cruise. Yes, I said, Disney. On the advice of a coworker who did a Disney Cruise for his honeymoon, we decided it was worth a try. In a word, WOW. Disney is second to none in customer service! We did seven days in the Eastern Caribbean with stops at St Maarten and St Thomas islands. From St Thomas, we took an excursion to St John. Every night we had great food, excellent service and lots of rest and relaxation. Click on any of the photos or here to see a short slide show of photos.
The first two days at sea, I was still feeling sick. I have been feeling poorly since February 1st and the trip to the ship from Charlotte was more than I was ready for. Having two days at sea was just what I needed to get well. By the time we reached St Maarten, I was ready for the sailboat ride excursion we planned. Little did I know that this leisurely sailboat ride was really an America’s Cup sailboat race in which we were the crew! What a rush. Early on in the race, the boat was tilted so far that water was about to come over the side where Jeanie was sitting. One of the crewmen asked if anyone was uncomfortable with the current position of the boat. Jeanie said, “I am!” He shouted back, “Get over it, there’s nothing I can do about it!”
We met the guy who created Yoda for the Star Wars movie and picked up a neat gift for someone we know and love who has loved Yoda for as long as I can remember.
At St John, we visited Trunk Bay, which must be one of the most beautiful places in the whole wide world. There I did my first snorkelling. I enjoyed it with the one exception that it was hard for me to see without my glasses. They had markers under the water explaining what we were looking at. I could see them, but I couldn’t read them. I could see the fishes and the coral which was just beautiful.
After leaving St John / St Thomas, we had one day at sea before we would arrive at Castaway Cay (say “kee”), Disney’s own private island. They had a problem with one of the ship’s engines and the captain announced that, since we would be three hours late, they were going to refund everyone $100 and provide all rentals of floats, bikes and snorkel equipment for free. I thought to myself, “Disney even fails well!”
The final act of great customer service was the luggage handling. Like all cruises, they handle getting your luggage on and off the ship, nothing special there… however, Disney didn’t just take our luggage off the ship for us to pick it up, they sent it to the airport and transferred it to Delta who moved it on to our destination. We didn’t touch our luggage until we got back home! Unfortunately for us, they don’t have any control over the air traffic system. We spent the entire day in the Orlando airport waiting for our flight to take us home. We arrived safely though and we’re struggling to get back into the swing of real life…
I leave you with a recording of the coolest ship’s horn you will ever hear.
September 20, 2007
The San Francisco Trip
Jeanie and I just returned from a trip to San Francisco and Berkeley, the new home of our daughter, Erin and her hubby, Justin. We had a great time and a few adventures; some planned and some not so planned. I am learning that the unplanned adventures are where growth occurs… or not. These are the places where it is possible to get un-stuck. What follows is a highly summarized photo tour of our trip. From over 500 photos down to 16, I would say I did pretty good. Click here for a slide show of photos.
Click here for a quick photo tour… Read the rest of this entry »
June 28, 2006
High School Reunion
Last weekend was my 30th High School Reunion and I don’t get it. None of my classmates showed up. Instead, they all sent their parents in their place!
Seriously it was a great time. It seemed to me that everyone was more relaxed than at previous reunions. Maybe we have finally gotten to a place in life where we are going to just be ourselves no matter what people think. Or maybe we just don’t really remember one another and we pretend that we do. Or maybe it was just me who doesn’t care any more and can’t remember anyone.
That’s not true though. While there were a few that I honestly don’t remember at all, there were a few who I would have recognized anywhere. In the middle of a conversation, I noticed Doug walk by and made a mental note to be sure to say hello to him.
As soon as the opportunity presented itself, I walked up to Doug, looked him in the eye and said with confidence, “I don’t remember a lot of people here, but I sure remember you.” Without looking at his nametag, I asked, “How are you, Mike?”
I thought he would burst with laughter as he pointed to his nametag and said, “I am Doug. Mike is my brother.”
I know my face was red, but it was way too funny for me to be embarrassed for long.
It was interesting to notice my feelings around my old friends. Thirty years ago, when we were together all the time, we were teenagers with all the hormones and emotional overload that goes with it. Talk about intense feelings! When I felt my stomach do the little flip thing, I asked myself what it was all about and realized that I was reliving some of those old feelings both good and bad. When I realized it, I gave the feelings a 48-year-old kick in the pants. No one knows what I’m feeling. No one can see inside me. And I am not the same person I was 30 years ago… and neither are they.
We have some special memories that only we can share and friendships that will remain for our whole lives. I am blessed!
February 5, 2006
When was the last time you did something for the first time?
This was the theme Jeanie and I chose for our first cruise. We just returned yesterday and I can sum up my feelings by saying, “If you have never been on a cruise… try it.” This is Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas. It was great to just be able to wander around the ship and find out what was what. Eat when we wanted to without worrying about paying for it. Live music throughout the ship. Few rules and few decisions to make. We could just let go and not worry about what will happen next. The crew addressed all of our questions in plenty of time to get where we needed to be with what we needed to have.
On Tuesday, for our first excursion, we took a trip in a glass bottom boat out to a live coral reef to see the fishies. Here we are out on the front of the boat. That bridge like thingy sticking out of the boat probably has a name, but I don’t know what it is. Standing out there, the wind was blowing in our face, the boat was bouncing in the waves and we were going pretty fast.
On Wednesday, we toured the ancient Mayan City called Tulum. This site is right on the Caribbean Sea and the water was gorgeous. We were a bit disappointed that we couldn’t walk in or climb the stairs of the buildings. They roped everything off to preserve it.
The view of the Caribbean from the cliff at Tulum took our breath away. The water was so clear and so green. Other places it was deep blue.
We walked down some stairs to the beach and waded in the water. I built a drip sandcastle. The sand was very different than what I’m used to. It was less gritty and kinda mushy. The predominant mineral in the area is limestone and I could feel the limestone in the sand.
On the way back to the ship, we shopped in Cozumel. The merchants there were really pushy. They would call out to us to come “spend our last money” in their shops. One of the funniest lines that we heard over and over was “almost free”. At least it would have been funny if they hadn’t meant it. Neither of us care if we ever return there.
Thursday’s adventure was a zipline through the jungle followed by tubing through a cave in Belize. Belize was formerly a British colony and won its independence in 1981, so the native language, surprisingly to us, is English. We rode in a tour bus about 35 miles from the city to the location of the Arial Trek. This trip was along their major East/West highway, which was not much wider than the street our house was on. I was fine with the bus passing cars… even the dump truck. When it started to pass another tour bus, I got scared. Fortunately, he gave up trying. The aerial trek was an absolute blast! They had towers in the trees as high as 40 feet above the ground with cables stretched between them. After we were strapped into harnesses, we walked up the trail to the first tower, which was on the side of a hill. The first run was pretty tame to get us used to the equipment. After that, we were flying high! This photo is Jeanie finishing the longest run. She was terrified and couldn’t wait for it to end. I was terrified and thrilled too, but I can hardly wait for the next opportunity to do it again.
The workers all wore shirts that said on the back, “When was the last time, you did something for the first time?” We both loved the motto so much we each bought a shirt and adopted this as the theme for our cruise. We did so many firsts on this trip. Even the cruise itself was a first.
After the aerial trek, we had a good lunch and hiked to the other side of a hill where we got setup for cave tubing. We took a short hike around to the other side of a hill and jumped into the cold river into our tubes. The water carried us into the cave, which was completely dark except for the lights we had strapped on our heads. At first, Jeanie and I got swept off the wrong way and went through a bit of a drama getting back on course. Our guide, Leroy, was a champ at saving us and straightening us out. I really enjoyed him. He has a great outlook on life. As we floated through the cave, he was singing “Don’t worry, Be Happy”
Back on the ship that night after dinner, the dining staff all danced through the dining room. This is me doing the Macarena with our waiter, Kirat and our dining companion, Rich. Rich and his wife, Theresa were assigned to our table each night and we enjoyed getting to know them. As veteran cruisers, they gave us lots of tips. Rich taught me to order everything you want when the waiter comes. He said, “They only take your order once, so order everything you want at that time. Two or three appetizers and even two meals. Try it all.” I took his advice and had some excellent food. The ship also had a buffet, but I didn’t like the atmosphere as much.It was too much like being at the feeding trough.
Yet another first for Jim was climbing the wall. At the stern of the ship (that’s the back to those of you who have never been on a ship ) was the rock climbing wall. I had never done anything like that and wasn’t sure I could do it. The guy that went before me gave up about half way, so I was even less sure when I started. About half way, I saw why he gave up. The handholds got smaller and further apart. I stopped, tried a few different positions and finally got past it. At the top, I rang the bell and looked back for this final photo by Jeanie.
It is great to be home, but I wish the house would stop moving. I still feel the swaying just like I did on the ship. Mostly the ship felt still, but one night in particular, it was moving a lot and the wooden hangers in the closet were clacking together. It sounded like bones from a skeleton. I just lay in the bed and thought about getting rocked like a baby in the cradle, while the skeletons danced in the closet.
Would I do it again? I can hardly wait!
Jimazing Thoughts 
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