Ajaccio France

Wed April 29, Ajaccio France.
Today was Chris’ birthday and we celebrated in the French country side. We took a tour to the mountain villages and the gorges of Prunelli on the island of Corsica.
Although the day started with clouds at least there was no rain. We traveled the country side on narrow mountain roads on huge buses. The bus barely fit on the bridges. There were steep drop offs and you could not see any of the road from inside the bus. I did not get sea sick the whole cruise so far but I did take a meclazine and compazine that day on the bus. I thought for sure I would puke.

Upon returning to town we walked the colorful streets and found a nice café for a late lunch. We had these awesome paninnis and a glass of the house wine. We split a chocolate and banana crepe for dessert.
Once back ship we relaxed some then went to the steak house for dinner.
We actually went to bed pretty early since we had an early day and I am sick.

MED Sea day

April 28th Tues (day at sea)
Today we spent a wonderful day at sea sailing the med. It was sunny for most of the day. We had a 2 hour period about 3-5pm where there were some clouds and light sprinkle.
It was a nice day to finally get some real pool time in. As usual there has to be a complicated story ever to accompany a day of relaxation. After lunch we started looking for a lounge chair near the pool. We saw to and started approaching from the back of the chair. As we got to the chairs Chris put his bag on the first one, as I started to unroll my towel to put on the back of the chair. All of sudden from 3-4 chairs down some one throws a towel onto my chair. At first I thought ok must be someone I know being smart. Nope, it was actually some lady being serious. I said to her excuse me there are two of us. She said there are 2 of us as well. (hehe hehe as she laughed evilly)
Well that was all Chris needed to hear and some choice words started flying. She just laughed it off. We started to walk away and turned around and said screw it I am taking this one chair. And I did while Chris looked for 2 other chair somewhere else. Her husband came over and asked what happened. She said that she was called a nasty name but not as bad as she was called yesterday in the food line. So she must do this type of thing all the time to people.
Oh well we sat in the sun for an hours and then went to the spa.
For diner for we went to La Cucina. I had a wonderful seafood risotto and Chris had the osso bucco. We split an order of the lobster ravioli. They were ok but not great.
We finished the evening with a show by Enrico Cifiello an Italian artist, He was very good. He is currently playing at Caesar’s In las Vegas

AHH MALAGA AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday April 27 Malaga Spain.
Malaga lived up to all its expectations! The weather, the food and the people.
We arrived in Malaga about 8 am and were greeted by sunny skies and the sparkling blue Mediterranean Sea.
Yesterday while in Cadiz, I think that I forgot to mention that when the weather cleared while on tour, we were able to see the coast of Morocco and the entrance to the strait of Gibraltar. Last night I woke up about 230 and was able to see the outline of the Rock of Gibraltar. I was hoping that it would be lit up, but it was not.
We took the short shuttle bus ride from the ship to the port entrance. We walked for a while on their park avenue which is lined with beautiful gardens and sculptures. We then caught the hop on hop off bus and did the entire circuit to see this magnificent city.
On round 2 we hopped off at the beach and watched a few dolphins jumping in the sea. We walked the beach for a while and found this little café right on the sand.
We sat in the sunshine and had a pitcher of sangria. WE had a few light tapas because we had to save room for a real lunch at or favorite restaurant. We had a shrimp omelet which is like a shrimp frittata. Calamari rings and a much larger than expected plate of fresh anchovies with lemon. I think Christopher is now an anchovy fan. (Pictures coming soon).
We then walked from the beach area to the historical part of town, stopping along the way for many photo ops. The Alcazaba was closed. A bit disappointing because it was something I wanted to see. After quite a long time of walking and searching the narrow streets we found our restaurant. We took a table on the street.
Last year there was a very helpful, accommodating waiter there. This year there was a friendly Spanish man who spoke absolutely no English. I was able to speak just enough Spanish to get by and to order as well as some light chat about our trip. We ordered another picture of sangria, an order of fresh grilled anchovies on toasted bread and finally the plate of local fried fishes. We were not able to come close to finishing the plate. There was easily enough for another person to fill up on. After a meal there you always get a brandy to wash things down with. I know that the plate had 2 types of fillet of fish, shrimp, scallops, sardines, anchovies and scallops.
Then we started our walk back to the port. I don’t know how but Chris stopped to get an Ice cream!!!!!!!!! After returning to the ship we fell asleep for about an hour. We then went up to the spa. Finally about 930 Chris said we have to have dinner!!!! We went up to the blue lagoon restaurant. Where we had a very light dinner. Chris had cheese cake for dessert and then went to the buffet to have his nightly ice cream!!!!!
Tomorrow is a sea day in the Mediterranean. Last day to relax before the craziness of France and Italy starts.

Cadiz Spain

Arriving Cadiz

April 26th Sunday Cadiz Spain.
As you read from the earlier posts the day started with very bad weather conditions. Before entering the port this am the winds were a bit over 60 MPH and it was raining like hell. The ship was listing to the side because of the constant wind. Once the wind subsided we were able to get into the port.
We had booked a shore excursion today to take us to the white villages of Spain. We went to a mountain village called Vejer a la frontiera. Even though most of the time we spent there was in the rain it was spectacular. The white washed building with incredible tile work were really something to see. The sun came out for the afternoon and we traveled though a national park down to the coast. We saw the light house in the area where the battle of Tralfagador took place. We then traveled to a coastal white village. We had free time to have lunch. Being Sunday many things were closed. We searched for a place to have lunch, but everything was filled. We went into one restaurant, looked at the menu and left. It was much too expensive for lunch. Chris just had to eat so he had by a candy bar and soda.
Once we got back on the ship we had a very light late lunch (500pm) we then went up to the spa for a while. For diner we went to Magenta. We started off with marinated muscles, Cesar salad, Veal picata and we split a roast long island duck.
The show tonight was this wonderful violinist Izabella Zebrowski. She played both the electric and acoustic violin. I really enjoyed the show, I am not so sure about Chris.
Tomorrow is the port of Malaga. This was my favorite port last year. I hope the weather holds.
I hope we make it home next week. We both have a slight sore throat…. Swine flu?????????

Leaving Cadiz

Storm at sea sunday

We are not able to get into our port in Spain yet. WE are having a MAJOR wind and rain storm. The Captain has come on and told us not to wory that we are listing to the side Reminds me of the Pride of Aloha days and the little boat in Alaska!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lisbon Portugal

April 25th Lisbon Portugal
We spent a great day in Portugal today. We traveled up Tagus River into a beautiful sunrise. Getting from the port to the main square in Lisbon was a bit of a hassle. The buses were late getting to the ports, and no one was around to guide us.
Once we arrived at the main square we walked to the train station. It was a nice morning for a walk. We bought tickets for the train to Sintra. The train left on time and about 4o minutes we arrived at the mountain top town of Sintra. We then caught the local bus in Sintra and started exploring this incredible little town. I think it is one of the most beautiful places I have seen. Very narrow winding roads made out of cobblestones that traveled through a forested mountain sides.
This area has 3 palaces. We stopped at the Moorish castle, but it started to rain a bit. We caught the next bus up to the Penna Castle. This is a fairytale type castle. Very colorful and hard to describe. You will have to wait to see the pictures. We toured the park and the inside or the castle.
We took a roller coaster bus ride back down to the train station and headed back to Lisbon. Once there we walked around until we found a more “authentic” Portuguese restaurant. We found one!!!! We had an appetizer of shrimp cake. This was like a pureed shrimp turnover. We both had the seafood rice which was just out of this world. For the amount of food and quality it was a very cheap meal.
We could not find the bus to take use back to the ship so we hired a cab. It was only €5,05 so it was not bad. We fell asleep for about an hour and then headed up to the spa.
Dinner tonight was at the Grand Pacific dining room. I broke some rules tonight and had the roast leg of veal. There was also a cold watercress fennel soup; it was kind of unusual tasting but good.
Well once again it is late and we need to change the clock ahead for the last time. So off to bed I go.

Lazy Friday

April 24th Friday.
Another lazy glorious day at sea. We slept in a bit again this am. Went for a late light breakfast and then up to the spa. I could really use one of those thermal pools at home. Maybe in the basement.
It was a bit warmer so we were able to have lunch out on the aft deck and not freeze because of the wind.
Later in the eve we went to shakers martini bar had some drinks and listened to the strings concert.
We found ourselves at Magenta again for dinner. We had a wonderful roast leg of lamb with goat cheese risotto and a side order of the vegetarian grilled egg plant.

Ponta Delgada

Table for 2 in Le Bistro

April 23, 2009 Thus Ponta Delgada
We were awoken about 545 today by the slamming of waves and gale force winds against the ship. It felt as if we actually fell down into our beds accompanied by a loud noise. We slept on an off until 7am. We got up had breakfast and prepared to go ashore in Ponta Delgada in the Azores Islands.
The Azores are located about 930 miles off the coast of Portugal. They are owned by Portugal but function as an independent state. Once we got on shore, I thought that I was going to have a vertigo attack for sure. I was rocking like I was back on the ship. I would look out and the ground was moving. I actually got nauseous for a few min but that passed. The first order of business was to find a pharmacy for Chris. He needed sleeping pills. I think we found him some pretty good stuff!!!! I mean it aint over the counter at home. We checked out a few of the local stores and were amazed at the €1,20 wines.
We walked the narrow streets for some time. We found this botanical garden, the jardin Jose Do Canto. It was a nice place and the weather was great to walk around in. (YIKES AS I A WRITING THIS THE SEAS ARE GETTING REALLY ROUGH about 5 pm). We explored some more of the town and then returned to the ship for Lunch.
Since there were beautiful sunny skies we found a lounge chair at the pool and hung out there listening to the band for a few hours. Chris won a drinking bottle in the trivia game. Every we are running into now are saying we look quite red. We then went to the spa for a little bit. I did not stay to long because I wanted to get back to the room and watch for whales. No luck yet, and with all the white caps I don’t think I will spot one unless it breaches.
Well no whales at all. Quick nap. Then we went to Le bistro for dinner. WE both started with an order of escargots. Chris also had some braised scallops. We both had the Mediterranean fish soup as our entre. I now have a new favorite desert on the ship. It is a chocolate napoleon. Out of this world. I would pay the 15.00 cover just for that. Chris had vanilla crème brule with berries, and we split the chocolate fondue. The couple at the table next to us insisted that we try some macadamia nut cookies that they brought aboard from south Hampton. They were very good.
We went to the stardust theater to see Moscow magic. It was a Russian style variety show with magic, music and quick changes. IT was actually quite good.
Bump the clock ahead again…… OFF to bed.

forth day at sea WED

Wednesday April 22, 2009
This was our 4th full day at sea. I don’t know if it was all the wine, the time changes or both but today was a lazy day. We were both very tired all day. We did not even wake up until 1130 AM. We had some coffee in the room and then went up to lunch. After we ate we napped some more.
We finally made it up to the spa for a little while. We went to dinner at magenta again tonight. It really was not the best menu. We had a seafood cioppina which I know always to be a soup. They served it over pasta. I just was not in the mood for pasta. Dessert was a coconut mango mouse which was pretty good.
We have now sailed 2102 miles. Only 234 to go before we stop in the Azores. The waves have been very rolly today.
I will l post a picture of the map from the TV to give everyone an idea of where we are.

Sea day 3 (tues)

April 21, 2009 Tuesday
This is the Third of our sea days. It was still pretty windy all day long. At least we had some sunshine today. The water was the color of my truck, that deep water blue. Today has been a day of total sloth. Slept in a bit late, had some breakfast and napped again……..Nice. WE then went up to the spa for a few hours. After spending time in the thermal pool and heated stone beds we ventured out poolside to get a little sun. The sun was nice and warm but the breeze was still chilly.
After sitting in the 53 degree temperature we went back into the spa for a nice hot sauna and a quick dip in the thermal pool.
We meet some people for drinks in the bliss lounge once again tonight. Diner was the La Cucina Italian restaurant. We started with a nice anti pasta plate for the rolling cart. We then had fried calamari. For the main course we had an osso bucco with wild rice risotto. We split a portion of pasta with oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Of course Chris once again had 2 deserts. We also drank almost an entire 1.5L of wine. There is about a glass left.
After diner we went to the spinnaker lounge for a late night cabaret performance by the chocolate goddess of love.
We have now traveled 1406 miles from New York. The wave heights are 8-9 feet. It is a pretty steady roll. Not rocky. It is now about 1245am with the new time change.

Monday second sea day

Sunset from balcony

Monday April 20th second sea day
Another fast day to say the least. We started the day with some mildly rough seas and grey skies. As the day progressed the sky cleared and the sea became calm. Tonight for the last hour or so we are rocking pretty well. I don’t think that it is even as bad as last year. It is now about 1030pm and before bed we have to change the clock ahead another hour.
This cruise the captain is not as talkative as last year. In fact, we have not heard from him at all. So we are not getting the little trivia updates like last year. Kind of miss that a bit. We have now traveled 1137 miles about half way to our first stop in the Azores (1197 to go). Waves are at about 9 feet right now and we have a nice steady rock.
Today we had breakfast with 2 sisters that are traveling together from California. Then it was off to the spa for some relaxation in the hydrotherapy pool. I planted myself on a heated stone bed for about an hour and a half and finished my book. We had lunch at the buffateria and tried to sit out by the pool for a while. The sun was warm but the wind as a bit too chilly.
After a nap we went back to the spa for a little more time in the hydrotherapy pool. We then meet for a cocktail in the bliss ultra lounge before diner.
We once again ate at the magenta. It was lobster night. We started with ginger pumpkin seafood bisque. We each had a lobster tail and grouper diner. We split a beef wellington since we had never had that before. Desert was a honey cream brulee, it was the best I have ever had.
Tonight the show was a singer known as the chocolate goddess of love, Jane Powel. She is a jazz/blues singer. www.JaneLPowell.com We enjoyed the show very much. She did say that in 20 years of doing shows on cruise ships that this is the first time she ever got sea sick…..HMMM.
We are finally a little further south in the ocean, about even with Baltimore. There is a little more warmth in the air now. We are sailing with our balcony door open. The side to side rock is a bit faster now. I will take a pill to be on the safe side. Chris wants on too!!!! Ought oh!!!! May be the extra desert and after shoe ice cream cone is getting to him.

First full day at sea

Sunday April 19, 2009
Today was a day of relaxation. I really do not understand how these sea days go by so fast. Right now it is about 1030 pm. We have traveled 625 miles from New York. There are about 1713 more to go before our next port. The outside air temperature is 49. Over all it was a very grey day, with a few sprinkles here and there. The day started off with very smooth seas, but as the day went on we started getting some white caps. A bit rocky but not too bad. Don’t forget to check the link above to see the live web cam. It is also a very different crowd than last year much more subdued. It appears as if many more people came with larger groups.
Started the day with a light breakfast, and then went to the spa for a couple of hours. Instead of doing the buffet for lunch we went to the grand pacific dining room. We have never gone to a dining room for lunch before. Of notable interest was the chilled blueberry soup.
It was then time for a nap.
We then headed out to the stardust theater to see the show “colors”.
For Diner we headed to the Magenta dining room. Service and food were excellent. We started with a tuna tartar, fatosh, Chris had a Cesar salad instead spaghetti cabonara, and Chris also had a side of monk fish. Desert was a chocolate caramel mound as well as a banana split cheese cake for Chris. He may need to buy larger pants when he gets home lol.
We turn the clocks ahead one hour tonight.

Day one and TWO

So Friday we got to Rochester airport with no problems. We got through security very fast, just to get to the gate to find there was a delay without flight. The wait was not too bad we boarded and then taxied to a holding area and sat for another 40 min. They were able to make up time in the air and we only arrived Newark about 10 min late.
While I waited for the luggage Chris went to use the restroom. Of course it was not experience free. He ran into Betty Buckley of 8 is enough and grizabella fame. He shook her hand but I had the camera.
We then hopped on our bus to Manhattan. It took a while due to an accident in the tunnel. On there we walked to our Hotel the Milford Plaza. It was clean and the room was pretty nice. After checking in we walked around Time Square (see 2 pics in flicker bottom of web page left). We then ate at this restaurant called Vigils. It was a bbq/ Cajun place. We both had the fish fry plate that consisted of rock shrimp, monk fish, cod fish, catfish and large sea scallops.
Saturday AM…….
We strolled around NYC to find a liquor store to buy some wine. Then we went to Chevys for some lunch and traditional blue agave margaritas.
Then we headed off to the Port. The boarding process was the easiest of any cruise we have taken. On very quickly. Our suite was not ready so we signed up for the spa package. Then we returned to the room. The mini suite is a lot larger than the regular balcony room. The room was steel at what we paid for it. We are the last balcony on the 11th floor at the back of the ship. The end of the balcony has a slight curve to it. It is large enough to have 2 regular chairs, a lounge chair and small table. Unfortunately our neighbors smoke. So I just had to close the door. BAN SMOKING ON ALL SHIPS!
For diner we went to the Sushi restaurant and had our fill of a nice assortment of items. So far Sunday AM (900) we have had smooth seas. Like glass. We are just now getting into a light 4ft chop. The ship is barley rocking at all. There is more of a vibration on the ship this year. I wonder if they added new stabilizers or something like that. Very smooth.
Sailing out of NYC was even more special this year. The weather was great. Sunny warm… I think knowing what adventures really lie ahead made it more fun. Last year we were entering the unknown. Also this year we could see ground zero more clearly because of the construction there. It actually was very moving to see the hole and vacancy left behind. Lady liberty then bid us a found adieu and we sailed under the Verrazano narrows bridge, leaving the North American continent behind.

Just a teaser

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we made it to NYC and have set sail. It is already 1100 Pm so I will update more in the AM. So far smooth seas (small wavelets 1 feet). The mini suite is great!! Large balcony with a lounge chair.

Of course Chris already had an adventure in Newark airport.

Will we make it to NYC?

We have been tracking the 435 flight from ROC to Newark for the past 2 weeks. It has either been cancelled or arriving hours late. Yesterday it was 3:05 hours late. We do have a one way car rental reservation should they cancel the flight. Not looking forward to a 7 hour drive.

Happy Easter to All

The Easter bunny is bringing ham and prime rib today. That sounds a little bit better than chocolate and hard boiled eggs. Nice blue sunny sky but it is very cold out there. Have not really worked on any of the picture updates. The professional scans are so nice I may just wait until I get the pictures scanned. I have not finished purchasing the pictures that area already scanned because I don't want them to arrive while I am away.(They come UPS)

Pro Scan Pictures

The first pictures(negatives) that I sent at the end of Feb to scan cafe are no available on line for viewing. Now I can pick the ones I want. You have to purchase at least 50% of what was scanned. The few I have looked at so far look pretty good. I may send out another batch. Will have to see what the final total on this order turns out to be.

New trip photolog

I started working on a new series of photos of a past trip. I got them all sorted and color corrected. I hope to have them published by the middle of next week. Will just have to see how ambitious I get. Some times once you get going, you just can't stop until you finish.

I am also trying to figure out what will be the most economical way to blog from the cruise ship and Europe. I don't want to spend as much money as I did last year!!! Yikes.
For my Facebook buds the links from www.travellogonline.net should pull in. To see pictures from past trips you do need to log on to the site itself

Spring time serenade

The toads were singing loud and strong this am. I guess they think that spring is really here. I hope they don't have their tadpoles to early. As long as the eggs live they do a very good job of cleaning up the water in the ponds. The koi think they are yummy too!!

More snow!

After a nice warm weekend we are back to snow. At least Saturday was warm and sunny. Did get a little yard work done.

OK now it is spring

AND STILL DAMN COLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not spring yet!

Ok I know Spring does not officially start until 744 am ET. It is only 730am. But come on to wake up to snow on the ground this am was not a nice thing.

Pictures from Las Vegas, Zion and Death valley national park are now posted too. This was the Feb 2002 trip.

Happy spring!!!

Rollins Ponds pictures posted

These pictures are posted under the friends and family page. I tried to add a count down to spring counter on the home page, but all it did was over write the next vacation counter. Oh well no biggie. I just wish the cruise actually was 2 days and x hours away. One more day of warmth then the cooler temps are back

Happy St Patricks day Y'all

I kinda like the green home page. I think I will leave it up as a count down to spring. Computer says that it is 58 out. We are really getting spoiled. I hope we skip the end of March snow storm this year. I am sure that once I get home, close to the lake, we will be lucky if it is 40!

Postings

The Smoky mountains May 2007 trip Pictures are now posted on the web page.

Also I have added the Pole Dancer under the video section. I love it!!!

Coming soon

I hope to have pictures from May 2007 trip to the great smoky mountains nationl park posted either late tonight or early tomorrow eve. I just need to add some links and text then publish the file drafts. keep an Eye out

Sounds like spring

It may not be spring on the calender yet however it sure sounds like it. We are having the first thunderstorm of the season. A pretty good one too. Lots of thunder and lightning.

Hawaii 2006 pictures posted

KONA SUNSET

More web page udates coming tonight

The pictures from Hawaii 2007 trip should be posted tonight. This was the year of the earthquake and Julie

Sistine chapel

Scored my pre sale tickets for the Sistine chapel and Vatican museums a few hours after they went on sale. Pre buying save you the long ticket purchase lines. It is also for a specific time so you also don't have a long wait to enter.

Yellowstone/ Grand Teton 1999 pictures are up!!!

After having diner with friends to night I finished up all the links and the new part of the web page is ready to go!!!!!!

I Hope to get a few more trips added in March. Once April hits its the cruise...May and summer, so I need to get a move on.

Large picture update coming Saturday

Saturday eve the Montana/Wyoming 1999 picture update will go live. This is a long time in the making. I started scanning and color correcting the negatives about a year ago. Like I said earlier some did not come out as well as the printed pictures. But oh well.
I hope to have some other trips added later next weeks. All pictures on my site should be enlarged by clicking on them. some pictures on this part of the web page won't some will???!!!??

New pet page.

I have finally added a few new pictures to the see the pets page. It should go live some time after 5pm tonight.

I am also working on posting some of the pictures that I scanned a while back. I am still not happy with the quality, but I think it is the best I can do. There is service that will scan negatives at a very high resolution and do color, dust and scratch correction. It is a bit pricey, but it may be worth it in the long run to archive photos digitally. I hope to have an update of picture from 1999 Montana/Wyoming this weekend

Summer time Dreaming

On a cold damp Feb winters day, just dreaming of better days ahead.

Ben and Jerry's ice cream

Ben & Jerry created "Yes Pecan!" ice cream flavor for Obama. They then asked the public what to create for George W. Bush. Here aresome favorite responses:Grape Depression, Abu GrapeCluster, FudgeNut'n Accomplished, Iraqi Road, Chock 'n Awe, WireTapioca, Impeach Cobbler, Guantanmallowim,Peachmint, Good Riddance You Lousy Motherfucker... Swirl, Heck of a Job, Brownie!, RockyRoad to Fascism, The Reese's-cession, Cookie D'oh!, The Housing Crunch, Nougalar Proliferation, Death by Chocolate... and Torture, Freedom Vanilla Ice, CreamChocolate Chip On My Shoulder, "You're Shitting In My Mouth And Calling It A" Sundae, Credit Crunch, Mission Pecanplished, Country Pumpkin, Chunky Monkey in Chief, George Bush Doesn't Care About Dark Chocolate, WMDelicious, Chocolate Chimp, Bloody Sundae, Caramel Preemptive Stripe, I broke the law and am responsible for the deaths of thousands...with nuts

Bad news! The groundhog sees his shadow

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. - The world's most famous groundhog has seen his shadow which, legend has it, means we can expect six more weeks of winter. Punxsutawney Phil's forecast was announced in front of thousands of revelers gathered at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
German tradition holds that if a hibernating animal cast a shadow on Feb. 2 — the Christian holiday of Candlemas — winter would last another six weeks. If no shadow was seen, legend said spring would come early.

BYE BYE BUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What more needs to be said.

Allie update

Just a little update on Allie.
She was at the vet yesterday. She now weighs in at a wopping 11.8 lbs.
She does have some allergies so we are going to start some childrens benadryl an see how she does on that.

New Record

Record Report
Statement as of 06:00 am EST on January 01, 2009
... Snowiest December ever in Rochester... 11.7 inches of snow fell in Rochester on Dec 31 2008. This was not only a record for the date but also brought the monthly total up to 46.2 inches. This edges out the previous December record of 46.1 inches set in 1981. Snowfall records go back to 1884 in Rochester.

Thought it was a little snowy

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope that everyone reading this has a wonderful new year!!!! 2008 was a pretty good year, I hope 2009 is even better. We got to meet some great people on the the trans Atlantic cruise, and traveled with friends to Montana and Hawaii. Chris was able to fulfill his dream of working at Hallo Bay. The year is ending as a bit of a dud since I have strep throat and our annual new years eve party is cancelled. No problem we will try and get together on Saturday and have the first gathering of 2009!!!

Christmas this year was also very nice. Great food!!! Here is a picture or Allie as a Christmas angle or maybe even baby new year. She was not very happy.

We are already looking forward to some fun in 2009. As you can see to the left only 106 days until the next big adventure. Chris is hoping to be working at Hallo Bay again this summer, and I may be able to head up and see the bears as well. Depending how long he is up there, I hope to make it back to Hawaii in the fall. Now that we are officially in winter too. I want to get back to scanning some older negatives and get them posted on the web page as well.

T'was the night before xmas and only Allie was stiring

waiting for santa

Touch of Winter

More pics

I figured that before another year goes by let me post some pictures from the new years eve luau 2006. they can be found under the friends and family page. ALOHA

Picture updates

I have added a few pictures of the animals in the see the pets section. Check it out if you like. Under the video section don't forget that it is time for Dominic the donkey once again

Where did Thanksgiving go?

Wow!! It is Thurday am. It has been a whole week since Thanksgiving. It was all a blur. I have some pet pics I need to post. Other than that all has been pretty quite. If you want to see a few pics of polar bears click on the link to our friends site here. www.whywework.com

early winter

We have snow on the ground for that past 4 days. I can not remember when we have had snow that lasted this long so early in the year. I hate it not good sign.

Friday was Ellen's birthday. He is a picture of her cake. We had our co-worker Cindy make it. Again, what an artist she is.

Wynonna

Yesterday after going out to diner first we went to see Wynonna Judd. (www.wynonna.com). She was preforming with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra at the Eastman theater. She put on a wonderful show. We have been wanting to see her for many years. If she is ever in the area you should check her out. Don Potter also preformed. He I guess he was instrumental in the development of music in the Rochester area. He also toured with the Judds early in their career. So it was kind of reunion for him and Wy. She though in a few songs of her Christmas album. That was a nice touch. The four of us really enjoyed the show.

Happy Verterans day!!

Hope everyone is having a great veterans day. Even though it is cold cloudy and miserable here.
I have finally posted the pictures from Maui Oct 2008 as you can see above. I will add a few more pics once I get a copy of Lynn's pictures.

Time to recheck Palin site.

check out Palin for president now.
http://www.palinaspresident.us/

HAPPY HOLLOWEEN

SNOW!!

YUCK......What More can I say

FUNGUS AMONG US

Click below to see ALLIE and the Giant Mushroom

http://www.travellogonline.net/images/P1030473.JPG

More corruption by Sarah Palin

The backstory to Sarah Palin's accusations against her former brother-in-law, Trooper Mike Wooten, reveals how Palin and her family have shown utter disregard for wildlife - unless it can be used to her political advantage! According to the Troopergate investigation, Palin's sister Molly got a permit and invited her then-husband, Trooper Wooten, to join her on a moose hunting trip. When it came time to actually shoot the moose, Molly had no interest and asked Wooten to take the shot - even though it is illegal to shoot an animal under someone else's permit. After the shooting, the Wootens brought the moose to Palin's father for him to butcher. Sarah Palin and her family had no issue with asking Wooten to illegally kill the moose under his wife's permit, nor did they have a problem butchering or eating it. But once Sarah Palin decided she could use the moose killing to attack her former brother-in-law, she did. Palin needs to know: Moose are not political pawns - they are majestic animals and deserve to be treated humanely!
sign petition here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/802901064?z00m=17436909

Palin as president

You have to check out this link!!!!!!!!!!!!
You should click on objects more than once. eg click on the door 3 different times.
Enjoy......
http://www.palinaspresident.com

Will get some hawaii updates soon

Maui WOWIE

Having a great time in Maui. Time is going by so fast. No internet in the condo. There is wireless in the lobby which is a pain to get to.

Dreaming of MAUI AHHH!!!!!

Dreary OCT weekend.

The weekend weather did not turn out to be a nice as they said it would be. Lots of clouds once again. Sunday we went to Angelica to close the camper. It was an ok day for a drive and the fall colors were nice.

We went to start closing the camper, when Emma decided that it was time to go for a walk. She was determined this time that she would go all the way to then end of the road. She really did not give us much of a choice. She made it pretty good, although on the way back her foot did spasm a few times. A couple of min of rest and she was ready to go. Allie and the the other 2 girls ran around like maniacs. She was pooped most of the night. On the way back to the cabin, Emma once again expressed her dominance and insisted on going into the pond. She swam for a while, and left the pond covered in mud!!!

Is Dolly Parton really Dead???

Trapped!!!

2 more squirrels are now gone. Well one was removed today and the other is still up on the roof in the trap eating peanuts.

Allie is much less stinky but still as an odor de pepe.

First day of fall

The first day of fall was kind of a bust yesterday. The weather was beautiful, sunny and cool. However, I left work early(Mon) with a GI bug. It is Tuesday Pm and I was finally able to keep some rice down. So in the last 48 hours I have had 1 and a half pieces of toast and some gator aid. This was all accompanied by a 101 fever. Very nice.

I did venture out this eve and went to pet smart to get some skunk odor remover. I think it made Allie smell worse. I will let you now once it is completely dry.

Oh yeah and you can tell its fall because in the cooler weather Emma has taken over the couch again.

Smells like a flower.....yeah right!!!!!!

About 9 pm on Friday eve I let Allie out the back door. It was very dark. She leaped off the deck and onto the back of a SKUNK!!! The poor thing was sprayed directly in the face. She was very stunned and started foaming at the mouth immediately. When I let her in the house she ran all over spreading the wonderful aroma. I washed her in the sink, but I was afraid that the irritant may interfere with her breathing. I called the emergency vet clinic. They gave me the recipe to cut the smell, but then they said don't out it on her face. WELL that was the only place that stunk.

So now (Sat am) the house smells worse than she does. My favorite "lounging" shirt needs to be burned along with a few towels. Allie appears to be pretty unfazed. Oh yeah... my hands smell nice and pretty too!!!!!! Maybe the skunk was pissed that we took his squirrel friends away.

More on the Squirrels

As of Friday evening we have trapped one large female and three juvenile squirrels. There is another young squirrel hanging around that we would like to trap as well. All the critters have not been harmed. They were taken to the Syracuse area to be released. I guess that really would be a long way for them to find their way back. All four corners of the dormers no have one way escape hatches on them. There were no traps set over the weekend, so any squirrels caught would not have to be stuck in the trap until Monday. From the picture you can see how large of a hole those suckers have chewed. This was hidden behind the soffit which is soft vinyl. There were able to squeeze though the vinyl like a self closing door. They were nice an cosy.

I am on the back deck, and the border patrol helicopter keeps flying over. Maybe some of those scary Canadians sailed over across the lake!!! A?

Some info for those who may be interested in protecting wildlife

WASHINGTON-- Senator John McCain just announced his choice for running mate: Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. To follow is a statement by Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund.

“Senator McCain’s choice for a running mate is beyond belief. By choosing Sarah Palin, McCain has clearly made a decision to continue the Bush legacy of destructive environmental policies.

“Sarah Palin, whose husband works for BP (formerly British Petroleum), has repeatedly put special interests first when it comes to the environment. In her scant two years as governor, she has lobbied aggressively to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, pushed for more drilling off of Alaska’s coasts, and put special interests above science. Ms. Palin has made it clear through her actions that she is unwilling to do even as much as the Bush administration to address the impacts of global warming. Her most recent effort has been to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the polar bear from the endangered species list, putting Big Oil before sound science. As unbelievable as this may sound, this actually puts her to the right of the Bush administration.

“This is Senator McCain’s first significant choice in building his executive team and it’s a bad one. It has to raise serious doubts in the minds of voters about John McCain’s commitment to conservation, to addressing the impacts of global warming and to ensuring our country ends its dependency on oil.”

###

The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund (www.defendersactionfund.org) provides a powerful voice in Washington to Americans who value our conservation heritage. Through grassroots lobbying, issue advocacy and political campaigns, the Action Fund champions those laws and lawmakers that protect wildlife and wild places while working against those that do them harm.

One Squirrel down

Darn!!!! Why did I hire critter ridder??? I should have just invited Sarah Palin over for a town meeting. She would have caught those squirrels and cooked 'em up.
Last night 2 squirrels were displaced from their home in my attic. Ratty tail, was on the roof this am when I left for work, but I have been informed that he is in the trap now.


The picture in the posting below did not transfer. Click on the header to see it.

Palin and wildlife

Squirrels in the attic and Bats in the belfry

So we had a critter ridder company come out today to give an estimate on getting rid of the squirrels. A squirrel ate its way though the wall and stuck its head out the hole to look around the living room Tuesday eve. I stuffed the hole with a paper towel soaked in hot sauce. Later that night Chris fill the hole in with expanding foam to solve the problem temporarily.
Well not only do we have squirrels in the attic....there is a BAT COLONY!!!!!!!!!! no wonder why I had the 2 in the house this summer. The bats will have to stay a while since they will cost and extra 1000.00 to remove.

Happy Birthday ALLIE.

ITS ALLIES FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unsure who to vote for?... Watch this.

If you can't watch this then you can not vote for any ticket with Palan on it!!!!

Montana

The montana pictures are now posted above.

EMMA update

Emma was at the vet yesterday. All is well other than her arthritis. She had blood work done(senior profile) and all is normal there as well. Just need to keep her moving as much as possible.

She's getting OLD!!!

It's LYNN'S B-DAY!!!!!!

Updates

Made some updates to the site today. Chris' hallo bay experience pics are now complete. There are a few new pet pics and some late summer flower garden pictures. Will be working on the Montana pictures over the next few days.

WHAT IS GOING ON????????

I Down loaded the site to my laptop and then had to re publish. Now I have an older version of the home page. A few links are missing too. The only real damage I see is that the Mid July garden pictures are missing.

I hope to have most of the site corrected tonight and then start updating.

The weary hikers

Taken on the last day of our trip as we headed to the airport. Our legs were still pretty sore from the 14 mile hike 2 days earlier. Taken at St Mary's Lake in front of wild goose Island. Hope to have some pictures up by the end of the week. The lap top seems to be working better. I think one of the many windows updates fixed what ever problem I was having. One of the Mcaffe updates must have allowed the hijacker virus to be removed since that is no longer a problem either.

KOA WI-FI not so Good

The wi-fi at the Koa campground did not work very well. For the first few days there was a problem with their system. After that was fixed, the connection was so slow that it was impossible due due anything. Any way, back to the old grind now but had a wonderful time.

Bear pictures

I got about half of Chris' bear pictures posted.
I will also try and do some updates on the Blog from glacier. The camp ground has WI FI.... Will have to see how that works out.

Times goes by......

August is flying by very fast. Less than 48 hours before we start our Glacier adventure. Lots to do before we go.

I hope to get Chris' Hallo bay pictures posted. I have a few the link operational soon. I have tones of other misc pictures to post too. Need to clear all the Memory cards before heading out too.

Today I need to get the dogs on their extended camping trip....for dog sitting purposes. Will add more later and let everyone know what has been added to the web site.

P.S. Check out Whywework.com. Andy and Jen have some great pics from their recent trip to glacier in early July. I hope we have less snow and no blisters.

Week of First's

This week was full of firsts.

While camping last weekend Chris got his first bee sting.

Allie slept in the camper for the fist time. She did not sleep too well. She kept on moving around from me to Chris to Emma.

I got my first case or strep throat. Painful and feel like crap. Pretty much slept the past 2 days away.

....IMAGINE THE THRILL OF IT......

I really like this photo a lot. It gives you some sense of what it is like to be out photographing the bears at Hallo Bay.

Just the camera lens between and these magnificent animals. Although it can't be done...Try and imagine this guy just walking in font of you. The adrenaline rush is like nothing else. Which way will he go next?

Another crappy weekend here. Just been sitting in from of the computer going through some files and getting rid of or condensing old pictures. I did make a few updates in Friends and family and the pets page.

LINK FIXED

OPPS!!!

The link to the mid July Garden pictures is incorrect. I will fix it tonight. Sorry

THE BEAR

It finally happened!!! A large black bear has raided the bird feeders at the family cabin in Angelica NY. My father called last night about 9pm and the bear was there just eating away. Many people have said that there are a lot of bears in the area, but we never have seen any. Hopefully he will hang around the area a bit.

Speaking of bears. I have been after Chris to sort though the 800 bear pictures on the computer. So far he has not gone through too many. I would like to get them posted soon.

I have a few more garden/flower pictures that I hope to get posted later today.

July is well under way!!!

We are quickly moving through the month the 7th already!! We finally had a weekend that was nice. No rain or thunderstorms, but bright sunshine.

The garden is blooming very nicely and the first Humming bird of the season made an appearance. I did post a few of the garden pictures under the friends and family page.

Chris is back from bear camp. I will need to start working on getting some of those pictures posted.

Not transfering.

Well it looks like the last posting did not transgfer. This happens every once in a while and I have not idea why. So I will post this and see if it helps to push things along.
.........another rainy weekend.......................

Could have been a stinky Situation

I first encounter this fellow last night when walking the dogs. He was under a parked car. Emma went after him. I pulled her to fast on the leash that she fell over. Poor girl. Then this am before out walk I spotted him right across the street. Look at that bushy tail!!!!!! I dont want to know how Hi he can lift it.

Emma and I had one encounter a few years go where we both got sprayed. I dont want to go though that again.

Garden Starting to take off.

Side Yard

Small Pond
BACK YARD

COOKIES

Here are a few pics I took of the cookies a coworker made for me. I kinda yelled at her for some mistakes she was making..... This was her way of apologizing. What a sport and baker!!!!!!!

Taken with cell phone.

Going Batty!!!!!

So I am working on the Paris Pictures and I keep
Hearing this noise either in the wall by the fire place. I think oh great another squirrel that is going to die and stink.
The cats keep trying to get on the mantel. Then
I hear the mirror kinda shaking. I can see nothing. A little later I look up and the is the BAT. Hanging up side down on the mirror.

I take a few pictures then it starts flying around. It was wild!!!! Flying darting every where. So now I have 4 animals chasing it all over the house. Dogs are barking. I am laughing and ducking on the floor. At least I don't have much hair for it to get caught in lol I am like how am I ever going to catch this thing. It reminded my of my childhood because we always had a few bats each summer get into the house.

First I try a towel....No good just makes the bat fly more wildly. Finally I spot a cover to a plastic tub. After another 10 min or so here was the result.

Where is he?

I think the girls are looking for Chris. Every little noise and they look to the side window for his car headlights.

Learning to swim

I worked diligently last night and almost have all the Paris pictures uploaded. It is very funny that many of the movies or things I have watched on TV have had Paris in them. Kinda was in awe....Wow I was there.

Allie is starting to like the water. Granted the pool water is very warm right now, so not such a great shock to her little bod. She watched my and Emma swimming around chasing her aqua dog and started to whine. I got in a tube and floated to the side she climbed right on board. We played fetch going after the aqua dog with Allie riding on the tube. Boy did Emma swim fast if we got close to it before she did.

I then started lowering Allie into the water and let her swim for a few seconds while I held her up. She didn't seem to mind and we did It a few times. I may get her a little life vest and see how she does.

I also need to get some pictures of the garden uploaded to the site soon.

It is really amazing at how fast this weekend went by..... Saturday we took a ride down to the family cabin. It was nice because it cooled down nicely in the country. Allie was pretty funny running around all over the place, trying to get the other dogs to chase her.

When we got home Sunday It was time for swim. I got in the pool first to through Emma's toy. She jumped in immediately after it. Next thing I know I hear this chug a chug a sound. Allie had jumped in behind her. She paddled her way towards me, I directed to her to the stairs. She then sat on the deck kinda dazed. I don't know if she meant to go in or not. Later when I was floating in a tube I did get her to ride along. The first time she was shaking, second time OK. It was funny because Emma barley makes a sound when swimming and Allie was so loud. Will see If I can get her in the water today. At least she got a good bath.

Quick Update.

Chris' passporst is safe and secure...... I was teasing him about saying he may go to Europe this winter with Hallo Bay.

TOO HOT

As every one can see above Chris made it to bear camp. He emailed me and said that yesterday he was helping to build new stairs from the beach up to camp. At least when he gets home he will now how to build new stairs for the front entry way. No Excuses.....

Friday the temperature was unbearable here. 94 in the shade in my yard. The humidity and air quality was so bad, you could not even stand to get in the pool. At least this morning there is a nice breeze, but 83 already. (930am) No air stagnation. Emma is already looking at the pool steps like come on already let me in.



The garden is taking off like crazy... About time. I now for those of you who emailed me about the Pairs pictures. I need to finish them up.

This is a picture of the stairs Chris is rebuilding up to camp
From the beach. When we were there last year we had to trudge up the hill. only basic remnants of stairs were left.

Picture From www.hallobay.com