Memphis, Arkansas, and Oklahoma

Though Stella made a splash here, it was time to bid goodby to the Canada Geese who have taken up permanent residence at Tom Sawyers and get on the road again.

Morning was easy driving right through Little Rock. Some rain in the afternoon and we slid into our site at the KOA in Sallisaw, Oklahoma. Apparently Sallisaw is the end of the Trail of Tears, but we didn't have much time to go to the little museums. We restocked the larder at Marvins Grocery, grabbed dinner at the local country cookin cafe buffet, and had time to jump in the pool before the sky turned dark and threatening. We were setting up inside clothes lines when the storm hit. There were serious winds and hard rain.

The sattelite couldn't find it's bearings, but worse, the Cronemobile sprang a leak on the passenger side above the window-right where I sit to blog. I had to evacuate the comupter and maps. Guess we will make a stop at the Fleetwood dealership in Albuquerque. Looks like sunny skies today and a lot of Oklahoma to see.

KG

Late lunch in Memphis

We both had had trouble sleeping last night. Maybe it was the fireworks over the Mississippi or just driving fatigue but we were tired this morning. Another day by the side of big muddy was in order to recover and rest.

Late afternoon found us both very hungry. We went off in search of BBQ at Ray's World Famous BBQ here in West Memphis. Based on the address listed on the internet we drove around to Missouri St to find nothing but a demolished bulilding. So much for current address info. Another call to the restaurant got us some directions to the service road out by the interstate. Well, there are several service roads out there by two interstates and it takes yet another call to find the correct road. We arrive, take a look and decide to bag it and head to Memphis for their BBQ.

We pop into the TN Welcome Center, Exit 1, I-40 for a map and directions. I cased the Center's attendants for someone who looks and feels like they could suggest good BBQ. I focused on my target-"large woman who knows BBQ like myself" and she asks "Wet or Dry?" in her low voice. I respond that I could do both. She replys "Then I'll send you where you can get both. Here's Neely's" as she highlights the way in pink on the small map. We are off for some lunch in a flash.

The drive up to Jefferson St takes just a few minutes and we arrive to a mostly empty parking lot. Are they open? It is afterall 2:45 pm and we are the really late lunch type. They are open and offer us a simple straightforward menu. Beef, pork, turkey, ribs, sides and all the etceteras. We opt for it all by choosing the Sampler Platter with a side of their famous BBQ spaghetti.

While we waited I remembered the feature on Neely's that was done by Jamie and Bobby Deen on their Food Network Show “Road Tasted” last year. Before that their mama Paula visited Neely’s in Memphis during her appearance at the Mid-South Fair. This year Paula Deen invited Memphis restaurateur of the year, Patrick Neely, co-owner of Neely’s Bar-B-Que and his family to her show, “Paula’s Party” to cook their favorite barbecue recipes during June of this year. It's all in the family they say.

Our lunch was a heaping platter of ribs, pulled pork, turkey, and beef brisket. Some dry, some wet just as the lady at the Welcome Center said. Sauce was terrific but the brisket didn't need anything as it was tender and smoked to perfection. Coleslaw and beans were excellent as well and the spaghetti... well just imagine some of that lovely pork chopped into BBQ sauce and poured over tender spaghetti. This sauce was a little more spicy than the regular sauce but had just the right kick for coating the pasta. There was more food than we could eat so we have BBQ sandwiches for later. We should sleep better tonight!

Now we can mark off another BBQ icon found during our travels. Check them out at http://www.neelysbbq.com/home.htm

Big Muddy on the 4th of July

Most of the day was spent in putting Mississippi behind us. From the RV, we could see some Wall-Mart gas for $2.68, but by the time we could see it, we were past the exit. Jackson's gas was in the $2.75-$2.85 range. We ended up getting enough of the $285 gas to get us further along the road where we found $2.75 gas. Once again, the Cronemobile just gulped it down. When we get to California, we have incentive to park and sit. I was a bit nostalgic for last summer in Canada where there was one government set price. Of course, it was about $5 per gallon, so my nostalgia quickly passed.

After Mississippi all day, we pulled into Tennessee, somehow couldn't find exit 4 off I-55, and ended up going through Memphis to cross the river to our campsite in Arkansas. I managed to get a few shots of our entry. Here is the Great American Pyramid from the Cronemobile as we whizzed by. I had no idea there was a Great American Pyramid until today-apparently it is a sports stadium.

We are really enjoying our new campground directory-Big Rigs. So far they have directed us to the best campgrounds. Our current pick is called Tom Sawyer. As I type, I am looking out at the Mississippi river-we are the third row of RV's but the spaces are staggared so there is a bit of a view. Just after we pulled into our space, a big barge was headed downriver. Stella and I got to watch it as we went for a leg stretch. Stella communicates her evaluations of campgrounds by rolls in the grass. This campground got 3 rolls. She really likes it!

There is a bit of a breeze coming off the river, so it is cooling down, but our awning doesn't like it and has retreated. Nevermind, the sun is setting on our back bumper. We are told that there will be fireworks across the river, but they probably won't start till 10pm. Guess we will stay up for the show. Stella will probably retract a couple of her rolls when the fireworks start.

We are allowing the freezer to determine our dinner. Whatever falls out when we open the door gets cooked for dinner. We also had an abundance of fruit (thank you Donna and Aunt Alva), and it was going fast, so we are having a very nice 4th of July sangria with lamb. I think a pesto pasta salad will round out the meal. (It's later and Marcia did her usual kick butt job with dinner. She added savory scones and dinner was great!)

As Marcia was finishing up the meal, Stella and I watched this mega tug push 35 barges upriver.

KG

"Make Me an Angel to Fly From Montgomery...."

And so we did.... Left Dothan, flew through Montgomery, and made it to Meridian, Mississippi just as it started raining.

Before leaving Dothan, we decided to fill up both vehicles, as gas was $2.69 at Sam's Club. As I was filling up the Honda and Marcia was pulling up in the RV, the man across the pump from me told his wife to get out of the car and come look at this beautiful motor home. There may be sweeter music, but for today, this was sweet enough.

The Cronemobile drank her fill of the cheap gas, and we just smiled as we passed the $2.86 gas beyond Dothan. We had heard that the cheapest gas in the nation is in Jackson, Mississippi. Maybe we will get some of that tomorrow. I'm not sure we can beat $2.65, but I'll be delighted to if it's there. We did see this sign, but since we had a full tank, we just passed it by.

We took the historic road from Montgomery to Selma where we crossed the Alabama river. Probably these women were on their lunch hour excercise. It wasn't too hot today- in the low 80's when we were crossing the river. It was overcast with some breezes.

We chose Meridian because it has the only park nearby that is listed in our park finding bibles-Woodalls and Big Rigs. It really meets our needs. It is simple. All level sights on concrete pads with new lighthouse looking hookups-they even have a little light on the top. The Wi-Fi is free and easy to connect, and the cable TV is in the little hookup station. There is no pool, no hayride, no dance pavillion-just ample spaces and quiet. The laundry is clean and features two washers and two dryers for $1.00 each. The family who bought the land and developed it are Katrina refugees. We think they have done well.

Tomorrow we head for Jackson and perhaps Memphis beyond that. Big Muddy is coming up.

KG

Camping at Camping World

That's what we're doing. Some would find this amusing-the ultimate consumers. We at not that amused. It was not the worst of days, but we would have rather been down the road.

We are at Camping World/Emerald Coast RV in Dothan, Alabama. We pulled in about 10am, and spent the day waiting for the RV to be fixed. In addition to the stuck lock, we discovered a couple of leaks after a weekend of rain. The cable that makes the turn signals and brake lights work from the RV to the Toad (tow vehicle) was not working since Marianna (we decided to deny knowledge of this in case we were stopped by an officer of the law). All is well now.

Emerald Coast's showroom was our "lounge" today. We finally setteled into lounge chairs beside a fifth wheel and eventually even plugged in the computers. Stella was quite pleased with the whole arrangement, as she got alot of attention from us and anybody else who passed. Since the showroom pillars were decorated as palm trees, and there were fake plants with pine straw around, and of course, lots of RVs and Fifth Wheels, who could blame her for peeing on the showroom floor.

The high point of our day, besides getting the work done on the RV, is a free camping space for the night. We are set up in the parking lot of Emerald Coast/Camping World. The only downside of this is the occasional customer who tries to get in the door. Stella really hates that.

So, we have had Chinese take out, and Marcia has the satellite going so we have our "toys". Tomorrow we will head out. Knock wood!

KG

The Photoblog is up!

The photo blog is up and running at http://mtkgphoto.blogspot.com

Remember that it is posted in reverse order, so first post is last on the list. Hope you enjoy. I tackled Venice first.

In the meantime, we are enjoying a bit of respite on the south side of Dothan, Alabama. This morning, as we watched Hwy 231 back up with traffic for the beginning of the long 4th of July week, we felt good about our choice.

We are taking some down time for us, and waiting to get the RV locked driver's door looked at and, ideally, fixed on Monday. Our RV park has much to offer us in the way of open space for the satellite and 50amp service. It offers little else that would attract crowds-no water features or sightseeing musts, and since this afternoon, rain and lightening. Perfect for getting some R&R and some photos put up on the blog.

I'm sure the locals-particularly the farmers-are delighted with the rain. We saw fields of shriveled and dried corn plants, and the other plants were puny.

Stella got a bath this morning. Good thing, because by afternoon she was looking for a good cave for keeping the pack out of lightening.

Yesterday, after we arrived and set up, Marcia got us all teched up with sattelite internet and TV. We have all of our toys, so let it rain.

We do have some concern about our route west. I-40 has the most appeal, but that rain is troublsome.

KG

On the Road Again...

These flowers and a hawk greeted me on the morning we were preparing to leave. I took it as a good sign, though it did make me consider what it is that propels me from this tropical paradise. Stella was a little reclutant to accept her traveling cave as well, but we all quickly adjusted once on the road.

Our usual method of leaving involves loading the last minute things, getting on the road and traveling half way to Williston before realizing we have left something essential like a passport or a wallet. This time we did well with the essentials, but I remembered that I had forgotten several less consequential things by the time we got to Bronson. Sudoku books and earings can be replaced on the road, and the jacket I promised Kim can be gotten next winter. We have passports, essential cards, and direction(s).

We do seem to have door/lock karma issues. We believe we got the RV door fixed before leaving, and have taped the screen door lock (which may have been the problem all along), but the driver's door remains locked no matter what we do. We will probably have to check in with the Fleetwood dealer in Dothan about it, as it is a safety feature, and if the other door locks on us again, we are for sure locked out.

As we drove through Perry, some guy pulled up on our right, stopped his car and got out. I was initally a bit alarmed until I saw that he was closing one of the underneath doors that had popped open. A little way down the road, it popped open again. Nothing that a good swift kick couldn't cure, but unsetteling.

When we got into Marianna, we were invited to Aunt Alva's for a scrumptious dinner (complete with cherry pie with a few pecans thrown in). How wonderful to have dinner already made when we pull into town, and to get to visit with Aunt Alva. (I'm disappointed in the fuzzy photo though.)

Aunt Alva has always been a good cook, but since November, when we set her up with an IT desk, she has become proficient in emailing and has begun to web surf. We have always known she was a quick study, but we are very impressed with her new skills and enjoy keeping in touch with her.

Yesterday, Marcia spent a great deal of time trying to get my new laptop to relate to the RV sattelite system. She ended up buying a network cable for a temp fix, and perhaps took a Tylenol for her headache. Since our cell phones don't work at this park, there is no getting tech support. We are planning to stay at another park on our return visit to Marianna. In the days before wireless technology, RV parks with tree canopy were considered a plus. Now we look for open spaces.

Our plan is to take our time and get plenty of rest along the way-we still have not replenished our energy reserves. Today we hope to have a visit with Peggy, Marcia's cousin, and head for Dothan-maybe beyond-on Friday. Marcia is considering and reconsidering our routes west. Those Texas floods just seem to keep on keeping on (and make our door/lock karma seem tame).

I keep working on the photos from Europe. Will keep you posted when they get their own blog.

KG

Lag, Lagged, Lagging

We are home, but our luggage is not-yet. We think that if luggage must be lost, it is best to loose it on the last leg home. Luckily, the risk manager, Marcia, suggested we pack a change of clothes in our carry ons-just in case. We saw those bags in Atlanta and passed them through customs and rechecked them. Then we waited an hour to board, watied another hour at the gate while the pilot said they were loading luggage, and ultimately waited about another hour watching the luggage conveyer belt roll around without our luggage. Really, if you think about it, it is quite nice to not have to lug those big suitcases around when you have been up 24 hours. Better that they deliver them to the door.

So, we are glad to be home and forcing ourselves to stay up and get into a reasonable sleep routine. There is plenty of mail to sort, and quality time to spend with the animals. Stella was quite happy to see us. The cats seemed pleasantly surprised. Tut is, of course, more demonstrative, and is, as I type, resting on my forearms and purring. Even Ms Nutt displayed some desire to cuddle a bit before insisting I "pop a top" of catfood for her.

To recap a bit, we had a restful day on Friday after getting to our hotel room near the airport on the Venice mainland. We did find a neighborhood restaurant, Crazy Pizza-I'm not kidding, and joined some other women from the cruise who had an overnight before flying home. As we were getting to know each other, several other couples from the Olivia cruise came in, and soon we were all talking together and sharing the jokes of the cruise. I'm sure the locals did not find it as amusing as we did. The food was very good. Two women from Alabama were enjoying a dessert coctail of gellato and something like vermouth. It just sounded way over the top to me.

Saturday, I took off early for Venice on my own. Those of you who know my passion for sleeping in may find it difficult to imagine that my ticket for the vaporetto (public transport boat) was stamped for 8:10 (a.m.). I had to eat breakfast at the hotel and catch the public transit bus to ride 45 min. to even get to the vaporetto ticket counter. I just think that I am a morning person in other time zones.

I am quite charmed by Venice. It is truly a city of eye candy at every turn. Marcia and I decided to open a photo blog to post our trip photos, so that is in the works. I started organizing my photos today, and found them a bit much for my laptop to swallow. MDT has been suggesting that another computer with at least of Gig of memory would be more appropriate for dealing with the photos, and today I could really see her point. (Bother!)

Anyway, I ended up only riding the vaporetto to the Rialto bridge, as I saw the city market (Saturday morning) and just had to explore it. (Maybe I will get to share with you the fish photos soon.) So, I walked and walked and snapped and snapped until I got too tired and hungry and headed for Harry's Bar.

Harry's is a Venice institution and way too expensive. However, since Harry's is credited with inventing the Bellini, another Venisian institution, I decided to have one. A juice glass of peach juice and presecco (local bubbly wine) was yummy and cost 15 euros. That got me a seat in the air conditioned bar until near time for the restaurant to open, and the first seat in the restaurant. This particular seat happened to be right in front of a window on the Grand Canal. Harry's windows have mirrors lining the inside, so there was a delightful play of scenes of the canal that constantly paraded before me. I'm hoping to share some of that with you as well. I allowed Harry's to feed me tuna tartare and a bit of white wine and some bread. It cost way too much, but the experience was terriffic.

After a good rest and refueling at Harry's, I made my way to Peggy Guigenheim's. Peggy accumulated quite a collection of modern art and a few modern artists as well, in her day. The works remain and made a wonderful air conditioned way to spend the middle of the day.

I wandered around some more just snapping till I got bored of beautiful scenes and doors and door knockers and handles. I found the gondola makers. They must take Saturday off, as there seemed to be no one around. I also found a grocery store-one of my favorite things to do in a new city.

The grocery was quite nice, but a lesson in Italian racism. The Africans who sell knockoff handbags in the tourist areas were trying to buy stuff at the deli. It is ostinsibly a system of taking a number and being served when one's number comes up. However, when I was approached to be served for my 25, I noticed that the African had 22. When I deferred to him, the deli attendant served him, but had I not, I am sure she would have passed him by till there was no one else there. Similar things happened with the gypsies in the checkout.

I managed to pick up a picnic lunch to bring home and enjoy with Marcia. We decided to open the little bottle of 30 year old Balsamico I had gotten earlier in the day. Some people buy Murano glass and gold, but Marcia and I are more of the food bling type people. I understand why people eat this stuff on ice cream. Heavenly.

Sunday was the usual travel day. We stood in lines and got processed. Then we sat on the plane for an eternity. They fed us reasonably well, and certainly gave us good wine-a French Sauvignon Blanc from LaForge Estates. I cannot seem to Google it-perhaps Delta bought it all. Our flight attendant tried to see that I drank all of it as well. I let her have her way for awhile.

By the time we reached Atlanta, we were both ready to call it a day. The baggage thing was a bit of a drag, but when you are that tired, you cannot even get up the energy to be too upset about it. We were grateful to just have to haul ourselves in the Marriott van, and ultimately, the clean, soft, cushy Marriott bed and fall asleep.

That sounds so good, I think I will head for my clean soft tempurpedic bed right now.

Sweet dreams!

KG

Back in Venice

We are back in what must be the most charming city in the world. I think I would never tire of looking at the buildings.

It was hazy and windy as we pulled in between the little lighthouses that now make the entry to the city. The older gateway is further along. Soon the wind stopped as we entered the lagoon area. As we approached St. Mary's Cathedral, I snapped just as the ships horn blasted. I was just thinking about how the dome looks animated with all the scaffolding, but with the horn blast, it seemed that everything moved.

Somebody notify the Doge in case he didn't hear our blast. St. Marks square was not as crowded as it was when we were there the other day.

As we were about to round the corner and pass the two Norwegian ships to get to our parking place when this little boat with pink angel rabbit passed. They keep telling us that everything must be transported by boat. Guess that goes for pink angel rabbits too.

Though some have gone ashore for excursions, we are excursioned out and have decided to pass up karioke night as well. We are all about packing our suitcases and getting ready for getting off the ship and to the airport Marriott. We have a day or two in Venice, so we may have a few more adventures before catching our flight home. Hope to be able to blog as well.

KG

Turtles, turtles, turtles

I opened my email yesterday to find that the BBC has been filming in my yard at the river. Our house sitters apparently handled the British invasion well. Here is the story as I understand it:

Carmen and company were just standing around in the front yard admiring an alligator snapper turtle, when the BBC filmcrew for David Attenborough popped up from the river and were quite thrilled to see the turtle. Seems they were filming a documentary for BBC and Discovery titled "Life in Cold Blood". Carmen forwarded the email from the filmmaker to me, and it includes many very nice photos of this turtle in the hands of the turtle catcher and swimming in the river. I'm not sure I will be able to get them on the blog, but I will try, and I will certainly forward the email on to whoever wants to see the photos. Very exciting!!

Last night, after the show, we came "home" to find this on our bed. Some synchronicity here!!!

KG

Sailing, Sailing, Sailing the Agean Blue

It is once again, a day at sea. So far, we have managed our coffee and breakfast, played pajama bingo, won a 2-4-1 at Judy's presentation of What's Happening with Olivia, listened to a lecture about Sappho, and had lunch. Yes, we won another 2-4-1, this one will be Olivia's 100th trip. We sail from San Diego for the Mexican Riviera in late September. Lilly Tomlin will make an appearance. Guess we are not quite cruised out for this year.

We haven't worked out the logistics yet, but will probably be looking for a parking spot for the RV and Stella while we are gone a week.

I'll only be able to blog for a short time, as there is BINGO planned for this afternoon, and I don't want to miss it-especially on this winning streak.

Here is a photo of last night's masked towell sculpture.

KG

Back on the bus

We have had our last bus excursion, and we know we are not alone with our relief. It has been wonderful to see most of this stuff, but we are delighted to have two days at sea and will probably be delighted to get off the boat. Enough already!

Yesterday, the bus drove over Mykanos. Very beautiful beaches on the Agean and lots of windmills-some old for grinding grain, and some modern for generating electricity.

I spent the morning in the port town shopping. Marcia's knee did the twist right before we were going to take off for town, so she decided to give it the ice treatment and I went on. The shopping is now quite predictable, but I was in search of labrys pendants. They probably come from the same labrys pendant factory and are shipped all over the world, but I bought ours in Greece! I also picked up a couple of shirts. I have noticed several women enjoying these lightweight cotton shirts, and now I will enjoy them as well.

Time for a seaside lunch. I had my favorite chargrilled octopus and Tziki with a beer. Very yummy. I chatted with a family from New Zealand. Since I have been thinking about RVing in New Zealand as recommended by a fellow traveler in Vienna, I quized the guy and complimented him on New Zealand's fine wines. I have been chatting up our fellow travelers who are also RVing Women, so I planted the idea in hopes it will take seed.

I continue to work on the idea of renting a yacht for the next trip to Greece. Probably it would take a lottery winning to do so, but the idea of actually being able to take a day for each thing we want to see-a day to climb to the top and a day to recover-perhaps floating in whatever sea is beneath us, is so appealing.

So, we did our Mykanos bus, came back to the ship, had a lovely dinner on the aft deck with the other bottle of Italian wine and our friends Lori and Cheryl, went to the evening show and laughed till we couldn't breathe, and donned our Venician masks for a short stay at the masquerade party. This party started at 10:30, and our bedtimes have been moved up on this trip to about 8:30, so we were quite tired. The photo is of our towell sculpture (a seal, I think) wearing my mask. It is not winking. It's eyes were not wide enough to see out of the mask eyeholes, so it had to choose one.

We were still quite tired when we docked in Pyreaus-the port of Athens this morning, but we got out of bed for that final bus trip. It rained on us a couple of times; it is like Florida summer rains that just squeeze the moisture out of the air for awhile and stop.

The acropolis is way up high. That's what it means-way up high. So, we photograph it from the base or a distance. There are also way too many of us tourists, and we are told from those who are able to climb it way up high, that once there, one walks around shoulder to shoulder with all those tourists and hopes to not be knocked over the side. Particularly today, climbing up wet marble was not appealing.

Perhaps we are getting really jaded, but the city of Athens itself had little appeal. Venice and Budapest, and Vienna are charming, but Athens is just metropolis.

We stopped at the tomb of the unknown soldier, guarded, of course, by Greek soldiers. They were doing the guard changing thing that requires them to march around a bit. I particularly liked their marching. Perhaps it comes in handy on the hillsides around here.

I'd like to point out that there is not a curtain in front of Hadrian's Arch unless you happen to be photographing from the bus. I personally would have liked a stop at the arch and Zeus's temple behind the arch, but that wasn't happening today.

There was a stop at the original Olympic stadium. This is where the games were held in ancient times, but they had wooden seats. This is also the place where the original marathon runner came with the news of the Greek victory over the Persians at Marathon-then dropped dead. This stadium was built here in the late 19th century when the games were reinitiated. It is made of marble-the only one in the world made entirely of marble. Since it is too small for modern track and field games, it is used for concerts.

Our plan for the rest of the day includes the hot tub. We are looking forward to BINGO at sea tomorrow.

KG

The Beach

What a wonderful relaxing day. I am so glad we booked this excursion-it was so the right thing to do. Here is what we had to look at all day.

That is, except when I got in the water, and then I had the shore and the Greek island of Somos to look at. I could also look at about 20 women sitting on lounge chairs enjoying beverages and occasionally getting in the water.

The water was about 24-26C-just warmer than the river. Like the river, it feels great on a hot day, but is a shock when getting in. Once in, I found that I was so boyant I didn't have to move to stay afloat. This was the Agean off the coast of Turkey-a national park.

We did learn a bit about Turkey on our way out there, and got to visit a rug store and learn how silk rugs are made on our way back. The Turks (the women that is-only women make rugs, and only men sell them) use a double knot method making thier rugs really durable. They were also quite beautiful and, since they are handmade and silk thread is teeny tiny, it takes quite a long time to make them and they are very pricey.

We also learned a bit about Turkey as we swam. Upon entering the national park, we noticed several young soldiers with uzis-machine guns. Our guide explained that all men are required to serve in the military for 15 months, and that these guys were here because there might be bad guys trying to get in the park. Later, as we swam, we noticed that the soldiers were quite close by, and "encouraged" the young men jumping off the rocks nearby to move on. Indeed, I had my first shower in front of a police car with three armed guys standing around. I was, of course wearing my swimsuit, but it was certainly a new experience for me. I'm not quite sure exactly which bad guys might threaten us, but we are very near Iraq, Iran, and Syria, and this is a Moslem country-though it is very secular, and I can imagine that there might be anti-Americans and anti-lesbians lurking about. I thought better of trying to photograph the soldiers.

Nevertheless, this was probably our favorite excursion so far, and we are wondering about swimming in the Adriatic and Mediterranean next.

KG

Online photo resizer found!!!!!

I am quite proud of myself to have found www.resize2mail.com. I'll try to catch you up on a few photos. The downside of this site is that it takes a long time-at least on the ship's computers, but I am so glad to be able to illustrate the blog that I will not whine.

Here is one of the little houses I found today. Just in case you cannot click on the photo and make it bigger, the "sign" made of stones stuck in the wall of this house, says "STELLA". Who knew she had a house in Rhodes?? You can see that the donkeys go up and down these steps carrying people all day.

This is the little acropolis villiage. There is virtually no tree shade here, and in the spring through fall they bake in the sun. Rhodes has spring water, but Santorini has none. Marcia talked about growing the tomatos. They are planted in pumice stone. Pumice stone is able to absorb water. So, during the more rainy months, it soaks up water. When it cools down at night, the stones also get condensation, and we assume they share it with the tomatos. Olives too. Lovely trees, but not much good for house shade as they are about 2 meters high. The cedars help a bit, but basically, we are looking at houses on rock. No wonder they paint them white and have open windows for the breeze and little open air porches in front of the house to provide a cool place to be, and to help the house stay a bit cooler.

If you can click on this image and enlagre it enough, you will see that we really did get a daylight gondola ride.

And here is Olivia and Rainbow flying free and proud above the Veendam.

I'll keep working on those sunset photos-they seem to be taking longer.

KG

Night in Santorini-Day in Rhodes

You may now know that we woke up looking at the walls of the old city of Rhodes (where I wish they would reconstruct the Collosus), but what other lovely things appear at our little window on the world.

Last night we saw the sunset of Santorini-very beautiful. Some day I will show it to you. Suffice it to say, the sun set over one of the islands formed by the caldera, and the lights of the city went on behind us (aft, actually). All this as we enjoyed the bottle of spumante I bought in Italy.

Then, as we were getting into bed, Marcia called my attention to the full moon and moonlight on the water just ourside our room. I did not get a photo, as we are just whipped even when we get a reposito.

Amazing the toll taken by this "easy" method of traveling. I can't even use jet lag as an excuse, as we have been in this area of the world for weeks. We have not been partying either. While others were gazing at the moon from the toga party on deck, we were crawling into bed. Perhaps it is the heat when we are out walking.

We are starting to long for a method of travel that allows us more time at each place (perhaps personal yacht would be right for us). We get moved around by bus to places it would take us hours if not days to explore, and we have an hour's exploration time before waiting on the tour bus for everyone and moving on to the ceramics factory where we watch some guy throw a pot like we learned to do in pottery class years ago. Granted, we have not achieved his level of skill, but seeing the process won't do that much for us either. Back on the bus and more narrative to the ship.

Did I mention that there are boatloads of other tourists here as well?? Big boats and as many as 4 or 5 in port at once. This makes the competition for space at these sites quite keen. Today we were dropped at the base of a hill that is an acropolis site (ruin). This is where the busses park. We walked down a rather steep hillside into the villiage square where one uses the WC (always an impressive line, but with busloads of lesbians in addition to hetero tours, the women's line is a guaranteed wait. By the way, the former men's rooms on ship have been labeled as women's rooms and flower arrangements have been put in the urinals. There is hardly ever a wait.). Back to the villiage square-a great place to meet again in order to catch a crowded bus or 4 Euro taxi back to the tour bus. This is also the place to hire a donkey for the ride 1/3 of the way to the top. From there on up, it is stairs, or so I am told. I made it in the little church and up another flight or two on my own power, but nowhere near the top. I decided to use the time to get some nice photos of doorways and donkeys and such. Nothing in the gift shops is remotely interesting to me. For this I am grateful. Neither lugging or shipping appeals to me now.

I did learn that the name "Rhodes" comes from the flower of the pomigranite plant. Perhaps some of my relatives will appreciate that little bit of information, if they don't already have it.


For some tours we get dropped off in town with directions to get back to the ship. Yesterday in Santorini we did this. We have chosen an excursion to the beach sometime soon. We are told we will be provided a beach towell, lounge, umbrella, picnic lunch and bottle of wine. I wonder how long we will be left on the beach. I am starting to get a bit jaded. Will keep you informed.

KG

Rhodes

We opened our curtains this morning to see Rhodes. Ancient walls, a turret of some kind-I suppose I will know by the end of the day. Anyway, a very fine way to wake up.

I am still missing the Collosus. I was thinking last night that there must be some way to reconstruct him. All these places we visit are actually reconstructed anyway. The forces of time and earthquake and weather have conspired to bring them down, so the enterprising locals do their best to reconstruct them to attract tourists-it is working really well as far as I can see. So, why not reconstruct Mr. C. Surely they could do something with, say, pvc pipe-not hard to replace from time to time.

Today's excursion leaves at 9:15, so we have a kinda leasurly morning.

Just in case you might be wondering, we did finally get our gondola ride in Venice. It was originally scheduled to be a 3 hour ride at dusk-we got a one hour ride at midday with a bottle of spumante for the 6 of us. I have the most lovely photo, but you already know the photo whine, so I won't reproduce it here.

Yesterday was Panaromic Santroini, which means a bus ride all around the island. We stopped for a photo opp-way high up, at a winery for tasting, had a little stop in a little town, and got let out in the big town. We had a wonderful lunch with a wonderful view of the harbor and what is left of the active volcano. Actually, this volcano stuff is pretty interesting. Huge caldera makes the now semi circle island that is Santorini. In the center is the active volcano, and one can see another circle on it. The "sides" of the island are a geological history ready for the reading. Marcia reads geological history and is very pleased to have this reading material.

When you see the travel posters, you see the little white domed or arched buildings perched on the side of a steep hill. That's Santorini. Very pretty. Walking through those little villages means stepping on cobblestones and ascending stairs. There are three ways up/down in the main city-the cable car, donkeys, or on foot (being mindful of donkey droppings). We chose cable car. It was stunning how sheer the drop was.

I had the fish for lunch. It was very much like the fish I get in Tarpon Springs except they make an emulsion of olive oil and lemon juice and serve it on the side. We also had Taziki (sp?). Cucumber, garlic, and sour cream-very rich and very yummy!

Must go get ready for Rhodes.

KG

Amazing Santorini

Finally, some of the photos of this place on this page. It's just amazing. We arrived early this morning and "parked" in the ancient caldera now filled with the sea. everywhere I look there are walls of ancient lava and ash layers of so many colors and types I am struck with the beauty. Many places look like the Grand Canyon with layer upon layer of ash that comes in red, orange, gray, and ranges of tan to cream. The lower layers are more compressed and usually thinner while the upper layers are scattered with several big thick layers separated by thin layers other material.


Our bus tour captured us at the bottom port area and zig-zagged us up the steep sides of the cliffs. As we passed by there were many places where you could see dark boulders held captive in the light colored ash. The road was often lined with chunks of the dark rocks that finally made their way out with the help of erosion. Once on top we could see how people live and work here tending grapes, melon, tomato, olives and such. The varieties are specifically chosen for their low profile to survive strong winds and drought tolerance. Plus the terrain is so steep and rocky that cars and trucks are of no use so produce is collected by donkey and the whole family gets out there and helps with the work. Not really quaint, but necessary. Most of the food is imported as well as water.

The bus carried us throught Fira to the other end of the island to Amouni and back. The slope on the outside of the caldera is naturally less steep and the farms have found more places where rocks can be moved to form more stone walls that define the areas that can be tilled and planted. It's similar to Ireland in some ways, only in a more geologically severe place.



Back in town we hicked up to the edge of the caldera and found many, many shops and restaurants to pass through-- like Dollywood with a Greek edge-- but we found a place to grab some lunch then walk to the cable car that took us back down to the port below. Half a day or so left us pooped.

Reposito time and we took advantage of it.

K&M