Heidelberg

Well here we are in Heidelberg. This is a very old town. established by the Romans. We walked the climb of tears up to the castle. We only had to stop twice to catch our breath but it is a 25 degree climb up to the top. We pick a cold rainy day to tackle this trek. We had lunch on the pedestrian mall and were delighted to sample again the Kristallweizen or light wheat beer.

SWitzerland (the hills are alive)

Can you say Riccola! Laura and Karen at the Gasthaus Hirshen

The Alps at Grindelwald

Lucern

Lucerne!!!!!
The bridge!!!!
The Beer!!!!

Switzerland!!!!!!!!!! What a beautiful country. After what seemed like a very long (got lost once) trek from Stuttgart we found our way to Lucerne. We stayed at an old inn in the center of the city. The next morning after a wonderful breakfast we went to the lake itself. I was last here in 1965 at the tender age of 14. I begged my parents to let me walk across the old bridge but they wouldn't let us go. So after 43 yeares almost to the day I was able to fulfill this one item from my bucket list! We had dinner at an old cafe and had pizza and beer. It was really great travelling with Ryan and Laura. I had rented an automatic but they substituted a manual transmission instead but a nicer car. The Ford Focus! Not the focus sold here but a high tech version on the scale of Opel. It even had rain sensing windshield wipers! We then left for Interlachen which is sited between two lakes and is the gateway to Grindelwald and the high alps. WE toured and drove all over the area and got our first snow at the top near Murren.

Visit to Germany

In late September Karen and I went to visit Laura and Ryan in Germany. What a beautiful country it is. This is Tubingen where Ryan spent time as an undergraduate. We then went to Volksfest which is a mini version of Oktoberfest. We drank lots of beer and bought all sorts of stuff.

Primm, Nevada

Well we are on the road again to Primm, Nevada! So you might ask where the hell is Primm. I don't think that it is on any map but it sits straddling the Nevada/ California border along I-15. The hotel is Whiskey Petes's. It is not what one would consider a vacation destination but the place is a lot of fun. Sailing, Group lying and a little gambling thrown in. The landsailors.... as you can see are very low to the ground. You feel as if you are doing over a hundred miles per hour. In reality you will go from 20 to 45 miles per hour. Plenty of speed to hurt yourself if you tumble. Also there is plenty of downtime to lie about how fast you went and who won the race.

Orlando

Well we are off again to Orlando. Karen got to visit with most of my family. My mom, brother, nephew Max, niece Leslie and Ruth. We ate shopped ate and shopped! We ate fresh seafood at Rusty's at Port Canaveral. What a wonderful time unti Hurricane IKE. We couldn't get to Houston because of the devastation for several days. When we finally were able to get back, we were so grateful given the devastation( current estimates 58 billion) that there was little loss of life. Amazing Grace our sailboat fared very well with the loss of her sails. Alas my brand new Mazda Miata was a total loss having been swallowed in the storm surge. We have been living in third world conditions but every day brings small improvements in power, water, roads and cable.

The Iditarod!

One of the highlights of our trip to Alaska was a visit to the trail head of the Iditarod dog sled race. This year was the running of the 36th event. We had an opportunity to meet Joe Reddington Jr. who is the son of the co-founder Joe Reddington Sr who passed away in 1999. We got the chance to play with the sled dog pups. At Wasilla, (the trail head) visitors are encouraged to play with the pups and handle the dogs so as to make them familiar with people. Karen just loved those pups. This race is also called the "Last Great Race on Earth". The race covers 1150 miles starting in Anchorage and begins the off road segment in Wasilla. The end of the race is in Nome Alaska. The race is done over a period of 10-17 days depending on conditions. Each sled is pulled by a lead dog with anywhere from 12 to 16 dogs. The race actually began as a supply and mail route to remote sections of the state. Mail and sullies in and gold going out. As whether or not I would participate in such an event it seems highly unlikely given there is no warm beach involved. In the sumer the teams continue to train. The dogs are trained to lay down when they stop running both to rest and conserve heat. This place is worth the visit!

Seward, Alaska

Well this is the sleepy town of Seward. It is the offshore fishing capital of Alaska. It is home to Killer whale, humpback whales, puffins and lots of fish.

We stayed there in a private home and loved this place. This last picture is of the arctic puffins who are so ugly they are cute. We also passed the Bear Glacier which has receeded over half a mile in the past few years. We ate salmon and halibut til it came out of our ears. We also shipped a box of our salmon to Texas for us to enjoy!

Who are Karen and Dave?

Karen and Dave are a couple of 50ish kids at heart trying to complete our bucket lits asap. Karen runs her own hairstyling business and is quite the talented lady. She can cook like a gourmet chef and has a wonderful sense of humor. Dave is a retired dogcatcher, just kidding, I am too poor to retire. I work in a hospital in Texas and love my work.

This picture reflects my sentiment about life. If you have an axe to grind do it here at the axe grinder in Moose Pass Alaska!

Alaska, July 2008

Well sit back and strap yourself in for the mighty adventures of Dave and karen. We set off for the wilds of Alaska. Little did we know the dangers that lurked there!

We were tracking this grizzley bear and come to find out he was really tracking us. These guys are really dangerous so kids don't try this at home. The grizzley can outrun a horse for short distances. Guess what, we were a very short distance from him. Needless to say we beat a hasty retreat.