ALOHA TRAVEL SHRINE

It's that time again! Time to erect my Travel Shrine for the trip to Kauai with Annie, John & Bradley.  That adventure will begin August 7. That means only 6 weeks and two days to go!

The theme of this adventure will be "Aloha."  Simply put, Aloha means "joyfully sharing life."  We certainly expect to be doing that with the Derrick family on the island of Kauai, but, the word Aloha has a deeper meaning.

The Spirit of Aloha was an important lesson taught to the children of the islands of the past. It explains the world of which they are a part.  "Aloha is being a part of all, and all being is a part of me. When there is pain -- it is my pan. When there is joy -- it is also mine. I respect all that is as part of the Creator and part of me. I will not willfully harm anyone or anything. ...The earth, the sky. the sea are mine to care for, to cherish and to protect. This is Hawaiian -- this is ALOHA!

I hope that as I meditate on the meaning of this Travel Shrine, and my hopes and dreams for the coming trip, that I will do so in the true spirit of the islands.

Aloha,
Nncy

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I will catch this blog up soon!

INSTITUTIONS of US GOVERNMENT –Odyssey Writer– GV 214  - Thurs, July  16

I will have to go back and catch this blog up   This is just a spacer

The second day was probably our favorite place we visited - The gardens of Monet - The Gifinchey Gardens.

 Our first day's adventure was to walk about Paris.  On the way way drove by many famous sites including the Arc de Triumphant  It was a surreal day.....or maybe we were just jet lagged.

 We visited the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Note the impressive stained glass window taken from the inside.

Becky, Hannah and Phil climbed the Eiffel Tower!  Norm and I just stood underneath it and looked up....waaaaay up!

Of course they couldn't get the cruise started until we completed the safety drill. What a bunch of dorks in bright orange Life Vests!  I think Hannah was tired from the looooong floight!

The River Cruise down the Seine with Becky, Hannah and Phil was a huge success!  We tromped all over France, ate waaaaaaaay too much, enjoyed lots of laughs and good company. Here we were at the ancient castle of Henry the Lionheart in Les Andyles.

TRAVEL SHRINE - SEINE RIVER TRIP 2015

Today I erected my Travel Shrine for our upcoming trip to France. It's a river boat cruise down the Seine - something we have never done before!  This is the probably the shortest "turn-around time" I've done yet between trips and Shrines. I feel a tad guilty for not savoring our time in Pensacola longer, but, it's Spring Break and the Alban-Struebing of Champlin, MN are ready to go!  We're taking Norm's daughter, Becky, her husband Phil, and our granddaughter, Hannah on this trip.We all expect it will be epic!

As always, my shrine should represent my journey – actual and metaphorical. It should show what I wish and expect for the trip.  It should show how eager I am to go. It should also show my fears and hesitations. Its core purpose is to help me see and understand all the issues that surround this journey. As I just wrote this I remembered that I probably should add something to the shrine about my knee and it's limitations -  something to send good ju-ju along the journey so I can keep up with the others. It's a riverboat cruise, but everyday we'll be getting off to explore and that means and a whole lot of walking,walking, and walking!

We've been promised WIFI on the boat, but since it's such a short trip only 8 days) I don't think I;ll be blogging much until we return. I hope you will follow along on FACEBOOK though!

Living the Moments & Making Memories,

Nancy & Norm

Bringing down the Pensacola Travel Shrine

I'm way behind on my blogging. You'll notice the dates of the last few entries and know I've been playing catch. With a bit of sadness I tear down the Travel shrine today for our time spent in Pensacola this winter. I usually like to leave my shrines up for a month  and spend more time reliving the moments in my mind's eye, when I return from an adventure. However, we've another adventure coming up just next week, so down it comes!

It is good to journey to an end, but in the end, it's the journey that really matters.

Living the moments!

Nancy

This Week is Your Birthday!

In keeping with our family tradition we celebrated Norms' birthday for a week or more.  We started when Mary arrived and continued all the way home to Iowa.  Norm's biggest surprise was not the key Lime Pie as big as his head, or even the Smoked Pork chops that Mary brought from Iowa. No, his biggest surprise was the set of five tandem kites.  Although there wasn't enough wind the times we took them out to sail all five, he did manage to soar three of them and had a blast.

Living the moments....

Key Lime Pie as Big as Your Head!

Mary came for a short visit just before Norm's birthday. We introduced her to kite flying, treated her to some good southern seafood and a libation or two, visited Fort Pickens  and ate Key Lime Pie as big as her head!

Ling the moments!

What to Do When It's Cold Outside?

Mid-February our weather turned colder and picnic days on the beach were no longer an option. We spent a few of the colder days exploring some of the interesting museums of Pensacola. Historic Pensacola Village consists of twenty-seven properties in the Pensacola National Register Historic District. Eleven of these properties are interpreted facilities that are open to the public. The T.T. Wentworth, Jr. Florida State Museum, originally the 1908 City Hall building, is a virtual treasure trove of historic artifacts, Americana, and West Florida history. The T.T. Wentworth, Jr. Museum houses three floors of permanent and traveling exhibits. That was probably our favorite of all the historic buildings and museums we visited.

Mardi Gras, also called Fat Tuesdays, to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after the Epiphany or King's Day and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday." reflecting the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season.

We decided we’d take in the local Mardi Gras parade. When we asked at the visitor’s center how early we needed to come downtown to be able to park. We were assured 3 hours early was more than enough. NOT!  We ended up having to hoof it over a mile which ordinarily would not be a big deal, however, that is farther than I have been walking, in one stretch, since my knee surgery.  Wasn’t sure I’d make it, but I  did. Yay!  Norm retrieved the car afterward though and picked me up. What a gentleman. J

It was one wild-n-crazy afternoon celebrating with the island folks of Santa Rosa and catching strings of beads flung at the crowd.  Notice in the pictures how close the people were to the parade!  It was, as I said….one wild-n-crazy afternoon…..And, we caught quite a few beads!

Living the moment

Norm & Nancy

The National Naval Aviation Museum

What a surprise! I knew about aircraft carriers, but thought that was something the Air Force was in charge of. I didn’t realize that the Navy had their own airplanes, or aviators either for that matter, so I you can imagine how I was blown away by the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola -  the world’s largest Naval Aviation museum and one of the most-visited museums in the state of Florida.

 Naval Aviation’s rich history is on display and we saw more than 150 beautifully restored aircraft representing Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Aviation. Well, I say we saw that many because that is how many the brochure says they have and we saw them all – give or take a few. It is an amazing show of aviation throughout history.

These historic and one-of-a-kind aircraft are displayed both inside the Museum’s nearly 350,000 square feet of exhibit space and outside on its 37-acre grounds. Norm was especially delighted when he saw a model of the kind of ship he served on, The USS Estes and even more excited when he saw a mortar exactly like the one’s he, and other Pipe Fitter/Sheet Metal workers, turned into flashlights for a lighting display when some dignitaries came aboard in Singapore. Way cool!

We’ve spent two full days , so far, touring the museum and will probably go back one more time to catch the little parts we missed. If you’re ever in the Pensacola area this museum is a “must see.”

Living the dream!

Norm & Nancy

Because We Long to be Birds

When did you last fly a kite?  I highly reccomend it for everyone - of all ages!

We brought down a couple with us to Pensacola because we knew the beach is usually perfect wind for flying and there's no telephone wires around to worry about. And, lucky that we did as we've spent several wonderful afternoon on the beach flying our butterflies and birds. There is truly nothing quite as freeing as kite flying. Leonard Cohan says it well in his book, Spice Box of Earth....

“A kite is a victim you are sure of.

You love it because it pulls

gentle enough to call you master,

strong enough to call you fool;

because it lives

like a desperate trained falcon

in the high sweet air,

and you can always haul it down

to tame it in your drawer.

A kite is a fish you have already caught

in a pool where no fish come,

so you play him carefully and long,

and hope he won't give up,

or the wind die down.

A kite is the last poem you've written

so you give it to the wind,

but you don't let it go

until someone finds you

something else to do.” 

― Leonard Cohen, The Spice Box of Earth

And so, we will continue to fly kites every chance possibly. In fact, just today Norm placed an order for a HUGE one. It should be here by Friday!

Because We long to Be Birds,

Norm & Nancy

GOLF at A C READ

Norm played nine holes of golf and I got to be driver. Routed on two salt water Bayous, the ninth hole is the most scenic of the three 9s at the  A C Read, 27 hole course. Although the course was originally built for the Navy they opened it up to the public just a few years ago. What a privilege to golf here!   

This is the dry season, so the grass had a somewhat “scorched earth” appearance, but it was beautiful just the same.  It’s old growth oak draped in Spanish Moss, and not only one of the most beautiful courses in the Navy, but in the entire Pensacola region. It was a perfect 73 degree, sunny day that could not have been better.

The only glitch was when I ran over Norm’s foot with the golf cart, or, as my version goes – Norm got his foot under my cart.  No serious harm, but he doesn’t want to let me forget it!  I told him it was his “best drive of the day.”

Dinner followed golf at The Oar House which has a real "Jimmy Buffet" sort of feel. Delicious fish n chips  for me and Paella for Norm. We sipped down a few suds then drove back to our winter home tired but content.  It was a very good day.

Living the Moment in Florida,

Nancy & Nancy

The Pride and the Shame of Fort Pickens

We took a little trip to the western end of the island and visited Fort Pickens, a place where time tiptoes past with the story, both impressive, and shameful, of America’s past.

Begun in 1829 and completed in 1934, Fort Pickens was the largest of four forts built by a work force of skilled slave laborers to defend Pensacola Bay. Construction was difficult. Workers were exposed to an unfriendly climate, yellow Fever and experienced severe heat exhaustion.Their owners collected their wages. Shameful.

In October 1886 a train carrying 16 Apache families pulled in to Pensacola. Under guard the men were separated from the women and children and taken by steamer across to Santa Rosa Island where they were imprisoned at Fort Pickens. Among the prisoners was the great Apache chief, Geronimo and also Naiche, the youngest son of Cochise, and hereditary chief of the Chiricahuas.The editor of The Pensacolian wrote that “Geronimo would be an attraction which will bring here a great many visitors.” President Cleveland approved the idea. The men were held prisoner until 1888 and treated as a “human freak show.” Like I said, shameful. 

Ironically, the only real action this fort endured happened when America was at war with itself. It was one of the few seacoast forts that remained in Union control in the civil War and several major battles were fought from it.

The Fort Pickens gunnery was updated during World War I, and again in World War II. Then it was closed in 1947. Now gulls and children play where powerful weapons once shook the earth and stood ready to defend our country.

WELCOME to HAKUNA MATATA

Our first impression when we arrived on Rosarita Island Saturday evening was ....BRRRRR!  The air so crisp you could snap it with your fingers had sent everyone indoors - very few cars on the road, nobody out walking. It was like a tourist ghost town!

When I stood on the balcony of the condo that is to be our nest for the next two months I saw nothing but a beautiful white sand beach stretching as far as I could see in both directions. It was empty, exceopt for one long legged bird. Waves of shades of green and blue crashed the beach fiercely. The red flag (hazard for swimming) whipped about in the wind. Beautiful, to be sure, but not quite the tropical paradise I had been imagining for months and months. No fear though, the cold snap should be over by Monday.

Welcome to Hakuna Matata!

Norm & Nancy