Abraham Lincoln and Me
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
Abraham Lincoln is perhaps the most famous, effective, and beloved of all of the United States Presidents. His legacy really needs no introduction as he is most assuredly best known as the President who saw the country through the Civil War, bringing the North to victory in 1865. Just days later he became the first President to be assassinated. It is difficult to imagine the tumultuous times that both he and the country went through during this era. And if that isn’t quite enough, he’s the first United States President to have a beard on his face. Read the rest of this entry »
I was slow to stir on the morning of Monday, May 11, 2009, after the brutal walking schedule that Chris and I had endured the day before as we traveled on foot across the entire city of Rome. But there were still lots of things to see during our limited two-day stay in the city, so up I was at about 6:15, showering, dressing, and packing everything that we had into a backpack that it was my turn to carry for the day. We had received a breakfast voucher from our San Jouan B & B to use at one of two cafés; we chose the Caffè Velluti, which was just down the road from our lodgings. 
“Gesundheit!” – as Ali Stevenson replied when I mentioned this destination on my Facebook status on Thursday, April 2, 2009. Of all of the locations that we visited in Guatemala during our trip, I think both Bob and I were the least enthused by going to Chichicastenango. The draw of this city was the gigantic open-air Indian market where residents and tourists far and wide came to barter their goods. I was interested in purchasing absolutely nothing except for a magnet. And naturally no one had any of those. 
Sunday, May 10, 2009 was Mother’s Day and my cousin Chris and I celebrated the holiday by taking the Mother of all walking tours through one of the most famous cities in the world: Roma. For those not in the know, that is the correct name of the city that we Westerners refer to as Rome. After you read this account of this exhausting day, you will understand why I ended it with blisters on my feet – and enough material to create the longest Catsafterme posting ever. 
For the most part, everything that I was experiencing during my Guatemala trip was a complete surprise as I had gone into the trip without any research or preconceived notions about what I would be seeing. The Mayan ruins of Tikal, however, were a bit of an exception as this was a landmark I had actually heard of and took the liberty of seeking out some info about before I left for the trip. Of all of the locations in Guatemala, this was probably the most famous and the one that I was most looking forward to.