Flying Toward the Leaning Tower of Pisa
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
I generally always despise the week before vacation – with so much to do and prepare for, and seemingly so little time to do it. The week preceding Friday, May 8, 2009, was no exception, but thankfully when the chips were down on the Thursday before, I quickly and painlessly packed for my trip to Italy, gathered my passport, notified my credit card company, and still had time to watch a couple of episodes of Three’s Company on DVD. Read the rest of this entry »
We had another relatively leisurely morning on Monday, March 30, 2009, as we set out to tour Guatemala City. Since this is the city in which we were staying it didn’t require that we left too terribly early, so Bob and I were able to enjoy another one of those gigantic breakfast buffets with the eggs, sausages, bacon, omelettes, guacamole, lunchmeat sandwiches, gourmet cheeses, traditional mexican dishes, toast, and array of juices. I love describing these meals. We met our bus at 9am and embarked on the tour. 
I knew that at least one aspect of our Guatamalan week-long excursion was going to be outstanding when Bob and I made our way down to our hotel restaurant first thing on the morning of Sunday, March 29, 2009. We were welcomed witha mammoth breakfast buffet which not only included the staples eggs, bacon, sausages, breads, cereals, fruits, yogurts, etc. – but also an omelette chef, cheeses, deli meats, and several latin delicacies such as plantains, chilaquiles en salsa roja, black beans, and an array of exotic juices: banana milk, cucumber orange, mango, and many others. And what would the kickoff breakfast be without me starting a small fire…thanks to a faulty toaster. Still, if the trip had included breakfast and nothing else, I would have nearly been satisfied. 
I was rather surprised with the weather in California when I awoke at the Courthouse Motel in Independence on Friday, October 10, 2008. It had dropped down to 45 degrees overnight. I knew it got chilly up in Northern California so I had my Amsterdam sweatshirt with me, but I was hoping the it would warm up during the afternoon. Bob and I headed out at a little after 7am and headed into Lone Pine which was about 15 minutes south.