We flew from Minneapolis to Venice, Italy the beginning of October. Bruce had rented an apartment in the city for three nights. Venice is about the size of Central Park in New York. I know we walked every foot of the city. It was wonderful! Next we got on the Holland America’s Nuew Amsterdam for a 24-day cruise in the north Mediterranean. First we went east to Turkey and Greece. Then it was west to Croatia and Italy. We have never been catered to as much as on that trip. The trip ended in Barcelona where there was another apartment waiting for us for three nights. Between the subway and walking we saw a fair amount of the city before flying home.
On November 8th we left again for a meeting of the Adventure Gateway group. These are about 12 of the biggest water sports companies in the country. It is always great to get together and hear what their summers were like. The drawback was that the meeting was in Hawaii. Maui is a great place to visit. In addition to meetings we did all the tourist things: sunset cruise, outrigger canoe trip, the Road to Hana, luau, etc. I don’t know how regular people like us can afford to live there. Our breakfast at the hotel (luckily included) was $25 per person and their big Sunday breakfast buffet was $50 per person. We did not eat it. It was a warm and nice trip.
After being home for two days, we drove down to Robert, Miranda and Zach’s in Missouri for Thanksgiving. We had a great long weekend and lots of wonderful food. I felt good that I only gained a half pound. As always we hope that you and your family had a great Thanksgiving. It truly is a time to remember how lucky we all are.
Monday we arrived home with a foot of snow on the ground. Above is a picture of what greeted us outside our kitchen windows. The flowers have been replaced by sparkling snow. It was 10 degrees this morning. Everyone here is getting ready to decorate for Christmas. We brought home 30 more strings of white lights to go on outside Christmas trees.
Just as I am getting settled into home, we have to leave for the two more trips. On Sunday we go to Daytona Beach for the annual meeting of American Outdoors. Bruce is about to join their national board so he has to be there. We also buy equipment there. If I see the beach from a window, that will be a miracle. We are home on the 8th and leave on the 10th for a Distinctive Lodges meeting which is in Minnesota. We are home on 13th and that is more than enough travelling for me. I am ready to sleep in my own bed for many nights!
On the fly I have been told that Christmas and New Year’s are heavily booked. If you are interested, call soon. The front desk will get you settled in with a reservation.
