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Showing posts from June, 2024

A Springtime Journey to the West

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 On Wednesday, April 10th, after celebrating Wesley's 13th birthday & Evelyn's 91st and 10 days of traveling together, Wendy was more than ready to drop me off at BWI. My 10:30 flight got me non-stop to Denver around noon Mountain Time. My forever pal, Bill Veazie, picked me up and we were off to his home in Parker, CO, about a 45 minute drive from DEN. That afternoon we did two cycles on the Parker Incline, a set of 150 tall steps up a hill maybe 10 minutes from home. Just the way to shake off the forced confinement of a plane. And also a beginning to my acclimatization to Rocky Mountain altitude. That day we also visited one of Parker's great public rec centers...the one with a set of pools! I'd brought my Medicare Silver Sneaker's ID and was able to get a permanent ID which entitled me use all the services in town. That first evening we met Bill's camping/hiking friend Gordon for dinner near Denver University. Thursday I got out to swim laps and then used

A Viking Cruise

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In May Wendy went on her first ever Viking cruise. When telling people about the forthcoming cruise, several times, she was understood to say a Biking cruise. 14 days of biking up and down the shores of the Rhine, maybe that would be the vacation Chris would take! On the Viking Cruise, the ship did all the hard work! Wendy went with her former colleague and still friend, Kathy from Baltimore. Also on the cruise were two friends of Kathy's. A good time was had by all.  We started our trip in Paris, so we had to get a few shots of the icons of Paris.                We made a pilgrimage to Normandy, a heartbreaking visit to a place of glory and horror. Here we overlook the landing place at Omaha Beach and below is a fraction of the crosses at the American cemetery near the beaches.  And finally, we were on our way to the ship and off for our Viking adventure!     Most of our stops were in Germany. Here are a few of the outstanding scenes we saw in  the villages.    One of my favorite