Here We Go Again!

It’s been more than month since I’ve written anything in any of my three blogs; life intervened. Spending a month with my father following his open heart surgery broke my writing habit. In a couple of weeks we start our biggest trip of the year, which should give me time to start writing again. I say biggest trip because we’ve already cruised a few times this year and plan to finish 2014 with a few weeks in the Caribbean. What started out as an eight-day tour of Ireland somehow grew into a two-month trek.

14 - 18 July: Camping Santa Barbara, CA

Camping is not my idea of a vacation, but neither is breathing Sulfuryl Fluoride. We have termites, and I'll be conducting unrestricted  chemical warfare. My house may spend a few nights in a tent but I'm not. We’re getting an RV. I hope it has a satellite dish and a Jacuzzi.

19 - 20 July: Home to Repack

We’re headed to Europe for two months so we’ll need more than bathing suits.

21 July: Depart LAX

Fifteen plus hours in coach on Turkish Airlines is not my idea of a good time. I plan to be heavily intoxicated before we takeoff. That may delay the start of my writing.

22 - 25 July: Istanbul, Turkey

I'm sure coach is just as nice.

Kellie discovered that Turkish Airlines has the cheapest fares from the U.S. to Europe, and Kellie like cheap travel. You just have to accept a 12-hour layover. Our Iranian friends reminded us that there was no difference in airfare whether laying over for a few hours or a few days. So we’re going to see Istanbul.

25 July - 3 August: Corsica, France

Kellie has spent the last three years learning French, so France is always on the itinerary. We charted a sailboat for three nights–just me, Kellie and the couple who own the boat.  The presence of witnesses should reduce the probability of someone accidentally falling overboard. I’m the only one who doesn’t speak French. This ought to be interesting.

4 - 11 August: Chamonix, French Alps

We loved hiking Mount Blanc so much last year we decided to go back for a longer visit. I mostly plan on hiking downhill, which means I'll have to take a cable car to the summit. Those things unnerve me. I always imagine that the cable will snap, but Kellie and I survive the fall and have our own private Donner Party.

11 - 16 August: Normandy, France

Every so often Kellie throws me a bone and plans a stop at a place I want to visit. I don’t get many of these. In 1996 I stood at ground zero in Hiroshima, Japan. In 2005 I got to visit Churchill’s war rooms. Now in 2014 I finally get to see where Operation Overlord began. I can do the math; I wonder where she’ll take me see in 2023.

16  -  30 August: Ireland

That's David. Read his book.

This whole trip started because our friends David and Jane asked us to accompany them on eight-day tour of Ireland. Of course Kellie had no intention of going all the way to Europe and only spending eight days there. That would be ridiculous.

30 August: Colchester, England

We are not staying in Colchester.

31 August - 14: September Transatlantic Cruise

Kellie's Cruise Husband

Why fly across the Atlantic Ocean when you can take a cruise? At least Kellie splurged for a balcony. I should have lots of free time to write because Kellie will be hooking up with her cruise husband again. 

It’s not a straight shot home; we’ll be stopping in: Harwich, England; Le Havre, France; Portland, England; Cork Ireland; Klaksvík (Faroe Islands); Reykjavik, Iceland; and Boston, Massachusetts.

14 - 17 September: Boston, Massachusetts 

I went to school just outside of Boston (Tufts University) and later taught NROTC at Boston University, but Kellie’s never been to Beantown. The City on a Hill will be our final stop before going home. Boston has many nicknames. You can just think of it as the place where Red Sox fans have their hearts ripped out. I'll get to see my old college friends Nick and Belinda. They've never met Kellie.

17 September: Oceanside, California - Home

After no Crossfit for two months, I’ll probably be pudgy again. I mean pudgier than I am now. Oh well, back to the gym to get my ass kicked by Laura.