The people on the bus go up and down, down, down

Many of you are aware of my unreasonable travel phobias. What you may not know is that topping that list is actually buses. I knew that when I signed up for this cruise that most or all excursions would involve some sort of bus transportation. I also knew that the buses in Europe are far cleaner and much more beautiful than those buses in the US that drive 85 miles an hour on the way to the casinos...so I reasoned that if I wanted to see the world, I could do it on a bus. Our first day in Monaco & Monte Carlo was great. The bus driver was patient and drove slowly so we could soak up the sights. We even got to drive the race route! So it was with much bravado that I boarded our bus the next day to Pisa and Tuscany. Tuscany was probably my most "looked forward to" excursion. The driver again was patient and cautious. The ride to Pisa, interesting. The we headed up a one lane road to the top of the hill in Tuscany where we were to enjoy lunch and wine at a farmhouse/vineyard. A very long story short, the bus could not make the hairpin turns, of which there were many. It often took us 10 point turns to get around the corner. Unfortunately there were cliffs behind us. For every inch we made forward, the bus slid back a foot. It was harrowing to say the least. Finally one lady totally flipped out and insisted that she be let off the bus. I was right behind her with 6 others. The clutch was burning and smelled horrible, the brakes were smoking and the back wheels were inches from going down hill. Our valiant driver managed to get the bus around the corner, only to find out we had gone the wrong way and he would need to turn around somewhere. We walked part of the way up the hill even though our tour guide wanted us back on the bus. 8 of us refused. My entire body was shaking so hard, I couldn't get the xanax out of the bottle. Finally we flagged down a little bus (they are blue here, not yellow) and made it to the farmhouse. I could barely eat, while others drank themselves into submission. I had eventually gotten the xanax to my mouth so I didn't have more than a taste of the wine....but it was amazing. Worth the trip? Not sure...glad I saw Tuscany and it was all I hoped it would be. I would like to go back again, but maybe in a limo? In case you are wondering, the driver found a straight route down the hill that accomodated the bus and we had an easy ride back to the ship with all 40 people singing "Volare" and "when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie..."

In Barcelona

Wow! We're exhausted already. I should mention that when our plane landed in Barcelona, they wouldn't let us pull up to a jetway. We had to walk down the stairs where we were met by inspectors wearing masks in case we had swine flu. Everyone was laughing and warning each other not to cough or sneeze, or they would quarentine the plane. They put us on buses to the terminal. I'm just glad it wasn't some sort of "showers".
The first night, we had dinner with 3 of the pilots, all friends of Rhondas. Holy cow...I'm glad we didn't "party" with them BEFORE the flight. Man they were fun. We ate outside at a cafe with them in the pouring rain. We looked like drowned rats by the time we got back to our rooms. It was a great memorable night!
We are on our second day in Barcelona and leave tomorrow by ship. I loved Madrid and now I love Barcelona. We are staying on Las Ramblas which seems to be the hub of all activity. Street performers, acrobats and clowns (not just Milo) fill the streets. It turns out that today is Workers Solidarity Day (Labor Day) so all of the stores are closed, but I really don't mind. Milo and I walked all over the place looking at parks, cathedrals and amazing architecture. Rhonda and Frieda started out with us, but I think we wore them out after a couple of hours. After all, Frieda is 86.....people here are friendly and helpful and of course most speak some English. I keep saying "Vino Tinto", my favorite spanish words. Rhonda is tired of Tapas and doesn't want to stay awake until 9pm for dinner. Milo and I are just soaking up the experience and taking lots of pictures. Two cameras and memory cards with a zillion megabytes of space. I'll bet you can't wait to see them! LOL I try and post a couple on here before I log off. Once we are settled on the ship we will update you some more. Adios mi Amigos

CRUISE COFFEE

I didn't realize there were so many things to learn about cruises. Like coffee, evidently cruise lines are notorious for bad coffee. While not a coffee-holic, I do like a good cup of coffee in the morning. Milo on the other hand, depends on that jolt. I'm told the French Press is a necessity when cruising. Being too cheap to buy one of my own, I borrowed a nice thermal french press from our friends Stacey & Jim. Then of course we had to experiment with measurements of coffee and water. Now that we have it at a strength that is acceptable to both of us, I just spent the morning measuring 27 snack size baggies of coursely ground coffee from out local coffee house. They are all labeled (of course) and ready to pack. Not sure I'll have room for any clothing, but we will certainly be awake. Let's hope the TSA doesn't think it's contraband. The sniffing dogs will be wired....

COMING SOON: Travel update

Be sure to flag our blog to keep up with our travels.
Milo and I are leaving on April 28th for almost 3 weeks, along with Cousin Rhonda and Cousin Frieda. We will be flying from San Francisco, to Barcelona where we will begin our Western European Cruise!
We will do our best to keep you updated on our adventures.
Bon Voyage!

Amy needs an update

I am so inspired by my wonderful nieces who keep their blogs up to date. I love the entire family and I miss them terribly. It's a treat to keep up with the kids when I live so far away. My niece Amy, once said she stopped reading my blog because it never changed...so here's to change!
Last week I visited my sister Tammy who lives in Clearwater Florida. Sister Cheryl from the Buffalo area came too. I realized that if I ever start feeling old, all I need to do is call my sisters. We laughed the entire time. Every situation reduced us to tears, no matter how insignificant. They are all "had to be there" moments but I will try sharing one with you.
Getting ready for the beach is just as difficult without kids as it is with them. After loading the car with blankets, towels, chairs and tuna sandwiches, we all dog-piled in...seatbelts fastened without any scolding on anyones part this time. Tammy, who was the driver, couldn't get her car door closed. It was stuck on the curb. This alone was enough to send us into bouts of hysteria, but when we realized it was from all the weight in the car, it was even funnier. How much can four (Cousin Diane was with us) middle aged women weigh? OK, fair enough, one of us had to get out so that our tour guide could close the drivers side door. Being the gracious younger sister, Tammy bounced out of the car and gave a tug on the door. nothing. Now the question became "who's next"? Tammy, being slightly more diplomatic than the rest of us stood outside of the car waiting patiently and not saying a word. OK...I guess being the older sister, I should be the one to get out of the car. When I did it sprung back to it's original height and the car door closed effortlessly, humiliating me in the process.
....Now, you may not find that as amusing as we did, but lets just say not only does middle age add a few pounds, but it also takes it's toll on ones bladder.
Amy, is that what you wanted to hear?

Grand Cayman - smilebox

Make a Smilebox postcard

Where do I begin? I guess January would be the logical place. Milo and I had the chance to go to Grand Cayman where Milo had a business meeting. This job in the Caribbean is really paying off...in oh so many ways! We stayed at the Ritz Carlton and had a great vacation in spite of the fact that we are still paying for it.

February was filled with family and work...all of it good. Our son Scott's 36th birthday was a momentous (translate: traumatic) occasion for us.

March came in like a lamb and left with me another year older. Grateful for having those birthdays! Milo traveled to the Bahamas for more meetings....poor baby, and Milo Sr. came to visit with Mary. Always a lot of fun! Did I mention that Milo II & Milo III are clones? Wish we could have known Milo the first...wonder how that would be?

In April, my friend Patti, whom I have known since 2nd grade, came for a visit. We went to San Francisco and did all around girl things. What a great visit!

Milo left for a meeting in Barbados (did I already say "poor baby"?) and returned in May. Lots of fun things in May. My friend Marianne is the host of Good Day Sacramento and she asked me to join a few other girls for an "on air" lesson in scrapbooking. I'm not a great scrapbooker, so I think Marianne just needed to fill the room. I also went to Idaho for Maureens (my step-sister in-law) graduation. Don't you just love an extended family? I couldn't ask for a better one. We are really proud of Maureen for going back to school to get her teaching degree.

June gave Milo and I the opportunity for a long weekend in Mendocino wine tasting. One of our favorite pastimes. Milo alos went to Iceland for a business meeting.....ICELAND! Can you imagine? I'll need to figure a way to link the photos. One of the higlights of my life was at the end of June when we had a "girl-cousins reunion". All 6 of us girls here at the house. Milo was in his glory. That visit deserves a blog all it's own, but I will work on a separate posting.

In July Milo had a meeting in Miami. By now his frequets flyer miles are off the charts and the staff at American Airlines knows him personally. The last weekend in July found us in Idaho for our annual Pearson family party. Seems like we've added an entire new generation since the previous year. From Idaho I went to Orange County to visit with Milos mom while his sister went on vacation. Milo joined me after a few days and we had a nice visit.

August was a really busy month, with work and travel. Milo went to St. Lucia (need I say "poor baby" again?) and then joined Scott and I in the Buffalo area for a fun fun visit. He was supposed to go on to England (yes, for a business meeting) but came down with a horrible head cold and cancelled his flight.

Nothing spectacular happened in September, other than lots of work preparing for my event on October 4th for the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. Lots and lots of work. I had the opportunity to visit with Patti (you remember her from April) and 2 other girlfriends in Huntington Beach - my old stomping grounds. It was great. Lots of giggling and eating and walking. I had the opportunity to do an interview with KMAX in Sacramento about being a cancer survivor. They mad eme look pretty good! We had a small gathering at our house for Halloween. This year brought about 200 Trick-or-treaters. Usually we have closer to 400!!!

In November, Milo travelled to Tokyo and to Washington D.C. By now, he is pretty tired of traveling... but wait!...there's more to come before the year is out. Marianne and I made a few train trips to shop. We hit San Francisco and Berkeley and decided that, while not inexpensive, the train is a great way to go. My mother came to visit us for Thanksgiving. We had a good visit and good food and spent a wonderful day in San Francisco where we sampled most forms of transportation known to man/woman.

Which brings me to December. It's not over yet but at this point, Milo has been to San Francisco and Los Angeles for, you guessed it, business meetings. On the Monday before Christmas the two of us went to Orange County to celebrate with good friends and his mom's side of the family. We flew home late on Christmas Eve on a half empty plane, and drove home from the airport. Scott was here waiting for us. He spent the night and we had a peaceful pleasant Christmas Day with gifts and food. There are 6 more days left this year.....where will they take us? Stay tuned.