BABY BEN - BAPTISM WEEKEND

On June 21, 2011 Benjamin Matthew Thompson was born to Laura, BJ and big sister Lily.  Cindy & I were so happy for them. We really wanted to see him right away but had to wait.

On Sunday, August 7th Ben was baptized. His other grandpa (Rick Thompson, BJ's dad) and I co-officiated just like we had for Lily. Matt & AJ were there also having flown in from D.C. It was a great few days. We always have fun when together. During our time together we ate at the Rio, played cards, soaked in the hot tub, went swimming at the neighborhood pool, talked and hung out.

Benjamin Matthew Thompson

BJ (dad), Matt with Ben, Cindy, Scott (me), AJ, Laura (mom) and Lily

CRUISE 2011 - CINQUE TERRE

Vernazza

Some years back Cindy & I saw the movie "Only You" starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Marisa Tomei. It took place in Italy. One area featured was along the Italian Riviera which was simply breathtakingly beautiful. We were hooked. Then Rick Steves the travel guru featured the Cinque Terre (5 lands) on his program. These 5 villages are now a National Park and are protected. Once we saw what the Cinque Terre had to offer we really wanted to go there. So we made our plans and finished our Cruise and trip to Italy there relaxing.

Riomaggiore

Sunset

The picture of relaxation. Our balcony in Riomaggiore.

Cindy & I rented an apartment and settled in. During our time there we hiked, took a boat from  one village to another then the train back, ate some good food (discovered pesto), enjoyed gellato again, of course, and simply relaxed. The weather was hot and sunny and the views as you can see were gorgeous.

We ended our trip here relaxing. When it was time we boarded the train and went to Milan for our trip home.

What a great 2 weeks. 

CRUISE 2011 - VENICE

We were back! In 2006 we were here. Our cruise started here.

Venice is a wondrous place. Cindy & I tracked down our hotel after checking our bags at the train station. Then we were off to explore once again. Gondolas, churches, piazzas, cafes, San Marcos, Campanillo bell tower and tourists.

This is a picture taken from our cruise ship upon our arrival at 5:00am. It was exciting to see again the city we loved on our last visit. 

Over the course of 2 full days we saw a number of things we saw before but relaxed a bit more. We didn't have to see everything we saw the first time. We rode the Vaporetto up and down the Grand Canal, listened to live music at the piazza San Marco in the evening, walked the streets looking in shop windows and at the people plus having gellato breaks every so often. 

 The last time in Venice we neglected to take a gondola ride. Everyone visiting Venice should indulge themselves and do it even though it is not cheap. The ride was nothing special but it was uniquely Venice.

I don't imagine we will ever go back to Venice. We have been there twice and loved it but there are other destinations to plan on seeing.

CRUISE 2011 - TAORMINA, SICILY

I had no idea Sicily was so beautiful. Actually the cruise brochure mentioned that the port of Messina isn't much. Rather than simply go into port we decided to take a chance on Taormina. I had never heard of it. WOW! It is a beautiful place. Pedestrians only - shops, cafes, churches, Roman ruins, and views of Mt. Etna and the Mediterranean.

Our bus dropped us off and we had 3 hours on our own.

Great looking couple

Beautiful view

Roman ruins

Amphitheater

CRUISE 2011 - ROME

Cindy & I looked forward to seeing the sites in Rome. We had to decide how much we were going to spend and just what we wanted to see which meant we decided what we weren't going to see. We decided on Imperial Rome. Our excursion took us through the Roman Forum, Colosseum and the Vatican.

It was a great tour. Our bus had to drive 1 1/2 hours from the port into Rome. Then we were off.

Trevi Fountain

Arch of Constantine

Colosseum

St. Peter's

CRUISE 2011 - FLORENCE

Florence is famous for it's art & museums.

Our guide was great. Just like you see in the movies we followed behind our guide who held a sign aloft. I had to smile at that realization.

We had a 1 1/2 hour tour and then were on our own.

Pont de Viccio

Panorama of piazza

Copy of Michelangelo's David

CRUISE 2011 - BANDOL, FRANCE

Toulon is a major French port so upon our arrival we saw naval vessels and a lot of activity. Our shore excursion today would take us to Bandol, "a pleasant small animated resort lying beside a pretty bay" or so says the brochure.

Our bus dropped us off next to the beach and shops so of course we took our diet coke or coke lite break. Once refreshed we walked along the beach. Now I didn't realize that topless sunbathers were not unusual in Europe. We were walking along and I happenened to notice some guy sunbathing. He looked a bit different somehow - a little more lumpy. Well it actually was an older woman topless. I think you know what the lumps were. I was shocked. Now keep in mind she was 20 yards away so it wasn't like I had to step over her or anything. After that I looked both at the water and the sunbathers. ;)

Here are some pictures from Bandol.

Coke Lite break

Bandol beach

Marina

Fountain

CRUISE 2011 - BARCELONA, SPAIN

Our time in Barcelona was short and we really were not all that interested in seeing the city since we really knew nothing about it. Now others have since told us that they loved the city so I guess we missed out.

Marina

We took a shuttle down to an area very close to the marina and our ship. A statue to Christopher Columbus on top of a tall tower dominates the area. After having a diet-coke and croissant break at a sidewalk cafe we went to the top of the Columbus monument to see what we could see. After that experience we walked to our cruise ship and checked in.  The following pictures are from this marina area.

Las Ramblas - famous pedestrian only shopping area

Christopher Columbus

CRUISE 2011 - OVERVIEW

The last time I mentioned our cruise it was 45 days off. Well that was a while back now.

Our trip was great and I think all we hoped it would be.

It started out with a few glitches but we handled it.

Once we flew into Chicago O'Hare we had a layover before our flight to New York and Barcelona, Spain.  While walking around stretching my legs I  noticed the flight schedule board said our flight along with a number of others was cancelled. What? I stared at it for a moment and then went and told Cindy. Then we scrambled. We got into line to talk to an airline agent along with other frantic customers. Once we connected with an agent we were put on another flight leaving a bit later and flying into London Heathrow connecting to Barcelona.

The flight was fine just long. Once at Heathrow we had a 7 hour layover. We should have gone into town. Instead we just lounged around Heathrow. Then on to Barcelona. We arrived without incident but our luggage didn't. The switch-over meant our bags were misplaced. No matter. We had extra clothes in our backpacks so it wasn't the end of the world.

The Royal Caribbean Cruise line really took care of us. After a few phone calls our luggage was found and caught up to us that evening.

Voyager of the Seas

Our ship was the Voyager of the Seas and was big and beautiful. The cruise went from Barcelona, Spain to Toulon France, Florence, Rome, Messina in Sicily and ended in Venice. It was 6 nights.

Our room was cozy (think sort of small but not bad), the food was wonderful, the entertainment was entertaining and good so the whole cruise was great. I hope we can go on another one some day.

I'll show you some pictures of our home away from home.

Our room

The Promenade lined with shops, bars and specialty restaurants

Deck chairs and walking path. The pool area is off to the left and the climbing wall, miniature golf and rollerskating area are behind us.

We really had great weather and took shore excursions to some very nice places.

OUTLAW RANCH

Buffalo in Custer State Park

A very long time ago when I was in college I worked a few summers at a church camp called Outlaw Ranch. It is located in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota not far from Mount Rushmore.

This past July I spent 3 weeks at Outlaw as a volunteer. It was great being back there. Over the years I have taken families and youth to Outlaw for a week at a time. The days are filled with activities like horseback riding, hiking, swimming, group games, great food, campfires and singing.

For those 3 weeks I served as a dining room host. What that meant is I did dishes mostly. I actually enjoyed it. For 3 hours around each meal I worked with a few others to prepare the hall for the campers then cleaned up after them. It was at times very busy but never hard and always with great people around.

During my off hours I hiked a bit, drove up to see Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse carving, herds of buffalo in Custer State Park and even drove into Rapid City to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 2.

I had a great time.

Beautiful isn't it?

On a trail ride

Dining Hall & Lodge at Outlaw

Mount Rushmore

Crazy Horse     It is coming along.

Outlaw horses grazing

Inspiration Point at Outlaw

My work station

SANTA FE OPERA

If you think that going to the opera is about as enjoyable as enduring a root canal from your dentist I have to say that you are mistaken.

Cindy & I went to the Santa Fe opera's production of Puccini's "La Boheme" recently. It was a great experience.

Theater and parking lot

open-air seating

When you arrive you notice two things right off - the setting and structure plus the tail-gaters. People dressed anywhere from casually to formally sit around their cars eating and talking with friends. A few are grilling but most simply feasted on food already prepared.

The opera production itself was wonderful. La Boheme is a love story sung in Italian with English subtitles appearing on a screen right in front of each seat. During the show it rained a little bit and the cool breeze felt great.

We enjoyed our evening and may go back sometime.

A TRIP INTO THE PAST

The Cumbres & Toltec is America's highest & longest coal fired, steam operated, narrow-guage railroad. As the brochure says it is "a proud remnant of the spirit that won the West. Built in 1880, it was part of the San Juan Extension of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, with tracks running from Denver through the ore-rich Rocky Mountains to Silverton, Colorado and Santa Fe, New Mexico."

A few weeks ago Cindy & I stepped up into a restored passenger car for a very enjoyable trip through some very beautiful countryside.

Our adventure took us from Chama, NM over the Lobato trestle, past Windy Point, Cumbres, Tanglefoot curve, Cascade trestle into Osier through some very beautiful country. That portion of our trip took us 2 hours. Once in Osier all of the passengers, there were 3 cars full I believe, got off and had lunch. After stretching our legs we got back on a different train that headed back down into Chama once again.

The scenery was beautiful and the trip was leisurely. It was a great time. We are talking about doing it again sometime for the Fall colors.