Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Each excursion now 'trip of a lifetime'

Our Norwegian ship docked in Guatemala on previous trip

Now that 2015 is under way, it's time to start thinking about new adventures.

Some may have already gone past that point. And I have.

For years I’ve been telling wifey I wanted to take a particular cruise.

And now it is on its way to coming to fruition. And no, it's not to the western Caribbean.

Within the past two weeks we have booked airline tickets and put a deposit on the cruise. Details will come later.

I guess one could say it is the “trip of a lifetime,” but just about every trip we take now is the “trip of a lifetime.”

In 2008, my wife’s retirement trip was a “trip of a lifetime” where we took a 30-day road trip to the West Coast and back.

And then in 2012, on my retirement trip, we booked a nine-day itinerary covering a lot of places out West that we hadn’t seen before.

Our real “trip of a lifetime” was back in 1977-78 when we took a year off from work and traveled about six months over the course of a year going to Maine and back home, to California and back and then to South Dakota and back.

Another “trip of a lifetime” was to the Holy Lands back in the late 80’s. We saw parts of Jordan, Israel and Egypt.

Most trips have the tag “trip of a lifetime” because even through we enjoyed the excursions, we’re not likely to repeat them.

So now’s the time to start booking your “trip of of a lifetime,” and then next year book another “trip of a lifetime.”

There’s no end in sight.

Next post: Feb. 3, 2015




Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Art for the sake of everyone



Try the three R’s.

No, not those ones, other ones like — Rethink, Revamp, Rekindle.

Where did I get that? Well, "Re" was the theme behind an art program in our next-door city of Biloxi.



We didn’t have to travel to Paris or another European city to see beautiful and perhaps unusual artwork.

It was held a couple of months ago, but was enjoyable.
According to their website, “the artists of Art Can Change Everything, a local art collective on the Gulf Coast, want to change the way you see your city.”




During the event, 20 artists provided an outdoor gallery for the city. Howard Avenue, the downtown areas main thoroughfare, was “transformed with empty buildings filled with color, windows covered with contemporary works of art, all sharing the theme “Re.”

Artist Angie Molyneaux said she first entertained the idea about three years ago.

"With the help of Biloxi Mainstreet and local business and property owners, the dream has finally came to fruition,” Molyneaux said.

“The goal here is to get people actively involved in their community, and promote arts. We hope to have both locals and tourists visit downtown Biloxi, as well as citizens who may not be aware of the renaissance that is taking place in the unique Vieux Marche area of Biloxi.”

Wifey and I decided to park, go afoot and experience the city’s downtown Vieux Marche event.


Next post: Jan. 27, 2015


Tuesday, January 13, 2015

The sounds of silence suit me best


Through the course of our travels, we’ve run across a number of interesting signs — especially in coffee shops.

Signs are a humorous way to remind people, i.e., parents, what is expected in such locations.

Although we’ve seen well-behaved children in most of our visits to coffee shops, every now and then its the parents that are a pain.

The kids don’t know better— and the parents should.

Take for instance, one Saturday morning at our local shop.

I’m too old to deal with a number of things now. If I wanted all the noise of McDonald’s and all the kids running and playing and shouting, I would go to McDonald’s.

That’s not what I expect at a coffee shop on the weekend. I want to turn on my computer, or have a quiet conversation with my wife.

I don’t want my ears pierced by little ones. And I drew the ire of a few parents in asking for a lower decibel level of sound from their kids. 


That’s life. And sometimes, people can’t appreciate signs, or don’t think they refer to them. Anyway, the two signs above were not in our local shop, although I would like to make copies and place them on the walls.

The top one refers to others, and the second probably refers to me.

Next post: Jan. 20, 2015

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Rocky Top - - yes there is such a city




"Rocky Top!”

Yes, after all these years of hearing that favored bluegrass song, there really is a town now with that name.

On our December excursion that ended up in Gatlinburg, we were going down Interstate 75 and saw the exit sign to “Rocky Top.”

The sign reminded us about hearing that a Volunteer State town had voted that for its new name.

So we decided to get off the interstate and drive down the main street.  Civic leaders were hoping that a name change would bring prosperity.

Businessmen promised a number of enticements for the city to change its name. And they did.

All I can say is that the city appears to need more economic input.  But they’re on a roll. This wasn’t the first time the name was changed. Years ago it was called Coal Creek and then more recently Lake City and now Rocky Top.

Anyone who pulls up a rocking chair in Gatlinburg to hear bluegrass music at the Ole Smoky Distillery will probably hear the song that was penned in that city by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant in 1967.

The song is also one of Tennessee’s state songs and the University of Tennessee marching band has been playing a version at the school's sporting events since the early 1970s.

“Rocky Top” — “you’ll always be, home sweet home to me!


Next post: Jan 13, 2015