Tag Archives | Travel

Our 3 hour bus ride to Pompeii included some beautiful scenery. (And some napping.)

Our first view of Mt. Vesuvius, across the Bay of Naples. Pompeii is not visible in this image. It’s to the right.

As an engineer, hubby was really amazed by how big the city of Pompeii was. This view doesn’t show the far end of the street. And, of course, it goes just as far the other way.

We say many interesting things including this stadium.

The town square was a gathering place for all sorts of activities and several columns remain in good shape. (Not sure who the guy in blue is!)

The nicest homes had marble mosaic floors and central atriums.

The house had no perimeter windows, so all the light came from the atrium.

Of course, there were several body casts showing some of those who perished. Geesh. What a way to go.

It was a long day but we were really glad we got to see it.

Ellen Lindner

While on our vacation out west, my husband and I got to go on a hot air balloon ride! It was EXHILARATING! And very interesting! We both really enjoyed it.

We met the crew of Elevated Ballooning at 6:30 AM, when it was only 27 degrees! This Floridian was wearing six layers of clothing, which did the trick.

Fly Girls

Our pilot, Margaret, was very experienced and skilled. She was a MASTER (mistress?) of reading the fine nuances of what she called micro weather. (Wind currents and directions to the rest of us.) My husband immediately told her that I’m also a pilot (fixed wing) so she explained many things to us.

She and her crew of two had a very efficient and well-rehearsed process for setting everything up. My husband, Kevin, got to help them, while I took photos. After setting up the passenger basket and attaching it to the balloon “envelope,” it was time to inflate the balloon. They hauled out a big fan with its own generator to fill it up.

We drifted over tiny Griggs, Idaho, and didn’t even notice our smoky view. Everything about the experience was mesmerizing!

At one point we were moving across corn fields at a pretty good clip. Yeehaw!

Margaret was actually a little worried about having a high speed landing and told us how to crouch and where to hold on in case this happened! But, she was SO GOOD at reading the wind and making use of the natural wind breaks in our surroundings that she got us slowed down to a complete hover for landing. Then, we just gently plopped down. Amazing!

Of course, there was quite a procedure to getting everything put away and Kevin, again, helped with this.

The balloon envelope alone weighs 300 pounds. After bagging it up we were invited to sit on this 300 pound “bean bag” chair for a photo op.

We finished off our adventure with a toast of champagne and orange juice, a ballooning tradition.

Elevated Ballooning Crew

This was, by far, the highlight of our trip and I highly recommend it!

Ellen Lindner

I’ve always wanted to see a koala and I got several chances to do so in Australia.

They are so adorable! They sleep about 20 hours each day, so of course, all the ones we saw were doing just that. However, we got to get super close to them at the Sydney Zoo. We weren’t allowed to touch them, but we could observe them up close. Doesn’t this guy above look super relaxed?

His buddy was snuggled in a couple of branches below. This was a good chance to study their feet, which are different front and back. The front ones have two opposable thumbs! (His back feet are showing in this photo.)

In Tasmania we saw a wombat, which is similar to the koala species. Also very cuddly looking. And awake!

And then we spent some time with about 140 kangaroos. They live at a wildlife sanctuary where they are taken care of. As a result they are VERY tame, so we could walk among them, feed them, and scratch them. They were so spoiled as to be rather disinterested in us – and our food.

Many of the kangaroos had adolescent joeys (babies) that were hanging out in mom’s pouch. Only the joey’s back legs and tail were showing. VERY weird looking!

And then, we got to see a Tasmanian Devil in action. They’re very interesting looking little characters: about the size of a raccoon, with red ears!

I was shocked when one of the workers asked “Do you want to see him attack?” Well, of course we did. So, the worker gathered a small crowd. Then, he walked over to where the devil was sleeping in a log and poked him with a literal 10 foot pole. That little guy came tearing out of there, with teeth barred! The worker backed up in a big hurry and the devil got tired of the chase after 15 feet or so. Yes, it got our attention! (Reminded me of a very aggressive black dog we had one time. She sorta led with her teeth.)

It was great to see this unusual – to us – wildlife!

Ellen Lindner

Don’t you enjoy finding little unique aspects of the places where you travel? If so, you’ll definitely want to visit the REAL, original Mast General Store  the next time you’re in the vicinity of Boone, NC.

Although there are lots of retail shops called “Mast General Store” in the area, they can’t begin to compare to the original. It’s in a low spot called Valle Crucis in the middle of nowhere and it’s a wonderful gem of living history.

Much of the store hasn’t changed in decades. The wooden floors slope severely and everything creeks, but is a strong nostalgia rush!

The pot bellied stove still stands at the ready and a fire is kept going in the winter. It’s just around the corner from the checkers table.

As the only store in the vicinity the original store sold a little bit of everything, from food to hardware. The nail bins are shown above and the revolving drawers shown below hold all manner of hardware in pie-shaped drawers.

The food sold today still includes many southern offerings from days gone by. There are local soft drinks, moon pies, and “penny” candies.

Perhaps one of the most amazing things about the store is that it still functions as the local post office. Can you imagine getting your mail here? I think it’s VERY unique and interesting.

South of Boone is the lovely little village of Blowing Rock. It has a park in the center of everything where free music can often be heard during the summer. Plus, there are an abundance of shops, restaurants, and inns. And it’s all FILLED with beautiful flowers and landscaping.

There’s also something fairly new to Blowing Rock, a prayer tree. 

A local shop set up a table with supplies and encouraged passersby to write prayers and to tie them to a tree right on the main sidewalk. Soon, white pieces of paper were fluttering in the breeze, in abundance. More recently, the prayer slips have been enclosed in clear plastic envelopes, which gives them an out-of-focus appearance.

It wasn’t long before the first tree was covered with white tags, so people started putting them all over the adjacent plants and such.

Now there are over 13,000 messages on the tree and beyond!

Recently the store that initiated all of this had a major fire which destroyed the interior completely. Fortunately “not one prayer was lost,” as posted on a sign in the first tree picture. It’s definitely a source of local pride and interest.

If you time it right, you might even get to enjoy the weekly farmers market, which is known for it’s beautiful flowers.

I hope you get to discover wonderful places on your travels and at home.

Ellen Lindner