Cliff and Ruthie

We have to go home eventually and after searching for flights we found the cheapest route was from Frankfurt, Germany to Wilmington, North Carolina. So off to Dusseldorf we go. Our quick bus trip was a little longer than we expected due to some idiot trying to smuggle weed into the country. Pot is legal in the Netherlands but not in Germany, so don’t you think the border patrol might be looking for something like this? The police never did figure out who was responsible even after “arresting the entire bus”, threatening fines and making a lot of noise. After a few hours we escaped or maybe we were let go, anyway the bus took off without the cops and with everyone on board. Beware the Romanian bus lines. We have less than two weeks left ... read more

After spending a couple of good weeks with family we were off again to explore Scotland. This time we headed up into the highlands to some trekking. We caught a train about halfway up the West Highland Way and made several treks in the Crianlarich area. Perfect weather was on our side and made this hill-walking even more beautiful. The walk was everything from small farms with livestock roaming the hillsides through dense forests past small waterfalls through more farms, more cows, more sheep, big birds, rabbits and more colors of green than you can imagine. We had such a good time we headed a little further to the northern end of the Way in Fort William. We did more walking along the beaches of the rivers and along the Lochs watching boats pass. We stopped ... read more

We took an unplanned trip up to Trondheim, Norway to see our friend Karin. We met Karin in New Orleans a few years back and she is married to another friend of ours, also from New Orleans. Karin is now a Norweg-Orleanian. It wasn’t long after we arrived before we were on our way to the first of many parties. Her friends are very nice and loaned us clothes so we could survive the Norwegian spring. If you remember we have no winter wear and it was damn cold there. We became totally immersed in their lives and them in ours. We did everything from going to a crazy 9/11 conspiracy theory lecture at the local university, to birthday parties, trekking through the forest, having traditional dinners, to a fabulous Eurovision party and finishing up with ... read more

The captain said “If you’ll look out the right side of the aircraft, you will see Mt. Everest”. There it was the tallest mountain in the world. It was a bit in the distance, but there was no mistaking what we were all looking at. After landing (on the second try) we made it into the capital city of Kathmandu. The ride into the city was an eye-opener. From an island with no cars, to a traffic nightmare. Trucks, cars, and motorcycles everywhere passing as they please, horns blaring constantly, avoiding each other and the livestock in the road. The town is very old and of course was not made for autos but that does not stop anyone. We found a place to stay and were told there was no electricity. “Okay”, we said “when will ... read more

The Songkran Festival, Happy New Year, Thai style. It’s April 13, 2552 (Thai calendar) and today is the day they celebrate their New Year. This really can’t be described, at least not by me. We all join in with the locals and proceed to throw massive amounts of water on each other and everyone else. Over the past couple of days, you could feel the excitement building, with small buckets and tons of water guns for sale. The Thais have been telling us for days to be ready to get soaking wet. I had no idea how wet. It’s like running a gauntlet, they see you coming, the big grin hits their faces and then the water hits your face. It comes from buckets, water guns and hoses. The water is ice cold, it’s hot, it’s ... read more