No2ndhome - Tom Marshall

My wife and I retired to Naples Florida knowing that we would not stay there during the summer. Our plan is to go to different place each year, one that suits our criteria. We have rented for at least three months in: IRELAND, AUATRALIA/NEW ZEALAND,SLOVENIA, ESTONIA, MEXICO, CARMEL, Ca. (3 times) and presently ANNAPOLIS, Md.

I have published four books about this lifestyle: (They are the basis for my blogs, and are at Amazon.com)
OUR SUMMER IN SLOVENIA
OUR SUMMER IN AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND
OUR SUMMER IN ESTONIA
OUR SUMMER IN CARMEL(due Sept. 08)

I am woking on a book to explain the benefits, financially, and as a lifestyle, of NOT HAVING A SECOND HOME,...it will be titled

THE WORLD IS YOUR SECOND HOME

You are invited to visit my free website for more information and review my work. I would welcome your ideas about my book.

WWW.MARSHALLPUBLICATIONS.COM

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Joined on: July 29th 2008
Last Login: November 1st 2009

Blog Entries: 67
Photos: 133

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Blogs & Travel Journals

by No2ndhome, order by Date newest first.

By No2ndhome
November 1st 2009

THE STORY OF CARMEL'S DEVELOPMENT-PART ONE North America » United States » California » Monterey

PINE INN AFTER RELOCATION
THAT MIGHT BE DEVENDORF'S BUGGY

EXCERPT FROM MY BOOK: OUR SUMMER IN CARMEL, AMAZON.COM The square mile incorporated city of Carmel-by-the-Sea, in addition to the 120 galleries and art studios, also claims two stage theaters, the internationally acclaimed Bach Festival, the equally renowned Shakespeare Festival, a music society, and an annual art festival among its more prominent cultural events. This focus on the arts is not a recent Chamber of Commerce effort to boost tourism. Unlike other California real estate developments around the turn of the 19th Century, from the onset Carmel was a settlement of artists. The orig [View Full Entry]

By No2ndhome
October 23rd 2009

SLOVENIA SIDE TRIPS-HUNGARY-PART FOUR Europe » Hungary » Central Transdanubia

HOTEL VOLAN-LAKE BALATON

(Excerpt from my book: OUR SUMMER IN SLOVENIA, AMAZON.COM) After a day-and-a-half to travel few hundered miles, we finally left Maribor and Slovenia about noon, our destination for the night, Lake Balaton in Hungary. I know, were still not in Budapest, but hang in there, we'll get there. To get to Lake Balaton from Maribor, one drives for about a half-hour through Croatia, so I expect Elysee and I can claim having also visited that recently ill-fated country. Lake Balaton is, outside of Scandinavia, the largest freshwater lake in Europe. A long finger-like lake of a little more than 50 m [View Full Entry]

By No2ndhome
October 18th 2009

SLOVENIA SIDE TRIPS-HUNGARY-PART THREE Europe

MARIBOR CASTLE/ST.FLORIAN
14TH CENTURY CASTLE AND STATUE IN TOWN CENTER SQUARE

( Excerpt from my book: OUR SUMMER IN SLOVENIA, AMAZON.COM) Leaving our comfortable guest house nearby Celje after a satisfying breakfast, except for the instant coffee, we set off for Maribor, Slovenia’s second largest city (about 110,000.) The morning coffee, very important to starting Elysee’s day, as it is for many Americans including myself, was the nasty European Nescafe type. This loathsome brew, common throughout Europe, thankfully is becoming less popular. It is a sour-tasting imitation of coffee, sure to start your day with a frown and an acidic stomach. We promised ou [View Full Entry]

By No2ndhome
October 14th 2009

SLOVENIAN SIDE TRIPS- HUNGARY- PART TWO Europe

TRIPLE SETTEE
WHERE COUPLES SIT FOR FIVE MINUTES BEFORE MARRYING

Excerpt from my book OUR SUMMER IN SLOVENIA, Amazon.com While at Bogensperk Castle we were introduced to the Slovenian custom of the five-minute waiting period just before the marriage takes place. The bride and groom are seated, surrounded by their immediate family, and five minutes of silence ensues. During this period the bride and groom are to think separately and silently about their marriage and either can have a change of mind at this point and cancel the entire proceedings. We were told by our guide that on only one occasion did the bride change her mind, but in her case [View Full Entry]

By No2ndhome
October 3rd 2009

SLOVENIA SIDE TRIPS: HUNGARY Europe » Slovenia » Styria » Celje

BOGENSPERK CASTLE
SITS ISOLATED ON TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

(Excerpts from my book OUR SUMMER IN SLOVENIA, Amazon.com) As I have noted before, a major factor in Elysee and I deciding to spend a summer in Slovenia, is it being excellently situated to enable side trips to other countries. It is possible to easily drive from Bled to Budapest in six or seven hours. In our case, being in no hurry, we took several days stopping overnight at Celje, Slovenia, visiting Maribor, Slovenia's second largest city (110 thousand) and then stopping overnight again in the Lake Balaton region of Hungary. From there we drove on into Budapest. The following day [View Full Entry]

By No2ndhome
September 5th 2009

MUHU-SAAREMAA-PADASTE MANOR Europe » Estonia

13TH CENTURY ROMANESQUE CHURCH
Amazing find in Poide, built not long after final pagan battle in 1227.

(Excerpted from my book: OUR SUMMER IN ESTONIA: AMAZON.COM) The following day we traveled to the nearby island of Saaremaa. Connected to Muhu by a causeway across a shallow inlet, Saaremaa is Estonia’s largest island, almost 1700 square miles. Saaremaa, like Muhu, was declared a frontier zone during Soviet occupation; therefore, travel to and from the island was severely restricted. Saaremaa’s population is less today than in 1930 for three reasons: German and Russian deportations of Saaremaa’s citizens for slave labor during WWII, an exodus of able Estonians to nea [View Full Entry]

By No2ndhome
August 29th 2009

AYERS ROCK-CRISSCROSSING AUSTRALIA Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory

kATA TJUTA MOUNTAIN
Miles away, sunset, didgeridoo playing in the background

Excerpted from my book: OUR SUMMER IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND, AMAZON.COM) Leaving Perth we were once more confronted with the vast emptiness of Australia. The flight from Perth to Ayers Rock is 2260 odd miles, crossing inhospitable terrain, devoid of a trace of Man’s civilizing mark. Frank Lloyd Wright pointed out how nature abhors a straight line. When flying over most of the world’s land mass you can see Man’s imprint below; fence lines, railroad tracks, housing grids, the shapes of ball parks and other geometric sports arenas, and not least of all, multi-storied buil [View Full Entry]

By No2ndhome
August 25th 2009

WHY CARMEL: PART THREE North America » United States » California

CROWD PLEASER
MONTEREY BAY ACQUARIUM

(Excerpt from my book OUR SUMMER IN CARMEL: AMAZON.COM) Mother Nature’s gifts to Carmel and Monterey Bay are not limited to its trees. The sand in places on Carmel Beach is strikingly white. This is attributed to a prehistoric upwards thrust of the coast that exposed the light-colored granite, which, over the ages, has been ground down to a fine, white-powder-sand beach. Also, there is Carmel’s signature critter, the sea otter. These playful animals are the darlings of the Monterey Aquarium, but barely survived to this day because of their valuable pelts; more sought after at [View Full Entry]

By No2ndhome
August 15th 2009

SLOVENIA SIDE TRIPS- VIENNA Europe » Austria » Vienna State

THE RAUCHFANGKEHER
LOTS OF HORNS, HOOVES AND FEATHERS

From my book OUR SUMMER IN SLOVENIA, AMAZON.COM.) On our last evening in Vienna we took a decidedly different approach to dinner. On this night we actually dressed up (that means I put on a jacket) and went to the Rauchfangkeher, loosely translated into the “chimney sweep who fell in love with a woman married to a baker and who always dusted her roof with white flour after cleaning up the chimney which it seems was cleaned much more frequently than needed.” That’s a long and loose translation, but then, this is the German language. This restaurant is billed as having [View Full Entry]

By No2ndhome
August 11th 2009

ESTONIA MUHU ISLAND-PART FOUR: SOVIET STYLE OCCUPATION Europe » Estonia » Saaremaa

AIR DEFENSE MISSILE SITE
Ready line for mobile launchers. Elysee is on watch.

(From my book OUR SUMMER IN ESTONIA, AMAZON.COM) It’s ironic that my second historical interest on Muhu spans those 800 years, with the battle of 1227, representing the beginning of Estonian subjugation, and a deserted Soviet air defense missile site representing the final shaking off of Estonia’s foreign occupation. Muhu was off limits to all but the island’s residents, for the almost fifty years of Soviet Union occupation following WWII. In addition to Soviet paranoia that someone might escape their loving embrace by sea to Sweden, Muhu was a restricted site becau [View Full Entry]

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No2ndhome - Tom Marshall

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