Stepping out of the Fairbanks airport just after midnight we walked into bright sunshine. Expected. We also walked into a swarm of ostrich sized mosquitos, intent on devouring our flesh. We were less prepared for that and Leanne and Craig in particular were worried about what they had gotten themselves into. But like at home, mozzies are worst at dusk and we didn’t encounter gargantuan insects in such numbers again. Fairbanks itself is the end of the line to someone like me. I’m not prepared to march off into the wilderness in search of complete isolation. Some folks are and we met one. His log cabin was nearly finished and he would be moving there permanently in the coming months so that he could live off the land, hunting and fishing. For vegetables he would grow ... read more

In case if you didn’t know, Disneyland is a big place. In fact, it is so big that it is two places. That’s right there is Disneyland and directly opposite there is Disney California adventure. So, Leanne, Nathan, Ray and I spent a day at each park and I can safely say that we didn’t see all that either park had to offer. Eleven hours is just not enough time. The theme parks are not the only big things here. The cars are bigger (noticed that more so in Wyoming and Montana), the burgers are bigger, all drinks are bigger from coffee to beer to giant bottomless soft drink cups and the shops are much bigger too. Our two days at Disney were great fun for everyone. There are rides and roller coasters, most of which ... read more

Much of this story is best told with pictures and not with words. So, look all of the way down at the bottom to see the photos that don’t embed in the text. We pick up our adventure in Puerto Vallarta, from where we caught two flights to arrive in Boise late at night. Nathan got an up-close look at the cockpit and sat next to the pilot before take-off. I’m sure that he was impressed with the plane, but he still says he is going to be a train driver. I asked him if he ever thought of doing a job where he doesn’t drive anything, and his response was, “You mean, work in a supermarket?”. From Boise we drove east and our journey paralleled the Snake river across mainly flat land with just a ... read more

It’s tough wandering the Pacific coast, just hopping along from one beach to the next, but someone’s gotta do it. Mazunte had been high on my list of places to visit on this trip and it didn’t let me down. Nathan made friends with two Canadian girls and we spent a good portion of each day at the beach. The kids showed no fear of the large surf that crashes in close to shore (no good for surfing here). To start with we were worried that our little niño would get hurt. But every time he got sloshed around like a cork in a storm he came up with a smile, wanting to do it again. Another great aspect of meeting other traveling families, is that we had four adults to take it in turns watching ... read more

Sorry to overload you with two stories in quick succession but Cuba turned out to be an internet black hole. No contact with the outside world for 12 days! I haven’t lived like this since 1997. So, I have written two entries and published back to back. If you like Italian food but don’t like going to Italy, then Cuba is for you. Every restaurant here does pizza and pasta and some will serve a proper meal for $1.50. The currency used by tourists in Cuba is CUC, Convertible Cuban Pesos. CUC are equal to USD so it is easy to work out what everything costs in your usual currency. Back to the Cuban gastronomy though. You don’t have to eat Italian every night. The local cuisine can be interesting too. Some good meals have been ... read more