goodsue

Rio Caliente Spa, Primavera, Mexico Jalisco Province I’m home from a week in Mexico. I heard that my favorite spa was closing July 18, so, of course, I immediately went online and reserved a week and made plane reservations. I tried to talk some friends and relatives into joining me, but no one was free or willing to travel then. “I’m sorry, Susie, my ankle still isn’t healed enough for me to walk to the dining room.” “I’m sorry, Susie, I just came back from India.” “I’m sorry, Susan, I was at Rio Caliente already this year.” “I’m sorry, Susie, I’m afraid to go to Mexico.” I finally realized I was on my own. I did face some opposition from my family about the dangers in Mexico; but Guadalajara isn’t a border town; besides I fly ... read more

Hello friends and relatives, I haven't written in a while. Through unusual circumstance, I've had a mild, life changing event take place. You may know that I have four siblings. All of us took piano lessons. The piano sat in the front sunroom and we were required to practice regularly. The other four did great on the piano and then moved to other instruments, the saxophone, the flute, the clarinet, and Gailey even moved from the piano to the organ. I was a failure. I hated practice. I could never memorize the keys or the measures, or the beat, whatever. Finally, my parents gave up after five years of trying to teach me the piano, and they gave me voice lessons. After my parents passed away and we were selling the house, the furniture was divided ... read more

Heading for Alaska August 27 I flew from Atlanta to Los Angeles. I was supposed to go on to Portland, but our plane was too full, so I spent a short night in a hotel in LA and flew on early the next morning. I took the MAX, the Portland light rail, to my friend’s condo. My friend, Mariana, called me with the idea of taking an Alaskan cruise, at the end of the summer. “Let’s get the discount for the last cruise.” Her aqua aerobics partner was a travel agent and recommended Holland America. I know nothing about cruises, so I was glad to take advice. Soon we were booked on the August 31 cruise on the Westerdam, a new ship in the Holland America stable. “It will be about 1,000 people,” I was told. ... read more

PARIS, FRANCE After 6 days in London, we took the Eurostar train to Paris. It is really amazing to be able to travel from London to Paris in less than 3 hours, no stops, no transfers, no airports far from the city center. When we arrived at the Gare du Nord, we went to the tourist information booth, where a very pleasant man got us ready for Paris. We got a bus-metro pass and found out the exact location of our hotel. It was on the Left Bank, only a few blocks from Notre Dame. We checked in and then walked to the cathedral. The experience of visiting it was much better than I remember from previous visits. Someone had the brilliant idea of piping in Gregorian chants and lighting the place to simulate a medieval ... read more

Some more London Photos-- London was wonderful, so I want to show you more of the pictures. ... read more