Geo: 45.2792, 0.215607Mary here. Aunt Chris didn't have time to blog because her and Dee had to travel up the road to get their third ice cream of the day. If I remember correctly, it was gelato the Italian ice cream that they were most excited about before our trip began, and if their ice cream consumption in France is just a mild representation of their enthusiasm, then I shudder to think what their dairy consumption will look like in Italy. Doesn't eating a lot of dairy have an impact on your digestive system?!?!? News flash - I know why you couldn't poop today Aunt Chris!I think it's only fair I knock Aunt Chris down a peg or two. She has implied several times over that I'm the loudest one in our travel group. She has ... read more

Geo: 45.2792, 0.215607We all slept great last night. we were so tired. The B&B is quiet, they have new bedding and linens which are awesome, and we each have our own bed. yay! I hate it when I have to share with Dot.The B&B served us a nice breakfast. The bread and croissants here are so good. Then we headed out for market day in Sarlat. Sarlat is the larges town around here and their market day is huge. All the locals were buying their food at the stands. Lots of free samples. IT was hard to pass up anything. We tried the chocolate, of course, sausages, pastries, almonds, breads, fois gras. They were frying up sliced potatoes in giant woks in a ton of butter or duck fat, not sure which but it didn't matter ... read more

Geo: 38.6554, -90.4539In less than a week we will be off on our adventure.I can't believe it is here already. I don't feel prepared at all. I haven't made it past Bon Jour and Toilettes? Where did my study time go?For those of you who are interested, we leave Thursday, May 16 for Dordogne, France. For my family members who read Michael Crighton, that is where Timeline took place..along the Dordogne River. We will fly into Toulouse and rent a car to drive to Dordogne. Yes, I will be driving-eeck. At least they drive on the correct side of the road. Not like Ireland. We will be staying there for about 5 days, then we will fly to MIlan and stay in the Cinque Terre, Italy area. (Italian Riviera). In Italy we will travel by train, ... read more

Geo: 22.2249, -159.452Today we got up and started early. We headed for Wiamea canyon for hiking and site seeing. at our first stop we saw an awesome view of the canyon, pics below. Took a narrow windy road to get there, kind of like Rabbit Ears Pass in Colorado, but narrower and windier...and no cyclists.we planned a hike on Canyon Ridge trail, which should have taken us on a nice hike to a small waterfall and big waterfall. when we stopped for a trail map, we found out the waterfalls are dry right now, Made no sense to us, with all the rain we are seeing, but apparently, November was dry, some of our group still did the hike. It was pretty slippery and muddy, so I only did part,but it was still a fun hike ... read more

Geo: 22.2249, -159.452drove to the South Shore again today for a hike along the coast. stopped for lunch. Some of the group went to Brenneckes for lunch, which Sallie suggested..right on the beach, Some grabbed a sandwich and picnicked on the beach, watching all the activity, We came together again after lunch to start our hike,couple miles along the coast and cliffs. Beautiful scenery. I have some pics and movie clips. fairly easy hike. It also went along a very nice golf course. coming back we tried to walk back through the golf course, but we got kicked off and had to get back on the trail. during our hike we got rained on three different times, then it would pass and the sun would be beautiful. Crazy. of course, I forgot my raincoat...won't happen again. ... read more