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Published: April 23rd 2023
For better or worse, today marks my 75th birthday, and if asked for my thoughts on reaching this milestone, I would have to say I'm most grateful for being able to share this day, this odyssey and the better part of my life's journey with a beautiful and loving lady, my wife Dee. As icing on my birthday cake this year, the arrival of close friends later today will be another reason to celebrate!
The aforementioned friends from Satsuma, Florida, John and Cindy Vogt, landed in Naples (Italy, that is) just before noon today, after a long and grueling journey. They departed from Jacksonville (FL) yesterday, flew to JFK in New York, where they boarded an overnight Delta flight to Amsterdam, and then connected with a flight that brought them to Naples today shortly before noon.
As a little background, Cindy and I were co-workers for about 5 years at the St. Johns River Water Management District in Palatka, Florida. After I retired in 2014, she and her husband, Dee and I remained in contact, and have become good friends during the intervening years. In fact, Cindy joined us for a week while we were in Copenhagen during our
last odyssey in 2019, so she’s a veteran and most congenial travel partner. We were elated when both of them decided to join us for 9-days in Sorrento this year.
Our own trip to the airport to greet them today was a bit more challenging than we had anticipated. One of Francesco's drivers (his cousin) fetched us from our apartment about an hour before their scheduled arrival time. Since the distance between here and the airport is only about 33 miles, we should have been fine, but the traffic between Sorrento and Naples was extremely heavy. So we made it there just in the nick of time, as John and Cindy appeared shortly after we reached the point where arriving passengers exit with their luggage. Considering the arduous day of travel they had just endured, both appeared to be in remarkably good spirits!
The return trip from the airport to Sorrento also took about an hour, with John and Cindy enjoying the drive through several of the small towns and villages along the way, along with some scenic views of the Gulf of Naples. After we reached the apartment, Dee prepared a spread of great Italian bread, salamis,
Cindy and Dee
Happy Hour on the balconyham, cheese and olives, accompanied by a couple stiff drinks for our guests. It was shortly thereafter that they hit the sack for some much needed shuteye. All in all, everything went well today, and we're hoping that the nice weather we've experienced these last few days will continue during their stay.
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Danielle
non-member comment
Happy Birthday
Birthday wishes! Good to hear that Cindy & John made it.. now the nice weather will arrive from Florida. Have a great day tomorrow and put your hiking shoes on💕