Top Ten (or Five) Time

by | Dec 27, 2024 | Food Experiences

Every year, right about now, I see all these Top Ten of 2024 lists popping up around the interwebs. A few years ago, I decided to get into the act. At first, I did my “Top Ten  Things That Happened” that year as well as my “Top Five Things I Ate,” and of course, my “Top Ten Photos” I took. For the last two years, it’s been just the photos, and that’s what I am going to do for 2024 as well.

This does not mean that there were not ten great experiences or five great meals; it just means that I didn’t take photos of all of them, and I know you are all about the pictures. If I were to list The Top Ten places We Visited in 2024, they would include:

  1. Scotland (especially the Isle of Skye and shooting the puffins on Lunga).
  2. Norway (especially Geiranger Fjord and Tromsô).
  3. Portugal (especially the Douro, Cascais, Sintra and Lisbon).
  4. England (especially seeing Paul and Gail in Leeds and doing the Ted Lasso tour in Richmond).
  5. Spain (especially our days in Toledo and Segovia).
  6. Olympia, Washington (because our kids live there).
  7. Chilliwack, British Columbia (because our best buddies live there)
  8. Vancouver (because we celebrated our 25th anniversary there with dinner at CinCin, one of our favorite places to eat).
  9. Pacific Beach, Washington (because we spent four days with the kids there during our annual beach trip).
  10. Alameda, California (because we had to be in the Bay Area to settle Kathleen’s mother and brother’s estates, and there are two great restaurants and two great attorneys there.).

And if I had to name my Five Best Bites of 2024, it would have to go in this order:

  1. Venison stew at Ardnamurchan restaurant in Glasgow, Scotland.
  2. Grilled chicken and french fries in an unnamed restaurant in Cascais, Portugal.
  3. Pickled walnuts at The View restaurant in Portree, Scotland.
  4. The appetizer plate (especially the chicken) at Banca di Roma in Glasgow, Scotland.
  5. A toss-up between the lemon tortellini at Rancho Capistrano Winery in San Juan Capistrano, California or the tater tots at Bureau 510 in Alameda, California.

See, I am just going to do my Top Ten Photos. Wait! What have I done? I guess you will have to come back in the next few days (before we get to 2025) to see the photos. Keep an eye out.

And now it’s time for our nightly Top Ten…     David Letterman

 

My Top Ten Photos of 2023

by | Dec 31, 2023 | Photography

You didn’t expect me back so soon, did you?. I have to admit that I have never had such a busy December on this blog. We never (in the past) go anyplace in December…at least, we don’t usually go anywhere that I want to take photos of or write about.

But it is New Year’s Eve, so that means I need to post my annual “Top Ten Photos I Took in 2023.” So, without further ado, here they are. You have seen all of them before except one. I will let you try and figure out which one that is.

Honorable Mentions

It is really hard to decide on the Top Ten, so I give myself permission to have a bunch of honorable mentions. I will caption directly on these photos and show them to you in a gallery. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

WAIT! One other thing. If you are looking at these on a tablet or computer monitor, please turn your brightness up all the way. 

Number 10—The Parliament Building in Budapest

This was one of the more than 300 photos I took of this building earlier this month. Even harder than choosing my Top Ten was choosing which one of these shots to post here. The building just pulls you in. Night and day. If you see it and you have a camera in your hand, you want to take a photo of it. And at night, the attraction is worse!

Number 9—Cape Breton Church

I think what makes this photo (more than anything else) is the sky. We were VERY LUCKY to be visiting Cape Breton’s Highland Village on a glorious sunny day. This is another building that kept calling me to take its photo. And unlike the Budapest Parliament, I could walk around this church and catch it from every angle. This one was the best. The clouds makes it work.

Number 8—Lipizzan Stallion in Vienna

We were in Vienna earlier this month when we visited the Spanish Riding School, home of the incredible Lipizzan Stallions. We weren’t allowed to take photos in the actual stables but we were allowed to take them in an outer courtyard where there were windows into a few of the stables. This guy (enticed by our guide) stuck his head out. I chose this one because I love the technical quality. I was close enough and shooting with a low enough ISO that you can see individual hairs. And yes, that L-shaped mark is actually on him. I keep trying to wipe it off. I took it off in Photoshop but decided it was better to leave it. Still not sure if I should have.

Number 7—Tram #28

Probably the most famous of the tram lines in Lisboa, Portugal, is #28. It has the most turns and the most ups and downs of any of the tram lines. I have to say that I walked most of the line one day or another during our stay earlier this month. Of all the photos I took of the car itself, I like this one the best.

Number 6—The Cemetery in Vienna’s Jewish Ghetto

If you look back at my photography over the last ten years you will see less than ten photos in black and white. And six of those come from this month. Of all of them, this shot I took in Vienna earlier this month was my best. I liked it because of the cold, the snow, the grey skies, the dark trees—they all pushed me to make the photo black and white. BTW: for the non-photo folks out there, this is taken in color but converted to black and white when I process the photo.

Number 5—Cape Breton Farm

I took this photo within about 15 minutes of taking the church photo, which is number nine above. I think this one is better because it is like I went back in time to take it. That’s because the Cape Breton Highland Village is a Living Museum. That means that the docents working there dress up as they would have been in the time frame in their part of the Village. These folks are portraying turn-of-the-century farmers. Again, the sky really helps this photo, but not as much as it does the church. I only think this one is better because it is unusual. I should also add that I have already had this one printed on canvas, and it is hanging over our couch.

Number 4—Lighthouse outside Portland, Maine

When we did our cruise on Oceania’s Vista from Montreal to Miami, I was really looking for a photo that screamed NEW ENGLAND! I think I found it with this one. As we were sailing out, I stood on the upper deck and shot photos of the lighthouse as we went by. This is another one where I think I took upwards of 40 photos of the lighthouse, and this was the ONLY one where you could see the light shining directly at the camera. To me, that makes this photo special.

Number 3—Woman in Lisboa

On our first night in Lisboa, Portugal, I stepped outside the restaurant and saw some amazing holiday decorations I really wanted to photograph. So I walked down the street about half a block and took the photos. As I was turning to leave, I noticed this woman leaning on the wall of the restaurant where we had eaten. I love the look on her face. It is a combination of resignation that her husband is again taking photographs…that she just saw him take a photo of her…and that she still loves him anyway. I can see it in her “almost smile.” That’s what it’s all about, folks. Everything in my life comes together in one photo. I should add that she thinks I should not be using this picture. But this is MY Top Ten, and this one, for me, deserves to be in the Top Three. I mean, really—she is my number one…forever.

Number 2—Portland, Maine Street Scene

There is nothing I value more in photography than light. Great light trumps everything else. But this photo is all about the color, not the light. It is a very unusual photo for me. I don’t usually look for this kind of photo. In fact, when I took it, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. But then, when I saw it on my MacBook screen, I fell in love. I will admit to cropping it a little, but that’s about all I did to it. It is such a great study in yellow (one of my least favorite colors) because everything works.

Number 1—A Boat Caught in the Light

Remember what I just said in the previous paragraph about light. Well, this photo proves that I am right. When trying to decide between the two as to which was number one, the light in this photo won me over. That afternoon, as we sailed out of New York City’s harbor, the light was about as perfect as you could get—a great mix of sun, blue sky and intermittent dark clouds. When the sun hit the Tower and then dropped to the water, and then the boat moved right through the sun’s reflection, it was photographic magic.

That about does it for 2023. It has been a great year of travel, of taking travel photos and of getting to share our experiences with everyone who reads this. We will be back in June with a month-long trip to England, Scotland and Norway, and then again in October when we visit Madrid and do a Douro River cruise. And of course, there will be a few posts in between.

Lastly, I welcome your comments about which ones you like. Feel free to tell me what your number one or two are (if they are different than mine) in the comment section below.

Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution.   —Ansel Adams

My Best Photos of 2022

by | Dec 31, 2022 | Photography

Here we are on the last day of the year, and I only have one post left to do to wrap up 2022. Since I consider this site a travel and photography blog, I have saved my best photos post for last. And they are all travel photos so that kind of fits.

I wanted to do a David Letterman and give you a Top-Ten list, but I could only narrow it down to 14, and I need some of you to tell me which ones you like better. I shot a bunch of photos this year across two continents in seven different countries and all while traveling. I had some fantastic photo experiences, the best being in Venice and Tarragona, Spain, but I loved the other shots I got as well. So please let me know in the comments which ones I ranked differently than you would have.

Just a note: If you click on any of the photos, they will enlarge on a black background to fill your screen. That’s the best way to view them. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

Number 14—The magazine ad from Eze, France

I took this from way up on the top of the village of Eze, a true hilltop town in the south of France between Nice and Monaco. When I got back to our stateroom and was going through my photos, I realized that I had taken an advertising photo. Is this not the perfect photo to illustrate any advertisement for the south of France?

Number 13—The view from the Number Two

Floating down the Grand Canal in Venice at 5:45 in the morning, I looked back and saw this view behind the #2 vaporetto I was traveling on. I stepped out onto the back deck and got this shot of Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute and the sky behind us, and I loved the light I got.

Numbers 11 & 12—My two best people photos

I have a bunch of people photos from this year, but I love these two the most. The first is from Corfu. We had gone on a shore excursion that took us to Olympia in Greece and then to a hotel where they did some cooking demos and lunch. After lunch, this wonderful man and his family did some amazing Greek dancing. ‘He was incredibly animated and he really played to my camera.

The second shot, from only two days before, is our guide George who took us all over Athens and then found us the best lunch in the world. I loved his quiet confidence in this shot. He was the perfect guide for us.

Number 10—A flamingo on Grand Turk Island

If you look back on my Top Photos of 2021, what I considered my best photo was a shot of a flamingo I took while we were in the Galapagos Islands. There is something about these birds; they are both majestic and awkward all at the same time. The reflection made this shot. And the really amazing thing is that I shot it from a tour bus at about 30mph.

Number 9—The money shot in Cinque Terre

This is incredible Manarola, one of the five villages that make up the Cinque Terre on Italy’s eastern coast. We were visiting for the day on a tour with the amazing Luigi. We were going from village to village via the ferry. When we arrived in our second stop, Manarola, Luigi told me that I wanted THE quintessential Cinque Terre shot, I would need to climb this particular hill and then look back. He was right. This shot, of the more than 600 I took that day, says it all. It’s the postcard shot.

Number 8—The Columbia Bar, Astoria, Oregon

This one is my most peaceful shot of 2022. I love the way the spray and the water “humps” are just flowing. The lighthouse in the background helps as well. But conversely, this is really a pretty violent photo because, as anyone who has lived in the northwest can tell you, the Columbia Bar (where the Columbia River enters the Pacific Ocean) can be VERY dangerous. Lots of ships have been wrecked trying to sail through these waters.

Numbers 6 & 7—Wedding pics in Venice

Walking into Piazza San Marco in Venice at just before 6:00 am and finding the entire piazza empty except for these three people almost took my breath away. I had been there the afternoon before, and the crowds had been immense, smothering and overwhelming. To walk into the piazza and find this couple and their photographer taking photos right at dawn was like a miracle for me. But I can’t decide which one is my favorite, so this is another chance for you to pick.

Number 5—My best panoramic shot of 2022

This is a manufactured panoramic shot I took while in an indoor shopping center in Naples, Italy. I love taking panoramic photos. Not the kind you get with your iPhone but this kind. Ones where I plant my feet and move the camera by pivoting my upper body as I take a series of shots. Then I take them back into Photoshop and stitch them together to create what I was seeing from where I was standing at the time. This shot is one of the few vertical panoramas I have taken. I started as three vertical shots. If I have any complaints with it, it is that it seems slightly tilted to me and when I try and fix that, it only looks like it is tilted in the other direction. But I still love it.

Number 4—A hole to the sky in Barcelona, Spain

We were on a tour in Barcelona, Spain, and we had stopped to see Gaudi’s La Pedrera—Casa Mila. This is a multi-story building that initially housed two condominium-type dwellings for two fairly wealthy families in the early 1900s. Just before we took the elevator up to the top floor to work our way down, I leaned out into the center of the building and took this shot, looking straight up the shaft that is the inner courtyard. I had no idea it would turn out this good. And it really helped to have amazing weather, so I had the blue (with wisps of clouds for contrast) sky.

Number 3—The lights of Kotor, Montenegro

Someday I will blow this shot up and hang it on a wall. It might be the best nighttime shot I have ever taken. We were in Kotor on our Viking Sky cruise. During the day (while Kathleen was quarantined due to Viking giving her food poisoning), I hiked up this mountain/hill and took many great photos looking back. I was so impressed with the city. Luckily for me, the ship did not sail away from the city until fairly late that night. We were in our stateroom watching another episode of Downton Abbey (what else do you watch on a Viking ship ?) when I happened to look at the bow cam on our TV and saw this scene. I literally grabbed my camera and ran to the front (and top) of the ship to get this photo of the entire town lit up, including the old fortress that protected the city. I have to give huge credit to my new Nikon z7 being able to get me a shot this clear when I handheld it at 1/20th of a second. Amazing.

Number 2—Man eating breakfast in Venice, Italy

My favorite (and I believe the best) photo I have ever taken was a shot like this. It told a story. You can see that one here. This one does the same thing for me. I was up early in Venice and pretty much lost and wandering the calles and campos I turned a corner, and there in the distance was a man having breakfast. And just like my best photo, this one was all about the light. Or, in this case, the lack of it. What light exists does exactly what I want it to do, it send my eye directly to the subject. No photographer could ask for more.

Number 1—The blue hour (actually about 15 minutes) in Venice

Lots of people know about the “golden hour” of photography. It’s that time just before sunrise or after sunset when the sky turns golden. What you may not have heard of before is the term “blue hour.” This really isn’t an hour but it’s the 15-20 minutes just before or after the golden hour. The sky is transitioning from the black of night to the golds, oranges and pinks of the sunrise. If you get lucky and do some planning, you can be in the right place (standing on the Rialto bridge) at the right time (the blue hour) to get the shot you want.

So that’s it. Another year of photography behind me. I like to think that I get better each year. Retirement, or at least cutting back on work and being able to focus a little more on taking pictures, has helped me improve. Sitting here writing this at 4:00 am on New Year’s Eve I feel really good about the shots I got in 2022. Can’t wait to see what I put in my post a year from now.

Happy New Year! Hope we all have an awesome 2023.

Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.      —Dorothea Lange

 

2021 Top Ten (could be anything)

by | Dec 31, 2021 | Uncategorized

Over the last few days I have written about my five best food experiences of 2021, my 10 best photos I took in 2021 and my five biggest downers of 2021 so today, let's get to the good stuff to close out the year. So here are the 10 best things I loved in 2021. BTW: Unlike my photos which I numbered, this group is in no particular order (except the NUMBER ONE which is down at the bottom).

Walking all year

It's funny that I am choosing to write about this first. I guess it's because I haven't been able to do it for a week (as of today) and that's killing me. Too much ice and snow outside keeps me indoors. I am going stir-crazy but I know if I slip and fall then I might not be able to walk for weeks. It has been a big part of my life this year. So far in 2021, I have walked 1,466 miles (that's 2,359 kilometer for our Canadian viewers). If I had just kept going and not come home I could have walked to my childhood home in Palm Springs and then to my brother's place in San Juan Capistrano. Or I could have walked back and forth to our friends in Chilliwack, BC almost six times. Can you tell I love my walks? (BTW: I know how far I have gone because I use the wonderful app, Map My Walk from Under Armour. )

Going to Southern California twice to see Jamie and Steve

This was supposed to have been the year that the four of us went to Europe (for the third time) together and did a bunch of other stuff. But we "made do" with visiting my brother and sister-in-law in Southern California...twice. Great weather, lots of fun, family, food and superb activities organized by Jamie made these visits at least a good substitute for Europe. Not really, but we did have fun. We even went to the historic Musso and Frank Grille in Hollywood for dinner.

Stopping to see Mike and Meeting Cathy in June

We had so many schedule changes for our Galapagos trip in July that we were thrilled when it all finally worked out and we ended up  flying through South Florida to get to Ecuador. Thrilled because this gave us a chance to add on a couple of days to see one of our best friends and fellow Martini Mate Mike and to meet the new love of his life, Cathy, in person. We had an outstanding time, Mike even got up at 2:00 am to take us all the way to the Miami airport (WHAT A FRIEND!) and we LOVED Cathy. So it really stands out as a highlight for us. Even better, we get to see them again (I really hope) in three weeks.

Getting to go back to Canada in September

Over the last 15 years we have spent a lot of time in British Columbia. Specifically Chilliwack, BC. That's because that's where our friends Bob and Judy live. And in case you missed it, since the start of the pandemic, Canada had closed their border. That meant that even though we could FaceTime to talk, we hadn't seen them in person from the day we got back from our Mardi Gras cruise (March 2o, 2020) until we finally got to get tested, get the Canadian entry app, show our Nexus cards and get in to see them in September. That's a long time not to see someone you are used to seeing at least every other month. If all works out and it doesn't snow again, we may go up again next weekend!

Going to Seaside with family in August

Every summer (or at least three of them) we have rented an AirBnB type place with our grandkids (and their parents). This year we went to Seaside, Oregon. I can't tell you how much I cherish that week with them. We play games, go to the beach, local attractions, make meals together and watch special movies in the evenings (Star Wars!!!). Can't wait until August 2022 to do this again.

Ted Lasso–forever

I know. It's a television show. But I love television and it is the best television show ever made—in my somewhat humble opinion ?. There is not a single episode where I don't laugh, cry and exult in these glorious characters. I have watched each and every episode at least four times and some even more. We watched their Christmas show on Christmas Eve and will every Christmas Eve from now on. I listen to two podcasts about the show every week during the season. I still listen to Brett Goldstein's "Films to Be Buried With" podcast every week.  I follow all the actors on Instagram. I have downloaded every song Hannah Waddingham has recorded that wasn't from a West End musical. I watch every YouTube video about the show that YouTube throws at me—and that's a lot. I have my Richmond FC scarf and I am ready to root for Ted and the Greyhounds again next summer. I am a total fanboy and completely obsessed. The show just speaks to me. When it comes to Ted Lasso, I am never a goldfish (you only get this if you have seen the show—go watch it!).

Getting fully vaccinated and staying that way with boosters

This isn't the highlight of the year but it led to everything else we did. Do you remember when the vaccine was first introduced and so many people (like us) were clamoring to get our hands on our first shot...and then our second. We got our first one at the end of January and our second in mid-February. Then in mid-July I was in our local Kaiser (our HMO) clinic and they said they were throwing away vaccine every day because it was defrosted and people weren't showing up to get it. I just don't understand the anti-vaccination crowd. We know friends and relatives of friends who are part of that group and they are normally intelligent people. Please explain this because I can't. I just know that I have had three, full potency shots (I take an injected auto-immune drug weekly so I got a full shot for my third and not a booster) and Kathleen is boosted.

Storyworth–all year long

I think have mentioned Storyworth on this site before but here's a quick explanation if I haven't. For Christmas 2020 my daughter gave me a one-year subscription to Storyworth. Since then I get an e-mail every week with a single question about my life. Either my past, my opinions or my relationships. Each week I answer the question and they keep them and at the end of the year (now) I order a pre-paid, printed book of all of the stories so that my grandkids can know about their Grandpa and how he got this way ?.

I am currently in the process of editing my book (that's the cover above) and I will order the printed version for myself next week. Once I see my printed copy, I will order two more, one for each of the grandkids. This has been a wonderful experience. I have learned so much. Over my lifetime I have been in therapy a quite a few times, but writing these stories had been more therapeutic than any of that. It does get a little dark sometimes but it's really brought back some good and not-so-good memories. And yes, I guess I am verbose. The average Storyworth book is about 250 pages. I am over 450 at this point. Can you tell I have loved the experience?

Retiring from Jostens Yearbooks after 39 years last June

To be completely honest, this was not supposed to happen until 2022. I love even numbers and I really wanted to get to 40 years with Jostens and my own company, Koobraey Productions. But COVID did this in as well. Yearbooks have been changing every year of those 40 years and I still found things to write and teach about but when the pandemic hit and things were NOTHING like they have ever been before, it was just enough to push me to walk away. Jostens and Koobraey have been a great place to be self-employed for those 39 years and there isn't much I would trade for the friendships I have made during that time.

It was a career I never expected (I was supposed to be a history teacher) but loved and did quite well with. From the day I started in 1982 until last June 14, I loved a lot of it. The six months since retiring (I am still in my "funtirement" job booking travel with Expedia Cruises) have been so busy I can't figure out where I used to fit this job into my life.

Going to the Galapagos on Celebrity’s Flora in July

Being honest, this is number one. I mean not only was it the BEST thing we did in 2021 it may be one of the 10 best experiences I have ever had in my life. It is definitely the best trip/cruise/adventure we have ever done. We loved it so much we are going to do it again in 2024 to see the Inner Loop islands. I find it very hard to put into words what this adventure meant to us. Not only was it the first time we got to really travel after the shutdown, it was so much more than I ever thought it would be.

For me, the biggest excitement was the photography. The Galapagos are a photographer's heaven. After a year of not shooting much of anything other than grandkids (which I love shooting) it was like I got all caught up in a week. Certainly equal to the photography were the amazing people we met on Celebrity's Flora. There is no way I would go again and not go aboard that ship. It made the trip so very easy not to mention being the best place ever to come back to at night. Every single crew member we met was amazing. The guides, the crew in the dining room, the chef who made me sango, the officers and we were especially lucky to have been sailing the week that Celebrity's resident scientist, Ellen Prager was onboard. I was never much for science but going to this incredible place and talking to Ellen and the guides she trains really got me excited about it. I leave you with a special gift to close out 2021, a slide show of my best photos from the islands. Happy New Year!

 

Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got.

Art Buchwald

The Worst of 2021— From My Point of View

by | Dec 30, 2021 | Uncategorized

Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way today and I will come back New Year’s Eve with the Top Ten of 2021. So here’s the bottom five worst things about 2021. We experienced some of them personally and I know some of you have experienced them as well.

Number 5: The political divide in my country

I don’t think I have ever been political in these posts but I have had it. Not with anyone in particular but with the extremists on both sides of politics in the country I live in who continue to drive us apart. From science to religion, from insurrection to health care we are so divided. Talk of civil war is all the rage on social media. I am at a point where I just wish that all the red states would become one country and all the blue states another and we could live happily ever after—but in my heart, I know that is crazy. And sadly there are plenty of good, reasonable people who are either red or blue who live in the opposite type of state so that won’t really work. I don’t know what the solution is to this and to be honest I am kind of glad I won’t be around in 40 years to see what happens (I’m being optimistic ?). But I worry for my kids and grandkids.

Number 4: The pandemic drags on

This is one of those things that we have all had to experience. Will this damn thing never end? I remember coming home from our Mardi Gras cruise in March of 2020 and we were discussing how long it would last. At that point we had major travel plans in May 2020, August 2020 and December 2020. We pretty much gave up on May immediately. We knew that trip wasn’t going to happen. But we had high hopes that COVID would turn out to be another version of the flu and could be contained so we felt pretty good about our August 2020 trip to the Galapagos. In hindsight, I laugh at myself thinking that. How naïve we were. But surely we would have no trouble doing our Viking River Cruise in December 2020? There would be a vaccine by then? Everyone would take it and we could move on? That would work right? Not a chance.

And now here we are, a year later and we have had a darned good vaccine that has been pretty widely available since early 2021 and we just cancelled our second Viking Christmas Market Cruise. I am not sure why, but when we thought of that vaccine a year ago we automatically assumed that everyone would rush to get jabbed so we could all move forward with our lives. But no! There is no accounting for stupidity and ignorance so here we are, in the last month of 2021 and we are back in full-blown COVID crapdom. Get a damn shot people. Science is real.

Number 3: The deterioration of my beloved Seattle

I wrote about this in depth about two month ago. You can see that post here. But at least things might improve in the new year as the voters decided that the people running Seattle had gone too far in the wrong direction trying to be “good people” (I am a firm believer that no extreme viewpoint—either right or left—is a good one) voted in some who have some logic. I will keep you updated as things progress but for right now, avoid Seattle. Cruising buddies—if you want to sail to Alaska this summer, leave from Vancouver (if Canada allows it—not even sure of that).

Number 2: Falling off a five foot berm in Oregon

This one is just a personal thing. Back in August on our annual beach trip with our kids and grandkids, I took a fall. I was walking in some high grass on a berm at the beach. There was about a 5-6 foot straight drop off to the beach itself. I was going to find a place to slide down on my butt until the part of the berm I was standing on (pictured from the top of the berm) collapsed underneath me.

Thankfully, I wasn’t badly hurt but I did screw up my good knee (still hurts from time to time), I landed on my Nikon (that repair bill was almost $500) and I think I scared the grandkids who had never heard Grandpa use that kind of language before. Suffice it to say that while I am pretty much fully recovered (as is my camera), there was about a three week period that I had to give up taking my long walks…one of my favorite things to do.

Number 1: We have to cancel our December European trip

You may have read about this a few short weeks ago but the biggest disappointment of 2021 was cancelling a trip we had been planning for more than a year. You can read about the cancellation by going here. And you can read about all the things I had to cancel, get vouchered or refunded by going here. I guess the best thing I can say about having to do this is that in hindsight, we did the right thing as Omicron showed up a week after we cancelled and Europe shut down for travelers. The river cruise that was the centerpiece of the trip turned out to be a bust with most ports missed, passengers who went complaining about it and worse. As I told someone who cancelled a cruise today (for January 22) on FB, better a postponed vacation than a lousy vacation.

Unless you have bad times, you can’t appreciate the good times.

Joe Torre