"We're eyeball to eyeball...and I think the other fellow just blinked."

Dean Rusk

We just returned from a 10 day trip to Cuba.  It was fantastic! For me Cuba will always be allure of a forbidden fruit. We found it to be unique and upbeat.  The people were warm and friendly. We enjoyed the people and culture of Havana, Vinales and Varadero. Soulful - experiences are abundant. 

As a young man I vividly remember the Cuban Missile Crisis.  On our Havana City Tour we passed by the missile site. Incredible! This trip was time warped, like going back to the 50s or 60s. We were picked up in a 1956 Chevy.  Cuba has the best mechanics on earth. Also great farming and medical.

As in all of our trips, we combine the best of city culture with the natural world. Havana is so damn beautiful and Vinales has some  of the most beautiful landscapes in Cuba. Varadero has awesome beaches for stress free relaxation. 

The rum in cuba libras, and pina coladas is mighty ƒine.  Cristal is really a good beer. And the cigars are mild!

CUBA ROCKS!!

 OK short boring trip report due to jammed schedules. We spent 3 days in Nashville with our good friends the Damons and took in the music scene which included the Country Music Hall of Fame and a concert at the Grand Ole Opry.  We also visited the Civil Rights Museum as well as Hermitage…Andrew Jackson’s home.

The Damons stayed in Nashville while we took a road trip through Kentucky and spent time at the Mammoth Caves National Park, and Abe Lincoln’s boyhood home. We did a short hike to Knob Creek where Abe purportedly almost drowned, but was saved by a childhood friend.

We stayed  for three nights in Bardstown, the hub of the Bourbon Trail. It is a fabulous “down home” little town and we loved it there. The restaurants were really good and one night we wolfed down Kentucky "HOT Brown”  the region’s speciality dish…..An open-faced turkey sandwich with bacon and tomato covered with a creamy Parmesan cheese sauce and broiled until bubbly. It is a about 1000 calories and 54% fat,  a tasty dish perfect for a heart valve bypass procedure later on.

We also enjoyed old fashion bourbon cocktails at the Talbot Tavern, the oldest Bourbon Tavern in the USA… built in 1789, when you would arrive on horseback. 

The days were spent touring several distilleries. Our favorite was Jim Beam and we really liked 1792.  Makers Mark was really hard to find even with a GPS. The grounds were fabulous but the culture was too corporate and impersonal.  

It had been a long time since I had been in Louisville and I was there on business,  so this time we took advantage of going to the Mohammad Ali Center and the Louisville Slugger facility where ELG treated himself to a custom bat with his name, Red Sox and number 8 (Carl Yastrzemzki’s number) engraved. ELG loves souvenirs and Gerry even made an exception and bought herself a baseball shirt. 

The Ali Center was fabulous, we could have spent the whole day there. 

Thats all folks

Respectfully submitted

 "Night falls over Machu Picchu to the sound of Abba's 'Dancing Queen’."

It was a hellish return from Helsinki to Phoenix. Twenty four hours in the making. These types of adventures require the resilience of a 25 year old.  I do not have the energy to write a comprehensive account of our travels, so I will provide some highlights and photos.

We were able to spend a few days in New York before crossing the big pond. We stayed at the historic Beacon Hotel and was able to catch Hamilton on Broadway. It exceeded our high expectations. Fantastic!!! We again enjoyed walking  the “High-line Trail” and then got together with Reno High School classmate Mary Goldring and husband Steve for a cocktail. They are such nice people!  We also enjoyed the Whitney museum. The 9/11 memorial was sobering and emotional.

In Stockholm we absolutely loved touring the ABBA museum. We flew from Stockholm to Bergen Norway, a 900 year old Hanseatic town. From here we ventured into the heart of Norway’s Fjord region. This was breathtaking scenery. Our resort Lofthus Hotel was off the charts. We had a great hike up to some splendid waterfalls. From here we had a long drive to Oslo where we visited Vigeland Sculpture Park, and the Hollmenkollen Ski Jump, as well as the Nobel Peace Museum. From here we took an overnight cruise through the North Sea to Copenhagen. Copenhagen was crowded in the  bustling parks, outside cafes, restaurants and shops…..  absolutely beautiful. We had a scenic boat ride through the canals and spent an evening at Tivoli Gardens. From here we flew to the harbor city of  Helsinki which we found quite charming and would have liked to have spent more time there. 

We engaged in plenty of other activities and sights and hit the Hard Rock for souvenirs in four cities but ….”Thats All Folks"