Somehow I managed to get a bunch of alternating weeks off in June and July for vacations, and I was able to do 3 vacations in the first two weeks of this extended vacation. The first trip was out to Idaho to hang out with my good friend Sully and his girlfriend Sidney. They had rented an Air B n B near Dregs on the Teton River. It was simply fabulous. Here is a you tube video of the arrival, and then another one of a couple days of the activities we enjoyed.
Tuesday, June 29, 2021
USMMA" Before and After"
Here's a little "before and after" of 1986 and 2021. Both graduation years for Dylan and I......
Post Change of Command "Pool Jump"
1986
2021
"Bell Ringing", the timeless Kings Point tradition of "ringing the bell" in front of Wiley Hall when license exam is passed. Incidentally, Dylan was the first of his class to pass every license exam on the initial try. That pass rate was a small percentage for the seniors of 2021. A very hard earned accomplishment for Dylan.
1986
2021
That moment of sheer elation! The graduation walk with a freshly earned diploma on Kings Point's Tomb Field:
1986
2021
And finally, this photo sequence shows the "before and after": demonstrating the "making of the man" in the 4 year transformation that is the experience known as the USMMA.
Indoc drop off Day, 2017
Proud graduation Day, 2021
Sunday, October 11, 2020
Hiking in Greenville SC 10/11/2020
Oct 9-11, 2020
Just had a glorious weekend with Rebecca in Greenville SC. We left Friday to arrive in GSP a little afternoon. Our flight was connecting in Atlanta, and we made a quick decision to jump on a Delta flight to get us into Greenville an hour earlier. Turns out that was a really good call. There was a lot of weather heading our way as a result of Hurricane Delta that was hitting the Gulf Coast Friday, and sending torrents our way on Saturday.
We chose Greenville as a destination for a hike in Rebeccas training for her Yosemite hike. We planned to do the Raven Cliff Falls and Dismal Trail loop which was 8.8 miles and 2500’ of vertical.
Well, Saturday was going to be rained out, so as soon as we got to GSP on Friday, we blasted straight to the trailhead and began hiking at about 1:30.
Well, the park closed at 5, so we had our work cut out for us. The terrain started out fairly moderate, but about halfway in and down, it became quite challenging on a section called “Naturalland”. However, it was so beautiful, with the SC fauna especially as the trail paralleled the Matthews Creek.
We didn’t get back to the car until 6, and we had received a warning from the park security for not filling out a hike plan or vacating the parking lot by 5.
We stayed at the Swamp Rabbit Inn on Logan Street in downtown Greenville, had some great dinners, did some shopping and chilled out most of Saturday, while it rained.
Our non rev experience back to MCO on Sunday was interesting………..barely made it on an earlier Delta flight, but we did make it back home. It was a really great weekend, and I was really impressed at Rebecca’s hiking abilities. She rocked!!
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Wednesday, September 30, 2020
2/10/20 Vietnam
2/10/02020
Its closing in on 11pm, and I have been up for so long. What a nice feeling to have a rain shower after a full day, and washing the burning feeling off of my face from the smog toxins in the air. Equally irritated are my runny nose and itch eyes. Seriously, the air quality index is terrible, and the amount of traffic (scooters) on the Vietnamese streets does not leave any room for wonder about that.
Looking forward to a full nights sleep, which has eluded me for so many days due to the travel, time zone changes and the effects of being a 50plus year old male. However, the reason for interrupted sleep last night was none of those. The guests in the room next to mine, came in after I was sound asleep, and were laughing and speaking loudly: post party mode. I never really got great sleep after that.
But, I still woke up early this morning to go for a run around Hoan Kiem Lake. The Lake is a prominent feature of the colonial French Quarter. What a cool experience it was to be out before the traffic and bustle of Hanoi really kicked off. There were a lot of active Vietnamese people out there, doing tai chi, playing badminton, dancing, walking, stretching, riding and moving. It was really fun to see that as a start to my day.
The Paradise Center Hotel serves breakfast in the form of a buffet, and it was great. Vietnamese breakfast mostly, and very tasty. I also got a cup of strong hot Vietnamese coffee from a local shop named Dave’s Coffee.
At 9 we had arranged a coach (Rick and Kurt doing most of planning) for a day trip to the Perfume Pagoda. Although the books and nav apps says it is only 28 miles from Hanoi center, it took us quite awhile through traffic and country roads. There were rice paddies most of the way on the trip, and the workers stood in the shin high water planting new rice shoots. It looked like absolutely back breaking work under the classic worker triangle hat and overcast skies. A curious phenomenon that I am still looking for an answer to is why the above ground graves (think New Orleans with an Asian flair) are co located next to bodies of water. Both next to the paddies and the rivers.
The pagodas were accessed from the town of My Duc. We had a perpetually smiling guide named Long (pronounced Loung) , and his wife who guide services had apparently come with the price of the coach.
There were literally hundreds of steel skiffs to transport people the 3 km up and down to the Perfume Pagoda, and the boat drivers were ladies who paddled forward with bamboo shafted paddles, also back breaking, after all was said and done, we paid for boat fare, admission to the pagodas, cable car and back on the boat. Still soo cheap. We accessed the boats from the Ben Duc wharf and ascended the Swallow Tail stream, the ladies propelling with paddles lashed to upright stanchions with cloth. All the while, we progressed towards the karst landscape. What is karst you ask? The limestone mounds that are ubiquitous to the artwork of Vietnam and China.
At one riverside vendor at our launch point, we saw bowls filled with eels, turtles, goldfish, crabs, and a cage of birds. A Vietnamese gentelmen paid the vendor and released a bird, we later determined from Long it was a Buddhist tradition, something about setting a soul free, or karma, not fully understood.
The pagodas are located at some limestone hills (karst) similar to the ones we saw in China on the Li river tour outside Guillin. Proceeding towards these hills we observed small inlets which turned out to be lotus flower farms and curiously, some fishermen with an electrified net resembling the head of a lacrosse stick on a bamboo pole.
there was a lot of steps to climb, and paths to follow, all thickly lined with vendors selling usual a knick knack stuff, but also stuff to purchase and put on a tray when making a prayer for the deceased at the altars of the multiple pagodas.
We took a cable car to the highest peak of the cluster of pagodas, and there was a short hike to a grotto which can best be described by the tour books description, the most beautiful grotto in the Southern sky,the entrance is said to resemble the mouth of a dragon, the stalagmite inside its tongue. This is a huge cavern with stalagmites and stalactites which are used as a Buddhist altar.
The return drive was literally harrowing, and it took closer to 2 hours as we were blasted with smog and scooters that were thronging the roads in packs and darting to and fro within the traffic, ceaseless honking their horns. It was stressful to watch, and inspired me to NEVER wish to rent a car in Vietnam.
Felling quite hungry, we headed out onto the Night Market Street and found some BBQ street food which they cooked on a little stove right on our table. So fun, and the vibe was really cool.
I bought a couple of North Face jackets, and being pretty aware of their authenticity, aptly nicknamed them “North Farce”
I feel like I could be so much more creative with my writing if my level of fatigue was not so challenging, and hopefully I can upload this into the blog site with some more interesting and creative posts.
Apparently a lot of the tourism that is prevalent this time of year has been kept at bay due to the coronavirus scare that is sweeping the globe. Although mostly contained to China, there is a lot of media attention perpetuating the scare. Masks are being worn by many of the Vietnamese people probably for equal reasons of corona as smog. Although were not wearing masks regularly, we are blazing through Purcell hand cleaner at an alarming pace.
2/11/20 Ha Long Bay
2/11/2020
We got an early start this morning, assembling after breakfast for our day trip to Ha Long Bay. We joyously met our “Captain” who was the coach driver. It is a luxury coach. Full wifi, reclining captain chairs with massage. So very nice for our 3 hour drive to Ha Long. Crossed over a bridge and we observed the port of Haiphong and the container ships lining the terminal the country’s third most populous city and largest port
The boat was as luxurious as the coach ride, and we made one stop at a pearl refinery on the shore of the Haiphong/Halong Bay Area. As we looked out on the water, the haze continued.
We arrived at the Ha Long launch area just in time to embark on the Jade Sail boat and get underway. It was a very nice craft with large viewing windows from the cabin dining area.
We cruised through the Halong bay all day, and took in the glorious sights of the karst towers piling skyward like limestone thumbs extended out of the blue green waters of the bay.
We made a couple of stops along the way to traverse through a cave on a skiff ride, and also to kayak. We also viewed a floating fishing village on the water where some of the locals lived , fishing and pearling.
They served us really great meals, and I had a couple cups of Vietnamese coffee which is brought in a clear glass with a small metal cap which still had water dripping through the filter into the sweet milk layer below.
It is no wonder that UNESCO has declared this area as one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World.
The road we took from Hanoi was a great 175 km ride, especially in the coach of luxury, named A Class. It was especially nice on the ride home as the fatigue of a long day set in, and it was doze inducing. Getting back to the Paradise Center Hotel in Hanoi, I was only able to get to my room and crash after a really nice day of sightseeing.
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