It was a cool morning for this time of year. Not a genuine frosty morning, more of a shrink-your-package-while-walking-to-the-tub type of morning. It was time for my playdate with Steve. I was cavorting with him, turning the jets on and off while the heater was running. His lights were blinking rhythmically and he would shudder …
Chapter 4: It’s all relative
Today is our only full day in the Okanagan. It's already 6:30 pm and we have steeped ourselves in medium big-city living all day and are worked, napped, and fed. Carol has an armload of treasures that she's rescued from second hand shops plus a host of vegetation to take back home to spruce up …
Chapter 3: Are we there yet?
It's going to be a busy day so we're up at dawn (dawnish... okay, it's 8:30). I go through my morning routine minus my date with the tub, while Carol organizes the suitcases, the in-car meal, the snacks, the itinerary, waters the plants, empties the garbage, sets the lamp timer, and locks the windows and …
Chapter 2: The usual suspects, plus one…
By now the faithful reader has become accustomed to the entourage that accompanies us when we escape the confines of the West Kootenays. There is Fred, my Samsung S5 Neo; always looking for mischief, falling off tables, getting drunk in a puddle of beer, wrapped in his Otterbox Commuter shield. His current home screen shows …
Chapter 1: Preamble
Tub with a view Early March, and spring has arrived. The trees are already pruned, the grass is raked, crocuses poke through the rotting mulch in the flower beds left over from last fall. My world is unfolding as it has for the past 68 years. I spent the winter in a funk. The best …
Spring has sprung
February 27 It's a proven fact that middle-aged men can only hold their breath for 3 minutes and 14 seconds; after that they're left to contemplate if killing all those brain cells from the '70s till now was really worth it. Lounging under a palapa on the beach in front of our hotel, adorned only …
Hey! You lookin’ at me?
Carol and I were walking along the beach this morning hand in hand, staring into each other's eyes almost dream-like... no seriously, she was 20 feet ahead of me, hunched over with her eyes scanning the latest gravel pile looking for loot to weigh down our suitcase, her caboose in the air looking very unlady-like. …
Seniors love is in the air
Day 12 Feliz dÃa de San ValentÃn - Happy Valentine's Day the banner across the square trumpeted. It is Friday, Feb. 14th. This is a sad day on the calendar for seniors. Much like a single person spending Christmas in a strange town alone; for seniors it's a day when you remember what passion used …
Hair today, gone tomorrow … fast food on a motorcycle… show me your SIM and I’ll show you mine
Day 4-6 I've written in the past of my barber shop experiences in both Bucerias and in Montpeller at the barber school; both visual disasters. So it was with some trepidation that I set out on Thursday morning in my elusive search to find a stylist that could give my head the George Clooney treatment, …
A Mega hit
Wednesday was supply day at the Mega which is a fun 15 minute ride away down the highway. A leisurely stroll took us up to the bus stop and we sat on the concrete bench waiting for either a bus or passenger van. Almost immediately a 12 person collectivo lurches to a stop and six …
Back in the saddle again
Day 1-2 It's time to dust off my forefingers and get to the serious business of writing. It's been 7 months since I last opened my brain to the creative arts. February 2020 finds us in Bucerias, Mexico for the 8th? time. If it ain't broke don't fix it they say. Once more we're staying …
End of the road
Day 31-37 Gee, where to start? I have been reading and eating instead of writing and will have to summarize the past several days. We spent our last day in Avignon going to a very cool English language book store where I purchased a book on Napoleon and Carol found something interesting also. Then we …
Marseilles
Day 30 Today's plan is to travel to Marseilles. France's second largest city and oldest, it is most commonly called gritty in the travel media. It's port has been used by entrepreneurs, pirates, and smugglers for centuries and continues to this day. We had booked our train the day before to make it as simple …
Goghing on a culture trip
Day 29 Sunday found us taking a Van Gogh tour. There were seven of us plus the driver/guide Nicolas touring in a Mercedes van. We made the one hour journey to Arles where Van Gogh lived for a year and was highly productive producing many pieces on canvas and drawings on paper. This is where …
Market research
Day 28 The plan to begin the day was to arise after 10. Then lounge on the terrace while sipping on our steamed coffees from the Delonghi Dedica, chewing on toast with one of the many choices of home-made toppings, and feed each other cherries. Well, that was my plan. Carol's plan was to 'get …
On the road again
Day 27 After giving Avignon the once-over yesterday, checking out many historic sights and stopping at a few restaurants and very cool cafes and bars, it was time to stretch our legs out of town. Friday had us on the bus for a 45 minute ride to L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue which is enclosed by the river Sorgue …
Boys will be boys
Day 26 Carol and I were settling into our new place. We were laying out our clothes, shoes, bathroom items, and plugging in our devices... Hey! Where are the boys? Wilma and Julie were hanging by the bedside table checkin' out the latest videos from Tech Guru but the boys were nowhere to be found. …
Let’s drink to the Pope!
Day 25 In the beginning... Dennis created an itinerary, and it was good. And God saw the itinerary and said 'Well done good and faithful servant' and blessed their first 24 days. (My apologies for the mashup from the Good Book). So far no stumbles, nothing lost, broken, or stolen; no stitches required, a few …
Where’s my effing hat!
Day 24 part deux Okay, this is a pivotal moment in my life. I freak out when I see my shadow for crying out loud! A marine cut would be an upgrade. What did I say that the stylist would think that 'this guy wants the worst haircut in his 66 years of life on …
Did someone leave a window open? I feel a breeze
Day 24 This is our last full day in Montpellier and we've seen most of what we wanted to see so it will be an even more leisurely day than normal. There's time to tidy up loose ends like go to the bank and get my hair cut. I always enjoy getting my mane trimmed …
Continue reading "Did someone leave a window open? I feel a breeze"
Life underfoot
Day 23 It was a slow sleep night so my mind was all over the place. There was the dream where I was working in an office at a large factory and I was having a bath and a Swedish school tour group walks in. Then there's the more common one where you're trying to …
Blue Delivery 