November 4, 2003: Today in the news, Franco is still dead but you can still vote for him. Two weeks ago, I stood in front of one of only three still-remaining statues of the late Spanish dictator who died on November 20, 1975. A week later, back home in San Francisco, my Spanish partner cast his ballot: a ballot which still includes Franco's political party "Falange" - Spanish fascists. There's no escaping Franco. Astride his horse, with … [Read more...]
Spain
Do you want to add exciting, motivating, and beautiful experiences to your life? Go to Spain!!! With my resourceful wife, Dana May, we lived in Spain for a year. We chose to make our home base an apartment in Madrid. Madrid's central location gave us easy access to Barajas airport, the central train station as well as a convenient bus depot. A good car rental system is also available in the city and at the airport. In Madrid, the … [Read more...]
Going Cal-ing in Ibiza
Every now and then, I'll combine English and Spanish words and come up with something that truly annoys my wife, who happens to be from Spain. These "Spanglish" concoctions are usually pretty cheesy, but I must say that I'm not the only one guilty of this. Spaniards themselves do it. For bungee jumping, for example, they've invented the word puenting combining the ing ending from English with the word "puente" (bridge) in Spanish to form a hybrid … [Read more...]
A White Trash Ski Trip
A few years back I went on my very first skiing experience which was unfortunately before I had a healthy respect for what is a very fun sport, but one in which to be careful. Arrogantly I was going to ski like everyone else who'd lived in the snowcapped towns of Sweden all their lives. They made it look so easy. I learned on the first trip not only down the slope, but up it too, that it's a tad bit more difficult than it looks. I was an … [Read more...]
Quebec’s Lac Saint-Pierre Biosphere Reserve
An Idyllic Natural Haven The rain was pouring when we left Montreal to begin our journey of touring the Lac Saint-Pierre Biosphere Reserve - a nearby natural part of Quebec preserved for the coming generations. It had not let up when, after an hour's drive, our bus stopped in front of a boathouse in the Lake Saint-Pierre archipelago at the merging of the St. Lawrence, Yamaska and Richelieu Rivers. Quickly our group of twelve scurried into the … [Read more...]
Columbia, CA
However, instead of continuing their journey, they elected to camp for the night under a large oak tree. The five men had traveled for months searching for gold said to be easily picked out of California's mountain streams. They had found plenty of streams but no gold. All five spent a miserable night on the ground as a rain storm drenched Tuolumne County. In the morning, the men decided to let their blankets dry out before continuing on … [Read more...]
Visit California
Are you planning a vacation, but can't decide where to go or what to do? If you are, then stop worrying, vacation in sunny California. California has a land area of over 155,000 square miles with almost 850 miles of coastline and beaches, 25,000,000 acres of desert, mountains, including Mount Whitney which at 14,505 feet above sea level is the second tallest mountain in the continental United States, numerous lakes, rivers and creeks, forests … [Read more...]
Visit Pasadena
No one thinks about the city of Pasadena, California, unless it is Rose Bowl or Rose Parade time, except for Los Angeles County residents and people who hear the song "Little Old Lady From Pasadena". When tourists think about visiting California they most often think about going to Disneyland or cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco or beach cities like Long Beach, Monterey, Newport Beach, San Diego, Santa Monica, etc.. Very few of them … [Read more...]
Whitewater Rafting Forges Bonds Stronger than the Rapids
Colorado River Rafting is a Trip Visualize the boat's brow cutting through the swirling, surging water; the sun sparkling on the frothy waves, making tiny rainbows; the abrupt lurch of the craft, as the surging waves suddenly shift direction. The adrenalin is pumping, all senses alert, with nature working overtime to orchestrate a thrill you'll never forget. That's what most people think a raft trip entails, but there's much more going on. … [Read more...]
Visit Santa Barbara
Ninety some miles north west of Los Angeles lies the lovely beach city of Santa Barbara, California where you will find some of the cleanest and best tended beaches on the west coast. The city of Santa Barbara which includes Hope Ranch and Montecito has a population of approximately 90,000 (not counting the students who reside at UC Santa Barbara.) yet it hosts millions of visitors each year. The residents of the city are, for the most part, … [Read more...]
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