Tag Archives: travel

Bike Trip in Provence

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June 15, 2025

I have been hearing about this People Cycling trip from numerous friends in Morris Area Freewheelers for many years. Everyone has raved about the beautiful hotel, the charming town of Vaison la Romaine, the beautiful bike routes and the amazing opportunity to climb the iconic Mont Ventoux. Because the trip is popular and fills up quickly, I booked it almost a year ago after I got home from Crete. As I described the proposed climb up Ventoux to various non-cycling friends – 15 miles gaining more than 5000ft – they all looked at me dumbfounded and said, “why on earth would you want to do that???” I guess the answer is peer pressure, of the best kind.

Getting ready to go on this trip and training for the challenge was a bit rocky. I got a cold or flu in April that kept me from riding for a week or so and sapped my energy. Many windy, rainy days also got in the way, and just when I was starting to build back some strength and momentum in May, I twisted my knee running in agility class. It didn’t seem like a bad injury, no swelling or discoloration, but I still took more days off and started the rehab exercises right away. Running wasn’t comfortable but thankfully It felt OK to ride. I was certainly not at my strongest as I boarded the plane for Paris, but I figured I would be fine enough. After all, I have enjoyed climbing on all the other bike trips I have done.

Kerry Hazelton and her husband were also on the trip, as well as another friend of theirs. With forty participants and three friends, I expected that I would certainly be able to find people with whom I could ride and socialize. The hotel was indeed charming, perched up on the hill in the ancient section of the town. We ate breakfast in a beautiful garden overlooking the newer part of the city and had long relaxed dinners in a gorgeous inner courtyard. A lovely pool up the hill beckoned for afternoon swims and naps after our rides. My rented road bike was comfortable and dependable and the other folks on the trip were interesting and fun to get to know. It was great to stay in one place for eight days of riding and one day off for the not to be missed local market, running every Tuesday since 1483! The routes were varied and beautiful, stopping at charming small towns for coffee and pastry, peeking in ancient churches and refilling water bottles at roman fountains. It was also fun to haver conversations in French with the country folk who didn’t always speak English. The weather was mostly perfect with sunny skies and mild temps and only a few days with smokey smoggy air.

Kerry and I rode together on the day up Mont Ventoux. Neither of us had slept well the night before, worrying about all the various difficulties we might encounter. Long story short – everything I was worried about did indeed happen, but I managed to keep going and make it to the top anyway. (Something valuable to be learned here about middle of the night fretting.) There was an MS fund raising event happening that day and the roadway was full of walkers and cyclists and support vehicles and rest stops as well as cars and motorcycles. At one point a pickup truck in front of me had to stop because of an oncoming car waiting for a group of walkers. I hoped they would move by the time I got to them, but no, I had to stop and put my foot down and wait for the traffic jam to sort itself out. The road at that point was way too steep to get started again, but another group of walkers behind me offered to give me a push. With a combination of English, German, French and, “Un, deux, troi, allez!!!” they got me going again and we all felt part of a great group effort up the mountain. 

At many points along the 15 mile climb, the voices in my head screamed “you have to stop!” “if you stop now you will have to turn around and go down!” “you’re not going to make it!” I was surprised at what a mental battle it was. I answered the voices with – no, my legs feel ok, my heart feels ok, my breathing feels ok, I can keep going just a little bit more. I did stop many times in the three and a half hours it took me to do the climb, and often at the rest areas set up for the MS event. I also ate all the food and gummies I brought with me. The William Tell Overture playing in my head helped me up the last few kilometers, but it was definitely the hardest thing I have ever done both mentally and physically. Kerry arrived at the summit about 30 minutes before me, and when we ran into each other in the circus atmosphere and crowds of cyclists we hugged and celebrated and bought salty chips and sweet fruit juice to help restore and fortify us for the speedy descent.

Of course there were difficulties on the tour as well. Someone crashed and was injured in the early days of the trip which was very upsetting. Some of the socializing got to be too much after 10 days. As I observed many of the couples in our group, I missed Michael and wished he could have shared this with me. But I knew with the steep climb up to the hotel, the challenging driving with narrow streets and tiny parking places, and the overwhelming socializing, it was the right decision for him not to come. Maybe we can find another bike trip that he can come along on next time.

Return to Paradise – another month on retreat on Maui

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January 30, 2025

I love being on retreat! I love the structure and focus of the schedule, and I love the way my mind feels when it gets calm and concentrated. I am filled with immense gratitude that I was able to get away for a month again in December and January to dive into the solitude and support of the Dharma Sanctuary in Kula. Of course, my experience was very different from the last time I was there two years ago. As an expression of the law of change and impermanence, the land was brown and crunchy after a long dry spell when I arrived a few days after Christmas. After one severe thunder-storm and many days with rain, everything was once again green, lush and blooming by the time I left at the end of January. This was true of my heart as well.

Another big change was Steve’s health. I had seen him occasionally online, smiling and waving to the faithful attendees of the Wednesday morning sitting group. It is still a miracle that he is alive almost 8 years after a glioblastoma diagnosis. In person, I learned that while still cancer free, he had suffered some collapsed vertebrae about a year ago, which left him stooped and twisted, walking slowly with a cane. He still came down to the hall for the group sittings twice a day but had more difficulty getting up and down from his sitting cushion. I watched my mind and heart want to help him, as I often do with Michael. I also watched and learned as Kamala let him fend for himself. When I met with him for the  twice-weekly teacher interviews, or “check-ins” as they called them, he seemed to have more cognitive difficulty with short term memory and superficial worldly chat. But when we talked about meditation and my practice, he was as clear and sharp as ever, always giving me an instruction that was exactly what I needed in that moment. Kamala, at 77, seemed as strong and healthy as ever, handling everything with apparent grace and ease.

After a short stop-over in LA and a great visit with my sister, I easily settled into a calm and focused state upon arriving at the sanctuary. I was staying in the Yurt this time, nestled farther back on the property, away from the dazzling views of the ocean and sparkling lights of the tourist towns. I had my own hot shower in a separate small bath house, and a lovely garden with a table, chairs and umbrella where I could have my meals. I feel like I am aware and mindful a lot of the time in my regular routine at home and at school, so I just kept going once in Paradise. Of course there were challenges. Body dukkha: constipation, as always on retreat – how many prunes are enough to get things moving without causing too much gas? Drink more water, but then pee more and clean out my composting toilet more frequently. Self-view: Steve’s curved spine made my own curved spine more prominent in my experience, and it took a while to find a comfortable sitting posture. Greed: ripe avocados from the orchard were available at every meal but without riding my bike 100 miles a week, I wasn’t burning enough calories to justify eating them three times a day. I finally gave up the delicious banana/avocado smoothies I was making every afternoon. Fear and worry: the crazy thunder and lightening storm one night provided a great venue for working with equanimity: is this yurt sturdy enough for this wind? If a tree falls on it would it collapse? What about a flash flood coming down the hill?  Should I get dressed, or just stay in bed? Am I overreacting? It actually was a really severe storm, and the retreat manager came by once it stopped, to check on everyone and make sure we were OK. I was impressed and grateful that the Yurt kept me dry and safe.

As usual on retreat, I started looking for something special to happen. I felt a lot of calm and equanimity most of the time. Isn’t that enough? Just keep going and enjoy it. When I really let go of thinking about the cool things that have happened on other retreats, or trying to have some insight, of course that’s when interesting things started to happen. I saw the distinction of seeing color, shape and movement, and perceiving “bird.” I felt the sensation on my skin, heard the sound of leaves moving, watched clouds rolling by and recognized the perception of wind. It seemed very clear and simple, just seeing, just feeling, just hearing, just thinking. At a meeting with Steve I said, “so if there is no meditator, and no observer, then where does the narrator or coach chatting away in my head come from?” He said, “they aren’t important, no need to engage with them. Just don’t pick that up.” A day or two later, as I was sitting in the hall and the coach was chatting away, I thought “if there is no meditator, then who doesn’t engage with the coach, who doesn’t pick that up?” Like stepping off a cliff, I was suddenly expanding in all directions to infinity and imploding into infinite smallness at the same time – whoaaaaa, cool. It was a bit scary at first, but then I settled into the sensation and it felt really amazing and lasted more than a few moments. When I described this to Kamala the next time I saw her, she smiled and said, “you are seeing things come apart. It’s good.” I have had similar experiences before, but not exactly like this. In a book by U Tejaniya that I found in the Yurt, he advises not to look for special experiences to happen, or catalogue special experiences you have had because there are always new things to see, and they will each be different than what you have seen before. I found that extremely helpful and encouraging. 

Shortly after that cool experience, I had an amazing close encounter with my favorite bird, the Japanese Bush Warbler. After desperately wanting to see this bird two years ago and learning, after I came home, that it was typically very shy and difficult to spot, I had accepted that I would not look for it but just enjoy its beautiful song. One morning as I was sitting under some scrubby trees overlooking the ocean, I heard the warbler singing not far from my chair. Then I heard it move to a closer tree, and finally it sounded as if it was right next to me. No, don’t look for it, the coach advised. But then after quite a while of just listening, I did open my eyes and I saw the bird, perched on the top branch of the tree just above my head. It threw its head back, opened its beak and sang its glorious song, then flew away – absolutely thrilling!  Wow. The next day as I was walking on my favorite morning track, I saw the warbler again, scuffling around in the brush under a tree, singing its squeaky wheel song. I did bring small binoculars with me this time and I very slowly retrieved them from my bag and watched and listened for a long while enjoying the gift of this special glimpse. Another day, I used the optics to look out at the boats on the ocean and I actually saw whales breeching. Incredible. Wow, when you get really quiet and calm and don’t expect anything, all kinds of amazing things present themselves. 

The day before I left, I was sitting in the hall and the narrator started chatting, “if everything is arising and passing away, where does it come from, and where does it go? Is there some sort of Amazon warehouse where they keep everything until it is needed and then it goes back there after it does its thing?” And then the answer came – “no, everything is here and not here at the same time, all the time. Form is emptiness, emptiness form, you know, as they say in the Prajna Paramilta.” Yes of course. But then when I got up from sitting to walk, the really interesting thing was that everything was just as it was – the sun warm on skin, the sky clear and blue and the ocean calm; the dappled sunlight through the trees looked like that and the warbler’s song sounded like that, but there was no sense of pleasant. There was no clinging at all and it actually felt a bit odd. These are perfect conditions, all my favorite things, but no pleasant, just this. I walked for a long time and then started to feel a bit of doubt. Where is the joy? Is this right? I sat on the grass for another hour and when I opened my eyes everything looked lovely and my heart filled with delight. OK this seems more normal. When I described this to Steve and Kamala the next day as we had our final meeting, they looked at each other and exchanged a knowing smile. Then they presented me with a Ti tree lei and we hugged warmly.

Since coming home from Maui, I have felt surrounded by a buffer zone of equanimity as terrible things happen in the world. I have felt calm and more patient and accepting of Michael’s physical and cognitive limitations. “This is the way it is” Kamal had said about Steve. I have felt a tremendous appreciation for our house, our jobs, our financial situation, and our loving companionship. I think back on that experience of things just as they were without the attachment of pleasant and let its clarity and power carry me along. I know the world will eventually seep in and cause liking and not liking, irritation and aversion, desire and attachment. But maybe it won’t be quite as strong.

Fall Break on Cape Cod

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October 20, 2024

Instead of going to London again for Fall Break – I didn’t write about that but last October Michael and I spent 4 days in a lovely hotel in Kensington, had some great meals at fantastic restaurants, saw three wonderful West End shows, an amazing special exhibit at the V&A, and met with the folks at the Royal College of Music for Princeton Music Department business – this year we rented a dog friendly house in Brewster, near the beach on Cape Cod Bay. The weather was cool and windy but it was wonderful to walk on the beach a block away. We had many wonderful meals, including lots of oysters from the local oyster farms, and visited all our favorite places. I guess we haven’t been here since we spread my mom’s ashes in Blueberry Pond and at Nauset Beach ten years ago. Some things have changed a lot, like the parking lot and entrance to Nauset Beach, and the campus of the now gone Cape Cod Sea Camps, but many things look exactly the same, which is comforting in such a changing world. Our schedule was very relaxed which was good for Michael. We usually spent a quiet morning at the house, set off for a short outing in mid-day and then found a place to walk on the flats at low tide, which was at 3, 4 and 5pm this week. Then we would come home and relax before finding someplace for dinner. Very chill. 

Louie had injured his neck again in agility and was on two weeks of restricted activity. It was fine not to have an enclosed yard and was good to keep him in the car for a lot of the time and take him on short walks in his new harness. He seemed to be feeling good, and by the end of the week we did let him run on the beach with a long 30’ leach. He even made some new dog friends in the neighborhood. It was sweet to revisit the old familiar places, and lovely to make new memories, visiting the beach below the lighthouse in Chatham, Cotuit harbor and marsh in Dennis, the Grist Mill and Herring Run in Brewster. It was also good to break the routine of being at home and just be someplace different.

On the way home we stopped at the Battleship Massachusetts in Fall River.  Then on to Preston, CT to visit cousins Mike and Kathy Dickens at their farm. After a bit of grumpy barking and growling, Louie and Tessa had a nice reunion and enjoyed being together. Mike and Kathy were warm hosts and we shared delicious food and fun conversation to complete our lovely fall get-a-way.

Bon Ton Roulet in the Finger Lakes

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July 20-27, 2024

To complement the very relaxed Michael-pace trip to Scotland, this was a Marty-pace “kill-yourself-everyday” bike trip. I have been hearing about this longstanding seven-day event from many bike friends for a while and this was finally the year to do it. Ten members of Morris Area Freewheelers were participating so I would have some known friends to ride and socialize with. But as these kinds of things usually go, you could always talk to any of the 250 participants and find many common and interesting things to share. This trip was mostly camping, though a few of our friends arranged to stay in area hotels, Instead of borrowing camping gear from Emily, I opted for the “comfy campers” service which included tent set up, air mattress, chair and clean towel every day. It was a good value and mostly well done except for the hot and crowded “tent city” arrangement. Folks with their own equipment could choose a shady and secluded spot. I’m never a good sleeper in these kinds of situations, so I did the best I could with ear plugs and sleep mask, and my tent and mattress were very comfortable. The tour stayed in some lovely state parks, and on small college campuses. Some places had access to indoor bathrooms with flush toilets and running water. We always had the shower truck, and a charging station where we could recharge our phones, lights, computers and other electronics. Most days we had to have our bags on the truck by 7:30am, but there were two locations where we stayed over two nights, making for a more relaxed morning routine.

The biking was fantastic! I rode 40 something or 50 something miles each day except for the day I completed my first century!!! I mostly rode with Manny from MAFW and Mike, a friend he had made at the Bon Ton the year before. Our pace was comfortably matched and they were incredibly supportive, especially on the century day. Sometimes we rode with John and Dawn from our club, and occasionally we would cross paths with the B riders from the club who were staying at hotels. Maureen, a friend from the Sourland Cycles women’s riding group was also there with her husband Tom, and we rode together one day and swam together at various waterfront locations. There was a lot of talk about algae bloom in the lakes which was a new phenomenon for me. I was thinking of renting a house up here next summer, but if you can’t swim in the lake what is the point of having a house on the waterfront???  

We were very lucky with the weather. After days of dangerous temperatures in the high 90’s at home, it was much cooler and beautiful most days, high in the low 80’s. We would usually be on the road well before 8am and done before noon. The scenery was beautiful with lots of farmland, including robust corn, gorgeous fruit orchards and voluptuous vineyards. It was always thrilling to crest a hill and get a view of the next finger lake, sparkling, long and narrow into the distance. It did get hot in the mid-afternoons, especially in the tent city, but it usually cooled off when the sun went down. I was even cold some nights. I was constantly amazed at how much I was eating: eggs and bacon and home fries and yogurt and granola at breakfast, fantastic treats at the rest stops including fruit and pickles and cookies and bars and chips. We enjoyed good cafeteria style dinners and I inhaled protein and carbs and stayed away from sweet deserts, because I usually had ice cream and beer during the lazy afternoons. I felt stronger as the week went on, and even though sleeping was not great, I guess I was getting enough. I was usually unconscious before 9 and felt fine during the day.

I think this is one of the more demanding bike trips I have done: with the camping, packing and un-packing, lugging your gear, no quiet and air-conditioned hotel room to retreat to, and seven days of riding, almost 400 miles total with one day of 103 miles up to Lake Ontario and back. Everyone cheered and made a big deal out of my first century, which felt really gratifying. The week was a lot of riding and socializing, but wonderful. I’m so happy I got through it with no bike or body problems. I hope I’ll be able do it again some day.

Driving Adventure to Shetland and Orkney

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June 16- 27, 2024

It is Greece and Scotland again this summer! I think this is my 3rd trip to Scotland and maybe 4th or 5th for Michael. Each time we go farther and farther afield. I found a wonderful tour company that arranges self-drive itineraries to Shetland and Orkney – perfect for us. Since Michael did so well with the car on Naxos and Crete, I thought it would be fine here as well. Yes, we had driven in the UK on the wrong side of the road years ago, but for whatever reason, this time was harder. We flew to Heathrow and connected to Aberdeen where we picked up the car. We had upgraded the hotels and I guess they upgraded the car as well because it was a very fancy and huge Volvo SUV. We decided that Michael would do all the driving, which was probably a mistake, as was not asking for something smaller. Within 15 minutes of leaving the rental car lot, we got confused at a round-a-bout, avoided a head-on collision with a firetruck, clipped the side mirror of a parked car and got a flat tire as we bumped a curb. Luckily, we came to a stop near a local police station. The driver of the car we clipped was very kind helping our jet-lagged brains figure out what we should do, and a handful of brawny, highland police officers came to help us change the tire and make our way to a nearby tire store to replace the blow out. We missed getting lunch but thankfully made it to the ferry on time for our overnight sailing to Shetland. Yikes, what a way to get started.

Our ferry cabin was small but comfortable and we slept deeply in the gentle rocking after a filling dinner. The ferry crews were extremely helpful at guiding the loading and unloading of cars, and we learned how to use the fancy cameras and proximity warning lights on our Volvo. Luckily there was very little traffic at 8am when we drove into Lerwick and parked at the town wharf. We strolled around in a cool drizzle and eventually made our way out to Hillswick and the St. Magnus Bay Hotel. Once out in the countryside, the roads were wide with very little traffic. The landscape was rugged and desolate, but beautiful in a gray misty way. Michael took a nap in our homey and comfortable room while I went out for a walk around the Ness of Hillswick. With no trees anywhere, I could see the hotel most of the way walking around the sea cliffs and following the gently trodden footpath in the grass. There were sheep everywhere and many times I think I was on a sheep path rather than a hiking trail. Dinner in the hotel dining room was simple and delicious. The sun finally dipped below the clouds at 9pm and didn’t set until almost 10:30 but it never really got dark – the “simmer din” they call it. 

The next three days on Shetland, thanks to all the wonderful information provided by the tour company, we drove to various recommended places to hike and walked along dramatic cliffs. There were also gorgeous and unexpected beaches that were mostly deserted. It was usually windy and cold with occasional sprinkles, and I was glad I had my winter riding jacket, raincoat, scarf and hat. We found the “Cake Fridge” a self-serve bakery in the middle of nowhere, met some fellow musicians with common friends at a wonderful restaurant in Brae, took four ferries out and back to the northernmost island of Unst, saw Gannets and Puffins, tasted whisky and gin, ate local fish stew and muscles, and saw Viking villages and Neolithic ruins. We also took naps and kept a relaxed pace.

After navigating the crowds in Lerwick from the Viking cruise ship in the harbor, we boarded the late afternoon ferry to Orkney and enjoyed a relaxing dinner and six-hour journey. It wasn’t really dark when we arrived at the Storehouse Restaurant and Rooms at 11:30pm, and we found our room arty and luxurious. The next four days in the Orkneys we walked on more beautifully deserted beaches and cliffs, ate local fish in lovely restaurants, tasted more whiskey, and poked in arty shops in Kirkwall town. On one amazing day we fit in ranger talks and tours at all the Neolithic sites: the Stones of Stennes, Ring of Brodgar, Maeshowe burial mound, and Scara Brae Prehistoric Village. It was a lot to take in but fantastic. The weather was warm and dry and Michael was finally relaxing with the driving. 

We took a morning ferry from Stromnes back to the mainland and then had to drive three hours to Inverness where we would stay overnight. The drive was beautiful but stressful because there was more traffic and we had to manage the complicated and busy round-a-bouts getting into town. Inverness was cute and touristy with all the regular Scottish tartans and tweeds. We saw none of that up north where everything was much more Nordic in style. 

The next day on the way back to Aberdeen, we actually got stopped in a small town by a policeman for not yielding in a round-a-bout. He yelled at Michael but let us go without a ticket. Yikes, we were so relieved to return the car and get on the plane to come home. But, shortly before we were to land in Newark, our flight from London got re-routed to Bangor Maine because of thunderstorms. Urgh!!!! We ended up spending the night in a Comfort Inn and getting home more than 24 hours later. Our checked bags took three more days to arrive. Sigh – I think I won’t go to Scotland again.

Bike Trip to Crete

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May 6 – 15, 2024

In early May, Michael and I joined a bunch of my friends from Morris Area Freewheelers on Crete for a week of riding and archeology. The three other couples and one single woman were spending several days on Santorini first, but Michael and I still had commitments at school, so we flew to Chania and joined them at a beautiful AirBnB villa in Kissamos. We had two separate houses on one piece of property with three bedrooms each, modern kitchens, lovely bathrooms and a gorgeous private beach right on the Aegean. Michael had a car, so we could go off on our bike rides in the morning while he could relax with a second cup of thick, sweet Greek coffee and then drive to meet us wherever we stopped for lunch. Like last summer on Naxos, the driving was mostly easy and Michael enjoyed his independence. 

The weather was cool and sunny most days, perfect for riding though not quite swimming temperature. I went in anyway because it was too beautiful to pass up. The riding was challenging since wherever we headed, we had to go up into the mountains from sea level. The routes were gorgeous, passing groves of olive trees, goats everywhere, flowering shrubs, and views of sea and mountains. When we stopped at a restaurant for lunch, the food was fantastic, plentiful and inexpensive. Just when we felt too stuffed to eat another bite and asked for the check, the waiters would bring the house brew of dessert wine and some delicious sweets. One afternoon and evening we took a boat trip from Kolymvari to Balos Beach and Gramvousa Island. Another day we stopped at the Moni Gonia Monastery after a thrilling downhill ride along the coast. We all enjoyed socializing and getting to know each other better and everyone mostly got along well navigating the roads and the kitchens.

         After Crete, our friends were heading to Athens. Michael and I drove three hours to Heraklion instead for a few days of archeology. The driving in the tiny, busy streets of the city was more challenging but we made it to our elegant and comfortable hotel. A student of mine from PU who lives in Athens had put me in touch with a local guide and we arranged to meet her for a late afternoon tour of the famous Knossos Palace archeological site. The air was warm and soft as the sun went down, and the grounds were amazingly deserted for our three-hour private tour. Karen was a fantast guide and paced the time so we could sit in the shade while she told us wonderful tales of 5000 years ago. The next day we spent the morning at the fantastic but busy archeology museum in town seeing the actual artifacts from the site and reading about a lot of the things Karen had explained the previous day. We spent the warm afternoon at the beach, only a 15 minute drive away. We enjoyed a delicious meal at a beachside café and Michael napped on a chaise under an umbrella while I swam in the turquoise water and walked on the white sand. It was easy to get to the airport the next morning for our early flight to Athens and then home. This was a fantastic trip which makes us want to return to Greece!

40th Anniversary Trip to Greece

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June 11, 2023

We had this trip mostly planned for June of 2020 and my 60th birthday, but COVID struck, and we cancelled it along with everything else. Luckily, we hadn’t bought plane tickets or paid any money to the tour organizer. Then, one January afternoon in Maui as I meditated on the hillside overlooking the sea and islands, the thought floated into my mind, “I think it is our 40thanniversary this June…we should take that trip to Greece!”  It was very easy to reconstruct the itinerary with the incredibly helpful travel agent, Takis, who plans trips for the Hellenic Studies Department at PU. Prices were more expensive than they were in 2020, but still very reasonable compared to the rest of Europe. Traveling in early June we were also very lucky with the weather, which was cool and cloudy before the blistering heat of the summer set in.

After an uneventful direct flight from Newark to Athens, we arrived in Greece on June 11, our anniversary day. We were met at the airport and taken to our lovely hotel, the Herodion, only a short walk to the Acropolis Museum and charming Plaka district. We walked around a bit and rested in the afternoon before a delicious cocktail at the hotel’s rooftop bar, followed by a magnificent dinner at the famous Dionysis Restaurant overlooking the south face of the Acropolis – a suitably grand way to celebrate this major milestone in our relationship!

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Beach/Bike Vacation in MD

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August 6, 2022

I rented a cool and funky house in Berlin MD for a family beach get-a-way this summer. I was very happy to avoid a complicated trip to Europe, or anywhere that involved flying, especially after the travel hassles of Utah. I was even happier that Emily could join us. The house was attractive and comfortable with a fenced in area for Louie, AC, WiFi, and beautiful outside garden areas to cook, eat and even watch TV. The host lived in a trailer at the back of the property, with “Boyfriend” and three dogs. Louie made friends with Laurie’s dogs through the fence, and “Boyfriend,” a chef at a local restaurant, even shared some fresh off the boat tuna with us one night. Laurie was a warm and generous character with unending helpful advice about everything.

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