The Last of Spain

You're wondering how long you're going to hear about this but finally Linda sent her 800 photos to me and I can post one of most of our group after we were playing in the huge surf.
Things are quiet around here now that everyone is into their fall routine and my routine is catching up with my magazine reading. The weather has been in the 70's and 80's so I've been digging around in the flower beds.

It was great visiting with Jill and Pat. They left the judicial conference one night and came for dinner with Brett and family and then we managed to get into some long discussions about education, politics and Memorial Day. I know Pat is going to check out Anderson Lodge when the time is right. We also went shopping one day so Jill could shop for new suits and shoes. I've got to start carrying my camera everywhere so I can send you photos.

My mom is doing well on her new happy pills. She has been very pleasant to be around once I get her into clean clothes. She is staying very busy at Harbor Crest and never realized I'd been gone. I left my cell phone at Cyd's so every night my mom would call and talk to her before she went to bed.

So tell me what you're doing now that you're 65. Are you retiring? We missed you in our picture.

No Computer

For the first 10 days we had no time to use a computer but finally I found one in the lobby of the last place we visited. The next day was your birthday and I'm happy that you had a great party at the zoo. Diana and I loved talking to you early in our morning and then she left for home and I went on to Madrid with Linda. We stayed in a piso on a street where Cervantes once lived so you know kind of what it looked like outside. Inside it was a remodeled apartment with granite countertops and a classy furnishings which belonged to our tour guide who is also Linda's cousin. We stayed there for 4 days while we visited the Grand Palace, The Prado and several other museums. The Prado was overwhelming and after two hours I was ready to leave. There is only so much art work you can look at even if they are all done by such famous artists.

We walked everywhere all day and one day walked to Carlos' parents near the outskirts of downtown where we had a nice lunch in their home. The best food we had every day or so was churros and chocolate. The chocolate is in a cup and it's so thick it looks like frosting almost. It is great for dunking the churros. We tried to stay out of Starbucks though there were several around but we did go into all the fancy stores we could find. It is quite a lively city. We even rented a row boat and rowed in their city park.

We left Madrid for Barcelona and spent 3 days there. There are so many famous artists there and I have to say Antonio Gaudi makes Frank Lloyd Wright look like an amateur. We visited all his sites and they are outstanding even though he's been dead a while and some are still under construction. We also were quite fond of Salvador Dali and visited the Picasso Museum, having a final dinner at a restaurant he frequented many years ago. We covered the city by foot and the metro a few times. We tried to stay out of churches and Linda did a bit of shopping. The weather was great and we checked out the beaches though neither of us wanted a photo like your last Mediterranean pose.

I'd like to say it's good to be home but I'm not feeling that way. I'd like to keep up the traveling lifestyle for another month or more. These responsibilites for a house are bothersome but surely I'll be settling in again soon. It's time to start thinking Grandsons.

Buen Camino!

This is the greeting we exchanged with anyone we encountered on the walk to Santiago Compestella. We began our trip in Bilboa where Diana and I walked around the Guggenheim Museum early in the morning. It is really a special building that stands out as my favorite of the trip. Fourteen women and two guides boarded a mini-van there and headed along the Camino Del Norte. We would drive for an hour or more each day and then walk for two to four hours along this trail.

The group was organized to celebrate several women’s sixtieth birthdays but there were others who ranged in age from 32 to 75. My friend Betty, was the 75 year old who led most of the walks and always had more energy that the rest of us. The youngest woman spent extra time in the day running long distances to prepare for the Portland Marathon. I just tried to stay on my feet as we walked at least 6 miles daily and several days we walked 13 miles.

We would also visit churches, beaches and even spent one day at the European Picos riding a cable car to the top. In the churches we listened to priests, waited in long lines to kiss (a) part of the original cross of Jerusalem, (b) a salt and pepper shaker that was a gift from Ferdinand and Isabella and finally we put our arms around a gold statue of Saint James and observed his bones. These were all in different places and in each place we also saw many Virgin Maries while in several places we observed her being carried through the streets in long processions. One church was high in the hills where several hundred cars were parked to observe a special day and the lighted candles left in the church covered a large section of the floor acting as a giant heater in the 80 degree weather. The vendors there were busy selling everything you could think of and I suppose the next day it was a quiet mountain top again with only an empty church.

We walked a total of 100 km and stayed at nine different hotels where we would dine in your favorite style. The meal would begin at 9 or 9:30 p.m. finishing about 11:30. Every meal had wine and many courses of food so we had plenty of energy for the walking. We arrived in Santiago through the traditional Pilgrim’s gate which every pilgrim since the 800’s has walked. The cathedral was an old Romanesque church where we toured even the roof tops walking down the tiles and across the different levels.

I think I was the only one without a camera so I have no photos but I’m certain that some of the 1000’s the others took will end up on this site soon.

British Air

We are boarding tomorrow at 6 p.m. and will be somewhere in Spain on Sunday. There are 10 of us traveling on the same flight but Diana is one who is traveling alone on her first international flight. She leaves a few hours before we do so we'll meet her at Heathrow.

Today I left Nancy to take Larry home by herself. They were both ready to have me out of there but who can blame them for that? He still was not walking alone yesterday so I'm not sure how she'll get him into the motel where they'll stay until Tuesday when he gets his catheter out and they head for Medford that evening. He is happy to have this surgery behind him but the recovery process is going to be a drag for both of them for a few weeks. The outcome should be very successful.

I had a good time with Nancy hanging out near the U. I walked to campus yesterday and saw an art exhibit by Maya Lin who is the artist who designed the Viet Nam Memorial. It was an awesome exhibit and the campus is nice too. Nancy and I also walked to the shopping mall yesterday where Cyd and the twins met us for lunch. It has been gorgeous in Seattle.

Tonight I'm babysitting for Cyd and Dave's Ninth Anniversary. Usually they go out and are home again in about an hour. The babies go to bed early so that will be fine. I'd like it better if they had a wireless connection for the computer because now I'm hanging out at Border's paying by the hour. It's fun for me however.

Wish me luck on my pilgrimage. I hope I become a better person.