Traveling along

We finally got on the road around 7:15 last night. We had only driven 33 miles before running into a traffic problem on I-85. Traffic was backed up in all lanes for 10 miles. After sitting it in for a long time we decided to take the next exit and go around the construction area. That proved to be an excellent idea. It wasn’t long before we reached Atlanta. That is still one of my favorite places. Such a beautiful nighttime skyline! We drove right thru the heart of the city and made it to the Alabama line. We took the first exit there and parked in a Walmart parking lot for the night. Both animals traveled well and the cat was very happy to get out of her cage. David and I both slept very well and feel rested this morning. It is 7:00am and we just got on the road for the day and hope to drive until about 4:00pm. We’ll be staying at a campground tonight. There is severe weather in the forecast for today but we are hoping it will be north of us as we travel. Storms, high winds and tornadoes…. That doesn’t exactly sound like fun travel weather.

MONACO

MONACO… ahhh… a little gem tucked between the mountains and the sea. I’ve been there a couple of times, first in 1994 and again in 1999. Monaco is a principality, located along the French Riviera. I visited the Prince’s Palace where the Prince Ranier lived as well as St. Nicholas Cathedral, the burial place of Princess Grace. (Prince Ranier has since died and is also buried there.) On my first visit I went to the Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium, which was quite nice. Monte Carlo is well known for the many casinos and high rollers. Lots of money here for sure. The marina is full of luxurious yachts. The changing of the guard at the Palace was quite interesting to watch. On my last visit there David was with me and we were standing near the Palace and heard a roaring sound. It became louder and louder and we noticed the area in front of the Palace was roped off. We were busy taking photos and getting something to eat but could tell there was excitement in the air. The roar continued to get louder and louder and suddenly we saw what the noise was coming from. A long line of Ferrari’s came driving up the winding road leading to the Palace. They parked side by side in front of the Palace and within minutes the entire area was full of Ferrari’s. They were either bright red or bright yellow and looked magnificent. We had no idea exactly what was going on but apparently it was some sort of show. I have photos of them packed away somewhere in storage. If I can locate them I will post them at a later time but for now I have these two photos to share with you. The first one is of me made in 1994 and the second one is of David, 5 years later, made standing in the same spot!

update: 28 July 2007

OK, I found my photos! Below are the photos of the ferrari's parked in front of the palace. Pretty cool huh? Just think of all the money tied up in those cars!

A couple of shots of the palace with the guard (in white).

Below are photos of the cathedral where Princess Grace and Prince Ranier are buried.

BAHAMAS

I have only been on one cruise. In 1999 Jamie and I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas and had so much fun! The Bahamas are made up of over 700 islands. We found Nassau to be a very mixed place. By that I mean it was beautiful with lots of expensive hotels but we also saw the poverty side. One thing we absolutely hated was when you get off the ship and go into town you have to fight your way thru all the locals who want to braid your hair for money of course. It was a huge turn off. They thrive on the tourists coming off the cruise ships and it is nothing short of pan-handling. We dreaded leaving the ship each day because of that. Once you got past them it was fine. One day the ship took us to their own "private" island for the day. We each rented a float and thoroughly enjoyed the low key, relaxing day. It was indeed paradise. Another day we went to Atlantis and the aquarium there. It was a fun experience but oh what a storm as we were leaving to head back to the ship. We had to take a smaller boat over to Atlantis and had planned to return the same way except mother nature didn't cooperate. There was a tremendous rainstorm and we tried waiting it out until we gave up and took a shared taxi ride back to where all the cruise ships were docked. That taxi ride was an experience in itself. It was a mini-van and there were about 6 of us in their with the female driver. She took us on some back roads to get us there quickly. There was big money to be made for the taxi drivers that day due to the storm so they wanted to fill the vehicles to capacity then hurry to drop off so they could pick up more tourists. Bahamians try to make a buck any way they can or at least that was my impression. Anyway it was that ride that allowed us to see the other side of the Bahamas, the poor side. It was quite depressing and as tourists we would never have known it existed had it not been for that taxi ride. The part most tourists see is the glamorous side like Atlantis. All in all it was a great trip and I would love to go on another cruise sometime but would like a different destination. Bahamas... been there done that!

These are photos I took of our cruise ship from the private island. We had to take a smaller boat over to the island while the ship stayed anchored for the day. I was glad because it gave me a good opportunity to get a couple of photos of the ship from a distance.

I took this photo of a palm tree while relaxing in a hammock on the private island. This tree was right over me.

Ahhh... Atlantis in all it's glory. It is something to see that's for sure. We spent a day here checking out the aquarium and other things. That's me standing in front of the resort and me sitting in the giant chair.

Some pretty painted houses. We were in a boat on our way to Atlantis when I took this photo.

Our cruise included one day in Key West, Florida before it ended. This photo is of the southernmost point of the continental USA. Key West was such a fun place to visit . David and I had been there before so this was my second visit. Very enjoyable!

ARIZONA

We'll start with Arizona! We have made numerous trips to Arizona over the years. We mostly go to Tucson but we have also traveled about the state with trips to the Grand Canyon, Painted Dessert, Nogales, Hoover Dam, Meteor Crater, Flagstaff, Tombstone etc... One of my favorite things was a "star party" we attended near Benson. The following are some of the photos from our travels.

OLD TUCSON STUDIOS is located near Tucson and is the place where a lot of western movies and TV shows were filmed. Little House on the Prairie was filmed here.

David at Old Tucson Studios

David and a pair of BIG cowboy boots

Olsen's Store (Little House on the Prairie)

TOMBSTONE, ARIZONA... the town too tough to die! Think of the "old west", that is Tombstone. Remember the OK Corral? How about the names Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday? In Tombstone you can see gun fights and go in the old bars. It is a favorite tourist stop in Arizona .

Tombstone, Arizona street

Tombstone, Arizona grave yard

Tombstone, Arizona grave yard

HOOVER DAM... is another popular tourist destination

David and Linda at Hoover Dam

THE GRAND CANYON...WOW! What an awesome experience this. No trip to Arizona would be complete without a visit to the Grand Canyon. No words or pictures can begin to prepare you for this.

Linda at the Grand Canyon

METEOR CRATER...One of my many interests includes meteors, meteorites and such. I remembered seeing a photo of the particular crater when I was in grade school. There was a small airplane parked along the rim and it showed the massive size of the crater by comparing the plane to the crater. I had always wanted to see it so on one of our trips to Arizona we took a side trip out of our way in order to go see this crater. I was not disappointed! It is enormous! It was such a windy day though, the strongest winds I have ever felt in my life. You can't really tell from this photo but in the center of the crater are some buildings and a very large American flag. You can't see the flag unless you look thru binoculars from the spot where I am standing in this photo.

Linda at Meteor Crater