Landing in Venice II

The Venice airport is located on the mainland, north and east of the city.  To get into Venice you either have to take a water taxi, water bus, or combination bus and water bus.  Our landlords had given us instructions using the later, so we bought our tickets and boarded the bus.  We and 40+ people with suitcases!   And the bus made stops on the way into town with folks trying to climb onto an already packed bus.   

The bus drives across the causeway into a drop off at Piazzale Roma, which is a central starting point for many of the water bus lines and is where people have to park if they drive their cars into Venice.  We boarded our vaporetto (water bus) there, and headed south and east on the Grand Canal towards the Rialto Market. 

 

In this photo, taken from the north, you can see the railroad/highway causeway we had to cross coming into town.

Photos landing in Venice

Since I succeeded in posting one picture on my last post, I will try to make this work with one photo at a time.  Here's the view of Venice as we came in.

Venice, as seen from the west

JFK to London

We have been having some problems with the apartment WiFi ... I tried to do this with pictures, but it doesn't work.  I will add photos later. This connection is sooooo slow!

After 5 hours in the British Airways VIP Concorde Lounge, we got to the gate only to be told I hadn't checked in and that my seat was now at the opposite side of the plane from Scott's.  After a few tense moments we got it all straightened out.

We spent time checking out all the amenities of our individual "pods" -- the seats that make into beds, the individual 19" TV screen, noise cancelling headphones, two pillows, a blanket, a personalized comfort kit of things to make the trip more relaxing), a glass of champagne to enjoy while the rest of the passengers came aboard.  Sitting in the window pod I had an electronic blind I could raise and lower at the touch of a button next to my seat. We were even offered BA pajamas for our night flight.

Underway, we were served a 3 course meal - we both had a beef fillet with chanterelle mushrooms.  I started with asparagus soup and Scott had a salad.  Best airline food we've seen in a while! 

As we leaned back to get a little sleep the flight attendants came by offering duvets to make our beds more cozy.

Arriving in London was interesting.  There was some fog, so they put us into a pattern flying circles south of the airport for about 20 minutes.  When we finally landed, we got there as two other 747s were on the same concourse.  Everyone is trying to crowd onto the same trains trying to get to the other part of the terminal to their connecting flights.  Imagine a three-story escalator with 500+ people trying to get to the top and you'll have a sense of BA's  Heathrow Terminal 5.  Then we had to go through another round of security... luckily as first class passengers we could go to the Fast Pass lane.  (We suddenly realized that the mini creams and toothpaste that came in the comfort kits had to go into the plastic bags for security, so it was a bit of a scramble.) 


After clearing security, we retired to the quiet sanctuary of the Concorde Room lounge... just in time to watch the sun come up.  

The trip from LHR to VEN was uneventful.  Clouds from England to well past Paris, but as we started over the Alps, we could see a bit of the scenery. 

It was dramatic to go from the mountains to the flat coastal plain surrounding Venice.   We came in over the lagoon just north of the city, landing at the airport right on time.  They are working on the airport, so we got put at one of the old gates and had to come down old-fashioned stairs to climb aboard buses to go to the terminal.  From the decadence of first class to the reality of schlumping our bags through the airport... it was quite a day.


The real trip begins

After a couple of weeks at the Oregon house, we headed east.  PDX to JFK was on Jet Blue... the fun part was enjoying our new status as TSA "known travelers" (no more taking off shoes, unpacking computers or authorized liquids).  We had a medical emergency onboard about 3 hours into the flight (a lady fainted going into the forward head)... they made more of it than it really was, but it was good to see they were prepared.

We've spent the past week in Thomaston, CT visiting Scott's family.  He even connected with some of his old high school buddies... that was fun since he didn't get to go to his 50th reunion last year.

Thomaston is a quiet typical New England town, with old buildings lining Main Street.

 

It was the original location for the Seth Thomas clock factory, and the old clock tower still anchors Main Street. 

 

The leaves were just beginning to turn.  After the yellows and golds of AK and Canada, we were enjoying all the colors that the area gets because of all the maple trees.

 

 

We headed south to New York along the historic Hutchison Parkway.  Thanks to an accident (northbound) on the top of the Whitestone bridge, I was able to get a shot or two of the Manhattan skyline. 

 

 

We lucked out and had few traffic tie-ups, getting to JFK just two hours after leaving Thomaston.  We are biding our time in the British Airways First Class lounge ... free drinks, free food, football or baseball on the TV.  We're enjoying ourselves.

 

We're even eligible for a complimentary spa treatment... but the spa doesn't open until 4... don't know if we'll have time.

 

From here it's overnight to London, then on to Venice in the morning.  Next post will be from our apartment near the Rialto Market.  Ciao!!!

 

Yukon and BC

The trip down the Al-Can Highway was good.
We averaged 500 miles a day and in 5 days arrived in Waldport.

The fall colors were good all the way down.


Kluane Range, YT

Down the Cassir Highway (BC)

Not too many wildlife sightings... one lynx and one bobcat, a couple of deer, a fox, a coyote, and several bears.

This was a sow with a couple of cubs... she decided not to cross in front of us.

A New Adventure begins

We're a bit late starting the blog.  Things have been busy.
We left Talkeetna 9 September and drove to Oregon.

Of course we had some help...


If we stay close, they have to take us with them!
 

Once we got on the road, we had to stop

 and enjoy the scenery just a bit.

lunch at Matanuska Glacier

 

Matanuska Glacier



2014 - The Year in Review

As the year began we were in Oregon… finishing up our first season as snowbirds.  (Snowbirds are those Alaskans who head south for the winter.) 

Klamath NWR

Winter  – We made a quick trip to Napa in January, going via Crater Lake and the Klamath National Wildlife Refuge.  Scott can now say he has been to Crater Lake, but he still hasn’t seen the lake (except from the air).  The whole summit was in the clouds – everything was a whiteout… clouds so thick we could not see the lake! 

The wildlife refuge was fun.  While few ducks, geese and swans were there, eagles were everywhere!  Who knew that eagles and hawks like signposts?

view from our front yard

We got back to Oregon just in time for a snowstorm.  Half an inch is big news at the beach… we just laughed.  

back of the house with snow

 

BC peaks

Spring  – We left Oregon just as the rhododendrons in the backyard were starting to bloom.  As we worked our way north we hit a couple of snowstorms that made us wonder if we should have waited until late spring.  On the Cassair Highway we discovered that an official traffic report of "slippery" conditions really meant "We haven't had it plowed yet!"  North of the Cassair we did get better conditions... until we got to Tok, AK.  From Tok to Glenallen we were in a whiteout.

Alaska peaks

We just took it slow…  The weather cleared as we got close to home and we were treated to some spectacular views of the Wrangell and Chugach mountains.   

125 miles from home...clear road!

We experienced two springs… or maybe we should say one spring and one breakup.  At least this year it was a gradual breakup in AK so Scott did not get called out for any flooding in the villages. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer –  We were just getting used to being back in Alaska when the summer rental season for The Laughing Moose started unexpectedly early.  Normally Memorial Day is the kickoff, but this year we got a call May 2^nd from a family we’d rented to before, and they arrived May 3^rd.  And the rentals kept coming, and coming, and coming!  This season was our busiest ever… we went from having 10 reservations when we left Oregon to 20+ days with BOTH cabins booked in May, June & July.  Things slowed down a bit in August—only because the cabins were rented to fishermen who were here for at least a week each.  We shared info on good fishing holes, set up a fish processing line in the yard, and helped vacuum-pack the catch… and were rewarded with 26 pounds of silver salmon when one group didn’t have room to take more than 50 pounds on the airplane.  We even managed to do a little fishing for silvers on our own in August.

We both qualified as range safety officers for our local shooting range on the Parks Highway.  RSOs get to shoot for free… so we finally got some of the guns out of storage and into action.  Scott got his Marlin rifle repaired and was able to fire it for the first time in 50+ years!  RSOs can keep any of the brass that shooters leave behind, so Scott took up re-loading.  And at summer’s end we bought a new 40 caliber Desert Eagle handgun.  That was the week before we left for OR, so we haven’t even had a chance to go down to the range 

Scott helped our friends Linda and Harry with some building projects.  Their cabin was damaged in the 2012 floods, so it had to be repositioned and reinforced.  The big project was replacing the porch with a new, screened-in room…we all got involved. When the project was done we got to enjoy mosquito-less alfresco dining! 

Our chainsaw & log splitter got a good workout.  The big project was clearing 20+ trees from behind the house, opening up a larger area by the greenhouse and increasing the fire safety zone to 30 feet.  We also organized a one-day logging party for a friend who was facing back surgery – 8 of us cut, split and stacked 10 cords.   Then, a week later, 3 of us cut & split 5 trees that had been removed at our church (to be shared with two church families).  Oh, our aching backs!  We finished the summer with a very full woodshed.

 

We also expanded the yard a bit, taking out part of the slope in front of the garage to open up access to the Deere barn.  A month of rain slowed our progress; we had to wait for a dry spell to spread the crushed stone.  Part of this area, next summer, will become a shared picnic area for the guests, with a fire ring and picnic table.   There's even talk of making a stone pizza oven!

Fall – With summer over, we headed outside again.  We flew to Oregon this time, dropped the dogs with their favorite dog sitters and went off to Maui to housesit.   (It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it!) 

Maui north shore... surf's up!



 

We celebrated our 10^th anniversary with a special dinner at Mama’s Fish House.  The picture here is of a "Black Pearl" a special dessert that we enjoyed.  (It's a ball of chocolate mousse, dipped in dark chocolate, in a shell-shaped cookie atop a passion fruit sauce.  Yummmmm!

 

 

Depot Bay surf

We got back to OR just in time for the rainy season to start.   We adopted a “beach time” mode… it’s easy to curl up with a good book and listen to the rain hitting the windows.  We did explore the coast a bit – and it’s always fun to visit our favorite restaurants. 

Sunset from the Rogue Brewery

 

The dogs had not been to the beach while we were gone because there was an infestation of fleas.  By mid-November the cold had driven the fleas away and we were finally able to take them to the beach.  They love running and exploring... so far we've managed to keep them out of the really smelly stuff.  

X- A pumpkin?  It isn't even Halloween.

O- I only have one speed... fast!

 

Right after Thanksgiving we packed up and headed north to AK, arriving home to the first significant snow of the season (6″). 

The dogs jumped right in, showing us how much they enjoy and had missed the snow.

It’s fun to watch them race from one side of the yard to the other, checking out all their favorite corners.  As you can see, before Scott plows, five minutes outside means 10+ minutes of getting the snow off. 

Xander is worse than Orion.  She hops through the snow like a rabbit, while he snowplows.  He's the one who gets dipped in warm water in the deep sink.

 

Winter – The winter solstice officially marks the start of winter.  It's Scott's favorite day of the year because it means we are gaining daylight.  

We spent a quiet Christmas at home.  The highlight was watching the dogs unwrap their presents.  We hide a yummy chummie treat in the bags and they really tear into them. 

They even got into a tug of war over the bag containing their new dog bed.  Xander lost interest in the fight once his corner of the bag tore off, releasing the treat.

 

And, of course, all that hard work wore them out, so Xander promptly found a good use for the new bed.

 
 

As New Year's Eve approaches, we look forward to a quiet evening at home, curled up in front of a roaring fire. 

 

We'll be in Alaska for awhile...

       but further moose-adventures are coming in 2015,

       so stay tuned.