festival

Japan Cruise–Part I

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Since this cruise is a combination of 2 two-week cruises, I’ll break it into two articles.

Day 1 – We boarded in Yokohama and departed at about 7:00pm.

Day 2 – We were at sea for most of the day, arriving at Osaka at 3:00pm.  We will have additional time in Osaka when the ship makes its way back to Yokohama and again in early April when we have our land tour.  But that’s OK, it deserves extra attention.

Osaka has set the bar high when it comes to welcoming the cruise ship.  As we were docking, there was a 25-piece band playing outside next to the cruise terminal along with a small crowd of people waving. Continue reading →

Visit The Bakers

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In early May we had an opportunity to visit the Bakers in Prescott, AZ.  The last time we visited them was in September 2021.  At that time they had home renovations in progress which have now been completed so it was nice to see their beautiful new kitchen, guest bathroom and laundry room.

Lynx Lake in Prescott

While in Prescott we went to the local farmer’s market as well as an arts and crafts festival that comes to Prescott monthly.  In addition, we took a nice hike around Lynx Lake.  But mostly we enjoyed some excellent meals and had the opportunity to enjoy fun time together.  Along the way, we agreed that we should take a Europe river cruise together in the fall of 2024.  We will be planning that very soon.

Germany & Austria 2023

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Steve and I departed LA on April 19th on a non-stop flight to Munich.  Our principal motivation for the trip was to attend Frühlingsfest, the spring version of Oktoberfest.  It is held at the same location and has the same general format as Oktoberfest but is somewhat smaller.  We particularly wanted to be there for the opening ceremony which was held in the afternoon on April 21.  Valerie and I were in Munich for Frühlingsfest in 2019 and attended the opening ceremony during which the weather was rainy and chilly.  This time, we were very fortunate to have beautiful blue skies and mild temperatures.  And we were able to get into line to receive a free souvenir 1 liter stein.

Fruhlingfest Opening Ceremony Continue reading →

Munich, Germany

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Bavarian National Theater

Munich traces its founding to the year 1158.  In 1240 the city would pass to the House of Wittelsbach which would govern Munich (and Bavaria) for the next 700 years.  Munich prospered as a salt trading center but would be hit hard by the plague in 1349 and it would persist for the next 150 years.  The coopers (barrel makers) initiated a ritualistic dance in an effort to bring an end to the plague since their trade was suffering because people were afraid to leave their houses and therefore were not drinking as much beer.  This dance continues to be performed every seven years but it is reenacted 3 times daily by the little figures in the Glockenspiel high up on the main tower of the city hall.

Continue reading →

Glenrock, WY

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From Lusk, we moved west to Glenrock, on the North Platte River, about 20 miles east of Casper, WY.  In Glenrock we parked at the Platte River Campground.

North Platte River

We checked out the Ayres Natural Bridge located a little east of Glenrock.  This rock bridge is 20 feet high with a span of 90 feet.  Since it is near the Oregon Trail, it is considered one of Wyoming’s first tourist attractions because it was often visited by emigrants traveling west.  In 1843, a pioneer described it as “a natural bridge of solid rock, over a rapid torrent, the arch being regular as tho’ shaped by art.”

On another day we headed west to Casper on the day they were holding a “5150 Festival”.  “5150” refers to the elevation of the city.  Apparently, they had quite a good party last year during the solar eclipse, being very much in the center of its path.  They were hoping for a repeat but in the absence of another eclipse they decided to go ahead with the festival anyway.

Next stop:  Wheatland, WY