From Russia we were on our way to Morocco. We left the four seasons Hotel in St. Petersburg at in the morning for our plane. On the way however, we stopped at Peter & Paul Fortress and we visited the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. The name is due to the assassination that occurred there. The Peter and Paul Fortress is St. Petersburg’s oldest structure and the cathedral is the burial place of all Russian emperors. This is…
I’ve not done a very good job of describing our experience in the Maldives. In fact, I’m not totally sure of the accuracy of sequences I report as things began to blurr at this point. When I get home I’ll review again. Please excuse my typos as well given the hour I post things. I described the ordeal of a very long flight from China and the series of transportation steps involved ending with our crossing extremely rough water to…
I’m sitting at table under an outdoor roof by a swimming pool at our room in the Maldives. It is 88 degrees within humidity 74% and overcast. We arrived here from Beijing last night after a 19 hour travel day. In reverse order we left the Beijing airport at 5:00 am, flew 7.5 hours to Sara Lanka, refueled and continued another 1.5 hours to the airport where we got on a totally humid commuter plane to the capital of the…
On Thursday night we had group dinner at Seattle Center with all the beautiful glass on display created by Seattle’s own: Dale Chihuly. It was a lovely dinner with great service and great food. Fifty some people were seated at a long table with beautiful settings and flower arrangements. A very nice evening and a chance to meet the other people going on the tour. Friday morning we were driven to Boeing field where the airplane was parked. There were…
My wife Lita and I have decided to go on, what is for us, a huge adventure in our retirement. We have signed up for a Four Seasons private jet tour starting in Seattle in April of this year and traveling to different countries with our final stop Boston after 24 days of travel. We will be traveling on a private Boeing 757 jet under the sponsorship of the Four Seasons. At each destination we will be staying in a Four Seasons Hotel. The jet…
In the TV series Newsroom Jeff Daniels stars as Will McAvoy, a veteran news anchor. It's brilliant writing is by Aaron Sorkin, his first television show in six years. In one scene, McAvoy is part of a panel at a college and "snaps" when a young woman student asks the panel what makes the United States "the greatest country in the world?" and unloads his contrary view to the college audience. Here's an excerpt of what he tells them: "Hey– – And with a straight face you're…
Chis Lay is a electronics designer who created this graph on how to decide who to vote for in the primaries. The Huffington Post (www.huffingtonpost.com) reprinted it and I thought it was amusing enough it was all you need to know to make your decision on how to vote in the primaries so here it is, but with a full disclaimer: this isn't how I see it but I do think it amusing. NOTE: CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLAGE
My father in law, Hollis Barnett died on March 22nd 1990. He was a unique and wonderful man. You can read about his extraordinary wife Betty Barnett and more about this couple whoI grew to love. https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2010/03/i-write-this-in-memory-of-my-wifes-father-hollis-hall-barnett-whodied-in-puyallup-washington-on-march-22-1990-at-the-a.html Hollis Hall Barnett died in Puyallup, Washington at the age of 83. Hollis was born in Buckley, Washington on May 3, 1907 and spent his younger years at Mt. Rainier National Park where his father, Herman "Herm" Burke Barnett, was a National Park Ranger….
The reason there is gridlock in Congress, the reason politicians are totally failing in carrying out their constitutional duties and the reason the balance of power provided in the Constitution is no long working is because of big money in politics and government. Until there is campaign funding reform and control over the flow of money into politics and government we will continue to experience this dysfunctional excuse of governing. Whatever you think of Bernie Sanders, on this particular issue he…
Our loving, sweet, little dog, Josephine, unexpectedly died last night. After thirteen years of being entertained and greatly loved by her it was a gut wrenching experience for Lita and I. It was especially hard and painful for our friend Julie Albers and her husband Randy. Josephine died in Julie's arms with Randy trying to do CPR to save her, but it wasn't to be. Lita and I were in Seattle for the night and Julie and Randy were taking care of her when she became ill. Calls to the…
