The Broken White Line

 

I love to travel. Anyone who has ever read more than a few entries of this blog knows that. After being raised as a military brat traveling coast-to-coast and all over Europe, I went into the Air Force and hit some of the same places in the states and Europe before heading to the Pacific. From there, I moved on to a DOD civilian job, which also kept me exploring new lands. To me, it is one of the most mind and heart-expanding things a person can ever do and we are lucky that being citizens of the United States we can almost travel at will anywhere around the world.

My favorite form of travel is the road trip. Jumping in the car or on a motorcycle with my backpack and a small suitcase, I'm ready to go almost anywhere. It isn't just the destination I enjoy; it is the miles on the road. Even if I travel the same road many times, I always discover something new. It is amazing the things that are out there to see and do and even better, the unique and interesting people you meet along the way.

Right now, I'm preparing to make a quick road trip to see some family and friends. At the tail end of the trip is a goodbye to a friend who passed last year and whose funeral I could not get to because of prior commitments. I'll also be picking up a few bottles of bourbon that have been sitting in a charred wooden keg aging for the last seven years. As you can, tell, the trip is a hodgepodge of things and people that will all be enjoyable and one somber moment that will allow me to take a moment to let someone know how much I appreciated them in my life. Oh, did I mention I was also getting some bodywork done on my car while on the road? When I fill a trip up with things, I fill it.

The saddest part of this trip is that my usual traveling companion, MacBeth, will not be going with me. It's the first time in a long time I'll be crossing multiple state lines without him in the backseat reminding me to stop now and then to stretch my legs or letting me know when it's time to find a field so we can play fetch. That part I'm not looking forward to but, it reminds me of how special a puppy he truly was.

In the words of Gil Favor... Head 'em up, move them out.

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Best of the Blog – The Deep South

This is the fourth week of reruns and with it the happy announcement that the first draft of Allah's Numbers was finished at 1:30 AM last Friday.  It took 600 pages to tell the story and now comes the arduous task of editing it before it is sent on to a real editor on Friday.

Today there will not be a regular weekly blog post. Instead, I am providing a link to a Best of the Blog entry.  This time, it is my thoughts about the Deep South, in honor of a recent trip to visit my Dad.  But coming soon --  My first stay at an Airbnb;  after the stay, there were rave reviews – for MacBeth.  So,  join me in the Way Back Machine and hope you enjoy my thoughts about the Deep South. 

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Journeys Now & Then

It is a long journey from Kuwait to the United States.  Aside from the actual hours spent in the air, there are very few direct flights, so most stop in Europe and require a plane change.  Therefore there is time spent at Heathrow, Frankfurt, or Amsterdam waiting on the next plane.  I don't mind this, as it breaks up what would be a longer period of time trapped sitting in a cramped seat with few options for a taste of physical freedom.  My R&R flight back to the States this time left me with a few hours at both Heathrow and O'Hare.

After I settle into my seat and have spent a few hours watching the movies are available, checking out the latest Sky Mall magazine, and enjoying a delicious in-flight meal; my mind will start to wander and reflect on the time I have left on this particular flight and the wonder of modern travel in general.

Prior to air transport, a trip from Kuwait to the U.S. might have taken up to a month or more.  It probably could have all been by sea, except for the fact that the Suez Canal had not been put in place yet so you're left with two options:  Go around the horn of Africa or; Make the journey with both sea and overland transportation.  Overland transportation out of Kuwait would have been dangerous as you would have to go through the desert and face not only the elements but also roving gangs of bandits who lay in wait.  A quick look around my seat confirmed that there were no obvious bandits that I might encounter, except Sky Mall

magazine.  However, the dangers did not and once you were clear of the bandits.

The journey from Europe to the U.S. across the Atlantic would be fraught with its own dangers including rough seas, icebergs, giant squid, manatees pretending to be mermaids, and (once you got close to the U.S. coastline) Caribbean Pirates -- Arrr!  Having survived that part of the journey, you would again be traveling over land at the speedy rate of 20 to 30 miles per day until you reach your final destination.

Of course, you would also have the constant threat of disease, lack of food and water, and of course the risk that whoever was traveling with you could decide that the pouch of gold you were carrying was worth the effort of robbing you in leaving you in the wilderness.  Not to mention the fact that no one during your entire journey would come by an offer to serve you would drink as you traveled.

My journey was a bit less adventurous, but I will make these comments.

This was my first trip, while conscious, on British Air.  I made a prior trip from London to Kuwait but I was so exhausted when I got on the plane I immediately went to sleep and woke up only moments before landing.  At the beginning of the journey, before I fell asleep, I noticed that most of the folks around me were dressed in Western garb, including the lady sitting next to me. They were also enjoying Scotch and various other libations.  My exhaustion caught up with me I fell asleep and was jostled awake as the plane made its final approach into Kuwait City.  A quick look around the cabin revealed that I was now surrounded by people wearing dishadasha's and burqua's – the woman next to me was even wearing a veil.  For a moment I wondered if I had entered the Twilight Zone or maybe the plane crashed and I had ended up in the wrong Heaven.  I was awake for most of the flight this time.

A special note to British Air:  Christine, a veteran flight attendant with very pretty eyes, took good care of me and my seatmates.  She delivered a level of service that I have not seen since my very first flight back in the 70s.  An awesome lady, who was very good at her job and doing it with a smile.

British Air had sent me an email prior to travel with gate information and the like.  A suggestion to all airlines: Great that you are doing that, but why not  include the menu choices for that flight (so I could eat at the airport before boarding if I did not like them) and choices for onboard movies and other entertainment (so I could plan ahead).  Be customer proactive.

Anyway, almost all of my flights were uneventful and pleasant- except for a delay leaving O'Hare.  This was due to a family having a disagreement that was so bad the pilot was having them removed from the flight -- but after waiting 30 minutes for the Gateway to be moved back to the plane the flight crew agreed to let them fly.  We then had to wait another 30 minutes for a take off slot.  Bad decision American Airlines -- those of us in the back of the plane were treated to the abusive verbal argument for the entire duration of the flight as well as the husband throwing bags in the terminal after arrival.

Final note on my journey:  If you are carrying a U.S. passport and are returning from international travel, I would advise you to go through O'Hare.  They have automated stands there are now that make processing back into country plus clearing customs effortless and scary fast.  Well done immigration folks.

Next?

Part III: Die Fleidermaus Fliegen Noch Einmal

...and now, the conclusion...

Vipitino & Bolzano Italy

This tour to the South Tyrol region of Northern Italy was something new. The first stop was Vipitino. 

Within the town, we were taken to a wine and leather goods shoppe to do some shopping.  Was a very nice place and we got to sample a few different kinds of wine and liqueurs. The worst part was that because I was going back to Kuwait it would do no good for me to do any shopping for things to take back with me. After we were done in that store we wandered the narrow alleyways through the town looking at the various small shops along the way. While we were there we also visited the church which had a beautiful display of Gothic artwork on its walls. Most of them dealt with the subject of the wages of sin, John Milton would’ve been impressed.

Walther Square in Bolzano

What they think Ötzi looked like

The next stop was Bolzano. It was a beautiful town and we had a great lunch there before going to museum to visit Ötzi.  At 3500 years, Ötzi is the oldest wet mummy ever found; he was discovered by some hikers when some flooding melted a section of a glacier up in the mountains. As a result, Ötzi ended up with his own museum and a study of everything he was carrying and the body left behind. Their best guess is that he was some sort of shaman since he was carrying those types of objects. He was murdered, being struck from behind by an arrow that caused him to bleed fatally. I felt no danger form that because I’m fairly sure whoever did it is no longer hanging around.

The cherries were awesome!

After a visit to visit to the museum, and watching a few street performers, we went back to Walther Square and enjoyed the afternoon sun with a cup of coffee and some gelato.  The square is named for Walther von der Vogelweide, a German minstrel.

The name of the town might seem familiar to you if you are a student of World War II, as you might’ve heard about it in association with Odessa or Nazi war criminal Michael Seifert who was a guard at the concentration camp there.  Seifert was located, arrested and tried in 2000.  During WWII the town was the site of a Nazi transit point for political and other prisoners. Just after the war, it was used as a transit point for Nazi officers who were attempting to escape to South America.  While we were there I saw nothing to acknowledge any of these events.

Interesting door knobs (look close)

Salzbergwerk

The tour of the Salzbergwerk is something we had done before while we were stationed in Germany.  I am not sure of anywhere else in the world where you can go on a tour of an active mine.  It is located near Berchtesgaden, so we had all a rather lengthy drive in the pouring rain through the mountains to get to there from Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

First they dress you up an appropriate clothing, then you board an actual mine train and head deep into the mountain. On our prior trip we wore what were once actual miner’s clothing but these have been replaced with easy on/off coveralls.  While walking through the mine, they tell you all about how salt is extracted from the huge deposits that exist under the mountain. You get to go down huge wooden slides that were once used to transport the salt rock within the mine and you take a ferry across a huge underground salt lake. It is all very interesting and educational.  At the end of the tour, they give you a sample of the soul to take home with you as a memory of the day.

I wish we had been able to go to the Eagles Nest again, but apparently they no longer conduct open tours there as it is been converted into a restaurant. Bummer.

Kletterwald Where Are You?

Checking out the map

Sometimes, you never find that one place that you are looking for while on vacation. In the states it might be Bob's Reptile World and Snake Emporium, in Garmisch for us it was Kletterwald.  From the day we arrived, we heard about a rope and zipline course going through the woods in the Partenkirchen section of town.  We would even see the occasional sign for Ketterwald as we went about town but never really saw the course itself. 

Nope.  Not there,

On our final day there, the sun was shining and we decided to find the course and spend a few hours exploring it. We followed every sign that we could find, including the very last one we saw which pointed us up into the mountains. We spent hours exploring the various roads and never getting anywhere. Before you ask, yes we checked the map. It was hopeless. But now we have a perfectly valid reason to visit again.

In the end we gave up and played a round of mini-golf -- something else I'd never done before in Germany.  

The 10 days we spent in Germany were a blast. It was so great to get out of Kuwait for a while and to escape to someplace so beautiful and welcoming.

Now I am back at work again with only one more break in my tour look forward to, in September I go back to the US for a few weeks. When I return from that one, I’ll be counting down the days until I pop smoke and GMX.

Some Final Pix

The Alpspitze

Gotta mow the yard and house

Wonderful

Gravity must be less in Bavaria

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The Week In Pictures, Last Week Too

Some events from the week...

Thursday night started Eid al-Adha, also called Feast of the Sacrifice, an important 3-day religious holiday   celebrated by Muslims   to honor the willingness of the prophet Abraham  – Yes, the same Abraham as Christianity and Judaism -- to sacrifice his young firstborn son Ishmael as an act of submission to God, and his son's acceptance of the sacrifice, before God intervened to provide Abraham with a ram to sacrifice instead.

To me the most interesting part of this was that Muslims who can afford it, sacrifice their best halal domestic animals (usually a cow, but can also be a camel, goat, sheep or ram) as a symbol of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his only son. The sacrificed animal is then divided in thirds,  with a third going to the worshiper,  a third to his relatives and a third to the poor.  I think the remembrance of the poor as part of this is admirable.

Photo Source:  Kuwait Times

In Kuwait this year, over 87,000 sheep were imported for this purpose.    That is a lot of sheeps!  Notice all the shepherds playing with their cell phones in the photo?  Times have changed.

Saturday morning, when I went out to walk Falkor, I was surprised to find the sky covered by dark clouds.  Rain clouds!  There was a cool breeze blowing and as we turned the corner and the Persian Gulf came into view,  the horizon was truly spectacular.  From one end of the horizon to the other there was a narrow band of intense white light, where the sun had broken through underneath the clouds.  In the center, where the clouds obscured the rising sun,  was an arch made of green, orange and red as the sun shone through the moisture rich clouds. The colors faded to pink and then finally back into the gray-black darkness of the overhead clouds. I enjoyed it but Falkor was more concerned with a cat playing one of the trashcans.  

The highlight of the drive to work was almost 2 full minutes of rainfall, the first since April. 

My trip to Dubai...

I like Dubai.  It is called the Las Vegas of the Middle East and it lives up to the title by way of its grandeur – but unlike Vegas,  it seems to have a higher level of class and style.  The streets are clean and the landscaping everywhere is well groomed.   There is a plan somewhere that is preventing things from developing out of control and it is having awesome results.  In the decade since I was there last Dubai has truly become a place worth seeing in its own right.

Here are a few of the things I enjoyed while there:

As you drive along the highway you come across these small areas that are built up with beautiful new skyscrapers

Looks like Superman's hometown

Lots of construction going on

Loved all the greenery

Sunset overlooking the gulf

Water Tower-Look like a golf tee to me

Light rail runs from one end to the other of Dubai

This became a landmark to find my way back to where I was staying

Yes,  a sky slope inside of a mall

Had to keep saying -- it is just a mall

Outside of Dubai Mall

They have to wear something under the burqua

Ice skating inside the mall too.  Did I mention it was big?

Yes, it is a battery operated, portable head massager

Lots of stores and stuff to see and do

Never knew Sean Connery was an Imir in Dubai

Or maybe Connery is Arab instead of Scottish

When we left the mall, we had to stand in a long line to get a cab.  The way they did it was to allow a large group of cabs to pull into the staging area,  then let 30  or so people into the area all at once -- with everyone running to claim a cab.  After everyone was loaded up, they dropped the arm and all the cabs took off at once.  Since the cabs had a variety of colored roofs,  it reminded me of the way bumper cars were done when I was a kid.  BTW I got the green one.

Ended the night here, where else?

Great Aussie house band, Start Your Engines

Well, at least he is wearing a helmet

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