Naples

Hello from the sea, once again. We visited the Island of Capri, the penisula of Sorrento & the ruins of Pompei. We are very tired and very ready to see our kids! The tour was great, but not enough time in each location. Katy would have loved the island of Capri with it's designer shops - all the big Italian designers. They were barely opening when we were leaving. Sorrento was lovely, great lunch there, would have liked to visited a beach or more of the local shops, but again had to leave to our next stop. Tonight we said goodbye to all the waiters, etc. who have made our stay so enjoyable....I am soooo spoiled the thought of cooking and planning meals is daunting! Not mention the physical fitness plan we are going to have to go on when we get back! Oh, my goodness we have ate our way across the Med. With all the delcious food & coffee... & a few wines we are feeling the buldge! Oh, well ...it's been worth it and there is just more of us to LOVE. Hey kids don't forget to pick us up at the airport. Off to pack, excited to start our first leg in the journey home!!!!

a day at sea

Currently traveling through the straights of Messina Italy. It's lovely hear, can see land on both sides, one we visited on the first day of our travels. Today we just took it easy. A few seminars on disembarkment (leaving) and one on shopping in Capri, Sarento & Pompei, to be honest we are letting the ship's experts do some shopping for us. Seems there some WWII history here when the city of Capri sent President Roosavelt a bell to be run (according to local history) to end the war, shortly after the ringing of the bell the treaty to end the war was signed. Tomorrow we plan to enjoy the Island of Capri, Sorento & Pompei. Then we have to pack & be up by 4am in the morning on Monday to get to the Rome Airport for our flight home. We are excited about the journey home to see everyone. Kid's don't forget to pick up ol' mum & dad! We've had a wonderful day of relaxation, we feel like we've eaten our way across Italy, Greece, Turkey & back. Have to seriously consider that gym membership when we get back... seeing you soon, Cherrie

Santorini, Greece

Wow, what a day! We began by taking a tender or boat off the cruise ship to the "new" port of Santorini. We then boarded a bus and began the ascent to the highest point on the island. We took some wonderful pictures, but I had to switch places with Rick because the view was straight down - and the driver, well, he drives like my mom (remember Colorado Mom) right on the edge. Anyway, we stopped at a little villiage...some climbed up to some castle ruins, for us we've seen enough ruins so we opted for some more photo's and the best Cappuchino ever! I mean it, the best ever! We climb awhile to capture the quantest church with a blue dome and then on to the next stop. Ten minutes drive took us to a "Taverna" on the hill - wow, what a wonderful experience. Greek appetizers & greek wine. They were both wonderful and the Taverna - straight out of a travel magazine. Next we went to the largest village on the island where we shopped a little, had some gellato (the best ever) and enjoyed some wonderful views from atop the volcanic mountain. All of Santorini was formed from three volcano's that exploded, split and now are one crescent shaped land mass with two small islands in the middle - one is still an active volcano and uninhabited. Next is was down the mountain via the cable cars, which was a "Fear Factor" moment for yours truely. After all the excitement we took a boat back to the "Boat" and relaxed a while. Missing you all. I think this is the first trip we are looking forward to coming home as we were looking forward to going. Love to all, Rick & Cherrie.

PS - on the island they asked Rick, the Greek which island he was from LOL.

Rhodes Greece

Hello all from Greece,

Yes Cherrie is letting me put a few thoughts down on my own. As she has said Kusidasi Turkey was amazing and full of adventure. In contrast Rhodes, Gr. was amazing and full of relaxation. We slept in until 8:00 am WOW, on board another bus but only a short drive past the old Rhodes to the Resort Hotel for a day at the beach. Well unbeknownced to us this was an optional beach were the women could bathe topless if the wanted, let me tell you about your mother only kidding she was as modest as ever. As glamorous as this sounds let me paint you a picture imagine using garters for a bra. I will turn it over to Mom she types faster.
Love and miss you all
Dad, Rick, MR Trevathan whomever reads this blog.

We did have a good day, it was very relaxing & beautiful. We swam in the Med, which was very clear when you got down to the water - it's hard to tell because the sand is course and black & tan. We could see all the way to the bottom at least for six feet of water - probably more but we didn't go out that far. Tonight we are having a semi-formal dinner & probably going to a 70's -80's dance party. We will not stay out late because we have a full day tomorrow in Santorini. Today was the worst day of "Homesickness" I've had - looking forward to comming down that gangway & seeing my kids & Grandkid. Next time we decided we are taking the familia!

Much Love

Kusidasi, Turkey

Hello Friends - we had a wonderful day in Turkey. By far the most beautiful & clean stop we've made. We got on a tour bus at about 9:30 am and traveled to the house they believe Mother Mary lived out her life. From there we went to the archelogical site of Ephaesus - it was amazing & very, very hot. Did I mention it was hot? We were wearing 50 spf and I still burned a little. I was amazed at the sites there, and the skill & knowledge of our Tour Guide, Sami - a turkish linguist. Sami has probably toured more of the US than any of us and was extremly interesting. After the ruins which lasted about 2 hours in the heat & sun we visited a pottery factory & had lunch outside. Safron Rice, Roasted Chicken, Greek Salad, & Turkish Beer. After lunch we toured a little more of the city & a carpet dealer. He explained to us the art of carpet making, the difference between a single Knot carpet and a double Knot carpet. It was amazing, and yes there will be a couple of family heirlooms arriving in about 6 to 8 weeks. One of the carpets took over eight months to make and other 6 months - it's wool on wool, not as beautiful as the silk - but still amazing & we loved them. We set sail about 6pm and just made the ship. What a full & fun day. Love to all, see you soon!

Blue Mykonos

Today we visited Mykonos - blue sea, white buildings with Blue trim. This is a sleeply little villiage and even though we arrived around 9 am, nothing was open. After walking around a while, we found an open coffee shop & had a cappichino ..wonderful. Then the villiage came to life and we had a wonderful time shopping, like to tell you more but we have a few suprizes for everyone. Anyway decided to get lunch at an outdoor resturant and after about an hour, greek salad, bread, olive oil & cheese we were done. Never did get our seafood which Rick had to argue about - after we left and a little agrivated I told Rick, oh well...maybe that was the Lord protecting us from something we shouldn't be eating. We shared a laugh ..and moved on. We must have walked 10 miles today, finally up & down part of the coast - it's lovely here. Tonight is our second formal night & I'm off to shower & change. We miss everyone terribly but are having a good time. Did you know that in Greece they have unisex wash rooms, well neither did I ... but when you gotta go, you gotta! It's not too bad & I take Rick with me for extra measure. Seriously, gotta run - the ship is sailing off & I've had to type this three times, ughh!

Athens is Hot

This evening we are at sea, totally wiped out from our visit in Athen's Greece. We began the day with a bus tour of Pireaus and Athens. We visited the Acropolis and many other sites. I could not beleive the climb to the ruins were steps of marble, a little slippery... would not make the climb in rain! We saw a small rock where Paul preached to the Greeks about Christ - the story is that he didn't make much head way in conversion and went on to Corinth were he was much better received. It was kind of cool to stand there and look at where the famous apostle told the story of Christ. Today 95% of Greeks are Greek Orthodox Christians so I guess they picked up on the movement eventually. Later we went to a shopping area called Plaka where we shopped a little, ate Spinach Pie & Feta Cheese, Greek Olives, Tomoto & Cucumber. We did get adventerous and struck out on our own to find the Hard Rock Cafe in Athens. We have a t-shirt collection you know! The heat eventually wiped us out and we took a long nap, dinner in the room and just now ventured out to blog and register for a transfer tomorrow at Mykonos. We'll have to be careful not to stumble onto the wrong beach there - most are bathing suits optional! Aggh! This should be a picturesque site with the white buildings, blue roofs & doors.

Love to all - we will be seeing you soon!

Hello from the Sea!

Well - where to begin....Yesterday we arrived in Sicily, Italy at around noon. Our tour took us to a vinyard in Messina, Italy just below the Volcano on Mt. Etna. It was quite something to see - we took pictures of the lava flow and the steam comming off the top Wow! When we arrived at the vinyard we were served our first white wine & appetizers, including greek olives, bruschetta, mozzerall cheese in olive oil, sun dried tomatoes to name a few. Next it was into the dinning room which was a convered barn - they served us another white with pasta, egg plant, italian sausage, tomotoe & onion salad. We were served two red's with dinner & one desert wine with an almond cookie, yummie! In the courtyard we finished with very (did I say VERY) strong coffee & Grappa (if you wanted). I chose no, but Rick tried a drop or two in the coffee. It's a very strong white wine made from the grape skins, very intoxicating .. I wouldn't suggest it in very large quantities! Our guide was a local there & took very good care of us, the tour was very interesting and he provided many historical facts along the way. Tomorrow we will tour Athens and try & get some shopping in. Yes, girls we will look for something you would enjoy! It's going to be very hot tomorrow in Athens - we'll leave the ship at 12is and tour four about 4 hours.

I forgot to mention that we did a panoramic tour of Roma before we left Friday. It was incredible - and yes, they refer to it as Roma not Rome as we are used to. So many pictures to share! Can't wait to see you all, with Much Love & missing you,

MOM & DAD

Chicago airport

Hello from chicago! 3 hours to kill & not much to do here but the people watching is great~at least interesting. I had no idea the lake was soooo big. The landscape flying in was interesting. We'll have to come back some day for a visit! Oh my, our plane just pulled up & it's the biggest I've ever seen! My ears are giving me fits so say a prayer for me. Love to all! The newly weds! Just a quick pic of what's waiting on us in Roma!

25th Anniversary

Oh, my goodness...where to start! Thank you to our Girls for the surprise party, thank you to our community group who helped out so much, to our friends & family for comming out on a Tuesday night and to Keith Walker for helping us to renew our vows. Seriously, you all blessed us sooo much..you will never know! We are packing getting ready for the trip of our life! We are so excited and yet, a little sad to be leaving loved ones behind. It's too bad we just can't take everyone! I hope to find time to post a few notes along the way - if not know that I will be posting bunches when we get back. Please say a prayer for safe travel. Bon Voyage!!!!

25th High School Reunion-Class of 1983

Wow, does that make me feel old or what? Unless, of course, you graduated with me .. then not so much! What can I say about high school reunions? Well is was truly great to see old friends, some I've attended school with from elementary through high school. It's also great to be in a place in life where you are not worried about what you did, or what anybody else did or how much money made etc., but to just be a person. Thank the Good Lord for wisdom, and for health and the blessings he's allowed in my life. Thank you to everyone who opened their arms to me and left the past "in the past". As I embraced each soul this weekend I was thankful - some of us have endured great hardship, cancer and death of our loved ones. Looking around we survived and most of us are grateful NOT to be in high school anymore. Say a special prayer for that "high schooler" in your life and remember what a difficult time it can be. Below is a picture, right before we decided to get serious, of all the 1983 grads who could make it Saturday night. I know, I know, we're all so terribly good looking! Go Ropers!

Did you know?

Did you know Kaydence LOVES the swimming pool and has absolutly no fear? Not a good thing, many thanks to "G" for installing the gate & railing to keep her out! Zoe followed her right into the pool the other night... Picture this, Kaydence is jumping to Leslee, Zoe jumps right in ...sinks about a foot and started dog paddling her heart out to get to the top. Fortunately Beth scooped her up. She can swim if needed, but not sure how long she could keep it up. When Beth placed her on the deck she ran right to me shaking and climbing in my lap. I wrapped her in a towel and she stayed right there for a very long time.

Let's pray for the safety of our kiddo's in the water this year, it's so much fun and so dangerous at the same time! Proverbs 1:33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.

Loosing Weight

Okay, so how many of us decide to loose a few pounds before something special. Yes, I see those hands...just kidding, well I decided to loose five (5) pounds before our upcomming trip. You know what, I gained five (5) pounds, that's right 5 pounds! How does that happen? Well I was sheepishly praying about it today, wondering if the God of universe cares about my (10) pounds extra... and you know what, I think he cares that we are taking care of ourselves. I think God cares about our self image and the desires of our hearts because when we are at peace in these bodies we are better able to serve him. There it is again, it's all about him! While still trying to figure out how to pray about this my thoughts were directed like this, only eat what God provided... oh no, fruits & vegies, nuts, whole grain, dairy (low fat) & lean meat once per day and drink plenty of water. So today I begin again not to diet but to eat they way I think God intended for us to eat. Carving out processed foods is rough, but if I can do it I'll just bet there's a reward of a few pounds in it!

I have to add that walking through the Wal-Mart parking lot I saw a couple, both were physically challenged. Just getting through the shopping trip for them must have been difficult... yes, I hear you Lord how blessed am I to be healthy & strong. In this miricle I'm walking around in (our bodies) how can I complain about a few pounds? God is so good to gently remind us of our blessings. I think it's time to back to the Lord in prayer and thank him for the blessing of this body, and maybe just ask for a little help in the self control area. You with me?

Potty Training

Any advise on the training of a very cute & cuddly Zoe? Did I mention she's being a little stubborn?

Turning 70

Wow, I can't believe my mom is 70 today - she looks wonderful and I'm so proud of her. Beth, Katy, Kaydence, my sister Launa & I took her to lunch yesterday. I asked her what advise would she give after being on planet earth 70 years. I wasn't surprised by her response, she said slow life down - we all live way too fast and miss the good stuff along the way. Don't worry, it doesn't accomplish a thing and always trust the Lord....even when you don't understand his plan, trust him it always works out. After 70 years if she says it always works out, it must "always" work out!

You have to check out PJ's on 31st street, west of yale, in the same shopping center of True Value Hardware. It's in the back of the strip and wonderful! It only seats about 50 and word of mouth must be how they have such great repeat business - the sandwiches, salads & deserts are wonderful - give it a try!

Church was great today, Keith Walker spoke and pointed out a couple of really good things to know. What I took away that some of us are Circumstancian Christians - if we don't see God in our circumstance we loose faith (or we don't like what we see). Many of us loose faith because of lifestyle choices and some because of unexplained circumstances. I pray that my faith is solid in Christ, just because of who he is - what he's done for us & what I am expecting him to do for me for eternity. I find myself thinking back to the "Indescribable" video ... I see myself praying and from way out in the galaxy where God must reside, his ears or so divine that he looks back to that spot in the sunlight and hears MY prayer. His ears are so divine, he can hear us all individually and still answer each need... yet he's so big his prescence fills the universe. Who am I, that the God of the universe knows MY name? Wow, I just can't get my thoughts around the love he must have for us.....