Summer 2013 road trip from FL to WY and back

We left Palm Coast and drove to Tulsa, OK to see Danette's cousins, Jim and Sue Wahouske.  We went boating and spent the night with them at a camp site near their home.

We then drove to Fraser, CO to see friends, Mike and Jana LaPorte.  We spent the 4th of July with them at their lovely home.  Their daughter and boyfriend were there, and we met some of their friends.  LaPorte's live in Palm Coast part of the year and CO during the summer.  We went to a concert in Winter Park, went biking and hiking, and did some sightseeing.

We drove to Jackson, WY July 8 to get the lay of the land as we had 10 people arriving July 13 for a week family vacation.  We toured Yellowstone and Grand Teton Nat'l Park, Teton Village, and Jackson Hole.   Andrea (daughter) and Sofia, Jenny (daughter) and family, Tony (son), and Mike (brother of Danette) and family arrived on July 13.  We all stayed in a great home in Teton Village with two large living areas, large kitchen, outdoor patio, large dining and kitchen area, and five bedrooms.

For seven days we had a vacation filled with activity.  Activities we did included horseback riding, hot air balloon ride, white water rafting, downhill biking, hiking, white water rafting, alpine slide, paragliding, Yellowstone National Park, and Grand Teton National Park.  Jim and I were thrilled to see the family enjoying new adventures, like paragliding, and to repeat things they enjoy, like rafting and horseback riding.  Time spent within Yellowstone and Grand Teton was an adventure for all, and the kids got their Junior Ranger badge.

After leaving WY, we drove to ND and made a stop in Montpelier to see Scott Maurer's (Danette cousin) family and other cousins.  It is always a treat to spend time in the big metropolis of Montpelier, population 87.

Fargo was our next stop for a week.  We enjoyed time with Danette's mother, Darline, and Susan (sister) and family.  It would not be a trip to this area without spending time at the lakes in MN.  We stayed at Deb Anderson's cabin for the weekend.  We went to a golf outing one day, hosted by
Bill and Cathy Yokom, where we came in last place, but the previous year's loser was happy to see us there so we could take the trophy for a change!

We then drove through Minneapolis for a stop to see Kayla (Danette's niece) before driving to Rising Sun, WI.  Jim's brother, Tom, and his wife, Kris hosted us for the weekend.   Jim's cousin and wife, Butch and Sharon, came along with Jim's sister and husband, Kathy and Gary.  After this we stopped in Milwaukee for a night get together with Jim's relatives.  We met at his cousin's restaurant and bar.  Our last night in WI was spent with Dan Zuehlke (best man in our wedding) and his wife.  It is always great to see them and we went boating, had dinner, and a few cocktails.  We left in the middle of the night and drove straight back to Palm Coast, FL.  Our total trip was about 7,000 miles.

PORTUGAL AND SPAIN, April 28-May 25, 2013

LISBON April 28-29 -- Jim and Danette flew from FL and Deb Anderson flew from MN and met in Newark, NJ and continued flight to Lisbon, Portugal.  We stayed at Home Hostel.  We walked around the castle, saw inside some churches, and walked the varied neighborhoods.  It is a hilly area to walk.  April 30 -- We did a walking tour around the Alfama area.  We went to the Belem district which was one of the main “launch pads” for the Portugal’s Age of Discovery.  We walked around the Chaido and Bairro Alto area.  This area was vibrant with wonderful architecture, street cafes, and shopping.  Deb and I went to a restaurant which had wonderful food and we listened to the FADO music. “Fado is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor, and infused with a characteristic sentiment of resignation, fatefulness and melancholia.”

PORTO May 1 – We took the train from Lisbon to Porto.  We walked the city which has beautiful tile on the buildings.  May 2 – As part of the Camino de Santiago a person needs to get stamps along the way as proof that you have walked, or biked, the path.  We each had a Credencial del Peregino book and stamps could be from people in a church, café, hostel, etc. where they stamped the credencial and dated the stamp.  Today we got our first two stamps.  We ate traditional meal for lunch.  The food throughout the trip was great, plentiful, and the bread and wine is outstanding.  The views of Porto are great from the hills down to the Douro River.  The churches are marvelous with their gold leaf and marble.  We walked across the bridge where the port wine is made and stopped at the port lodges and sampled white and red tawny, vintage, and a 1961 Cohemia port.

CAMINO DE SANTIAGO WALK    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_of_St._James    Deb Anderson, my friend since college days, had a goal to do the Camino.  Jim and I

decided to join her on this adventure.  The Way of St. James was a trip we will never forget.  Jim rode a bike, due to a foot issue, and Deb and I walked.  We completed in nine days of walking, biking for Jim, 240+- km (150+- miles), for an average of 16.5+- miles per day.  We walked for seven days, took one day off, and then walked two more days for total of ten.  Along the way each felt collectively or individually days of faith, cultural experience, endurance, fellowship, camaraderie, international meetings, stamina, peace with nature, helping others, encouragement, patience, and letting go.  During our trip we met people from all over the world(Belgium, Germany, Finland, Portugal, Mexico, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, Ecuador, England, Nova Scotia, Ukraine, Tahiti, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Bolivia, Switzerland, Ireland, city of Quebec, and one American) and some were on their first pilgrimage while others had done five or more.

May 3 to 12 – (DAY 1) We left Porto and walked (Jim biked) to Vilarinho (7 hrs, 16 miles).  We started in the city, moving to industrial, then through small villages and pasture land.  We met six pilgrims along the walk, and another couple at where we slept.  We stayed in a home where they had rooms in the back, and they had a pool and outside tables to sit. 

(DAY 2) Vilarinho to Barcelos (17 miles).  We went through rural areas, up and down hills, saw nice homes with big yards, and farming areas.  It was a long day today and our feet were tired.  Barcelos had a festival going on with music, food vendors, wonderful lights throughout city, and fireworks.

(DAY 3) Barcelos to Ponte de Lima (20 miles).  This was a rural area with hills.  Today Deb and I had to text Jim about mile 17 and asked him to bike to meet us and help us carry some of our weight.  He was great to assist, and Deb and I were then able to make the distance.  We stayed in our first Albergue.  These are hostels for pilgrims.  Some had beds for 15 and others had beds for 50+, all were dorm style rooms, and we used our sleeping bags.  Most opened around 3 p.m. and you needed to be out by 9 a.m.

(DAY 4) Ponte de Lima to Rubiaes (11miles).  We walked to a height of 405 meters (1200 ft).  It was a tough day as Jim had to take items off his bike, carry up the hill, and then go back down and carry his bike.  We climbed a large area of boulders.  Deb and I met a group of six Portuguese men at a café and they invited us to dinner.  Jim, Deb, and I joined them for dinner.  We all ate, drank, and our Portuguese men all sang multiple songs.  The restaurant was filled with other pilgrims.  Our Alberque room had 28 bunk beds and there was overflow with a few extra mattresses set up on the floor.  That night there was a chorus of snorers!

(DAY 5) Rubiaes to Tui, Spain (12 miles+-).  During our trip we had good temperatures.  In the morning, temperatures were in the mid 50’s but then would get to mid 60’s.  We had some drizzle but it never rained hard.  We met father and son, aunt and niece, and old and young.  People were friendly along the way and all were eager to help or point the direction in case we looked lost.  The way is marked with yellow arrows (or scallop shell) on the road, side of a building, or on a post.  Today was a rural walk and the trails would have been streams if it was raining heavily.  We stopped along the way and walked around Valenca, which is an old walled city.

(DAY 6) Tui to Mos (14 miles+-).  Jim had a nice bike ride today as it was fairly even terrain and our Albergue was in a nice small village.  We walked by nice streams, over footbridges, saw sheep in the fields, walked by vineyards, saw a quarry, walked an industrial area, and had an excellent lunch at a restaurant filled with locals. 

(DAY 7) Mos to Pontevedra (19 miles +-).  We noticed that the marking for the way were not as good in Spain as they had been in Portugal.  Portugal had clear markings and frequent, while Spain were worn and not always easily recognized.  By now, Jim’s biking was going great on his bike and he was able to get to a location early to set up for when Deb and I arrived.  Today was not an exception as he found a nice hotel room for us with a view of the church and plaza area.  Deb and I became more confident in our ability to go the distance and mentally we were up to the challenge, but we were ready for a day off.

(DAY 8)  Pontevedra (0 miles!).  We walked around the old town area, lounged around the room, and went in the evening to a jam session in an art building as there was a festival for a saint of the arts.

(DAY 9)  Pontevedra to Valga, Spain (20 miles+).  Jim biked a little further today.  He got moving and rode to Padron then realized he had went too far so he rode back!  It was cool today so it was Deb’s best walk day and roads were fairly level.

(DAY 10) Valga to Santiago (20 miles +).  Today was filled with emotion as we completed our pilgrimage and ended up at the cathedral in Santiago, Spain.  The outside and inside of the cathedral is very impressive.  We walked to the office where we got our certificate for completing the Camino de Santiago.  It was a joyful time.  As we were standing outside we happened to see again a couple that we had met on the first night of our pilgrimage, so we went to drink some beer and share stories of our experiences.

May 13, Monday.  The three of us walked around the church and Deb and I got on our knees and went up to the touch stone column of St James in thanks for bringing us on this journey, as tens of thousands have done before us.  At noon there is a mass for pilgrims.  A nun sang, the priest spoke in words we could not understand, and at the end the altar men pull a large rope and swing an incense burner (bota fumeiro) across the altar.  In the old days, pilgrims would stay in the upper part of the church and it could get very smelly!  We spent the remainder of the day walking around the old town area.

TOURING May 14-25

To finish off our pilgrimage experience in Spain, we took the bus to “the end of the world” which was believed to be the furthest western point in continental Europe.  Proven later to be Cabo da Roca, Portugal, which we did see by bus later in the trip.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Finisterre  

We took a bus ride for 11 hours to Aveiro, Portugal. The city has canals and nicely painted canal boats.  We then took the train to Fatima.  We saw the old Basilica and the new church which seats 9000.  The artist who did Jesus shows Christ with the face of “cultural world diversity” in the nose, eyes, and face.  We went to the 9:30 p.m. mass where they prayed the rosary and followed by a candle light procession.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_F%C3%A1tima .  We took a day trip to Alcobaca, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoba%C3%A7a_Monastery, and Batalha, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batalha_Monastery, to see the monasteries. 

We moved south to Obidos which is a beautiful old walled city.  Our hostel was great in that we had a fireplace in the room and the house was filled with beautiful artwork.  Monday, May 20, was Jim’s birthday.  We took a bus and then train to Sintra.  Both Obidos and Sintra are places in the book “A Thousand Places to See Before You Die”.  We toured the Palacio Nacional de Sintra (of Moorish origin and enlarged in 15^th century) and the Palacio Nacional de Pena.  Pena was commissioned in 1840 to be built as a castle from the ruins of a 16^th century monastery.  Pena was fabulous with wonderful grounds to walk around and there were specimen trees and plants from all over the world.

After leaving Sintra we stopped in the beach city of Cascais and walked around.  From Cascais, we took the train along the coast to Lisbon.  Our last stay was at a hostel within the train station. The night we arrived they had a jazz night with piano player, guitar player, and singer.  We visited the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Parque das Nacoes (sight of Expo 98 The World Exhibition), and the Museu da Marioneta.

May 25,Saturday, we flew back to America as a renewed person with the “Spirit of the Camino”.  Live in the moment, welcome each day – its pleasures and its challenges, make others feel welcome, share, feel the spirit of those who have gone before you, imagine those who will follow you, appreciate those who walk with you today.        

Our hiking boots along with bronze boot at "end of the world".