Dear Family, Friends, and Diary,
One road trip is down and one is pending. Here's how we are occupying ourselves.
Marianne had a class project to finish, and she did. Nice series. Congratulations.
We both started "Boot Camp", an effort to recover from the last trip and prepare for the next. My weight had gone up a few pounds and our conditioning had suffered from too much sitting. Before we start European tourism and all the walking it requires, we need to be better. The weight part is easy enough, just a return to a routine of no-bread and limited snacks and sweets. Conditioning will require exercise every day - walking or Peloton, plus Marianne's PT-ordered work. On my walks, I take flower pictures.
My birthday was pretty quiet this year. That's my choice. We started with a day-trip to buy cantaloupes since neighbor Vern had expressed an interest in the Del Bosque Farm Market. August 1st seemed about as good a day as any. We drove due west for an hour, past miles and miles of Central Valley orchards, vineyards, and farms. After selecting a dozen cantaloupes and melons, we drove east for another hour, past even more ag businesses. Along the way, our passenger identified milestones from his 90-some years in the valley. Good conversation. Good melons. Good drive.
We dropped Vern and his case of nine huge cantaloupes at his house and then Marianne and I headed to our birthday lunch at Pismo's, our Fresno-favorite fish restaurant. I splurged with too many chips and french fries, but would have been OK, if the waitress had not arranged a (free) birthday cake - a la mode.
Along the way, I opened Marianne's card and a birthday-present Lotto ticket. All day, we speculated what we would buy with the $990 million prize. Speculation was fun, but futile.
With this reminder of aging out of the way, we have been concentrating on European trip preparations.
Part of the preparation has been a shift to new gadgets, an iPad for Marianne and phones for both of us. The down side to new technology is the whole process of moving from the reliable devices that have been in our pocket and purse for years to new devices. Novelty is not always welcome among us seniors, but so far, so good.
We are moving to iPhone 14s for their ability to host service from more than a single country and for their cameras. Right now, I am thinking I will leave my Leica and Canon cameras at home, a significant shift, but one that will simplify my travel life. More novelty, however.
We already have flight and car reservations, as well as places to stay for the first few days in Germany. We will start with the Best Western hotel I used as a base when working in Offenbach, near Frankfurt, and then a quick stay with nearby friends. Then down to Pomersfelden, our old village, and Erlangen with friends.
Now, what else do we need to arrange?
Stay tuned,
John and Marianne.