A Fall Trip to America
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October 15 - December 12 Written October 12 + Dear Family and Friends, Now that we have, mostly, recovered from our Italian travel, we are starting the third trip of retirement, the trip to America to see all the kids and grandkids and, of course, Marianne's Mamo. We will travel coast to coast and we will try to work in a little tourism along with all the family visits. I'll keep this diary page up-to-date, as practical. Right now (Oct 26th), the agenda is as follows: -- Monday, October 15, drive up to Frankfurt and then fly to Washington, DC. Then pick up the Hertz car and drive up to Maryland and meet young Sean, the newest grandson. (See Maryland Diary) -- Wednesday, drive down to Lynchburg, Virginia to complete some retirement arrangements and visit a few friends from my work. (See Virginia Diary) -- Friday, drive back up to the DC area and visit with friends, Nancy & Steve, Mary & John, and Chin & Peter, all from the old Kiev days. We even managed a National Park Visit -- Sunday through Wednesday, back to Geoff and Suzanne's to play with Ryan and hold Sean. May work in a few more friend visits as well. -- Thursday, October 25, fly to Denver, pick up the rental car, and drive to Longmont to visit Rich and his parents. Grandkids always get top billing in our notes! (See Colorado Diary) -- Sunday, start a drive to California. (See WY-UT-NV Diary) First stop: Rock Springs, Wyoming, once known as Hole-in-the-Wall, home to famous western outlaws. After that, a quick stop in Salt Lake City to see the Mormon Temple and learn a bit about the Church of the Latter Day Saints. After that, a two-night stay at Circus Circus, a casino in Reno, Nevada, "the biggest little city in America". We are not gambling fans, so it will be like a visit to a foreign country. -- Thursday, November 1, Arrive in Los Gatos to start the visit with Ava and Sam -- and their parents and all our friends, of course. The exact itinerary has been day-to-day, but includes grandkids, brothers, sister, moms, friends and a financial adviser. It's a long stay, but there are plenty of required visits to fill the days. (See California Diary, part 1 and part 2) -- On December 3rd, we will leave for Longmont. We currently plan to stop at Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, and Santa Fe. The days will alternate between long drives and quiet, local, days. However, our actual final route may depend on weather because, after all, it will be wintertime in the Rockies. (See last part) -- Tuesday, December 11, we leave the Denver airport for Frankfurt. We arrive the next day, rent a car, drive home, return the rental car - and collapse. Links to individual pages: -- Maryland -- Virginia -- Colorado -- Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada -- California, first part (Los Gatos, East Bay Blue Grass, Yosemite, Fresno) -- California, second part (Los Gatos, Monterey, Fresno) -- Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico (Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Santa Fe) and return Regards, John and Marianne |