We are here

Yes, after a long, tedious trip, we are in Prague. And so far, other than that bit where the man of a certain age between middle and geezerville screamed out "We're all going to die!!!" as the bus driver played chicken with the city trolley, there has been no incident.

Well, that and the little bit at Portland Airport, but that was really minor.

Prague is wonderful. You don't know what you're missing. I'll tell more later.

(Our hotel's computer is broken, so I am at the mercy of internet cafes.)

Julius Pierpont Patches

It is with great sorrow that I announce that JP has passed.

My childhood will never be the same.

Does anyone else feel a road trip coming on?

World's largest teapot.

Chester, West Virginia!

Oh, and I don't know which one of you contacted Stephan Pastis

But I am offended. And the truth will come out during the interrogation!

Pickles is perfect.

Yeah, it really does piss me off. (Excuse me, "It really ticks me off".)

Thank you, Doonesbury

Do they know how to honeymoon, or what?

Le quatorze juillet

I’m sure the rest of you celebrated Bastille Day in style. Richard and I found a Francophile community in Hood River (or at least the remnants there of) and partied hearty with them. We sang La Marseillaise with gusto. We drank fine French wine. (Okay, Richard had some fruit punch and I drank Double Mountain IRA beer, but it really was all very French.) We traded stories about the last time we were in France for the 14th of July. Two years ago Richard and I were in Avignon – we didn’t even have to make up stories.

Vive la France!

Lest I forget!

Happy, happy, Abby & Steve, wherever you are!

July 8th, 2012 – 10:00AM

The thermometer reads 91⁰.

It lies. Yes, it is already warm out, but it is not 91⁰. It does look like it is going to be a scorcher, though!

Wheeee! I get to whine!

July 8th, 2012 – 4:00AM

I awoke to the sound of a helicopter hovering over the house. I was convinced it was going to land in our backyard. (I realize that is technically impossible, but it sounded really, really close. And it was really, really early in the morning, even for me.)

I’m sure you all know my first thought was, “What the hell has Max done this time? This is the first instance of the authorities sending out a full swat team!”

But the helicopter didn’t land and we are all safe.

Summer has finally arrived.

Just in time for Richard and my 14th anniversary, summer weather has come to the Gorge. And the neat part is it is suppose to be 100 degrees by Sunday, so I can go almost directly from whining about the lack of good weather to whining about it being too hot!

Come back, Sheriff Taylor

A new month.

Does anyone know exactly what happened to June? I have only vague memories of the month.

But it is now July, and I know I have left you all on pins and needles as you wonder if Richard and I have managed to secure a trip home from Prague. Well, it took many, many hours and we had to talk to many, many people who had no idea what was going on. (Does “Everyone who works in the travel industry is dumb as a box of rocks” mean anything to any of you? It now does to me.)

But we have a way back from Prague. It is not as convenient as our original flight. We now fly from Prague to Amsterdam to Atlanta to Portland and arrive at 9:30PM instead of 1:20PM. So we travel for damn near 24 hours instead of 16. All is good. All is good.