September 1999

September 1999

I went with an old college roommate for another camping trip to the Boundary Waters. The Boundary Waters consists of two million acres of wilderness straddling the border of Minnesota and Canada. The defining feature of this area is the preponderance of small lakes. This area was set aside in 1909 because the 2000 scattered lakes made roads and mechanized travel almost impossible. The only way to travel across this watery landscape is the same way the historic French fur trappers did. By canoe paddle and portage to the next lake.

On the drive up to Ely, MN, the radio played the newly released song Mambo #5 by Lou Bega repeatedly. After eight hours, I had the lyrics down pat. We stayed in a hotel that night and were at the outfitters early. After getting our rental canoe and loading up our camping and fishing gear, our only snag was getting our Canadian entry pass. It seems the cross-border regulations are always changing. The outfitter then power boated us to the far east end of Moose Lake. There at Prairie Portage we carried our canoe and gear into Quetico Provincial Park, the Canadian side of the Boundary Waters.

Starting with Basswood Lake we made a big circle reaching Agnes Lake deep into the wilderness. Besides a lot of paddling, we stopped often to fish hoping to supplement our dehydrated meals. We caught a few Small Mouth Bass and some nice Northern Pike. At night in camp, we listened to the beautiful but haunting call of the loon.

We had some excitement on one portage. When we heard some snorting, we thought sure we had stumbled upon a black bear. Imagine our relief and shock when a big bull moose came crashing out of the woods, jumped in the tiny bay, and swam to the opposite shore!

Another surprise of the trip was trying to paddle a stream connecting two lakes. It was nearly dry and we had to walk the canoe in bare feet. The problem turned out to be a Beaver Dam, the largest I have ever seen. It had to be almost a hundred yards wide. We needed to cross the dam. Fearing that we might breach it and get soaked in this cool weather, we carefully tiptoed across it. We didn’t need to. This beaver dam was rock solid! This beaver (or more likely family) was an amazing engineer.

The trip was not all fun and games. It seemed Mother Nature wanted us to stay as she blew a head wind almost the entire trip, making paddling strenuous. In addition, my compatriot broke his canoe chair the last day and he was useless for the very long paddle down Moose Lake. We should have pre-arranged a boat taxi for the return. By the time we finish I am exhausted and in need of my first shower in many days.

March 25, 2000

March 25, 2000

I flew to the Netherlands for a business conference. We stayed at a hotel in Noordwijk on the North Sea. Another Nalco-ite and I stayed over afterwards to do some exploration. On Saturday we drove two hours south to Belgium. Our first stop was in the capital, Brussels, at the main square called the Grand Place. It is a beautiful medieval square. We sat and had a pint of the national brew Stella Artois. It tasted great! I don’t know if it is the beer or the ambience. We then walked a few blocks to see the Mannekin Pis, an iconic statue of a kid peeing. I remember my sister taking a photo of it when she came here.

We drove across town to tour the Atomium, a monumental metal building resembling a giant Tinker Toy assembly. It was built as the main pavilion for the 1958 Brussels Worlds Fair. Climbing through the hollow interior passageways, it looks like it hasn’t been renovated in the ensuing 42 years.

My colleague is a war history buff so he convinced me to drive to the Waterloo Battlefield site fifteen miles south of Brussels. This is where Napoleon met his final defeat at the hands of the Duke of Wellington and his Prussian allies. We watch a movie about the details of the 1815 battle. Since it was such a pivotal point in the history of Europe, a very large earthen mound with a lion statue atop was built as a monument. We check out some of the crucial battle sites and then make the long drive back to our hotel.

When I got home I kept getting notices in the mail that looked like a speeding ticket. I couldn’t tell for sure since it was in Dutch. I am guessing we must have violated a radar photo speed zone. I have no intention or idea of how to pay it.

April 4-5, 2000

April 4-5, 2000

Aimee and I have attended several of the Pro golf events held on local Chicago courses. The Holy Grail though is the Masters Tournament. I got a big surprise when two work colleagues asked me to join them at this year’s event. We flew into Augusta, GA and stayed the night at a private house. The next morning we watched a practice session. It is a pristine, meticulously manicured golf course decorated with flowers. I can’t imagine marring it by playing golf. Since Aimee couldn’t join us I bought her a souvenir visor. Vijay Singh went on to win the tournament.

July 18-25, 2000

July 18-25, 2000

I have seen pictures of the moonscape-like setting of Lake Powell. The scenery is so eerie it starred in the movie ‘Planet of the Apes’. Lake Powell was formed when a dam was built across the upper portion of the Colorado River and filled up Glen Canyon. The only real practical way to see this region is from a houseboat. I figured we would never be in a position to do that. Well, we got lucky and my Amarillo sister-in-law invited us to go along with her sister-in-law’s houseboat vacation. I have met her brother-in-law a couple times and he is my hero. He is an engineer who married a doctor, and now stays at home while she works. In between workouts and jet skiing, he finds time to also raise the kids.

The relatives are driving to Lake Powell from Amarillo. We run into weather problems at O’Hare so we had to make last-minute arrangements to meet them halfway in Farmington, NM. From there we drive with them in two SUVs pulling two boats and several jet skis. Our route passes through Shiprock, NM. The town is named after a nearby distinctive peak that is the lava core of an ancient volcano.

We continue on to the Halls Crossing marina on the Utah side of Lake Powell. We spend the first night in a cabin and load up the rental houseboat in the morning. With us on the trip are my sister-in-law’s family, and her sister-in-law’s family and his parents. The houseboat is like a floating hotel. Our caravan of 15 people, three boats, and three jet skis cruises down lake. A couple hours away from the marina we discover the black holding tank is full and we detour to a dump station located in the middle of the lake. We spend an hour, taking turns, manually pumping out the raw sewage. Great start to a relaxing vacation!

The Lake Powell scenery is awesome. In many places the canyon walls are sheer red rock cliffs. If it weren’t for the dam, most of this area would be virtually inaccessible for most but the hardiest hikers. After motoring most of the day we make it up a river tributary off the main channel, called Escalante Canyon. We find a sandy spot to park the houseboat. This is our home for the week. We relax, fish and play in the water. We sleep every night on the open upper deck under the stars. We also play dozens of rounds of the card game Cribbage.

Off the main arm of Escalante are a myriad of tiny water filled ravines. We explore lots of them on boat and jet-ski. It takes some skill to corkscrew along these narrow channels without banging into the walls. While exploring we happen upon the Three Roof Indian ruin. It used to be located high up a canyon wall tucked under an overhang. With the canyon flooded it is now reachable by foot. This is a long-abandoned former home of the ancient Anasazi Indians that inhabited the Southwest.

The Escalante Canyon area we have moored is fairly remote and the nearest neighbor is anchored a half mile away. Thank goodness because the jet skis we have brought with us have a top speed of 65 mph. At that speed we need calm water and no traffic. One day we watch a pair of jet skiers playing in the distance. We soon notice them in the water swimming away from their jet skis. Sensing trouble, the brother-in-law runs his jet ski over to investigate. He returns with a boy whose head is bleeding and swollen.  He needs a hospital. We try the marine radio with no success. Desperate we try the cell phones from the upper deck. Even though we are in the middle of nowhere, we get through. A short time later a Medivac helicopter lands atop a nearby rise, the only flat spot probably for miles. We help the EMTs stretcher the boy up the hill and slide him into the small helicopter. Later in the week his parents visit to thank us, and let us know their son is doing well. The accident occurred when he fell off and was run over by his girlfriend on the second jet ski. They mention he got hurt on his 18th birthday. Nice present!

The jet skis guzzle gasoline. We brought a dozen five-gallon gas cans with us but they are soon gone. My brother-in-law and I take his pontoon boat back to the marina for a refill. On the way we get flagged down to carry another injured jet skier to the marina for medical attention. Wow! Jet skis indeed are very dangerous!

December 12, 2000

December 12, 2000

I have always dreamed of going to Tahiti. The exotic nature of these islands for me came from watching the “Mutiny on the Bounty” movies, especially the last one with Mel Gibson. Two of our best vacations have been to Hawaii. Tahiti is supposed to be like Hawaii before it became popular and commercialized. While perusing an AARP magazine sent to our house for Aimee’s mom, we noticed an advertisement for an affordable 10-day cruise to Tahiti. We jumped at it. What a great way to see a bunch of expensive exotic islands!

Our charter flight to Tahiti originates in LAX. The cruise line recommended arriving in LA a day early. The experienced traveler that I am, ignored it, and arranged a flight that morning. When a snowstorm hit Chicago last night, I was worried. If we get delayed how are we going to catch up with the ship? Fortunately Chicago is very experienced clearing snowstorms and our flight out of O’Hare leaves right on time. Our 8-hour flight landed at the Faa’a airport in the capital city of Papeete, on the main island of Tahiti. Tahiti is just one of the Society Islands in French Polynesia and lies directly south of Hawaii in the southern hemisphere. The Society Islands are owned and governed by France.

The Renaissance cruise line very efficiently picks us up at the terminal and gets us aboard the ship. It turns out they are boarding the ship R3 in waves over three days. We are the first to arrive. If we had gotten delayed we would have been fine. We have a couple days free to explore the island of Tahiti before the ships departs. Those who arrive later get their free days in Tahiti at the end of the cruise.

December 13, 2000

December 13, 2000

In the morning we are up early with the time change and set out to explore Papeete. Papeete, the capital, is not big. We can easily walk the town. We spend a couple hours in the main covered market that is full of beautiful exotic flowers and tropical fruits and vegetables. They also have some touristy items including a wide variety of the local Polynesian “black” pearls. I buy a freshly opened coconut so Aimee and I can try coconut milk. It tastes like mildly sweet water. I want to buy Aimee a coconut bra but she refuses the offer. Instead she lets me buy her a brightly colored pareo (sarong).

December 14, 2000

December 14, 2000

Tahiti is a large volcanic cone-shaped island. To get a better view of the island, we take the public bus, Le Truck to the road that runs up to the Le Belvedere Restaurant. This restaurant is situated 2000 feet up the mountain slope and as the French name implies is supposed to have a panoramic view. Another older couple has the same idea and joins us for the walk. It takes us a couple hours to hike the winding four miles up the steep heavily rain-forested road to reach the restaurant. Typical of tropical islands, we are in the clouds now and we can’t see anything! But at least we got some good exercise.

December 15, 2000

December 15, 2000

Last night the ship left Tahiti bound for the island of Huahine. Like Hawaii none of the Society Islands are very distant from each other so the captain says he will be doing figure-eights most of the night. Huahine is the most under-developed of the islands we are visiting. We don’t do a tour but we do go ashore and walk around the area. It is too rustic for us to easily appreciate without wheels.

December 16, 2000

December 16, 2000

This morning we arrived in Bora Bora. Bora Bora is the most distant Tahitian island and would normally have been our last port of call. But apparently there is a Typhoon headed our way so the captain is reversing our itinerary. A Typhoon is the Pacific version of our Hurricane. It is cloudy and overcast when we awake.

Author James Michener described Bora Bora as "the most beautiful island in the world" but the poor weather is not allowing the beauty to shine through. Bora Bora is a very old volcanic island that has eroded significantly. As a result the coral reef that ringed the island is now far from shore leaving a shallow lagoon and a string of small sandy reef islets (Motu in Polynesian) circling the main island. The shallowness is what gives the water such a pretty teal-blue color. The island center has eroded to a very steep green cone. Bora Bora is so beautiful and exotic it inspired the mythical Bali Hai in the movie “South Pacific”.

We arranged a scuba diving trip on this island through the cruise ship with Bora Diving Center. We join a group of French tourists on a very tiny boat and head outside the reef for a shark dive. Once past the protected lagoon, the open sea is rough and bounces us around. I am worried because I have a weak stomach. I put on my gear and jump in the water to get out of the heaving boat. Aimee is nervous about the sharks. She has a ‘last minute’ loss of courage when she sees the Dive Master stick a large fish head in his vest. He convinces Aimee that she can’t stay on the bouncing boat.

After I descend, I feel myself getting sick and I chum for the sharks (through the regulator). I have done it before so I am not worried about drowning. The sharks must be trained because as soon as our group reaches the bottom a half dozen large sharks circle us. They are mostly Black-Tip reef sharks but there is one more dangerous Lemon Shark. They are so close you can touch them. I don’t. I don’t want anything biting me and accidentally setting off a feeding frenzy with my blood. After we get settled in a group, the Dive Master pulls the fish head out and the sharks pounce on it. This was a pretty cool experience. Though Aimee and I think this probably wasn’t the smartest thing we have done so far from civilization.

December 17, 2000

December 17, 2000

The next day we dive again at Bora Bora, this time within the lagoon where we see some Spotted Eagle Rays. Afterwards we take a taxi to the beach at Matira Point and relax. The beach is tiny but the view and ambience of Polynesia can’t be beat. Besides it is cold and snowy at home. While waiting for a return taxi we watch a group of locals preparing for a Christmas party. That evening we watch the ship leave this beautiful lagoon passing across the chain of idyllic Motus.

December 18, 2000

December 18, 2000

This morning we awoke at anchor off the small town of Uturoa on the northeast coast of the island of Raiatea. After breakfast we hiked up the 1000-ft hill we can see from the ship called Tapioi. Along the way we took a wrong turn and got charged by a growling dog guarding a side road. He quickly got us back onto the correct trail. We are both glad we made the hike as we are rewarded with a great view of Raiatea and its sister island Tahaa. We can easily see the single coral reef that encircles both islands. The two must have been a single island at one time. On the trail down we came across a free-roaming horse. We stopped and fed her an apple.

In the afternoon the ship has a Christmas party and handed out gifts to the children of Raiatea. As a Thank You the children put on a show for us. The kids range from very young to teenage. They are all very cute. Aimee gets reluctantly pulled on to the stage to dance with them and learn their fast-paced version of the Hula. I think she is going to need a lot more practice to shake those hips correctly.

After dinner a group of older Raiateans put on another show for us. One group of girls dressed in traditional outfits (with the requisite coconut shell bras) performed the Hula again. This time, I am selected to learn the dance with them. The Tahitian girls are very friendly and very handsome. No wonder the crew of the Bounty did not want to leave and mutinied against Captain Bligh.

December 19, 2000

December 19, 2000

This morning we signed up for an island tour of Raiatea on a 4x4 jeep with a local named Tevi. Our Tahitian driver takes us around the small island stopping at several scenic vantage points. We also stop at a botanical garden with lots of beautiful flowers and exotic plants, like Vanilla. Another stop is at Marae Taputapuatea. A marae is a flat rock terrace that held social and religious importance in old Polynesia. Some think humans may have been sacrificed on these sacred platforms. In 2017 it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

December 20, 2000

December 20, 2000

This morning we awoke moored off Moorea. It is a heart-shaped island just west of Tahiti. There are two narrow inlets on the north shore. We are anchored in the western one named Opunohu Bay. Captain Cook anchored here too when he visited in 1769 to observe the transit of Venus across the sun.

We tendered ashore and rented a car. We give ourselves the circle tour. But first we make a detour inland to Belvedere Lookout. On the road up we stop to see a couple Marae religious platforms hidden in the dense jungle of Banyan trees. At the lookout point we are rewarded with a great view of the famous bays and the jagged mountain peaks. The most famous peak is one that resembles a shark’s tooth (Mt Rotui). The rest of our journey follows the coast clockwise. We stop at a pineapple factory and distillery for a tour and tasting. We can’t help but buy a bottle of Coconut Rum hoping to bring some ambience (and Pina Coladas) back to Chicago with us.

We also stop at a couple of the nicer hotels to get a close up view of a typical upscale resort on Moorea for when we return in the future. The guest rooms are grass huts built on stilts over the water. Pretty Cool! We also stop at a roadside store/attraction called Aquarium de Moorea run by Teva Yrondi (Teva seems to be the John of Tahiti). It is an eccentric mix of water contraptions and patio trinkets set amongst flower gardens. On the east side of the island we stop in the village of Afareaitu and take a hike to a beautiful silky thin waterfall. It is getting late so we drive straight through the south and west shores to arrive back at the rental car outfit.

December 21, 2000

December 21, 2000

Our ship today is moored in the other inlet of Moorea called Cook’s Bay. We spend most of the day relaxing on the ship enjoying our last day in warm weather. We really like Moorea. It is the most scenic with its long bays and steep jagged jungle-covered peaks. It also seems to have the right balance between rustic and commercial. We are not far from the high-priced cruise ship, the Paul Gauguin. Paul Gauguin was a famous French Impressionist artist who spent time here painting the local women. What a great gig!

December 22-23, 2000

December 22-23, 2000

Our Tahiti adventure has come to an early end. We are back in Papeete where we disembark. Since we were the first to arrive, we are the first to leave. We need to have our bags packed early and vacate our room before lunch. We spend a long afternoon at a local hotel waiting for our late evening flight back to LA.

We loved Tahiti. It was a dream come true. Our cruise ship, R3, was operated by Renaissance. We really enjoyed this cruise line as they were moderately priced, very organized, non-smoking, and allowed open seating at dinner. That meant we could eat dinner anytime, seating us at the next open table. We weren’t constrained by a set timetable. Unfortunately it was too good to be true and less than twelve months later, Renaissance was out of business a victim of the aftershock of 9/11.

January 25-28, 2001

January 25-28, 2001

We flew from Chicago's Midway airport to Orlando with one of Aimee’s childhood friends and her husband. We are heading for a three-day cruise with them on Carnival. From the airport we take a shuttle to Port Canaveral to board the ship. The weather is surprisingly cool. Maybe we should have chosen a cruise leaving Miami at this time of year. Hopefully it will be warmer in the Bahamas.

Our first day is spent at Carnival’s private island in the Bahamas. It is nice but very deserted. The second day is at Nassau on New Providence Island. Aimee is feeling sick so we leave her on the ship and take a taxi over to Paradise Island to see the Atlantis Hotel. On walking in the lobby we see a sign welcoming the Portillo’s Restaurant Company from Chicago. I guess there is big money in hot dogs.

The Atlantis is an extraordinary resort. We dodge security and walk the property. The grounds have the most amazing swimming pool-size fish tanks. One has a couple monstrous manta rays swimming in them! I have seen them only on TV! Another is loaded with sharks. That one has a water slide that starts at the top of a Mayan pyramid and runs thru a clear tube in the middle of the shark tank. Wow!

This would have been a good winter getaway except everybody (but me) kept getting sick and wanting to stay in the cabin. Finally on the last day everybody was feeling better so the four of us took a walk from the ship around Nassau. We walked through smallish Fort Charlotte, a British fortification built in 1788. Outside it, were lots of vendors selling jewelry.

June 24-30, 2001

June 24-30, 2001

We spent another week on a Gulf of Mexico beach with my family. We flew into New Orleans rented a car and drove 2.5 hours east on I-10. Just south of Mobile, AL we stopped at Bellingrath Gardens, an attraction my father recommended. It is an historic mansion and beautiful gardens set on 65-acres. It was the family estate of an early Coca-Cola bottler. A young girl working the ticket booth makes some comment comparing me to “her daddy” immediately making me feel old. We spend a couple hours walking among the beautiful flowers and touring the house.

We take a bridge south to Dauphin Island, one of the many Gulf barrier islets, and then a car ferry across to Fort Morgan. My relatives have rented a beach house just to the east. Most of the week we spend on the beach or by the pool or playing golf. But we do take a morning away and visit the historic fort we passed near the ferry terminal. This antebellum 1834 structure is actually a pretty big star-shaped fort on the end of the peninsula that sticks out into the mouth of Mobile Bay. Mobile was one of the last confederate ports to fall largely due to Alabama seizing this fort before they seceded. Late in the war the fort was taken and the port closed by Admiral Farragut. At the start of the battle he told his fleet to ignore the minefield in the bay and run past Fort Morgan with the famous words, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead”.

August 22-23, 2001

August 22-23, 2001

My California sister asked Aimee and I to be her son’s godparents. We agree and make it a little mini-vacation to San Francisco. We arrive Wednesday night and her husband picks us up at the airport. They live in Cupertino in the heart of Silicon Valley and the home of Apple.

The next day the four of us drive north of the city to Napa Valley. Napa is home to the country’s finest wineries. Our first stop is Robert Mondavi probably the most famous of the Napa wineries. We take their winery tour where they demonstrate all that is required to make wine. We finish with a tasting. Our second stop is Grgich Hills where we go straight to the tasting. By the time we get to our third tasting stop, we are all feeling pretty good. There are many more wineries to go. I guess we should have been spitting the tastes into the bucket, but I just can’t do that with perfectly good alcohol. We have dinner at their favorite pizza joint in a campus haunt of UC-Berkeley. Coming from Chicago, I am not impressed.

August 24, 2001

August 24, 2001

On Friday we drove downtown San Francisco to take the ferry across to Alcatraz Island to see this infamous prison that is now part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Despite being summer, it is very chilly waiting by the dock for the boat. No wonder they think no escapee could survive the swim to shore. Once “on the rock” we take the audio tour. It is a very interesting place and the audio is well done. Al Capone was probably the most famous resident. Now I can’t wait to go home and rewatch the Clint Eastwood movie, ‘Escape from Alcatraz'. Alcatraz Island seems the perfect spot for a maximum security penitentiary.

On the way home we stop at my sister’s favorite restaurant in San Francisco, ‘Crustacean’. I get off cheap as Aimee is getting sick and doesn’t order a meal.

August 25, 2001

August 25, 2001

On Saturday we attend my nephew’s baptism. That evening we borrow my sister’s car and drive to the Faz restaurant in Danville, CA to meet a couple of Aimee’s friends for dinner. Faz is a great place to eat! The food is good but the ambience is awesome. We dine outdoors in their very cool central courtyard. It sits amidst a grove of redwood trees!