I Wanna Go

I read everything that comes in the mail, including the freebee magazines that we get from AAA and all the other forms of insurance that we subscribe to. The AAA magazine is called Highroads, and it puts a spotlight on interesting travel destinations each month. This month it made my heart ache. It hurts! Because the article titled, "Old World Holiday Magic" has prompted me to really really really want to leave home.
It's a description of a cruise that you can take on the Danube--the only river to flow West to East. The cruise begins in Vienna, Austria, and the ship carries just 150 passengers. So, it's not a huge ship and you never have to pack and unpack--you stay on the ship each night after visiting the different cities. The ship cruises all night till the next city is reached. Beginning at Thanksgiving, cities all over Europe begin their Christmas markets, luring over a million visitors. And it's not mass-produced items for sale--it's largely hand made goods and tons of food and.....plenty of German beer and wine and sausage.



The pictures I've seen are gorgeous. Plenty of decorations and lights, wood carved signs inviting you in for wiener schnitzel and cider. Oh man I would be in heaven.



There's live music--both choirs and those "oompa oompa" bands. There's baked apples and gingerbread.

This cruise stops near Salzburg, which was the birthplace of Mozart. It was also featured in The Sound of Music.

After eight days of cruising, eating, and shopping, the ship docks in Nuremberg where the Christkindlsmrkt is held. This open air market is on cobble stone streets and has all kinds of wonderful things to consume. The article says this particular market has been around since the 16th century.

I don't want to look up the price, because that'll burst my bubble. I'll just continue to look forward to the day I get to cruise the Danube during the holidays.

Integration of Current Technology

We've had these blue floaties on the back porch for a few years now. I originally had about 20 of them, they were used as stage decoration at an event I had back in 2007, or maybe 2008. They were incredibly cheap, costing me 88 cents each. Once in a blue moon they are used in the pool, and of course one or two is popped in the process. After Steve saw the photos of Shay bundled up in them, he decided to give them a try.



He wasn't quite comfortable, so he adjusted and tried again:



Aaah, yes, that's it.

The Pool Is Popular Again

The poor swimming pool is empty all the time--not empty of water, just people. Don't know why--it's just impossible to get anyone around here to take a swim. Steve will go out there during the months of July and August, after sunset. Shay will go out and swim if he's got a friend to swim with. I am out there when I'm cleaning it. That's about it.
But having Shay help me with the pool filter yesterday was a bonus--because the heat inspired him to jump in the water and get cooled off!
And jump he did....











I was content to slip in the water once in a while, and paddle for a bit. Oh and of course the cloud-gazing was good. I thought for a moment that the sudden cloud cover was going to cool things off but I was incredibly wrong.



It was 119 degrees by the time 5pm rolled around!!