Where are Sue and Mike?

BIG BABY NEWS!!!!!!!!!!! BIG BABY NEWS!!!!!!!

2009-06-26T08:10:00.000-07:00

OK, are you sitting down? We've kept a tight lid on our baby news since her delivery on May 18th. We actually got her when she was only 3 days old (65 hours to be exact). She's beautiful! Born in Lucerne, Switzerland. Proud parents Sue and Mike are sleepless with excitement but very, very happy.

Vital statistics, you ask? She's 10,450 lb. and 2 oz. and 567" long.

There's a very good general public description of the Pilatus at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilatus_PC-12

Or if you really want to geek out AND see photos of the interior, http://www.pilatus-aircraft.com/html/en/products/index_203.asp?NavL1ID=31&NavL2ID=194&NavL3ID=202&NavL4ID=0&NavL5ID=0&NavL6ID=0&L=3

Ours is a 2009 Pilatus PC-12 NG

Taking delivery!!!

2009-06-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

During the negotiation process, our Western Aircraft dealer, Ron Smith, expressed a desire for Mike's old, greasy Eclipse hat. (Eclipse was the plane we'd been waiting for, but they filed bankruptcy.) So we have spiffy new hats for plane rides, and Ron can hang the Eclipse hat in his office. Like a scalp!

Birthday party in Tacoma

2009-06-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

My stepdad, Stan, turned 85 this June. He's a WWII veteran, and believe it or not his first car was a Model A Ford. He was born in 1924: the year IBM was founded and Wheaties was introduced.

In lieu of Wheaties, we had Mom's stellar poached wild salmon (it looks green because it's covered ever so carefully in cucumber "fish scales". Martha Stewart eat your heart out...

Golfing in Seattle

2009-06-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

A uniquely Northwest "yech". What to do when there is a slug in the way of your golf shot? Can I get a ruling here?!

Eating our way through Croatia

2009-06-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

We called this trip an eating vacation with a sailing problem! Here's Mike with a double dinner order of stuffed peppers and stuffed cabbages (just like his Croatian Mom used to make :) Lunch on the sailboat - we didn't do too badly rustling up the grub! Typical meal ANY time of the day was gelato (italian ice cream). P.S. Check out Mike's Croatian head shave, I mean haircut. The gal who cut his hair spoke NO English.

Krka National Park Frogs

2009-06-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

The marsh frogs were in the mood for mating, and put on quite a show with their loud croaking. Do you know how a frog croaks? Much like humans, they fill up their lungs with air and then blow it across their larynx. The hollow chamber on the side that they fill up with air acts as a resonator, much like the hollow wood of the guitar amplifies the sound of the strings. That allows the frog to make the sound audible over long distances, sometimes a mile or more. This has got to be one of the coolest places for a frog to live, ever.

KRKA National Park .

2009-06-17T12:04:00.000-07:00

Not too many national parks let you swim in their waterfalls - this one had designated areas where you were invited to take a dip. Lots of cascading waterfalls with lengthy boardwalk trails. Look at the trout holding their own against the current about to rush over the waterfall.

Croatian wildlife

2009-06-17T11:41:00.000-07:00

The sun is back and all is forgiven...we saw a pod of dolphins who followed us for a while, some swans with their babies (cygnets?), and went hiking with some burros!

Sailin' ain't for sissies

2009-06-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

We ran into a big storm with gale force winds that sidetracked us for a day on Vis, one of the outermost islands. We were docked in a harbor, but we had buckets inside the cabin to catch dripping rain sneaking it's way in. When we ventured out the next day, it was still nasty, with winds in the 35 to 45 knot range. Our fearless captain, Uncle Larry kept us safe on our (gulp) 6 hour sail. Mike was the official "naviguesser" in charge of the GPS to plot our course. I traded between staying up on top in the driving rain, swallowing ginger pills and watching the horizon or going below and staying dry in the rocking and rolling cabin. We were all glad when this one was over.

This is Croatia!I

2009-06-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

Isn't it lovely? There are 1,185 islands in Croatia and about 47 of them are inhabited. We visited more of the southern islands: Hvar, Milna, Vis, Rogoznica, Skradin, Piskera, Telascica, Vodice. (I'm sure we butchered the pronunciation on a regular basis.)

Sailing in Croatia

2009-06-14T07:54:00.000-07:00

Here is our "yacht" so to speak, rented for 2 weeks from Sunsail. If you look closely, I'm hanging our laundry on the railing with clothespins. 47.3 ft. long, 6 people sleeping on board, galley, dinghy. Pretty cushy, but not much elbow room in the 3 tiny toilet/shower combos on board (bathrooms the size of a phone booth). We did a lot of stern tie-ups on this trip, which necessitated perfecting the art of walking-the-plank. Difficult at first, but it was a breeze after a couple of days.

Croatia, origin of the necktie

2009-06-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

OK guys, did you know that you can thank 17th century Croats for popularizing the necktie? After the 30 years war in 1618-1648, Croatian mercinaries fought in the French Service. Voila, the Parisians liked that part of the uniform, and it became all the rage in Europe. The combination of the Croatia word for Croatia "Hrvati" and the French word for Croatia "Croates" linguistically evolved to become "cravat", which is the actual name of the knot that you guys tie with your dress ties. Huh!

We made it to Zagreb, Croatia

2009-06-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

Zagreb is the capital, and by far the largest city we've seen at 800,000 in populations. It had an juxtaposition of old and new unlike anywhere else in Croatia. Note the red "Konzum" sign behind the bronze warrior. It's Croatian for "consume" and is the brand name of their largest grocery store chain.

Ljubljana, Slovenia

2009-06-14T07:13:00.000-07:00

Quick, say Ljubljana 3 times fast! (Hint: the J sounds like Y). This is the capital of Slovenia, and a beautiful arty youthful city. It housese the Slovenian Academy of Arts and Sciences, and each year there are over 10,000 cultural events - last year there were ten international festivals of music, theater and art. The centerpiece is the historic St. Nicholas cathedral rebuilt in the 1700s, which had these amazing 10 ft. tall bronze doors - this is a closeup of the "handle" worn shiny from thousands of worshipers. The dragon is one of 4 that flock the corners of the Dragon bridge, cast in 1900 when the city was part of Austria-Hungary. The last photo was of a pre-school group who were acting out a play with "fisherman and his wife" marionettes.

Exploring the Limestone Caves

2009-06-06T08:35:00.000-07:00

Postojnska Jama is the largest limestone cave in Europe - and the largest we've ever been in. 20 kilometers! It's so huge that they take you on a train ride through the first part of it - it felt very Disneyesque, like we were about to pitch downhill or have something jump out at us. The stalagtites and stalagmites were good, if not well preserved. Remember, the mites crawl up and the tites come down :)

Vroca Cokolada, anyone?

2009-06-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

Hey, don't knock it unless you've tried it. Hot Chocolate so thick that the spoon stands up?! It was to die for...

Breathing in the Julian Alps

2009-06-06T08:15:00.001-07:00

It was a gondola ride to take your breath away. We started off with a low cloud ceiling and broke through to an incredible view of a huge glacial lake and the Julian Alps. We were hiking atop Mount Triglav looking all the way into Austria!!

Bosnian farmlands

2009-06-06T04:27:00.000-07:00

We weren't in Bosnia for long, but it was beautiful. There is abundant farmland. Large aquatic farms are set up for clams and mussels, and rich river deltas with freshwater or "sweetwater" as they call it here.

Croatia's bounty

2009-06-06T04:01:00.000-07:00

Where to start? The fish is outstanding, sometimes only a few hours out of the water. Restaurants bring you a platter with fish of the day, and you buy the whole fish that they grill or bake for you. Figs are beautiful, typically in rings separated with fig leaves. Fresh squeezed orange juice is the norm; there are orange, lemon and olive trees everywhere.

Is this the Mediterranean Diet?

2009-06-06T02:04:00.000-07:00

Lest you be misled that we're eating healthy ALL the time, we do have a weakness for gelato, and gelato stands are as popular as coffee shops in Seattle. Would you believe dark chocolate gelato? Just look at these desserts - they are works of art! We'd better watch it so we don't end up looking like this guy...

Trogir, Croatia walled city

2009-06-04T23:34:00.001-07:00

Trogir is another lovely walled city in Croatia. It's so odd to see a cobblestone street and stone buildings with modern day-to-day shopping and hubbub going on. The statue is beautiful, isn't it? Especially the hands. The old clock is actually a 24 hour clock if you look closely. Mike and I had to climb to the top of the bell tower, of course. That's him in the red shirt standing below the stairs.

Diocletian's Palace in Split, Croatia

2009-06-04T23:29:00.000-07:00

Built in the 4th century, this palace has withstood time well, very intact for the period, and carefully (minimally) restored. It's an odd story - apparently Diocletian built this huge palace, complete with an elaborate domed mausoleum for himself when he died. Trouble is he was a truly evil man - tortured and killed Christians. When he died, he was so hated by the populace that they ransacked the palace, taking all the valuables. They also removed his body from the mausoleum - no one knows where it is. Ironically, they turned the mausoleum into a Christian chapel. Touche, Dioclesian!!

Dinner @ Castle Bled

2009-06-01T07:59:00.000-07:00

Perched above Lake Bled in Slovenia is a fairy tale castle, built in the middle ages, with a spectacular view of the lake. We were lucky enough to score dinner reservations on a night when no one was there - we had the entire place to ourselves. We truly felt like royalty dining on vegatable paprikash soup, lovely market salad and fish fresh from the Adriatic Sea. Because that seemed WAY too healthy, we had to finish it off with fabulous flaky apple struedel and Lake Bled's classic "cream slice" cake.

Did I mention we hiked practically straight up a wicked trail to get there? We must have burned off some calories on the way, right?

Lake Bled, Slovenia

2009-06-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

Lake Bled (pronouced "blade") in Slovenia is quite the hub of actvity for Eastern Europeans. First of all, the lake itself is pure and calm, with a small island in the middle with a chapel. For a traditional Slovenian wedding, the bride and groom take a boat to the chapel, then the groom carries the bride up 99 steps, and at the end of the ceremony, they ring the church bell together. Very peaceful lake, no motorized boats allowed. The lake is used for racing hulls, recreational paddle boats, kayaks, swimming and has a lovely pedestrian path running about 4 miles around the perimeter.

There is also a toboggan run! Unfortunately it wasn't open for the season yet, or we would have gone tobogganing for sure!!

Serbo- Croatian War

2009-06-01T07:29:00.000-07:00

In Karlovac, near the border with Bosnia, there are remnants from the war in the early 90's, including United Nations barriers, decommissioned tanks and shrapnel marks on the buildings. Many hundreds of Croatians died before Molosovich was defeated.

Molosovich was in prison for years, would have been brought to trial for war crimes had he not died in prison. Karma.