F-L-E-X-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y !!!!!!

Dancers on Crete heading to a photo shoot.


The port at Chania.


Horse and buggy rides around the port.

Flying Space-A means you have to be flexible. And sometimes that is a good thing. After arriving in Rota, Spain, we had to wait all day for our next flight. Instead of flying directly to Sigonella, Sicily, we were diverted to the Grecian island of Crete. They had a room waiting for us at the base hotel, so we could crash for a few hours before heading into town.

Chania is a port built in the Venetian style and is surrounded by an old wall, much as Dubrovnik where we will do our boat charter in Croatia. We walked around the harbor, watched as a sailboat tried to unsnarl its line from their prop (hope we don't encounter that problem), ate some mussels and seafood and ventured down some of the narrow lanes.

On Wednesday morning, it was back aboard the C-40 that brought us here. Two hours later we were in Sicily. We rented a car and tried to find the Navy Lodge located on a nearby base. After three attemps (and always finding ourselves back at our starting point) we turned on the GPS we brought and found the route we needed.

Our room is about 25 kilometers from snowcapped Mt. Aetna! Today we are headed to the south shore of the island to the Valley of the Temples, ancient Grecian ruins, then on to a small town that is holding a, guess what, "chocolate festival". Gene didn't want to miss this one. We'll see if we can find our way.

That's it for now!

Great Grandkids!

We're having lots of fun visiting Gene's family in Ohio. His son John and wife, Beth, live on a farm in Irwin. John's daughter, Jessica, and her kids are in Cincinnati, so we spent a day with them. Above are photos of baby Addison Davy (in Lincoln, Nebraska), Lori and Mason, Nick on his bike, and John with granddaughter Skye.

Lilac Bushes, Hyacinth and Tulips!

The rain has stopped, the sun is shining and there are flowers everywhere! All along the roadside from Illinois to Ohio we saw red rosebud trees in bloom, as well as a white flowering tree I don't know the name of. Maples are getting their red seed pods, too. But the best sight was in Cincinnati. We took a walk around the block at Gene's granddaughter's house and saw tulips, hyacinth and sweet smelling lilac bushes. All the flowers I remember from my childhood. I even remember picking a bouquet of tulips for my mother when I was about five. . . and getting in big trouble for that. We had to go to the neighbor and apologize for ruining her Spring garden.

Remember Lincoln Logs?

Mason starting to build a house.


Our Lincoln Log House

Gene's great grandson, Mason, was given a box of vintage Lincoln Logs . . . the kind we played with as kids in Roselle, IL. Lori and I ended up on our hands and kneeds down in the basement of Mason's Cincinnati home assembling a log house, fitting together rafters and tongue and groove green roof slats, and adding chimeys. We told Mason he was a "lucky kid", which made him a very proud four-year-old.

Springtime in Ohio

Lincoln, Nebraska, with Ben Taylor and Amy, baby Addie and Lori, Gene, Sue and Ben Davy

We have made it as far as Ohio. After hitting snow in Colorado, we had perfect weather on our drive to Norfolk, Nebraska, where we visited with Lori and Dale. Lori gave us a little scare by ending up in the hospital for one night with excruciating pain in her back. They did some tests and she will have a procedure done next Monday to drain some fluid that has built up around the lymph nodes in her back. We hope that does the trick.

Lori drove with us to Lincoln where we spent two nights in an RV park and visited granddaughter Crystal, husband Ben and baby Addie. Addie will be one on May 8th and is as cute as a bug. Ben Taylor and girlfriend Amy joined us for dinner, as well as granddaughter Melissa. So we have now had fun visiting all the Taylor kids, grandkids and great granddaughter.

On arrival in Ohio, we got an update on Gene's son John's health. He is scheduled for esophageal cancer surgery on April 29. He's already had chemo and radiation to shrink the tumor and will spend about 10 days to 2 weeks in the hospital post surgery. After that, it's an 8 to 10 week recovery period. Keep John and Lori in your prayers as they goes through these health challenges. We'll stop to see them both on our return from Europe.

It's TRYING to be springtime here. Flowering trees are in bloom, tulips and daphodils are starting to blossom and today the sun is shining. We drove all the way from Nebraska to Ohio through wind and rain. We were the ONLY RV at a state park in Illinois where we stopped for the night. We are now parked at John's farm, where the RV will stay for the next two months. Saturday, it's off to the east coast and Europe!

On the Road Again!

We got off to a snowy start on our 2009 RV trip. To avoid a snowstorm in Flafstaff, we took the southern route through Tucson, into New Mexico, then north to Colorado. We hit snow at Raton on the Colorado/New Mexico border. After driving for about an hour through a blizzard, we relied on our gps to guide us to a Walmart parking lot in Trinidad, CO, where we spent the night.

The next morning it was sunny and clear. We arrived in Norfolk, NE, Tuesday evening and are now parked next to Gene's daughter's house. Lori plans to head east with us next Monday so she can visit with her brother John in Ohio. We'll stop in Lincoln, NE, on the way and visit granddaughter Crystal, husband Ben and baby Addie, as well as the rest of the grandchildren . . . Melissa, Ben and his girlfriend Amy.

Jay and Liz Visit Phoenix

A bolt of energy and sunshine blew through Phoenix! Gene's grandson Jay Taylor and his wife Liz spent the night with us on April 10th. They are both volunteer teachers at a mission school in Chihuahua, Mexico, and were on their way to California for a break. They will serve in their volunteer positions until the beginning of June. Then it's back to the U.S. to find employment. We loved having them!