Our current adventure ends today with a flight to Honolulu then on to Dallas on American Airlines. As I look back here is my list of immediate memories:
- The passport fiasco to start.
- Machu Pichu and the incredible ruins and the native dressed grandma with baby in the blanket .
- A balky computer and all your help and suggestions
- The awe at Iguazu Falls and the start of Katy’s passport problems.
- The bathing suits of Rio and the view from Sugarloaf.
- My postponed CNN Business Traveler interview in London and my temper tantrum from exhaustion.
- Munich, the Glockenspiel, Beer gardens, meeting Geoff, Tim, and Andrew and the beer as big as Andrew’s head.
- Salzburg an incredibly beautiful city and the hokey and hilarious Sound of Music Tour.
- The solitude at the top of Innsbruck. Another spot on earth that man has not touched as of yet.
- The Swiss Alps and the Shiltzhorn restaurant and view. Our only day of snow and riding the gondola into the fog. The continuation of Katy’s passport mess and our unscheduled trip to Bern.
- The beautiful new Bangkok airport and acrid smell of the air. Our taxi cab rip off and the Prime ministers family wedding.
- Angkor Wat temples, the heat and humidity, elephants and Thor and SoPhat. Our traditional Cambodian BBQ. The only white guys in the room.
- JW Marriott Resort and Spa Phuket, our timeshare presentation, the fabulous pool, $13 hour long massages and our wacky day in Patong Beach.
- My son Andrew and our time in Sydney. Having Gray with us for a few hours, the meals, the chats, and the neighborhoods of Sydney and the Aussie Rules football game. And don’t forget the fruit bats as big as my head, and always, that magnificent bridge and opera house.
- Maui and the infinity pool, struggling with the snorkeling, and giving Denise a word of encouragement.
- Being back in Kauai, the views, the pool, the Priceline room and the air of Hawaii. It is so soft on your skin.
- And lastly the people we met along the way. The plain old ordinary working guys and gals from the gardeners in Cambodia, chairlift operators in Switzerland, to the store clerks, waiters, waitresses and yes, even the cabbies everywhere. No matter where we went or what we needed, the people of the world were there to help us along the way. It is the regular guys and gals that makes the world a great place to see and be.
And we, the ordinary working stiffs of the world, can, and should see the world around us, at prices we all can afford. I think it makes us better people.
With a tear of gratitude in my eye as I write this line, thanks for coming along with us. And I’m glad to report the vertigo was a one day deal. A little Bug lovin’ and some meclazine and I’m back on top again.
Let’s do it again real soon,
Rick and Katybug
Photos of Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Katy and Hula Pie at Duke’s on Kalapaki Bay
