thefouramigosblog

After we left Mike’s we headed south to spend two days with Colin and Renee. On our way, we stopped at McDonald’s for Bruce’s favorite drink, a caramel frappe. This was a very Maine-looking McDonald’s.

After a six hour drive we arrived at Colin’s home. Alyse and Ed came over with the kids.

We ate pizza from Rossini’s. I sure missed that.

Sally, the Irish Setter, was adorable.

The next morning we took a hike through the woods at Hurd Park.

Sally had a drink from the river.

In the afternoon we had a cookout at Alyse’s house. The pool was a bit chilly for us Floridians but we went in anyway.

The kids had a great time in the pool.

Today we picked up the boys, Landon and Wyatt, and set off on our adventure.

#connecticut#hurdpark#summerfun#mcdonalds#pool#swim

Our trip to Haverhill, MA was slow going. What was supposed to be a 6 hour drive ended up taking over 8. But we arrived with a warm welcome from our friends, Dawna and Tony.

Dawna made a delicious meal of Haddock, which we really can’t get down south. We engaged in lots of good conversation and a trip to the ice cream parlor for some positively delicious pistachio ice cream.

Later in the evening we met Tony’s son, Mark, who was a delight.

The next morning we are at a local breakfast place before heading to Tony’s Beach House in Wells, Maine. It’s a lovely little cottage that Dawna’s gifted talents for decorating made it particularly charming.

We walked over to the beach which was a block away.

Fragrant wild roses lined the path.

The sky was overcast and it was a bit chilly plus a fog drifted across the beach like a blanket.

Yet there were still people surfing. The water in Maine is quite chilly even late in the summer.

Although it was a short visit, it was great seeing dear friends.

Off we went to Brewer Maine to visit Bruce’s brother, Mike. We arrived around 3 and headed out for a lobster dinner.

Pepper’s Landing was a really nice little restaurant with a view of a dam.

Bruce’s niece, Kristi, and her family joined us.

Of course, I ordered a lobster 🦞. It’s been a while. I have made a point of only eating lobster in Maine. I guess I need to visit more often.

9-year-old Garret wanted a lobster but I shared a little of mine with him. I also showed him how to pull it apart not to miss any of it’s meat.

Drafton, who will be 12, doesn’t like seafood. He’s a mac and cheese kid.

We visited Grammy and Grampy Maines Cemetery in Ellsworth. We had some difficulty finding it but with the cemetery name and google maps it brought us right to their plot. Bruce placed some flowers on the grave.

After that we stopped at Jordans for lunch. This was a place we frequented with Grammy and Grampy Maine.

I had fried clams and they were delicious! Sorry, no pictures.

Sitting back at the house, some wild turkeys ran across Mike’s lawn.

Now we are heading south to Connecticut for the next phase of the trip. A two week trip with grandsons.

#pepperslanding#maine#lobster#haverhill#wellsmaine#beach

I know it’s not Dubai or some tropical island, but our new adventure is a driving trip to visit friends and family and bring two of our grandsons back to Florida.

Our first stop was outside Savannah at a Hyatt Place. I’m trying to limit our driving time each travel day to six to eight hours.

The hotel was ok. I have explorist status with Hyatt so that gets us bottles of water and 2 snacks. Not a big deal. They said we were upgraded so our room was more a suite.

For dinner, we are at Sam Sneads, which was right next to the hotel.

I had a salad and Bruce had a fish sandwich. All was fairly good.

Our next stop was Clayton, NC to visit my daughter and family.

My daughter and son-in-law are starting a new business in Garner, NC. It’s an indoor golf center where they will have golf instruction as well as golf simulators. They are also going to have a small bistro serving light meals and drinks. It’s called Sully’s Golf & Gather.

Their current temporary location has been a great interim spot while they are renovating the new space. Mike was teaching a class when we dropped in.

We met Kevin, Kadyn’s Dad, at Logan’s Roadhouse for dinner. Lots of fun and laughs.

The next day we took Kadyn to the spa to get our nails done. I always love going with my girls. Unfortunately, Lauren couldn’t come with us.

We stopped at Bob Evans for lunch afterwards. We’ve been taking Kadyn there since she was a little girl.

The next stop was the outlet mall. The first couple of stores she tried on a few things but really didn’t like the clothes. Kadyn ended up with socks at Nautica and two pairs of Jeans at Levi’s.

To finish up the day we had frozen yogurt.

During Dinnertime we picked Kevin up at his house and played with Breezy, Kadyn’s bunny.

We also saw some of her amazing artwork.

Finally, dinner at Kaze Japanese Restaurant in Garner. Lauren, Kadyn and I shared a sushi boat. The food was great!

The next morning we were on the road again. Spent the night in Grantville, PA and went over to the Hollywood Casino where we gave our donation. We stayed at Tru Hilton. It was reasonably priced, bed was comfortable but was just a so so hotel. I like the Hamptons better for the lower priced Hiltons.

Onward north! Our next stop is at out friends in Massachusetts.

#sullysgolf&gather#hollywoodcasino#grantvillepa#samsneadrestaurant#logansroadhouse#kazejapaneserestaurant#truhilton#hyattplace

After a very hectic and fast pace through Israel, we needed a little R&R. I booked three nights at the Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah. I booked this using my $200 credit for Fine Hotels and Resorts from Amex. I used 40,000 Amex points and the room for 3 nights was $265 total.

They upgraded me to a deluxe sea view. I also received free daily breakfast, $100 hotel credit and unlimited water. They left a fruit platter and chocolates in the room.

We were picked up at the airport by a private driver and it was an interesting ride to the hotel. So many tall buildings and very interesting architecture.

This is Dubai’s Museum of the Future.

For dinner tonight, we ate Pad Thai at the hotel. I forgot to take pictures of the food. This was the view at our table.

We caught a little sun behind the building.

After dinner we walked around the hotel and checked out the pool.

The hotel had a wonderful buffet breakfast. Omelets, crepes and many varieties of fruits and baked goods.

We spent a few hours on the beach. The water was divine.

We could see Atlantis from the beach. The new Atlantis looks like Legos.

We booked a driver to take us to several areas and we had tickets for the Burj Khalifa, the worlds tallest building. Our first stop was Burj Al Arab, the world’s only 7 star hotel.

Across from the hotel is a water park.

Our next stop was the Jumeirah Mosque which was built in the 1970’s.

We spent a little time at the Souk market. I bought a scarf and hibiscus tea.

At last it was time to go to the tallest building, Burj Al Arab. We had VIP tickets so we didn’t have to wait in line. They also served cappuccino and dates and pastry.

We took the elevator up to floor 125 then switched to go to floor 148.

The buildings below looked as though they were photoshopped.

We watched the sun go down from the top of Burj

It was an amazing evening. Afterwards we had dinner at the Italian restaurant at the Waldorf, Social. We ordered hibiscus tea. I had cannelloni and Bruce had eggplant. They also gave us many other things to taste.

We spent the next day lounging at the beach and getting ready for the long flight home.

It was a grueling 20 hours and of course, I’m home sick. I always end my trips this way.

Here are a few random shots of Dubai, which we loved!

Home Sweet Home!

#dubai#waldorfastoria#burjalarab#burjkhalifa#atlantis

We began our day at the Garden Tomb where some believe Christ was intombed.

It was a lovely place, peaceful and serene, but as our guide said maybe not his tomb.

The Garden surrounding the area was lovely.

The area by the cave is where they think Jesus was crucified. This was all within the area of the Garden Tomb.

We next traveled to Mount Zion in Jerusalem to The Cenacle, dining room in Latin, which is the upper room traditionally known to be the site of the Last Supper, the final meal Jesus had with his disciples. According to our guide, this is very unlikely and what most likely took place was that Jesus said to look for a man who is carrying a pitcher of water. Since women usually carried the water, the most likely man who carried water would be a monk or Essene Jew like those in Qumran. A sect was within the old city of Jerusalem and that is probably where the last supper was held.

Zion Gate, a historic gate of the old city of Jerusalem was built in July 1540.

During the nineteenth century, a leper colony, slaughter house and livestock market were located in this vicinity until they were torn down under British rule.

For lunch we traveled to a Bedouin camp where some of our crew went for camel rides. Our friends, Sandy and Scott were up for a ride!

The story of Abraham unfolded as we ate at his table. I have to say the hummus in Israel is amazing.

In the afternoon we headed back to Jerusalem and walked the Via Delarosa, which was the path that Jesus walked toward his crucifixion.

Our final stop was at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which contains two holy sites- one where Jesus was crucified and one where he was intombed.

People were kneeling down and kissing a slab of marble on which they believe Jesus was readied for burial.

The cave in which Jesus was intombed was inside the church. Our tour guide went inside but would not allow us to go inside stating it wasn’t safe.

This is part of the church. It was very crowded with the exception of this section.

After our visit at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, we headed back to the hotel. Tired but happy! Our tour is over but Bruce and I head to Dubai tomorrow!

#churchoftheholysepulchre#jerusalem#viadelarosa#mountzion#zionsgate#israel#gardentomb

After our visit to Masada, we headed to the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.

Qumran was established during the Hellenistic Period c.134-104BC and remained inhabited up until c.68BC. The Essenes Jewish sect lived here in isolation as a communal monastery-like community without owning any personal property. The sect is thought to have eaten communal meals, studied sacred scriptures for most of the night, taken a daily ritual bath, practice celibacy and they had their own calendar. From information found in the Dead Sea Scrolls scholars have managed to get a clear picture of the community’s way of life and beliefs. It is thought that about 200 people once lived here. In later periods of history there were Arab settlements here and during the Bar Kokhba Revolution the rebels may have taken refuge here.

They slept all in one room on a mat, which during the summer season must have been excruciatingly hot.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were found by a Bedouin shepherd who sold them for approximately $3. Many of the scrolls were torn in pieces and sold piece by piece. Today they are worth hundreds of thousands.

This area is steeped in history; and the Dead Sea Scrolls that have been translated correlate with the Bible.

Our next stop was to head to Jerusalem to the Garden of Gethsemane, at the base of Mt. Olive. We stopped at the top of the Mount.

According to our guide, the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was arrested, was not a garden but a farm. Today it is a lovely garden.

The Church of All Nations which stands next to the gardens was built supposedly over the rock where Jesus prayed the night before he was crucified.

It was a very busy day and we learned a lot about the life and times of Jesus.

#deadseascrolls#qumancaves#jerusalem#israel#christian#gardenofgethsemanee#churchofallnations