A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....09-26-06 .... Finest Tours and Travels

9-26-06 | JustAmy; & MamaBear

[JustAmy]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Dutchess, DollyCali, GodBlessUSA, JustAmy ~

~ My Cruise Vacation to Alaska ~
or,
How I Gained a Pound a Day,
The Princess Way...
by Mama_Bear

Jkphoto and I decided for our vacation this year we would escape the 110 degree heat of Central California and sail roundtrip from San Francisco to Alaska on a ten day Princess cruise. Our Inside Passage itinerary aboard the cruise ship "Regal Princess" included Victoria, British Columbia, and Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway, Alaska. To our delight, the average daytime temperatures were in the 60's and mostly cloudy, just exactly what we were hoping for after the long hot summer of non-stop sunshine and sizzling heat back home.

More photos of
Humpback Whales HERE.

There is a saying among those of us who like to spend our vacations cruising the high seas...."You board as "passengers", you leave as "cargo". And that's the truth! The cuisine is five star and available 'round the clock.

I highly recommend a cruise vacation to Alaska or anywhere you've been wanting to go. If you'd enjoy a little TLC, impeccable service, wonderful food expertly prepared, interesting ports of call and lazy days sailing the seas, a cruise has all of this and more. In the evening there is gaming in the ship's casino, a different floor show in the showroom each night, and dancing until the wee hours. After dinner, you can relax and unwind in a cozy piano bar or spend the evening sipping champagne cocktails on the Promenade Deck. The great thing about a cruise is, you can be as active or as lazy as you like. (No, really......I DON'T work for the cruise lines....but I probably should!)

Bon Voyage!










Travel Broadens

Travel broadens. I concur.
My backside will too aver.
As the miles to you bequeath,
A very broadened underneath.

You can beat this. Get a bike!
There may be aspects you won't like.
The downhills are a wonderment;
The price for them will leave you spent.

And so we ride, through chemistry,
We seek to find diversity,
Our journey of a thousand mile,
Ends at a distant mall for a while.

For when you get there, you will see,
It's like the place you used to be.
If you want travel, take a look,
Inside the pages of a book.

NicknamedBob . . . . . August 20, 2006

After several trips on Amtrak, it was with great anticipation that we planned this year's vacation.

We would take Amtrak from Fresno to Eugene, OR, rent a car and visit relatives in Redmond, OR and then Boise, ID before returning the car to a Fresno location.

The trip from Fresno to Martinez was uneventful, but the nightmare began after arriving in Martinez at approx 9:30pm. Scheduled departure was 11:00 with arrival in Eugene at 12:44. It had been a long day and Prissy Missy was tired (as were we all). The train arrived at 12:30. Prissy Missy had been begging for a bed for at least an hour.

We awoke to find that we were not only 1 ½ hours behind schedule but were running about 4 hours late. After calling the car rental agency to alert them to the delay in picking up the car, we sat back to enjoy the scenery.

After many stops for freight trains and track repairs, we realized we would not get into Eugene until 6:30 or later. More phone calls were made. A call to the car rental agency and were told they would be open until midnight. No problem. ;) Then a call to my aunt to let her know we would not see them until the next day. Several more calls looking for a place to spend the night. Sorry, no vacancy, sorry no vacancy; we finally quit calling out of frustration.

We arrived in Eugene at 10:50pm exhausted. The attendant at the Eugene station said there were no rooms available due to a concert being in town. She did find us a hostel with one bed. Needless to say, we passed.

When we arrived at the airport to pick up our car the only SUV available was a Mercury Mariner. We had asked for a full size SUV (gas hog though it might be.) The agents at three car rental agencies gave us several phone numbers to check for available rooms. We even made calls to Albany and Salem, all to no avail.

We drove to three different motel rows and all we saw were no vacancy signs.

Finally about 1:00am we found a super Wal-Mart where we bought four small pillows and four throws. About 1:30am, we made the best of it and slept in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

After exchanging the small SUV for a minivan, the nightmare finally ended. ~JustAmy~

Laughter is an instant vacation.
~Milton Berle~

I travel not to go anywhere, but to go.
I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.
~Robert Louis

Stevenson~

Thanks to the Interstate Highway System,
it is now possible to travel across the country
from coast to coast without seeing anything.
~Charles Kuralt, On the Road With Charles Kuralt~

Travelers never think that they are the foreigners.
~Mason Cooley~

Gracie1's 1000+ Miles
on the Back of a Harley

FReeper Gracie1 and her husband had been to a few motorcycle runs at Hollister, CA. Early in the year, they decided this was the year to make the pilgrimage to Sturgis, South Dakota for the "granddaddy" of all bike rallies.

Never being on a car vacation of more than 12 hours, Gracie1 was concerned about the 18 to 24 hour drive to Bozeman, MT and then 8 hours on a bike to Sturgis. They took turns driving to Bozeman and made several stops for stretching and picture taking to make that part of their vacation enjoyable.

After driving through the starkness of northern Nevada and the vast salt flats of Utah, they were pleasantly surprised with Salt Lake City. “I’m used to big cities being dirty, mean and nasty, not clean, tidy, with nice polite people”. They found the SLC area very pretty.

They rented a Harley in Montana and rode about 450 miles to Sturgis. They rode through Indian reservations, past the Little Big Horn battlefield and saw herds of antelope. By the time they found the campground, they had missed the Gretchen Wilson concert, but did see Lynyrd Skynyrd.

They stayed at the Buffalo Chip Campground. The first morning Gracie1 poked her head out of the tent and thought, dang, this looks just like Woodstock! According to Gracie1, it was definitely an R rated campground. Her husband had heard about this and bought a digital camera with a zoom “so I can zoom in on the nekkid women”. Since Gracie1 was in possession of the camera, he only took one picture of a half nekkid woman. :)

They spent three nights at the campground but spent the days sightseeing. They went to Deadwood, saw Wild Bill Hickock’s and Calamity Jane’s graves and the saloon where he was killed. They saw Mt Rushmore and the Crazy Horse memorial and drove all through the Black Hills.

When they got back to Fresno they heard that the Outlaws had a shootout with the Hells Angels at Custer State park. There were a lot of Outlaws in Deadwood. Lots of colors from the Nomads, Banditos, and other clubs they hadn't heard of.

After the three days at the Bike Rally, they took an extra day and went to Yellowstone. They saw Old Faithful, elk, buffalo, Yellowstone Falls and canyon, and the lodge. The lodge was old and absolutely beautiful!

Click HERE for photos
and the unabridged version....

07-01-06 ~ Hall of Fame #16

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 09-25-06 Military Monday

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' Every Thursday at the Finest The guy's good, folks!

[JustAmy]

[JustAmy]

[JustAmy]

Below are names of some of our FReepers' loved ones who are serving our country. If you have someone you would like to add, please address a post to Billie; Dutchess; dollycali;The Mayor; GodBlessUSA; JustAmy, and we will add their name to this list. As we pray for them, we pray also for all our nation’s leaders, and military personnel, and their families and friends. May God hold them close to His heart.

gator girl........................husband severa............husband, brother Maigrey.........................cousin mystery-ak...........son, husband Inspectorette.......................son Blessed American..........nephew Slip18..........................nephew Diver Dave........niece, nephew ConspiracyGuy........2 nephews Pippin............niece's husband sneakers..........................son weldgophardline.................son weldgophardline.....brotherinlaw jamaly.................brotherinlaw Future Snake Eater.......cousin WaterDragon............grandson WaterDragon...........son-in-law BeforeISleep.....................son kimmie7......................brother LadyX (RIP)..............grandson fawn796......................nephew ValerieUSA..................2 sons Lakeside......................2 sons LakeLady....................nephew Spruce......................daughter Bykrbayb..........................son Leofl.................................son chena...............................son Hope and Glory..................son Philman_36.............2 nephews TheMayor...............friends'son Doug from Upland.......soninlaw homeschoolmama........nephew ariamne...................2 cousins mhking.........................cousin Consort.................2 daughters Consort...................son-in-law gonzo...................friend's son visualops......................cousin auboy..........................cousin painter........................nephew jrushing.............................son LoneRedRanger...brother-in-law Ladysmith.nephew, friend's son tina07......soninlaw & his friend MontanaCowgirlCop......brother nelibeli........................nephew Misty4jc.....................husband Colorado Slim..............nephew Tapatio....................2 nephews ProudAFDad......................son Alouette.............................son Katydidnt...........................son Zechariah_8_13....brother-in-law Zechariah_8_13.............cousin PreviouslyA-Lurker........brother sheeza.......................husband kemathen7..................husband Q6-God..................twin brother Q6-God....................active duty Warrior Nurse...........active duty SK1 Thurman...........active duty David Osborne..........active duty fc2tomschermuly......active duty bkwells....................active duty LongCut...................active duty cjk...........................active duty Trish........................active duty ODC-GIRL................active duty AF_Blue...................active duty thumperusn..............active duty Veloxherc.................active duty Don Simmons...........active duty wingnutx...................active duty CGblue.....................active duty bigghurtt...................active duty frankiep....................active duty veeceeque................active duty JRios1968................active duty NoLongerFreeState...active duty CMS........................active duty AlaskaErik...............active duty JemiansTerror...........active duty Gonzo .......... Son-in-law

OhioWfan................................son ladtx..................................2 sons Its_me_K.E.T.........................son Hostel............................cousin MozartLover...........son, nephew ak_daddoo........................nephew Dubya............................nephew LBGA (RIP)..........................son katykelly..............................son Armymarinemom................3 sons american_ranger.....................son cookcounty.............................son Himyar....................................son SpookBrat........................nephew SpookBrat........................cousin boxerblues........................2 sons the piper..............................son Tiffee4Bob......................boyfriend TexKat.......................son, step-son StarCMC.............................brother Darheel...............................niece Donaeus...........................nephew BeAllYouCanBe........................son Repubmommy........................brother AgThorn................................2 sons kneezles.................................son RoseinRoseBear.....cousin's hubby Atomic Conspiracy......half-brother Atomic Conspiracy...........nephew Atomic Conspiracy..............niece Sunflowergal....................grandson mrstank..............................husband MrsMike31........................husband spotbust1............................husband campfollower............................fiance LUV W........................................son SilentServiceCPOWife........husband DirtyHarryY2K......................daughter DirtyHarryY2K................son-in-law Skimask.....................................son Palladin...............................grandson MississippyMuddy...................sister MississippyMuddy........2 nephews Kramster...............................stepson Socratic.............................nephew freema.......................nephew, son Azbushgal..............................son kimmykay.................................son NavySEAL F-16........................son Ike..........................................son repubmom...............................son wolfcreek..........................daughter JesseJane ...........................cousin Roses0508..............................son pmmd81..................................son GodBlessUSA......................cousin SoldiersPrayingMom.................son WakeUpandVote..................brother Skyraider.................................son CyberAnt...........................nephew mrs tiggywinkle...................cousin Jen's Mom........................daughter Meg33.............................grandson 911angelady........................2 sons Nadine...............................nephew U S Army EOD.................daughter thehumanlynx...........brother-in-law JFC..................................nephew Earthdweller......................nephew Scubachick.......................husband ChairmanDec19thSociety ..brotherinlaw Anthem............................2 cousins meanie monster .........family friend PragmaticWarrior..........2 nephews Sageb1...........................3 cousins JulieRNR21.........friend's grandson SuzyQue...mom,2 sons,3 brothers weeder1...........................nephew IndyPendance..daughter,soninlaw fatima.....................granddaughter Lori from Long Island....soninlaw monkeyface...................grandson redhead...................grandnephew tongue-tied ...... active duty

[luvie]

One of my vacation trips
Was spent with some FReeper FRiends.
We took a trek across Texas!

[JustAmy]

NnB .... thank you so much for the travel poem that we used today.

Bet you thought I wasn't going to use it. :)

As always, it is perfect.
Thank you, again.

Hope you are feeling better.

[Mama_Bear]

Good evening, LUV.

Getting together with FReeper FRiends is the BEST kind of vacation!

[JustAmy]

Good evening, Luv.

Spending time with fellow FReepers is always a great way to spend a vacation.

Looks like you had a wonderful vacation.

[Diver Dave]

We went horseback riding on our trip...

[singfreedom]

Now that's a fine looking bunch of people! They ALL look like they are enjoying their vacation.

[Mama_Bear]

LOL. Fine looking steed you've got there.

[DollyCali]

What a WONDERFUL thread... three fascinating adventures..

Amy & Lori.. wonderful job on the presentation and so inviting! Great tables & pix work Lori!

Lori, the cruise sounded like such a wonderful time. I have never been on one & yours sounded ideal. Did you get to the famous Victoria gardens (think that is the name)?

Amy you had a start of the vacation that was AWFUL.. bad enough for adults but to have a little one along , ugh.. and sleeping on the Walmart parking lot! my goodness.Did you cry? It sounds like my buddy Murphy was there with you for the day.. sorry! I have had to sleep in my car or van on more than one occasion that wasn't planned (sometimes I do it purposefully) and it is always less the refreshing! It is too bad our Amtrak does so poorly, hear it over & over again. I understand in Europe & Asia the trains are phenomenal..

Gracie..how much fun it seemed you had & with a lot of great friends who ride.. I went to your "unabridged version" & got a kick our of pix & story. A wonderful vacation for you.

Thank you all three for sharing your vacation.... might come back with something later.. my "vacation" .. was well, a 23 hour trip to/from NC for a funeral/suicide..... it had some interesting aspects for sure..but trip is the correct word, not vacation.

[GodBlessUSA]

Good Morning Mama Bear and Just Amy
Excellent Thread!
One day I will make it to Alaska! :) It would be a thrill to see hump back Whales and that scenery.

I've had those type of vacations Just Amy. I hope once you arrived to your destination all went smooth and you enjoyed!

[The Mayor]

September 26, 2006

No Terror

LISTEN TO ODB RADIO: Real | MP3 | WMA

READ: Psalm 31:9-24

Make Your face shine upon Your servant; save me for Your mercies’ sake. —Psalm 31:16

After the terrorist bombing in Bali in 2002, one man reacted by giving up traveling. Three years later, he finally took his family for a holiday in Bali, together with 50 tourists from Newcastle, Australia. The trip ended in tragedy when his family was caught in a suicide bombing at a café on Jimbaran Beach.

From New York to Indonesia, warnings and threats of terrorist attacks continue. Terrorism derives its sting by exporting fear. No one feels safe.

In Psalm 31, David was in the grip of surrounding threats that terrorized both his reputation and his life. He wrote, “Fear is on every side,” and said, “They scheme to take away my life” (v.13).

When everything seemed bleakest, David cried in despair, “I trust in You, O Lord” (v.14). He began to find peace when he acknowledged, “My times are in Your hand” (v.15).

In our world, perfect safety is not possible. But David’s God is our God. Though our earthly security may be threatened, we can never lose God’s eternal, unfailing love.

To those who trust in the Lord, David wrote these hopefilled words: “[The Lord] shall strengthen your heart” (v.24). When we place our times in His hand, we can exchange the fear of terror for peace and praise. —Albert Lee

Peace, perfect peace,
Death shadowing us and ours?
Jesus has vanquished
Death and all its powers.  —Bickersteth

Putting your faith in the living God takes the fear out of living.

Bible in One Year: Bible in One Year;   Isaiah 1-2; Galatians 5

[MEG33]

Salpiglossis
Good Morning To The Finest!

Thank you, Amy, for the wonderful vacation thread..I love your table and presentation..I must click on the links now and enjoy more fun !Thank you, Mama Bear and Gracie.

[JustAmy]

Good morning, DD.

Looks like your horse was moving faster than Amtrak. :)

Hope you are having a Terrific Tuesday.

[Mama_Bear]

Thank you, Dolly, for the kind words and kudos. Yes, the cruise was great, can't wait to go on the next one.

Poor Amy. What a time she had! I tried to talk her and PrissyMissy into coming to Alaska with us, but did she listen?.....no. LOL! Bet she listens next time. ;-)

I hope you are able to come back with some highlights from your trip/vacation. No doubt it will be very interesting. :-)

[Mama_Bear]

Lovely flowers and words from our MEG! Thank you, FRiend. Glad you enjoyed our Finest Tours and Travels post.

[JustAmy]

Good morning, Dolly. Thank You.

The rest of our vacation was great. Visited with relatives and saw some areas of this great country that were new to us.

Sleeping in the car would not have been too bad if we had a larger car or less people. Four people, 3 suitcases and 2 backpacks were a tight fit in that car. PrissyMissy was the only one who could make an attempt to move. Since she was sitting behind JAjr, he was able to move the seat back a couple of inches and get away from the steering wheel.

I usually love traveling by train but trains running 10 hours late is not fun. Getting off the train at midnight and not having anywhere to go is a nightmare.

[JustAmy]

Good morning, GeeBee. Thank you.

We had a nice vacation after getting away to visit family.

Hope you are having a Terrific Tuesday.

[JustAmy]

"Putting your faith in the living God takes the fear out of living."

Good morning, Mayor. Thank you for starting our day right.

Hope you are having a Terrific Tuesday.