Italy, the second time around!

Capri Island, Italy
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June 2013

Carolyn and I just returned from a wonderful, three week, adventure in Italy. We were in Rome the first week, the second week on The Amalfi Coast. The third week was spent in Pompeii & Tuscany, with a small Tuscan apartment and a rental car, exploring the hill towns, castles and wineries.

If you are interested, a slideshow for each week can be found here:  

Rome
                                                                
The Amalfi Coast

Pompeii & The Tuscan Hill Towns


We recommend viewing the slideshow, in full screen, with your sound on. You will notice the needed controls at the bottom of each picture.

"I travel a lot, I hate having my life disrupted by routine."

~ Caskie Stinnet ~ 

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Castle Post, Lexington, KY

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Castle Post, Lexington, KY

Many of you will remember "The Castle" on Hwy 60 (Versailles Road) as you enter the west side of Lexington, KY. I am sure many have also wondered what the castle looked like inside. Recently, Carolyn and I were invited by our long time friends Bub & Joann Gamble of Versailles, to attend the Castle Christmas Charity Open House. The Castle Post is a privately owned, exclusive hotel most of the year, and is only open for public viewing the first weekend of December, as a benefit charity for the Salvation Army. 

The Castle sat empty for many years, unfinished, and was eventually purchased and completely renovated by Tom Post, a Miami attorney who graduated from the University of Kentucky. 

Carolyn and I found touring Castle Post a truly unique experience and we invite you to enjoy it also.

A special "thank you" to Bub and Joann for a great day with good friends. 

We suggest clicking on "Slideshow and Full Screen". Also, be sure your sound is on. 

Castle Post, Lexington, KY

“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveller only who is foreign.”  ~ Robert Louis Stevenson ~

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Sarasota, Tampa, Pensacola ....

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Pictures from our recent Florida Trip

^ Click Here ^

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”  ~ Mark Twain ~

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Outer Banks, NC

Picasa Web Album Here

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Mike Blevins at The New River Gorge, WV

Kevin Pugh at The New River Gorge, WV

Kevin Pugh at The New River Gorge, WV

The New River Gorge, WV

Mike Blevins at The New River Gorge Bridge, WV.

Kevin Pugh at The New River Gorge Bridge, WV

The southern entrance to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel

A US Navy Ship passes over The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel

Kevin Pugh watches a US Navy ship pass over The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.

The bridge-tunnel crosses at the mouth of The Chesapeake Bay.

We had a sunrise breakfast at the Sea Gull Pier Restaurant, located three mile out, on the bridge.

A quick stop at the Visitor Center at Currituck, NC.

The Bodie Island Lighthouse, currently under renovation.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

On the short ferry crossing to Ocracoke Island.

One of the beautiful Ocracoke Island Beaches.

Ocracoke Island Light Station

A fisherman seining bait fish at the entrance to Ocracoke Island Harbor.

The Anchorage Inn, Ocracoke Island, NC

The bikes loaded on the ferry to Cedar Island on the mainland.

Adios Ocracoke Island and The Outer Banks

Virginia's own, Chesapeake Wine - Blue Crab Red

We had beautiful weather for the entire 2,100 mile trip. I left Kevin near Gatlinburg, TN where he met his wife and Sunday school class.

My weather good fortune came to an abrupt end near Nashville where it started to rain, hard, and the temps quickly dropped 17 degrees  (60 to 43) before I made it home to Paducah. Ah well, rain is almost always a part of any good ride!

 “It is never too late to be what you might have been.”  ~George Eliot~

"The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday." ~Unknown~

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Ride Smart!

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AGATT- All the Gear, All The Time

Determination and Open Mindedness Will Allow You to Have Experiences Far Beyond Your Expectations ...... Age Does Not Matter ~Unknown~

Toes in the Water blog: We named the boat

A Tuscan Adventure!

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Our latest adventure took us to the beautiful hills of Tuscany in northern Italy. We were part of a small tour (16) which included Florence and the Tuscan hill towns of Cortona, Radda in Chianti, and Siena. We enjoyed some of the most amazing food and wine, along with the beautiful countryside, the wonderful Italian people and the very best traveling companions. 

I have made three slide shows from the pictures we took while in Italy. We would love to share them with anyone interested. These slide shows are best viewed in full screen with your sound turned on.


Florence, Italy   (about 30 mins)

Tuscan Hill Towns - 1  (about 15 mins)

Tuscan Hill Towns - 2  (about 15 mins)

The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.~ Gilbert K. Chesterton ~

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4th of July, 2011
Norfork, Charlottesville, Va. & North Carolina

From Paducah, we headed east to Morehead, KY, where we left the Interstate and drove the scenic Appalachian backroads of Eastern KY and West Virginia. We crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains and continued on to Norfork, VA, where we enjoyed the The Fourth of July Holiday with some good friends from Florida.

This trip included Martinsville, Norfork, Richmond, Charlottesville,VA, and Charlotte, NC. Along the way, side trips were made to various historical sites, as well as Mt Mitchell and Grandfather Mountain in The Blue Ridge Mountains and a two-lane Kentucky back road adventure home. 

This slide show is best viewed on full screen with the sound on.

Norfork, Charlottesville, Va. & North Carolina

"To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries."~ Aldous Huxley ~

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