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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Why Do I Travel?

Excerpts from a poem written by NYC sculptor, Sana† Musama.

It is on the road that my inner voice speaks the loudest and my heart beats the strongest.

It is on the road that I take extra pride in my wooly hair, full features and lineage.

It is on the road that I develop extra senses and the hairs on my arms stand up and say "Sana, don't go there", and I listen.

Its when I safety pin my money to my underclothes and count it a million times before I go to sleep,

It is on the road that I am a poet, an ambassador, a dancer, medicine woman, an angel and even a genius.

Its on the road that I am fearless and unstoppable and if necessary ball up my fist and fight back.

It is on the road that I talk to my deceased parents and they speak back

Its on the road that I reprimand myself, and set new goals, refuel stop and begin again.

It is on the road that I experience what freedom truly is.

It is my travel that has transformed me making me a citizen of the world. When my humanness, compassion and affection are raised to a new level and I share unconditionally.

‎"There's a race of men that don't fit in,

A race that can't sit still;

So they break the hearts of kith and kin, 

And they roam the world at will.

They range the field and rove the flood,

...And they climb the mountain's crest;


Their's is the curse of the gypsy blood,


And they don't know how to rest."




~ Robert W. Service ~

Enough Said about bin Laden

I've never killed a man, but I've read many an obituary with a great deal of satisfaction.  
~Clarence Darrow~

~Rest in Peace Sweet Pea~

Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories.  ~An Affair to Remember~ (1957) ~ 

This is what Jim Bowie's mother said when she was told of her son's death at the Alamo.

"Jim's dead?  ...  I'll wager they found no wounds in his back."~ 

Riding Poem

Although I consider myself more of a solo, long distance rider, I do occasionally ride with small groups. Many of my riding buddies also enjoy group rides. I am sure, regardless of riding style, we can all relate to this, each in our own way.
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I Rode With My Buddies Today
by Kari Prager

I rode with my buddies today.
We rode in a line of headlights and tailpipes,
not going anywhere special, not even going fast,
just meandering like a herd of elk
to move through the forest at our own pace.
Our sound precedes us, not loud
but unmistakable, the power of
this most romantic way of moving.

The pleasure is in the going, the mobility,
the little acts of control that contrive
to keep us centered on the road.
The crackle of dead leaves,
the burnt bitterness of autumn,
the smell of the moon still shining in the blue of the sky,
magical in the motion of the moment.

I feel my friends flowing around the bends, the line of bikes without
conscious order, in symmetrical array, till we signal the end,
stopping and turning back into individuals, the magic
fading as the motors are stilled, the jackets come off, and we breathe
in the mundane and profane air of the stationary world.

~ Reprinted from The LD List ~

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~Anonymous~

If you want to make enemies, try to change something.   ~Woodrow Wilson~