Cohen's Corner

2012-02-12T17:15:00.001-08:00

I forgot to mention - all photos were taken with my Motorola Droid X phone. I didn't take my digital camera with me.

2012-02-12T16:55:00.001-08:00

Nov 20 - Tampa

Back to Tampa and the flight home. Richard picked us up at the airport and we drove home to Chelan. I had a really good time but was glad to get home.

Best part? Beyond a doubt it was Barcelona! I loved Barcelona! I loved Cadiz too. Malaga was great too. The Canary Islands - they were interesting, but I really have no desire to go there again. Madeira was beautiful too. But, again, I probably won't return there.

I want to return to Spain with Richard, maybe next year, and spend some more time in Barcelona. I also want to take the train, or fly, to Seville.

When all was said and done, I flew 8,230 miles (thanks Delta!) and sailed 5,523 nautical miles (1.15 statutes miles equals 1 nautical mile). What fun!

2012-02-12T16:53:00.000-08:00

November 18 - Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

Half Moon Cay is a little "private island" owned by Holland America (well, it is owned by Carnival - who owns Holland America). "Private island" is a bit of a joke - it is more like a sand spit in the middle of the ocean. We were only there for 1/2 day so did not have time to do much of anything except eat (they had a barbecue for us) and sit on the beach. No time to snorkel, etc.

I did not take any more photos because my camera was out of memory.

2012-02-12T16:44:00.001-08:00

After leaving Madeira, we sailed for 7 (yes, count them, seven!) days across the Atlantic Ocean to Half Moon Cay, Bahamas. The first couple of days and nights at sea were pretty rough. Fortunately, I did not get seasick! I did not even have to take the seasick medicine I had with me. After a couple of days it was pretty smooth sailing.

Let me tell you, spending 7 days at sea of a cruise ship can get boring. The longer the cruise, the older the passengers seem to be; and this was a 17 day cruise. Makes sense - you generally need to be retired to have that much time to float around the ocean. I was one of the youngest people on the ship! Also, I went on this trip with a friend, not with Richard - so there was no romantic dining, dancing, etc for me. ;-) But, when all is said and done, we had a good time and met some wonderful people.

2012-02-12T16:41:00.000-08:00

Farewell to Madeira!

A replica of a Portuguese Man of War ship.

2012-02-12T16:38:00.000-08:00

A sign near the harbor. I wish I would have had time to check out more of the island.

The harbor. Lots of very nice boats.

2012-02-12T16:31:00.000-08:00

A plaza near the harbor. Lots of outdoor cafes. There were lots of tourists there, but also lots of local people. Communication was a bit tricky, since they don't seem to speak much English (unlike Spain where all shop owners spoke English) and I certainly don't speak Portuguese, but we managed to order some coffee/tee and a lunch. They also had free wi-fi. Yipee! The wi-fi on the cruise ship was sooooo lame that I was always looking for free wi-fi when I was on shore.

This is a closeup of the artist who was sitting under the yellow umbrella you can see on the right side of the above photo.

2012-02-12T16:28:00.000-08:00

The sidewalks in Funchal are beautiful. Each one is somewhat different from the others. I am not sure if they are made out of marble or some other type of stone, but they are very creative and lovely to look at.

2012-02-12T16:26:00.000-08:00

More street scenes.

2012-02-12T16:15:00.000-08:00

November 10 brings us to Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. Madeira is best known for it's Madeira wine and for embroidery work. Since I am not a fan of fortified wine (yuck!), I did not taste or buy the wine. While the embroidery work was lovely, I was not in the market for tableclothes, dishcloths or traditional folk costumes. I did however find some wonderful shops specializing the purses and wallets which were made in Portugal. It is sad, but even in Europe you have to make sure what you are buying was not made in China...

An intersection near the harbor. This cathedral was beautiful inside (but much simplier than the ones in Spain).

A street scene in an older part of town (away from the tourist area).

2012-02-12T16:09:00.000-08:00

In Tenerife we just walked around the town. It was pretty but there was nothing particularly outstanding about it. I opted not to take a tour of the island. Like the other Canary Islands, this one is a volcanic island also - but since I had taken a tour of a volcano the day before I decided not to again. Plus, I've seen lots of volcanoes - Hawaii, Mt St Helens, Bali, Lanzarote, etc. Been there, done that... ;-)

Tomorrow - Funchal, Madeira, Portugal.

2012-02-12T16:03:00.000-08:00

November 9 brings us to Tenerife, Canary Islands. I didn't take very many photos here. I was running out of room on my card and didn't take my computer so I couldn't download them.

View from the top deck of the ship as we left the harbor.

Another view of Tenerife from the ship.

Since I work for a plumber, I took a photo of a plumbing fixture store we saw in town. I like how you can see our reflections in the window.

2012-02-08T20:46:00.000-08:00

Farewell to Lanzarote! Tomorrow Tenerife...

2012-02-08T20:40:00.000-08:00

Then off to the camel ride. I can't believe I did this in retrospect (being an animal rights person...). But, the camel owners I saw seemed to actually like their animals and treat them well. I saw several camel herders petting their camels and talking to them in quite moments when no one was around. :-) The camels and their owners walk from town (Arrecife) to "work" each day; about an hour each way.

It was fun - in a touristy kind of way - but I am glad I did it. Now I've ridden an elephant and a camel.

2012-02-08T20:35:00.000-08:00

After seeing the volcano we went to a winery. It was pretty interesting. The winery was in the volcanic area. They have learned how to grow grapes in the volcanic soil. In addition to wine grapes, I saw fig trees and other vegetable plants.

The wine that I tasted wasn't particularly good - however, that's subjective so we'll just say that I didn't care for it. Your mileage may vary...

This is one of the vineyards. The rocks are built up around each plant to keep the trade winds off them.

2012-02-08T20:23:00.000-08:00

This is a view from the top of the volcano area.

I copied this from the internet:
Lanzarotes "Big Bang" started on September 1, 1730. By April 6, 1736, one of the worlds most devastating and long--lived volcanic eruptions had finally come to an end.During those six horrifying years, the area around what is now the Timanfaya National Park -- Lanzarotes Fire Moutains -- was transformed from an agricultural zone of quiet villages with exuberant vegetation and extensive vineyards, into a deadened stark landscape, a monstrous heap of volcanic debris and a bleak reminder of the totally unforgiving face of nature.

2012-02-08T20:13:00.000-08:00

November 8 brings us to the Canary Island. The Canary Islands are located off the coast of Africa.

The first island we visited was Lanzarote. I decided a couple of days earlier to take a ship tour when we got to port. Our agenda was a bus ride from the harbor at Arrecife to the center of the island so we could see the volcano, and also to take a camel ride (!!).

Typical white buildings. They endeavor to keep the history of the island alive by adhering to a strict building code, including the color of the buildings (white) and the height (I think 3 stories is the maximum). This is an effort to prevent the island from becoming nothing but high-rise tourist hotels, etc. Excellent idea!

2012-02-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

November 7, a day at sea.
These are some of the many towel animals our steward made for us throughout our cruise.

A Turtle

A rabbit

A scorpion

A strange looking penguin... ;-)

2012-01-29T18:05:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow - another day at sea then the Canary Islands!

2012-01-29T17:41:00.000-08:00

Cadiz and the Mediterranean Sea. There was a very nice promenade that went along the Sea. A great place to walk or jog.

A street by the harbor.

A plaza with outdoor restaurants. Love them!

2012-01-29T17:36:00.000-08:00

Interior shots of one of the cathedrals. They are elaborate beyond measure.

2012-01-29T17:32:00.000-08:00

For you non-Formula 1 fans, this is Fernando Alonzo. He drives for Ferrari and is from Spain. His photo is in every Santander bank I saw (and there are LOTS of branches all over Spain). Since he is my second favorite driver (next to Lewis Hamilton) he gets his photo in my blog. ;-)

2012-01-29T17:30:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite photos. We were walking down this cobblestone street near one of the cathedrals and I looked up and saw Barb walking ahead of me and thought it'd make a nice photo.

2012-01-29T17:25:00.000-08:00

I couldn't get far enough away to get the entire cathedral in the photo. There were two towers - it was very symmetrical.

Another cathedral on a plaza.

2012-01-29T17:24:00.000-08:00

2012-01-29T17:21:00.000-08:00

Cadiz street scenes.

2012-01-29T17:18:00.000-08:00

Since it is early Sunday morning it is pretty quiet. Some of the shops will open later - some not at all. Barb and I decided to stay in town and shop (did I mention that Barb owns a women's clothing shop?) instead of going on a tour to Seville.

2012-01-29T17:13:00.000-08:00

Cadiz, Spain (Sun, Nov 6). Last night we sailed through the Straight of Gibraltar. It was quite rough - lots of bouncing around.

Not sure what the statue is commemorating. It about 9:00 Sunday morning.

2012-01-29T17:09:00.000-08:00

And what would a Spanish city be without several cathedrals? This was a particularly pretty one I thought.

After a wonderful day shopping (what else?) it was back to the ship and off to Cadiz, Spain tomorrow. So far I am totally loving Spain.

2012-01-29T17:06:00.000-08:00

Motorcycles and small cars are the preferred methods of transportation in the cities we visited. Not like in America - where gas guzzlers reign supreme...

2012-01-29T17:04:00.000-08:00

A little street market near the park - probably set up for the cruise ship passengers. I didn't see anything that I couldn't live without...

2012-01-29T17:01:00.000-08:00

This is a park that was near the harbor.

2012-01-29T16:59:00.000-08:00

An example of the wonderful Spanish architecture.

2012-01-29T16:55:00.000-08:00

Here we are in Malaga, Spain (Nov 5 - Saturday). It is around 9:00 am so it is pretty quiet. This seems to be the main shopping area for upscale shops. The sidewalks are beautiful - they look like they've been polished.

2012-01-29T16:42:00.000-08:00

I didn't take a picture of our ship but this is our sister ship - so it gives you an idea of what ours looks like. Pretty small and unremarkable as ships go... It holds 1,266 passengers and probably 500 crew? Not sure about the crew numbers.

2012-01-29T16:34:00.000-08:00

Okay - here we are, day 1 of the cruise (November 4, 2011). We left Barcelona at 5:00 pm the evening before - sailing in the Mediterranean Sea. I took this photo our from our cabin window. I think the waves were about 5'? Hard to tell. It was a little bouncy - but not bad. As you can tell, our cabin was in the bottom level (what I like to call "steerage"). Actually, it ended up being a good place (middle of the ship, low down) because there were a couple of days and nights when it got pretty rough so the lower down in the ship you are the smoother it is. :-)

We are at sea all day and will arrive at Malaga, Spain tomorrow morning at 8:00 am.

2012-01-22T13:31:00.000-08:00

Fun in the snow! Miss Phaedra and Ron came to visit for 3 days. We had lots of fun. It snowed while they were here so Phaedra got lots of time in the snow.

2012-01-20T15:46:00.001-08:00

Plumbing store in Spain.

2011-12-07T13:53:00.000-08:00

I came across these bronze plaque in the sidewalks outside of some of the buildings. Not sure if they are talking about the buildings or the various streets. They are all the same except for the gold part in the middle.

We had to get the the cruise ship by 2:00, so the hotel called a taxi and we were off to the next part of our adventure. Our hotel was only a few blocks from the waterfront so it was a short taxi ride. I was reallllly sad to be leaving Barcelona, but excited to begin the cruise.

The Barcelona Cathedral. I copied some info about it from the internet:

Its origins

The earliest origins of Barcelona Cathedral date back to a basilica with three naves, destroyed by Al-Mansur in 925. The remains of this basilica can be seen at the City History Museum. Around 1046, Bishop Guislabert pushed for the construction of a new cathedral. There are hardly any references to this cathedral. It is believed to have occupied part of the Gothic building but all that has been preserved is Romanesque.

The basilica today

Building work began in 1298, when Bernat Pelegrí was Bishop and Jaume II, known as "The Just", was on the throne. The Santa Llúcia Chapel, built in a late Romanesque style, already existed. Construction was very slow: the Crypt of Saint Eulalia and the choir-stall are from the end of the 14th century; the cloister from the 15th century and the retrochoir and the organ from the 16th century. The façade was finally finished in the early 20th century, by the architects Josep Oriol Mestres and August Font i Carreras, based on an early 15th century design by the French architect Mestre Carlí. Rather than Catalan Gothic, the style is Nordic Gothic The façade is 70 metres high and crowned with an image of Saint Helena, by the sculptor Eduard Alentorn.

In the cloisters, for Corpus Christi, there is a typically Barcelonian custom, l'ou com balla: an egg (ou) is put into the jet of water in the cloister garden fountain to make it "dance". There is also a pond with thirteen white geese. Always thirteen, because that is how old Saint Eulalia was when, according to legend, she was martyred.

Another plaza with outdoor seating for a couple of restaurants.

Here is a government building of some sort on a plaza. I love the Spanish architecture!

Day three in Barcelona. It is raining this morning. I got up early and went for a walk while Barb stayed in bed (I guess; I was out exploring so I'm not sure what she was doing!). ;-)

2011-11-30T19:07:00.000-08:00

There was so much other beautiful Gaudi buildings, etc. I didn't have a chance to see them all, or to photograph all the ones I saw. They are truly unique, and to my mind, beautiful. Barcelona is so beautiful. Everywhere you turn the architecture is stunning. There is lots of open space, in the form of plazas... outdoor dining, wide tree-lined streets, tiny narrow streets and a beautiful waterfront.

2011-11-30T19:06:00.000-08:00

A detail of the iron work on the gate.

The gates at the entrance to Guell Park.

2011-11-30T19:02:00.000-08:00

Detail of ceiling.

This was a sort of "plaza", with beautiful stone work on the floor and mosaics on the ceiling.

A view out over the entire city of Barcelona, out to the Mediterranean.

Here I am at Guell Park, which was also designed by Gaudi.

2011-11-30T18:56:00.000-08:00

Here I am on what I call the "gothic" side.

Each of the 4 sides has a different style.

Temple de la Sagrada Familia. Construction was started in, I believe, 1888 (or something like that). They are projecting that it will be done in about 26 years... hummm, we'll see. It is Gaudi's masterwork.

2011-11-30T18:54:00.000-08:00

A close-up of the iron work on the balconies.

La Pedrera

2011-11-30T18:49:00.000-08:00

A pastry shop. This is where we had breakfast. Now - off to see some of the amazing Gaudi architecture Barcelona is famous for.

Okay - day two! Here is the window of a candy shop.

Here's Barb showing off our dinner on our first night in town.

2011-11-27T17:15:00.000-08:00

Various street scenes. I'm not much of a photographer so I didn't take photos of everything I saw. Some of the street were only about 6' wide. I guess back in medieval days they only needed to be wide enough to get a horse through. Beautiful architecture. My photos don't do it justice.

Okay - that's the end of our first day. We were exhausted (after staying awake for 28 hours). We found a lovely little restaurant with outside seating (on a plaza) and had dinner (paella) and a glass of wine and called it a night.

More photos of our second day soon! :)

2011-11-27T17:12:00.000-08:00

We came upon this street with beautiful light fixtures. It was daytime, but we decided we'd come back at nighttime to see the lights. We came back the next evening, but unfortunately the lights were not on. Perhaps they were for Christmas? Not sure.

2011-11-27T17:02:00.000-08:00

A fountain in the plaza.

An example of the iron lighting fixtures that were everywhere.

We out for a walk and came upon our first plaza! What a lovely, civilized way to add public space to a densely populated city!

2011-11-27T16:49:00.000-08:00

My Vacation:

Hi everyone. I am back from my vacation. Had a great time! I am in love with Spain!

My friend Barb and I decided to take a cruise from Barcelona to Florida (why do things half way?). We flew to Barcelona on Oct 31. Left Seattle at about 2:30 pm and arrived in Barcelona on Nov 1 at about noon (with a stop in Amsterdam - didn't see a thing except the airport).

We hired a taxi at the airport and arrived at our hotel (H10 Raco Del Pi (Del Pi being the name of the street). I found the hotel by doing an on-line search. It was wonderful. Clean, friendly (English speaking) staff, free pastries and coffee/tea, and fresh fruit available at the front desk. Would definitely stay there again! Right in the middle of the Gothic Quarter; the old medieval part of the city.

We were terribly jet lagged but decided to go out and check of the area. The first photo is the street our hotel was on, the second is the hotel.

2011-03-29T17:28:00.000-07:00

Kate, Cohen and Phaedra came to visit a couple of weeks ago. Kate stayed for 2 days and then went on to Seattle to have some adult time with her friends and brother. Cohen and Phaedra hung out with Grandma Jo and Pa for two more days, then we all went to Seattle to meet up with Kate.

Phaedra calls me "Jo" instead of Grandma Jo. It's kinda cute.

Here are some photos from their visit.

2011-03-29T17:23:00.000-07:00

Miss Phaedra having breakfast.

We stopped at the reptile place in Monroe on our way over the pass. Cohen and Phaedra got to pet the iguana. You can't see Phaedra in the photo, but she said "pretty" and "nice". Pretty and nice indeed. I should have adopted Mr. Iguana for the kids to take home... ;)

2011-03-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

Cohen at Beebe Springs in Chelan.

Miss Phaedra at the park in Chelan Falls.

Grandma Jo and Phaedra

2011-03-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

Lemon cupcake filled with lemon curd, cream cheese frosting, topped with a lemon drop. Yummy!

2010-04-15T23:24:00.000-07:00

2010-01-16T11:00:00.001-08:00

2010-01-16T10:59:00.000-08:00

2010-01-16T10:58:00.000-08:00

2009-12-30T17:31:00.000-08:00

Cohen at Christmas time. As cute as can be - don't you agree?

2009-12-30T17:27:00.000-08:00

Phaedra at Christmas time. 6 months old. Very cute, no?

2009-12-30T17:26:00.000-08:00

Cupcakes! Yummy!

2009-11-22T21:03:00.002-08:00

Ron took this photo today with his cell phone. Daddy's little monkey indeed. :)
The cutest monkey I've ever seen.

2009-11-22T21:03:00.001-08:00

Little Phaedra. Isn't she sweet?

2009-11-22T21:01:00.000-08:00

Cohen has discovered fishing! He loves it!

2009-11-09T19:36:00.000-08:00

Oops! Almost forgot. I bought a new (almost ;) car. Here I am writing the check! In case you can't tell, it is a BMW 330 xi, charcoal grey with a black interior. I love it! And enough room in the back seat to accomodate two grandchildren. ;)

2009-11-09T19:32:00.000-08:00

I am finally posting some new photos of Cohen and Phaedra. Richard, I and Wanda went to Wyoming in late September to visit. I am posting a few photos from that trip. Also posted are some Halloween photos. Don't have I beautiful grandchildren?!?

Today Kate called and told me that my 'lil buddy (aka Cohen) has an ear infection. Pool 'lil buddy. I feel so bad for him, but he is nothing if not tough so I'm sure he'll bounce back soon!

2009-11-09T19:30:00.000-08:00

Not so Happy Fairy Phaedra.

Happy Fairy Phaedra.

2009-11-09T19:29:00.000-08:00

Samurai Cohen.

2009-11-09T19:26:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2009! Here are Samurai Cohen and Fairy Phaedra. I got to make the costumes. Don't they look adorable!! I made little curly toed fairy shoes for Phaedra but Kate said they were too small. Evidently, Ms. Hayes has very large feet. ;) But Katy had another pair of cute pink shoes handy.

2009-11-09T19:25:00.000-08:00

Cohen is VERY into fish right now. He went fishing and now he just loves them.

2009-11-09T19:24:00.000-08:00

Princess Phaedra Jolene Hayes.

2009-11-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, finally some new photos. These were taken in late September when Richard and I and Wanda went to Wyoming to see Ron, Kate, Cohen and Phaedra.

2009-06-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

"That's All Folks!"
Gramma Jo said she'd get some more photos posted soon.

2009-06-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

Gramma Jo came and spent two weeks with me when Phaedra was born. While she was there, Dada, Gramma Jo, A Cookie (my dog) and I went to the badlands to get some rocks for Mama's garden.

Always the ham...

This being a big brother is a lot of work. Time for a nap.

Camping in the back yard with Dada.

2009-06-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to have a baby sister! I call her "Baby Phaedra" and I love to kiss her every chance I get.

2009-06-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

Almost two weeks old.

Her favorite blanket.

2009-06-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

One week old.

2009-06-21T11:41:00.000-07:00

"Love"

2009-06-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

Isn't she beautiful! She looks like she has frosted tips on her hair!

2009-06-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

I'm not actually trying to eat my sister, I'm trying to kiss her! I'll get the hang of it eventually...

2009-06-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

With much fanfare I introduce my new baby sister, Phaedra Jolene Hayes! She was born June 1, 2009, at 7:50 a.m. in Cody, Wyoming; weighing 7 lbs. 15 oz and was 19-1/2" long.

2009-05-03T20:56:00.000-07:00

Look at the pretty dandylions! What should I do with them?

I'll give them to the pretty girls!

Better get back over to Gramma and Pa!

I am such a little charmer!

2009-05-03T20:54:00.000-07:00

2009-05-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

While we were at the park the next day, we watched the hang gliders landing.

2009-05-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

Being two, I get a little cranky when things don't go my way...

I'm really into bandaids right now. I don't know why. I love to stick them on myself and those I love!

2009-05-03T20:44:00.000-07:00

Gramma and I had a race on the slide...

and I won!

2009-05-03T20:40:00.000-07:00

We went to Don Morse Park in Chelan and had fun on the slide.

Then I had fun rolling down the hill in the grass.

2009-05-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

Mommy and I came to visit Gramma Jo and Pa for a week. I had a great time, and so did Mommy. I stayed with Gramma Jo and Pa, and Mommy went to Seattle to see all her friends and have some "adult" time. ;)

Gramma Jo and I made pancakes my first morning there.
Banana pancakes!!! Yummy.
Gramma got me a stop stool so I could climb up and help her when she cooked.

2009-04-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

I made this Easter card for Gramma Jo. She thinks it is the nicest Easter card in the World!!
HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

2009-03-31T18:58:00.000-07:00

Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam,
where the deer and the antelope play!"

2009-03-31T18:57:00.000-07:00

When I'm done here I'd better mosey on over and round up some doggies.

2009-03-31T18:55:00.000-07:00

And here is the doggie! Here's my new puppy, A Cookie (I named him myself!)

2009-01-19T19:30:00.002-08:00

Here I am at Gramma Jo and Pa's house for our belated Christmas. We arrived on January 5 and stayed until January 10. I had a great time! This photo was taken when I was getting ready to go to Seattle to visit Grammy and Uncle Jacob.

I was a very good boy, except for when I wasn't. But, what do you expect, I am 2! They don't call them the terrible twos for nothing! But, I am adorable none-the-less and Gramma Jo can't wait to see me again.

Below are a few more photos from our week together. Now that Gramma Jo is working full time in Wenatchee, she doesn't have as much time to help me with my blog. She'll try to do better in the future.

2009-01-19T19:30:00.001-08:00

2009-01-19T19:29:00.001-08:00

2009-01-19T19:26:00.000-08:00

Here I am running through the house. I'm wearing my new Christmas sweater my Gramma Jo knitted for me. Doesn't it look nice with my flannel jammy bottoms? Very stylish!

2009-01-19T19:25:00.000-08:00

While visiting Gramma Jo and Pa in Chelan, we went to The Vogue and I had some hot chocolate and a cookie! I love The Vogue. It is my favorite coffee spot in Chelan!

2009-01-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

We celebrated my birthday a couple days late. I am 2 years old now! My birthday
was January 3.

2008-12-11T23:26:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from Thanksgiving. Gramma Jo and Pa flew to Cody, WY and Momma and I picked them up at the airport and took them to Worland. A good time was had by all. The photos did not turn out very well; they are mostly blurry. But, what the heck, here they are!

2008-12-11T23:24:00.000-08:00

Some times there's just nothing to do except look under carpets for treasures...

2008-12-11T23:23:00.000-08:00

No, seriously, I only had three boxes of raisins...

I'll just have a few more....

Just one last box...