We had an 8:30PM, non-stop, flight out of Atlanta on Wednesday June 19 to Venice Italy. It was the beginning of a week long, 3 city, adventure packed trip, We arrive around 11:20AM, on Thursday, and took a short bus ride to the train station where we had tickets to Trieste.Fly into Venice – We had a non-stop, 8:30PM, flight out of Atlanta on Wednesday June 19 to Venice Italy. We arrive around 11:20AM, on Thursday, and took a short bus ride to the train station where we had tickets to Trieste.

PART ONE – Trieste, Italy
Trieste is a city ad seaport in northeast Italy. It is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste, on a narrow strip of Italian territory lying between the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia. As of 2025, it has a population of 198,668. The city has a long coastline and is surrounded by grassland, forest and karstic areas – a topography formed by the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks like limestone or dolomite.
The top photo is the Piazza Unità d’Italia the main square in Trieste, it is located at the foot of the hill with the castle of San Giusto, the square faces the Adriatic Sea. It is often said to be Europe’s largest square located next to the sea. The square was built during the period when Trieste was the most important seaport of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and includes the city’s municipal buildings and other important palaces.

We had a wonderful room at the Elizabeth boutique rooms in the center of town where we stayed two nights .

Slovenia – officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungry to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southwest, and a short (46.6 km) coastline with the Adriatic Sea to the Southwest, which is part of the Mediterranean Sea.

Through TripAdvisor we booked a tour of the Slovenia coast with a wonderful tour guide. The tour included a coffee break at a small little café on the coast, a lunch break in Koper / Capodistria and finally a wine tasting in Vinska Fontana Marezige.

On our last day, after checking out of the hotel we took the bus up to Miramare Castle – It was built from 1856 to 1860 for Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium, later Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and Empress Carlota of Mexico, based on a design by Carl Junker.

The castle’s grounds include an extensive cliff and seashore park of 22 hectares (54 acres) designed by the archduke. The grounds were completely re-landscaped to feature numerous tropical species of trees and plantsMiramare Castle – It was built from 1856 to 1860 for Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian and his wife, Charlotte of Belgium, later Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and Empress Carlota of Mexico, based on a design by Carl Junker.

The castle’s grounds include an extensive cliff and seashore park of 22 hectares (54 acres) designed by the archduke. The grounds were completely re-landscaped to feature numerous tropical species of trees and plants

San Giusto – As reported by most historians of Trieste, the current appearance of the basilica derives from the unification of the two pre-existing churches of Santa Maria and the one dedicated to the martyr San Giusto , which were incorporated under the same roof by the bishop Rodolfo Pedrazzani da Robecco between the years 1302 and 1320 to provide the city with an imposing cathedral.

The first mention of the cathedral dates back to 1337 , when the bell tower of the former church of Santa Maria was covered with a thick wall to support the new building. Work on the bell tower was completed in 1343, but work on the church continued until practically the end of the century. The bell tower was originally taller, but in 1422 it was struck by lightning and reduced to its current height.

After the city’s definitive dedication to Austria ( 1382 ), the then emperor Leopold III appointed the first German bishop of Trieste, Henry de Wildenstein, who consecrated the cathedral’s high altar on 27 November 1385.

In November 1899 Pope Leo XIII elevated it to the dignity of minor basilica.

It was hard to say goodbye to Trieste because it was such a beautiful town with so much to see and do. Next time we visit I will bring my bike because of all the dedicated bike paths some of which go through Slovenia and Croatia.

Where did the time go! I can not believe that I turned 70 this year and for some reason it seemed to hit me harder than other birthdays. I was perfectly content to let the day just roll past but Esther, Greta ad Robin thought I should have a party. Esther asked me a few weeks earlier what I wanted to do for my birthday and said ride my bike. The Athens Twilight Gambler 50K was on Saturday, April 26 we decided to that together.

We weren’t sure how we would feel after and didn’t want to party too much before so we decided to have the party the weekend before.. Robin and Andrea drove up and Greta flew in for the occasion. Nick was not able to make it. Greta flew to Macon and made it to Robin and Andrea and then the next day they all drove up to Athens together.

It was small party and we fired up my new outdoor pizza oven and made personal some sized pizzas. I hired Carol B to help with the food but I think Andrea and Greta the bulk of the work – which left me with nothing to do but enjoy the party. Guests: Robin, Andrea, Greta, Andy, Jen, Steve, Debbie, Clare, Ed and of course me and Esther.

I’m a chocolate chip cookie addict and always have to have a stash in the freezer – so on that note Robin and Andrea made tee shirts for the family and Andy with 70 chocolate chip cookies on it – bottom right cookie has a bite taken from it – it was a fun event and I appreciate all the love that went into making it happen.

April 6, 2025

Esther and I wanted to get a little bike conditioning and training in before we did the 50K Gambler ride on April 26. so we decided to go spend the night in Travelers Rest, South Carolina and ride on the Swamp Rabbit Trail a wonderful Rails to Trails.

We stayed at the Swamp Rabbit Inn a very small Inn in Travelers Rest, just across the road from the trail. There are only 3 rooms in the main building and maybe 3 cottages on the property. The shared kitchen, living room and pool are very nice and comfortable, This would be a great place to stay with a group of friends.

About 7 miles down trail towards Greenville there is a produce stand, café and coffee shop. Where you can get fresh local produce, sandwiches, snacks, specialty coffee drinks and all kinds of muffins, scones cookies and other goodies. As you can see strawberries were in season. Another time I was there peaches were in and very good. Cleanup from a recent hurricane had just been completed and the sides of the trail were littered with trees and debris.

There is a very nice Tap Room across the street from the Inn and Topsoil, a farm to table restaurant, is very good – so good, in fact, Esther and I went twice and we were in town only for one night.

March 30, 2025

Shell to Shore is an Oyster shell recycling non-profit in Athens, GA Oysters are a natural resource, a keystone species, and ecosystem engineers, filtering water and regenerating themselves.

Oysters are a natural resource, a keystone species, and ecosystem engineers, filtering water and regenerating themselves. By transporting shells from your table to the shore, we are diverting shells from the landfill and reconnecting this natural resource to its coastal home. Recycled shells play a pivotal role in helping create many types of intertidal structures to help combat rising sea levels and help proliferate all types of sea life. Plainly put, the more oyster shells that we recycle and return to the ocean, the more of our shoreline and ocean we can help preserve!

Many oyster producers from all long the east coast, bringing 800 to 1,000 oysters, drove many miles to be part of this great event. Several local restaurants also participated bringing samples of their signature dishes.

This was an extremely fun and well run fund raising event with some very tasty oysters in the Bottleworks complex – its best to come early.

Visited on: January 14, 2025

Esther had a talk to give at the International Plant and Animal Genome Conference in San Diego in the beginning of January 2025 and I decided to tag along. A few days before our flight a major winter storm was predicted for our area. Not wanting to miss our flight we decided leave Athens a day early and book a room at the Airport Marriott. The system moved a little faster then expected and we almost didn’t make it out. We left the house around 8AM and by the time we got to Watkinsville, just 15 miles away, you could even make out the edges of the roads for all the snow. We should have turned around then but thought maybe the conditions would improve further on.

We travel 30 mile per hour the whole way and it took 3 hours to get to the hotel. Shortly after we checked in the hotel was booked solid and the lobby was packed. We made the most of our stay and flight delay by using the hotel gym, pool, bar and restaurant.

We made it San Diego, rented a car and made it to the Town and Country Resort Arlo fairly easily and for some reason we got our room upgraded to a suite. While Esther was doing conference things, I kept busy exploring San Diego, Old Town and other attractions, The wonderful trolley system made it very easy to set around without a car. The food and scenery was amazing!

After the conference ended headed to our VRBO in Temecula stop along the way to visit and have lunch with Millie and Lisa, Esther’s mother in-law, who just moved in to a new room in her retirement village and Lisa is her sister-in-law.

We had a very nice VRBO that was secluded and pretty far up the side of a mountain. There were some comments by visitors that the VRBO was difficult to get to especially after dark. Before the conference was over I made a run up to the place to make sure we could get there in case it was after dark. I also made a grocery run so we would have things for breakfast – and also beer and wine for that night.

Joshua Tree National Park, located in southeastern California is a stunning destination known for its rugged desert landscapes, iconic Joshua trees and unique geological formations. It sits at the intersection of two distinct desert ecosystems – the Mojave Desert and the Colorado desert – creating a diverse range of flora, fauna and scenic views.

The desert teaches us about the marvels of adaptation. Relentless sun, summer temperatures over 100F or 38C and little water can make a forbidding world for non-desert dwellers, yet hundreds of of plants and animal species adapted to conserve moisture and beat the heat. Today the park protect 792,510 acres, over 80 percent of it managed as wilderness, where the Mojave and Colorado deserts converge.

The wild armed Joshua tree is truly a sign you are in the Mojave Desert. It is not a tree but a yucca species. Like other desert plants, its waxy, spiny leaves expose little surface area, efficiently conserving moisture. Joshua trees can grow over 40 feet at a leisurely rate of 1 inch per year. Clusters of cream-colored flowers bloom February through April, then the tree grow its branches.

How Did All Those Rocks Pile UP?
The rock piles began underground long ago as a result of volcanic activity. Magma- in this case a molten form of rock called monzogranite – rose from deep within the Earth. It intruded the overlying rock, the Pinto gneiss formation. The granite cooled and crystalized, forming horizontal and vertical cracks. The granite continued to uplift and contacted ground water. Chemical weathering resulted and worked on the angular granite blocks widening cracks and and rounding edges.

Eventually the surface soil eroded. leaving monzogranite heaps scattered across the land like piles of toy blocks.

Miramonte Winery – Nothing like an early dinner at a California winery after a hot day in the desert. The food and winery were excellent.

On our last day in Temecula we drove to the coast did a nice 3 mile hike, visited a Lego Land to make Robin jealous (but it was closed) and visited and visited and old Spanish Mission – it was a fun last day.