2013 is turning out to be another wonderful year.
Andrea still enjoys her job as a Staffing Pool Intensive Care nurse. "Staffing Pool" means
that she goes from ICU to ICU . . . Med/Surg, Cardio, Neurotrauma, etc . . . wherever
she is needed. She cut down to part-time (two 12-hour night shifts per week) to save
her sanity, and that has worked out very well for us. But Andrea has been
working for Mission Hospitals for a decade now, so she is considering a few
changes. Instead of working part-time, she may choose to work
"PRN", which means she would become a 1099 employee with even greater
scheduling flexibility. She would continue to work for Mission, which
would keep her current with her licensure and continuing education requirements,
but she would have even more time to pursue other interests as well.
For example, she is joining the Assisted Vacation team, a new start-up
headquartered in Nice, France and Asheville. Assisted Vacation puts together
individual and group trips for people suffering from Alzheimer's or even
terminal illnesses. The client might like to have one last crack at Paris,
Vienna, Madrid, Hong Kong or . . . wherever. The goal is to improve
the quality of life of elders and their family caregivers through
person-centered vacations. Andrea would serve as a
nurse/traveling companion, a job for which she is perfectly suited. She is
professional, energetic, well-traveled, and multi-lingual. I myself look
forward to joining her from time to time on these interesting, educational
journeys.
Speaking of travel, this has been and will continue to be a great year. This spring, we visited Aruba, Colombia, Panama, St. Lucia, and Jamaica. Andrea even had an early-morning private tour of Ocho Rios' Dunns River Falls sans tourists and the hoards of aggressive vendors hustling the cheap crap for which Jamaica is so deservedly famous. We did a lot of snorkeling, sightseeing, gawking and exploring. Unfortunately, weather prevented a planned foray into Costa Rica, a place we really love. Instead, we drank rum all day at the Sandals resort, and wove our way around rainclouds on a catamaran. I think.
We have taken a few three-four day trips, too, to Charlotte, Atlanta, and other
spots in the drivable vicinity. These mini-vacations are great. We
can't do it all the time, though, for two good reasons: 1) We love our
mountain home in Asheville, and we particularly enjoy spending time in our
garden, which was recently featured in a five-page spread in Carolina Gardener, and 2)
we both enjoy our physical regimen of near-daily
runs and workouts.
Still, during August we spent a couple of weeks in the Keys fishing and diving, then we took a trip with Walt and Kathy Loy to visit the Davises near Knoxville (sort of). We first met the Davises on Sea Cloud II years ago. Andrea and I love aquariums, so our wonderful hosts not only drove us to the fabulous aquarium in Chattanooga, but to Rock City, a great tavern, and a fabulous hotel called the "Chattanooga Choo Choo" where the rooms consist of old railroad cars. Chattanooga looked great--much better than I remembered it from the last time I was there as a boy.
For Andrea's birthday, we zoomed up to New York where the city put on its best for us. Andrea ran the Brooklyn
Bridge end-to-end and back, we messed around in Hoboken, found a fantastic
roof-top bar where the Empire State Building towered over our perfect evening, walked the High Line in what used to be the
old meat-packing district (now transformed into a very ritzy part of town), roared around like natives (almost) on subways and ferries,
visited the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens (unbelievable! Best we've ever seen . . . even better than Atlanta's gardens), strolled through the Brooklyn museum
(Brooklyn is HOT!), ate the biggest pastrami sandwich known to man at the Carnegie Deli (impossible to pick it up), jogged Central Park, and just had a whale
of a time. After a couple of nonstop days, we boarded the Emerald Princess for a cruise from NYC to Quebec City with stops at Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor, St. John, Halifax,
Sydney, and Charlottetown. Perfect weather, perfect cruise. We toured Newport (an old haunt of mine from my Navy Officer Candidate School days) with hop-on/hop-off buses.
Andrea marched (and ran, of course) on Cliff Walk, which winds its way along the shore behind the great mansions Newport is noted for, and we somehow managed to toast the day as well.
Boston, the home of Dunkin' Donuts, was perfect, too. 
We walked the Patriot's Trail, took a harbor tour, visited Old Ironsides, drank a few beers at Cheers,
ooed and aahed over the chowder, and took advantage of the hop-on/hop-off buses there as well. Bar Harbor ("Baa-Haa-Baa") was beautiful,
just as we remembered it. We ate clam chowder with a whole portion of lobster thrown in, toured Acadia National Park, moseyed up and down the steep streets that radiate from the harbor, and once again sampled the local beers. From there we cruised to the Maritime Provinces of Canada,
walking and driving around St. John, Halifax, Sydney and Charlottetown, loving the museums, the food, the countryside, the shorelines, the local beers, the people, and the
extraordinary neatness of Canada, which politely saved her best for last: Quebec City. The ship overnighted in Quebec City, cozied right next to the lower old city, which
looked up to the most beautiful structure that ever dominated a city: the Hotel du Frontenac. So, we had two whole days in this marvelous place, with a "free" hotel room (the
ship) on October 5th.
We walked everywhere, visiting incredible art galleries, wonderful French restaurants, quaint squares, beautiful churches (including Notre Dame),
ultra-sophisticated lounges overlooking the St. Lawrence, bakeries where smiling old men in berets serenaded diners with their
accordions, and so much more. We drank one of the best beers we had found anywhere, managed to stutter a little French, and wore our feet out on shiny-smooth
cobblestones.
We also took a few extra days and flew to Ottawa, Canada's beautiful capital city. What a treat! Parliament Hill was as gothically stunning as ever, the War Museum
knocked our socks off, and we wandered into the most surprising church we had ever seen: Notre Dame. Pure accident. We had walked all the way to the Museum of
Fine Art, only to find it closed on Mondays. Darn. But right across the street was this
magnificent church, so we walked over to make the best of a disappointing situation.
We were disappointed no more; this is one of the most beautiful churches on the planet. We sat for a long time, trying to soak up the beauty and spirit of the place, thankful
that the museum was closed, for had it been open, we would have surely missed this inspiring side-trip. 
Then by chance I happened to remember a remark someone had made about
the performances at the National Arts Center, so I inquired and found that we happened to be there just in time for the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra's opening night. I got great
seats, and we enjoyed flourishing performances of Gershwin and Ravel. We happily returned to our stylish hotel ("ARC the Hotel") where the chef prepared the finest platter of
meats, cheeses, and pâtés we have ever tasted, all swizzled down with pints of Steam Whistle, a
superb Canadian craft beer that we grew very fond of. We wandered down great
shopping streets, filled with pubs, boutiques, and well-dressed people. Can't forget Tim Hortons', either. It's what fast food joints ought to be, complete with fresh
donuts and damn tasty coffee. Finally, we boarded our flight from Ottawa to Charlotte
via Toronto, where we were picked up by our friends, the Loys, who prepared a
fabulous welcome-home dinner for us (veal chops!) and listened to our stories. The next morning we
breakfasted in Davidson (the Toast of Davidson) and from there, drove
home to Asheville, where the leaves are turning gold and crimson and the gym awaits my grim penance.
But not for long! Soon we will board a flight for Vienna to help Walt
celebrate his birthday in Baden.
Rick and Nancy Davis will be there, too, as will many of Walt and Kathy's other friends from
around the world. (Every major birthday they pick someplace in the world that is especially significant to them and invite their friends to join in the
festivities.) After Baden, Andrea and I will take the train to Salzburg to take advantage of the ball season and the Christmas markets.
Of course, we can and will do that in Vienna, too. But in Salzburg, we have signed up for a Mozart Dinner Concert, where the musicians wear period costumes and
the menu is based on late 18th century dining. Andrea's parents will join us there, and Walt and Kathy may be there, too.
From Salzburg, we will take the train to Bregenz, Andrea's home town for a week or two of skiing in the Alps. Afterwards, we'll head back to the Keys. We really love the Keys house, where we always look forward to our grateful visitors from the cold frozen North.
I turned the Lighthouse Point Townhouse over to a Realtor, since we'll be gone so often and so long, so (again!) we'll see . . .
I have gotten so see my daughters, Tracy and Melissa, much more
often during the past couple of years. They live just north of Ft. Lauderdale, so when I'm in the Keys we're only an hour and a half apart. They
have both stayed at the Keys house with us with their families, and we truly had "the best of times."
Randy, Melissa and my grandson, Jake, stayed a few days at Camp Rushlow. We kayaked the French Broad, sampled many
local brews (Save the Ales!), took the LaZoom Comedy Tour, visited the Grove Park Inn, hiked and set up a special bug-attracting light
over a white sheet to watch moths all night. We had well over 300 species, including beautiful
lunas, regals, ios, sphinxes, and more, showing off their
sometimes garish, more-often subtle colors and delicate scrolling. Melissa said it was the best nerdiest thing she had ever done.
Gosh! Nearly forgot our anniversary! What a night. I reserved the
in-kitchen table at Rezaz in Asheville, arguably the best restaurant
in a city known for great dining. Walt and Kathy Loy and Henry Stern
joined us for an amazing 7 course dinner, expertly served under a chandelier
comprised of the 32 pans Reza opened the restaurant with, sandblasted and
welded to a steel frame. We did not get to pick the menu; I only specified
that one of the entrés be lamb, which was served with a Grand Cru Pommard.
We enjoyed an excellent champagne (a surprise gift from our new friends,
Heinz and Dawn Grohs), followed by Moroccan gazpacho, an
excellent non-oaked chardonnay, three salmon-based appetizers, North Carolina
black grouper served with sea scallops, a palate cleanser, sliced breast of duck
accompanied by perfectly sautéed eggplant, rack of lamb, and three (count 'em)
kinds of dessert. We were all so stuffed we could barely hobble out of the
place!
As Walt said, "this was an event, not a meal."
Updated 10/16/2013
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