A Wonderful Trip

 In celebration of a wonderful 15 years, the Larsons spent three weeks in Portugal.  What a country!  Our first stop was Lisbon.

Lisbon

The Jeronimos Monastery was built in 1502.  The magnificent complex was financed by the spice trade.  Here sailors prayed for a safe journey and thanked God for a safe return.  

 

The tomb Vasco de Gama is at the entrance. He was the first explorer to link India to Europe by sea propelling Portugal into a world power.

Calouste Gulbenkain, a wealthy Armenian businessman and philanthropist, was educated at King's College in London.  Tithed 10% of his annual wealth to art and gifted his amazing collection  to a museum that bears his name.  The collection, although smaller, rivals The Louve in quality.  Among the Monets and Rembrandts and the magnificent Lalique jewelry collection are amazing gold and silver pieces.

The buildings of Lisbon are spectacularly tiles.  Mostly in blue and yellow because yellow repels evil and blue keeps flies away!

And the food!  We ate and wined our way through all of Portugal.

The octopus we had was tender and delicious.  A favorite was octopus salad.

Some of the preparations were interesting. 

Reportedly this is the fanciest McDonalds in the world.

The Coach Museum which houses the finest collection of royal carriages in the world.

We stand in front of the coach of King Joao (John) V whose coach was considered superior to that of Louis XIV of France.  And, yes, that is real gold.

The oldest coaches are from the 15th Century.  

This royal child's carriage was pulled by a pony rather than a matched set of 8 horses.

An artistic Portugese guitar which is played in Faldo which is a mournful traditional music.

A game of chess anyone?

We picked up our rental car on the fourth day and headed south for the Algarve.  That will be our next blog!

A Great Trip

 As happens often, Ralph and Debra joined us for time on the boat.  It was a spectacular trip and great fun.  We managed to catch "real" fish.  Salmon are more scarce this year porbably because they are late arriving but the competition for food sources provided a survival of the fittest show with a pod of Orcas becoming killer whales as they pursued a pod of dolphins.

A friend inquired why we have so much company on our boat.  The only answer is because we want to share amazing experiences with others.  Some we can do in person and others joing us for a virtual trip.

  Join us in our journey of British Columbia!

One of the most stunning of sunsets.

Mama and Baby Orca

A Day at the Beach

Real Fish

Real fish

Real fish

Oysters ala Jan

Real Prawns

A spectacular sunset amid beautiful weather.

Larson and Miller Fishers

 Jude arrived in Bella Bella with Dad and Uncle Ron in tow.  He was READY  to FISH!  And fish they did!

Father and son catching hali on the same day!

Nice salmon, guys!

The Jigging King!

Leaving Time!

One Vain Eagle

Bittersweet Changes

 It is always a bittersweer time when we change from one life to another.  Next week we leave beloved Mexico for beloved Canadian waters.  While we realize that there is not a downside to the change, it reminds us each time that another season has ended and time marches on.  Join us for a photo journey of our 2021-2022 season.

Knit for Peace 

As we were traveling south, ending our summer of boating we had a lovely dinner with our friends, Jacquie and Ben-A on Whidby Island.  Jacquie gave me information on the Knit for Peace project which is based in Colorado.  Knitters are asked to knit items for people in war torn countries.  Hats, mittens and gloves are common but the most requested item by both adults and children are dolls.  Some child in Africa has a new toy that was fun for me to knit.  (They also have crochet patterns).

Ehryanna on her Christmas skates

Knit for Peace Dolls are not the first dolls I have knit.  It has been my practice to make a doll that resembles the little girl that I make it for.  Meet Ehryanna and "Baby".  Ehryanna bonded with Baby at just over a year old and is much worn for loving but still gets new experiences as Ehryanna grows up.   She has become quite a pro on her Christmas skates!

Lunch at the Puerto Vallarta Botanical Gardens

Just a few years ago, the Puerto Vallarta Botanical Gardens was jungle.  This January we were privledged to have a tour guided by our dear friend and Garden patron, Bob, and his wife Katie.  Ralph and Debra were visiting and joined.  The day included a fabulous lunch at the garden restaurant.  The experience is a "must do" for a PV trip.

The gardens are known for many things but perhaps is best known for the stunning orchid collection.  These orchids are pleasantly fragrant.

Succulent Garden

A new addition to the Botanical Garden is an amazing succulent section,  The entire garden is limited to plants native to the area.

Mother and Child Reunion
 

 We were blessed with a perfect little girl, Elaine Marie who was born on the 26th of January.  We can hardly wait to meet you!

One of Eleanor's favortie pastimes

We are so blessed.  Here is a photo of Eleanor (Ron and Tammy's first) and her daddy at the beach.  She is a light in our lives.

Another Day at the Beach (Eleanor's request)

Happy Birthday, Shari!

When we were dating, Doug made it very clear that he was not good with dates and remembering them.  He knows that he has two children and that one was born February 5th and the other February 21st.  Imagine Ron's surprise when he was greeted with a birthday hat  and carrot cake on February 5th when he arrived.  Sorry Shari, I will pay more attention and not ask your dad, "Whose birthday is on the 5th?  Next year we will get it right...you'd think after nearly 15 years that I would be more on top of things.  I swear date amnesia must be catching!  Doug is heading to Arizona for a long overdue visit with Taryn and Jude so we will have updated photos of them in the next blog!