Fall along the Blue Ridge Parkway

Well we are almost caught up on everything....

Everything is mostly back to normal. We are back to our at home routine. The architect is finishing up our house plans, Ken is selling lots of Forklifts. The new web page is doing well. www.usedmanforklifts.com for those who haven't seen it yet. I am busy making selections for the new house, writing and taking golf lessons. I have only learned my 3 wood, my pitching wedge and my putter and I played my first real game yesterday, a 9 hole, 3 par course, to which I hit a 55! Pretty lousy on a 27 par course, but not bad for a first time, I've only had 2 lessons! I even got 1 shot to the green and played that hole 1 under par! Our puppy has a new home. First Ken's daughter Nikki tried him out, but her cat wasn't too happy about that. Then Ken's son Shaun took him home, so we are praying that will work out.

My son Chase got a raise and a management position that transfers him to his own store this week. I'm very proud of him. Both he and Damon are doing very well. We are truly blessed by having four such wondeful children. Nikki is enjoying being back in college and Shaun has moved back to South Carolina, so we are enjoying seeing more of him.

Ken's birthday is Saturday. He'll be 52. We are taking his Dad and going out to dinner.

Fall is in progress here, gorgeous along the Blue Ridge Parkway, looking at the Smokey Mountains. Happy Fall to all of you too. The blog site seems to be having a problem and it won't let me post any pictures right at this time, so I'll try again later, I have some really great fall pictures to show you.

More pictures from Greece

I just recieved these pics so am adding a few more to the blog. The afterglow of our trip remains strong even as we hustle to catch up on our work.....

The puppie has a new home. Nikki, Ken's daughter has him..... He is missed by us, but Taz seems relieved to be an only dog again!

The first two pictures are jadite vases that are unique to Burma, sold in a little shop in Greece. We fell in love with the stone and I've checked into selling it in the USA.

Well we are home and boy did the puppy grow!

Nearing the end..sigh..paradise has to end sometime!

October 5, 2006

Our time is running out, we’ve been here 2 weeks now and only have 3 nights left. It has been one of the most restful and peaceful vacations I’ve ever had. We spend a lot of time reading by the pool, walking along the little trails around the Caldera and just talking. Watching sunsets from all different perspectives and places is our favorite pastime, each is simply more beautiful then the last. We’ve been to every town on Santorini, some several times, we’ve seen all its beaches and eaten at lots of restaurants as well as cooked a couple of meals in, and it couldn’t have been more perfect. I would recommend Santorini to anyone as being unique and quaint and safe. There are no chains, people don’t lock their stores up, even when they go out for lunch, they just prop a broom across the door! We left my camera somewhere yesterday, missed it and went back 2 hours later and it was safe and sound! The people here are simple and work hard and long, but they are good people. I will never forget the magical time Ken and I spent on this gorgeous little Island.

Week 2....begins

October 1, 2006, Sunday

Well we only have a week left, the time really flies on vacation, but the first week was perfect, and I am eternally grateful that we have another to go. The first week we walked miles and miles up and down craggy, gravely foot paths over mountains and saw all that we could see that way. Now this week we’ve rented a car to see all the rest of the island. Places too far to walk, ruins, beaches, etc….. Yesterday we went to Perissa and Akrotiri and the Red Beach. We ate by the Black Beach and walked in the Mediterranean Sea. We watched the very comfortable Europeans feel completely at ease topless on the beaches and realized that we Americans aren’t nearly as unself-conscious of our bodies. I rather envy them. There are no sugar substitutes here, no one looks either overweight or anorexic, they are all just very normal and natural and comfortable with aging and losing to gravity. Their work ethic is amazing too as shops open at 10 am and close about midnight, and we are told 2 am in season. The season is nearly over now, most everyone closes up shop and goes to Athens for the winter on about Oct. 15th. We leave on the 8th, however it is already pretty quiet in town, busy only during the days when the cruise ships are in. The amount of stairs down to the water from Fera is absolutely amazing, some people take the donkeys and there is a cable car, but the very stout still walk it. Eating dinner over the stairs last evening, we watched the sunset as the donkeys all came up at the end of the day. It is a place unlike anywhere else in the world, with the boats, the sunsets and all the amazing buildings built into the cliffs, and the bluest water to be found anywhere, Santorini is a one of a kind experience and a perfect honeymoon destination….. We are having an incredible experience and our Greek is growing although still an amazingly difficult language, I think we are up to 6 words!. Most of the tourists here now, are German though, it is only a 3 and ½ hour flight for them, so we are also hearing a lot of German each day, and the Greeks seem fairly proficient in it too. Well off for new sights and sounds, I love you all.