Makayla: November 17, 2008, 1 day old

Tonight, after work, I drove to the hospital to see my Granddaughter (and son and daughter). Both Grammas had the same idea. Tonight she had her eyes open and was alert for a while. We got to change her, watch her eat...and cuddle with her. Most of all it was fun to see her interact with her Mommy and Daddy! She is already so loved!

 

 

 

 

Makayla Elizabeth Zimel

Introducing our Granddaughter, Makayla...she was born at 5:58 am on November 16th, 2009, her official due date. After 16 hours of labor, and 4 hours of pushing, the Dr's decided Melissa needed to have a C-Section. These are some of the first pictures of her. She was 9 lbs and 14 oz's and 22 inches long. Luke said that the Dr's and nurses were all taking bets on her size when they pulled her out in surgery.





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First Stop: Bulgaria: Belagradchik Rocks and Baba Vida

Our first stop the next morning was Belagradchik, Bulgaria. After meeting our guides for the day, we drove through the city of Vidin to the small village. Sadly the weather was not going to cooperate today, our first day on the Danube. But being WAI hearty travelers, we donned our rain gear and forged ahead. The drive out was a grim reminder of the Communist regime and its aftermath. There were miles of deserted and empty factories along the way. All of those empty factories meant people losing their employment. Our guide did a great job explaining what a difficult time the Bulgarians are experiencing. Many of the young people are leaving this region, as there are no opportunites for work.


When we arrived in the village of Belagradchik, we made a stop at the bottom of the hill for views of the rocks, such as they were with the fog.
Then we walked up through the town and up to the fortress of Belagradchik. On the way up the hill, we noticed a tree with small posters all over it. We found out they were obituaries.

The rocks of Belagradchik were recently nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I believe our guide said they were 7th in voting, and even though this didn't earn them a spot on this important list, they were indeed spectacular. The ship staff had never visited the rocks before, and were unsure if they would be worth the drive out from the river. One visit convinced them that this was indeed a worthy stop. I can only imagine what they would have looked like in sunny weather. Each rock had a name, and a legend to go along with it.

I am always looking for interesting faces that reflect the character and culture of the region I am visiting. On the way up to the rocks, I met this gentleman and asked if I could take his picture. I think this picture of a local Bulgarian man tells a great story.

Eastern Europe on the Danube River 2009 Part 1: Bucharest, Romania

On October 11, I departed with four other Walking Adventures Guides for Bucharest, Romania. We had recently celebrated our WAI 20th Anniversary with nearly 170 travelers in New Mexico, and this Danube River Cruise was the international anniversary celebration.
Upon arrival into Bucharest, and after a crazy drive from the airport, we arrived at our upscale hotel, the Novotel, near the historic district of Bucharest. We met with our TO (tour operator), Livu, and discussed the plans for the Pre-Tour to Translyvania. After hours of meeting, we ventured off for a quick bite to eat...and ended up at MCDONALDS. Needing some local monies, we stopped at an ATM, where the machine promptly ate Lee's debit card.
The next morning, my boss, Dan and I, started out to plan the Bucharest walk. He warned me that we would walk at least 20K to do this, and he was accurate. We knew which areas we wanted to cover, but the route was not established. The morning started out with a bit of sun, but by afternoon, we were in our raingear, facing cold temperatures and wind. We walked from about 8:30-5:00, stopping to find a map and twice to get a snack. The first stop was a park where we found street vendors selling beautiful flowers, a multitude of street dogs, and a TOILET. I checked it out after Dan gave me 50 Lei to pay the attendant. For that the attendant gave me 3 squares of toilet paper. I hurried in AND out. But when on a walk with a group, any toilet is welcomed.
After working in the Peoples Parliment, and some Christian Orthodox churches into our walk, and taking out some areas we hoped would work, like the Presidents home, we headed to the historic district and then our hotel.While we were walk planning, Lee and Loraine were greeting the first of our travelers at the airport all day. Scott was running point at the hotel, and making copies of needed information for our guests.
We met Livu again to confirm details, and headed to dinner at the most popular Romanian restaurant...Caru cu Bere. We had the best little meatballs shaped like sausages. This was to be the place we would take our travelers for the welcome meal. During dinner, there were performers dancing traditional dances.
Day 2 in Bucharest started with the team getting the Novotel's delicious breakfast and then heading out to preview the walk Dan and I had planned the day before. It turned out to be a great walk...for a city walk. We walked by Revolution Square where the Communist dictator, Ceaucescau, last spoke, past the shell of the secret police building that had a new glass structure built inside of it, and on to what the locals call, "lovers park". We walked past the 2nd largest building in the world, the Parliment of the People, and past two Orthodox churches, one small neighborhood church, and the other the headquarters for the Romanian Orthodox church.
Most were filled with worshipers, and the sounds of Orthodox music was coming from inside. After visiting Uniri Square, we headed to the pedistraian zone in the historical district and back to the hotel.
Tonight, we had our welcome dinner Caru cu Bere with the Pretour travelers, and enjoyed the local talent once more.
Day 3: Dan, Scott, and Lee left this morning with 66 of our travelers to Translyvania. They would see the beautiful mountains and several castles, one the castle of Dracula. What they didn't know at the time, is that they would see lots of snow too. Loraine and I went and did the walk again, (my 40th K). It was the first bright sunny day that we experienced in Bucharest. The fountains were all on for the first time. After our walk, Loraine went to the airport to meet some early arrivals for the main tour, and I checked out the city and looked for a place to have dinner. After getting our guests settled, we went to dinner near Revolution Square to a place called La Mamas. It was good and very reasonable.
Day 4: Today, we slept in...and then I went to the airport to greet the last of our travelers, including my Mother. We took this group to Caru cu Bere for dinner as well, after a brief orientation.
Day 5: The offical walk with 22 of the main tour folks. Some of our people would take a bus sightseeing tour in the afternoon before we all headed to the MS Der Kleine Printz on the Danube. The Pretour people would be in Bucharest in the afternoon to do the walk, and then we all planned to meet at the ship. We had only one causualty on the walk, and thank GOD it wasn't a serious fall. After our bus tour, we left aboard our bus for a 3 hour drive through the Romanian countryside to the River Danube.

Melissa's Baby Shower

Friday night was our baby shower for Melissa. She and Luke came out Friday afternoon, and we got ready for the party. About 20 family members and friends were there. She got so many great things for baby. Barb brought cute little cupcakes from Beaverton Bakery that were delicious.
Isn't she beautiful? The baby moves around a lot and is growing.... everytime you see Melissa, her belly looks bigger. Her mom, a Dr., felt her tummy and told us how the baby was positioned....I can't wait :)I just pray she waits to be born until I get home.

Two Tired Bulldog Brothers

Luke and Melissa came out last night and Wallace and Levi have been playing hard since for over 24 hours. They love each other so much. Here they are cuddled on the couch together. They could have slept anywhere, but chose to be with each other...

Walking Adventures 20th Reunion Celebration in New Mexico!

One of the things we did in New Mexico, was to ride the Sandia Peak Tram to the top. As you can see by the sign, it is at a very high altitude. It is also about 15 degrees cooler at the top. This tram is the worlds longest at 2.7 miles. You can often see bear, cougars, deer and more from the tram. At one point, you are 1,000 feet above the ground or 7.8 seconds. I rode the tram up 3 times in the week I was in New Mexico. It was a wild card day choice, so we had folks in the morning, and the afternoon go up. The other choices were hot air balloon rides, a hike at Tent Rocks, a walk in the Sandia Mountain Foothills, and free time in Old Town Albuquerque!

This is the tram itself. It can hold 50 people. There are two towers that you pass over to get to the top. Sandia in Spanish means watermelon. The rocks are pink like watermelon when the sun sets because of minerals in them. The other side of this mountain is a ski resort.

Another place we visited was called Acoma Sky City. It is less than an hour SW of Albuquerque. This pueblo was settled about 1100 AD. It sits atop a mesa in the middle of the New Mexico landscape. There is a road up to the top now, but there is still no electricity or running water. This picture is a traditional bread oven that the Indians still use. About 50 people live up here year round, and during the summer, about 250 people make this their home.