Cooking the NYTimes and Other Assorted Retirement Activities

                                                                                       Krka National Park Yesterday Dan and I drove up through the mountains to Krka National Park .  Click on the link.  It's well worth your time. We've had the opportunity to visit a number of America's stunningly beautiful national parks (see previous blog posts, including Thank You, Theodore Roosevelt), so were very much looking forward to going here.  It was a relatively short drive from Kastel Stari where we're staying and very scenic on the way up and over the mountains, including an incredible view of the Kastels area. I'll let the photos do the blogging. Welcome to Krka!  There are two main entrances into the park and we ch...

                                                                                                 The House Yesterday was a rather mellow day.  We had breakfast at a nice cafe on the beach at Kastel Stari, then headed back to the house where, at one point, just Bill, My Friend Jeanie, Dan and I were in the jacuzzi (not really a hot tub) part of the pool, all by our lonesomes, no adult children, no grands.  It was rather nice.   Luise Lumma, one of Jeanie's German grands, offered to make dinner tonight.  Luise is 12, so with her parents and older siblings assistance, she made her favorite dinner: fish sticks, mashed potatoes, salad, creamed spinach.  It was delicious! ...

                                                                                  Dubrovnik Following what felt like not an unreasonable amount of hemming and hawing regarding whether or not to drive the 3 hours each way to Dubrovnik, a group of us--McB and John, Bonus Grand their daughter Caitlin; Marcy, Bonus Grand MaggieRose her daughter and Bonus Grand Gwen and I decided we'd act as an advanced scouting party to see if such a trip was worth it.  And oh, it was. Having decided that arriving at the walled city in Dubrovnik was probably the best course of action, we headed out at 6 a.m.  I drove, adding to my list of foreign countries/cities where I braved roads where the directional and traffic signs meant nothing to me, making naviga...

                                                                             The Final Kastela Yesterday My Friend Jeanie, bonus grands Eleanor and MaggieRose, McB and John and I started at Kastel Gomilice, then headed out down what, for the other 6 Kastelas, is a seaside path to Kastel Sucurac. It was not meant to be. Turns out past Kastel Gomilice there is a large harbor area so that the path ends and it's up to the busy street to make your way to Sucurac.  A hot, not so shady, very unscenic busy street.   Proof that we found Sucurac. Bonus Grand Eleanor, me, My Friend Jeanie, Bonus Grand/Goddaughter MaggieRose We looked, in vain, for a street that would lead away from said street back to the seaside.  When we finally found what appeared t...