9.10.2016
Today we begin our ascent towards the Alto de Arro through the Pyrenees of Navarra. The weather is perfect – high 60’s to start with – the sun following us the entire journey. As we start, we pass the Gothic Cross of the Pilgrims which was transported to its current spot in 1880 to serve as an unmistakable sign of the historic pilgrimage passage. Along our way we pass through towns and villages all with the recognizable Basque architecture of white exteriors with rust colored shutters and roofs. The path is crowded with pilgrims and I am struck with the wide variety of ages and fitness levels. All go at their own pace making the journey their own. We see cattle, horses and farms as well as beautiful views as we ascend. One of the things that made me smile was the number of dogs belonging to locals unleashed who followed their masters besides bikes or while they went about their day completely ignoring the passing pilgrims. They seemed to almost be amazed by us. We finish our day in Alto de Erro where the views of the valley below are breathtaking. We finish in good shape for today and ready for tomorrow. Some food and wine and a nice bed await! Although we weathered today with ease, I am humbled by the fact that the backend of our 16 days is much more challenging!
The Camino – Roncesvalles
Sept 9 Welcome Day
We meet our group at the Pamplona train station. Our group consists of 7 women and 2 men including John and me. There are 2 sisters from the United States, 4 lady friends from Mexico, a male traveling solo from the Phillipines plus John and me. We are all contemporaries. I know I will like this group!! Our guide describes herself as a pilgrim more than a guide and does portions of the Camino each year. She had a life changing experience after being in a University setting doing research and losing her job. She found that she is “happy” living the Camino for the last 4 years. There is another group that is traveling with us for the introductory day one who will do the full Camino in 35 days self guided. They are all American. We drive from Pamplona across the border to explore the French city of St Jean Pied a Port. Many decide to get their passports here with their first stamp but John and I want to wait for our walking start in Roncesvalles Spain. St John Pied a Port is a lovely French village where the 3 largest Jacobean Roads in France converge. We walk up to the citidal, eat another jamon sandwich and look at the shops. We get back on the bus to cross back to Roncesvalles Spain. I am anxious to get started . . .
In Roncesvalles we are lodging in a stunning former college for noviates. There is an albergue and church attached to the hotel and many pilgrims. The Camino passes right in front of the hotel. We attend mass in the small gothic church attached to the hotel and are blessed by the Navarre Bishop. It is an emotional beginning. During our group dinner with our co-pilgrims we all share what the Camino means to us. We are given our shells, passports and get our first stamps. The experience is quite emotional especially when shared in communion with others. Our guide talks about the decision to walk the Camino de Santiago as a desire to “hit the road” or to head somewhere and from that moment you become a pilgrim. Hitting the road requires a fundamental attitude of abandonment. Abandonment is being at the mercy of something greater than oneself. It is to stop oneself from being the the focal point of one’s life and to overcome the natural selfishness that keeps us from growing. It is not a contest or race. I know this will be part of my letting go and journey!!!!
Barcelona Day 2
Today is our last day to be tourists before we depart for the Camino so we spend the day walking Barcelona beginning with the Segrada Familia, the Catholic basilica mastered by Gaudi The Segrada is an awesome surprise. I expected it to be inspired but was not expecting such a wonder. It is hard to imagine one man conceiving of the Segrada with every architectural and artistic detail from the 3 different facades to the gothic interior where the columns are evocative of trees in the forest. The light through the stained glass becomes brighter as you look higher and floods the interior with peaceful light. It is a complex structure that feels simple and peaceful. The passion facade was my favorite. It is hard to imagine that this basilica is still under construction after more than 100 years – targeted for completion in 2026 to mark the 100 year anniversary of Gaudi’s death. Maybe we will be back for that!!
From the Segrada, we make our way to the Arc de Triumf located in front of the Parc de la Ciutadella; home to the world’s fair of 1888. It is a beautiful area with green space and museums.
We move onto the Picasso Museum which is housed in 5 separate but adjacent palaces of the Calle Montcada Barcelona dating back to the 13th century. We did not get to see the works inside the museum as we needed advanced tickets – next time!!
We had late afternoon tapas at El Xampanyet on the same street as the museum based on a trip advisor recommendation. This small place was crowded with locals and did not disappoint. It is named after their homemade sparkling wine which was very nice as was our jamon, tomato bread and chorizo tortilla. I could eat jamon for every meal – we will see how I feel about that at the end of the month. The evening will be enjoyed on the hotel roof top with more Spanish wine. Hopefully I have not undone all my training . . .
9.8.2016
Today we leave Barcelona for Pamplona where we will hook up on Friday with our Camino group. We loved Barcelona and it is definitely on the list as one of my favorite cities. The Catalon pride is evident with many flags displayed over balconies. Maybe the next time we visit, they will have won their independence. Regardless, the city is vibrant and exciting yet maintains a casualness and timeless approach that is quite appealing. We take the high speed train to Pamplona – a trip of 4&1/2 hours on a clean well kept train. Oh if only we could figure this out in the United States.
Pamplona is the basque seat of the Navarre region. Our hotel is in the center of the old city which is beautiful and well preserved. As we have our dinner of Rioja and jamon in the city center, we watch families coming out to enjoy each other and commune. Children and strollers are everywhere. A parade of “Giants’ for some festival (we could not find which one) takes place and the old streets fill with multiple generations shopping eating and drinking. Such a life.
Barcelona Arrival Day
We are finally here and Barcelona does not disappoint. We spend our first afternoon exploring the Cathedral, the water front and strolling La Ramblas. After a much needed siesta we venture out for gelato at Sante Gelato, a quaint shop where we were greeted by the husband/wife proprietors. I had coffee and mango while John enjoyed tiramisu and dulce de leche. We followed our gelato dinner on the hotel roof top with several glasses of Tempranillo red wine from the Tinta de Toro region in Central Spain. Both the wine and gelato were yummy!!
Road Trip Nashville
After our longest day of driving, we arrive in Nashville around 8pm to be greeted by the friendly staff of the Hunton Hotel. We are offered a vodka lemonade for the human guests and a gift bag for Zena. We retreat to our “guests with pets floor” to watch the DNC. A beautiful room greeted us! We were able to check all of our boxes in Nashville. After the beautiful vistas of the west, Nashville is a different more urban experience Many tourists taking in the music in the “district” which echoes from every bar up and down the street. I doubt there is another place where so many talented musicians come together in such a unique way. We walk the Vanderbilt campus (beautiful) and Centinnial park with it’s full scale replica of the Parthenon (odd). Zena is picked up by the hotel staff for her day at the spa to be bathed and groomed and we depart for lunch and the district. The Nashville hot chicken is the famous dish with the purported origin to have been a spurned wife who spiced up the chicken only to have her husband love it. The chicken is very tasty. We make our way to the district and listen to some great music at Tootsie’s. Fun times in Nashville. Headed for a quick stop in Asheville and then home
Road Trip Kansas City 2
Oh for joy – we are settled in at the Kansas City downtown Westin with their heavenly beds, full service restaurants, spa and gym. The hotel is built into a hill and we have a 6th floor lanai room that opens out to a patio on a grassy knoll. It is just the break that both Zena and I need! John is just happy that we have both stopped complaining. It is all up hill from here as our final stop in Nashville offers the Hutton Hotel – a treat I slyly booked for us that offers pet floors with home made treats, pet walking, pet bathing and all around spoiling while their owners explore the sites! Zena is going to be booked for all. We explored several historical sites in Kansas City This is a typical large Midwest city where people commute to work, live in the suburbs and take no interest in the poverty that surrounds the city where they work. I saw this first hand living in downtown Hartford. Such a contrast of white and people of color. Kansas City offers a beautiful train station that has been meticulously restored. It is a combo of active train station and museum. I captured a nice picture that includes John and Zena after they were asked to leave -ha ha.
Zena is quite happy with our accommodations 
We arrive for our baseball game at the Royals stadium which is co-located with the Kansas City Chiefs football stadium. Both stadiums are quite old. The access in to them is a horrible bottleneck in a crumbling neighborhood. Another example of greed where none of the fruits of the league are invested in the area that surrounds them. We arrive with our paid parking pass in hand, wait in the long car line and eagerly hand our pass to the attendant. Oops! We have purchased tickets for Tuesday not Monday!! We park anyway as there is no way to exit at this point paying for parking in cash with no tickets. I am uncharacteristically silent while John is chatting about how we can buy tickets at the gate and it will all work out. As part of my road trip reflection, I am practicing saying less! Hmmmmm! We already bought tickets and once is enough to see a few innings and eat a hot dog is what I say with my inside voice. I am pretty sure my inside voice is written all over my face because John keeps asking why I am so angry. I am not! At the ticket window, the polite women says she has no tickets in the section we wanted but she has free tickets, FREE tickets in a close by section. Someone turned them in because they decided not to attend. WHAT?? I think that Crazy Horse took pity on us after we made a stop to his memorial. I forgot to mention that we felt compelled to stop and view his sculpture and museum while in the Badlands. It is close to Mt Rushmore but privately funded and not nearly as visited. It is a project that includes the sculpture, a museum and a University dedicated to Native American Studies. We paid it forward by donating our tickets to the hotel for a staff member.
We ended our evening watching the DNC speeches. Given our journeys and the reflections we have had on the great spirit of our early settlers of our County, it was fitting to end the evening witnessing the amazing Michelle Obama.
Road trip Kansas City
Our stop in Sioux Falls as half way point on our journey to Kansas City offered another smelly damp hotel thanks to Zena and our need to find pet friendly hotels! Of course Zena also recognizes the state of our sleeping arrangements by refusing to eat or move anywhere in the room except the bed. We had a hike on the Big Sioux river the following morning which offered nice views of wildlife, ducks and flora. The heat broke and moved east so it was a nice morning. We sought out “Ole the Viking” the mascot of Augustana University. Eric Olson suggested this as a must see and we were not disappointed. Eric graduated from Augustana and is Ole Olson Jr. in our family. It reminds me that I need to find a book of Ole and Lena jokes. We lunched at the Falls before our 6 hour drive to Kansas City.
Now the fun begins. . . . Another day listening to podcasts, arguing about appropriateness of using cruise control in heavy traffic (me!!) and tracking rest stops. Missouri rest stops rival South Dakota for the bottom quartile with Indiana still in the bottom slot. We have especially enjoyed the podcast Fake The Nation.
Road Trip Mount Rushmore
After our trip through the Badlands, we can’t imagine that the landscape could so quickly turn green and wooded as the sandstone sculptures give way to granite peaks. Mt Rushmore is stunning! The memorial allows you to get very close to the sculptures for viewing and picture takings. The story of how Mt Rushmore was funded dates back to Calvin Coolidge who spent 3 months vacationing in the black hills during his presidency where he fished and relaxed while the country’s business went on. He traveled with his wife, 2 dogs and a pet raccoon. Simpler times for sure! 
We stopped at a Scandinavian shop called “All things Scandanavian” where I added to my collection of Norwegian holiday recipes and an authentic wilkommen rug. The historic towns of Keystone, Deadwood and Custer did not disappoint. Deadwood was a surprise in that it became a progressive Victorian town post it’s mining shanty.
Road Trip Badlands 2
Oh my . . . . The beauty arises out of the flat plateau with no warning. The drive across the plateau is beautiful in it’s own way with straight highway that extends your views for miles ahead seemingly to the end of the earth. It really does give you a sense that you will drive off the end of the earth.
We took a 25 mile scenic drive through the Badlands National Forest that offers numerous pull offs for short hikes and scenic look outs. Our plans for more substantial hiking were thwarted as dogs are not allowed in any of the National Parks on the trails. Makes sense considering the harm they could do to the native animals and habitat and the harm that could come to them. Poor planning !!
Road Trip – Badlands
After a wonderful couple of days in Wisconsin visiting parents and sister, we are on our way to the Badlands. We had a fun afternoon of golf and the best fish fry I have ever had at Carmella’s on Rib Mountain. The fish fry rivals Paul Bunyon breakfasts in Minnaqua as an all time favorite. Zena especially enjoyed her trip to Wisconsin where she settled right in with mom and dad including sleeping in their bed.
Our travels from Wisconsin took us through LaCrosse and across the scenic Mississippi. John was quite surprised at the beautiful topography of the cliffs and bluffs. Once we crossed into Minnesota, we hit the very flat plains where our attention turned to podcasts and discussion of rest stops. Minnesota has nice rest stops that are park like. North Carolina and Tennessee remain in the top 2. South Dakota rivals Indiana for the bottom spot. Especially love the “beware of snakes” signs posted every 25 yards! Our goal was to make it to Onocoma SD smack in the middle of the state – about a 9 hour drive from Wisconsin. We were greeted by 100 degree temperatures, blowing dust and a filthy Quality Inn. Zena and I are both notorious hotel snobs so slept in my clothes while Zena patrolled the room. We had dinner at Al’s Oasis where the SD Walleye was shipped frozen from Canada. Hopefully the badlands and Mt Rushmore don’t disappoint.