TOP Still Rocks The House

42 years ago, 1 year before Al and I graduated from high school, two guys in Oakland, CA. got together and formed Tower of Power. TOP is an urban soul band, heavy on brass and bass, consisting of 10 of the most talented musicians I have ever seen. They are old and fat now except for the new young singer, but they have lost none of their joy or energy. Even if you don't like their type of music, you can't help but smile at the fun they're having.
Over the last 25 years Al and I have been to many of their concerts and when we heard that they were playing over at Chinook Winds, we bought our $10 tickets, reserved a room in Linclin City and headed to the beach. The show room at the casino is a throw-back to the really old dinner theaters in Vegas...tacky, hot (not in a good way) and ugly! But the acoustics were great and TOP played non-stop music for an hour and a half. Lots of old people made fools of themselves thinking they were back at Woodstock but Al and I retained our dignity and acted our age...sort of.

Finn's Nursery

Work has begun on Jana and JJ's nursery for Finn. Jana picked a darling bedding set, JJ is fabricating a built-in crib and I'm doing the painting and decorating. On Monday, JJ, Jeff Kurtz and I painted the room a beautiful "Tiffany" blue. Tuesday night, Al put on the 2nd coat and this morning, Porter & I laid out the horizontal stripes. I measured and taped, Porter pulled off the tape. We had a great time laughing and unsticking little fingers wrapped in blue painters tape.

Rothenberg Germany

And Finally...Germany

After 2 weeks of warm sunny weather, Al and landed in Frankfurt Germany for the last days of our amazing trip. Always the frugal car renter, Al got us a Kia something at the airport. We loaded our 6 big bags in the trunk, set the GPS for American English and headed to our hotel. After a late dinner in a very smokey bar, we dug out the winter woolies in preparation for our next day walking/sightseeing adventure. Germany is gorgeous and cold! We had been told at the hotel that the Germans love Christmas and they were right! A huge portion of downtown Frankfurt was closed to car traffic and a huge Christmas market was set up. Booth after booth, decorated to look like old German houses and shops, were filled with handcrafts of every kind, sizzling sausages and steaming liquor laced ciders. We literally spent the entire day, well into the evening shopping and eating and sipping our yummy brew. I had wisely packed an extra suitcase so we loaded up on handmade knit hats for the grandbabies, Christmas gifts for the kids, wool scarves for Al and I and other wonderful finds. We did take time to visit a beautiful and simple cathedral that was spared destruction when the Allies leveled Frankfurt during WWII. The next day we jumped in our little Kia and headed 125 miles south to the old village of Rothenburg. Jana had visited there several years ago and highly recommended it. And she was right. The little town looks exactly like what you would expect a German Village to look like. And...the entire town was celebrating with yet another huge Christmas Market! WaaHoo!!! What a fun fun day. As a sidebar. Al got the thrill of driving on a German Autobon (highway). It is unbelievable how fast the Germans drive. We estimated that in the fast lane the cars were traveling at 140+ mph. Now remember WE'RE IN A FRIGGIN' KIA!. Al would floor the excellerator and we would barely feel it. Changing lanes became a study in planning and raw nerve. But he did a great job and on the way home he was even able to relax and enjoy the experience. When we got home and Al was telling AJ this story, AJ uttered the best line of the day. He said, "Dad how much more would it have cost you to rent a real car"? We have laughed about the whole thing and maybe the next time we're in the country that builds the best cars in the world, we will rent a real car.

Shipboard Misc.

Beautiful Palermo Italy

The Acropolis

Who knew that Acropolis literally meant "edge of the city"? There are Acropoli all over Greece. But the most well know one is in Athens and believe me it is a sight to behold. It towers above the city on a tall majestic hill surrounded by gardens and green spaces. The walk up to the top is quite a hike but it is so pretty that you forget that you're getting a work out. Once on top you have many ancient buildings, most famous of course is the Parthenon. You'll recognize it. There is the Temple of Diana which you will know because of the statues of virgins carved around the outside. The huge bare rock surrounded by green is Mars Hill where the Apostle Paul gave his impassioned speech. Amazing to see it!. All the scaffolding testifies to the constant restoration that goes on...thank goodness. These places are absolutely worth saving. They are magnificent!