From Mountains to Sea

Well, this will be the last post from Alaska. We are sad and happy to say we will be starting our trip home tomorrow (Friday), although it will take us until Saturday to get home! But the days have been glorious and the weather fabulous. Even the locals say it shouldn't be this nice. Funny - we know all the locals because although it is only 60 degrees - they are dressed in shorts and tank tops!!! Cracks us up!

So we left good ole Girdwood and moved on down the road. We stopped off at a Ski Resort called Alyeska and rode the ski tram to the top. This resort has the longest double black diamond ski slope in all of North America - it was frightening how steep it was! We planned our travel days with nothing else planned so we could find lovely unexpected destinations. This was no exception. We saw a sign for Portage Glacier so we made a u-ey and off we went. There before us was this amazing white with blue tinged glacier and lake, with the lake having huge and tiny chunks of glacial ice. It was brrrrrr cold and absolutely georgeous! We explored until we couldn't feel our fingers anymore!

Once in Seward, we checked into our lovely room that had oak floors and ceiling with an amazing view and two comfy glider chairs at the front windows to sit and watch the view.

The next day we went Sea Kayaking. It was an amazing experience. The weather was beautiful and the water was like glass and on the way back when we were nice and tired, we had a tail wind instead of the head wind the weather man predicted - God is very good to us. We saw sea lions, sea otters, harbor seals, eagles and a lonely jelly fish. Explored a bay called Thumb Cove and had lunch there sitting on the beach with our two (easy to look at) guides! After it was all said and done, we asked - so just how many miles do you think we paddled today? He replied - I'd say 11-12 miles. We about fell over, but our arms certainly confirmed that fact. We were surely happy we did not know how far we were going when we started!

Yesterday we did a Kenai Fjords Wildlife and Glacier Cruise and indeed we did see both. The highlights were seeing the Orca or Killer Whales surfacing and diving right next to our boat, the Humpback whales flipping thier tales out of the water and the Dall Porpoises flying through the water like they were on fire! The picture is of a few of the Orcas that we saw, and although it looks like we went to Sea World to take the picture, that really was the color of the ocean!

The Glacier we saw was one and a quarter miles across and it was calving - meaning it was shedding great big, huge chunks of ice that fall into the water and sound like a freight train or loud cracks of thunder.

Amazing! Then the final blessing was the fresh baked, still warm, chocolate chip cookie they served us on the way back into port! All in all it was an INCREDIBLE day!

Today, we did some shopping and after we finish here will hike to another Glacier called Exit Glacier where we will be so close we can reach out and touch it. Alaska days are amazing days and this trip has been one gift from God after another. We truly do walk in His favor and LIFE!

Moving on Down the Road

Day 2 in Denali began early with a bus trip into the park. We rode 3 hours in, about 56 miles, on a school bus. Along the way, we spotted some of the animals in our last "picture post". We were surprisingly close to dall sheep, tons of caribou, and a few grizzlies. We saw a mama bear with a very tiny cub, right on the road in front of us. We scared them into the woods when our bus roared around a bend - and there they were. The driver slammed on the brakes and we watched them scurry off into the trees. We also saw a moose from a distance, but weren't able to get any decent pictures of it through the brush. We're still hoping to see one...just not while we're hiking. Sherri and I did hop off the bus for a long hike. We saw some excellent vistas of mountains and tundra, but no wildlife. That evening, after dinner, we drove our car back into the park - cars are permitted the first 15 miles into the park, and we had heard that the best wildlife viewing is in the evening when the animals are stirring. We were rewarded with the treat of seeing two grizzlies heading back to their den for the night. They walked so near our car, that we got to see some fun moments. Along the way, they had to pass by a rest area where there were some benches, and the smaller bear - a three year old cub - was having a grand ole time "wrestling" with the bench. That is, until he realized that mama had moved on, and then he ran to catch up.

We left Denali on Saturday morning, heading south towards Girdwood. Girdwood is a small town just past Anchorage, about a 6 hour drive. Along the way, we stopped off at Eklutna Lake, this amazingly blue-green lake surrounded by white topped mountains. It took our breath away. We grabbed our blanket (the one we had to buy at the beginning of the trip to protect us from the nasty bed at our first hostel), some fruit, our peanut butter and bread and had ourselves a pleasant little picnic at the side of this fabulous lake. What a relaxing afternoon and an unexpected gift!

Our "home" in Girdwood is a nice little hostel with a view of Turnagain Arm, a cove surrounded by...you guessed it, more snow-capped mountains. This morning, we hopped on some ATV's for a fun, wet, dirty ride through Chugach National Park, which borders Girdwood. It was such a blast...we kicked up dust, plowed through huge mud puddles, slid around on ice, bounced over rocks, and did 360's in a stream!! We are now sitting at a laundromat, so that we have clothes to wear tomorrow, because we were covered in mud!!! Just how we like it!!! :)

Tomorrow we hit the road again, heading on down to Seward, where we hope to see some eagles, whales and glaciers in the bay. And, hopefully, find a computer so that we can check in again! Until then!

Love ya, Amy and Sherri

Sheep, Caribou, and Bears, OH MY!!!

No, they are not quite as scary as the specimen in the back of the pickup truck eating an ice cream cone, but they can be intimidating in their own right. We saw all of these on our venture into Denali National Park.

Catching Up - With Pictures...

Just some pictures to illustrate our last post, since the internet was soooo slooow at that time. The first two pics are from our sitting log along the Talkeetna River, with Mt. McKinley in the background. The last two pics are from our hike around the icy lake to Cascade Falls.

A Perfect Day! Well, More Than One!

Hi All!
So today is day 6 (Thursday for us) and we have traveled abut 400 miles so far! Incredible vistas that you wouldn't believe! And with almost 20 hours of daylight the days are pleasantly very long!

Talkeetna ended up redeeming itself very nicely! Once we got over the culture shock and decided to see the beauty of God's creation! Of course there was also the homemade ice cream and giant, yummy homemade cinnamon rolls! But our favorite was sitting down by the river on a huge driftwood log and watching God show off. They say only 30% of people who come here get to see the Great Mountain - Mt McKinley because of cloud cover. We got to see her in full view 2 days out of 3. Did we ever tell you how much favor we walk in! We can't even tell you all the times God has given us favor! (by the way, the warm and very sunny weather we have been having is an anomaly as well!) So anyway, the mountain is huge and snow covered and bathed in sunlight. That along with the river flowing in front of us and the Arctic birds divebombing the water for fish - it was a breathtaking vista! We sat for hours and stared. We also met some new friends. Chris, a really nice young man from Germany, and Dixie, our new friend from Homer who came up here to visit and never went home. That is very common here. Plus many others we have chatted with - people are VERY friendly here! We took this wonderful hike around a number of lakes, about 3.2 miles. No worries Mom, NO wildlife! The sky was blue, the water was so crystal clear and greenish in hue. Oh, we did see a couple of fish! Very nice hike. A good start for our legs!

The next day we left for Denali National Park, but along the way we stopped off at the State Park and hiked by another lake. THis one was vastly different - the ice was still on it, but all broken up into little pieces. The pieces run into one another when the wind blows and they sound like the most beautiful chimes you have ever heard. A symphony! Ooooo, along the way there was this really cool suspension bridge. Ya know, Amy's favorite kind that you get out into the middle of and jump and rock the thing! I let her go first (Sherri)! The end of our hike culminated in a water fall called Cascade Falls and that is a misnomer - it more shot across the rocks with a vengeance. We of course, had to climb up next to it. We have photos of course! Unfortunately, this computer can't keep up with my typing - and that is really slow - so no uploading of photos tonight. I have to say, I was a bit nervous at moments knowing there are bear and moose there with us, but we did exactly as told and made lots of noise and talked to each other and we have successfully seen NOTHING! BUT... on our drive we saw two Caribou lazily grazing on the side of the road. Although we left the tires on the road when Amy slammed on the brakes - my forehead print is on the winshield - only kidding!!!! I certainly would have done the same!

Our hostel in Denali is great, too! Very cute and quaint little cabin in the woods. And the best part - it is clean!!

Today was our most perfect day! We started out by sleeping in nice and late. Then had perfect, hot showers and went on our way. We had white water rafting today and we were excited. They literally stuffed us into these "dry" suits and off we went on to 38degree water! Thankfully we only got splashed! How do we describe the beauty - perfect azure blue skies with puffy white clouds, huge snow capped mountains all around us, and nothing but nature in sight. In many places there is still ice on the river and chunks of it floating with us. Our guide was wonderful as well. About two hours on the water and a few bumpy rapids - enought for fun, but no fear - it was like we said - perfect! Of course, we weren't done yet! SO we grabbed some grub and took our guide's advice - and rented two kayaks on a lake called lake Otto. Equally beautiful, we had the whole lake to ourselves and explored every inch of it. No ice on this one, but we did sing a round of Otto Titsling (for those of you who have seen Beaches) and scared the ducks away and had ourselves a great laugh! Now we just finished an awesome meal - and it is still light outside!!! Even though it is 10:50pm!

So we bid you good night and love you much!!!!
Looking forward to another perfect day tomorrow!

Culture Shock

Day 4 of our trip. We left our romantic notions of what we expected Alaska to be like and traded it in for the reality of what Alaska really is. Amidst the amazing beauty and grandeur of the mountains lies a "third world" mentality in the homes and towns. Not at all what we were expecting to see. I think my minds eye pictured something more along the lines of Switzerland, with quaint villages and homes tucked in among the mountains and forests, all neat and tidy. This feels more "Appalachian" but on a much grander scale. However, aside from the culture shock, we are beginning to acclimate to our surroundings. We are acclimating to both the surroundings, as well as to the light and time difference, although I think it's been harder (at least for me, Amy) to adjust to the light and time. Sherri on the other hand is sleeping like a baby...

Yesterday, we drove from Anchorage to Talkeetna, and about halfway to Talkeetna we saw the most amazing mountain pop out of the trees on the road in front of us. After studying the map, we realized that it was the big one, Mt. McKinley. We had read on the internet that the mountain is most often veiled in clouds, and that it is a rare thing to actually see the mountain. I had asked God to let us see the mountain cloud-free, and sure enough our first sighting of it was indeed. Further down the road, right before we arrived in Talkeetna, we saw an amazing vista of Mt. McKinley again, with Mt. Foraker and Mt. Hunter right beside it. Right now, they are fully snow covered, but we learned that the snow will melt off up to about the top 500' of the mountain in the next few weeks.

We drove on in to Talkeetna, where the culture shock really set in for us. It is literally one street, and the only paved street after leaving the "highway"...and really, I am at a loss for words on how to describe that one street. For now, I'll just let that speak for itself. We drove out of "town," crossed the railroad tracks, and entered into the "suburbs," a few dirt roads where we found our hostel. Although clean and eclectic on the inside, when we pulled up to the little shack with the "hostel" sign in front of it, we hesitated to actually get out of our car and find out what we were getting ourselves into. We were relieved when we entered and found it to be clean and not a haven for chain-saw massacres.

Yesterday evening, we got on a ten-seater bush plane and took an AMAZING flight around Mt. McKinley and over thousands of jagged, snow streaked peaks. It was incredible. We flew over glaciers that curved around peaks, glaciers that we learned are around 3,000' deep and move about 3' in a day. The pilot landed us on one, Ruth Glacier, and we walked around for about a half hour. Just yards away were little tents huddled into the snow, base camp for some crazy Mt. McKinley climbers ready to embark on their ascent. Now, Sherri and I like to tent camp, and we aren't afraid of being a little cold, but even we thought that was a little insane.

Today we are going to venture into nature for a hike around a lake nearby. It looks like another wonderfully sunny, clear day out there, which is not what we were expecting from the weather reports...but God has a way of blessing our socks off when it comes to these things!

Bye for now. We'll catch up with you again soon.

Love, Amy and Sherri

Amy and Sherri's Alaskan Adventure

Hi Everyone,

Well, here we are in Anchorage! It is 10:30 at night for us and hopefully you are sleeping soundly as it is 2:30am for you! We got in yesterday and were amazed to see incredible, breathtaking mountain ranges right there at the airport! And we thought - and it is going to get better from here!!! We took a taxi to our Hostel and we found out quickly and sadly that Hosteling in the USA is not like Hosteling in Europe. Our room is sparse, which was true in Europe, but here in good ole Alaska our room was not so clean! Not so clean enough that we walked into town to a JCPenney's and bought a blanket and two pillow - tell you anything!!! The mattress is plastic covered with rips in it and it is much smaller than the so called box spring underneath it. But we were exhausted and we did manage to sleep and sleep in until 7:30 Alaska time, meaning 11:30 am your time! We really needed it. Thankful to say that the showers were clean and hot - ahhhhhh!!!!

Today we walked downtown, a couple of times! The first to go to a outdoor market selling art and food and Alaskan souveniers. I (Sherri) bought two amazing photos! Can't wait to hang them! We also bought sove very yummy over-priced fruit - strawberries the size of Alaska! Then we just roamed and shopped the tourist trap area! Cindy Helton, if you read this, the slogan around here is "Alaska, pissing off Texas since 1959". Hilarious!

It never rained even though it said everywhere that it was going to! We have thanked God for that over and over. It is chlly here, but really not bad. When the sun is out it is quite pleasant!

Tomorrow we are picking up our rental car and driving to Talkeetna and going for our Flightseeing Tour. Fun!

So, I dragged Amy down here and she is fading fast, so we are going to sign off for now! One final cool thing - it is nearly 11pm now and it is still light outside!

Love and miss you all!!!

Sherri and Amy, Alaskan Adventurers Extraordinaire! :-)

Italy - Our day today!

Hi All,
It has been a beautiful blue sky, cloudless day here in Cinque Terra, Italy. We had a phenomenal breakfast of bread, fruit and omeletts!!! Yum!!! Typically we get bread only!!!! And juice, tea and coffee of course - Jen, Erika and Liz need their coffee!!! I (Sherri) was excited to have hot chocolate with my breakfast - mmmmmmmm!!!! Then it was off to a boat - we were planning to explore the 5 cities that make up the Italian Riviera or Cinque Terre! Plans change, as usual - but this was a great day. When we got to the one city, to our pleasant surprise we could rent kayaks! So Amy and I set out in a double kayak and Erika and Jennifer each had their own kayak. (We never did make it to any of the other cities!) We so enjoyed the teal, teal water with the blue blue sky reflecting on the surface of the water. And then there was the rock face that jutted out into the water at different intervals, with the buildings of the towns clinging to the edges of the cliff faces and other beautiful views all about us. We paddled to a beach about 45 minutes away where there was a natural fresh water waterfall right at the beach. We swam over to it and climbed the rocks - very fun - and stood under the VERY COLD waterfall. (Peggy, Amy says it wasn't near as cold as in Puerto Rico! ) We even filled our water bottles in the waterfall - YUM!!!!
On returning we switched kayaks and Amy and I each had an individual and Erika and Jennifer had the double. We switched because you could enjoy a swim from the single kayaks from the middle of the sea, but the double, you could only get out on shore. It was very enjoyable to be in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, swimming like a fish!
In the meantime, Liz shopped and enjoyed one of the small towns called Vernazza - known as the "Jewel of Cinque Terre".
So that is about it! It is off to dessert now - we have gotten really good at dessert!

Love you all very much and miss you too!
Sherri and Amy!

PS We are having memory card issues and it won't let us upload the images - sorry! Maybe next time!

Adventures in Germany, the sequel!

Hi everyone...

We're back! The girls aren't as travel weary as Sherri and I are, so they've been cracking the sight-seeing whip on us....waking us at early hours and keeping us up past our bedtimes...and certainly keeping us too busy to find a spare moment to say "Hi" to you all!

So, since the last time we said hi, we've explored a little more of Germany. As Sherri said last time, Mom got to revisit some childhood places. What a great experience that was. She was so blessed by God the way that each memory and each place unfolded. She didn't stop smiling for days and Erika and I really got some unique glimpses into her life before us.

The evening after visiting her old apartment, we tackled another exciting adventure on my "life list," something that none of us other than Sherri had ever done before....a hot-air balloon ride! We took off from the country-side near Munich after helping to prepare the balloon, and floated over fields, small towns, forests and lakes. Aside from Munich and the Alps in the distance, the scenery below looked a lot like home... It was so beautiful and picturesque...What a great time. We landed in a field that appeared to be growing nothing but mosquitos, and had to help deflate the balloon and pack it and the basket back up again. By the end, the mosquitos were quite fat and happy!!! But, the balloon folks drove us back to the biergarten (beer-garden) where they had champagne waiting for us. After that and a great dinner, we were just as fat and happy as the mosquitos!!!

While in Germany, we also visited Fussen where two great castles, Neuschwanstein and Hohenshaungau (I really have no idea how to spell these!!) are located in the forested hills where they have beautiful valley and lake views. Neuschwanstein is the famous castle that the Disneyworld castle is modeled after. We took a tour of Hohenshaungau, which was pretty interesting and a new experience. The four of us girls also rented bikes while mom had fun shopping in town, and we biked the georgeous paths along one of the many lakes in the region. That is, until a torrential thunderstorm caught up with us and sent us racing back into the town in a downpour. We were soaked!!! Sherri and I were riding with our rain ponchos on, which did little more than catch the wind and make us look like blown-up jelly fish! Ah, fun times!!!

We left Fussen after two days and headed for Italy on the night train. Don't let any romantic images of train travel delude you...night trains are certainly the exception to any sort of romantic notion. They are cramped...imagine 6 people, in 6 small cots stacked 3 high on two walls, in a room the size of your bathroom...and that is a pretty good picture of our room in the sleeping car. Add to that, the sway of the train, the abrupt stops and starts (no wonder they put crash rails on the bunks to keep you from rolling out...it is a distinct possibility), and random people in the same room as you...some of whom snore. Loudly! This is why ear plugs were invented!

We landed in Florence and spent 3 great days there. Florence is a beautiful city overflowing with history and ambiance and interesting things to see and do. It certainly redeemed Italy in our eyes after our Varenna experience. Some of the highlights included seeing Michelangelo's David in person, climbing inside the dome of Florence's Cathedral and seeing the view from the top after climbing 463 steep stairs, the beautiful candlelit restaurants that we dined in, and shopping in the local outdoor market place where you could find inexpensive but beautiful and authentic Italian goods. It brought out the shop-aholic in all of us!! Especially Mom Liz!

Ok, the internet cafe that we landed in tonight here in Cinque Terre, our second to last town on our European adventure, is almost closed. Time to sign off so we can get some pictures on here for you!

Hopefully we'll write again soon!

Our final stop after this is Venice...

And then back home again on the 21st!

See you all soon!!!

Love, Amy and Sherri

Long Time No Write!!!!

Hi All,

Sorry for our absence, no we are not stuck in the train station or lost and Lizzie is in the next room, we have not lost her either! All of the other ladies arrived the other day and we have been busy with nostalgia ever since... it has been awesome. First, we bummed around Paris or as they say - 'Pareee' for a day and then off on a night train (otherwise known as our sardine can) to Germany, to a little town called Bogen where Liz vacationed as a child. We met the woman that owned a Bed and Breakfast where Liz and her Grandparents stayed. We also met the owner's father as well, who, it turned out, had played with Liz's Great Uncle as a child. Gerlinda, the owner, and her family have owned this establishment for 4 generations. She proceeded to spoil us rotten and her and Liz told many stories back and forth.
We hiked up to a little country church where miracles are known to happen - there we had a prayer pow wow, for Amy's health first and foremost, but many other things as well.

Next was Munich, Germany where Liz grew up until age 9. We went to her old neighborhood and walked down her old street while she told us stories of her childhood. Erika videotaped it all! When we got to her old apartment building we were surprised and pleased that the street level door opened with an easy turn and we then walked the hall to the back courtyard and heard more stories! We climbed the stairs to the 2nd floor (what we would count as the third froor in the US) and stood in the doorway.. We wanted Liz to knock on the door and see if anyone would answer and she didn't want to... but with some coaxing and Erika hitting the buzzer, a woman came to the door. Liz tried, with cracked voice and broken German to explain to the bewildered woman why there were 5 Americans on her doorstep. Once she did, the woman kindly let us in and Liz got to explore the rooms where she grew up as a child. It turned out the woman, Elfriede, helped take care of Liz's grandmother (who raised her while she lived in Germany) in her last years. We spent much time going from room to room and listening to story upon story --- that we could not understand because it was in German!

Thankfully Erika and Jen videotaped it all and we hope to have Liz translate at a later date. Both the Bogen and Munich experiences were God blessings with the absolute favor of God on how things worked out. Elfriede told us later that she thought we were Jehovah's Witnesses and contemplated not answering her door!Yesterday we rented bicycles and roamed the lakeside and countryside and ended up in a thunderstorm -- it was great fun - We got drenched while Miss Liz shopped! Always an adventure!!!!Today we went to the top of Germany by train and cable car and got to do a little more rock climbing with Liz's not so enthusiastic blessings!!! We are now awaiting yet another night train, this time we will land in the morning in Florence, Italy for the final leg of our trip.Amy and I realized yesterday that we have been traveling now for one month and one day. Not sure about Amy since her whole family is here, but I am getting a little homesick! But I am still having the time of my life and not ready for this to be over!!!

Love you all, sure hope to get back to you sooner next time!
Sherri and Amy

Sorry - no pictures today - this internet cafe doesn't give us access.

Anecdotes from Abroad

Hi! Here we are in Reims, France. Two days ago we successfully arrived on the train in Reims, which is where we had been hoping to land. Fortunately, all the train connections from Switzerland worked out just fine, and once we arrived, a nice French gentleman in the train station who spoke only a little English pointed us in the direction of some hotels - or as he said, "few many hotels". We found a comfortable room with no problem on a very pleasant pedestrian street with lots of fun cafes and restaurants. Yesterday, we did some sightseeing around here and today it is off to Paris.


We wanted to share with you some of the interesting lessons that we have learned while traveling in Europe...some of the things not mentioned in the travel guide books!


1. Computer keyboards in each country are different...the letters and symbols are in all different places and typing is not easy! Hunting and pecking is required!
2. In the hotels there are no wash cloths or shower curtains in any of the showers!
3. Every shower is a hand held shower!
4. If you get a room with twin beds, they are right next to one another and there is no such thing as a room with two double beds!
5. Most hotel rooms must be locked with a key from the inside (they don't believe in building codes) and skeleton keys are typical!
6. French dressing is actually ranch dressing - everywhere but in France, where dressing is a mix of mayo, mustard, oil and vinegar!
7. Bacon bits are real bacon, still steaming from the grill!
8. People are nice in France, but not in Italy, at least not in Varenna, which is exactly the opposite of what we heard!
9. But nowhere in Europe do people move out of your way on the sidewalk. (Sherri wants to test this, but doesn't want to lose a shoulder!)
10. EVERYTHING closes for 3 hours each afternoon!
11. All music in restaurants and shops is American, from oldies to rap to country, but all American!
12. Nearly every restaurant has an outdoor patio, which is very pleasant!
13. When you are finished with your meal at a restaurant, you nearly have to beg the waiter for the check!
14. Tipping at restaurants is not a common thing.
15. In the culture here in Europe, every day begins and ends VERY late! Dinner is often beginning around 9pm!


So, these are the things we know! Not much to be sure, but should give you a good chuckle nonetheless!

Looking forward to meeting up with Mom Lizzie, Erika and Jennifer tomorrow to explore Germany and Italy!


Talk to you soon! All our love, Amy and Sherri

ps Sorry, no pics today. We forgot the card reader - oops!

Climbing, Canyoning....and the top of Europe!!!

Wow, it has been a few fun-filled, action-packed, adventurous days since we last said hi to all of you! Where to begin...

The day after we jumped off the mountainside, we decided to see it a little more up close and personal, but no less precarious. (Oh, and mom, the first picture of the two of us paragliding in the last post was taken by me (Amy) and showed my wing and Sherri waaayyyy off in the distance...) On Wednesday, Sherri and I did a climbing course called Via Ferrata, which means "with iron" and is a sort of climbing obstacle course that spans from a town called Murren and descends about 1000 feet to the town we were staying in, Gimmelwald. The course took about two hours and included FUN stuff like rock climbing, tight rope walking over a waterfall, a zipline over a waterfall, and a long and narrow suspension bridge over a VERY high canyon! Don't worry, we had a guide and we were strapped into harnesses that were constantly secured to the guide cable attached to the mountain (thus the reason it is called Via Ferrata). It was danger....but a safe sort of danger! :)

On Thursday, as if we hadn't tested our muscles enough yet, we went canyoning in Grimsel Canyon. It was AWESOME and FREEZING cold, even with a thick wetsuit on. We rappelled around 150 feet into the canyon, where we immediately plunged into rushing water that had just melted off of a glacier at the top of the peak. COLD!!!! or as the Swiss like to call it, "refreshing." But let's just say that at the end of two hours, my hands were blue and about to fall off!! After the rappel down, we climbed on rocks, slid on our bottoms down smooth boulders and waterfalls (on purpose), and rode a zipline over the edge of the waterfall where we then dropped about 15' into the frigid pool below.

We also jumped off of a cliff about 30' into the base of a waterfall, too! Talk about an adrenaline rush!!! After we were done, they rewarded us with a meager lunch of bread, cheese, and beer! (We bought pictures of the adventure, but sadly, they are being mailed so we don't have any to post.)

The next day, we decided to rest our weary and aching banged up bodies a little by sleeping in. But we couldn't take an entire day off from adventuring...so we took the train up to the very top of Europe. When we chose to stay in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, we had no idea that the highest point in Europe was right above us, only a two hour train ride up, up and up. So we couldn't be here and not experience that, could we? The highest point that people can get (aside from the crazy professional climbers who think its fun to freeze their behinds off actually climbing to the peak) is called Jungfraujoch, at 11,333 feet above sea level. Sherri and I layered up with all the warm clothes we had...each of us was wearing 3 shirts and our fleeces, and Sherri even put on two pairs of pants. The temperature at the top was a balmy 24 degrees farenheit! We ventured out on to the various observation decks, but that wasn't enough. We walked out onto the portion of the glacier that people are allowed on and threw a few snowballs at each other!

Today, we have decided to take off, even though today is Switzerland's National Day and the fireworks are tonight. We will miss them, but we couldn't find a place here to sleep. So we are hopping the next train to France...hoping that we will make it as far as Reims or Paris, but not quite sure where we will land or where we will sleep. Ahhh, adventures!!! Not to worry though...we'll find a bed somewhere, rather than a bench in a train station. Now we feel like real backpakers....just hopping trains and figuring it all out as we go!

So, until next time....

Auf Wiedersehen (or goodbye to all you English speakers).

Love, Amy and Sherri

Flying High!!!

Hi All,

Well, we went from complete boredom to complete adventure!!!! Let me explain! Last Friday we landed in Varenna, Italy! It was so VERY beautiful... but we found out quickly two very important, very sad things! #1 they don't like tourists, well...people in general, but especially Americans and #2 there is ABSOLUTELY nothing to do!!! After touring the city, which took about an hour and eating at this really lovely lake side cafe we looked at each other and said - now what! We couldn't even get on the internet - thus our absence! The good and God thing was, Amy had come down with a bad head cold and this gave her time to sleep for a full day (Sunday) and not feel like she was missing out on anything cuz Amy can't miss out on anything!!!! I had a pleasant day sitting by the lake reading, but by dinner time I was bored and so very lonely!!! The people person that I am was so deprived - we could not get locals or even other tourists to even say hi, let alone converse. It was a bummer. But like I said Amy got to rest and by the next day she was feeling so much better.

The one thing we did find to do - and I mean find - because we couldn't find it at first - was, we climbed (we like to climb if you haven't noticed!) a mountain path up to a very old, crumbling, abandoned Castle. It had a drawbridge that actually worked, up until the point it was chained, but Amy had great fun with it anyway. She also had fun pretending to chop my head off with the sword/spear-like thing that the suit of armor was holding!

Adriene, you will be so excited, I went to a real Italian Catholic Mass. I didn't understand a word, but God was there and that was what was important to me! I could follow along though, because it took the same format of service that we have in the States.

On Monday morning we hopped a train to Gimmelwald, Switzerland. We were so very proud of ourselves, hopping trains without getting lost - but trust me, we are not going to get overconfident! Our hotel, or Pension, as they call it, is at about 4000+ feet above sea level overlooking snow capped mountains, green valleys and over 17 waterfalls. I kid you not - it is heaven come to earth... AND... they like us!!! AND there is soooooo much to do. This morning we hiked down the mountain about an hour and a half to the valley floor called Lauterbrunnen where we booked a wonderful adventure! Hold on to your hat Mom!!! We went Paragliding, which means we ran and jumped off of a mountain side!! (don't worry we had a parachute attached to us!) We were jumping tandem with an instructor and then proceeded to F-L-Y!

For about 20 minutes we swooped and spun and floated and it was incredible and beautiful and fun and exciting. The views were AMAZING. Because of the wind and the thermals we actually soared higher than our take off point! You could see the glacier and the water fall that is formed by the melting ice, and sheep grazing and cliff rock faces - WOW! What an experience!!! We have more adventures planned for the next few days - one every day. We even plan to stay here a day, probably 2, more. We found out that August 1st is their "4th of July" and they have a parade and fireworks. Amy had said when we got here, long before we knew about this that she wanted to see fireworks in the valley between the mountains - and so she shall have her wish! God is good to her (and me)!

SO... that is the Adventures of Sherri and Amy for today... definitely more to come! We are certainly having the time of our lives! Miss you all!

Athens to Barcelona...what a ride!

After leaving the amazing natural splendor of Milos Island, we hopped a ferry and landed in Pireaus port, Athens. This is not a place for the timid traveler, to say the least! We arrived after dark, and having not been to Athens before, had to navigate the port and the metro to find our hostel in the dark! Not to worry though, God has had our backs non stop!! Due to the help of a very considerate Athens native with a blackberry who happened to be sitting next to me (Amy) on the ferry, we received some detailed directions nearly to the door of our hostel and got there quite safe and sound at around 11pm...and quickly collapsed into our bunk beds! The next morning we ventured out into the oven also known as Athens, Greece. In the heat of the day we explored the Acropolis, waiting in lines and dodging other tourists at every turn. Although it was quite amazing to walk on paths that were so ancient and realize the number of feet that had tread the paths before us, it wasn´t our favorite place to be!! It was still fun, though, for me to see up close and personally the quintessential structures that I had to study in architecture history.

After the sweltering heat of the Acropolis hill, we made our way to the next line where we waited to get into the new Acropolis museum. Our motivation to visit this had a bit more to do with the air conditioning than with anything we could see inside! After recovering in there, we decided to tackle the other major tourist attraction right around the corner, the Agora and Areopagus. It was quite humbling to climb the slick marble of the Areopagus and know that we were standing in a place where Apostle Paul once stood and delivered a sermon to the Greeks (Acts 17).

Dripping with sweat, we walked the narrow streets back to the hostel, collected our bags and headed off for the metro to take us to the airport. Then the adventure really began...the metro line we wanted to take was closed and we had to take the much longer route...if we thought we were sweating before, that was nothing!!!! We arrived at the airport about 40 minutes before our international flight to Barcelona was scheduled to take off! We had to find our way from the metro station to the check in point, and the signs were less than helpful. We did make it to check in though...and then ran through the airport (we are not even kidding about that one....just so grateful to only have a backpack and no other luggage in tow!). I don´t know that I´ve ever traversed an airport where the gate was so far away from the check-in. I also don´t know if I´ve ever come across a security station that moved as slowly as the one we had to pass through, or if we had ever dripped with so much sweat as we did that entire day. Fortunately, the line was short and we made it to our gate with a few moments to spare before boarding! What an adventure that we will not soon forget and hope to not repeat ever again on this trip (or any other)!!!

So, upon landing in Barcelona, the adventure continued. Again, we landed after dark and had to navigate another unfamiliar metro system. We made it to our metro stop, but couldn´t quite seem to find our hostel. We literally wandered up and down the same street for about 45 minutes, carrying our 20 lb bags on our backs, until a helpful taxi driver and some students were able to point us in the right direction. I don´t know if we have ever been so relieved to see a sign in our lives. When we crawled into bed that night, we vowed that we will NEVER arrive in a new town after dark EVER AGAIN!!! We decided to take the next two days off from everything and bummed around the hostel all day, napping, reading, doing laundry... Yesterday evening, we finally emerged from the hostel where we were being travel-weary slugs, and Sherri discovered her perfect food, spicy chocolate chicken! What a combo, but she loved it!

During our two day travel sabatical, we also seemed to take a sabatical from our posts (sorry about that!) and used all our internet time to do exhaustive planning for the next legs of our journey! That exhaustive planning has continued until today when we finally were able to make reservations for our train out of Barcelona to our next destination, Varenna, Italy. We also had success in booking some nice places to stay in Varenna and the following spot, Gimmelwald, Switzerland.

With the planning done, we finally felt relaxed enough to really take in the sights of Barcelona today. We visited the most famous work of architect Antoni Gaudi - Casa Batlo, Casa Mila, and Sagrada Familia (an incredible cathedral that continues to be built more than 117 years after construction began). What a site...it was awe inspiring. We´ve also enjoyed exploring the famous tree-lined street, Las Ramblas, and the narrow, crooked, personality-filled streets of the Bari Gotic, where our hostel is located. Tonight, we simply strolled the streets and listened to the various talented street performers....only blocks from one another were an accordian player with the fastest fingers we´ve ever seen, a sax player, and a guitarist. Amazing sounds, and what an atmosphere! It was quite relaxing, and Jen, you would be so proud that we just sat and soaked it all in!

Tomorrow night, we take the night train to Varenna (so that we arrive in the full daylight the next morning to find our next home!). Before that, though, we plan to explore the well-known park, Monjuic. Hopefully our next post won´t be so delayed as this one was...

Love you all, Amy and Sherri

ps...We so enjoy reading all your comments! Please keep them coming!

Have Map - Have Moto - Will explore!!!!

Hi All,

Wow, so much to say!!!!!

Where do we start?!?!?! Well, we landed in Milos on Thursday night at 8pm with no place to stay - no worries, God had us all covered. In two phone calls we had the cutest little room! They were a really nice couple who came and picked us up at the bus station - they spoke no English but we managed ok!! The next day they took us to rent a moto bike and off we went!! We chose our destinations by the post cards we saw in a local shop when we got off the ferry!! First to Pollonia, a small fishing village where we had lunch on the coast at this quaint little restaurant not 4 feet from the water - ahhhhhhhh!!! Then off to Papafragas - talk about amazing. We hiked down this precarious stairway built into the rock and there at the bottom is an inlet of water with a white sand beach and a cliff on each side - the width was probably 30 feet! We of course couldn't just splash on the edge - we swam all the way out into the open water and around the adjacent cliffs just to see what we could see!!! We also explored an undiscovered cove and swam through a hole in the cliff about 10 ft high 6 ft wide and 25 ft in distance! It was so cool! It landed in another part of the ocean where we looked around a bit, swallowed some waves and swam back! The water was crystal clear and you could see the rocks on the bottom so clearly you would think you could touch but you couldn't. We hiked to this other area where there were no people, only rocks and water and lo and behold, there in the middle of nowhere there were two beautiful, very comfy beach chairs sitting on a rock surrounded by water - they had no earthly business being there. So, of course, we couldn't resist. Jennifer, you would be so proud, we sat still and enjoyed the view - for AWHILE!!!

Then it was off to Sarakiniko - it is like being transported to the moon. It is white volcanic rock - can you even imagine! You could see the swirls in the surface from the flow of the lava. It was surreal - the pictures don't do it justice! Then we explored some caves, which Amy loves, but is not my favorite - never know what might be hiding in the darkness!!! We had chicken gyros for dinner for only 2 euros!!! Mind you, we have been here for over a week - and lamb gyros do not exist - at least we couldn't find any!

Today we are hopping another ferry to Athens - we get in late and it should be an adventure to find our hostel, although - at least we have one booked! We spend one day in Athens and then off to Barcelona. I want to see a bull fight! From there - we haven't a clue - we are adventurers, after all!

Questions to answer - yes, Peggy, we see the big dipper every night! Which is faster the motobike or the high speed ferry - with me(Sherri) driving, definitely the motobike - just ask Amy about nearly flying off the back!!!! Thank God for the handle - and no I was not trying to lose her! Oh, Pam, I forgot to tell you I tried a local Santorini wine in your honor - you would have liked it! Mom, Amy says we pull "Grand Canyon's" every day, but there is no one to notice we are gone! Sorry about disappearing from the internet - we didn't have time or access. Peggy, in reference to Greek driving - think Wayne!!!!! And see the next post...we'll try to upload some video from the scooter!

Love you all and believe it or not - we do miss you! :-)
All our hearts - Sherri and Amy

PS Uploading pics takes FOREVER!

Driving in Santorini

No, it's not a Harley, but we'll race anyone anytime!! Sherri is getting better and better at navigating tight spaces and hairpin turns (lots of busses and switchbacks here on the islands), but sometimes the acceleration still takes her by surprise! Let's just say, it is a good idea to hold on tight during takeoff!!! :)

Sorry guys - we tried for 20 minutes, but the video is too big and it won't upload :-(

More Santorini Adventures...

Hi everyone,

Well, day 3 in Santorini has been another perfect, albeit windy, day. That might be an understatement!!

To begin, after posting yesterday Sherri and I watched a beautiful sunset over the caldera (the bay that formed where the center of the volcano dropped out) from a village called Megalochori. It was georgeous. Also an understatement!!

Afterwards, we drove the fun little motobike back to our room and took a walk down to the beach, just a half block away, and watched an amazing display of stars over the ocean. Absolutely incredible!! We saw a galaxy glowing, possibly a planet (or at least a very bright star), and Sherri saw a shooting star. Again, like yesterday, quite surreal!!

Today we did not get up for a sunrise, Mom, but we did get up and get some great exercise in!! We took a 6 km hike up to the highest point on Santorini. It took us 4.5 hours and was exhausting, but exhilarating. The views were outstandingly unbelievable. The remains of Ancient Thira were at the top of one of the peaks, and the top of another (which was the higher of the two and the one that we took, not surprisingly) was home to a monastery. The mountain was all marble, so it was a beautiful view out as well as underfoot.

After we recovered from that (and showered!!) we took a drive to watch the sunset from the lighthouse at the furthest point south of the island. Again, breathtaking.

We've decided to stay on Santorini an additional day and then are taking another highspeed ferry to the nearby island of Milos on Thursday. Having some trouble finding a place to stay there though.... Milos is supposedly another beautiful island, with bright white beaches to contrast the black beaches here on Santorini...still the same awesome architecture, though.

We'll make it back to Athens for just one evening so that we can see the famous sites of Athens before heading to Barcelona on the 19th.

Tomorrow, we have planned to spend the day exploring the main town of Fira and Oia, which is at the northern tip of the island and famed for its sunsets. We'll be saving the best sunset for last!!! Not planning to catch any sunrises though!!! One thing we've noticed here is that at least on the islands, there is a different time frame that everyone functions under. Everything starts late and ends late.

For now, time to go....only 4 minutes left on the internet... hopefully more soon!!

Love, Amy and Sherri :)

Surreal...

So..... I am so sorry for you all who are working right now! We look out and see the bluest of blue skies bumped against the bluest of blue water!! We keep looking at each other and saying - are we really here! Or are we just dreaming - if we are, don't pinch me!!!!

Yesterday we took a hydrofoil here (Santorini!) - really big - really fast boat! Then we took the public busses the rest of the way! That was interesting as they had so many people on the bus we had to stand in the aisle and the aisle was so full you couldn't fall over even if you tried - you won't see that in the states!!!!

Our "hotel" that is really a hostel is one very white room with one window and one picture on the wall and two twin beds!!! It is small and nothing to write home about but it is clean and comfy and... cheap!!! And it has a fridge, and AC - you can't beat that for about $30!!! Our landlord came in last night about 11pm and scared the beegeebies out of Amy after we had been asleep for over an hour- I had my ear plugs in!!!! He came to fix our toilet and we guess he assumed we would be out partying like the rest of the tourists here!!! Guess we are not that exciting! :-)

Today we had double adventures!! First - we went scuba diving off of the coast here!!! Beautiful and something Amy had not done before! We got to hold sea urchins and hermit crabs and we petted some sort of coral that felt like silicone - it was strange!!! We saw fishes and coral in very CLEAR blue water!!!

Now, Mom, hold on for this next one! Well, maybe you better sit down!!! We have rented a motor bike!!!! It feels like it goes really fast although we can't tell because the speedometer is broken!!!! I am getting better at right turns but they are little rugged!!!! Pastor Carol - you would be so proud - but no, I haven't taken the safety course!!!! Our instructions were as follows - bring it back without any damage - here is the gas, here is the brake - go for it! When we finish here we are going to take a drive through the southern part of the island and see some coastal villages and a lighthouse and some churches! There is a town called Megalochori that is known for its georgeous sunsets - we plan to see one tonight!


Tomorrow we will ride the motobike up the coast to the main town of Fira in the center of the island that is famous for its white buildings that jut out of the rocks and silhouette against the bluest sky you have ever seen! It is what you see in the post cards! Then to Oia, which is "THE" spot to see sunsets and yes Jen, we plan to take a dip in the swimming hole! We will leave here on Wednesday to go to a different island not yet determined.

We are having the time of our lives and it has only been a few days! God is very good to us! We've even gotten some good deals and seen the favor of God as usual!

Love you all!!! :-) Sherri and Amy