Hvar Island

Hi All,

Today dawned bright and sunny. Perfect day to fish from a small boat (the white speck on the water) or, in our case, take the ferry to explore Hvar Island.

They really pack the cars onto the ferry. We are the sideways silver car on the right!

As we approached the east end of Hvar, we spotted this beautiful stone lighthouse.

From the ferry dock at Sucurj, we drove west over the spine of the rocky island to Stari Grad. The small harbor was beautiful

and the 15th century St Rocco's church has Roman Bath mosaics under the floor.

At the west end of the island we reached Hvar town. Another beautiful harbor with a fortress atop the hill, a delicious lunch

and great views of the town and harbor from inside the fortress.

We retraced our steps back to Sucurj, caught the half empty 6 PM ferry and got back to the house in time for this great sunset.

Another fabulous day with less walking and fewer flights of steps.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Dubrovnik

Hi All,

Today we drove two hours south to the walled city of Dubrovnik.

We entered through the west gate

and climbed up onto the wall for great views of the city and beyond. 

We hired a private guide to escort us around the city and tell us about the fascinating history of this place. Igor was terrific, coloring in the history from the early days when Dubrovnik was an independent city-state to the tragedy of the Balkan war to Dubrovnik's new life as the tourist mecca of modern Croatia.

The small fort on the distant rock protected the northern approached to the city.

The synagogue in Drubovnik was founded in 1408, making it the second oldest in Europe. It is now a museum that includes a 13th century Torah.

The east side of the city offers views across the old port area.

Our guide Igor took this photo of the Four Fabulously Fortunate Friends at the port.

We ended our visit with a cable car ride to the top of the mountain for expansive views across the area.

A wonderful though exhausting day. Tomorrow we will take it easy-maybe ;-).

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Roberta & Elliot

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

On to the Adriatic

Hi All,

After our great day at Plitvice Lakes we had an excellent dinner at a highly recommended restaurant. We did have a bit of a surprise when we were ready to leave-SNOW!

It was mostly melted by next morning and was not a travel problem.

The centerpiece of this vacation is a house overlooking the Adriatic that we rented from a friend of a friend. They sent us pictures to help find the house.

Turn down the road into Podaca.

Turn left at the pink house.

Park at the end of the dirt road

and walk down the narrow path to the house.

It all looked exactly as in the photos and we were greeted by this view.

We settled in and prepared for 12 days of exploring the Croatian coast. Tomorrow we are off to Dubrovnik.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Plitvice Lakes National Park

Hi All,

This World Heritage Site is a series of mountain lakes on a limestone mountainside. Channels have eroded in the limestone creating a series of waterfalls and cascades to successively lower lake levels. This sign tells the story (sort of).

Waterfalls galore.

This broad cascade is beautiful from above. Unfortunately, the trail along the water was closed for maintenance.

We enjoyed a peaceful ride on an electric boat 

and got closeup pictures of some of the cascades.

Some visitors cheated and climbed down to the closed trail.

A really beautiful park.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Postojnska and Predjamski

Hi All,

The first stop on today's adventure was the cave complex at Postojnska. This extensive cave system was discovered in 1818. It was opened to the public the following year and it in now a huge tourist attraction but the cave formations have been reasonably well protected. To access the most beautiful formations, a train brings visitors about a mile and a half into the cave. Here's a sample of what we saw:

After the cave we visited nearby  Predjamski Castle. This 15th century fortress was built into the mouth of a different huge cave system. 

The most famous resident was Prince Erazimus, a Robin Hood type character who stole from the rich and kept the money. The local peasants hated the rich people so much that Erazimus was a hero anyway!

Tomorrow we are on to Croatia.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Roberta & Elliot

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Fwd: Logan to Ljubljana

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Begin forwarded message:

From: Carl & Sandy <greenbaum2@gmail.com>
Date: April 25, 2016 at 9:25:03 PM GMT+2
To: Sgreenbaum135@gmail.com
Cc: katschultz1@verizon.net, mbschultz@comcast.net, schultziek@gmail.com, ek6677@aol.com, jschulze36@comcast.net
Subject: Logan to Ljubljana

Hi All,

Well, we are off. We departed Logan Airport in Boston on Sunday afternoon.

Here's the coast north of Boston as we climb out.

We arrived in Madrid in time to watch this beautiful sunrise.

The Madrid terminal building has an interesting roof that looks like bamboo.

We landed in Venice on time and had an uneventful two and a half hour drive to Ljubljana. In the old city there were talented young people singing everywhere.

This square, named for Slovenia's national poet France Preseren contains one of the most popular monuments in the country.

The colorful buildings along the river

and the gas lights give the old city a charming feel.

The Visitor Information Center occupies a building constructed in 1898.

We are off to a great start.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

250,000 Miles🙀

Hi All,

We arrived safely in Bellingham. Today our motorhome crossed over 100,000 miles. Combined with our van campers from the 70's and 80's plus our two previous big motorhomes, we have travelled/camped in excess of a quarter million miles!

With a different propulsion system, this many miles could get us to the moon!

Forty-seven states and hundreds of Wildlife Refuges, National and State parks. Nine Canadian Provinces, 12 Mexican states. Over 13,000 hours of volunteer time. 

Life is good!

Thanks for being part of our fantastic journey

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Hyde Park, NY

Hi All,

Our final stop of the trip was in Hyde Park, NY, home of President Franklin Roosevelt.

This site includes the family home as well as the FDR Library and Museum.

Here Ranger Ken tells us about the Library. The museum included wonderful exhibits about FDR's life.

This is the main house, known to the family as "Springwood".

This is the library within the home. Left of center is one of the wheelchairs FDR designed.

A corner of the music room includes a piano. On the piano are photos of every head of state that visited Springwood.

Among the bedrooms on the second floor is the room where FDR was born-in that bed!

This was Eleanor and Franklin's bedroom.

After President Roosevelt's death in 1945, Eleanor lived out her life at nearby Val-Kill cottage. She was never comfortable at Springwood, always viewing it as "her mother-in-law's house".

They are buried together in the rose garden adjacent to the house and, yes, FDR's beloved Scotty dog Fala is buried here also.

Tomorrow we drive to Bellingham for some doctor appointments, family & friends visits and preparations for our trip to Croatia with Roberta & Elliot on April 24th.

Stay tuned for more adventures.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone