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Dubrovnik is a small city of about 43,000 on the southwestern coast of Croatia on the Adriatic Sea, in the region of Dalmatia.  It is famous for its walled Old Town and was added to the list of World Heritage Sites in 1979.  Bob and I decided to start our official introduction to Dubrovnik with a hike up Srd Hill for a good overlook of the city.  The city is built at the base of, and up the side of a hill, so we had some steep urban walking on a series of steps in the residential neighborhoods before getting to the base of the hill hike along a busy highway.  Those not wanting, or unable, to hike up the hill can pay for a gondola ride to the top.

After hiking back down, we worked our way back through neighborhoods and into Old Town.  Old Town is architecturally and historically interesting, set along a gorgeous coast, and filled with a number of museums,  shops, cafes, and restaurants.  We were only disappointed that you had to pay to walk on the wall ($24 each!), as we had been able to that for free in the UK.  We decided to save the money, as we had a view from above on the hill.

For the final European stint of this travel adventure, Bob and I purchased 2 “free” (actually $55 each since free seems to be impossible anymore) tickets from Chicago to Dubrovnik, Croatia.  All we had to do was fly American Airlines (AA) from Chicago to Charlotte, NC, then Charlotte to Madrid, Spain, and then Iberia (AA partner) into Dubrovnik.  All of our flights were on time and problem free.  However, we left Charlotte at 4:40 pm, much earlier than our usual flight departure times for Europe.  We weren’t tired getting on, we ate early, there were a lot of lights on all night/day during the flight, and the flight attendants went through the aisle during “sleep time” to offer orange juice or coffee?!  It was the first cross-Atlantic flight that neither of us managed to sleep at all.  After a 3+ hour layover (and an unusually long, convoluted bus ride to our plane, we boarded the Iberia flight from Madrid to Dubrovnik where the only food and drink offered was for sale.  No free water or anything else offered.  We don’t plan to eat on flights anymore but were surprised about no free water or soft drinks or anything.  It was a 3 hour flight.  But, the price was right, as we kept reminding ourselves, and we got to our desired destination intact.  The beauty of Dubrovnik, and the friendliness of our accommodation host, kept our spirits up until we could get some sleep.

 After the scenic bus ride to the main bus station, we walked about 30 minutes around the port into a residential neighborhood to get to our room in a family residence.  The home is certified as a public accommodation.  Our hostess was very friendly and gave us some juice and cookies upon arrival which we really needed at that point.  She also gave us a map and explained some local areas of interest and different buses to catch, if we wanted.  Her English was limited, but much better than our Croation (though she appreciated our attempts with please and thank you), but we managed to get the gist of what each other was saying.

After getting settled in our room, we walked to one of the many beaches that surround the peninsular coast of Dubrovnik.  We picked the Copcabana Beach as we liked the name, it wasn’t too far from where we were staying , and it faced the waters where many of the ships came and went.  It was a lovely little beach area with a sense of fun.

Bob and I were able to spend a few gorgeous late-summer weather days in Chicago at Bob’s nephew and wife’s house both before and after their wedding.  They live in a great area of town — within a mile of the Lincoln Park Zoo and Conservatory and Lake Michigan and about 2 miles from Wrigley Field.  They are also right off the brown line on the El and near lots of great restaurants and shopping.  We took advantage (within limit so) of our proximity to Whole Foods.  

In terms of sightseeing, we tried to see areas of town that we hadn’t explored much before and that were free cuz that’s how we roll these days.  One of the first places we visited was the Lincoln Park Zoo and Conservatory.  Both were free, very impressive, and pretty busy for a Friday afternoon.

 

After the wedding, we met up with my Aunt Dee who lives south of the loop .  It was a lovely Sunday afternoon, so we walked two hours from the Lincoln Park area to a neighborhood closer to the McCormick Center.  The walk gave us an opportunity to see a lot of different neighborhoods, and we were rewarded with a great meal at a tapas restaurant and an introduction to Mariano’s, a poor man’s Whole Foods, by my aunt.

 

One day we walked into downtown via the beautiful Lakefront Trail which was also my running route during our stay.

On Labor Day, the day after the wedding, my sister picked Bob and I in Naperville and took us to her new house in Rockford, IL.  We spent our time with her exploring the Rockford area as well as visiting other relatives in the area.

We spent a lovely half-day in Madison with my Aunt (and godmother) Terri who we had also visited in Seattle.

On Wednesday evening, Brenda took us to the Rockford Conservatory where we listened to a great local band and viewed a light installation by Bruce Munro.

On Thursday, we spent a great day at the very beautiful Starved RockState Oark outside of Utica, IL.  We definitely want to come back!



Bob and I flew from Florida to Chicago for some serious family time highlighted by our nephew, and Bob’s godson’s wedding.  It was a perfect weekend with Bob’s family.  The festivities began on Saturday with an afternoon Cubs game –and the Cubs won!

The wedding and reception were in Naperville, home of the bride and bride’s parents.  It’s a beautiful community.

Some photos from the rehearsal dinner, wedding, and reception —



I can’t believe we have been out of our Florda house sit for almost two weeks!  While we have been busy seeing family in Illinois and Wisconsin, we have checked in with our home owners to learn that they have survived Hurricane Irma with no damage to their home and no loss of electricity. We are still amazed at the devastation facing much of Texas and Florida (and the Caribbean) from Harvey and Irma (and, if you have seen their photo on Twitter, they seem like such a nice elderly couple!)

Some final photos from our stay in The Villages —

We managed to hit all 5 of the recreation centers with fitness facilities and perused and/or visited some of the Country Clubs.



Some other photos of our exploration of the community —

And one last tribute to two wonderful dogs —

Bob and I have been having a pretty laid-back time in The Villages with our two dogs.  We (as in Bob) are now golf-cart driving and parking pros.  We like that the golf cart is electric-powered and definitely enjoy golf cart traffic “jams” rather than car ones.  We have also bonded with our sweet dogs who enjoy treats, play time and/or walks,  and time at the dog park.

 

One of the advantages of golf cart riding is the ease of snapping photos en route of the beautiful local scenery.  See some “moving” pics below —

 

We have also spent some time checking out the various town squares and recreation centers.

 

We found a nature center to visit as well.  The Sharon Rose Weichens Preserve is a wildlife refuge in The Villages.



Bob and I are living the good life in The Villages, Florida, a retirement community about 45 miles northwest of Orlando.  It is an active area with over 36 golf courses, and we are learning how to tool around the area in the home owners golf cart.  We had a lovely transition with the owners on Thursday evening before they headed off Friday morning.  We are caring for their beautiful home and caring for their 2 great dogs — Reagan, a 9 year old Labrador Retriever, and Winter, a 3 year old Golden Retriever.  They are sweet, sweet dogs who love their ice cream and peanut butter treats.  Walks and chasing geckos is pretty okay too.

The Villages is a beautiful, active community with numerous recreation centers that offer a full slate of classes or groups in which to participate. We have guest passes from our home owners that allow us access, and we can access the fitness facilities for $5 per day.  In addition to the recreation centers and golf courses, there are also 3 town squares with dining and retail options, including nightly entertainment that begins at 5.  It also seems like there are more hours of the day designated as happy hours than times that are not!

After our lovely Charlottesville house sit, Bob and I rented a car to drive to West Virginia to visit our 47th state with just Montana, North Dakota, and Hawaii yet to visit.  We stayed in Lewisburg, WV, about a 2 hour drive from Charlottesville.  Lewisburg is a small town of about 4,000 located in Greenbrier County (Greenbrier is a popular name in these parts).  It has a cute historic downtown and lots of opportunities for hiking.

One of the best parts of our stay was a visit to Beartown State Park an ara of massive fragmented boulders and deep crevasses surrounded by almost rain forests-like vegetation.  It is a short hike along a boardwalk but really unique.  We even saw a bit of “wildlife.”

 

The Greenbrier River Trail is a 78 mile long trail that is a repurposed former railroad that follows the Greenbrier River.  The trail is used for hiking, biking, cross country skiing, and horse back riding.   There are a number of campsites and other lodging opportunities along the route.  Bob and I did an 8.2 mile out-and -back section starting at Horrock, not far from the Beartown State Park.

The morning of our second day in West Virginia, we spent walking around the very, gorgeous Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs.  This historic landmark has been open since 1778.  Along with the many hotel amenities and natural beauty, the site also contains natural mineral springs which were the original draw for visitors.

Fun facts about the Resort:

If you follow golf, you may know that this is the home of the Greenbrier Classic which is played around the 4th of July every year.

While we were there, the Houston Texans were staying at the resort and holding their training camp.

From the resort, we drove into downtown White Sulphur Springs.  It was pretty small, but there was a nice memorial to the victims of last year’s flood and a store related to the DIY network show — Barnwood Builders.  We were not familiar with the show but had read articles about it in the local papers, as the six individuals on the show are from West Virginia.

On Sunday, Bob and I headed to the George Washington National Forest in nearby Nelson County to hike Crabtree Falls.  To get there, we drove part of the gorgeous Blue Ridge Parkway.  This road is apparently America’s longest linear park, though free to drive on (at least in Virginia).  The road is 469 miles long, runs through North Carolina and Virginia, and connects the Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks.  We barely scratched the surface but did stop at a couple of overlooks for some photo ops.

 

Crabtree Falls is one of the tallest sets of waterfalls in the US east of the Mississippi River.  it seems to be as the place where hikers go to get in the water (disobeying multiple posted signs) with less than good resulted.  We enjoyed the hike on a gorgeous 70 degree day!