Pa & Bwana

Whelp, I'm a little behind on the bloggin'. Halo 3 came out a month or two ago, and with me in Crete on release day, I had some catchin' up to do on x-box live. I still can't beat my little brother (he's vicious with the beat-down), but at least I'm respectable.

Anyway, Pa and Bwana visited us week before last. We had a great time with them here; we like to use visitors as excuses to take off work and generally be irresponsible with our checking account. This visit was particularly gratifying since it came with its own professional photographer for our exploits...if you notice an increase in the quality of the pics this time around, its because Bwana gave me all his pics! You can see more samples here.

Some of the highlights of their visit:

• Our visit to the beaches near Salerno and the mountainside ghost town of San Pietro infine, where my granddad helped liberate the country where I now serve. Seeing the bombed-out, untouched homes, churches, and businesses left in the wake of the 1943 Allied campaign will remain one of the highlights of my European experience.


• San Gigmingano, Siena, and the Tuscan experience. Anyone who keeps up with Life As A Chcokley should know that "San Gim" is our favorite Tuscan escape. Truly a gem of gems. The food was good, the views spectacular, and the company great. With a little luck we can get lots of Chockleys there next fall for a family-wide experience.


• Wine. Lots of great wine. All in responsible moderation, of course.

On top of everything, dad did everyone (most importantly, himself) a huge favor by giving up smoking a few weeks before he arrived. He may have regretted that a little during his nightmare flight ordeal or cramped trip to Tuscany in the car with a squalling 2 year old, but hey, 45-year old habits die hard, right? [And for the record, when Eurofly advertises $599 for a flight from JFK to Naples in 9 hours, what they really mean is a 22 hour schlep that actually arrives in Rome...BOTH WAYS; so be warned.]

In the end, it was a great trip. Ella still wakes up from naps calling for "Pa," and is growing ever more articulate in her new favorite phrase: "Pa is a hobo." We love you Bwana and Hobo-Pa.


pac


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