My first time in San Francisco was when I went to visit my friend, Catherine, in 1988 (here).  I vowed that that I would “Return to San Francisco” like the Merle Haggard song.   I never thought then that it would be another 21 years before I would do so and that Charlie would be with me.  After five memorable nights, we then flew on to Las Vegas where we stayed five further nights, taking in a visit to the natural wonder of the amazing Grand Canyon….and the man-made wonder of the Hoover Dam.  So my blog this week describes that great trip…. what we saw, where we stayed.  We took literally hundreds of photos so the ones below are only some.  After all, some of “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!”  Enjoy!

​The recent passing of Prince Philip reminded me that he was born in Corfu, on the dining room table of a villa called Mon Repos.  Peggy and I got to see Mon Repos during a week-long stay on that beautiful island in the summer of 2003.  It followed a 7-day cruise in the Adriatic Sea including Corfu-Kefalonia – Trieste – Venice – Split – Dubrovnik – Corfu.  I have many happy memories of that trip: the friends we made, the gorgeous scenery, the music, the food and the craic we had.