Hilton Garden Inn Lakewood

... is consistent with the drug's indications for effectiveness against malaria which are to begin taking it two weeks prior to first risk of exposure. So, if you are reading this and are planning to go to a part of the world where there is malaria risk, I highly recommend Lariam as a prophylactic. I hope your nights will be as exciting and memorable as mine were when I was taking it. I'm already looking forward to my next trip. India, maybe? Southern Africa, possibly? The Amazon?

... Prague on my own. I recall images of many of the places I had been in Prague on my 1996 and 2007 visits to the city - Old Town Square, Wenceslas Square, Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, etc. I seemed to spend a lot of time wandering around by myself. I ended up at U Fleku, the famous 500 year old beer hall. I was sitting at a table with a big stein of beer watching the rowdy crowd and listening to the oompah band when I saw Ben. Ben ...

... complete without it in it. Soaring up to the top floor we arrived at dusk getting to see the city in daylight and at night when the view from up here really comes into its own with the lights all coming on across the city. One guy while we were up here proposed to his now future wife and with that Manhattan backdrop with the Empire State Building lit up in it's centre he certainly chose a great place for it. It is kinda of missing something ...

... which I've had in the past and are very comfortable. I found a pair of brown leather somewhat French apron style slip-ons that I liked. I kept them on my feet, paid for them, stuck my old shoes in the box and asked the clerk to throw them away for me : ) As I walked out of the store, I could almost hear my feet going "Ahhhhh" as they were comfortably nestled in my new Tsubos. I jumped on the subway and headed down into SoHo for some food. My ...

And so the great "Heading Home" journey concludes... This morning I packed up my belongings, checked out of the Comfort Inn, and drove over to St. Joe's for Sunday mass. We did not have altar servers at the 8 and 10 AM masses, so I served as acolyte at both masses. I ate breakfast with Fr. Phil in the rectory in between masses. I enjoyed chatting with all of my friends at St. Joe's. Following the 10 AM mass, I said goodbye to ...

... with the altitude adjustment.] We first went to the office of our Inca Trail tour op**ator, wh**e we settled our bill and learned some logistical details. [LYNNE: This whole exchange was a bit challenging, since the people we spoke with didn't speak English that well and w**e a bit flaky (p**haps the bigg** problem).] We w**e then off for a big breakfast in town, followed by some sightseeing. We ventured to some ruins nearby called "Sacsayhuaman," which is pronounced "Sexy Woman ...

... all got back in and were at the hotel 30 minutes later, just before 8:00. About a 6 hour ride. We all started feeling better soon thereafter and a few went to return the van. Despite being right next to the airport this was still a two hour ordeal because they make it nearly impossible to get back to the hotel, one way only. We all ended up at the hotel bar for some appetizers and a drink or two, and another round of poker to finish off the night. I ended up donating $60 ...

... SOOOOO good. My mother drove into the City and we all (Maro, my mother, my aunt and uncle as well as myself) wentn out for dinner. Maro and I had leftovers, of course. I'm planning on doing some job searching and lots of resting for the week before heading into NJ for the weekend. I'm still "travelling" and not feeling quite happy about being back in the US. *sigh*

... is now a museum, which we explored, watched a film on the island and the people who passed through here, and went hunting for people who passed through here with our surnames....there were people on every surname we checked on metal boards outside with thousands more! So, New York is definatly gonna keep us busy, we still have Greenwich Village to explore, the World Trade Center site, Wall Street, going up the Empire State Building, Harlem ...

... the first as soon as we stepped off the plane. The immigration officer who let us in the country was so nice it was like talking to a bag of sugar. She was a big shiny black woman and asked us lots of friendly questions with a cheery smile on her face. She never quite gave the impression though that she was actually listening to our answers. We met the second, a bus driver, when we left JFK to get to Manhatten. He was very grumpy ...