New Year's Eve, and THE WHEELS OF DOOM

Hola everyone! And Happy New Year! Big Al and I would like to wish you all a healthy, happy and adventurous 2009!

Here at Casa Nora, we had a spectacular New Year's Eve, complete with a great bbq dinner, good conversation, and fireworks on the beach - with all of our fun and interesting guests.


We had guests from Finland, from the UK, from France, and two groups of houseguests from Germany - who no longer reside there. As Al said - it was like having dinner at the UN.

Simo and Sini - from Finland

Please meet Simo and Sini. He's an engineer, and she's a police officer - and they both are major windsurfers and lovers of heavy metal music!

And they are also newlyweds! Aaaaaaawwwww....

Alison and Adrian

Here are Alison and Adrian from Manchester, England. These two are 'kite buggy' racers. Yes, that's what I said. They race 3-wheeled buggies that are attached to a kite. In fact, Adrian is ranked third in England, and is sponsored by Ozone. And, he's a major dare devil! (The ghostly figure behind them, is my husband, Big Al, fooling around......again.......)

Laetitia and Bertrand
Laetitia and Bertrand are from France, and dropped over for a few days to celebrate New Year's.


Lea and Simon
Lea and Simon are from Germany, currently residing in Dallas, Texas. And both are alot of fun! Thanks for the ring, Lea - I love it!


Mama Nora and Christian

Christian is also from Germany, but currently resides in London, England. Hhhhmmmm - I'm starting to see a pattern here...... Christian is a business man, who previously managed such musical acts as Terrence Trent Darby and Milli Vanilli....... And is a close personal friend of Snoop Doggy Dog. His stories are fascinating. A day without Christian is like a day without sunshine......

Everyone decided to pitch in to help prepare our New Year's Eve feast. In this photo, Simon and Simo are preparing their appetizers.

Leticia and Bertrand prepared a bowl of mojitos........

....while Alison (whose hobby back home is making hand-made chocolates) used Big Al's dark chocolate to prepare dessert.

Brownies..........yum!

Lea, Sini and Simo - now all good friends.

Michael, Nora, Lea and Simon

We all hung out a bit, waiting for the food.....................

......and then enjoyed the appetizers - Finnish meatballs, and toasted bread with goat cheese.


While Al finished grilling the beef and the salmon.......


.......we all gathered around the table for a truly delicious feast.......

......of which, Christian, a connoisseur of fine food, approved!


Simon relaxing after the meal.

Alison and Adrian relaxing after the meal.

And Sini relaxing after the meal. Hhhhmmm, must be some kind of a Finnish custom.....



The evening was capped off with champagne and fireworks on the beach! Happy '09 everyone!

THE WHEELS OF DOOM!

As previously mentioned, Adrian is a kite buggy racer, as well as a dare devil. During conversations with Al, Adrian discovered that Al had purchased a set of all-terrain roller blades. These behemoths are about 3 feet long, with a large wheel on either end, with a contraption in the middle into which you strap your feet. Adrian's eyes lit up, 'Ah, you've got the Wheels of Doom, then?" he asked Al. Nodding slowly, Al said, 'Yes, I believe I do.' 'Do you mind if I try out the Wheels of Doom with my kite?' asks Adrian, as silence descends on the terrace, while we all picture the outcome of this idea.........

What happens when you add the Wheels of Doom, plus a kite, plus a salina or salt flat, plus Adrian?

It might help to visualize this:

The Wheels of Doom

+

.....a kite....

+

......plus Adrian.....

equals

@!#$*!?*%!


One fine sunny day, Adrian decides that on this day he will try to kite with the Wheels of Doom. Simo and Sini, Alison, Al and I load up the truck with the Wheels of Doom, with Adrian's kite and head off searching for the perfect salt flat. It really seemed like a terrific idea, until we did find the perfect salina, and Adrian strapped himself into the Wheels of Doom, and it really seemed like he was going to do it. Simo, his video camera at the ready, was smiling nervously at me. While Al was helping Adrian get ready, Simo asked how close the nearest hospital was. That got me thinking, and I had a quiet discussion with Al. Al asked Adrian if he had any medical insurance or even life insurance, but Adrian just laughed......!!!! And Alison seemed completely unperturbed by the whole thing, while she pumped up Adrian's kite, and prepared his kite lines.

Simo and Alison pumping up the kite.

Sini, nervously looking on. (Please note the power lines and highway off in the near distance...)

Adrian, with his pit crew (namely Al) readies himself for the big event.

After several moments of quiet introspection, checking wind speed and direction, Adrian declares that 'We are a GO!' And for better or worse, Al and I cheer him on.

And he's off! Looking a little wobbly, and heading directly towards a cactus patch. Yikes!

Oh crapola.......

Having averted potential disaster with the help of his pit crew, Adrian begins his second pass......

......and is looking terrific. Great form, good lean, nice edging with the Wheels of Doom.....

Simo records Adrian's third pass with his video camera. Simo will create a YouTube video set to the music of perrenial heavy metal favourite, AC/DC's 'Hells Bells.'

It may appear that Adrian's pit crew is looking perplexed or bewildered, or both, but that is not the case. He is holding onto his cap, as the wind picked up considerably. Excellent!

Up.....up.....and........



.....away.......!





Perfect form! Nice speed! Well done, Adrian!


After several passes, Adrian is done. After removing the Wheels Of Doom.........

Adrian, literally, jumps for joy!

Adrian, relaxing in the pool, during a well deserved rest.

We would like to thank and commend Adrian's sponsor, Ozone, for their righteous decision to sponsor this crazy dude! One small suggestion for future sponsorship contracts - perhaps include some health insurance. And maybe throw in a little something for the spectators as well.......!

Adrian - you rock!

Europe - Summer of 2008

Hola everyone from Al and Nora in El Yaque! I hope you've all had a great summer. Big Al and I surely did, as we travelled Europe, partly on business, and partly for fun. The idea was work in various cities in Europe for 2 weeks, and then relax in Italy for 6 days, where we had planned to meet up with a bunch of friends to windsurf on Lago di Garda, and to celebrate my 40th birthday.

So, the trip started off in Munich, where our friends Karin and Thomas picked us up and drove us to their country place in Chiemsee - a lake near Munich that is known for the windsurfing.

Our friend Roman, had prepared a fabulous meal of sausages as a starter, and then grilled steak! Delicious!

Al and Roman relaxing after the meal. (Please note the blanket.....it was cold...!)

Jet-lagged and exhausted, I was awoken at 6:00 am by the sounds of a marching band. What? I poked Al and asked him, "Do you hear what I hear?" He mumbled, 'Yeah, a marching band is playing Val d'Isere.' I tip toe to the window, and sure enough, down in the street, a marching band decked out in their lederhosen and dirndls are playing their hearts out. Hhhhmm

Unable to sleep, Karin and I went for a run in the countryside. And I was astounded by the cleanliness, the orderliness, the care with which the residents maintained their village. All of the Bavarian style houses had perfect, blooming flowers in flower boxes on their balconies, the cars in the driveways were spotlessly gleaming in the morning sun, and the cows in the pastures - had not a speck of dirt on them. As my friend Maryluz says, 'I think this is the kind of place where the leaves have to ask permission to fall from the trees....'.

After a lovely breakfast of fruit, and sausages (breakfast sausages, I believe), our German friends wanted to take us mountain biking and hiking in the German Alps. Excellent! Sounds like fun. The guys took their bikes, and Karin and I planned to hike. Al and I thought - no problem - some switchback trails winding up the mountain - piece of cake. Not the case. This was two hours - straight up the mountain - at a vicious incline.

Roman, Nora, Al, Karin and Thomas

Suddenly the trail opened up into a breath-takingly beautiful alpine meadow - complete with sheep grazing in the distance. It was all I could do to refrain from breaking into the song "The hills are alive..... with the sound of music."

Roman and Nora, and Thomas' boots

After clomping up the mountain wearing Thomas' hiking boots (Thomas is the dark haired, 7 foot tall guy), after being passed on the trail by a) little children swinging baskets in their hands, b) elderly couples taking in the mountain air.... I was feeling dispirited, and opted to take the cable car down the mountain, while the guys rode down.

Back in the car, and off to Munich. Our friends took us to a Bavarian style restaurant for dinner. After a lovely meal of pork knuckles and cloven hooves, we ended the meal with dessert - dessert sausages, if I recall correctly.

Al, Nora, Karin and Thomas

And retired to our hotel.

The next day was spent checking out Munich, which is a lovely city. Big Al's favourite moment - standing in the main city square, waiting for the glockenspiel to rotate in the clock tower! Dinner that night was at a typical Bavarian beer hall, complete with steins of beer, enormous plates of schnitzel, with a side of ....... sausages.

After a series of planes, trains and taxis, we now found ourselves in the charming town of Bruges, Belgium, where Al switched his diet from red meat, to Belgian chocolate and Belgian beer. This town is so beautiful and charming, it reminds me of the illustrations in a Hans Christian Anderson children's book.

Nora, Lieven, Wim and his girl.

One evening we met up with Lieven, Wim and his girl, and Tom. (Please note the jackets....it was cold!)

Nora, Evelyne, Danny and Al.

The next evening we met up with our pals Evelyne and Danny in Antwerp.

Evelyne and Danny

For sushi. Yum!

And then it was off to Brussels, for a little business, and to see our pals Tom and Francisco.

Al, Nora, Tom and Francisco

We began the evening at a very charming wine bar, enjoyed a wine tasting session, complete with fabulous appetizers.

Francisco and Al

And had dinner in a restaurant that focused only on mushrooms. The chef kept sending out dish after dish, each tastier than the one before. Fantastic!

Nora and Tom.

Our thanks to Tom and Francisco for a great evening!

And then we were off to Riga, Latvia for business, and some exploration of the countryside.

We spent a weekend taking our time driving from Riga to a seaside town called 'Pavilosta', and stopped in each little town along the way. Beautiful.

We were accompanied by our pals Agita, Mareks and their daughter, Megija.

At the seaside in Pavilosta.

Please note the jackets......it was a little chilly....

Along the way, we stopped at a historically significant site called 'Jurkalne'. It was from this point along the coast, that thousands of Latvians fled the country during the second World War.

Hard to visualize what I imagine must have been a chaotic scene - thousands of people, entire families - with infants crying, desperately trying to board the Red Cross boats for passage to safety.

Our road trip included a stop at my father's ancestral farmlands.

The property is beautiful, with the stone remains of the farmhouse and some outbuildings.

As well as many fruit and nut trees, and wild berries of all sorts.


Near the property, we found some vestiges of the Soviet occupation of Latvia. A field of abandoned concrete hangers used to house and conceal Soviet fighter jets.

These structures are enormous. And are covered by a layer of sod, to prevent them from being spotted by air.

Al on the runway. The actual tarmac has been pilfered long ago.

The front doors are made of 2 metre thick concrete, with a steel frame, painted in camouflage green.

This place is cavernous. Al was thinking that this was a good location for a nightclub - possibly named 'The Hanger' or 'The Bunker'.

Later that night, we had a head-banging good time at the Metallica concert in Riga......

...with our pals Valter and Oksana. Thanks for the tickets, Valter!

Next - Italy.

We began our Italian vacation in the Chianti region of Tuscany.....


....... at a wine and olive oil producing farm called 'Castello di Meleto'.




The surrounding countryside is really beautiful.....





..... the food and wine - absolutely outstanding.

And the architecture speaks for itself.



Lago di Garda. This is our kind of place - a beautiful village, full of athletic folks from all over Europe. Some windsurfing, some mountain biking, some hiking.

John and Anne - from Norway

The plan was for a bunch of our pals to meet up in Lago di Garda - to a) conduct a windsurf slalom race to determine once and for all, who is the champion, and b) to celebrate my 40th birthday.

Sadly, we were skunked on the wind.

But, we managed the celebration part.

Anne, Roman, Karin, Thomas, Nora, Al and John

First with a spectacular dinner in an adjacent village organized by Thomas and Karin......

.... and then drinks at a bar in Lago di Garda.....

For me, this was the perfect way to celebrate my birthday. But now, that's it. No mas. Basta.

Some observations of our trip: too much red meat really does wreak havoc on a pseudo-vegetarian's system; summer no longer exists in Europe and parts of Canada; and finally, you can take the girl out of Scarborough, but you cannot take Scarborough out of the girl......

After a superb 3 week vacation in cottage country in Muskoka, we are now back home in El Yaque, getting Casa Nora ready for the season. Thanks to everyone who made our trip so eventful!

Next post: Upgrades at Casa Nora