Greek Island Vacation

Jyoti and I along with my brother and his wife took a 3 week Greek island cruise vacation.  We added days in the beginning at Venice and at the end in Athens.

Day 1: Travel Day 

Long flight from San Diego to Venice.

Day 2 - 4: Venice

After arriving at the airport, we took a boat right to our hotel canal near the Rialto Bridge.  Weather was drizzly and a bit cold but we walked around to see the sights.  Dinner was cichetti and great spritzes.

Our first full day in Venice started with St. Mark's Square where we had reservations for the basilica and the "secret" tour of Doge's Palace.  Both were great.  We then took the Vaporetta up the canal and walked back to our hotel.

Last full day in Venice started at the Accademia and then more checking out the sights.  We really like Venice and it was much better than expected.

Drizzly day on the Rialto Bridge

Rainy St. Marks Square

Campanile from St. Mark's Basilica

St. Mark's clock tower

Somewhat empty St. Mark's Square

Grand Canal

Sunny and crowded St. Mark's Square

Day 5 - 6: Sea Days

We had some time before our water taxi so we checked out St. Mark's Square again.  Since there was no rain, it was very crowded.  We then took a bus to Chiaggio where the cruise ship was docked.  The boarding process was very smooth since the Azamara boat was smaller than many others.  It headed south for our first port visit.  There was a visiting professor who gave talks about the Mediterranean culture and other topics. 

Welcome aboard!

Day 7: Corfu

Our first island was Corfu where we drove around to see a monastery and the north side of the island.  We then went into old town Corfu and checked out the old fort.  This would be first of many Venetian forts we would see.

Overlooking town from the old fort

Manning the towers in the old fort

Day 8: Kefalonia

Next up was Kefalonia where we went to another monastery (there are lots of them in Greece) and a really nice winery.  We then went to Dhrogarati cave and Melissani lake and a nice lunch right on Sami bay.  We really liked Kefalonia.

Dhrogarati cave

Lunch on Sami Bay

Melissani lake 

Ready to leave Kefalonia

Day 9: Zakynthos

On Zakynthos, we drove to the north side of the island to check out a olive oil factory/press, the small but wonderful Goumas winery and a small beach.

Olive factory

Goumas Winery

Day 10: Gytheion

For this mainland site, we got a car and drove to Mystras which was very cool.  We also walked around the small harbor area.

Gytheion harbor

Mystras hillside

Cats of Mystras monastery

Gytheion lighthouse

Day 11: Crete

Crete is large but we stayed near town and hit the great Archeological Museum and or course Knossos.  Also visited the Venetian fortress in the harbor.

Crete Archeological Museum

Knossos Palace

Day 12: Santorini

After tendering, we took the cable car up to Feri and then caught the public bus to Akrotiri.  The ruins were pretty neat. Then did the hike to Ia which was very nice but hot.  We had a great dinner in Ia and walked the cliff path down the port.

Ruins at Akrotiri

Santorini sky

Along the trail to Ia

Santorini panorama

Day 13: Rhodes

After renting the car, we headed to Lindhos but couldn't find a parking spot so headed back with a stop at the Seven Springs.  Back in town we walked through the old town and another Venetian fort.

Hike to Seven Springs

Seven Springs selfie

Old town Rhodes

Rhodes museum

Day 14: Kusadasi

Leaving Greece for a day in Turkey, we hired a guide and driver.  We spent most of the time in nearby Ephesus which was incredible.  We also made stops a carpet making school and a pottery store.

View from St. John Basilica

Ephesus street

A view of Ephesus

Ephesus selfie

Ephesus museum

Day 15: Mykonos

Last island on the itinerary was Mykonos.  We got a cruise shore excursion which guided us through town then over to Delos to see the ruins, then lunch and lastly a very nice monastery.  Our guide was ok with information but was terrible at keeping the group together and almost stranded us on Delos.

Mykonos town

Little Venice

Crowded Delos

Mykonos monastery

Day 16 - 18: Athens

Our cruise ended at Athens where we spent 3 days hitting the major and minor sights:

• Acropolis Museum
• Hadrian's Library
• Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
• National Garden
• Olympian Zeus
• Hadrian's Arch
• Roman Agora
• Ancient Agora
• Eureka Technological Museum
• Cathedral
• Mars Hill
• Acropolis
• Aristotle's Lyceum
• Byzantium and Christian Museum
• Greek War Museum

The trip was capped up with an awesome dinner at A for Athens with great views of the city and the Acropolis.

Acropolis Museum

Hadrian's Library

Cave of the Acropolis restaurant

Tower of Winds

Stoa at Ancient Agora

View from Mars Hill

Entering the Acropolis

At the Parthenon

Greek Flag selfie

Byzantine and Christian Museum

Nighttime Acropolis

Sound familar?

“There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What’s there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now, that’s the system, Mr. Rearden, that’s the game, and once you understand it, you’ll be much easier to deal with.” – Atlas Shrugged

HRCC Campout 2023

As a patron of HRCC, I was invited to their campout in the Ramona area.  We had an awesome time with all things ham radio.  Josh KI6NAZ had a very tall mast with a VHF antenna on top and EFHW stretched out; he also setup a Buddihex.  Adam K6ARK was trying out a 6m yagi that was very cool.  I was trying out a new Kelty Backcountry tarp off the back of my Jeep and operating my the FT-817 with a Wolf River coil.  I made a couple FT8 contacts but wasn't having much success otherwise.  It was pretty hot and dusty but all great time was had by all!

Adam setting up his large yagi

Morning clouds in the San Diego River valley

My jeep and Kelty tarp

My rig

Lots of RF going out

Emcomm Field Day on Denk Hill

 A buddy and me hiked up to the summit of Denk Hill for some emcomm work.  I tried out my manpack loaded with an Yaesu FT-817, Digirig, Panasonic FZ-M1 tablet and a coil walkabout.  Worked 40m digital and was able to receive and pass ARES messages on Fldigi.  Also tried out FT8 but wasn't having much luck.

Operating portable on Denk Hill

Some Good Thoughts from James Clear

"Create your life rather than live it."

"Ambition is when you expect yourself to close the gap between what you have and what you want.

Entitlement is when you expect others to close the gap between what you have and what you want." 

 James Clear

Anza-Borrego Day Trip

Since our Mammoth cross-country trip was canceled due to too much snow, Jyoti and I decided to head out to the desert for a trip.  The forecast was for a good amount of wind so we made it a day trip.

• Drove out in the morning along I8 with a stop at the Well Cafe in Alpine and topped off gas in Ocotillo.
• Headed north up S2 taking in the warm temps and lack of rain!
• The park website had some flower locations and the first for us was Bow Willow.  We turned off and headed to the campground which was full of people but few flowers.  We then headed back out and up nearby Egg Mountain which was covered in flowers and had great views
• We then started off road on South Carrizo Creek after airing down.  This road had lots of flowers.
• Made a short stop at the end of the road heading west.  I wanted to check out the stage station site but we didn't want hike out that far.
• Next up was Arroyo Tapiado and a quick stop at the mud caves.  Jyoti had never been to the caves.
• The highlight of the offroading was Diablo Dropoff.  We parked and checked out the action for a bit then decided on the "easiest" way down.  It was fun and made it through to Fish Creek without a problem.
• Once at Fish Creek, we turned east and up and back Sandstone Canyon.  The obstacles were pretty easy but the canyon was pretty cool.
• We then headed back out Fish Creek and stopped for a hike to the Wind Caves.
• Then we went through Split Mountain got on pavement for a bit then stopped at Elephant Trees Discovery Area for a very nice hike.  The Elephant Tree is a very interesting and fragrant tree.  Lily loved the hike and didn't want to get back into the car.
• Instead of going directly to the 78, we took Old Kane Springs Road westward.  It was very wavy and bumpy - not recommended.
• At the end of the dirt, we aired back up and go onto the highway.   Since it is PCT season, we picked up a couple of hitchikers at Scissors Crossing and dropped them off in Julian.  They looked pretty beat after all the rain lately but they didn't escape since it was raining in Julian.
• Took the usual route home after a long day.

Atop Egg Mountain

Jyoti and Lily in the Mud Caves

Rosie in the Desert

Overlooking Fish Creek from the Wind Caves

Elusive Elephant Tree

 

Radio Battery Box

Recently, I picked up a battery box from Napa that was on sale for a great price.  It was meant for car use so is big enough to fit a car 12v battery and had some 50A connectors.  But I wanted to use it for radio ops so made some modifications.  My guide was this great set of instructions on how to build a solar powered ammo can battery box.  I followed that fairly closely but with the following changes:

• Included the existing 50A Powerpole connectors since they were already there.  I made some pigtails with 15A Powerpole and inline fuse so you can connect a radio to them.  Note that the entire box is 15A regardless of the connector rating.
• Included the external wing nut connectors since they were already there.
• Added a Powerpole external connector for the solar panels.  This allows the panels to be connected while keeping the lid on.

With all the interfaces and pigtails, I can use to run radios, laptops, etc.  It is also big enough for me to carry a bunch of gear.  E.g. for VHF/UHF operations, I can fit a couple radios, antennas and other accessories. I can also add another battery if I need the extra amp hours.

Completed battery box

Inside the box showing the battery and charge controller

Powerpole pigtail with SB50 on one end

 

 

Disasters

As part of my experience with Scouting and the outdoors, I have become fascinated with accounts of high adventure disasters.  I take the opportunity to read books, articles, etc. that help me learn more about crisis situations and how people deal with them.  Even activities that I will almost certainly not be part of are useful.  One of those activities is climbing Mt. Everest.  Perhaps the most infamous Everest disaster happened during the 1996 season.  The incident was turned into several books and movies.  I read a few books and watched a couple of movies and recently came across Jon Krakauer’s response to another account of events, The Climb by Antoli Boukreev (and G. Weston Dewalt).  After going through all this, I still have the following questions about the event:

• Should Rob Hall have abandoned Doug Hansen earlier in their descent?  When in charge of a group, the hardest decision to make is to sacrifice part to same to save yourself and/or others.
• Why did Scott Fischer and Rob Hall die when Beck Weathers survived?  Did Fischer wear himself out going up and down the mountain managing clients as detailed The Climb; was it solely due to HACE or did some other illness contribute?  Both of them were hundreds of feet above Weathers, was the cold and wind so much more severe there?
•  According to Krakauer (and others, according to him) have blamed Boukreev for not staying with clients, but what about other issues that seemed to be the fault of the sherpas.  Mainly, why were fixed ropes not present on the Hillary Step and why was oxygen not available at the South Summit?

Scrum Master Attributes

Mike Cohn has put out a great list of attributes for a scrum master.  Over my scrum career, I found myself going from scrum purism to a more pragmatic view of scrum.  Most of that is due to the nature of the custom and project.  But I think these attributes are valuable for all scrum team members.

 

Prescott Weekend

We headed out to Prescott for the weekend to finalize the site alignment for our house.  While we were out there we did a few excursions.

• Spruce Mt - drove up to the fire tower, partially in the snow
  
• Senator Hwy - drove a few miles south through the mud and snow
  
• Hike around Goldwater Lake
  
• Dinner at El Gato Azul

Top of Spruce Mt

Spruce Mt

Spruce Mt

Our house is in the background somewhere

Spruce Mt fire tower

Map of Goldwater Lake

Goldwater Lake

Tucson Christmas 2022

 Family time in Tucson!

• Old Tucson has reopened and we had a great time.  The shows are really well done.
• Trap shooting at Tucson Trap and Skeet Club
  
• Pistol shooting at Five Points range/Tucson Rifle Club
• Did the Queen mine tour at Bisbee and walked around the little town.  The tour was very interesting.
• Short hike to Recoil Peak
  
• Lots of poker, puzzles and games

Yuletide at Old Tucson

Trap shooting

Atop Recoil Hill

Lily on a rock

Downtown Lowell (near Bisbee)

Taking the train into Queen Mine

Bisbee Museum

Shooting at TRC