Salt Lake Jake

Our Friend, Robert 'Jake' Jacobsen has passed away Christmas Eve within months of being diagnosed with brain cancer. He was 66. We met the Jakester and his wife Marian in 2001, and rode together on our first Harley ride to Sturges, South Dakota. A native of Salt Lake City, Jake was a dedicated fire fighter and started, "Burn Pattern Analysis" in 1984 where he worked until his death as an arson investigator. He loved that Harley and I had to laugh this summer as he rode his motorcycle to the hospital for brain surgery. Jake and Marian had been guests at our Lake Chelan cabin in the past but couldn't make the invite in August.

These photos were taken in 2004 on a motorcycle ride to the California wine country. In the pool, left to right are Mike, Greg, Mary, Paul, Phil, Jake, Marian, and Patsy. The raunchy riders in bottom picture taken at the Duckhorn Winery in California are, John, Cindy, Paul, Greg, Mary, Marian, Jake, Patsy, Phil and Julie. Jake was preceded in death last year by our riding buddy Greg Gammack, also shown here. I'm guessing that they will shine the chrome and take that ride in the sky together. Jake always said "Keep the Shinny Side UP",,,,, We will sure miss you my friend.....

Wireless Christmas

This year was all about electronics and Santa treated us well. Our first wireless HP printer that arrived, is linked to our Iphones and Ipads. On the left is a small Bose boom box which will rock the house and is blue tooth active. Next is the new version of the Kindle which replaces buying any more books. Bottom right is a charging dock that will charge the IPad and IPhone together. I had to show the wireless wine bottle holder that Julie got from Santa. So now I can sit on the sofa with my TV remote, Play my music from my IPhone (bluetooth), Print any thing with a wireless signal from my IPhone, read my Kindle, and send a voice activated text to my 'beer bringer' for another cold pint. Life can't get any better!

Chicago

The Musical Chicago was our entertainment Saturday here in London. Built in 1889 the West End Garrick Theater hosted Chicago, which is the Worlds longest running American Musical. This story tells of the growing popularity of celebrity criminals in the 20's. It had everything I needed to be entertained. Murder, Greed, Corruption, Exploitation, Adultery, and Treachery. This is the 20 th show that we've seen since moving here in 2007. My favorites have been Billy Elliott, Mama Mia, in London and Moulin Rouge, in Paris. At the very bottom of my list is 'Woman in Black'. These shows are a great way for us to pass time in the winter months here.

Kasabian

Last night we were back in the O2 Arena for a private party. This followed with a good ol rock concert that left our ears ringing the next day. Kasabian is a hot UK rock band who are very popular with the younger crowd here in Europe. It looked like a full house to me with standing only on the lower floor. The light show and sound affects were incredible. It reminded us of Octoberfest in Munich, with pints of beer thrown everywhere. No one on the ground floor stayed dry, Now these guys know how to party. I'm watching it snow this morning for the first time here in London. Winter has arrived.

Paul McCartney

We returned to home in London from holiday in the US, on Sunday at 4:30 PM. With a 10 hour flight and the 8 hour time zone change we were totally knackered. The hot water was out in our flat and Paul McCartney was playing at the O2 Arena Monday night. All these issues hit us on our return. London is the biggest market in the world for live concerts, so when the big names come to town, we make every effort to attend. The 20,000 capacity O2 Arena was sold out for McCartney's one night gig, and is only 10 minutes from our flat. We got great seats about 20 meters from the side of the stage. The 69 year old McCartney rocked the house for almost 3 hours. The entire stage erupted with flames and smoke during the hit song 'Live and Let Die', shown in the photo. Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood was a surprise guest, and played with McCartney's band (second photo). I don't know if I'll ever want to leave this city.

Arizona Holidays

We are just finishing our holiday parties with family and friends here in AZ USA. All this sun and blue sky's are killing us so we pack to go back home. We did have a great visit with Brent, Sandra, and Grand Daughter Kiana, shown here. Brent does a great job each year of extending his pool table another 10 feet to make room for 30 during Thanksgiving. Julie and I always want to get invited back so we try to not overstay our welcome. And we want to be extra nice to our kids Brent and Brooke, who insist that they will be supporting us when we move back to the US. Bless Them!

Kiana

Here I visited my Grand-daughter, Kiana at her preschool. We had a Thanksgiving lunch with many other parents and relatives attending. The holidays are always a fun time for these kids. Another Grandchild is on the way for Brent and Sandra, due next March so that will be an exciting time for us as well.

Arizona Cardinals Football

Now after 3 weeks of being lazy here in sunny Arizona, it's time to catch up on my blog. I got an invite to a Cardinals home game 2 weeks ago which was a first for me. The weather was great and the tail-gate party was as much fun as the game. The Cardinals with a poor record this year defeated the Rams in OT. The Glendale Stadium had the roof rolled back so no one could escape the warm sunny AZ. winter day. Great time with great friends!

The Thames Barrier

The Thames Barrier took 8 years to build and is considered the 8th wonder of the world. Completed in 1984 and valued at over 1,000 million pounds, this is London's most expensive project. The Barrier was built to prevent London from being flooded by high tides and storm surges. It protects 125 sq. kilometers of London and 1.25 million people. This is the Worlds 2nd largest movable flood barrier. In 1928 the Thames flooded taking 14 lives, and also in 1953 the North Sea flooded killing 307. The first photo taken from our flat is looking to the East of us, which is downstream. I keep my eye on this every day as I want to make sure we take the lift down to dry land.

The Railway Children

This play was staged at the former Eurostar terminal in London's Waterloo station Theater. With seating on both sides of the track, the production featured the amazing Stirling 60 ton Steam Locomotive. The story comes from a children's book published in 1906, and tells of 3 children growing up near the tracks while their father was held in prison. Good Stuff.

Honfleur, France

With our friends Jerry and Paula, (second photo)we took a 1 hour drive from Deauville to the small coastal village of Honfleur. This lovely village of about 10,000 is also a part of the Normandy area of France and what a fun place to waste a day. There are still signs of the German occupation here during WWII with this photo of a gun battery, or pill box, on the beach highway where we drove. I've got comments that most of the pictures of us, that I post on this blog, seem to include alcohol. So with this in mind, we took this opportunity on our anniversary, to have a wonderful seafood lunch on the pier in the French sunshine without a bottle of fine wine, or a cold frosty pint of lager YEAH RIGHT !

Deauville, France

Last week Julie attended the Global Women's Forum in Deauville, for professional women. I joined her on the weekend where we celebrated our 28 th anniversary. Deauville is located in the lower Normandy area, and is considered the most prestigious seaside resort in France. We stayed at the beautiful Royal Barrier Hotel in Deauville, shown here, and were totally satisfied with the property. We flew a short Air France flight from London City airport to Orly airport in Paris. From there it was a 3 hour ride in a rental car to and from Deauville. Good weather followed us all the way.

I'll be Back

I stopped in once again at London's Madame Tussuad's wax Museum with my US guests. Even though I've been here before there's always somebody new on display, I didn't know it would be me. We are having record heat here in England for the month of October. The AC gets turned on every night with these +80 degree days. Just the way we like it!

British Tours

This week we hosted Gene and Sara from Arizona for the second time here. They have been guardians for our dog Bogey for the last 2 years at their AZ. home. Once again I stood up to the huge pressure and liability of being a city tour guide here in London. We visited some of the more popular sites that they hadn't been to. Shown here is Windsor Castle, Abbey Road, and the very first Hard Rock Cafe. Last night Julie and I took our guests to the London Production of "Mama Mia" which is one of our favorite shows. This morning Gene and Sara left for a week of golf in Scotland and will return for a few more days. Good Fun!

Lake Chelan

Julie and I are very happy here and are excited to one day call Lake Chelan our home. Right now we are both really enjoying our life here in England. Julie loves her job with Barclay's and I am picking up enough building projects to keep me busy while in the UK. As a builder I do look forward to the projects that get our lake house ready for us the day we move back. This summer I dove on our old water pump to get a new pump and parts list ready for replacement in the spring. I also spent 2 more days with the jack-hammer clearing the way for a future hot tub. Every where I turn there is another rock in my way. I have my spring time work already lined up but until then I'll keep blogging my way around the world.

Goodby Summer Friends

The end of another fun summer here at Lake Chelan USA. Great photo of Julie, Lora, and Mary. This group comes together every year around Labor Day, at our summer home and the time goes by way too fast. Julie and I will sure miss our American friends and do look forward to next summer. Now back in London for the long winter we have more guests arriving on Monday. I will once again be the expert tour guide.

The Trike

Our best Arizona friends, Paul and Mary showed up this summer on a Gold Wing with the trike conversion. I did get a chance to take the trike for a ride. It is quiet and comfortable with plenty of power. You can't take corners as fast but you can pull off the road and not worry about your balance and falling over. I might get one of these when I get old. This is a great option for riders with bad balance and fall off on occasion. Lew, this might work for you. I'm still having trouble posting blog stories so these are about 2 weeks overdue.

The Wall of Shame

This is a project we started in 2007 and it is now getting national attention, I am proud to say. Every summer from mid August through Labor day we host our annual recycle project by building the 'Wall of Shame'. With the help and hard work of friends and great neighbors this has once again been a huge success. Only major contributors are invited. Shown here left to right are Bruce and Becky from Seattle, Paul and Mary from Scottsdale AZ. , Julie and I from London, John and Cindy from Boise Id. Click on photos for the full Monty, Great job team!

Duck Hook

We watched this poor little duck for 3 days hanging out by our dock with a fish hook in it's upper bill. We just couldn't find a way to catch it until yesterday. It landed on our lawn with the hook, a bobber and 5 feet of line trailing behind. Julie threw it crackers and sweet-talked it to come closer,(she is good at that). I got behind and grabbed the fishing line and pulled it in. Neighbor George got the wire cutters while I held the duck and cut the hook out. I think he said thanks when he flew off, glad we could help.

Labor day Work

Another phase of the landscape project is checked off here at Lake Chelan. I busted out more rock and stacked about 100 more blocks to clean up this area of the yard. Now I move on to my next back ache. It's nice to check these jobs off the list before I get old. I haven't posted stories on the blog for 2 weeks. I am having trouble getting anything published. I am slow getting this figured out but keep trying.