2000 – 2005

Russia Volga River Cruise (May 2000)

In May 2000, I joined my friend Nora Jacob for a cruise down the Volga River in Russia with GoAhead Vacations. We traveled to New York City and visited Nora’s sister in Connecticut as well as the NYC Natural History Museum before flying to Helsinki, Finland to begin the journey. While in Helsinki we did a day trip to Tallin, Estonia which is just across the Gulf of Finland from Helsinki. We then met up with our GoAhead group and traveled by bus to St. Petersburg, Russia. After a few days in St. Petersburg we boarded our boat for a cruise down the Volga River to Moscow.

The cruise was a nice way to see a lot various Russian cities. We travelled all the way to Lake Onega to see a remote wooden Russian Orthodox Church on Kiishi Island. From there we went south stopping in Yaroslav where one of our ancient ancestors was from. The cruise was made more interesting with lectures held every day on Russian language, politics and history taught be Russian professors that work on the cruise ships during their summer vacations. At night there were cultural entertainment where it stayed light until midnight.

We toured several days in Moscow returning finally to JFK in New York.

Ashville, North Carolina, D.C. and Wilmington, Delaware (November 2000)

I had always wanted to go see the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, North Carolina and had tried twice to get to its remote location in western North Carolina. I finally got to tour it on a trip to DC when I flew to Charlotte, NC drove over the Ashville and then up to DC. Once in DC then I went with Kris Clark and her Hillwood docent group to see the Russian Fabrege art exhibit in Wilmington, Deleware.

Second Russia Volga Cruise (July 2001)

Kris Clark asked me to go with her on her Hillwood docent groups Volga River cruise in July, 2001. This time the trip started in Moscow and ended in St. Petersburg.

Winter Olympics - Salt Lake City (February 2002)

I had to go to the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. It was great fun seeing what great hosts the Utahns were. Jean Nielson and I went to one of the figure skating events in the Delta Center.

Frank Lloyd Wright Festival - Chicago (May 2002)

I went to the Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture festival in Chicago with a friend from Hemet work, Jim Irvin. It was bright, sunny and brutally cold but fun to see many of the Wright designed structures in Oak Park. We then drove up to Milwaukee to see the Santiago Calatrava’s art museum.

Ft. Lauderdale - Key West (November 2002)

Took a long weekend trip to Ft. Lauderdale and caught Miami and drove all the way to Key West.

A Walk in Tuscany (May 2003)

In May 2003, Anne Hall and I took a GoAhead Walk Through Tuscany. We started in Monte Chantini Termine to the west of Florence. This is an old spa town about ah half an hour train ride west of Florence. We had a day trip to Florence and then went down to Siena and the Chianti region. Every morning we would have a wonderful walk and then be picked up by our bus and go for lunch and then free time in the various hill towns in Tuscany and Umbria. It was really the first time I got to see the Italian countryside. Loved it! The trip started on Monday, May 12th and ended Friday, May 23rd.

Orlando, Florida (September 2003)

Jill Kirby and I went to the National Federation of Genealogical Societies conference in Orlando in September 2003. While there we went to Disney’s Epcot park – disappointing. We also spent a day driving to Cape Canaveral to tour the space program facility – fascinating!

Natchez, Vicksburg and Baton Rouge (March 2004)

Every year there is an historic home tour in Natchez, Mississippi during the month of March. So off I flew to Baton Rouge and then drove up to Natchez, saw some neat Southern Colonial mansions, and the Mississippi River. I then went to Vicksburg to tour the enormous battle field there.

Southern Minnesota (April 2004)

Later in the Spring I went on a trip to Southern Minnesota to see where my grandmother Marie Running’s family first immigrated to from Norway. From Minneapolis I drove to Filmore County, Minnesota to see where the Erickson and Eggebroten families had settled. I then continued south to Decorah in Winneshiek County, Iowa to see the Norwegian-American Heritage Center.