Norway is incredibly beautiful.  We had a wonderful time on our vacation, but of course are glad to be home.  The picture above is one of over a hundred, this one was taken in Olden, a beautiful village of about 300 or so people.  We were privileged to visit Olden, Skjolden, Molde, Alesund, Bergen, Geiranger, and Stavenger.  Each stop was an absolute wonder of beautiful scenery and wonderful people.

DOG ISLAND continues to do well, thanks to all of you.  It would be great to see a few more reviews, so if you feel so inclined, stop by either Amazon or Barnes and Noble and post your review.  And the blog has now exceeded 1000 visitors, but no one offered a comment.  Don't be shy, let me know you have stopped by.

Trip to Amsterdam

Since I'm not a travel writer I hadn't thought about posting on our trip, but I am a writer, and I do travel, so here goes.

First, the flight to Amsterdam.  Using the last of my frequent flier miles, DW and I boarded Delta Airlines flight 33 to Amsterdam. 

Springing the extra $ for "Comfort Economy" was definitely not worth it.  There is very little comfort afforded by the very narrow, rigid sided seats, the "50% extra recline" allows the seat to go back an extra inch or so.  The extra leg room is nice, but I could not get my legs into a comfortable position the entire flight.

Dutch immigration was very easy, once our luggage was recovered from baggage claim it was simply a matter of walking out the "Nothing to Declare" door.  Sweet, the Dutch have figured out a way to simplify the process, maybe we could follow suit?

The Amsterdam Marriott people could not be better.  Our room is nicely appointed, clean, and fresh.  The concierge is helpful, and everyone goes out of their way to make guests feel comfortable. They helped us with train schedules to Maastricht for a day trip to our favorite city in the Netherlands.

Maastricht was very busy with weekenders enjoying the mid-summer festivities.  A violin concert in the Friethof brought large crowds who filled the outdoor cafes, enjoying the long summer day.  The shops offered large "korting", or discounts, on their merchandise.  It was a very enjoyable day.

One word of caution, however.  Europeans are migrating to credit cards embedded with chips rather than the magnetic stripes commonly found on American credit cards.  We ran into two occasions where our credit cards were unusable, resulting in the depletion of our stock of Euros.  Since credit cards offer better exchange rates and lower conversion costs, using the cards are cheaper than converting cash or travelers checks to local currency.  But if your card doesn't have the chip, it may not work in all cases.  Of course, hotels will still accept the magnetic strips, but we ran into one restaurant that did not and the Dutch train system did not, either.  So, check with your credit card company to see if they offer the embedded chip before you embark on your European vacation.

That's all for now, more to follow......

1000 Visitors

DW and I are going on vacation later this week, and will be out for two weeks.  I'll post more on the blog when we get back.

Meanwhile, we are approaching the 1000th visitor to the blog site.  Be sure to leave a comment, for the first one to leave a comment along with their email address will win a prize!

Hometowns

I grew up in a small town in Michigan. Attended the same school my mother attended.  The home we lived in is gone, but the memories linger.  To give a little back, I donated a batch of DOG ISLAND books for sale at the local museum - all revenue from the sale to be split evenly between the museum and the local volunteer fire department.

The results of the first weekend sales are in - DOG ISLAND sold a whopping six books.  Not bad for a town with a population of 350.  Salute, as they used to say on Hee-Haw.

Memorial Day

This weekend is our annual remembrance of our brave military members who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to provide us with the freedom and liberty that we enjoy today.  Please also keep in your prayers the family members left behind, the sacrifice of sons, daughters, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, lovers - should not be overlooked.

A tear slides down her cheek and spills

 its dampness on her pillow in the night.

She lies awake and wonders if this ache

 within her heart will ever fade away.

She conjures up a tepid smile in hope of

banning demons to the corners of her mind.

But dullness in her eyes betrays the sadness that she hides

so well as she throws the curtains open at the start of yet another lonely day.

There’s a grave that lies within the soil of a country on the far side of the sea

Beneath the cross there lies a man who gave his life in the fight for liberty.

This is the day we set aside to remember those who paid the price

For we know too well that freedom is not free.

Nook Version

Things are moving very fast.  DOG ISLAND is now available on Nook as well as Kindle.  Thanks to the wonderful staff at Oak Tree Press, DOG ISLAND can be found almost anywhere.  If you want to purchase a copy, here are the links:

     Barnes and Noble, paperback and Nook versions

     Amazon, paperback and Kindle versions

Thank you to family, friends, and fans who have made this launch a huge success.

DOG ISLAND on Kindle

Just received word that DOG ISLAND is now available on Kindle.  This is terrific news, quite a few fans have been asking when the Kindle edition will be available.  Here is the link  DOG ISLAND Kindle Edition.

And a huge THANK YOU to everyone who bought the paperback edition.