A Year of Growth (Jacob)

Well 2010 has been an excellent year full of trials and adventures. Our biggest adventure was our month-long voyage around Europe. We made it all the way from Tunis to St. Petersburg on our fantastic 30-day Disney cruise. Our family was also able to squeeze in a few trips to San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles for some weekend getaways.

Beside travel, I’ve been busy with swim all year long. I had a great high school swim season this fall, but unfortunately got sick just as the state meet came around. Our relays did very well, but my individual performance was not what I had anticipated. However, I’m excited to start training again, and head out to some big meets next spring. Another highlight is the fact that Jesse joined me on both the club and high school teams this year!




Over the past couple years I’ve tried without much success to narrow down choices for college. But good news! I believe that I have finally settled on the University of Arizona as my destination next year. I’m both scared and excited to see what college has in store, and I hope to use the next few months to spend lots of quality time with my wonderful friends and family.

Speaking of school, this fall I jumped into my first full load of community college classes. It was certainly a challenge the whole way, but I really appreciated and enjoyed the learning process. I learned not just about the subjects themselves, but I believe that through this I have begun to develop skills and understanding that will serve me through my college career and beyond.

Overall, 2010 has been a busy year, and one filled with growth. My relationships with both my parents and my Lord have grown in meaning, and I hope to honor both even more through the coming year as God continues to form me into the man I will become. It’s been quite a ride, and I can’t wait to see what the coming year has in store.

A couple more of Jacob (magic man and post wisdom teeth) ...

Wow! (Jesse)

Wow. What an amazing year! I am so very thankful for the opportunities that have been given to me. I have done pretty much everything this year, from visiting San Francisco to touring Europe. Very quickly, I would love to present just a couple of highlights from my awesome month-long trip to Europe.

As many of you know, our summer family trip this year took us to Europe, with many amazing stops such as Rome, Berlin and Saint Petersburg. I judged each of our visits by two main factors, historical meaning and beauty. While the winner of most prevalent historical visit must go to Rome for its amazing architecture and history, Berlin was a close second with many WWII relics. However, in my opinion, Oslo, Norway jumped ahead of all other cities in beauty by a mile. Oslo wasn’t just beauty however. we were also privileged to see many amazing artifacts, including an ancient Viking ship! Our trip to Europe was absolutely incredible!

In conclusion, 2010 was an amazing year and while I would love to hang around, I am looking forward to another awesome year.

Thanks to everyone for your great support.

And a few photographic highlights from Jesse ...

Merry Christmas! (2010)

As we talked about our somewhat sporadic and certainly non-traditional year-end letters, I recalled the blog that we established and leveraged for our trip this past year (www.loweryadventure.com). We decided that there was no reason why we need to treat the blog as a point-in-time or event-based item. After all, life is a great adventure. As a result, beginning with this entry and for the coming year, we are going to attempt to provide regular posts of our activities and some photos (that way you can see more than just the one on Beth’s beautiful card).

This past year was a good one. The highlight of the year was clearly our month long trip to Europe (late May through June). We spent the month aboard the beautiful Disney Magic, visiting 14 countries and a host of cities, including Tunis, Malta, Lisbon, Berlin, St. Petersburg and Olso. This blog was originally dedicated to sharing our travel experiences and you are welcome to find the older posts and relive the adventure with us (lots of photos too).

Several times this year we visited San Diego, first for our business team meeting (Beth and Rob), then in April for a family outing and again in October (Beth and Rob). Each time we visited the San Diego Zoo; what a great zoo (family at the zoo below). Shhh, we are heading there again the first weekend in January for what will be a final trip to the zoo for many years as the boys are moving on. We also managed a few beach get-a-ways (July, August and September), a visit to the Getty Villa in Malibu, a couple of trips to San Francisco (family in February and Beth and Rob in September). March was centered around the hope of a new year for the Chicago Cubs (spring training).



Beth has been busy working on getting the house together on the inside and I have been managing the endless stream of projects on the outside. The wiffle-ball field, flag-football field, trampoline and pool are all in. We are currently working on the bbq, the fireplace and the basketball court, hoping to finish in the early part of the year. Perhaps we will provide a few photos in coming blog entries. However, the best way to experience is to visit. Please do stop by.

The boys had a busy year with swim, school and activities (below are the boys talking with Dr. Barry Asmus - world-renowned economist), although I will let them add their own blog entries summarizing their highlights. Beth is as beautiful as ever, really more so! As for me, I am a bit smaller at the end of the year than the beginning of the year, a trend I hope to continue and am looking forward to the quiet time of the season and the adventures of the new year.



More in the coming months …

By the way, here are a few of the photos that didn't make the card.

Home At Last (June 24)

Wow, a really long trip is now over and we are back home safe and sound. We had so much fun it cannot be expressed with words. The history in all of our ports of call is absolutely astounding and our sea days refreshed us every step of the way. This vacation now ties our back-east trip several years ago in length! I was very sad to leave all of the people we had gotten to know over the course of a month, but I was even happier to return to all of my friends and family back home. This vacation was wonderful, one of the best and most exciting in my life. However, I still can’t decide if I went on the trip to rest from life, or if I came back to life to rest from the trip. We all had an incredible vacation and are happy to be back. (Jesse)

Well, our incredible family adventure has come to a close. It’s been quite a month! We’ve been all along the coast of Europe, from as far south as North Africa to as far North as St. Petersburg, Russia. We’ve said sad goodbyes to our friends among the passengers and the crew, and it’s time to head home. I’m ready to come home, but I know that I’ll also miss the Magic. I’ve learned so much and had such an incredible journey. It is probably the best vacation we’ve been on, and I will never forget it. I’m glad that we could share some of the magic with our friends and family, and thank you so much for following along with our travels! See you all soon! (Jacob)

The Final Lazy Days at Sea

Over the course of this vacation, we had almost two weeks of sea days all to ourselves on the ship. What, you may ask, do you do for two weeks on a ship? Well, there is so much to do that you might have trouble getting it all done! A common day for me might go much like this:

8:00 - Sleep
9:00 - Sleep
10:00 - Breakfast
11:00 - Read
12:00 - Movie
1:00 - Dodgeball
2:00 - Lunch With Ice Cream(as much as you want)
3:00 - Read
4:00 - Teen Club
5:00 - Get Ready for Dinner
6:00 - Theater Performance Amazing!
7:00 - Theater Performance Amazing!
8:00 - Dinner
9:00 - Dinner
10:00 - Movie
11:00 - Movie
12:00 - Dodgeball
1:00 - Bed

As you can clearly see, the ship is amazing and there is no lack of things to do.

What really sets Disney Cruise Line above other Lines however, is the crew. All of the crew from deck workers to housekeepers and officers to dinner servers always have smiles on their faces and cheerful hellos. The crew will always help you with anything that you need and are very fun to get to know better. Because we have spent lots of time on the ship, we have been privileged to know a few dozen of the crew very well and stay connected with them on facebook constantly. Overall, sea days are quite fun and are always full of fun activities. (Jesse)

After our stop in Stockholm, we had two days at sea to finish up our trip. These days provided great opportunities for socializing, reading, staying out late, watching movies, etc. I personally took the opportunity to watch the new movie Toy Story 3 four times in three days, read large amounts and eat enough ice cream to choke a horse. Jesse and I also were able to hang out, play sports and talk with the new friend’s we’d made over the course of the previous 10 days.

One of the highlights of the days at sea was the fact that our family was actually given a private, behind-the-scenes tour of the ship’s main theater, where all the large production shows, guest entertainers and first-run movies are shown. It was amazing to see the organization and intricacies involved in running a theater at sea.

After our busy schedule of ports, these two sea days were an excellent way to have fun and wind down before the end of the trip. (Jacob)

Stockholm - Nearing the End (June 21)

Today was our last stop before the end of the cruise. We took a four-hour tour of a combination of the Vasa, Stockholm’s major sites and the armoury. The Vasa was a ship built in the 1600s and known for its size and number of canons (picture). However, its canons didn’t keep it afloat, in fact, some believe that they sunk it. Just after completion, this beautifully carved ship sailed down the river toward the ocean, but sank just a few yards into the river. It is commonly believed that the ship was too top heavy because of the canons. Anyway, they didn’t make the same mistake twice!



The royal armoury is a collection of weapons, armor clothes and even carriages related to the royal family at different times in Swedish history. The museum is composed of three different wings, the carriages, the weapons and the clothes. All three of these exhibits were quite interesting and showed many different customs and fashions of the Swedish Royalty.

After the conclusion of our shore excursion, we watched the changing of the guard and then drove back to the ship for a nice relaxing evening. (Jesse)


Today we visited the last port on our month-long adventure! Stockholm was an excellent way to end our journey into Scandinavia. Besides being considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Stockholm is also rich in history. For the short time that we were there, we toured two museums: the Vasa museum and the Royal Armory.

The Vasa museum houses the only complete warship from the 17th century that has ever been salvaged. It was incredible to walk into the building and see the giant, ancient warship sitting there in front of us. The fact that the whole ship had been preserved was astounding, and for me it was one of the most impressive sights in our whole trip.

After the stop at the Vasa museum, we drove through both the modern city-center and Gamla Stan, the oldest part of the city. We ended our drive at the Swedish royal palace, inside which is the royal armory. The armory is a museum containing artifacts from the Swedish royal family, including many of the royal coaches (picture).



Directly after the armory, we took a quick drive to a quiet part of town that is situated overlooking the entire city. We had a panoramic view of the beautiful city of Stockholm. After this we headed back to the ship and sailed from Scandinavia for the last time. Stockholm is definitely a place I would revisit in the future. (Jacob)

For those of you wondering ... Here is one of me ...

Helsinki - A Small Delight (June 20)

Today was fairly quiet in Helsinki, Finland in comparison to Saint Petersburg. As it is the summer, Helsinki was very beautiful and contained lots on nice buildings and parks. Like the other Northern Capitals we have visited we found a clean and very enjoyable city.

The prominent languages are Finnish and Swedish, with Finnish being always listed first. Sweden controlled what is now Finland for several hundred years. After the Swedish occupation, the Russians took over for another hundred years until Finland finally declared its independence in 1917, leveraging the Bolshevik Revolution.

During our walking tour of the city, we saw the legislature building the rock church (picture) and even partook of some fabulous pastries. After our enjoyable excursion, we returned happily to the ship. (Jesse)



Again, as with the rest of the Northern European cities we’ve visited so far, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The experience was very interesting, and it was nice to become enlightened as to some of the history of Finland. On the other hand, it seems that this culture does not have such a heavy focus on its history as other countries we’ve seen.

Today we actually went on a walking tour, which is made possible by the fact that Helsinki is actually a comparatively small city. Helsinki proper only contains about 500,000 people, and it is very nice and clean and safe.

Throughout our tour we learned about the Finnish culture and language. We saw a huge, relatively modern church that is the main cathedral of the city. We also saw the city’s theatres, opera house and parliament. Helsinki was a very neat cultural experience, and is a very nice place. (Jacob)

St. Petersburg - Did Someone Say Treasure? (June 19)

After today, Saint Petersburg joins the ranks of the world’s greatest cities in my estimation. Our tour was eight hours and quite informative. In the morning, from eight to twelve, we toured around the city and saw many incredible sites such as the bronze horseman (Peter the Great) and a statue of Alexander some of the greatest Russian rulers. In addition to this, we were incredibly privileged to see the Church of the Spilled Blood (picture), a beautiful church, dedicated by Alexander III to his father on the site of his assassination.



Immediately following these sites, we entered a Russian restaurant, where we had salad, chicken, potatoes, champagne, vodka and ice cream. With our hearts (and stomachs) happy, we then toured the Hermitage (the former Winter Palace for the Czars) for two hours. The Hermitage is one of the biggest museums in the world with over three million artifacts. It is said that if you spent three minutes in every room, it would take three and a half years to finish your visit! As a result, we saw only about two percent of the exhibits.

This incredible museum contained sculptures, paintings of modern, classical and baroque styles, gold and silver plates (I love the treasures) and even the royal throne of Catherine II. The Hermitage has now passed the Vatican Museum in my estimation as the greatest in the world. After this, our tour returned us to the ship where we saw Toy Story III! What a great day! (Jesse)

Today was another long day in a fascinating port of call. St. Petersburg is an amazing city, and it’s difficult to believe that I was just in Russia. Even though I haven’t lived long enough to experience it, it’s still difficult to overcome the stigma of communism that I know must still lurk in the minds of American visitors.

Even so, we saw some amazing sights. We passed by the great gold spike of the Peter and Paul Cathedral and made a stop at the Church of the Spilled Blood, a very intriguing, very “Russian” building. A large portion of our time was dedicated to visiting the Hermitage museum, which is now housed in the former royal palace. The museum holds an incredible amount of paintings, sculpture, and all other kinds of artwork. We spent two hours quickly perusing several of the galleries, but we actually saw only about two percent of the contents of the whole museum.

It’s been a great, surreal day, and I’m very glad that I had the opportunity to visit St. Petersburg and see some of its wonderful sights, and get a taste of the culture. It’s a fascinating place with an amazing history. (Jacob)

The visit to St. Petersburg was delightful. We saw the cruiser that was used as the signal for the commencement of the Bolshevik Revolution. We took a photo of the former KGB headquarters (most certainly while they were taking a picture of us) and learned a great deal about the changes that have and are continuing to take place. It was among the most beautiful days (along with Berlin) since entering the Baltic and we were privileged to visit. (By the way, the sunset is 11:20 PM and the sunrise is 3:50 AM although it is continually dusk like … this is the time of the “white nights”.)

Berlin - A Turbulent Past (June 16)

Berlin was full of memories of war and destruction. You could just feel it. However, since the wall encircling West Berlin was torn down (almost completely), construction has advanced rapidly enough that all traces of destruction have vanished.

However, despite the thoughts of Hitler, this thirteen-hour shore excursion was well worth the exploration. We had the immense privilege of visiting Checkpoint Charlie, Germany’s Legislature Building (picture), a cathedral, a plane from the West

Berlin airlift and much, much more. In addition to these wonderful destinations, we were allowed to view the incredible paintings added to the East side of the wall as an expression of freedom (picture) and to ride a train to and from Berlin, three hours each way. All of us are exhausted from this draining excursion, but it was well worth the effort. (Jesse)



Berlin was perhaps our most exciting day of the whole trip thus far. Early this morning we pulled into the port of Warnemunde. Given that Berlin itself is in the heart of Germany, we had to dock in a coastal city. Once we got off the ship, we boarded the train right away and began (at 7:15 AM) the three-hour trip to Berlin.

Once we got there, we met our bus and tour guide and began exploring the city. We saw many amazing landmarks and monuments, the most notable of which were the building that houses the German government, the Brandenburg gate, the memorial to the victims of the 1948 airlift and Checkpoint Charlie.

Today Berlin is a large, clean, modern city, but it was amazing to think of the ruins that have been replaced with new structures since the war, and the fact that barely 20 years ago, Berlin was just rising from the Soviet death-grip.
It was such a full day that I just can’t relate all the wonderful things that we saw. Berlin is a great city, and presents the contrast of the old and the new, the ancient and the ultramodern. It is definitely a place where I would like to spend more time in the future. (Jacob)

Copenhagen - Dane of My Existence (June 15)

We arrived today in Copenhagen, Denmark and took a four-hour tour of the city. The city was quite clean and tidy and like Oslo, is a country where the official religion is Protestantism (Lutheran). After a nice hour-long boat tour, which passed attractions such as the opera house, a statue of a powerful Bishop and the world’s “best restaurant” (In order to eat at this restaurant, you must make reservations at least six months before your arrival), we spent the rest of our time walking through the charming city.



We had a wonderful tour guide (Claus – a computer consultant/tour guide who told us the true story of the origin of the term, “blue-tooth”). We passed churches, statues of world war two heroes and were told of Denmark’s resistance to the Nazis. We were then taken past a large army barracks and camp. Altogether, it was quite fun, we even got pastries (danish)! (Jesse)

This morning we docked in Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark. Our tour today actually consisted of a boat ride through the canals, and a walking tour of parts of the city. We began the excursion by boarding the small boat that took us through the canals for about an hour. Along the way we saw the city’s fantastic new opera house, the house of Hans Christian Anderson (No. 67) and the place where the famous Little Mermaid statue usually sits in the harbor (it’s currently on display in China).

Once we exited the boat, we began our walking tour of the city. We walked along the original defenses of Copenhagen, and visited the military headquarters and barracks, which were constructed several centuries ago but are still used today. One of the most impressive parts of the trip was seeing the royal palace of the Danish monarchs. It is four buildings that are arranged to form a huge, open, public courtyard in the middle (picture). In fact, we arrived at the palace just in time to see the changing of the royal guard, which was fascinating.



Copenhagen was yet another fabulous stop on our Northern itinerary. It contained so much history and in my opinion it is a must-see location. Okay well I gotta run. Berlin is tomorrow, and I’ll let you all know how that goes! Bye! (Jacob)

Oslo - Land of the Vikings & Cold (June 14)

Oslo is the capitol and largest city of Norway, situated on the north side of the North Sea. The population of Norway is approximately 4,660,000 and Oslo is home to approximately 580,000.

We visited the Viking Ship Museum. The Viking Ship Museum contains some absolutely astonishing exhibits including discoveries from Viking tombs and the finding of the world’s two best-preserved Viking longboats, which were built and used sometime in the ninth century A.D. This museum also hosts implements, tools, harnesses, textiles and much more, giving us unique insight into Viking cultures.

We also explored the Vigeland Sculpture Park. One of the most visited parks in Norway with more than one million visitors per year, the Vigeland Sculpture Park contains more than two hundred sculptures in bronze, granite and cast Iron. The sculpter, Gustav Vigeland, threw his life into the park and its contents, even designing the layout of the park itself.



In addition to the Viking Ship Museum and the Vigeland Sculpture Park, we caught a glimpse of Oslo’s incredible opera house and the brand new ski jump being constructed for next years World Championship. All of Oslo is more beautiful than I could ever have imagined. (Jesse)

Well today we finally ventured into a Northern-European country. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect from Oslo, but any preconceived notions I held were exceeded by my experience today. Oslo is a very nice city situated in a beautiful country.
Our first stop was the Viking ship museum, which contains three actual Viking ships that were excavated in the early 20th century, along with several other period artifacts. Next we visited the open-air museum, which is similar to a living history museum in some ways. It was comprised of many original structures dating from the 17th and 18th centuries that were all constructed in the traditional Norse style.

After that, we walked through the Vigeland sculpture park, situated in the middle of Oslo. It is beautiful, 70-acre public-park, lined down the middle with fascinating sculptures. Our last stop involved driving up into the hills of Oslo. This was to see the huge ski jump being constructed for the 2011 world ski jump championships, which are to be held in Oslo.

Overall, the city was very impressive and exceeded my expectations. It was a great start to our tour of Northern Europe, and I can’t wait for Copenhagen! (Jacob)

Dover - Day of Change/Laundry (June 12)

Our second cruise ended with a day in Dover. We decided to stay on the ship and rest a bit. We also had to attend to laundry and make sure that we kept up our workout regimen (note: the food is getting even better … we have been treated to several special and custom meals … and, I fear that a few more pounds have been found). While the day was restful and productive (clean clothes), we did manage a viewing of the white cliffs of Dover (picture). They are spectacular.

Lisbon Jesse's Homeland - (June 9)

The city of Lisbon is situated comfortably on the west coast of Portugal. Portugal is situated comfortably on the western edge of Spain. Spain is situated comfortably on the western edge of Europe. Everyone is comfortably sensing a theme here. Portugal was the home of some of the greatest explorers ever to live such as Ferdinand Magellan and Vasco da Gama.

Lisbon held some quite incredible buildings. Aside from a beautiful seaside guard tower, there was an aquarium, with many stunning creatures including sharks, jellyfish, giant sunfish and stingrays. In addition to these attractions, Lisbon’s wonderful maritime museum was very cool. This museum had scale models of many ships, and even a twenty-four-pound cannon, which I identified correctly without aid of the signage. (Jesse)

Today we went on our excursion through Lisbon, Portugal. First we drove through the area of the city that is considered the old city center. It is directly along the coast, and contains large amounts of architecture from the 17th and 18th centuries. We stopped at several places, including a monastery/cathedral where the great explorer Vasco da Gama is buried (picture), and the maritime museum of Lisbon.



After this portion of the trip, we drove further North to the more modern part of the city, which actually holds some fascinating modern architecture. After a break for lunch (which was an excellent traditional Portuguese), we went to the Lisbon Oceanarium for our last stop. It is actually the second-largest Oceanarium in the world, and it was a fascinating experience. Overall, Lisbon was an extremely worthwhile stop on our itinerary along the European coast, and I would recommend it as an informative and beautiful destination. (Jacob)

Solid as a Rock - Gibraltar (June 7)

The title was a throw back for those of us who are old folks.

Had a quick stop in Gibraltar yesterday. Beth and I spent some time hunting for shoe laces for Jacob's pair of Converse ... Not as easy as it seems. The weather was beautiful and the Rock was in fine form. I have a picture to post when I get an opportunity.

At the moment we are sitting on the steps of a cathedral in Cadiz, using the available wifi (tough to find in some ports). Cadiz was the launching point for much of the discovery/exploration of the New World. It is the oldest city in Europe and was the home to Julius Caesar following Rome's conquest of the region and prior to his leadership of the republic. This is the place where the treasures of the New World were unloaded and they still find a piece of gold or silver in the harbor from time to time.

We have a full day outing planned tomorrow in LIsbon and then several days at see before we reach Dover. We are not sure if we will be able to disembark in Dover. As a result, our next posting is in some question. We arrive in Oslo on Monday. We will try to post then. Otherwise, keep checking and we will get updates out as we are able.

The Disney Magic

We will write more about our time and experiences aboard the ship later. However, I wanted to spend a minute sharing with you all about the "absolutely amazing" experience we are having with the staff. Our trip is made that much better by the incredible staff (too many to mention). However, we are enjoying all of our dining time with the best team in the business. Roberto our head server has become a true friend over the years (Hi Jennelyn ... he is doing very well! And, he misses you and the girls!). In addition, our server for this adventure is Mo (he is superb). We (I) am such a challenge that Mo has two assistants (Anja and Jason). Beth says that we need to tone it down during dinner. We are drawing glances from others due to the amount of laughter emanating from our table.

The entertainment team is great and Brent and Clayton the cruise directors have been most gracious with our family. The cabin staff (lead by Efren) has been outstanding and the youth staff loves the boys (big surprise). Saw a great hypnosis act and the comedian from England was truly inexplicable (and that is coming from me). Beth is making me work out every day. Haven't gained a pound (OK, maybe one). Lots of time to read (Wow! Atlas Shrugged is even better than I expected!). Gotta go for now. Enjoy the view of the ship.

Lazy Days at Sea

Since VilleFrance, we have enjoyed a break in the pace of visits. We had a sea day on Friday, a lazy day in Barcelona while the passengers from the first cruise got off and the folks for the next leg of the voyage joined. Yesterday Beth and I celebrated my half-birthday (thank you for all the well wishes) with brunch in Palo (the adult restaurant aboard the ship). It was spectacular. As for the boy’s activities aboard, read on.

The past few days have been absolutely awesome aboard ship. Every meal is excellent and the service is great. I have been spending a lot of time in the teen club (the Stack – located in one of the ships smoke stacks), playing dodge-ball, board games, basketball and so much more. I have been having lots of fun and have even seen movies The Last Song, The Prince of Persia, The Princess and the Frog and Alice in Wonderland. Overall, this has been a very relaxing portion of the trip. (Jesse)
I have actually spent the past several days exclusively on board the ship. The time on board has actually been quite exciting.

Two days ago we said goodbye as our friends from the first cruise disembarked. Now we are well into the repositioning cruise, which will take a total of seven days.

During the time on the ship, I have been enjoying the ship’s great entertainment and great food. Speaking of food, a few days ago our family actually had the opportunity to have an exclusive private tour of the ship’s three galleys, where all of our meals are prepared. It was amazing to see the inner workings of the ship’s kitchens, especially so given that children (under 18) are not generally allowed in the galley, even with special tours.

Overall, it’s been a wonderful trip, and I’m looking forward to the rest of it. Well, I’ll be sure to post later on, but for now I’m headed to breakfast. See ya! (Jacob)

Technical Note

Note: Due to connectivity, we are periodically unable to post pictures with entries. In some cases, I am endeavoring to go back and add pictures where possible. Feel free to scroll back through to see if any have been added from time to time.

VilleFrance - the Beauty of France (June 3)

VilleFrance was among the most beautiful harbors we have visited thus far. The gateway to Nice, Canes and Monte Carlo, the village of VilleFrance and the associated bay is all that you would expect of Southern France. We tendered from the ship to the dock and we able to enjoy the ride among the afternoon sun (80 degrees with a gentle breeze). We wandered just a bit and returned to the ship.

The Isle of Corsica (June 2)

Beth and I left the boys for some time and toured the beautiful town of Ajaccio on the Island of Corsica.  Corsica is a French Island having be sold to France is 1768 by the state of Genoa.  Today, Corsica is best know at the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was born in Ajaccio in 1769.  Corsica is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean and lies just seven miles north of it’s Italian neighbor island, Sardinia (which we visited three years ago).  The visit was lovely and the weather and coastline spectacular.

Picturesque Pisa (June 1)

Today was my first chance to see another of the defining historical landmarks of Italy: the leaning tower of Pisa. Early this morning we ported in the coast town of La Spezia and then drove an hour inland and down the coast to the famed city of Pisa.

Over the past several years, the tower has been leaning so much that they have not allowed the public to enter the tower. However, they have been slowly making adjustments in the tower’s inclination and it is now safe to climb. As a result, we were actually able to climb all the way to the top of this incredible tower.
Directly adjacent to the leaning tower are the corresponding church and baptistery. In fact, the Pisa baptistery is the tallest in the world. Previous to my visit, I had never understood the purpose of the leaning tower. In fact, it was simply constructed to serve as the bell tower for the nearby church. (Jacob)



The Leaning Tower of Pisa is probably the best-known tower in the world.  The tower, baptistery and cathedral are all incredibly beautiful, because they were built with white marble.  The famous tower of Pisa was leaning so much at one point in the 1900s, that it was cleared of all people for several years.  The reason for the lean in the Leaning Tower, is because the ground was so soft that one side of the tower sunk slightly into the ground.

After our visit to the tower, we adjourned to a nearby pastry and gelato shop.  At the restaurant, every family was given an immense plate of pastries.  In addition, the children received fantastic servings of gelato, or Italian ice cream.  Overall, I had a fantastic day.  (Jesse)

Oh, Roma! (May 31)

Wow. Wow! Wow!! Wow!!! What more can I say? Rome was absolutely mesmerizing in it's history and beauty. We had a private guide/car that made getting around sooo much easier! We were very blessed to be able to visit the Pantheon, the Coliseum, multiple "town squares" bridges and many other fascinating historical buildings.

In this excursion, we learned many interesting facts about various buildings that I had never known before, such as the fact that the Pantheon has multiple domes (interior and exterior), as well as walls that are twenty feet thick! The Coliseum was divided into multiple sections. The top section, as the worst view, was reserved for women and slaves only. The next section down contained the seats for Plebians, or common men. Finally, the Patricians, or wealthy aristocracy sat just above the emperor's special "box seats". (Jesse)

Today was perhaps the most thrilling yet daunting stop in the Med. Early this morning we pulled into port and then drove to the city of Rome. Given that we'd visited Rome previously on one of the cruise tours, we decided to utilize a private guide and driver so that we could tour the locations that interested us most.

First we went once again to the Coliseum. This time we were actually able to go inside this fantastic structure, and get a full sense of its size, beauty and function. Then throughout the course of the rest of the day we saw many fabulous sites such as the ancient Roman Forum, the triumphal Arch of Constantine, Circus Maximus and the ancient aqueducts.



We also visited the incredible Pantheon, climbed the famous Spanish Steps and enjoyed a panoramic view of Rome from a nearby hilltop. In fact, we saw and learned so much that I simply can't list everything. The places we visited and the history we absorbed were absolutely jaw-dropping, and they were actually made even more so by the fact that we had been there once before. Our guide (Mayta) was extremely knowledgeable about everything we saw, and she truly immersed us in the history of the the city.

Mt. Vesuvius & The Ruins of Pompeii - Naples (May 30)

Hey guys, we are off of the ship again. I am excited for this visit because we about to hike Vesuvius! After we hike that famous mountain (active volcano) we will explore the disaster that destroyed Pompei and walk it's ruins. By the way, breakfast, an omelet, sausage with syrup and some doughnut. Yeah!!! That's what i'm talking about!!!

Hi again! We just finished climbing Vesuvius and are now heading for some good ole Italian pizza. We have been having lots of fun. It was a tough climb, but the view on top paid for everything!

The Italian lunch was absolutely amazing! The pizza was very thin and was even made with real mozzarella cheese! The afternoon in Pompei was also amazing and brought back many happy memories from my visit a few years ago. Have a nice night and pray for us because tomorrow is Rome! (Jesse)

We've had a pretty full day in Naples today. It is not only a busy modern city, but also the site of the famous town of Pompeii, which was destroyed in 79 AD by the famous volcano Vesuvius. First we hiked up Vesuvius to see both the crater and the views of the city. (Jacob)



Just back from hiking Mt. Vesuvius. What an awesome experience. The weather was perfect, the views spectacular, and looking down in the crater was impressive. The hike was a nice/moderately aggressive two miles, which was made more challenging by the loose footing that resulted from the light lava stone and the dust/gravel that it has been ground into.

We saw the bed of lava that flowed in the Valley of the Giant as recently as 1944 and saw the impact that resulted from the great eruption of 79 A.D. The drive up to and back from the trailhead was beautiful. The flowers were in bloom and the views got better with each switchback.

After the hike we headed off for pizza and then a tour of Pompeii. I am chilled as I walk the streets of Pompei and think about the fear and panic that ensued during the great eruption. Those who excavated found bread in the ovens and objects in their places as one would have expected, given that there was no warning for the disaster. I love history!

Tunis - Touching Africa - May 29

Hi, Jesse here! We just finished our visit to Carthage, located in Tunisia. While there, we saw an incredible Roman bath. At the instant that I am writing this blog report, I am passing an ancient Roman amphitheater. This shore excursion is absolutely fantastic! Following these ancient ruins, we will be visiting a small village. I plan to have lots of fun after the excursions, including hangout time in the teen club and maybe a late night movie. Talk to you later.

Me again. The village was absolutely beautiful! All of the houses and shops were white with blue shutters and doors. At the moment, I am on the bus headed back for the ship. This trip means that I have visited three continents, four to go. This has been an amazing day! (Jesse)



Wow. Okay so I'm sitting on the bus going through Tunis and the ruins of ancient Carthage (my first time on this continent), and it's all incredible. The ruins left here are primarily Roman, from the time when they defeated and rebuilt the city during the third Punic war in the second century A.D. Thus far we've seen the bath house, aqueducts, cisterns and an amphitheater, all of which have been stunning. We just now drove through the resting place of the American soldiers who sacrificed their lives here during WWII (3,000 graves and another 4,000 never identified), it was a beautiful yet sobering experience.

Just got back to the bus after wandering around a small section of the city called Sidi Bou Said, a lovely town in which all the buildings are painted white, and the windows, doors and trim are all blue. While there we also learned about the architecture and style of well-to-do houses of the past century. We toured the home and walked the shops of this village. (Jacob)

Visiting Tunisia, I have a much better sense for the reality of oppression among the Islamic world. This is a liberal Muslim nation where the west (at least our money) is welcome/sought after and women are allowed to hold many positions. However, the reality of a state that is 99% Muslim with only token references to pockets of Jews and Catholics (mostly representing foreign governments) seemed forced and was clearly made to create some sense of ease among our group of visitors.

The history of Tunis/Carthage was breathtaking and the visit intense. All in all, an excellent experience.

More on Malta

We have really enjoyed Malta. The picture in the last post was the boys visiting St. John's Co-Cathedral. A baroque masterpiece. I have included some additional photos below. They include one more of Malta and a photo of our ship door, fully decorated.

Malta - An Island Treasure (May 28)

Hi guys! I am sorry that I did not post yesterday we could not get a signal. The first couple of days have been amazing and exciting to no end. The food is fantastic and plentiful, (I tried lamb last night) and the servers are so great. I have also retained my family ping-pong championship title thus far in the cruise. Today, we arrived safely at Malta, where we ventured into the unknown. We had quite a detour to find where we were going, but finally, we arrived at our destination, St. John’s Co-Cathedral. After an astounding visit, we walked right back to the ship. (Jesse)

Yesterday was our first day at sea. It was exclusively a sea-day, without a port of call. We used the time to catch up on sleep, have fun, and enjoy some of the great Disney entertainment. On the other hand, this morning we pulled into the beautiful port of Valetta, Malta. After some breakfast we wandered out on our own to see some of the city. We went for a nice walk and visited St. John’s Co-Cathedral and museum. This is one of the great landmarks of the city and was a fascinating visit. Overall, Valetta appears to be a very nice city, I enjoyed it very much. If there’s anything else you’d like to know specifically about the past couple days, just let me know and I’ll get back to you. Thanks! (Jacob)

Communication Challenges

Just a quick update to share that our ability to post while we are aboard the ship appears to be non-existent. As a result, our posts will be limited to our shore visits (of which there are plenty). We just landed in Malta and will report again toward the end of our day.

Barcelona At Last (May 26)

Hi friends and family, it's Jesse! Although today was a day full of exhausting travel, we have been looking excitedly forward to boarding the ship. Before we can enter the ship terminal (due to the early hour) we are taking a bus tour around Barcelona, Spain. You can really feel the energy building up everywhere around and especially inside of me! But that isn't the only thing that is building quickly. We haven't eaten a regular meal in 24 hours, just snacks. You can well imagine my hunger for an 8:00 PM dinner, just ten hours away. That's all for now, so I will blog again tomorrow. (Jesse)

Well where do I start? The past 24 hours have actually been pretty surreal. We flew from Phoenix to Philadelphia, and then directly to Barcelona. Here we sit now almost a full day after leaving home. We had a largely uneventful trip here, but the excitement is just about to begin! We're currently waiting with great anticipation to board the ship. Our adventure has begun, and I'm absolutely thrilled. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated over the next few days. (Jacob)

I thought I would include a few details from out tour of Barcelona (it was great to be back in this beautiful city). Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain, and counting the metro area, it contains 4 million people. Barcelona was founded by the Romans approximately 2000 years ago, and therefore has many architectural styles.

Barcelona is also the home of Antonio Gaudi a founder of modern (modernismo) architecture created while he lived in this very prominent city. These architectures were featured in some of Barcelona's most significant hosted events, including:

1888 International World Exhibition
1929 International World Exhibition
1992 Olympic Games

The city is also home to museums honoring the works of Pablo Picasso and Juan Miro. The heart of the old city is located by the water and features the city's cathedral (c. 1400). The city also features a famous outdoor plaza called la Ramblas (featuring street performers), a historic bull ring (which was in use until just recently and unique architecture throughout.

Join Our Fun! (Jesse)

Hello family and friends. Are you ready to follow our grand tour of Europe? Make sure that you post plenty of comments because we want to hear from you! Over the course of this trip, we will be visiting fifteen countries including Italy, Russia, Malta and England. We are all very excited to visit these incredible historic nations and remember, we want to here from you!

The Countdown Continues (Jacob)

Hello to all of our wonderful family and friends! Welcome to the Lowery family adventure blog. I’m glad that you’re here and that you’re interested in following our voyage all along the coasts of Europe. We are going to have an exciting trip, and I’m thrilled that we can share it with you. Right now we have less than a week before we depart, and things are beginning to pick up while being both nerve-wracking and thrilling. I’m starting to pull together some things that I need to take and we’re all attempting to figure out how we’re going to pack for a whole month. Well, that’s all for now. We will be sure to keep you updated throughout the whole process of our month-long adventure!

Welcome (May 18, 2010)

We would like to welcome you to our current adventure. Today marks one week until our coming departure. We are very excited about our pending travel and equally excited to be able to share our experiences. In the next few days Jacob and Jesse will provide welcome posts. In addition, as we move closer to our departure, we will try to share a few of the details regarding our efforts to prepare for more than a month of travel.

Please be sure a let us know that you are tracking our whereabouts and let us know if you have any questions. Thank you for joining our "virtual" adventure.