I love, love, love traveling. I am experiencing, and learning more than I ever imagined. In the past few years, I’ve skied the Alps, strolled the Great Wall, snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, stood on the Acropolis, enjoyed the view from the Eifel Tower, touched a glacier, floated in a Gondola, and now gone on Safari. I recently tasted Haggis. That might be an experience I’ll be trying to blot out of my memory banks for quite a while. I’m a long way from done though. I st

I’m pretty far removed from grammar classes, but when is it you learn about nouns? First grade, right? I still remember shortly after learning to read about Dick, Jane, and Spot, that a noun was a person, place, or thing. So, let’s talk about travel grammar, specifically, travel nouns. Travel is all about places, right? To be sure I’ve been to some incredible places, and had experiences beyond what I’ve ever dreamed; skiing the Alps, snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, wa

On a journey through Alaska you may see a number of manmade rock piles. Some resemble the shape of a man or a cross. If you take an excursion out of Skagway toward the Yukon, you are likely to see a number of these. They are called Inuksuk. An inuksuk is a man-made stone landmark used by the Inuit, and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America. These structures are found from Alaska to Greenland. This region, above the Arctic Circle, is dominated by the tundra

THIS FUN GROUP EXPLORED ITALY IN 2015 I have to admit, I was a skeptic. It was about 2010, and we knew we were going to take the trip we always dreamed about to Italy. We were busy, and ran out of time to research and set up the details of our trip. We reluctantly booked a group tour, and I learned immediately that my preconceived ideas were entirely wrong. Group Tours are the way to go! Here's what I learned. Myth 1. Escorted group tours are too expensive. Think Costco a

SOME OF OUR BEST TRAVEL PICS PRINTED ON FOAM, ATTACHED TO THE WALL WITH VELCRO. AN EASY WAY TO ADD AND CHANGE TRAVEL PICTURES AND PRESERVE GREAT MEMORIES. You've taken 100's, possibly 1000's of travel pics. Now what do you do with them? The question should probably be, "what not to do with them?" Let me just say, you don't necessarily need a fancy camera. I take most of our pics on a cell phone. I post them on Facebook, and make very enlarged photos from them without a

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. James 4:16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. Jeremiah 17:7 But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. I’ve been thinking about pride, mostly because I suffer from it. I realized my affliction because I recently suffered some painful experiences

I’m just finishing the biography of John D. Rockefeller, the richest man – EVER! Rockefeller with his Standard Oil Company began his march to monopoly as a very young man. This was what Mark Twain called the gilded age. A time where men like Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan and others amassed huge fortunes while turning America from an agrarian society to an economic and industrial super power. Did you know for the first 35 years of the oil b

Job 4:5 But now trouble comes to you and you are discouraged; it strikes you and you are dismayed. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Psalm 136:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. It was quite a few years ago. I rather un-diplomatically stated at a church board meeting that I thought our church was great at fellowship, but we were lacking in spiritual growth. A few mont

That's my dad on the potato wagon, third from the left. It's hard for me to imagine that as my sons give me some incredible new technology every Christmas, my dad actually farmed with horses just 75 years ago. We are living in a time I'm sure history will reflect as a renaissance. I like history. I even considered being a history teacher for a brief time. I studied a great deal of architectural and world history in college. Whenever I have time, I love to watch histor

1 Samuel 17:48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran toward the battle line to meet him. Daniel 6:23 .....and Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him because he trusted in God. Esther 4:14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" I'm just back from a

I’ve discovered a 2 part formula to help achieve that goal; Live longer and live more fully. Let’s start with living longer. I first met Dr. Samuelson when I made an appointment for shoulder surgery. Before I get into the details of living longer, let me say my surgery turned out great! The pain is gone and my golf game is back (well as back as my golf game can be). Just wish I had him do the other shoulder when I had that done 14 years ago. In the course of my trea

Do you remember the 1983 movie “National Lampoon’s Vacation” staring Chevy Chase? It’s a successful comedy that lead to a whole series of sequels. There is a scene in the movie that I actually lived in about 1978, and I’m puzzled as to how they heard about it. Might I actually be entitled to some royalties? If you want to see the clip go to YouTube and search “National Lampoon’s Vacation Car Scene”. Clark Griswold (Chase) takes his family on a vacation in a brand new, “me

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. At 211˚ water is hot. At 212˚ it boils. With boiling water comes steam, and with steam you can power a train. Just one extra degree makes all the difference between something hot, and something extremely powerful. I wish these were original thoughts, but the truth is much of what I’m relaying is paraphrased from Sam Parker. Sam is an author and motivational

It was our first trip to Europe. We had toured Italy for eight days and were taking a bullet train to Basel, Switzerland to begin a river cruise. Rhonda won the cruise, but I guess you knew she was lucky because she got me right? (I sense your groans) We were in a foreign land, not yet experienced in leading tours let alone traveling through Europe. Italy was fantastic, but I was a bit shocked when our lunch on the train, a small, shared lettuce salad, a shared cup of s

My friend Boyd Bahney recommended the book The Path Between the Seas. It's a fascinating history of the construction of the Panama Canal. Thanks Boyd for the tip. Perhaps some of you will want to read it. One of the things that really struck me was the huge loss of human life. It was especially large during the French effort from 1881-1889. Many of the lives lost were Jamaican's and American's. There is really no way to know how many lives were lost, some speculate aroun

There’s a movie coming out by that name on April 29. The picture above is of Ron Hall, the author that wrote the book, and lived the story. That is Rhonda, and Ron’s wife next to him. The movie stars Renee Zellweger, Greg Kinnear, Djimon Hounsou, and Jon Voight. In January 2014 our family took a vacation to Cabo San Lucas. We dined one evening at the resort’s teppanyaki grille. Seated at our table was a well-dressed and sophisticated looking couple. We struck up a conve

We are on a tour of the Panama Canal and this is a story about some of the mountains and volcanos along the way. First let’s talk about Italy. Four fifths of Italy is in hills or mountains. On August 24, 79AD Mt. Vesuvius erupted with 100 times more energy than the Hiroshima atomic blast. An estimated 16,000 residents in Pompeii and Herculaneum were killed. Italy is home to Europe’s three active volcanoes, Etna, Stromboli, and Vesuvius. Vesuvius is considered the most dan

This is an Extra Touch Tours "Replay" We have many new subscribers and I was inspired by our recent trip to Branson to share this blog again. We saw "Jonah" at the Site and Sound Theater. It was incredible and I can't wait to see "Moses" next year. The Site and Sound has the most amazing sets and production I can even conceive. If you want to join us the first week in November next year, better hurry and sign up, the bus in almost full already. We were in Alaska this Se