I'm off to Ischia, Italy.  Ischia  is a  volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples about 19 miles from the city of Naples.  It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal, it measures approximately 6 miles east to west and 4 miles north to south and has about 21 miles of coastline and a surface area of 17.9 sq mi. It is almost entirely mountainous, the highest peak being Mount Epomeo 2,585 feet. The island has a population of over 60,000 people.  The main industry is tourism , centering on thermal spas that cater mostly to E uropean  especially German and Asian to urists eager to enjoy the fruits of the island's natural volcanic  activity, its hot springs, and its volcanic mud. I booked the trip several months ago so as the time got closer, I thought I better figure out how to get there.  Hmmm not as easy as I thought.  One reason I moved to Malta was to be able to travel in Europe.  Unfortunatel

It's the little things that really let you know you are in a foreign country.  You expect some things to be different; money, language, food etc.  There are many more that you just don't think about.  Here are some of the things I've noticed. Smoking.  I mentioned before how everyone here smokes.  Sidewalks are very, very narrow.  To pass, you both have to kind of turn sideways and 'suck it in', but you still brush up against people.  What you have to watch out for are those with cigarettes in their hand.  I was at a sidewalk cafe last week in a non smoking section.  Of the 8 tables in this area, 6 had people smoking, in the non smoking section. I mentioned the narrow streets and sidewalks.  The cities are like a maze of streets running every which way.  They curve around so one minute you are waking parallel to the next street, then you are crossing it, then back to parallel.  The sea is basically on 3 sides of me, so no matter which way I go, I e

The day is finally here, I'm moving to Malta!  The number one questions I'm asked is why?  Why move overseas and why Malta specifically?  Where is Malta, what are you going to do there, how long will you be gone? To answer the question why?  I guess because I can.  There is nothing holding me back from seeing the world and living my dream, so why not just do it?  I meet so many people who say I want to do this or that, but never do it.  When I was a Hospice volunteer I sat with people who knew the end of their life was near.  They almost always expressed regret for not doing something they really wanted to do.  I don't want to be that person.  For most of our lives we are tied down by jobs, some people have kids, or something that makes it impossible to just give everything up and follow your dream.  A few years ago I lost almost everything in a flood.  The car and apartment were a total loss.  Some of my personal belonging were saved, but as I was sorting th

Vacation is over, its time to get to work!   I got back to my RV and got down to business.   I spoke to a consignment place in Ocala and made arrangements to get my RV to them the next day.   I cleaned it from stem to stern, including shampooing the carpet.   The guy I hired to do it before I left for Costa Rica never showed up.   Next I had to decide what to do about the chairs.   Since I had thrown away the base, the chairs were much too low.   I decided to go to Lowes and look for inspiration.   I found some really cool tops for wooden fencing.   They were big round balls and looked similar to the legs on the couch.   I got home, stained them to match the couch and installed them; they look great.   No one will ever know the difference.   I drove over to the consignment place and went in my RV for one last look.   OMG, I had set the newly stained (but dry) chair legs on the still wet carpet.   Now there was a nasty brown stain!   I looked around for something to clean

  It was finally time to head to Ocala, Florida and get ready for the next phase of my life; Malta.  But first, a side trip to Costa Rica... I spent the first week cleaning everything out of my RV.  I went through all my clothes and boxed up what I wanted to keep, but the majority I donated to a woman's shelter.  I went through the rest of the RV and donated about 6 more boxes to the thrift store.  I lined up a carpet cleaner and an RV detailer before heading over to Kissimmee to re-organize my storage unit.   Not a good start, it was pouring rain and my key didn't work.  I tried several times, but it just wouldn't open the lock.  I went to Home Depot and rented a bolt cutter for an hour.  I got back, it was still raining.  I tried the key one last time and wouldn't you know it, it worked.   So back to Home Depot to return the unused tool.  At least when I got back for the 3rd time, it was only sprinkling.  I quickly sorted out what I needed to put back in the