In March we went to Italy. We visited Rome, Florence, Pisa, Lucca and Venice. We explored the Roman Colosseum and the Pantheon to the Trevi Fountain and the Vatican, Florence's Duomo to the Uffizi, the leaning tower of Pisa, Lucca's many towers, Venice's canals and Piazza San Marco. Although the weather was chilly, the crowds were few and we had a wonderful time immersing our selves in all the history, art and architecture.
In May we spent a week in the Yucatan, Mexico. We stayed in a beautiful resort in Puerto Morelos. We went scuba diving on the Great Mayan Coral Reef, including a wreck dive. Jeremy also dove a cenote (a cave dive in an underground river). We also rented a car to explore the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza and Ek Balam. We did a little bit of sailing, some sampling of the local bebidas and did a lot of relaxing
.
We took our first (but not last) trip to a fun little spot in Gold Country, Amador County, California. We found a number of good Zin wineries and tiny old gold mining towns with great B&Bs
In mid-October we went to Carmel, California for a crush party at Joullian Winery with Orrin and Alicia. The next day we drove the famed 17-Mile Drive and saw the Lone Cypress, Pebble Beach and a number of sea lions along the dramatic coast.
the Big 12 North !
