MikeL

Well, finally Trevor is not alone. I was interested in the only road from Gibraltar to Spain crossing the airport runway and thought C J had made a mistake when I first read that part, but the map at the end of the chapter makes that pretty clear. I also found this photo: The news from Lisa is rather bleak. Meanwhile Dirk has an interesting conversation with his attorney (lover?).

Jack, for great accommodations in Prague, I recommend the Hotel Clementin. It is located in the Old Town approximately one bolck from the Charles Bridge. The Clementin occupies a building dating from 1360, which has the distinction of being the narrowest building in Prague...eleven feet wide. Rooms are at reasonable rates and it is very quiet since it is on a pedestrian only street. We stayed there in June 2007 and had a great time. Our room took up the entire second floor front of the building. The above is my picture of the hotel (the green-front building). I also recommend taking a walking tour. You can meet a guide at the clock tower on the old city hall. Have fun!

Tuesdays are great if Mondays don't work for some reason. Enjoy yourself and make sure he enjoys his.

Wow! It's nice to know some people get so excited about something they can do nothing about. When I was in the service, it was, "Smoke 'em if you got 'em; bum 'em if you don't.

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Cool move, dude. I am impressed that you and others were willing to take a stand (or seat as it were) for what you believe in. Not knowing what was said by police or school officials, it appeared they handled the incident calmly. I hope you get the anti-discrimination policy soon.

Hey, can't I have a little fun with the goat? As for air travel being safer than traveling to work, that's not true in my case. I'm retired.

Thank you. The ending was actually sweet...that airport scene with Lisa and Joel. Unfortunately, air travel can be risky, so we can't really judge the full potential for a cliffhanger until we know Joel has made it safely to Gibraltar via London.

Congratulations, John! You are on your way.

Great chapter, Cliff. Trevor's plan for his circumnavigation begins to take shape. After a near disaster, he gets some very good news.

One of my sons responded to every answer we gave hm with a "why". We could answer a question with "because" and he would ask "why". Now that he has a little boy of his own, we are eagerly awaiting the day he starts talking and asking "why". Payback time!

You expect goats to be respecters of persons, eh? They don't even respect amphibians.

Curling and the biathalon.

My parents grew up during the Great Depression. My father dropped out of high school to work and help his family; he later finished school. Our parents were always careful with money and taught us valuable lessons about what things are important in life. I was born a few months before Pearl Harbor drew the US into the war. My father joined the Navy and had the unusual distinction of remaining stateside throughout the war; he never even got on a ship for an orientation cruise. My mom and I were able to live with him most of the time he was in the service and most of that was in California. He was assigned to the Medical Corps and when the Navy took over the Ahwahnee Lodge in Yosemite as a rehabilitation hospital, we lived there in a one room tourist cabin for about 18 months. That experience has influenced me and my own family to travel widely throughout the US (including several return trips to California) and Europe.

Both countries need to protect their citizens from mad goat disease.

Some interesting theories here lately. Robert pointed out that Dirk said "You

I believe the American Queen is no longer in service; it is docked at Beaumont, TX. See: http://www.steamboats.org/steamboat-pictures/american-queen.html The infamous trapping was between two bridges was in Cincinnati rather than Cleveland. The American Queen later had a problem passing under a bridge at Cairo, IL due to high water.

There is no end to the ways some people get their feelings hurt. Maybe this guy felt cheated out of a chance to perv on you, Vic.

The General Jackson, a popular attraction on the Cumberland River in Nashville has smokestacks designed to be turned back parallel to the top deck so that it can cruise under the numerous low clearance bridges in the downtown area. You may need to enlarge the photo below to see the two stacks in their lowered position (they appear above the top deck just to the right of the "Caremark" sign). The smokestacks aren't essential to the operation of the sternwheeler; it runs on diesel engines which exhaust at the stern. Most passengers are never aware of the stacks being lowered; they are inside enjoying dinner and a show.

I agree with Alphadog about Rachel being alive; if she is, Australia seems a likely location for her. I have no idea why she would disappear and fake the sinking of her boat. I still think this whole issue of Trevor being gay has created a communications problem between him and his dad because Dirk is also gay but doesn't realize Trevor is. Dirk doesn't want to discuss his sexuality with his son. I don't know what you read in this chapter that makes you think Dirk isn't gay and is not going north frequently to see his lover. One question: Are there no gay lawyers in Florida?

The old bridge over the Mississippi at Cape Girardeau was replaced in 2003. The new bridge is shown below: The bridge has a clearance of 60 feet. Clearance would vary significantly depending on the time of year, usually being less in the spring when the Mississippi carries virtually all the snow melt from the Midwestern US and nearly all drainage from the west of the Appalachian Mountains. Nearly half of the land area of the US lies within the Mississippi River basin: The Atlantis would have other problems "sailing" up the Mississippi. One is the lack of southerly winds plus the fact that the river meanders a lot, essentially flowing all different directions. Another is the strong southward current. The only practical approach would be to dismantle the Atlantis' main mast and burn a lot of fuel motoring up the Mississippi and Missouri to Nebraska.

Nope. You look at least twice that. Your eyes are still remarkably blue. I would suggest you stick with blue shirts exclusively. They will accent your eyes while red shirts with red hair are tricky.

Obama is left-handed. I don't suppose that's significant...he just wasn't on Grasshopper's list.

Being left-handed was not always considered normal and the English language reflects this. ~ Kitty Burns Florey, Script & Scribble, The Rise and Fall of Handwriting, Melville House Publishing Company, Brooklyn, NY, 2009, p. 91

We don't know Dirk's motive for suggesting the trip to Australia; I think, too, he was intending that Trevor fly there. We don't know the circumstances surrounding Rachel's disappearance; finding her in Australia won't necessarily result in Trevor being more hostile toward his father...it depends on the explanation for her disappearance. Any trips Dirk is making to see his attorney could be totally unrelated to the mystery surrounding his wife.