Random Acts of Traveling: A Collection of Journal Entries or One Day at a Time

By Rebecca Holmes

This book is a collection of trips that were taken with my family and friends. It is a random sampling of some of the trips we took over many years. It is a collection of journal entries that were recorded at the time of taking the trips. The names were changed to protect the innocent and events and places have been fictionalized to suit the story. I hope that in some small way, this collection of journal entries honors a fortunate life of being able to safely travel our world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 13, 2019
• ISBN: 9781546259299

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2019 Rebecca Holmes. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse    05/31/2019

ISBN: 978-1-5462-5931-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-5930-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-5929-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018911282

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Author’s Note

Dedication

Introduction

PART ONE

PART TWO

Epilogue

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The best thing my first husband and I did was to have our two sons. The second best thing we did was to take them traveling. I remember telling someone that our vacations were really special.

DEDICATION

For My Sons

INTRODUCTION

This book is a collection of trips that were taken with my family and friends. It is a random sampling of some of the trips we took over many years. It is a collection of journal entries that were recorded at the time of taking the trips. The names were changed to protect the innocent and events and places have been fictionalized to suit the story. I hope that in some small way, this collection of journal entries honors a fortunate life of being able to safely travel our world.

PART ONE

June 16, 1996 to June 28, 1996

Trip to Poland and Austria

People traveling: Rebecca Holmes, and sons, Bennett and Jim Holmes traveled with Father-in-law, Paul Holmes and met Husband, Tom Holmes who was already in Warsaw, Poland, traveling for business. Grandpa Paul, Rebecca, Bennett and Jim Holmes took Lady Limousine service to JFK Airport.

June, 16, 1996 (Sunday)

Jim Holmes, who was celebrating his fourth birthday today, had this to say about the nine hour plane ride, It was uncomfortable for sleeping. Bennett Holmes was eight years old on this trip. Bennett and Jim slept for about three hours on the plane ride. Bennett made a Technics model while on the plane. Jim listened to a Dinosaur tape. Grandpa Paul talked to a passenger who sat next to him and helped looking after Jim and Bennett. I looked after Jim and Bennett, and watched the movie, Mr. Holland’s Opus. Jim slept and Bennett watched the movie too.

June 17, 1996 (Monday)

In Vienna the plane that we were supposed to take had a technical difficulty. We were supposed to have a forty-five minute layover but because of the technical difficulty, it was about a two hour layover. We met Tom Holmes right after we went through customs in Warsaw. Tom had been working in Wroclaw. We took a taxi to the hotel Maria. We slept before dinner. We went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. After dinner we went back to sleep.

June 18, 1996 (Tuesday)

We went to Old Town, Warsaw. Jim threw up in the morning due to all of the traveling the day before so Tom and Jim stayed at the hotel in the morning. Bennett, Grandpa Paul, and Rebecca took the 148 bus into Old Town. We saw the Royal Castle. In the Old Town Square we saw British soldiers perform in a parade. Tom and Jim came to Old Town at about 1:30 PM and saw the Royal Castle too. We walked through the old Jewish ghetto.

June 19, 1996 (Wednesday)

After breakfast we took a taxi to the train station. We took a train from Warsaw to Krakow. We took a taxi from the train station to the Continental Hotel where we were staying. We went swimming in the hotel pool. Then we went to the Old Town in Krakow. We had a very good dinner in Krakow. We saw native children dancing in the old city square while we had dinner. We took a horse drawn carriage ride all around old town.

June 20, 1996 (Thursday)

We took a taxi to old town. First we walked through Wicza Ratuszowa (a clock tower). Then we saw Sukiennice (a cloth hall) and then we toured the castle of Wawel. We saw the armory and the ruins of the old section of Wawel. We came back to the hotel and went swimming. We also saw Bazylika Mariaka (a beautiful Church.)

June 21, 1996 (Friday)

We went to Zakopane. We took a cable car to the top of the mountain in Zakopane. We rented a van to take us to Zakopane. Our tour guide was Thomas. He told us about the history of Zakopane and about some of the architecture of the buildings. After we took the cable ride we visited an old wooden church on the main street of Zakopane. There was an adjacent cemetery that we walked through. The cemetery houses people who have helped Zakopane who have died. We ate lunch at an authentic polish restaurant. We had regional soup, perogies, meat stew, and stuffed cabbage. After lunch we went to the Zakopane museum. Again we had to wear shoe guards so that we wouldn’t scratch the wooden floors. We took a hike through Tetra National Park and ended up at an old ski jump from a previous Olympic site. Zakopane is trying to be the host of the 2006 Olympic Games. At the top of the mountain, Tom, Bennett, Jim, and I took a ride on a cart slide. It was fun. We ate dinner at Rondolfis restaurant in the old city of Krakow. We had eaten there on Wednesday too. The food was great.

June 22, 1996 (Saturday)

We took the train from Krakow to Katovice and from Katovice to Vienna. We saw where Freud’s house was on the map. It rained all day. Tom liked this hotel the most so far.

June 23, 1996 (Sunday)

We took the train from Vienna to Saalfeldan. It is our third train. We arrived at the Alpenland Sporthotel. (We have a timeshare on St. Thomas and we traded the timeshare for a week at the Alpenland Sporthotel. We traded two weeks, one for Grandpa Paul’s apartment and one for our apartment.) Tom, Jim and Bennett went swimming in the hotel pool while I did laundry.

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June 24, 1996 (Monday)

Today we had a triathlon. We took a hike through the countryside. Then we went on a bike ride to Saalfelden. When we arrived back to the hotel we went swimming in the hotel pool. Bennett wrote that he saw a mountain topped with snow while we were out.

June 25, 1996 (Tuesday)

Today we took a single person chair lift ride up one of the local mountains. (Yes, Jim was in his own seat.) Then we walked down the mountain. We had a picnic lunch. Later Tom, Grandpa Paul and Jim took a bus into the town of Saalfelden while Bennett and Rebecca swam in the hotel pool.

June 26, 1996 (Wednesday)

Today we took the train to Salzburg. We arranged to pick up the car after 6:00 PM. We took a trolley to the original section of Salzburg. The first building we toured was the Cathedral of Salzburg. Rebecca lit a candle for Grandma Elise, who died in March of this year. Next we took the incline to the top of the fortress Hohensalzburg. We visited the museum and went on a tour of the fortress. Next we went to the Abbey where the Von Trapp family hid from the Nazis. After that we went to Mozart’s birth place and toured that home.

June 27, 1996 (Thursday)

We are going to Zell am See. We walked around Zell am See and took a boat tour around the lake. Then we drove to a national park called Nationalpark Hobe Tauern. We drove to the highest point that we could and Tom and Bennett hiked to the flag at the highest point. Next we proceeded to the glacier in the park. The glacier’s name is Grossglockner. We had quite the adventure driving back from the glacier on the windy roads.

June 28, 1996 (Friday)

Tom, Grandpa Paul, and Bennett went to Salzburg. Jim wasn’t feeling well from the long windy car ride of yesterday, so Jim and Rebecca stayed at the hotel, walked into Maria Alm and prepared for the trip back to New Jersey. In Salzburg, Tom, Grandpa Paul, and Bennett saw the mausoleum of Archbishop Wolf Dietrich. They also saw the Maribell Gardens. After they saw the gardens they went by Mozart’s house. The last thing they did was visit the Monastery of the Capuchins. Jim and Rebecca ended up playing miniature golf and swimming in the hotel pool. Tom, Grandpa Paul, and Bennett arrived back at 4:00 pm. We went into Maria Alm and bought sneakers for Jim and a sports jacket for Tom. Next we took a hike by the hotel and saw a Church in the woods. When we arrived back at the hotel, Tom, Bennett, and Jim went swimming at the hotel pool.

Trip to Italy-July 3 to July 18, 1998-Trieste, Venice, Florence, Rome. Sixteen year old Niece Lauren Schmidt, Rebecca, Bennett, and Jim Holmes met Tom in Trieste, Italy. Tom was already in Trieste because he received a NATO grant and was doing an experiment at the accelerator. Lauren Schmidt was a junior in high school. Tom traveled to Italy two weeks before we met him.

July 3, 1998-

Lauren arrived at our house at about 12:30 PM. The limousine arrived at 1:50 PM and we left for the JFK airport at 2:30 PM. Rebecca had received a phone call from the nursing home where Great-Grandma Anuliar lived and was told that Great Grandma wasn’t doing so well. Rebecca called Tom and Tom said that we should still come on the trip. Rebecca was really glad that the limousine driver knew Brooklyn and when we approached the Fort Hamilton exit Rebecca mentioned that she wanted to see Great Grandma before leaving on the trip. The driver said he could take us to the nursing home. Rebecca went in to the nursing home while Lauren, Bennett and Jim waited in the car. Great Grandma’s sister and sister-in-law were there as were two of her nieces. Rebecca said a prayer with Great Grandma and told her of our love for her. Then Rebecca left for the airport with Lauren, Bennett and Jim and the limousine driver. We made one bathroom stop on the trip to the airport too. We arrived at the airport at about 4:30 PM. Our flight was to depart at 8:50 PM. To pass time at the airport, we ate dinner. Lauren bought and wrote postcards then we went to the airport post office to buy stamps and to mail the cards. The rest of the time we read and played games. Rebecca also called Grandma Lynn. We ended up boarding our plane at 9:30 PM and the plane took off at 10:25 PM. The boys did very well.

July 4, 1998-

We arrived at the Rome airport at approximately 11:45 AM and had to wait until 4:30 PM for our connecting flight to Trieste. At the Rome airport we bought postcards and stamps and we changed money and obtained something to drink. We arrived in Trieste at 6:00 pm. Lauren’s suitcase arrived with us but ours did not. Tom and his Italian hosts, Stephan Giovanni and Alessandro Bruno, were waiting for us when we arrived at the Trieste airport. We immediately went to the lab and saw the experiment. Then we walked around the lab and through the woods to where Tom stayed at the guest house. We had dinner at the pizza place by the guest house. Next we drove to the Hotel Tritone. It was a very comfortable hotel by the Adriatic Sea.

July 5, 1998-

The Hotel Tritone has really good breakfasts included in the price of your stay. The breakfast usually included lunch meat, yogurt, cappuccino, juice, and crème filled croissants. They also have a terrace where you can have your breakfast or play cards and talk. Our first full day in Trieste started at the Miramare Castle. We walked all around the castle and grounds. We took a tour of the interior of the castle. There was a café where Tom, Rebecca, and Lauren had coffee and Bennett and Jim had ice cream. Next we went to Grotto Gigante (a huge cave that is listed in the Guiness book of World Records.) Before we reached the entrance of the cave, we stopped at what appeared to be a border crossing. (Grotto Gigante is in Trieste near the Croatian border.) At the border crossing they had us park the car and then we walked several blocks to the entrance to the cave. The cave was magnificent. They also had an orchestra playing at the base of the cave. There was also a man dressed in period clothes with a torch repelling down the wall of the cave much like the original explorers must have done. That night we ate at the restaurant right next to our hotel. They brought a tray of whole fish for us to choose from for our dinner.

July 6, 1998-

We went to the rocky beach in walking distance from our hotel from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. We then took a bus to the fort in downtown Trieste, the Castello Di San Giusto. We walked all around the fort. Then the boys wanted to go swimming again when we returned from downtown. When we went swimming earlier in the day we also took out a paddle boat on the Adriatic for an hour. In the evening Bennett and Jim jumped on trampolines by the sea.

July 7, 1998-

We traveled to Venice. We had a good train