 Now that Texas is my home state, I want to discuss my journey from Southern California to Southeast Texas from April 11th to April 14th. The slightly over 1500-mile journey could have been done in three days and two nights if illness did not ravage the family during the drive. Having written a book about US 95 from the Mexican border through the United States to the Canadian border, it was interesting to take another long drive on an original US highway.
First, the topography of Texas needs to be explained. Think of Texas like a slanted plate with its highest end tilted up in the Agricultural Panhandle in Amarillo which sits at 3662 feet and the Western Desert from El Paso laying at 3740 feet. Both cities in Texas are on the east and south sides of the Rocky Mountains. During the drive down Interstate 10, the elevation does increase east of El Paso to over 4600 feet before the slow downward slide to sea level at the Gulf of Mexico (America?) begins. Once you enter Fort Stockton, Texas, you have driven four hours, 240 miles inside Texas already and are still at almost 4000 feet of elevation. Driving from California to this point, almost the entire drive has been desert topography from Palm Springs to this military town, a length of almost 1000 miles. To avoid the southern drift of Interstate 10, Google Maps recommended a new faster route to reach my destination of Willis, Texas, US 190. US 190 is considered with its three digits an auxiliary route of US 90 which runs concurrently and rarely strays from Interstate 10 through Texas. US 190 ends into US 90 on the far eastern side of Louisiana after the city of Slidell which is just north of the city of New Orleans after travelling 875 miles. Upon entering the highway about an hour east of Fort Stockton, US 190 goes north for a few miles away from Interstate 10 before reaching a stop sign and beginning its journey east. Not too long after this eastward transition, the first city on US 190 is the small town of Iraan, population around 1000, which is an old, oil town built around the nearby Yates Oil Field which is currently owned today by Kinder Morgan. In 2026, the drilling of oil on this land will reach one century. Iraan is a poor town loaded with shanties and trailers for the oil workers. Passing through this oil town begins the US 190 journey through the Permian Basin, the largest producing oil field in the United States. As you continue travelling eastward, this region has a very Billy Bob Thornton, LANDMAN feel. Ranches besides having cattle are often filled with oil rigs. In this part of Texas, the transition of the land from the desert to a more greenish and sandy brush-filled environment begins. So, a quick evaluation about the state of Texas before continuing. On a personal level, I despise a large portion of the state. Four of my least favorite large cities I have ever visited are all located in Texas: (El Paso, Amarillo, Midland, and Corpus Christi). Lubbock is only appealing due to Texas Tech university. Dallas is like Los Angeles but missing about 99% of the culture. And the people of that city didn’t replace it with anything. But as you move eastward through the state and learn to embrace its environment which is hilly in spots and very flat, Texas becomes very green and lush. This is why the Southern triangle of Austin (Hill Country), San Antonio (Edge of the desert), and Houston (Green Swamp Land) is my favorite section of the state. College Station is also a nice town sitting in the middle of the triangle with a university at its center. Nearby, Tyler to the east of Dallas is also very appealing. So as US 190 continues its journey eastward, the scenery becomes heathier and more beautiful. Upon entering the city of Brady where five major US highways meet in what is called the “Geographical Center of Texas”, all the remaining cities and towns on this highway are worth a visit. Brady has a loop in its downtown that takes US 190 around the courthouse sitting on an island in the center. After Brady, US 190 enters Hill Country, the most scenic part of Texas. Rolling hills filled with trees, open plains with two-foot-tall green grasses, and natural ponds littering the landscape sitting inside green meadows loaded with wildflowers that can be seen to the horizon, the homes and quality of the land gets increasingly impressive on this two-lane highway. The next town is San Saba, famous for being the birthplace of actor Tommy Lee Jones. Upon entering the “Pecan Capital of the World” (A crop that grows all over the hillsides nearby), there are rich communities of homes sitting to the north and the downtown is the nicest one that US 190 will intersect with on this long eastward drive. After San Saba and passing through a few more small towns, US 190 hits the outskirts of the Waco area with the town of Lampasas. After passing through Kempner and into Copperas Cove, US 190 becomes Interstate 14, a transition that began in 2017. Interstate 14 is like the currently being developed Interstate 11 in Las Vegas, Nevada that runs along the US 95 route. Until reaching Interstate 35, US 190 and Interstate 14 run together where they separate once again inside the city of Temple where the interstate ends. After leaving the Waco area, US 190 enters the Brazos Valley. This section of Texas is flat with large ranches either loaded with cattle or land loaded with vegetables and nut trees. Much of the land has luxury homes sitting on top of high-quality soil. This drive is also very green and passes by many waterways. Upon entering Bryan and College Station, my journey took me down Texas 6 while US 190 breaks off and begins heading northeast towards Madisonville. A few days later, our journey on US 190 began again. After settling, my wife and I wanted to look at the city of Livingston near Lake Livingston about an hour northeast of our location near Lake Conroe. Taking a fourth type of highway in Texas (Separate from an Interstate, US Route and State Highway) are Farm to Market roads that are two lane highways that intersect the tree-filled, forested land in this region of Texas. From just east of the college town of Huntsville (Sam Houston State University), US 190 journeys towards Livingston. This drive is scenic but not as impressive as the Brady to College Station drive. Being a little more rural, the towns that US 190 intersects like Point Blank look like their best days were fifty years in the past. Lake Livingston is not as beautiful as Lake Conroe looking very muddy, murky, and apparently loaded with alligators. After stopping our journey on US 190 just east of the new Interstate 69 in the rustic downtown area of Livingston, our drive on THE HEART OF TEXAS HIGHWAY was completed.
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On April 15th, 2025 (Tax Day), I became a resident of the state of Texas. An hour north of Houston is a beautiful area named Lake Conroe with the cities of Willis to the northeast, Conroe to the southeast, and Montgomery south. Outside the city limits in Montgomery County, I decided to rent a house for 12 months with the intent of buying property and land over the next year in this area. My family fell in love with this area upon visiting back in November of 2024. Lake Conroe is a massive 22,000-acre lake just a few minutes west of Interstate 45. Created by damming the western fork of the San Jacinto River, Lake Conroe and the area that surrounds it is known for its outdoor activities and water sports. From our community, the upscale suburb of The Woodlands is a short ten-minute jaunt south down the freeway.
For many of my readers, you know that I have a deep-seated love for my native state of California. Being a political lightning rod often undeservedly so over the past decade, remaining in California became unsustainable for a couple about a decade from retirement. The biggest issue with California is not the arrogant liberals, the misguided politics, or the mind-numbing traffic. These are irritating factors that are inevitable if you live inside the state. The main problem with California is the cost of living. Making 100,000 dollars a year is just not enough if you want to buy a home and enjoy a slice of the American dream. Food prices have skyrocketed, gas prices are some of the highest in the nation, and buying a new home is next to impossible. This is why more people are on federal and state benefits inside California now than ever before. These price increases, especially on assets, are not completely the politicians’ fault. But nothing they have done no matter how good-natured the policy can stop inflation. Recently, the large utility that directly and indirectly employed my wife and I had to purge workers due to bad green energy investments that did not pay off in the way that was promised. With my job basically being eliminated in California, there was no longer any reason to stay. As my experience living in Texas continues to develop, I will have more opinions about the state in the future. But here are a couple of cost comparisons between California and Texas. Not everything in Texas is cheaper. When we left California, these were our expenses 2655: Rent for a 2 bedroom, 1200 plus square foot apartment. This includes 105 dollars for water and trash. 205: GEICO Car Insurance 190: Cubesmart Storage 250: Average Electricity with So Cal Edison 45: Average Gas Price with So Cal Gas 150: Spectrum 500 MB Internet (79.99) plus basic cable package (19.99) plus sports add-on (15). With taxes, this bill was almost 150 dollars a month. 65: Mint Mobile Pre-Pay Unlimited Plan for two phones Over 1000 dollars on food a month Over 500 dollars on gas a month averaging around 4.59 a gallon. Adding all this up, the total is 5060 estimated dollars spent a month. This does not include extra expenses like streaming and internet subscriptions, yearly expenses like car registration, and other “emergencies.” Adding in recreation and the amount taken by the government through payroll taxes, you must make 140,000 as a couple to be comfortable and contribute to a 401k bi-weekly. While my wife and I were able to accomplish this, saving money monthly became an increasingly difficult problem. Now, here are our expenses in Texas. 1500: Rent for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1665 square foot house 250: GEICO Car Insurance is 15 dollars higher than California, and we had to add 30 dollars of renter’s insurance, a new bill for our rental. 295: Average electricity bill through Entergy (A 45-dollar increase) 72: Frontier 2 GB Internet 31: Trash with Heritage Solutions 55: Washer and Dryer Rental, a new bill 65: Mint Mobile remains the same Food will be around 950 a month. Eating out is 10% cheaper but groceries are about the same as California. Gas will be about 300 a month averaging around 2.59 a gallon. We do not have a gas bill, water bill, or storage bill. The total so far is an estimated 3528 dollars a month. So, understanding the fact that we have saved over 1500 a month moving to Texas, can you really blame us? Next week, I will write about my journey down one of the most interesting US highways that dissects the middle of Texas, US 190. California (1974-2004, 2012-2025): Grew up and lived in Torrance and Redondo Beach until 1995, moved to Orange County and stayed till 2003, lived in the Palm Springs area until 2004 when we relocated to Phoenix. Came back to California in 2012 and lived in San Diego till 2017 and then we bought a condo in Murrieta where we lived until 2025. Arizona (2004-2012): Owned a home in the Avondale suburb of Phoenix from 2004-2011 until relocating back to California.  Due to an incredibly busy schedule which will be easing soon (Information provided on my next post), I have been unable to mourn one of my favorite creatives, the innovative and unique film director David Lynch, who died four days before his 79th birthday in January. With his signature combed back 50s rockabilly hair and distinct directorial aesthetic, the loss of Lynch is a tragedy for the film making world. With the current state of the independent film industry, there will likely never be another filmmaker like him.
Becoming a massive fan of the Generation X filmmaking world that rose out of the 90s like a Phoenix during my high school days, I discovered Lynch as a junior in high school in 1990. The high school and college years are wonderful times of your life as your artistic tastes are first developed by the media, your cultural environment, and social peer pressure. A close friend of mine in high school, Chris, requested I spend the night, and we rented a few movies at THE WAREHOUSE. One of these was Lynch’s WILD AT HEART, his mixing of Southern Gothic stories and themes from the WIZARD OF OZ. The movie’s story is based off a novel written by Barry Gifford, but the film has its own unique artistic statement. Probably the one Lynch film that has a defined narrative (THE STRAIGHT STORY being the other), it revolves around the love story of Sailor played by Nicolas Cage and Lula played by Laura Dern, young, rebellious lovers looking to escape her domineering mother. The movie turns into a road trip film that ends in a burst of shocking violence. For me, I wasn’t sure what the hell I was watching. But it fascinated me. I also understood that a movie with these themes and imagery would never be played in my Catholic household as my parents were very sensitive to sexual and violent content in the media when I was a child. Then, the car accident scene occurs where our lovers come across Sherilyn Fenn, who has “survived” a car accident, and happens to be picking the large hole in her skull as she dies. The intensity and unintentional hilarity of it is shocking and quite emotional. Plus, this movie introduced me to another lifelong love, Chris Isaak, whose megahit WICKED GAME was first heard in this film before becoming a massive hit. The video linked above was the original that MTV played back in 1990. The later video with Chris wrestling with a stunning woman on the beach came later. Then there was the ending. Willem Dafoe’s Bobby Peru roping Sailor into a bank heist where his head met its unfortunate end with a shotgun. What the hell was I watching? And who is this, David Lynch? After this, I went back and watched some of his earlier work including the incredibly underrated original 1984 version of DUNE and BLUE VELVET, often called his magnum opus starring one of my favorite longtime actors known for playing crazy roles, Dennis Hopper. BLUE VELVET specifically is voyeuristic, erotic, and very disturbing. With so many serious themes going on, the movie has no problem embracing the weird as Hopper’s Frank Booth forces Dean Stockwell’s Ben to lip sync IN DREAMS by Ray Orbison after Kyle Maclachlan and Isabella Rossellini’s characters are kidnapped. The scene has Hopper lip syncing and intensely glaring at Stockwell as he performs, and the scene would not be complete without a dancing man holding a snake in the background. After this film which should have won Best Picture in 1986, I was a David Lynch fan. But nothing could have prepared me for what came next. TWIN PEAKS is often credited with changing television back in 1990 when it first aired on network TV. MANY, MANY articles have been written about this groundbreaking show. The show for about a year was equivalent to an internet viral phenomenon. From 1990 to 1991, “Who killed Laura Palmer?” was everywhere in the entertainment zeitgeist. The show was discussed by adults at bowling Mondays or kids on lunch break at high school. For me, I did not discover it until later. Mainly because I was not much of a television watcher as a teenager (I focused on films). TWIN PEAKS did not come onto my radar until Lynch’s accompanying film, TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME was released in 1992. One of my favorite films of all-time, FIRE WALK WITH ME is the prequel to the TV show that chronicles the last week of Laura Palmer’s life. Still to this day, this movie blows me away with its innovation, its inherent darkness, its representation of supernatural evil, and outright frank depictions of nudity. Sheryl Lee, who starred in this movie, deserved an Oscar nomination as this remains one of my favorite acting performances of all-time. So many iconic characters came out of this amazing television show and film including The Log Lady and The Little Man from Another Place. TWIN PEAKS was so massive that two books were released later, both of which I bought, just to analyze and understand the incredible world that Lynch and Mark Frost created. Laura Palmer’s murder scene at the hands of her possessed father (It is complicated) still disturbs me to this day. It is one of the most intense scenes ever put onto film. Than there is the murder scene in TWIN PEAKS that mirrors Laura’s in intensity where Lynch ends the next episode with the recognition of her death at a bar set to Julee Cruise’s haunting voice which has an incredible emotional impact, Then, there is the opening theme and credits which is just musical perfection written by Lynch’s longtime composer Angelo Badalamenti. And this was on network TV in 1990. After TWIN PEAKS, I would be forever in on David Lynch even if his movies never reached the intensity of that genius work of art. LOST HIGHWAY, THE STRAIGHT STORY and his best post-TWIN PEAKS work MULHOLLAND DRIVE followed. I even went back and completed his filmography watching his incredible first film ERASERHEAD and his last movie, INLAND EMPIRE, starring the wonderful Laura Dern. After 2006, Lynch would never make another feature film again. But he never left the cultural zeitgeist. Younger generations started discovering him. Lynch began doing Weather Reports on YouTube. Even Netflix hired him to direct a short film where he interrogates a monkey about a murder in WHAT DID JACK DO?. Lynch released two albums and created a comic strip in the 1980s, THE ANGRIEST DOG IN THE WORLD. He was involved in directing dozens of music videos. The best final moment of David Lynch’s career is when SHOWTIME decided to reboot TWIN PEAKS for one final season which aired in 2017. These 18 glorious episodes were a wonderful career summary of everything Lynch has done and a glorious send off. Twin Peaks ends with a cliff hanger that was intense and will never be resolved, the David Lynch way. And props for creating a character like Dougie or turning what was a dying David Bowie’s character Philip Jeffries into a talking tea kettle. The man was endlessly creative. Because of the silencing of this voice and the inevitability of death, the world feels like a darker force without Lynch inside of it. Rest in peace, you unique genius. In the classic film LIFE OF BRIAN (1979) from the geniuses of Monty Python which satirizes the life of Jesus Christ, there is an intellectual group called “The People’s Front of Judea.” Talking and notating about the political issues of the day while discussing how to improve the scenarios of the citizens as a resistance group to the Roman Empire, the group gets bogged down into inane conversations and refuses to act when injustice rears its ugly head. See this clip. And this one. Welcome to the world of the 2025 Libertarian Party. It pains me to recognize this reality. As a person who has always had an anarchist/libertarian belief system wrapped around an American political reality that shifts my beliefs from right to left to right and likely back again due to the changing focus of each Party, the libertarians are the living example of the Buffalo Bills missing a field goal wide right. Over the past twenty years, wonderful websites like the Libertarian Institute and the Mises Institute have been correct about so many things like the threat of big government on our monetary system, the danger of crony capitalism, the misguided social theories of the Democratic left, and most importantly, the futility of imperial war. As these theories became reality over the past decade, the steady growth of government which libertarians believe is inevitable eventually leads to authoritarianism. In March of 2020 (Five years ago), the fruits of these beliefs became a frightening reality. With Trump in office and Biden taking over in January 2021, the United States was taken over by a cabal of public health experts who: Locked down our nation Forced us into wearing masks Forced many public workers into getting a controversial, untested vaccine Engaged in the greatest propaganda campaign in human history And who was wrong about all these things. Did the libertarians take advantage of this moment where so many of their theories were proven correct? Nope Like the People’s Front of Judea, they sat around debating the pros and cons of the COVID era and made no effort to act against the totalitarian injustices being implemented. Coercion was used to force people into getting a shot that they had questions about, people lost their jobs for not complying, and the media brutally attacked anyone who had legitimate questions about the public health opinion. The libertarian movement fractured while ignoring the loss of personal rights and Constitutional violations that these lockdowns enabled. Good Libertarians eventually woke up to this con job like Tom Woods, Tom Luongo, and Lew Rockwell. Ron Paul never stopped having doubts. I discovered the wonders of Dave Smith during this era. But the movement during its time for action and faced with the ability to put into practice its philosophies decided to drive their car off the bridge and drown themselves in a river. Donald Trump has cut more government spending than any libertarian has theoretically ever imagined. DOGE has been a wonderful implementation of executive power and has the majority of the American people’s support. Now if Trump can just get the Republicans in line and stop the insane House Spending Bill that will make every cut that Musk’s team has made pointless, maybe we can fix this increasingly broken country that is inevitably heading to a major recession at some point in the near future. But whatever you think about what the appropriate size of government should be, the libertarians should have no say about it. They are a political party whose bite is much larger than its inept bite. The libertarians are the Pomeranians of political parties. This tiny dog never stops barking and can be very aggressive and feisty. But once it bites you, the impact is so minimal that you can’t help but give the little overgrown rat a nice hug and some food. Don’t get me started on Chase Oliver. Dear God! Until next time! Being a citizen of the United States, it is often hard to grapple with the fact that the nation I was born into is an empire. When you read history, it never felt like the United States was comparable to the Romans, the Russians and the Brits on the imperial scale. Our Constitution was developed to limit the scope of the government, which should make an empire impossible. But if we are being honest, the expansion of the United States in the early to mid-1800s mixed with our agricultural prowess and the industrial revolution made our nation an economic powerhouse. During the presidency of William McKinley from 1897-1901, the United States engaged in its first war outside of its territory. Up to this point, every American War was on our soil; the American Revolution, War of 1812, Mexican War, Civil War and the Wars against the Natives. All of them to fulfill the goal of manifest destiny and the creation of one nation from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. But in 1898 due to the controversial and still debated explosion of the USS Maine, the United States engaged in its first imperial war. After defeating the Spanish in eight months, the Treaty of Paris was signed which gave the United States possession of the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines. The war also allowed us to annex the Hawaiian Kingdom and take the Samoan Islands. Cuba became an independent nation in 1902 after three and a half years of American occupation after the Spanish defeat. Our first “nation building” war followed in the Philippines from 1899 to 1902, when the United States defeated the Filipino revolutionaries. From 1898 until the present day, the United States has been an EMPIRE. But our politicians since McKinley (Who was assassinated by an anarchist in September of 1901) have often downplayed American influence even though:
Approximately 750 military bases in 80 countries exist according to CATO. The United States dollar became the Reserve Currency of the planet due to the Bretton Woods agreement in 1944. The United States is the dominant economic powerhouse of the globe. We are the biggest financial empire that has ever existed. The United States is the largest cultural empire since Austria-Hungary. Despite these facts, the lack of territorial holdings creates a dispute about whether the United States is an empire. Well, enter DONALD TRUMP into this equation. Since Trump took the oath of office a month ago, the news cycle has gone into a cocaine induced overdrive. Every day, hundreds of different stories hit our wire. By the time you finish one story, four more have replaced it. All this is due to DOGE, the new Department of Government Efficiency, created by Executive Order by and run by Elon Musk and his crew of young tech nerds. There are too many discoveries to list here. But the purpose of this new “agency” was to reduce wasteful spending and corruption. And boy, has it done that. If everything that DOGE has discovered could be discussed, this blog would quickly reach novel size. Due to my own personal interests though (And a potential 4th soon), I want to focus on three incredible discoveries that have been unearthed. 1) INTERNEWS - This one is a personal victory for me. From 2002 to 2014, I worked in the television industry monitoring television networks and working on local newscasts. After moving into the utility industry, I pursued a master’s degree at Arizona State in Media Studies. During the time working in television and the media, I always felt there was something wrong with the information given to the American people. The opinion of one point of view always seemed to stick out over any counterarguments. This problem first appeared in 2002 when the pro-war crowd seemed to drown out the anti-war voices. This led to the Iraq War of 2003 as the very efficient propaganda promoted on the nightly newscasts led to the American people supporting an attack on that nation. The overwhelming narrative that existed in the media and posted inside dozens of websites, magazine, and newspaper articles always seemed to mirror identically to what the United States government wanted. Pointing this out to family members and friends, no one saw what seemed so obvious to me. We were being propagandized and brainwashed all the time. Last week, the twenty-year long theory I held was proven to be a factual truth. An NGO with the generic name of INTERNEWS was given 472.6 million dollars to basically control the global content of news and frame stories with a pro-United States bias. The scope of this propaganda is incredible when evaluated. Here are a few facts. Internews worked with 4,291 media outlets, producing 4,799 hours of broadcasts in one year alone, reaching up to 778 million people globally. It also “trained" over 9,000 journalists in 2023 and supported social media censorship initiatives. USASpending data shows that 87% of the funding, equivalent to $415 million, came from USAID in the last 17 years, while an additional $57 million was awarded by the US Department of State in the same period. USAID (United States Agency for International Development) was acting like its own intelligence agency not only influencing the American people domestically but a large portion of the globe. In addition, they encouraged and supported anti-Constitutional social media censorship organizations that began to escalate the removal of content online during the COVID-19 lockdowns (And were exposed in the Twitter Files). Even though I suspected this going back to the propaganda operation that got us into Iraq in 2003, I NEVER COULD HAVE BELIEVED that it was this large in scope and operating with such efficiency. 2) SUBSCRIPTIONS - I have been confused for years as to why any person on this planet would pay hundreds or even in a few cases, thousands of dollars, for a media subscription. It seems like a failed business model unless you promote a truly independent point of view like many successful Substack authors who charge between 50 to 300 dollars a year depending on the content. But these publications promote the same pro-government ideas with a slight ideological spin. They do create good journalism on occasion and many of them specialize in a specific topic. But often, a good media evaluator notices that the publication has the same opinion on climate change as NOAA, or Iran poses a threat to the United States inside every foreign policy publication which aligns with the Department of State, or that white people created a system of oppression that seems to infest all recent history books and is being pushed by our Federal education departments. Thinking about the scale of this manipulation is astonishing. Then, you read that the government basically kept many of these media outlets in business with thousands of paid subscriptions using your hard earned taxpayer money. When the government is keeping a business afloat with public money, this is not the free market. This is a government run form of capitalism where our politicians decide which media organizations survive. It is the definition of corruption. 3) SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES - DEI (Diversity, Equality, Inclusion) issues have never been my forte. Over the past half decade, it appears that the LGBTQIA movement as a minority appears to be the most well-funded oppressed group in global history. Some of their initiatives even appear to be racist by classifying certain groups as more important than others. The fact that we have a society trying to legitimize a biological male who identifies as female who proceeds to destroy females in athletic competition as a new normal always felt like one of the most unethical and crazy things ever. Because of this, the rapid acceptance of DEI never felt like an organic movement that sprouted out of the public. It felt like a psychological operation. Now, we know that this was the case. DEI money is why corporations and media figures jumped onto the bandwagon. DOGE has eliminated 100 million dollars from the Department of Education and put all the states on notice that the insanity of this movement needs to be halted. 4) MILITARY - This is in the process of occurring and will be discussed later. I do believe that the two trillion in savings promised by Musk can be accomplished by the time Trump leaves office in 2021, but this can only happen if Pentagon spending is reduced 40 to 50% via cutting its over bloated staff and the elimination and reduction of some of its programs. No cutting of Federal money will get me more excited than the reduction of the largest bureaucracy that has ever graced this planet, the Department of Defense. Next week: The failure of libertarianism and why Trump is reducing government more effectively than any libertarian could ever dream of.  Reaching a half century of age this past August, this landmark has created some self-reflection and a tinge of nostalgia for how this biological journey has developed up to this point. One of the things that has fascinated me over my 30 plus years of employment at over a dozen companies is that I can confidently say that my personality is NOT what employers want in terms of being the public face of their business. There is a physical, unbreakable brick wall I hit at every place of employment dating back to the late 90s. I have gotten promotions and raises for my knowledge of work, experience and sometimes, wildly creative ideas. If the company moves me into leadership, I can reach a team leader or supervisor position and be given permission to manage a time shift or small team. But once the word MANAGER or DIRECTOR is spoken, discussing promotion into that position causes the corporate leadership to disappear at light speed into empty nothingness. For over a decade, this really got under my skin. But as my own wisdom has increased and realities about the world become more apparent, I have come to understand a fundamental truth about myself. I am an outsider and free thinker. And if u understand how the business climate in the United States works, being an outsider is not what American corporations crave. I'm on the outside, I’m on the outside now This is where it all begins On the outside looking in Looking in at you I'm just an alien through and through Tryin' to make believe I'm you Tryin' to fit Just a stranger on the outside looking in ON THE OUTSIDE: OINGO BOINGO As the prophet Danny Elfman sang above in 1981, I have always been an outsider. Going back to childhood, my parents had me attend Catholic School from 1980-1988. I never felt like I belonged inside of church culture. Despite this, my personal morality, ethics and sense of righteousness did develop strongly during this time. This gave me a sense of naivety about the reality of the world (Which was kicked out of me in the 2000s) and a false sense of importance that the world needed to understand my vital and incredibly important point of view. My rebellious streak started in high school. During this period, calling me a REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE but lacking the amazing James Dean pompadour would be appropriate. This rebellion was caused by a terrible depression. Because of this and my often-naïve positive outlook and trusting too many people who did not have my best interests at heart, I often found myself surrounded by the wrong type of friend or adult. One of the other interesting things was that throughout my entire childhood counting my Catholic school, high school and college years, I never had a mentor. Because many adults could sense my intelligence, they did not think guidance was necessary. This led to distrust towards authority figures who went against my own personal honor code. But my intelligence hid a lack of common sense which would not develop until much later in my adult years. My sense of moral righteousness got me into trouble many times during my high school and college years as my mind believed that doing the right thing often trumped respect shown to authority. This strong sense of righteousness is the primary reason for my failure to achieve leadership positions in the corporate world. No one who knows me would tell you that my leadership skills are terrible. In fact, many of my friends think I would have been an incredible manager. But the fact that I will question instructions from my bosses is just not allowed in a business climate that tries to eliminate any controversies or conflicts. So, understanding this flaw in my personality, do I regret my life as an outsider? The answer is NO. Understanding that corporations and churches function as monarchical or dictatorial systems in our society, the pressure to accept the rules, structures, and logic of these institutions by pushing aside my ethical code was not something I could ever do. My mind has its own sense of right and wrong. There are a few things I will never do no matter how much external pressure is applied. I will not kill someone for political reasons in a war I will not hinder any individual’s personal and natural rights I will not deceive other people out of their hard-earned money But being an outsider and independent thinker also had its advantages when looking back at some of my most nostalgic moments. Being involved in the grunge, gangster rap, goth, techno and swing dance scenes in the 1990s in Los Angeles allowed me to participate in the cultural zeitgeist that my group of friends helped push into the mainstream while it originated on the fringes of the culture. The women I dated and the one I eventually had children with were all the black sheep’s of their respective families. All of them are outsiders. This distrust of authority and my instinct of understanding that depriving people of their natural right of free movement and body autonomy was authoritarian made me immediately suspicious of Dr. Fauci’s intent (Later confirmed) back in March of 2020. This is what led me to reject the entire COVID narrative within about a month of the initial lockdowns. My partner and kids got NONE OF THE COVID-19 “VACCINES.” We often violated with impunity mask mandates and unlike many scared Americans, we travelled to almost a dozen states around the United States while many people around the globe were terrified to open the door to get their DoorDash order. As Google AI says about “outsiders”, “Being an outsider can offer benefits like a fresh perspective, the ability to challenge the status quo, increased objectivity, autonomy, and the chance to observe situations without being caught up in group dynamics.” This Experimental AI’s explanation of my personality is what I have become. My readers can either come along on this journey or disappear into the spiraling void like so many of my bosses did. The choice is yours. Because rebels, renegades and outsiders do change the world. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE was right. Many apologies for the delay on this final observation of my life-changing European adventure. Hopefully everyone had a wonderful Holiday season. After the New Year’s, the seasonal flu struck my family, and it has delayed much of my writing. So many things have occurred including the inauguration of a new president and over the next few months, there will be a few blogs regarding what has happened so far culturally and politically.
My first steps into Italy were on the port of Ravenna, Italy. Ravenna is south of Venice approximately 80-90 miles. The city is also about 50 miles east of Bologna. Ravenna sits a few miles inland from the Adriatic coast. Upon walking onto Italian soil for the first time, you realize that Ravenna maybe the most unimpressive port in Europe. The port is currently under construction. Upon leaving the port and going into the city, Ravenna is very industrial. There are wetlands surrounding the area. Many oil refineries and manufacturing buildings litter the landscape. There are a couple of beautiful basilicas and churches in the city. But if given the option on the cruise ship to do something outside of this city, take this option. Venice to the north, Bologna to the west, and the independent country of San Marino to the south are a better way to spend the day than walking around this coastal mosquito fest. My partner and I decided to do the latter. The ride to San Marino takes you through some of Italy’s nicest agricultural areas. From a tourist perspective, there is not much to see other than these farms and lots of grasslands, wetlands, small towns and an amusement park far off into the distance. But once you arrive with the signature Mount Titane (Mt. Titan) standing majestically off into the distance, you realize that San Marino is a special place. San Marino was founded by a Dalmatian named Marinus who grew up on the island of Rab off the Croatian coast. During Emperor Diocletian’s reign, Christianity began spreading throughout the Roman Empire. Diocletian soon began persecuting Christians as he saw their beliefs as a threat to his rule. Marinus fled this oppression and settled as a hermit on Mount Titane where a thriving Christian community began to develop. Marinus preached the idea as a devout Catholic of simplicity, humility, peace and religious freedom to his neighbors. The foundations of the country of San Marino were laid by his teachings and he eventually became a Catholic Saint. San Marino is recognized as the oldest and at one time, smallest republic in the world (Until the independence of the island nation of Nauru in 1968) and has existed as an independent nation state for over 1700 years. San Marino is the 4th smallest country in the world and the 3rd smallest in Europe after Vatican City and Monaco. There is a small retail area once you enter the country, and the oldest part of San Marino is built like a step ladder with the stone streets rising in elevation towards the mountain peak. Located at the top of all three peaks of Mount Titane are medieval forts which have protected this nation since its inception. Before diving into more of San Marino, a quick history lesson on Italy that will explain why a nation that is smaller than most large cities exists on an Italian mountain. Before Italy became a unified nation in 1861, the territory that makes up the present-day country was broken into city-states. These cities were so wealthy that they formed independent governments and were often run by wealthy families. Most famously, the Roman Empire remains the most powerful city-state to have ever existed while ruling over large areas of Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa. Upon the Roman Empire’s collapse, Rome became a papal state and the headquarters of the Catholic religion with over one billion followers. The Venetians based out of Venice began to thrive after the Roman Empire fell and became one of the world’s first maritime republics and had over a century of peace with the nearby Byzantine Empire. Other famous city-states were Florence ruled by the Medici family that embraced art and was a hub for banking and textile production. Naples, Milan, Genoa and Pisa also became their own republics during specific periods of the Renaissance era. When Italy became a nation, the seven remaining city-states that formed the new nation were:
After Italy unified, San Marino remained an independent country. The country’s motto is LIBERTAS and respecting the idea of freedom is the foundation of what the nation is about. San Marino is very cheap. If you are looking to embrace human consumption, this is the best place in Southern Europe to do it. While the country does use the Euro, it does not pay the often-high VAT taxes that other EU nations are burdened with. This tax-free, low regulation environment allows products to be sold at bargain basement prices. Guns are sold in about a dozen shops at 80 to 90% less than they are in the United States. You can find real leather wallets for ten Euros. Anyone can have a wonderful authentic Italian dinner for eight Euros. The forts on top of the mountain must be seen and the city is loaded with beautiful and scenic vistas overlooking the Italian countryside and some interesting museums like one filled with ancient weapons, another that dissects the vampire myth, and my personal favorite, a very detailed display of the torture devices that existed during the Middle Ages. Behind my day in Krka National Park and the beaches of Split and our wonderful day in Albania, San Marino was one of the highlights of the trip. Going back for our final evening on the cruise ship, we woke up the next day in the port of Trieste, Italy where our ship permanently docked. The train station that would take us to Venice, Italy (Where our flight left in two days) was a one-mile hike north along the Trieste coastline. During this walk, we got to see probably the two most famous locations in this city, the Piazza Unita d’Italia which is a stunning square facing the ocean. This square was seen as one of the most important locations in Europe when it was a seaport for the Austrian Hungarian Empire and the buildings inside the square still have that influence. Many famous artists have given concerts, and many famous political figures have met inside of this square as a backdrop for negotiations. The Slovenes who surround this city on three sides still call it THE GREAT SQUARE. Trieste does not look like an Italian town. Despite being in the nation of Italy, the nearby Slavic and Austrian people have left a legacy on its appearance. The final tourist spot was the Grand Canal of Trieste before we reached the train station. Not counting Athens, Trieste was probably the poorest of the cities we got to experience. It was the only other place that had a large homeless population living in a park near the main train station. The city had lots of construction and appears to be under development. Upon catching the train to Venice, my partner and I got to understand firsthand why train travel is preferred in Europe. First, the trains run on time. Second, the seats inside these trains are like flying first class on a domestic American airline. They are incredibly comfortable, and waiters do come around and give you a snack and drink every other hour. The train ride from Trieste to Venice took a little over two hours as we ran around the top of the Adriatic Sea to arrive at one of the most famous cities in the world. What can really be said about Venice? Is it overpriced? Yup. Is it grimy and stinky in places? Yup. Is there a lot of graffiti scattered around the entire city? Yup. But experiencing the city is something that everyone who has the time and money should do. From the beautiful towering basilicas and churches overlooking the water on small islands off Old Town to the famous structures like the Palazzo Ducale that are on every postcard to the incredible food and coffee to seeing an opera in the evening while overlooking a canal to enjoying tea at the oldest tea shop in the world to taking water taxis all over Venice including to the island of Lido and having one of the best custom alcoholic drinks at the local bar while realizing that no one in this part of Venice spoke proper English, there is no other city in the world where you can have this interesting of an experience. At 11 pm when my partner and I were in a water taxi heading back to our hotel near the famous Rialto bridge and we passed restaurants that were mostly empty but had haunting candle lights on each table reflecting out onto the water, it was one of the most beautiful memories of my life. Even though there are downsides to Venice like overpriced hotel rooms that a family of rats would not have enough space to enjoy, there is something very magical about this city. And one other thing that will remain the most baffling experience of my life. On the previously mentioned Lido Island to the east of Venice, my wife and I needed to go to the bathroom. The toilets in every establishment including the bar and restaurant that we ate at were basically ground toilets with nothing to sit on. You just squatted and emptied the contents of your bowels into this open toilet pit. It was the most bizarre restroom experience of my life. And one more thing. All public toilets, no matter what country you are in, will cost at least one Euro to use. The good news is that these toilets are clean and not disgusting like most public toilets you find in California on the beaches, parks and inside rest stops. On the last day, I decided to buy a tour run by a Venetian couple that would take us into the famous Dolomites. On my bucket list of things to see in Europe, the Dolomites were in my Top 5. The Dolomites are only ninety minutes north of the city of Venice. So, after grabbing my warm cup of coffee early in the morning, we met our fellow tourists in the bus plaza in Venice at 8 am. The one downside of this trip. We apparently traveled on a day that was a national Holiday in Italy, so the Dolomites were VERY BUSY with lots of tourists. But once we got into Dolomites National Park, there is no mountain range on this planet that has more incredibly scenic vistas than this section of the Italian Alps. I have been to the Rockies, the Appalachians and my personal favorite mountain range, the Sierra Nevadas in California with its multiple national parks. None of them can beat the Dolomites. From Lago di Braies and its sparkling, clear water to hiking under the famous Tre Cime peaks at over 7000 feet to experiencing the sparkling lake of Misurina, the Dolomites do not fail to impress in all their majestic glory. The limestone peaks stand out throughout the multiple nature parks we hiked through and the valleys between the peaks with alpine trees, beautiful dark green grasslands and ponds and lakes with clear water that you can see one hundred feet down into never fail to impress. Scattered around the Dolomites are little Italian towns that have been under these peaks for centuries that are bursting with character and history with the most famous being Cortina d’Ampezzo where my partner and I had the best desserts on our European trip. Near Lago Di Braies, the Austrian influence takes over again as the architecture of the buildings gives the region an Austrian look. Even though we scraped the edge of Austria, we never crossed the border into the country despite being able to see it from the Tre Cime Peaks. My only regret about visiting the Dolomites. No snow had dropped yet so the ski resorts that line the mountains had not opened. But without a doubt, this mountain range and the surrounding valleys and agricultural land that lies against these wondrous peaks is the most scenic region of Italy. After returning late in the evening from our mountain adventure, the vacation was over. We took a water taxi directly to Venice International Airport and began our trip back to the States the following morning. Visiting southern Europe was a life changing experience for me. I hope to someday return and spend a longer amount of time diving deeper into the culture and history of the area. Until then…I hope you enjoyed my experiences. Thanks for reading. How many people on this planet know that Sibenik, Croatia is famous for one reason? During the late 1800s when cities around the world began experimenting with street lighting, Sibenik became the first city to electrify with alternating current (AC) thanks to inspiration from Croatia’s native son Nikolai Tesla. The first electrified city lit by arc lamps (Which are powered by gas) was Wabash, Indiana in 1880. Most other cities on the planet used single-phase direct current (DC) powered by steam engines. But regarding the alternating current system that has become the norm for electrical grids on this planet, Sibenik became the first city to implement this system successfully. Plaques that honor the location of the Hungarian built Jaruga I exist in Krka National Park where the first two-phase hydroelectric plant was built. Jaruga II built in 1903 is still in operation and is the oldest hydroelectric plant on Earth. Learning about this one topic is one of the many things I did during my four days in these two interesting and beautiful Slavic countries.
Before diving into this adventure, there are a few regrets. Due to the trip being organized through travel agencies and a cruise ship, we had to plan every detail by the hour. Right before leaving for Europe, my cousin that lives in Croatia informed me of where my grandfather was born and raised. Near the top of the nation sits a village named Zvonece which is only 8 kilometers from Matilji. Southwest of Matilji is the beautiful coastal resort town of Opatija. To the southeast lies the third largest city in Croatia, Rijeka, which was also known as the Free State of Fiume and was an independent nation for a short period of time in the 20th Century. Rijeka is considered one of the most culturally diverse places on the planet due to being in the borderland’s region between Western and Eastern Europe. Because of its neutral, free market status through a good chunk of its history, Rijeka has been a hub for immigrants from around the world for centuries. A hybrid language of the Venetian Empire, Fiuman, is still spoken by 10,000 to 30,000 people in the city. Fiuman is an evolution of the Venetian dialect that incorporates Hungarian and German elements due to Rijeka being under Holy Roman Empire control for nine centuries and then the Hapsburg monarchy for over four centuries. Upon docking in Trieste Italy, Zvonece is 64 kilometers (About 40 miles) and two countries away (After leaving Italy, you must drive through the nation of Slovenia to get into Croatia) and is located on the beautiful Istrian Peninsula. Since our train to Venice, Italy left only two hours after landing in Trieste and these tickets were purchased before my knowledge of my grandfather’s village, I had to sacrifice this part of the trip. But when I come back to Croatia, Rijeka and Zagreb (The capital) as well as the landmark town on the Istrian Peninsula, Pula, will be the priority. My first steps into my ancestral homeland were in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Dubrovnik is located on a very narrow section of Croatia near the bottom of the nation before it transitions into Bosnia & Hercegovina and Montenegro. Dubrovnik is squeezed into a small area along the coast with mountains lingering over the town to the east. Dubrovnik in comparison to the rest of Croatia is an upscale resort town. Of the three cities I visited in Croatia, Dubrovnik was the nicest. Our ship docked in Graz which is located about two miles away from Old Town Dubrovnik. Old Town was made famous by the television show GAME OF THRONES as the stand in for King’s Landing. Here is one of my few complaints about my Slavic brethren, greed. Everything costs an extraordinary amount of money. Taking the bus into the city and reaching Old Town cost twenty Euros each for a four-mile round trip drive. Walking the walls of Dubrovnik is 35 Euros each. Being aware of these scams, we decided to enjoy the city as cheaply as possible. My partner who put faith in my limited knowledge of the Croatian language convinced me to try public transportation. For two Euros (And an early exit from the bus at the University of Dubrovnik where the highway runs along a beautiful cliff along the ocean), we were able to get to Old Town in about twenty minutes. For those interested in medieval history and have always wanted to wander around a fortress with cobblestone streets, steep stairways, historical gates, beautiful archways, and upon leaving Old Town, experiencing beautiful turquoise ocean waters that circles the town, Old Town Dubrovnik is the place for you. The various monasteries and Catholic churches that make up the skyline are stunning. The museums are in architecturally beautiful buildings scattered around the tourist shops that are located on every corner of this city. One thing that tourists must understand about Old Town is that Croatian people live inside these walls, and you must be courteous to their needs. Upon leaving Old Town to the south, there is a walkway that takes you around the fortress to a secluded beach where native Croatians in their too-tight speedos swim. Off the coast of Dubrovnik is the beautiful island of Otok Lokrum that looks close enough to be within swimming distance. Dubrovnik’s streets are confusing to walk with narrow pathways curving and some streets dead ending. Using Google Maps can get you out of a sticky corner that appears to have no exit. One of the oldest operating fountains in the world is in the main plaza and the water tastes as fresh as it probably was in the 17th Century. Outside Old Town is a beautiful fortress on a cliff named Tvrdava Lovrijenac (in Croatian). If you want to go to the top and experience the beautiful coastal views, you better be willing to part with 15 Euros per person. Before entering Old Town, I was personally on a quest to get some Rakija. Croatia is famous for its various fruit liqueurs with different names like Slivovica which is a plum spirit, Rakija which is the cherry spirit, and Medovaca which is the honey brandy. I stumbled into a bar called THE KOP where all the local Croatians who are fans of Liverpool FC drink. The bartender gave me the locals discount because I ordered Slivovica and Rakija shots in Croatian. This was the best five Euros I spent on the trip. After seeing Old Town, we decided to head back to the ship. We had a wonderful Croatian lunch at Culto before having an average but drinkable Croatian beer at the Dubrovnik Beer Company. Then, I discovered what would become my favorite part of this port stop. A museum about the experience of living in Communist Yugoslavia called the RED HISTORY MUSEUM. This was one of the Top Three Museums I have ever visited. The museum had incredible historical detail of what living day to day in Yugoslavia was like (Through displays of bedrooms, kitchens, and living rooms), what the culture was like, and unfortunately, what living under a dictator (Tito) is like (And how he “handled” anti-partisans violently). The museum was a wonderful historical experience showing a time and place that Americans would never have tolerated. While Communism has been a blight on this planet through the 20th Century, living in Yugoslavia during the Communist era was not as terrible as Stalin era Soviet Union or Pol Pot’s Cambodia. The country modernized and had a successful economy for a couple of decades and many Croatians remember this time of their lives fondly. Next on the list was Split, Croatia where we spent a couple of days. This city was a more authentic Croatian experience. On the first day, we took a tour to Krka Lakes National Park, an hour to the north and home to clear, translucent water and dozens of beautiful waterfalls. This was the location of the hydroelectric plant mentioned at the beginning of this blog that created the power for the first AC-powered city of Sibenik which is located on the ocean a few kilometers to the south. Sibenik itself has a beautiful ocean drive and more beautiful churches and monasteries mixed into what is an unimpressive, middle-class city. St. Nicolas’s Fortress which is the most famous tourist location here is on an island off the coast. Sibenik upon approach looks very similar to Old Town Dubrovnik. On the drive back and forth from Split to Krka National Park, the Croatian landscape resembles the coastal sagebrush look of San Diego. The biggest difference is San Diego is built on sandstone, so the beaches are loaded with sand. The Croatian landscape is limestone, so the beaches are filled with white rocks. Instead of using wood or metal to build fences around their property, farmers in Croatia in the rural areas use limestone. On the second day, we ate at an overpriced restaurant overlooking a bunch of the islands off the coast called Dvor where I had a wonderful Adriatic Tuna lunch, and my partner had a terrible lamb shank. After this, we spent a couple hours at the beach underneath the restaurant swimming in the shallow and quite warm for November Adriatic Sea with the islands of Brac and Solta glaring at us on the horizon. Afterwards, we decided to do a self-tour of the city. Split is broken up into areas along the water that are much wealthier, and the quality of the neighborhood declines the further from the ocean you get. Besides walking through some sketchy neighborhoods, we also saw the famous Diocletian Palace where so many of the tourists go to shop for souvenirs and experience some of the historical sights. One of the oldest farmers’ markets in the world resides along the outside of the Palace and for my own interest, we took a tour of the apartments from the Communist era which, like most art from this political era, are uniform and boring. It was spectacular. We finished the vacation off taking a bus to the Fortress of Klis which was the primary castle for most of the Croatian Kings of the medieval era and has a beautiful view on a mountainside looking down into the city of Split. Upon heading back to the ship after spending a couple of fascinating days in this city, I encountered my second regret. Split is the headquarters for taking ferries to the dozens of islands that are off the coast of the city. If another visit to Croatia does occur at some point in the future, these islands will be at the top of my list. Before moving on, I want to make a couple of points about Croatia. Americans are incredibly uninformed about this nation. On one of my tours, an American argued with our Croatian tourist guide about Soviet control over Yugoslavia. The tour guide corrected him and said that Yugoslavia was neutral and never fell behind the Iron Curtain. This is true. When Tito took over Yugoslavia after World War II, Stalin tried to assassinate him multiple times. Even though Yugoslavia did make peace with the Soviets after Khrushchev came to power, they also had a relationship with the United States. This non-aligned movement defined the nation of Yugoslavia and allowed it to become quite wealthy and stay out of violent conflicts between the two nations. To understand a country that survived between multiple empires for over thousands of years of its existence, Croatia (Hrvatska in Croatian) has had an interesting history. It has been conquered by multiple kings and empires but never fully incorporated. Croatians have been lucky to have a great deal of autonomy through their history due to the difficulty of ruling over a land that was often distant and with a wonderful coastline that allowed the people to travel to different locations easily. The Slavs did not arrive in this region until around the 6th or 7th Century. Before that, the land was part of the Western Roman Empire before the fall of that Empire and subjugated to the Goths before it became part of the Byzantine Empire. The Franks owned the land for a short time also. The Duchy and Medieval Kingdom of Croatia existed from around 800 to the early 1100s when the Croatians were Christianized away from their pagan past. Parts of Croatia have been ruled or attacked over its history. The Venetians controlled many islands along the coast over hundreds of years. The Croatians joined a pact with the Hungarians in the early 1100s that lasted until the fall of the Austrian Hungarian Empire after World War I. The Mongols raided Split and the Fortress of Klis in the 1200s before retreating due to the death of their Khan. They never went back to the Dalmatian Coast. The Ottomans took chunks of Eastern Croatia and turned it into the present-day nation of Bosnia & Hercegovina. The Ottomans never were able to conquer most of the Croatian land. Napoleon conquered the region during the Napoleonic Wars. Hitler conquered it during World War II. Italy has often possessed the Istrian Peninsula. The Holy Roman Empire ruled large parts of present-day northern Croatia for centuries. And of course, the country was Communist until the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991. This is why it is hard to distinguish a unique Croatian culture when visiting the nation. The food has elements of German, Italian, and Hungarian. The architecture varies from Austrian to Italian. Croatia feels like a nation filled with a proud population that was put together piecemeal, one puzzle piece at a time. Even their language is put together with elements of the nations that border it. Understanding this history and these circumstances will help you appreciate everything these people have gone through. Finally, a few observations about the small nation of Montenegro. Montenegro is mostly a mountainous country with its own proud culture. Montenegrins are also Slavic and despite being located very close to Croatia and Bosnia, it has a completely different history. Montenegrins are mixed religiously but are more aligned with the Orthodox Serbs and Macedonians. After the Bulgarians were kicked out of the area, Montenegro fell under the Serbian realm as the principality of Zeta and remained part of it for over many centuries. The coastal area of Montenegro best represented by the beautiful Bay of Kotor is an incredibly scenic section of the country that was conquered by the Venetian Empire and held for centuries against Ottoman aggressors. The Ottoman Empire did take a piece of Montenegro and held it for centuries. But like parts of Northern Croatia and Eastern Italy, Montenegro was often treated as a borderland transition between east and west which gave them a lot of autonomy. There was even a short lived Kingdom of Montenegro that only lasted for eight years during the World War I era before it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Croats, Serbs and Slovenes during the post-war era. When visiting the country, there are more Macedonians and Serbs plus an interesting mix of signs in Cyrillic (For the Serbs) and Latin alphabets. Turks are a large minority in the population due to a free trade agreement signed between the countries that allows them to live in Montenegro for 180 days before being forced to return home. After staying in Turkiye for 180 days, Turks can go back to Montenegro and stay for another 180. Like Dubrovnik, Split and Sibenik, Montenegro has its own Medieval Old Town. Upon our visit and needing to get exercise, we climbed the 1000-foot incline, 1300 plus stairs to a Venetian fortress that is preserved along the mountainside (For 15 Euros each of course). Kotor is a beautiful city along the Bay that is protected by mountains on all sides and water to the north. It is a very easy place to defend due to the geography. Kotor is nicer than every Croatian town we decided to visit. If given the opportunity, I recommend visiting this small mountainous country. It is scenic and you will not regret it. Before ending this long blog, a few words about my passport issues. As mentioned in Part 1 of this series, I had issues going through customs in Germany due to many of the countries I visited not stamping my passports. Here is what happened in each one keeping in mind that only Albania stamped it. Greece: Left the Athens airport without any Greek checking my passport. Flying into Athens was like departing a domestic flight in the United States. No one ever asked for my passport in Greece. Upon returning to Greece from our Albanian day trip, the custom officials again did not check our passports. Croatia: During my four days there and two separate entries into the country, the Croatian authorities waved me through by just showing them my passport in my hand. I never opened it. Montenegro: Never was asked to show my passport. Customs let me walk right into their country with no issues. Italy: Upon my four days in Italy and two separate entries, the only time the Italian authorities looked at my passport was upon re-boarding my cruise ship in Ravenna, Italy where I also needed to go through a metal detector. The Italians did not stamp it. After exiting the ship to spend a few days in Northern Italy, no Italian authorities ever asked for my passport. San Marino: This small nation only stamps your passport if you pay them five Euros. I decided to decline that offer. Other than that, they never asked for my passport. None of these countries cared about international travelers invading their lands. All they really wanted were my American dollars. Montenegro and Albania also have very lax immigration laws. You can stay in Montenegro for three months over a six month period with no visa before the government bothers to act. In the case of Albania, you can stay a year before being forced to pursue either citizenship or be kindly asked to go back to your native country. THIS IS MY FINAL POST AFTER CHRISTMAS. HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY. Last week, we left off with our day on Mykonos and Delos, two of the three islands that form the famous Cyclades Island Group. On this cruise, there were no days at sea. Because of this, we got an Inside Cabin (Since we only sailed at night) and used our ship primarily for eating dinner, sleeping for the evening, taking a shower in the morning, and debarking for the next day’s adventure. The next morning, the cruise ship docked in Zakynthos on the western side of Greece in the Ionian Sea, the transition between the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas. The Ionian Sea’s length runs west to east from the tip of Sicily to the very bottom of continental Greece and ends to the north in the strait where the heel of Italy gets closest to the Greek landmass.
Zakynthos is part of the Ionian Islands Group, one of the seven island groups resting off the coast of Greece. Zakynthos is the island that most tourists think Santorini and Mykonos are. Unlike those brown, rocky, desolate islands with million-dollar views, Zakynthos is a green, mountainous island loaded with vegetation with a wonderfully scenic downtown located along the coast. Some of the most beautiful Greek island beaches are located here including one that is centered by a shipwreck. The coast of Greece can be seen to the east. We were looking forward to touring Zakynthos. Then, our cruise ship informed us that this stop would be a tender port. Operating on a first come/first serve basis, we reached the lounge to get our tender tickets to shore at the time designated and were given the number 16. Docking in Zakynthos occurred at 9 am Greek Time. We were not able to place our feet onto the Greek soil until 1215 pm leaving us only about three and a half hours to tour the island. The boat was anchored so far off the coast that each tender took fifteen minutes to reach shore and thirty minutes to complete the round trip. This unexpected issue led us to change our plans. So, we decided to stay in the main city. Zakynthos became our shopping hub as it was about 20% cheaper than Athens and the previous islands. I was finally able to tour a wonderful Greek Orthodox Church named after the patron saint of the island, Dionysios. The church had wonderful artistic decors throughout. Not only that, but there was an Ecclesiastical Museum in the back that had beautiful, hand-written manuals created in this Sacristy dating back to the 16th Century. After experiencing the Museum of Zakynthos and the Dionysios Square out front, back to the cruise ship we went. On the fourth day, we woke up docked on another Ionian Island, Corfu. This island is the most beautiful one with immaculate blue water at the beaches, beautiful green vegetation and trees everywhere, and a few scenic mountains located on the north end of the island intermixed with little villages and a historic Old Town that is located a few miles from the port. Corfu has been the location for dozens of Hollywood films. But my wife and I decided to forsake all of this for a trip to Albania across the Ionian Sea to the north. One of the things that is ever present throughout Southern Europe is ferries. On Corfu, one of the ferry lines, Finikas, can take any customer to Saranda, Albania in thirty minutes via hydrofoil. As a person who always wanted to experience this form of travel, the journey on this boat was fantastic. A normal ferry trip to Saranda takes one hour and ten minutes. Once the hydrofoil leaves the harbor, it speeds up to 55 knots, the boat rises onto its masts, and it gives you the sensation that you are flying just above the ocean. The ferry also had more comfortable seating than most first-class airlines. Before you could say SUPERMAN, we had arrived in Saranda, Albania. Before planning this day, the only thing I knew about this area was that Saranda was called the Albanian Riviera, there are gorgeous historical ruins south of the city located about 20 kilometers away, and Albanians have a very deep attachment to the Clinton Family (US President #41). One of the things we walked past in Saranda was a statue of Hillary Clinton. To say that Saranda took our breath away would be an understatement. Only allowed five hours and ignoring the first traveler (Roma) we saw on this trip sitting on the side of the road and begging for money, we hired a Russian taxi cab driver for 20 Euros to take us to the beautiful Butrint Archaeological National Park. He gave us an in depth tour of the city, its history, showed us the beautiful olive trees and lakes scattered around, gave us a wonderful talk on the rapid growth of the city (Condos are popping up everywhere and can be bought for less than 100,000 Euros) and was incredibly fun to talk with. Another benefit of Albania which we were unaware is that the people were the nicest and friendliest on our trip BY FAR. Every person in Albania was talkative, knowledgeable, and willing to help. Once you arrive at Butrint, it is a gorgeous location located on a peninsula with a lake loaded with oyster farms to the north and a beautiful river to the south where Albanians are lined alongside the shore fishing for their dinners. The only way to cross this river is by flat wood boarded ferry pulled by ropes that can only hold one car at a time, something you would see in a King Arthur movie. The ruins in Butrint were my favorite on the trip which included a very well-preserved Medieval Castle. After taking the local transportation back to Saranda, we had one of the best meals on our trip involving more incredible coffee, calamari, grilled red fish, a beautiful olive salad, a glass of local wine, and a few sides for only 40 Euro alongside the funniest waitress that anyone would be blessed to have. After this, we walked along the Saranda Embankment to Saranda Beach where the ocean water was perfect. No person on this planet could have had a better five-hour day in a nation that most people probably could not find on a map. A few facts about my new favorite nation of Albania:
PART 4 NEXT WEEK ABOUT MY ANCESTRAL HOMELAND OF CROATIA. See you then. Despite this fourteen-day vacation being a wonderful experience, there were two days that were complete and total nightmares. The day we travelled to Europe (28 hours from leaving our bedroom in Southern California till arrival at the Athens Marriott plus ten hours of time change) and the return day (25 hours from leaving our hotel near the Rialto Bridge in Venice, Italy to my bedroom in what amounted to a 34-hour day). These were the only days on the trip that were mentally debilitating. On the plane ride back from Venice to San Diego, discovering that my body has a bizarre gluten allergy specifically to German made Hefeweizen beers (Which are fantastic) added a fun twelve hours of intestinal distress to the already irritating journey. Here is some ADVICE FOR FUTURE TRAVELERS TO DIFFERENT CONTINENTS.
If you book through a travel agency, make sure the trip only has one connecting flight. My partner and I did not contemplate how stressful the two connecting flights would be, especially if you must go through customs two additional times in two different countries. We left San Diego at 8:00 am on Monday morning and arrived in Athens, Greece around 3 pm on Tuesday. Last week, I mentioned how difficult it was to travel through Canada and Germany. My partner and I got X-Rayed three times in 24 hours (TSA Plus does not work in foreign countries) passing through the customs of both countries. When you arrive in Greece, they made no effort to check my passport. We picked up our luggage and left. It was like flying domestic in the United States except without the TSA molestation. This relaxed attitude is something that is refreshing about Southern Europe (More on this in future posts). Flying into Greece and as an amateur historian, I was expecting to be blown away by the country on first impression. The airport is located on the eastern side and a mountain must be navigated around to reach the city of Athens. It requires a 40-minute car ride to get into the city center. Greece looks dry, desolate and dirty upon landing. The Uber ride was even more depressing. Until we got within a few miles of our hotel, Greece looked like the worst part of the inner cities of the United States. Burned out and abandoned buildings, trash everywhere on and off the streets, graffiti, and a real sense of hopelessness that permeated the air including our driver who seemed like a sad and beaten man. There are homeless people in Athens, but they are a minimal presence compared to a city like Los Angeles. Athens is loaded with apartment complexes that ALL LOOK THE SAME. Like they just build the apartment one floor at a time and stack the exact same design onto the next floor. These apartments are everywhere. The uniformity of their design was related to an era in Athen’s history called “Antiparochi” when housing needed to be built rapidly for an exploding population. The problem is these apartments are everywhere and leave an ugly blight on the city. After finally arriving at our hotel, my wife and I were so exhausted that after we ate dinner, we fell asleep at 630 pm and slept until 2 am. Ate some of our leftover Greek food from dinner and passed back out at 230 am till 7 am on Wednesday. If it seems like this trip is going horribly and you are wondering when the fun begins, it only gets better from here. A couple of additional things about Athens. It reminded me of Latin American countries. While the Greeks have a long and complicated history and are often given proper credit for their philosophical ideas that led to our present-day civilization, the country just looks old. Side streets are very narrow and beat up. Stray cats are on the streets everywhere. But Athens has some wonderful things also. The area around the Acropolis is beautiful and touring those ruins should be on everyone’s bucket list. Since the ruins are located on a hill, the view of the entirety of Athens, including being able to see Mount Olympus (The home of Zeus) on a clear day gives you an understanding as to why this area was so inspirational to our ancient philosophers. Greek food is INCREDIBLE. The restaurant that was recommended to us behind our hotel was amazing (If you don’t mind smoking which is legal in all indoor buildings unless designated and having cats laying around inside the patio.). A real Greek salad does not have lettuce. Even on the islands, a Greek salad contains only these ingredients: Green/Red Peppers Olives Tomatoes Cucumbers Onions Slice of Feta on the Top coated in Olive Oil or Vinegar depending on the restaurant Public transportation is incredible and there are no stinky, drug-addicted, homeless people asking you for spare change on the bus like in Los Angeles. Bus rides were quiet with everyone minding their own business. The buses run on time. The subway system is fast and effective. It is a very efficient system run along very well-maintained highways. Greek people are not very talkative. Since Americans can’t keep their mouths shut, it isn’t very difficult to identify the “tourists” in Athens. After touring Athens Wednesday morning and reaching our cruise ship late that afternoon, my partner and I woke up docked alongside the island of Santorini. A couple of facts about this interesting island.
Once the ATV was rented, the rest of the day was magical. With my women holding onto me from behind, we toured every inch of that island over an eight-hour timeframe. From the incredible blue roofed churches and winding, curved streets of Oia, the wineries along the coast, the Akrotiri Lighthouse at the tip of the island, the red beach, an amazing lunch at a fish restaurant named Galini and the experience of driving roads that had more curves than the average mountain pass in California. One other thing to know about Greece. Hours of operation for a business are theoretical. One of the things I wanted to do was visit the Ancient City of Akrotiri. Admission was fifteen Euros, and the hours stated that, it was open till 5 pm. I arrived at 250 pm and the lady running the exhibit said they were shutting down for the day. But she had no problem taking my thirty Euros to see the site which I refused to provide. I did manage to sneak into the historical site to use the restroom and took a couple of pictures on my way out of the facility. When in Europe, restaurants, markets and other tourist attractions are often open on the whim of the owner. So, you may find yourself disappointed if you were looking forward to a particular attraction and find it closed. Day Two was on the island of Mykonos, famous for its curved, difficult to navigate, streets and famous windmills. My partner and I also ate the best Souvlaki and Gelato we have ever had in our lifetimes in Mykonos. But the highlight of this day was a cruise over to the sacred island of Delos, the historical center of the Cyclades Island group. The entire island of Delos is a UNESCO Heritage Site. Upon landing, the ruins on the island are incredible. Just walking around and experiencing this living history is an amazing experience from the Terrace of the Lions to the art history museum. There are pieces of this history lying around everywhere alongside your feet. Wondering what civilization was like on this now dead, brown and desolate island thousands of years ago fascinated me. Delos is very small but at its height, they believed as many as 30,000 people lived at this sacred site filled with ancient temples. The remnants of this civilization due to the isolated nature of this island have been well preserved and is the best example in Greece of what living in their culture was like at the height of their Empire. Part 3 will be next week. Enjoy! |
AuthorEXPERT OF SOME Archives
April 2025
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