08/02/24 Amsterdam Canal Cruise

We took a scenic canal cruise through Amsterdam - they call it the Venice of the North. Amsterdam has a unique canal system that offers the best vantage point to view the city and it's famous sights. Amsterdam has 1500 bridges and 165 canals. After a run 1 hour cruise through the canals our boat departed out of Amsterdam.

We were really enjoying getting to know some of our friends from the cruise. Carmen and Ralph Lee were fun to talk to. Carmen is from Chile and has a thick accent and is very loud and bubbly and funny.

Ralph was fun as well although a little less wild than his wife! haha.

He had a scary story to tell about how he was attacked in 2018 in his dry cleaning shop. He was pummeled with a baseball bat and beaten until he was practically dead (he did flat line for a little while). They were able to revive him and after months/years of work he still suffers hearing loss and other side effects but he is functioning and still working at his cleaner shop in St George.

Delicious breakfast buffet

The pool was on the roof of the boat

So many bikes everywhere

Going through a channel.

You could literally reach out and touch the walls.
We went through 10 channels during
the course of our trip.

One of the many forms of
entertainment of a local

Our guide

Ralph and Carmen Lee

Comments

08/23/25 Organ

The Washington First Ward Building was sold to the City of Washington. Part of my responsibilities included dispensing of the organ and pianos in the building (along with other things). It is an Allen, approximately 1970s. I put the organ up on the auction. There were a couple of other people that were bidding on it, but I ultimately won the bid (for under $100). On the day I won the bid I was able to arrange a mover!!! I paid $250 to have someone from the piano store move it to our house (I have no idea how he managed to get that into the back bedroom....but he did it!!!) Then, it wouldn't work. 😭 I waited for approximately 6 weeks before a guy (who had to be 80 years old) came down from SLC and repaired the organ. (So the organ wasn't actually broken, it had to do with the electricity and the house talking nicely to one another.) It took him a couple of hours to figure it out. He charged about $200 and voila! I have a working church organ. Cool, eh? Now, I got...

06/27/25 Drew Ellerman's Retirement Party

Steve Whittekiend, Kelly Carlson in front Mayor Kress Staheli in back Thad Seegmiller back of head Police Chief Jason Williams, Councilman Troy Belliston Jordan Hess, Councilman Bret Henderson, Finance Brian Brown Mayor Kress Staheli and Councilman Craig Coats Danice Bulloch (former City Recorder), Shelly Griffin Hana Park and Tara Pentz (current recorders) April and Drew Ellerman April & Drew Ellerman, Kathy Spring (former assistant to Drew) Bonnie Baker (current assistant) and Drew Drew

03/28/26 Trip to Italy, Day 5, Saturday, Florence

We stopped at a local restaurant and got some breakfast tarts and then went to the Academia and saw the statue of David and had a tour. We returned to the same Restaurant and had panini sandwiches for lunch. Then we went to the Uffizi Museum for another tour. We had yummy gelato and took a rest for a while. We walked through the leather market and to a cool bridge. We walked around the city awhile into we came to a restaurant that was super cute and we ate outside. We had ravioli and pizza. We walked a bit more after dinner and then came back and played games. Academia Statue of David A bum shot Kevin and a cello One of the first pianos ever Early pianos Art in the Uffuzi The ceilings! Art in the Uffuzi Art in the Uffuzi Bridge of Sighs, Florence Shelly in the Bridge Florence Florence Andy and Shelly in the Uffuzi Art in the Uffuzi Florence Florence Trash bins in Florence Restaurant in Florence Outside in the street...so quaint! Restaurant in Florence Restaurant ...

Griffin Family

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