Port, Pastries, and Portuguese Paths

 We had some sleepy people today.  I personally slept until 8 am and finally drug myself out of bed by 9.  Two of our group slept until we rang their doorbell excessively at 11:30 a.m. (checkout was at noon.)  So I'd say we are getting rested/used to the time change. We ate our last breakfast buffet I tried to put a video of the breakfast buffet in here, but sometimes videos do not post for me, so we will see.   We had the hotel staff call for a taxi for us for our transport to Lisbon.  This vehicle was very roomy and kind of a fun set up. Van ride Jess and Matt up front Van ride the 6 of us in back facing one another. We arrived at the Altis Grand and were greeted by Windows to the World Staff.  We got in line to check in for our rooms and all but two rooms were ready which was nice.  We dropped our bags in our room and then followed Joe to the place two blocks away he found for lunch/brunch. Hunter Douglas Welcome area had food out Hunter D...

 If you ever go to CasCais, we highly recommend the Miragem Hotel.  From the moment we arrived and were greeted by name to the beautiful smell throughout the hotel (they have their own scent made for the hotel and would not give up its secrets) to the outstanding customer service, to the beautiful rooms we had - the whole experience was fantastic. Today, Mother's Day, we had planned a 4-hour boat ride on the Katerina Cranch.  It began at noon and we took 2 Bolt rides (of 4 people each) to the Marina.  We had two skipper/pilots - one who spoke English.  It was a cool day - 63 or so, so it was a little cool to be out, but the sun was shining.  My only wish is that they would have told us more about what we were seeing.  They did answer our questions if we asked, but otherwise it was simply a boat ride.  We did stop at one point in a "bay" area and some of the group braved the "shocking" cold water and got in and shared a paddle board.  Pictures...

 We all made it on the flight - each one of us having our own story.  But we made it! Hotel CasCais Miragem First we played a little Solo in the United Lounge at IAD. (Dulles) Solo Then we began to board.  Since Dave and my flights were paid for by Hunter Douglas, we used our money to upgrade.  Just makes a more comfortable flight for me.  We started out with turbulence so supper was delayed.  Dave fell asleep, but I was listening to a book and stayed awake.  Here's a look at the supper served on the plane. 1st Class Dinner Not sure if I said this already or not, but we used Points for the hotel rooms and points for the airline tickets (for all of us) so this worked out great.  The flight seemed to go by fast.  We arrived in Lisbon, but it took about 90 minutes to get through the snaking customs line.  Our driver almost marked us as a no show.  Good thing Jess kept in great communication with him.  He drove us to our hotel in C...

 We in Grand Junction woke up at the early hour of 4:00 a.m.  (Ben, Dave, me).  We took an early flight with a long layover.  That way if for any reason we missed the flight, we could still drive to Denver.  Tomorrow will be when the fun posts arrive. I'll at least add some photos ere to remember the day!

 It's that time of year again.  What time?  Travel time!  We (Dave and Patty) won a trip for two to Lisbon, Portugal with Hunter Douglas.  We started making these trips annual family trips in 2022 when we all went to Maui, 2023 to Malta, 2024 just Dave and I to Sweden and then we made our annual trip to Italy for an ancestry tour and now this year Lisbon, Portugal. One of my best friends, Theresa, is Portuguese and her Grandma was always sitting on the front porch when I'd come over.  I think Grandma spoke mostly Portuguese (no English).  Theresa used to make us linguica.  We'd say linguica with Theresa.  It's a Portuguese sausage.   We all depart our separate airports tomorrow and meet up in Dulles for our flight to Lisbon.  Here's some family/group photos from Maui, Malta, and Italy. This year it will be Dave, Patty, Jessica and Matt, Joe and McKenzie, Ben, and McKenzie's sister Kennedy.  (No William and Crystal this yea...