I am now in the process of adding a new series of recent activities and family vacations taken since Marilyn and I moved in October, 2024 to Seattle and Era Livings' The Lakeshore Senior Living Facility on the southwest shore of Lake Washington to be close to our older son Ron, Jennie, his wife and three grandsons: August, Sebastian and Quinn
SEATTLE SINCE 2024
A new cumulative blogspot will soon be linked with pictures and perhaps some videos of our new living and family holidays, trips and experiences in Seattle:
Former (older) Blogspot (Google) Travel Blogs:
The information below includes my travel blogs up to and including our travel trips completed in 2023 and my several organizational blogs.
But, first, I want to mention one of the greatest joys of Marilyn and I, after retirement, was the opportunity to travel. And what better way to save the memories of our travel is through a travel blog.
Why do I spend so much time setting up a travel blog?
I do so because rather than saving my travel pictures and videos on DVD's, never to be viewed by me or anyone else, a travel blog is the best way for me to not only enjoy, over a period of time, is to record my experiences and, more recent, to allow and encourage my fellow travelers to do the same, with me acting as a blog facilitator. You will notice the China blog below contains many authors and contributors.
But, first, I want to mention one of the greatest joys of Marilyn and I, after retirement, was the opportunity to travel. And what better way to save the memories of our travel is through a travel blog.
Why do I spend so much time setting up a travel blog?
I do so because rather than saving my travel pictures and videos on DVD's, never to be viewed by me or anyone else, a travel blog is the best way for me to not only enjoy, over a period of time, is to record my experiences and, more recent, to allow and encourage my fellow travelers to do the same, with me acting as a blog facilitator. You will notice the China blog below contains many authors and contributors.
My blogging activities began some time ago, around 2007, when I decided that the best way to share my trip experiences with my family and others was to become a travel blogger. This sure beats saving my digital pictures and videos on DVD's that no one, including myself, would ever view again. So now I have, in retirement, become a blogger. That means I will actually have to look at my camera videos and pictures at least once prior to editing and uploading them into my blogspot.com blogs.
So, below is a master file of all my blogs. It is like a table of contents. You can go directly to one of my blogs by putting your mouse on the links that appear in blue ink. By clicking on the blue link, that particular blog should open and appear on your computer screen.
So, below is a master file of all my blogs. It is like a table of contents. You can go directly to one of my blogs by putting your mouse on the links that appear in blue ink. By clicking on the blue link, that particular blog should open and appear on your computer screen.
Concert Videos:
Having watched the Rolling Stones at the old LA Sports Arena in the mid 1960's, through the years on music videos or specials, I finally decided to go to their rescheduled May 11, 2019 concert (postponed due to Mick Jagger's heart surgery) to August 22, 2019, it was well worth the wait. The following link to my music blog is just a very small sample of the fantastic show these old guys (but younger gals) in their 70's put on for some 70,000 fans at the Pasadena Rose Bowl: https://8-22-19-rollingstones.blogspot.com
Completed Travel Blogs:
Having watched the Rolling Stones at the old LA Sports Arena in the mid 1960's, through the years on music videos or specials, I finally decided to go to their rescheduled May 11, 2019 concert (postponed due to Mick Jagger's heart surgery) to August 22, 2019, it was well worth the wait. The following link to my music blog is just a very small sample of the fantastic show these old guys (but younger gals) in their 70's put on for some 70,000 fans at the Pasadena Rose Bowl: https://8-22-19-rollingstones.blogspot.com
Completed Travel Blogs:
From April 9-17, 2024. our most recent trip was to the Big Island of Hawaii where we stayed at the Outrigger Hotel in Kiluia on the Kona coast: Google Photos
I finished loading my pictures and videos to My Egypt Trip-2023 that began on December 13 and ended on December 29, 2023. The link to that trip is: https://egypttrip-june-2023.blogspot.com/
From September 29 to June 10, 2023 we were on a Great Lakes cruise ship owned by American Queen Voyages, visiting all of the Great Lakes, starting in Chicago and ending in Buffalo, New York after visiting Niagara Falls, instead of the original departure city of Montreal, Canada. Open the link below to view my greatlakes-2023.blogspot.com travel blog. https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5773526740494089018/567504763998752692https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5773526740494089018/567504763998752692
On September 3, 2023, we flew to Kansas City Missouri to begin our second consecutive attendance at Creative Planning's annual conference in Overland Park on September 10, 2023. Prior to the annual conference, we visited with and stayed 3 days with our old friend Doris Cunningham and Karl at his house in Falls Grove Missouri and then, on the drive back to Overland Park, we visited and stayed with Luis Milam and his wife Tanya in Bolivar, Missouri, about 25-30 miles north of falls Grove. Luis provided me with a good deal of genealogy history of my past and recent Milam Missouri relatives. The link to that blog is: https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/posts/6501042179344351929?hl=en
On August 21, 2023, we travelled to Kalispel, Montana to begin our second consecutive one-week family vacation at the Flathead Lake Lodge. The link to that blog is: https://august2023-flatheadlake.blogspot.com/
On June 9, 2023, Marilyn and I began a 20-day land and small ship cruise to England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland and Wales called Maritime Jewels of the British Isles. This was our 24th trip with Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT)/Grand Circle Travel (GCT). We returned on July 1, 2023 and I am currently posting the pictures and videos that I took in my newest blog called or listed as England-June-2023-OAT. The link is https://oatmaritimeisles-june2023.blogspot.com/2023/07/june-11-30-2023-land-tour-and-ship.html
After a 2 1/2 year lull in traveling due to the Covid Pandemic and a mutual decision to go with our friends Tom and Nancy Sommers, we booked in December 2021 a 14-day Northern Isles ocean cruise on
Holland America (HA) to Norway, Iceland and Scotland, departing on June 22 and returning on July 6, 2022. The Sommers also booked the 10 day extension. The four of us flew on SAS Scandinavia Airline on June 21, 2022 but before we could board we had to present a supervised, signed and negative Covid test, of which all four of us presented in order to board the ship. We had signed up earlier to attend many shore excursions but after my third shore excursion (on June 27), I tested positive for Covid (PCR test, not Antigen) and was moved to a separate room where I was isolated from the evening of June 27 to July 4. Marilyn then tested positive 2 or 3 days later. So the number of shore excursions pictures posted in Mynorthernisles.blogspot.com blog. Testing positive and being isolated limited my pictures from the Veranda balcony of the various shorelines as the ship sailed around portions of Iceland and Scotland. Click on the following link to see the draft blog being updated: https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1151171074833822424/1977550799395446757?hl=en#
Marilyn and I traveled to Portland, Oregon October 4-6, for a wonderful but short weekend visit to David. Pictures from that visit are included in portland-2019.blogspot.com
From March 10 to 19, Marilyn and I travelled to the Memphis, TN on the Mississippi River to view Graceland and begin a river cruise from Memphis to New Orleans. To view the new blog being prepared, click on the link below:
From November 29 to December 8, Marilyn and I travelled to the Intercoastal Waterway from Jacksonville, Florida to Charleston, South Carolina. To view, click on the link below:
Marilyn and I visited Mammoth Lakes after an absence of 5 years to stay with our close friend Kay Magee for the 2018 Labor Day weekend. The link to this blog is: mammoth-2018.blogspot.com
We went to the island of Moorea in French Polynesia, October 22 to October 31, 2017. You can view this blog in progress at moorea-2017.blogspot.com/
Our trip to Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills and Yellowstone was from August 22 to 29, 2017. Open the following link to view: www.rushmore-2017.blogspot.com
The travel blog of our trip to Iceland and post trip to Greenland, June 24 to July 9, 2017 is : www.iceland-greenland-2017.blogspot.com
In the spring of 2017, we went to Cuba on our 20 plus trip with Overseas Adventure Travel, March 23 to April 2, 2017: http://cuba-march-2017.blogspot.com/
In late 2016 we went on a trip on the National Geographic's Columbia River-Lewis and Clark trip from Portland, Oregon to Clarkston in eastern Washington state.:http://columbiariver-2016.blogspot.com/
We embarked on our second trip to Africa on June 21, 2016, this time further north to Kenya and Tanzania. I am currently loading my pictures and videos to http://oat-kenya-tanzania-2016.blogspot.com
Beginning July 20, 2015 Marilyn and I traveled to Paris to begin a two-week trip that included 7 nights on the Rhone River. My pictures and videos can be viewed by opening the following link: http://gct-france-2015.blogspot.com/
In late April and early May, 2015, we traveled again with Tom and Nancy Sommers and this time again to Spain, only this time to southern Spain, which you can view at the following travel blog: http://southernspain-2015.blogspot.com
Tom posted Nancy's pictures at the beginning of the southern Spain and you can scroll down to the older posts to view my pictures and videos.
On January 2, 2015 we began our Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) trip to Panama and Columbia. I set up a new blog as follows: http://panama-columbia-2015.blogspot.com/
The prior trip was from August 4-9, 2014 when I competed in an International Masters Swimming meet in Montreal, Canada, followed by a Caravan Tour to Nova Scotia from August 10 to August 18, 2014. The link to that blog is http://Canada-Caravan-2014.blogspot.com
Thereafter, on August 31, 2014 we flew to Redmon, Oregon to begin a family vacation with Ron and Jennie and the grandsons, our younger son David, along with Jennie's mother and father and her sister and close friend at Black Butte Ranch, near Bend and Sisters, Oregon, an 1800 acre development of homes, condos, two golf courses, pools and miles of bike paths: http://blackbutte-2014.blogspot.com/
Earlier in 2014 we travelled with Tom and Nancy Sommers on another Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) organized tour to Northern Spain which can be viewed at http://www.gct-espana-2014.blogspot.com This trip occurred between May 23 and June 9, 2014.
An earlier blog is about our trip to Central America called The Route of the Mayans, another OAT trip from February 6 to 22, 2014 covering the countries of El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Belize: http://www.oat-mayans-2014.blogspot.com
Another travel blog is: http://www.oat-africa-2013.blogspot.com which was an OAT safari trip to Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia and a 5-day post trip to Capetown from July 6 to July 26, 2013.
I had the pleasant opportunity to travel to China from March 28 to April 7, 2013 with my good friend Ying Nien Yu where we visited Shanghai, Changsha and Beijing. That blog can be viewed at www.chuck-china2013.blogspot.com
A previous OAT trip includes pictures and videos to Patagonia (southern Argentina and southern Chile down to Cape Horn) that took place from January 3 to January 17, 2013 and can be viewed at oatpatagonia2013.blogspot.com
Another OAT group travel trip took place June 22 to July 5, 2012 (with pictures and videos of our trip that began in the Croatian capital city of Zagreb and travel by ship down the Dalmatian Coast to Athens) and viewed at http://oatdalmatiancoast.blogspot.com .
Another completed travel blog is http://www.oat-turkey.blogspot.com/ which took place from October 6 to October 24, 2011. You can view that blog by "clicking" on the purple link in the line above.
We also went to China and Tibet in 2011 (May 20 to June 14, 2011). The link to that blog is http://www.china-tibet-oat.blogspot.com/ This blog has many authors besides me (tour group members who have submitted their own pictures) and is the most complete blog yet in terms of content, variety and emails and comments.
I have posted pictures and videos of our trip in August 2010 to Sweden, Finland and Norway, at http:/www.gctscandic2010.blogspot.com
Earlier in 2010 we traveled to Cyprus and Athens, Greece, March 31 to April 20, 2010 with our friends Tom and Nancy Sommers. On that trip, we were lucky in flying out of Frankfurt airport on April 20th since we were on one of the first flights leaving Frankfurt after that airport had been closed several days as a result of the Iceland Volcano eruption. The link to that blog is: http://cyprus-greece-2010.blogspot.com/
Another completed travel blog is http://OATCostaRica2007.blogspot.com completed in April, 2007
From May 5 to 19, Marilyn and I traveled to Ireland and Northern Island on an Overseas Adventure Travel trip consisting of 16 travelers and Rowan as our Trip Leader. The link below contains over 1000 pictures and several videos of this, one of our favorite trips spread out over many years: www.ireland-2019.blogspot.com
From November 29 to December 8, Marilyn and I travelled to the Intercoastal Waterway from Jacksonville, Florida to Charleston, South Carolina. To view, click on the link below:
https://jacksonville-charleston-2018.blogspot.com/
Marilyn and I visited Mammoth Lakes after an absence of 5 years to stay with our close friend Kay Magee for the 2018 Labor Day weekend. The link to this blog is: mammoth-2018.blogspot.com
We went to the island of Moorea in French Polynesia, October 22 to October 31, 2017. You can view this blog in progress at moorea-2017.blogspot.com/
Our trip to Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills and Yellowstone was from August 22 to 29, 2017. Open the following link to view: www.rushmore-2017.blogspot.com
The travel blog of our trip to Iceland and post trip to Greenland, June 24 to July 9, 2017 is : www.iceland-greenland-2017.blogspot.com
In late 2016 we went on a trip on the National Geographic's Columbia River-Lewis and Clark trip from Portland, Oregon to Clarkston in eastern Washington state.:http://columbiariver-2016.blogspot.com/
We embarked on our second trip to Africa on June 21, 2016, this time further north to Kenya and Tanzania. I am currently loading my pictures and videos to http://oat-kenya-tanzania-2016.blogspot.com
Beginning July 20, 2015 Marilyn and I traveled to Paris to begin a two-week trip that included 7 nights on the Rhone River. My pictures and videos can be viewed by opening the following link: http://gct-france-2015.blogspot.com/
In late April and early May, 2015, we traveled again with Tom and Nancy Sommers and this time again to Spain, only this time to southern Spain, which you can view at the following travel blog: http://southernspain-2015.blogspot.com
Tom posted Nancy's pictures at the beginning of the southern Spain and you can scroll down to the older posts to view my pictures and videos.
On January 2, 2015 we began our Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) trip to Panama and Columbia. I set up a new blog as follows: http://panama-columbia-2015.blogspot.com/
The prior trip was from August 4-9, 2014 when I competed in an International Masters Swimming meet in Montreal, Canada, followed by a Caravan Tour to Nova Scotia from August 10 to August 18, 2014. The link to that blog is http://Canada-Caravan-2014.blogspot.com
Thereafter, on August 31, 2014 we flew to Redmon, Oregon to begin a family vacation with Ron and Jennie and the grandsons, our younger son David, along with Jennie's mother and father and her sister and close friend at Black Butte Ranch, near Bend and Sisters, Oregon, an 1800 acre development of homes, condos, two golf courses, pools and miles of bike paths: http://blackbutte-2014.blogspot.com/
Earlier in 2014 we travelled with Tom and Nancy Sommers on another Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) organized tour to Northern Spain which can be viewed at http://www.gct-espana-2014.blogspot.com This trip occurred between May 23 and June 9, 2014.
An earlier blog is about our trip to Central America called The Route of the Mayans, another OAT trip from February 6 to 22, 2014 covering the countries of El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Belize: http://www.oat-mayans-2014.blogspot.com
Another travel blog is: http://www.oat-africa-2013.blogspot.com which was an OAT safari trip to Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia and a 5-day post trip to Capetown from July 6 to July 26, 2013.
I had the pleasant opportunity to travel to China from March 28 to April 7, 2013 with my good friend Ying Nien Yu where we visited Shanghai, Changsha and Beijing. That blog can be viewed at www.chuck-china2013.blogspot.com
A previous OAT trip includes pictures and videos to Patagonia (southern Argentina and southern Chile down to Cape Horn) that took place from January 3 to January 17, 2013 and can be viewed at oatpatagonia2013.blogspot.com
Another OAT group travel trip took place June 22 to July 5, 2012 (with pictures and videos of our trip that began in the Croatian capital city of Zagreb and travel by ship down the Dalmatian Coast to Athens) and viewed at http://oatdalmatiancoast.blogspot.com .
Another completed travel blog is http://www.oat-turkey.blogspot.com/ which took place from October 6 to October 24, 2011. You can view that blog by "clicking" on the purple link in the line above.
We also went to China and Tibet in 2011 (May 20 to June 14, 2011). The link to that blog is http://www.china-tibet-oat.blogspot.com/ This blog has many authors besides me (tour group members who have submitted their own pictures) and is the most complete blog yet in terms of content, variety and emails and comments.
I have posted pictures and videos of our trip in August 2010 to Sweden, Finland and Norway, at http:/www.gctscandic2010.blogspot.com
Earlier in 2010 we traveled to Cyprus and Athens, Greece, March 31 to April 20, 2010 with our friends Tom and Nancy Sommers. On that trip, we were lucky in flying out of Frankfurt airport on April 20th since we were on one of the first flights leaving Frankfurt after that airport had been closed several days as a result of the Iceland Volcano eruption. The link to that blog is: http://cyprus-greece-2010.blogspot.com/
Another completed travel blog is http://OATCostaRica2007.blogspot.com completed in April, 2007
Another travel blog is our Grand Circle Tour trip to Russia in August 2007. The link to that blog in progress is http://gct-russia2007.blogspot.com/
There is also the travel blog of our OAT tour to Peru and Equador, March 13 thru March 30, 2009. The link to that blog is http://oatperuandequadormarch2009.blogspot.com/
Our first trip traveling trip with Tom and Nancy Sommers was the Grand Circle Travel's (GCT), Lower Danube River, trip to Eastern Europe, October 15 thru October 31, 2006. The link to that blog is http://gcteasterneurope-chuck.blogspot.com/
Links to Chuck's the 2008 trips and other travel blogs:
http://www.oattasmania.blogspot.com/ for the April 25 to April 30, 2008 Overseas Adventure Travel pre-trip
http://www.oataustralia.blogspot.com/ for the OAT May 1 to May 14, 2008 trip http://www.chuckmilam-rotorua.blogspot.com/ for Chuck and Marilyn's side trip to Lake Rotorua, New Zealand, May 14 to May 19, 2008
http://www.oatbayofislands.blogspot.com/ for the OAT pre-trip to New Zealand's Bay of Islands May 15 to May 19, 2008 trip
http://www.oatnewzealand.blogspot.com/ for the OAT New Zealand May 20 to June 5, 2008 trip
Organizational Blogs:
Since I am a volunteer at the Exposition Park museums, I started a blog called: http://www.docentdoings.blogspot.com/ for the benefit of the other docents and for my own education on matters of science and history. The new blog dates from 2013.
In addition, many years ago a group of swimmers at the Manhattan Country Club in Manhattan Beach, California, decided to form a Masters Swim Team called the Manhattan Magnum Masters to compete in the International World Masters Swim Meet held at Stanford University in August, 2006. The link to that blog is www.manmags.blogspot.com
I was a varsity swimmer at the University of Southern California during which time the Mens Swimming Team won the NCAA Championship from 1963 to 1966 and came in second in my senior year (1967). Some years back, a bunch of my fellow swimmers decided to get together for lunch. Being retired, I have had the time to set up the blog http://www.usctrojanswimmers.blogspot.com/ taken at recent lunches of us Trojan Swimmers from the USC swim teams of the mid 1960's to mid 1970's. This is a fun blog that tracks the quarterly lunch meetings of the group.
Another one of my activities is to try and swim in the ocean from mid April to late November, including a Thanksgiving Day ocean swim. A group of us have identified ourselves as the 18th Street Pod although the blog is http://www.mb18thstreetoceanswimmers.blogspot.com/ for the activities of the ocean swim group. The group's goal is to complete at least one ocean swim workout, with or without a wet suit, up to and through the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend and on Christmas and New Year's.
Family Blogs:
Our older son Ron's wedding took place on October 27, 2012 in Two Harbors located on the north end of Catalina Island off the southern California coast. The link to the wedding blog is: http://ronandjennieswedding.blogspot.com He and his wife had fraternal twin boys August and Sebastian born on September 8, 2013 and I have started a new and ongoing blog for our grandchildren: http:http://aandsmilam.blogspot.com
Another blog which I am still building and adding to is a blog for members of my direct family, which will eventually include genealogy on members of my side of the family of Milams (father side), Barker and Corliss (mother side), Vernon's (grandmother side) and Langeggers and Sutton (wife's side), at milamfamily-manhattanbeach.blogspot.com
It is hoped you enjoy these separate blogs as much as I have. Please feel free to view and comment. You will have to scroll down and hit the "older posts" key to view the entire blog, from beginning to end.
www.Canada-Caravan-2014.blogspot.comwww.jacksonville-charleston-2018.blogspot.com/https://mississippi-cruise-2019.blogspot.com/2019/03/begin-trip-to-mississippi-river-trip.html
