Merhaba,

  Yesterday was a fun day that started at 5 am and ended about 11 pm.  I (Randal skipped it) was to meet Mary and Rick for another 7 am hike, so set the alarm for 5 am.  I like to have time for tea and oatmeal, email and not rushing.  We finished the hike and our after hike ice drinks just short of noon.  While we’d been hiking my phone rang.  Deena Bibby, the daughter of our DEKS pal Denise, lives in Marmaris with her Turkish Naval husband TK.  She, Randal and I made plans to meet in town at 2PM.  At 7 PM it was the Tuesday Cruiser Happy Hour/Stay for Dinner at Pineapple so Randal and I went off to that.  We got back to Doramac about 10:30 pm.  Time to read and have some tea before turning out the lights and sleeping like a log!  Today I pretty much just read and relaxed and that was about it.

  One of the books I’m reading is called Drinking With Dead Women Writers.  The joint authors imagine meeting up with famous dead women authors and having a drink and talking about the women’s lives.  Cute book.   I came across this quote by Louise May Alcott.  It totally reminds me of our friend Heidi Trautmann and I told her so!  The trick when you are retired and living in a marina is making each day useful….Hmmmm.  I’ll have to work on that.

Ru

“Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life will become a beautiful success.”

Never-ending Trail Hike

Mary, Rick and I hiked back up the Never-ending Trail Tuesday seeing if we could get to what we would recognize as “the top.” We didn’t get there.

We met at the marina entrance at 7 am and walked the half mile to where the trail starts. We wound our way up and up and up, at each bend wondering what was just around the next bend. Finally at 9 am we stopped; the trail kept going. When we return in November, the weather will be better for all-day hikes and we’ll see if we ever find the end of the trail.

It hasn’t rained in months; this water comes from a mountain stream that has been fitted with a pipe and a tin cup hangs there for thirsty hikers….who are brave enough to drink it. We weren’t and didn’t. I have heard that any stream in Turkey is drinkable and did drink from a decorative public fountain in Guneykent last year.

We saw trails going up and down and every which way. We’ll try those in the Fall.

Nice photo of me! by Mary

My friend Ellen’s sister worked on the play Wicked so I have the T-Shirt. My shorts used to be Randal’s and went around the world with him in 2000. This may be their last year as shorts as they are getting close to being rags even as I wear them.

The views were worth the hike and the exercise felt really good.

Very Lovely

Time for snacks!

Mary resting on a rock before heading back down the mountain.

(Still having some light meter issues.)