FAHRFENUEGEN!!!

I can't spell.

<)

GoTravel, should I say Gesundheit?

Or- take a pill

You know-on another thread, someone is talking about a late Fodorite who had a website that everyone enjoyed. We lost Wes Fowler, Ani had a baby, one of the Dan's got married recently, mothers are posting about their kids getting into colleges, grandchildren..etc.
This IS a Family!

with some, a dysfunctional one!

Scarlett,

I wasn't around here much at the end of 2002 and most of 03 because my own dear mom fell ill and passed away. This was the first time I'd heard about Wes--do you mean "lost" as in passed away? If so, that makes me very sad.

Yes, Jayne. Wes died about a year ago. A sad day for Fodorites everywhere.

He and his wife had a very informative site and her heart was no longer in it when he died. There's a recent post on him on the Europe forum.

How very sad. I had no idea.

I think there was also a recent thread about the twenj.net website had disappeared (Travels with Ed and Julie) as Ed had also passed away a couple of years ago.

Yes, Clifton, there is a thread currently on Europes forum about Ed and Julie and their site, which is no longer available.
Wes Fowler never had a web site for us but his information and postings were wonderful, and he is missed here every day, I am sure.
We were honored that his son wrote to us when Wes was unable to and that we were informed by his son when Wes passed away.

I did not know Wes when he was posting on here, but after seeing Scarlett's posts about him, I looked back at some of his posts on the Europe board. Wow. Incredible info and style. Class act. And very inspiring.

Just returned from a month-long trip to Asia and came back to Fodors tonight - it's like a homecoming all over again!

Lots of humor (squirrels wearing Prada - what next?)and the best travel advice on the web. This forum has the best, the cleverest, and the most intelligent people all giving excellent travel advice - for free! Who cares about the grumps and the foofooheads?

My last stop was Hong Kong where every name hotel had its own shopping mall with at least a dozen famous names: Gucci, Ferragamo, YSL, Max Mara, etc. etc.

Once, on a rainy day, I rounded a corner and gasped involuntarily: before me was a huge black wall, about a half a block long and two stories high. In the center was the familiar intertwined "YSL". Nothing else. Very, very dramatic. No YSL store in Paris has this spectacular a display. I'm willing to bet there are more name brand stores in Hong Kong than anywhere else in the world.

If you can't afford a name brand? Have no fear. Just go a few blocks to an open air market and you can get a knockoff for just a few dollars.

One of the maids in the hotel we were staying in was sporting a Gucci bag - was it a fake or was it a real one that some guest had left behind?

The next time I go to HongKong, remind me to bring my squirrels along. Their Ferragamos are beginning to look a bit worn at the heels.

The best backpack was the one my brother-in-law left me - a Rick Steves black bag that weighed next to nothing and was sturdy as steel. Wish Fodors would make travel gear like this! I'd rather be sporting the Fodor's name!!!

easytraveler

HyacinthBucket, Didn't the squirrels enjoy their riparian entertainments?

I'm not sure if I heard of Prada before arriving at Fodor's a few years ago. I doubt I'd recognize it if I saw it. I once was stopped and asked about a handbag because it had a waterbottle holder included. Actually, it was for baby bottles, but I was able to adapt. It was a brand I had never heard of, but great for carrying around in the hot NC summer.

If you feel the need to name drop to virtual strangers, be prepared to be slammed.

I've enjoyed reading about wildlife at home and recipes. It localizes us and even makes us more well-rounded (especially if we eat all the cookies, cakes, cobblers, etc. we now have recipes for)

Welcome back, Easy Traveler! I thought you were conspicuously absent the past few weeks. Didn't they have internet cafes in Asia? Couldn't you spare a few minutes for your fodors friends?

Seriously, I do agree with you about HK. It seems to me the last time I was there it was developing into wall-to-wall designer shops. And the prices are no less than in New York or Paris.

Looking forward to your trip report!

Meanwhile, I just had to share with my fodors family our busy little squirrels in the woods north of San Francisco. Warning: this is an x-rated photo.

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/55288/photo1.html

So, Marilyn, it would seem that the adjective my sweetie applies to those squirrels, when he sees them in our garden, is quite correct!

LOL Meesthare! Ab-so-f-ing-lutely! When are you going to make it out here to visit your fellow SF Borg members?

(gyppielou, the title of this post is SO liberating. I feel like it's impossible to hijack a thread called "Fodors Family.")

Marilyn, Well shut my mouth!! I am shocked! I am flabbergasted!!
You mean squirrels do it that way? LOL
In the Berkshires last summer we saw them in a tree, sharing a cigarette, so I thought they used the nest , like the rest of us ~

OMG, Marilyn! I thought you were kidding about the XXX rating!

Those are SF area squirrels, baby! They belong to the Squirrel Exhibitionist Club (SEC) and for all I know they were being filmed for Real Sex.