Tim & Denise Tiner Travels: 2014 Spain Day 6

Day 6….Cadiz.

I am starting my writing a bit early today. It is 4:30 AM and insomnia has be by the throat again. So I thought I’d get up and unload some thoughts about many things into this blog. We plan to travel to Cadiz today. It is a coastal town that has a number of castles and things to see that look over the sea. I look forward to our visit there today.

I thought I’d give a shout out to Ed Goggins (and Kami). You know, Denise and I would never have been motivated to travel as much as we have done in the past year if it were not for Ed and his offering to us these flight benefits. At first glance, one would think that flying free (stand-by) is just that…free. From a United airline point of view…yea…it is free and they make no money on us travelling on them. But to us, there is a cost. Travelling is expensive. And when you travel standby, you cannot book things in advance as you may not get there as you would have liked to plan. For example…on this trip Kelly and Zella were able to plan ahead and book trains and hotels in advance. We could not do that. The rate Kelly got for our stay in Sevilla this whole time was 38 Euros per night. When I booked this same hotel on the airplane as we taxied away from the gate at Newark, the best rate I could get was 61 Euros. It is almost double. The same with the train trip down to Sevilla. I think Kelly and Zella paid about 28 Euros each for their one way tickets here. Denise and I paid 68 Euros. So there is a cost associated with stand by travelling….not to mention the years of life I’m losing as you are turned away flight after flight because of no seats available to and from Salt Lake City! The other cost, when travelling internationally, are the taxes we pay to leave a country and its airport. They usually run between $50 to $100 per ticket to leave on a plane from a foreign country. My point is this…although it is not free to travel stand by….Ed’s gift to us has motivated Denise and I to see parts of the world we thought we would never see. And it has been really fun and exciting. Thank you Mr. Goggins for this nice gift.

Another thought I’m having is about my family. I love them dearly. Starts with our parents, who have always supported Denise and I in many ways. I personally wish they could be along with us on every trip enjoying the sites and experiences we are having. I think these trips would kill them due to all the transportation maneuvering and walking that we do. We hope they are experiencing it through the blog’s pictures that are posted. Another important part of our family is our brothers and sisters. The week before we left, Denise’s only brother was broad sided in an automobile crash while on a work assignment here in SLC (he lives in Buffalo, NY). The result could have been much worse and it made us both think of our siblings and how much we care about each of them. They are all really, really good people doing their very best with their families and lives. We are proud of each of them. Next is our immediate family…to which I will write an individual note.

To Ashley…she has always been my little girl that has so much energy for the fun things in life. She has brought two wonderful gifts into our life…two beautiful grandchildren whom we adore. And…announcement, announcement…is expecting her third baby. This process for her is not an easy one. But we stand ready to help her and Brent get through this challenging time. Her last pregnancy was while they were in Lincoln, NB while Brent finished his PHD in History there. Lots of bed rest…lots of pressure on Brent. This time…they have lots of family around. We love you guys…Ashley, Brent and Kids.

To Dustin…he has always been the child who wants to wander and experience life. And he is. His love for people actually drives my son. And people reciprocate that love back to him. He has proudly served his country in the US Coast Guard for 4 years. He has many certificates in Emergency Medicine (and works in that field). He is currently in Fire Fighter training…and yet…he still is not clear on his career of choice. But…Dustin will find that and he will do so well. I have never met a person that does so well with things when he truly puts his mind to it (with the exception of college mathematics!). There has yet to be an employer that has not loved Dustin and the work he provides. What an amazing personality and skill that he has. The lucky young lady that receives his offer to be his companion in life will be greatly blessed to have him. We love you Dustin.

To Cassidy…she has always been like her mother…strongly committed to that which she believes to be right and good. Cassidy has an inner determination to do things right and get them done. But I think little Lucas is bringing a new focus into Cassidy’s life. Her focus is now on teaching her young son these same, cherished principles and developing homemaking skills that I think she did not think she was skilled for. We have been impressed with her ‘crafts’ that she has been making and such. It is going to be fun to watch the ‘other’ skills evolve from Cassidy. I look forward to other children in their family. They will come when the time is right. We love you Cassidy, Mike and Luke!

To Karlie…the one in our family who has empathy for so much in this world. She loves little children and has finally moved her career aspirations from feeding others (Culinary degree) to Early Education. She will do so well in this field…just like her mother. Karlie has always impressed me with her ability to love the undervalued and has acted in trying to lift those up. She has a kind and loving heart and a strong commitment to do good and excel in life. She and Neza will always do well if both of them seek to do right always. We love you Karlita (and Neza).

To Travis…the driven one. My wonderful, youngest child, what a blessing you have been in our lives. Someone has to be the caboose and endure the older age of their parents. You have and are doing this wonderfully. We have always been impressed at your drive to do your very best. And you, as a result, have excelled in many things. And, Travis, you will excel in many more things. It has been strangely fun, lately, to see life throw you some curve balls. Some you have just fouled off…some you have hit back strongly….and some there have been swings and misses. Yet…you continue to stand at the plate with a will to hit everyone out of the park. That desire will take you far in life if you keep it focused on doing the right thing always….and we know that you will. You are a wonderful son who has an amazing future in front of you. We love you tons Travis…keep up the good work at BYU!

Well…I cannot end here. I do have to give a shout out to my dear wife. I thank God daily for the choice we made to be together so many years ago. She has and continues to be a wonderful friend and companion. I cannot think of a better person to have taken this mortal journey with. We have had some really great times…some fairly low times…but together we just keep plugging along. As a mother, my kids have the best. A minute does not go by wherein my dear wife is not thinking…even talking…with her children. They are the reason she lives. And now to have grandchildren…she is really consumed. And she is the best mother and grandmother out there. I love you tons Denise!!!

I guess the heart has grown fonder while being away and I needed to drop some of those thoughts on to digital paper. Well….back to our Spain adventure.

Kelly and Zella have been super to travel with. They both have prepared so much for this trip and Denise and I are such beneficiaries! We are having a grand time and owe lots of our gratitude to them. We hope they continue to enjoy their stay in Madrid these final months of their mission service here.

Today, we traveled down to Cadiz. It is a city on the coast that sits on a peninsula. It has a couple of 'castle' like fort structures that sit out in the ocean. We walked out to both. After we did that, we went looking for some food. We found a small local eatery that had a menu del dia. We saw these all over the place for lunches so we thought we would try it. It starts with a first course (salad or soup) followed by a second (main course) followed by a postre...a desert. You also got a drink....all for the price of 8.90 euro. Since we were by the sea....almost all of the food had something from the sea in it. We had calamari, fried sardines, shrimp fritter, pork, chicken, and a couple of other fried seafood. I liked it.

After eating lunch we set out to find some Roman ruins...which we found. They were behind glass. So we could not get close. But it was cool. We then walked over to the central square where a large old cathedral was located. It was a pretty cool square with pigeons all around. Kelly then scoped out a nice bakery where sat outside and ate some wonderful paste rise. After that we headed to the car to leave Cadiz. Upon leaving Cadiz, we set out to find some other Roman ruins on the coast. We had a hard time finding them using the GPS....but we got close! The ruins happened to be a fort like structure about 200 yards or more out in the ocean with no way to get to them unless you swim or have a boat. We laughed that the GPS did not get us there. From there, we started back to Sevilla but went through Jerez de la Frontera to see an old Moorish castle. That we found easily. And...it was quite nice.

I am writing this as Kelly drives us back to our hotel in Sevills. It has been another great day in Spain.