Read Charlotte's emails about her adventure.
Thursday, August 19th - leave Churchville to visit friends, Elaine & Steve Mastrapasqua, in Gansevoort, NY outside Saratoga Springs. Enjoy the symphony with Elaine that evening at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
	Friday, August 20th – arrive at “home base” for the next few months the home of: Don & Geri Hawks 799A Heritage Village Southbury, CT 06488 (Anyone who wishes to write to me should send correspondence to that address.)
Sunday, August 22nd – meet travel group (including Fr. Ed Palumbos, Fr. Mike Bausch, parishioners Carmen & Victor deSa and Don & Carol Newton, and long-time friends, Sue Bates and Fiorene Pecora) at JFK for international flight to Munich, Germany! Monday, August 23rd – arrive in Munich, and leave for Salzburg (think Sound of Music!)
Tuesday, August 24th – exploring Salzburg. Wednesday, August 25th - Alpine adventures! Tour Innsbruck, capital of the Austrian province of Tyrol. Overnight in St. Moritz Thursday, August 26th – full day in St. Moritz, high in the Alps

Friday, August 27th – head across the Alps to Venice, Italy Saturday, August 28th – board the Norwegian Gem for a week of cruising in the Adriatic and Aegean Seas.

Sunday, August 29th – Port of Call: Split, Croatia Monday, August 30th - Port of Call: Corfu, Greece Tuesday, August 31st – Port of Call: Santorini Wednesday, September 1st - Port of Call: Mykonos Thursday, September 2nd – Port of Call: Iraklion, Crete Friday, September 3rd – A Day at Sea Saturday, September 4th – Disembark in Venice

Sunday, September 5th: bid farewell to my travel companions and spend another day enjoying Venice.

Monday, September 6th: depart Venice via Amsterdam on KLM for Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, six degrees in latitude south of the Equator!

Tuesday, September 7th - Friday, September 9th – enjoy the environs of Mountain Village Lodge outside Arusha on the shore of Lake Duluti. Saturday, September 10th: Safari begins!!! Overnight at Manyara Serena Lodge. Sunday, September 11th – Monday, September 12th: Safari! Overnights at Serengeti Sopa Lodge Tuesday, September 13th: Safari! Game drive and trip to Olduvai, visit a Masai village. Overnight at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge.

click image for map

Wednesday, September 14th: tour the Ngorongoro Crater

Thursday, September 15th: Game drives and overnight at Tarangire Sopa Lodge

Friday, September 16th: Safari ends after lunch, return to Arusha, overnight at Kia Lodge at the foot of Kilimanjaro

Saturday, September 17th: fly from Kilimanjaro airport to Mwaanza on Lake Victoria, where I will met by Fr. Paschal Izengo who will host me through September 20th. Will travel with him to his native village and meet his family. Will attend Sunday Mass in a Tanzanian village and have the opportunity to speak with parishioners about the time in between monthly visits from their pastor: how are the people ministered to in the interim? Who does ministry when the priest is not available?

Tuesday, September 20th: fly from Mwaanza back to Kilimanjaro; evening flight overnight to Amsterdam, and back to Venice.

Wednesday, September 21st: free day in Venice

Thursday, September 22nd: Return on Air France via Paris to JFK, back to “home base” in Connecticut

Friday, September 23rd: sleep in late!!! Have dinner with some of my former chaplain colleagues from Yale-New Haven Hospital

Saturday, September 24th: sleep in late!!! Head up to Massachusetts to visit the O’Keefes for a few days and see Jane in her ministry setting.

Wednesday, September 28th: report to the Campion Center (319 Concord Road) in Weston, MA, to begin my Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola 30-day retreat (plus a few days to “ease into” silence and a few days to “ease out”).

Monday, November 1st: retreat concludes after Mass and lunch! Travel to Providence, Rhode Island to visit with friends, Mary Catherine & Jon Gherardini and Megan Rose, for a few days….after which I will head back to “home base”, reconnecting with my dear friend, Fr. John Hartmann in Madison, CT.

Saturday, November 6th: Dinner party with friends at the home of Bob & Peg Ellwanger and Faith and Olivia in Fairfield, CT, where I will stay the weekend.

Monday, November 8th through Thursday, November 18th: fly to
Los Angeles, California, to spend time with friends, Joan Herman & Richard Rasiej, visit the DeBeech family, and make my way out to the Diocese of San Bernadino to visit my colleague, Dr. Peter Newburn, who is a lay administrator of Sacred Heart Church, a 3,600 household parish in Rancho Cucamonga. Will attend their equivalent of a “pastoral administrator meeting” on November 10th and get an appreciation of their experiences in much larger, much more culturally diverse parishes than we have in the Diocese of Rochester. Attend weekend Masses at Sacred Heart and see Pete in action!

Thursday, November 18th: return to JFK on US Airways and head back to “home base” in Southbury, CT. Spend the next five days visiting friends and cousins in Connecticut.

Tuesday, November 23rd: begin the trek home, via Shaftsbury, Vermont, which Betty Benedict tells me is on the way to Rochester!

Wednesday, November 24th: head back to Monroe County to enjoy Thanksgiving with my “adopted” family. Spend the Thanksgiving weekend, “laying low”, visiting and staying with friends in and around Monroe County.

Sunday, November 28th: head back to Churchville and unpack, do wash, and prepare myself to return to work on Monday!