Road to Vegas, Day 1 (Van Horn, Texas)

Headed out a little after 11 a.m. on the road for Vegas and the GAMA Trade Show, March 14-18, where we will be exhibiting Skirmisher Publishing's product line for game store retailers. Drove 435 miles, about a third the distance to our destination, and stopped for the night in Van Horn, Texas, where we checked into the historic El Capitan Hotel and ate dinner at the famous Chuy's restaurant. 

Above left, lobby of the El Capitan Hotel, which was built in 1930. Above right, the mural at Chuy's, which depicts Jesus guiding John Madden's touring bus to the restaurant, an event that has been attributed to much of its subsequent success. 

Started off heading south on Highway 281 to Bulverde, where we picked up Highway 46 west in Bulverde and took it to the junction with I-10 in Boerne to avoid going through San Antonio (although we are going to look at going even further north and west through Hill Country and picking up I-10 in Fredericksburg next time). Rained the first 200 miles or so, which slowed our progress and made the trip considerably more hazardous and stressful than it otherwise would have been, especially as many Texans do not know how to drive in inclement weather. Stopped for lunch in Junction, a little town at the westernmost edge of Hill Country, and ate lunch at Dairy Queen (the rules for what we will eat and where going out the window on a road trip); fries were nice and hot. 

Above left, the sign for Chuy's on the main street in Van Horn. Above right, Van Horn looks pretty quiet during the day, but those tracks in the midground of this picture get pretty busy at night, when about one train an hour goes noisily blasting by. 

When we passed through Van Horn six years ago, on our way to Las Vegas for the same trade show, we stayed at one of the many local motels but noticed the beautiful El Capitan Hotel, and I was resolved to stay there this time. After getting situated in our room, we headed out to dinner around 7 p.m. and as the sun set walked the half mile or so up main street to it. When we ate there previously Diane, upon the recommendation of our friend Karen Holmes, Diane had gotten the carne asado, which I tried and thought was wonderful. She has been talking about it ever since.and it was the only thing either of us was interested in ordering this time, and we were not disappointed. 

Ethiopian Adventure Day 10 (Addis Ababa)

Today I visited the "Red Terror" Martyrs' Memorial Museum in Addis Ababa, ‪‎Ethiopia‬, at the suggestion of my brother Christopher, and learned about a frightening and disturbing period in the country's history — the 1975-91 era of the Derg and Mengistu governments. While I was there I also tried to lend my efforts as a writer and editor to helping out in a small way. 

By 1974 there was much discontentment throughout Ethiopia against Emperor Haille Selassie and in September of that year the leaders of a military council known as the Derg took over the government and had him arrested. They had him transported to his confinement in a VW Beatle rather than one of the Rolls Royces he was more accustomed as a means of humbling him. A year later he died and is believed to have been murdered, despite Derg contentions that it was due to medical complications, and idea that is supported by his remains not being discovered until 1992, when they were found hidden under the floor of his old palace (now home to the Ethnographic Museum located on the grounds of Addis Ababa University). 

Derg leader Mengistu Haille Mariam, at left, and two of his compatriots, Aman Mikael Andom and Atnafu Abate, who he eventually had killed. When Mengistu was deposed in 1991 he fled to Zimbabwe, where he was granted asylum and lives to this day. Pictures of known victims of Ethiopia's Red Terror are displayed at the museum. Tens of thousands of people were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and murdered by the Derg government. 

Remains of some Red Terror victims who have been identified are displayed at the museum, with photographs of them in life and the ropes they were strangled to death with. Remains of unidentified Mengistu regime victims found in mass graves are displayed at the "Red Terror" Martyrs' Memorial Museum​ in Addis Ababa. 

Exhibits at the "Red Terror" museum​ include artworks, like the one shown here, depicting the violent excesses of the Derg and Mengistu regimes. After going through the museum​ I met with its curators and then went back through it with them to correct misspellings and other minor errors on the exhibit placards. If I can be of help in getting out critical stories like the one they are telling at this museum then it is important to me that I do so! 

Ethiopian Adventure Day 9 (Addis Ababa)

Woke up early to the sound of prayers being broadcast from the local churches, around 5 a.m. I would guess. Had breakfast with my brother and his kids and then walked with them over to the international school where I met and had coffee with several of the other parents and the school administrator. Came back and threw in a load of laundry and then did some work ahead of venturing out into Addis Ababa. 

Had lunch at the Lucy Gazebo & Restaurant with my brother Christopher and then visited the National Museum of Ethiopia in downtown Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, today! Enjoyed viewing art and artifacts associated with the history of the country and, especially, seeing the remains of the famous "Lucy" pre-human hominid that were found in the Great Rift Valley.

Ethiopian Adventure Day 7 (Gonder/Bahir Dar)

Traveled by van from Gonder to Bahir Dar, on the shores of Lake Tana, and checked in the the Blue Nile Hotel. Sailed across lake to Zege Peninsula and visited monastery and church there; spotted two hippopatami on return trip. Drove to Blue Nile Falls in the afternoon (shown below). 

Ethiopian Adventure Day 6 (Lalibela/Gonder)

Woke up c. 4 a.m. but did not get up until 6, and coffee was still not available when I walked to the hotel dining room so I worked an hour or so. When I went back three groups were there, all western Europeans with demeanor somewhere between cool and rude; no one would acknowledge my greetings and avoiding eye contact and so I enjoyed my firfir and coffee alone. 

Finished packing out and my guide Daniel Shewalem picked me up at 9 and, as it was Saturday, took me to see the local agricultural market ahead of taking me to the airport for my flight to Gonder. 

Might as well have spent some more time at the market, as flight was delayed at least two hours! Met some other travelers, however — including two who had not managed to fly out the day before — and we enjoyed a coffee ceremony together and swapped stories while waiting for our plane to get in. 

Making the best of the situation with Daniel, Adriana, and Suman at the airport in Lalibela!

Ethiopian Adventure Day 5 (Lalibela)

Today my guide Daniel Shewalem and I made a 15-mile roundtrip pilgrimage to a monastery hidden within a mountaintop above the Ethiopian holy city of Lalibela. We started with a strenuous ascent to the ridge east of the city and then proceeded through highland forests of eucalyptus, agricultural fields, and little farming hamlets. We presented ourselves to the guardian monk and were honored to have him show us the relics kept within the place. Then, before descending, we repaired to a nearby workshed and enjoyed cups of freshly brewed sorghum beer! On the way down we further fortified ourselves at a mountainside coffee hut.

Back in Lalibela we had lunch at 7 OIives.

Ethiopian Adventure Day 4 (Axum/Lalibela)

Packed out of Sabean International Hotel in Axum and was taken by my driver to airport at 9 for flight to Lalibela. Got there ahead of the crowds going out on same and other flights because security conducted the most thorough search of my possessions I have ever experienced. My Bulgarian friends Kras and Jivko showed up about half an hour later, we went through security together, and then we chatted while waiting for our flight, which came in about an hour late. 

My friends did not have a place to stay in Lalibela and so I suggested they try the Mountainview Hotel, where I was staying, and they took the hotel shuttle there and were able to get a room. I met with my local guide, Daniel Shewalem, and our driver took us to the hotel so that I could check in. 

We then spent the afternoon visiting the first seven of the 11 rock-hewn churches of Lalibela. Then, in the evening, Kras, Jivko, and I sat out on the upper terrace of the hotel, drank the local St. George beer, and watched the sun set over the Amharic highlands of Ethiopia.