Yesterday I had multiple people ask me to post this, and their comment has 552 likes at the time of me writing this, so I have spent the last day and a half editing, and adding information so it's up to standard. Overall, it has taken me close to a week to make. It probably isn't perfect, but I will edit it if I notice any mistakes. I hope you enjoy ❤
I would like to start this off by saying that this is an incredibly long write-up. This case spans 54 years, and this write-up is over 8650 words long, and is in fact so long that it exceeded the character limit, forcing me to make 2 parts. u/that1guywiththehat has already covered this case, and their write-up is much shorter. I will link it here, and you can check it out if you'd like. They did a fantastic job. 😊
https://www.reddit.com/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/g3wqcc/after_18yearold_annette_craver_vail_vanishes/
Secondly, this write-up borrows EXTENSIVELY from "Gone," a 35,500 word book about the life and crimes of Felix Vail. It contains information that you simply cannot find anywhere else, and I'd estimate that around 80% of this write-up uses it's information. While it's extremely long, being over 4 times the length of this write-up, it is well worth the read. I will also link it here so you can check it out if you'd like.
https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/felixvailgone/2016/12/29/felix-vail-gone-one-wife-dead-two-other-missing-jerry-mitchell/95895894/
Now with that out of the way...

PART 1:

MARY HORTON:

​
Born on the 16th of February 1940 to Floyd and Lillie Horton, Mary was popular, beautiful, and well liked. She became homecoming queen at Eunice High School and wrote for the school newspaper. After graduating she began attending McNeese State University where she was so popular that all 5 sororities invited her to join. She eventually chose Chi Omega.
https://www.clarionledger.com/gcdn/-mm-/d313713be82928fb5c54a52348e9f0b6fbe9ca88/c=0-232-3288-4617/local/-/media/2016/12/27/JacksonMS/JacksonMS/636184665129485321-mary-horton-0001.jpg?width=300&height=401&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp(Mary Horton from 1957, as Eunice High School homecoming queen.)
A FATEFUL ENCOUNTER
In 1960 she began dating William Felix Vail Sr, who goes by Felix. He was 6’, slender and in the words of another sorority girl “looked like he’d been touched by heaven.” In her diaries and messages to friends, Mary spoke of being happy and excited. However, not everything was sunshine and rainbows for the young couple.
On June 20th, 1960, Mary confided in a friend “I really do love Felix, but I don’t think that I like him anymore. He really is sweet, but we don’t see eye to eye on things.” She requested that a friend set her up on a date with another man in the hopes that Felix would leave her.
In response to this date, he came to Mary saying he suffered from a disease. She asked what disease he had. He meant Mary.
The 2 had a conversation that Mary described as ‘Felix doing all the talking, and her just listening.’ He told her that he had changed, and she said that she had too.
The 2 began dating again, but Mary continued to see other people. She attended a house party with Kelley McFarland, who afterwards heard that Vail was so angry he ‘wanted to kill him.’ McFarland tracked him down, eventually meeting him in dark woods. The 2 exchanged no blows, and they went their separate ways.
After this incident, Mary described herself as “miserable” and Felix as “jealous”, although she reiterated her love for him. There was reportedly an incident at a pool party where Felix “walked up to Mary and just slapped the heck out of her,” according to Mary’s high school boyfriend Leonard Matt.
Despite everything, Mary continued to defend him, calling him a “wonderful person.”
THE MARRIAGE
On July 1, 1961, in Eunice, Louisiana, Mary Horton and Felix Vail got married.
https://www.clarionledger.com/gcdn/-mm-/3a212b032aef874dfc60297c45f3a63946f5aeee/c=0-304-1765-2658/local/-/media/2016/12/28/JacksonMS/JacksonMS/636185193505145184-1022maryhorton003.JPG?width=300&height=401&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp(Mary Horton in her wedding dress, July 1st, 1961.)
In the fall of that year, Mary began her job as a second-grade teacher at Moss Bluff Elementary School. That December, she found out she was pregnant. Another teacher, Myrtis Quinilty said Felix didn’t want a child.
Her sister-in-law, Sue Jordan, told Mary the only reason Vail believed she wanted to get married was to have a baby, and not because of him. Mary blamed herself, saying “I can see, looking back, from many things I said how they could have been misunderstood.” Mary insisted that the couple were happy but did comment on how unattractive she felt while pregnant, a sentiment that Felix shared.
On their anniversary, Mary gave birth to William Felix Vail Jr, who they called Bill.
https://www.clarionledger.com/gcdn/-mm-/c701d4cdc0e5ff127e79b575a1c137adfa57d585/c=0-0-180-240/local/-/media/2016/12/28/JacksonMS/JacksonMS/636185195986996911-TCLBrd-08-11-2016-ClarionLedger-1-A001-2016-08-10-IMG-636047953682196834-M-1-1-G0FAJ00I-L860703094-IMG-636047953682196834-M-1-1-G0FAJ00I.jpg?width=180&height=240&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp (Mary holding Bill in 1962)
Within a month, Mary suspected that she may be pregnant again. At this time, strange things began to happen in the couple’s apartment. One morning, the couple awoke to find their front door had been removed from its hinges. Another time, they found the front door of their apartment wide open. Nothing was stolen.
Mary began receiving threatening calls. The couple concluded that whoever was calling must be watching them because the caller only ever did it when Felix wasn’t home.
Mary spoke with her mother about divorcing Felix. Her mother, a devout Catholic, urged her daughter to stay and work things out. It would be a fatal mistake.
MARY'S DEATH
On October 28th, 1962, at 7:30pm, Felix Vail drove up to Shell Beach saying that his wife had fallen in the water of the Calcasieu River while they were running trot lines. It took 2 days to find her body, close to where Vail had said she disappeared.
Her funeral was held on October 31st. Vail never paid a cent for it.
On November 4th deputies arrested Vail at work, hauling him to jail and questioning him. He refused to take a lie detector test. The coroner ruled Mary’s death an “accidental drowning,” a sentiment not shared by the officers who found her body, or the community at large. Days later, Vail was released without charge, as the D.A declined to prosecute.
Months later, he picked up his son, Bill, from the Louisiana home of his late wife’s aunt and headed for Mississippi. According to Bill years later, Vail told him that he and Mary were out fishing, that a boat had come by and caused a big wave and knocked her out of the boat. Mary didn’t know how to swim, had no life jacket (despite being afraid of water) and so immediately sank and drowned. He said he had almost died trying to rescue her.
I will go further in depth into Mary’s death further down this write-up when I go through the investigation that followed, decades later. There are more details that I will cover there.
ROBIN SINCLAIR:
In this section I will cover his relationship with a girlfriend between the murders of Mary Horton and Sharon Hensley. Vail was a full-time scumbag and I want to illustrate that, as well as show some of the other lives he’s impacted, and other people he’s hurt. I will be covering multiple instances like this one. If you only want to read about the 3 murder victims, feel free to scroll down, I have them clearly marked for convenience.
AN 11 YEAR AGE GAP AND A DEAD-BEAT DAD
In 1967, Vail met a 17-year-old Robin Sinclair at a bus stop in San Diego. (Vail would have been 28 at this time. Large age gaps will be a theme in this write up.) She was spending the summer there with her sister, and the 2 began dating. When summer break ended, she left without him, returning home to San Francisco.
In October of 1968 while attending an Iron Butterflies concert, Vail appeared again. Sinclair took it as a sign that the 2 belonged together. He had his young son Bill, and the 3 bounced from place to place together. Sinclair would later describe how Bill was poorly looked after, neglected and that Vail would even give the young boy drugs. Bill would later recount his father giving him LSD as a child.
While watching over another couple’s home during the Christmas holidays, she learned she was pregnant and shared the news with Vail. He said, “Well, I don’t think you’re emotionally stable enough to handle the pregnancy.” The next morning, Vail and his young son had vanished. A friend told Sinclair that he went back to Mississippi, that it was time for his son to go to school and that he didn’t want to be with her.
Heartbroken, Sinclair would move in with her parents. In August of 1969 she gave birth to her daughter, who she named Simone. She wrote Vail an angry letter, and 2 months later he showed up on her doorstep. She told him to leave, and that she never wanted to see him again. She never did.

SHARON HENSLEY:

​
Sharon Hensley was born on December 20th, 1948. Growing up in the state capital of Bismarck, North Dakota, she dated football players and belonged to the high school’s 'Demonettes', an award-winning dance team founded by a former Rockette.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT-drYY1YZjqadja6gpHI_j8-zHNTiww7XDLwZ3pq-m&s
(A photo of Sharon Hensley.)
She graduated in 1966, and attended Bismarck Junior College, where she took classes in dance and acting, performing in a play with her older brother, Frank.
In 1967, aged 19, Sharon discovered she was pregnant. Wanting to escape her hometown, she followed her brother Frank and other classmates to San Francisco. After arriving, she stayed in a home for single mothers, where she gave birth to a girl she named “Cherry” after the popular Neil Diamond song. She told friends she wanted to keep the child but was unable to. Two years after leaving for California, Sharon was in jail and her mother, Peggy, headed there with a $5,000 cashier’s check to bail her out. When she returned, Sharon wasn’t with her.
“She said she had lost her daughter,” her younger brother Brian would later say. “She cried almost every night. She was never the same after that.”
MEETING VAIL
While house-sitting in a high-rise apartment, Vail would meet his future girlfriend, Sharon. She was 20, and attractive, having even modeled in her teens. They became friends, and then started a relationship despite the 10-year age gap.
While hitchhiking across California, Vail would confess to Hensley that he had killed Mary, something his son Bill overheard. Because of this, Bill would later go to the police to report his own father for murder. The police at first didn’t believe Bill, but after camping out on the front steps, one detective listened. He told the detective that he was hungry, tired of using the drugs his father gave him, that he wanted to go back to school, live like other kids, and that he had overheard his father admit to killing his mother.
At a beach along the Merced River, police found his father and Hensley, carrying a bag of LSD capsules. Police charged the couple with LSD possession and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Vail received a six-month jail sentence, plus three years’ probation, after pleading guilty to a lesser charge of LSD possession.
California police shared their information with Louisiana authorities. Once again, the district attorney in Lake Charles once again passed on prosecuting Vail for murder. Another fatal mistake.
Bill returned to Mississippi to live with his grandparents, who then gained full custody. On January 23rd, 1971, Vail and Sharon showed up in the driveway. Bill thought Vail was there to kill him, and his grandmother had to reassure him that he was safe.
The father and son eventually sat down and had a talk. Vail told Bill that he didn’t blame him for the time he spent in prison, but instead blamed Sharon, which the young boy found strange because “she had nothing to do with it.”
The family wondered how the couple could even legally be in Mississippi if they were supposed to be on probation in California. They couldn’t. After a visit from the Sheriff, the 2 were smuggled out of town and given enough money to get back to the West Coast.
In the Summer of 1972, the couple appeared unannounced at Sharon’s childhood home in Bismarck. The more the family saw of the couple, the more horrified they became. Sharon wore a mini skirt with no panties and had armpit hair and leg hair "like a man." She had been losing weight and losing clumps of hair.
Her younger brother Brian said it felt like his sister had been brainwashed. If someone asked her a question, “either Felix would answer the question for her, or she would look at Felix while she was giving the answer.”
The couple left then North Dakota and traveled to Mississippi, where they stayed with Vail’s family. On the dairy farm the family owned, they helped paint the home. The couple also sunbathed in the nude, drawing the ire of neighbors.
Peggy Hensley received a telephone call from Sharon, who said she and Vail were heading to New Orleans and then to Miami to make pornographic films. She believed it was a cry for help as “what daughter tells her mother she’s going to do a porno?” Sharon’s parents wanted to travel down to get their daughter back but couldn’t. (The 2 did end up shooting pornographic scenes together, but I won’t get into any of that.)
In early 1973, Sharon called and talked of traveling to South America with Vail, where they would eat natural foods and write a book. It was the last conversation the family would ever have with her. Soon after, she would send her final letter. It contained a photo of her holding a pen, captioned “making travel notes.” It was the last picture ever taken of Sharon Hensley.
https://www.clarionledger.com/gcdn/-mm-/94195697544ea2e63b0b95e33a6de88a8b4f1e2b/c=0-50-399-276/local/-/media/2016/12/28/JacksonMS/JacksonMS/636185487179588030-Sharon-Hensley.jpg?width=399&height=226&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp(The last photo ever taken of Sharon.)
THE DISAPPEARANCE
In March of 1974, Peggy received a letter from Vail, claiming he was in West Florida. He wrote that he last saw Sharon about a year before in Key West, with an Australian couple that was traveling around the world. All he recalled was the first names of the couple (John and Vanessa), who were talking with Sharon about “island hopping around South America, the West Indies, --- Hawaii for a while, maybe a couple of years in the Philippines, then India, Egypt and the Mediterranean islands and coasts. I don’t know which of these (if any) they decided on or in what order.” Peggy didn't believe a word of it.
In the fall of 1975, Vail’s mother wrote to the Hensley family, saying that her son was surprised the family hadn’t heard from Sharon during that time. Interestingly, Vail told his mother the names of the couple that Sharon left with were Frank and Sally, different names than he had given a year earlier. Vail explained to his mother that before Sharon left, she had burned all her identification cards, got new IDs, and declared that she would become a completely different person.
Bill recalled his father mentioning Sharon. “He said she would never bother anyone ever again.” The words upset Bill, who believed his father had just confessed to another murder. “There was not a soul I could tell about it because I had had my experience in court when I was 8, no one would believe me. It would be my word against his, and no one would believe a 13-year-old.”
​
SHARON CAMPBELL:
I want to talk about this relationship because of the egregious age difference. For reference, Campbell is only 4 years older than Vail’s son.
While riding a bus to north Mississippi in 1975, Vail sat next to 17-year-old Sharon Campbell. Despite being literally twice her age, he commented on how fit she looked, saying "he needed someone like her to keep him fit." In spite of this, she felt flattered and shared her telephone number with him. Not long after she got home, Vail appeared in a yellow Volkswagen bug.
Vail said he wanted Campbell to travel with him, and she told him the only way her parents would allow it was if they got married.
On July 24, 1975, they did, honeymooning in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
In court years later, she would tell prosecutors that they never consummated the marriage because “he was unable to obtain an erection.” (This isn’t relevant, I just wanted to include it out of spite because fuck this guy.)
Several weeks later, she went with Vail to visit his relatives in Louisiana. There, she said a niece told her, “You probably need to know that he killed his first wife --- they arrested him. We all believed that he did it, he drowned her out of a boat.”
Campbell didn't believe them, telling herself that he would be in prison if he was a murderer. But as the months passed by, she concluded that he “had no value in the female gender,” and that “he hated women.”
She later traveled with Vail to his parents’ home in Montpelier. While there, he was outdoors working on the Volkswagen and Campbell walked closer without him noticing. He opened a compartment, and she said she saw “sinister, surgical looking saws of all shapes and sizes in a neat formation.” To her, the sight screamed evil. “It scared me. I said, ‘I’m not going anywhere with you.’” She left, annulled the marriage, and never looked back. It was likely the best decision she ever made.
After the divorce he would marry a woman named Carolyn in 1977. The relationship would end after he cheated on her with a woman named Alexandra Christianson during a double date. When Carolyn called Vail’s mother and asked her if the behavior surprised her, she simply replied “no.”
After being served the divorce papers, Vail smashed his car into her MGB Sports Car. A month later he would call her saying “I love you.” She did not reciprocate. She would later describe Vail as “mentally deranged.”
​
ALEXANDRA CHRISTIANSON:
Alexandra is the woman Vail cheated on Carolyn with. She eventually got married to him in Mexico after he officially divorced Carolyn. Not long after their marriage, she heard that Vail was cheating on her.
After a motorcycle accident, he came to rest up at her condo in Costa Mesa, where she confronted him about the cheating. He reportedly got agitated and said, “you know my first wife died.” When she replied saying he’d told her she drowned, Vail shot back “I could have saved her, but I chose not to.”
After telling him to leave, she went to have a shower. While in the shower, Vail attacked her, wrapping his hands around her neck. Hearing her screams, Alexandra’s young brother came in, grabbing Vail and forcing him to the ground. Vail then left.
Soon after this, she found out she was pregnant. The child was still-born, and Alexandra was heart-broken. She would later lead important investigators to witnesses that were used in Vail's eventual trial.
In part 2, I will cover Vail's final victim Annette Craver, and the lengths her mother went to to finally secure justice.
Here is Part 2:
MY SOURCES:
https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/8284?nav
https://charleyproject.org/case/annette-michelle-craver-vail
https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/felixvailgone/2016/12/29/felix-vail-gone-one-wife-dead-two-other-missing-jerry-mitchell/95895894/
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5796622/mary-elizabeth-vail
https://charleyproject.org/case/sharon-hensley
https://www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/20525?nav

I would really appreciate some help here. I’m at a loss on what to do. Apologies for the really long post, TLDR below.
TLDR; I’m considering ending a relationship of 1.5 years with my girlfriend after her roommate and I got into several fights this past weekend over moving a couch into their apartment. Her roommate prohibited me from stepping foot inside ever again, threatened to call the cops on me, threatened to lawyer up, and accused me of aggravating her. She might have also punctured one of my car’s tires as it was flat the following day in their parking lot. My girlfriend has continuously said she understands the situation and will be coming to my place going forward, but I’m afraid of what might happen in the future since she shares her location with her roommate, have been friends for 17 years, have a matching tattoo together, and the roommate has shown to be a very explosive and volatile person. Her roommate has also been convicted in the past for assault and I’m afraid of what she might do. I feel like I don’t fully know my girlfriend and don’t know how to move forward. Should I leave the relationship or continue to fight?
A bit of a background
My girlfriend, let’s call her Ana, and I have been together for 1.5 years. We met through a cousin of mine at an outing back in December 2021 and started dating right away. Ana is caring, loyal, and has always listened to what I have to say. Our relationship has gone through some challenges, but nothing we have not talked through and somewhat agreed on - we see life differently to some extent when it comes to matters like politics and religion but have always sat down to talk through and resolve those issues. My parents did not get a good impression of Ana when I introduced them to each other, but she has worked hard to do so ever since. When we met I also asked her to go back to school to keep pursuing her degree, which she had stopped years ago, but listened to me and is currently on her second semester. It is important to note that Ana (and Betty, shortly introduced) was in a religion for 22 years that prohibited her from making friends outside of it. She left 5 years ago and had to cut all communication with her family.
While together, in June last year, I bought an apartment and moved about 1.5 hours north of her to be closer to my job. Ever since that happened we have had this sort of long distance relationship where we only see each other on the weekends - every other weekend Ana comes to visit me, staying overnight, while I do the same the weekends she does not.
Ana was living in an apartment by herself up until two months ago, when her lease was over and the landlord increased her rent by 30% or so. She had to go somewhere and asked if we could live together, to which I declined as I did not think we were ready - moving in together has been something I’ve refused to do because of a very sour experience with an ex-girlfriend. Since that was not an option, Ana decided to move into a new apartment with one of her best friends, Betty, who I barely knew. They decided to move about 30 minutes closer to me. Betty promised Ana she would take care of her, to some extent, by paying more than half of the rent and covering the security deposit. Ana does not make much money and has racked up some credit card debt which she is managing now, so the arrangement made her financially happy. It’s sort of important to note, however, that with the new arrangement Ana is paying about the same monthly rent. I helped her move out and into the new place with two other friends.
Betty and Ana have known each other for 17 or so years. They have traveled together and even during our relationship Ana, during the weekdays, has visited Betty overnight to watch movies and whatnot, without me there. At the start of our relationship Ana refused presenting me to Betty several times despite my insistence, because Betty had had serious fallouts with two of Ana’s friends and she was afraid I might not like her. Before meeting Betty I had a sense I would not like her when I noticed that Ana, when Betty texted, was afraid of not replying right away, which I thought was odd. I confronted her but she always ignored what I was saying. Other friends of Ana’s had also noticed the same. I ended up meeting Betty six months or so after Ana and I started dating, which was right after Betty’s ex broke up with her after almost five years of a verbal- and physically abusive relationship. Betty, I recently found out, has even been to jail before due to explosive episodes that have ended in physical aggression, and is currently trying to expunge her records. She was also adopted as a kid and her adoptive father has beat her for years in different occasions. Betty and I only hung out then, when we met for the first time, and one other time two months after, for her birthday. I never had any sort of altercation with her, but noticed she always had some fight with someone, always talking down on people and blaming others for her tragedies. Something that took me by surprise last year was when my girlfriend and Betty went one day to a tattoo parlor and got the same exact tattoo in the forearm as a sign of their friendship. Up until then my girlfriend only had two other tattoos that were very small - one by her ankle and another one by her ribcage. This one that she got with Betty is the only truly visible one. That day I remember being extremely surprised when she showed it to me, seeing how she had not even mentioned she was going to get a tattoo, but comes home with the biggest one she has had, and on the forearm.
Fast forward to Saturday: Betty and I lose it with each other
Moving forward to last weekend, I visited Ana at her apartment for only the second time in the last two months after she moved in. I drove over Saturday early in the morning and was greeted by my girlfriend making breakfast for me and her roommate. We all ate and Betty asked to spend the day with us, since she needed to go to the library to study for an exam, which my girlfriend and I had planned on doing, so that she could study for one of her classes. They also made me aware of a couch one of Betty’s friends was giving her for free, and Betty asked for my help to pick it up later. The day went well at the library (4 or so hours) but started to shift when we went out for late lunch after - Betty asked for spicy wings at a local bar and threw a fit when the wings came with not sauce, calling the manager of the place and insulting the cooks and staff. After that ordeal we went to UHAUL to rent a truck for the couch. Like idiots, we ended up breaking what we thought was the ignition key (it wasn’t, just an attached key for the back doors) inside the car’s key hole. This sent Betty screaming and insulting me, out of the blue, calling me an idiot and other words I cannot recall. I yelled back at her which only escalated the situation. UHAUL management stepped in and they got us a pickup truck at no additional cost. We live in a big city in South Florida. I drove with Ana in the middle seat and Betty on the passenger side for about 40 minutes to pick up the couch. It is 10PM on the dot when we get to the community where Betty’s friend lives. A security guard, as I parked the truck, approached us to say the HOA does not allow trucks at that time. Betty starts insulting him several times as I drive away and parked about half a block from the community, at a plaza right next to it. We proceeded, for the next two hours, to carry out the couch from a second floor to the first, moving it over a 5 feet wall (with me jumping over) to avoid going around the community, then walking with it for half a block and than putting it on the bed of the pickup truck. All in 90 degree humid weather.
As I am sweating and huffing while fastening the couch on the bed of the truck by myself, with Betty and Ana talking by the side of the truck, I notice Betty looks tired and miserable, to which I asked jokingly “why the long face?”. Betty proceeds to tell me I am not being funny with that question and starts to yell at Ana, saying how she is useless, how she herself (Betty) had to do everything regarding the couch and no one helped her, how “her man” (meaning me) was not able to afford a couch for her, and other stuff I cannot remember. She called me an idiot, and called me slick, and said I was not funny with my stupid jokes, and kept yelling I was not helpful. I started to yell back at her saying how it had been six hours since we had been helping her. I also, at that point, lost it all and said “where are your friends right now to help you? Holy shit, I am literally on the bed of this truck fastening your couch and you are so ungrateful”. I was yelling as she was yelling back, and in that moment the yelling match turned something like the following:
Betty - “you are so fucking useless, IT’S ALWAYS ME GETTING SHIT DONE, no help from anyone, ALWAYS ME”
Me - “what the fuck are you talking about? We are LITERALLY helping you right now, what the fuck”
Ana - “guys please stop, can’t we all just get along, please?”
Betty - “Bro you are not funny man, who the fuck said you are? I am so tired of your shit, your stupid comments and jokes throughout the day”
Me - “where the fuck are your friends to help you? You are so fucking ungrateful; you jump from dick to dick and will never find love, you have no fucking friends”
Betty - “WHAT THE FUCK. Your bitch is a whore man, she doesn’t even wear condoms. A fucking whore and a fucking submissive bitch, that’s why you are with her”
Ana - “guys please stop”
Me - “Don’t you fucking dare talk about Ana that way, be fucking respectful”
Betty - “A fucking whore is what she is, and submissive, and worthless”
At that point we are yelling at each other and Betty starts saying that I am assaulting her, and threatens to call the cops. She grabs her phone to make a call and I start filming with mine, making it very clear that at no point have I put my hands on her or planning to, at all. She starts yelling at me for recording her and bring up her lawyers and the cops, and how recording her without her consent is illegal. We are calling each other names and I continue to film. She is also in disbelief at how my girlfriend is “not defending HER”. In reality Ana was trying to stay out of it.
Needless to say, the way back to their apartment with the couch was extremely uncomfortable. It was very quiet for the first 20 minutes until Ana asked us why we can’t just get along, which made Betty go off again, yelling at how I am slick, worthless, and so many names I cannot remember. Betty said she does not want me to step foot in HER house, and continued to say she would break the lease and have my girlfriend’s stuff out of her place. When we got to the apartment I let them carry the couch inside and asked my girlfriend to bring my stuff (a backpack and a duffle bag) out of the apartment. I did not want to step foot inside for my own safety. Betty does not have a gun but I am sure she would have used it if she did, either to threaten or God knows what. As I was leaning on the frame of the door Betty asked if I would come in, to which I said no, and she also slammed the door on my face and prevented Ana from opening it, positioning herself in front of the door and yelling that “if she steps foot outside she would kick her out” to which I kept yelling that Ana is also in the lease. When Betty opened the door I told her I would call the cops if she tried one more time to hold Ana hostage inside. She went off again and threatened to lawyer up and kick Ana out. After much yelling and cries from Betty, I ended up stepping inside, closing the door behind me, and talking to them both to de-escalate the situation.
At this point it is 2AM and after much yelling I apologize to my girlfriend’s roommate for stepping over the line when I basically called her a whore. I was a total piece of shit in that regard and sincerely felt like apologizing. Betty did not apologize but she said I could stay over. She said she will forget about the whole situation and that all she needed was to cry and get over what I had said. She went to the balcony to smoke weed and I left the apartment to basically cry out of frustration. Ana followed me and after 30 minutes or so talking outside I told her I had to leave. I did not feel safe sleeping over and did not know if I could ever feel safe again in that space. I walked over to my car and drove home for an hour. I went to bed at 3:30AM and woke up at 6:50AM, took a shower, and headed back to my girlfriend’s apartment complex to return the truck which we had to do by 9AM.
Sunday: flat tire and location sharing
It’s now Sunday morning. I get to my girlfriend’s apartment at 8:15AM, where I leave my car parked, and with her on the passenger seat drive over to the UHAUL, which is about 20 minutes away, to return the truck. Everything is done on time and after getting my girlfriend’s car from the UHAUL parking lot we stop at a diner to have breakfast. We get back to her apartment at around 10:20AM and by 10:25AM we are driving over to my place, each of us in separate cars. About 10 minutes after leaving I get a flat tire notification on my car’s dashboard and pull over at a near gas station to see what was going on. The car had gone from 35PSI in one of the rear tires all the way to 15, and kept going down. I end up driving the car over to a TiresPlus close by, which later confirmed the flat tire was due to a hole on the outside which “had been caused by an object that went in and out, more than likely a screwdriver or a knife”. Needless to say I had to pay ~$200 for a new tire.
I told Ana there is no way this was coincidence and that I suspected Betty had done something to that tire. She said she did not think it could have been the case since there is no way Betty knew where I parked. I did not think that logic made sense since Betty knows exactly what car I drive and she was in the apartment, in her room, when Ana and I left earlier to return the truck. She basically had two hours to do anything. On top of that, I found out that Ana actively shares her location with Betty via iMessage, and vice versa. Ana and I also have that sort of arrangement. They have been doing it for years.
Ana and I spent the Sunday sleeping at my apartment pretty much. I could not get the situation out of my head and barely slept, but being together made me feel better. We talked about the future extensively and Ana promised me that she will cut all communication with Betty once the lease is over, but currently there is nothing she can do. She also brought up living together again, and the following day also told me how she was looking into jobs that are close to my place.
Monday: going on a break with Ana
Ana went to work on Monday morning (5AM) from my house and I worked from home. I did not get anything done thinking about the whole situation and later in the afternoon Ana and I continued to talk about it. Later at night, as Ana was sending me text messages on how she was cleaning the house, Betty was also posting on social media about it. I told the whole story to my best friend who seemed mortified about the situation and asked me to be careful. Monday night I sent Ana a long message explaining that I need some time to think about our relationship. I said that I could not trust her judgement and was afraid for what might happen if she still hangs with this crazy person not now, but in the future as we think of a life together. Will she be at our wedding? At her birthday parties? Will she be involved in our lives? Even though she has told me she will not, I know that Ana has been well aware of how Betty is but nothing has changed in their friendship these past 17 years. It has only become stronger.
Ana was very hurt from my message and called me right away. After a one hour conversation where she pushed me to decide on breaking up or continue the relationship she hung up when I told her to please give me until Friday. She does not understand how it is that I am re-thinking our relationship if it is that I love her. I do care so much about her, but have not been able to move past what happened and the fear that she might introduce me to similarly dangerous people or environments, be it with Betty or with someone else, is severely impacting my ability to think there is a future here. To keep the story short this is the third time Ana has tried to, or has introduced me to, people or situations that pose a danger to me and her. I also have not been able to get out of my head how it is that she is friends with this person, Betty, who is so visibly crazy and with whom she has a matching tattoo, years of friendship, experiences, etc.
Tuesday: Ana’s early morning call and social media login attempt
At 7:30AM of Tuesday, as I was getting ready for work, Ana called me to tell me she was sorry for blocking me on social media and on iMessage. By doing that I no longer have access to her location. I was not aware since she had done that at night, after I had asked for some time. She told me she “did not want me to think the posts from her story were directed toward me”. She also told me that “she wanted to have some sort of control seeing how I was having her wait for a decision and felt lost”. She also confessed she could not sleep and had gotten to work very early, thinking through everything in her car at her workplace parking lot. Ana begged me, crying and barely able to talk, to please consider our relationship. We haven't talked since after she hung up.
After Ana hung up I noticed an unread message on my phone of a login attempt into my Instagram that took place at 1:15AM that morning. That has never happened before and my mind instantly went to Betty. At this point I might be overthinking, however, influenced by the events that transpired.
I am in a situation where I have to decide whether to have Ana move in with me, live with the fact that she is with a psycho for the next ten months, or simply leave it all behind despite how much I care about her. I don’t know if I am ignoring some red flags and that’s really the reason why I needed the time and am seeking some help on here. I don’t know if I am in the wrong and would like some clarification because I truly feel so lost. Ana has done so much for me in the sense that she listens and I know she loves me, but I am just afraid of her judgement and what she might bring into the relationship in the future. I also feel like I don’t know her like I thought.
Should I leave the relationship or continue to fight? Would sincerely, wholeheartedly appreciate some advice.

Charlotte

Metalmorphosis 

4th Ward
Riverfront park
Dale trail - 3003 Dale Earnhardt Blvd
Charlotte to Columbia

Landsford Canal State Park 

Sesquicentennial State Park
Lake Murray kayaking/tubing
Dreher Island State Park
Saluda Shores
Congaree National Park

 Boardwalk Trail Champion trees 

Harbison State Park
Hampton Preston house
Robert Mills house
Tunnel vision, busted plug
Columbia Museum of Art
State House 1101 Gervais Street, Columbia
SC Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum
SC State Museum
Columbia to Hilton Head Island
Battle of Rivers Bridge State Historic Site
Parris Island Museum
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge
Sea Pines Forest Preserve
Myrtle The Loggerhead Turtle Monument
Harbour Town
Coligny Beach Park
Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park
Audubon Newhall Preserve
Hilton Head to Savannah
Fish Haul Beach Park
Bonaventure Cemetery
Wormsloe Plantation Historic Site
JW Marriott museum
Savannah

Forsyth Park 

The Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist
First African Baptist Church
Franklin Square
Colonial Park cemetery
Prohibition museum
Chippewa Square
Colonial Park Cemetery
Green-Meldrim House
Old town trolley
Collins quarter
Leopold's Ice Cream

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/06/portugal-just-launched-a-government-funded-4-day-workweek-trial.html
Portugal is the latest country to experiment with a four-day workweek, and businesses are getting an assist from the government.
For the next six months, 39 private-sector businesses in the country will participate in a “government-funded” pilot program in partnership with 4 Day Week Global, the nonprofit behind several prominent four-day workweek experiments around the world, according to a release from the group.
Employers have agreed to reduce the number of hours employees work every week from without cutting their pay through the 100-80-100 model: Workers get 100% of the pay for working 80% of the time in exchange for delivering 100% of their usual output.
Some 72% of the Portuguese labor force works more than 40 hours per week, making it the OECD country with the third-longest average workweek after the United Kingdom and Ireland, according to a report from University of London and University of Reading researchers overseeing the program.
Most of the businesses in the experiment are in the professional, scientific and technical fields, but the program’s cohort also includes a nursery, care home, stem cells bank, research and development center, and firms from manufacturing, retail and nonprofit sectors.
Businesses say they want to see if a shortened workweek will help reduce employee stress and burnout, and in turn improve worker retention. Researchers also hope to track the economic, social and environmental implications of a four-day business week in Portugal.
4 Day Week Global has led several high-profile experiments around the world, which have gained momentum throughout the pandemic as businesses and employees began to re-think the modern work experience.
A trial in the U.S. last year proved to be wildly popular, with workers reporting they performed better and were less burned out. Many said they could never return to a traditional five-day week, or at least not without a significant pay bump. Employers benefited, too: Businesses reported an 8% increase in revenue throughout the trial period, and a 38% increase from the same time period a year prior.
4 Day Week Global’s largest experiment to date included nearly 3,000 workers throughout the U.K. last year, with participants reporting better health, finances and relationships.
Although no country has fully adopted a four-day workweek, trials have run in South Africa, Belgium, Iceland, Japan and elsewhere.
Portugal has become a popular destination for American millennials looking to relocate internationally thanks to its affordable living and good weather. The number of Americans residing in Portugal is at its highest level in more than a decade, according to the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service. There were about 7,000 Americans living in the country at the end of 2021, more than double three years earlier.
And the country launched its own digital nomad visa last year, making it even easier for workers from any countries that aren’t part of the European Union or European Economic Area to start a new life abroad.

Hey, we are a couple from Austria, who wants to visit Kuwait this December.
We are heading to Kuwait over New Year and want to get some more information, as Kuwait isn’t the most known place for tourism.
We already visited a few arab countries before (egypt, emirates,…) so we are familiar with the rough facts.
For us its important that we can come closer to authentic experiences (food, culture, interesting sites…) during our stay and not just the typical Resort-Holiday, but also have chillout-time at the beach.
So i have prepared a few Questions reaching out for y’ll locals:

• Which temperatures can be expected? Also water temp.?
  
• What traditional Restaurants or Food shops are to be visited in any case?
  
• Are there stricter clothing rules than in other arab countries?
  
• What is the best district to stay/go to?
  
• How is public transport there?
  
• How much is the cost for Uber?(or similar)
  
• Where do we definitely have to go?
  
• Where should we definitely not go?
  
• Better stay in a Resort? Or are there Public/Private Beaches to go swimming and relaxing?
  
• As we dont want to spent a fortune, is it possible to get away with lower budget? (students 🥲)
  

Any more tips are welcome!
Thanks alot!

There is a song that I heard in the lobby of the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort early AM (between 4:30 and 9:00) on or about November 16, 2018. Catchy pop tune, female singer, but the only lyric I can remember is a line in the chorus with “fake it till you make it”. I’d never heard it before nor since.

I was curious and bored at work. What do y'all think of this?
Sure, here's a sample itinerary for a 7-day trip to Iceland:
Day 1: Reykjavik

• Arrive in Reykjavik, Iceland's capital city.
• Explore downtown Reykjavik, including the Hallgrímskirkja church, Harpa concert hall, and the waterfront area.
• Optional: Visit the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa for a relaxing soak.

Day 2: Golden Circle

• Drive the Golden Circle, a popular tourist route that includes Thingvellir National Park, Gullfoss waterfall, and the Geysir geothermal area.
• Optional: Visit the Secret Lagoon hot spring for a more secluded bathing experience.

Day 3: South Coast

• Drive along Iceland's dramatic south coast, stopping at waterfalls like Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss and the black sand beaches of Reynisfjara.
• Optional: Take a glacier walk or hike on Sólheimajökull glacier.

Day 4: Vatnajökull National Park

• Drive to Vatnajökull National Park, which covers over 14% of Iceland's land area and contains Europe's largest glacier.
• Optional: Take a scenic flight over the glacier or take a guided ice cave tour.

Day 5: East Fjords

• Visit the scenic East Fjords, a region known for its stunning coastal landscapes and quaint fishing villages.
• Optional: Visit Papey island, a remote and uninhabited island accessible only by boat.

Day 6: Akureyri

• Drive to Akureyri, the largest town outside of Reykjavik and known as the "capital of the north."
• Explore the town's museums, parks, and landmarks, or take a whale watching tour from the harbor.

Day 7: Reykjavik

• Return to Reykjavik for your final day in Iceland.
• Optional: Check out the local food and nightlife scene, or take a day trip to the Snæfellsnes peninsula.

Note that this itinerary is just one suggestion and can be adjusted based on your interests and travel style. Additionally, road conditions and weather can vary widely in Iceland, so it's important to stay informed and flexible.

Wednesday, May 31 - Tuesday, June 06

Top New

score	comments	title & link	mirrors
12	15 comments	[NEW SONG] My band made a music video that takes place in a handmade miniature early-'90s mall food court
11	2 comments	[NEW SONG] Cassy.
11	1 comments	[NEW SONG] Just dropped a single called White. If you dig it you can stream it on all platforms (Ndeh Ntumazah) and follow me on IG for more

 

Top Stream

score	comments	title & link	mirrors
46	11 comments	[STREAM/DOWNLOAD] Who here remembers Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros?
5	3 comments	[STREAM/DOWNLOAD] Sad Indie Sushi - a playlist of melancholy Indie tracks
3	7 comments	[STREAM/DOWNLOAD] Hello everyone looking for new followers

 

Top Classic

score	comments	title & link	mirrors
64	13 comments	[CLASSIC] Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps (2003)
11	2 comments	[CLASSIC] Slaves - Cheer Up London (2015) [band changed name to "Soft Play" in December 2022]	[Sp] [AM] [Dzr] [SC]
6	1 comments	[CLASSIC] No Need To Worry

 

Top Remaining

score	comments	title & link	mirrors
39	2 comments	[NEWS] Imagine Dragons Detail New Concert Documentary ‘Live in Vegas’
36	15 comments	Bosses - Sick (music video)
20	3 comments	boygenius - "Not Strong Enough" (2023)	[Sp] [BC] [Dzr] [SC]
13	0 comments	‘Future Calling’ - Groove-heavy single from modern psychedelic group Ego Jones
11	11 comments	[DISCUSSION] Pick only one 90s Indie Rock album
10	2 comments	Yo La Tengo- "Sinatra Drive Breakdown"	[Sp] [AM] [BC] [Dzr] [SC]
9	0 comments	From 8000 submissions which I received I have put the best 50 Indie, Folk, Alternative, Singer Songwriter songs into one playlist. Some tunes have a psychedelic undertone. The artists are vry underground and almost unknown but as good as the big ones. For the likes of AM, Mac DeMarco, beach house :)

 

My family is headed to Duck, NC, in July. There's like 15 people going. We rented a house for the week.
Family vacations are important to me. Life is short and I want to spend it making memories with those who mean the most to me. After brainstorming ideas on what to do this summer, the Outer Banks is what the major decided on.
Problem is, I'm not really a fan of the beach. I love the water, but only for so long. I have hyperactive ADHD and bore very easily. Sitting somewhere for hours on end is not something that's easily doable for me unless I'm hyperfocusing on something. I can hardly make it through movies. I'm not really into fishing either (just too much sitting and waiting for me).
I agreed to go because I know my wife and son were really looking forward to the trip. Wife said we could do something else if I wanted, but like I said, family trips are important to me and this is what the rest of the family wanted to do this year. We usually only go our separate ways if the family splits and doesn't go somewhere together.
With the trip getting closer, my anxiety is kicking up. I worry I'll turn miserable and become agitated. I worry about the weather too. If it rains, then what? The whole trip depends on nice weather. We had 1 yr in Clearwater, FL, where it rained all week, but thankfully there was plenty to do there when the beach wasn't an option.
Is there anything to do in Duck besides go to the beach? Some quick research tells me there's not much besides a couple little shops and restaurants, but I wanted to ask the locals. What do people do down there in bad weather? How far is the nearest big city? If I get THAT bored, is it a long drive up to Virginia Beach? I think there may be a little more entertainment in VB, no?

(tldr in last paragraph)
hello , i am 17 year old boy who will turn 18 in august. i have sc quota . i did all my jee prep on my own without any coaching and without any tuition . i studied without any guidance . thinking that i can do everything on my own . and this was my biggest mistake of my life . i was always in the top 5 of school for middle school ( class 6 to 8) and mom thought i am a genius and got me admitted in fiitjee in class 9 and till now that was the biggest mistake in my life .
fiitjee ruined my life for me . i was always anxious , cried before sleep , back then we had family issues too , my elder brother's college admissions and my father's transfer to a remote city without even proper facilities . that places didnt even have any train connections seriously , you always needed a car . there was no one to help me back then . my percentage in 8th grade was 96 , it went to 83 in 9th (last position in school)
i left fiitjee after 10th.i somehow managed to get 93 in 10th due to covid and 11th went decent . picked up my pace by 12th and i was doing fantastic or i thought so . remember i had no guidance . yeah father is an iitian , but he couldnt guide me properly cause their advanced paper was literally ncert (according to him) . so i just studied ncert till class 12th december ( feels embarassing) , but yeah i studied a lot like 10 +hours a day . but who cares if that studies were of no use . i somehow managed to score 88 percentile in jee first attempt (my fault again , i didnt give mocks and just did previous paper once and that too not properly) .
boards came , scored 90.00 % i am pretty sure it should be 95+ , but maybe my handwriting . i didnt give the paper for rechecking cause 90 is enough.
for jee second attempt , i gave a lot of mocks , and got 170+ in almost all of them , but did a lot of silly mistakes in the main paper , got 90.17 percentile (fuck 10 april s1) , ha couldnt even clear the general cut off.
i studied a lot for jee advanced . but that too was in vain . i had anxiety attacks at this point and my parents even tho they are good parents kept on saying "dhank se padhlo koi college nahi tumhare paas" , this gave me more anxiety . and i wasnt even in a state to talk back to them cause i was ashamed. scored 55-63 marks . should get a sc rank of aroound 1100-1300 . should get decent branches in top 7 iits.
but i studied so much , sarcrificed so much , and a guy who literally went outside to play for 3 hours (not kidding i could see him from my balcony playing in the ground) got fucking 140 , got 99.5 percentile in jee mains , he was a dummy student in resosnance.a guy who literally went for dance classes , was always roaming outside after school got 99 percentile and 95 in boards. i was always motivated that i want to get such a good rank that i could score more than general guys . but i guess it was in vain. i havent told parents i am getting 55 marks . they are saying they will wait for official answer key . i was always like ki atleast general waalo se accha score karu taaki koi bol na sake ki quota hi hai iske paas aur kuch nahi hai. but ... i couldnt do anything . i couldnt fucking do it . i feel so ashamed . i feel like i dont deserve iit .
ab tum logo ko mereko gaali dena for getting college with sc , copium dena hai , hopium dena hai . tum dekhlo . ye saari baate aaj tak parents ko bhi nahi bataayi , na kisi dost ko batayi . bas bolna tha.
ab bas bitsat 2 thoda bohot padh raha hu , dene ka mann toh nahi hai , but parents bol rahe hai toh thoda bohot padhke duga
tldr - took fiitjee in 9 th . it ruined my life . left fiitjee and studied on my own in 11 and 12 . got 90.17 percentile in jee , 90 percent in boards , 55-63 marks in jee and might get a sc rank of 1100-1300 . feeling ashamed that i couldnt compete with general students .

I know people have posted before regarding them weather, and usually I don’t give a rainy forecast a second thought, but the owner of our Airbnb has contacted us several times regarding the rain and flooding.
She said that the road leading to the cottage is flooded so we should get an SUV so we switched our rental car and reserved a high clearance Mitsubishi Padero and felt like everything was fine.
She texted again to let us know that the guests that were coming in this week canceled and she gave them a full refund. She said that she is not being overly cautious and the rain is really bad. She has a Volkswagen Jetta and she had to park her car and walk a half mile to the cottage.
She said the cottages high and dry. It is located on the beach, but kind of up on a hill. Thoughts? Is anyone visiting or does anyone live in that area and you can give me some insight. I really don’t want to cancel or reschedule.

Me and my girlfriend are going to graduate college in December and are looking for a good all inclusive resort to go to in January. Anywhere warm, and looking to spend 2-3 thousand total. I understand that Mexico is the cheapest, but we have been warned/asked by our families not to go for safety reasons. Interested in: being within close proximity to the airport, decent drinks/food, decent beach Not as interested in: amenities, night life, lavishness
Neither of us have been south of Florida and this is our first vacation together, looking more for relaxation than adventure. Any suggestions of destinations/resorts?

“There were rules, Mafia codes you had to go by. But the code is ridiculous. It's a code among sociopaths.” David Chase (creator: The Sopranos)
Chapter Three: Tiffany and The Ax

1. ANTIBES, FRANCE. Jude sat at a small table outside La Forge Restaurant on Jacques Audiberti Place. The petite square was bustling with late morning activity. He sipped an espresso and paged through his USA Today. A group of teenagers passed loudly through the square on their way to the beach from a hostel. Tiffany and her girlfriend were with the group. He had been watching her for about a week now but the right opportunity hadn't presented itself.

He told himself he wasn't delaying the operation because he was on an unlimited expense account and his target was spending the summer on the Cote d'Azur. He supposed milking a client that way would be unethical. The thought amused him. It really was because he hadn't found the perfect chance to kill her. Mostly. Mostly that was it.
He noted that the Tour de France was passing through the area and decided to find a place to watch the event. And then there was the Musee Picasso on Place Mariejol. He didn't want to miss that.
He could kill Tiffany tomorrow. Or the next day.
Finally it was the weather that forced his hand. A fierce summer storm was predicted for that week. Such an event would make Tiffany's movements unpredictable. She might stay in and weather it, as he would then have to do as well or she might catch the train to a fairer climate. He had no doubt he could find her again, but uncertainties made him uncomfortable. The night before the storm rolled in, he got his perfect opportunity.
It was late, past midnight. Jude had been watching Tiffany as she snuck away with a young man, an Australian, Jude guessed. They had been drinking on the beach, the Plage Gravette, having snuck on after it closed. The location couldn't have been more perfect if Karsen picked it himself. It was surrounded by walls on three sides and faced the ocean. It wasn't lit other than the light kicking off the surrounding apartment buildings. And with the cloud cover from the oncoming storm, it was all but impossible for anyone in the overlooking apartment buildings to see any activity on the beach that night.
Tiffany's male companion passed out after sex. Tiffany lay there, quite drunk herself. Finally she got up and staggered towards the road. Jude watched from the shadows as she came right towards him. She passed one bum, fast asleep by the wall and entered into the tunnel leading from the beach. She never saw Karsen.
She cried out for a split second. But Jude covered her mouth with gloved hands and snapped her neck. He carried her body off the beach, out the gate to the Quai Henri Rambaud and onto a waiting boat.
While Jude piloted the motorboat out into the ocean, into the face of the storm, his partner prepared the body. When they reached far enough out, they dumped the pretty, blonde teenager over the side. And started a media firestorm.
​
Tiffany Teague was an ordinary American girl. She was from the state of New York. Wynantskill, specifically. A hamlet outside of Albany. She was a junior in college, attending Cedar Crest College in Allentown, PA, an all women's school. She liked Justin Timberlake and Fallout Boy and thought that Paul Walker was the perfect man.
Edward and Maggie Teague weren't rich, or even well off after several failed business ventures, but they doted on their kids and helped Tiffany save for a summer of backpacking in Europe. They were proud of the fact that while most of Tiffany's friends were sitting around getting drunk and pregnant, Tiffany would be learning about the world. They probably wouldn't have been pleased with how she spent her last hours alive.
When she vanished, they began a tireless campaign. Like all parents faced with an unsolvable mystery of this type, they played nightmare scenarios over and over in their heads. Was it worse that she was dead? Or was it worse that she was alive, perhaps living in some horrible situation? Which to hope for? How to pray?
The case caught the attention of Nancy Grace and Greta Van Susteren. The resulting media pressure caused France, the United States and Australia (the home of the poor drunken boy last known to be with her) to redouble their efforts on Tiffany's behalf.
But there was no trace to be found. No clue as to her disappearance. The Australian boy, somewhat of a loathsome cad, found himself now reviled as a murderer. For the life of him, he could barely remember their last hours together. He didn't even remember having slept with her on the beach. A fact attested to by the drunk who watched it, but his testimony was highly questionable.
No one would ever have tied it to a case in Federal Court from almost two years before. The prosecution of a small time thug named Paulie Azeglio. In 2002 Paulie was convicted under U.S.C. § 2315 Sale or receipt of stolen goods, securities or monies. He was sentenced to three years, but died in prison in 2003. His death was retribution in an ongoing organized crime power struggle involving his infamous father, Frank “The Ax” Azeglio. Edward Teague was a juror in the trial that convicted Paulie.
​
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK. Two and half months before Tiffany's death, Jude was in the living room of his home in Sherman Oaks. He had his laptop hooked up to his 70 inch big screen television and he was sitting on the couch watching porn when his cell phone rang with an unknown number. Normally he wouldn't have answered it, but the area code was from New York. And he got a prickly feeling at the back of his neck. So he managed to get his hands clean in time to answer the call before it kicked over to voice mail.
The speaker was abrupt. A limousine would be arriving at his home in forty-five minutes. It would take him to the airport. He would fly to New York, JFK International and be picked up from there for a meeting. After the meeting he would be taken to a hotel before being flown back to L.A. the following afternoon. The option to refuse this was not offered. And Jude, recognizing the voice, knowing the caller by reputation, never once thought of turning it down. He got up, showered and packed an over-night bag. The limo was right on time.
When he arrived in New York, it was almost 4 AM. Another limo was waiting for him and the ride from the airport took forty-five minutes. Jude slept for most of it as it was past one in the morning, California time. He woke from the sound of the limo coming to a stop. The driver opened the door and Jude stepped out, stretching as he did so.
He was in a warehouse complex. Dull orange lights hung from the corners of buildings in halos of mist. The ocean was nearby, though he couldn't see it. He could smell the salt in the air and hear the not-so-distant sound of compressed surf crunching against a wharf. This was an old complex. Rust rotted through the walls of the buildings. Some were missing whole panels.
The limo drove away, leaving him alone. For a moment, there was a tightness in his chest. Anxiety. He didn’t have a gun. He wasn’t armed but that was unavoidable. He pushed it away. Calculated the odds. It was unlikely they brought him this far just to kill him. Unlikely, but not impossible. He pushed the thought away again. You never knew for sure when dealing with the Mafia. Before anxiety consumed him, a door opened. Twenty feet away, a large man wearing a suit stepped out of the darkness and motioned him to come forward. Karsen did not feel better.
The man searched Karsen, patting him down. Karsen didn't object. When the man was satisfied, he waved Jude through the doorway. Neither of them spoke.
Karsen moved cautiously into the old warehouse. It was a huge empty place. Dim light filtered in from broken windows high above. Deep shadows hung like curtains through cavernous space. Karsen lit a cigarette and walked, kept walking towards the center of the warehouse. Finally, seeing no objective and hearing the door crash closed behind him, he stopped. In a dim pool of light drizzling in from a broken window high above.
Footsteps echoed out of the shadows. Coming towards him. Gradually a man emerged from the gloom. He stopped a few feet from Jude. The man was in his late fifties or early sixties. Obviously Italian. His hair was steel grey and his manner was one that assumed authority.
Jude stared at Frank “The Ax” Azeglio. He took a drag on his cigarette and exhaled softly. Frank spoke.
“Mr. Karsen.”
“Yeah.”
“Put out your cigarette. My sinuses...”
“Oh. Sorry.” Jude dropped the smoke and crushed it with his shoe.
“Thank you. And thank you for coming.”
“Sure.”
“I have a job for you, Mr. Karsen.” With gloved hands, Frank the Ax passed a manila envelope to Karsen.
“Family member?” asked Jude.
“No.”
“One of the bosses?”
“Is this a quiz show? Open the fucking envelope.” Azeglio pulled out a bottle of nasal spray and took a squirt up each nostril.
Karsen skimmed the information and looked at the photo. A photo of Tiffany Teague. He glanced back up at Azeglio, curiosity on his face.
“This is a teenage girl.”
Frank stared at him. Silent. Jude shot him a small, knowing smile.
“Sure. I'll do it. Any special requests?”
“Make it quick and painless. Make the body disappear.”
Jude nodded and slid the papers back into the envelope. Something was weird about this. There was a reason Frank called him in the middle of the night, flew him across the country. There was a reason they were meeting in this warehouse instead of some back room of a restaurant. Something about this contract was different.
“A mil,” said Jude. “Plus expenses.”
The Ax didn't hesitate or negotiate. “I'll have it wired to your account. Bill me the expenses through our usual contact.”
“You got a deal.” Karsen handed the envelope back to Frank.
“Don't you need this information?”
“I have what I need memorized. I don’t want to carry that file past the TSA.” Karsen turned and walked towards the door. He hadn't gone more than a couple feet before Frank spoke again.
“Mr. Karsen.”
Jude stopped and turned to the mob boss.
“I want you to know why.”
Jude shifted uncomfortably. He was itching to go and he felt the nascent urge to urinate. But it was more than that. Somehow he felt that the longer he stayed, the more...culpable he was. It was an irrational, random thought, but it nagged him. It put an urgency on him.
“That's not necessary. I prefer not to know. To know as little as possible.”
“But I want you to know.”
Jude stood there quietly. He desperately wanted a smoke. Frank “The Ax” began to speak.
“My son Paul. Francis Paul Azeglio Jr, you know I wanted a better life for him. Wanted him to go to college, maybe join the military. I didn't want this life for him. This life that you and I lead. I wanted better for my children. Wasn't that the point of fighting my way out of the gutters and back alleys of Brooklyn? And I did it. I gave my children everything. Paul was raised in luxury. He got an excellent education at a private school. He had all the opportunities of privilege at his fingertips. Opportunities I bled and made others bleed to win for him.
“All I wanted was for him to be a doctor or a stockbroker or even a musician. To have a family and give me grandchildren. I wanted my son to escape this life that I was forced into by simple economics and...certain skills I had that others lacked. You understand me, Mr. Karsen?”
“I don't have children,” Jude regretted it the moment it came out his mouth. Frank's expression clouded and his brow furrowed.
“But I get your point,” Karsen added quickly.
“Every father worth a damn wants to protect his children. Of course, to my son, it seemed like I thought he wasn't up to it, like I thought he wasn't tough enough for the job....” Frank trailed off, staring up at the shattered windows with their rusted frames. “Which, of course, was the absolute truth.”
They were silent. Jude's need to piss was growing stronger. But there was no way to leave this conversation. Not until Frank the Ax was done. Was this a confession wondered Jude? Karsen suspected Frank was probably a Catholic. How did he suddenly become this man's priest?
Frank finally broke the silence. “Did your father respect you?”
Ahh jeez, thought Jude, “I broke his jaw when I was sixteen. After that it didn't matter.”
“Bullshit. It always matters. I never even knew my father and I still wonder what he would've thought of me, to this very day. But you took respect from your dad the day you cracked his face.”
“I don't know. I didn't see him much after that.”
“Right...right,” Frank sighed. “Paul wanted my respect. He wanted to impress me, not just as a son or even as a man, he wanted my respect as a gangster. He coulda done anything and I woulda been proud of him. But he wanted to be good, be great at what I was great at. You understand?”
“I think so.”
“This kid...this right side of the tracks, white kid who never had to fight in his life, decided he was smart enough to do a major job, like it was some movie or one of these cable TV shows. He stole a container full of flatscreen TVs and tried to fence. He wanted to bring down a big score, just like the stories he'd heard his old man tell the boys, when he shoulda been in bed at night...”
“He got caught.”
“Of course he got caught. Grand Theft Auto was a video game to him. To me, it was a way of life.” Frank muttered something under his breath that Jude didn't make out.
“What?”
“Nothing. Because Paul went across state lines it was a Federal Crime. Ahh, that shouldn't have mattered. I got the best lawyers, greased the skids with the Judge and the prosecutor. They offered a decent deal, but not enough. I didn't want my boy to do a day inside. So it went to trial. Still shouldn't have been a problem. I hired one of those fancy jury consultant companies and wired the jury...but one slipped by. One man named Edward Teague. Real Dudley do-right. From my man inside, he tells me this Edward Teague bullied this jury, harassed this jury, and wore them out by dragging it on for days so they finally gave in and convicted. They didn't want to convict. But this guy...this guy...he was the foreman and he all but forced them...”
Something didn't ring true about this story, but Jude wasn't about to question a man nicked-named 'The Ax'.
“Tough break.”
“So my sweetheart baby boy, my only son...went to the Federal Pen. God, the way he acted, like it was a badge of honor, like I should be proud of him. I told him-”
Frank stopped, his voice catching as the memory overcame him. He composed himself and wiped a tear, passing it off as rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“I told him. Keep your head down. Do your time quietly and he'd be taken care of. Mob guys can be very safe inside. But he... he still had something to prove...”
Another tear slid silently down the mafia don's cheeks. Jude wanted desperately to leave. But he felt he had to say something at this point.
“He's dead.”
“I got the guys that did him. I got them already.” Frank wiped the tears from his face and his manner changed. As he spoke, a slow rage filled his voice. “Now. Now I want Edward Teague. Juror number nine. I want him to suffer like I do. To live without his precious child, his daughter that he dotes on, that he loves. I want to rip her out of his arms.” His voice seethed with hatred.
“I want him to hurt...you understand me? I want him to have this hole in his heart. This ache, this, this horrible, empty, loss torn into his soul.”
Frank stepped closer to Jude, until he was so near Jude could smell the faint medicinal scent of nasal spray on the man's breath. He was so uncomfortable that he wanted to burst out laughing, but knew that would mean his instant death. Not figuratively. Frank, in this moment, would kill him for disrespect. It was the thought of his own face being bludgeoned that drove the amusement away.
Brutality filled Azeglio's voice, “I want to take his daughter from him and I want him to live the rest of his life never knowing what happened to her.”
The cold hatred that burned out of the man was awful in its intensity. His eyes cut into Jude's with the horror of emptiness. Without another word, Frank turned and walked back into the darkness.

I wrote this a couple of months ago but thought it might help as peak travel season is upon us.
https://www.wavesofontario.com/blog/iceland-travel-tips
​
There are a couple of places in the world in my opinion, where if you woke up with no recollection of how you arrived or where you were, you might just assume you were on another planet. Iceland is one of those locations. It has always been a popular choice as a destination for landscape photographers. Over the last few years, it has also increased in popularity with general travelers.
Below are a few things I picked up along the way that may help you plan, save time, or in some cases avoid altogether.

Fuel costs

Iceland is very expensive, especially fuel. Plan ahead, and minimize your drives. If you don't need to drive back to your Air BnB/hotel, don't. Find one of the designated areas to park for a few hours and take a nap. Not just because of the fuel, but because it's more fun. You never know if you will wake up to a beautiful sunrise or if the Aurora will light up the skies.

Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)

If you're only or mainly visiting Iceland to see the Aurora Borealis, you may be disappointed. I was lucky to see the Lights a couple of nights in a row, but it was at the end of the trip as many of the other nights were cloudy. Use websites like yr.no and en.vedur.is to help with hourly cloud cover, weather forecasts, and locations to potentially view the Aurora. Keep in my mind there are nights the Aurora doesn’t have a strong forecast, but can still appear as quite often the Northern Lights forecast can be off. You can also have a strong forecast for the Aurora, but cloud cover can ruin your night. I would still recommend going out though. You just never know if you find pockets of clear skies.
To give you an idea of the extent people go to in order to experience the Northern Lights- I met someone on my trip who booked two weeks in Alaska with a high likelihood of seeing the Northern Lights. The entire two weeks, despite a strong Aurora forecast, were cloudy due to a Winter Storm. Luckily she did end up seeing the Lights in Iceland.
The months you visit will also determine whether or not you get to see the Northern Lights. In summer, there are no night skies. I personally find mid-September a good time to visit. A bit less crowd and a good balance of day/night.

Travel time and distance

Iceland is small (I'm from Canada), but not that small. If you're planning to visit destinations mainly around the Golden Circle area you should be fine as the drives aren't too long. In my case, I explored all the way from the Snaefellsnes Peninsula to Vestrahorn/Stokksness area. I mainly stayed in Selfoss, which I found to be a good area as it wasn’t too far from most points of interest. But, as an example from Selfoss to Vestrahorn, it's over a 3hr drive. Vik is probably a good option too if you want to experience east Iceland a bit more. Obviously, your drive to Reykjavik and western Iceland will be longer, about an hour more from Vik to Reykjavik compared to Selfoss.
Needless to say, I barely slept the entire trip so I could make the most of my time there. As is the case with most trips where photography is involved. I was there for 8 days and slept maybe a total of 24 hours. Some nights I slept in my rental so I could be up for sunrise and reduce travel times.

Be agile

Visit the popular areas, but stop along your drives if you see something nice, and go out and explore. There are no dangerous animals in Iceland and some of the best scenery in Iceland is in random places that aren't designated tourist areas. Just be careful and try to park in a proper car stop and be mindful of private property.

Prepare to get wet

Bring a poncho or similar. Not just because of the rain/drizzle but if you're visiting the waterfalls there, Iceland can get very windy, and even without any wind the mist from the falls can get you soaked. If you're bringing an expensive camera, which should be water resistant, still take a shower cap with you.

Black sand beach (Reynisfjara)

Reynisfjara is an awesome place with its dark, black sand and alien-like sea stacks. But, it's not worth it to get so close to the water. People have died there. I saw someone fall and thought they were gone but luckily crawled back to safety (barely). I visited the place 4 times to get a certain photo because on other days the wind and/or waves were too much to handle.

Kirkjufell mountain

Kirkjufell, located in Snaefellsnes Peninsula, is a beautiful location, It’s very popular for photographers due to a very picturesque mountain complimented by a small waterfall. But again, it's not worth it to take a risk (i.e. climb). Like Reynisfjara, people have died there.
​

Driving visibility

One thing that I noticed about Iceland is that there are barely any trees. It actually makes the drives great as you can see the scenery around you. But if there is snowfall on a windy day, even just a bit, that snow will be blowing all over the place limiting your visibility so plan your drive and time accordingly. And, Iceland can get VERY windy.

Group tours and guides

Avoid group tours, unless of course, you’re not planning on driving. The one place I do recommend it though is the Highlands. Driving there is a pain. You need 4WD, which is standard but it will be a slow, careful "watch out for the edge" type of drive with some small rivers to cross. There are times due to the terrain you may need to deflate your tires a bit and then re-inflate them.
Good luck and safe travels. And, remember that if you don’t like the weather in Iceland, just wait 5-10 minutes!

I was not feeling ok & got very busy in life. So now I'm able to catch up with the RAoC.
u/birdiebennett : Thank you for the postcard! My day is ok. The weather though is awful as it's hot & the rain comes & stop & rain heavy suddenly. So I guess because of the weather a lot of us either feel sick or feeling off. So hopefully, the weather will be ok & everyone will feel better as well.
u/not_napoleon : Thank you for the national postcard! Belated Happy National Postcard Day to you too. Thank you for sharing Baltimore & yes it is a beautiful city. You are an amazing photographer!
u/eccentric_bee : Thank you for the cute handmade card! & yes my child do like it! She thought it was an actual card but when I told her it's Handmade she was so amaze that she try to draw her own version of robot. Even it don't look like but thanks for bringing out more creativity in her. Mines is 4 years old, & I do hope soon it will get easier to manage. Thank you for the encouragement!
u/Tinawebmom : Thank you for the handmade card! I am doing great! & I'm not too ready for summer as I'm not sure how the weather is here where I live. & no I don't plant as we live in the city so we don't have enough place or space even to do any planting. My favorite season is fall as well, although I can't feel fall here but I just love when weather isn't too hot or too cold. But I also love winter too, as you can get cozy in warm blankets & enjoy hot tea. Oh, thanks also for the goodies!
u/HermitCreature : Thank you for the handmade postcard & the positive stickers! I'm doing great! & thanks for the recommendations too. The movie ponyo I have watched it already & I love it! & that reminds me to watch it with my kid. Maybe she'll enjoy it. But the boardgames sounds interesting, we don't have it here but I will look around.
u/xoxounityoxox : Thank you for the pretty flower card & goodies as well! The weather here is super hot & the rain is crazy like it will rain heavy one moment then later it will stop then again it will rain & rain heavy again. Hope the weather there is great!
u/FaeryLynne : Thank you for the cute Valentine's day card & goodies! Hope you also had a lovely Valentine's Day & yes your card made me smile!
u/melhen16 (x2) : Thank you for "the little prince" postcard & lots of goodies! Belated Happy National Card! Whoa~ the quote you wrote I agree, letter-writting some of us or people forget that it used to play in people's lives. & thanks also for the handmade doggie postcards!
u/KimKimMRW : Thank you for the cute Easter card & sticker! Ahh! Yes, I know that chocolate. Yes we have Bueno adult chocolate & yes me too I like it too way more than the eggs.
u/jane_q : Thank you for the springtime postcard! I haven't watched the movie 'House of Mirth', I'll go check it out. Thanks!
u/thecaledonianrose : Thank you for the pretty Easter card! & yes, we did have a wonderful Easter, hope you also have a wonderful Easter too!
u/terrabranfordstrife : Thank you for the handmade Easter card & the cute charm too! Hope you have a blessed Easter too!
u/Sea-Shine2878 (x2) : Thank you for the pretty flower card & the goodies too! Thank you for giving me & my daughter our own stickers haha we always argue when it comes to sticker haha! & that's awesome that you traveled here before & enjoyed the food. Hopefully one day we'll be able to meet! & my daughter said thank you for the card & stickers too! She will continue to make cards & she said thank you for the coloring card! Thank you for your kindness towards her! & encouraging her with her creativity as well.
u/Loki_pepper12 : Thank you for the pretty positive card & stickers as well! Thank you for spreading & spending positivity. & yes the card did find me on a good day indeed. Despite it was a busy day hehe! But your card remind me to breathe.
u/Lydi_ahaha : Thank you so much for the pretty & amazing Elsa card for my daughter & lots of goodies as well! She loved it! She has never seen such card that way. Thank you for always giving so much joy in me & family & I can say others too in this community! & no worries about being behind. Yes, same we too are waiting for a good weather as the weather is just raining here & there non stop & the heat is sooooo hot! I too plan to go to the beach with my family but yes due to the weather it's just hard to plan things out. So we just went swimming pool instead haha! & I love doing BBQ, it's also in my to do list for the summer. For me it's a MUST hahaha! Again thank you for the beautiful card for my daughter! Take care too & stay safe!

Solo Travel Report - The Orkneys
I've not done one of these before so be gentle if I've missed anything out - just trying to give back to a community that has helped me in the past. The Orkneys are a collection of Islands a few miles off the North of Scotland.
Travel Reaching the Orkneys is a choice of ferries several times a day from the Scottish Mainland (Northlink charge £130 car + 1 adult each way. Pentland Ferries are cheaper, but currently closed down), or you can take a small aircraft flight. Travel on the islands is probably best done by car, although there are buses to most of the popular sites. There are also a number of private tour companies who may collect. There are people visiting with smaller motorhomes and they seem able to get around fine - the roads generally are wide and straight and away from the hotspots, traffic is light. As with all of Scotland, wild camping is legal and there are people roadside parking overnight with campers, but check into this yourself if you want to do it. There are ferries to many of the other islands from the Orkney mainland so hopping between them is doable.
Accomodation Plenty of B&B/ guesthouse options. A little more expensive than the mainland, but reasonable. I'm staying for four days and nights, combining it with driving the NC500. I drove up from the bottom of the UK myself over two days and have scheduled four days to get back.
Climate A few degrees colder than most of the UK at the moment, but still t-shirt weather at around 19c. You'd need to bring various layers and waterproofs in case the weather does change.
Scenery The views are amazing almost everywhere. Mixtures of low hills, lochs and the sea, with islands and mountains in the distance.
What to do: Nature and history are the main themes. Lots of ancient history, neolithic onwards, including a large amount of Viking and Norse history. The Islands were used by the Royal Navy fleet during WW1 and WW2, and there are several impressive batteries and remains along the coast. Many standing stones, rings, Brochs and cairns. I chatted to some Birders on the ferry over who were raving about the seabird population, and indeed there seem to be a lot.
Don't miss: Skara Brae (An ancient settlement). Walks on the coast almost anywhere are full of amazing scenery. Hoxa Head worth a trip if you're into Wartime history. Broch of Gurness (Impressive fortified settlement)
Many of the major attractions cost money to visit and require booking in advance as they wish to spread visitor numbers. (Although I went to Skara Brae and only had to wait five minutes). Example costs; Skara Brae, £12, Broch of Gurness, £7.50. Italian Chapel: £3.50. Not huge amounts and the money is reinvested by Historical Scotland, so it's hard to be grumpy about this.
There are two large cruise liners anchored off Kirkwall at the moment, and this has made most of the tourist sites much busier. But there are still plenty of places you can get away from the large groups of people. I've found several coves and beaches where I could chill out by myself. I've spent today walking parts of South Ronaldsay (one of the islands) and met very few other tourists. Mostly the odd local who are universally cheerful and pleasant.
Safety It's very suitable for solo travellers, especially if you are concerned about safety. It is a very safe place for anyone, in fact, it's the safest place in Scotland. "A new study using Scottish Government crime statistics has found that Orkney is the safest area to live. The county has the lowest rate of crimes over the past year compared to the rest of Scotland, recording 143.8 per 10,000 people. It has reported 322 crimes in total between 2020/21."
Recommended.

Hi everyone! Glad to have found this sub, already learned a lot. My wife and I (🇺🇸) are planning our first trip to Iceland for a week 1 July - 8 July, followed by a week in France for a friend’s wedding.
We’ve rented a Cozy Campers 4x4 campervan for most of it, with an understanding that campsites are both the best budget option and give us more flexibility day to day without having to book in advance. (This is right, right? Generally can always find a camping spot day of in July?)
A guidebook once described Flying Mountain in Acadia, Maine as the “lowest effort for the highest reward” and that describes us perfectly when it comes to hiking and stuff. We’ll push for a good view but we don’t need to be extreme. Established trail, “Sneaker hiking” :-)
We are not planning to cram and do the whole ring road, probably mainly sticking to common big hits in the South. Key priorities:

1. We need a good whale watch somewhere or my wife said she might kill me.
2. We need to see some Puffins, more the better.
3. Per the above, I’m thinking Heimaey / Westmann islands are an important overnight to fit in.
4. I’m excited to use our 4x4 to get a little Highlands action while keeping river crossings to a minimum. Landmannalaugar, Hveravellir?
5. Jökulsárlón sounds awesome.
6. As does the black sand beaches of Vik.
7. And the Golden Circle, particularly the cultural significance of Thingvellir and Gullfoss.
8. Other waterfalls and hot springs along the way :)

Accordingly, here’s what I’m thinking Itinerary wise:
1 July Saturday KEF arrival at 6:30am Blue Lagoon? Sky Lagoon? City Center Hotel in Reykjavík for the night
2 July Sunday Pick up Cozy Camper at 9am Golden Circle? Thingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss. Anything else? Find camping near Gullfoss?
3 July Monday Drive out somewhere in the Highlands, Hveravellir or Landmannalaugar? Camp there? Or drive back to a place like Hella?
4 July Tuesday Drive out to Vik area and see some black sand and basalt and puffins. Skogafoss falls on the way? Camp at Thakgil maybe? Or evening ferry to Heimaey and camp on island?
5 July Wednesday Get a ferry to Heimaey if not already there. Whale watch? Hike a volcano? More puffins? Camp on Heimaey
6 July Thursday Morning ferry to mainland. Drive to Jokulsarlon? Take a boat tour? Diamond beach. Camp at Hofn or back in Thakgil?
7 July Friday Slowly meander back to Reykjavík hitting some stuff we missed maybe. Turn in camper to Cozy around 17:00. Get a bus to Keflavik and stay at the Hotel Berg.
8 July Saturday Fly to Paris at 7am
Advice on this? Additional suggestions? Are we taking it too slow? It is hard to judge distances and how much driving we should plan per day and also how many distinct outdoor landmarks per day.
A big fear of mine is weather being crappy and making a Westmann islands trip impractical. Or highlands inaccessible on the day we want want to go. How likely is that in July?
Thank you!

My family and I are planning on visiting the beach. We have 5 kids so just in case the weather isn’t all that great for the beach, what indoor activities can you suggest for us. Ages range from 18months, 4yr, 6yr, 6yr, and 9yr.
Also food suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hello. I went to visit my mum’s family in the Netherlands for 3 weeks. That is a long time. We went there by boat. Or at least we went to Holland by boat. And then we took the car to her cousin’s house where we were staying. It was fun. I will tell you about it:
My mum is actually Dutch but she has lived in the UK since she was 18. She just sounds British now. But she’s not. She’s Dutch. Like I said already. Her family still lives in the Netherlands. And my grandparents live there now as well. They used to only live there in the summer. The other time they would live in the UK just like us. But now they are in NL again and they like it. Obviously. Otherwise they wouldn’t move back there. My mum does not have any siblings. But she does have cousins who are kids of her parents’ siblings. So when we visit there we go see them.
One of them lives in a big house with many rooms. And a big garden. And also 4 bathrooms which is arguably too many. He lives in The Hague. Kind of in Scheveningen actually. We have visited him a lot in the past. But then Covid happened and we did not go to Holland because we did not want to travel unnecessarily. But we planned this trip for a while and made it 3 weeks which is 21 days instead of the usual 10 days. And we went there by boat. We took the ferry.
We took the night boat from Harwich in the UK to Hook of Holland in NL. That is a tiny town but it’s cute. It has changed a lot in recent years tho. I did not recognise everything even tho I have come there very often in the past. Then we always get picked up by mum’s cousin who I will call Dick. Not because he is a dick. But because his second name is Richard. And people somehow make Dick from that. So I will call him Dick here. I try not to use real names because of privacy reasons. I’m sure you’ll understand. And if not then that’s a you problem.
But anyways first we had to go on the boat. It is a big boat. It’s called the Stena Line. We take the night boat which means it’s night when you travel. We sleep in a cabin. It has bunk beds. I am quite used to being on the boat because I’ve been doing it all my life. So I don’t mind it. It’s only a little bit scary when there is a lot of wind or something. Because then the sea is very wild and the boat moves a lot. But now it went smoothly. I slept well and when I woke up we were almost at our destination. And then Dick picked us up. He has a big car which is a Toyota. My step-dad also has a Toyota. James has a Renault. I don’t have a car because I can’t drive. So then I don’t need a car obviously.
We stayed with Dick for 3 weeks because he lets us stay for free. I don’t always like him because he drinks a lot. And then he gets loud. But he is very respectful of my wishes and routines. So I appreciate that. His house is very big like I said. It’s an old house. It was his wife’s inheritance. She used to have a lot of money because her family was rich. But now she’s dead. So now it’s Dick’s house. He also has 2 dogs which are very big. They are called dobermanns.They are very well-behaved and they like to lick people. I do not like that so I asked them to refrain from doing so. They listened or at least they didn’t do it as often because Dick told them off.
We did a lot of things in the 3 weeks we were there. At first we just adjusted a little bit. I felt a little bit bad because I missed my own bed and my own room and my cats and my home. I was annoyed because I actually kind of wanted to go home again. But then after 3 days I felt much better. I enjoyed walking to the beach and playing outside with Dick. He is very funny. We played tag together and also with my step-dad. And we made a very big puzzle of Disneyland. I enjoyed that a lot. I played fetch with the dogs a lot. That was fun even tho my arm got tired of throwing the sticks.
It’s a little bit weird to talk Dutch all the time. I’m not used to that because at home we speak English usually. But after a week I was more used to it. My step-dad is not Dutch but he speaks it well. Because his ex-wife who is Percy’s mum is also Dutch. By the way Percy also came to stay with us for 5 days. But that comes later in the post. So we must be patient. First we did a lot of things together with the 3 of us. Which is my step-dad and my mum and me. And sometimes 4 if Dick would join.
We went to Madurodam which is a place where they built a miniature world of places in The Netherlands. It’s really cool. There are many tiny details and tiny figurines. I enjoyed it very much to look at it. It was a little bit busy but I was wearing my headphones. My mum has been there a lot and she could point out many fun details. It was a great way to spend my afternoon. I took pictures with a disposable camera that Dick got for me.
That was very nice by the way. Dick bought several disposable cameras for me and my mum to use. Then you take a picture and you get it developed later so you can’t immediately see the picture. I took a lot of pictures. My mum is very good at making pictures. I look forward to seeing what the pictures are like when they’re developed. We took them home with us and they are now at the photo store. So we will get them next week probably.
Anyways we did many more things but then this post would get very long if I said all of them. So I will keep it short. We went to many beaches. We went to several towns and museums. I went to the zoo because Dick got free tickets but I do not really like zoos. Because I feels sorry for the animals. But I did not want to be impolite because it was a gift from Dick. He also came with us and he knew many animal facts. I respect that. That is important knowledge to have. I waved at a polar bear. He did not wave back. I was only a little bit disappointed but I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t want to wave either if I was in a zoo as a polar bear.
Halfway through the 2nd week Percy also came. He took the train. That takes around 4 hours from London to Rotterdam. James did not come with him because he had to work. Unfortunately. By the way Percy was living in our home so that Mike and Tom and Tea would not get lonely. I’m thankful for that because I was very worried about that. But they were fine. And then Percy came to stay with us and it was a lot of fun. We also found a puppy on the side of the road and that was a whole adventure. I will tell that in a separate post though. Because this is already a long post. But rest assured the puppy is doing very well. Dick adopted her so now he has 3 dogs.
I did a lot of walking through towns and such. My mum really enjoyed being back. She said she loves it there but she would not move back there any time soon. Maybe one day when she’s retired. I would be so sad if she would go there. But maybe I could go with her. I prefer to stay in the UK because that is where I was born and raised. However I would like to visit The Netherlands again more often. I am interested in taking the train sometime. Percy says we can do it for my birthday in August. I said we will burn that bridge when we get to it. I would prefer not to think about making another trip for the rest of the year.
We also visited my grandparents of course. It was very nice visiting them. They said they missed me but that’s a little bit silly because we had seen each other quite recently before this. But I still appreciate the sentiment. We had a BBQ with them. I don’t like the smell of fire or a BBQ but I did enjoy it eventually. The food was nice. My mum’s cousins were there and their kids. I did not care for them but I answered questions if they asked them to me. My mum got a little bit drunk and that was very funny. Because she usually never does that. Her face gets really red and she laughs a lot. And then I also laugh. Because it makes me laugh when my mum is laughing. Because it’s nice to laugh together. I did not drink personally. Because it’s bad for my teeth. Obviously.
I played Nintendo games on the Nintendo Switch with my mum’s cousins kids. They are all older than me. Some of them have kids of their own. They asked if I wanted to hold one of the babies and I said absolutely not thank you. They thought that was funny but I wasn’t joking. I was very serious. We played Super Mario Party and I enjoyed that. I also laughed very hard. My mum’s cousins kids were willing to play by my rules. I appreciated that. I could also choose first which character I wanted to play as. I played Yoshi. I didn’t win the game but that’s OK. I won the second round.
I also found ducks. Many of them. I fed the ducks at the pond near Dick’s house every 3 days or so. They were quite nice. At least they did not injure or attack me. So I count that as a win. I was not comfortable enough to let them eat out of my hand. But eventually they did recognise me I think. I told Dick that he should now commit to feeding the ducks half-frozen peas at least 1-2 times a week. He said he’d try. He better. I think he will because the dogs like to walk in that park. And now he has a new puppy he might walk there even more. I will send him reminders per email every week or so. Just in case.
Now I’ve been home for a little while already. I am just doing my things. As one does. I am tired tho. I also hurt my arm a little bit. It’s my left arm which I broke in December last year. My mum says it’s because I used my arm a lot. I have to build up muscles again in that arm because I didn’t move it as much for several months. That makes sense. It doesn’t hurt that bad but it’s a little bit uncomfortable. I am going swimming 2 times in a week now to exercise. Once with my mum and once with my step-dad. It’s very nice. And wet. Obviously.
I will write about the puppy that Percy and I found on the side of the road in the Netherlands in another post. I think you will enjoy reading about that. It’s a nice story. At least I think it is. If you don’t then you can decide that yourself. I’m not the post liking police. I’m not police at all. I’m just Alexander. Anyways I will tell you about the puppy in the next post. But I said that already several times of course.
Thank you for reading. Your friend, Alexander.