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Here is Part 1 and Part 2 of Tammy's Christmas present...the rest to come tomorrow!

Jen, thanks so much! That's my dream lens... I've been trying to get a quote for a used one. And that Canon EOS-1DS Mark II looks pretty nice!

First of all, Santa decided that Bubba needed a new roof for the house, so that is the first thing we decided to buy at approximately $7,500 (give or take)…estimated cost is relative low when we’re talking about $1,000,000.

Well, we know that Dave, Susan and Heather like to travel, so we decided to start out with this so they could travel in style (plus they would have extra room for a few friends):

http://www.lazydays.com/rvs/Motorhomes/A...rhomes_015.html


But you have to have gas to drive this beast around so we’ll add in a gift card to a gas station for 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel.


When he’s not driving the RV around, he needs a new vehicle as the old van has plenty of miles on it…I picked out this one as it will give him to carry all his “reunion” goodies. Also made sure it was a diesel, so he could use his fuel card.

http://www.fordvehicles.com/suvs/excursion/gallery/index.asp?v=html

Next...you have to keep up with us. So, since Santa brought me a motorcycle...here's one for you too!! (no tattoo included)

http://www.harley-davidson.com/PR/MOT/20...section=gallery

The remaining money (approximately $500,000) will be used to finance Dave’s expenses in planning all our lighthouse gatherings. Can we say Alaskan cruise? He can use it for renting airplanes for fly-by’s, hotels, and just scoping out new places for all of us to visit. Hey this way he can stay focused on entertaining all his lighthouse friends!

MERRY CHRISTMAS BUBBA!!!

Patty, Mike, Cedes, Turbo & Zulu

COOL!!!! Great present! My dream trip, too!

I've already picked out my cabin, too! An amidships, in-hull balcony on Four Deck. The in-hull balconies are better for ship junkies like me, since they are actually cut into the hull, and when inside, they give a real "shippy" feel. They also dine in the Britannia Restaurant, which, while not the Grill class, is considered the most impressive room on the ship.

I'm sure you guys are expert tour guides, too! It'll be tons of fun touring the coasts with you guys! Maybe, if we have time, we can even stop in Solihull, for a tour of the Land Rover factory!

Thanks again....a great gift!

Why, thanks, Mike & Patty and critters. Once I get done with truck driving school I will look forward to cruising in style! Think I'll have to go with the gold/beige Excursion to try and compliment the land yacht. More options in the motor home than I have in the current house....(which does thank you for the new roof - still sporting that snappy blue tarp for the time being.)

I'm trying to decide if your intent is to try and kill me off with the Harley . . . . . will have to add training wheels or a side car for balance on that thing!

I will have to start mapping my trips. The Excursion will come in handy as there are many areas that are not RV friendly. So amny places to go . . . . . . .

Dave, no need for Truck Driving School. I will volunteer as your chaffer just for the free ride!

And the last part of Tammy's Christmas present...

Departing September 10, 2006, from London, England and arriving November 25, 2006 in Miami, Florida, a suite for Tammy and Randy at the lowly cost of $66,965 for 76 nights on Crystal Cruise Lines the "Crystal Serentity". $250,000 in shipboard credit should cover shore excursions, gambling, drinking, jewelry, extra dessert, massages, bingo, and entertainment of the like. Here is your Itinerary !! Merry Christmas!

Greg, it goes without saying: The Landrover factory is a must! Solihull is not that far from here!

Greg, I am going to be a sad case of envy and cheekyness.... In your list you said we had been picked ... did you know we haven't actually been picked?... Iris had tried to pick us, but was told she couldn't, because we had picked her.
So I think we are sad little "orphans" now.... Sniff....

No, Margret - when John said Iris could not pick you I said I would take care of the challenge. I know what the gift will be, I just need to find time to get the shopping finished for you.

Thank You Dave! No panic please ...I am sure you have better things to do!
But thanks for the thought!

Jen,

Your present is a two weeks stay on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, a place you've said you've love the opportunity to photograph. You and family, and photographic equipment will fly first class into Norfolk, Virginia, where you will be picked up by limousine ad driven to Corolla, NC. There, you will stay one week at the Sanderling Resort and Spa, and take in all the pampering it has to offer. You will be provided with a Hummer for getting around the OBX.

The Sanderling

After your week's stay on the northern end of OBX where you've taken prize winning photos of Currituck, Bodie Island and Hatteras, you'll use the Hummer to take you south to visit Ocracoke, Cape Lookout, Old Baldy, & Oak Island. Itiniary and lodging arrangements for this will be sent in future mailing.

You will also be provided with $10,000 for any needed new photographic equipment for the trip and for shopping along the way. You will also have access to a photo lab, if you should like to use it. You will return home, flying first class from Wilmington, NC.

Enjoy!

Merry, merry Christmas!

Judy

John-

I remember you mentioning in a Reunion thread a few months ago how you wanted to visit two places in America, the only two states you havn't seen so far - Alaska and Idaho. Well, Idaho's pretty, but I couldn't think of much to do there, other then an internship on a potato farm. So...

You're going on a two-month-long, Land-Air-Sea tour of Alaska!

And you're not going the cruise way, either - you're going to see an intimate, close-up view of Alaska. You and your family are going to fly first-class from Scottsdale to Anchorage. There, you will be met by me and my expedition-equipped Land Rover (what else?) for two weeks driving as far north as you can go in North America on a road, following the Dalton Highway all the way to Prudhoe Bay. There, we will go on a tour of the oil fields and such there, and, if you want, we can all go swimming in the Arctic Ocean.

We'll go back to "home base" in Anchorage, drop the Rover off, and take a private, luxury seaplane (the wings of which will hopefully stay attached) to visit the various national parks up there - Denali, etc. At each one, we will stay in luxury lodges, hike the mountains, and explore the Arctic area.

When our National Parks tour is done, we'll fly back to Anchorage for the final leg of our journey. We'll board a private, 100-foot, expedition yacht to explore the islands on both "legs" of the state. We'll stop at as many as we can visit, and each night dine on gourmet meals by our 5-star chef. Of course, every Alaskan lighthouse will be seen, and viewed up-close if possible.

When we finally return to Anchorage, we'll part ways, you and family returning to AZ first-class, and myself driving the Land Rover back to NJ. We'll probably be sick of each other by then, but I want to be able to show you the sights first-hand.

Happy Christmas, and Joyous Boxing Day!

_greg

Tammy,

THANK YOU! My dream trip, actually. My ancestors hail from Scotland and everyone in my family has been there except me. AND, to stay in a lighthouse there...better than a castle!

I'll be sure to take the golf clubs too!

Merry Christmas!

Judy

John and I want to wish Ruthie and Terry a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We thought this would be an enjoyable gift to start out 2006 to travel in style. (It would also have plenty of room for friends to tag along.)

http://www.americancarriage.com/New%20Web/New%20Coaches.htm

Of course this gift would come with a lifetime supply of fuel so there wouldn't be any limits on your lighthouse touring.

As a final gift...we wouldn't want you to stress about driving so you would have your own personal chauffeur to drive you around.

PS...John and I talked about this gift idea a week ago but I have been so busy that I haven't had time to post it. Sorry if it seems like we were duplicating some other ideas.

Merry Christmas Hyper-Bob !

Please click here to find out, what I found for you :-)

Dear Margret, dear Stan,

as I already told you, I waited until Christmas day to open my virtual Christmas gift - today was the day! What a wonderful dream... no need to work behind a desk any more... write wonderful articles... explore all the lightships... visit you at any time... - a great gift - thank you very much, it is wonderful to have friends like you.

I started to post this Christmas Eve, but decided instead to wait and make this a "Boxing Day" gift for our English friends.

This year there has been a definite travel trend in the virtual gifts - if only we were able to actually "live" the gift, we would have some fantastic stories and photos to share with each other!

Well, when I decided to adopt Margret and Stan 5-6 weeks ago, I did so with the plan to provide wonderful travel for them. I actually had a number of trips planned for them, but then thought "gee, we have $1,000,000 to work with - why not simply provide some mega gift cards so that Margret and Stan can set their own schedule?"

With that in mind, here goes a gift that should keep Margret and Stan on the move for a while:

Margret enjoys her photography, and has provided us with some great photos of lights we might not see otherwise. To help her take her skills to a new level, the first part of this gift is a two part photo package:

• First I am providing a $25,000 gift card for photo equipment. To help them find some top level stores to spend the money at, here is a listing of UK camera shops .
• The second part is a $25,000 credit to be used participating in the Popular Photography Magazine Mentor Series photography workshops. While not featuring lighthouses, there are some great workshops in areas that do have lighthouses. These will help them to learn how to maximize their use of all their new photo gear.

Behind Door #2, we have a credit of $150,000 to be used enjoying US Lighthouse Society tours , both in the States and around the world. These tours will provide some wonderful lighthousing experiences along with the opportunity to put to use all their new photography equipment and knowledge. There is also a credit of $100,000 for Ultimate Lighthouse Tours from Lighthouse Depot.

Behind Door #3, we find a $500,000 credit at the "miles" type credit card provider of Margret and Stan's choice. This will allow for first class travel to and from their lighthousing adventures, as well as accomodations and rental cars. If they play their cards right, they will also run up some frequent flyer miles which will continue to provide travel (both from the credit card and airlines).

Lastly, behind Door #4, we find a $200,000 pre-paid credit card from the provider of their choice to help pay for their incedentals (gotta eat and you know when they visit Mombo their will be a bar bill . . .)

Now, the only catch is this: You are not allowed to travel alone on your lighthousing adventures. I figure this will be a good way to spend some time with your friends Iris & Dirk. It will also allow you to include various Forum members in your adventures. After all, lighthousing with friends is always more fun!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and Boxing Day!

Does Dave know how to shop or what?! Margret and Stan are very lucky indeed.

WOW ... Dave, Thank you for that unbelievable virtual present... If only...

We would come to the USA first, before buying the photographic equipment. It is at least a third cheaper there. Then we would very much like to hire a motorhome and visit as many lighthouses as we can. As well as going on the tours from US Lighthouse Society and from the Lighthouse Depot.

And we would LOVE to see CF members join us at various stages of this dream of a life time!

And thank you for including Iris and Dirk too! They are good friends and we'd love to share some or all of our adventures with them!

Thank you for a thoughtful and brilliant present!
Grace is right! We are very lucky!

Hey, which lighthouse would we have to include to have YOU as a guide?

Lori & John, we just love our gift. It fits us perfectly. Terry loved this part a lot....
Terry always tells people that our RV only sleeps TWO He has agreed however, that we can take friends with us to travel but they would have to stay at a hotel nearby, not with us.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful gift.

Wishing you a very Happy New Year and hope we can see you sometime during the coming year.
Ruthie & Terry

"Good friends are like stars.......You don't always see them, but you know they are always there."

Well, Margret, I was going to say Ruthie and I could help you out, since we received new motorhomes, but Ruthie doesn't take boarders . . . . I'm still available for the Great Lakes and East/Gulf coasts.

Hey .. how about doing the trip in a RV-Convoy? Would be fun, wouldn't it?

Judy, I'm glad you liked my gift. I should have gotten you some new golf clubs, too.

Jen, a belated thank you for part II of my gift. Your timing was perfect. I spent three months in Europe in 1985 and went to England in 1987 to be a "chief bridesmaid" in my penpal's wedding. I have wanted to go back ever since. But Randy hasn't been too thrilled about Europe. When I was looking for Judy's gift, I mentioned Europe a few times to Randy, and he said, "I would go on a European cruise." Anyway, I laughed when I saw your gift.

Margret, Dave mis-quoted me...this is what I said...
We take borders, just not overnighters.
We would love to show you some of the West Coast.

Ruthie, I would prefer my own RV anyway. But as I said ... love to travel in a convoy

What a dream .... sigh ....