My son, Carl, Jr, took this picture of me in front of the Temple of Juno (the Roman name for the Temple of Hera) in the Valley of the Temples, in Agrigento, Sicily. Having a Sicilian grandmother (and Calabrian grandfather) I've wanted to visit Sicily all my life, but never got there. Earlier in the year Carl said, "Dad, you've always wanted to go there, so let's go this year." So we did. It wasn't "downhome" for me, but it was certainly "back home." Close enough, I guess.

American Express has been saying it for years: Don't leave home without it. So I made sure I packed my Downhome for a 16-17 day Road Scholar (http://www.roadscholar.org/) tour of Sicily this past September. The Greeks (and a lot of other folks) beat us there, and left wonderful monuments and temples to enjoy and learn from. Sicily was the crossroads of the Mediterranean.

I live in a Virginia suburb of Washington, DC, and would have known nothing about your magazine had I not received a subscription from Frank Hayes (fhayes@theexceladdict.com) who lives in your neck of the woods and is a great booster of Newfoundland and your magazine. I've been to Canada probably a dozen times or more, but only to Toronto and areas farther west and northwest. Now my wife and I want to visit your part of Canada so we can, at our ages, catch up on what we have been missing there.

About the picture:

Who: Carl Jordan, of Falls Church, VA, USA

What: Me, in front of the Temple of Juno (aka Temple of Hera)

When: September 15, 2015

Where: Valley of the Temples, Agrigento, Sicily

Photographer: Carl Jordan, Jr., my son, with my camera

Why: Why not? It's where my roots are.

Feel free to contact me if you want more information about this.

Carl Jordan
3759 Madison Lane
Falls Church, VA 22041
703.861.8790 (mobile)   Submitted By: Carl Jordan