Williamsburg

We have spent the last two days in Virginia as they experience record breaking heat. It has been at least 100 degrees both days and it can really make you tired walking and viewing much of the history of the early Colonies.
We are stay at a large resort on an old plantation by Williamsburg, Virginia. I am not sure how many units are on the 250 plus acres. There are many geese, rabbits, and squirrels roaming the grounds. It is a very nice setting and has many amenities such as tennis, pool, restaurant, etc. for our use. Internet is available in the unit for $40 for the week but free at the Grill so we walk the Grill to use the internet.
The first day we drove the 100 miles to visit Thomas Jefferson’s home of Monticello. The foundation is doing an excellent job of resoring the home, garden, and many of the dependencies; We toured the home, garden and Mulberry Row.
The vegetable garden and flower garden have been restored as much as possible to the directions drawn by Jefferson and contain older varieties of flowers and vegetables that we grow in much of our yards.
Mulberry Row was the area where much of the work to support the plantation was done. The blacksmith and carpenter’s shop as well as the dwellings of both free and slave workers are gone but through Jefferson’s notes and archaeological digs provided at history of the walk that was one of our tours.
The home and the two wings placed under below the home are well restored. We toured the two wings of the dependencies before taking the house tour. One side contained the kitchen, cooks room, and smoke house the other side had the ice house and stable. They are connected by a tunnel under the house that provides storage and access to the house.
We finished the day with a late lunch at a tavern a short distance from Monticello that served traditional buffet lunch of the time.
The second day we explored part of Colonial Williamsburg. After the introductory film and walk we explored some of the buildings in the area. We visited the George Wythe home which also had weaver and basket makers at work in the out buildings. Wythe was the founder of the William and Mary Law School and teacher of many of the early lawyers such as Jefferson. We also visited the Capital and a number of the other shops along the way. There a few more we will visit another day.
Once of the most interesting presentations was a presentation by a man portraying George Washington. He gave a talk and then answered questions in character as if it was 1777(?).

Home Again

We are back from our OAT trip to Cambodia and Thailand. It was a good trip and I hope to add some notes about the trip each day for a few days. I have over 2000 photographs to edit and process, yard work that needs to be done, and a few other things to do so it will take awhile.
The weather was good and we only had rain on parts of a few days. The storm that hit Myanmar did not cause damage in northern Thailand but did give some rain. The trip provide and great many experiences in food, travel, culture, and sites that are difficult to show in pictures or explain in word but I will try.
It was a good trip and very nice people. Our leader Lin was knowledgeable and funny and it was great traveling with her. Our group started with 14 but one woman tore ligaments in her ankle and had to return home early in the trip. Her sister that was traveling with her went with her to assist in the travel.
I will continue to add some pictures to my flickr account as I get some processed.

Visit to Bavaria

We paid a visit to Bavaria without leaving the Northwest. We spent a day in Leavenworth, Washington. There ware no special events in Leavenworth for the day we were there but we did get to wonder through all the shops, eat sausage, drink beer, and visit the Nutcracker Museum.

Leavenworth is a very beautiful city. All of the downtown has been created to look like a Bavarian village and most of the shops sell tourist items for the area.

Our visit to the Nutcracker Museum was very interesting. The number and variety of nutcrackers could keep you looking for hours if you were to look at each one. It was interesting to see all the different cultural influences that are shown in the various designs. It is not just the Christmas Soldier.

Of course you can’t visit the area without having some traditional beer, sausage, sauerkraut, and music. For dinner we visited a restaurant that had live music and both the band and a number of the people eating at the restaurant were wearing the traditional lederhosen.

Other than food and lodging we didn’t do much to support the local economy. We did buy one pottery rooster that Marilyn was sure would fit right in with her other rooster in the kitchen.

Home Sweet Home

It is good to get home. No matter where you call home it is nice to get back to your own bed and familiar surroundings. Living out of a suitcase can be fun for a while as you discover new people and things but it is always nice to be home.
Getting from Tennessee to Oregon was a major case of hurry up and wait. We got to Knoxville airport and checked in for our flight. About 45 minutes before we were to leave they said that due to mechanical problems the plane was still in Chicago and they would update us as they knew more. So after an extra hour and half wait we were on our way to Chicago. At that point the scheduled four-hour wait in Chicago didn’t look so bad. Others around were missing or hoping to catch connecting flights. One lady with two very small boys had only 30 minutes to catch an international flight. I hope she made it.
Well at least the Chicago flight boarded on time. Then we had to wait about 40 minutes to take off. Only two runways were being used because of weather problems. But we were off to Portland, Oregon. I managed to get a nap on the way and just as I woke up and looked out the window I saw Mt. Hood in the setting sun. It was a nice sight to see.
At least our bags all made it and it was an uneventful drive back home. But now it is back to the yard and garden. The weeds did not take a vacation.

Parrot Mountain

A representative from the parrot Mountain brought three of the birds to our resort on Wednesday. We got to hold and interact with them. After his talk we thought it might be fun to visit Parrot Mountain. It is past DollyWood and truly is on top of the mountain. The last hundred yards were UPHILL.
They have many different birds that you can feed and a pen of Lorikeets that you can feed a small container of nectar while they land on you and fight for the nectar. I found one of the birds was very dominate and didn’t want the others to eat. This bird would even bite me when I took the nectar away for the other birds.
Some of the birds had a sign to not feed or pet as they would bite. In addition to having birds on display they do breed birds for sale. Of course some of the birds are given to them by owners that can no longer care for the birds. Since the birds can live for 70 to 100 years, they can outlive their owners or just no longer have that great attraction they had at first.
Some of the birds talk and one even says “Kill the cat” when you say kitty, kitty. But as with many animals they don’t always act on cue. The bird said “Polly wants a cracker” for me.

Chattanooga

You can’t visit Chattanooga without visiting the Chattanooga Choo Choo. Well sorry it isn’t a train, it is a motel. Well there is a train there but it never moves. You can sleep or eat in a train car but that is about it. The lobby is the old train station so it is nice but we didn’t take a ride on the Chattanooga Choo Choo.
The views around Chattanooga are great and we did enjoy all of the views of the river and hills but one of our big days was a trip to the Aquarium. It is located in the river front area and part of the development they are doing. Also by the river is a wonderful park and we even took a ride on the carousel.
We spent a good part of the day visiting the aquarium and all the animals. I even got a few good pictures to share. The sea horse exhibit was fun and I really enjoyed the butterfly exhibit. The fresh water exhibit was nicely done and where we spent most of the time because it was new to us. It is all in a small footprint because the exhibit is really displayed in a vertical fashion. You take an escalator up to the top and wind your way down through all the displays.

We also saw a model home from the 60-70's that never really caught on. It is now for sale and you can buy it if you want.

Elephant Safari

I guess it is time to write about our elephant safari. Marilyn always mentions that as one great thing we did. Well it was really more of and elephant ride but then it was four kilometers in a game area that has all the standard game animals. It is just that the noise and guide walking with a gun in front of the walk does discourage the animals from sticking around. We did see two warthogs up close, a giraffe far away, and storks in the tree. That was about it.
It was a fun time and we rode the elephant much like you would a horse. Even had the stirrups. The ride took about 45 minutes and then we had time to interact with our elephant. Each elephant has its handler or guide and two riders. Ours was the largest male elephant in the group and I believe he was fourteen years old. The guide has an ample supple of molasses filled hay pellets in his fanny pack so the elephant is more than happy to perform and get its treat. They told us that was the secret to training African elephants. First attempts to train by force just didn’t work because it is difficult to force and elephant to do anything they don’t want to do. Going up and down some of the steeper paths was interesting but everyone survived. There where 16 of us that where doing the morning ride. One family of four and a couple from Zimbabwe another couple from South Africa joined some of us from the tour to make up the group. Half did the ride while the others had breakfast then we switched.
The interaction after the ride was feeding the elephant and sitting on his leg for pictures. Our guide said that sometimes the warthogs will come in during the interaction because they like the pellets too and there are always some falling to the ground. I will share more on elephants later and as Connie said we really have more elephant pictures than we need but you are always sure this one is better than the last. I won’t mention how many pictures of elephants I have but only that I deleted about twenty.

Birds of Africa

I don’t normally think of birds when thinking of and African Safari but I will make that my first little note about animals. We did see a lot of birds and one couple in the group were bird watchers and very interested in see how many different birds they could see. For most of us we had a few favorite but were looking more for the larger animals. Not that we didn’t see larger birds, we did. But birds being what they are they were either too far away to get a good picture or they were flying before I could get the shot.
The Secretary Bird was one that was large and far away and I was never able to get a shot of the Ground Hornbill before it was gone. I think one of the general favorites was the Lilac-breasted Roller. In flight their blue feathers shown out in a beautiful display. I wanted to get a shot of them flying but of course I didn’t. We saw lots of Guineafowl, Francolin, and Hornbills. At our last camp we saw many Ostriches and they are always fun to watch. I was always amazed by our guides and their ability to see and identify birds and animals from a great distance. Of course many times they would get out the binoculars to verify they call. But then if they were wrong who among us would know the difference?
One time we came upon a very large number of storks out sunning and enjoying themselves. It was great to see so many in one place. The Fish Eagle looks much like the Bald Eagle and was always on the top of the tree, too bad. I am not sure what to say about the birds. We enjoyed them but did not go out in the morning hoping to find a new bird. I was sometimes hoping to get a good picture but size and flying prevent that. One thing I will say is the starlings were even beautiful.

Sunset in Africa

I always enjoy taking pictures of sunsets and trying to get just the right moment and angle. Using a digital camera makes it so much fun. You can take fifteen pictures of the same sunset from just a different spot or different time and select the one you want latter. Each picture is unique. Sometimes the best color is up to a half hour after the sun goes down and sometimes the clouds just don’t let it happen. Every time I am in Hawaii I seem to take at least another twenty pictures of the setting sun. Maybe it is because it is so easy to just go across the street from our condo or maybe it is that I don’t have anyone rushing me to go or do something.
The hard thing about taking pictures of the sunset on a group tour is the same problem you have with taking animal pictures. It takes time and not everyone wants to just stand and wait for just the right moment. I did get a chance to get some nice shots on this trip to Africa. Sometimes we were at the lodge waiting for dinner and sometimes we were out on a game drive with a stop for drinks as we watched the setting sun. Both allowed me the chance to take the time I wanted to shoot several shots. I have included two of the same sunset separated by only twenty seconds but what a difference in the color.

Soweto

On our way to the Wilderness Camps we had a layover in Johannesburg so several of us took a tour of Soweto. This city which claims both Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela as a few of its famious residents, although niether of them are living them now. You can find more about Soweto at http://www.joburg.org.za/soweto/history.stm and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soweto.
As we drove past several of the shantytowns, dorms for single men as well as some of the newer houses. Of course there is also the rebuilding of the soccer stadium for the 2010 World Cup. We did stop at two places the Regina Mundi Church and the Hector Peterson museum. Both of these are symbols of the turbulent past that South Africa has experienced. As I think of my own life in 1976 when the uprising was occurring and how I knew little about what was happening, I realize how easy it is for us to live in our comfortable homes isolated from many of the things going on around the world. Of course now with many news channels provide 24/7 coverage of what is going on and many times repeating the current crises much like the recent shooting at Virginia Tech, it is more difficult to ignore what is happening.
Our Guide for the tour of the Regina Mundi Church was a young boy in 1976 and convinced is older teenage brother to accompany him to the church to listen to some of the speakers for the evening. When the police raided the church shoot both live bullets and teargas they ran from the building. He was separated from his brother how was found the next day frozen to death in a freezer in a local butcher shop where he and some friends had hid to escape the police only to have the door closed on them. There was no way to open the door from the inside. This simple church still has the bullet holes in the wall and ceiling from the raid.

The Hector Person museum shows many pictures and videos of the activities from the time of his death on June 16, 1976. Like many people killed or injured, he was not one of the leaders but simply someone in the wrong place and the right time.

Riding the Mokoro

Another form of transportation we got to experience was the Mokoro. This was a dugout canoe in the past but now to save trees and still make many mokoros for the tourists to see and use they are made of fiberglass. They are used for fishing, getting across the water, and hauling things across the water in addition to the tourists. And if that wasn’t enough on special days they race them. Our two guides for the trip were the top racers in the area. Each of them have won and they say it is always fun to see who will win.
They only put two people and the guide in each boat. We got a nice little chair, without legs to set in and the guide would stand and use a pole to push the boat through the water. It seemed unstable as it rocked back and forth but the water was only about three to four feet deep so we were not in danger and I am sure the guide was very confident that he was not going to get wet.
We spent about 45 minutes going through the water looking at water lilies, frogs, and spiders. The little frog was less than and inch long but makes a bid noise that we would hear each night. While we were there a herd of buffalo came to the water but we only got a glimpse of them before they were gone.
Once we were back on land one of the guides showed us how they make a snare to catch small bird. A string is tied to a stick and pulled down to form a noose around a few small sticks on the ground. The bait is placed in the middle and rigged with a trigger that will release the noose. I was the lucky that got to try to remove the small piece of bait and my finger was quickly caught.
More pictures can be found at the flicker link and I will add to them as I sort them out.

Joys of TRavel

Travel in these modern days can be Amazing, Interesting, Painful, and Frustrating. I just returned from a 19 day trip to Africa to visit four wilderness safari camps and experienced it all in the trip. Travel is great but there is a price to pay.
Amazing is the only word that can describe the engineering that allows a 747 loaded with passengers, luggage, and fuel to leave the ground and fly almost 11 hours at 35,000 feat at almost 600 MPH. Yes I understand the physics of lift and even taught some of it but that doesn’t change the unbelief I have as I sit in the plane and wonder how could it ever get off the ground. And then the small 6 passenger and 12 passenger planes we used as we went from one remote camp to the next using dirt runways that often had some wild animal walking across just before the plane lands. The pilots were great and the use of gps has changed the way they can find all of these little strips they call a runway in the middle of the jungle.
A trip like this is truly Amazing. To see the animals in their own space not the zoo or maybe not see them because they have gone elsewhere or maybe are just hiding is fantastic. Yes I didn’t see some animals I would like to have seen like a male lion but then that is what game drives are all about. You have to hunt for the animals if you are hunting with a camera or a gun. To try to see the animals before the guide or sometime try to see it when they are telling you where to look is a game I loved to play. I got some pictures but then in some cases I didn’t because of light conditions or the camera I was using. I could have used a better camera but then you have to worry about the added weight and space that the nice SLR requires. One of the other ladies had a great Canon SLR and I would love to see just what she got for pictures.
It is Interesting to see the animal and the new country but it is also great to meet new people and talk about their customs, traditions, and food. In some ways we are the same but in others different and it is good to understand and not always try to change. Change comes very slow when you are dealing with customs and tradition that many times are tied to religious beliefs. And the food it was good but then most of the meals we had where planned to our tastes and customs to the local foods.
Painful, yes let me talk about the amount of space they allow in that big 747 in the economy seating for a person six foot four and 250 pounds. I had to get up several times just to walk and trying to sleep is difficult. The smaller planes are even worse. You can’t even stand up in them. One time the pilot hat me sit behind him and that did give me some leg room because he had the seat pulled forward so he could reach all the hand and foot controls but one time I sat in the co-pilots seat and was afraid to stretch out my legs for fear of touching the pedals I saw moving up and down as he controlled the plane. Then I could also mention my fear of heights. I was OK in the small planes for the first 1,500 to 2,000 feet above the ground but as he headed for 6,000 feet above the ground every bounce of the plane was a new fear. Closing my eyes and meditating was the best thing for me to do.The Frustration comes in the waiting. Five hours in this airport, ten hours on the plane, and wondering if you luggage is on the same plane. Two of the ladies never got their luggage for the whole time we where in Africa. Now they are told it is in Africa. As we checked into the Victoria Fall airport, first the computer wouldn’t work so they got a new computer. Then that computer couldn’t talk to the printer so boarding passes and luggage tags are hand written. You watch you luggage leave hoping that it makes it to LA at the same time you do so you can claim it to clear customs and transfer from British Airways to United. Did I mention as I put my credit card into the machine to get my boarding pass at United it said “That flight is canceled” and we had to wait an extra two hours more than the planned fours hours to fly to Portland. Well it all worked and I am home trying to adjust to all the time changes and lost sleep. Oh yes, I am also trying to sort out the over 1000 pictures I took. You will see more of them later.