HONEST!! You may remember we faked a funny picture with Steve Irwin's image at his zoo... BUT this one is for real!!!Today we went to lunch with our friend Mahitorn and guess who came to lunch? MISS UNIVERSE! Her name is Natalie Glebova, she represented Canada in the contest this year. She is (as you would expect) very beautiful and she was extemely nice to us. We were the only people at the Dusit Thani Hotel Restuarant when she arrived to have photos made. She actually asked us if we would like to take some pictures with her. We still [View Full Entry]

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Yes, we knew the girls would have some “one of a kind” experiences on an around the world trip. Keeping up with school work on the laptop is one thing… BUT, how many kids who are in a classroom can say they know how it feels to be sneezed on by an elephant. Poor "j" (the animal activist in the family) got a shock while feeding an elephant, who must have had the sniffles. We were greeted in Bangkok by a driver who took us to the Mayfare Marriott apartments. It’s not only a beautiful newly built place for a family [View Full Entry]

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With a touch of sadness we leave Japan. Our entire family feels enriched to have experienced the land, people and culture of the rising sun. We couldn't resist sharing a few last photos with you. Our next adventure is Thailand, the land of smiles. [View Full Entry]

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Train or plane? Japan’s bullet train will get you there just as quickly and safety as a jet flight. For those of you who may be wondering if we are out of touch with world events; we did hear about the tragic train accident in Japan just one week prior to our trip. Why choose the bullet train, because we felt the past safety record and the present high awareness and precautions made us safer than ever. Riding the bullet train truly feels like flying low without the turbulence. There’s no long airport waiting time and you actually have legroom. What [View Full Entry]

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A family of four blond, blue eyed Americans don’t blend in very easily in Japan. Not blending in can be a good thing at times or not so good at other times. Let us explain…when we’re confused as to which subway to take or can‘t read a menu, it’s good, because a considerate, English speaking local will stop to help. On the other hand, if you do something a little scatter-brained everyone WILL notice you. Our first attempt to take public transportation is a great example of a time when you wish you could just blend. We decided to take the [View Full Entry]

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We made it to Japan. We have a few funny stories to tell about feeling confused and struggling to communicate. We do not have great internet access so we are going to have to leave you hanging for now. It is enough to say that when Mom gets off the bus one stop to soon that Dad can communicate without speaking Japanese. So who was the dumb blond? Promise to tell you all about Japan with pictures as soon as we can get laptop hooked up. [View Full Entry]

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Our last day in Hong Kong didn’t go as planned. We planned to go to Ocean Park, but when we awoke this morning it was pouring rain which means, shopping again. POOR DAD! One great thing about this city is being able to get from place to place without ever going outside. The subway is so perfectly connected that we can go from shopping mall to shopping mall for days on end without getting wet. How long Dad can hold up is another question! Yesterday we took the tram to Causeway Bay. We were missing “good old” American food so [View Full Entry]

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Maybe you’ve seen the Hong Kong television advertisement “LIVE IT, LOVE IT- HONG KONG” that says it all! After living in HK from 1996 -1998 we’re very excited to be back for a visit. When we arrived at the JW Marriott on HK island we couldn’t believe our good fortune to be upgraded to a room with a harbor view. As soon as we got into the room we spent several minutes just enjoying the skyline. Then something surprising happened. Fireworks began to explode from the tops of the skyscrapers all around us. What a welcome back! Although we would like [View Full Entry]

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Aboriginal Dancers - Steve Irwin - Dreamworld What on Earth do these things have in common? Sure, they can all be found in Australia, but the thing they really have in common is Fun, Fun, Fun! We definitely had fun on our last week in Australia. The last night we were in Cairns we went to The Tjapukai Aboriginal Dinner Show. The buffet dinner was excellent but the real fun started when the dancers took the stage. The mixture of thought-provoking storytelling dances with humorous songs and skits were brilliant. We even got a lesson on how to play an aboriginal [View Full Entry]

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Cairns or Cans? Why is a city spelled Cairns pronounced Cans? After spending a fantastic week there we still don’t know. Maybe it’s because they have words without an R that they stick an “R” sound into (ie cinema is pronounced cinerma). We DO know that Cairns has warm tropical breezes, a lush green rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef right in it’s front door. So who really cares how they spell it? As we already shared, the first thing we wanted to see was the reef, but there are many other things to see and do around Cairns. The Rainforest [View Full Entry]

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