We arrived back in Singapore on Friday evening and headed to Mary's apartment via the subway with no problems this time. We had taken her extra key with us so when we got to her apartment we could get in, in case she wasn't back from work yet. Once Mary arrived home around 9pm we headed out to watch the laser light show on the Marina. This light show happens every night from the Marina Bay Sands Casino and has a water show below in the marina. We took the budget route of buying cans of Tiger Beer (Singapore's local beer) at 7-11 and watched from the Esplande near the Fullerton Hotel. It was a nice evening to see the show, chat about life abroad and people watch. Saturday, we slept in and hung out until ... read more

We knew coming to Malacca was going to be a slower pace of life and that it was. We spent 2 nights there wondering after the first afternoon what we were going to do. We managed to find enough walking around the UNESCO Heritage Village and Chinatown but wouldn’t recommend more than 2 nights here unless you want a lot of relaxation on your trip. We were able to add to our Asian art collection with a handmade wooden Malay mask. This part of Malaysia was settled by the Dutch and Portuguese, all the red buildings in Malacca were built by the Dutch. This is also the first place we have ever been that is a Muslim country, which means we hear prayers on the speakers across town 5 times per day. Highlights of Malacca -Quiet ... read more

The group of us foreign teachers here at HDU is a great group. We have gone out on bike rides and hikes together since arriving. Last Saturday, five of us left at 6:30am to beat the heat for a ride around the West Lake area and Tea field terraces. The ride ended up being 16 miles long. You never would have found me doing this last year but I am excited for how our lifestyles have changed and we are getting out more. Sunday, three of us went out for another bike ride but decided to keep it flat and easier so we went 10 miles instead. Wednesday, I have a day off in the middle of the week so four of us went for a bike ride along with a hike that I am not ... read more

After celebrating Jimmy & Cali's wedding and seeing Kris & Kelly we now venture our way down from Northwestern New Hampshire to Connecticut to visit Jay & Melissa. Pete went to high school with Jay and now we get to experience their life on the East Coast in East Lyme, CT. (where Lyme disease was identified) Jay works at Foxwoods Casino where many New Yorker's and Bostonian's drive to gamble since neither of those states have gambling. There are 2 large Vegas style casinos in the middle of small town CT which employee many people in the area and entertain thousands from all around. We wandered around the casino to see all the stores, restaurants and new high end bowling alley where Kim Kardashian recently wore heels to bowl. We ate dinner and headed back to ... read more

After driving 1,850 miles we ended our west coast tour in Los Angeles, CA. There we meet up with my brothers Rob, Tim, and Mike and my cousin Brian who was accompanied by his fiance Erica. We ate at some fancy Mexican restaurant in the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. It was an early night as Elyse and I had an early morning flight to Boston. Thank God we arrived a few hours before our flight because LAX is just about one of the worst airports we’ve flown in or out of. If you thought the DMV was inefficient the TSA takes it to a new level. We nearly missed our flight as the security lines channeled down to one line so that everyone could go through the body scanners. I miss the old metal ... read more