Blogs from North America - page 8275

Traverse City and the immediate surrounding areas desires growth, but only if it is just the right amount. And what that right amount is depends on who you talk to. The developers are interested in expanding the areas around Traverse City so they can build large homes and minor commercial areas to support them. Many of these homes would be retirement (or second) homes. Another contingent wishes to expand Traverse City inasmuch as that growth would benefit tourism. Some recent proposals that have been approved make way for multi-story complexes within the city itself, which are as high as six stories. Between these two groups there is a good deal of tension. There is some hope that the blossoming wine industry (still small) in Michigan will develop into a kind of Napa Valley, whose ultimate ... read more

After arriving in Tulum at 11am, we checked in at the Hotel El Crucero, grabbed a bite to eat before taking a stroll down the road to the Tulum Ruins, which, though lacking the grandeur of Teotihuacan, Mont Alban and Palenque, still made for an awesome sight. The ruins are set on cliff tops overlooking vast stretches of palm fringed beaches and a bright turquoise Caribbean Sea. Their simple and small scale design is a reflection of the fact that they were built by a Mayan civilization in decline, around A.D. 1200 -1500 and it is thought to be one of the last Mayan cities to have been abandoned. The remaining temples and ruins are surrounded by a 2m thick, 3.5m high wall which protected the city during a time of considerable strife. We wandered ... read more

Easter Sunday was a special day. We got up for the Sunrise service at our church, Shepherd of the Hills. It was well attended, in fact, it was the largest gathering our church has had for the sunrise service. Pastor Eckert had a wonderful sermon about the words of Christ on Easter. We often hear the words of Christ on the Cross but not the words that Christ said to the people that came to the tomb on Sunday morning. The Angels words to Mary and others, He is Risen ,Do Not Be Afraid etc. IT was a beautiful service with the choir and harpist. In the after noon we were invited to the Ekstrands, where we had a wonderful meal and fellowship. It was truly a wonderful day of celebration on a beautiful day ... read more

Yay! We finally got our Travel Notice and our Consulate appointment which set the travel dates in motion. Things are happening pretty quickly now. We are leaving for Asia on April 22nd. First stop will be Hong Kong. We hope to be able to visit with friends, even though our time is so short there. After two nights, we fly to Wuhan and on the 26th we will receive Isabella and continue with the paperwork trail. Then on May 1st, we fly to Guangzhou where we will stay for another week. Our U.S. Consulate appointment is on May 8th. We will take the train to Hong Kong afterward and spend one night in HK before flying back home the next day. There are five families total in our travel group and we are all making ... read more

hello everyone, I have been In New York For a week now and I am having a great time. Last week I did mostly visiting museums but this weekend was more fun : On friday night, we went for dinner in one of New York Best Steak Houses : Del Friscos. We had the best steaks , great wines, great desert....right in front of the Rockfeller Center... Then we went to a russian bar : Vodka Room . As you can imagine, plenty of russians, and plenty of Vodka, but we just had martinis ... Then we went to Anne's favorite club in New York which is "la succursale du Baron à New York" also known as Beatrice. There you have a lot of people dressed really Fashion/weird/original/branchitude/I don't care what I am wairing , ... read more