Day 10 Hakodate, Japan

Today was about as perfect as it gets…. The weather was fantastic, we were very warmly welcomed when we arrived at Hakodate, Japan and the tour was great. We first went to the market, one of the largest I’ve seen. The seafood on display was amazing. There was a huge selection of King Crab, one of my favorites. Next we went to the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse area which had a pretty large selection of shops. Lunch was next at a local hotel. We had several courses and the lunch was pretty good. It was a bit too much food for me but tasty nonetheless. After lunch we went up the aerial
cableway to the top of Mt. Hakodate. The views were spectacular! One the way back down we made an unscheduled stop to see some local churches and temples…. Next we went to the Goryokaku Tower, again with fabulous views of Goryokaku Fort and the surrounding area. Finally, we went to the Trappistine Convent before proceeding back to the ship. It was a great day! We leave Hakodate tonight at midnight and take a short sail to Aomori, our next port. We will arrive at 0800 tomorrow and I will take a ships tour. Here is the description:
Aomori & Archaeology
Your first stop on this comprehensive tour of Aomori will be at the Showa Daibutsu (meaning big Buddha). At 70 feet tall, this landmark stands on Kuwabara Hill, and is the city’s symbol of wisdom, kindness and inner power. The statue weighs 220 tons. Continue on to Aomori Natural Park recreation area, which showcases the Aomori Nebuta Festival, including 10 giant Nebuta floats on permanent display. You’ll have a chance here to see the experience show and try festival dancing as well as handling the Nebuta. After lunch at a local restaurant, visit the Sannai Maruyama ruins that date back more than 4,000 years. An exhibition room holds various artifacts from the site. Transfer back to Aomori city to visit the Tourism and Produce Center— a 15-story, triangular building that overlooks Mutsu Bay.
Tomorrow should be another great day……

Day 9 At Sea

Today was a pretty nice day. The seas have calmed, the winds moderating and a lot of sunshine. I really enjoyed the fact that we are inching nearer to our scheduled ports of call and warmer weather. We are sailing close to the coast of Japan and are scheduled to take on our pilot at 0530 tomorrow morning. We will be docked in Hakodate by 0800. We have to go through Japanese immigration procedures which include finger prints and photos. I just hope Interpol doesn’t get their hands on them…. J I will be taking a ship’s tour. Here is the description:
A Day in Hakodate
This morning, visit the Goryokaku Tower--a graceful structure dating back to 1864, built
to defend Hokkaido and now surrounded by a public park. Next is a visit Hakodate Morning Market, which is made up of more than 400 stalls lining the walkways, selling everything from groceries to clothing, souvenirs to shoes, and more! You will also visit the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse area, remodeled in 1988 as part of a waterfront area redevelopment with a theme
of combining the old and the new. After lunch at local restaurant, take the aerial cableway up Mt. Hakodate. From the top you can look back over the Hakodate Peninsula, viewing the city, the ocean and an endless panorama. Back in town, you will visit a Trappistine Convent known for its
picturesque red brick walls and green roof. The Trappistine Convent was built for the Order of St. Benedict and is now home to seventy nuns. The convent also operates a store selling dolls, candies and cookies made by the nuns.

I am ready for this new adventure to unfold….. Japan, here I come!

Day 8 At Sea

Today was not too bad considering the weather. We still have gale force winds and cold temperatures. We have a lot more sun but at times it’s just too cold to sit. The winds are swirling and you really can’t get out of them too easily. This makes for a pretty cold wind chill, too much for me (at times). Tonight is a formal night, Black & White theme, without the scheduled ball. The rough seas make it a bit dangerous for the ladies in heels. I am having drinks with the Captain & Apollonia after dinner which should be nice. It would have been nice if Allan & Sandra were there, we talk about them often.... I’ll get a photo with everyone scrubbed up…. We only have one more day at sea before we reach our first port of Hakodate, Japan. I am enjoying the people on this voyage, they are very pleasant. Some voyages you run across a lot of disagreeable people and others you meet a lot of really nice people. After a bit more than a week aboard I am happy to report that the food has been excellent. Even with a much smaller selection of choices as was the case in the past, the choices that remain are very good. The staff are very pleasant and the service impeccable as usual. I’m glad that we are getting ready to start getting serious about visiting some interesting places. We could have some excitement in our future…. I understand a typhoon is heading for Hong Kong…..

Day 7 At Sea

Last night was very rough…. Just like I like it! I sleep so well when the ship is rocking and rolling. A lot of people didn’t fair as well. Many people had a sleepless night. This was particularly true of those in the very front of the ship. When I woke early this morning we had 30 Kt winds and 20 ft seas but…… it was sunny! I went topside and was bronzing by 0715 this morning. The gaining and extra night every night is making it difficult to sleep in until at least 0700. I spent about 7 hours out in the sun today, going in for brief stints if some particularly egregious cloud would come by…. All in all it was a fabulous day. We keep lucking out, I hope (knock on wood) it continues. I do hope it warms up soon. Bronzing in these conditions is getting more and more difficult. As a professional tanologist I am obligated to continue on despite the conditions. Otherwise, I may as well move to Canada with my very, very pale friends…. I am now 14 hours ahead of the East coast. I think we gain at least one more hour before we get to Hakodate, Japan.

Day 6 Crossing the International Dateline

Imagine my amazement when I woke this morning to find calm winds and a light breeze…. The skies cleared just after 0800 and I went out and enjoyed the sun for a couple of hours. Then the area of low pressure off the Kamchatka Peninsula started to catch up with us as the skies clouded over. The rest of the day brought gale force winds, rain and cold temps. The seas also began to pick up a bit. I’m sure the attendance will be down tonight for our second formal evening as passengers succumb to sea sickness. The day was enjoyable. I met new people and visited with past acquaintances. In the morning while sitting in the sun Apollonia joined me for a while and the only thing missing was Allan & Sandra. It’s a shame they are not here to join us. It is getting more and more difficult to sleep until a reasonable hour since we have gained one every day. I am now 8 hours behind East Coast time back home. The other item of note today was at 0837 we crossed the International Dateline so actually I am currently 16 hours ahead of east Coast time. At 837 we went from Wednesday the 24th of September to Thursday the 25th….. Nothing like losing a day! The prospects for tomorrow are pretty bad, the storms will continue. I have been very fortunate so far so I guess I can’t complain.

Day 5 At Sea

Today was a day of extremes….. This morning I came out to winds that were near gale force, rain and cold temperatures. I had no expectation of this day developing into anything other than a gloomy day. I spent the morning sitting in the Lido Pool area mid ship (enclosed area) reading, doing puzzles and listening to music. This was interrupted occasionally as a friend would stop by and chat. At 12:15 precisely, I noticed a brightening of the sky as I looked through the pool roof. I looked outside the window and saw clear skies coming fast…. Winds and cold be damned, I was going outside…. I spent the next couple of hours in heaven. I got out of the wind and the sun warmer me up nicely. This was wonderful, especially after the Captain came on with his daily announcement at 1:00, detailing navigational and weather information. Apparently overnight we are going to start experiencing rough seas and gale force winds. Too bad, he has so far eluded three storms but I guess this one is going to get us. I don’t expect to be outside again for at least a day or two, unless it is to take a wicked photo of a passing ship in rough seas….. It was a very nice day and so far I am quite pleased that I have gotten out each day so far, much better than I expected prior to departure. I am really enjoying seeing the Captain and his wife Apollonia again along with crew members and guests from prior voyages. Some people have even come up to introduce them selves because they have been following my blog and know me from there….

Day 4 At Sea

The weather gods stopped smiling down on us for the most part today. We had very high winds, overcast skies and very cold temps. I started a new book, chatted with people I met on previous voyages and did some puzzles. Around 1:30 the skies started clearing so I went out. It was still pretty breezy and fairly cool but I did enjoy being out in the sun again. When the cloud cover came back I was out of there in a shot, talk about cold….. Things are going along pretty good so far. It’s nice to run into people from previous voyages and catching up. I hope tomorrow will be a bit better but I have no unrealistic expectations. We are still going on a beeline west and it probably will be another couple of days before we head south. Once we start heading south our days should warm up a bit……. The voyage is going well so far, I’m enjoying it.

Day 3 At Sea

The forecast for today didn’t look too spectacular….. Force 6 wind and 52 degrees F. I went out this morning around 0730… a little early for this location. Anyway, I went up to my favorite sheltered place, dropped off my towels and pack at my chair and went in for a bite of breakfast. Imagine my surprise when I returned about 20 minutes later I returned to find my pack gone. Those of you who know me know I have it packed for the day with lots of necessities like cameras, GPS lotions, various other gadgets, etc. Needless to say I was fairly upset. I reported it to the bar staff and they began a search and lo and behold found it. It was stuffed into the bottom of a towel bin perhaps for storage for a pickup later…… I reported it to Security. Now it will be a pain in the @%# because I feel it is necessary to take my belongings with me when I go somewhere. I have never had a problem like this in all my years of cruising and that is a lot of cruises….. Probably around 100+
The morning was a severe challenge, high winds, cold temps and way too many clouds. I went in for brief periods during extremely overcast and cold periods to wait it out. Finally things improved and by late morning it was great!!!!! I got lots of sun and was able to get out of the wind on deck 9 aft. The new chairs are very comfy. So far so good on this artic crossing…… Yesterday the seas were like a lake and we saw lots of dolphins and whales. Today we had a bit more seas but still fairly smooth. I didn’t see and sea life today, probably because I was hunkered down out of the wind.
Tonight we have our first formal night and the Captain’s Welcome Toast. Time to get scrubbed up and put on my fancy duds…. Oh yeah, I also have noticed the affect of high fuel costs. There have been definite budget cuts as far as the food budget is concerned. They have taken it down a notch. I’m sure you are not surprised Allan….. I wonder what the Grand World Voyage will be like?

Day 2 At Sea

Today was a very interesting day. Early this morning we were sailing in some pretty thick fog and haze and heading basically in a westerly direction. I stopped by the gym (don’t get excited, I wasn’t going to work out) to see Apollonia, the Captain’s better half to say hello. I asked her to have a word with the Captain to change course and find us some sun. Lo and behold, around 0930 the sun popped out (she’s very influential)and I had a brilliant day. Around 11ish as I sat there bronzing, facing the sun, I noticed the sun moving fairly quickly to the side. I looked and sure enough we were turning. I got out my GPS and saw we were headed North…. This was not in my plan. North was all I needed….colder weather. Then I noticed we kept turning and sure enough we were turning around. As it turns out one of the more influential passengers had left a suitcase behind in Seattle and we were going back for it. Or…… we were turning back so the Canadian Coast Guard could do a medical evacuation from the ship. OK, well go with that one, too bad to because the other explanation would have been pretty exciting. About 4 hours later we successfully completed the medical evacuation and turned back toward Japan. I sat out in the sun for about 6 hours and was very grateful for such an excellent day all things considered…..

Day 1 Seattle embarkation

The long awaited day has finally arrived….. About 10:30 this morning I went to board the ms Amsterdam and was pleasantly surprised to find no waiting time. I got right on board and it wasn’t long before I started getting settled in. I ran into several people I me on previous voyages and a number of crew members. Unfortunately some of my favorite staff members are gone on vacation. I guess I’ll have to get to know a whole new group. One of the first things I noticed was that there were new lounge chairs at the pool. They just arrived a week ago. Kudos to Holland America, great job! Now as we get ready to set out on our voyage my initial concern will be the weather for the next 10 days…. I hope there is a spot of warmth and sun from time to time….. Off I go……

Sleepless in Seattle....

My body clock was way to0 powerful for me..... I was pretty tired when I went to bed last night. It was very late on the East Coast. Unfortunately, I got up based on East Coast time. I was up at 0200 and not loving it. Tonight may not be much better because I never sleep well the night before a big event (like going on a 65 day voyage). This morning, after an amazing breakfast here at the hotel, I decided to tour around town. I went to the Pike Place Market, which is very historic and amazing. There is tons of produce, seafood, flowers and crafts...... love it! There are a lot of interesting characters at the market. I had lunch with our Holland America Sales Rep, Mookie, which was great. We then toured around Seattle for some great photos. I especially liked the statue of Vladimir Lenin and the Giant Troll under an overpass with a WV bug in its clutches..... Why they bought a statue of Lenin from Russia and placed it in Seattle is a bit puzzling...... left coast art? It turned out to be a pretty nice day aside from being too overcast and cool for my taste. Tomorrow is the big day! Now I'm getting excited!!!!!!

Seattle, Washington

I arrived in Seattle this afternoon around 6:30. I am staying at a little place called the Inn at Harbor Steps and it is very nice. They even provide free diet coke..... can't beat that! It certainly was a long flight but I survived. Now I can relax and start getting excited about the upcoming voyage. Tomorrow should be fairly plesant and I will spend time checking out the city. I really do hate long flights. I am currently planning on taking the world voyage for 2010 but it ends in L.A. If there isn't a cruise through the canal back to Florida I may cancel that plan. Looking forward to a great day tomorrow.

Getting close.....

I'm sitting here at my computer, all packed, and ready to go. I get picked up tomorrow by an airport limo and head out to fly to Seattle. I really hate long flights.... gives me a bit of a leg problem. It is tough to get fully excited until I am in Seattle and settled at the hotel. I arrive in Seattle at 6:45 pm tomorrow night. I hope the weather in Seattle will be warm enough for a tender flower like myself. I could really go for a little sunshine. It will be a tough commodity to come by in the next two weeks as we head to Japan. That reminds me, I edited the blog post tonight regarding the Grand Asia & Australia Voyage since our first port Petropavlovsk Russia has been dropped. I suspect it is because the Russians have been less that warm and welcoming to cruise ships recently. Check out the following from an article I found "Sun Princess departure blocked by Russian Navy "About 1600 Australian cruise ship passengers were forced to wait in a Russian port for five hours today, as local authorities took hours to make a series of passport inspections.The Sun Princess, which left Sydney on July 14 carrying 2000 passengers - mostly Australians - was held in the port of Petropavlovsk on Russia's east coast as the Russian navy checked and re-checked every passport.Fairfax Media understands the cruise ship was blocked from leaving the port by two naval frigates." "We were meant to leave at 4.30pm, but they didn't let us go until 9.30," one passenger, Ellie Fitz-Gerald from Sydney said."It was very frustrating. They came on to collect the passports at 5.30am - all they had to do was stamp them. But they took forever to process them. Some people couldn't even get off the boat because the authorities wouldn't give their passports back. They were just stuck on the boat. Then they insisted on checking them all again. The captain was furious." Oh well, I just hope I can survive the crossing of the Bering Sea once again without freezing to death.... This time I'll have about 10 days before we reach land instead of the normal week on the way to Petropavlovsk. Time to finish up around here before bed.... Getting close!

Preview of coming attractions....

Since my friend Whitey is concerned that I'll be home for the winter I thought I'd share my plans after the Grand Asia & Australia Voyage. Here is the itinerary:

MON 05JAN Sail from Fort Lauderdale, Florida 5:00p
TUE 06JAN Sea Day
WED 07JAN Sea Day
THU 08JAN Cartagena, Colombia 7:00a 1:00p
FRI 09JAN Enter Panama Canal Cristobal
FRI 09JAN Exit Panama Canal Balboa
SAT 10JAN Sea Day
SUN 11JAN Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica 7:00a 8:00p
MON 12JAN Sea Day
TUE 13JAN Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala 6:00a 4:00p
WED 14JAN Huatulco, Mexico 11:00a 6:00p
THU 15JAN Acapulco, Mexico 8:00a 5:00p
FRI 16JAN Sea Day
SAT 17JAN Cabo San Lucas, Mexico 7:00a 2:00p
SUN 18JAN Sea Day
MON 19JAN Los Angeles, California 7:00a 5:00p
TUE 20JAN Sea Day
WED 21JAN Sea Day
THU 22JAN Sea Day
FRI 23JAN Sea Day
SAT 24JAN Hilo, Hawaii 8:00a 8:00p
SUN 25JAN Honolulu, Oahu, United States 8:00a 11:59p
MON 26JAN Sea Day
TUE 27JAN Sea Day
WED 28JAN Sea Day
THU 29JAN Sea Day
FRI 30JAN Sea Day
SAT 31JAN Sea Day
SUN 01FEB Funafuti, Tuvalu 7:00a 6:00p
MON 02FEB Sea Day
TUE 03FEB Sea Day
WED 04FEB Port Vila (Vanuatu) 7:00a 6:00p
THU 05FEB Sea Day
FRI 06FEB Noumea, New Caledonia 7:00a 11:59p
SAT 07FEB Ile De Pins, New Caledonia 7:00a 5:00p
SUN 08FEB Sea Day
MON 09FEB Sea Day
TUE 10FEB Sydney, Australia 7:00a
WED 11FEB Sydney, Australia 7:00p
THU 12FEB Sea Day
FRI 13FEB Melbourne, Australia 7:00a 6:00p
SAT 14FEB Sea Day
SUN 15FEB Adelaide, Australia 8:00a 11:00p
MON 16FEB Sea Day
TUE 17FEB Sea Day
WED 18FEB Sea Day
THU 19FEB Perth (Fremantle), Australia 8:00a
FRI 20FEB Perth (Fremantle), Australia 5:00a
SAT 21FEB Sea Day
SUN 22FEB Sea Day
MON 23FEB Sea Day
TUE 24FEB Lembar, Lombok, Indonesia 7:00a 4:00p
WED 25FEB Slawi Bay, Komodo, Indonesia 8:00a 5:00p
THU 26FEB Sea Day
FRI 27FEB Semarang, Indonesia 8:00a 8:00p
SAT 28FEB Crossing the Equator
SUN 01MAR Sea Day
MON 02MAR Sea Day
TUE 03MAR Sea Day
WED 04MAR Hong Kong, China 8:00a
THU 05MAR Hong Kong, China 6:00p
FRI 06MAR Sea Day
SAT 07MAR Sea Day
SUN 08MAR Shanghai, China 8:00a
MON 09MAR Shanghai, China 4:00p
TUE 10MAR Sea Day
WED 11MAR Sea Day
THU 12MAR Sea Day
FRI 13MAR Nha Trang, Vietnam 8:00a 5:00p
SAT 14MAR Sea Day
SUN 15MAR Kemaman, Malaysia 8:00a 5:00p
MON 16MAR Singapore 8:00a 11:00p
TUE 17MAR Sea Day
WED 18MAR Phuket, Thailand 7:00a 11:00p
THU 19MAR Sea Day
FRI 20MAR Sea Day
SAT 21MAR Sea Day
SUN 22MAR Sea Day
MON 23MAR Marmagao (Goa), India 8:00a 5:00p
TUE 24MAR Mumbai (Bombay), India 8:00a
WED 25MAR Mumbai (Bombay), India 6:00p
THU 26MAR Sea Day
FRI 27MAR Sea Day
SAT 28MAR DUBAI, U.A.E. 8:00a
SUN 29MAR DUBAI, U.A.E. 11:59p
MON 30MAR Sea Day
TUE 31MAR Muscat, Oman 7:00a 6:00p
WED 01APR Sea Day
THU 02APR Sea Day
FRI 03APR Sea Day
SAT 04APR Sea Day
SUN 05APR Victoria, Seychelles 7:00a
MON 06APR Victoria, Seychelles 6:00p
TUE 07APR Sea Day
WED 08APR Sea Day
THU 09APR Mombasa, Kenya 8:00a
FRI 10APR Mombasa, Kenya 4:00p
SAT 11APR Sea Day
SUN 12APR Nosy Be, Madagascar 8:00a 5:00p
MON 13APR Mamoudzou, Mayotte 8:00a 3:00p
TUE 14APR Sea Day
WED 15APR Sea Day
THU 16APR Maputo, Mozambique 8:00a 6:00p
FRI 17APR Richard's Bay, South Afri 10:00a 6:00p
SAT 18APR Durban, South Africa 7:00a 6:00p
SUN 19APR Sea Day
MON 20APR Cape Town, South Africa 1:00p
TUE 21APR Cape Town, South Africa
WED 22APR Cape Town, South Africa 5:00p
THU 23APR Sea Day
FRI 24APR Luderitz, Namibia 7:00a 4:00p
SAT 25APR Walvis Bay, Namibia 7:00a 4:00p
SUN 26APR Sea Day
MON 27APR Sea Day
TUE 28APR St Helena, Great Britain 8:00a 5:00p
WED 29APR Sea Day
THU 30APR GEORGETOWN, ASCENSION ISLAND 2:00p
FRI 01MAY Sea Day
SAT 02MAY Sea Day
SUN 03MAY Sea Day
MON 04MAY Sea Day
TUE 05MAY Devil's Island, French Gu 12:00n 6:00p
WED 06MAY Sea Day
THU 07MAY Port of Spain, Trinidad 8:00a 6:00p
FRI 08MAY Bridgetown, Barbados 7:00a 11:00p
SAT 09MAY Sea Day
SUN 10MAY Gustavia, St. Barts 8:00a 5:00p
MON 11MAY Sea Day
TUE 12MAY Sea Day
WED 13MAY Fort Lauderdale, Florida 7:00a 5:00p
THU 14MAY Sea Day
FRI 15MAY Sea Day
SAT 16MAY Debark Ship New York, New York 7:00a

What a trip! This will be a 131 day adventure.... can't wait for Africa! I just hope they have good lounge chairs......

The Itinerary....

I guess I ought to share the itinerary with you folks.... Here is our itinerary for the ms Amsterdam sailing of the Grand Asia & Australia Voyage:
FRI 19SEP Sail from SEATTLE 5:00p
SAT 20SEP Sea Day
SUN 21SEP Sea Day
MON 22SEP Sea Day
TUE 23SEP Sea Day
WED 24SEP Sea Day
THU 25SEP Cross International Dateline
SAT 27SEP Sea Day
SUN 28SEP Sea Day
MON 29SEP Hakodate, Japan 8:00a 11:59p
TUE 30SEP AOMORI, JAPAN 8:00a 5:00p
WED 01OCT Miyako, Japan
THU 02OCT Sea Day
FRI 03OCT OSAKA 8:00a
SAT 04OCT OSAKA 11:00p
SUN 05OCT Sea Day
MON 06OCT Sea Day
TUE 07OCT SHANGHAI 8:00a
WED 08OCT SHANGHAI 5:00p
THU 09OCT Sea Day
FRI 10OCT Sea Day
SAT 11OCT HONG KONG 8:00a
SUN 12OCT HONG KONG 11:00p
MON 13OCT Sea Day
TUE 14OCT DA NANG 8:00a 6:00p
WED 15OCT Sea Day
THU 16OCT PHU MY 8:00a 5:00p
FRI 17OCT Sea Day
SAT 18OCT BANGKOK 8:00a
SUN 19OCT BANGKOK 6:00p
MON 20OCT KOH SAMUI 8:00a 4:00p
TUE 21OCT Sea Day
WED 22OCT SINGAPORE 7:00a 6:00p
THU 23OCT X'ING EQUATOR
FRI 24OCT Sea Day
SAT 25OCT BALI 7:00a 6:00p
SUN 26OCT Sea Day
MON 27OCT Sea Day
TUE 28OCT Sea Day
WED 29OCT PERTH 7:00a 5:00p
THU 30OCT Sea Day
FRI 31OCT Sea Day
SAT 01NOV Sea Day
SUN 02NOV MELBOURNE 8:00a 6:00p
MON 03NOV Sea Day
TUE 04NOV SYDNEY 8:00a
WED 05NOV SYDNEY 11:00p
THU 06NOV Sea Day
FRI 07NOV Sea Day
SAT 08NOV NOUMEA 8:00a 5:00p
SUN 09NOV Sea Day
MON 10NOV SUVA 8:00a 6:00p
TUE 11NOV Sea Day
TUE 11NOV APIA 7:00a 3:00p
TUE 11NOV CROSS DATELINE
WED 12NOV Sea Day
THU 13NOV X'ING EQUATOR
FRI 14NOV Sea Day
SAT 15NOV Sea Day
SUN 16NOV HONOLULU 8:00a
MON 17NOV HONOLULU 11:00p
TUE 18NOV LAHAINA 8:00a 2:00p
WED 19NOV Sea Day
THU 20NOV Sea Day
FRI 21NOV Sea Day
SAT 22NOV Sea Day
SUN 23NOV Debark Ship SAN DIEGO 7:00a

The adventure is getting closer.....

I am now 4 weeks away from sailing on my Grand Asia & Australia Voyage. It seems strange because that means summer is coming to a close. Kids are going back to school soon and the weather will start getting cooler. Yep, it's getting to be that time again when I head off for a new adventure and leave cold weather behind (hopefully). I had a great summer! I got to see lots of friends and got in a lot of quality beach time. I once again spent time in Ocean City, New Jersey with the Frank family....always a fun time. I also got to spend time in Delaware where most of my family lives and some of my closest friends. I was in heaven when I returned to Rehoboth Beach, a beach I have been going to since I was a kid. I went to Chincoteague Island, Virginia to see friends from the Asia Voyage last year which was great.... first visit. The Outer Banks of North Carolina was another beach destination.... I also got a lot of things accomplished at home.... a place where I really enjoyed spending time after being gone for 7 months. I was also able to get 3 books put together and published from my "megavoyage". It was a lot of work but worth the time. All in all it has been a fabulous summer. My sister Lisa asked me to add the following: “spending time with my sister, Lisa, who is the greatest sister anyone could ever have, was definitely the highlight of my summer”. It's not over yet.... I head north next week for some final visits with family and friends and.... beach time. After Labor Day I have to start getting serious about planning this upcoming voyage.