Home, Sweet Home

Well, we finally arrived home. The A/C was out in the condo and so was the network cable. We arrived late Wed. Actually, the day was a little like the movie"Groundhog Day" in that we couldn't get off the day "Wednesday". We traveled about 25 hours, according to Julie's calculations. When Thursday finally arrived, I didn't. Or, at least my brain had trouble catching up. I was "In Neutral" on Thursday. I don't think I've ever been that out of it. My brain would say something like - "You really need to get up and do something", and my body would answer, "I can't see it happening right now". I spent most of the day in idle.

I slept so much that I woke up this am about 2 am and have been going ever since. It's about 2:30 pm and in less than 4 hrs Charles will be arriving in Orlando, after doing much of the same trip we did on Wed. I expect tomorrow will be a "down" day for him. Julie's computer and phone went haywire on our trip and we were afraid we had lost most of the photos, but she has reassured me that they were all saved and downloaded on a CD. Awesome!

I will be posting some additional pictures when I get her CD. Until then, I think this is all the thinking I can do right now. I will have to follow my great example, Winnie the Pooh, and go to my "thotful spot" for a while. More pics and info on the trip next time.

Julie's Birthday Party

This is one pic from Julie's party last night; more info later. The food was indescribly delicious. I can't tell you "how" much I ate, but it was a lot. The chocolate fountain was ...

I will have to wait to finish my blog until I get home. Hopefully, the pics will transfer and Julie can retrieve hers.

TTFN - TaTaForNow

Another Day

Today is Tuesday. I can't believe it is our last day. It has passed so rapidly and there is so much to say and do yet.

We went to Macau yesterday. That was CERTAINLY a different experience. We started too late; it took 1 hr by MTR (rail) and 1 hr by hydrofoil. We left at 11:30, got to ferry (in picture on the left) by 12:30 and Macau at 1:30. We had to be back to Disneyland Hotel for a Birthday dinner for Julie by 6:30, so we only had time to "look around" before we had to retrace our steps - back on the ferry, back to MTR, back to Hollywood Hotel (on property) to shower and change, and then on to Hollywood Hotel (Also on property) , where Charles was waiting. Whew! Julie's computer has died and she had downloaded all the pics to her computer, so Sandy was kind enough to wait with me this morning at the conference center to download all her pics from yesterday. I took pics with Charles' camera and the card was filled. I didn't get to download those yet. I'll get everything straight when we get back home. I like this so well, I may just keep blogging.




This is looking down one of the "mercado" areas in Macau. The Portugese influence is still extremely previlent in this area. Mercado is the marketplace (for those who don't speak spanish). I actually could maneuver easier than in Hong Kong because of the Hispanic influence. It is very similar to Mexico City in that there were small "kiosk" down extremely small "alleyways" in which to shop.

The architecture is unbelievable. I have always liked this style and found it lovely to view.
As you can see, the picture to the right is of a "Mickey Ds", of which they were abundant or to use a MacKayla phrase, "A Plethera" of McDonalds.

More pictures from Macau -



This is other pics of the marketplace. The upload from this computer takes sooooooooooooo long, even though their technology is probably 5 years ahead of us, it is costing to use this computer so I will not include many more pics. I'll upload some when I get home.




The picture on the left is "meat" that is displayed for sale in one of the "open air" market areas in Macau. I think it was some kind of pork. They had several different "styles".





This was a rickshaw (sp) that could be rented to tour the city. One "tour guide" tried to get us to rent something like this when we were at the ferry location. This one is much more festively decorated. We really didn't know much about the city, so we decided not to do that. It was a good thing for it is very "hilly". The ferry location was quite a distance from the "downtown" area. I'm not sure we could have peddled that far.


It is "way" passed my time limit and I will probably have to pay dearly for this time on the computer, but I needed to add this. I'm off to the park for a turkey leg that I didn't get to have the last time we were there. Charles is "somewhere" there and Julie and Sandy have gone to "Stanley Market" for some last minute presents. We will reunite to go to see the buddha and have dinner together.

We go home tomorrow. I will be sad to leave.

It's ALL Julie's Fault

I like Paul Risner's statement on "Mad About Us" - I'm not as right as I usually am." Well, that has all sorts of implications. Today we were "supposed" to go to Macau with Charles after breakfast. This is one of the first "down" days for him as he has had media here almost every day, so he slept in, and we were slow starting in addition to complications with a missing passport, as a result we couldn't go to Macau today. Instead, Sandy and I returned to the Marriott for me to blog and Sandy to sleep. It seems "someone" kept two other people awake last night due to her not sleeping. I won't mention names, but we are blaming Julie for everything. (That is my story and I'm sticking to it.)

Julie and Charles went to "The Peak." Charles had not been and we went on our tour. I honestly believe 20 minutes was long enough for that visit. Sandy, Julie and I are planning to go to Macau tomorrow instead since Charles has already been. We will probably meet him for dinner when we return.

I really miss Dan's sermon today. I have lost track of days but I think today is Sunday here and maybe not yet in Orlando. I downloaded Dan's podcast last week, but I did it on my mac, which is in St Pete, hopefully being repaired, so I can't listen to it yet, but maybe soon.

This is a pictureless day due to the fact that I can't find Charles' cord for his camera and Julie's Sony fits nothing we have available. Maybe later. (Ask Julie about her Sony stuff)

Whew. What a day.

Once again, we have experienced so many events that it is hard to know what to include. The day arrived and we thought we were prepared for it, but you know how that goes.

We tried to find a restaurant where we could have a bagel, or fruit and sit quietly to meditate and reflect or giggle, whichever came first. After several searches, we found a FOOD COURT area listed on the directory. (We finally resorted to directions) Not all food courts are created equal. This one had 5 or 6 different restaurants just like at home, but not like at home, they all offered the same food-Chinese. I don't know if you know it or not, but Chinese like to mix several food items into bowls and eat it that way; shrimp and noodles and what-ever-else they can possibly throw into a bowl. We didn't see OUR breakfast food, so we kept moving to another restaurant area.

We finally saw Starbucks and got our usual. Venti at home doesn't mean Venti here. Their largest drink size is about our Grande size, but we were happy to find the place. We could have gotten something to eat there, but that would have been too easy. We had to try to find the other corner deli-type place where we had gotten croissants, etc. the other day. After some searching we found it, went in and ordered. We had difficulty convincing the ladies at the counter that we wanted to eat THERE. They wanted to "bag" our order. After we were finally seated, we were informed there was a charge for eating in their little establishment in addition to the food we purchased; probably for just the sheer pleasure of being there. We said to each other, "How much could it be? (Never assume!!!)

After being served our scones, croissant, etc. one of the younger ladies came over and brought us holders for our Starbucks cups and replaced the Starbucks holders with their "logo" holders. It seems once again the Ugly Americans were offensive to another nationality. While it is acceptable to take Starbucks into Panera at home, it obviously isn't acceptable in Hong Kong. We apologized and "ate quickly" telling ourselves we were in a hurry to meet Charles.

Sandy and Julie were charged double the original cost of the food for the "privilege to eat in" cost. I, on the other hand, only paid 5 HK dollars more. That was probably because I am cuter.

We met up with Charles, took the Express Bus to Stanley Market; one of the best places in Hong Kong to shop. And, SHOP we did. It was a great day until Julie and Charles ditched us in the market. Being the wonderful, knowing, kind people Sandy and I are, we didn't panic; we went back to the restaurant. Charles and Julie, on the other hand, hardly noticed we were gone. (Not true Charles ran all over trying to find us) Sandy and I left a note with the waiter at the restaurant and took off to shop some more. Being a very small area, we quickly found them and resumed our shopping mode.

We decided NOT to try to go to the Ladies Market today, as we were mostly pooped and still had to move all our things to Hollywood Hotel "on property" at Disney. Instead, we decided to dump our wonderful purchases in Charles' room, eat dinner at "Dan Ryans" in the hotel and then go back and trek out to Lantau Island to our new digs.

We met a very interesting bloke on the bus coming back. He was Australian. Julie and Sandy like to tease me that I can't detect the different between UK and Australian accents. I haven't hit it right yet. At least I'm consistent. (It's okay; they have to love me.) I half expected him to show up at Dan Ryans. He is just retired, divorced and traveling alone. It seemed to me if we had asked him, he would have gone to dinner with us. Who knows, maybe we will see him tomorrow at Macau.
The Hollywood hotel is just like the other places
we have stayed, totally beautiful, but this theme is retro 40s with the movie emphasis throughout (Only 6 months old, sparkling, awesome). The pool is so neat shaped like a piano with the entry edge of the pool painted as the keyboard. The view from our window is unbelievable; lots of lights around the hotel plus the lights from Disneyland. Charles has really taken us "first class" all the way here.


This picture to the right is the entrance to the hotel.







The picture on the left is on the way to the pool area.




The picture on the right has a metal pole across the entrance to the pool area. It is hard to see it, but there is water streaming from the pole. It falls into a cascading area that you walk through to get to the pool. This is a very nice way to get people to shower before they enter the pool.

We have laughed until we have cried, shared
more information than we care to admit (TMI), and done so many things that I can't include. But when it comes right down to it, we have had fun! (Julie thinks she should be able to refute any aspersions cast upon her good name; maybe later)

Disneyland Revisited or the Sequel

(We haven't actually revisited. These are just additional pictures.)
See! I WAS there too. This was taken by a very friendly native visitor. We took pics for them and they returned the favor. As you can see,

it is a little "damp" as it was off and on most of the day. The pic below is of the engine of the train.

To the left, is the gazebo that is in town square here. This is different than Orlando, but it is kind of a nice change.




This is one of my favorite pictures. I have never had chipmunk kisses before today. (I am thinking that these are great and I'd like to have more.) They came out onto stage just as we were walking by.



This is "Snow White's Castle" in Hong Kong. We all know who the "REAL" princess is, don't we?
Below is another view.





Julie and Belle

Nothing do Julie but we had to stand in line to have her picture taken with Belle. You can see the Castle in the background.

There were really no lines or waiting anywhere at the park. We had a great day despite the rain. We are now staying "on property" at the Hollywood Hotel. Stay tuned for pics of this new placement.

Wondering

As I sit here, watching the sun trying to come up through the smog, I miss Florida. We rarely have bad days there. Except for a few brief moments here, I haven't seen the actual sun for days. I don't think I could live here for any extended period of time. The people have been extremely nice to us, and for the most part, the weather hasn't been that bad. But, the smog is depressing to me. This is their "Spring time". Wow!! I haven't heard one bird chirping or flower dancing. Their vegetation is very lush and beautiful due to Hong Kong being a "sub-tropical" region. I guess the Lord is just once more telling me how blessed I am. The life I have now, I would not have chosen. (I had plans! I had things to do! ) I am headed in a different direction now; and I have to admit - I'm having a great time and doing things I never could have dreamed. ISN'T GOD GOOD!!!

Mr Livingston I presume

After a quick croissant and drink for breakfast, we booked the "Introduction Tour" of Hong Kong from the conciere @ the Marriott. It was totally awesome.
Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and talked almost non-stop while we were on the 4-hour tour.
This is a pic of "The Peak" which was "smogged" in when we were up there. It was approx 20 degrees cooler and we were glad we had brought jackets. We're told that we need to go later in the day, as the smog lifts somewhat and the view is much better.
As we wound our way around the mtns going up and down to The Peak, our guide, Lin, told us of the living arrangements around where we were. The saying is "The higher up the mtn you live, the richer you are". Most of the 7 million people in Hong Kong live in apts. We passed a few lovely one-family homes; one was even Jackie Chan's.
But Lin told us of one of richest men in Hong Kong who had built a 4-story house, with a wife on each floor. Lin indicated he must have been very busy. The law was changed in 1971 to only one wife per man. She said there was a real rush to marry mutiple wives before it went into effect.

Our next stop was "Aberdeen Fishing Village" where we got to take a "San Pan" trip around the China Sea harbor. We voted that as the best place of the whole tour. This is one of the views from the san pan, which means "water taxi" in Cantonese. Our driver took us "up close and personal" with some of the fishingg boats.


It is almost impossible to describe their living space, or maybe lack of it. Here are two examples. I can't imagine actually living here, but they do and it is their home and business. Most of them are fishermen and fish every day of the year, just to exist.


They also have the largest floating restaurant in the world. It's called Jumbos. It's claim to fame is that it was used in a James Bond movie. I believe it was blown up in the film. The only way you can get there is by boat. It is in the middle of the Sea of China Harbor. And, of course, you must have reservations. We might have to miss this one.














The pic to the right includes two dogs being walked. We were told this was very unusual in Hong Kong. It's too crowded for people, much less pets. This is still the China Sea tour with Hong Kong in the background. The smog has cleared a little on the water, and the buildings can be seen.

We only gazed at the next location, or Repulse Bay Lookout. We decided NOT to stop because of the smog. This area is "billed" as the southern capital of HK Island. It is the "escape" area from the metropolis; a little more space.

Our last stop was the Stanley Market (hence the reference to Livingston in the title of this offering). This is an open-air market that offers "traditional handicrafts and locally made clothes at bargain prices." It is very small by our standards but a lot of beautiful things in a small area. We were only allowed 20 minutes there, so we just looked around and scouted out some things. Charles wants to go, so it will be great to have him along tomorrow. He will finish his work around 12:00. I didn't take any pics there, but will tomorrow.

We had a wonderful dinner with Charles and his colleagues from HK Disney. Great group. We ate at a "quaint" little restaurant in SoHo proper. When people start smoking around us, it comes back very quickly that "we're not in Kansas any more ToTo." According to Lin, our tour guide, the noisier the restaurant the better the food. Well, this food was awesome.

Monday is Julie's birthday. I won't give away how old, but she is approaching the "AARP" area. If you read this and have a chance, send her an e-card or e-wish.

I am finally back @ the Marriott. It's after 11:00 pm here and I am once again faced with being over tired. We move to Hollywood Hotel "on property" tomorrow. That is exciting too.

This trip has been so wonderful I can never formulate the words to thank both my sons for this gift. They are tremendous! Thanks guys.

Stay tuned for our next chapter of the trip.

More pics

I didn't get to include all the pics I wanted to send, so here are some additional pictures I thought you might enjoy.


This is from Charles' balcony @ Disneyland Hotel. It is very "hazy" at times here due to smog.






This is "proof" at least Sandy and Julie were there. Guess who is taking this picture. We have ones with all three of us on Julie's camera, which I will download some time soon.
You can see the smog in the background, but it also rained most of the day. Since we're from Florida, we're use to "doing" attractions in the rain. It really didn't slow us down much at all; even when I sat in a puddle on one of the benches. It dried quickly.








This is the front view of the Train Station. It's a little bit different from MK Orlando, but still
very recognizable. One big difference is that this does not have a platform facing the turnstyles side of the station. As many of you know, this is where the opening ceremony is held every morning. I was "Greatly Disappointed" that HKD doesn't have an opening ceremony and I didn't get to sing and dance like I do at home. Julie and Sandy were relieved.

This is main street. A little different looking. Orlando MK doesn't have a gazebo. (The train station is to the right of the picture. The streets are brick pavers that are different colors unlike Orlando where the streets are all red. A little bit of Disney trivia - The streets are red because we are "Rolling out the red carpet to welcome you." Neat, huh? Tony's restaurant isn't here, but there are lots of good places to eat here. We sampled some of the Asian cuisine in Adventureland. Excellent!

We rode the Jungle cruise, in the rain, but Thomas, our guide, told just as "stupid" jokes as his counterpart in Florida tell. We felt right at home. Something I don't remember seeing at home is the fire on the water. It could be there; we couldn't remember.

It's almost 3 am, HK time. Need to close. More tomorrow.

Day 1 in Hong Kong

We started the day with a healthy breakfast, because it is the "most important meal of the day", per Julie. I call her Mom most of the time. She thinks I need lots of help, and she's probably right.

We ate in the hotel and took a taxi to Disneyland Hong Kong. (The ride was very interesting.)
We went to the Disneyland Hotel. It looks like the FL Grand Floridian.

Charles is staying there for the next few days with a group of media people. (He actually has to work while we are here). "Who knew?" From his balcony, we saw a maze below in a garden area of the hotel. In the maze we saw a father w/son & daughter running around in the maze with the mother, about 20 yds behind, making growling noises "trying to find them." It was so cute.

Disneyland HK is like the Magic Kingdom in Florida, but very much smaller. The Lion King is included here and a new show called The Golden Mickeys, which is usually shown only on the Cruise Ships. Other than most of the signs being in English and Mandarin, it looks about the same as FL.

Main Street

I got to meet my counterpart of Researcher here. (For those of you who don't know, that is what I do at Walt Disney World). She was totally awesome. They have chosen "American" names and her's is Queenie. She gave us pins from HKD and even gave me a "special" opening day pin. (Charles doesn't have one of those) Cool, huh? Her "boss" Dandy had visited FL for the last two weeks and I had met him and told him I was coming. Queenie found him and he met up with us in the Emporium. I got to meet the whole department even Dandy's boss Michelle. They were so nice. They gave us more pins and lots of stickers. And, of course,we shopped. (Julie has those pics. I'll include tomorrow).

We are staying in hotels that are connected by malls. You would never have to go outside again if you didn't choose to do so. Everything you can ever imagine is included in these malls - Clothing stores, restaurants, shoe stores; even a market at one end of the mall. I am in Charles' room @ JW Marriott and Sandy and Julie are at the Conrad on the other side of the mall. The mall area is sooooo large that they even have 3 Starbucks. Is that neat or what? Our room is smaller than Julie and Sandy's but equally nice. I have a fantastic view of the HK skyline. On Sat we will move to the Hollywood Hotel "on property" @ Disneyland. We saw it today and it looks verrrrry interesting. It is beside the park. We may have to visit the park again.

It has been a long day and I am once again running short of energy. Tomorrow we will "kind of" be on our own. Charles has graciously provided us with cards for the metro. We used it today coming back to the hotel from Disney. He was very proud of us. We didn't get lost once. Of course, he had been over the directions many times and we were "color coded" as to which train to take, but still we DID it ALL BY OURSELVES.

Stay tuned for the next "EXCITING" report of the many adventures of Sandy, Julie and me.

Wow. This was easier than I thought, but then most things are.

Well, for those of you that don't know, I'm here in Hong Kong. After traveling for 28 hours, not counting stops for bathroom breaks, we finally made it.

My husband Tom had sayings or witticisms. I think the one that fits the ride is "Interesting, if not enjoyable". Julie and Sandy are with me, and I truly believe this will be one adventure neither of us will forget.

We arrived about Wed 2:28am, Orlando time; 3:38pm Wednesday HK time. We were all so tired, but cleaned up and went to dinner. I THINK I ordered swordfish. I'm not sure. I almost fell asleep at the table. Back at our hotel (JW Marriott) I fell asleep about 8:30 pm HK time and slept until around 6:30 am.

I am including my first blog pic of the trip. This is what I saw for 18 hrs from Chicago to Hong Kong. Hang in there; it gets better.
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