At the risk of sounding like Captain Obvious, the last couple of years have been surreal. To go through a global pandemic together with the rest of the world, yet alone with one’s COVID cohort has been life changing, life affirming, and given us an ability to grow in ways we never expected. It’s also…
Come On In – The Water Is Fine!
We are on the last day of the first week of our back to back cruise on the Celebrity Edge. Below are some of our observations and personal opinions on our sailing so far on the Celebrity Edge since the cruise restart. COVID Rocked the Cruise Industry The cruise industry including Celebrity was hit hard…
When Houston Freezes
I have lived in Houston, Texas most of my life. I am a third generation Houstonian, sixth generation Texan. I am old enough to remember most of the big weather events since the 1970s. Usually these weather events involve a named hurricane or tropical storm coming through with a lot of wind, rain and hail….
#JusticeForFloyd
Last night while I was away obliviously celebrating my birthday, protests in Houston and across the country standing up #JusticeForFloyd which started peacefully turned violent. While I do not want to encourage more violence if we don’t all take a moment to hear this outrage we are once again letting people of color down. As…
Snow Day – Houston Style
The year I turned 10 it snowed 3 times. For a lifelong Houstonian that was a big deal – and it still remains a weather record. The mayor at the time jokingly stated Houston would be bidding on the winter Olympics! Growing up I remember well how my brother and I always hoped it would…
It’s Never Good Bye
Since Hong Kong is considered international travel leaving Beijing means leaving Ivy. Tonight, to celebrate a fabulous trip we had a farewell dinner with our Tour Manager, Ivy or her Chinese name, Sha Sha. What a special person she is, and what a special tour has been. Russell and I have always talked about coming…
We had a beautiful blue sky day in Beijing on our first day! It is likely we benefited from the recent Communist Party meeting that was held here this week, which only happens every five years. Today are cute guide, Ivy told us about the AIPAC Conference Beijing hosted a few years ago and Beijing’s…
A Tale of Two Chinas
We are only a week into our magnificent trip to China, but we have already seen several things about the Chinese we love. The people are very friendly and very social. There have been several studies lately linking loneliness and premature death. The Chinese seem to have conquered this issue. You don’t see a lot…
Pros and Cons of Group Travel
Yesterday we travelled with our tour group to Suzhou, a city outside Shanghai. With traffic, of which there is a lot, it took about 2 hours via our bus to get there and a little longer to get home. I thought recounting this experience would be a good way to share the pros and cons…
Shanghai Street Food Tour
Last night Russell and our friends and travel companions, Stephanie and Bruce (pictured above) had dinner with a group of expats – teachers for the English speaking International School in Shanghai. This fun group of 6 included a couple from Ireland, two single women one from from Great Britain and one from Ireland and a…
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