In March we took a National Geographic small ship cruise through the Galapagos Islands, on the Equator in the Pacific Ocean 600 miles west of the Ecuador mainland.  The Galapagos have hundreds of unique species, and were a major contributing force in Charles Darwin’s conception of evolution.  Coming and going we toured the Ecuador cities of Guayaquil and Quito.

Zodiak and our Ship

Blu-Footed Boobies

Male Frigate Bird

Paula the Hiker

Galapagos Sea Lion

Galapagos wingless Cormorant

Sally Lightfoot Crabs

Marine Iguana

Giant Tortoise

Red-Footed Boobie

Sunset at Kicker Rock

In early December we visited San Francisco for an early holiday celebration with Jane, Bill, Kathy, Roy, Bob, Nancy, Josh and Katie.  At Katie’s we saw our first hybrid holiday tree (Christmas and Hanukkah) and witnessed the lighting of the Menora.

With Jane

With Kathy

Bob and Nancy

Jane and Santa

Katie, Kathy and Josh

Lighting the Menora

We visited family in Boston in April and September.  Scroll over the pictures to read the captions.

Ellie the Goalie

Apples in the Fall

More Apples

With Tim and his family in Connecticut

Scott, Brenna and Alex

Dan and Paula dealing with their technology

In August we spent a wonderful couple of weeks in Western Australia for a Conference and some touring.  We had been to Queensland and Sydney a few years ago, but this was the first time to Perth, the “outback” and the Margaret River wine country.

Stalking kangaroos on the Joondalup golf course

Found some

Tours of last operating Bordello in Kalgoorlie

First things first….Australian coffee lessons

Ancient yarrah trees

Sunset over Indian Ocean…next land is Africa

Lots of unique flora

Wave Rock

Paula enjoying Lake Ballard

Downtown Kalgoorlie

Great wines near Margaret River

World’s longest fence

Some included stray emus

We were in gold country

Outback vista

Note multi-meter flood depth markers

Super-Pit Gold mine – 750,000 ounces/year

World’s longest golf course…Nullarbar Links

Illegal Two-Up game in the outback

Paula and more unique flora

Great Southern and Indian Oceans meet … Anarctica to the left and Africa to the right

Some of these folks have too much time on their hands….

Smaller “Road Trains”

Mainbreak- famous surfing at mouth of Margaret River

We got a few ideas in Thailand about how to repurpose things around our house to more acceptable uses.

Like the nicely potted dollarweed at the Tamarind Hotel in Chiang Mai:

And the freshly prepared mole crickets and grasshoppers, often found in our front yard at home,  at the Chiang Mai Night Market:

Mole Crickets

Grasshoppers

In June we spent several days in the ancient Thai capital of Chiang Mai, in the northern mountains of Thailand.  It was a very nice area, and much different than Bangkok.  We stayed at the Tamarind Resort, right in the center of the old city inside the walls.  We toured the many temples inside the walls, went up the mountain to the royal summer palace (Bhubing Palace) and visited several other sites in the mountains including mountain villages of the minority Hmong and Karen people.

Paula and the namesake Tamarind tree

View from our balcony at Tamarind Resort

Fucshia

Temple in Chiang Mai with Burmese buddhas

With proprietress and weaver in mountain convenience store

Orchids at Bhubing Palace

Bhubing Palace atop mountain behind Chiang Mai

Overlook above Chiang Mai

Paula with Hmong grandmother

We spent a preparation week in Japan in June, followed by a Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.

At Wat Pho temple area

Arriving at Ratchaburi

World’s highest cheese cellar (54th floor)

Traditional Karaoke

Reclining Buddha

L-T-S-A

Local crafts at Ratchaburi

Conference Logistics team

Conference Management Team

In May we visited Las Vegas for a Conference, dined at restaurants with famous guys’ names, viewed the Bellagio Fountains multiple times and hiked in the snow overlooking famous Area 51.

Bellagio Lobby

Bellagio Lobby

Bellagio Fountains

Area 51 in background

Bellagio Fountains

Hiking on Mount Charleston

In July and November we spent a total of 9 days in Atlanta.  Most of our past exposure to Atlanta had been to the airport as well as downtown hotels and company conference rooms 20-30 years ago, creating a somewhat negative impression.  We were very pleasantly surprised at recent changes made to the Midtown, Georgia Tech and Atlantic Station areas.

We even hit some of the top tourist destinations such as the World of Coca-Cola.  The CNN Headquarters. 

The College Football Hall of Fame.  And of course a spectacular power plant tour.

In early September we toured Athens and several of the Greek Isles in the Aegean Sea.

This is the view from the rooftop garden of our hotel in Athens — that’s the Acropolis in the background. Here we are atop the Acropolis of Athens, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the Parthenon.  The Parthenon was dedicated to Athena Parthenos, the patron goddess of the city of Athens and goddess of wisdom. It was built under the instructions of Pericles, the political leader of Athens in the 5th century BC. The Parthenon was constructed between 447 and 438 BC and its sculptural decoration was completed in 432 BC.

Atop Aereopagus Hill, where the Apostle Paul is said to have delivered his famous speech about the identity of “the Unknown God” to the Council of Elders of Athens in about 51 AD.With Roger and Peg in the 6th Century BC Ancient Agora (marketplace), where Socrates (469-399 BC) expounded his philosophy.  Note that the Acropolis is in the background everywhere in Athens.

This is our yacht, the MSY Windstar, anchored off the Greek island of Mykonos.
Here we are on the island of Delos, a major religious and commercial center in the Aegean from about 1100 BC until its destruction in 88 BC.  In the background are the famous Lions of Delos carved in the 7th Century BC and placed to protect the Sacred Lake.This is Paula on the Greek island of Santorini, with the caldera on the left, formed by a volcanic eruption in 1450 BC, and a candidate for the lost kingdom of Atlantis.We were planned to cruise to Turkey next, but our trip was cut short by bad news from Danielle in Orlando.