Today is a very special day.....Happy 24th Birthday Joshua!
It is hard to believe that time has passed so fast! One of my fondest memories of your younger years is when you were only 13 months old. You were rather hyper and I can still see you running behind the dog, his tail between your legs as it curled up your back. You were holding on to his fur with your little hands and as the dog would run ....so would you...giggling your head off....Nana and Mommy laughing until they had tears in their eyes only encouraged you! So so funny. Now here you are...all grown up and what a fine young man you have turned out to be! Vicki and I wish you a Happy Happy Birthday....we love you!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSHUA......,hope you have a wonderful year!
We stayed home today after going to Starbuck's and dropping by to see Rosine. I spent part of the day getting my sewing machine set up. Tomorrow I will thread it...fill the bobbin and then off to the class on Monday morning!
Tomorrow we are going to meet Mark, Tami and Joshua for breakfast at Paradise Bakery. I want to stop by Joann's on the way home!
WELCOME TO THE msAMSTERDAM and my virtual cruise to.....
The Grand Pacific and Far East Voyage!
Photos from Jeff Farschman's blog,,,, http://amazingvoyages2.blogspot.com
Photos and narritive from Leslie's Travel blog....http://lesliesh.wordpress.com
Majuro, Marshall Islands
Here are the rest of the photos from my amazing day exploring Majuro….
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We had a wonderful day today visiting Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands… Brad, John & I hooked a taxi first thing this morning and began exploring Majuro. It was a very hot, humid & sunny day but we loved it. The people were very friendly and actually liked having their photo being taken. Well that is perhaps all except the guy the police took down and arrested…. Nothing like a little excitement at the museum & craft market. We thoroughly enjoyed out day with James, our driver. We explored all the way up to Rita Beach, including all the side streets and then down to the area where the airport is located. All in all, it was a very nice day visiting the Marshallese people… OK, I over did the photos… 2 parts today…
Majuro, Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands are made up of 29 coral atolls and 5 single islands spread out over an exclusive economic zone of nearly 1 million square miles, one of the largest in the Pacific. They are north of the equator and some 2000 km west of Hawaii. They are also one of only four atoll nations in the world. Most of the islands are very narrow and less than 10 feet above sea level (photo). The first Europeans to sail through the Marshall Islands were the Spanish in the 16th century followed by the British captains John Marshall, for whom they are named, and Thomas Gilbert in 1788. There were visits by Russians and then missionaries over the years until in 1859, Germans set up a trading post and the Marshalls became a German protectorate in 1885. Japan took over military possession after WW I and were awarded a mandate over the Marshalls by the League of Nations in 1922. During WW II after heavy fighting, the islands were taken over by the US which acquired them as a strategic trust in 1947. From 1946 to 1954, the US conducted 67 nuclear tests in, around and above Bikini and Enewetak atolls, the reconciliation of which remains an important issue between the Marshalls and the US. In 1986, the Marshalls became a self-governing democracy in free association with the US which continues to provide, defence, currency and the Post Office among other services to the islands. We had a short visit here but were able to visit the main commercial centre, including the museum. It contained a history of the islands including some very old photographs and descriptions of the main crafts such as fine weaving which are still done today (photo). They also had some interesting navigational sticks by which they were able to find their way around the oceans before modern navigational aids (photo). The islets that make up the atoll are very narrow and there is a single 55 km long road that runs through the largest of them. There are some very nice new buildings including the Court House (photo) and the Government Centre (photo), but most of the homes are small and basic (photo). Tourists are drawn here for the scuba diving and sports fishing. The main industry is copra processing but there were also many commercial fishing boats in the harbour (photo). Our next port is Chuuk.
BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!
S'
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