Here and There Blog

The best place to call home. Sunny, clear sky, empty beach. What a great weekend!

In the whirlwind that started October 27, I've been in multiple time zones and no sense of logical travel geography up until December 18. Rainy Honduras, hectic Shanghai, wonderful Tahiti and sea turtles, to rainy Istanbul and surprisingly sunny but cold Denmark. I have hit my hotel and airline status goals for another year. I have 7 days where there is no need to travel at all. 7 days to eat, drink, be with friends and family and get caught up on movies. Speaking of - I was happy with Hobbit Battle of the Five Armies. It kept my interest, wasn't too over the top, and made me want to watch all six in order once the last film is available for home viewing. Mockingjay Part 1 was a good if dark addition to the series. Both of those I could see again. After two dark movies though it looks like Into The Woods is next up for me. Sad news - the Secret Theater finally had to close its doors once the Regal Carlsbad opened. Bye to the ability to walk up 5 minutes before a major movie ...

Got this shot today which was unusual. Normally I'm either over this air space at night, or in an aisle seat, or the sky is cloudy. Today snowscape and tundra in all directions.

Aarhus airport, Denmark. Way out in farm country and I won't make that mistake again. Still it has its charm and is hassle free. Cool poinsettia Christmas tree!

A year ago this time I was here and Denmark was cold, foggy, rainy, muddy and brown. This time around I lucked out. It's cold with some rain and fog but yesterday as we drove across the country, there were blue skies and green farm fields.  This morning I'm in Aarhus where sunrise is late in the morning but it's a great daybreak!

I left Tahiti and headed in the opposite direction. For 5 days now, the city has been coated in fog, with some rain, and essentially this has been my view when I've had one at all. Work has kept me mostly inside and there's not a lot to explore in the area where I'm staying. Still, this is one of my favorite cities in the world and I am happy to be here, fog and all!

Tahiti has the beautiful beaches and if I ever go back, that's where I'll stay. The snorkeling is where it's at and I don't need to see the flowers and hills again. That could be the mosquito bites talking but the water is the place to be. Below, some different views. Boats in the water.  My allergies are still going from all the flowers.  This is why the water is the place to be.  View from the top of the mountain.  More allergies for me.  Light house, monument. Windy and hot.

I had to say goodbye to my bungalow this morning. One last look at the sea urchins and I was off to the airport. What a relaxing vacation but any more time here and I wouldnt fit in my clothes!

Perfect morning start. Open curtains, see ocean. Make coffee and drink on deck. Slather on SPF 50 and bug spray. Wave to paddle boarder. Drink more coffee and eat fresh pineapple. :)

I did get to release a baby turtle to the sea but have to wait to post sonce that photo is on another device. TodY we say bye to Moorea and head back to Papeete. Bye room and view!

The hotel sea turtle center has 50 baby turtles that are getting released today. If all goes well, I will be on the release boat!

Took a jeep ride up a steep trail for this view. It was both fun and bumpy! The hotel has a sea turtle rescue center. This little guy is gaining strength for release back to the ocean.

Moorea. It looks like the pictures and does not disappoint. We had clear skies in the morning and showers at lunch.Snorkeled  with sharks and rays and explored the reefs,

Shanghai's a crazy place and not always in a good way. A country that can find small pockets to place a park, build tall high rises, still has a long way to go with people's rights. A big mystery is the  birth defects street beggars. People without limbs, huge tumor growths, and indescribable phyical deformities are wheeled out each  morning and placed on the sidewalk near Nanjing Rd. to beg. Or, as they can't talk, to sit by a cup. And someone puts blankets on them and checks from them from time to time and then wheels them all back somewhere at the end of the day.  Sad. Strange. No answer. As a western tourist there's the hassle of walking down a tourist street. Big scam that has to end soon. People are holding up cell phones and pretending to be tourists. You can tell them from the real tourists who are holding up cell phones and taking selfies. The fake tourists ask if you will take their photo when "selfie" is the easy answer these days to their dilem...

When you are a tourist on Nanjing Rd. you get the show. Dozens of people coming up to your face to sell you a watch, all the street people that need money, and the various side shows that go on daily to part a person from their money. Walk 3-4 blocks away and you can peacefully stroll along a river without harassment. You do have to ignore the smell and stick of urine but it's a good trade off in some ways. No one bothers you for example.  It's nice  to see something that's normal life instead of big city, even while I'm still right in the city.

Nanjing is the walking road that is full of shopping, merchants, people trying to sell you fake Rolex and is the most congested street around. But you never know what will be set up to get your buying power attention. Pandas wearing headsets? They're here.  Entrance to street of more shopping! It's here too.  At the conclusion, along the river, Chairman Mao stands tall.

Buildings everywhere. Shanghai's skyline is not impressive during the day. It's gray, concrete, and rather depressing looking. At night the buildings all light up in Las Vegas style neon and it's fascinating to watch the lights. Daytime, not so great. The river area itself has a pleasant walk and during this time of year it's not full of summer crowds.

I guess you have to take advantage of a dry day to hang out the laundry. Roof top drying at it's best. For a city that has so much neon, sometimes the best color comes from other things!

After 7 hours waiting at LAX for a delayed flight that ended up being csncelled, I finallt am in Shanghai 22 hours late. Luckily LAX hotels are easy to get on a Saturday night so I avoided sleeping at the airport. So much for the free day that I hsd planned. So it's unpack, sleep, and go straight to work in the morning. 

Updated 5:45 pm. Flight cancelled and rebooked for Sunday. Off to Hotel! Got to the airport this morning for the news that my flight to China was delayed 6 hours. Ugh. 6 hours of waiting around an airport. Now my perfect plan of late evening arrival, unpack, sleep is condensed to midnight arrival and pass out asap. Airport activities for long layover: Walk. Need that circulation before a long flight. 1 round done and one or two more to go. Eat. Breakfast done. Postpone lunch to as late as possible. Exchange money for destination currency. Done. Read or watch what's downloaded on iPad. Nope - save for flight. Catch up on email. Done. Bored. Buy bottled water for flight. Do right before flight so I don't have to lug the extra weight around on the next walkabout. Stare at airplanes.

Flying out of Houston right before sunset. The clouds were rollong waves in the sky.    One day at home and off again Saturday!

Everything closes down on Sunday in the area of Honduras where Im staying. Even the hotel bars as no alcohol is served on Sunday. This reminds me of Ecuador where we ran out to find underground beer sellers. Mini bar is empty too.  Such is life.

San Pedro Sula is not a place to wander about and take your time. As a result I see life here from the back seat of a speeding taxi. Most of the time my view looks like this.  

Working in a restaurant that normally doesn't serve beer, I was bemused when I had to give way to allow the beer cooler through into the kitchen. Apparently while a national holiday is going on and most businesses are closed, the beverage industry is making sure they keep their customers happy. Coca-cola was also on site. I have not yet tried the beer.

Working in San Pedro Sula this week. Its my first tine to Honduras. I had no expectations and was surprised to see mountains. We're only 37 miles to the coast but it seems light years away. First impression is that its nicer than I thought.Downside  is the smell of burning trash at night and mosquitoes.

The best way to Honduras is via an overnight in Houston. Take the escalator down from baggage claim, jump on the tram and next stop Marriott. 

Packed for Honduras and ready to enjoy the weekend! Exercise done! Laundry done! Time to head out for tacos and beer with friends!

Well that's a change up! Normally the work week drags on while you wait for Friday night but this week I was so caught up in work that 4:54 pm Friday has somewhat taken me by surprise. Probably because I'm in travel panic mode as I realize what snuck up on me. Nice calm relaxing beach scene before I move on... 8 weeks on the road coming up. It's not even a logical sequence of trips or time zones. Honduras-China-Tahiti-Turkey-Denmark-Home. Written like that it's 5 easy countries. Add in this Honduras 9 nights-LAX 2 nights-China- 10 nights?- home 2 nights- Tahiti 7 nights-home 1 night-Europe 16 nights. Travel fantasy at its best! While I don't enjoy airport chaos, I am looking forward to this blitz!

On a day like this who wants to be inside? Sunny skies, empty beach, cooler weather. What's not to like? Exercise seems more like play! Too bad it's not a week of Sundays!

Inequality. It's not rich or poor, or race, religion, or gender. Inequality is the product of a belief system of the individual or the group. It's when one trait or person is deemed better than something that is not. The way that we as people value life is not all life is precious. Only life "like me" or "this group" is worth more than others. How does this show? The caste system in India is one that baffles me. Why one group is still deemed as untouchable hundreds of years and still going strong is beyond me. Inequality is taught by parents to children, rooted in fear that if everyone is equal, then the higher castes must have something dirty about them. Change has to be forced. Government, religious, or celebrities can create awareness but true change is going to have to come from the masses in India. Inequality is dismissive. The people of Ferguson, MO are justifiably mad no simply because black youth are shot and killed but that if there are...

They're all here in my yard. It's either the lack of water or the city has been cleaning up all the weeds but each evening at sunset there's a mouse scampering under my fence and into my backyard. I now have an even bigger incentive to get rid of the extra ice plant to keep from becoming a free for all housing district. The lizards are not amused with this activity. The hummingbirds are not amused either. No word on the gopher. On less earthy news, I have 3 dysfunctional apple devices. The original iPod seems to have decided that life is over and will not turn on except to charge and show me the apple. The iPod mini is down as well as my iPhone which both had unfortunate incidents. One with a water bottle and the other at the beach. The work iPhone which has had no incidents only works for telephone audio while on speaker phone. The original iPad large size seems to be functioning for now.

New brrweries pop up all the time. Arcana in Carlsbad had a good variety of light, fruit, and dark beer. Plenty of room and a no children policy.  Dogs are welcome though. I liked the Pale Ale.

Trash day is tomorrow and as soon as the green waste bin is empty, this unphotogenic blob is going in!

Off to a good start! It took 30 minutes to cut this and it only made a dent in the over growth of ice plant. 

The weekend has arrived again and I'm happy to see it! This past werk was full of boring stuff so nothing new to note. I aTm glad of new TV but Agents of Shield is just as dull as ladt season. Time for nee Walking Dead! Doctor Who had been fantastic though! 

Came down with an unpleasant cold that combined stuffy nose, sore throat and hacking cough all in one. After 3 intense days it seems to be clearing up and my brain can function once again.  Flu shot is on the agenda for this week! Here are the last from Waikiki. Below the tiki's in front of the Army museum.  Old clock tower in a small shopping plaza  At Ft. Bragg public grounds, walking around  And random sculpture near the high end shopping district