iPostcards from Maine & Vermont

We're back!
Had a fabulous time!
Please click on the following destinations to be directed to the specific posting:

Portland

Peaks Island, ME

Kennebunkport, ME

Ogunquit, ME

Pittsfield, VT

iPostcards from Portland, ME

in front of my friend, Mark's
sister's unique restaurant, "DuckFat"
in downtown Portland

"When in Maine, gotta have my lobster!"

after a long day of playing tourist

iPostcards from Peaks Island, ME

We decided to take the ferry from Portland, ME to ...

Peaks Island, ME

about to disembark

on the island

we rented bikes ...

to go around and explore the island

back on the ferry back to Portland, ME

it was a beautiful day for sailing

iPostcards from Kennebunkport, ME

We decided to pass by Kennebunkport ...

... to visit the George & Barbara
at the famous "Bush Compound",

located on Walker's Point,
a peninsula visible from Ocean Avenue

iPostcards from Ogunquit, ME

We decided to use Ogunquit
(Beautiful Place by the Sea)
as our base while on our visit to Maine

since it is also known as a gay mecca,
we stayed in a lovely B & B, Two Village Square

view of the beach

hiking/walking trail by the coast

stopping to relax and enjoy the view

"How much is that lobster in the cage?
I want that one in the middle."

Is the Atlantic Ocean colder than the Pacific Ocean? ...

"Yikes, well right this moment it definitely is!"

iPostcards from Pittsfield, VT

No, we did not go to Vermont to get married
and/or celebrate Bill's birthday.
Although those would have been wonderful reasons,
we went here to attend a family wedding.
Kaya, Bill's nephew, and Kelley met
around the same time Bill and I met ...
and now, they are finally getting married.
Awww... when will it be our turn?
Please click HERE for pics of the rehearsal dinner
and HERE for the beautiful garden wedding ceremony and reception.
This was a very happy occasion.

@ the balcony outside the couple's pre-wedding cabin
facing the river

"Don't slip and get wet before the ceremony!"

iPostcards from Rogue River, OR - "The Devil does the River Wild "

Long before Meryl, played the ruthless and cynical Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada" in 2006, she did "The River Wild" in 1994 with Kevin Bacon...

We flew up to Oregon, where Bill's mother and one of his brothers live, for a family reunion and to celebrate another brother's milestone birthday. To save on the air fare we decided to fly on Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air. Big mistake! Once we got there, not all of our luggage had arrived with us. It immediately put a damper on and stopper to our activities for the next 28 hours. That's how long it took for the airline to deliver our missed luggage & golf bag.
So the highlight of our first day was having to buy toiletries and clothes at the local Walmart. I never imagined that I would have so much fun at a store like Walmart!...LOL.

For X'mas 2000, I took Bill's one and only niece, Carley, to the Philippines, to meet my friends & family, and experience the beauty and culture of my homeland.
This time around, my own niece, Czarina, was with me.
I was so excited for her to experience my partner's beautiful and loving family. It was great to see everyone again. It has been exactly 10 years since I was first introduced to them after Bill came out to his family six months prior.

One of the highlights of this trip was a full day of wild river kayaking on the Rouge River, same river where "The River Wild" was filmed. So just like some of Meryl's characters, I too enjoy fashion, but also enjoy the great outdoors.

iPostcards from Broke"buck" Mountain

Over the weekend, we visited a friend and stayed at her house up in the mountains. She always left out feed at the side of the house for all the wild animals to eat. We silently watched a herd of deer come up for the feast. We saw two male deer playing around with each other. I noticed that one of them had only one set of antlers. Because of him and the movie, I decided to call the experience, our weekend in Broke"buck" Mountain...LOL.

iPostcards from Kenya

"KENYA go to a WILDLIFE SAFARI in AFRICA with me?"...

"YA sure, you betcha I KEN!"

FOREWARNING: Due to an allergic reaction to the malaria medication we were required to take on this trip, my face may appear more puffy than it really is in these pictures...LOL.

Room with a view of a Full Moon on the Masai Mara in Kenya

"Guess Who?"

the children of a Masai Village in the Masai Mara
The Masais teaching me how to dance
a baby goat to feed the community
marking my territory in a Lion's den

Mara Serena Air Strip

Saying good-bye to our fearless tour director

"The plane...the plane!"

boarding Safari Link

"OK Captain, everything checked and ready for take-off!"

waving good-bye to our guides/drivers/friends

"Farewell Masai Man!"

take off!

view from plane of Mara Serena Safari Lodge

view from the plane of a Masai Village on the Masai Mara

approaching Nairobi

Live Large in Nairobi

Bill with wild woman in front of the Carnivore

Carnivore Menu

"Please don"t cut my head off and feed me to the lions!"

text and more pics to follow...

POSTCARDS FROM KENYA

As far as I can remember, I always dreamed of Africa. On my 4^th & 5^th birthday parties, while my peers had superhero figurines on their cake, I had wildlife safari animals on mine. I eventually grew up to be a lover of animals, travel, adventure, and photography. What better place to visit, to combine all those interests, but Africa!

I initially felt a bit guilty that, unlike some of my friends who go to Africa for missionary/charity/tsunami relief/HIV-AIDS related work, I was simply going there for a Wildlife Safari. I finally learned that the word “Safari” is Swahili for “Journey”. And boy what a journey it surely was. Although we were not totally immersed in the poverty stricken areas of the region, and were lucky enough to be situated comfortably in luxury safari lodges, we did witness some of it just by simply looking at the side of the road, across the plains, and during a visit to a Masai Village. The Kenyans are a beautiful friendly people. Tourism plays a vital role in the economy of this nation. The more I spread the good word, hopefully, the more people will come to Africa. The more visitors come, the more job opportunities will be available to them. So in essence, at the end of the day, my visit here was not completely without any altruistic purpose.

POSTCARD FROM NAIROBI AIRPORT

After enduring an 8 and a half hour flight on coach from London, we are finally on African soil. I must say that Kenya Airways wasn’t as bad as it was described by some friends in the industry. Thank God, since we didn’t purchase any travel insurance. The flight fortunately was not that full, so we had vacant seats between us. They surprisingly had video on demand, which some other airlines don’t carry on their economy class cabins. Immigration went smoothly for me this time. The Kenyan officer didn’t care what passport I had and just said, “Jambo!”, which is “Welcome” in Swahili. As we waited for our bags, I watched “Sex in the City” on the video monitor. So Africans do like watching skinny white women copulate. As soon as we got all our bags and were ready to exit, someone immediately asked me if I was going on a wildlife safari. Jeesh…was I that obvious? I knew I should have remove the camera, camcorder, and binoculars around my neck!...LOL

POSTCARD FROM NAIROBI

We are a group of 20 divided into 2 Minivans and 2 Land Cruisers. After we met our tour director and drivers/guides and exchanged pleasantries, I noticed that once again I am a minority. I’m the youngest, non-white, non-breeding person in our group. We are from different parts of the U.S, mainly the West Coast and the State of Florida. We were transported from the airport to our hotel on the vehicles that we were actually going on for the safari. We arrived very early in the morning so by the time we hit the road, it was full of Kenyans walking on the side of the streets and fields. I asked why were there so many people on the road. Our guide simply said, “Rush Hour”. Unlike the freeways of L.A., the roads of Nairobi are congested with more people than cars. They do have public transportation where it seems they jam-pack 20 people in a 12-seater van. I gather that it is too costly for most of the common folk to afford. I guess that’s why Kenyans do well in long distance/endurance sports. We spent our first day just meeting our tour director/drivers/guides and fellow tour mates. We rested our jet-lagged bodies at the Naroibi Serena Hotel, one of the Leading Hotels of the World.

POSTCARDS FROM TSAVO WEST NATIONAL PARK

POSTCARDS FROM AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK

POSTCARDS FROM LAKE NAKURU & LAKE NAIVASHA

POSTCARDS FROM THE MASAI MARA GAME RESERVE