Boy Scout Camp

This week I had the privilege of going to boy scout camp. I haven't done anything with Scouts since I was a young man. Camp is quite a bit different as an adult--I don't remember having to deal with crabby boys. Maybe my memory is just bad.

I forgot how much I enjoyed it. Perhaps I will have to get more involved.

Mini Mitt

Ok, if you haven't checked it out lately, go to Mitt Romney's Website and be introduced to Mini Mitt.

And, while you are at it--check out his latest commercial.

Happy Fathers' Day

I realize this is a late post; however, I did call my dad for Father's Day. This post is more of a report. My most of the time wonderful family gave me Rock Salt and an Ice Cream Packet to use in our Homemade Ice Cream maker. I remember growing up as a kid the rurur rurur rurur going on in the background when the family got together. Emily and I hadn't used the ice cream maker in several years and it was nice to break it out again. Other than my early Sunday meeting, I was with the family the entire day--a treat in and of itself.

30 Years old

Well, I made it--to 30 that is. I know some of you had your doubts, but what can I say? I am a natural. We celebrated at Dorey park and had a wonderful time. The food was great and Emily did a nice job on my marble pound cake--even if I wanted a double decker. We were missing a few local people and of course those of you scattered about.

New Colors for my blog

Everybody else was doing it . . . Man peer pressure is tough!

Easy Come, Easy Go . . .

Wow! All that work only to get pummeled. Both my candidates lost on Tuesday by large margins. Now, I did not do that much, however, I feel like I have a vested interest because I really didn't want the people who one to win.

After 29 years, Senator Lambert will be moving on.
We now (because he will run unopposed in November) have a delegate that has spent time in Jail for lying and the inability to control his temper. He has also been disbarred in Virginia. I do believe in redemption and he claims he is a changed man--only time will tell now.

Go Vote in the Primary

Tuesday June 12, is a primary day here in Virginia and I am encouraging everyone to vote. Now, there may not be anyone from your preferred party running; however, whoever wins the democratic nomination for state Senator will in all likely hood win the seat. Because in Virginia all voters can participate in the primary, everyone can have a say in who becomes our next Senator.

I feel very strongly that Benjamin Lambert, the incumbent, best represents what I look for in leaders of our government. He has been able to bring many resources to our community as a member of the finance committee and has become a very influential member of the senate.

Don't hesitate to call if you have any questions. The polls close at 7pm. It only takes a minute and your vote will make a difference.

Mitt is Hot

So funny. Go ahead and laugh!

Elder Holland comes to visit

Elder Holland, of the quorum of the twelve apostles, came to preside over our stake conference in Richmond this weekend. It was wonderful to listen to his stories and I felt uplifted and strengthened by what he said.

Both Emily and I were able to shake his hand after the adult session of conference Saturday evening. The picture is blurry; however, you can see Elder Holland on the left; however, that is President Mullen's big head covering Emily up--she is wearing a light blue top.

Henrico County School Board

It is my please to endorse John Montgomery for the Henrico County School Board. He is running for the Varina seat vacated by Hugh Palmer.

John has served as a PTA president and as a lawyer helped many local organizations when the big boys try to sic the dogs on us. You can learn more about John by going to his web site.

New Cell Phone

Emily and I got new cell phones and I was playing around with my phone at work--during lunch or course--and I took a video of my office and send it to gmail account. I have now posted my video for the world to see--go Carlos! I will now be able to capture all sorts of mayhem on my phone. hehe

New Foods in Costa Rica

I can't say I was overly impressed with the availability of 'new foods' in Costa Rica; however, part of this may be that I grew up in a Spanish home and was used to many of the foods we ate. There were several new fruits we tried--Maracuya, GUANABANA, PAPAYA, TAMARINDO, and another small fruit with a white flesh and large seed in the middle--Mom, can you help me out? Anyway, here is the Maracuya. Pictures of other fruit can be found here. We have a good video of mom exposing us the fruit and because you can see the fruit better in hers I am showing you hers instead of mine. It tasted sweet like a fruit; however, it had a crunchy seed like a sunflower seed but it wasn't salty. But, because it looked like fish eggs and as slimy like an over ripe mango or cantalope I couldn't keep it in my mouth for long.



I don't remember if Emily tried it.

Zip Lines

One of the 'adult' things we wanted to do in Costa Rica was experience the zip lines--a high adrenaline route to soaking up the rain forest--zipping along on cable hooked from tree to tree. One of Costa Rica's selling points is ecotourism so each zip line operator wants to show you some of Costa Rica's hidden gems and how then help keep the rain forest in tact. The route we took had 11 lines on it, and while pricey at $35 bucks a head, we enjoyed it and wanted to do the 26 line course some time in the future. Grandma and Grandpa were nice enough to watch the kids and take the video. Wait a second for the video--the cable is really long.



Elaine said she wanted to go and I told her I would take her next time. :)

Birthday Party

I am having a birthday party on Friday evening on June 15th from 5PM until dusk in shelter 7 at Dorey Park. You are invited. Hope to see you there.

Carlos

Costa Rica

ok, so I said I would get working on my Costa Rica trip and here it is. Reviews, specific details, and talking points will come later.

We left Wednesday May 2 and had to fly out of Dulles. Sarah drove us up and we got the airport around 1pm. We said our goodbyes and went through security. Like a good father(and like my wife told me), I took the girls to the bathroom before we got on the plane. We boarded the plane, began to taxi, Elaine informed me she had to go potty again, and then stopped--for about 3 hours. We missed our connection to Costa Rica so we spent the night in Atlanta.

Thursday May 3 - Left Atlanta in the AM and got to Costa Rica about 1pm. Mom and Dad picked us up and we went to the neighborhood my dad grew up in. We went to see my Great Uncle--the first member of the church on my dad's side of the family. He told us some stories about my dad growing up and growth of the church in Costa Rica. We ate dinner and went to the temple. While we wanted to do a session, it was late and the girls were antsy; however, there was a youth temple trip and we helped do some confirmations. The temple is beatiful and we enjoyed the spirit there.

Friday May 4 - We spent the night in San Miguel, where my grandpa lived years ago and had purchased a home there. We ate breakfast at my dad's cousin house--platanos, fried yucca, gallo pinto, eggs, cheese, bread, and agua dulce. it was delicious. We spent a lot of time in the car and saw lots of the moutain ranges, tried to see a waterfall, and went to a stocked pond--only we were too full to eat.

Saturday May 5 - We spent the night in Esparza, home to my parents, and enjoyed the area. Miriam and I played a game of mini golf. Emily and I went on the zip lines. We went to a small fair like event, but did not stay long. Saprissa, my dad's favorite soccer team, was playing in a tournament and we went to a sports bar to watch the game.

Sunday - Time for Church, and we enjoyed going to the branch. The rustiness in my Spanish really came out; however, everyone was glad to meet us. We laid low and spent the afternoon with grandma.

Monday - Time to get in gear. What was supposed to be a day beginning at 5AM saw us leaving about 9AM to head for the beach--playa cochal. Our travels took us over puente amistad, the largest bridge in Costa Rica. We got there in the afternoon and spent the rest of the daylight time we had on the beach. There were rocks about 15-20 feet off the shore and we snorkeled and saw some amazing ocean life. My wits were tested when schools of fish swam right in front of me--shouldn't there be a glass in between us?

Tuesday - camped out there just off the beach and went snorkeling again. I saw a sting ray in the water and later Emily and I saw the sting ray jump out of the water--again where is the glass? We left about 11AM and headed for Nicoya, our stop for the night. We did a little sightseeing around Nicoya; however, it was raining and we were all tired so we went to sleep early.

Wednesday - After another great breakfast, we went to the biological reserve where we saw lots of beautiful animals. An emu kept following us around. We took the 'carriage ride' pulled by water buffalo and went to see a river (whose name I don't recall). It could have been the nile as there was lots of life in the water. While standing on a floating dock we noticed the river would grow to about 6 feet higher at the peek of the rainy season, which had just begun. We missed our opportunity to take the ferry home and got home in time for a late dinner.

Thursday - We toured around Esparza and took a bus to Puntarenas to get some touristy things to take back with us. We had breakfast in the panaderia or bakery and enjoyed some more drinkable yogurt. We all played Putt-Putt that afternoon and left for San Miguel that evening.

Friday - Early morning as we headed for the airport to catch our 8AM flight back to the states.

Third times a charm

Well, we all do things we wish we hadn't; things that we must bear a difficult consequence for and Friday night at the airport I did one of those things--I left my work laptop at the baggage claim of the Dulles Airport. I had the girls with me and Sarah had come to pick us up. I put my laptop by the carts you can rent to take your things to your car, our luggage came, the girls went crazy, I grabbed the luggage, we got several "they're so cute" comments, and we were out the door. It was not until Sunday evening that I realized my mistake. Oh the cruel reality of my mistake. I was sure I would never get it back; I started thinking of ways to explain to my boss what had happened.

After we had called airport security and they told us they did NOT have a bag matching the description I gave them, I decided it was worth at least investigating for myself. I drove up to Dulles airport at about 7:30PM. I did not have enough gas to get there so I had to fill up and who should notice that my car did not have an inspection sticker (I got rejected before we left for Costa Rica) on it but Henrico's finest, who quickly gave me a ticket and reminded me to 'take care of these things' before I leave the country next time. Yeah, got it.

My drive up to Dulles on Sunday was uneventful and to no ones' surprise I did not find my laptop. I tried calling security again to see if I could come and look at what they had; however, they had gone home for the night. I drove my dejected self home and managed to get in bed a little after 1:30 AM.

I had a personal experience that led me to believe I would see my laptop again, so I called the security desk on Monday morning before I went to work. I approached my description slightly different and the officer must have asked me to hold at least 4 times. After several attempts to find my bag, I almost hear the words "I'm sorry, we don't have a bag that matches that description"; however, my inner voice deceived me--the officer said, "Yes, we have your bag, when can you pick it up?" It was a feeling of pure exhilaration. I almost did not believe what he was saying, perhaps there was a mix up and there was some other bag they found; however, I arranged to pick it up after work--around 9pm. Emily agreed to go with me this time.

My mood was upbeat, but subdued as I made my second attempt. We arrived at the security desk and gave them the claim number given me earlier. "I'm sorry, that package was given to lost and found this morning. They are only open from 9-5, M-F". I almost slammed the glass window that separated us from the guard. Impossible!! They told me this morning they would have it. We even had her check the room just in case, but my bag was no longer there. Another 260 miles in vain.

Yesterday I called lost and found and they informed me I had to make an appointment if I wanted to 'obtain my item'. As luck--or the lack of--would have it I would up feeling poorly today. I usually work from home on Wednesdays and today was no different. Since I really wasn't feeling well, I called the lost and found and tried to see if I could get up there today and they agreed so I took a sick day and drove up there a third time to get the laptop. This time I took the girls with me, which they were really happy about, but I managed to get it. What a hassle; however, alls well that ends well.

Let me tell you I learned my lesson this time and I won't let it happen again.--next time I go somewhere, I'm flying Jet Blue. :)

Ok, now that my life is getting back to some kind of order, I will start working on my Costa Rica report.

!Pura Vida!

Well after a overnight delay in Atlanta, we are finally in Costa Rica!! It has been fun--and bumpy these last two days; however, we are getting to see some cool things. The mountains are beautiful. More is sure to come--!Pura Vida!

PBS Documentary

We watched the PBS documentary entitled "The Mormons" last night. I enjoyed it; for some reason I have this fascination about seeing other people's perception and thoughts on something near and dear to my heart. I agree with the the New York Times that "It’s great to hear people who believe in something and can articulate it without sounding crazy or defensive." Amen. Why can't we just explain our beliefs without feeling like we have to defend them? Every month we have testimony meeting and get to say I know; however, when talking to people not of our faith we sometimes feel the need to be apologetic. I thought Terrel Givens was excellent--I could listen to him all day.

If you missed it, you can catch it here. The second part is on tonight.

Gun Control

I don't own a gun. I wasn't around guns all that much as a kid--I got my gun experience in Scouts or other organized events. My dad did own a gun--a 22 as I remember and I shot it a couple of times. I am sure if you handed me a gun today I wouldn't know how to turn the safety off.
I think there should be more gun control in this country.
When I say gun control, I don't mean repealing the 2nd amendment--something conservatives and NRA types like to immediately puff their chests about--I mean gun control, better governance about who has guns and how they use them. There is one exception--automatic assault weapons. The name alone should be obvious to why the general public should not have them.
We need a registration similar to DMV with cars, something a gun owner has to renew every so often and report the sale or destruction (if that is possible). I would also like to see a required training class for anyone who purchases a gun. This class would include handling, storage, and stress saftey. You would get a card or certificate you could then use to buy a gun. And, just like with a car if you don't report a change (sold, not working, etc) you get fined.
Similar measures have been put in place in Canada, and while it hasn't put a dent in the homicide rate yet, it is a step in the right direction; taking control of a situation rather then doing nothing.
Another gun crime we don't talk much about is Suicide. The Candian embassy reports more gun related suicides were committed than homicides in 1996. Perhaps we should also be looking at mental health requirement for permits as well.

My view point may not solve the problem; however, I do know I am sick of hearing "they're trying to take away our guns". If your gun affects my public safety, I will choose safety every time.

"Tear down that wall"

Those were the words Ronald Reagan used when talking about the Berlin wall all those years ago. Now it seems conservatives can't get enough of building walls and creating the appearance of separation.
I agree immigration needs to be reformed, but let's at least try to show some dignity to the fact that most of us our ancestors of immigrants as well. When we talk about Mexican immigration, why don't we talk about helping their economy? We 'dump' tons of corn and other produce down there cheaper than local farmers can grow it--no wonder they are all coming here.
If the US is supposed to be the superpower of the world, why resort to something as primitive as a wall?

Partial Birth Abortions

The supreme court upheld a ban on partial birth abortions this week. While I think this a positive move, I believe that too much time and money is spent on political wrangling and not enough on those that need help making this decision. If both sides would stop fighting and look at how to help the unwed teen, the molested daughter, and the mother of 3 who doesn't want to be a mother again real solutions would come and lives would be blessed.

While abortion would not come up in a conversation I had with my daughter, I believe that if abortions are performed they should be safe and as much information as possible should be given so a woman can make the best choice for her and the baby she is carrying.

I believe that abortion policy should change; however, I also believe that change will happen one person at a time--and we can all be part of that process by learning and understand more about adoption--one of the most selfless things you can do.

Don Imus

I know this is old news; however, my two cents dictates the following:

If we are going to pressure executives to fire employees because of what they say that pressure should be placed in all media outlets--not just cranky old men.

I have been thinking about this in more detail, but as you know this is an old story.

What was he thinking

Our thoughts are with the Virginia Tech families that lost love ones today. What a tragedy--what a loss.

What drives people to do this? Especially when they include themselves in the people they kill. If you are going to kill yourself, why not save your bullets and skip to the end?

Off we go . . .

One of the best ways to 'get involved' is to write to the editor, write to your representative, or blog--but it revolves around communicating; expressing your ideas in logical and clear manner.

I have slacked as of late with my blog; however, as the political season heats ups (only 60 days until the primaries) I am going to try to express my opinions as quickly as possible. We'll see how it goes.

She stole my what . . . . ?

Emily hid my deodorant. She didn't like the aroma of Old Spice natural scent, so she hid it. What a swiper.

Congrats Emily

Emily won our NCAA tournament challange in a blowout . . . Congratulations

Rank     Bracket      Points Correct Picks Overall %
1       hmmm sports!     119    43 of 63
2       Perfect Circles     88    41 of 63
3       Sarah's Wacky Pix     86    37 of 63
4       Tom's Team     82    38 of 63
5       EQP     74    39 of 63
6       Ashley Scott     0    0 of 63

Presidential Election

I know, you are sick of it already . . . cry me a river. Fill out the survey--there are some interesting results, and as you can tell you only get to pick Republicans.

Wow . . . It has been a long time.

Time waits for no man and it certainly has passed me by. We have been working on Miriam's video blog, which isn't quite ready yet, and doing the political junky thing. Oh, my family, the church, and my job take up the rest of my time--and eating, I do a lot of that too. However, you will notice I lost 5 pounds.

It has begun . . .

The Mitt Romney TV spots have started to hit the air waves in the primary battleground states. While I am sure things won't stay squeaky clean, I hope Mitt can stay above the belt and air positive ads. I don't want to hear about other candidates in his commercials.

On a local note I heard John Montgomery, who ran twice for the 71st Delegate seat, is running for the school board--the same seat I considered running for. It should be an interesting election cycle.

Not a new years resolution

I really hate it when people see my wedding pictures--don't get me wrong, they look very nice, Emily was (and still is) a beautiful bride, and we look really happy in them. No, the reason I hate for people to see them is because the look at me and say 'you look so different', which really means 'wow you got fat'. All with a big smile on their faces.

For my thirtieth birthday, I want to be less than 200lbs. I am unsure of exactly how I will do this--perhaps go back to Singapore?--but I have tried to become more active. I take the bus and have to walk several blocks to work, I take the steps, and I try to eat somewhat less than I used to.

I am having a Birthday party this year and you are invited. If I haven't gotten down to below 200 by the time my party begins I will shave my head. At the bottom of my blog you will see how much I have to lose. Hopefully it begins to move; and not in the opposite direction. I won't worry too much, after all--bald is the new full head of hair . . .

72 Hours

Saturday I went to listen to Jim Gilmore, a former Virginia Governor and Presidential hopeful, speak on his current exploration of presidential waters. As Governor, Jim served as chairman of the homeland security committee--something unheard of when he was appointed by President Clinton in 1999. He chaired that committee for 5 years; the 216 page report was delivered to President Bush on September 1, 2001. Needless to say, his major focal point is homeland security.

Asked what more we could do on the homeland security front, he responded by saying we should prepare for the first 72 hours. (I am paraphrasing here) The first 72 hours he said are the most critical; however, they will also be very lonely. His opinion was that every American should be prepared to sustain themselves for the first 72 hours after the emergency. Government would never be equipped to assist sooner and in the case of huge disaster local assistance would be little better off. Personal Preparedness must be part of the national conversation.

His response buoyed my testimony. The latter-day prophets have echo his comments for some time, and here a presidential hopeful was pushing the idea as a matter of public policy.

Now, I just need to find my 72 hour kit--I know I left it somewhere . . .

Singapore Video

Ok, it has taken long enough-and this is not my best effort; however, it does give a sense of what we did. Some of the pictures are repeats. I take sole responsibility for the content of this video. Since this was supposed to be a 'Singapore' video I had a hard time finding music--hence the shortness of the video. The pictures do go fast, so you may need to watch it a couple of times.

It is sad--it already seems like so long ago. I cannot thank Bryan and Laurie enough for thier generosity and love. We said we would only come once; however, I am thinking Singapore is a MUST repeat trip!

Senate 9th District

Benjamin Lambert will be challenged this year by Delegate McEachin for the 9th Senate seat. McEachin, like Benjamin, is a democrat. Senator Lambert has served since 1984 and by and large has done a good job. I remember he was responsible for helping the Mill House, an adult program for those with brain injuries, stay afloat. He has also bucked this party on a few issues when he thought is was not in the best interest of his constituents.
His latest venture away from his party may prove the end of his political career. Last year he supported George Allen, the republican candidate for Senate--only his side lost. Senator Lambert escaped being expelled from the party by 5 votes earlier this week. While his political life may be on life support, I plan to support him in the democratic primary. No republican will run against him should he win in the primary.

His rival--McEachin is interested in nothing but moving up the political ladder and suppressing those that need his help the most, but that is another blog.

Penny for your thoughts?

I pick up pennies off the ground. I started in earnest when I was in college--you know the saying "a penny saved is a penny earned". Well, I have have found lots of free pennies on the ground. When I left Utah, I had accumulated about $10 worth of pennies. For some reason I stopped once I got a real job; didn't seem appropriate for a man of my stature to be picking up a mere penny. Well, sometime last year I started again. I don't remember consciously doing so, but I can remember some of the pennies I passed up during my 'dark period'. Some have had a laugh at my expense when I suddenly stop and bend over to pick up a penny. Now, the joke is on you. While I have already deposited most of my pennies, it is possible that pennies will be worth 5 cents should the price of metals continue to rise. That means my $5 or so worth of pennies will become $25. Cha ching. I have heard that New York City has $1,000,000 dollars worth of pennies on the ground. If they raise the price of a penny, that would be $5,000,000.

And you said it wasn't worth the effort.

**UPDATE** Emily, the girls, and I went walking this morning and managed to find 2 dimes, and 8 pennies. :)

Regulated Spanking?

California wants spanking to be punishable under law. As a parent I have decided spanking is not for me; however, I do notice that when I loose my patience the hand is a bit more active. Typically a little 'reminder' will do; however, do I want the state telling me I can't do so? The law will "proposes to make spanking, hitting or slapping a child under 4 years old a misdemeanor." This is tough--yes we need to reduce abuse in our homes, but I don't want the police called if I smack by daughter on the rear. I would also think abuse situations would happen indoors making detection difficult.

I think I would have a few hundred dollars in fines. Sorry Dustin, if this law passes I don't think I could afford to live in California.

I expect lots of comments on this one. :)

Another hat in the ring

Senator Obama created his obligatory presidential exploratory committee today. While I like what Obama has to say--he has a great persona--I have yet to hear anything really different come from him. To me, his new ideas have yet to be explained to me. Yes, he does have a unique background; however, I am interested to see if he keeps his 'rock star' status through the year.

My guess is that he cannot--his record is not quite beefy enough.

In Memory

Today we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King. As I listen to "I have a dream" and "Mountaintop" speeches, I marvel his words. I wonder what Dr. King would think of the civil rights movement today. I wonder if I have done enough to promote equality and encourage independence.


"And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream." --Martin Luther King

Home Sweet Home

Well, sort of . . . It is nice to be home; however, reality came a little too fast as we found the fridge not working, the front porch light broken, the trunk of the Mitsubishi flooded, a ton of mail, and bills that needed to be paid. In addition we didn't even notice until we got home that we missed a bag at the airport. Luckily it is still in Chicago and United will bring it out--rather than us forgetting it.

Today is my first day back to work. I think I need another vacation.

Swimming with Dolphins

A wish item Emily had was to swim with dolphins. Well, I don't know that you call it swimming; however, Emily was able to get into the water with the pink dolphins found in the South China sea. Big thanks to Bryan and Laurie for making our dreams come true!

Conservation efforts in Asia

One of the most popular dishes in Asia is shark fin soup. While I never felt the urge to try it, and am glad I did not, many people find it enjoyable. While visiting the zoo I found the methods for obtaining the fins for the sharks deplorable. Sharks are captured and then the fins(dorsal and tail) are cut off and kept, while the shark is dumped back in the ocean to bleed to death. I do not know how many bowls of soup is made from one fin; however, I am sure it not too many as the shark population has decreased dramatically from the practice.
Governments have taken steps to abolish the practice; however, there are so many 'local' fisherman it is virtually impossible to stop all of it. Public relations campaigns have pushed for individuals to avoid consuming the dish to help stop the killing of sharks.
Please consider your choices of food when visiting Asia.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Chacon family. May the spirit of the Lord enter into your homes as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

Durian--Asia's fruit gem

There are a handful of fruits found in Asia that are not found in the USA. Durian is probably the most popular and as I mentioned it has such a strong smell you are not permitted to eat it inside. It is large and shelled like a pineapple, but has a much harder shell and has spikes. The fruit sellers actually wear gloves while opening it up. Once open the fruit is almost a slimy goo with a seed around each section. In a large fruit there can be as many as 12 or 14 seeds. There are several different kinds of fruit, but I can hardly taste the difference.

Miriam is eating a Mangosteen and the fruit on the bottom right is an opened Durian. You can actually eat them right at the stand where they are sold.

Henrico County School Board

Because we are leaving next week, I decided to think about my 'real' life this evening and remembered a conversation I had in November with Hugh Palmer, the Varina area (my area) representative to the Henrico County school board. It has been rumored that he will not seek another term and I have considered seeking the office. After meeting with him about several pressing issues facing the school, he told me he had not made a decision regarding the election next year.
While I have not decided to run should Hugh decide to retire, I would be interested to get your feedback on public school systems--especially Henrico county.

Singapore Science Center

Miriam and I had some daddy daughter time yesterday afternoon and we ended up at the science center. Everything was kid enabled and Miriam enjoyed pushing all the buttons. The science didn't interest her that much, but we did talk about a few things.
It was fun to see her decide what stations she wanted to visit and we did learn quite a bit in our short trip.

Singapore Zoo

Yesterday we ventured to the Singapore ZOO. As you can tell by the pictures, the elephant was a big piece of our experience. Miriam enjoyed the penguins, the zebras and the polar bears. Elaine enjoyed the elephants--her favorite animal. She is quite the daredevil and helped feed the elephants, pet the kangaroos, wanted to pet the snakes, and even wanted to play with the monkies. My favorite animal was the white tiger.


In coming to Singapore, Emily really wanted to ride an elephant and we thought we would need to go to another country to do so; however, we were delighted to find out the zoo had a short elephant ride. Miriam did not want to ride; however, after standing in line for about 15 minutes she decided it was ok for her to ride. I had a runny nose and there was a sign asking 'me' not to ride.

Only 1 in 10,000 tiger is white. We almost did not get to see them as it had been raining and the waters were high in the morning; however, by the afternoon they were out.

Melacca Malaysia

Ana Requested some pictures from Melacca, and here my attempt to fulfill that request. We took the bus there--Singapore is connected to Malaysia via a bridge. Asian has an interesting definition for continent. Because Singapore and the islands above it are connected via a bridge they are deemed part of the Asian Continent; thus Singapore is literally the southern most point of the Asian continent even though it is an island.

The highways are roads were in great condition. For some reason I had thought Malaysia would be poorer than it is. I should have guessed by the exchange rate (1USD = 3.5 Malaysian Ringgit), which is the second highest of the countries we have been too. ADVISORY: When traveling to Malaysia, make sure you have small coinage and bring lots of your own toilet paper. It costs money to use the 'toilet' as they are labeled and TP is extra. You may consider practicing using the 'toilet' without your fanny actually hitting the toilet, because there are actually not any toilets in the 'toilet'. We call the squatty potty (official term). I can't speak for the hotels--just the places we visited--tourist centric places and customs/border patrol location. You have been advised.

We only had about 5 hours to look around and 1 of those we spent eating and 1 shopping. Luckily the historical sites are are centrally located and we hit the big items--Several churches, the fort, and a Portuguese Man of War. This picture was taken in front of the oldest church in Melacca with the Man of War in the background. Miriam was very happy we were taking another picture--I just love my kids.

We did do the touristy attraction of the trishaws--cousins of the rickshaws, but with a bicycle. They were decorated very nicely and our driver thought he was king as he honked at everything in his path. I rode with Miriam and she loved it. We also bought Miriam and Emily some leather shoes for about $8USD, but I managed to step on her foot yesterday and now she claims they are 'broken'. c`est la vie

oh, more pictures of Melacca can be found here. Sorry there are no captions--all this recording takes a lot of effort and I am on VACATION!! Again I would encourage anyone traveling this far to make it a two day affair. :)

Singapore Update

I did not do as much blogging as I thought I would do today; however, I did finish up some old ones, so be sure to scroll down.

I, Miriam, and Elaine tried fried baby squid today. Unlike Calamari, these were not breaded and had a sweet and sour sauce on them. Miriam liked them, Elaine did not, Bryan loves them, and while I thought they were enjoyable I did not feel the need to eat every last one of them--but that is why Bryan is there. :)

We also had Durian, an Asian fruit with an extremely strong smell. So strong in fact they do not allow you to take it inside buildings. You have to eat it outside. Elaine did not even try it, Miriam took her no thank you bite and said no thanks. I actually started to enjoy it the more I had it; however, it won't be replacing ice cream or brownies as my dessert of choice any time soon. I will have to get the pictures we took. Emily still needs to try it. Another interesting fruit was the Mangotines. They have a thick skin with a white fruit. They are wonderful and everyone liked them--even Elaine.

Yesterday we went to Malacca Malaysia. It was a 4 hour bus ride and we went there and back in one day. History buffs would really love it as they have remains from the Portuguese (1700s), the Dutch (1800s), the English and Japanese (1900s). It was nice to see, but definitely stay the night if you are going to go all that way.

Time is going so fast. Only one more week and we are going back home!!

oh, I allow comments for a reason!! I would like to hear from some of you!! (Congrats on your bathroom Ana--looks good.)

Rainy Day

It started raining heavily last night and has not stopped. Today's forecast is for nothing but rain. Brian, my father-in-law, took the day off so I feel bad we won't be able to do more. Singapore is a very outdoor kind of place.

Perhaps I can catch up on some of my blog postings . . . .

Manila Temple

We visited the temple on Tuesday evening and on Wednesday. They have their Christmas lights on so we wanted to see them at night. We did an endowment session on Wednesday. We met a couple being sealed that same day; they were so wonderful!

The temple grounds are quite large and there is a fence around the premises. A distribution center is across the street and a LDS craft store is a block down the road.

I just wish we had our day pictures (See LOST entry). :( Photo below courtesy of LDS Church temples.com

LOST

I lost our camera--at least we think we lost it. We can't remember where or why we lost it--it was around my neck. We just know it is gone. I was so upset! We had a days worth of pictures on their--our temple pictures, sights around Manila, and our dinner on the ocean. Now we only have the memories.

So go ahead, give your camera a hug.

La Corona Hotel

While in the Philippines we stayed at La Corona Hotel--affiliated with the best western network. The hotel itself was great. The staff were friendly enough and the room was clean, the bathroom was nice, and the AC unit was working. They also provided 3 bottles of water per day, which we enjoyed.

In other reviews, I saw there were issues of construction and the elevator. We heard no construction noises and the elevator worked; however, it was a bit slow. It is one of the old school ones with the metal doors and the outer door pulls open like a room door. I agree with the location complaint. It was fairly near the historical area; however, it was almost 10 blocks from the metro and the area has both housing and businesses on the same street. While Manila is almost all poor and dirty, there are a few better areas to stay in. Most of the shopping/entertainment locations are on the east side of the city.

When you get to the airport--do not use the hotel car!!! It is about 3 or 4 times what you would pay a taxi. (Just remember to ask the taxi driver to start his meter) Every time you walk out the hotel, they offer you a ride. Now, I am a Lonely Planet fan and like to do things on the cheap so take that into consideration. I did get worn out from the taxi drivers trying to get more money than the standard fare--they always wanted "meter plus 30" or 30 pesos over the meter reading. We would always tip, but were not that generous. Still it was ALWAYS cheaper to use the local taxi.

The breakfast buffet was perhaps the most bizarre array of food--at least for an American. There were things like Teriyaki chicken, rice, beef tips with some bread and butter. They did have Corn Flakes. So while most of the food was what I would be looking for in a dinner, the Filipino eats for breakfast. They did have an 'egg station' that would cook you eggs, so I stuck to that and toast. There was no juice--but there was all the Tang you could drink!

Jeepneys

A different twist to your public transportation. The Jeepney first came to existence after world war two with surplus military Jeeps. While there are a few other varieties, they mostly resemble what you see. Each one is decorated by the driver/owner.

It costs 7 pesos for a short ride(in town) and 19 pesos for a long ride (between towns), so they are the cheapest ticket in town. They are loud and the drivers like to sardine as many people as they can into the back.

These things are everywhere and it was fun to use them a couple of times; however, I am unsure I would like to ride to work in them everyday . . .

The Filipino

I love the Filipino people. They are as nice and as warm a people as you can find. In almost every case, someone would get up and allow Emily to have there Metro seat if none were available. More later . . . .

Off to Manila

We are off to Manilla untill Thursday. We are unsure how much blogging we will do there. See you at the end of the week.

Singapore Night Safari

The Singapore Night Safari was by far one of the coolest nature reserves I have ever been too. Being that it is at night, you see animals you don't see other places. The extra $8 SD for the tram was worth it; there are animals on that track you can't see on foot and some of the animals are literately no more than a foot from you. Ironically enough, my favorite animal to see has the hippo--don't ask me why.

There was a fire dance in the main entrance that was very cool--those guys must have put a gallon of gas in there mouths. They kept blowing fire out of their mouths like it was normal. They would also put out the torches with their mouths.

There several areas where you could enter with flying animals--a bat just about got me when it relieved itself and one of the flying squirrels came what felt like about 2 feet from landing on my head. It was impressive to be that close to the animals. The walking portion has paved paths, but because it is at night and you are in the jungle and can hear all the bug noises it has an eerie sort of feeling--like a wild hyena could sneak up behind you and have your for dinner. It is all very safe, but the way you can interact with the animals is different from anywhere I have been.

If you are in Singapore and have time to do nothing else, I recommend the world's first Night Safari. It is by far the most unique thing you will do in the country.

More Pictures

We are not blogging about all the pictures we take--at least I am not. Here are some of the ones that didn't make the cut.

Singapore
Hong Kong

Ok, pictures should work now.

Anne Black Guest House (YWCA)

We stayed in the Anne Black Guest House during our stay in Hong Kong on Dec 5 to Dec 7. We waited a little too long to find a room and as this week all the locals were out of school, the hotels were booked and we had a hard time finding a place that wasn't $300 a night. Luckily we found this one and to save even more money we choose the communal bath option. We stayed on the 11th floor.

The hotel is about 8 blocks from the metro and you have to walk at least 2 to the main road to find a taxi, so the location was not the greatest. They were doing some remodeling in the lobby so it looked like it wasn't finished. The area around the hotel was nice and it was 3 MTR stops (maybe 4) away from the LDS temple. There is a nice bakery right on the main road--we had breakfast there both mornings. They give you business cards in English and Chinese, so the taxi drivers can read them. We never have a problem getting there.

Towels are provided; however, bottled water is not so you will need to buy some. The bathrooms are clean; however, just for sanity's sake take your shower sandals. There is a sink in the room. If you are traveling with someone, you will have to share a single bed or sleep separately--there is nothing larger than a single bed. There are individual window AC units and a color TV--but only 1 channel in English. We were high enough (and tired enough) that the busyness of the street never bothered us.

I hope that helps if you are considering staying there.

Fishing with Papa

Miriam and Elaine went on their first fishing trip today. Papa, I, and the girls set out to catch some fish. The girls were a bit hesitant; however, soon joined in the fun. We used prawns as bait, but luckily for me there was someone there to assist. Papa caught the first fish, I caught one a little later but it got away, Miriam caught the third fish and I caught (got out the water) the last. We had a good time. Papa and I caught a "Taiwan fish"--we are not really sure what it was. Miriam caught a sea bass. She actually pulled her fish out the water. It is so cute; however, it is a rather large file. Enjoy

Octopus Balls

Not my favorite. Laurie told me they were good. Maybe it was this guy did not know how to make them. Anyway, I do not recommend them. Even if they are 7 for $10 HKD (about $1.5USD).

I warned you.

Sick

I am under the weather--I have a cold. Even though I am on vacation, do you think I should ask for a sick day at work? Just curious.

Hong Kong

Emily and I spent 1 full day in Hong Kong--what a day!! Our first and the major reason we visited Hong Kong was the temple. It is beautiful. It is on a very small lot, but maintains the quiet reverence of a temple. The people were very friendly and courteous. I saw enough Buddas to last a lifetime. It was a whirlwind trip; however, it was well worth it.

See if you can identify what is making the sound in this video--we heard it alot. I think my ears are still ringing.

MacRitchie Reservoir

One of the first places we went to see in Singapore was MacRitchie Reservoir.
As the name implies, this is a water reservoir for Singapore. They currently have to buy water from Malaysia and clean the water. This is one of the attempts for Singapore to become self sufficient.

Singapore does an excellent job blending the natural world with the modern world. There is a wood plank around the edge of the reservoir--about 10 km long. Surrounding the resevoir is a tropical rain forest--with all its wild animals!! Emily thought we were getting a little too close, but it was amazing to see the monkeys up close.
We also saw several schools of fish, some turtles, and the largest ant I have ever scene. The ant probably would have covered a quarter from head to toe.

All that danger, and we managed to come out unscathed; however, Miriam did get a bloody nose. But all's well that ends well.

Flying to Singapore

Our trip to Singapore started with a drive to Norfolk. Rose-Marie slept in the back of the van as we drove down in the dark. We flew from Norfolk to Chicago.

We ran into snow/bad weather headed to Chicago, so we landed a little late. We had to run to gate and made it with about 5 minutes till takeoff. Elaine had fallen asleep during our descent and Emily was carrying her as we made our way through the airport. Miriam however, was delighted to find the plane played music--and that she got to have her own headphones.

We never thought we get to Hong Kong. We just kept flying and flying. We did fly over the north pole--I guess that is cool.

After almost 15 hours of flying we finally landed in China. Continent number 4 for me. Only 3 more to go!!

We're Here!!!

We have arrived in Singapore! After about 22 flying hours and 30 hours of total travel time, we touched down in Singapore at 11:30 pm local time. We are tickled pink to be here and it was nice to lay horizontal when we finally got to bed. The girls slept for about 5 hours and now we are ready to start the day!! I can't find my gizmo to put pictures on the computer, but when I do I will begin putting up some pictures.

It is 7:25 AM on Friday Morning. :)

Emily's B-Day

Emily is now 28 years old. The girls and I made a cake. Happy B-Day Emily.

My poor Redskins

My Redskins were supposed to be going back to the Playoffs in what was supposed to be an extremely competitive NFC North Division, but alas they are struggling and have just made a quarterback change. At we beat Dallas at home.
Doug Leeper caught me off guard last week--he said the Redskins had gotten a new quarterback; a Chinese guy. I pay fairly close attention to football and could not for the life of me think of a Chinese quarterback. When I asked who it was he said--WinOneSoon. Funny Doug, really funny.

NADCA

The North Airport Drive Civic Association, of which I am a member, is being sued with a slapp (Strategic lawsuit against public participation) lawsuit. In November of last year, the association made a presentation to the board of supervisors arguing why they (the citizens) did not want a high density development project in their neighborhood. The also presented a 100 person signed petition with others who supported their argument. The board, led the the Varina supervisor Jim Donati, denied the rezoning request; however, two months later the developer filed a suit against two of the association members and the association itself for the $1.5 million dollars it supposedly would have made had the rezoning effort been approved.
What I have learned is this lawsuits is intended to chill free speech. The lawsuit asserts the petition presented to the board had been fabricated and the the association is a bunch of liars. It appears the intent is to bog down small civic groups like NADCA with the cost, effort, and emotional drain of a lawsuit in the hopes it will be unable to support the financial burden and collapse--thus ending any organized opposition to their development plans.
Originally we thought the lawsuit would be dismissed; however, to our absolute astonishment, the judge allowed the case to go to trial. What's more is the trial is not until May, thus prolonging the time this heavy burden must weigh on the association.
I am cautiously optimistic the association will survive this and continue to provide an organized voice in Highland Springs.

Election Day!!

Today we voted for a Senator and Congressman. George Allen's lead is shrinking; however, everyone is confident he will retain his seat. The marriage amendment passed by a large margin and I was happy to see that. The Chacon family put in over 10 hours collectively at the polls today. Miriam became a wonderful 'sample ballot distributor' and she chided me when I didn't ask people if they had questions about the proposed amendments. Our district voted heavily the other way, but everyone was nice and we had good time. I enjoyed being a part of the democratic process and enjoyed going to the different rallies. We forgot our camera so it will be a few more days till we get some pictures.

Tonight we went to the 'Victory Party' for the republicans and Emily was interview by two papers and Reuters took several pictures of us mingling with our elected officials.

Everyone Should Vote!!

Everyone should vote. If you don't like the candidates--write yourself in!! Don't forget next Tuesday.

Halloween Video

Our Halloween video is finally here. We did not take many pictures and as a result had to cut some of our music. We had lots of fun on Tuesday--the weather was warm and the candy was chocolaty. We had the Acosta's over for dinner and Marlon and Sarah came just in time for us to go trick or treating. Our neighborhood was a bust, but we did ok overall. The dads did; however, get a little carried away and we stayed out way past our bed time--we didn't get home till about 8:40.

Enjoy!!

Little Laine

My little girl has a broken collar bone!! Yesterday--under my watch no less--Elaine fell off the couch. She was crying a little harder than usual, but looked ok. Emily, the family nurse, was very concerned and checked her out and noticed she had limited mobility in her arms. She thought it as a concussion at first; however, Elaine calmed down and seemed quite content. She slept for a little while--which made her mom nervous--and them seemed quite normal. I gave her a blessing last night and Emily took her to the doctor this morning, the doctor wanted X-rays, and it appears she has a broken collar bone; however, it is of the type that there is not much we can do about it. She probably won't even were any type of cast or protection. Emily treated her to lunch at McDonald's and that seemed to put a smile on her face.

Yes, that is a Redskins hat she is wearing. :)