My Favorite Faces from China

Shanghai aka The Architecture Garden

Chongqing

The Locks and the Gorges

Our Most Exotic Meals-Peking Duck and Carp

Our Biggest Challenge!

If you don't know what it is, I can't explain it. When in China....

The Square

The Birds Nest

The Forbidden City in the Snow

My Little Part of the Wall

I've always wanted to travel to Beijing. I was looking for ancient China. What I found, not surprisingly, was a growing economic super power. The 1.3 billion locals are pretty pround of that. They vow to overtake the United States within 20 years. Will it take that long?

Susan goes to OZ

This is the picture I like best of me on my Australian adventure, which is how I came to think of it. The shot was taken on the Ocean Spirit Cruises, as we made our way out to the Great Barrier Reef.

Adelaide and Kangaroo Island

Adelaide is in South Australia and rests its claim to fame on being a city settled only by freemen (as opposed to convicts). Adelaide has some beautiful colonial archticture and is surrounded by green hills and the Barossa Valley. Off its coast is Kangaroo Island, which was well worth the trip. (The next bit of land south of Kangaroo Island in the Southern Ocean is Antarctica.) The first picture is Ayer's House and the second is the "Remarkable Rocks" on Kangaroo Island.

Melbourne

Melbourne is a lovely old (for Australia) city. Melbourne has the most elaborate Victorian architecture in Australia. It boasts lots of art and cultural events and has a diverse group of really good restaurants. The first picture was shot in the conservatory of the Fitzroy Gardens. The second picture is Flinders Street station, which is a city landmark and home of the railway station. Melbourne is the place Dad most likely spent his R&R during WWII. If he did come here, he would have passed through Flinders Street station. Melbourne is also home to the Queen Victoria market, which is huge 17 acre open air market, selling just about everything, (including, as it turned out, Alex's didgeridoo). While in Melbourne, I attended a performance of "Wicked" in the really lovely and ornate Regent Theatre.

Alice Springs

Alice Springs is up in the Outback and sits along the usually dry Todd River. Every year, the locals hold a boating regatta in the dry river bed. (Wish I could have been there for that!) One woman I met told me that since they sometimes go for years with no rain in "the Alice," little 3 and 4 year olds are afraid when they first see rain. Amazingly enough, it rained quite a bit one of the days I was there, but not enough to add any water to the Todd. The picture of me and my camel Lucille was taken in the Todd River. I took the other picture at the Alice Springs Telegraph station, which was the site of the area's first settlement, back in 1871.

The Great Ocean Road and the 12 apostles

The Great Ocean Road runs along the coast outside of Melbourne, winding its way up toward Adelaide. Some of the best coastal scenery in the world can be found along the Great Ocean Road. Probably the most visited site is the "Twelve Apostles," which apparently used to be known as "The Sow and Her Piglets," until some marketing genius realized that folks might not travel round the world to see "The Sow and Her Piglets," but they would to see "The Twelve Apostles." Go figure.

The Rock

Uluru (Ayers Rock) is a sacred spot for the Aborigines. It is quite simply the world's largest monolith. The rock rises up out of the desert and really is an impressive sight. The rock changes color during the day, depending on the light. Uluru is 2.25 miles long, 1.5 miles wide, and stands 1.142 feet tall. It is one piece of sandstone that goes an additional 3 miles underground. It takes 3 hours to walk around the base of the rock, which gives you an idea of its size. The best time to see Uluru is at sunset, which we did. We had a barbie complete with "snags" (sausages) and salads, as we watched the sun go down over the rock. (By then, the flies were dissipating.) It was an experience not to be missed.

Diving the Reef

So...I took an introductory dive on the Great Barrier Reef. (There must be easier places to learn to scuba dive!) The smiley shot of me giving the "ok" sign was taken prior to the dive. Once my instructor let the air out of my suit and the weight belt pulled me under, I wasn't sure if I was having fun or not. Thoughts of the old t.v. show "Seahunt" raced through my mind and visions of sharks and the bends danced through my head. (We were only 20 feet down.) Taking pictures of the coral and sea life kept me focused. It really was an amazing experience, and, in the end, I was glad I made the dive.

The Kangaroos

Kangaroos are grey in the western part of Oz and red in the Red Center (where almost everything else is red too). These are two of my favorite shots of kanagaroos. The red one is swatting flies, thus giving a credible demonstration of "the Australian salute." Flies are plentiful in the sumer in the Outback. Fly netting is a must to keep away both flies and "mozzies."

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree...

We see a Kookaburra laughing in the gum tree. At the conclusion of his merriment, he and one of his friends flew from the Eucalypt and perched on the end of my arm, thus proving the old saying: Two birds on the hand are worth one in the tree, or something like that. Kookaburras are part of the Kingfisher family and are considered birds of prey. (Hence an even greater stiffness on my part than is evidenced in the shot of me with the Koala. Note how the bird on the left is creeping ever so slowly off the glove and up my arm.-By the way, they'll let you do anything in the land of Oz.)

Koalas

Are not really bears. Like kangaroos, they're marsupials. Their pouches are on their backs, so you don't usually see them. Koalas are cute, but not really cuddly. In fact, they can be pretty aggressive when cornered. Note my slight hesitation in petting this one!