Having lived most of my life in Australia, I first saw actual snow about 15 years ago on the Swiss Alps. But it was summer there at the time so I did not see snow falling, and had never seen it fall until last month. We were driving up Mt Rainier (just south of Seattle), and it started to snow as we drove higher.
This was a first for me, but Candace had seen it all before!
Hey! What is all that white stuff falling here?
John
We recently visited the Seattle and Port Angeles areas in Washington. There was some fabulous scenery. We also liked Seattle. It was a good time of year to be there (not too cold yet), and the leaves on the trees were just beginning to change colours.
After Seattle, we headed to Port Angeles where we caught up with friends Sue and Arnor shown here…
It was a cool day, and we had just been to the top of a nearby mountain. In this photo, you can see a glacier in the centre of the photo. This photo was taken up at about 5200 feet in the Mt Olympia National Park.
We also visited the Boeing plant just north of Seattle. It was a great tour. Managed to see a few of the new DreamLiner 787s on the factory floor.
Today we had a birthday party for my 4 year old grand daughter.
We had a bouncy-castle delivered this morning and the guests had a ton of fun jumping for hours. I think they all went home worn out!
One of the things I enjoy after hours is keeping up with “The Dakar“. For the past fifteen years or so, I have thought that if I could afford it, I would charter a chopper and follow “The Dakar” across North Africa. The scenery shown on the TV coverage has been magnificent.
Last year I was very disappointed that the race was cancelled due to political turmoil in the race route countries.
But This year, the race organisers have made a very brave decision, to move the race, even to a new Continent!
What was North Africa is now South America, in particular, Argentina and Chile.
I have been following the race this year with much interest and (initially) doubt. But the route selected this year has amazed me thus far. It has made me want to visit Argentina and Chile to see some of the landscape with my own eyes. Just as I wanted to visit North Africa.
Valparaiso Chile looks very inviting! Who Knows?
I know that Qantas (my favourite airline) flies to Santago, which is close to the beautiful coastal city of Valparaiso. Perhaps one day ….
In the meantime, around here, life stops when the daily Dakar highlights are on TV. I even set an alarm so as not to miss the show!
Recommended viewing for Rev Heads!
John
A few days ago I heard a report on the local radio that it was possible to see Venus in the daytime if you know where to look.
So two days ago, about an hour before sunset, we started looking for it.
The moon is in the late afternoon sky at present, and I knew that Venus should be nearby.
After about 3 minutes of scanning the region where Venus should appear, we did in fact see it. The sun was still shining. The moon was starting to brighten.
It was there again last evening, about 40 minutes before sunset, and again was visible in daylight.
John.
Did you ever get a letter from someone that lit your fuse? A friend of mine recently did, and asked for my advice for a response.
I recalled a response that I heard many years ago when I worked in a bank..
The response:
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Dear Sir,
I am sitting in the smallest room in the house and I have your letter before me.
Soon it will be behind me.
Yours truly….
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Spotted this little gem whilst searching for another picture on the internet. Thought it was worth sharing 
GD&R
I travelled to Bangkok several years ago and was sure that I did not need to re-visit the city any time soon.
Today I received this short video (Windows Media Player .wmv) from a friend and decided to share it.
I did not go to this part of the city.
I do remember that Bangkok had some over-crowding problems back then, but now it looks worse.
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John
