Travelog for: Sunshiney

Hello!  The weather here in Michigan is still cool, and today is rather cloudy and grey.  So we are back at the Tea Cafe and Mel is taking the time before she goes to work to write more of her story.
I am good inspiration, she says!  I also tried some of her tea, it was so good!  I think I like tea.



On the way here we had stopped at the pet store.  They just moved, so Mel wanted to see the new store.  I found a tarantula!  It was bigger than me!  I hope I don't have nightmares tonight.  Maybe I will make Mel take me to work with her, and I will sleep there next to her work station, just to be safe.



I have a new friend!  He is named Arn.  And so is the other one!  They are both Arn!  Is was kind of confusing for a while, but look at them, they are getting along great, like best friends.  Well, I suppose they would have a lot in common, wouldn't they?  I like them both. 

Sorry for the silence, Mel was stuck working over-night shifts at teh hospital for three weeks!  So she did nothing but sleep when she wasn't there.

We went for another walk to enjoy the lovely spring!  This is Connor Bayou park, which has a nice trail along the Grand River.  We saw snakes and frogs.


Mel's niece came over and she had a gift certificate for the local bookstore, and since Mel's new apartment is not far from it, we walked there to spend it! We tried to give her advice on what sounded fun to read.



She got three books, two new and one used.  I checked out some adventure stories.




There was a lunar eclipse here!  It happened in the morning, so the moon as was mostly set before the eclipse was complete.  Mel was working, so we saw the start of it from the Hospital parking lot.  Mel and the nurses peeked out between patients to watch it!  Aaron and I did too.
Because she was working, she didn't have her good camera, and it turns out that the moon is really tricky on a small camera!  We tried though, Mum!



After Mel's shift ended the eclipse had set behind the hills, but she drove home past the beach and there were a lot of people parked there watching the moon set.  The eclipse still wasn't complete when it sank into Lake Michigan.  With the lightening sky it was hard to see, but kind of cool!  It's hard to see in this photo so I circled it for you.  It looked bigger in real life, i promise...



From our spot on the beach we could also see the lighthouse.  Mel says we can go explore that closer soon!  For now, they still have the snow fences up, and that day was windy so the pier wasn't safe (Also was tired after a night of work.)



Remember when I took photos of the first spring flowers?  There are lots more flowers now!  There are buds on the trees too, they should bloom soon!  Don't these bright flowers and I make a pretty colorful set?



Talk to you again soon!  Miss you! 

YAY Mel got her camera fixed!  So now not only can we take new photos, but we can finally post the ones we took earlier, but couldn't get to!


Mel had to take her niece back home after a weekend, so we went with.  First we stopped at a nice park to enjoy the nice spring weather. 
It is the site of an old water mill, long gone now but the man-made falls are still there.  Behind them you can see a railroad trellis.  It is not used anymore, either.  The millrace is on the other side of the river from the park.



When we got to Mel's sister's house, they were working outdoors.  The horses needed grooming to brush out their winter coats!  They were so big!  Friendly though.  I finally got up the nerve to pet one.
Her name is Cappuccino.




The weather here is lovely mum, as you will see in my next update! 

We started the weekend on Friday, when the Grand Haven High School Class of 2015 had their graduation ceremony!  We went to see Mel's cousin Emma graduate.  Our seats weren't the best, but we could hear the band play and the speeches. 
The ceremony was held on the sports field.  You can see the stands are all full of family for the graduates.



Emma is having her party in June.  I will miss it, but Aaron might be able to go.  He will tell me how it goes!

Here in the USA it is Memorial Day weekend.  It is when people honor the dead, especially soldiers.  But it is also the unofficial beginning of summer, so a lot of people take advantage of the long weekend.

Mel needed to go downtown to meet a friend to get copies of her book to sell, and we got to come along!  She thought that since it was a perfect day, she could finally take us to see the waterfront!  Her friend Jason came along with his camera also, but he had no voyagers. Poor guy!



This is the Grand River that we walked along before, but at it's mouth.  There is a park that runs all along it, and it is very popular with boaters.  It is still early in the season though, according to Mel.
As we walked farther, we could start to see the lake, and the pier and lighthouse in the distance! 



It was a good walk, I am glad Mel carried us.  Here is Aaron and I posing together.



We made it to the pier!  And since the weather was good, we could walk right out on it!  There were a lot of signs with warnings though.  The signs said a lot of people have been drowned by jumping off or getting swept off the pier. 



This is the beach you could see in our eclipse photos.  It looks warmer now!  Some people were flying a kite.  There is a campground too, as you can see.  In the summer this will be all full of people!



We walked all the way to the very end!  This is the view from the tip of the pier.  All that concrete helps the lighthouse stand up to the big waves.  We look so tiny!



This is looking north to the other side of the channel.  You can see some of the sand dunes along Lake Michigan.  Also very expensive beachfront houses!



It was a nice day!  Mel says with the Memorial Day holiday this weekend, there is a carnival in the town north of here, or we could go downtown again for the parade.  I think the weather will help us decide.  I will post again before I move on! 

Hello!  This will hopefully be my last update from Mel's house!  It has been a busy week though.

Tuesday, Mel goes to a park and sells phones at a market that sets up there.  We went with!  So did Madison.  Mel was stuck at her table, but we were bored a bit so Madison took us exploring in the park!  She took pictures for us, too!

The park has a Little Sharing Library!  Is a box on a post, where anyone can come and take a book, or leave one. 


Then Aaron and I played in the trees for a while.


Then we just sat and enjoyed the sunshine for a while.  It was a nice day.  Aaron and I talked about our upcoming travels.  he is moving on the same time I am, he is going the the Netherlands.  I will miss him.


We checked in with Mel sometimes, and played on her table when there were no customers, which was most of the time, sadly.  We liked looking at the pictures of HER travels!


Wednesday was busy too!  Madison and her cousin wanted to go to the pool, and Mel is always up for going swimming, so we all went!  The pool is at the local high school.  Some of the teams were there practicing in the other end of the pool.


Aaron was thinking about jumping off the driving board, so I was ready with rescue equipment.  Luckily he didn't, so I got to stay dry.


After swimming we went for frozen yogurt, which is popular treat now  The girls called it FroYo.  We could put whatever toppings we wanted on.  The girls shared with us.


Then Thursday!  Mel was asked to put some photos in a book about West Michigan, so since the day was lovely, Mom and Mads came with us all and we went to look or and take photos of the next two lighthouses down the coast of Lake Michigan, from Grand Haven.  The walking was nice, and so was seeing the water and birds.

Parking for the walk to the Holland light was next to Lake Macatawa and some very posh houses and a yacht club.


We read some of the history.  Then Mom sat and waited for us, she didn't want to walk so much.


We walked all the way to the end, like we did in Grand Haven.  Madison helped is take pictures most of the time, because Mel had her big camera doing artsy photos.


There are dunes along the lake here, too.  Madison had just gone exploring on the dunes as a class trip, so she told u all about it.


Then we all got back into the car and went down south more, to South Haven.  It sounds like Grand Haven, and the lighthouse is a lot the same too!  It just doesn't have the big square house at the end.  There were a lot of people there too, even though clouds had come in and blocked some of the sunshine.


Another thing South Haven had that Grand Haven didn't was a PIRATE SHIP!  They take out school kids and tourists for sails on the lake.  They even fired a canon!  We were all excited that they came back into the channel wile we were there so we could see it. 


Then we had a yummy dinner and went home to sleep. ^_^

And now today, it is packing day!  It's Sunday, so no mail today, but Mel is getting us ready to go tomorrow.  We got to pick from some goodies to take with us.  Aaron is going too, and so is Buzz!  he is going to Russia!  I hope it goes better for him that his trip to Portugal! 


Then Mel let us all go through her postcard box to pick one to send to our new hosts.

I sure hope mine likes what I chose...  I am excited to travel!    I hope to talk to you again soon!  I miss you!

It's snowing in Beijing. The first snows of winter ! The weather is very cold. We go to the park to see the snow. The lake has begun to freeze.
In the lake opposite the tower is the CCTV Tower. This is a sign of modern architectural function, They can launch 8 sets and 10 sets of radio and television.
The snow was banked up along the roadside. But So much snow has already melted away. We can snowmen and throw the snowballs.

We wen to the Jingshan Park, an former imperial garden!


The mount was named the Hill of 10,000 Years and became an imperial garden to the north of the imperial Palace.


The name of "Jingshan" was given in 1655 during the Qing Dynasty. In 1751 five pavilions were built on the hill in a straight line. Wanchun Pavilion in the middle is on the central axis of the old Beijing city. So This is the center of Beijing.We From there one has a grand view of the former Imperial Palace.

We passed the the Imperial Palace. This is one of the most famous scenic spots in Beijing.
The tourist bus is very lovely. We took a video on it.
PAPA was thinking about putting the video about us on website, Such as YouTube. And I'm looking forward to seeing myself.

Today we went to the Olympic Park.

Due to the stadium's outward appearance, it was nicknamed "The Bird's Nest".
It looks like a bird's nest woven with branches. It contains a bowl-shaped stadium which is red. The whole building is related through the giant reticular structure, without one column in the interior.
It has been a landmark and a longstanding symbol of the Olympics. During the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the opening ceremony, closing ceremony, track and field meets, and men's football final will be held here.

It is the world's largest steel structure and the most complex stadium ever constructed. Its design had to be inspiring and be able to withstand an earthquake.
After the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the stadium will become a sports and entertainment facility for the residents of Beijing.



The Beijing National Aquatics Center,also officially known as the National Aquatics Center,and colloquially known as the Water Cube,is an aquatics center that was built alongside Beijing National Stadium in the Olympic Green for the swimming competitions of the 2008 Summer Olympics

Despite its nickname,the building is not an actual cube,but a cuboid (a rectangular box). is a shape very similar to the structure of "H2O",

In the evening it will make a colorful light, Much better than the day. PAPA said she had the chance to bring us here again at night.

We will spend the new year in Boracay, Philippines.

We're jetting off for a sunshine holiday in the Boracay~~
BEIJING was rather cold , five below zero.We too need the warm sunshine.

We arrived at the hotel.It's very warm here.

The sea all around the island.sunshine and beach looks so beautiful.We had some food.We began to enjoy  forget all and disturbing carefree holiday, not sedulous ground orchestrates a lot of activity, think only silent the taste that enjoys leisure.

Today is the last day of 2015.

We wnet to thr Puka Beach
Puka beach second major Boracay beach, it is the pride of Boracay.
Puka beach shells are very famous in the 1970s and 1980s, Puka Shell was chosen for high-quality raw materials, used to make jewelry, rage, by people's favorite. Therefore, but a lot of people in Puka beach collect shells can now see the remains of the time left.

A famous singer LiangJingRu in China is holding a wedding at here.

We spent the whole morning collecting seashells on the beach. We found many beautiful shells on the shore.

The New Year's bell will soon toll to usher in the year2015.
This year I went to many cities in many countries for travel, I have met many old friends and got to know a lot of new friends, so I felt very happy! For some reason, I didn't update in time. But I've photographed a lot and there are more photos that I have not processed.But when I look at them, it brings back many memories. I will be in the days to update and share with us.

I made a wish for the new year: Next year we can go to more places to travel and May my family and my friends live in peace and harmony throughout the new year.

Wish everyone a happy new year!

We're going to the white sand beach in the sun today.
White Beach, Boracay's biggest tourist attraction, stretches some four kilometers on the western side of the island, mostly within the barangay of Balabag. It is largely because of the pristine, white powdery sand of White Beach and the crystal-clear blue water of the surrounding sea that Boracay is often called "the world's most beautiful tropical island."


The northern end of the beach is "lorded over" by Fridays, the southern end by Lorenzo South. In between you will find all kinds of accommodation, from native bamboo-and-nipa bungalows to Western-style concrete buildings.

The most famous view of Boracay is the sunset. We sat on a sailing boat to see the sunset.
But I can't take a picture. The sailing is too exciting. I was wet all over. We'll play on this again tomorrow.

We're still at the beach today.
I really like the sea. Seeing it makes me relaxed and peaceful. My home is near the sea and I love walking on the beach. After sunset, the sea becomes so different from daytime. The sea breeze makes me comfortable. Walking without shoes feels great, because the sand is so soft. Sometimes, we will play games on the beach or make some sand sculptures. It's really funny.

Today, we played in the hotel swimming pool. Also went to the spa. The island is rife wit SPA, Here's the Philippines massage is very famous,Spa consultants and therapists are experienced in all of the treatments and can assist guests in planning personalised spa treatment.

Swimming and massage, hat really good feel. But we're going home tomorrow.
Goodbye Boracay
We're back in the winter
But I know there are more interesting things waiting for us in the Beijing.