tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-284596862024-03-06T22:44:43.112-08:00Rabid MarmotA Californian mountain fanatic living in Latin AmericaForresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.comBlogger139125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-62230304576517227172015-04-30T16:23:00.000-07:002016-03-19T16:41:14.084-07:00Dinner at the US Ambassador's Residence<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=28459686" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">At the end
of April, Sara and I flew up to New Zealand's capital of Wellington and stayed
with our friend Michelle until our dinner on Tuesday evening. Monday was a
holiday and Sara remotely work and I worked from our Wellington office on
Tuesday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">During the
day before the dinner, I remembered I still needed to get back with the Embassy
with the make, model and plate number of the car we were driving. This was to
allow us to park on the Ambassador's residential compound.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50BPTq3itN2teYuUgRqlAZH9xqZoi2sfdQMNh5bZDRpi_noiHvopD1dP8o4eFNN0GCgjiLkjnmDxihdmL46O5JmZKVGYdULm3Gbl-DIJbdQvCSN-KT1LvTqnCuFIpD4sQgQIfGA/s1600/Photo+Apr+28%252C+10+52+49+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50BPTq3itN2teYuUgRqlAZH9xqZoi2sfdQMNh5bZDRpi_noiHvopD1dP8o4eFNN0GCgjiLkjnmDxihdmL46O5JmZKVGYdULm3Gbl-DIJbdQvCSN-KT1LvTqnCuFIpD4sQgQIfGA/s320/Photo+Apr+28%252C+10+52+49+PM.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dressed up before heading out.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Dressed up
in formal wear, we drove off of the busy street in the Lower Hutt part of
Wellington and entered the compound passing a red brick wall with only a shiny
brass plague showing the street address. We soon stopped at the security point
where our ids were checked and the underside of the car checked with mirrors
and engine and trunk compartments visually scanned over. Once done the guard
cheerfully let us drive on where we passed a large grass lawn with only a US
flag at the top of a tall pole in the middle. We were now legally on US
territory. At the far end of the lawn was a large colonial house, lit up with
exterior lights.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Walking up,
we could see the Ambassador and his wife chatting with a few other people in
the foyer. We noticed a large abstract painting of President Obama through the
window that sat on the wall just behind them. The Ambassador sees us through
the window and opens the door where he and his wife, Nancy greeted us with a
firm handshake and a cheek air kiss. We were then handed glasses of California
red wine - ahhh tastes of home. You don't find California wines in New Zealand
much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=28459686" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>We chatted
with Ambassador Mark and Nancy and met the other guests that had already
arrived including one staff member, Rob, the Public Diplomacy Officer at the
embassy and whom we've met before at the 9/11 ceremony last October in
Christchurch. While waiting for the other guests Nancy informed us about all
the paintings on display and how they are all in loan as part of a Department
of State program of show casing original pieces of art. Sara and I walked
around looking at the paintings and photos hung around the house. Examples of
paintings are an abstract painting of Uncle Sam, one of a bison and one of a
box of Circus Animal Cookies. Some of the photos we saw: Ambassador playing
one-on-one basketball with President Obama, Ambassador and Bill Clinton,
Ambassador and Nancy with Vice President Biden all in mid laugh.</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ambassador
Mark is a former Chicago White Sox player and turned to the financial sector
afterwards. He was a supporter of the Obama presidential campaign. He is also
what is called an "appointed ambassador", this is different from a
"career ambassador" where "appointed ambassadors" are
directly appointed by the President and confirmed by the US Senate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In contrast, "Career Ambassadors"
are Foreign Service officers that moved all the way up to position of full
ambassador and move from one ambassadorship to another. "Appointed
Ambassadors" have to be appointed each time by the US President. This is
Ambassador Mark's first ambassadorship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Dinner was
announced, Sara and I walked into the dining room where the large dining table
was set up for 14 people. The table was set up with white china with gold rims.
The Seal of the US was branded at the top of all the plates, glasses and even
tea cups. We found our seats by the names cards that were placed on the table.
The cards even had an embossed Seal of the United States above our names. This
is the same table and setup where visiting dignitaries ate at.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc1JDgkCHMMTH0OYWjBfpvVpzvG7bL5Z0nkyUQCqNB6gnUiKTMWY0YaZ8dawfuZjyWKUGEf5psq9eaeopwI_yYbtVhhYCCZzDDyreHcTFDrbkhuzExA68CcvfGpnbsmG6hwWoETw/s1600/Photo+Apr+28%252C+10+59+04+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc1JDgkCHMMTH0OYWjBfpvVpzvG7bL5Z0nkyUQCqNB6gnUiKTMWY0YaZ8dawfuZjyWKUGEf5psq9eaeopwI_yYbtVhhYCCZzDDyreHcTFDrbkhuzExA68CcvfGpnbsmG6hwWoETw/s320/Photo+Apr+28%252C+10+59+04+PM.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Besides the
Ambassador and Nancy, couples were separated at opposite’s ends of the table
and we sat in a boy-girl-boy-girl pattern. To the right of me was, Annie, the
wife of an American professor at the University of Canterbury who is also on
the US Fulbright Scholarship Board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To
the left was the Ambassador's daughter, Liz. Sara sat between the American
professor himself, Trevor and Rob. Some of the other guests were Will, an
Eisenhower Fellow whom I've met before as we both were speakers at a Connecting
Young Leaders Conference last year in Christchurch, and his wife. The guest of
honor was six-time Oscar winner, Richard Talyor and his wife of Weta Workshop.
Richard worked on many movies including The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit
trilogies and most recently designed the Anzac exhibit at Te Papa National
Museum of New Zealand for the 100th anniversary of the ANZAC forces landing in
Gallipoli (in present-day Turkey), which was the previous weekend and what the
annual holiday on Monday was for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Dinner was
quite fun, the conversations ranged from light topics of Nancy sharing embarrassing
moments of Ambassador Mark and Liz's addiction to some TV show called the
"Game of Thrones" to more sobering topics of the recent devastating
earthquake in Nepal (for the recorded was introduced by Nancy and not me).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">At the end
of dinner, Ambassador Mark brought the kitchen staff out where we were able to
praise them for the amazing dinner and then Nancy handed out small parting
gifts to us. We mingled a bit before leaving, where the Ambassador saw us off.
What an awesome night?!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-36415362907290468332015-01-05T23:55:00.000-08:002015-02-09T00:41:00.470-08:00New Years Day HikeOriginally we were going to hike for 6 days in Nelson Lakes National Park on the Travers-Sabine track with a side trip to Blue Lake. But we changed the plan and just Sara and I headed south from the Sounds to Mt Aspiring National Park to do the Young River-Gillespie Pass Track<br />
<br />
Hiking up the Young River Valley on the first day was long. Because we didn't want to cross the Makaroa River, we had to start 2 hours farther away at the Blue Pools trailhead where there was a swing bridge. This made the first day of hiking a long one. By the time we got to Young Forks (confluence of the north and south forks of the Young River), we were exhausted and decided to camp for the night. Even though a cold front was expected to pass overnight, we planned on hiking the last 3 hours to Young Hut in the morning, then wait out the rest of the storm there, before heading over the pass the following day.<br />
<br />
The rain came over night, heavy at times, but nothing too bad. The Young River was muddy and twice as wide as it was yesterday, full of water, bank to bank. Assuming the cold front already passed, at first light, around 5:30am, we got up and packed up camp and started our way to Young Hut. We didn't' even bother with breakfast and just hit the trail to do the last 3 hours and then eat at Young Hut. <br />
<br />
An hour into the hike, the actual front finally hit us (it was late). Lightning and thunder cracking overhead, with random hard downpours of rain. This wasn't so bad until a grey wall of wind and rain swooped down the vertical cliffs of the deep glacier carved valley. The trees bucked back and forth, snapping branches. At a point we thought it was going to cause a windfall (cluster of fallen trees).<br />
<br />
We would wait until the lightning, wind and rain eased a bit before crossing a swing bridge, creek or meadow. But luckily before we knew it, we saw the hut.<br />
<br />
We met a lot of great people in the hut as we waited out the storm for the rest of the day. Waiting was worth it, because the next morning, we had calm winds and blue skies. The hike to the headwaters and over the steep pass was amazing. we had a long lunch at the top and soaked in the views.<br />
<br />
The hike down the pass and into the Siberia Valley was long. It seemed like it went on forever. But once we made it to the valley floor, it was all worth it.<br />
<br />
The next day we were able to take the back flight out of the Siberia Valley and bypass some river crossings. Helicopters fly into the Siberia Valley and drop people off so they can walk back out. The helicopters would then fly back out empty, so the sell the seats for cheap to hikers wanting to fly out.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo7ZAqqSDLUos7rVsSy8Fg86EHMfxxBwcmeEie9DzszhXuJDpd2GK_NDsf2HOAOBrquD8TDAiSZkYKfYK7iyeq-vEvjvmwC1zqb9MjNWsX5kl-69iVBmHD5BDmxRBmWs_z76tbmQ/s1600/DSCF1910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo7ZAqqSDLUos7rVsSy8Fg86EHMfxxBwcmeEie9DzszhXuJDpd2GK_NDsf2HOAOBrquD8TDAiSZkYKfYK7iyeq-vEvjvmwC1zqb9MjNWsX5kl-69iVBmHD5BDmxRBmWs_z76tbmQ/s1600/DSCF1910.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Pools</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turn off for the pass</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbing Gillespie Pass</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gillespie Pass</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPYuiFqZpuH0at4JS6ehNMrJCPEzpKQwwTg-V7kqju2ZCctfu1FcMWVZV9plZxzrvtrEtMRliJGVlwjnoRr08R2ueUcWAOdGsGd2zzP0qNCmUFDdr7IAZBfA-nrTs2-wgvDHmQw/s1600/DSCF1938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPYuiFqZpuH0at4JS6ehNMrJCPEzpKQwwTg-V7kqju2ZCctfu1FcMWVZV9plZxzrvtrEtMRliJGVlwjnoRr08R2ueUcWAOdGsGd2zzP0qNCmUFDdr7IAZBfA-nrTs2-wgvDHmQw/s1600/DSCF1938.JPG" height="90" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnOzTX8xbUh8fAjgdVMT6_h9dwPmhaMAUogwkikLkfZcgIHzEGnWtxF-oVkf0PuNvH6uPB2XjkpaC96tqhwhpxLJP2BKt4TDKzomoBJCstR8h2c223OAJ0HkeIiBkw1cJNEeCS0g/s1600/DSCF1942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnOzTX8xbUh8fAjgdVMT6_h9dwPmhaMAUogwkikLkfZcgIHzEGnWtxF-oVkf0PuNvH6uPB2XjkpaC96tqhwhpxLJP2BKt4TDKzomoBJCstR8h2c223OAJ0HkeIiBkw1cJNEeCS0g/s1600/DSCF1942.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPjBYBC_avbaHyROPeIANFHnIALyJpfgPX5muNpM9n8E7clbW1Ou5HH_DRZTurt3WEcxQULScjqybQgw2sJX-jfVHzD7E6PWh0cDo-lY413bOlo84SHfnllUe3D54iC1vpDK1YyQ/s1600/DSCF1944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPjBYBC_avbaHyROPeIANFHnIALyJpfgPX5muNpM9n8E7clbW1Ou5HH_DRZTurt3WEcxQULScjqybQgw2sJX-jfVHzD7E6PWh0cDo-lY413bOlo84SHfnllUe3D54iC1vpDK1YyQ/s1600/DSCF1944.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Over on the Siberia Valley side of the pass</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHu9l8mC1B5C6nXeNxSiPRT_xJkIJ3Q9wbvvAnGcD61jdh4_chS8gKK6pMtqi5qU0qc0g8VeUvhP8IkDkKG7wRog-KdcKhOk9nrVi0mmUhhCs5ITpdO7ggART2ldSfNSwttDNWQ/s1600/DSCF1964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHu9l8mC1B5C6nXeNxSiPRT_xJkIJ3Q9wbvvAnGcD61jdh4_chS8gKK6pMtqi5qU0qc0g8VeUvhP8IkDkKG7wRog-KdcKhOk9nrVi0mmUhhCs5ITpdO7ggART2ldSfNSwttDNWQ/s1600/DSCF1964.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sara looking at what we just went over</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCJIDovOQJFfuR6nFXz_3DlS2wvuW1iwCqyfYncJmeTJUGElX2-BZ4Iat5Kz6FmZ3YHJrpSpQGvZxXNkAhluQnbtgcovCnwwEkmAVEUQbCzI70KxvL0GvGSYYYOe96Fqe1rRWbHA/s1600/DSCF1967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCJIDovOQJFfuR6nFXz_3DlS2wvuW1iwCqyfYncJmeTJUGElX2-BZ4Iat5Kz6FmZ3YHJrpSpQGvZxXNkAhluQnbtgcovCnwwEkmAVEUQbCzI70KxvL0GvGSYYYOe96Fqe1rRWbHA/s1600/DSCF1967.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Siberia Valley</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgETc_9yKZmY2blZFo9god19vqr59ZEiaDBGlTJprJzXNXWm8b_ge0TFKCURTbIB1l3sbm3AtCjYf7zntZTrBVP0-L2q_dJULV_UuOBOd1Mi-vxQpKfUBD1nm8bpzMUxRA3LQMW-Q/s1600/DSCF1968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgETc_9yKZmY2blZFo9god19vqr59ZEiaDBGlTJprJzXNXWm8b_ge0TFKCURTbIB1l3sbm3AtCjYf7zntZTrBVP0-L2q_dJULV_UuOBOd1Mi-vxQpKfUBD1nm8bpzMUxRA3LQMW-Q/s1600/DSCF1968.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Siberia Valley Hut, home for the night</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">waiting for the chopper</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">get to the chopper!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">riding high!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil1p0_pf51-DAzUcgcEniFDrgsm1JgRpuql40HsK0m2dJGCBr6_G7ShFdp3-OwwUDuqbS_pjR8WZgNc0HNF5PIczI-6UQ7xkEkFvOK8OIl5n8EX86Ns_XTZ3zT9fdibnVgr_-AgQ/s1600/DSCF1992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil1p0_pf51-DAzUcgcEniFDrgsm1JgRpuql40HsK0m2dJGCBr6_G7ShFdp3-OwwUDuqbS_pjR8WZgNc0HNF5PIczI-6UQ7xkEkFvOK8OIl5n8EX86Ns_XTZ3zT9fdibnVgr_-AgQ/s1600/DSCF1992.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">over the Wilkin River</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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(post note)<br />
One of the guys in the Young Hut where we were waiting out the storm with, Scott "Brock" Oliver, was killed three days later in the upper Wilkin River Valley. He was hiking with his girlfriend, Rachel, her 80 year father and brother. From the short time we've known him, Brock was a cheerful and funny guy - and had the coolest backcountry expresso maker!<br />
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It is reported, after we flew out, Brock and his group hiked up the Wilkin River Valley to Jumboland Flats, from there they did a day hike to some lakes and on the way back, Brock went ahead from his group to scout out the trail in the Wilkin Gorge section and went missing. His body was found 3 weeks later and 13 miles down river from where his disappeared.<br />
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<a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11383198">NZ Herald: Tributes for lost tramper Scott Oliver</a><br />
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<br />Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-79288808921574359562014-12-30T00:12:00.000-08:002015-02-09T00:13:43.364-08:00Christmas VacationChristmas break was spend at a "Bach" (New Zealand term for holiday home) on Pelorus Sound for 4 days. Though cloudy for a few days, we had dry weather the whole time.<br />
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We got a Bach in Northwest Bay which is off of Pelorus Sounds up in the Marlborough Sounds. This area is totally off the grid, no power, no cell phone service, no roads. You can only get there by boat.<br />
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Jessie made a ham for our Christmas dinner and the rest of the time, we pretty much just hung out in the sun, took a quick dip in the cold waters and went on a few short hikes.<br />
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Since there was no road, there were no crowds, just the sounds of the New Zealand native birds.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our bach (vacation house)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">getting mussels for fishing bait</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">checking out the local flora</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">High Tide</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Low Tide</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sara and a koru</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging out</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">picnic on the dock</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">picnic on the dock</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">exploring the area around Northwest Bay</td></tr>
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<br />Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-29636928036596542572014-09-14T00:05:00.001-07:002014-09-14T00:08:50.508-07:00Foggy PeakDay hike up Foggy Peak<br />
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<br />Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-84498641785871981092013-05-13T02:37:00.000-07:002013-05-14T01:21:49.331-07:00Mueller Hut in Mount Cook National ParkThis past weekend had perfect weather forecasted, so Sara and some friends and I took a weekend trip to Aoraki Mount Cook National Park to hike to Mueller Hut. Mueller Hut is a backcountry hut built by the Department of Conversation for people to use, this particular hut sits up on the Sealy Range at 1800m overlooking the glacier covered Main Divide of the Southern Alps. What an amazing trip. It's not a long hike, but it's straight up, climbing 1200m or 3700ft over a few miles. With the views and all the snow that had fallen in the past few weeks combined with the calm sunny warm weather, made the trip unforgettable.<br />
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We left Christchurch at 6am and drove down to Mount Cook arriving at 10am. bought our hut tickets and starting hiking up the 1080 steps to Sealy Tarns view point. From there, the trail becomes a poled route for the rest of the steep climb to the ridge top at which point the upper Mueller Valley is visible. Amazing views. before you know it, the red Mueller Hut view welcomes you. It's like a mountain lodge set in the most extreme scenery.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJey9MlZNN6VY6BArh4sONFn7CEJdhzj5MbeVU3DSnfHdcnrCPqWy2eTSzx9AoBWf8T7_162eLoWXRT4GbyJvRZ7uN2NVJCJk1HcQ1KQRIFPvPu7XYPOiiFRHl5encRrtj9sRFZg/s1600/amcnp7508.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJey9MlZNN6VY6BArh4sONFn7CEJdhzj5MbeVU3DSnfHdcnrCPqWy2eTSzx9AoBWf8T7_162eLoWXRT4GbyJvRZ7uN2NVJCJk1HcQ1KQRIFPvPu7XYPOiiFRHl5encRrtj9sRFZg/s400/amcnp7508.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYn5XDbbR83pJMUC0FWQCS66v9QgbNSLP99a62mGw8lv-6Py7S9JvPQ5m_D44fZ_82feKLZ4-0F6lOcuEX4rh-yO4uO8e66h8aj5EOVOFx8Ar5qcDndIRS_odVUqYByNKIx8IrQ/s1600/amcnp7512.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYn5XDbbR83pJMUC0FWQCS66v9QgbNSLP99a62mGw8lv-6Py7S9JvPQ5m_D44fZ_82feKLZ4-0F6lOcuEX4rh-yO4uO8e66h8aj5EOVOFx8Ar5qcDndIRS_odVUqYByNKIx8IrQ/s400/amcnp7512.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKWNISiZhflgFsZxgY-GGzcc29BSbetHdxLQWpzIFQqU-Imw4DyB0fvY3w1UfioADXadZgNl0nhN7nYXamiQdQh2qTCD5MK4Ogcf7n_nB2Xt95ENY5WN3_a30CyxuN6BO9ScIscw/s1600/amcnp7525.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKWNISiZhflgFsZxgY-GGzcc29BSbetHdxLQWpzIFQqU-Imw4DyB0fvY3w1UfioADXadZgNl0nhN7nYXamiQdQh2qTCD5MK4Ogcf7n_nB2Xt95ENY5WN3_a30CyxuN6BO9ScIscw/s400/amcnp7525.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lOFlDK95Q0wDfaFJgbRa-KW4g0P-InbFiSbvtDJ52v8_Qm2AdZLD-F1JOdRY-hMQ2h43oX3NhTVi7EFHCoswQ6emNLkmjOG5Rw4bmJQY0Sr7RF4sJjRnSFo18rB-6D617m1Kaw/s1600/amcnp7531.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lOFlDK95Q0wDfaFJgbRa-KW4g0P-InbFiSbvtDJ52v8_Qm2AdZLD-F1JOdRY-hMQ2h43oX3NhTVi7EFHCoswQ6emNLkmjOG5Rw4bmJQY0Sr7RF4sJjRnSFo18rB-6D617m1Kaw/s400/amcnp7531.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPrjHMWffj2HZkXWxNnZT0N2waN2_sioehG8JxqYiIWkbGyOf9fgHBmDIRqyzZC_3N7YfXmdTBLD3Lo4gy2NSdQ5E6UsyutquUkuBn9TPkQMvwwAPeXgaj6bQsFIjJu501Sz874A/s1600/amcnp7535.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPrjHMWffj2HZkXWxNnZT0N2waN2_sioehG8JxqYiIWkbGyOf9fgHBmDIRqyzZC_3N7YfXmdTBLD3Lo4gy2NSdQ5E6UsyutquUkuBn9TPkQMvwwAPeXgaj6bQsFIjJu501Sz874A/s400/amcnp7535.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOmpKqQA1q4O_iMfLj1D6RF62mZ82mL6nZSKCMTknl9JwVhhYcOnK-rBaaivUtFiYorvrlnnLg6dDX2rv0DRllT4kw6-DRPvkvqMBPYWRnlUL5reMq01xTc_kqPLfc1uPGualOAQ/s1600/amcnp7536.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOmpKqQA1q4O_iMfLj1D6RF62mZ82mL6nZSKCMTknl9JwVhhYcOnK-rBaaivUtFiYorvrlnnLg6dDX2rv0DRllT4kw6-DRPvkvqMBPYWRnlUL5reMq01xTc_kqPLfc1uPGualOAQ/s400/amcnp7536.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCFDfhH8shvhHoNPDve3k0Xhx6SaK1GKy5OH9YZaSeORjIUcSEfmBr3Q_UfXM1glnS_VnORDYXryA18FqDXsV0_CGbPhtMuSG3YehuE1TK_PmH3vWa9xXUG4fqDKqfpIy0JLydDQ/s1600/amcnp7540.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCFDfhH8shvhHoNPDve3k0Xhx6SaK1GKy5OH9YZaSeORjIUcSEfmBr3Q_UfXM1glnS_VnORDYXryA18FqDXsV0_CGbPhtMuSG3YehuE1TK_PmH3vWa9xXUG4fqDKqfpIy0JLydDQ/s400/amcnp7540.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Starry night over Mueller Hut</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3yN_HubxGtVxDHQkQlAmvdAzlRaIIlyFk1-MgyIHmjHOIIKxKNSd1QO0sTgV2K8wnZJC8gA9mlwQkHjBGT6BUNJkd8oRJyOcviABMZ71FLxuyNi9b09AHXeM8f7psE9mqA3OoqQ/s1600/amcnp7542.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3yN_HubxGtVxDHQkQlAmvdAzlRaIIlyFk1-MgyIHmjHOIIKxKNSd1QO0sTgV2K8wnZJC8gA9mlwQkHjBGT6BUNJkd8oRJyOcviABMZ71FLxuyNi9b09AHXeM8f7psE9mqA3OoqQ/s400/amcnp7542.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0H_YDQYH7jl52EkLhrXEWCz1NEfW9475B193nDmYSJR9a65W33oX53XXWGU8J-sylLZFl4Y3MU6_-BKEpzwZ7LEuo2ms6WVrQo8UTa7kvlMMRtxO59L-Jq_xZ3MQ_-Z70zIEU-g/s1600/amcnp7543.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0H_YDQYH7jl52EkLhrXEWCz1NEfW9475B193nDmYSJR9a65W33oX53XXWGU8J-sylLZFl4Y3MU6_-BKEpzwZ7LEuo2ms6WVrQo8UTa7kvlMMRtxO59L-Jq_xZ3MQ_-Z70zIEU-g/s400/amcnp7543.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3zS9citvSCPmMkFlefrDAHkBxvdi9ee4HF0RAv_EjrxFn_0-TgkO1kLeEvdcBuNQDe4Y8TebEQU0M_4KXjcDLzPn7soad6UrOxu451VxyXlbV3Y6KphrDNs4qZEHC5ruEZYpHog/s1600/amcnp7544.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3zS9citvSCPmMkFlefrDAHkBxvdi9ee4HF0RAv_EjrxFn_0-TgkO1kLeEvdcBuNQDe4Y8TebEQU0M_4KXjcDLzPn7soad6UrOxu451VxyXlbV3Y6KphrDNs4qZEHC5ruEZYpHog/s400/amcnp7544.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJXpskQJdwCBPjRKC8Vy_Z2m1fiQ1CgYXKkBX6cnHAd3JuqbYzdP33mR_4FbluAmFr_glhfaeGUobHMyKDJF1U9CZdcshVg_MDW_mQUTKIKo9uHJERYtdjYC8iX5hCVyhsndCSA/s1600/amcnp7547.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJXpskQJdwCBPjRKC8Vy_Z2m1fiQ1CgYXKkBX6cnHAd3JuqbYzdP33mR_4FbluAmFr_glhfaeGUobHMyKDJF1U9CZdcshVg_MDW_mQUTKIKo9uHJERYtdjYC8iX5hCVyhsndCSA/s400/amcnp7547.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Sunrise</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnu6ifFlYPNA18Do0dXvOuVwW5mlqTqbSueMXwUjsf8dJxwPMFZfYxqZJIQtfKskhOD7GnKoU_Liw94aDyX9S2cIGbMCdTMxW623UME6W83l2IJhyWUYkZ3FSHCC6wwAOyTVFmDA/s1600/amcnp7550.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnu6ifFlYPNA18Do0dXvOuVwW5mlqTqbSueMXwUjsf8dJxwPMFZfYxqZJIQtfKskhOD7GnKoU_Liw94aDyX9S2cIGbMCdTMxW623UME6W83l2IJhyWUYkZ3FSHCC6wwAOyTVFmDA/s400/amcnp7550.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicoIsxz4qmPT93gaeAoeIWRN1qv2Xl_4gckoTUSEqZhGFiiHpnf4T5eKnnyLPOlbOIQcbObPEqoX1vGTxJF7KwLFgZbC9lzn3dDUJ-01h7PrMmVb4QIFZYyf0xHTi3DdpSUbhwEw/s1600/amcnp7551.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicoIsxz4qmPT93gaeAoeIWRN1qv2Xl_4gckoTUSEqZhGFiiHpnf4T5eKnnyLPOlbOIQcbObPEqoX1vGTxJF7KwLFgZbC9lzn3dDUJ-01h7PrMmVb4QIFZYyf0xHTi3DdpSUbhwEw/s400/amcnp7551.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaM0N7sfu_2xarfxSlBflvYAa3cmlNym46BnKO7YGFgpFCj6fqSRX96k4OTGBW5QgzGPhaLe2JMJjieAWYiWVG6bzJbzWTqwjkg33qQ7tIler5tYbfCyhuNLybd9Qgo18n_TAzew/s1600/amcnp7554.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaM0N7sfu_2xarfxSlBflvYAa3cmlNym46BnKO7YGFgpFCj6fqSRX96k4OTGBW5QgzGPhaLe2JMJjieAWYiWVG6bzJbzWTqwjkg33qQ7tIler5tYbfCyhuNLybd9Qgo18n_TAzew/s400/amcnp7554.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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on the summit of Mt Ollivier</div>
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Sharks Teeth</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNacGj-4iZpifaLK_HtUCXeKTKgALNYSbsk0chrXAoO9pbZtUpmgUjs7FxhVSL6l17JVqYd8FpsT3AyhyphenhyphenTCZwjF6FjwLMa54c6bkHYpkgcP8F2s_Zs5ZX_-7MSCTrF1XfahUb9A/s1600/amcnp7560.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNacGj-4iZpifaLK_HtUCXeKTKgALNYSbsk0chrXAoO9pbZtUpmgUjs7FxhVSL6l17JVqYd8FpsT3AyhyphenhyphenTCZwjF6FjwLMa54c6bkHYpkgcP8F2s_Zs5ZX_-7MSCTrF1XfahUb9A/s400/amcnp7560.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Wvn8aac-MAM4On2gs3s1tYGliTKzLxjsO1wIOKJE4l_fFBxIgMmq7dAC0ZvQIWsp4eQDwBwiZwfyxKXeWi16A2LFOhxcAtgsWAbagd-JQ3MTUL1URA8esXrzwlzZw26gvaOLaA/s1600/amcnp7562.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Wvn8aac-MAM4On2gs3s1tYGliTKzLxjsO1wIOKJE4l_fFBxIgMmq7dAC0ZvQIWsp4eQDwBwiZwfyxKXeWi16A2LFOhxcAtgsWAbagd-JQ3MTUL1URA8esXrzwlzZw26gvaOLaA/s400/amcnp7562.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Mueller Hut</div>
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It's amazing that you can do a trip like this over a normal two-day weekend!<br />
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Our legs are hurting...Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-41404786992540669372012-06-10T01:15:00.000-07:002013-05-14T01:22:56.117-07:00Castle Hill Peak<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-7306141593165555852011-12-11T01:10:00.000-08:002013-05-14T01:13:08.705-07:00Mt Oakden Some co-workers and I wanted to get out and do a day hike, so we decided on a "hill" (Mt Oakden) near Lake Coleridge. <br />
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As beautiful the area was, the hike was a pain in the ass, it was all bush-whacking and scree climbing. Didn't make it to the top. But had some great photos!
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Mt Oakden, doesn't look bad</div>
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Mikael climbing up the scree</div>
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Wilberforce River</div>
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Wilberforce River</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifzGoFpdFdgWckGjMgInSC-5wPGFIyUglISzk6y76XdTU4gHjfsslNHRc10iXS96Qo-QGqwW9HW08XMEd7C8lcMvdf9UF1wO2Vb9ZfxFQwLranE-KvB1MEXG6whcVd6Vbn1QDhzg/s1600/LakeColeridge6612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifzGoFpdFdgWckGjMgInSC-5wPGFIyUglISzk6y76XdTU4gHjfsslNHRc10iXS96Qo-QGqwW9HW08XMEd7C8lcMvdf9UF1wO2Vb9ZfxFQwLranE-KvB1MEXG6whcVd6Vbn1QDhzg/s320/LakeColeridge6612.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Lake Coleridge</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMeFVFLE97uu12B32rb_j9pe6cG6RJQ3SVCRn2Tsd6qqwi4oXNWnE4eIOLGT9vjZWaG64IK155VtBOkVmnWAjaJn3-kA7PzGDuhDd_yjEKKfxQDRM8tvmb14GpzU3eZ9MgrnWWjA/s1600/LakeColeridge6613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMeFVFLE97uu12B32rb_j9pe6cG6RJQ3SVCRn2Tsd6qqwi4oXNWnE4eIOLGT9vjZWaG64IK155VtBOkVmnWAjaJn3-kA7PzGDuhDd_yjEKKfxQDRM8tvmb14GpzU3eZ9MgrnWWjA/s320/LakeColeridge6613.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxRB6piY4mVUOPVy01koGLbM_6FM9WjwE12KDv36ricgltsAtT1ecdGCpLWXCfBSYfeF9pRCxGYqokHfGfLM1zT__8I2g2ORAWR2CxzXzPUjYKaxBDun78lTPydgntkn8iQ7XYrQ/s1600/LakeColeridge6614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxRB6piY4mVUOPVy01koGLbM_6FM9WjwE12KDv36ricgltsAtT1ecdGCpLWXCfBSYfeF9pRCxGYqokHfGfLM1zT__8I2g2ORAWR2CxzXzPUjYKaxBDun78lTPydgntkn8iQ7XYrQ/s320/LakeColeridge6614.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is one of my favorites (I didn't do anything to the color)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8jML5zczSi9HrC4y_afVYp1MG68ERZkJJ8v0jpbRscPF8kfOPk7Xn_RzOGVRp6zm-KtbRq992KR_gmueMzeD8x2HK24vRo3syve_JeLh1HY20FljNqvlLT-5IhXh8HnTjBIuaBg/s1600/LakeColeridge6615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8jML5zczSi9HrC4y_afVYp1MG68ERZkJJ8v0jpbRscPF8kfOPk7Xn_RzOGVRp6zm-KtbRq992KR_gmueMzeD8x2HK24vRo3syve_JeLh1HY20FljNqvlLT-5IhXh8HnTjBIuaBg/s320/LakeColeridge6615.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-UXkXMTqyFT_QHyj-wuf8N7pCd6tUI08cZsPjNTJwmqH28fko16JfgsC9iFDoa7s_rEaZkQzRmAViob_Kw1U7sS97k0ySr6gftWbkGLYWecJlJGN4KOkCS94oJOOTf44oZ5RJw/s1600/LakeColeridge6617.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-UXkXMTqyFT_QHyj-wuf8N7pCd6tUI08cZsPjNTJwmqH28fko16JfgsC9iFDoa7s_rEaZkQzRmAViob_Kw1U7sS97k0ySr6gftWbkGLYWecJlJGN4KOkCS94oJOOTf44oZ5RJw/s320/LakeColeridge6617.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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unreal water color</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZ_Rj8Wg3MqvER0DaqR55wvb-2yJNa4zucgPrBttmGyCMZe_9keSgqo2qmJQj6d60AXPWnCIzLe48Uga5gyxLRiZXJ82QVWroY-sEa0Ho-XPCQUJEczPbRyKoXjR9u1a5nzs1Ug/s1600/LakeColeridge6618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZ_Rj8Wg3MqvER0DaqR55wvb-2yJNa4zucgPrBttmGyCMZe_9keSgqo2qmJQj6d60AXPWnCIzLe48Uga5gyxLRiZXJ82QVWroY-sEa0Ho-XPCQUJEczPbRyKoXjR9u1a5nzs1Ug/s320/LakeColeridge6618.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-36321237426778026822011-10-14T13:28:00.000-07:002011-10-14T13:30:31.228-07:00it's been three monthsand a lot has happened! Sara and I hiked 60 miles over five alpine passess in the Sierra, during which trip, we got engaged! We both have now moved to New Zealand and found a house in an amazing location in the suburb of Sumner. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQ9diZzi22euqi-YdHQ7A318X6OfrTPaKqcXQ6n99AU9h537ZuALibrmmns2uk7eqIMnKUShB8xoZy3S9v37B_urJNstCXOG5stg-cbzNRSYkI92ocqf9iaDh74CfnDybOlnvKw/s1600/photo+%252819%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="299" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQ9diZzi22euqi-YdHQ7A318X6OfrTPaKqcXQ6n99AU9h537ZuALibrmmns2uk7eqIMnKUShB8xoZy3S9v37B_urJNstCXOG5stg-cbzNRSYkI92ocqf9iaDh74CfnDybOlnvKw/s400/photo+%252819%2529.JPG" /></a></div>View from inside our house<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2WdrnvbISXKYhSD7v2nMPiFwgzOa5C0JyAwl9OysFw3irhTANXhSngGTvxKz8Oe4c-1Dp5K1FNeRVvL1S16TYi2GAZCFheCOEXt6ZBO7TPXxpWDC6V3sBaVif0sELJH8tsRPxA/s1600/photo+%252820%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="299" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2WdrnvbISXKYhSD7v2nMPiFwgzOa5C0JyAwl9OysFw3irhTANXhSngGTvxKz8Oe4c-1Dp5K1FNeRVvL1S16TYi2GAZCFheCOEXt6ZBO7TPXxpWDC6V3sBaVif0sELJH8tsRPxA/s400/photo+%252820%2529.JPG" /></a></div>Sunset<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5BlPlH4rqv2oeZEaJ2KBtlRfenTtEy7jxQxujWkOTiWizQVtAofl55Zh7oPV_bF0RXJwXJ4iEJq7Y3RLnRb6rlmnAArZ3yYI4ysdvDh-QfgcujjBWv9GCgxqBwhd7R6KxJ818yg/s1600/photo+%252821%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="299" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5BlPlH4rqv2oeZEaJ2KBtlRfenTtEy7jxQxujWkOTiWizQVtAofl55Zh7oPV_bF0RXJwXJ4iEJq7Y3RLnRb6rlmnAArZ3yYI4ysdvDh-QfgcujjBWv9GCgxqBwhd7R6KxJ818yg/s400/photo+%252821%2529.JPG" /></a></div>Sunrise<br />
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For more on what happened in the past three months, it easier to view <a href="http://gringokiwi.blogspot.com/">Sara's Blog.</a>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-70414377034941385282011-07-17T18:48:00.000-07:002011-07-17T18:53:02.964-07:00918 miles from Cambridge, MA to Cincinnati, OHDrove 15 hours and over 900 miles. Grabbed coffee at Dunkin Donuts one last tine before leaving Massachusetts. Plowed through Connecticut. Skipped across New York State at its almost narrowest. crossed the vast ranges of uninhabited hills and forest during the 5 hours of trans-Pennsylvania crossing and finally amazed at fireflies along the freeway as evening set in while crossing Ohio.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_wPbQ_OkRYMiRhEWHDQEM7vL_KaNadqzvmFLcAgJC7-4UJKFFes8bwQqDBQ5x6eaPVud0sXvt_b5xFddCrTswybXuSbv5vYTR030DN_2ndITgfE9IvsLSWPD1YgdaXYpZF807g/s1600/photo-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="299" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_wPbQ_OkRYMiRhEWHDQEM7vL_KaNadqzvmFLcAgJC7-4UJKFFes8bwQqDBQ5x6eaPVud0sXvt_b5xFddCrTswybXuSbv5vYTR030DN_2ndITgfE9IvsLSWPD1YgdaXYpZF807g/s400/photo-1.JPG" /></a></div>Leaving Massachusetts for Connecticut and then into New York.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3HrnJ3uv1CWgzkziOs-Uo8TzWHJsh7S7dauAg3DXnlksMruO8g3OcFO6wHhncSZyJ9nsqOq7RfZGh739s1xLiPTuUo1VyXfLpl20ZlNiaC9Fxg_2egORzXBDMRJsG5ZgAHNYYg/s1600/photo-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="299" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3HrnJ3uv1CWgzkziOs-Uo8TzWHJsh7S7dauAg3DXnlksMruO8g3OcFO6wHhncSZyJ9nsqOq7RfZGh739s1xLiPTuUo1VyXfLpl20ZlNiaC9Fxg_2egORzXBDMRJsG5ZgAHNYYg/s400/photo-2.JPG" /></a></div>Passing Scranton, PA<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7P0gzVzVq18Xsf_j9Kd1dxFYHRtYayLRFre6ipPg-tIgZW_nW2ASUup8gLgAwEF4Hi9ik9DMtNxP-RPyyd4EZ_IjnDKfs-hReTviD0nAh_X4pHAJS6Awa1BIOdJh8yQTPz-uJPw/s1600/photo-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="299" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7P0gzVzVq18Xsf_j9Kd1dxFYHRtYayLRFre6ipPg-tIgZW_nW2ASUup8gLgAwEF4Hi9ik9DMtNxP-RPyyd4EZ_IjnDKfs-hReTviD0nAh_X4pHAJS6Awa1BIOdJh8yQTPz-uJPw/s400/photo-3.JPG" /></a></div>and finally, Cincinnati, OHForresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-88779663220337143002011-07-14T12:41:00.000-07:002011-07-14T16:17:32.981-07:00The Cube is on its way<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCsJ5fDJeFF1zyLgqtPgIz-aPDiqghn_Srq2IFQ_zzbpvm7F5raHyKgPbs3QdoMzaU_CKJk3tq906msqtA2vMCxUikUPV_euP4cipDY64qPQb-uwmrApKzOTZoyoo2abS-tpnUDA/s1600/photo+%252810%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="299" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCsJ5fDJeFF1zyLgqtPgIz-aPDiqghn_Srq2IFQ_zzbpvm7F5raHyKgPbs3QdoMzaU_CKJk3tq906msqtA2vMCxUikUPV_euP4cipDY64qPQb-uwmrApKzOTZoyoo2abS-tpnUDA/s400/photo+%252810%2529.JPG" /></a></div>Our (the front one) ReloCube (Relocation cubes by ABF U-Pack) leaves Aberdeen Court in Cambridge, MA and sets off on its 3300 mile (5300km) trip to the Bay Area. Using ReloCubes was about a $1000 cheaper than PODS for the same size and distance. Once in California, we will reorganize, put some in storage and set up the the rest to be picked up by Crown Relocations to be shipped to New Zealand.<br />
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onward...Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-14074040676110090362011-07-11T15:34:00.000-07:002011-07-12T09:52:45.037-07:00The Road Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHvcaoiOFFPSuSnchGxGO5CTA3kXYcIUXQY4HFllRDv-g96INOXoVKbIRkJw1tp-u4RC08vcYBRJNhMe2H2BVaWlvSdaK0O5kW240dVLmTNzTTCzDshsSfil8Gl9DfEaDL4yYRRw/s1600/xc-trip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="188" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHvcaoiOFFPSuSnchGxGO5CTA3kXYcIUXQY4HFllRDv-g96INOXoVKbIRkJw1tp-u4RC08vcYBRJNhMe2H2BVaWlvSdaK0O5kW240dVLmTNzTTCzDshsSfil8Gl9DfEaDL4yYRRw/s400/xc-trip.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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3304 miles (5317km)<br />
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A - Leave Boston, MA<br />
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B - Pass by the start of Interstate 80 in the New York City Metro Area and start following it westward to San Francisco.<br />
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see amazing New Jersey<br />
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C - overnight in Cincinnati, OH<br />
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Eat BBQ in Louisville, KY<br />
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D - Pass by the St. Louis Arch<br />
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Photograph the Arch from the freeway<br />
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E - camp somewhere in Nebraska<br />
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Look at flat land and corn<br />
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F - camp near the Great Salt Lake<br />
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Check out the salt flats<br />
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G - Arrive in the San Francisco Bay AreaForresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-6028703215982428302011-06-26T10:21:00.000-07:002011-06-26T07:30:44.904-07:00Awake from two years of slumberAfter two years of hibernation, I'm reactivating my blog!<br />
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After my second year in Afghanistan working for USAID, I moved to Boston with Sara in November of 2010. New England's winter was pretty hard, the worst they had in 22 years. <br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBNxIpMaXfk0dWla62OFGRABkXIiKYlhkmIxDdFBhk2wOxwObKUN6JqUmJPcL4QKvnwejkT1AaRJPg_SVC82Lpcq5XFj6BECVwrGFPc3GS9uqShYEBSqHrsjupZT7L0nnr9Crfzg/s1600/view-of-southern-alps.jpeg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBNxIpMaXfk0dWla62OFGRABkXIiKYlhkmIxDdFBhk2wOxwObKUN6JqUmJPcL4QKvnwejkT1AaRJPg_SVC82Lpcq5XFj6BECVwrGFPc3GS9uqShYEBSqHrsjupZT7L0nnr9Crfzg/s400/view-of-southern-alps.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621849972679675234" /></a><br />
<i>Christchurch and the Southern Alps - New Zealand</i><br />
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Now Sara and I are both heading out to New Zealand in September working for engineering companies working on the reconstruction after the Feb 2011 Christchurch Earthquake!Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-28568908131722165252011-01-25T12:58:00.000-08:002011-07-06T09:32:15.362-07:00Summing up the second year in Afghanistan in a few photos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWER0EdO9unSU3R682tlj2Rmt1Mv3qQhMzwpUVX46OWQ7VwWO1Os5HyIpIYHEMuY_rK0cTI28oP8SK2IWyRjn19qcDDELS5PhbQnaNgRgSDqFOIZe2lAODssIw0S6oWw1sgqKlYg/s1600/embassy6498.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWER0EdO9unSU3R682tlj2Rmt1Mv3qQhMzwpUVX46OWQ7VwWO1Os5HyIpIYHEMuY_rK0cTI28oP8SK2IWyRjn19qcDDELS5PhbQnaNgRgSDqFOIZe2lAODssIw0S6oWw1sgqKlYg/s400/embassy6498.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>embassy dodgeball games</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWONDWZah6XIEc0NXa2ZSWNYX3Ur_VIreUrKFsrfSeNqjyzChPta75qPt_jdxoKhAT_3MI74cXpKXFf5lvj2bd2rXlBmEljBgotZ-2u0Gy09kjcwHXD7CjpbRCqIUDx3ug6mcEDw/s1600/embassy6497.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWONDWZah6XIEc0NXa2ZSWNYX3Ur_VIreUrKFsrfSeNqjyzChPta75qPt_jdxoKhAT_3MI74cXpKXFf5lvj2bd2rXlBmEljBgotZ-2u0Gy09kjcwHXD7CjpbRCqIUDx3ug6mcEDw/s400/embassy6497.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>walking in the Hundu Kush</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB5LlEutn95fYb3jyTZPvzRtBl3IBRm-w9cBBkqtGLx1KTflWo03sepS9z9V6fTZw0RSh-OE6JnRNOu87vuNI-boWqYcar2Zu2mgtqYUlCTWdKPQifGie4CrMAELQh95vN4SFRjg/s1600/embassy6499.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB5LlEutn95fYb3jyTZPvzRtBl3IBRm-w9cBBkqtGLx1KTflWo03sepS9z9V6fTZw0RSh-OE6JnRNOu87vuNI-boWqYcar2Zu2mgtqYUlCTWdKPQifGie4CrMAELQh95vN4SFRjg/s400/embassy6499.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>speaking my mind</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAe0zdL4HiOlHC5OGJtL_t9SBYmL1Rjf8kUGIaNW0S5KHMHWoAwKlTOLJ3paWXjuzmi9ZB2sCe1aCqnjdw2v3fjHT74WXNHFGKIJakXXcnZ6WF8zYaEceBpXnOP_-fpqb2a2Q0bQ/s1600/embassy6502.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAe0zdL4HiOlHC5OGJtL_t9SBYmL1Rjf8kUGIaNW0S5KHMHWoAwKlTOLJ3paWXjuzmi9ZB2sCe1aCqnjdw2v3fjHT74WXNHFGKIJakXXcnZ6WF8zYaEceBpXnOP_-fpqb2a2Q0bQ/s400/embassy6502.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>riding and crashing dirt bikes</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYz5hJHrXxrcVjzVtMWlzXpsRSdrj48ntrXIolU4BSx7AvSzJSQl0sOSVZuBp6NTh-ikLMxczr5HWlF9DlXF0_kgXWzbDSyNu40ag2TG03wQrZYxzKag9eGV5w-AoglDpEFdA5Aw/s1600/embassy6501.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYz5hJHrXxrcVjzVtMWlzXpsRSdrj48ntrXIolU4BSx7AvSzJSQl0sOSVZuBp6NTh-ikLMxczr5HWlF9DlXF0_kgXWzbDSyNu40ag2TG03wQrZYxzKag9eGV5w-AoglDpEFdA5Aw/s400/embassy6501.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>riding MI8s </i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgRp4bdWrY7Dls6zkThD-k0sNJ7lGn2J1lWWY6BjzUNJbYMwkE2q-g0RHn0AXBsBO0Xoht17UZh7LUCtZGysXKYMNB3UTcHddSAfnFJe5XvbejBA89kx5o2s8s93_3zzug-fGDyw/s1600/embassy6503.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgRp4bdWrY7Dls6zkThD-k0sNJ7lGn2J1lWWY6BjzUNJbYMwkE2q-g0RHn0AXBsBO0Xoht17UZh7LUCtZGysXKYMNB3UTcHddSAfnFJe5XvbejBA89kx5o2s8s93_3zzug-fGDyw/s400/embassy6503.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>Vacation meetings in Dubai</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqvvQWQ-SfMMF6sSsN_VPS07q-x11SaTd8poKos-7kykGL_59gQLMVd23X4viFW4_s9_nY84t8Jv0ncSQg7m2zF2yvxE8nfFPR6GysyrHcbHh6czyplwP3tqy6Z8V2ee2Jy7qrQ/s1600/embassy6508.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqvvQWQ-SfMMF6sSsN_VPS07q-x11SaTd8poKos-7kykGL_59gQLMVd23X4viFW4_s9_nY84t8Jv0ncSQg7m2zF2yvxE8nfFPR6GysyrHcbHh6czyplwP3tqy6Z8V2ee2Jy7qrQ/s400/embassy6508.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>flying in military aircraft</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_oQs-jTtEkOkslCL4zCuHpRkNtSD6wHzPBrklH-MmardarJ4PHayJEFgQg1yFHyDhCF1aL5aDFgff8ujteHL0brSHR3-QZsGyWmWrHQiW5NVVoT0aYFUA1FCurl56qLbUZNON_w/s1600/embassy6511.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_oQs-jTtEkOkslCL4zCuHpRkNtSD6wHzPBrklH-MmardarJ4PHayJEFgQg1yFHyDhCF1aL5aDFgff8ujteHL0brSHR3-QZsGyWmWrHQiW5NVVoT0aYFUA1FCurl56qLbUZNON_w/s400/embassy6511.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>building forensics</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwH-rcH9uBF9WzC_N8YNfCY7Pem3vGACDaGSYcNCgKVYPha-5JTAnsEkl4ftSKOmiElhWJfdkYOe3BKyjeVW2SzDjGNpD-31wpAxmtP9zCqkUw1_50pqsyZY06xt1CBi4jC0c_Lg/s1600/embassy6510.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwH-rcH9uBF9WzC_N8YNfCY7Pem3vGACDaGSYcNCgKVYPha-5JTAnsEkl4ftSKOmiElhWJfdkYOe3BKyjeVW2SzDjGNpD-31wpAxmtP9zCqkUw1_50pqsyZY06xt1CBi4jC0c_Lg/s400/embassy6510.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>hooches</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBLdLGDSbMKWMnepJeIHdP8JFESzjV1VpQATl1iYjTohoRecQoWbb5bncju3ZQnq-KMwV4sOYG3NNM4tNCO4C5STRsJ3Jxz9U9v3U8odvqywjbOaRZb1jzPH8rfkeGF8CZxofMFA/s1600/embassy6512.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBLdLGDSbMKWMnepJeIHdP8JFESzjV1VpQATl1iYjTohoRecQoWbb5bncju3ZQnq-KMwV4sOYG3NNM4tNCO4C5STRsJ3Jxz9U9v3U8odvqywjbOaRZb1jzPH8rfkeGF8CZxofMFA/s400/embassy6512.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>meeting Natalie Cole (Nat King Cole's daughter) </i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjlKuTnAJI16P_riB4kKm6uIOGmDM7Q3kjhrGWJmeVXreLLBJT8KcR-u3ydrIVdhQD9KK9Frk-AR5kLxCS5kOQI6jFcgIg3RGFS-KG44ONK3wbgwzqkUHx57qvCdGEmklLsJaSaA/s1600/embassy6496.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjlKuTnAJI16P_riB4kKm6uIOGmDM7Q3kjhrGWJmeVXreLLBJT8KcR-u3ydrIVdhQD9KK9Frk-AR5kLxCS5kOQI6jFcgIg3RGFS-KG44ONK3wbgwzqkUHx57qvCdGEmklLsJaSaA/s400/embassy6496.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><i>meeting US Congresswoman Jackie Speier, California's 12th congressional district (San Francisco Peninsula) </i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqKC9WnZtWp8TzgE-e-K_1YEUG9XVZK98-AIec6EfWXNiAkvD6eJWd-vnGl17d79FmQgXVwdeIdXOcvNwPplNrexTzdbvNKCj-XJD733h1vNcSqmm9Ajmum3nJTEwnVN2p-eyrA/s1600/embassy6505.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqKC9WnZtWp8TzgE-e-K_1YEUG9XVZK98-AIec6EfWXNiAkvD6eJWd-vnGl17d79FmQgXVwdeIdXOcvNwPplNrexTzdbvNKCj-XJD733h1vNcSqmm9Ajmum3nJTEwnVN2p-eyrA/s400/embassy6505.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>beer</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKEhC49ylicX_3JStaqs_yIjsW5PbG0K31ng_W5We3Ry5AeYIhiVURurIa5N026MkOuoI77re7ISKzarU1F6UpaTy2OZWD7WM0vDi2aJf6aGutvetjGZuRwQImJHZomQfqLBQug/s1600/embassy6507.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKEhC49ylicX_3JStaqs_yIjsW5PbG0K31ng_W5We3Ry5AeYIhiVURurIa5N026MkOuoI77re7ISKzarU1F6UpaTy2OZWD7WM0vDi2aJf6aGutvetjGZuRwQImJHZomQfqLBQug/s400/embassy6507.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>more beer</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGiUIuy50Ed0NoePsIsuXSkgs5UMKbxazQXJrSLOH1H7dtaPIoi8xn3n619mfugKhkaLQPmRy4LcMkoKKz51R9gxtOLMdWW9Y02d5vVGH3gHwaCrMh5th6yZRR681duSHaOeND8Q/s1600/embassy6504.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGiUIuy50Ed0NoePsIsuXSkgs5UMKbxazQXJrSLOH1H7dtaPIoi8xn3n619mfugKhkaLQPmRy4LcMkoKKz51R9gxtOLMdWW9Y02d5vVGH3gHwaCrMh5th6yZRR681duSHaOeND8Q/s400/embassy6504.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i>yetis</i>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-80464265459306309782009-07-24T10:18:00.002-07:002011-06-24T10:39:45.613-07:00Just hired with USAID, living at the US Embassy, suspending any further postsI'm now working for USAID and will be living at the US Embassy in Kabul. Because of security reasons, I've decided to suspend any further post at this time.Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-81788302511584793342009-01-20T04:48:00.001-08:002011-06-24T10:32:49.741-07:00Arctic NorwayA four-day trip to Tromsø in the arctic region of Norway. It was the middle of the polar winter (sun never came above the horizon), but you had the most amazing twilight and even was able to see the northern lights. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHuAFqFR7Q-l_suua2aNkTn7BwYS43SOMKmDG6AR4W4RXG5C0P2xj3odEV0km0nDu3T8Oqz8QMA-DGkBWitd4NPQomIDrFZzIexEgPGHpik3H38gjM0afVyoyQrHMKRsFClCN7Gw/s1600-h/DSCF7956.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHuAFqFR7Q-l_suua2aNkTn7BwYS43SOMKmDG6AR4W4RXG5C0P2xj3odEV0km0nDu3T8Oqz8QMA-DGkBWitd4NPQomIDrFZzIexEgPGHpik3H38gjM0afVyoyQrHMKRsFClCN7Gw/s400/DSCF7956.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306718914521831954" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8JRGJV9f6vlC96Z7QpJp60BvdfW4tOOU0PllM_aWdYs2smhkWSvosnXwVfu-O-hgczMh1-_JeHZPLik5O6KtD0cFDBI7eTuOkyjpmk92GuWcV6ip609ZpWDHR2-Cx0DgIe4Quw/s1600-h/DSCF8002.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8JRGJV9f6vlC96Z7QpJp60BvdfW4tOOU0PllM_aWdYs2smhkWSvosnXwVfu-O-hgczMh1-_JeHZPLik5O6KtD0cFDBI7eTuOkyjpmk92GuWcV6ip609ZpWDHR2-Cx0DgIe4Quw/s400/DSCF8002.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306718911062264434" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eLXMtHDKZ_LrMCM0yLO9-yy3S8QmC5_4SHkPlNsmx6D2VC95WASMnAhc-xDL_5Uwo_sJDzdrIJ0iU7axeRHIAXkOZA-ykJlJmyJGh9QklG48I7dQoiGe_-6ud5pSul3dkl4p2Q/s1600-h/DSCF7940.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eLXMtHDKZ_LrMCM0yLO9-yy3S8QmC5_4SHkPlNsmx6D2VC95WASMnAhc-xDL_5Uwo_sJDzdrIJ0iU7axeRHIAXkOZA-ykJlJmyJGh9QklG48I7dQoiGe_-6ud5pSul3dkl4p2Q/s400/DSCF7940.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306717148406618706" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzIeNQnHyt59t5OZG7FUWMDPVCL_QY3KijayHGCVQiEr7N3-PKfJyEyb4SnAChC0QrAIaKcyp1WCG425WI9Yr2fCGCWw5wkAL5ewXM66QEktyc_4md49KGwxHtWu0qk5NiEIajug/s1600-h/DSCF8009.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzIeNQnHyt59t5OZG7FUWMDPVCL_QY3KijayHGCVQiEr7N3-PKfJyEyb4SnAChC0QrAIaKcyp1WCG425WI9Yr2fCGCWw5wkAL5ewXM66QEktyc_4md49KGwxHtWu0qk5NiEIajug/s400/DSCF8009.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306717145285808818" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXDmtag2WJNs2Fibfz6s4Ocvnx-xfhSdLwpmrLHn_UJ1PzUVeu8yUyyokcM2MLMUqxAKQkiIvk7VrAbmDhfBfkcr1phf_mzpRdeGVj6XxPYvoDANhsx8b02ZYYXTQXeNsBlAcVzw/s1600-h/DSCF7976.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXDmtag2WJNs2Fibfz6s4Ocvnx-xfhSdLwpmrLHn_UJ1PzUVeu8yUyyokcM2MLMUqxAKQkiIvk7VrAbmDhfBfkcr1phf_mzpRdeGVj6XxPYvoDANhsx8b02ZYYXTQXeNsBlAcVzw/s400/DSCF7976.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306717143572275458" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5UVz6XNiucmLqVdx9yD9btpPgqELITyGtE3Q9_zB0pZh7ZsGfptgNWbcEuYCRE0CBVqPf8qERoI3C_XPPT0UYLFj-DSwAGoargoGZZcU0q4NjOYCoB5cLWfiUEcTmubDYSPo9Zg/s1600-h/DSCF8000.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5UVz6XNiucmLqVdx9yD9btpPgqELITyGtE3Q9_zB0pZh7ZsGfptgNWbcEuYCRE0CBVqPf8qERoI3C_XPPT0UYLFj-DSwAGoargoGZZcU0q4NjOYCoB5cLWfiUEcTmubDYSPo9Zg/s400/DSCF8000.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306718910258489330" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqRsE1uJjsOikQy2YT1WXGTNdPFsVSCcJZp3FT-pGubkc8Alb72-1DiW_nhYAILIU5YNNh03k3TNd4IYjdL1Npkt50FRl460yqIaFg1OVu98G1qdLrJjLklnziXMtAfFST72RZYw/s1600-h/DSCF7967.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqRsE1uJjsOikQy2YT1WXGTNdPFsVSCcJZp3FT-pGubkc8Alb72-1DiW_nhYAILIU5YNNh03k3TNd4IYjdL1Npkt50FRl460yqIaFg1OVu98G1qdLrJjLklnziXMtAfFST72RZYw/s400/DSCF7967.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306717141925289010" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdbVa1nJXgNmbDIia3pMcgmXM-Y2c3aOMe2-dD9IdGyMvctbnpbL2Qvt53yuE-CC7909n5snkF3doC9aOjxvM-caidT67jIrUgjMAZ6MXNok3N8vHTc2BXqJLV5Bkuen9MrvWtuQ/s1600-h/DSCF7959.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdbVa1nJXgNmbDIia3pMcgmXM-Y2c3aOMe2-dD9IdGyMvctbnpbL2Qvt53yuE-CC7909n5snkF3doC9aOjxvM-caidT67jIrUgjMAZ6MXNok3N8vHTc2BXqJLV5Bkuen9MrvWtuQ/s400/DSCF7959.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306717137547186482" /></a>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-54841097827079821162008-12-10T05:54:00.000-08:002011-06-24T09:37:07.744-07:00The road home<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4V77tJ-Nys8gcmsxQeQ3f5wQfgeU6P17Uc083jScp6GU2q76dvFZC0GTOlPfni9Ly6c72HM4H8CLrWL5UMFTXHrtQsLfXywEDGg-bPayDTBTQ6z8fa9xDO9lBYE6PiYHwrma9TQ/s1600-h/world-map.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4V77tJ-Nys8gcmsxQeQ3f5wQfgeU6P17Uc083jScp6GU2q76dvFZC0GTOlPfni9Ly6c72HM4H8CLrWL5UMFTXHrtQsLfXywEDGg-bPayDTBTQ6z8fa9xDO9lBYE6PiYHwrma9TQ/s400/world-map.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278163673214279394" /></a><br />Kabul -> Dubai -> Frankfurt -> Stockholm<br />1 night<br /><br />Stockholm -> Oslo -> Tromsø<br />3 nights<br /><br />Tromsø -> Olso -> Frankfurt<br />1 night<br /><br />Frankfurt -> San FranciscoForresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-68771163950108520682008-12-09T03:04:00.002-08:002011-06-24T11:12:38.058-07:00too close to home..<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jcX0DSMpjqA2pbQd5E9XJaUdbNVWIjjzbfR4yx9ftzZpkb1f6o5CvACRYACWon5iG0Mf5Z7sU4SJ5jpPvXaAZ82w2sMSGuw1q8GZuth3WUnC3iwic2HYNhIGTAs_kA6yTpVhPA/s1600-h/18230051_640X480.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jcX0DSMpjqA2pbQd5E9XJaUdbNVWIjjzbfR4yx9ftzZpkb1f6o5CvACRYACWon5iG0Mf5Z7sU4SJ5jpPvXaAZ82w2sMSGuw1q8GZuth3WUnC3iwic2HYNhIGTAs_kA6yTpVhPA/s400/18230051_640X480.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277788085012230722" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPaUjbD8uNCBxGywCY8aMQ2EhVeCokiOL-uGsnmVa17ijCu3eIG0PbTqF6owbtWWW2wlQrHW83dasSnKNgBkMwDu5ICe_HWEdSx_A1oKzkm0ViX-zvjWOWU9fTsavwO9cqbm1OQ/s1600-h/crash-site.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPaUjbD8uNCBxGywCY8aMQ2EhVeCokiOL-uGsnmVa17ijCu3eIG0PbTqF6owbtWWW2wlQrHW83dasSnKNgBkMwDu5ICe_HWEdSx_A1oKzkm0ViX-zvjWOWU9fTsavwO9cqbm1OQ/s400/crash-site.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277788077581819234" /></a><br /><br /><br />That's my grandmother's house across the street!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.10news.com/news/18229447/detail.html">http://www.10news.com/news/18229447/detail.html</a><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/us/09plane.html?ref=us">http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/us/09plane.html?ref=us</a><br /><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/08/military.jet.crash/index.html">http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/08/military.jet.crash/index.html</a>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-7126260378085293602008-11-22T16:23:00.000-08:002011-06-26T07:38:51.748-07:00Return to BamiyanReturned to Bamiyan for a day trip with a bunch of USAID guys to show them some of the 'bad' buildings we've reported a few weeks ago. Our reports are stirring things up, didn't mean to, just telling how it is.<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp1WQhyphenhyphen2Yp6VBWsnmoCdDT88oWJLIDlS3PXzOeGHdEV6bK0613RYBtQW5g8LXlUey7ainAKWkpg6UkjarvbXBHqnNNqdj-TJUjW6zzTY0PeIHv7_fnBVizCfr-46uKF14-4PnEcw/s1600-h/L1010713.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp1WQhyphenhyphen2Yp6VBWsnmoCdDT88oWJLIDlS3PXzOeGHdEV6bK0613RYBtQW5g8LXlUey7ainAKWkpg6UkjarvbXBHqnNNqdj-TJUjW6zzTY0PeIHv7_fnBVizCfr-46uKF14-4PnEcw/s400/L1010713.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273501098281394754" /></a>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-41426770492653502772008-11-21T21:57:00.000-08:002011-06-24T09:37:07.744-07:00New High School in KabulSome resent photos of one of our projects.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0gVtfEkmljNKiN-f0vxByrhZCMekwiqTqKsWAux3ALSZGPK-H_N7GCxB8mxS7SE8QXoQISMXH0LBAWGVqnIE-Gy-2kNd9xTYrWCZe_nAju_ksgtJ1EZF3PvAOnD4sUEL4WKEQQ/s1600-h/L1010631.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0gVtfEkmljNKiN-f0vxByrhZCMekwiqTqKsWAux3ALSZGPK-H_N7GCxB8mxS7SE8QXoQISMXH0LBAWGVqnIE-Gy-2kNd9xTYrWCZe_nAju_ksgtJ1EZF3PvAOnD4sUEL4WKEQQ/s400/L1010631.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271358926380639474" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv7oKfjXX9AYrSKvLgYAN4g4MuxR9Bylk1Qs5Lq-7SN_z_Ne5FVXSwfkpW0R3bylTEoRVHrdI8J5n1MqgDn6rqjry5ZFnc8nHuiINdGdxecxpDwua00g4NftwlDrKYWcAKwVSQiQ/s1600-h/L1010628.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv7oKfjXX9AYrSKvLgYAN4g4MuxR9Bylk1Qs5Lq-7SN_z_Ne5FVXSwfkpW0R3bylTEoRVHrdI8J5n1MqgDn6rqjry5ZFnc8nHuiINdGdxecxpDwua00g4NftwlDrKYWcAKwVSQiQ/s400/L1010628.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271358922511414770" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0V3WU-0DZNTyBG5u4pwa4FAE8ipjy-O86acYkcxj5N8vCvxEqht3FVWABH0WEKwa92MHb0HyXwasDMerBzvIa8Es0wocFl-kX_z-PXhncvVOL-2W7WIPzrBDQuyYVut2JICvPA/s1600-h/L1010621.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg0V3WU-0DZNTyBG5u4pwa4FAE8ipjy-O86acYkcxj5N8vCvxEqht3FVWABH0WEKwa92MHb0HyXwasDMerBzvIa8Es0wocFl-kX_z-PXhncvVOL-2W7WIPzrBDQuyYVut2JICvPA/s400/L1010621.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271358919710801730" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;">Block 1 (three blocks total with a 3 story linkway between them)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KE6ZHxxVrgLvY_-tjn2sCYkuMASipSC_bO8fwqCjn7M5Lsqt-2nwqKistINIsM3BXCb5tkw3dJhRmxlzrbX_wR7_61XomixdiylK0Kpilqc7zyIwVIw2oWxedHwGHtpQ59gd0g/s1600-h/L1010616.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KE6ZHxxVrgLvY_-tjn2sCYkuMASipSC_bO8fwqCjn7M5Lsqt-2nwqKistINIsM3BXCb5tkw3dJhRmxlzrbX_wR7_61XomixdiylK0Kpilqc7zyIwVIw2oWxedHwGHtpQ59gd0g/s400/L1010616.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271360403130099778" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;">Steel in the shear wall</span>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-67747688054800349052008-11-09T21:41:00.000-08:002011-06-24T09:37:07.745-07:00Bamiyan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzuGsjUXFvaLLn1VJxuZ5-k73swI3cQJGfQCXDISaLgWpU7Wc4Z_DzmO94Nkn3eenhrPfFUkFBvbR9oAybRoHyJMiRdXwLeXt_x-vIZd8aXH3rmZY2LLOYlU_5zQPtnOtgqxoMQ/s1600-h/bamyan+(2).JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzuGsjUXFvaLLn1VJxuZ5-k73swI3cQJGfQCXDISaLgWpU7Wc4Z_DzmO94Nkn3eenhrPfFUkFBvbR9oAybRoHyJMiRdXwLeXt_x-vIZd8aXH3rmZY2LLOYlU_5zQPtnOtgqxoMQ/s400/bamyan+(2).JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266906001271599602" /></a><br />Because of the US elections, this post regarding my resent trip to Bamiyan is late. What a place, I can’t imagine another field mission being as beautiful as this one! We spent eight days up in the mountainous province located right smack in the center of Afghanistan. <br /><br />We flew up from Kabul in an old Soviet MI8 helicopter, weird it having the USAID logo all over it, and landed in the historic Bamiyan Valley, you can see the 1700 year old Buddha niches carved right into the cliffs from the landing strip. <br /><br />While getting on the helicopter I bumped into my friend who was also going up there on a completely unrelated trip - small world.<br /><br />After touching base with the New Zealand Army’s PRT base, we went to check out the Buddhas in the evening.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6DDEtRk7dDcAdM6DK0yI_q8gScELwmA6sz00EDCcCK8-Xsl8nnp4rkJ2tYlQ-pmhSlHG9v1SSGEC17a8yTTkvvROBE6g0o6vyEph14hG2rgOwJNB12mtjjUOHU6kO_Ry3VMxuw/s1600-h/bamyan+(4).JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6DDEtRk7dDcAdM6DK0yI_q8gScELwmA6sz00EDCcCK8-Xsl8nnp4rkJ2tYlQ-pmhSlHG9v1SSGEC17a8yTTkvvROBE6g0o6vyEph14hG2rgOwJNB12mtjjUOHU6kO_Ry3VMxuw/s400/bamyan+(4).JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266906008275113810" /></a><br /><br />From Bamiyan valley we did a three-day trip to Yakewlang district, out in the far western parts of the province. And then later north to Kahmard District. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9ql7pYvY1qx4rFUBILDxijPMq4btX16wc70tMQHSsMzivUdebemwQ5oWFSSMrHIF8FHVgFgZaT6vx64NJuRtzVpmoSXjX7OKtGjhJgTDva3XoqrD52S2Clfdrt1Ersm-Z-Fi2A/s1600-h/bamyan+(6).jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9ql7pYvY1qx4rFUBILDxijPMq4btX16wc70tMQHSsMzivUdebemwQ5oWFSSMrHIF8FHVgFgZaT6vx64NJuRtzVpmoSXjX7OKtGjhJgTDva3XoqrD52S2Clfdrt1Ersm-Z-Fi2A/s400/bamyan+(6).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266906009754508178" /></a><br /><br />Some highlights of the field mission (Shirley, these pics are for you!):<br /><table><tr><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVpGtjGbdHuPTLKjn_hcNDph2R9wQ9_4OdXH37gI9Bs1NSPopZ_kbqY-l0iapP07cfAPduwW7DJYHnMzf4Wf806rZZo73C3FujIXEMTwywOsmHFrNiQ0zM-K9yAHPy5mvibH-eRw/s1600-h/DSCF7279.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVpGtjGbdHuPTLKjn_hcNDph2R9wQ9_4OdXH37gI9Bs1NSPopZ_kbqY-l0iapP07cfAPduwW7DJYHnMzf4Wf806rZZo73C3FujIXEMTwywOsmHFrNiQ0zM-K9yAHPy5mvibH-eRw/s200/DSCF7279.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267819061410601426" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JrC2XRNCdTr3q9oJ4vg8wr4eVcZV8AHy9ONiAr_zBFR1Qy9GLiWTGFgKMajJO3SHryMdq2fTT-d6JFKHO1BQ9UIdISORra5uZGlnvmONu6m9f_WisGIvZFaICP47BXkTgWMatg/s1600-h/DSCF7264.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JrC2XRNCdTr3q9oJ4vg8wr4eVcZV8AHy9ONiAr_zBFR1Qy9GLiWTGFgKMajJO3SHryMdq2fTT-d6JFKHO1BQ9UIdISORra5uZGlnvmONu6m9f_WisGIvZFaICP47BXkTgWMatg/s200/DSCF7264.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267819050616002018" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAdFQGNtIIbI-Wog8NXULS625AANI31TPIZqTWQqdMgaHH9EzuScVm4_Ws-M9B8HRaDTmMhFlkN3tMEPxJ_dpN733VsYlBVzAGkUmPUlUQA9MhiTpwjukpXPGGwoek8H_qZNf6Nw/s1600-h/DSCF7262.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAdFQGNtIIbI-Wog8NXULS625AANI31TPIZqTWQqdMgaHH9EzuScVm4_Ws-M9B8HRaDTmMhFlkN3tMEPxJ_dpN733VsYlBVzAGkUmPUlUQA9MhiTpwjukpXPGGwoek8H_qZNf6Nw/s200/DSCF7262.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267819041688043218" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4S0S3UUidg4FOvqoppZnuxRnVwiqElVP3zyiUxSPMucsadpYAEnHXvgGvbLBCUSCeJib2EC3sNcDvmnJqBmn-aFmmfRWK9M-02U-v3MS-g1mcz3orUoTHqXYUlpkj55az980r_w/s1600-h/DSCF7255.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4S0S3UUidg4FOvqoppZnuxRnVwiqElVP3zyiUxSPMucsadpYAEnHXvgGvbLBCUSCeJib2EC3sNcDvmnJqBmn-aFmmfRWK9M-02U-v3MS-g1mcz3orUoTHqXYUlpkj55az980r_w/s200/DSCF7255.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267819033462509170" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjEMZFZhbhoAa_TKQhysiLrh9BJ-xhpAzYwIteTGb40a2d_dLMMPM_4rEshIPZshPCPktFzwQLMUEOGJHiQGWF6R09eGV5JExoOCmDu2XnIoQJdoHxGD_cTDpu3UDW8-dt_xfIjg/s1600-h/DSCF7249.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjEMZFZhbhoAa_TKQhysiLrh9BJ-xhpAzYwIteTGb40a2d_dLMMPM_4rEshIPZshPCPktFzwQLMUEOGJHiQGWF6R09eGV5JExoOCmDu2XnIoQJdoHxGD_cTDpu3UDW8-dt_xfIjg/s200/DSCF7249.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267819032164682738" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXstogA6NS6afAnSLq5sqXJ7rAgbfC_VL73N8aX-Y1wGTJK8-ySS5IL2ZnfQvMWTJA4z7L9J-miXVso6whFkcL3mGXfvRQwfPZJA15vByqhsDCUQlUYOKmAX_8KVQbeEdfxHxYw/s1600-h/DSCF7537.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXstogA6NS6afAnSLq5sqXJ7rAgbfC_VL73N8aX-Y1wGTJK8-ySS5IL2ZnfQvMWTJA4z7L9J-miXVso6whFkcL3mGXfvRQwfPZJA15vByqhsDCUQlUYOKmAX_8KVQbeEdfxHxYw/s200/DSCF7537.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267820982977473490" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURbmMieh4-rIswGXj52sVW7iMcgUQTmerfPpkGbpXY0tlw3j-SOHQsQXww93joci-PBLzuiYyMvUYpy7B5Z_UPyuaKV9Q76-gqV2FV5JQordkVClmw7lccyqo-NyxOObnyv8FTg/s1600-h/DSCF7529.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURbmMieh4-rIswGXj52sVW7iMcgUQTmerfPpkGbpXY0tlw3j-SOHQsQXww93joci-PBLzuiYyMvUYpy7B5Z_UPyuaKV9Q76-gqV2FV5JQordkVClmw7lccyqo-NyxOObnyv8FTg/s200/DSCF7529.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267820978112339490" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2ebHigtHvqRDB74UYMY6a-Qn-srw2Co_47qoYRQCVg6Op-ERbKrddRL0YVBj4xMus75j7rU1vQq_G7FwpEaOL1iCd1WZviiz-1WY5-5nSSgGprMcJs2mOMpL72m6jCBLYL2nAg/s1600-h/DSCF7483.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2ebHigtHvqRDB74UYMY6a-Qn-srw2Co_47qoYRQCVg6Op-ERbKrddRL0YVBj4xMus75j7rU1vQq_G7FwpEaOL1iCd1WZviiz-1WY5-5nSSgGprMcJs2mOMpL72m6jCBLYL2nAg/s200/DSCF7483.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267820969797923698" /></a><br /></td><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBONw9iFecIOiXvjrIk78XJv_SCptjB5tRoeBp481ZKplGxvb1HifgRrn0veilgQM_9F0euSAKEpJj37orp61hEBqkzDApLwMfTkvHQM0K2wkUwE6RviU4sEv_t9_Wqrh-jMBDw/s1600-h/DSCF7478.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBONw9iFecIOiXvjrIk78XJv_SCptjB5tRoeBp481ZKplGxvb1HifgRrn0veilgQM_9F0euSAKEpJj37orp61hEBqkzDApLwMfTkvHQM0K2wkUwE6RviU4sEv_t9_Wqrh-jMBDw/s200/DSCF7478.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267820970323318226" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCid_w3uzcw_w5qPe5twEavoCdRA3sj1GBO9QUOz66IioRAS95dgh9URlIAvDlOEejWg7mESyykuYBgF9ZvA3ANckvrfWNIxW5pJv3mnxlZ0QkI39IkaT3mMdd-hN0g-6dEUwv9g/s1600-h/DSCF7464.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCid_w3uzcw_w5qPe5twEavoCdRA3sj1GBO9QUOz66IioRAS95dgh9URlIAvDlOEejWg7mESyykuYBgF9ZvA3ANckvrfWNIxW5pJv3mnxlZ0QkI39IkaT3mMdd-hN0g-6dEUwv9g/s200/DSCF7464.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267820966353662786" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP9HRZI9TI5v3TZUVYMWWAaT9qXvf4JyPlxPV9nUSLJ2RpWauYlghZWicuKEfZpA6sxDZwjo75ycNl5T0kw8IJGZKkMeDIk2OFfqEYRU1ut83HFeSKP5j6D61pSHWwmiW8N_Zvtw/s1600-h/DSCF7466.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; 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cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4EP0uJ9XN9f29NQxBda4whR9tsdmYirqdBHzewBfOEzBzUSz9VIWsWruQSFgpmsrxhLGlvggS5mOmFkqG4GelXwOm7PBfbuydPIWwSZGAPfsBuUhqMU1ERb7k8foPen8lV8Limg/s200/DSCF7434.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267820154381965602" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiszkb7m1sgM9q3Cjrx-_P83euiX8xV-NoGytu5ZmePhl2cSAeQ0m4Elnsm0ziRIMldFkOuQ7u0pPLBJ3N4Yse_iIqll3moA65FTL_wGRbHAfM_zMouaFcE2qj4fcALmCHuDWHz1Q/s1600-h/DSCF7338.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiszkb7m1sgM9q3Cjrx-_P83euiX8xV-NoGytu5ZmePhl2cSAeQ0m4Elnsm0ziRIMldFkOuQ7u0pPLBJ3N4Yse_iIqll3moA65FTL_wGRbHAfM_zMouaFcE2qj4fcALmCHuDWHz1Q/s200/DSCF7338.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267820155886580914" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyv8frpLN8N0_o0BHzdfIWWbPs4UH0S6xInrD5GyAS4MKDjqc9l9Fu1iWh1okS5ySI26j8TDzk_o0-3btljyKZ2oSDzx6FdF482YXaRFjpHMLBSKCp4E9_6m4o24SyGvN3EUUdag/s1600-h/DSCF7330.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyv8frpLN8N0_o0BHzdfIWWbPs4UH0S6xInrD5GyAS4MKDjqc9l9Fu1iWh1okS5ySI26j8TDzk_o0-3btljyKZ2oSDzx6FdF482YXaRFjpHMLBSKCp4E9_6m4o24SyGvN3EUUdag/s200/DSCF7330.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267820148200320898" /></a></td></tr></table>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-60891602382701744982008-10-21T11:50:00.000-07:002011-06-29T09:46:02.297-07:00It's Japan, what else can you say?<table><tr><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGsudvU-KwiyyFaLmLTP7V63Tjk7GDGjPwh4O6LPxn7GXQzCUZFp_ClKqc_7kpHZ2VrGqJyRq2WKvXfHss32dA8cQkzx3aD_js2JrSIZGGzbLlz47RgLnSclVaTc1Lw-hprhbZRQ/s1600-h/BSC002.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGsudvU-KwiyyFaLmLTP7V63Tjk7GDGjPwh4O6LPxn7GXQzCUZFp_ClKqc_7kpHZ2VrGqJyRq2WKvXfHss32dA8cQkzx3aD_js2JrSIZGGzbLlz47RgLnSclVaTc1Lw-hprhbZRQ/s400/BSC002.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261166116773294290" /></a></td><td><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6KzaTH1o3uhPVNgo5hazJjSvUAC2aEnt3DBvj5Pb0Q2Rba2s8Nx7oXuOnel6FDWK8zu4kY-sSgdekp8p3IBxNi09ihdAGlOJ1L2oR37_tzjZg_na6hqsAQ45K8PcHYCvm2or3AA/s1600-h/BSC001.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6KzaTH1o3uhPVNgo5hazJjSvUAC2aEnt3DBvj5Pb0Q2Rba2s8Nx7oXuOnel6FDWK8zu4kY-sSgdekp8p3IBxNi09ihdAGlOJ1L2oR37_tzjZg_na6hqsAQ45K8PcHYCvm2or3AA/s400/BSC001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261166118595405970" /></a></td></tr>
</table>While visiting Marisa in Kagoshima, JapanForresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-63572419537855565362008-10-17T10:47:00.000-07:002011-06-24T09:37:07.745-07:00we go way back<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzvia3RvvTHgYR6uNYNb7bhZXaUPEgOw5TeuHmYvtklDZx5fXVhwLuX6gp9dhOmU046xfzvRyBfVmmi4nlUHG2mRAzWeywBUqmhciOyPrcotAPqJcxiXF-Y2OcDvNbPJsBh_yBiw/s1600-h/adidas_shot.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzvia3RvvTHgYR6uNYNb7bhZXaUPEgOw5TeuHmYvtklDZx5fXVhwLuX6gp9dhOmU046xfzvRyBfVmmi4nlUHG2mRAzWeywBUqmhciOyPrcotAPqJcxiXF-Y2OcDvNbPJsBh_yBiw/s400/adidas_shot.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258181069150292818" /></a><br />Happened while shopping at The Village at Sanlitun, Chaoyang District, Beijing.Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-17028460783510807182008-10-12T08:14:00.000-07:002011-06-24T09:37:07.745-07:00Burj Dubai<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbD0mz_ZF2wWQ_sqablWppy46AwCsgUKLX8AZG1U78ldcRJdHUxs5CsDnScAu1iLuua5mmW3VZxqUMELpNRh4zE3rzw0h_mvtsxZ6OPgg9oDxffyNOFh63dNa6P_n9qAyeTf9wVA/s1600-h/L1010377.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbD0mz_ZF2wWQ_sqablWppy46AwCsgUKLX8AZG1U78ldcRJdHUxs5CsDnScAu1iLuua5mmW3VZxqUMELpNRh4zE3rzw0h_mvtsxZ6OPgg9oDxffyNOFh63dNa6P_n9qAyeTf9wVA/s400/L1010377.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257770481667866066" /></a><br />Check it out, if you look closely, you can see a tower crane on the top of the 2700ft tall building. it was finally clear enough to see the insane building from the Dubai's airport Terminal 1. All the other times of transiting through Dubai, the sky was too hazy and dusty.Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-23488257941558160432008-10-08T08:59:00.000-07:002011-06-24T09:37:07.745-07:00Talk to the Taliban?It's absurd people (like the UN and the British Ambassador to Afghanistan) are thinking of speaking to the Taliban for a compromise. I'm glad someone is saying something against it. It sounds like a lame, throw in the towel BS.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/08/afghanistan.terrorism">http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/08/afghanistan.terrorism</a>Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28459686.post-47540516395420564992008-10-06T02:12:00.000-07:002011-06-29T09:48:36.628-07:006.0 earthquake hit 45miles south of Kabul<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmMCpCwVFvm08CHUY9NrkugUVsjU0H3n07VmeJk7-NLbDYgpKMSKZSW1XdtIPiSAVALeO5Wq604-UkVKT709uwWdnlCiKezxEsa0ZsNCW-nw49uv5RWA6Ipx8OGy-dUNpl-RyUw/s1600-h/Logar.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254352378335996146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmMCpCwVFvm08CHUY9NrkugUVsjU0H3n07VmeJk7-NLbDYgpKMSKZSW1XdtIPiSAVALeO5Wq604-UkVKT709uwWdnlCiKezxEsa0ZsNCW-nw49uv5RWA6Ipx8OGy-dUNpl-RyUw/s400/Logar.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">Earthquake location overlaid with USAID's medical clinics and schools. </span><br />
<br />
Magnitude 6.0 CENTRAL AFGHANISTAN<br />
Sunday, October 05, 2008 at 22:56:29 UTC<br />
Monday, October 06, 2008 at 03:26:29 AM at epicenter (local time)<br />
Epicenter: 70 km (45 miles) SSE of KABUL, Afghanistan<br />
report on <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/10/05/afghanistan.quake/?iref=mpstoryview">CNN</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDj2K741ETKoHTVn4TKHJnkF7xv1pdecivmOGAtgUbI5hGp3IfOcS3se7gRNhmgxNdWXjvuuAKhvnOcHtuUZJSwKJPqN1h88cVwOo66zfUTPAfpAQ2yJOVaGhU_CFLqkDwlrzqQA/s1600-h/pga.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5253979760824785058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDj2K741ETKoHTVn4TKHJnkF7xv1pdecivmOGAtgUbI5hGp3IfOcS3se7gRNhmgxNdWXjvuuAKhvnOcHtuUZJSwKJPqN1h88cVwOo66zfUTPAfpAQ2yJOVaGhU_CFLqkDwlrzqQA/s400/pga.jpg" style="cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />
Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) in percentage(%) of g.Forresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00698294262565465936noreply@blogger.com0