July 2011 was a busy month

I was away from home for almost the entire July.  First I joined some high school classmates for a wonderful trip to the Canadian Rockies.  Then I went to Yakima to have a family reunion in celebration of Dean's Birthday.  Ping, BiFang, Haepyng, Sylvia, and I met up in Vancouver to catch the Rocky Mountaineer train.  The train started from Vancouver, made one night stop at Kamloop, then arrived Banff.  At Banff the other friends met up with us:  Lily, Jean and her husband Andy, Peggy and her husband Ming Chung.  We took two cars and toured Banff, Lake Louise, the Columbia Icefield, and the Jasper National Park.  This was one heck of a memorable trip.  The scenery was stunning, and the company was extremely enjoyable.  Below are a few pictures of the first days:

Before boarding the train.

One nice reflection seen as the train went by it.

A portrait of old friends: Ping, me, Peggy, BiFang, Lily, Sylvia, and Hae-Pyng.

Huilang's Visit

Huilang came to visit a week and half ago.  We have known each other for almost 50 years now!  We went to Annapolis, Inner Harbor, and visited Yvonne in Viena, VA.  It was just so easy chatting with an old friend.  She also helped me to rearrange my kitchen and living room to make it look a lot nicer.

Huilang and I took a bus to NYC, where we visited Jean and the International Gift Show. We then enjoyed an Italian meat ball dish and cheese cake before saying good-bye until next time.  She headed back home by train, and I to home by bus.

Horseshoe Bay

Tom and I ventured out to the Horseshoe Bay in Bermuda where the pink sand has gained fame.  The sand was wonderfully fine, and indeed pink in color.  We also saw a few beautiful blur fish when we first arrived the beach and checked out a cove on the far side of the beach.

Little things made us happy

Matthew really enjoyed the towel animal that our cabin attendant Darwin made for him.  Darwin put Matthew's sun glass on the towel monkey.  Matthew gave Darwin a hug.  It reminded me that how precious is the affection of a little child.

 Matthew also enjoyed very much the center elevator that has a window one can look out from deck to deck.

Cruise to Bermuda 8/20-25/2011

Four Grands (Tom, Janice, Sharie, and I) took Matthew on a cruise to Bermuda.  David got sick the morning we were suppose to board the ship and was unable to go with us.  Hence the ratio of Grands to boy was 4 to 1.  It worked pretty well.  We all enjoyed the trip, and did some nice bonding with Matthew.