Ramada Limited Suites Scottsdale Road Tempe

... at each other, "Where in the world are we?"

The show was rollicking and the food, great, but you know what was the very best? During the before show entertainment we noticed this Down Syndrome girl sitting under the window writing in her workbook, grinning at nobody, singing along to herself...

Well, the singer introduced her to us. Her name is Melissa and she's the singer's sister. She had written a song and been to Nashville to record it about this ...

... s a great way to get the people who use the place to help pay for it, but it's certainly a cumbersome procedure. We're going to backtrack down the mountain to buy a pass for a parking lot we're in NOW?

I don't think so.

There are no drop boxes here like there are in campgrounds in Montana. Maybe they have more danger of vandalism and theft, I don't know the reason, but the system is screwy.

Saguaro lake is about an hour and a half from us at Sun Lakes, but only ...

... to Ethiopia's religious history and many Ethiopians believe that the Ark of the Covenant is housed in a church in Axum, the ancient capital of Ethiopia. Tabot, which are replicas of the original stone tablets that Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai (The Ten Commandents), and believed to be housed in the Ark, are used widely in Orthodox Christian religious ceremonies and observances.
- Time is GMT +3
- Currency is the Birr

Mesa, Arizona, United States carolerich

... get something, Fred had to go back to Toys R Us to get something, and I volunteered to brave Walmart to get Janine's girls some motorised bikes that were a huge bargain at only $50. By the time Janine and I found the aisle that had the bikes, quite a few people were standing by the pallets which they were stacked on and had claimed 'x' amount for themselves. Janine found a nice young guy and his girlfriend who said that would save us one, and at 4.40am ...

Yummy breakfast this morning with the State of Texas shaped waffles – heh heh. Naturally Fred, Josh & I had to sample them!

Hit the road by 9am and drove straight to Wilcox, Arizona where we had a rather disappointing lunch at a local Burger Joint called 'Carters' – cost us $25 for the four of us, and that was 3 small burgers (tiny by U.S size standards), 2 ...

We leave for Ethiopia on December 15th and are getting very excited. This is one of the first steps
towards keeping friends and family updated while we are gone.
This is our first trip to an African country so we are extra excited for a completely different experience.

... the ship provides their only access to quality books, from cookbooks to car manuals to children’s novels. The book fairs offer significant, practical means to improve people’s lives, particularly where access to books is limited or even non-existent.

2) bring help, by providing aid to communities in need. OM hopes to alleviate immediate needs as well as bring long-term change to each community it serves ...

... picking up Dana and Chuck at the convention center, then back to the Flamingo where we all checked in, with adjoining rooms which is handy. They came over, talked a while, then left to go for a walk while Charlie finally got a much needed nap. Finally out to dinner, but without Charlie- we drove to Cozumel Mexican Grill for and enjoyable meal-Chuck and Dana, Laura, Heather and John (all salespeople) and me for dinner. Driving back Charlie called asking for a vanilla shake so we ...

... it and we were going to Outback tonight so I could wear it, BUT, there was a 2 hour repeat-special on the opening ceremony of the summer Olympics in China and it was fantastic. We both agreed it was worth staying home and watching it! The high today was 0nly 50. Oh, and gasoline here is $1.45 now! Dec 28th- I was up at 7 but Charlie slept until 11 when I finally just woke him up. It was cold again, though they keep promising us warmer weather. About 42 this morning ...

Greetings! So, I just got my passport in the mail this morning, talk about last minute. Now, at last my friends, I am ready to go. I leave in the morning at 9:00 am, out of Phoenix, a stop on the East Coast and then to London. Feeling good! Feeling great. I am packing, trying to see how much clothes I can take with me. I've never been good at traveling light, so this should be interesting. I hope I have enough socks and underwear. Well, friends, I will keep you updated. ENJOY!!!