Is There Anybody Out There?

Hey everybody. If you're reading this, then you are likely rather bored and have little else to do with your time. You've checked your email, sent your banking info to the Nigerian who needs your help getting $21 million out of the country, read all of the urgent news about the recently departed Mr. Jackson, signed up for two new social networking sites and annoyed your friends with invites, and you've messed with a few Wikipdia articles just for fun. So with nothing left to do, you have stumbled into our little corner of the world wide web, on the off chance that those vacationing missionary slackers have updated their blog. Well we have, so there!

I'm sorry folks, but the reality is that I still have little to say. We were in California last week for a great visit with Bethany's extended family. Bethany's grandmother, Thelma, turned 80 this year. Thelma's husband, Phil, turned 75. In the Philippines, when an adult celebrates a birthday, they are expected to throw a party for themselves (and cover the expenses for said shindig). I guess Thelma and Phil felt like celebrating the Filipino way, because they invited the whole family to join them for a three day cruise. They are such warm and generous people, and as always we enjoyed our time with them immensely.

The boat (our nephew Ben would be quick to remind me that it is a ship, not a boat) was lots of fun. The kids played in the pool, and the adults munched on food. A lot of food. We made a stop in Ensenada, a little Mexican town that seems to exist solely to take advantage of people who have grown accustomed to the inflated prices on cruise ships. Can you believe I paid $2.50 for a taco? A Taco! Well, it was a pretty darn good taco, and I'd do it again.

I've been trying to be more intentional about photography lately. "Intentional" just means that in an attempt to find good light, I drag myself from bed at unusual hours, and then disappear in the evening when everybody else is being social. On the cruise, I spent an evening practicing my long exposure photography, and then woke up early the next morning to catch the sunrise.

So, since there isn't anything else to say, I'll post a bunch of the cruise photos here, and then later this week I'll tell you about our recent trip to Mount Rainier, where I spent an early morning on the side of the mountain. Oh, and I'll include here a photo of one of the hummingbirds that haunt the front of Thelma and Phil's house.

Cheers,
Tim.