Some Summer Pictures....

Over the summer we went home to Washington State. My time was divided between my home town, Bellingham and the other side of the mountains where Tim grew up, Ephrata, and our lake spot north of there in the Sun Lakes that is off the grid. Literally, we had no wifi and we had to drive up the hill to get to cell service.  Here are some pictures from the 6 weeks when we were in Washington. These are just random pictures of some our our experiences. Enjoy!

I had a wonderful fish and chip dinner at the the Boundary Bay Brewery. Bellingham has small brewpubs in pretty much every neighborhood. This one is a bigger one.  SAVE THE ALES!

On Saturdays Bellingham has a farmer's market.  The food was beautiful.  I was even able to find Labneh! Locally made! It was thicker than what we have in Beirut but tasted the same! So happy to find something I was missing.

Having the opportunity to see my nephew Blair was a special treat. We went with him to the farmer's market and then had burgers, fries and milkshakes for lunch.  Nice to see him while he was in town!

Had the opportunity to go to Stanwood and have fro-yo with Cindy. What a lovely person. The girls were so happy to visit!

We went for a walk along the Bellingham harbor one day in search of Pokemon. Reality, I just wanted to go on a walk with my niece, Audrey.....

When we were down in the harbor we found that the kids aquarium was open. It's a small place but there was a lot to see including this native to the Pacific Northwest, the Giant Pacific Octopus.

Janna in the dome at the bottom of an aquarium.

This baby Wolf Eel was being fed when we were there.

Organic, handmade ice cream with my lovely and beautiful nieces, Emily and Audrey. It was so nice to catch up with them and see their smiles.

After ice cream another walk is a must. This one is along the boulevard near Fairhaven in Bellingham.

An evening of 'smores with Grandma and Grandpa was nice

Janna is a girl after my own heart. I love mine burnt as well!

It was so nice to see my parents this summer. They enjoyed watching the girls make their 'smores.

Okay, I know I need to explain this one. So the girls and I are in the mall......did you know that you can rent this little panda to run around the mall on! 10 $$ for 20 minutes. This is something I had never seen before. It made me think that if they had this at the Beirut Souks someone would be making millions! (Don't know who the lady was...she just let me take her picture)

Went down to Seattle and saw a Mariners game The game was great! 

Thanks to Paul and Jill for inviting us to the game! It was such a nice night! 

We also had time at my father-in-laws. The girls love his cat, Harley.

And of course, out to Blue Lake where our trailer is. 

The girls being pulled on the tube.

Our friends, Dan and Becky came to see us and had a fun ride as well.

Delaney and Tim enjoying the sunset in the boat.

And what a stunning sunset it was! 

Our friends, Everett and Meg came and the girls had fun making sand castles. 

Above Blue Lake is the Dry Falls Center. It is hard to believe that this was the largest waterfall known to man during ancient times.

Of course, seeing Drew and Gene was a treat...Beware of.......WELL, Just BEWARE!  

Overall, a nice relaxing summer. Thanks to everyone we saw for making it all that more special.

Going to the South - Beaufort Castle

Last weekend we went to the southern area of Lebanon.  At the start we went to Beaufort Castle (Qala'at al-Shazif in Arabic) which originally was a crusader castle.  When you get there you realize why this fortress was built.  It has a commanding view of pretty much all of southern Lebanon into Syria and south into Israel (Occupied Palestine) and the Golan Heights.  The country of Kuwait has funded repairs to the fortress and therefore it is a lovely place to see.

Since the Crusades ,this location has been used by many to protect, defend and occupy the area. While there, it is so fascinating to see this beautiful place but it is also very thought provoking. In the recent past this area was occupied by Israeli troops. Right next to the castle is an Israeli bunker that is now being made into a museum. As always, places like this make me want to be more hopeful that there can be peace and acceptance in the world. Here are some pictures of the first day we spent in the  Southern area of Lebanon.

Within the Castle

You can see a long way south and east from here.  Lebanon, Syria, and Israel are captured in this picture. A view like this reminds me of how close everything is here compared to in the States.

Used ordinance left in the castle.

If you look carefully you can see the Mediterranean in the distance. This is the view to the west.

Across from the Castle is where the Israeli bunker was.

Israeli "Pill Box"

This is what the entrance of the bunker looks like today. Soon it will be the entrance to a museum.

The view of the fortress from the road below.

 Such a beautiful area of the world. Rolling farmlands, lovely small towns and as always that wonderful Lebanese hospitality!

Thailand....Part 2 - The Weekend Market and Ayutthaya

Here are some more pictures from our fantastic trip to Bangkok!

First, here are a couple of pictures of the day we went to the largest market (Souk) in the world. It was close quarters, very hot and very busy. The humidity had kicked up, we got lost in the labyrinth but it was incredible. We also got some nice souvenirs.

We finally successfully got out of the market only to find this lovely park that we had to walk through to get to the skytrain to get back to the hotel.

The kids were troopers. Here are the Dunham kids with ours. So glad we got to vacation with them.

When we got off the skytrain and the rain started coming down. Reminded me of Beirut but with better drainage and WAY more traffic!

After some time in the hotel pool, we went down the street to a restaurant that someone recommended to us. All natural/organic and truly fabulous! "Clik" was a great place to go with a wonderful chef/owner! Here are the kids enjoying their fresh watermelon juice! If you go to Bangkok you will need to find this little oasis in the city!

Just a nice picture of Tim, Jonna and Nate

The next day we went to Ayutthaya, otherwise known as Old Siam. This is where the Royal Palace was for many years. The area was beautiful.

A view of the Royal Gardens from above.

From there we went to Wat Mahatat and saw some beautiful ruins.

I really loved the Buddha head in the tree. I can only imagine 200 years from now how high up to head will be in the tree...

We then went to Wat Na Phra. This temple had a huge golden Buddha with jewels encrusted in the ceiling.  First, here is the outside of the temple. The second picture is a picture of a display at the foot of the Buddha. The picture third down is from the back of the room. If you look carefully you can see the people between the statues in front and the Buddha in the back. It was all very peaceful.

This one was in the building next door.

This is the famous reclining Buddha. It was huge!

We saw some of the Durian fruit for sale. It didn't smell but I think that is because we were outside. I am sure it would be really stinky if it was in a store.

We then had the chance to take a boat cruise back to Bankok. It was so nice to see everything from the water. What a unique view!

Some of my favorite pictures are the ones you see where people are just living, day to day....

This is one of my favorite pictures as well. 

This huge barge was going through on the river as well. It was impressive.

A picture of the King and Queen. There are pictures EVERYWHERE of them. They must be loved.

Coming into Bankok

In the city we saw this view of the famous Wat Arun. it was being remodeled.

Water traffic was  interesting.

Yes, there will be at least one more blog of Thailand. There was so much to see.....