100 and Done! (Countries that is...)

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We are back! This last trip brought the total countries visited to 100! It is a crazy milestone. It is difficult, time-consuming and can be (IS) expensive. After I got back from Antarctica in 2007, I started thinking about it. After 2010 I was thinking about it more (as I moved from NY to Georgia) and in 2014 it had become a real goal. Between Angie and I we have been to 109 Countries. We are tied at 100 countries each. We have 9 countries different in our lists. For example, I have been to San Marino. She has not. She has been to Israel. I have not, yet. There has been some fun competition in this area. That's why we had to establish rules. 1.) Must be listed (as a country) with the US State Department 2.) Being in an airport doesn't count. You have to get through immigration somehow and not in a DMZ or a no-mans-land 3.) A passport stamp is not required. I have been to Canada, Paraguay, and Uruguay without getting my passport stamped. There are friendly borders in many places...
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The vehicle is a .... well uh, I'm not sure, but it is specially designed for....uh... Antarctica! Notice the name on the vehicle. Almost all the vehicles get a name. The rigger truck is called "Rigger Mortise". There are pickles (forklifts) called heckle and jeckle. The names go on and on.

Some detail oriented folks noticed fans and open windows in some pictures I have posted. Today you can see both. I am at lunch on a particularly nice day in town. The palm was added for an added touch. The cool drink is a typical Antarctican cool drink, water in a Nalgene bottle. The local custom for the cool drink is usually served frozen, often solid. I have an insulator for my Nalgene bottle with a few chemical hand warmers ready to help keep it liquid. Interesting enough it is very difficult to melt water from snow if you don't have a little water to start the process (when it is colder than 20 below out). The water actually will get a nasty burned taste. This is absolutely true.

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100 and Done! (Countries that is...)

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Image
We are back! This last trip brought the total countries visited to 100! It is a crazy milestone. It is difficult, time-consuming and can be (IS) expensive. After I got back from Antarctica in 2007, I started thinking about it. After 2010 I was thinking about it more (as I moved from NY to Georgia) and in 2014 it had become a real goal. Between Angie and I we have been to 109 Countries. We are tied at 100 countries each. We have 9 countries different in our lists. For example, I have been to San Marino. She has not. She has been to Israel. I have not, yet. There has been some fun competition in this area. That's why we had to establish rules. 1.) Must be listed (as a country) with the US State Department 2.) Being in an airport doesn't count. You have to get through immigration somehow and not in a DMZ or a no-mans-land 3.) A passport stamp is not required. I have been to Canada, Paraguay, and Uruguay without getting my passport stamped. There are friendly borders in many places...
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