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Showing posts from June 20, 2010

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...
Here is a video I took on a recent flight. We paralleled the squall line for at least an hour.
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Things are going well (understatement). Numerous companies have moved corporate HQ to the Duluth Georgia area in the last 10 years. Smart companies can move anywhere they want. My boss is great. He is a farmer originally from Upstate NY. What a huge difference. I am -truly- blessed. Everything seems to be less expensive in the Northern Atlanta area than what I am used to and the overall quality of living is higher. Gas is a two-fifty-something vs. two-eighty-something, hotels are cheaper, rental cars are cheaper. Groceries are less expensive. Even apples are cheaper. Sales tax is 6% vs 8.25%. It goes on and on. I definitely have a lot more purchasing power here vs. NY. It is clean, people are more often nice (although an old lady flipped me off in traffic today, totally weird). I have looked at 20+ properties and I am getting service from a Realtor I am unaccustomed to. It is just plain weird. It is like a different country, but it is just a different state. I will be in Finland ...