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Showing posts from January 9, 2011

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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My First Winter in the South Well the snow catastrophe continues in Atlanta. The situation is a curiosity to be sure. We had a snowstorm Sunday evening and by my accounts we received 4 or 5 inches of snow in Duluth. Now Atlanta does not have snow removal equipment or the means to deal with these things when it gets "this bad". So the snow stays on the road. It gets packed down and subsequently into mostly a 1-inch thick ice pack. Tuesday the temps today got slightly above freezing and dare I say I saw liquid water. I am not accustomed to seeing liquid water during a snow crisis. By the way, Atlanta Schools will probably be closed for a week. This whole thing is probably the biggest culture shock I have experienced in the last 6 months and over a dozen countries. I have been tending to business as I would up North. Monday they closed work when I was there. Tuesday they closed work as well. I wish I had a job on days like this that we could really call it a snow day and go...
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It snowed here last night in Atlanta. The whole place shuts down. Lots of businesses closed (including mine). The snow had decent traction, a lot better than the cold micro-ice crystals we get in Berkshire NY. The snow is light to moderately heavy. I had the roads to myself coming into work before they shut down.