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Showing posts from October 30, 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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I am almost all recuperated from my latest trip to South America (actually just Brazil). I got to spend some weekend time in the capital Brasilia and a city called Maringá in the state of Parana. I think that I have now been in 5 different Brazilian states (out of the current 27). Work went so well and blended so well with adventure it was what I would consider a peak experience. I was definitely living life large and having an experience I will never forget. Brazil reminds me of the US about 30 or 40 years ago. The growing middle class population is about optimism and friendliness. Practical joke On one of my domestic flights in Brazil I was stopped at security after the x-ray machine for your carry-ons (the way security used to be in the US). No one at the security point spoke English. They indicated that there was something in my computer bag that was not allowed. They were making gestures like they were eating. Weird. The line started backing up and I emptied out my entire ...
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We lost a friend last week when I was in Brazil. Mike was pretty funny and a very sincere person. Michael A. Angelini (March 30, 1951 - October 27, 2011) Age 60, passed away on October 27, 2011. Michael was predeceased by his parents, Michael A. Angelini and Rose (Naccia) Angelini, and wife, Katie (Brady) Angelini. He is survived by his brother, Joseph P. Angelini; nieces, Debbie Hrivnak and Lynne David; and great-nieces and nephews, Morgan, Hunter, Alexandra, Samantha, Dominick, and Isabella. A Funeral Service will be held at the CHARLES P. ARCARO FUNERAL HOME, 2309 Lancaster Ave. in Wilmington, on Monday, October 31 at 10am. Visitation will be held at the funeral home, prior to service, from 9-10am. Burial will be held privately at a later date.