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 Russian Ukraine War

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The Russian invasion of Ukraine hit pretty hard here at home. The first few days I really couldn't talk about it. Some folks called us and asked our opinions about the situation. Of course we heard that it was coming. It has been coming for the last 8 years or so. And with Crimea now having cars with Russian license plates, really validated the possibilities. The campaign for the New Russian Empire wont be easily quelled.

Angie has family, money and property in Russia. Luckily we dont have any of these in Ukraine. There was some scurring around to get money moved into safe(r) banks.

As with all war, the folks that pay are the refugees. Yes, the combatants take the brunt physically and emotionally. But the families of the combatants, the displaced and the dispora have their lives significantly changed-- generally forever.

To us this is clearly Putin's last seige. How long and where it ultimately goes will only be determined by how long he lives.

I really find it distasteful in taking sides. "Support Ukraine" and the like only breeds what we all together don't want-- instability (which fosters a poor global investment environment) and the horrors of war on ALL affected. It is not a football game.

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