Aquarium of the Pacific

If you are ever in the Long Beach, California area, take the time to visit the Aquarium of the Pacific. Its a wonderful place to take children, with plenty of hands-on (literally, like on a sting ray!) exhibits, both indoors and out. The variety of sea-life on display is remarkable. I've only seen a better aquarium in Monteray, California.


These Jellyfish were so spectacular that I just had to try to photograph them.


Ever feed a lorikeet? Do you even know what one is?? Well, you can not only feed one, you can feed many! They love necter, and will happily perch on you head, arm, shoulder, hand while you feed some to them.

The aquarium is open 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. every day of the year, except December 25 and during the weekend of the Grand Prix of Long Beach.

There is a large parking garage adjacent to the facility, and is near the Queen Mary. They offer AAA and Military discounts, and also have many other special offers.

Podcast, Podcasters and Podcasting

I love gadgets, lets just leave it at that, ok? well... ok I really love gadgets. But, I am not a geek, honestly. I wish I were because then I'd know HTML coding, and understand all the geeky podcasts I've listened to.

Two years ago, I bought my first iPod. I bought a Fourth generation 20gig, photo capable iPod. Yeah, the one that had the national battery recall just AFTER I left for Afghanistan so that I bought a 30gig video as back-up. (or was it the other way around?)

Anyway, I bought my first iPod while on a seven week tour of duty in Egypt. Don't ask me where, as I was in the middle of the Qatar Depression at the time. Google it, it's in the middle of the Egyptian desert somewhere. (and you thought there was no connection to the "travels" part of this blog). I ordered it online, just as Apple was offering a great special... buy the special Hogwarts engraved iPod and the 6 available Harry Potter books on audiobooks and save $50! WOW! That hooked me. I love audiobooks and since I can listen for 7 hours a day at work, they keep us sane at the post office :)

Back to Podcasting: My new iPod was waiting for me when I got home a few weeks later, just in time for my birthday. Unfortunately, I had to confiscate it from my son who had opened the box and already loaded it with HIS music!!

So, now I had an iPod... after doing all the syncing and loading required, I started exploring iTunes and just clicked on things to see what happened. I found the podcast button in the library section, but it was empty. Hrumph. But, soon I found the iTunes Store, and the plethera of podcasts available (not quite so many in late 2005 as now, but still, quite a few).

The first two podcasts I subscribed to were Comedy365 with Sowerby and Luff (http://sowerbyandluff.wordpress.com/), and the World Soccer Daily (http://worldsoccerdaily.myownsiteonline.com/)

Since then, I've subscribed to many different podcasts and currently have over 70 in my iTunes Library. Some seem to have faded, but I'm not ready to drop them. Some I am still listening to back issues/shows/casts of, and will catch up eventually, others I listen to as soon as they drop into my library.

In future blogs, I'll be telling you about the podcasts I listen to, and why they are still on my list. I hope you find new ones to add you YOUR library, and possibly leave a comment about your favorites.

Thanksgiving

As I sit here the evening before Thanksgiving Day, I have a pot of peppermint tea by my side, box of tissues at the ready. I have a head cold. I don't get one very often, maybe once a year, where I feel the need to stay home from work. I did this time. Through the haze of my stuffy head I ponder what I'm thankful for. Ok, I ponder about which I am thankful. Like knowing about dangling participles, and non-sequiters, and... dictionaries.

This time last year, I was (it seems to be still, not again) in a state of transition. I had just the week before returned from Afghanistan, after being away from home for 11 months. I was packing (oh, well, I call it packing) for a four week trip to Australia to watch a little known game called Cricket. (Joking!!! It's only little known in the US, and more about Cricket in a later post).

In a list, in no particular order, are a few things I am thankful for:

- My health... ok, maybe not today, but in the grand scheme of things, I'm not doing so bad.

- My family... I have two sons who have survived their childhoods with me as a mother, and now I have a grandson to spoil. He'll be 5 in February, and is the apple of his granmama's eye.

-My extended family... Although I lost my father in January, he's not gone. I have been able to see my mother and step-dad more this year than any other time, thanks to the Navy posting me to Phoenix, a mere 2 hours away.

- My network of friends... I don't mean the social networks that encourage you to gather as many "friends" as you can to show how "cool" you are. Granted, I'm on the big three (MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter) but if you look at my lists, you'll see they are limited to those I know, or those I'd like to meet someday.

-My Naval Career... I'll be planning my retirement during this year (keep Nov 2008 open if you'll be in SoCal) with my Retirement Coordinator, Lisa. Hey, she volunteered! But she thinks it's going to be in Phoenix, oops!

Through my over 33 years in the Navy, both Active Duty and Reserves, I've had the pleasure and privilege of serving with literally thousands of dedicated members of the military (both US and coalition), as well as civilian DOD workers all over the world. From Diego Garcia to Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore and Japan it's been great. I've had stops in Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey, S. Korea as well. Not too bad in my opinion.

This brings me to an organization to which I give a thousand thanks. Anysoldier.com is a not for profit organization which lets YOU pick a unit to send goodie boxes to. Not just soldiers are represented, but all branches of the service. I was with a Joint unit but I registered my group under the AnySailor.com tab, and told a little about us. Nothing classified of course, but enough to let people know we were out there. Within a couple of months, our first box arrived. I used to call them Christmas boxes, because although they were addessed to me, I distributed them to not only my unit, but throughout the entire Joint Logistics Command and the HQ's of the Army's 10th Mountain Division. The generosity of strangers was overwhelming, and every sender was send a postcard from Afghanistan thanking them, signed by as many of us as would fit on 1-2 cards.

There are thousands of service members deployed overseas who receive no mail from home. This service helps minimise the disappointment of another mail call without a letter from home. If you read this (well, duh, you obviously are) and feel that you'd like to do something to support the troops, check out http://www.anysoldier.com/ and select a unit to send something to. Even if you only send a thank you letter, do it. Be sure to include your return address or email address because you will probably hear something back. I'll bet there are many friendships started with just a box sent with a letter.

I looked for a link for a Canadian or British site which does the same thing, but was unsuccessful. If you know of one, and it's a non-profit organization, add a comment and tell us.

This isn't just for the holiday period, but for the times when people forget that children are far from the homes they mis

OK, this is the post where I attempt to put a picture in here.

Wow! It worked. Ooooooooooh I can get more creative on the next post.

Right, I said this post would be about me, so I'll try and not bore you silly. True or False:

1. This is really what I look like.

2. I have a beautiful grandson.

3. I have been around the world several times due to the generosity of my government.

4. I have a framed poster of the most poisonous snakes and spiders of Australia on one wall.

5. I have two grown sons.

6. I support the Portsmouth Football Club

7. I'm an anglophile and can trace at least one branch to each of the four countries of Great Britian.

8. I have had both haggis and black pudding without gagging.

9. I live within one mile of the blue Smurf Turf.

10. I work for the CIA

answers on a postcard to address below:

hint: which two are false??

A New Blogger

OK... I've got a blog out in the blog-o-sphere. Now what? I'ts all Parky's fault... no, really! All I wanted to do was get a limited edition Starbucks card from him (through his podcast: This Week In London at http://thisweekinlondon.co.uk). Well, who says you can get something for nothing?? Hrumph!

Soooooooooo... I wanted this card, still, but I needed to post a comment, and somehow signed up for a free blogspot page in order to do so. Easy peasy, right?? Not so much.

As a future podcaster, I needed a blog anyway, and my personal one wouldn't do, so here it is. Tiggrztravels. Enjoy the future posts. Enjoy the fickr pic when I figure out how to post them on here. Enjoy my frustrations at writing a blog. Someone should, grrrrrrrrr.

Thanks Parky!!

Next... More about me!