A Great Blog

7 great iPhotos

2010-07-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

Waubay Lake, South Dakota

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Home in MN

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Farm in Wisconsin

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Theater in Normal. IL still in use

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Showing good movies

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One block past the theater in Normal

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Traffic going west just out of Indianapolis IN

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July 28, 2010

Hi,

We have gone through several states since my last letter. You can see some of the scenery we have enjoyed. There was more water in SD than I remembered from our earlier trips. We had our worst weather in SD also but did not really affect us much.

It was windy and rainy but only at night which is a good thing.

We have passed lots of corn fields, alfalfa, some soy beans, sunflowers, and probably other things too. The green rolling hills always intrigue me as well as the trees.

The old theater in Normal IL opened in 1937 and today is open and showing mostly classics and some foreign films. It was such an awesome place. If we had been there longer we would have had to go to the movies. I wouldn't mind seeing To Catch A Thief again. Have not seen it for a few years.

Driving east just out of Indianapolis we saw a terrific traffic jam. It must have been a good 10 or more miles. Lots of trucks, and all going very slowly. You can see from our direction there was hardly any traffic-thank goodness.

The weather has been getting warmer and more humid all the time. We are in Columbus, Ohio now but I will write more about that later.

Good health to you and enjoy life. It is good!

Hugs to all,,

Ric and Jan(ice)

7 great iPhotos Crossing the country

2010-07-23T17:11:00.000-07:00

Sasha 3 months Her top says "sleep is for the weak."

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Helena, MT Capitol

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Montana Sky this morning

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Fascinating cloud formations=MT

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Lots of alfalfa-MT

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Even an oil well-MT

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Missouri River-SD

July 23, 2010

We reluctantly left Washington State and Sasha Tuesday morning and traveled to Coeur d'Alene, ID where we stayed overnight. This was the first leg of our journey to Maryland. It was a pretty drive except for the central part of WA which is rather dry.

Wednesday we traveled through the panhandle of ID and on into Montana and Helena. We visited the capitol and it was pretty with the bright red flowers in front. Helena is an old town and interesting.

Yesterday, Thursday, we crossed most of Montana to Miles City, MT. Montana is really a beautiful state from its majestic mountains to its rolling hills and alfalfa. We even saw a few oil wells in the more eastern part. We crossed the Missouri River twice in Montana and it was larger each time we crossed. Then today in South Dakota we came over a hill and below us was water everywhere. We finally came to a narrow place where there was a bridge and we crossed and it was the Missouri River. It was huge. The picture does not do it justice.

We have had warm weather and sun until today and we had rain, clouds and only 78 degrees which was rather nice.

We plan to be in Maryland July 29 and get hair cuts, and do things we need to do before we go to "work". We are eagerly looking forward to getting back to New Windsor Conference Center and the fine staff there and our friends.

I will try and write again along the way. We do have a beautiful country.

Keep those notes coming as we appreciate hearing from you.

Take care and hugs to all.

Ric and Jan

3 great iPhotos Sasha at 2 months and 10 days

2010-06-29T11:16:00.000-07:00

June 29, 2010

Hi all,

We are in Seattle once again for a while on our way to Maryland. The weather here is cool and wonderful compared to the 103 degrees in the Sacramento Valley!

We had a great trip up and spend 2 nights in Albany OR where we visited with two of Ric's children and some of his grandchildren. It was great fun to see them all again.

We arrived here Saturday not knowing if there would be space for our motorhome at the Elks where we like to stay. There was!! Another motorhome pulled out about an hour before we got there which was a nice thing to happen. So we got moved in and then came to visit our kids. Sasha has lost some of her babiness but she is a sweet, happy baby full of smiles. She has long, brown, curly eyelashes which you can somewhat see in the second and third pictures. We love to babysit whenever we can.

Sunday we attended a BBQ at Angel's uncles home in Redmond, WA and we met more of her family. The food was delicious and plentiful. That was our 4th of July picnic a week early!

We just wanted to let you know what is happening with us. How about you? Love to hear from you all,.

Take care, stay healthy and enjoyl

Ric and Jan(ice)

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5 great iPhotos

2010-05-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

DSC02465 Puget Sound WA

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Sasha 3 weeks old

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Sasha 3 weeks

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Mother's Day at Angel's parents

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Mother's Day

May 10,

Hi all,

We had a wonderful Mother's Day at Angel's folks place in Kirkland, WA. It was a beautiful, sunny and warm day with both sets of grandparents, parents, Angel's sister Emily and her husband. and close friend, honorary aunt, Jeanette. Emily and Jeanette cooked us a wonderful brunch and we had such a good time. Sasha was passed around, slept during lunch and was just a good baby for her first Mother's Day.

We had three absolutely gorgeous days in a row. No wonder people love it up here (when it is nice!) Today it is raining lightly but rain keeps it nice and green. Many flowers are in full bloom and it is just lovely.

We have just enjoyed being here for the first month (almost) of Sasha 's life. It is fun to be grandparents and little ones are my favorites. We have just enjoyed seeing the sights here and being with family.

We will be leaving in six days and it is with mixed feelings that I say that. We will come here in July for a couple of weeks on our way to Maryland and our volunteer job. We are leaving the motorhome here so it is convenient for us to come and stay.

Thanks for all your notes. Keep them coming.

Enjoy and stay healthy and happy.

Ric and Jan(ice)

5 great iPhotos

2010-05-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

Alki Beach-West Seattle May 1, Ric looking at the blue sky-no rain!

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Alki Beach Statue of Liberty since 1950

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Tulips at Alki Beach

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Sasha two weeks old

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Big Yawn

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5 great iPhotos

2010-04-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

DSC02431 Sasha, one week old with her daddy

DSC02436 Flowering tree in Snoqualmie, WA

DSC02438 Snoqualmie Falls

DSC02439 Azeleas in Snoqualmie Park

DSC02441 Front of Snoqualmie Resort

April 26, 2019

Hello to all,

Today we had a really nice day sight seeing. We drove about 30 miles east of Seattle to the little but quickily growing town of Snoqualmie to have lunch in our favorite Mexican restaurant there. It was good as usual.

We then drove only about a mile to see the falls and park that are so pretty as you can see.

Last week, we attended a big Vegetarian Food Festival at the Seattle Center. They had lots and lots of good vegetarian and vegan food samples, What fun it was to taste and never eat any meat. I could live like that quite easily. I just wish I had a good cook to do it for me instead. LOL

We have seen a couple of movies. One was Dear John and it was good. The other was Avatar but not in 3 D. It was much better than we expected and now we wish I had seen it in 3 D, but it is too long to go see it again.0

Yesterday after attending the Unity of Bellevue Church, we drove about 30 miles north to the Washington town of Marysville. (We live 12 miles from Marysville in CA) We had lunch there then visited the Smokey Point Naval Air Station. We had to shop a little anyway to make the trip worthwhile. It was sunny and a beautiful day for a drive.

This has been a quiet week since Sasha made her appearance. She is getting along just fine as are her parents, They are just enjoying what sleep they get. She is pretty laid back and does not cry unless she has a reason but still is not into the habit of sleeping long periods of time. They went home from the hospital on Wednesday so have not been home very long. We enjoy every chance we get to hold her and just enjoy being around the new family.

Thanks to all of you who wrote. It was so good to get nice letters from so many. I do like to keep up with what you are doing also so keep it up.

Love, hugs, good health and happiness to you.

Ric and Jan(ice)

5 great iPhotos Sasha Bailey Martinez

2010-04-19T14:51:00.001-07:00

April 19, 2010

Hi to you all,

Our granddaughter finally arrived Saturday 9:24 p.m. after 42 hours of labor by her mommy and daddy. She was delivered by C-section and weighed in at 8 pounds, 19 inches long. Her mom and dad are very happy but both VERY tired as they are more sleep deprived than she at this point. All are doing well as can be expected. Her middle name is a family name of Angel.,

We got to meet her yesterday afternoon and I held and rocked her as long as anyone let me. Babies are my favorite!

It was a beautiful, warm sunny day yesterday and we did not even have to wear coats. Seattle can be nice.

We have just been in waiting mode for the last 2 weeks. Now we can think of other things although that will be hard!

We will be here for 4 more weeks and then we are going on a cruise out of Seattle to Alaska. We have been there before but did not get to visit Sitka as the wind was too hard for the tenders to get to shore. So we certainky hope we get there this time. After that, we will go home to Live Oak for a month and then come back here a a couple weeks before we head east for our 2 months of volunteer work in Maryland. It will be hard to leave I can tell all ready.

How were your last few weeks. Good to hear from many of you. Take care and do keep in touch.

Love and hugs,

Ric and Jan(ice)

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Traveling-thank goodness

2010-03-05T15:11:00.000-08:00

Friday, March 5, 2010

Hi,

Some of you do not know that we left home Tuesday and had a fire under the motorhome which we put out immediately. We were towed to Ukiah, CA and spent the next 2 days and nights there having it repaired. A plastic transmission filter broke and got much fluid underneath and that is what caught fire. It took forever to clean! Anyway, Thursday afternoon we finally got on our way and it runs beautifully. He could not guarantee that the transmission was okay since over 50% of the fluid was gone but it seems to be working fine.

We had a beautiful, sunny day to drive through the redwoods and up the northern California coast. It was a gorgeous drive after two rather frustrating and stressful days. We spent the night last night in Brookings OR just over the border from Crescent City, CA.

As we drove through Eureka and Arcata, the Humbolt State University students and others were protesting the budget cuts walking all along the sidewalk for many blocks. We had to slow down but no problems. After all, we are very supportive of them and we had heard that Thursday was the big statewide protest.

This morning we were camped next to the ocean and it was wet but it was clear and as we drove away it was sunny. Gas was less expensive there too which we appreciated since we needed a lot. Again, we had a most beautiful drive along the Oregon coast with the massive waves, huge rocks and sandy beaches. One could not ask for a lovelier day for travel than yesterday and today. Before that was just rain.

We stopped along the way and had a nice soup and salad bar and sat overlooking the river in Coos Bay. The ocean was on the other side but we certainly enjoyed the river view and the food.

Arriving at Thousand Trails was a welcome relief as we will be here 5 days before we move on up north to Newport.

We just wanted you to know how we have progressed since being home for almost 4 months. That is a long time for us.

Take care all and thanks again for writing.

Love,

Ric and Jan

Traveling-thank goodness

2010-03-05T14:24:00.000-08:00

Friday, March 5, 2010

Hi,

We stopped along the way and had a nice soup and salad bar and sat overlooking the river in Coos Bay. The ocean was on the other side but we certainly enjoyed the river view and the food.

Arriving at Thousand Trails was a welcome relief as we will be here 5 days before we move on up north to Newport.

We just wanted you to know how we have progressed since being home for almost 4 months. That is a long time for us.

Take care all and thanks again for writing.

Love,

Ric and Jan

3 great iPhotos More of Verde Canyon RR Trip

2009-11-20T15:14:00.000-08:00

Verde River
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12 great iPhotos Verde Canyon RR trip Sedona, AZ

2009-11-20T15:11:00.000-08:00

Train being loaded. Our car was next to caboose going.
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8 great iPhotos Home at last

2009-11-11T20:10:00.000-08:00

Sedona Pines Resort
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7 great iPhotos Texas and New Mexico

2009-10-26T16:22:00.000-07:00

David, Angel and Ric in front of our condo in San Antonio
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7 great iPhotos Branson, MO

2009-10-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

Friday, October 9, 2009
Branson, MO

Hi all,
We have been here in Branson now for almost a week. We left New
Windsor Conference Center eight days ago. Of course, we miss the
great staff and people working there all over campus. We met lots of
people in all of the areas of the Center. We had a new duty and that
helped a great deal. We did "pony run" which is pick up and mail
delivery to the departments of the center. Downsizing caused the
elimination of the man who did this service so now the volunteers
have been assigned to do it. We did this twice a day in the van and
at the end of a day we delivered the mail including many packages
from SERRV and the other departments to the local post office. We
both had to be certified drivers but Ric always drove and I jumped
out and delivered and picked up mail. It was actually fun. We did
this 2 days a week and other volunteers did it the other days. We
have scheduled to return next year for August and September if all
goes well. We had some great groups using the facilities and we do
enjoy our "work."

We drove to Branson in a couple of days and had a lovely trip. We
arrived here on a bright and beautiful sunny day. Then we had rain
and cloudy weather except for Wednesday when I took these pictures.
Today is cold and rainy again. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny
which is good for a travel day. We will drive as far as Texarkana,
Texas for the night. Then Sunday on to Lake Conroe, Willis TX for 5
days. The brochure says we can fish off our deck of our condo. We
will see. Since we don't fish we will just enjoy the view.

Wednesday we went to our first show called Broadway. It was a good
show with some talented performers. They did songs and dances from
broadway beginning with My Fair Lady, Jesus Christ Superstar, Hair
through the years to Mamma Mia. Memories from Cats was one of my
favorites. Then last night we saw a comedian, Jim Owen and he was a
blast. He had 5 others with him and they played country music, Blue
Grass , and who knows what. The best was when he just did his comedy
routine which was hilarious.

Today we went to see Red, Hot and Blue. It was a musical with songs
from the 30's through the 70's. They were excellent and their
costumes were well matched. They have performed on many cruises for
Holland American Lines. We have not cruised that line so we have not
seen them. However, we have seen some very talented kids on cruises.

It was good to hear from many of you who usually don't write. Just
remember if you don't respond directly to my travel letter
occasionally, I don't know if you receive it. Besides I like to hear
from you. I appreciate hearing about what you are doing too. Please
keep that in mind. (you are getting one more chance. LOL)

Take care and do as we are, living our dream and loving it.

Mom. Dad,
Grandmother and Granddaddy
Ric and Jan(ice)

10 great iPhotos Arling Cemetery

2009-09-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

September 24 (Sam H. Fillmore's birthday)

Hi,
Just a note as the pictures are all labeled. We visited Arlington
National Cemetery Tuesday morning and had a learning experience. We
were there in 1985 but did not visit as much of the cemetery as we
did this time. I sure is a big place and we walked up and down lots
of hills but it was worth it.

Just a reminder to some of you. I am purging my email address book
again. Some of you I never hear from and I have no idea if you get
these letters or not. Others write often or occasionally. If I hear
from you I will continue to write to you.

We will leaving hear next week so you will not hear from us again
from Maryland. We will be on the road somewhere the next time. Life
is an adventure.

Take care all and our best to you.

Ric and Jan(ice)

9 great iPhotos Blue Ridge Mts. and NOAC

2009-09-19T12:53:00.000-07:00

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Hi,

We had a great trip two weeks ago to North Carolina to NOAC (National
Older Adult Conference.) It was fun, inspirational, interesting and
many more adjectives. We heard many good speakers, had good insight
sessions, ice cream socials and renewed former acquaintances as well
as made new friends. We saw former volunteers from here at New
Windsor with whom we had worked, I saw former college friends that I
had not seen in a long time and we even saw some friends with whom we
traveled to China in March. We walked a lot, enjoyed the vast beauty
of the area and saw the early morning fog and watched it lift over lake.

We have been back here to work now for over a week and all is well.
We only have a week and a half before we leave and once again, it has
passed so quickly. We have enjoyed our stay here with so many
various groups and all so appreciative of what there is here to see
and do. Each group has a different agenda and some can be
challenging. But they are unique in their own way and we learn from
them all.

We took a short day trip this week to Lancaster County PA and went a
new route (to us) over country roads (and there are many) which were
through the countryside and all very picturesque. It rained that day
so I did not take but one picture which was a field of sunflowers.
We saw 2 large fields which were in full bloom.

When we leave here we are going to Branson, MO for a week's stay. We
will travel west through Ohio and Illinois and then south to MO.

Our weather has been fairly nice and cool. I see it is still hot in
the Sacramento Valley so I am glad to be here.

Ya"ll take care and be good to yourselves.

Love and hugs to all.
Ric and Jan(ice)

4 great iPhotos Quantico, VA

2009-09-13T11:37:00.000-07:00

September 13 2009

Hi,
About a week and a half ago we spent our days off at Quantico, Va.
and it is a very picturesque place. We drove through a national park
across the freeway from the Marine Base and it was very pretty. We
saw several buildings with NCIS written on them. Then we saw many
buildings which appeared to be class rooms but no sign so we don't
know what they were. Interesting!!!!!!!!!! hmmmmmmmmm JM

2 great iPhotos continued

2009-09-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

Beautiful stained glass window in Methodist Church
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7 great iPhotos Harrisburg, PA

2009-09-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

Saturday, September 5, 2009 (Dale and Nancy Hood's wedding day in
Oregon!! Congratulations)

Hi all,
I have been remiss is writing and will sit down and do that right
now. We are at New Windsor Conference Center in New Windsor, MD for
the rest of this month. Our first month here went by very quickly.
Time flys when you are having fun.
Last week we drove up north to Harrisburg, PA to the state capitol.
It is certainly a beautiful one. It is very public friendly and
encourages all people to visit. We want to go back and see more than
we did at some later date.
The pictures show some of the highlights. The original capitol
building was built in Harrisburg about 1810 and in 1897 it burned to
the ground. The assembly then met at the Grace Methodist Church
(shown in one of the pictures below) about a block from the present
building. It was rebuilt beginning in 1904 and moved into in 1906
but construction continued for several years after that time. In
2006 they celebrated a Centennial held to mark the 100th anniversary
of the Capitol building. It is not designated as a National Historic
Landmark. I think it is the prettiest capitol we have visited in the
US and we have been to quite a few.
The first picture is the City Island which is an island on the
Susquehana River. We drove around it and they have ball games there
as well as a park. The capitol is on the left side of the photo. It
was a very clear day!
We have had lobster in Frederick MD which we do each year. It is so
yummy. Can't get it that good in California. We have also gone to
church several times in Frederick. We keep busy here at "work" or on
our days off by traveling close to our humble abode.
Tomorrow we leave the center for 6 days to go to Lake Junalaska, NC
to attend NOAC, National Older Adult Conference. I attended the
first Church of the Brethren Nat'l Youth Conference in Anderson,
Indiana in 1954 when I was in high school and this is an out growth
of that. So it should be fun to see if I recognize any one
there!!!! Hope they have name tags with large print. LOL
We are well, happy and enjoying what we are doing. Thanks to those
of you who write so faithfully. It is always good to hear from you.
Take care and be happy.

Love and hugs,
Mom and Dad
Grandmother and Granddaddy
Ric and Jan(ice)

6 great iPhotos

2009-08-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

Outside where ceremony was held, Aug. 1
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5 great iPhotos NIAGARA FALLS

2009-08-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

August 2, 2009

HI,
We had 2 great days in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. We arrived in
the afternoon and saw only the first view from the corner by our
hotel. It was raining and not a real good day to walk down the hill
to a better view of the falls.
The next morning we walked down a very steep hill and walked along
the side of the falls for a long ways. It was very misty from the
falls but beautiful. After being there for a while we decided to go
back up the hill and found a people mover which would take us up the
steepest part which was really good . We still had a long walk that
day.
In the evening we decided to walk over to another part of town in
which we would eat. After looking for a long time we ended up at a
Denney's Diner and had a good meal. Overall we had a great time.
We were there 24 years ago and David was with us. We were on the
American side then. The Canadian side is better and the view was
wonderful for both sides as you can see.
We spent the next night in Albany NY and going across NY was fun as
we got off the interstate and took a country road and it was much
more scenic. Lots of hills and green trees with corn and soy beans
growing.
We arrived in Brookline, NH the next day for a wonderful 4 day visit
with my friend of 60 years and her family. We enjoyed our stay so
much. The three of us went to the movie UP and it was in Nashua, NH
at a theater that served lunch while you enjoyed the movie. That was
a new experience for all of us. Such fun.
Then on to Frederick, MD where we attended my first cousin's wedding
yesterday. Friday we arrived at our hotel just before a tornado hit
the county and we were safely inside before the torrential rain and
winds came. Yesterday was a beautiful day for a wedding which was
held at an old mansion. It was the perfect setting. (Pictures to
follow) A great time was had by all. It is always nice to be with
family again.
Today we attended the Unity Church in Frederick where we were warmly
welcomed again. The minister knows us now as we attend there as
often as we can. It was a good service.
Now we have moved in to our home for the next 2 months at New Windsor
Conference Center and have begun "work" a little.
So now you know what we are up to. What are you up to? It is always
good to hear from you.
Love and hugs,
Mom, Dad, Grandmother and Granddaddy
Ric and Jan(ice)

5 great iPhotos NIAGARA FALLS

2009-08-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

August 2, 2009

great iPhotos Battle Creel MI

2009-07-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

July 23 2009

Hi all,
We left Live Oak a week ago today for a 4 month trip to the east and
back. We crossed NV and UT and the desert in a couple of days and
then through WY which was desolate in the west and nice and green in
the east. Then came Iowa and NE and lots of corn. It rained hard
on us in NE the morning we left and also in Iowa as we left. We were
on I-80 all the way across country until we got to Chicago yesterday
when we came into IN and on to MI on I-94. We are in Battle Creek MI
for 2 days and we visited a museum this morning and learned about
birds and other mammals. We are just kicking back and resting today.
Tomorrow we will go on through a little of Canada to Niagara Falls
and spend 2 nights on the Canadian side of the falls. It should be
beautiful.
We are both fine and still enjoy traveling a lot.
I will be in touch later. Let us hear from you all,.

Hugs,
Mom, Dad,
Grandmother and Granddaddy
Ric and Jan(ice)

4 great iPhotos Oregon

2009-06-18T16:47:00.001-07:00

May on the Oregon Coast
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5 great iPhotos of China

2009-06-18T16:27:00.001-07:00

Meditation Garden in Hong Kong
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