new found family

My cousin Neil's daughter from Australia contacted me last week out of the blue.I was in Australia with my husband about 4 years ago but I never got to meet Neil and his family. So the last time I saw him was when I visited for a longer stay 40 years ago! Tracy is looking into our family to do a family tree so hopefully I can help a little. I am hoping also that she can help me since I remember my mother (Tracy's great aunt) telling me that we were indirectly related to the famous Sir Ernest Shackleton one of the early explores of the Antartica. Who knows!!

Ano Nuevo Park

Just returned from a nature tour of the Ano Nuevo Park near Half Moon Bay California. The tour was arranged by the San Francisco Tour Guide Guild as a training tour.
We stopped first at Half Moon Bay to see where the surfers surf the mavarick waves. We learnt that Maverick was actually a dog who enjoyed the water!!
Later we spent some free time in Half Moon Bay before continuing south the the park. Here we met a ranger who took us on a 1.5 hour walk to see the Elephant Seals. There were hundreds of them and a couple of bulls started a fight!! We learnt that the females have one baby a year. They can dive down to 1 mile deep and can be without oxygen for up to 2 hours although generally it is less than that.
All in all it was most enjoyable and the weather was great which of course helps.

Dipu at the races

My husband Dipu went to Golden Gate Fields today in the hopes of winning one of 8 plasma TV sets which were being raffled. He called me to tell me his name was the first one to be pulled and yes he did win one!!
I drove to collect him and said TV and we got it home, now the question is how and where will we put it. I must say it looks a great TV!

israel evaluations

Just received my evaluations from the tour I escorted in Israel. They were all great so am feeling really good about myself right now. I hope the company takes them into consideration for the future!!

scott's restaurant

Went up to Walnut Creek today and had lunch with my friend Sandy at Scott's www.scottswc.com. It was most enjoyable and I would recommend this as an upscale restaurant for sea food.
It was great chatting about our upcoming tours for this year.

tour to half moon bay

Have signed up for a tour organized by San Francisco Tour Guide Guild to go to Half Moon Bay and Ano Nuevo State Park. This is mainly to learn about the history of the park and to see the Elephant Seals. Am looking forward to it.