Rex Ibama meets Mariko Oyashi at the lighthouse

Rex met Mariko on the walkway to the lighthouse and Mariko asked if the twins wanted to take a rest from all their traveling. Mariko said she would be delighted to take over for them and continue their travels. The Ibama Twins agreed and said they's rest up here on Long Beach Island. Rex asked mariko to send postcards from the places she'd go to...

Follow Mariko's new adventures at her blog "The Adventures of Mariko Oyashi."

Long Beach Island Barnegat Lighthouse

Here's Max at the Barnegat Lighthouse on Long Beach Island off the coast of New Jersey. It happens to be a warm (50 degrees) day so that the twins could go out on the walkway to the lighthouse.

Rex is at the moment inside the lighthouse climbing the stairs to the top:

He's stopped a moment to see how far he's come. "Awful lot of stairs," says Rex.

Here's some info about the Barnegat Lighthouse

There are 217 steps that lead to the light. From there you can see a long ways on a clear day. If you are familiar with this area of the Jersey shore and have never seen the area from up high, the view from the lighthouse will be even more special. In all areas of the lighthouse you will find interpretive signs that discuss the history and role of lighthouses, in addition to specific details about the Barnegat Lighthouse itself.

Back on home ground - Times Square

 

Max and Rex are finally back home in the US. They landed in Kennedy and made their way to the city where Max wanted to visit Times Square while Rex made a reservation in a hotel right across the street. Max is standing in a safe spot in the middle of Broadway.

The boys are happy to be back home and they will now start another trip in and around the US.

London, England

Have you ever been to the London Eye? The huge ferris wheel on the Thames? Rex and Max are about to embark on their first ride.

The Merlin Entertainments London Eye (commonly the London Eye, or Millennium Wheel, formerly the British Airways London Eye) is a giant 135-metre (443 ft) tall Ferris wheel situated on the banks of the River Thames in the British capital.
It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually. When erected in 1999, it was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, until surpassed first by the 160 m (520 ft) Star of Nanchang in 2006, and then the 165 m (541 ft) Singapore Flyer in 2008. It is still described by its operators as "the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel" (as the wheel is supported by an A-frame on one side only, unlike the Nanchang and Singapore wheels).
The London Eye is located at the western end of Jubilee Gardens, on the South Bank of the River Thames in the London Borough of Lambeth in England, between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge. The site is adjacent to that of the former Dome of Discovery, which was built for the Festival of Britain in 1951.

Switzerland

Here is Rex Ibama at the United National Headquarters in Geneva. Max is making arrangements for the twins to fly off to London, England. This is the last stop for the Ibamas on the Continent.  And after London they will pop over to New York City. Back in the good ol' US of A.

Croatia/ Slovenia

An elderly Croat shows the Dragonja river valley in Istria which is the last stretch of border between Croatia and Slovenia.  The Ibama Twins don't know much about Croatia and Slovenia so they thought they would visit and see what there is to see and learn.

Bled Castle a very popular tourist attraction in Slovenia. Max and Rex will stop there next.
 

Croatian-Slovenia relations are foreign relations between Croatia and Slovenia. Before 1991, both countries were part of Yugoslavia. On June 26, 1991, a mutual recognition agreement was signed by both countries. Diplomatic relations between both countries were established on February 6, 1992. Croatia has an embassy in Ljubljana and 2 honorary consulates in Maribor and Koper. Slovenia has an embassy in Zagreb and an honorary consulate in Split. Both countries share 670 km of common border.
Relations between Slovenia and Croatia have been friendly, but burdened with constant disputes, including several unresolved minor border disputes, namely:

• the division of former Yugoslav territorial waters, particularly in the Gulf of Piran;
• the hamlets of Bužini, Mlini, Škodelini and Škrile located to the south of river Dragonja in Istria, which were administered by Croatia from 1954, and which Slovenia claims as part of cadaster municipality Sečovlje;
• the Sveta Gera (Trdinov vrh) peak in the Žumberak/Gorjanci, with the Slovenian Army occupying barracks that lay partially in Croatian territory;
• the changing meanders of the river Mura, near Hotiza and Sveti Martin na Muri, where the situation in nature differs from the descriptions in official maps and documents.

Dona Nobis Pacem

The Ibama Twins joins all the blogblasters in celebrating Blogblast for Peace! It's their first year!

Acropolis, Greece

The Ibama Twins flew from Cyprus late last night and were up early this morning to go visit the Acropolis, the most popular tourist attraction in Greece.

The Acropolis of Athens or Citadel of Athens is the best known acropolis (Gr. akros, akron edge, extremity + polis, city, pl. acropoleis) in the world. Although there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as The Acropolis without qualification. The Acropolis was formally proclaimed as the pre-eminent monument on the European Cultural Heritage list of monuments on 26 March 2007 The Acropolis is a flat-topped rock that rises 150 m (490 ft) above sea level in the city of Athens, with a surface area of about 3 hectares. It was also known as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Cecrops, the first Athenian king.

Short Stop at Aphrodite's Ruins in Cyprus

 

Max climbs up to see the beautiful Mediterranean from the Aphrodite ruins above on Cyprus.

Rex is taking the picture.

Aphrodite (Greek Ἀφροδίτη) is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality. Her Roman equivalent is the goddess Venus. Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia.
According to Hesiod's Theogony, she was born when Cronus cut off Uranus' genitals and threw them into the sea, and from the sea foam (aphros) arose Aphrodite.
Because of her beauty other gods feared that jealousy would interrupt the peace among them and lead to war, and so Zeus married her to Hephaestus, who was not viewed as a threat. Aphrodite had many lovers, both gods like Ares, and men like Anchises. Aphrodite also became instrumental in the Eros and Psyche legend, and later was both Adonis' lover and his surrogate mother. Many lesser beings were said to be children of Aphrodite.

Pamukkale, Turkey

Rex and Max hopped a plane from India to Turkey to visit Pamukkale, the premier tourist attraction in the country. The have to get out of their clothes and into their swim togs quickly because they are not allowed to wear shoes in these waters. To learn about these hot springs and carbonate deposits read below:

Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site in Denizli Province in south-western Turkey. The city contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. It is located in Turkey's Inner Aegean region, in the River Menderes valley, which has a temperate climate for most of the year.
The ancient city of Hierapolis was built on top of the white "castle" which is in total about 2,700 metres (8,860 ft) long, 600 m (1,970 ft) wide and 160 m (525 ft) high. It can be seen from the hills on the opposite side of the valley in the town of Denizli, 20 km away.
Tourism is and has been a major industry. People have bathed in its pools for thousands of years. As recently as the mid 20th century, hotels were built over the ruins of Heropolis, causing considerable damage. An approach road was built from the valley over the terraces, and motor bikes were allowed to go up and down the slopes. When the area was declared a world heritage site, the hotels were demolished and the road removed and replaced with artificial pools. Wearing shoes in the water is prohibited to protect the deposits.

Monks in the Himalayas

The Buddhist monks of the Himalayas talk with Max Ibama and share their particular sense of humor with him. Rex catches the informal shot. These monks live with the present Dalai Lama in Tibet.

Rex Ibama at Mount Everest base camp

Rex met a nice lady at Mount Everest basecamp and agreed to take a picture with her. Max took the picture.

Ibama Twins hit the Himalayas in India

Rex calls to Max, "Hey, Max, wait for me! these himalayan dunes are deep and pop up without your knowing it. I'm following your footprints. Don't hike so fast! "

Max answers, "Oh come on, Rex, you have to keep up. It's almost nightfall." But we don't have to worry. Our sweaters are so bright, they will light our way even if it does get dark!"

"Here's some details about the Himalayan range," says Max.

The Himalaya Range (Sanskrit: literally, "abode of snow", Hindi/Sanskrit: हिमालय, IPA: /hɪˈmɑːləj(ə)/), the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. By extension, it is also the name of a massive mountain system that includes the Karakoram, the Hindu Kush, and other, lesser, ranges that extend out from the Pamir Knot.
Together, the Himalayan mountain system is the planet's highest, and home to the world's highest peaks, the Eight-thousanders, which include Mount Everest and K2. To comprehend the enormous scale of this mountain range, consider that Aconcagua, in the Andes, at 6,962 metres (22,841 ft) is the highest peak outside Asia, whereas the Himalayan system includes over 100 mountains exceeding 7,200 m (23,622 ft)

Watch for the Ibamas at Mount Everest and K2 next time! :)

India - Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary

Max and Rex took a ride on Periyar Lake in the Wildlife Sanctuary in India. Max says, "Hey, Rex, is that a herd of elephants I see up ahead?" Rex answers, "Yes, indeed!"

And here is the herd on the shore of the lake.

Sri Lanka

The Ibama Twins stopped in Sri Lanka on their way to India on their trip around the world. They stopped to visit at this ancient sleeping buddha something you don't see very often.

The buddha is called Reclining Buddha located in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka.

This is the Buddha called Siddhartha.
 
"But where were the Brahmans, where the priests, where the ... wise men or penitents, who had succeeded in not just knowing this deepest of all knowledge but also to live it" ~Siddhartha Gautama

Ayers Rock

Max and Rex think "That's one heck of a big rock!"

Uluru, also referred to as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies 335 km (208 mi) south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; 450 km (280 mi) by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. Uluru is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, the Aboriginal people of the area. It has many springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. Uluru is listed as a World Heritage Site.

Uluru is a sacred part of Aboriginal creation mythology, or dreamtime – reality being a dream. Uluru is considered one of the great wonders of the world and one of Australia‘s most recognizable natural icons.

The Wedding

 

Max slipped into this picture of Carol and her brother, Jim. This was just after the wedding ceremony which took place in a lovely park in a gazebo out over a pond as you can see. Max and Rex wished the happy couple (see below) all the best and a wonderful life together.

The Ibama Twins Go Without Me to Oklahoma City

The boys went to Oklahoma City without me today because I came down with pneumonia. I was glad they went to attend the wedding of my niece, Carol, and to send my love and apologies. They told me they intend to take a lot of pictures (I lent them a camera) of the wedding but when they arrive in Oklahoma City they went directly to the Oklahoma City Memorial after they picked up the Hertz car Vinny had reserved for them.

Max and Rex were awed and saddened as you can see in this picture of the Memorial chairs. The chairs are located on the footprint of the Alfred P. Murrah building (the building that was bombed) and each chair represents a person who died that day. Smaller chairs represent the children who died.

I had hoped that I would have been able to visit the Memorial. Well, maybe someday.

Rex helps me pack

Rex recommended I take my purple big shirt and wear it with my leggings on the trip down to Oklahoma City. What a good idea, Rex! Thanks a lot!

Max helps with my packing list

Max is helping me create a packing list for my trip to Oklahoma City. He reminded me to bring backup shoes in case my new black suede shoes start to hurt. Rex is getting our suitcase down from the attic at the moment...

Hafer Park, Oklahoma on Google Earth

Rex is pointing out Hafer Park in Edmond, Oklahoma where maryt's niece's wedding is to take place.

There's a gazebo and a lovely lake as you can see on Google Earth.

We'll be sure to take pix on the day of the ceremony. The plan is to have breakfast in the park too.

Google Earth lets you fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, from galaxies in outer space to the canyons of the ocean ...