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!