MY VACATIONS
My first vacation was in 1985 when I took my family for a holiday in Europe and England. I was then on my sabbatical leave (my employer then, a British company, provided a 3 months study holiday after my 10th year of service) and decided to bring my wife and 3 children (7, 8 and 11 years old) with me. We visited France, Germany, Holland and Switzerland. While in England my brother-in-law drove us around Wales, England and Scotland. Although it was autumn, the weather was cold by our tropical standard but we enjoyed the holiday. While in UK I did a short course at the Cranfield School of Management at Bedford near London. After the European holiday we flew into New Jersey, USA to meet with my brother Tony before we flew westward into Los Angeles and thrilled ourselves at Disneyland and San Diego SeaWorld. We ended the holiday flying westward home, thereby flying around the world.
My next opportunity to travel came in 1992 when I took my parents and sister to New Jersey to meet with Tony. It was an emotional meeting with Tony whom they have not seen in 14 years since leaving home. While there we visited some scenic spots and captured fond memories. Taking advantage of cheap airfare bundled with a tour, we took a vacation first in LA and Disneyland and crossed in Mexico before visiting Tony. My father (he passed on in 1998) enjoyed the holiday although his heart was weak. Two momentous events took place while we were in the States: 1)An earthquake shook our motel in LA but no damage/injury occurred 2)A riot sparked by the beating of Rodney King, a black American, by a white police personnel, broke out in LA on the day we flew out of Newark Airport on our return flight to Malaysia via LA Tom Bradford International Airport. We missed our international connection due to flight delay at Newark and had to spend a night in LA. In spite of these events, the vacation was memorable in many ways that cannot be described here.
In 1994, a business cum holiday trip was made to New Jersey with my business colleague. As it was in December, we experienced our first snow. I also took a detour to visit Christine, my elder daughter who was just enrolled in the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OU a few weeks earlier to study business administration.
With great joy, my wife and I made our trip to Norman in May 1996 to take part in the commencement ceremony of Christine. Our son, Julian, came along. Prior to arriving Norman, we took a holiday in Hawaii and saw the Pearl Harbor Memorial besides other beautiful Hawaiian sights. Christine's friend, Stanley (now our son-in-law) brought us to Texas and visited a few scenic spots.
The year 1999 rank the best yet in our memory. That year both Julian and our younger daughter Irene graduated from their studies, Julian in May 1999 from OU in Norman (following his sister's footstep but did mechanical engineering instead) and Irene from University of Sheffield, UK in July 1999. For our May 1999 holiday, Christine took a job break to join us and we visited San Francisco and Julian brought us to see the Passion Play in Eureka Springs in Arkansas. We also visited Tony and toured the Niagara Falls and the major cities of eastern Canada. Irene could not join because of her exams. For our July 1999 holiday we re-lived our Europe and UK holidays as a family. This time we added Italy and Austria into the itinerary. For the UK holiday we rented a car and drove round like in 1985. I really feel good.
Following our children's graduations and starting their respective careers, my wife and I started having holidays as a couple. While I missed a family holiday I look forward to a couple holiday as a reward earned from having raised up three great kids. In May 2000 my wife brought Irene to see Niagara Falls as well as attend Julian's commencement ceremony for receiving his Master's degree. I stayed back to look after the house.
After all the travel to the west I realized I am missing the jewels closer home - China. In May 2001 my wife and I took a week's holiday to visit Shanghai and the surrounding cities like Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou, etc. I was amazed by the transformation these cities underwent, especially Shanghai since China opened her doors to the West in the 1980s. We thoroughly enjoyed this first China holiday.
My China mood is still strong so we made a follow-up visit to Beijing in March 2002. Beijing is a different city from Shanghai, quieter and more serene. Our highlights were the Tian An Men Square (where we were detached from the main group but was fortunately reunited after a mobile phone call to the tour manager), Forbidden City, Heavenly Palace and, of course, the Great Wall of China, which we scaled at the Badaling section. We have a certificate to prove it!!! I prefer Beijing to Shanghai and wish to revisit her, hopefully before the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
We had our second vacation in 2002 when we went for a holiday to Vancouver and the Canadian Rockies in August, followed by a visit to Atlanta, Georgia to visit Julian and to meet his girlfriend, Winnie. The Canadian holiday was great and the scenery unbeatable. Originally we wanted to join the Alaska Cruise but felt it would be too strenuous and boring so we skipped it, without any regrets. In Atlanta we got to meet Winnie's family and see Julian's living environment. The September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on WTC and Pentagon has left a deep scare on US security system and job opportunities for aliens and has affected Julian somewhat. Julian took us for a drive to Asheville, NC and visited the Biltmore House and drove down the Blueridge Mountain to the Great Smokey Mountains. It was a grand sight to behold although drizzle robbed us more chances to enjoy the sights from the many lookout points.
In December 2003 my wife and I took a holiday to Guilin, China. Situated in the GuanXi region of south west China, Guilin is famous for her ragged hills and calm rivers often depicted in water color paintings. Although it was winter time, and the Li River shallower than usual, we enjoyed the cold outdoor activities. In a way, the Guilin trip is a test of my physical endurance and ability to fly. During my Atlanta holiday in 2002 I discovered upon returning that I have cervical spondylosis, a degenerative cervical spine condition that grew spurs around the nerve canals. When these nerves are pricked by the spurs they send numbness or pain or both to the affected finger extremities. In the 1 year period following I engaged in neck and spinal stretching exercises, underwent physiotherapy and went for chiropractic treatment. More importantly I put my faith in God's healing power. As of December 2003 the irritation, numbness and pain has substantially disappeared, thanks be to God.
Upcoming trip for 2004 is to Atlanta to celebrate Julian's wedding to Winnie. It will most likely be during May or early June. As I write this (on January 26, 2004) my wife and I are preparing for Irene's wedding on Feb 28, 2004 to Seng Kiong, a fellow Christian. Looks like 2004 will be a double celebration like in 1999.
UPDATE
Indeed 2004 has been a great year with blessing of double weddings. Irene married in a wonderful ceremony in Seremban, Malaysia. Please cruise to this link to see a gallery of her wedding photos. Julian married Winnie on June 5 at the Polo Golf & Country Club in Cumming, GA and you can see a collection of his wedding pix here. I cannot express my profound gratitude and satisfaction of having raised and married our 3 children.
Our greatest joy came on April 10, 2005 when Irene gave birth to our first grandchild, Victoria, who have her own website gallery at this site. Please take a look at this lovely girl who is so adorable. As I write this (April 29, 2005) baby Victoria is almost 3 weeks old. Weighing 3.3kg at birth, she is the darling to us, her parents and grandparents, Dick and Nancy. We pray that she will grow up to be a God-fearing and responsible kid. We now pray for more grandchildren to follow so that Vicky will have many playmates to keep her company. Already we are hoping that she will grow up gifted in music, the arts as well as in science.
bravenet.com