While living in Hot Springs, we have had foreign YL visitors including XE1CI, LX1TL, HB9ARC, and ZL1ALE.

It has been my pleasure to do quite a bit of traveling during these last few years which has enabled me to meet amateur radio operators in many countries .In July, 2000 my non-ham friend, Susan, and I flew to Copenhagen where we spent several days before boarding the Orient Cruise Lines "Marco Polo" for a two week cruise with stops in Norway, Faroe Islands, Lerwick Islands, Iceland, etc. We were very fortunate to meet Johanna Hansen, OY5J who took us for a tour around the island and to visit her home. When we were in Bergen, my old friend, LA1ZI, Lazi Egeli traveled from Stavanger to meet me after nearly 30 years, It was a joyous reunion. Then, when we arrived in Oslo, we were met by Ruth Tollefsen, LA6ZH and Unni Gran, LA6RHA, along with their non-ham friend, Ingrid and together they took us on a wonderful sightseeing tour of Oslo. I believe they traveled to New Zealand for your big YL Convention last year!

In December 2000, I accepted an invitation to travel to Mexico City and help celebrate the 70^th birthday of Nellie Lazard, XE1CI. I am sorry to advise you that Nellie was hit by a car several weeks ago and her femur was broken and she had to have a hip replacement and while they were doing surgery, her heart acted up so she has a temporary pace-maker and is unable to be on the air at this time but we are praying her recovery will be rapid and complete.

In April, 2002, I took advantage of a very cheap airfare to Japan to visit some friends who were my neighbors when we lived in Ecuador and together we traveled via the bullet train to Kyoto for Cherry Blossom Season. My Japanese adoptee, Machiko Sasaki, JR3MNA and a number of the Kyoto YLs, including Nozomi, JH3SQN, JH3SQR, JE3ADJ, JS3EAQ, JN3NUF, JE3LFH, JP3DPU held a sushi dinner in my honor and we had a wonderful time!

Following my trip to Japan, Phyllis Shanks, W2GLB/7 and I flew to Singapore where we spent 5 days before taking the Orient Express train trip to Bangkok via Malaysia with a brief stop in Kuala Lumpur and a 3 hour excursion on the Island of Penang; we even rode on a tri-shaw for about half an hour; then continued to the Bridge over the River Kwai before arriving in Bangkok. It was a beautiful trip with gorgeous scenery of rubber trees, many palm trees used for palm oil, banana trees and much lush vegetation and rice fields. While in Bangkok we had the pleasure of having tea with Mayuree Chotikul, HS1YL, President of the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand; G3NOM/HSO, Ray Gerrard and his wife, Lawan, E21UHL, as well as Dave Harling, ZL2BW and his wife, Audrey who were visiting Thailand enroute to England.

I do make several trips a year to Guayaquil, Ecuador to spend time with my step-family which has grown to include 7 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. This past February I brought my step-daughter and her10 year old son back with me to spend several weeks and we had a good time but they found it very very cold. It never gets cold in Guayaquil! I plan to return to Ecuador in August God willing.