Troy at the US Open

Troy who as you know is a surf afficionado couldn't miss out on the action at the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach. With 12ft waves and with several surf legends showing their tricks. He had a fabulous time even though it was really, really hot.

Troy watches Rob Machado on one of those big waves.

Here Troy is able to see what Rob look like up close and personal in a screen printined collage .

Behind the scenes he drops in to see how surfboards are shaped. In the background Bill Stewart reveals secrets of this mysterious craft.
As I mentioned earlier, it was super hot and Troy having watched the entire Men's Surf contest won by local Brett Simpson and the Master's Event went home for some R&R.

Stanley in Amsterdam

Stanley who we last saw some months back with some stylish knitted items is back again. It's always so reassuring to hear from a furry travel buddy so a big thank you to Tamaan for her wonderful pics.

Stanley takes to the skies for his latest adventure. The journey is so quick he barely has time for a nap before he's buckling up for the landing.

Upon landing there's not a taxi in sight but what there are a lot of, are bicycles, hundreds of them Stanley can hardly stand still for a minute without placing himself in bodily danger.There's nothing for it, he hitches a ride and heads downtown in search of his accommodation.

His human cycling driver informs Stanley that he has arrived at his destination. Stanley looks around. "How can this be ? " Stanley can only see water and nothing that resembles a hotel. Maybe he thinks, I'm supposed to be on that barge. What follows next is nothing short of reckless.
He jumps......and he misses landing on the tiniest of ledges which is all that stands between him and a watery end. Overcome by the realisation that he is in a very sorry predicament, he lies there thinking negative thoughts. Not for long........

Lucky for him a hand from a passing barge scoops him up from the precarious precipice and informs him that he is just in time for dessert. Stanley needless to say perks up from his traumatic state when handed an ice cream. He is a comfort eater after all. Nothing can possibly be that bad if there's ice-cream.

Marlene's Cruise Ship Album

There were so many photos to choose from for this post. I think they will be strong contenders for the 2010 calendar. As I explained in the newsletter my dad had had technical difficulties when it came to photographing Marlene on his overseas trips so upon learning that half the family were going on a cruise I cheekily asked Uncle Richard if he wouldn't mind taking a few snaps and I wasn't disappointed. Apparently other family members also did their part to remind him to take Marlene on their tours so thanks to Aunt's Desiree and Sooi.
Without further ado, here are a fraction of the pics.

Marlene's travel companions included some Canadians and Brits.

Marlene's mode of transport for the vacation. A rather large cruise ship.

First stop Venice. Marlene gets her first taste of living at sea.
No trip to Venice would be complete without visiting Murano where a lot of glass is made. Notice the area is under surveillance but Marlene manages to bypass security and blend with the ornaments.
This rather impressive glass sculpture is made entirely of handblown glass. Marlene is seen here hoping that the sculpture is securely anchored to something.
After all the day's activity its back to the ship for a beverage and a nap.
Stay tuned for part 2 Croatia and Greece coming soon.