Georgia , New Country #194 and Azores, 195

Hello again, well I have been away from this blog for a while , but I am now glad to be back. We had two lots of visitors this past week and we ourselves traveled to Banff and Lake Louise. There just was no time for postcards or blogging. However in that week I received lots of postcards, 10 in fact. As the heading of this post implies I have increased the total of countries from which I have received a stamped postcard to 195. The new additions are Georgia and The Azores. I realize The Azores is not a country , but it makes my list because that have there own stamps , marked Portugal, Azores. Cards also arrived from The Philippines, Australia, Taiwan, Luxembourg, and 3 from The U.S.A. I don't know at this point if I will show all the cards but we shall see what we shall see.
First , of course, is new Country # 194, Georgia. Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region, partially in Europe and partially in Asia. Georgia is bordered by Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey and the Black Sea. It was part of The Soviet Union from 1922 until it regained its independence in 1991. Georgia suffers from the unresolved secessionist conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Even this month, August 2008, Georgia engaged in an armed conflict with Russia and separatist groups from South Ossetia. Just yesterday, Russia officially recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent nations. Most western nations condemmed the declaration. I guess the final chapter of Georgia and its regions still has to be written. I guess I was lucky to get this postcard, dated 07 August, which I believe was just 2 days before the armed conflict started. The card was sent by Khatuna Kipiani of Tbilisi, the capital city. Thanks Khatuna.
A very nice selection of Georgian stamps was used on the card. The stamp on the bottom left was issued in 2001 and is a semi-postal. The theme of the stamp is We Trust America. What the extra value of 10 was for , I wasn't able to find out. The top left stamp was issued 2007 and is 1 of a set of 3, featuring mountains. Mount Kazbek is shown on this stamp and is at 5033 metres. The two stamps in the center were issued in 2006 and are both Europa stamps. The final stamp on the right was issued 2007 and is the stamp in a souvenir sheet issued for the art of illusion. All in all a very nice selection of current Georgian stamps., thanks to Khatuna.

My next card is from the Azores. It is country or entity #195. The Azores are a Portuguese archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean about 1500 km from Lisbon. The Azores are made up of 9 major islands and they are Sao Miguel, Pico, Terceiro, Sao Jorge, Faial, Flores , Santa Maria, Graciosa and Corvo. I had the pleasure of visiting Santa Maria , at least the airport, in Feb. 1975 , while flying from Lisbon to Montreal. We stopped in Santa Maria for fuel. The capital and largest city is Ponta Delgado. My postcard was postmarked Angra do Heroismo, which is the location of the Supreme Court. I received this card from Maria Leal of Terceira Island who is in Postcrossing. She used 2 stamps, the most interesting of which was issued in 2008 and is 1 of a set of 4 featuring birds. The stamp on my card shows the Priolo (Pyrrhula Murina) which Maria says is only found on Sao Miguel Island , and nowhere else in the world. The Priolo is endemic to the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores. Its population is between 340 and 400 individual birds. It is the most threatened passerine bird in all Europe and is listed as critically endangered by Birdlife International. The postcards front shows a large multiview of scenes from Terceira Island. Thanks Maria for this. I learned something new from receiving your card.

The card from The Phillipines shows White Beach on Boracay Island. Boracay is a tropical island approximately 315 km south of Manila and 2 km off the northwest tip of Panay Island. in the western Philippines. It is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. White beash, shown on the card , is the main tourist beach. It is just a tad over 4 kilometers long and looks like a great place to just hove off and smell the roses.
Thanks to Michael of cddstamps for this card. Michael used 3 2007 stamps featuring the Barn Swallow.

Now we have 3 cards from the U.S , all of which show are showing tourist attractions. There is the Washington Memorial Arch, in NYC , The Glory Hole on Dismal Creek in Arkansas and The Queen Mary in Long Beach , Calif. The Washington Memorial Arch was erected in 1892 and designed by Stanford White. It is modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It is located at the entrance to Washington Square Park which covers 9.75 acres and was opened in 1871.

The Glory Hole on Dismal Creek is in Ozark National Forest. It was formed by years of erosion and is truly one of Arkansas's natural wonders.

The Queen Mary is an ocean liner that sailed the North Atlantic from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line. She was retired in 1967 and is permanently berthed in Long Beach serving as a museum and hotel.
Thanks to Toni for the New York card, M Doyle for the Arkansas card and Pam for the Long Beach card.
One more star wars stamp for me. I leave it to Parker for a description of the stamp.

One of the cards from Australia shows Suttons beach, Queensland, Australia. Looks like an impressive beach , also. The card is from a Postcrosser, named Neil Ennis. He has a blog at http://neilennis.com. Give it a look and see what he's up to. He used three very nice stamps that were issued in 2008. They are 3 of a set of 5 issued for ANZAC Day. ANZAC Day is commemorated by Australia and New Zealand on 25 April every year. It honours members of the Australian and New Zealnad Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during The First World War. One can learn most everything about The Battle of Gallipoli by listening to The Pogues song And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda. If you listen to that song, you'll certainly understand the futility of war. Lest We Forget!

And finally, we have another card from Wu Wei Yi of Taiwan. He has sent a number of cards after viewing my blog. This one shows a Japan Asia Airways B747. Wei Yi used 2 older stamps on this card. The lighthouse stamp on the left was issued in 1989 and is of The Oluan Pi Lighthouse. The larger stamp on the right was issued in 1983 for the 38th Junior Chamber of Commerce Congress wich was held in Taipei, Taiwan. Thanks Wei Yi.

This is quite a long update. Hopefully those that follow will be a little shorter. As always, your comments are welcome. That's how I know that you are reading and that I am not just talking to the wind.
Enjoy your postcards and stamps.