Back From Vacation

Well, I am back from vacation in Jamaica. The island where you'll hear Yeah Mon, No Problem many times a day. Had a great holiday , away from the snow and cold of Canada. Nice warm water, nice sandy beaches and lots and lots of Jamaican rum. Oh yes, we went in search of the local post office in Runaway Bay and purchased a fine selection of Jamaica stamps, both for my collection and also to send off a few postcards to a lucky few. No names, you'll just have to wait and see if you made the list. While away, I received seven postcards , all from Postcrossing. We'll have a look at four of them in a bit. Also while away, I received a very nice email from someone in Tuvalu offering a postcard swap. I had put out a few feelers before I left. I have been trying for a postcard from Tuvalu for over three years now so this email was quite a nice surprise. It will be interesting to see how long it takes mail to get from Tuvalu to Canada.

The first card for today comes from Tauranga, New Zealand. Lee sent the card , showing one of the geo-thermal pools in Waiotapu Thermal Park, about 30km south of Rotorua. Lee says that the geo-thermal activity is facinating but that it smells like rotten eggs, giving Rotorua the nick name Rottenrua. Lee used 4 different stamps on the card, including 3 of a set of 10 Kiwi Stamps issued in 2009 and a Tolaga Bridge stamp from a set of 6 2009 definitives.

Now a card from Lublin, Poland. It is from Natalia and shows The Trinitarian Tower and The Archcathedral. The tower now houses a museum of religious art. The Archcathedral was built by the Jesuits in the 16th century and was one of the first Baroque temples in Poland. The stamp on the right is from 2005 and is 1 of 2 definitives issued to show different architecture. The stamp on the right is from 1999 and is 1 of 5 definitives issued showing the architecture of farms.

The next card comes to us from Quincy, Ma, USA. It shows Mr Spock in a scene from " The Day of the Dove " Episode # 66 , dating from 11/01/68. Mr Spock says "I confess I am at somewhat of a loss for words" A rare moment indeed. The card is from Paul, who says in proper Vulcan style "Be Well and Prosper". I guess Live Long and Prosper wasn't available. Oh well. Interestingly, with Mr Spock being from the planet Vulcan, I am only an hour away from Vulcan, Alberta, The Official Star Trek Capital of Canada. Mr Spock , or at least the actor who played him, Leonard Nimoy will beam into Vulcan on April 23, 2010 for some sort of gig. I'm sure there will be lots of Trekkies in Vulcan that day.Paul used 2 copies of the 2007 Bighorn sheep stamp and a 2009 National Flag of Louisiana stamp from a set of 10 .

Finally , the last card for today comes from Germany. It shows the Alexander von Humboldt in full sail. She was originally built in 1906 and then converted into a 3 masted baroque in 1988.

That's about it for today. I'm off to check for today's mail. It is good to be back and hope to be here again tomorrow.
Take care.