St. Croix: Images 04

Some of the boats in the boat parade. My photos came out all fuzzy because I took them from aboard one of the boats.

Judging of deserts at the botanical garden.

Oooh...little guava tarts....

Now this is fish the way I like it - complete with the head and eyes looking at ya.

Virgin Islands International Islamic Society, Inc. I figured that since all the grocery stores, furniture stores & gas stations on the island are owned by Arabs, there must be a mosque somewhere. It was built in the 1960's.

St. Croix: Images 03

Overlooking the beach at Carambola Beach Resort.

At the beach, not too far from Sandy Point.

Sitting in a life guard chair at Cramer Park.

Fort Frederik in Frederiksted.

The pier at Frederiksted, where the cruise ship dock and people go swimming and scuba diving.

St. Croix: Images 02

Geocaching atop Mound Eagle, the highest point on St. Croix. Compared to the Himalayas, calling this a mountain is almost a joke.

Exiting the "rain forest" at St. Georges Botanical Garden.

A pool of lilies? at the botanical garden.

The botanical garden is at the site of an old plantation ruin.

The eastern end of the island is more dry and has cactus.

St. Croix: Images 01

Sunset on the boat ride from Tortola back to St. Croix. We held one funeral service for my mother on St. Croix, then took her to Tortola for a second funeral service and entombment at the same location where my father was buried twenty years ago. In this photo, from front to back, my brother Pierre, two of his sons, my uncle Irvin.

At my mother's house, there are numerous fruit trees. This is one branch of the Avocado tree.

These are coconut trees.

This is a lime tree, but these limes are as big as oranges and very sour.

My mother was a rose enthusiast. The house is surrounded by rose bushes.

Turkey: Images 18

I told you this place is crawling with cats. Actually this is at the dock of one of the small islands in the Marmara Sea, just off the coast of Istanbul.

Meet my friend Tugba. (It is pronounced Tooba. The g is supposed to have a breve on top, but today my computer is not cooperating.) I stayed with her on the big island my last weekend in Istanbul. She has like a million cats. One of which wakes you up in the morning by purring in your ear and prodding you with his paws.

Street scene on the big island.

View of another island from the big island.

This building is supposed to be the largest wooden building in Europe. However, since this island is off the Asian coast of Istanbul, rather than the European coast, I don't think this building is in Europe.

Turkey: Images 17

Ah...Turkey...Should I return?

Sculpture in the park in Izmir.

more cats

The ramp to no-where! Or rather, the ramp from no-where.

Boats in the Istinye neighborhood of Istanbul.

Turkey: Images 16

The travertine terraces of Pamukkale.

Sarcophagi in the necropolis of the ancient city of Hieropolis.

Some colomns in Hieropolis.

The ancient amphitheatre.

This hot spring has been a health spa since ancient times.

Verona Euritta Henry Smith

Verona Euritta Henry Smith, 6/23/1939 to 11/07/2009, known to many as Miss Smith, the tough math teacher. Known to me simply as Mammy.

My mother loved flowers. For many years, she was exclusively a rose person. I remember when I was in high school, at one point she had around 100 rose bushes. Then she started rooting new ones by the dozen.

Over the years, her focus shifted from roses to carnations to orchids. I decided to give her a surprise. I told her that I would take her somewhere but would not tell her where. After a 4-hour drive, she found out that I had taken her to an orchid farm. Acres and acres of orchids. She was like a child in a toy store.

It was interesting to watch her pack the orchids in her suitcase. But then she was no stranger to packing unusual objects in her suitcase. One year, there was the marble table top. Another year, there was the chain saw.

I last saw my mother in September 2007 before I set off on my travels. She was the first person to know of my plans to go traveling. And she said that if she were younger, she would have gone with me. I had hoped that next year she could join me for a couple weeks to experience some of the adventure.

I knew when I left, that there was the possibility that someone in the family, maybe me, that someone could pass away before I return. But when I spoke with my mother last Wednesday, just three days before...

Many of her orchids had died. And she talked about going back to the orchid farm to buy replacements. She had just fixed the leaking tank that had caused the cistern to run dry...

We didn't know we were having our last conversation. I wish I had told her I love her. I wish I had said the words “I love you” many more times in the last 37 years.

Last Saturday night, I was at a friend's home in Istanbul, Turkey. At the time, I was unaware of the news. My friend wanted to hear me play my flute. Of all the songs I could have played, I played:

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
A long way from home
A long way from home

The next day, I discovered how true that was. I miss her already.

My mother was a strong woman. In 1989, just a few weeks after we lost my father, my mother and I survived Hurricane Hugo, huddled under a table while the roof of the house was blown off. But she didn't just survive. She prospered – for 20 more years!

She often quoted Psalm 90:10. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. She was 70.

Turkey: Images 15

Capadocia, a landscape unlike any other.

Early Christians lived here. And they carved churches inside the rocks.

As time went by, their paintings got more detailed. You can see the older artwork where the paint peeled off.

It is quite amazing.

They also had underground cities. I would be scared if the lights went out.

Turkey: Images 14

The first thing you see when you arrive in Capadocia early in the morning is a sky full of balloons. The ride is a bit expensive - like 200 Euro - so I skipped it.

But Capadocia is unlike any place I've been before.

This is where we stayed. Inside this rock. The rock, which was formed by vocanic eruptions a long time ago, is very soft. You can carve it with a spoon.

This is a nice hotel. All the rooms are underground.

The grapes here are very sweet. We did not steal any. The people working in the vineyard gave us two bunches.

Turkey: Images 13

Amasra, a small city on the Black Sea.

View of the Black Sea from a cave.

This was a funny scene. There was a little fish in that plastic container. This young cat and a few others didn't know how to get the fish out. Then an older, much more experienced cat came and snatched the fish and ran away. He then played with it until it died and then lost interest in it.

Another view of the Black Sea.

Meet my friend Alicja. She is not muslim. She just thinks headscarves are pretty. Everyone thought she was my wife, and we used that to our advantage in the market.