March 2020

Having opened in 1897, the Tate Britain houses a substantial collection of the art of the United Kingdom since Tudor times, and in particular has large holdings of the works of J. M. W. Turner, who bequeathed all of his personal collection to the nation

The Angel Standing in the Sun, 1846, JMW Turner

Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows, 1831, John Constable

JMW Turner's Self-Portrait will appear on the new 20 pound note beginning in 2020

Cookmaid with Still Life of Vegetables and Fruit, 1625, Nathaniel Bacon

Draped Seated Figure, 1958, Henry Moore

Liverpool Quay by Moonlight, 1887, Grimshaw

Portrait of Mrs. Robert Harrison, 1886, John Singer Sargent

A View of Greenwich from the River, 1752, Canaletto

Cleombrotus Ordered into Banishment by Leonidas II, King of Sparta, 1768, Benjamin West

Three Ladies Adorning a Term of Hymen, 1773, Joshua Reynolds

Merry-Go-Round, 1916, Gertler

Ellen Terry as Lady MacBeth, 1889, John Singer Sargent

Ko Phi Phi Don reminded me of Ibiza with tons of young people and tons of bars; GAdventures suspended all tours while we were underway and this was our end point

Ko Ha Yai is a popular dive site due to the caverns and swim-throughs; the five small islands are supposedly home to manta rays, whale sharks and giant barracuda although I didn't see anything big

This pinnacle was featured in the James Bond movie, The Man with the Golden Gun; the small island attracts more than 5000 tourists each day in high season

I had my own cabin with great AC and wifi; the challenge was getting in and out via this steep ladder; the shower head doubled as the sink faucet

Sunrise at James Bond Island; I loved Phang Nga Bay much more than HaLong Bay in Vietnam; there were very few boats and little trash in the water

There were some colorful giant clams at our snorkeling spots; the water had tons of plankton in it so it was in need of filter feeders like whale sharks

The limestone cliffs at Railay Beach attract rock climbers from around the world; you can walk across the peninsula from West Beach to East Beach in about 5 minutes so it's a very compact town

This is East Railay Beach while West Railey Beach is close behind the palm trees; the tidal range is large so at low tide this area is largely mud flats

At sunset thousands of bats emerged from one of the local caves making the town seem even more like Austin; this area wasn't impacted by the 2004 tsunami

Most of the restaurants seemed to have identical menus but these kebobs were different and looked good; I saw different dishes like mussel pancakes but they weren't very tempting

Railay Beach has an Austin vibe to it with some live music, mainly young people and plenty of laid back bars; it was one of my favorite SE Asian towns

Ko Khom had the most sea cucumbers I've ever seen in one place; they were all of this variety and it was interesting to watch them move as they fed

Cabbage coral was the primary species of coral we saw at all of the snorkeling spots on the tour; the variety of fish species was pretty limited

The coronavirus has limited Chinese visitors but there were still plenty from Russia and Europe; notice on the left Bart Simpson is even wearing a face mask

Cool rock stratification!; throughout our trip there were gorgeous cliffs and virtually no development in the Andaman Sea; there was surprisingly little trash too

Koh Haa was the southernmost point on our trip and had the most species diversity; I swam under the natural arch but the rough seas made it less than ideal

At Koh Haa we saw several juvenile black tip reef sharks and a giant moray; the visibility was pretty good but the water too rough to take photos

I was disappointed in GAdventures since it made no sense to stop our tour while it was in progress; the catamaran and crew had to return to Phuket where we were originally scheduled to end

The giraffes are so gorgeous up close!; the Rothschild's giraffe is one of the most endangered distinct populations of giraffe

Lee thought the Giraffe Center was the highlight of Nairobi; I think he was captivated by the long black tongues of the giraffes

This clever monkey grabbed my Coke out of my pocket and quickly climbed the tree; the monkey then punctured the bottom and drank my Coke!

Pygmy hippo; I did a safari here at Nairobi National Park 3 yrs ago but knowing we had safaris planned on our tour didn't feel the expense was justified this time

We took Uber around Nairobi and it was super cheap; you didn't have to worry about getting scammed and the drivers were all very friendly

This talented elephant can feed itself!; the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust operates the most successful orphan elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world

I visited here in July 2016 and, like the Giraffe Center, had to bring Lee for the experience; the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust travels throughout Kenya to rescue orphaned elephants and rhinos left alone with no hope of survival

The Giraffe Center was founded in 1979 to save the endangered Rothschild giraffe; there were only 130 animals at the time and with the Center's help there are now more than 300

This baby giraffe could barely reach the feeding platform; a bowl of giraffe pellets was included with the $15 admission

This cheetah at Nairobi National Park looks bored; we wanted to take a safari through the park but it would have been more than $100 each

For US citizens the Kenya visa was $50, Uganda another $50 or purchase the East African tourist visa for $100 that also includes Rwanda

The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has successfully raised 260 orphaned elephants that were then released into the wild; orphans can be adopted from $50 per year and their foster parents can enjoy an extra visiting hour in the evening by appointment

Rothschild's giraffes are taller than other species and can exceed 19 feet in height; they have a gestation period of 14 to 16 months, typically giving birth to a single calf

The elephant orphanage at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is open daily from 11am-noon only; for $7 you get to hear a history of the orphaned elephants and see them being fed

Rhino; single use plastic bags have been banned in Kenya with heavy fines; single use plastic bags are still given out in Uganda but a ban is pending

Male ostrich (females are brown); very few smokers and could only smoke in designated areas outside which looked more like little jails or timeout pens

This lion is made of 1024 flip-flops; Nairobi National Park, founded in 1946, was Kenya's first and lies only 7 kms south of the city center

Lee seemed to really enjoy the giraffe kisses and showed others how to do it properly; the Center focuses on educating local school kids on the importance of conservation

Baglafecht Weaver; the Rothschild's giraffe is only found in the wild in Kenya and Uganda

The baby warthogs are quite cute and it's amusing to see how they run; the typical warthog litter is 2–4 piglets;; the sow will stay in the burrow for several weeks, nursing her piglets

Giant moray eel; Indonesia is the largest archipelagic country in the world, extending 3,181 mi from east to west and 1,094 mi from north to south

I had never seen a feather duster floating in the water before; these fan worms only move if displaced so I hope this one was able to find a new home

Juvenile whitespotted wrasse; sadly, this attractive fish is often sold in the aquarium trade but is difficult to get to eat and usually dies from starvation

Pink and black sea cucumber; about twenty tube feet in a ring around the mouth are modified into feeding tentacles; this species is dried and eaten in Indonesia and China

Mike's Point, named for Max Emmer's son, is one of the iconic dive sites in Raja Ampat; located in the Dampier Strait, off the island of Kerupiar, it required careful planning due to fierce currents

Orange banded coralfish; this species is in the butterflyfish family and eats mainly sponges while growing to about 8 inches long

Oriental and ribbon sweetlips; in some areas, you're happy to see one of these but in Raja Ampat there were always large schools; when solitary, they will hide under ledges and inside crevices

The area around Mike's Point was bombed during WW2 as Kerupier Island, surrounded by strong currents, was mistaken for a Japanese warship; underwater the marine life is prolific with superb hard coral and a gorgonian fan garden

Three spot angelfish; this species lives in a harem composed of two to seven females for a single male; it's a territorial fish and eats mainly sponges and tunicates

Visiting my cousin Jean Elizabeth, who lives in New Orleans, was our reason for this quick visit to Asheville; her father was my Dad's older brother

The Oberhasli goat was originally a breed found in mountain regions in Switzerland; they were first imported here to the United States in the early 1900s as they were known to be a docile dairy breed

The river otters were my favorite species here; they are found throughout North Carolina but are primarily in the eastern half of the state

This cougar reminds me of Shasta, the mascot at the University of Houston; the cougar is also known as the puma, mountain lion, panther or catamount depending on the region it lives in

Coyotes can be found in every state except Hawaii; there has never been a documented case of a coyote killing a roadrunner in the wild (beep! beep!)

The eastern gray squirrel is the most common and frequently observed of North Carolina’s five tree squirrel species; the gray squirrel is found in every county and was adopted as the state mammal in 1969

Becca, a white-tailed deer, played an important role in the Oscar-winning movie Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Black bears are very common in the mountain and coastal regions of North Carolina; the species is very shy and non-aggressive tending to avoid humans

Though bobcats are only about twice the size of a domestic cat, on rare occasions they can bring down prey as large as adult deer which are ten times their weight

My Mom grew up in the city of Durham and is not a farm girl; she's definitely not a socialite like Lisa on Green Acres, but my parents share many similarities with the TV couple

My Dad grew up on a farm north of Nashville, TN that didn't have indoor plumbing; he still works in his garden and the yard every day

This Sicilian donkey is named Eeyore and was born on a farm in western NC; these donkeys are much smaller than normal donkeys and typically live around 35 years

Bill is an angora goat; this species is bred primarily for their fleece, called mohair, which is in high demand for the textile field

My parents and Jean Elizabeth reminisced about their family tree which included murders, secret marriages and other scandalous events; my paternal grandfather was born in 1870!

In 2002 the fossilized skull of a new panda species was discovered near Johnson City, TN; this species (related to the red panda shown here) lived 6 million years ago in the Southern Appalachians

Gray wolf packs are successful in capturing their prey only 10% of the time; wolves can chase their prey for miles

An adult North American river otter can weigh between 11 and 31 lbs; the river otter is protected and insulated by a thick, water-repellent coat of fur