September 3, 2024
Family Fun, Labor Day Weekend in OCNJ!
The weather turned out to be one of the best I remember for a Labor Day Weekend in a long time. Had great beach time with my brother Michael's family, pictured above. Especially enjoyed my time with the littlest members of the family. Catching them standing still or together was a challenge! Had lots of fun with Jack teaching him a new rhyme. The giggle melts my heart every time!
Also got to hear some Chris and Leah's wedding details and honeymoon plans, two weeks - a Safari in Kenya then a Beach Resort in Mauritius (Stacy from the ship spa gave me a must do list for them in Mauritius)! I even got to help with a craft DIY for the weekend !
Some days I just don't want to sight see! My birthday was one of them. I just wanted to indulge in a good movie in a comfy, cool theater, eat some popcorn and follow with a yummy lunch! That's exactly what I did, despite some of my friends trying to convince me go on a 5 hour van to see 2 gigantic temples.
The ancient temple of Soo Poo Kong was our next stop. We were all wilting in the heat by then, but they promised an air conditioned room for a 20 minute movie on the history - so we rallied! Basically, the Temple was erected as a thank you to the Chinese Muslim Admiral Cheng Ho who let the fleet stop here on their way somewhere else in Asia back in 1416 because his helmsman, Wang Jing Hong, was sick. Wang recovered from his illness in a cave on this site and built first the statue and then the temple to thank Ho for his life.
SEMERANG is the capital of Central Java , the world's 13th largest island and the 5th largest in Indonesia. Despite it's size, it is the world's most populous island, holding over 150 Million people (over 55% of Indonsesia's population). Today, I did a 50 person bus tour of some of the Semerang's history , so I could cover a lot in one day.