Russia

[Goric]

Hi All,

I am going to Russia in Febuary 2002! I have been there before so I am going to meet some friends over there.

If anyone in WOD wants some souviners, just let me know and I will see what I can do

HTF Sir Goric

[Konoko]

Woo! Exciting...
Have fun!

[Goric]

BTW, this offer is not just open to WOD'ers. If others reading these scrolls want something from Russia, just let me know.

HTF Sir Goric

[Aerick]

Boy, last thing I got from Russia was from a soldier in Berlin just after the Wall came down. We bought his gas mask, and the chemicals in it made my (and my brothers') eyes burn. They later turned it into a bong or something.

I would say I want a funny fur hat, but I have too much stuff already. Have fun there.

You bum, you've kicked my wanderlust into gear. Now I want to travel the world more.

-Eric

[Goric]

hehe

of course there are others that have traveled more than I have. I have been to....

aa thinks

England
France
Italy
Belgium
Germany
Russia ( this trip will make twice)
Switzerland
Austia
Luxemberg

Alaska
Most of the East and Central US

Nicaragua

HTF Sir Goric

[Maxmillian]

Sounds like that will be a lot of fun Goric! And I have to agree with Aerick about the wanderlust now. You've travelled most of the spots that I would love to, but haven't had the chance to. I've done some though.....

aa thinks

Japan
Korea
Thailand
Hong Kong
Australia (Perth and Sydney)
Kenya
Phillippines
Mexico
Canada

Most of the US except the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, or Hawaii

I've always wanted to get to Europe. Have a great time over there, sir.[:)]

[Corwin]

OK - I'll pitch in, too:

Philippines
Japan
Taiwan
Hong Kong
Singapore
Indonesia
Australia (Perth)
Diego Garcia
Kenya
Iran
Mexico
Guam
(almost) Seychelles Islands (was a coup the day before we were scheduled to arrive - needless to say, we changed our itinerary!)

Corwin
Touring Clown

[Aethelred]

Heh...y'all get out too much [:D]

Actually, HWC has been:
ever state in US
Canada
Mexico
Costa Rica
California (I was born there - we aint the same country as the rest of the weirdos in America [:p] )
England
Portugal
Czech Republic (Prague is easily my favorite city outside of Santa Barbara, CA)
Italy


Also, finances and professional pressures permitting, I will starting a trip around the world in about a year. I want to do it mostly by train and bus, and will be starting in Lisbon (well, the US, but will head for Lisbon first). Of course, I may stall out on the way and not make it, but the theory is that I will have no real itinerary or plan other than to "go thataway".

HWC Aethelred

[Althus]

Ok, I'll bite.

England (several (> 8) times)
France (several (> 8) times)
Italy (3 times)
Sweeden (twice)
Denmark

and in November, Australia (Brisbane, Sydney, Amidale)

[Jeanne]

How did you all get to go to so many countries? Do you have money? I've been to the following places:

Bremerton, WA (I live here)
Seattle, WA (and some surrounding areas)
Port Townsend, WA and Sequim, WA

San Francisco, CA (for two MacWorld Expos)

Prescott, AZ (I went to school there)
Phoenix, AZ (I just went to some stores and company tours)

I drove a few other cities on my way to and from school but that's all. [:(] It must be neat to travel. I wonder if I'll ever be able to do that.

[Goric]

WOW,

SO many travelers amoungst us!! I am the most happy when I am traveling. I was in the Air Force in England so I did all the European traveling when I was with my Uncle Sam.

I was a Missionary for several years so I did a lot of traveling there.

Now Im in CL so Im doing some traveling for this. Hey, we still havent planned a WOD and friends get together!!

Hey, I need to get to that other part of the world though. I think I might like China!!

HTF Sir Goric

[Kiriel]

Well, I'm not much of a world traveller. I generally prefer to experience things from the comfort of my own home :)

I've been to about half the states in the US- did a cross country trip to Michigan from CA when I was 9 and I've been to New York, New Jersey, and Maine. I also go to New Orleans every other year, and one year when I was a kid we drove from there to Tennessee, so I saw a few states in the middle :) I've been to Hawaii a few times- my hubby and I don't go on vacation much, but that's our preferred spot (we love Kauai).

Internationally I've been to Canada a few times when I was a kid- we drove there from Michigan, my relatives have a cabin there, somewhere near Michigan. I also went to Toronto once.

When I was 8 my parents took me and my brother on an amusement park tour of Europe (best vacation I ever had!). We stayed for a month in Sweden, across the street from a little amusement park, visited Norwan, then went to Denmark (yay Legoland!), Germany (which at the time seemed rather boring, no good amusement parks!), and the Netherlands. We also changed planes in England, but all I saw there was the airport. Haven't really gone anywhere exciting since.

That's the extent of my world travels, but that's mostly my fault :)

[Althus]

It's really too bad you didn't hit England on your amusement park tour. They have the best: Alton Towers! If you have too much money and spare time, I highly suggest it. At least 3 days there is the minimum to fully enjoy the experience, and more is reccomended. They have their own world-class 4-star hotel, and guests get to enter the park a full hour early, so there's no lines.

The back yard of the Hotel has lots of ducks to feed and watch (amazing creatures!) and you can optionally (and expensively) get a room with your very own Cadburry chocolate or Coca-cola vending machine/soda fountain respectively. That's still one of my best memories of travelling abroad.

p.s. Yeah, Legoland rocks too, just not as much :)

[Goric]

Didnt make Lego land when I was there. Didnt hit the fun parks either. Wish I had. I was going there for my hunnymoon ( i was engaged a while back), but that fell through.

Yeah, England is a must see. Though it really bites that they took out all the red Phone booths (Kiosks).

Russia is really nice too. Especially if you like old churches. I plan on burning up a lot of film this time.

Rome is nice but its all in Ruins!!!

HTF Sir Goric

[Aethelred]

Well, for fun and games I learn languages and study history, so I might as well travel and enjoy it [:)]

Canada and mexico don't really count as distant travel as I was within spitting distance of Tijuana growing up, and am now closer to Quebec City than I am to Boston. Costa Rica is just easy to get to and alot of fun - its safer and more prosperous than any other country in Central America...plus I had a friend that lives down there.

Europe was all done in one quick trip - too quick for my taste, which is why I am going back. I have a number of friends in the Czech Republic because of my career, so going back there is an easy definite for me. As for the rest: I just wanna see it all...

I will add that I ALMOST moved to Australia about 5-6 years back...I was getting things together to help put together some roller hockey leagues when a new government was elected, and their first order of business was to change the immigration requirements such that I no longer qualified for a work visa :mad: I still have alot of friends there, and may even give the business another go (I qualify now since I finished my college degree a few years back) if people haven't beaten me to the punch...

[Maxmillian]

Corwin, I forgot to mention Diego Garcia.. thanks for the reminder. :-)

No, I don't have money to do this.. hehe I did it all on the taxpayers money, while working for Uncle Sam. Just a different branch than Goric. I was Navy, stationed in Japan for 3 years. All my travel was done by ship. :-)

[Corwin]

Yeah, the US Navy was my mode of transportion, too (and, yes, I AM a shellback!). I picked up a copy of "The Princess Bride" in Perth, Australia in 1976, and read it while we steamed across the Indian Ocean. What an incredible way to read THAT particular book for the first time.

What kinds of ships did you ride, Max? Were you an airdale? A gator? I was a skimmer...

I wish I could afford to travel. I'd love to see Europe.

[Maxmillian]

A fellow shellback!!!! [:D] I was ship's company on a carrier. Oldest ship in the fleet, at the time, now decommisioned. I must admit, though, I don't know what a skimmer is.. airdale, and gator, I can figure out... hehe It has been a while, though not as long as for you. I was in Perth about 9 years after you.

[Corwin]

Max - you're a shellback too?! Too cool! I wonder if there are any others in the clan? Speak up, or otherwise you're identity as a pollywog is confirmed! Neptunus Rex rules!

Gee! Now I'm all excited to swap sea stories - and with someone who knows WestPac to boot.

surface skimmer = cruisers & destroyers.

I didn't mention the bubbleheads - they don't make many port calls like the ones you listed.

My ship played lifeguard for most of the carriers in the Pacific at one time or another. Let's see, an old, retired carrier? The Ranger, maybe? NO! Not old enough. The Midway?!

[Maxmillian]

Aye, the Midway. hehe And I did 2 Westpacs. Did the Shellback thing once as a wog, and once as a shellback. Much better the second time around. LOL I'll swap sea stories with you. hehe Use the email link to send me your addy, and we can reminisce(sp?) about the bad old days. [;)]

Max the old tar. [:D]

[Konoko]

Wow! It's like you guys are speaking another language... :)

[Maxmillian]

Konoko, here is a translation of some of the terms we've used so far. [:D]

Shellback - A sailor who has crossed the equator, and successfully done the shellback initiation.
Polywog (or just wog) - One who hasn't become a shellback
Neptunus Rex - the officiator of the Shellback initiation ceremony

Airdale - someone on an aircraft carrier, fromwhat I remember, usually assigned to the squadrons of planes or helicopters
Gator - If I remember right, it's a sailor on one of the ships used to carry Marines... I may be wrong about this one....
Skimmer - Corwin explained that one. [;)]
Bubblehead - A submarine crewman

Westpac - A cruise to the Indian Ocean (IO) and various spots there. Mine included our planes flying air cover to the oil tankers back when Iran was the bad guy and Iraq were the good guys.

Ships company - Any personnel assigned to that ship. On an aircraft carrier, it is used to differentiate between those assigned to the ship, and those assigned to the air wing (the different squadrons of planes on the carrier).

I hope that helps some... let me know if there were any I missed.

Max

[Goric]

you all lost me

[Corwin]

Hey, it gets even weirder.

Max & I have exchanged emails with some additional info about our respective naval careers. In yet another coincidence, it turns out that we both had the same job title - and a pretty obscure one at that, Operations Specialist. We worked in one of the coolest parts of our respective ships (and I'm speaking both figuratively & literally here - the electronics gotta stay cool!), called the Combat Information Center, or CIC. You know it - you've seen this place in movies: dark room, radar scopes, lighted display boards, radios, sea charts.

So when I mention things like geo-plotters, radar repeaters, NTDS, sea return, ring time, and maneuvering boards (aka mo boards - with which I was a wiz, by the way), it really tickles me knowing that someone in the clan is following along....whee!

One of the very valuable skills the Navy taught me: how to write upside down and backwards! Take it to the bank, baby!

Corwin
A Salty Clown

[Aethelred]

BTW, just as an aside...

I still think one of the funniest bits ever done on Saturday Night Live was their Navy Commercial...
Had a picture of a guy swabbing a deck, with the voice-over saying:
"Join the navy, its not just a job, its eighty-seven cents an hour!"

(Of course, for that to be funny, you have to be old enough to remember the "Its not just a job, its an adventure" campaign.)

[Maxmillian]

LOLOL I never saw that bit.. never really watched SNL. I almost fell off my chair when I read that, though. And yes, I am old enough to remember that recruiting campaign... enlisted during it, actually. [:D] They must have done that bit after I was in... I didn't think I made that much per hour. LOL And Corwin, I was also pretty good with mo boards. I never did the upside down writing, but by God, I can still write backwards. hehe My forte was the DRT.. Dead Reckoning Tracer... I could do a MOB or a nuke drill in my sleep.

Max- a Fen who deep down loves the water


PS. My apologies for taking over this thread.... Us swabbies love telling sea stories. :rolleyes:

[Delirium]

Corwin said:

Max & I have exchanged emails with some additional info about our respective naval careers. In yet another coincidence, it turns out that we both had the same job title - and a pretty obscure one at that, Operations Specialist. We worked in one of the coolest parts of our respective ships (and I'm speaking both figuratively & literally here - the electronics gotta stay cool!)

Lets see - two former navy types, who both happen to now be computer nerds (every one who plays CL must be... I think that's the definition[;)] ). How many job titles in the navy are for computer nerds?

[Aethelred]

LOL Delirium..

I am pretty much the antithesis of a computer nerd.

I am a former pro hockey player and instructor, and I still work as a consultant in pro sports (and as a part-time writer) - if you haven't noticed, hockey players usually aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer. [:D] Every time Kiri starts talking about ways to customize thingiemabobs on a website or in some program or other, my eyes glaze over and I get a headache.

The reason I use a Mac is so that I don't have to be a computer nerd!


Cheers,
Aethelred

p.s.
of course, in relation to other hockey players, I suppose I AM a computer nerd...eek, that's scary... :eek: