At each factory we enjoy lunch in the on-site VIP dining hall with our hosts. A single factory can employ and provide dormitory housing and dining facilities for more than 50,000 workers. Contrast that to the population of Concord which is 15,000. iRobot products require more than 2000 workers to assemble and test. After completing our meetings and tours we hop on a ferry and make the 90 minute voyage back to Hong Kong.
We travelled to the Hung Pu area this morning for another series of all day meetings arriving at the Crowne Plaza Hotel early enough to take a quick walk before a business dinner. Adjacent to the hotel is the 98% completed Science City campus. It is overwhelming in both it’s architecture and scale but what I will remember most was how eerily vacant it was. I saw more dead butterflies than people during my one hour walk. The surrounding four lane roadways were almost completely empty during rush hour. Felt very post apocalyptic.
This morning my colleagues and I got an early start and traveled by car to China (Shenzhen area) where we had all-day meetings. I was so tired by the time we checked into our next hotel that I skipped dinner and went directly to sleep.
Meanwhile, on the home front, Nico enjoys a surprise World Cup Finals birthday party with his close friends. Photo courtesy of Jeanine. My Droid phone does not work in China, so I had little contact with family while I was on the road.
After arriving in Hong Kong and checking into my hotel I spend a few hours walking around in the 100 degree weather arriving at the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront by nightfall. I will spend the coming week visitng our three factories in China (where photography is not permitted) and our Hong Kong office. I sleep for 5 hours and then wake up to watch the World Cup finals at 2:30 in the morning.
Today, I leave on a business trip to Hong Kong and China. The total elapsed travel time is about 24 hours, and with a day for night time zone change I will not arrive until Sunday evening, local time. Does the nose of this plane remind anyone else of a dog’s face?
Maya is on Nantucket with friends for the next week so she missed our family birthday party for Nicolai. He requested a macaroni and cheese casserole followed by a dessert of chocolate mouse with raspberry sauce in lieu of birthday cake. He was delighted with the sunglasses he received from his little sister and will need to wait a few days longer before his world cup soccer ball (from mom and dad) and replacement cell phone (from Kyle) arrive. I leave for China early tomorrow morning and will be on the road for a week so new posting may not show up until next weekend.
Nicolai shows off scars from two of the three holes in his belly put there since his mother gave him the first. 16 years ago to the day, I watched Nico come into the world, not quite able to comprehend the absence of his right leg. As I cut his umbilical cord I struggled to imagine what his life and our lives would be like from that day forward. Looking back now, I feel blessed for the precious gift we received on that day. Happy birthday Nicolai.
Catching up at work after a week of vacation is never an easy thing. Twelve hours in the office left little time for photography but I did manage to catch a nice sunset.
As a pilot, my brother Mark’s family enjoys free air travel. The only downside is that they are never guaranteed a particular flight and today they were unable to get seats. On the bright side we got to enjoy an extra day of their company and I took advantage of the opportunity to photograph my nieces, Sophia and Rose.
Checking the mailbox today after a week away we found a front page article in the Concord Journal about Nico’s Challenge (the film documenting our Kilimanjaro adventure). Despite a few factual errors, it is a nice piece, the full copy of which can be found by clicking on this link.
Despite our delayed start we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Maine. Everyone missed Marie dearly but kept her in our thoughts always. We send all our love to Sinead in Ireland with these pictures of her nieces and nephews. The drive back took the better part of the day and no one was in the mood to get in the car again for fireworks. Instead we enjoyed them in the home theater.
Our final stop in the park was the Jordon Pond House. Famed for their popovers this restaurant has long been one Jeanine wished to visit and we were not disappointed. Most of us enjoyed popovers a la mode which is easily the most yummy dessert I have ever had. This was the perfect way to end our time at Acadia National Park, a destination we will surely revisit as we barely scratched the surface of activities to enjoy here.
The waters in Maine at this time of year run abut 57F. Each child brave enough to venture into the chilly waves demonstrated their own technique for minimizing the shock from contact with the ice cold water at Sand Beach.
Next we returned to Cadillac Mountain, this time with the boys. Despite high winds, the kids spent over an hour scurrying over the rocks and helping to locate the geodetic marker identifying the top of the mountain.
After breakfast we watched Germany destroy Argentina in World Cup soccer. Immediately after the game another epic soccer battle was contested resulting in an equally humiliating loss. The competition was a test of first touch accuracy. The ball was served from a distance of 10 yards and the receiver tried to direct it into a recycling bin (mini goal) with their first touch. To their utter disbelief and consternation I soundly spanked all 4 teenage males in this test of skill. Demands for a rematch could be heard across the bay and I will happily beat them again next year after they have had sufficient time to hone their technique.
With this mornings kayak run we succeeded in getting everyone on the water. Maya was able to handle the 18 footer with no problems and was also good enough to get a photo of me in the kayak I built. Rose and Sophia were alternately chauffeured be their dad and would have been happy to stay on the water all day.
Later in the morning Jeanine and I made a 12.5 mile bike tour of the Schoodic Peninsula, a non-contiguous portion of Acadia National Park. The coastal views were stunning as were many of the interior scenes. In our excitement to commence the ride, neither Jeanine or I thought to bring water or our wallets with us. Fortunately the sun was kind to us and Jeanine located a drinking fountain at the end of our loop.
Each night, two of us are assigned dinner preparation. Mark and Nico prepared a wonderful scallops and linguini dish, Rory and I did rigatoni in a marinara meat sauce and this evening we were treated by Kyle and Maya to corn fritters (a family favorite) and fire roasted brats and S’MOREs.
With all the activity I have found little time for artistic photography but managed to find a few minutes this evening to experiment.
While Jeanine took the kids to an ocean beach, Mark and I made a one-hour drive to visit the School of Wooden Boat Building located in Brooklin. Mark has often considered attending a week-long kayak building class with his sons, and this was a great opportunity to check out the facility and talk to one of the instructors.
This morning Kyle, Nico and Mario joined me for a kayak run. Rather than heading out into the ocean, we ventured up the estuary which empties into Sullivan Harbor. Here we discovered something I have never seen before, reversing tidal falls. Near the bottom of the falling tide, water travels through this constricted section of the estuary with such speed that is forms a white water rapid over the rocks. When the tide begins rising the same thing happens but the rapids are running in the opposite direction. The site of many shipwrecks, the unpredictable currents are treacherous to navigate. We paddled upstream near the shoreline where the eddies helped us and then peeled off one at a time to shoot the rapids. No one capsized but everyone agreed it was better not to tempt fate with a second run.
When we arrived at the outermost Porcupine Island our captain donned a wet suit and Scuba gear and with a very nice video camera dove to the ocean floor. We watched video aboard the boat as he searched for and interacted with a vast array of sea creatures, many of which he returned to the surface with. He had a 3 inch tall miniature diving buddy on a string named Little Ed who fearlessly investigated and was frequently attacked by the claw bearing bottom dwellers. The whole thing was quite hysterical and the kids really enjoyed the experience.
While cruising to our dive location we encountered a seal, harbor porpoise (not pictured), natural sea arch, and an immature loon.
When everyone was awake and dressed we drove to Bar Harbor where we had a quick breakfast before making our way aboard the Starfish Enterprise. Our 3 hour Park Ranger led tour was fantastic. When the ship’s captain (and diver) enlisted one of his two Newfoundland dogs to demonstrate proper use of a life vest it was obvious we were in for a great adventure.
An early morning departure was needed to catch the tide on our first kayak outing. I was joined by Jeanine in her single and Rory and Maya in a rented tandem. We made a four-mile round trip to the nearest major island. It took the two youngsters some time to synchronize their paddling, but they eventually mastered the skill.
While dinner was being prepared, Jeanine put on some music, and the girls danced with abandon.
Our next destination was Sand Beach where the girls were careful to keep their clothes dry while racing the waves. Although the water temperature was a chilly 57F it was our lack of towels (and an adult willing to follow them) that kept the girls from taking the plunge.
Here is the reverse view from the top of Cadillac Mountain looking back on Sullivan Harbor. We enjoyed lunch here with Sophia and Rose while the boys and Maya elected to remain at the house enjoying croquet and tennis. Funny as I think about it, but with a high enough resolution camera you could find all 7 kids in this frame.
This morning, I was up at 5 am to catch the sunrise and do a little early morning photography. From our backyard, Sullivan Harbor opens up onto Frenchman’s Bay and this view of Cadillac Mountain in the heart of Acadia National Park.
I was rather thirsty after the long drive and decided to see if there was anything interesting in the refrigerator. A couple of live lobsters were not what I was expecting to find. Apparently these were all that remained of the seven purchased by Mark this morning directly from a lobster boat working off of the dock adjacent to ours. You need to know my brother to understand why fresh caught lobster for breakfast is a perfectly reasonable meal?