FRIENDS !!

UPDATE July 21, 2009 -- Added our recent trip to Alaska. We traveled by cruise ship along the Inside Passage - A total distance of over 1,700 miles from Vancover, British Columbia to Anchorage Alaska. Athough I was not able to return to where I lived nearly 20 years ago (I use to live in Alaska), it was great to make a return journey to a State that I always held in high regard, especially for its scenery and wild character.

Most of the material found here represents the story of our lives together, especially the trips we took over the last eight years.

Some may ask why post this information? It's called sharing, sharing the experience with others you care about. Since this site was orginally created, I have moved from Sheridan, Wyoming to Milwaukee,Wisconsin. Moving afforded me the opportunity to be closer to Vy, my partner, and closer to my parents in Georgia. Since we first met, Vy has graduated from the University of Wisconsin, moved to Virginia to continue his career, and returned to live here in Wisconsin. If you would like to see who this Vy character is, click on the link below. These are random shots that I took over the last eight years. We would like to hear from you. Please drop us an email at jstrong1@wi.rr.com

As time permits I will update this site and load pictures of our other trips. When trying to view some sections of the site, you may get the message "Under Construction".

You can use your “back” button to return to your original place on this page.

If you're interested in reading about some of my adventures, follow this link Trip Diary. I'm trying to index the material so it's easier to find. You can locate photos within the diary by following the "photo pic" link or you can go direct by selecting the following:

Yellowstone National Park	Sheridan,Wyoming	Madison, Wisconsin
Chicago, 2002	Winter Park, Co.	Memorial Day, 2002
The Big Move, 2003	Canada, 2003	Door County, 2003/2004
Wyalusing State Park, 2003	Tahiti, March 2005	Virginia, August 2005
Canada/Niagara Falls, 2005	Australia, 2006	Hawaii, 2006
Paris, France 2006	Mexico, 2007	Italy, 2007
Costa Rica, 2008	Alaska, 2009

Site Visits

My story of meeting Vy all began by taking some risks and making new FRIENDS. This short poem was inspiration at that time and still is:

"Come to the edge," he said
They said, "No, we will fall"
"Come to the edge," he said
"But we are afraid."
"Come to the edge!" he said
They came
He pushed them
And they flew. -- Guillaume Apolinaire

"My Local Weather" Click for the Forecast.

FRIENDS ...... If nobody smiled, and nobody cared and nobody helped us along,
If every moment looked after itself and good things always went to the strong,
If nobody thought just a little about you and nobody cared about me,
And we stood all alone, in the battle of life, what a dreary old world this would be.
Life is sweet, just because of the friends we have make and the things which in common we share,
We want to live on, not because of ourselves but because of the people who care.
It is doing and giving for somebody else, on which all life's splendor depends,
and the joy of this world, when you've summed it all up, is found in the making of FRIENDS.

Trip Diary

I like to keep track of all my trips with Vy, especially photographs. I suppose you could say this site is my "Trip Diary". You are more than welcome to read what we have done together. Many of the sections have commentary, other trips almost entirely rely on photographs to tell the story.
If you would like to here how Vy and I got together take a look at the section called BEGINNINGS - just hit this link The Beginnings. Otherwise, just go here for the all the recent information Trip Updates.

All too often in our fast paced life we forget those that really give us true love. I'm not speaking about people, but those pets in our lives that are always there no matter what the circumstances. On the 4th of February, 2002 I lost my dog Katie. She was a true companion. I will always remember her with these words passed on to me by a net friend.

" When God had made the earth and ski,
the flowers, and the trees,
He then made all the animals.
the fish, the birds, the bees.
And when at last He'd finished,
not one was quite the same.
He said, "I'll walk this world of mine
and give each one a name."
And so He traveled far and wide
and everywhere He went,
a little creature followed Him
until its strength was spent.
When all were named upon the earth
and in the sky and sea,
the little creature said, "Dear Lord,
there's not one left for me."
But then the Father said to him,
"I've left you to the end.
I've turned my own name back to front
and called you 'dog', My FRIEND."

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