Washington D.C. Marine Corps Marathon

My husband ran the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C. this year so I have a few photos to share. The weather was perfect, a mild autumn day, light drizzle in the morning with the sun peaking out here and there in the afternoon. The trees were in the middle of their fall gorgeousness and the city was much prettier than I expected. It was my first time visiting D.C. and I hope to come back someday soon.

Beautiful fall trees with the Washington Monument in the background. 

Runners cruising past the band playing across the street.

There were plenty of signs to cheer on the runners.

Marines at the water stations. I think that is the Smithsonian Castle in the background.

Another shot with the Washington Monument.

Thumbs up!

Free Band Aids! Excellent fan support :)

Running a marathon is hard enough. Running a marathon and carrying a large flag really takes focus!

Its always great when you spot your runner in the crowd like this person did. 

So many runners!!!

Another great sign.

Here is my runner :)

Congratulations to all the finishers! 

Happy Friday!!!

Lazy Hazy Days

There has been no lasting improvement in air quality this week. At times it does clear up but there is no way to predict when it will clear or for how long. It just depends on which way the wind blows.  So I mostly stay inside and run our air filter 24/7. When I do go out for groceries I try to make it a quick trip wearing my N95 mask for the short two block walk to the train. Sometimes I keep my mask on in the store and until I get home again as it seems like the haze works its way everywhere. Some of the train stations are more open to the outside than others, some stores are closer to the street than others. It's hard to know if its safe to take the mask off or if its best to leave it on. I have seen some people just leave it on so I've decided to do the same. Its sort of hard to put it back in place once I have my groceries and my hands are full anyway. Our upcoming trip to the USA is going to be very nice break with clean fresh air! Until then I found a few items at our grocery store that I thought I would try to photograph and share this week. Product photography is my least favorite thing so here goes...

Yeo's Grass Jelly Drink. The first time I had it I thought it was really gross. I had it again recently and it was sort of good, I'd even say I liked it. After googling I think it is made of aged and oxidized mint leaves. Yeah, still not sure but I think it is. It doesn't taste minty though, more like an old soda that has gone flat. Maybe if you had just been chewing on a piece of mint gum and then took a sip of a flat soda...did I say I liked it? Maybe I didn't like it. I'm confused. Maybe I was super thirsty the second time I had it because I was planning on drinking this and I couldn't do it. Maybe the haze has altered my taste buds. 

The part about grass jelly drinks that I do not care for would be the jelly. It is like a jello consistency and it was unexpected. Not sure surprises like these are always welcome when drinking a soda. Maybe I prefer all drinks in cans to be non chunky. I know, I'm so picky. ugh. 

And then I found these guys. Very interesting. They were in a bag in the vegetable bins. They are small and hard and sort of rubbery like. They are Water Caltrops from Taiwan, aka Water Chestnuts.  Sort of look like little moustaches. I lost my nerve and decided not to try them so I have no idea what they taste like or anything but aren't they cute? 

Happy Friday!!!

Singapore Haze

UPDATE: I'm hoping this post works, my last post had bad photos....

Not much for photos this week unfortunately. The air quality in Singapore has been bouncing from unhealthy to hazardous due to smoke from fires in Indonesia. As soon as it clears I'll be able to go out again. We have had reports that it could last until November. Let's hope that isn't the case.

Photos taken from our balcony on a clear day and one from a recent hazy day. Thanks to guest photographer Geoff Koopman for the photos ;)

Sydney Part 2

Here are the rest of my photos from Sydney. I hope you like them!

ANZAC War Memorial in Hyde Park.

Long walkway in Hyde Park.

St. Mary's Cathedral, across the street from Hyde Park.

Another view of St. Mary's from The Domain, which is another park space.

The trees are enormous! There is a person sitting under the tree having lunch. He looks so small comparatively.

Looking back at the city in one of the parks with a city train rolling through.

At first I thought this guy was a bunny, he was nibbling away at the grass but he is a cockatoo.

Navy ships, swimming pool and blue skies.

This was part of our running path while we were visiting. So pretty, nice paved path along the parks with great views and beautiful trees. The weather was perfect while we were there. 

Kookaburra bird :)

Another Kookaburra. 

View of the city and Circular Quay. 

Friendly pelican at the Sydney Fish Market. The seagulls could have taken lessons from this guy. He was very polite and never tried to attack me, much unlike the seagulls! We did not stay at the Fish Market for very long.

They do have a nice view of the ANZAC Bridge.

The Sydney Botanic Gardens. There is a kid running down the stairs, gorgeous park!

Loved these trees with their roots spilling over the edge of the rock wall.

This tree was top heavy.

One last beautiful giant tree. Thank you Sydney! 

Happy Friday!!!

Sydney, Australia

We went down under once again, this time to Sydney. It was our first trip to this city and it was amazing. 

Sydney Opera House. I love this photo because of the colors and looking at it close up you can see the pattern in the tiles on the roofs of the Opera House. I might have this printed and hung. What do you think? This one or the next one???

The Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge as seen around the corner from Mrs. Macquarie's Chair.  There is a beautiful walking path around the harbour with amazing views the whole way. Mrs. Macquarie was the Governor's wife and in 1810 convicts carved this bench out of an exposed sandstone rock for her. She would sit here and watch the ships sailing in.

Mrs. Macquarie's Chair.

There are several restaurants by the Opera House. It was a beautiful day, the weather was perfect.

A view of the Harbour Bridge from the other side of the harbour. I think we were near the Star Casino and walking along the water to Darling Harbour. 

The Opera House up close and a partial city skyline view. 

Another up close of the Opera House. 

More photos next week. I'm still trying to sort them all!

Happy Friday!!!

A Walk Around Bedok Resevoir

This week we went for a walk around Bedok Reservoir. Seems like a very nice place to be, tree lined, plenty of lights for evening strolls. It was pretty quiet when we were there mostly because it was during the week and during the middle of the day. I'm sure it gets much busier on the weekends. 

We had to take a train to a bus to get to the Reservoir but once the construction on the new MRT line is completed it will be much easier to reach.

A few photos of the construction site from the pedestrian overpass walkway. 

Construction is one thing you cannot really get away from in Singapore. Shopping, eating and construction 24/7.

These cranes perched on the platform looks wild. I was wishing there were people in the photo to give it scale, but there are people in the photo. Hard to see them but they are in the bottom right with yellow hard hats on.

Here is where we started at the reservoir.

Plenty of shade here. 

One person was brave enough to run in the midday sun. 

I love the trees in Singapore. They are soooooo gorgeous!

Beautiful!

Beautiful!

Maybe I'm obsessed with trees?

These polls, I am pretty sure, are for bird owners to bring their birds in their cages and hang them for fresh air and to listen to the beautiful bird songs. No birds today I think I'd have to be here much earlier for that.

We passed a few bird shops on our way home. 

Good looking guys.

$150.00 each! 

Pretty but I prefer a cat. :)

Happy Friday!!!