DAVIS - DAY 2

Greetings from Davis Day 2. Not much to report today, except that there were lots of speakers regarding our upcoming trip to China and Laos. The picture on the Right is of a gentleman who lived in Laos and talked to us about what we will do when we are there. Some of the food they eat in Laos includes bugs...hmmmm. The second picture is what I did all day long...listen to where we are going and what to expect.

This trip sounds fun and there will be lots of interesting things that we will see.

Tomorrow, we will be doing more research on our trip and then we will drive to the coast to mommy's school, Santa Clara.

Hope you are doing good and keep practicing your piano. Give Moose a big hug for me and a kiss to mommy.

God Bless,

Ottster

Happy New Year - Day One Davis, CA

Greetings from Davis, CA! After leaving Fresno this morning, I had a couple of meetings in Sacramento. From there, to Davis where our Ag Leadership program kicked off this evening.

All day, it has been raining. The two pics above are: (Left) the merry-go-round is covered up at the "K" street mall. Rain has closed most of the rides and activities that take place in the open area. (Right) This is the entrance to Old Town Sacramento. Next time our family comes up, we will have to take you there so you may see the old paddle boat and horses.

Tomorrow will be a full day and we will be learning about the places where we will be going to in China next Month.

Hope all is well, give Jordan and mommy hugs and kisses.

God Bless,

Ottster!

Taipei, Taiwan - Day 4 & 5

Lots of Pictures today. Here is a picture of "Teddy Bear", who was going for a walk with his owner. The next picture is of a tree that was uprooted during Sunday's Typhoon.

The car was used by President Chiang Kai-shek's Limo when he was president of Taiwan. The big ball is called a Damper Baby. It is the weight that hangs in the middle of the Taipei 101 building.


It has been a very crazy couple of days. Yesterday, we toured Taipei 101. This is the tallest building in the world. After the tour of the building, we toured Taipei. Several of the places we visited included the Chiang Kai-shek memorial building, a famous temple and the old town market. At the market we saw several items including fish, snake, turtles, videos and several other fun items.


The building is of the Chiang Kai-shek memorial building. The picture if of Ronald Reagan and Chiang Kai-shek.

Today, we kicked off the morning with breakfast and a meeting with several people that we have worked with before at the American Institute of Trade (AIT). During the meeting, we felt a minor earthquake! After meeting with the U.S. officials, we went to a top 10 lunch resturant where we ate pork and shrimp dumplings (very good). We then went to a supermarket where there were lots of different fruits and vegetables. one of my favorite fruits that we have tried is Dragon Fruit. It looks like a white kiwifruit. After our tour of the supermarkets, we came back to the hotel.


Pictures of Frogs and snakes that we saw at the super markets.

Tomorrow, I will be giving a presentation to over 20 representatives. We are going to update them of California apples and then have a chance to answer their questions. We will then pack our suitcases, have dinner and then catch a late airplane ride back to the U.S.

See you tomorrow (Friday),

God Bless,

Ottster

Taipei, Taiwan - Day 3

These are pictures of the streets of Taipei. As you can see, there are lots of scooters and yes...they have McDonald's!

Today, we had the opportunity to meet with a couple of companies who buy apples from California. After the meetings, we toured a company that receives California apples. After the tour, we had dinner at a fish restaurant.

Today, Taiwan is celebrating its National Day (like Fourth of July for the U.S.). We will be touring the city today (everything is closed). One of the places we will be touring is the Taipei 101. This is the tallest building in the world. We are planning to have lunch there and maybe go to the top (101 stories).

Until tomorrow,

God Bless,

Ottster

P.S. Pray for Grandma Trish!

Taipei, Taiwan - Day 1 & 2

This is a picture of the plane we rode on to Taiwan. This is a very big plane and has two stories (see the windows on the top and bottom?)

I arrived into Taipei, Taiwan today (Monday at 7:30 pm). We were suppose to leave for Taiwan on Sunday at 1:00am, however, due to a typhoon, the flight did not leave until 2:30 pm. After a 13 hour uneventful flight, we touched down. At 8:00 pm, it was 84 degrees and a few sprinkles. In short, hot and humid. Tomorrow, we begin our meetings. Will keep you posted,

God Bless,

Ottster


(Picture of "Doc" and Dad waiting in the airport)

San Quentin Days 1&2

Hey There Munchkin:

We are in a lot of meetings today and have met some very interesting people. The bad news we haven't gone out anywhere so our only pictures are of the Koi fish that are in the pond inside our hotel (no buildings). The fish are about 2 feet long - Grandma will show you how big that is. We have a long day today and will be home tonight. I hope you are treating grandma well and give moose a hug for us.

CHILE - Day 4&5

This is a picture of where I sat for the meeting. Each country had their own flag, name plate and a translator so we could understand the other countries.

Yesterday was a full day of meetings. After the meetings, we had dinner where we sang songs and danced. Let's just say...every country has a song that brings out the "best" in them.

I am currently getting ready to get on a bus to head back to where we will catch our airplane. I will be leaving this evening and will be back in Fresno tomorrow afternoon.

Have a good day at school and tell Mom and Moose, I will be home soon!

God Bless,

Ottster