Yes, it’s a reference to a somewhat annoyingly catchy 80s tune – but it also refers to Chinese belief in the mystical power of music. Well, I can’t tell you much about that as we didn’t have time to hear much other than some funk emanating from the hotel bar on our arrival and the cheesy ‘zen relaxation’ CD in our Mandarin Oriental rooms, but I can say that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Hong Kong this past week. I’m writing this post as dawn breaks over the tarmac at Seoul’s Incheon Airport, where the Korean Air 747s are lined up like pale blue birds sunning themselves in the morning light. We have a five hour layover here before the 13+ hour flight back to Atlanta – although my ticket says I leave at 10am and arrive at 10:30am. Too bad that’s just a deceitful lie! I’ll write more about the trip when I return, but for now, check out the slideshow of photos I’ve uploaded so far. I have a few more from the Mong Kok market area to add as well. See you in a seven thousand or so miles.
Category Archives: Travel
the great southwest
This year’s Admonsters excursion (to conference #17 to be exact) took me out to the environs of Albequerque and Santa Fe at the Hyatt Tamaya resort in Bernalillo, New Mexico. We decided to make this a family affair since very soon Amy will be on a no-travel regimen (due date is October 31, only 10 weeks away). Amy’s parents also joined us for a bit of R&R&Sam. To top that all off, Amy’s aunt (who is from Albequerque) and uncle came down from Denver – and their son Jonathan came out from LA. So all in all it turned into a little Handelman/Siegel/Gardenswartz reunion.
We had a great dinner with Bobbi’s 90-year-old father and the rest of the clan on Friday night, headed up to Santa Fe on Saturday along with 100,000 of our closest friends for the annual Indian Market and Art Show. It was a madhouse, but a great way to see the full scope of what the area’s artistans have to offer. One celebrity spotting, Curtis Stone of TLC’s Take Home Chef. Despite rumors of both Oprah and Dennis Hopper being seen around our hotel, neither was confirmed.
Into Boston
We gathered the clan and headed into Boston 
on Friday of our vacation. Sam has been talking about meeting Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings for weeks now, those famous avian stars of Robert McCloskey’s Make Way for Ducklings. He was not dissapointed! We explored much of the Boston Public Garden, visited the bronze statue of Mrs. Mallard and Lack, Mack, Quack, etc., rode the ‘strange enormous birds’ (aka the Swan Boats) and swam in the Frog Pond – a great respite from the 90+ degree heat wave hitting the city. We also walked Newbury Street from the park all the way to Comm Ave – something I don’t think I’d done for almost 20 years. I’m not sure how I ever afforded shopping there back in the day. We met up with more extended family including Lauren and her husband David plus their kids, as well as Peggy and Mary who are now living in Sommerville. We capped off the day with some yummy ice cream at JP Licks, next door to the Newbury Comics, still going strong after all these years. More photos can be found here.
Swampscott & Marblehead
So for the first leg of our vacation, we stayed at Julie and Scott’s place in Swampscott. Amy’s sister is always the best host, and her two sons Austin and Mason are the best playmates for Sam ever! He loves chasing them around, which takes plenty of pressure off Mom and Dad. Highlights included simply hanging around and chilling, a fabulous backyard lobstah fest (from the Barnacle, of course), time spent at the pool at Kernwood, as well as a great outing to Devereux Beach in Marblehead with my brother Seth and his boys Caleb, Gabe and Zach. See the full slideshow here.