Joanne in Egypt with Friendship Force & Memphis Tours

To Egypt and Jordan Via NYC

Joanne & Maureen

Wednesday, October 23, 2019, 3:30 AM, and the alarm went off! The Big Day arrived and I quickly dressed to meet Maureen & her husband, Hank, outside for my ride to RSW, our airport in Ft Myers. Our flight was at 6:30 AM direct on United to Newark Airport. Here we grabbed breakfast and asked about shuttle buses into NYC because we had a lot of time to kill before going to Kennedy Airport for our 10 hour direct Air Egypt flight to Cairo at 6:30 PM.

Rockefeller Center in NYC

The bus dropped us off at Bryant Park and from here we found the luggage storage place on 46^th street between 5^th & 6^th Avenue. $5 a bag for 2-hrs was a great deal so we stashed the luggage and off we went strolling around the Big Apple. I wanted to go into St Patrick's to light a candle for my Grandma Teaneck and Maureen wanted to visit Hotel Pierre, where her Dad was a doorman for the important guests who frequented this lovely place. We had quite an experience on the bus prior to it dropping us off. While reminiscing about my Grandmother who was a nurse during the 1918 influenza epidemic, we met a woman who was researching an “old” drug called Argyrol used during that era. Right as we were talking to her, my almost 99 year-old Mom phoned me! I passed my phone over to her and she had quite a conversation with Mom, who remembered the drug! The woman gave me her card and I promised to email her when we returned from Egypt to let her know how our trip went – and to have Mom answer any more questions she might have. After all, she said, not many people knew about the flu epidemic and Mom did! So it was quite a coincidence that she overheard our conversation and we could help her out.

Since Maureen and I hadn't been in the city for a few years, we had a great time wandering around. In St Patrick's, Maureen met a monsignor who was about to say Mass. She discovered he was in the same parish in Long Island as she was growing up. That was another coincidence that we marveled about. We found the Hotel Pierre and Maureen was shown the revamped Ball Room and related memories about her Dad. By then, it was lunch time and people on the street heard us talking about where we could eat. Two people wanted to help us. One man even walked us to his favorite sandwich shop, where we enjoyed a deli lunch. It hit the spot! All the New Yorkers seemed to help us whenever we asked for directions. Again, this seemed miraculous and was well appreciated.

Arriving in Egypt

Airport Greeting

We easily found another express shuttle that took us to Kennedy in less than one hour. Our flight on Egyptian Air was great and we both managed to sleep a little.

Early arrival so we were treated to lavish
 lunch at Egyptian day host home

What a wonderful welcome!

Next morning we arrived right on time into Cairo. Two Friendship Force club members met us with signs and kisses on both cheeks. Since we were the first of the group of 20 to arrive, these members took us to one of their daughter's beautiful homes. The home was a gorgeous villa with magnificent landscaping. They had their maids from Algeria make us a fabulous lunch. The entire dining room table was filled with delicious salads, meats and Egyptian specialties. The food reminded me of what we had in Israel and also had a Lebanese flair. I really enjoyed it. One of the women made us a special banana cinnamon cake, which we had out on the patio overlooking her lap infinity-edge pool. Wow, we felt very special! These Egyptians in their Friendship Force Club are definitely on a high social and economic strata!

Lovely Welcome Dinner

Later the rest of our group arrived from different spots in the US. Many are from the Cleveland, OH area. Others are from Wisconsin, Houston, Iowa and some from Sacramento, CA. Maureen and I are the only ones from Florida. The group is very friendly and well traveled and I am enjoying them! We had a wonderful Welcome Dinner at another member's gorgeous home in what they call a “Compound.” This is a high scale gated community that is guarded. This home also had a large staff of live-in help. The entrance way had a pool of lighted candles in it! The rooms were very large and open with gorgeous ornate furniture and draperies. Again, the food was plentiful with platters of fish, chicken, beef, salads, fresh  pomegranate juice with many desserts e.g., mango mousse, chocolate cake, etc. There is no alcohol served, but there are wonderful home squeezed juices and coffee and tea.

Welcome Party Delicious Buffet

After the party I was transported to temporary lodging for one night because my host was at a wedding. I sleep soundly for 11 hours, until they woke me up at 10 AM!

Today is Friday and it is a holiday. The day started with a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs, flat bread, salad, toast and jams with coffee and tea. The club has hired a bus for the week. There is a plain-clothes man guard (with weapons) to protect us on the bus. I feel very safe here!  (Later, I learned that it is a requirement of the US Embassy that American groups are protected in Egypt.  In our case, we always had a guard on board and sometimes we had a flashing-light police car in front of our vehicle that tried to lead us quickly through heavy traffic areas.)

Me in construction zone

The Grand Egyptian Museum is under contruction

Today we were in for a Big Surprise.  One of the Egyptian Friendship Force members arranged for us to have special entrance to the Grand Egyptian Museum that is under construction due to be opened in 2020. This will be the largest museum dedicated to a single civilization (5.2 million sq ft structure) and will house Egypt's most precious relics. No one usually gets admittance here and the guide was amazed that we could see it.  We donned hard hats and bright yellow vests and entered.  We were greeted by

We wore hard hats

one of the largest statues - King Rameses II. We could see that it is one amazing building and I hope that I can see it again when complete.

Current Egyptian Museum

Next we visited the current Egyptian Museum. What a wonderful building that I could have spent many days visiting! We had a highly skilled guide with our own earphones. We could hear her explanations of the magnificent statues and art.

I love this guy near King Tut's tomb

My favorite was King Tut's tomb. You have to see it in person to appreciate it. We spent about 3 hours here and it was fascinating.

King Tut's tomb is amazing

The Queen who became King

This guy has hands on his
 head for protection

Replica of Rosetta Stone,
the key to understanding ancient writings

Afterward, we were taken to the Atlantis restaurant on the Nile for a late lunch/dinner. We enjoyed a wonderful guitar player and we all danced between the courses. The food was a delicious dinner of salad, grilled chicken, veggies, and rice. Dessert was a chocolate brownie with caramel and ice cream.

Nora's beautiful home

Maureen dancing near the Nile after a fabulous dinner

And More Dancing with Nile in the distance!

Me with host, Nora, Jackie, Hanaa, Helen & Maureen

Tonight I met my host, Hinar Ali El Shinawy. She is 55-years old and has one daughter, who is learning to be a dermatologist technician to inject fillers and botox. Her husband is a retired hospital administrator who worked in Saudi Arabia. I am in a 3-story home that they own in a lovely development. I have my own room and bath and am very comfortable. So far, it has been a fabulous trip. Tomorrow, onto the pyramids!

Saturday, October 26

Reluctantly Riding a Camel at the Pyramids

After a quick breakfast, the bus pulled up at 8:30 for a ride to the long awaited pyramids.  As we entered into the pathway, I was amazed how large the Great Pyramid is. The outside blocks look like they could be climbed from afar; however, up close it would be impossible because the height of each block is immense. It is hard to imagine how they were constructed 4,600 years ago. We had many viewpoints and even an opportunity to ride camels. I told the guide I would only take a photo next to the camel. Somehow, he encouraged me to get into the saddle and before I knew it, the camel rose with me in it! I hollered to no avail so I decided to sit back and pose. Not bad pictures for not wanting any part of it! Next, we traveled for better vantage points of all the pyramids in the area. All in all, we saw 9 of them.

Famous Sphinx

Afterward, 

we trekked over to gaze at the Sphinx that guarded these pyramids for the kings. It had been almost covered in sand, but through excavation, they have been able to uncover it – and for its age, it looked great! On the way home, we stopped for a lovely dinner of Egyptian food prepared in an authentic place. On the menu were lamb and beef kabobs as well as rice wrapped with chicken, tahini, baba ganoush, flat bread, egg plant in a tomato sauce and lots more! We thoroughly enjoyed everything. Heading home on the bus, we were all nodding off. Tomorrow is an early up day for a long 3-hour bus ride to the famous port side city of Alexandria.

Sunday, October 27

We traveled on a modern
 bus comfortably

Up at 6 AM, quick cup of coffee and off to Hanaa's home to catch the bus. We traveled 2 hr 20 minutes with a quick rest stop to reach the beautiful ancient port city of Alexandria. The club has arranged for police escort (flashing light car with armed security) to help us feel safe. 

Catacomb statue

Catacomb wall illustration of mummification

 

Our gov't helped the Egyptians preserve
these catacombs from flooding

We arrived at the site of the Roman Catacombs discovered 114 years ago. It has a mix of Roman, Greek and Egyptian art and pottery. We descended down ancient steps near a shaft to the first tomb of a lady and her husband. We looked at the wall paintings of the Crocodile god and I noticed that our country has given US Aid to preserve these catacombs.

Gorgeous inside of the ultra modern Alexandria Library,
which is SO MUCH more than just a library!

Our next stop was the most FABULOUS library. Built in 2002, it hosts thousands of events annually. The architecture is very modern and it was built to look like a rising sun. It has 4 museums and we rapidly toured some of them, admiring especially the exhibit of Anwar Sadat, a man of peace and some of the ancient manuscripts. We were amazed by the computer technology – one can see the inside of a mummy!

 Replica of Alexandria Lighthouse

Next up was a ride to the gorgeous King's Palace with a stunning view of the Alexandria lighthouse and the Mediterranean. The day was complete with a fresh seafood dinner of grilled mullet, salads, homemade flat bread with dips. Yum!

Monday & Tuesday, October 28 and 29

The early days of the week flew by! On Monday, we had lunch at Al Azhar Park, a lovely oasis in downtown Cairo with lovely gardens with the mosque in the distance. I felt like I was back in Spain at the Alahambra because the building looked so much like it. It was an ideal day for this lovely dining experience. We were treated to many typical Egyptian appetizer sauces for the pita-like bread, e.g., tahini, yogurt with cucumber, a cheese dip and a mayo-garlic type mixture. Next course was grape leaves stuffed with rice, kibbeh, and other treats. Finally, the main course arrived complete with a beef/lamb mixture, grilled chicken, a special rice made with little bits of meat, onions and cinnamon.

Bazaar Shopping

Next stop was the Bazaar in the old city. The group combed the shops with club Egyptian escorts who made sure we got “good deals.” We then went to an authentic Folkloric show with one dancer who twirled in a colorful costume for almost one hour!

Mosaic depicting Joseph & Mary's
escape to Egypt with Baby Jesus

Tuesday was a day to explore the different religious faiths of Egypt. First up, was the famous Coptic “hanging” church built over a Roman fortification. I walked the path of Mary to a crypt that the Holy Family hid from the Romans. I was surprised to learn that the Holy Family hid in Egypt for 3-1/2 years and in each spot, a church was built to the Virgin Mary. The Jewish synagogue was interesting because it was built over the place that Moses was put in the River Nile.

Inside of a famous mosque

The mosques were ancient places. As we removed our shoes, we walked on the carpets and stones throughout the place. We received a short course on Islam and the traditions. I was impressed when one of the members chanted songs to Allah. I thought that their tenets were Christian-like especially that they are expected to contribute 10% of their profit (savings) to the poor annually. This was the night to treat our host to dinner. Hanaa arranged for a large part of the group to meet at Mall of Arabia at a very nice restaurant. I treated Nora to dinner and enjoyed chicken soup, tabouli, a mixed grill, rice, etc. Afterward, we were invited to tea at the home of Hanaa's son. It was quite a large gorgeous villa home resplendent with chandeliers, lovely furniture and glittering silver and cut glass decorations. They were very hospitable and we had some interesting conversations. Tomorrow is our last day. We will have the Farewell Party at Hanaa's home.

Wednesday, October 30

Hanaa and her beautiful daughter

Beautiful Ramadan Tablecloths
 with flags for decorations

At 12:30 PM we traveled a short distance to Hanaa's home, the site of the Farewell Party. The backyard was decorated colorfully with beautiful Ramadan tablecloths. The buffet was lavish with many delicious dishes e.g.,

Hanaa's great grandchildren were adorable

grilled chicken, minced meat (lamb & beef), eggplant, salads, dips, etc. Most club members were there dressed in their finest outfits. A DJ entertained us with wonderful music. Everyone danced to their heart's content. Speeches of appreciation occurred and oh, the desserts were awesome. I will miss these friendly people who so welcomed us to their country. Tomorrow is a short flight to Aswan and the next day, we will board our boat for our Nile River Cruise.

Thursday, October 31 to Saturday, November 2

No one stays in the lanes in Cairo

It has been a whirlwind of activity since we left our Friendship Force Cairo Club. We traveled very early (6 am) to the airport through heavy traffic that often came to a standstill. “Driving is a “circus” here,” is an apt quote, my host told me. No one stays in the painted traffic lines – they only serve as a rough guide! There are old men on donkey carts mixed in with motor cycles and other strange looking vehicles and small cars that speed along. Oh, and then there are people standing along the high-speed traffic lanes selling juice and other 'stuff' I don't know how they don't get struck but somehow it seems to work without too many accidents!

Great guide, Mahmoud

It's rare to find a FREE TOILET so
I captured this wonderful moment

We boarded our Air Egypt flight to Aswan, about a 1-1/2 hr flight south in the desert area. We are now using a tour company called Memphis Tours and they seem excellent. Aswan is home of 2 dams – an old one built in the 1930's and a new modern one called High Dam (built by Nassar and complete in the 1970s). In order to dam the Nile here, they displaced the Nubian people, an ancient tribe of Egyptians. The helped relocate the Nubians and there are little compounds of them in this region. A huge lake formed called Lake Nassar. 70% of the Egyptian population depend upon this dam along with many bordering countries for the agricultural and electric power benefits.

This map shows the path of the Nile
which is so important to many nations

Wonderful compatible roommate,
 Chris, with Egyptian day host

Next stop was a preserved temple dedicated to their Falcon god. It was submerged when the dam was built, but fortunately the world contributed funds so that it could be moved from under water to higher ground. We stayed for one night at Tulop Hotel. I was rooming with Chris Budwine, who I met on our club's trip to Brazil. We are very compatible and we had a wonderful meal at the hotel.

Next morning was a very early wake up call – 3:30 AM! We boarded the bus for a 3-hour drive to Abu Simbel, home of the amazing temple of Ramses II. Along the way we saw a gorgeous sunrise over the Sahara. We exited the bus and strolled along a pretty pathway. As we rounded the corner, we gasped at the huge size of the Rameses statues. What made it even more amazing, is the Egyptians dismantled it block by block and moved it to higher ground (over 65 meters) when the lake was in danger of flooding it! King Ramses II ruled for 65 years and had many children – 120 sons and 90 daughters! There was an adjoining temple of Nefertiti that was also impressive. I like the statue of the Cow Goddess and I was amazed that some of the coloring of the figures were intact.

You really have to see this in person to understand the scope of this place!

The Cow Goddess in Queen Nefertiti's tomb

Cool stars on the ceilings of the tombs

You descend into tombs by way of ramps

Vivid painted ceiling

Cartouche

Hierglyphics tell stories

Egyptian Flag on the way to Village

Nubian Village architecture

Neat sailboats on the Nile

All of our group decided to pay for an additional tour ($45 pp) to a Nubian village. We had a pleasant boat ride along the Nile to this 2000 yr old settlement. We entered the home of a couple and their son. It was decorated with colorful painted murals of local scenes. They served us their special mint tea and we heard about their simple life here. It was a clean prosperous village. I think most of them make their living fishing and serving tourists. There were many hand made items to purchase (jewelry, woven trivets, handmade masks, etc). We arrived back on our ship for a late buffet dinner. I was so tired that I went to bed immediately after dinner and slept soundly to the next morning.

Our floating hotel, the Legacy, on the Nile River was excellent

Today we are traveling along the scenic Nile on a river boat called the Legacy. The banks have pretty trees and rocks called cataracts (small rapids). It's a lovely day in the 70's. We will tour another temple later this afternoon in a horse driven carriage.  At this point, my lap top refused to take a charge.  The rest of my description is by memory a week later!

We arrived in Luxor near the Valley of the Kings.  This is a huge archaeological site in the desert.  I loved the Temple of the Queen and I took pictures

A magic moment at the Temple of the Queens

of some of the ancient hieroglyphics.  I especially liked the stars painted on the ceilings, snakes that were created to guard the Pharaohs' tombs and the cool Avenue of the Rams statues at Karnak. 

Snakes protect the kings buried in the tombs

Later we were taken a little further away to look at 4 different tombs that were very well preserved.  I was amazed that the colors were still vibrant in some of them!  They built long ramps down to the tombs that were not too hard to negotiate.  The walls were covered with interesting birds, snakes, symbols, etc. that told the story of who was buried there.  I never expected to be so impressed by it all.  It is just amazing to contemplate how these ancient people did all this with primitive tools, but of course they had lots of "slave" labor!  

We finished up the day at the city of Luxor.  Right in the city is an amazing site - the Luxor Temple dating from 1400 BC. It was part of the ancient city of Thebes.  There are massive obelisks (stone pillars with pyramidal tops) that were our original skyscrapers.  What was even more amazing were they were carved from a single piece of stone and then moved to the location and raised onto a base. We visited Karnak Temple, a wonder of engineering.  One famous aspect of Karnak is the Hypostyle Hall, an area of 50,000 sq ft with 134 massive columns arranged in 16 rows.  122 of these columns are 10 meters tall and the other 12 are 21 meters tall with a diameter of 3 meters! How they were built is a matter of conflicting theories.  It was hard to process it all!  I also liked the Sacred Pond that was used for purification (maybe an ancient form of Baptism).  

Obelisk

Rams were impressive and lined up in rows

Karnak pillars really amaze you

The Sacred Pond used for purification rituals

Monday, November 4, 2019

Having fun trying desert head coverings

At the Airport - Amman is the capital of Jordan

New building that changes shapes and colors

Flag of Jordan

Fun dinner with Zafira

It was an early wake-up call for our flight from Aswan in the south of Egypt to Cairo where we connected to our flight out of Egypt to the country of Jordan's, capital city of Amman.  Jordan is a small middle East country hat has one of the wonders of the modern world - Petra.  Immediately, we knew we were in a different country.  We checked into a nice hotel and our Friendship Force friends (Mitch & Nancy) hooked us up with a Jordanian woman, Zafira Labadi, who is interested in developing a Friendship Force club in Jordan.  She is a lovely woman who walked us around the area and we wound up having a lovely dinner of traditional food in a shopping center.

Unusual cross overlooking desert by Mt Nebo

Beautiful church near where Moses found Promised Land
It was rebuilt in modern times

Ebony and Ivory in church

Beautiful mosaics on floor that are covered for protection

Loved this stained glass window in the church

Our first full day in Jordan started as a drive to Madaba.  The single most important piece of Byzantine Christian mosaic art in the East is the Madaba map, made between 542 and 570 as the floor of the church of St George.  It was rediscovered in 1894. The Madaba Map is the oldest surviving cartographic depiction of the Holy Land.  It shows an area from Lebanon in north to the Nile Delta in the south and from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Eastern Desert.  The largest and most detailed element of the topographic depiction is Jerusalem, at the center of the map.  The map is enriched with many naturalistic features, like animals, fishing boats, bridges and palm trees.  There were many intricate mosaics in the church.

Moses saw the Promised Land but could not enter it

Trying Dead Sea Mud
Treatment

We drove to the spot where Moses led his people in the desert to the Promised Land. In 4th C, Christians built a church to commemorate Moses' death here with preserved spectacular mosaics.  Later, we took a dip in the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth.  We floated around the very salty water and I spread mud on my face to get rid of wrinkles.  We agreed we all looked at least 10 years younger after the treatment!

Can you see the Treasury at the end?

Look up for more Petra facades

Petra's Beautiful Treasury

Finally, the Grand Finale of our trip - Petra!  It is considered one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World and a famous archaeological site.  As you enter, you walk through huge rose-colored rock formations.  It reminded me a bit of the slot canyon in the U.S. called Zion National Park EXCEPT quite a surprise happens as you round the corner of the pathway - The famous TREASURY building.  It was carved into the rock by the Nabatean Kingdom in 300 BC, a semi-Nomadic tribe of Arabs.  The Treasury was a tomb for their important king.  No one knows what happened to these people, but they left behind amazing tombs and temples.  I felt that we did not have enough time here to explore and hope I can come back with Richard in the future.

Petra has many carved caves and tombs

Relishing the moment!

Loved meeting Aggie!
She owns a sugar shack!

That evening after packing, most of our group gathered at the top floor of our hotel's restaurant and discussed what we all found most memorable.  Some of the items I remember are:

• The awesome Cairo Egyptian Club that were so welcoming and planned such a great agenda & itinerary - Hurrah, Hanaa!
• How appreciative we all are for the extraordinary organized efficient efforts of the best ever Journey Coordinator, Jackie Herriman, from Northeast Ohio

  

  Fabulous Jackie

• How everyone in our Friendship Force Group got along so well and enjoyed one another's company
• The spectacular size and scope of the pyramids and number of them
• Special entrance into the Grand Egyptian Museum due to be complete in 2020
• Seeing religious sites - especially where Moses was put into River Jordan, where Moses saw the Promised Land and the place Mary & Joseph with Baby Jesus hid from Herod's soldiers
• Learning about Islam, its values and tenets and distinguishing between the religion and the cultural aspects of the people
• Awesome Valley of the Kings, its tombs and well preserved carved and painted walls
• Lovely Nile River Cruise
• Great Memphis Tour guides - Mahmoud and Sam
• Petra - just amazing rock canyon with unbelievable cave and buildings carved into pink limestone

Our Group poses in front of Luxor Temple on our last day in Egypt

Traveling with Friendship Force is so great.  I feel so fortunate to have made this journey shared with fabulous people and made possible with efforts of the Cairo, Egypt Club.

Southwest Michigan Fall Friendship Force Journey

From Left to Right -
Joanne, Richard, Ginny, Michelle & Marcie

Southwest Michigan was a quick plane trip away on Allegiant Airlines from Punta Gorda.  Off we went on a hot day in September to visit the Michigan Friendship Force (FF) Club who had traveled here about 2 years ago.  A few of us decided on a pre-trip courtesy of Marcie Ellis.  After landing in Grand Rapids we picked up a small van and headed for our first stop, Charlevioux. 

Ginny, Marcie, & Michelle at B&B

We checked into a neat B&B and headed downtown, where we found a cute little restaurant with Michigan Whitefish on the menu.  We marveled at the fall leaves that were appearing in some of the trees.  It's been a long time since we felt chilly and our jeans and sweaters kept us warm.  

Fall Leaves!  Hurrah!

Next morning we indulged in lemon blueberry pancakes and then went exploring.  Mushroom houses dotted the town built by Earl Young that looked straight out of a Hobbit House book or movie!  We met a nice lady hiker who directed us properly and even told us about salmon coming through the lake.  Just a lovely morning!  

Mushroom House

Biking around Mackinac - awesome!

All checked out and along the way we stopped for late lunch/early dinner at Legg's, quite a different sort of restaurant complete with wood beams and interesting stuff everywhere.  Polish food was on the menu and we all indulged!  We checked out the back garden with lovely landscaping and views. We also stopped at Petosky, a cute place on the lake to hunt the ancient spotted rocks.  Lots of fun! More driving and before we knew it, we were at the Shepler's ferry stop to Mackinac Island.  No cars are allowed so we parked and boarded and walked off into our next hotel, the lovely Bicycle Inn, just steps from the ferry.  It was cool and raining slightly, but that didn't dampen our spirits.  We met for wine & cheese in the hotel lobby and marveled at the lovely horse drawn carriages and beauty around us.

In front of Grand Hotel

Next morning after a nice hotel breakfast, it was bicycle riding time!  We rented great bikes and headed off for an 8-1/2 mile circumnavigation of the island.  It was cool with rain threatening, but all was well.  We had a great ride, stopping to admire the views, signs and historical markers and Lake Huron (with fresh water and no sharks!) along the pathway.  Next was lunch at the Grand Hotel, quite a gourmet experience!  We self-toured the hotel, checked out the blue starry decorated drink bar on the top floor, and then enjoyed a LARGE lunch.  Tables went on and on full of breads, salads, appetizers, veggies, and main dishes.  Everyone ate until they were full - and then some.  Oh, let's not forget the dessert tables.  Yum!  We staggered out in time to catch a lovely horse & buggy ride in the rain.  We all agreed Mackinac is a wonderful destination and many wanted to come back and spend more time there in the future.

We caught the late ferry and headed for Traverse City.  Here, our hotel was on the shore of Lake Michigan.  Next morning we headed for the start of our Michigan FF Experience.  

Us with Stan and Pam, wonderful hosts!

Our hosts were Pam & Stan Sackett, a lovely couple with a very nice home in Kalamazoo.  We had the entire bottom floor of their home with extremely comfortable accommodations, complete with a Tempur-Pedic mattress.  We slept like a dream - and they fed us lovely breakfasts - we loved Pam's banana & blueberry pancakes!

The club had a week's worth of activities planned for us.  It began with a Welcome Brunch at Walden Woods followed by afternoon at the Air Zoo.  This place is a magnificent plane & space museum.  The highlight was recognition of one of our members, Kev Janiak, for his contribution of a superb plane.  We also enjoyed the simulations of flying a plane.  Lots of fun!

Our member, Kev, donated his home-made plane to Air Zoo in Kalamazoo! 
From Left to Right - Sue, Kev, Bev, Michelle, Linda, Ginny, Richard & Joanne with blue plane

Thursday was the Meyer May House, an authentic "Frank Lloyd Wright" home with an excellent tour.  Later that day we traveled to Meijer Gardens for lunch and a very enjoyable time strolling through the sculpture gardens and admiring the landscaping.

Magnificent Horse Sculpture in Meijer Gardens with our whole group - Stan is holding up a hoof!

Friday was Amish Day.  We had a magnificent lunch by Martha and her family in her Amish homestead.  We also toured the Menno-Hof Museum which gave us information on the history and beliefs of this culture.  On the way home, we stopped at a member (Sheila)'s home to check out a homemade trimaran, antique cars and a huge train set in the basement.

Joanne & Sue at Dunes

Saturday was our "free" day and we spent it in Kalamazoo checking out the Halloween activities, library and sights.  Sunday we visited the Fenn Valley Winery for some lunch and wine tasting.  The highlight was a Dune Buggy Ride on the Michigan sand dunes.  Lots of fun!  

Monday was our Farewell Brunch at the Kellogg Manor followed by a tour.  Next day was another "free" day spent in Grand Rapids touring the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum and enjoying an afternoon stroll to the Fish Ladder, a lovely park.

Sunset over beautiful Lake Michigan

Friendship Force has certainly opened up not only the International sites to us, but also sites in our own country.  There is no better way to travel and learn about the area you are visiting and the people who live there than to go with Friendship Force!