Good-bye

I have not mentioned some of the events that took place on the ship, such as a special musical of Neil Sedaka’s music set in the Poconos performed by our friends in the Regent Singers and Dancers. We were sitting in our usual front row seats and Ronnie was picked out and taken up on stage as the sweet sixteen gal. She pulled it off well. Also some of the Balinese crew got together and did a special native “Kecak Dance” (translated as Monkey Dance, since one of the characters is dressed up like a monkey). One of our favorite crew members, I Kadek (pronounced eee –ca –deck), was one of the stars, portraying the evil king Ravan who is trying to steal away the lover of Prince Rama. It is based on the Hindu Ramayana epic, and was well performed by the crew who had purchased the costumes when we were in Bali.

Probably the hardest part of the trip was saying good-bye to so many good friends and companions on the world cruise. The ship had a final gathering/party for all world cruisers, with a video of the entire cruise (yes, we did since get a copy by mail) and believe me there were lots of tears (on our part as well).

This cruise was a once in a lifetime experience for us. We will never forget it, especially the wonderful people we met, and are so thankful for the opportunity to have gone to so many places. Every day was new and exciting. Every port was a revelation. I did a final report for the placement agency on my work. In it I mentioned the 19 sermons at 19 Sunday services that I did, the 53 Sea Day Devotional Bible Studies that I led, the 32 classes on meditation that I taught, and the other less official duties I carried out such as hosting the singles table and escorting land tours. I do feel that God used both Ronnie and me to touch a few lives in a special way, and all I can say in conclusion is “Thanks be to God!”

Splendorous Alaska

Alaska
Admittedly I am not going to do Alaska justice. It’s time to finish the blog and after all, Alaska is part of the good old USA (we were quite happy to be back), albeit one of the most beautiful parts. Talk about natural splendor! So many gorgeous snow-capped peaks, huge glaciers, cute frontier-become-tourist towns, and just an overwhelming sense of the size of that part of the natural world. We stopped at Dutch Harbor, Kodiak, Seward, Sitka, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. Dutch Harbor and Kodiak and are on the Aleutian Islands and the people there are pretty tough, surviving on fishing and other basics in a frigid environment. We actually enjoyed walking around both of them (and Unalaska, next to Dutch Harbor). We saw some native people, but not many survived the displacement that occurred during World War II, supposedly to protect them. Yes, Dutch Harbor was badly bombed by the Japanese (we visited a war museum), but they never got much further.

The highlights of Alaska for us included the special excursion to the glaciers near Seward, the tram ride in Juneau and the train ride in Skagway. On the special excursion we got within a quarter of a mile of the glacier and saw a chunk calve off (fall into the sea). We also saw killer whales, dolphins, and sea lions. We have seen a lot of these at Seaworld in Florida, but seeing them in their natural environment is a different experience. Along the way we also saw a big brown bear climbing a cliff, and a mountain goat climbing another steep slope. From the tram in Juneau we had a panoramic view of the waterway and the mountains around. Ronnie actually got up her courage to go on the tram and was glad she did. Juneau is nestled against the mountainside and not much room to expand. It looks less like a capital (we did walk by the capital building) and more like a tourist town.

Indeed Sitka, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan have become tourist meccas, catering to the thousands from the cruise ships that come from late spring to fall. In most places there were several other cruise ships in town the same time we were, and in Skagway they expect up to 19,000 people a day. Lots of jewelry stores, many run by the cruise ships themselves as we discovered. Taking the White Pass and Yukon Railway in Skagway was worth every penny, riding up to the 2,865 snow covered summit in Canada on the historic narrow gauge railroad built in less than two years at the end of the gold rush of 1898. We had a crisp sunny day with many photo ops and even saw a mother bear with her cub just a few feet from the train. In some places you didn’t want to look down as the train passed extremely close to the edge of many a steep slope.

Bleak Russian Port

Petropavlovsk, Russia
Talk about a grim place! Cold, wet, and dreary. Such a contrast to St. Petersburg which is magnificent. Many of the buildings in Petropavlovsk were concrete block and deteriorating, and until recently no outsiders were permitted here because of the strategic military value (relatively close to Alaska). Not far from the ship was a huge statue of Lenin, and the town did give us a sense of the bleakness of some parts Russia, and what life must have been like in the former Soviet Union. We walked up and down the two main streets with one of the jazz pianists from the ship, bundled up (Ronnie even had one of the blankets from the ship) and trying to avoid the snow and ice (yet this was late May!). We found one souvenir shop which had some hand carved ivory and even some Russian hats (of course, they were real fur and over a hundred dollars). No we didn’t buy any of these, although we did purchase one small item as part of our grandson’s Russian heritage. The Russian items were cheaper and more plentiful in Alaska.

The highlight of the day was a matronly Russian woman who walked by us and Ronnie did her usual smile and “hello.” After passing us, the woman turned around, came back and gave Ronnie a big hug saying in broken English something to the effect of “I am so glad you are here.” We were touched and took a photo with her, and later were told how unusual for a Russian to do such a thing. We went back to the ship early and then decided to go back to the dock where they had an impromptu gift shop set up in one of the empty dock buildings. Not so fast; we had turned in our passports, and the Russian authorities already had stamped us “outgoing,” and were not going to let us back on Russian soil. Good-bye Russia.

Japan the Wet

Nagasaki
After another day cruising the Yellow Sea, we arrived in Nagasaki in the middle of a steady rain. We found our way around the street cars to get to the Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Museum. We sloshed into the museum wearing our slickers and I also carried an umbrella. The somber mood of the day fit the somber mood of the museum, with so many photos and artifacts resulting from the atomic bomb dropped on the city on August 9, 1945. It was a nuclear wasteland, with almost nothing left standing. Total of almost 74,000 died and another 74,000 were injured. You can actually go to the epicenter and see the only surviving portion of the wall of the Catholic church that was destroyed. Pictures of the primary school and young children that were killed were the hardest to stomach. Actually survivors further out wondered if they were lucky since they had to deal with excruciatingly painful radiation burns and deformities. Although presenting the Japanese side of the story, the museum is not really anti-American (like the War Remnants Museum in Saigon), but is certainly anti-war, especially nuclear war. I was surprised by the chart showing the number of nuclear test blasts that have taken place since 1945. At the Peace Park, the rain was still steady but not quite as strong, and there are some beautiful sculptures from all over the world.

We took the tram back to harbor and Ronnie had had it, so I went on my own to Oura Catholic Church and Glover Garden. This hillside is the site of the homes of British traders and the gardens are magnificent, with panoramic views of the city and harbor from Glover house at the top. Walking down from the gardens along a pedestrian street (you take escalators up) many shops selling especially glass items were still open at 6 p.m. Since it had mostly stopped raining, it was actually a pleasant walk, but the prices in the shops were expensive, as we were to find all of Japan is. We were in Nagasaki from about 1p.m. to 11 p.m., but our shoes and clothing were so drenched despite our protective gear that we never went back out. We just wanted to dry out!

Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto
We took full advantage of our stay in Osaka with side trips to Kobe and Kyoto. Osaka is well laid out with an excellent subway and mass transit system. The people were so respectful and helpful in all of Japan. We took the express train to Kobe since our son James had spent a month there as an exchange student in high school (it turns out he was quite a few miles out of town), and enjoyed the harbor area and the displays about the massive earthquake that struck the area in 1994. When we got back to Osaka we found ourselves in the middle of a huge underground shopping area called Umeda. We took the escalators up and down in the large department store and ended up buying lunch at one of the counters in the store. We spent the afternoon, mostly overcast and rainy again, at the Osaka Castle and park. The grounds are quite impressive with huge walls and a vast moat surrounding them. The castle itself burned many times and all that remains is a rebuilt structure that houses a modern museum. Lots of maps and dioramas of battles in Osaka’s past, as well as armor and fighting equipment. The best part is the panoramic view from the top. We returned by subway to the shopping area where the ship’s shuttle picks up in time to take the shuttle back to the ship area. It is near a seemingly endless mostly enclosed pedestrian shopping street. We enjoyed walking through it, but prices again were quite high.

That night the World Travelers on the ship were treated to a special dinner at the aquarium near where the ship was docked. We were blessed to be included. Lots of good Japanese food and the sharks and other fish were definitely up close and personal. Next to the aquarium and the ship there was a huge Ferris wheel, supposedly the largest in the world. A group of us decided to go after the aquarium dinner, but our guide told us it was closed because of the rain. So Ronnie and I walked around the little mall area at the dock, and then discovered the wheel was indeed still open. Ronnie, of course, was not about to get on, but she encouraged me to go. I was not so excited about going alone at night, but what the heck; I may never be back in Osaka. It was a spectacular and unnerving ride. The wheel does not stop (except for disabled people), just goes very slowly. At the top the view is incredible, but it feels like the wheel is not moving and I could not imagine being stuck at the top. If I ever had vertigo, that was the time. Luckily the car is enclosed and large enough for four or more people, so I got right in the middle and held on praying the thing would keep going. It did, and I was quite happy to get off when we got to the bottom.

The next we took the subway to the bullet train bound for Kyoto. It took us a while to figure out how to buy the tickets, which more than twice the normal fare to Kyoto. But it is worth it. In 12-15 minutes, you are there (what would normally take 40 or so minutes). It is smooth and comfortable. We loved Kyoto despite the persistent rain. The city escaped WWII basically unscathed, and the temples and palaces are gorgeous. We took city buses with relative ease to the Kiyomizudera temple, beautifully poised on a hillside surrounded by a forest. Every time you go into a Japanese temple you remove your shoes, so we had a lot of practice that day. That temple had many different sections, including one focused on love. If you could walk with your eyes closed between two rocks you could be assured of finding your true love! A big issue continued to be the constant steady rain, although it did have periods of letting up a bit.

We walked around that area past the Yasaka Pagoda and Shrine, then caught a bus to the Kyoto Nijo Castle. This castle, unlike the Osaka one, is preserved as much as possible the way it was when inhabited by Emperor Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603. It had the authentic murals and sliding panels with displays including human models. Also the original wood floors squeaked as you walked them to warn the inhabitants of intruders. After an hour or so there we took the bus back to the train station. We considered taking the regular train back to Osaka, but we decided to go for the bullet train since we enjoyed it so much the first time. We loved Kyoto despite the rain and would relish the opportunity to spend more time there.

We left Osaka that evening bound for Tokyo.




Tokyo
Surprisingly Tokyo is fairly non-descript from the harbor area. We arrived in early afternoon. We didn’t have much time before boarding buses to a special dinner provided by the ship at a beautiful garden called Happo-en. It is one of the most prominent Japanese gardens in Tokyo, with the Kochuan restaurant in a traditional tea ceremony house that was formerly the residence of a business tycoon Kuhara Fusanosuke. They had stations set up all over a large room with all different kinds of food from sushi to pot stickers, and of course plenty of wine or soda. While we ate we were entertained by traditional Japanese drumming and dancing. It was quite a show. We also took a tour of the garden, amazed by some bonsai trees as old as 500 years, the garden lanterns, the impeccably manicured arbors and shrines.

When we returned I decided to take the ship’s shuttle downtown to see Tokyo at night. I saw Katie (the tutor) on the bus so we walked around a bit and were impressed with the bright neon lights and the number of people out late. Not much was open except restaurants and we saw a number of business men and women out for a late night dinner.

The next morning we left fairly early with Judy and Erica to meet two ladies one of whom was a good friend of a former student of Judy’s. They gave us a grand tour of a number of high points in the city. We started at the fish market (lots of fish and men in these little gas powered dollies), then went to another large Hama-Rikyu Sunken Garden where we participated in a traditional Japanese tea house ceremony. Of course you take your shoes off to start, and then there is a certain way that you sit, bow your head, drink you tea and eat your little cookie (which is quite good). Ronnie is not much of tea drinker, and this was thick green tea, but I thought it was pretty good. You don’t go for the taste of the tea anyway. The little cookie is coated and made out of some kind of bean. It actually was quite tasty.

After the tea ceremony (which our hosts insisted on paying for) we walked around the garden more and made our way to the boat taxi stop. A short wait rewarded us with a comfortable boat taxi taking us around the port a bit and then up the river to the Asakusa Temple area. The actual name of the temple is Sensoji Temple, and you walk to it by going under a huge gate called Thunder Gate and down Nakamise-dori, which is lined with stalls selling mostly souvenirs and local crafts. Again the prices were so high we didn’t purchase anything much. After visiting the temple, where the main building was unfortunately covered with scaffolding, our hosts took us to a cute small restaurant around a corner and down another pedestrian street. Our meal of soup and rice and either veggies or meat was quite good. Our hosts then took us back by subway to the central business district where we were in time to take the shuttle back to the ship. They were sweet ladies and we did have a few jewelry gifts to give them as we said good-bye.

We only scratched the surface of Tokyo and could spent days exploring this vast city. Mostly we were touched by the gentle politeness of the Japanese people, who went out of their way to help us whenever we needed it. I will never forget Ronnie bowing to one of the beautiful traditionally dressed geisha girls at the Happo-en garden. Ronnie bowed to her, so she bowed, so Ronnie bowed, so she bowed, and this went on for some time. Finally Ronnie asked what the appropriate number of bowings really was and young lady replied that it was one each. However, out of politeness she had kept bowing as long as Ronnie did.

From Tokyo we sailed to two smaller towns in Northern Japan, Sendi and Hakodate. We only had a couple of hours in Sendi, so we just walked around the downtown area where there were several huge covered pedestrian malls and happened on a large dance troupe festival going on. Travelling through one of these large pedestrian streets one troupe at a time (each with a different color), they drummed and danced their way down the street. Many on the ship missed it, but we just stumbled onto to it, and it was the definite highlight of our time there. Sendi was also the only Japanese city where we purchased much of anything, at store on one of the covered pedestrian streets to which we were guided to by some of the locals. We found just a few traditional dolls and other handicrafts that were not too expensive by Japanese standards.

Hakodate was another story. It is on the northern coast of Japan and we could tell the temperatures were clearly cooler. Ronnie went off with Judy and Erica while I escorted another tour, this one to the local castle and, curiously enough, a Roman Catholic Convent. As in most of our stay in Japan, it was raining again. The stop at the castle turned out to be a visit to a tower next to the castle grounds. There really was nothing left of the castle, but the grounds were impressive from the tower, which had a panoramic view of the city. The castle was shaped like a star when seen from above, and was beautifully manicured. The part of the tower that received the most attention was a transparent section of the floor, which made you feel as if you were standing on air.

Next we went to the Convent, and again the rain put a damper on the visit, but the grounds were well kept in traditional Japanese garden fashion. Because it was a cloistered convent, we could not go inside, except for a cute visitor’s chapel and the ever present gift shop. Ronnie had gone to the market area by the bay on the ship’s shuttle, but said it was a bit of disappointment.

Olylmpisized Beijing

After a day cruising the Yellow Sea, we docked at Tianjin, the closest port to Beijing. Four of us (Judy, Erica and us) had booked our own hotel in Beijing since the price for two of us to go on the two day trip with the ship was almost $900. We were able to get a ride on the ship’s buses, however, and truly enjoyed the Great Wall. Photos do not do it justice as it is so vast and beautiful. We walked up and down a large steep section with several hundred other people (actually it was not as crowded as we had feared since we caught it between rain storms – thanks be to God). Ronnie did not go all the way, but my hiking companion Erica, famous for our Marble Mountain climb, went up to the top of the section.

In Beijing, where the air cleaned up for the Olympics has remained relatively clear, our hotel was only a few blocks from Tiananmen Square. After a quick trip to the Silk Market (where we could have spent hours: Ronnie got her knock-off pocket book for a better price than in Shanghai), we had a sampler dinner in the hotel and walked to Tiananmen Square. Because it was the May Day holiday, the whole area was lit up like a Christmas tree (the trees literally did have Christmas lights in them. Another overwhelming experience, to see this historic square with chairman Mao’s huge picture lit up and the Forbidden City on one side and the Communist Party government buildings on the other. We were surrounded by people and vendors selling masks that lit up and yes, rickshaws, only motorized this time. Yes, we walked.

The next day we went early to the Forbidden City, and I don’t think I have ever seen so many people in one place as the square in front of the gates. I don’t know how our guide got us tickets, but we estimated that the line just to get tickets was several hours long. Yes, the city is quite something, but the experience was mitigated by the incredible crowds (again exaggerated because of the Labor Day holiday). At one part I went up to get a look into one of the buildings and I thought I was back on the Hong Kong subway. I did not enjoy being literally carried and pushed up to the doorway and then back out again. Ronnie bought a Chinese crown for a couple of dollars which she wore the rest of that day and on the next ship’s formal night.

One of our group, a lovely tutor named Katie, was tall and blond, and you would have thought she was a movie star. People constantly stopped her to have their photos taken with her. Ronnie also got some attention with her crown, but tall and blond is the thing to be. Our next stop was a day time visit to Tiananmen Square, but even though we could walk around more, it could not compare to our night time experience. Ronnie did have her photo taken with a number of beautiful Chinese children. On the way out we drove by the Bird’s Nest, the Olympic stadium which has become quite a tourist attraction. The night before there had been a concert there featuring Jackie Chan. Yeah, I didn’t know he could sing either, but I guess a lot of people paid dearly to hear him try (we heard later that a few of our group were able to get in to this sold out concert). We saw so little of Beijing, but what we saw only tantalized us to want to see more. Anyone going? We’re in!

Shanghaied?

In Shanghai we docked in a primarily residential area and I was picked to escort a tour that included the Meglev high speed train. Ronnie booked an excursion to what is often called the Venice of China with many waterways. Ronnie came back with glowing reports of her trip a few photos. On my tour, we basically had two 8 minutes rides on the Meglev, to the airport and back. The train actually floats on a magnetic field one centimeter above the track. As you travel a sign above the coach gives you the current speed in kilometers per hour. You don’t really feel the speed that much because the train is so smooth, but you gradually increase until it reaches 431 k per hour or a little over 269 miles per hour. It is an exhilarating experience. We then went to an observation platform on the 88th floor of the JinMao tower, the second highest building in Shanghai. It is only a few feet lower than the tallest building which is a block away, but those few feet saved us a two hour wait and the view was spectacular with a relatively clear day for Shanghai.

When I returned Ronnie was just leaving, so I took the ship’s shuttle into town for the afternoon. Unfortunately the shuttle dropped us at an out-of-the-way silk shop, so it was quite a walk to Yuyuan (or just Yu for short) Gardens where I spent most of the afternoon. I went into a small temple on the way and took photos of the local populous, most of who were dressed in modern western attire. Only a few older people wear the “Chairman Mao” drab blue/gray outfits that characterized the Cultural Revolution. Our guide in the Meglev tour was a young Chinese man who told us that the Cultural Revolution was Mao’s big mistake. They still revere him but modern China looks a lot more like a modern capitalist state than a Communist one, at least on the surface. As I was looking at a map to find my way to Yu Gardens, a young couple asked if they could help me. The young lady actually spoke the best English, and she said they would take me to Gardens. I don’t know if it was out of the way for them, but they did take me right to it.

After spending an hour or so at the Yu Gardens market (it’s actually a huge series of indoor and outdoor markets with an overwhelming variety of merchandise), I decided to find my way back to the shuttle. However the market is so large that I couldn’t find my way back to the way I came, so I headed in the direction I thought I should go. I kept looking at my map and then at the street signs but could not seem to make them match. I ran into a young British lady who also was a bit lost. Together we compared maps and found our way to the Bund historic area and the main shopping street (Nanjing). I took the metro one stop while she continued on. Actually if I had just walked back to the ship from the Bund, I would have been fine, but I thought I could get close to the shuttle by way of the metro.

Did I mention the pushers? Yes, by this time it was rush hour, and to get on the subway you stand in front of the platform and are literally pushed and squeezed into the already full train car. Forget personal space. “Don’t you wish you used Dial?” the old ads for Dial deodorant soap used to say. I truly wished everyone around me had. Getting out of the subway was the next challenge as I had to push aside about a dozen people to get to the door, and then there were about 5 different possible exits. I don’t think I chose wisely, as I still could not match up my map with the streets around me. I walked and walked looking for the street of the out of the way shuttle stop, asking shop keepers and bystanders, none of whom understood a word I was saying and they could not seem to make heads or tails out of my map even though it had the Chinese characters on it. As much as I pride myself on being able to find my way, I gave up knowing Ronnie would be back from her tour and probably worried about me (that is an understatement).

I got in a taxi that looked more like a truck. The ship people had warned us to get a price before we went anywhere in a cab. I showed him the ship’s address printed in Chinese characters and in English and after a few minutes of negotiating I thought we agreed on a price of 15 Juan (the exchange was about 7 or 8 to the dollar, and most people had been paying around 20 Juan for a taxi into town so I though this was a good deal). The driver seemed quite friendly and kept laughing as he was saying over and over again the only English words he knew, “Welcome to Shanghai.” Actually there was one other word he seemed to know: “Obama.” Yes, almost everywhere we went people mentioned our new president, most quite excitedly. After a bit of a trip, my driver stopped at a place that looked like it was at least close to the ship. I handed him the 15 plus a tip. He became very agitated and kept repeating “15, 15,” or so I thought. Finally I realized he was saying “50” not fifteen (no wonder he was laughing before!). Not another international incident?! Or was I going to be Shanghaied? I ended up giving him 30, and although he was not entirely happy and I was not entirely happy I walked away and he drove away.

It turned out I was still quite a ways from the ship and walked the last few blocks along the mostly deserted harbor street. By the time I arrived at the ship it was after 6:30 and indeed Ronnie was not a happy camper. I understood her frustration, because we had wanted to go back into town in the evening. After a quick room service we got back on the shuttle into the city to see the lights. Shanghai presents a spectacular face at night. Lots of lights and activity. We enjoyed the ride but did not have time to do much at the shuttle stop except walk up and down the street before taking the ride back to the ship.

The next day we left the ship fairly early and just walked to the main shopping area, the pedestrian mall called Nanjing where I had been the evening before. On the way we stumbled onto a little tourist tram (the “Bund Sightseeing Tunnel”) that went under the river to Podong and the Oriental Pearl Tower (like a space needle except with a round ball at the top) on the other side of the Huangpu river. It looked like they had tried to make the tram into an amusement park type ride as it went by many bright flashing lights and displays. The young lady attendant who let us on the tram wanted us to kiss and called Ronnie a “sexy lady.” We thought the whole thing was bizarre to say the least. We walked around the tower area and found a nice garden along a waterfront area. We took the tram back, this time with another family in the car and proceeded to Nanjing Street. We did see some good values at some of the stores, but I settled only on a long sleeve shirt since I knew we were coming to cooler climates. We walked again to the Lu Gardens area and did some shopping some of the many jewelry and knock-off stores.

Yes, we did follow a hawker and a group of several tourists into a back alley where the “real” knockoffs were. Ronnie saw a new pattern Gucci pocketbook she liked and was negotiating while I watched one of the locals do her own bargaining. I was fascinated as the volume and gesturing increased to a significant level. I thought they were going to come to blows before they finally agreed on a price. However, Ronnie was not happy with her price. As we walked out of the store one of the sales people followed us down the street. The bottom line is that they never met her price so they did not make the sale and we moved on.

A quick (and cheap – 22 Juan) taxi back to the ship and we had room service to get ready to take the bus to the Chinese acrobatic show. It was spectacular to say the least, and although I had seen some of the acts before never to this extreme. Standing out in my mind is the man who juggles huge ornate China pots and balances them on the rim on his head, as well as the motorcycles in the large enclosed wire ball. One or two I had seen before, but 10!?! going round and round in this ball they could barely fit into was amazing. However, leaving the show Ronnie and an Englishman named Michael with whom she was talking got separated from our bus group. They were the only ones not on the bus and the Englishman’s wife and I were getting more worried by the minute (I was approaching panic). I asked (really told) Christine, the Director of all the ships excursions, who happened to be on our bus, not to leave as I went back to the theater to find Ronnie. I scoured the place but there were only cleaning people left. When I finally got back to the bus Christine told me they had called the other bus (I had forgotten there were two ship’s busses going to the show) and somehow Ronnie and Michael had found there way to that bus. At least they were safe, but I hope never again to be so worried.

The next morning the ship was leaving around noon, so Ronnie and I walked around the residential area near the harbor and really got a better taste of the lives of Shanghai residents. Sewing machines on the streets, food vendors with boiling pots of oil on every corner, and small shops and street vendors selling basic daily products from produce to pots and pans. We bought one of these huge reinforced plastic bags (the size of a large suitcase) for one dollar. We saw them all over Asia as a means of packing and transporting goods. It came in handy when we left the ship with our loot. It was a pretty sail out of Shanghai, and I was again amazed by the number of Hi-rise apartments and condos packed into a small area. Shanghai represents the future of China with 17 million residents, and they are totally rebuilding the city to get ready for the worlds fair Expo next year. I have no question they will get it done.