Hong Kong Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday (too many candles to count) and for the first time in my life it was actually warm! I came close once in San Diego but caught a cold being too optimistic. Yesterday was not hot, but comfortable with just a sweater.


As a little girl I always wanted a garden party, but snow and freezing temperatures always seemed to get in the way. There was still no garden party, but an open air lunch at Cochrane's with Rommel and Anna fit the bill very nicely. 

After lunch I spent a few hours trying out my birthday present from Ken.

It is a Canon EOS 600D with an 18-135 mm lens!!!!! I have been craving this camera for several years. Now I have one! The learning curve on it will take some time, but I decided to check out the auto shooting to start. So after lunch I headed down to the ferry docks to try out my new toy.

One of the things I love about wandering with no set agenda is the opportunity to simply observe the little things that make wherever we are so different and yet so much the same. Ice cream trucks and families posing by the water are universal.

Ferry boats with Asia's World City in the background are a bit more unique.

There were still some lanterns on display from the Spring Lantern Festival that marked the end of the Lunar New Year celebration.

And then I met Naomi and her mom. I was drawn to Naomi because her high ponytails reminded me of Kyle at that age. She was sweet and charming and, like Kyle, she was quite the talker. She even agreed to pose for me.

Chinese Valentine's Day was also yesterday. They actually celebrate both here with the western one being more promoted.

I headed back to the ferry terminal to make my way back home. The sights on the harbor never fail to intrigue me.

Back on Hong Kong Island I just snapped away taking photos of the things I see every day. We so often forget to take a moment to enjoy the familiar parts of our everyday landscapes.

After a brief rest, it was off to dinner. Our friend Rommel hosted a group at the Park Lane Hotel's evening buffet. There were nine of us and the food and conversation were both exceptional. The group was quite diverse because along with Hong Kong both Singapore and the US were represented thanks to some business meetings schedule for the week. 

I think I ate my weight in seafood!

It was a fun evening and combined with all of the well wishes from all of my friends back home, it made for a pretty amazing birthday - for an old lady.