2007 Year in Review

 2007 Year in Review

Highlights: 

• May 14-25 travelled to Beijing with Bill Margenhoff to conduct training in a Basic and an Advanced Voucher Examiner courses.  Training was requested by FMO Mazar Hassan and included a dependent spouse Dave Hamel in the class who ended up becoming a FMO and who I coincidentally inspected in 2012 while with the OIG he was assigned to Nassau.  Dave is now working with CGFS in Washington D.C.

• Took an R&R and travelled through Paris June 7-11, then on to Washington D.C. to attend the Retirement Seminar and then annual leave and travel to to visit family in Portland, Maine, Boston and then Washington D.C. 

• From June 29 to July 14 I was back in Charleston on consultations.  Also, for an appointment for an Ultra Sound for my Urologist Dr. Fogle.

• I received my Class 2 medical clearance to return to Bangkok on October 11.  

• Ambassador Boyce departed Thailand November 29, 2007 and was replaced in the interim by Charge' Jim Entwistle who became Ambassador to Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.   Jim Millett visited the last week as well and did farewell to Ambassador Boyce.  

• Attended the ICASS Conference in Singapore December 4-6 and gave a CGFS presentation in the place of Jim Millette who could not attend.   

• Visit to Ankor Wat in Cambodia January 13-15.

Fred, Bill and Amika, Doris, Kuhn Jeed and
other Embassy folks

Temple Stairs

    

Also see: Doris and Bill Travel Adventures Blog Angkor Wat, Cambodia

• January 20-21 fun Tennis Tournament in Pataya against the local Thai Police

 

Hard Courts in Pataya

Respective Captains of Teams

   

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• Wine and Steak night at the Marine House. The Detachment Commander lived in our apartment house and we would get together on occasion to socialize.

• Weekend of March 17-18 with brother Chris visited Kanchanaburi site of the infamous "Death Railway" and Bridge on the River Kwai, Japanese prison camp and WWII cemetery.

Chris at the WWII Cemetary

 

• Played softball with the embassy team on the weekends in March and April.

• April 6-8 visited Hanoi with son David on a CLO trip including Halong Bay.

Kuhn Jeed with Marilyn, Steve and Fran, Bill and Amika and David

For more photos see Doris and Bill (dorisandbilltraveladventures.blogspot.com)

• April 28 friends from Charleston Bob and Glo Novello visited us overnight from their Crystal cruise ship while docked at the Port of Laem Chabang.

• April 29 had lunch at the Intercontinental with old Peace Corps friend Jim Robertson and his wife Claire. They remained good friends and have visited us and see them when we go to Washington. Jim recently retired for good after working with F (Foreign Assistance) bureau post retirement.

• During our trip to Beijing in May we took advantage of visiting the wall at and Doris did a lot of shopping at various stores including the "dirt" market. In fact, we picked up a few rugs for our new house, yet to be built.

See Doris and Bill (dorisandbilltraveladventures.blogspot.com)

• June 8 - 11 we visited Paris in June on R&R in route back to the States. We stayed in the 6th Arrondissement (St. Germain) in a nice boutique hotel. Remember the first day we arrived we slept until 9:00 p.m. just in time for dinner at a local bistro and caught some live jazz after. Got caught in a victory celebration of the Stade Francais Rugby Team on the Champs Elysees.

Champs-Elysees

Football Celebration

Rue de Buci 6th Arrondisement

      

• From June12-15 I attended the Retirement Seminar in the Department.While in the States on R&R we visited Dick and Raine in York, Maine and took a trip up to Boothbay and visited the White Mountains. While in Boothbay there was a fleet of tall ships as well as a replica of the Bounty pirate ship that was used in the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean". Doris also visited with her friends from school in Manchester, NH.

• The end of June we also visited Doris' cousin Janet and Frank in Boston and had lunch in the North End.

L'Osteria Restaurant with Janet and Frank

Booth Bay

Tall Ship

With Dick and Raine in the White Mountains

Doris with Sue, Joanne, Raine and Arlene

         

• On July 16 Patrick's son, my grandson, was born.

Jayden Bradley Booth

Grand Dad and Doris

 

• Doris had the opportunity to work at the Mai La refugee camp on the Thai border with Burma in Mae Sot during November-December. She worked with a small group of mostly American relief workers screening potential refugees for potential resettlement to the U.S.. The camp was sponsored by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). I had the occasion to visit Doris over the weekend of November 9-11.

Doris with her team 

  

Karen Interpreters

 

• For more photos see Mae Sot | Doris and Bill