Friday and Saturday 
in the "Garden of Eden" was more like “Family Weekend” than tourism.
I hooked up with Alan and Ronda and their two, adorable daughters. Louise is 8 going on 20 and MaryAnn is 3.
Louise is a hoot. This little blonde headed nut latched onto me in about 3 minutes and decided that I was her new best friend. She whipped all of us playing the card game “Uno.” She showed off her swimming skills, and her Taekwondo, her hoola-hoop skills – everything. She is a great kid.
Mary Ann is the little Chinese girl they adopted 2 years ago. Cute as a button! 
She warmed up to me pretty fast as well. She crawled up into my lap and gave me her Mickey Mouse doll and her Teddy Panda Bear “Ha Ha” to hold for awhile. So you know you rank when you get to hold the all important dolls and bears.
We hung out at the “country club” which is a nice place with tennis, pool, gyms, restaurants, etc. We also spent time at their apartment where the kids and Alan went swimming. We visited with some of their friends and in general got caught up on “old times.” 
Unbelievably, after traveling around the globe and arriving just about as far from the USA as you can get, we ran into a family of "Dawg Fans." At least they had a the Good Shirt to go with the Bad Shirt. Some of you have already commented "see which one she is wearing!" But you should also notice which one she is holding up IN FRONT!Dinner Saturday night was at a local Mediterranean style restaurant. It was great food and the evening was wonderful as we sat outside.
Unfortunately, I had to leave on Sunday. It was tough to leave this paradise, but I promise to return again!
I found it!
Scholars, Theologians, Historians, Writers have all spent centuries researching to determine the exact location of the Garden of Eden – and in only one short day, I figured out that the Garden is not situated along the Tigris and Euphrates River. It is located many thousands of miles southeast just above the equator at the southern tip of Malaysia.
It’s called Singapore!
To catch up those who weren’t aware, my Chinese visa is good for 60 days. I can enter as many times as I want in a year, but I can only stay for a maximum of 60 days per visit. This current trip will cause me to stay longer than 60 days, so in order to stay legal, I had to leave and then come back, so I am taking a weekend trip to Singapore (4 hour flight). 
This is a garden city paradise!
To begin, it’s a City-State like Troy or Athens, but without the wars. It has lush tropical gardens with a very modern city nested inside. They have 2% unemployment, an economy growing around 5% a year, inflation is a challenge, but generally stable and Singapore is a democracy with a free press. Jobs are growing at a surprisingly good pace. 
The city is not just free of trash and litter, but it’s clean; clean streets, clean buildings, and clean cars. Smoking is pretty much banned in all public areas except for a few permitted areas. The Singapore River has no trash and junk floating in it.
It’s always around 85 degrees Fahrenheit, gentle cool breezes, fluffy clouds, and blue skies. 
The primary language is English, but many languages are spoken. I found Singaporeans, Chinese, Indians, Australians, British, French, Americans, Vietnamese, Malaysians, people from Thailand, and many other ethnic groups (even a Georgia Bulldog) all peacefully co-existing together inside a very small land area. 
I saw Indians sitting in a park singing 
and playing music and only 200 yards away, a small group of Asians under a pavilion enjoying a Bible study class. There is a beautiful Church just down the street from a Mosque and (I think) a Hari Krishna temple. My hotel has both a Gideon’s Bible and the book of Buddha. Even the Taxi drivers were friendly, accommodating, helpful, and polite and if THAT’S not a good definition for the Garden of Eden – I don’t know what it could be.
If I have to pick the one thing that isn’t perfect, it’s the fact that they drive on the wrong side of the road; but I’m certain that’s just a personal problem since I was the one who kept looking the wrong way before I crossed a street – which was a bit dangerous on a few occasions!
I think I will join the Singapore Tourism Board and go on the speaking tour to tell the entire world, that they need to visit Singapore – The Garden of Eden! 
More from Singapore later, but here are some photos.
in the "Garden of Eden" was more like “Family Weekend” than tourism.
She warmed up to me pretty fast as well. She crawled up into my lap and gave me her Mickey Mouse doll and her Teddy Panda Bear “Ha Ha” to hold for awhile. So you know you rank when you get to hold the all important dolls and bears. 
Unbelievably, after traveling around the globe and arriving just about as far from the USA as you can get, we ran into a family of "Dawg Fans." At least they had a the Good Shirt to go with the Bad Shirt. Some of you have already commented "see which one she is wearing!" But you should also notice which one she is holding up IN FRONT!
