We have returned from our 11th annual Legacy Genealogy Cruise and had the time of our lives. Besides the genealogy classes, alone-time with my wife, and the yummy food, the highlight of our trip was learning about and participating in the cultures of Japan, Taiwan, and China. While we enjoyed the trip, it's also great to be home. I sure missed my four "descendants." I've also returned with:

• 6 additional pounds
• many new genealogy friends, and one new cousin
• hundreds of fun digital photos (633 of them)
• a severe case of desynchronosis (jet lag)
• even greater enthusiasm for what we are doing here at Legacy Family Tree

So before I officially get back to work, I'll write a little more about our adventures below.

My first experience with Japan came in the hotel's bathroom. Never before had I seen so many controls on a toilet. Thanks to your encouragement on my personal Facebook page, I gave the bidet a try. All I'll say is that now I can say I gave it a try....

In Tokyo we visited Tokyo Station City and explored the city's underground malls. It was here that I had my first-ever Japanese food. While I loved every bite, the restaurant staff had a chuckle at my use of their chopsticks. They must have felt really sorry for me, and brough me a fork. I was determined, however, and finished the meal without the fork.

We visited waterfalls:

...and temples:

...ate even more food:

...visited WW2 memorials:

...saw cemeteries:

...and visited this cemetery which they called their "ancestors' homes":

...and at sea were taught by the best:

We ended the classes as we always do by drawing more names for door prizes. Dave (Legacy's President) announced that the winners would get a free annual webinar membership to www.familytreewebinars.com and a free upgrade to the next version of Legacy. Thanks again to Steve Salisbury, Dave Berdan, Ken McGinnis (and myself I suppose) for the great classes! Thanks to all of you who joined us! Thanks to the rest of our Legacy Family Tree staff who kept our Support, Customer Service, and Shipping departments open while we were away. And thanks to our cruise coodinator, Christy, for all she did for us too!

Next year's cruise to the Western Caribbean

It's not too early to begin thinking about next year's cruise (our 12th annual) to the Western Caribbean with Lisa Louise Cooke. Click here for the details of where we're going.

Back to work

Now that I've officially announced our return, it's back to work! And although by body still thinks it's 17 hours ahead of Idaho time, and it really wants to go back to sleep, I've got a lot of catching up to do. See you Friday for our next Virtual Legacy User's Group webinar!