A view of the bay from the park:
That evening, in a salute to Aussies worldwide, Gordon let his hair down.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Darwin...Last Stop in Australia
While it's not a terribly photogenic place, Darwin is named for THE Darwin and it's still a little outback community of less than 100,000. Apparently it's about to become a boom town because they're building a refinery (what a concept!) and Japan has said they'll buy all the gas that can be produced. Nice little town, but very tropical...apparently it rains every day, usually in the morning, and you wanna talk about hot and humid? Unbelieveable. This is very close to Kakadu National Park, the supposed site for Crocodile Dundee's base of operations. Truly "outback", the town sports many many Aboriginal people, who for the most part, blend into the town as working individuals, but there were many who seemed to still have the Outback lifestyle...barefoot and speaking one of the native tongues to one another. We had a tour of a wildlife park scheduled, but cancelled and just walked around town for a while. Lots of military history in Darwin. it was bombed by the Japanese during WWII and many ships in the port, including a couple of American ones, were sunk. Several still lie at the bottom of the bay.
A view of the bay from the park:
That evening, in a salute to Aussies worldwide, Gordon let his hair down.
A view of the bay from the park:
That evening, in a salute to Aussies worldwide, Gordon let his hair down.
Townsville, Cairns, and (Almost) Cooktown
In Townsville, we visited the Queensland Tropical Museum and then the ReefHQ aquarium. The aquarium has the largest reef exhibit in the world. They also have a turtle hospital where they nurse injured sea turtles back to health...when they're healthy enough to return to the sea, they spend some time in the HUGE reef exhibit at the aquarium before being released.
Here's a look at the reef exhibit. Loved the seahorses!
We took a drive past Reid Park, home of the Townsville race track, where they host V8 supercars. Saw the pit lane and part of the track, and wished it was a V8 weekend.
Next, we visited Cairns. Sweet little town. Oddly, it was the first time we saw many blacks, and most of them did not appear to be Aborigine. Pleasant place, good shopping, lots of restaurants, and several high-rise condo buildings and holiday apartments and hotels. We had no shore tour booked, so we planned to walk around town. It rained off and on all day but we braved it, looking for V8 Supercar t-shirts. Never found any.
We did enjoy the stroll along the promenade that was close to the ship. If you look hard, you can see the ship peeking out from behind the palm trees. Proving that we did indeed have enough sense to come in out of the rain, we got back in time to catch the afternoon movie: Rush. We noted later that this is the first time in our 20-year relationship that we had gone to the movies together.
The following day we were supposed to visit Cooktown, but the fog prevented us from operating the tenders. We had no tour scheduled, but we had wanted to go to the city's botanic garden and walk around. Once the decision was made to skip Cooktown, the ship left, PDQ. Maybe this keeps people from second-guessing Cap'n Dan's decisions. Rather than make a beeline to the next port, we meandered along closer to shore and the scenery was very nice.
Here's a look at the reef exhibit. Loved the seahorses!
We took a drive past Reid Park, home of the Townsville race track, where they host V8 supercars. Saw the pit lane and part of the track, and wished it was a V8 weekend.
Next, we visited Cairns. Sweet little town. Oddly, it was the first time we saw many blacks, and most of them did not appear to be Aborigine. Pleasant place, good shopping, lots of restaurants, and several high-rise condo buildings and holiday apartments and hotels. We had no shore tour booked, so we planned to walk around town. It rained off and on all day but we braved it, looking for V8 Supercar t-shirts. Never found any.
We did enjoy the stroll along the promenade that was close to the ship. If you look hard, you can see the ship peeking out from behind the palm trees. Proving that we did indeed have enough sense to come in out of the rain, we got back in time to catch the afternoon movie: Rush. We noted later that this is the first time in our 20-year relationship that we had gone to the movies together.
The following day we were supposed to visit Cooktown, but the fog prevented us from operating the tenders. We had no tour scheduled, but we had wanted to go to the city's botanic garden and walk around. Once the decision was made to skip Cooktown, the ship left, PDQ. Maybe this keeps people from second-guessing Cap'n Dan's decisions. Rather than make a beeline to the next port, we meandered along closer to shore and the scenery was very nice.
Aboard Voyager, Off To See Oz
Aboard ship now and off to see other Aussie sights. First, the ship called at Brisbane (pronounced "brizben"). Here, we visited the Lone Pine Sanctuary. Not a zoo, but an animal preserve where most of the critters are running free. First we were treated to a sheep dog show, where Sophie the Border Collie showed us all how it was done. It was a warm day, so Sophie was a dog in a log until dude came along and let her go play with the sheep.
She rounded them all up and posed for pictures standing on the sheep's backs. The sheep, apparently, are quite accustomed to this and were happy to cooperate.
One of the participants, however, got selected to participate in the next part of the show:
This guy sheared the sheep in just a few minutes time and he wasn't hurrying. The wool is then sorted and packaged in huge bundles for shipment to market. Again, the sheep seemed to care less.
Also at the sanctuary were kangaroos, tasmanian devils, wombats, dingoes, fox bats (huge!), kukkaburra birds (noisy!), platapus, emus, and lots of koalas. The kangaroos and emus are really tame and can be approached very closely, but the koalas are kept in enclosures. No problem, you can't wake them up anyway.
The next day, the ship visited theWhitsunday Islands. Not much to see onshore, so we spent the day aboard enjoying the view and doing laundry.
She rounded them all up and posed for pictures standing on the sheep's backs. The sheep, apparently, are quite accustomed to this and were happy to cooperate.
One of the participants, however, got selected to participate in the next part of the show:
This guy sheared the sheep in just a few minutes time and he wasn't hurrying. The wool is then sorted and packaged in huge bundles for shipment to market. Again, the sheep seemed to care less.
Also at the sanctuary were kangaroos, tasmanian devils, wombats, dingoes, fox bats (huge!), kukkaburra birds (noisy!), platapus, emus, and lots of koalas. The kangaroos and emus are really tame and can be approached very closely, but the koalas are kept in enclosures. No problem, you can't wake them up anyway.
The next day, the ship visited theWhitsunday Islands. Not much to see onshore, so we spent the day aboard enjoying the view and doing laundry.
Asia 2014: Sydney and Around
This look familiar? Yes, the iconic Sydney Opera House. We arrived in Sydney the day before Australia Day, which is the Aussie 4th of July. A walk around town was planned, but setting off for our first destination, we ran smack into a car show. How is it that we can always find a car show? Anyway, most of the day was spent looking at the cars, and what an interesting collection. Many cars and trucks that we don't see in the US like Holdens, Anglias, left-hand drive Buicks, and Toyotas that have never been imported into the States. Some were more recognizable though:
The next day showed us more about the city. Our Meriton Serviced Apartment was in the center of the business district and very close to Chinatown. If you opened the window in the apartment, the smell of Chinese Bar-B-Que started your mouth watering. Except for one night that we HAD to have pies (from a shop called "Pie Face"), we ate Chinese or Japanese take-out every night. The Dim Sum place just down the street was just fabulous. Another great find was a Asian bakery called "BreadTop". This is probably the best bakery ever, and that's saying something when we've been in so many in France! Chinatown was decked out for the upcoming Lunar New Year, year of the horse.
We visited Circular Quay, Darling Harbor, the Rocks, and the Royal Botanic Gardens:
and checked out Mrs. MacQuarie's chair:
The Governor's wife liked to sit here and watch the boats in the bay, so finally a bench was carved out of the stone especially for her. Now, it's a popular place to sit and watch the boats in the bay. The view back toward the Opera House and the bridge from the gardens is beautiful:
Next, we took the Ferry across the bay to Manly. The surf's up in Manly, and the town and beach are keyed to the surf crowd.
We walked the scenic Manly path through Shelly Beach and on up into the National Park. On our way, we met up with one of the local Sea Dragons (and yes, he's as big as he looks...about two feet long):
On top of the point, there's an old artillery training school with a beautiful loop walk that offers a fine look back at the city:
Warning signs on the way down:
Didn't see any. They're nocturnal, apparently. Finally, the famous view, this time from the ferry, and a street scene from the Rocks area:
Next, we head for the boat!
Monday, December 30, 2013
Oh, Snap! I Almost Forgot!
Wiener Dog Count: It's a tie. One each. Not too many wiener dogs in Barcelona.
Barcelona And A New Cruise Line
At the end of November, the view outside was beautiful:
But we knew that wouldn't last long. As we write today, it's white out there. And cold.
This year, Regent Seven Seas was taking the same crossing as last year...ending up in Rio. We weren't so thrilled about seeing Rio again. Florida sounded better. So we booked this year's crossing on Crystal Cruises instead, leaving Barcelona for Miami via Tenerife and St. Maarten.
We've been to Barcelona so many times, so we only stayed a couple of days in town, but finally we climbed the hill to Montjuic (we've been talking about doing this for years). Montjuic was the site of the 1992 Olympics and is now a beautiful park with views over the city. On the way up, we encountered a member of the Barcelona Rodent Detection and Control Committee:
If you think he's sitting on a wall, think again. He's in the top of a tree. And he's a big dude.
We did enjoy the view of the Sagrada Familia and the city.
And then it was time for the ship! We boarded the Crystal Serenity for a 12-day cruise. This was our first experience with Crystal so we studied the suite sizes and layouts before booking. We opted for a slightly larger suite...did we get a surprise! When we arrived at the ship just after noon, we were advised that our suite was ready. For those of you who have not cruised before...this is extremely rare. Suites usually aren't ready until mid-afternoon. OK, so we went up to the suite and found (gasp!) that our luggage was already there. For those of you who have not cruised before...this is unheard of. Gordon settled in with a glass of champagne:
The next surprise showed up at the door at about 4:00 p.m. The butler. No kidding...tux with tails. And cocktails. And snacks. Every day. We did not realize that we had booked a Butler Suite! We tried to take it in stride and struggle through. Oh, the suffering. Needless to say, Crystal is OK with us.
Crossing the Mediterranean, we awoke to this sunrise.
Later, while Pati was wandering around the ship, she encountered Professor Dumbledore and signed up for Hogwarts.
The ship pulled out all the stops when it came to Christmas decorating. There wasn't a surface left un-Christmassed. Gordon found an old friend of his:
And helped the Three Wise Bears on their Christmas journey:
Arriving St. Maarten was quite a sight. We got up early and went to the lounge to see. There were eight cruise ships converging on the island at once and it looked like the place was under attack from a cruise ship armada. Here's two of the fleet:
Four of the eight ships were the HUGE ones, and the Serenity wound up at anchor. We took one look at all the ships, estimated the people ashore, and stayed onboard. A nice, quiet day and as a bonus, clean laundry.
As always, sunset ceremonies were held in the bar nightly, and the sunset gods did not let us down:
We stayed in Florida for a couple of days, visiting with friends. Home again, we start preparing for the next cruise...we'll be off to Australia to begin a 35-day cruise to Hong Kong via Indonesia, Cambodia, and Viet Nam.
But we knew that wouldn't last long. As we write today, it's white out there. And cold.
This year, Regent Seven Seas was taking the same crossing as last year...ending up in Rio. We weren't so thrilled about seeing Rio again. Florida sounded better. So we booked this year's crossing on Crystal Cruises instead, leaving Barcelona for Miami via Tenerife and St. Maarten.
We've been to Barcelona so many times, so we only stayed a couple of days in town, but finally we climbed the hill to Montjuic (we've been talking about doing this for years). Montjuic was the site of the 1992 Olympics and is now a beautiful park with views over the city. On the way up, we encountered a member of the Barcelona Rodent Detection and Control Committee:
If you think he's sitting on a wall, think again. He's in the top of a tree. And he's a big dude.
We did enjoy the view of the Sagrada Familia and the city.
And then it was time for the ship! We boarded the Crystal Serenity for a 12-day cruise. This was our first experience with Crystal so we studied the suite sizes and layouts before booking. We opted for a slightly larger suite...did we get a surprise! When we arrived at the ship just after noon, we were advised that our suite was ready. For those of you who have not cruised before...this is extremely rare. Suites usually aren't ready until mid-afternoon. OK, so we went up to the suite and found (gasp!) that our luggage was already there. For those of you who have not cruised before...this is unheard of. Gordon settled in with a glass of champagne:
The next surprise showed up at the door at about 4:00 p.m. The butler. No kidding...tux with tails. And cocktails. And snacks. Every day. We did not realize that we had booked a Butler Suite! We tried to take it in stride and struggle through. Oh, the suffering. Needless to say, Crystal is OK with us.
Crossing the Mediterranean, we awoke to this sunrise.
Later, while Pati was wandering around the ship, she encountered Professor Dumbledore and signed up for Hogwarts.
The ship pulled out all the stops when it came to Christmas decorating. There wasn't a surface left un-Christmassed. Gordon found an old friend of his:
And helped the Three Wise Bears on their Christmas journey:
Arriving St. Maarten was quite a sight. We got up early and went to the lounge to see. There were eight cruise ships converging on the island at once and it looked like the place was under attack from a cruise ship armada. Here's two of the fleet:
Four of the eight ships were the HUGE ones, and the Serenity wound up at anchor. We took one look at all the ships, estimated the people ashore, and stayed onboard. A nice, quiet day and as a bonus, clean laundry.
As always, sunset ceremonies were held in the bar nightly, and the sunset gods did not let us down:
We stayed in Florida for a couple of days, visiting with friends. Home again, we start preparing for the next cruise...we'll be off to Australia to begin a 35-day cruise to Hong Kong via Indonesia, Cambodia, and Viet Nam.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
We Have A New Pet
The week before Labor Day, we spotted an ad from Texas for what seemed to be the perfect pet. Provisioned for a road trip (wine, wine glasses, and a map of Bob Evans and Cracker Barrels along the route) we set off at 3:30 a.m. We arrived in Texas that night and went over the next morning to view the beast.
The beast was good-looking, but the paperwork didn't match the purported pedigree. We considered, but decided that this was not the right pet for us. Disappointed, we began the drive home. Thankfully, we still had some wine, and this time we were taking the drive home in two days.
While staying overnight near the Cracker Barrel in Oklahoma City, we decided to stop in St. Louis on the way home to check out another potential pet. Good thing we stopped. There he sat happily, penned in between a '56 Chevy and '36 Cadillac. The perfect pet!
He's a 1957 Austin Healey BN4 100/6. With a good pedigree and a minimum amount of leakage (less house training). Just yesterday, the new pet was delivered and we hit the road for a short drive. A few pix from the first adventure to the park:
Pretty good shape (the car, not Gordon), for 56 years old. Talk about a geezer driving a geezer! At the end of the day, our pets got acquainted. Sniffing, it just figures.
Now that we're members of every Austin Healey club known to mankind, and the owners of every repair and maintenance manual ever printed and reprinted, the fun begins!
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