Lon And Al's Excellent Adventures

Elephant Ride

2010-08-16T20:15:00.005+10:00

You should have seen Dad and Alan on the Elephants. They laughed and laughed. Vic and I were on one too and it was very high. Thank God they didnt run amok. We went for a ride on them through the local countryside and then rode on a bullock cart to come back to the Elephant camp. We then unfortunately watched an Elephant show where they painted pictures and kicked footballs and played tambourines. That part was not nice and we all felt sorry that these magnificent creatures were trained to do these demeaning things. We were told that the Thai government has stopped logging and that the people and the elephants that previously did the logging work now run this tourist camp. The money goes to the whole village as the people are now employed at the Elephant Camp. Overall we had a great day out. Oh, the bullocks names were, Toyota and Mitsubishi.

Orchids and other Thai beauties

2010-08-16T20:02:00.004+10:00

I am obsessed with taking pictures of the beautiful flowers that I have seen here. They are beyond stunning. I want to select some of the pictures and frame them in a very arty farty way. Some of them are scented. I didnt know that orchids have sent and they are so lovely. I have been snapping flowers everywhere.

Chaing Mai Belly

2010-08-14T21:11:00.004+10:00

Well, we have all had it. It doesn't seem to matter what we eat or who is eating it because one or the other of us has ended up hugging the toilet bowl. Alan and I went to the local Chinese herbalist and he gave us some miracle pills for Dad and they cured him. The doctor - which is what I presume he was - saw us in the middle of the pharmacy at a big marble table. We told him the symptoms and he produced two very decorative bottles with little round black pills in them and told us Dad had to take 8 out of one bottle three times a day and a whole vial of the other stuff one hour before. Dad bravely obeyed and in a day he was up and at 'em again.

The pharmacy was a traditional one with a line of scales and the pharmacists measuring out all manner of interesting things and wrapping them into paper containers. It was fascinating even though I couldn't help but wonder which eye of newt was in it.

Gory Dental Pictures

2010-08-08T17:12:00.003+10:00

Alan decided to get dental implants Its been a gruelling process that you really must want to do. Check out the gory dental pics. Prior to this he had a bone graft, then the implants were put in and now the abutments and the bridge is being done. It was all done under a local anaesthetic in the dentist's rooms. We will soon find out if the results have been worth it all. The moral of the story is dont eat too many lollies and make sure you clean your teeth.

At the Dentist

2010-08-08T16:36:00.003+10:00

My darling has come back here because he is repairing the damage of a willful and unthinking past that left him with no top teeth. He is in the final stages of having dental implants in his upper jaw. It wont be long and for the first time in over 30 years he will not have to wear dentures. We plan to have a ceremonial biting of an apple when he finally has his teeth. I do hope he gets a better job than Chad Morgan (the Sheik of Scrubby Creek).

In Thailand with Father

2010-08-08T16:34:00.003+10:00

This trip is very important to me because I have the great pleasure of my 88year old father’s company. He has plunged headlong out of his comfort zone – he is a true creature of habit – and is “holidaying” in Thailand. He has so far cruised the canals in Bankok and tramped the very rough footpaths of Chang Mai which are far different to walk on than the flat and pot hole free paths between Dickson and Civic, a walk he takes 5 days a week. Here, its up and down stairs, in and out of Sontels and all in sticky monsoonal heat and rain. He has stood up to this admirably and without complaint. No doubt that will start soon – he has mentioned that he is “bloody sick of all this Thai food.”

In Thailand again

2010-08-08T16:25:00.003+10:00

Well, I finally have to admit that I am never going to get this blog of our world travels up to date. I have decided that if and when I am travelling or holidaying or anywhere else doing something else and I have access to do it, I will blog something. So saying, I am in Thailand, Chang Mai to be exact, with my lovely husband, my adored father and my wonderful friend. We are here to holiday, go to the dentist and visit with my other brother, David who lives here. We have been here since 1 August and will be off home by 19 August. Home just in time to vote. Thankfully we wont have to be bombarded by all the election hype. I had already decided how I would vote before the election was called - and it wont be for Wing Nuts.

River Kwai

2009-12-29T23:09:00.004+11:00

Heading home through Thailand

2009-12-29T22:59:00.002+11:00

The last leg home included a final fling in Thailand. We spent 30 days there visiting Bangkok and Chaing Mai, where we spent time with my beautiful brother David. We arrived at the airport in Bangkok and in looking for a taxi we managed to sign up for a trip to the River Kwai and a guided tour with a lady called Nancy around the city of Bangkok. It turned out to be worth every minute.

Kitchener's Island

2009-12-29T22:28:00.006+11:00

We had a lovely afternoon at Kitchener's Island. We shared a felucca (felucca's are sail boats that have been used on the Nile for centuries) with an English couple we met on the cruise.. Kitchener's Island was very pleasant and cool and a special treat for the locals. There were school children there and families enjoying the gardens. I had a brilliant idea that the Botanical Gardens in Sydney could link with these gardens, given that Australia and Egypt were both British colonies. The gardens looked a little worn out and could have done with some reviving.

The big highlight of the day was when Alan got to sail the felucca back to the boat. He was truely in his element. He was having such fun; so full of light and life; he was lovin' it.

Timeless

2009-12-29T22:15:00.003+11:00

One of the most beautiful memories of Egypt was relaxing on the deck of the boat in the late afternoon, watching the banks drift past. It had such a timeless feel; the people dressed in robes; camels and donkeys drinking at the water's edge; men washing their horses in the river and women beating carpets along the banks and all the while the call to prayer echoing back and forth across the water. It was like looking into history.

Cruising the Nile

2009-12-29T17:20:00.008+11:00

In order to get in some sunshine before we came home to the Canberra winter we decided to visit Egypt. We got so bogged down in work and the expense of the UK that we sadly didn't make it to Europe. That will have to be another trip. As compensation we went on a 2 week holiday to Egypt. We spent one week on a river Nile cruise, cruising from Luxor to Aswan and one week lounging around at the Maritim Jolie Ville which is on an island in the middle of the Nile. It all felt very luxurious especially after the cold and snow and hours commuting in England. We flew into Luxor, the old city of Thebes and joined the cruise. It was full of poms and germans on holidays and we shared a table with some great people thankfully no one mentioned the war.

If you haven't been on a cruise before, I can only recommend it to you. It is great value for money. We had an above the water cabin (no way was I going below the waterline) with room service, all meals and tours. It was busy because we took advantage of the guided tours. The tour guides have up to 7 years study to be able to be a guide. There was nothing they didn't know about Egypt, the pharoes, or the history of the tombs and temples that we saw. If it had been up to us to organise the time we would never have seen the wonderful places we visited. I have to admit though, there were times when I wanted to sneak off and just take it in on my own. You know, "on your right you have... and on your left you have.." gets a bit tedious. Some of the people on the cruise had been on it before. One guy had been on it over 40 times. I think once was enough for me. Dare I say after a while its a case of you've seen one tomb you've seen em all.

The Valley fo the Kings and Queens,Egypt 2009

2009-12-29T16:31:00.012+11:00

Our first glimpse of ancient Egypt was the Valley of the Kings followed by the spectacular Temple of Queen Hatsutchep.

We visited an alabaster factory where we bought a lovely mortar and pessle and some bowls. We werent much on souveniers. Alan is a great bargainer. I managed to pay 40GBP for two cotton table cloths because I had no idea what the translation was and got well and truely dupped by the locals.

This trip has been one adventure after another. We took an amazing balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings and Luxor. It never rains in Egypt and so people dont bother having roofs on their houses. When your floating above the Nile you can see just how dependent the country is on it. There is nothing but desert and then this green ribbon of life running through it. It was wonderful going up in the balloon but I have to admit that we went up with "dodgy bros" and I am really not good with heights. I cried in fact and had a panic attack something like I did in Mesa Verde but got passed it and then relaxed and enjoyed the ride. I am very grateful that my lovely husband encourages me to go beyond my boundaries. It makes for an interesting life.Another exciting adventure was our visit to Kanak temple. This was to be a highlight with a sound and light show of the Temple at night. Well it turned out to be a wind and sand show. We were hit by a sudden sand storm. I have never experienced anything like it. We had our shirts and cardigans wrapped around our faces to keep out the sand and had to leave early to find the bus back to the hotel which was almost impossible. We missed our bus and Al had an argument with the driver of another bus going to the same place to make sure we could stay on it to get back. The wind had blown trees over and it was quite scary to be out in it. The incredible thing is that it doesnt rain at all there so it was just dust and sand.

Leaving Basingstoke

2009-04-19T18:49:00.003+10:00

Vero and Thomas were due to return to their house that we were house sitting in on 7 May. So we had to decide if we were going to continue in the UK; move somewhere else, pay rent etc and continue with our original plan, which was stay in the UK for a year or more and do short trips to the continent or not. The credit crunch was an influence because we were not feeling all that confident that our jobs in Aus would remain secure. The cost of living in the UK is very high and rents were high, so it was going to cost a packet to find somewhere else to live and they were laying people off everywhere. We found that working full time (Al was doing 12 hour shifts and was working most weekends) and for me commuting 4 hours a day left us both exhausted and not keen to go anywhere let alone organise ourselves to go away to Europe for a weekend. It became apparent that we just couldnt afford to go to Europe for any length of time and we were both heartily sick of grey skys. So what to do? Go on a cruise, somewhere with a blue sky!!!. So with this in mind, we sold the car, packed our bags and said goodbye to Basingstoke, work and the UK anddecided to head home via Egypt and Thailand. We had to get a summer in somewhere.

Coming Home

2009-04-19T18:43:00.002+10:00

I must be the worlds worst blogger. I am always so far behind the event. Anyway we decided that while we have had a lovely time out and about in the world, its time to head home. I am writing this in Thailand but we have had some other adventures in Egypt before we got here. We will be home on 27 May. Can't wait to see everyone. I intend to plod on writing blog updates to eventually catch up. I still want to make this blog a record of our trip. So I have a heap of US stops to add and some more of Basingstoke and Egypt and Thailand. Overall we have had a wonderful time but as they say there is no place like home.

Stonehenge again and Salisbury

2009-02-13T07:36:00.007+11:00

We had a lovely visit from our friend Hazel. We met Hazel in LA and travelled with her to
San Francisco and had a great day out there together at Alcatraz. Hazel had never been to Stonehenge and as it is only about 40 miles from Basingstoke we went for another look. It was just as bloody cold as the last time and just as interesting. It was so good to catch up with Hazel again. She is such a breath of fresh air and we love her from the heart of our bottoms.

We then went off for a look at Salisbury. What a place that was! Beautiful! The cathedral was spectacular. 750 years old and still standing. Those stone masons really knew how to build a cathedral. And (I'm still excited about it) the inside was magnificent, incredible carvings, gold leaf, angels, an amazing medieval clock and even a great blend of modern papermache angels; and stone carvings of the archangels he ads in the same stone as the stone that the cathederal is made of. I really enjoyed Salisbury.

The houses and streets were so old and interesting and I attempted to make some arty pictures that I am afraid did not really come out as I had hoped.

Oh, well I have to develop my creative side and taking pictures is a start.

A day out in Newbury

2009-01-26T02:15:00.007+11:00

You have to give it to the poms. They may whinge elsewhere but they don't whine about the weather here. They just put on more clothes and go out and do things. Good on 'em, I say. Alan and I thought we would take a leaf out of their book and we went out for the day to Newbury.

I was actually a very pretty town. The canals were lovely and so was the market atmosphere of the place. Alan bought me a new hat for my birthday and some gloves, and a scarf. We had lunch in a nice old pub that looked out over the canals and watched the swans and two intrepid paddlers in kyaks go by. Then we went for a wander along the canals. The whole day the temperature didn't get above freezing and all the trees and bushes were covered in frost.

Eventually, like all good Aussie tourists, we proceeded to hang out in shop doorways trying to cadge a bit of warmth from the heaters and pretending to be interested in buying something. Eventually completely outdone by the locals, who were still out and about we looked at each other and said something along the lines of it's fxxxking freezing, lets go home - to Australia we meant - but ended up back in Basingstoke.

Back to Basingstoke

2009-01-26T02:07:00.007+11:00

We had a lovely Christmas and New Year in balmy Ireland. Yes it was around 12c there and contrary to popular belief, it didn't rain much at all. We even had glimpse of a blue sky. This whole picture was almost tropical compared to what was waiting when we got back to Basingstoke. The house had been empty for a fortnight and any ambient temperature in it had long gone. The temperature in England dropped to its lowest in years, with days consistently below freezing. Not that I'm a weather, whinging Aussie but this is us on our first night back in the house.

Malahide Castle, Dublin

2009-01-26T00:42:00.006+11:00

Dublin is truly a fair city. I loved the bridges and the river views. We stayed in a B&B there that looked out across a bay and the host suggested that we take the day to have a look at Malahide Castle. It was very interesting as the castle had been in the Talbot family since 1185 and the final living member of the family only sold it to the local council in the 1973 and moved to the family estate in Tasmania, yes Tassie.

Lord Milo Talbot was renowned for collecting plants from the Southern Hemisphere and he created a walled botanical garden. He apparently wrote an introduction to a book called The Endemic Flora of Tasmania. Many of the plants in and around the Castle are Australian natives; eucalyptus, wattle; gravillia etc. Note the gum tree at the front of the Castle in this picture. I have to say when I crushed the leaves in my fingers I was transported immediately to Strawbella and felt quite homesick.

The furniture in the place was old and interesting and much of it had been in the family for centuries. The local Fingal Council, who now own the place are collecting examples of Irish furniture of the period. The families influence on history was also interesting. It was said that 14 members of the family had breakfast together in the dining room before going off to fight the famous Battle of the Boyne, where they were all killed. Oliver Cromwell gave the Castle to one of his supporters, Miles Corbet, who was later hung, drawn and quartered when the Castle was returned to the Talbots in 1660 after Cromwell passed over.

There was also a brilliant collection of minature furniture from Irish cabinet makers. Apparently when apprenticed cabinet makers were in the final year they made a number of minature pieces to show thier customers what they could do. The customers would then be able to order the full size piece with confidence that the craftsman could do a good job. The minatures were absolute masterpieces in their own right.

The Giant's Causeway

2009-01-11T09:00:00.008+11:00

After we headed off from Castlerock, we went to Belfast and took a day's tour to look at the amazing heritage listed Giant's Causeway. The rock formations were incredible and the coastline continued to be beautiful. It was an icy cold day but not rainy and when the sunlight highlighted the cliffs and grassy banks it was easy to see why Ireland is the Emerald Isle. The green is luminus and like I've never seen before.

While we were in Belfast we visited our other in laws, Gordon's parents Cecil and Isobel, who made us very welcome. We had a day out in Lisburn visiting the Linen museum where I bought a hand made damask linen runner (should have splurged and got the table cloth too but was too tight). We also me one of the weavers there, Alison who is one of only 3 weavers left in the country who know how to make the damask linen. She told us that it takes 7 years to learn how to thread the loom and weave the linen. The looms were 160 years old and had come from local weavers cottages. The museum showed the whole process of makng the linen fibre and it also had a lot of interesting local history information. I was impressed.

We left Lisburn and headed for Enniskillen. We drove through Armagh and Sligo to get there. Unfortunately we kept underestimating the daylight hours. It didnt get to be daylight until around 8.30 and was dark at 4.00. Of course we didn't get going until about 11am and were just getting into it and it was dark. Consequently we didn't see as many things as we could have had we been better tourists. We spent the night in Enniskillen and had a look at the Castle and Barrack grounds but it was shut because tourist dont go there at Christmas, or apparently much in winter. We wandered up the mainstreet and looked at the churches, the Catholic church was open and we went in. It was a beautiful church and had a statue of my patron saint (St Therese, the little flower). I think I chose her as my confirmation saint because I like it that she carried a bunch of roses. I really had no idea at the time that she held an significance from a spiritual point of view. It was only years later that I discovered she is also the patron saint of children, which was interesting given my years in child and family services.

St Stephen's Day

2008-12-27T23:01:00.008+11:00

Well thats what they call Boxing Day, here. We had a lovely outing today, walking among the hills and along the cliffs of Castlerock. We visited Downhill Castle and the Mussenden Temple, build by the Bishop Hervey, the Earl of Bristol. The locals tell us that the Temple was a romantic hideaway built as a meeting place for the Bishop and his cousin, who apparently he had a love affair with. It was cunningly disguised as a library and is perched on the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean. From the Temple you can look down the coast along a 6 mile sandy beach and then on the other side across the coast to the village of Castlerock with its church steeple rising up out of the mist of the day.

It was truley lovely. We have had a great stay here. Wonderful hospitality from Stuarts' family with a traditional Christmas Dinner served hot at lunch time. Very different from my family Christmas Dinner in Australia, cold meat and salad served at dinner time when the evening is cooler. We are off to Belfast today and then intend to travel towards the west coast on our journey back to Dublin and back to England.

Happy Christmas

2008-12-25T05:13:00.005+11:00

Many blessings to everyone who has managed to keep looking at the blog and to all of you who gave up. We are in Ireland for Christmas with Alan's daughter, Charlotte and her family. Ireland is warm (up to 12c) compared to Basingstoke and the sun has been shining and the rain has only fallen once. We are truly blessed. Today Alan and I went for a drive to Donegal County and had a look at Greencastle. We drove around the coastline which was very picturesque and spent a little time in Derry looking at the city walls and shopping for some last minute presents. We are off to dinner with Stuart's (Charlottes' husband) family this evening and have been invited to share a traditional Christmas dinner there tomorrow.

Have a lovely, safe and happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year to you all.

Down in the Bayou; Louisiana, no its still Texas

2008-11-09T23:33:00.006+11:00

Well Alan and I are trying to dredge up our memories of the US again. After Galveston we drove on through Austin and headed off to Louisiana. We could have gone to the space stuff in Austin but it was late afternoon when we got there because we spent ages looking at the Galveston Oil Rig Museum.

We drove for ages and eventually pulled up at an RV camp on the side of the road and asked could we camp there. The camp was actually a community of road workers and their families living in 45 foot camper trailers and Winnebagos with all the mod cons. We were the only campers there. There were US flags at the front doors of nearly every trailer.

It was a warm and balmy night and we set up camp at the back of the RV park as far away from the large family gathering that was happening on the other side of the road. It initially sounded interesting because they had a band playing latin music. Then we noticed the singing. Visualise Uncle Fernando, playing his piano accordian and casstinettes hogging the karaoke machine and singing pissed and off key for hours and you have it.

We had just settled in and cooked our dinner when the sky got dark and brooding and it started to pour rain. Next thing the RV owner came over and told us that a gale force wind was on the way and would we mind spending the night in one of the vans. We gratefully accepted and while the van didn't blow away the rain came in in buckets, dripping on the bed, and floor etc. As it turned out the tent was intact the next morning, dry as a bone as we had coated it with water repellant from our stay in Galviston. The owners of the RV park refused to accept payment for our stay. They were like most of the American people we met, kind, helpful and generous.

Stonehenge

2008-11-09T22:54:00.007+11:00

Now that we have our little car. Its a Ford KA, a tiny little thing that looks like a noddy car, we are able to go out visiting local points of interest. We took a day trip to Stonehenge and after queing for 2 miles to get to the site we got there. It was very interesting but because its so touristy it was hard to get into the ambience of the place. The wind was howling and it was as usual overcast and bloody freezing. You can no longer go up and walk among it or touch anything anymore but we all herded round it and took some great pics. I am having trouble uploading pictures on the blog and on flikr at the moment but I will keep trying. To avoid the traffic we drove home through the countryside and visited some small villages. The army seems to own most of the area near Salisbury and there were road signs saying Slow Tanks Crossing.

Old Basing

2008-10-26T05:10:00.004+11:00

After Al got back from Aus. We hired a car in order to buy a car and after spending a weekend roaming around Basingstoke looking for cars we gave up and went sight seeing. We went to Old Basing. We went to look at Basing House which is actually a ruin of a manor house but unfortunately it was closed so instead we walked around the village of Old Basing and took in the little thatched roof cottages and had a fantastic walk through the churchyard. The cemetery was overgrown with brambles and ivy but there were walkways through it. The old tombstones were beautiful emerging from the ivy and hidden in amongst the autumn trees. It was really lovely.

Back blogging and coming up in the world

2008-10-20T05:36:00.003+11:00

Hi, y'all. No I'm not back in the states but in Basingstoke, Hampshire UK. Lots has happened since I last posted a blog. We have moved twice, I got a job, Al went back to Aus (sadly for his darling Aunty Pam's funeral) and came back (thank God) and now we are house sitting in Basingstoke and looking for a car.

We moved for one night to another hostel and then to a so called holiday let for the same price. It was a bed sit with an insy winsy kitchen and a bathroom that was down the hall. We had our own key and didn't have to share with any one else but the shower didn't work and the bog was so close to the bath Al had to put his feet in the tub to crap. To wash my hair I had to sit in the bath and pour a bucket of water on my head. No offence to any poms reading this but our experience so far is that English plumbing is the worlds worst. Every shower we have used has been bloody useless. Although we at least have hot water and reasonable water pressure here in Basingstoke.

I have a job in Twickenham where I work as a care manager for a people with learning disabilities team. The staff are friendly and helpful and two lovely Irish nurses helped me move all our stuff to Basingstoke while Al was gone. Apart from having one case from hell, the work is reasonable and I am starting to get into my role. I still have no idea how the NHS, Housing and Social Security systems work but I'm working on it. The down side is that I leave Basingstoke at 6:14am on the bus to the station and after two train rides I arrive in Twickenham at 8:33am. Coming home is a bitch because the train arrives about 3 minutes after the bus leaves and I have to wait 20 mins for the next bus. If I don't catch the right train from Twickenham I don't get home until 8pm. Glad I'm not going to be doing this for ever.

We hired a car this weekend and drove around looking at car yards to buy a car and then gave up and went sight seeing. I have some lovely pictures of Old Basing. This is a very picturesque place. I will post pictures later. Anyway, its Sunday night and if I don't hit the sack by 9pm I'll be wrecked tomorrow at work. See you all anon.

Galviston Oh Galviston

2008-08-12T22:21:00.008+10:00

Well Galviston is not quite what the song evokes. We spent 3 days sweltering in a public camping shelter. It was very tropical weather, raining in the afternoon and humid as hell. The town is really flat and below sea level. At one time it was devastated by a cyclone along the lines of what happened to New Orleans. There is a long road running parallel to the beach and we saw some amazing looking beach houses. They were all different shapes and pastel colours and looked like something from a film set. I would have loved to transplant one in Bateman's Bay. They were a bit out of our price range for property starting at around $800,000.

Al was very keen to visit the Ocean Star Off Shore Oil Rig and Museum. We spent at least 4 riveting hours there (yawn) looking at all sorts of deep sea diving, oil drilling stuff. Al loved it. They had an oil men wall of fame and George Bush Snr was on it. I looked for Jed Clampett but he had not been given the acclaim that he truly deserved.

Back in the States; The Alamo

2008-08-12T21:31:00.004+10:00

We nursed the car to San Antonio where we paid to get the fuel problem fixed.$1000 later it went like a dream. While we were there we stayed in a very interesting B&B ( used to be a youth hostel) called General Bullis House. It was a magnificent old mansion built by General Bullis who was a famous Civil War General instrumental in capturing Geronimo. Have a look at the link to the Bullis House homepage but don't be taken in by the glorious pool pic it was so green we didn't think it was safe to swim in. While the house was lovely and you could imagine the grandeur of the past, our room was in the attic and was about 100f with a noisy struggling air con in the window that had to be left on the whole time just to cope with the heat. The area the house was in had a faded glory sort of feel to it. There were some beautiful old houses there but most were run down and would probably cost a fortune to renovate.

We actually liked San Antonio. We went for a river cruise in the city centre. Civic could do with canals linked with the lake and meandering through Garema place and out to the museum before flowing back into the lake. It would be a great tourist attraction. Someone should talk to Jon
Stanhope about it. Of course we visited the Alamo, saw Davey Crockett memorabilia. He came from Tennessee and after visiting Tennessee you wonder why he would ever go out of that beautiful lush state to fight in Texas. The link tells you all about it.
.

Do we ever get out of Texas

2008-08-12T20:57:00.003+10:00

Well, yes we did and travelled to many other great US destinations which I will endeavour to up date you on but right now we are actually in London.

We arrived on 1 August 2008. It was 17c and raining and has barely stopped since. To be honest we have been a bit flat since we arrived. The USA, while it has its warts is vibrant, energetic and in your face and London feels stodgy in comparison. We have been living in a hostel which costs a fortune. 180pounds a week for a small room with a double bunk, a sink and a fridge. The other people here are like us; broke, looking for work and somewhere cheaper to live just younger. Alan took down every scaffold number on the buildings that we saw and has managed to get a job with a scaffolding company doing casual work. I have my name with the recruitment agency and am waiting to see what happens. If I hear nothing in the next week I will send my own CV out to different places.

We have been looking for a flat and have had an unpleasant encounter with someone who after a few emails was very certain that we should go to Western Union and send money to each other so he could be sure we had the cash. He sounded more and more sus so we told him we were no longer interested. A lot of people find work and accommodation on a website called Gumtree but I think there may be plenty of shiesters on there ready to rip you off. The real estate agents here charge 79pounds just to release the stuff on their books. I think its probably better to pay it than have to put up with these other people.

Anyway we have been into town and had a look at the tower bridge and walked around Kensington Gardens and the Kensington Palace but we cant afford to go inside yet. We also wandered around Greenwich yesterday which is a lovely area. The Cutty Sark which was moored there unfortunately burned and only the hull is left. Such a shame.

I will keep adding our other adventures in America as I can. Its been difficult getting to an internet spot and having the time to do it. So sorry if its out of sequence.

Bad place to break down

2008-07-20T05:32:00.002+10:00

We left El Paso heading East to San Antonio where we intended to stop and have the car fixed. The heat was still up in the high 90's and we were on 4 lanes of an insanely busy highway 10 travelling west. We were only 15 miles from Mexico and the Texas Border Security patrol funnelled the four lanes of traffic into one by blocking the lanes with huge red plastic barrels. At this point where the four lanes became one our bloody car decided to clap out again with three miles of traffic behind it and about half a kilometre to the checkpoint. We put the hazards on and began walking toward the checkpoint. We were met by a border patrol trooper with a smile and a hand on his pistol asking "Y'all have a problem?". We explained the car situation and that we wanted to bypass the check point because we didn't want to push it through the checkpoint in front of 500 eighteen wheelers. He took us to the check point. Inside were about 10 armed cops who listened to our story and decided to let us evade the check point. They checked our passports and then drove us in the patrol car back to our car, stopped the traffic and allowed us to go on the empty lanes to bypass the checkpoint. We had explained that the car went if the fuel tank was completely full and that we could get fuel at the next stop about four miles down the road. We headed for the servo and while filling up we noticed that the Patrol Car had followed us, presumably to see that we did what we had said we would do.

Down in the West Texas town of El Paso ....

2008-07-20T05:12:00.005+10:00

After Alan felt a little better we decided to push on to El Paso, Texas. On the way the bloody car clapped out in temperatures of up to 110 f on the blacktop. At a place called Truth or Consequences we called the AAA and had the car tabletopped to Las Cruces. A guy at a Honda dealership there, said to put wooden clothes pegs on the metal part of the fuel line feeding the injectors. He reckoned that it was heat evaporation causing the problem. We followed his advice and limped on to El Paso, where Al had a rumble guts relapse so we booked into a very seedy hotel. The hotel was built in 1959 and at that time was top class but it had long seen better days and commanded a hefty $27.00 a night. While the air conditioning worked and it was clean there was a very large mysterious stain on the bathroom floor that we deduced was the blood stain from a drug deal gone bad, backed up by a huge piece of plywood covering the absent window in the bedroom and frequent patrol visits to the car park by the local sherriff.

Lying; dying

2008-07-20T05:02:00.005+10:00

Because of Al's irreverent attitude to my holy sand gathering, God afflicted him for the whole of the next week in Santa Fe and later in El Paso and then in Fort Stockton (Texas) with terrible diarrhoea and vomiting. He initially took refuge in the Santa Fe camp ground under the shade of a motley tree. It was 106 f (in the shade) and the ravens were literally circling above him. Then the cheeky buggers did a low level run and flew over the top of him. He feebly waved his fist and said "I'm not dead yet".

El Santuario de Chimayo,

2008-07-20T04:35:00.004+10:00

El Santuario de Chimayo (The Shrine) was built between l8l4 and l8l6. This intense and deeply catholic community enthralled and scared us somewhat with its brutal iconography combined with lovely architecture. The faithful come to gather the "holy sand" which is reported to cure all sorts of ailments. They left an amazing assortment of offerings.

Leonie gathered some of the sand but it didn't stop us from being afflicted by the holy diarrhoea for the most part of our time in New Mexico. We also stayed in some of the driest, and dismal camping spots.

The Durango Kid

2008-07-20T04:20:00.005+10:00

We spent time in Cortez, a lovely little town with lots of interesting Indian Cultural information and shops and we also took a steam train ride from Durango to Silverton. Al wore his cowboy hat and we dubbed him "The Durango Kid" but he thought he might be mistaken for someone from the set of Brokeback Mountain. The steam train took us through the most spectacular country to Silverton, an old silver mining town.

It seems Paris Hilton cant keep out of trouble, even in Silverton.

Mesa Verde, Colorado

2008-07-01T00:19:00.008+10:00

People along the way had recommended that we go to Mesa Verde National Park and look at the cliff dwellings where the ancestral Pueblo people had lived centuries ago. We headed south to Colorado and into the hot dry desert country. This place is a must see we stayed at a campsite at the entrance of the National Park for about 4 days and visited the Mesa Verde National Monument, where I overcame my fear of heights and climbed a 30 foot ladder up the side of a cliff to get to the Balcony ruins. How people managed to live up there and not fall off the cliffs I dont know. They used hand and foot holds to get up and down the cliffs. Terrifying. So is the arse shot.

Adventure in the mud at Dove Creek, Colorado

2008-06-24T07:06:00.003+10:00

The one night we decided to camp on the side of the road we nearly got bogged because it rained all night. We had gone up a dirt road and into a bit of bush to set up camp and the next morning we drove out onto the dirt road, now a quagmire. Al drove like a rally driver for about a half a mile to the highway. He steered and the car slid all over the place; I prayed and we made it with out getting stuck.

The Wild West

2008-06-24T06:40:00.004+10:00

My apologies for taking so long to up date the blog. After travelling through the Mountains of Montana we found ourselves in the most amazing plains country. Apparently it was Blackfoot Indian land. It went on for miles with the Rocky Mountains in the background. It was stormy and raining and we took some fantastic pictures of the sky and hills with a magnificent rainbow over it. If you get out the map you will see we came over the mountains and then travelled south along the boarders of Montana, Wyoming and Utah and into New Mexico. We were heading into desert country and the scenery changed from these lovely rolling hills, through more magnificent Rocky Mountain vies to red canyons and sage bush. Wyoming and Utah are the "wild west".

We went to Yellowstone National Park and saw the famous Old Faithful that faithfully did its thing but unfortunately for us the camera ran out of battery at the last minute and we MISSED getting it on film.

Glacier National Park, Montana

2008-06-13T08:29:00.004+10:00

From Tri-Cities, we took Dick's advice and headed for the magnificent Glacier National Park in Montana. It was everything that we were told and more. The scenery in this park is spectacular. Lakes, forests, snow capped mountains. Every turn was Aaaaw, will you look at that!!!!

Back to Seattle and off to Tri-Cities

2008-06-13T08:18:00.003+10:00

After an excellent visit to Vancouver we headed back to our friends, Dan and Karlene in Seattle where we bought a car. Its very reliable (so far). A Honda Civic LX. We bought it through a broker ( the broker cost $300) and he took us to a number of dealers that he knew and we chose he car. All up with insurance paid, rego for 12 months, broker and the car it cost us just under $5,000. On the Memorial Weekend we headed off with Dan and Karlene to Karlene's family in Tri-Cities (Richland, Kennewick and Pascoe) in East Washington. We stayed with Dick and Lyn and caught up with Don and Terri and their families. They made us very welcome and Lyn's cooking was to die for. Dick bought a didgeridoo when he visited us in Australia and he plays it really well. We really enjoyed our stay there and appreciate the kindness and generosity of the Hodgeson family. They set us up and got us on our way for a big touring adventure of the states.

Grouse Mountain, Vancouver

2008-06-08T08:39:00.008+10:00

We had a great day trip to Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain where we went on the Sky Train. The Capilano Suspension Bridge was 100 years old ( I think they have done some safety updates) and the park had been added to with a series of suspension bridges strung among the trees. It was really worth the visit. We took a lot of photos and somehow managed to put the camera on black and white with only one colour. It produced some pretty good pics.

Stanley Park, Vancouver

2008-06-08T08:36:00.002+10:00

Stanley Park is the most beautiful public park. It takes up a whole peninsula of Vancouver Bay. We had a lovely day there. There is a great collection of totem poles that was very interesting. We hired bikes and rode around the perimeter of the park. Al fell of his bike into a puddle, the only puddle on the road, and got mud all over his foot and leg. I of course laughed. We had lunch and watched the beach touch football and to boats out at sea. It was a really relaxing and lovely day. We also took a picture of a raccoon in the wild. Its a big park. After such a pleasant day we taxied it back to the hostel, collected our gear and headed back to Seattle.

The Templeton Cafe, Vancouver

2008-06-08T08:09:00.007+10:00

Just across the road from the hostel is the Templeton Cafe. It served great organic food and became our haunt while we were in Vancouver. The place had a great 1950's feel and had interesting period info on the tables. I particularly liked this Wonder Woman cartoon.

Vancouver, Canada

2008-06-08T07:12:00.009+10:00

We stayed in Vancouver for a week. We caught the train up from Seattle. Another scenic journey. Vancouver is definitely a place to visit. In the spring and summer we both agreed that we could easily live there. Its very easy to get around as they have excellent public transport. We stayed in the Samesun Hostel in the downtown area. We we were the oldest people there but the "young people" we shared the room with were really interesting and doing great things. One guy had just returned from riding his pushy around NZ, Australia and Asia and was riding up to visit his friends in Victoria (Canada) about 100 ks up the road. A lot of them were young Aussies travelling the ski fields, snowboarding, skiing and partying (obviously) and working in Canada to finance their travels.

Both Seattle and Vancouver have some great public art. We wandered around the city and visited a banking building that had a great public display about the Aga Khan Development Network and the work they are doing around the world. It was excellent. The young woman who showed me around had done her degree in architecture and religion, which I thought was really a great combo. She was very passionate about the restoration work that the Network were doing. One of the interesting things they were doing was collecting plastic bags and melting them down, mixing them with sand and turning them into paving blocks.

We did so much in Vancouver and had such a great time there. The only real down side in the cities that we have seen has been the number of homeless people. In Vancouver there seemed to be a lot of meth addicts who were more aggressive as far as begging was concerned and younger than the people on the streets in other places. Meth is a real problem and along the roadsides in the USA there are posters advertising rehabs and assistance. Being homeless in Seattle and Vancouver in the winter must be the pits. I felt really sad for them and gave them money from time to time but there is a person on nearly every corner in the downtown areas and my money just cant spread that far.

Seattle

2008-06-08T04:07:00.012+10:00

Well, everyone must be thinking we never got out of Portland. This holidaying is hard work. I just haven't managed to get to somewhere and get the time to update the blog. We only spent 3 days in Portland before going to Seattle to visit our good friends Dan and Karlene.

Dan and Karlene made us so welcome in their home and with their extended family it was hard to leave. Dan took some time off work and showed us around Seattle and took us to Port Townsend where he grew up. Its the place where they made the movie an Officer and a Gentleman. Port Townsend had some magnificent Victorian Mansions and like every where we seem to have been, the scenery is stunning.

We visited the Arboretum where Karlene works which is really beautiful. If the Canberra Arboretum turns out like the one in Seattle it will be a real draw card.

Among other places we also went to Dan's favourite shop, the Aussie Pie Shop, where they claim to make real Aussie pies. They were pretty good pies, but they have been adapted for American tastes so there wasn't a steak and kidney in sight.

While we were in Seattle we bought a car. Its a Honda Civic LX 1994. Its registered for 12 months and we had no probs with getting insurance. So far it has been really reliable. We practised driving under Dan's tuition and have both got the hang of driving on the wrong side of the road although I have to admit that Alan is much better at it than me. I am OK on the highway but get confused in the traffic in the towns. I feel like a learner driver all over again.

We took a week out from Seattle to go to Canada to sort out our drivers licences because we lost them in a bag on a bus in LA. Unbelievably, the NSW Motor Registry are not satisfied with a Public Notary from America verifying your identity, even though it is far more rigorous than any Australian Post Office employee sighting your credentials (they even took our finger prints). We had to go to Vancouver to the nearest Australian Consulate to have an officer there do the same thing. I was highly pissed off by the bureaucratic bullshit gone made but the best thing was we got to see Vancouver.

Portland, Oregon

2008-05-03T04:44:00.005+10:00

We spent 5 days in San Francisco and before we got on the train to Portland we killed time seeing Scorsese's Shine a Light at the Imax theatre; a fifty foot Mick Jagger and Keith Richards belting out Jumping Jack Flash, it was a gas, gas, gas.

We bought a sleeper to Portland on the train which was well worth it as unfortunately I got crook and needed to see a doctor in Portland to get some antibiotics. That took about a day to figure out how to do but I got the drugs and I'm on the mend.

Portland was another beautiful Victorian style city, with stunning gardens. We visited their Japanese gardens and the rose gardens which were unfortunately not in bloom but the rhododendrons and azaleas made up for it. We also met a very friendly lady from Minnesota, called Patti, who had a hire car and drove us out to have a look at Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Valley and a 1920's hotel, that was frequented by Rudolph Valentino and others. The Oregon scenery was volcanic, snow covered and picture post card even in the pouring rain.

I left my harp in Sandcrabs Disco

2008-05-03T04:17:00.006+10:00

We caught a train from LA to San Francisco - it was a fantastic trip. Amtrack trains are comfortable, clean, luxurious compared to a bus or plane and definately exceed the XPT from Canberra to Sydney. They have a formal dining room with white table cloths and flowers and table service. The snack bar food was along the lines of the World Famous Santa Monica Hot Dog but the dining room food was great. The scenery was spectacular.

We met a lovely English girl, called Hazel and spent time with her while we were in San Fran. San Francisco really is one of the most beautiful cities. We arrived at night and the skyline was sensational. In the book 1001 things to do before you die it suggests riding the cable cars of San Francisco, we did and it was fabulous. We visited the cable car museum and rode the cars up and down the hills. We also took a tour of the city by bus which was well worth the money as the driver knew every spot and showed us all the lovely Victorian buildings and mansions as well as telling us about the history of the place.

We hired bikes and I RODE ACCROSS THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE. Wow that was a Disneyland moment. Not only was I blown away by the fact that I was there at all but I was nearly blown off my pushie when I got on the bridge, it was so windy. I was riding along feeling so proud of myself, laughing and crying and Al was behind me going "Woo Hoo, you go girl" Fuck it was good.

Another big highlight was visiting Alcatraz. We had to book on line to get tickets but it was so interesting and worth every minute. They had a top quality audio tour with prisoners and guards talking about their expereinces at Alcatraz. Also there was a man there talking about his experience of living on Alcatraz as a child. They had a small village of guards families there.

We also visited a submarine called the Pampanito that was one of the subs that rescued Australian prisoners of war who were on a Japanese troopship that was torpedoed by the Americans during the second world war. The didnt realise the troopship was full of Australian and New Zealand POW's from the Burma Railway. The Pampanito had a crew of 83 and rescued 74 men, other subs rescued others but they were in the water for up to 3 days. A volunteer called Bill was on the sub and we had a very interesting chat to him.

Los Angeles

2008-05-03T03:54:00.004+10:00

Its been a while since I had time to update what we've been doing. So I will have to try to remember as we are now in Seattle. LA - everybody told us not to bother, its big, crowded, polluted and dirty - but it wasn't. It was great. We stayed in Santa Monica at a very plush IYA and visited many a famous thing. Disneyland (see the separate entry) was my highlight but we also did a city tour of the rich and famous. You know, on your right is famous person's house, or at least one of them used to live there etc. It was exceedingly dull after about 5 minutes. Although the houses here generally are really interesting; a far cry from a brick veneer box. We went to Hollywood Bulouvarde and saw the stars names on the pavement, and took pics of LA from the lookout and saw the Hollywood sign. At Rodeo Drive, also pretty dull, we had a chat to a couple of union members on a pickett against a company that was paying carpenters less than the bottom wage. It was quite a contast seeing them protesting in such an affluent place.

We did have fun though when we hired a couple of pushies and rode along Santa Monica Beach through Venice Beach and Muscle Beach (where Al flashed his muscles) and visited the Venice Canals which were a collection of canals with the most beautiful and unusual collection of little houses, like dolls houses, all along them. The gardens were exquisite.

We also tried the "World Famous" hot dog from a vendor at Santa Monica Pier (our first American Hot Dog) which defies description in the worst possible way. eeeerrrrgggg!!!!! I will post some pics later.

We took advantage of the Hostel guided walking tour of Santa Monica with Colin, a british expat. The most interesting thing was a display of crosses put out by the Viet Nam Vetrans for Peace. Every sunday they put a cross on the beach for every American soldier killed in Iraq. They have picture displays of soldiers and civilians and a tally of all those killed and injured. It was very sad and very moving.

When you wish upon a star......

2008-04-19T16:45:00.004+10:00

Today I discovered that I actually have an inner child, she is about 7 and was so excited about her wish to go to Disneyland coming true that she cried when she saw Micky Mouse. Yes its daggy but true and I know they're only people is suits but there I was saying to Al, "Oh look, look its the fairy god mother, look its the White Rabbit, its Pinoccio, Oh look there's MICKY MOUSE". I kept saying " I cant believe it; I'm in Disneyland. I was laughing and crying all at once. I had a wonderful day.

We arrived in Los Angeles on 16 April in the late afternoon. We spent the first day orienting ourselves and booking in for things we want to do. We are on a mission to improve our travelling skills. We have of course blown the budget big time and so have decided to prepare our own meals where possible. We went to this fabulous organic food market called Wild Oats, in Santa Monica near the youth hostel. The hostel is like a 5 star hotel. We intended to only stay 3 days but have extended for 5.

Aloha Al

2008-04-19T15:56:00.006+10:00

Al has gone troppo and bought himself a Hawaiin Shirt. I love it.

We have had a lovely time in Honolulu but as travellers we are pretty disorganised. We spent 10 days there and didn't manage to get to the Peal Harbour Memorials. We did go scuba diving and we had windsurfing lessons at Kailua Beach where I stupidly got burned to a crisp. However, I did manage to get up on the board and sail; OK it was only for a nanosecond before I fell into the water but I did it at least 50 times.

The grand finale of the stay was a trip to a Luau at the Polynesian Cultural Centre. I thought the concept of the centre was really interesting because the money made by the centre goes to supporting Polynesian students to attend university; paying for their board and tuition. The centre was a theme park of polynesian culture that went all day and we finished with the Gala show Horizons at night. It was an all singing all hula dancing, fire twirling spectacular. I have to say that the hula boys were as incredible and beautiful as the hula girls.

The Goat takes to the water.

2008-04-14T07:59:00.002+10:00

I went scuba diving. Can you believe it!!! I was petrified but did it anyway. We practised in a pool and I was really crap at it, couldn't swim in a straight line and went floating bum up to the top.
After about a half hour practice we got on a boat and went out to the ocean ( unfortunately I have no photographic evidence) and I jumped in and went down about 10 feet along a rope and then couldnt pop my ears, felt freaky so went back up. Fish were looking at me and the water was warm and clear but it was very choppy and I was later told by experts, like my darling husband who was so proud of me for doing it, that it was not a good day for a first go. I then sat in the boat staring at the horizon for the next hour to avoid sea sickness. It worked. It was the first time that I ever sat in a boat on the ocean and didn't chuck. Anyway, after this experience I reckon snorkelling will be a breeze.

Aloha; we got here

2008-04-11T15:30:00.005+10:00

Well, we finally made it. I thought I'd never get excited but now I am. We arrived in Honolulu on Wednesday and got to the hostel with no probs. The hostel is clean, cheap and one street from Wakiki beach. We spent the first day sleeping because after 9 hours on the plane with no sleep we were wrecked.

Today we ventured out to get some basics and get our bearings. We went to the new Safeway to buy lunch and breakfast stuff and couldn't believe the choices; they even sold wedding cakes!!!! Check this out:

We also went to Ala Moana shopping mall, which is the biggest thing we'd ever seen and most of the shops were way out of our price range but lovely to look at all the same. We have both agreed though that one day doing shopping in malls and supermarkets is about enough. We want to get active regularly on our trip. So tomorrow if all goes well we will go sea kayaking and I am going to have a go at snorkling and maybe even a free scuba diving lesson. This is very adventurous on my part as I am an earth bound Capricorn and Al (a Pisces) has been encouraging me to go beyond my comfort zones.

Have Tickets Will Travel; Ready or Not

2008-03-08T17:27:00.002+11:00

Finally, we have the tickets; paid for; its going to happen. We leave for Honolulu on 9 April. Were spending 7 fun filled holi-days there and then we are off to Los Angeles on the 16th. After having a severe look at the budget we will definitely be frugalling. I have been surfing the web for el-cheapo places to stay and we have booked in to the exotically named Polynesian Hostel Beach Club in Honolulu and a good old Youth (ha!!) Hostel in Los Angeles. Isn't it exciting!!!!!! and TERRIFYING. I don't ever remember it being so scary when I was 23. In the meantime we are off to Strawbella to pick up sticks and slash the grass which must be up to my armpits by now as it hasnt been done since December.

Fairly bounding through the hoops

2008-03-03T17:50:00.008+11:00

Believe it or not we have successfully leaped through the American hoops and are now the proud owners of 5 year American Visas. This is great because we don't have to do this again for another 5 years YAY!!!! and while the money hangs in we can stay longer than our initial plan of 3 months in the good ol' USA.

Of course, we did have to wait about four hours at the consulate and Al was sent to a conveniently located Doctor in Maquarie Street to piddle in a bottle to confirm that he hadn't consumed alcohol since 1985 ($176 later). We had a lovely trip planned to see the Queen Mary in Sydney Harbour but after stuffing about for hours we were buggered and decided to head home.

First Leg

2008-02-21T21:57:00.006+11:00

We have taken a practice road trip to Armidale, NSW to have a look at a house that we like the design of. We thought we would also practice using the technology on the way. It has only taken me 3 hours to put the photos of the trip up. We drove through Wollemi National Park and stopped for lunch at a cafe in Sofala, a really old gold mining town. It was quite an interesting spot. Some of the locals are working on restoring some of the old buildings.

We drove from Canberra to Aberdeen, just outside Muswellbrook and stayed the night in a pub. Great value for only $50 a night, share the bathroom. (We are also practicing "frugling" and aspire to our friend Anna Maria's (aka the Shopping Shirpa) excellence at this.)

Red Tape

2008-02-15T22:44:00.002+11:00

Today I finally navigated the nightmare of applying for visa's on line. While I am sure the whole world can find the easily identifiable links on the UK and USA sites, I was not among them. In despiration I rang (at $9 and $11 a pop respectively) the specially trained helpers, (specially trained to cope with my snide remarks) and then after plodding through the automated forms, getting half way through and having to find documents that I wasn't warned I would need, I eventually (breathe, relax) managed to make the appointments.

The light of my life, wisely escaped for a nap because he knew that I was at raging, biting, snarling point and would have easily found a way to wipe his nose in any percieved indescretion on his part. (could this be because I havent had my medication for three days?) He even coped with our trip to the British High Commission where my neat hand written application was REJECTED because THEY (do I have a problem with authority wielding power over me?) failed to inform me (personally) that they CHANGED the RULE in DECEMBER when I first filled in the bloody form and NOW I HAVE TO DO IT ONLINE. AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!! Anyway we now have an appointment in Sydney for the Yanks on 25 Feb and one in Canberra for the Poms on 29 Feb. If all goes well we will be off before the end of March.

Getting Started

2008-02-07T10:34:00.000+11:00

Al and I have just started our very long long service leave. We have a lot of preparation to do. Some of it of course includes figuring out how to blog, download pictures and work my new ipod. I am becoming exceedingly technilogical in the process.