Christmas 2011

Just a short blog entry to note some of the events of our holiday season:

Joanne, Marie and I listened to an evening Christmas Concert at Epcot after which we watched  fantastic fireworks over Epcot's lake.  The next day found us listening to Christmas stories from around the world.

 Joanne & crew planned a Islander's Holiday Party that by all accounts was a huge success.  The Music was by Latitudes.

We, mostly me, paddled a kayak (to which we added lights and moose hats) up and down PGI canals to view the Christmas Lights. Read about it at Kayak Paddle.

We watched the Lighted Boat Parade from a neighbor's backyard. About 40 boats participated. Maybe we will next year!

Kit Moran, a professional jazz and her band provided the entertainment at IYC's Friday night incredible pasta buffet December 23.  We had a table right beside the band and Kit asked Joanne to sing a few songs. After Joanne took center stage, Kit complemented her on her voice. Later on, numerous IYC members stepped to lead us in Christmas carols.  Check out Kit at her Website: Kit Moran

Christmas Eve, Joanne showed her mom all the Christmas trees at the IYC Eggnog Party.  Later on in the afternoon, old friends from Houston, Doug and Cheryl, stopped to visit and share a German traditional pork and sauerkraut dinner.  A concert with saxophone, solos and hymns performed incredibly by the choir preceded the mass at Sacred Heart.  We learned that Father Jerry's mother was not only a Rockette, but a child of God! The mass ended with Father Jerry walking down the aisle wearing a Santa Cap!

After opening presents on Christmas morning, we shared a brunch at my cousin's house.  Bleu entertained himself with empty boxes, wrapping paper and fish now swimming in our pool!

Click to see our pictures:  Pictures   Hope you all had as much fun as we have! 

Marie's 91st Birthday Dinner at SouthPort

Here's a Family Picture of my Mom, Marie, on her 91st Birthday.  She is surrounded by her family.  From the left is Al, Mary, granddaughter Laura, Paul, Diane, Joanne, Richard and granddaugher, Annie.

We had a wonderful birthday dinner at SouthPort - just yummy prime rib with all the trimmings and a delicious birthday cake.  Cousin Constance and Bill also joined in the festivities.

We've been having a wonderful Holiday Season.  We took Marie over to Disney World where we enjoyed a spectacular concert and fireworks display called Illuminations.  Check out the photos below.  We've also included a few of our little kitty cat, Bleu.  He's really enthralled with the Christmas tree - and the train and music box that surround it.  Happy Holidays to all!



Some Holiday Photos of DisneyWorld and Bleu Kitty

French Picnic 2011

2nd Annual IYC French Picnic on Cayo Costa

Here's Joanne organizing the food for the fantastic French Picnic attended by 43 Isles Yacht Club's French food lovers!

What a wonderful time we all had dining on the delicacies such as Onion Tarlet, Quiche Lorraine, Flemish Beef, Chocolate Silk Pie - the specialties went on and on.  We all voted for the 2 best entrees and dessert and prizes were awarded.  Check out the fun pictures by double-clicking on Photos below!

Photos

Korolev Exchange

Traditional Dress at Welcome Party

Our club, the Southwest Florida Friendship Force, hosted 24 members of the Korolev, Russia Friendship Force for a week's visit from November 1 - 8th.  Pictured here are 2 of the visitors in their native costumes as they demonstrated their dancing and singing at the Welcome Party that we held for them at one of our member's home in Fort Myers.

Korolev is located close to Moscow and is known as their "space city" since they colaborate with NASA.  Different members of our club welcome the guests into their homes - and we welcomed Milhail and Tatiyana Blinov into ours.  Milhail is a builder in Moscow and his wife, Tatiyana, is the architect.  They have a beautiful daughter and son-in-law and have 2 grandchildren.  They spoke very little English; however, we used the Google Translate Application on our Droid (similar to an I-Phone).  Most of the time, this worked pretty well, but we did have some laughs when obviously some things were "lost in translation."

Some of the group club activities were trips to the Edison House, Babcock Ranch and Ding Darling Nature Preserve.  We also took them swimming at Ft Myers, Sanibel and Venice beaches as well as trips to the Venice Art Festival and the Dali Museum in St. Pete.  Last night we had a rousing "Farewell" BBQ complete with Russian entertainment (lots of songs) and American entertainment (games and of course, lots of our songs such as America the Beautiful, This Land is Your Land, etc.). 





Today they left for touring of Miami's South Beach and then they are off to NYC before they fly back to Russia.  What a wonderful experience this was for all of us.  We really enjoyed this cultural exchange!

Photo Album  

2011 - New Kitten

Our new kitty cat added excitement to our day! We haven't decided on his name - but probably it will be "Scooter" because he scoots around the house - but it could be "Bleu" because he is a blue-gray Persian or it could be "Bleu-Scoot"!

At any rate, born 3/25/11,  he is now almost 7 months old.
 
Call or email to sign-up for your very own photo-shoot with the new kid in the house!

Homeward Bound

A total of four flights, two hotel stays, and two car trips transported us from Gold Coast to Punta Gorda. We flew the Smoochy Maroochy  to Sydney; the flight routine but the plane name memorable.  

American Friendship Force with some of the Tweed Valley hosts

Farewell to our Friendship Force Friends and to Australia

Diane and Joanne on the Tweed

All our Friendship Force friends cruised down the Tweed River on our last day here.  It was fun seeing the area from our favorite view - aboard a boat!  The Captain peppered the journey with interesting facts and stories about the area.  When we disembarked at the Village of Tumbulgum, we enjoyed a farewell lunch with the group. 

We didn't want the day to end, so Jim drove us to the Art Gallery to check out the local works.  It was sad to say "good-bye" to our Charlotte friends - but it helped that we agreed to stay in touch.  We returned to the Larkins for a fun evening BBQ of roast kangaroo, lamb chops and sausages.  It was their grand-daughter, Miranda's, 7th Birthday.  We got a taste of what it is to be a grand-parent - there was lots of birthday excitement opening the presents (Miranda got a drum set!!) - wow, that noise got our attention - and it was fun trying on her fake hair!  

This morning Helen & Jim drove us to the airport.  We had tears in our eyes hugging them goodbye.  We hope they will visit us in Florida - if not, we will try to see them when we return to Australia.  We've decided we have to come back.  There is more to see!  We'd like to take the train from Adelaide to Darwin with stops at Alice Springs and Ayer's Rock - and also visit Perth and the quaint town of Broome. 

We are in Syndey tonight and our plane leaves tomorrow afternoon.  We have a 14-hour flight to Los Angeles, a 3-hour layover, and then a flight across the country to Newark.  We'll spend the night there and then head off to Ft Myers where Bill will pick us up on Monday afternoon.

This adventure was just wonderful.  We highly recommend visiting Australia.  The people are THE BEST and adding the 2-week Friendship Force "home exchange" experience made it so special.  We'll never forget the kindness of the Casterton and Tweed Valley Groups.

We'd like to conclude our adventure with this Friendship Force Pledge that says it all about international travel:

As a member of Friendship Force, I recognize that I can make a difference.


I recognize that I have a mission.  That mission is to be a friend to the people of the world.


As I embark upon this adventure, I know that through my example to my own fellow citizens and the people of other nations, the course of Friendship, Love and Peace will be furthered.


I Can Make A Difference!

Friendship Force International

See you back in Florida....

Coolangatta - the Southern Gold Coast

Light House at Byron Bay

We've been delighted to stay in this magical Australian region called the Tweed.   It's spring here and we've been surprised to see some Florida-type foliage, i.e., the purple Jackaranda trees blooming.  Millions of years ago an ancient "shield" volcano,  erupted and as a result, a huge caldera formed that is the largest in the southern hemisphere.  In the center is Mt. Warning, which can be seen from just about anywhere in the area.  There is a flat fertile region of land where sugarcane is the major crop along with other fruits and vegetables.  Then, there are amazing rainforests that are World Heritage sites.  To top that off, there are tracks of highlands radiating out to give breathtaking views along with magnificent beaches with white sand.

We're so glad that the Friendship Force had a second home stay arranged for us in this magnificent area that is not always known to tourists.  The week has flown by with activities arranged for us daily. 

The Southern Gold Coast extends south from Coolangatta on the Queensland border beyond Byron Bay, the most eastern point in Australia. Helen drove us down where we visited a famous lighthouse and trecked down a gorgeous beachside trail with breathtaking views.  Yesterday, the highlight was a visit to Flaeys Fauna Park with lunch at the Currumbin Surf Club that overlooked the beach. 

It's interesting to see how important surfing and live guarding/saving is to the Australians.  They really stress safe water activities to their children and we saw many school groups having classes along the beach.  All the children have summer uniforms consisting of shorts and shirts with colors of their schools - and they are issued hats which must be worn in the sunshine. 

We were also surprised at how many people enjoy the sport of lawn bowling.  We were told that it is quite different from the Italian game of bocci ball.   There are lots of lawn bowling centers around with fancy clubs attached to them.  Everyone seems to be having a super time!

Tomorrow, we are scheduled for a boat trip on the Tweed River.  Never a dull moment for us!

Tweed Valley

,

Our hosts, Jim & Helen Larkin

We were met at the Gold Coast Airport by a delegation from the Tweed Valley Friendship Force at 8 p.m. on Saturday.  Our hosts, (see picture) Helen and Jim Larkin, drove us to their home in the hills of Terranora,  overlooking  a gorgeous coastal skyline.  They are lovely people, both retired, who are parents of 5 grown children (all sons!) and have 8 grandchildren and 3 step-grandchildren.  Since we've been here, there has been a whirlwind of activity.  Today, we toured, Natural Bridge, a world-heritage site in a gorgeous rainforest with a picnic of hot tea and pastries. 



Richard in the Tweed Valley



 Then, we rode to a farm in the valley for a lunch of prawns (AKA shrimp), chicken, crab, salads with lots of wine.  We stood in the bed of Doug's Ute (Farm Utility Truck) as he drove up and over the hilly acreage - a fabulous time.  Pictures to follow someday!

Great Ocean Road

After saying goodbye to our Casterton Friendship Force friends, we piled into a Kia van and drove down to the Great Ocean Road.  On the way we stopped at Wannon Falls for a look and at a Penshurst Tea Room dating back to 1864 for lunch.

Along the Great Ocean Road we stopped to view the cliffs  including the Tweleve Apostles.

  

We turned off the Ocean Road late in the day headed for a lighthouse that turned out to be closed by the time we arrived. However, driving along forested lane deep in the Otway National Forest we encountered  Koalas munching Eucalyptus leaves.

We stopped at Apollo Bay for the night before proceeding to the Mellbourne Airport for our flight to the Gold Coast the next day.

A Surprising Day

Wow - what a day!  This was supposed to be a "free" relaxing day, but it turned out to be such fun.

Our hosts decided to take us to visit Sue who runs a "boutique winnery" for lunch and a few sips of her cabernet sauvignon "Wando Lodge" label.  Then it was off for tea since no day here is complete without "a cuppa" tea and lots of delish desserts.  As we were getting ready to leave, one of the Aussies named Ken decided to invite us for a flight on his Cessna plane to Hamilton.  We said sure "no worries" - we would go and before we knew it, we were driven to the local airport.  We helped him push the 4-seater plane out of the shed and took off into the blue sky over the green farmland. 

It turned out that Ken just wanted to go for a spin to get some airplane fuel.  We landed and helped him fill up the 2 tanks and off we were!  We viewed a gorgeous waterfall over one of the rivers from the air and on the way back, buzzed the Mayor's house in Casterton. 

If that wasn't enough, the Casterton hosts were concerned that we had not seen enough kangaroos and wallabys "in the wild" bushland that surrounds their community.  So off we went!  We visited one of their friends, Tony, who owns a lot of land (they call the fields "paddocks").  Tony told us that we would have to wait until dusk for the  best chance to see the most animals.  So after some more wine, he loaded us into his 4-wheeler and off we went.  First, he took us to see some of his "Highlander" cattle.  They were gorgeous long haired creatures with horns. 

Next, he unlocked the gates of his paddocks and we cruised over uneven land over 4 foot thistle patches (that looked like spiney grass) in seach of "roos."  For some reason, the kangaroos were hiding.  After many paddocks, we spotted 3 huge Moms with Joeys in their pouches.  As we headed home, we saw quite a few more.  Tony drove the vehicle with one hand, while he shone a huge spotlight with the other.  As we were commenting on his driving prowness, oops, he got stuck in a bog.  He stepped out and sunk up to his ankles in the muck and headed back to his home to get a chain to pull us out.  No worries - again!   We were free with a great story to tell.  We went back for more wine and cuppas!   What a fun day!  It will be sad to leave this Casterton Bunch.  We feel like we've made so many friends.  These folks have gone over the top in hosting us and making us part of their community!

A Trip to Portland

After breakfast, Joanne and I hiked over the Glenelg River, just a few blocks from our B&B located on Clarke Street, to the pickup point for our mini bus ride to Portland.  John Carmichael, our sheep shearer, now turned into our bus driver for this trip to the largest town in the area.  I rode up front to get the best view of Glenelg Shire scenery and, hopefully, a kangaroo or two.   With sheep and cattle dotting its rolling green paddocks and red gum trees lining the roads, the shire is a beautiful part of Australia.  We passed through forests of blue gums and pines where kangaroos hide during the day.  Right on cue a small wallaby hopped across the roadside!


 Our host, Bruce Cross, wanted us to visit Portland since it is the seat of government of Glenelg Shire and is an interesting coastal city. We were so surprised when he greeted us in full Mayorial Dress (see picture above! double click to make them larger) and provided an overview of Australian politics.  It's interesting that only 3% of tax revenue is distributed to local government for all the road intrastructure and social service agencies. He explained that in his role of Mayor, he and Council also set the budget (this past year it was $40 million) and expenditures are under review by the federal government.  

Bruce was able to arrange for a special tour of a gannet colony.  These rare colorful sea birds have only recently established a colony on the Australian coast and visiting is allowed by special permission. We were able to get a close up view and meet the 2 dogs that guard them day and night from preditors like foxes that could harm them and destroy their nests. 

It was interesting to see a huge American-owned Alcoa aluminum operation in the town that provides substantial revenue to the area.  There is a large market for aluminum ignots that are shipped over to China for further processing.  Portland is not only a beautiful beach town, but also a major port for shipping the aluminum, timber (mostly red gum and pine chips) and other products to China and Malaysia.

Bruce showed us huge cannons that were built in the late 1800s to defend the coast against a threat from Russia.  I was amazed because I always thought Australia was too far away to be threatened by a country such as Russia!


It's surprising how grateful they still are to the U.S. I guess we were never told in our own American history how involved Australia was in World War II. It seems that all their men were in Europe and Great Britain refused to let them come back to defend their own country. I was told yesterday "the Japanese would have cooked their bacon" if it wasn't for the U.S. who sent their submarines and troops over here to save them from Japanese attack. Apparently, many Japanese subs were all over their coasts and even in Sydney Harbor.

Sheep on the Farm

Kelpies worked the sheep forcing them into a holding pens. From the pen the dogs encouraged the sheep to move down a narrow lane to a gate where sheep and lambs were sorted, lambs to the left; sheep to the right.
Earlier John, a local fatmer, sheared a sheep for us.  I have videos!  

After the sheep work, we hopped in the back of the fire truck for a ride around the farm.  BBQ & beer followed the truck ride. On the way to the farm we spotted emus in the Blue Gums.  On the way back we visited a nursery and planted a Friendship Force tree.  Much more to tell about this great day.      


Photos

Australia Bush Country - Casterton, Victoria

After a pleasant 5 hour train and bus journey, we were picked up in a town called Hamilton by members of the Casterton Friendship Force Club.  They drove us 20 minutes to the town center where 20 club members greeted us with gifts of tiny koala bears.

Our friends, Sue and Rob Linehan, introduced us to Friendship Force (FF) about a year ago.  The Southwest Florida Group is made up of ~100 members who are predominately located in Fort Myers, a 30-minute drive from our town of Punta Gorda.  FF formed in the mid 1970's by US President Jimmy Carter who wanted to promote world  peace and understanding. Today approximately 60 world countries on 6 different continents are involved with the group.  The group promotes world understanding by welcoming FF members into their  home to experience firsthand how they live.  This is called a "home exchange (AKA home stay)."  In our case, we joined a group from Charlotte, N.C. who were going to Australia.  Our first home stay location is Casterton in the Aust state of Victoria followed by a homestay in the Tweed Valley on the Gold Coast for the second week.

After our rousing welcome, we were guests of honor at a dinner at their local hospital.  We were touched when they presented us with an Australian flag and other gifts. 

Our home hosts, Janet and Bruce Cross, are prominent in their community.  Bruce is the Mayor of the Shire of Glenelg and has many responsibilities for the roads and community service organizations.  They renovated a property close to town into a Bed & Breakfast, where we are staying.

The past few days have been a whirlwind of activities.  Some of the highlights have been visiting the Carmichael Sheep Farm where we were guests at a tea, touring the local vineyards that are famous for their red wines, visiting the town of Penola (home of Australia's first saint), and having dinner at the Pub in the Shrub! 

Richard will be posting pictures soon.  Some Pictures from trip to Penola in state of South Ausltralia.  More to come.

Melbourne

Today we are in the south of Australia in the town of Melbourne. It's cold and wet here with sprinlkles and occasional showers. Tomorrow a train and bustake us  to a rural area called Casterton (which is between Adelaide and Melbourne). We've met the 4 other folks from the Charlotte North Carolina Friendship Force and they are great folks!

Today we saw a parade before the big football final between Collingswood versus Goulang. They call football FOOTY. It was quite a parade with thousands of people complete with bands and the team players.  Standing right behind a ABC camera and a gorgeous TV reporter, Richard videoed her reporting with the parade in the background!  We had a nice spot to view the parade at St Paul's  Cathedral. A very nice lady gave us a tour of the church.  

We also went to a neat aboriginal art museum and Fitzroy Gardens that had Captain Cook's childhood cottage that was brought here from England. The cottage dates to the 1570's.

Melbourne Bound

At the Cairns airport waiting for our flight to Melbourne. 11 AM 29/09/11 our time;  9 PM 9/28/11 Florida time.

We are having some fun reading the newspaper and looking at the traffic signs.  A sign in the Circle Quay rail station reads "No Way Out."   The paper reported an Aborginal  representative from the Northern Territory calling MPs bludgers and lairs.  This all has to the Greens protesting drilling for gas that provides jobs for local people - Read Story here.    The Greens also want to extend  a mining tax for coal and iron to gold but the prime minster says the new tax is done and dusted. 

Melbourne  Melbourne Visitors     State of Victoria

After Melbourne - Casterton

Great Barrier Reef

Giant Clam on Normans Reef

More Later 

Reef Encounter  served as our floating hotel on the Great Barrier Reef for two nights.  Both Joanne & I tried introductory dives.  I had a lot of trouble with clearing my ears as expected but I did get close up encounters with a gaint clam and huge wrasse fish.   Check out this picture of the Giant Clam! I didn't bring my camera while diving so no photos from real deep down.  Joanne couldn't clear her ears so her dive lasted only a few minutes.

We snorkeled on three reefs, saw lots of topical fish and coral but no sharks!  Divers, especially at night encountered large fish and nondangerous sharks. On the first snorkel, the current carried Joanne away. After climbing aboard, she realized she was on the wrong boat!   She managed to swim back to our boat as the crew were anxiously looking for her.  No Worries (as they say in Australia!)

We met lots of interesting young people from many parts of the world.  Hendrick and his friend were two young guys from Denmark who were working as dive instructors on the boat.  I related that my Dad's ancestors had come to the U.S. from Denmark in the late 1800's to avoid forced conscription into the German Army.  They knew about this part of Denmark's history and filled me in about it.  They said that in the rural Danish farm area known as Jutland, that bordered Germany, many Danish people left to avoid this fate.

We also met a wonderful Japanese girl who was traveling around Australia.  She said that she loved the casual Western ways and wanted to see as much as the world as she could before she had to return to Japan and work in Tokyo.

Another interesting fellow was a passenger from Spain named Pablo.  He is a physicist who is working in Geneva, Switzerland.  He spoke flawless English and told us how his country has changed after Franco's rule (when Richard last visited in the 1970's) into a much freer society.

All of the young people commented upon the U.S.'s strict Immigration and Visa Laws.  They have a difficult time getting into the U.S. even for a visit after 9/11.  Hendrick is hoping to visit the US Virgin Islands and if he likes it, may try for a green card.

We had a wonderful time snorkeling and interacting with all the crew and passengers.  Today, we travel to the south of the country to Melbourne to meet up with our Friendship Force Charlotte North Carolina Group.  We'll be going to a rural place between Melbourne and Adelaide called Casterton.

Check these out  - -  Giant Clam     Giant Clam Video

Kuranda Koala

Skyrail "floated" us over Queensland rainforest 7.5 km to the tourist town of Kuranda with two stops  enroute, one for a ranger lead tour within the rainforest and another for a park interpretive center. No rain as this is the dry season.  Joanne held a Koala for a photo opporunity in Kuranda. We hand  fed wallabys and checked out the shops before taking the scenic railway back to the outskirts of Cairns.

We walked to Cock and Bull, a pub about a mile from our hotel for the first not so expensive good meal we have had in Australia. Generally one gets what one pays for but sometimes one gets a break. I had a whole pint of Guiness too.

Cairns is about 1500 miles north of Sydney. I could feel the tropics as the plane landed amonsgst densely wooded hills. Our room at the Holiday Inn looks out onto the Coral Sea. A rainforest fills the atrium in the center of the hotel.   More later.


Photos

This morning we head for the great barrier reef for three days. We will stay on Reef Encounter, a "floating hotel."

Concluding Our Sydney Visit - Onto the Great Barrier Reef!

Time flew by the last few days!  There was the hike over the famous Sydney Harbor Bridge.  Oprah and her entourage climbed to the top of it - but the Bridge Climbing Company has a lock on the experience at $200 each; so we took the cheap scenic route.  Then, we decided to have a drink at the famous Sydney Tower.  As I sipped my $18 Cosmo and Richard downed his $9 beer, we watched the gorgeous sunset over the city.  Just awesome! 

Now - not only can we say we've see an opera, but also we've seen one at Sydney's iconic opera house!  Our first opera!

Downtown is vibrant day and night with many shopping malls. At QVB, Queen Victoria Building, we purchased Aussie hats. 




Now we are  looking forward to snorkeling on the Reef.  Tomorrow we take a 3 hour flight north on their discount airline called JetStar.  It's easy to book from the U.S. - just like you are taking a Southwest flight!

Richard and I talked about our impressions of the last 10 days.  Here they are...

   - Wonderfully friendly laid-back people who LIKE Americans!  (We can't tell you how many people on the street started to talk to us and welcomed us here!)

    - Gorgeous city!  The harbor is awesome, the public transportation is great.  You can take a subway, a free bus, a ferry or a monorail to different parts of the city very easily.  You always feel safe.

   - Lots to do and see, as you can see by our write-ups of what we've visited here!

   - September is the beginning of spring time here and the weather has been so nice - in the 70's with low humidity and sunshine

   - There is much diversity in the city with lots of Asians, Indians, etc. which gives it a nice feel

   - Food is a bit pricey; however, there is NO TAX or TIPPING in restaurants so you have to figure that in.  To give you an example, in a nice restaurant the main entrees are $25 and up.  A cup of coffee is approx $3.50 and a glass of house wine is $8 or $9 a glass.  Everything in a nice restaurant is al la carte - salads are served after the entree and can be high - approx $10.  There are lots of cafes serving spectacular European desserts that are very hard to pass up. 

If for some strange reason we had to leave the U.S., this is the place we would live.  It's so nice here and it's a pleasure to spend money in a country that likes Americans!!

Guess What? The natives can understand us despite our North American accents! And on a final note, we haven't seen a single ambulance-chasing lawyer commercial on television, so unlike Florida!!! (not that we've been watching much tv)

Coastal Walk

A train from the Museum Station to Circular Quay linked a  ferry for a ride to Watsons Bay.  A cool and exceedingly useful Travel Planning Tool  on the Internet allows easy route finding using Sydney's buses, trains and ferrys. Even maps and walking directions to transport stops can be displayed.  We used this website to check out our route to a  Coastal Walk above Watsons Bay.  We walked along the coast enjoying the beautiful views of the Tasman Sea from the cliffs to South Head where we caught a bus to the golden sands of Bondi Beach. A bus ride brought us back to Watsons Bay for an expensive but excellent lunch at the very famous Doyles Restauarnt, a don't miss Sydney dining experience.

Bondi Beach

Check out our Pictures

Taronga Zoo

Taronga Zoo lies a pleasant ferry ride across Sydney Harbor from Circular Quay, the ferry depature point from downtown Sydney. Since Australia is home of many creatures not found in any other parts of the world, we decided it was time to see some of them at this zoo.


One of my favorites was the Koala bears.  Check out this little fella that Richard and I admired.  We were lucky to see him awake since Koalas sleep 20 hours a day!


We also were educated on the difference between kangaroos and wallabies. Kangaroos are larger and have pointy faces, while the wallabies are smaller with rounded profiles.  Another interesting fact - kangaroos and emus can only travel forward - never sideways or backwards.  That's why they are often pictured on the rugby team emblems - in other words, meaning the teams only move ahead.


Check out some of the other unusual animals that Richard photographed below.


Later in the evening we enjoyed a fabulous home-cooked salmon dinner with the Hunts and their friends who were visiting from New Zealand.  They told us that New Zealand is only a short 3-hour flight away from here; therefore, these friends visit frequently.  We've been so impressed by their friendliness and hospitality and hope that when they visit Florida, we will be able to return some of it to them!






Pictures

Born to Be Wild

Sunday - Walking through Hyde Park on our way to St Mary's Cathedral  on a warm &  beautiful morning , we crossed tracks with  Sydney Marathon  runners doing their part to reduce Australia's 70% obesity rate. Australia must use a different standard of measure than the US because folks look pretty good here -- especially the girls in their leggings and short skirts! 

After fish and chips at the Fish Market, we experienced Scott's South Pole expedition at the
Australian National Maritime Museum.  We were also surprised by the very large United States Exhibition there.  Apparently President George Bush Sr. donated quite a bit of his money to establish this to highlight the collaborations between our 2 countries throughout the years.  We read about the Japanese threats to their coastlines during WWII and viewed pictures of the U.S. Navy Ships coming into Sydney Harbor to defend them.  The Australians are still very grateful to our nation and have supported us in most of our conflicts - and very recently in Afganistan.  

Sydney boasts the largest IMAX screen in the world; upon it we watched Born to Be Wild in 3D.  It was an inspiring story about scientists who are saving baby elephants in Africa and orangatangs in Borneo. 

Blue Mountains

The Blue Mountains are just a 2-hour drive away from Sidney so we decided to check them out.  We boarded an Ozzie tour bus full of European students and had a blast talking to them and the tour guide as we rode along.  So - why Blue Mtns?  Well, it's because there is a blue haze around them caused by light striking droplets of eucalyptus oil that evaporates from the leaves of the dense surrounding forest. 

We arrived at Katoomba where we visited dramatic overlooks of sandstone rock formations.  We hiked downthe Furber Steps into the Jameson Valley through waterfalls, fern valleys and unusual looking trees complete with white cockatoos with yellow plummage.  Since the walk was quite strenuous, we decided to take a funicular railway, the world's steepest at 52 degrees, back up to the top - and it was quite a thrill. 

On the way back, the driver took us by some protected Australian Government Land where we saw kangaroos moving around.  I was surprized how large they were.  The tour driver had visited the US and he gave us some of his random thoughts of Australia compared to the United States.  For the record, here is what we can remember...
    - We don't play cricket and much rugby (these are big sports here!)  However, rugby isn't followed much until there are international matches.
    - They are still a commonwealth of England and get a day off for the Queen's birthday - but Great Britain doesn't!   No days off for us for Obama's birthday!
    - The US has the fattest people in the world - and Australia the second fattest.  However, he thought our country has more morbidly obese folks than they do.

    - Their Prime Minister is very unpopular and they've heard our President is, too.   They don't seem to have any good candidates to challenge her...and well, probably, we don't either.
    - They don't tip for anything; consequently, their customer service is just not as good as the U.S., especially in restaurants.

    - The internet has changed everything in Australia.  They buy many things "on line" from the U.S. at much cheaper prices. There is no duty on obtaining our goods. This is having a bad effect on their retail industry.

    -  Their average worker makes more money than a U.S. worker.  However, they are taxed at much higher rates and think the U.S. has very low taxes compared to the rest of the world.  They have health care, but many people buy supplemental private policies to obtain better access and care.  Their homes are much more expensive and the younger folks cannot afford their own home.

All in all it was a great day!  Pictures

Sydney Opera House Tour

                          
Today, we had internet tickets for a tour of the iconic Sydney Opera House. Iconic -three of of four people in the world  recognize the building!   Our tour guide explained that a Danish architect, Jorn Utzon, won an international competition to design it.  When the project ran overbudget, the country raised the money to finish it in 1973 at a staggering price tag of $102 million.  It has a large concert hall, a smaller theater for the ballets and many other venues for smaller productions. We were very impressed by its beauty - enough so that we decided to purchase opera tickets to hear Lakme on September 21st.  Since we've never seen an opera before, we decided this was the opportunity to see one!  The rest of our day was spent enjoying the sunshine in the Royal Botanic Gardens and visiting the Art Gallery of New South Wales.  Check out our pictures by double clicking the word "Pictures" below.



Waiting for the Tour to Begin



Pictures















Sydney Harbor Cruise



Southern Princess Approaching Harbor Bridge

Our second day in Sydney was just fantastic!  It began with John, our friend Dorrit's family friend (AKA big brother), who picked us up at our hotel and drove us to his gorgeous home across the Harbor Bridge.  We met Irene, John's wife, and surprised them with 5 boxes of Betty Crocker Angel Food Cake Mix that Dorrit asked us to bring from Punta Gorda as it is unavailable in Australia.  Irene was thrilled that the cake mixes made it here as previously, when they tried to obtain the treasured mixes, Customs had a problem with the egg whites contained in them!

In the 1960's when John was working at the United Nations, he met Dorrit's family and sailed many weekends with her father.  The families remained close friends through the years.  We are incredibly fortunate to have friends like Dorrit & Bruce who arranged a day for us on Sydney Harbor on with them on John's sailboat,  a 57 ft Beneteau called Southern Princess. 

We boarded Southern Princess, berthed at a small pictursque marina, a short car ride from John and Irene's home.  We were awed as we sailed up Middle Harbour, through Spit Bridge and down around to Sydney. After picking up a little diesel fuel, we sailed under the famous Harbor Bridge , passed the breathtaking Sydney Opera House, dipped into Darling Harbour, traveled under Madona's Bra Bridge (click on to discover why it is called this name) and anchored off the fish market in Blacksmith Bay.  A dinghy ride to the dock allowed us to purchase FRESH extra large prawns (shrimp) and oysters for lunch.   What a feast we had -  complete with Australian chardonnay, sourdough bread, fresh fruit and cheeses.  YUM !

After a fun-filled day of great conversation, sights and food,  in late afternoon, John and Irene dropped us off at the foot of the Harbor Bridge afterwhich we walked back through the city to our hotel.  WOW!  What a unforgettable day! And, an added bonus, Irene and John invited us over for dinner next Tuesday.  We will look forward to even more time with these wonderful hosts.


Photos

Skipping Tuesday



Platypus at Sydney Aquarium

 We arrived Sydney Airport Wednesday morning at 6 AM, skipping Tuesday altogether.  After clearing customs, collecting our bags and purchasing an Optus donngle for the Internet, we shuttled to the Vibe Hotel on Goulburn Street.  What luck, our room was available and we checked in.  After showers, we walked down to Darling Harbour on a wonderful sunny morning. Cockle Bay at harbour's head looks something like Baltimore's Inner Harbor - lots of  restaurants lining the walk around bay. 

Just to see the platypus, we made the Aquarium our first tour stop.  The platypus, much smaller than I had imagined, was extremely lively, zooming all over the place.  Also zooming around were lots of uniformed school children filling out multi page assignment sheets.  Among all the down under sea life, also on view: the Napoleon Wrasse,  fairy penguins  and dugongs (looks like manatees to me)

After a little lunch and a walk back to our hotel, I promptly fell asleep.
 
Pictures

September 12 - On Our Way to Sydney Australia



4:30 Am Departure from Punta Gorda

 Here we are all set for our Australian Odessey loading up the luggage into the car of our friends, Dorrit and Bruce.  Wow, what great friends to tote us up to Ft Myers Airport at that early hour!

Just double-click to see our Pictures

We flew via Houston and San Francisco.  We had quite a layover in the City By the Bay so we hopped a BART commuter train connecting to a trolley (SF Muni F Line) to
Fisherman's Wharf.  It was a beautiful day!  After a great seafood lunch, we toured a restored Liberty Ship, the SS Jeremiah O'Brien , and then took a harbor cruise under the Golden Gate Bridge and checked out Alcatraz from the sea.  Richard snapped some great pictures.  Check them out above. 

At 11:00 PM we boarded our 13-hour flight for Sydney, just a mear 7,439 miles across the Pacific.  We lucked out and managed to get seats in the less crowded back of the plane and were able to take turns lying across 3 seats.  We actually were able to get a little sleep and arrived in Australia at 6:00 AM - losing an entire day!  No Tuesday! 

Oregon Summer 2011

We visited my sister, Claire & brother-in-law, Howard's places in Tigard and Willamina, OR for a week this summer.  Our dear friends, Betty & Richard, traveled from Houston to join us there.  Check out our beautiful pictures of the Columbia River Gorge, Mount Hood and hiking near our relative's cabin.  Also, check out "Farm for Sale" if you'd like to buy it!  See below - a real deal!!!

The picture to the right was taken on "Howard's Mountain" on the cabin's (farm) property.  Isn't the sunrise awesome?

We also traveled to Ashland, Oregon in the southern part of the state.  What a great place!  It has a 9-month "Shakespeare" Festival (well - not only Shakespeare, but all kinds theater (plays) with wonderful B&Bs nearby). We saw a remake of a Moliere play called The Imaginary Invalid - a funny comedy. 


Columbia River Gorge    

Mount Hood

Ashland Oregon

Farm for Sale 

Niagara Falls Hike

Goodbye to our dear kitty Sherwood 1995 - 2011

Joanne wanted a cat.  Although a dog person, I acquiesced to cat, agreeing that a dog wasn't practical choice for our lifestyle. One day,  our friend Cheryl upon hearing that Joanne wanted a cat, called to offer us a free baby kitten.  We knew that Cheryl raised pure bred cats for show but we didn't know what kind.


When we walked in Cheryl's front door, a baby Persian Tabby kitten walked right up to greet us, his new parents to be.  Cheryl's husband, Dan, told us that if we hadn't come right over, they would have kept him - even though Cheryl was getting out of the cat business.   He had personality plus!


We didn't know we were getting a long haired cat with a weird pushed-in face but he was so friendly we couldn't refuse.  What to name this kitten?  We lived on Sherwood Forest Drive and Sherwood seemed a sufficiently distinguished name for such a cat.  So this kiity, now named Sherwood, joined our family and our hearts.




He never knew a stranger right from the beginning.  Halloween was his favorite holiday. Each time the doorbell announced another band of little goblins, Sherwood would bound for the door to greet the little costumed creatures who came trick or treating.  When we hosted disscussion groups at our house, little Sherwood would sit in a chair if one were available - - or sit in the center of the group, if not.  Sherwood would look intently at whomever was talking as if he were following the conversation.  One time, I announced that Sherwood was recording everything that we said.  Our friend Richard Armstrong immediately added, "And beaming it up to the mothership, too!"  With a voice full of surprise and astonishment, I asked Richard how did he know, Sherwood's secret identity?

Sherwood did not like change.   Although always interested what we were eating he would only eat his cat food.  Changing the shape of his food bowl threw him for a loop.  He didn't like car rides either.  We never took him on the boat thinking he wouldn't do well with the boat motion.

After we retired and decided to give Florida a try, we wondered how Sherwood would handle the long car trip from Houston to Punta Gorda.  Well, after a little whinning and gazing through the windows, he settled right down.  Whenever he sensed the car slowing down, he would get up expecting an end to car captivity. 

How would he be traveling and living on our sailboat?   That surprised us, too.  He adjusted just fine and eventually even would sit with us in the cockpit and look at the waves and birds flying overhead.

Sherwood lived 15 years, 7 months.  He started to lose weight - the vet figured out his kidneys were failing and he developed a mass in is abdomen.  It was hard saying goodbye to this little kitty.  He enriched our lives so much.  Even when he wasn't feeling very well this past May, he greeted each and every guest at Cousin Constance's birthday party at our place.  He never new a stranger!  We know there must be a very special place in heaven for those special pets who give so much love and ask nothing in return - well maybe, just a little rub under the chin! 

Summer Visitors

Bart & Nita, Richard's brother and our sister-in-law, visited us from Killeen, Texas.  Here they are pictured with our Punta Gorda celebrity, Miss Manatee Mailbox!  It was great having them stay over and we had a wonderful dinner and visit!

Next on the agenda was Michele, our daughter, visiting us from Austin, Texas.  She has decided to leave Austin and practice medicine on the Big Island of Hawaii in Kona!   We are so very proud of her and we wish her much happiness there.  Bryan, her "significant other" is also going and they are starting a new life together there.  We can't wait to visit and hope to see them early next year.

We had lots of fun while she was visiting - check out the biking picture taken along the new Punta Gorda bike path along the Peace River.