House Hunting, Weddings and Yabbying

My brother Tony and his wife Yudian at canal home

Pineapples, Rainbow Lorikeets and Mango tree (click on the photo to appreciate)
Wedding Marquee with Brisbane skyline

It is only two weeks since my last entry, and we have made a few trips up to the Gold Coast and Brisbane. I was about to say the weather is stunning, but then remembered we have had several days of rain which have been much appreciated. In fact Tamworth (Country & Western Capital) is flooded at the moment – the farmers there must be pulling their hair out – they have poor crops for several years due to drought and this year they had bumper grain crops ready for harvest, but now most crops are lost.

One of the trips to the Gold Coast was a visit with my brother and he took us to look at properties along the river. Some very nice properties indeed. We were invited to join his friends at their property on a canal. They have their own white sand beach, and lovely rainbow lorikeets fed in their garden. Tropical fruits such as pineapple and mangoes grow in their garden. Check out the photos.

The son of one of my girlfriend’s got married in Brisbane last weekend. The wedding reception was held in a large marquee complete with crystal chandeliers and overlooking Brisbane skyline. Very picturesque. We danced all night and had a fabulous time.

Yesterday Murray got an early Christmas present when I bought him a yabbie pump. He checked it was low tide, then packed up his fishing tackle including his shiny new pump, and walked down to the river to try out his new toy. I wandered down a while later and put into practice the skills my father taught me, and in no time at all I had two wriggling yabbies to offer him for bait. Sadly, no fish were interested, so we ended up having pork chops instead of fresh fish with our salad!!

Ending with a good news story: Qantas had a 2 for 1 sale last week and we were able to book our return tickets to the US for half price. We arrive back in Los Angeles and Kansas City on Sunday 29th March for another 6 month trip. I daresay many companies will be offering discounts in the months to come – airlines, cruise lines, department stores, as they try to stay afloat in these troubled financial times. Now we just have to hope the aussie dollar picks up a bit so we don’t loose too much in the conversion to greenbacks.

Driving Trip Ballina Canberra Sydney Ballina

Route from Ballina to Canberra to Sydney and home to Ballina

Jacarandas in bloom throughout trip

Country Friends

Murray & Benn (my son) at Coogee Beach, Sydney
Benn with his mum at Coogee Beach, Sydney
Aussie Country Road

On Tuesday last week, Murray & I drove my sister’s car to Canberra (750 miles), as she needed to swap it with her newer car left in Canberra. It was lovely driving along the country roads and seeing the countryside in the spring when it is still nice and green. I daresay the green will have turned to yellow or brown come the end of a hot summer.

While we were in Canberra we caught up with family and friends which is always enjoyable. Another couple we met up with are heading to Canada for 18 months, and are talking of buying an RV trailer and traveling the USA. We hope to visit them on our next US RV trip.

We stayed in Canberra for 4 nights before driving 3 hours East to Sydney where my eldest son Benn lives. We arrived on his 30th birthday and celebrated with a lovely lunch for the three of us, then a dinner with 8 of his friends. Both venues were overlooking the scenic Coogee Beach. His girlfriend joined us for breakfast the next morning before we drove out of Sydney and headed 450 miles north to Ballina. Only 2 hrs north of Sydney we stopped in to visit the daughter of a dear American friend of ours, and had lunch overlooking the water. The East Coast of Australia has some very pretty beaches with surf rolling into light, sandy beaches. The famous Bondi Beach a lot of you ask about is the second beach to the north of Coogee Beach.

The only downside of our trip was that it coincided with the US election, and we were aware that we were missing all the media highlights. I know many of you are very happy with the outcome of Obama’s election, but I’m just as conscious that there are some of you who would have preferred McCain. Hopefully Obama and his team will provide the US with sound steering in the turbulent times ahead.

End of First Month Home

We live at the end of this streetPandanus Plant with Fruit

On my river walk looking out to the sea

A layout of the area (oops - this one won't optimise with a mouse click!)

It is now November, so we have been home in Aus for a full month. You would think that would have been plenty of time for us to get settled, but we are still a bit discombobulated. Don't you love that word - I first heard the word when a dear American friend of mine used it. I find it is perfect to describe how I feel at times...a bit dislocated or disorganised I guess.

While we are in the USA, we have everything we need for the RV lifestyle we live there, but over here, we are trying to live a normal lifestyle without our own place and without our usual things. If we could only decide where we wanted to buy a place everything would fall into place...until then, we will simply give thanks for our health, family & friends and be grateful for the opportunities that we have.

When I went for a walk along the river a few days ago, I took some photos for you. It really is such a beautiful location, the photos just don't do it justice. The Pandanus tree photo was taken of one growing along the river path I walked along. Wildlife including birds take advantage of the spiny leaves by living in the tree for protection and they also eat the fruit. Aboriginals use the fibre of the leaves to make string for dillybags, baskets, mats and shelters. The leaves can also be mashed and tied around the head to cure headaches. Some tribes use the plant to make fish traps. The large, pineapple-like fruit turns red when ripe. The fruit's seeds can be extracted and ground into flour.

Love hearing from you all, so keep the emails coming.

Australiana for our US Friends

Standley Chasm, Alice Springs, NT
View with a Cockatoo, Eucumbene, NSW
Uluru (Ayers Rock), Central Australia
Ghost Gum, Central Australia
Whitsunday Islands, Great Barrier Reef, QLD

My apologies for the lack of blog updates. Our settling into Ballina has been hampered by what I thought was a viral infection that had me laying low, but yesterday the doctor thought I may have an allergy to the local flowering trees and prescribed an anti-allergy med. Time will tell. In the meantime, here are some photos from my collection to share some of Australia with you. Enjoy the scenery, and keep in touch now you hear!

Safely Home in Aus

Home with Friends Amongst the Gum Trees
Heather & I with our Rav4
Sugarcane Field
Caloundra QLD
Yamba NSW

We have been home 11 days now, and this is my first chance to update the blog! Our days have been filled with catching up with family & friends and taking care of a few administrative things including regular health checks, collecting our car from a friend who lives 5 hrs up north, etc etc. Out of 11 days, we have been home for dinner for only 2 nights. Busy, busy...

Our flight home was the best ever - I mentioned previously that our bags were checked through from Kansas City to Dallas Fort Worth to Los Angeles and onto Brisbane which was wonderful. Because we stayed within the internal airport security, we did an initial security check at Kansas City and didn't do another one for the rest of the trip. Our 14 hr flight from LAX left on time and was smooth & comfortable, and allowed Murray to catch up on the latest movies. It was exciting to see my youngest sister and eldest brother waiting in the crowd as we exited customs.

The weather has been perfect spring weather - nice cool nights and warm, sunny days. We caught a train up north to collect our car, and I caught up with my dear friend Heather - we are both nurses and joined the Air Force on the same day over 20 years ago - she is out now too and works in a hospital in Bundaberg. The 4.5 hr train trip from Brisbane to Bundaberg allowed us to sit back in comfort and check out the aussie countryside - mostly nice and green, but it got drier the further north we got. I have to say it was nice to see the familiar gum trees (eucalypts) along the way. Once we picked up our car, the drive back to the Gold Coast allowed us to note the difference in crops...in USA we were seeing corn, hay and soya beans, and here we were seeing sugarcane, avocadoes, olives, paw paws and mangoes. This state also grows ginger, macadamias and pineapple, but we didn't see those on the route we took. During the trip back we caught up with friends Barb & Bruce who are also just back from a 6 month RV trip around the USA, and another friend from our Air Force days who we had lost touch with for many years.

Tomorrow we move into our 1 bedroom cottage in the seaside town of Ballina, which is 1.5 hrs south of the Gold Coast where we are living at the moment. It will be nice to settle in and kick back for a few weeks, before I commence one month of Air Force reserve work at Canungra, which is 20 mins from the Gold Coast. I will live in the Officers' Mess for the duration.

Back Home to Aus

Like all good things, our second six-month USA RV trip has come to an end. We have stored our RV in Kansas City for the next six months are now in the Dallas Fort Worth Airport en route to our Los Angeles for our 14 hour non-stop flight to Brisbane, Australia. After enjoying stunning weather for the past week, lightning, thunder and torrential rain escorted us to the airport this morning! We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express hotel last night and they provided a free shuttle to the airport and also to any shopping or restaurant within a 5 mile radius. In fact, we were very impressed with the hotel – apart from the free shuttle services, our room had two queen beds, they had free hot breakfast with bacon, scrambled eggs, sausages, muffins, toast, yoghurt, fruit, cinnabons and cereals. There was a heated indoor pool and a gym that fortunately had a set of scales so that we could weigh our suitcases and ensure they were each under the 23kg (50lb) limit. We knew American Airlines have started charging $15 for the first checked bag, and $25 for the second, so we had our money ready to pay, but because we were linking in with an international flight, we didn’t have to pay anything which was a pleasant bonus. Not only that, but our bags were checked all the way through to Brisbane, so we don’t see them again until we arrive home. Fantastic. Traversing from Terminal 4 at LAX to the Tom Bradley terminal toting 3 large suitcases, a laptop, a backpack and a carry on bag has been quite a pain in the past – so not having the large suitcases to check in again will be great.

This year we traveled a total of 12,080 miles (19,440 km) compared to our 2007 six month distance of 13,319 miles (21,435 km). Having a lovely 3 weeks stopover in North Dakota kept our miles lower, and given the higher fuel prices, that worked in our favour. On this trip our cheapest fuel was $3.21/gallon and the highest was $4.36/gallon.

During this trip we caught up with many friends from last year and made some special new ones. Murray also got to enjoy some great fishing outings once again, especially in North Dakota and Missouri. The map shows our routes for each trip, red for 2007 and blue for 2008. Next year we plan to cover the north east corner of the US, plus the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia areas of Canada (after Arkansas, North Carolina & Maryland and before we visit North Dakota). We have a rough plot to build in a side trip to Spain and return via San Francisco so we can visit with friends in Sacramento. Time will tell.

Thanks to all of you in USA and Australia who have kept in touch via emails and phone calls during our 6 month travels, and I hope the blog has provided a good synopsis of our travel adventures for those interested. Keep in touch.

Independence, Missouri

Santa Fe Trail - Click photo to get an idea...

Truman House Temple Quilt Display
Vaile Mansion Rod & Nicholas

Huge Margarita
Rod's El Camino

We have just spent 2 days in Independence, Missouri, which is a few miles East of Kansas City, and where we are storing our RV for the next 6 months. We knew it was a historic area as on a previous visit we had stayed in the same RV Park and walked to see the preserved tracks made by wagons of the Santa Fe, Oregon and California trails – all three trails began here in Independence. On the first day we went for a walk to see the trails again as it is quite mind boggling to stand there and imagine how things were then, helped by a trail marker that has a painting that captures the scene. We had our walking shoes on, so from there we kept walking north and accidentally came across the historic village square which still has the soda shop where America’s 33rd President, Harry S Truman worked as a teenager. He met his wife here and their home here in Independence was where they lived until their deaths. During his presidency the Truman home became known as the summer ‘White House’. We also saw the log courthouse where he worked when he was a county judge before becoming President. As we walked around we couldn’t help but notice the impressive 300’ spiraling tower of the Community of Christ Temple which was designed in the 1920’s. Did you wonder what the photo of the quilt display was all about? If you double click on the photo you may be able to read the signs that advertise quilting classes - this is just a regular house on the street and outside they had a table and women were sitting there quilting and quilts were hanging up for sale. Today is the first official day of autumn, so their days for sitting outside quilting are numbered...

On our second day in Independence we met the son & grandson of Avalyn & Wes, our North Dakotan friends. Rod & Nicholas picked us up and drove us to see the Truman home & Library, then to another famous landmark, the Vaile Mansion. It is a 30 room mansion built in 1881 and recognized as one of the finest examples of Second Empire Victorian architecture in the US. It even has a 48,000 gallon wine cellar – now that’s a wine cellar Joe Bill!

Rod & Nick then took us to their favourite eating haunt – a local Mexican restaurant. The food was very tasty and the beers and margarita were whoppers as you can see by the photo. My margarita wasn’t just big in size (I needed two hands to hold it), it was loaded with tequila. Thanks for the headache Rod! Next stop was Rod's home where he couldn’t help but show us his latest work in motion…an El Camino chevvy (coupé ute) he is restoring, so I took a photo for car fans out there. Rod has a great recipe for venison and when we come back next year he has offered to BBQ us a backstrap (fillet taken from either side of spine) of marinated venison which he assures us will melt in our mouths. Now he just has to wait for deer season.

Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri

Lake of the Ozarks

Photo courtesy http://www.havaspacervpark.com/

When we left Mike and the trout fishing adventure, we made a beeline to Kansas City, Missouri which is our last stop in the USA before flying to LA and then home to Brisbane. We are no longer in tourist mode but are thinking of all the last minute things we need to do before we put the RV into storage, so Murray didn't check out Dick & Jan's drive book.

Consequently we came across the beautiful area around the Lake of the Ozarks quite by mistake. The Lake is half way between St Louis and Kansas City and south of the main interstate. The reservoir and lake there is massive and at the time it was completed in 1931 it was the largest man-made lake in the world. It is now the Midwest’s premier lake vacation destination and attracts 3 million visitors each year. It boasts world-class boating, golfing, shopping & fishing. The area also has some amazing caves/caverns and also some wineries. When we checked into our Hava Space campground which happened to be close to a marina on the Lake, the managers’ offered to take us on their pontoon and cruise the lake, but we graciously declined as we were on a different agenda now – washing, cleaning and clearing out drawers and cupboards. We had no sooner connected up at our site when the manager, Suzanne, arrived at our door with two slices of freshly baked pie – one slice each of apple and cherry. We had them with a scoop of icecream after our dinner which Suzanne also provided (she had made a huge pot of chicken and pasta casserole and shared it with us) – both delicious. It would be a lovely area to return to on a future trip. I took a photo of the lake as we drove over a bridge, but it was overcast and the photo did not do it justice. The website of the campground we stayed at had a good photo on it, so I have borrowed theirs and included their weblink so hopefully some future travelers will remember this blog entry and visit their campground!

Missouri Trout Fishing

Crossing the Mississippi from Illinois to Missouri: St LouisTina Mike Murray & Trish
Trout Fisherman Mike & Murray Flick that Line
Cleaning the Catch

After we said our goodbyes to Andrea and the girls, and Randy rang from Iraq in time to say goodbye, we crossed the Mississippi and parked in Mike (ex-US Army) & Tina’s driveway in St Louis, Missouri. That afternoon we headed to Mike’s dad’s place to celebrate his dad’s birthday and got treated to a delicious BBQ. A cold front had moved down from Canada and so we had a hot, humid day one day, and the next we were wearing winter clothes! We had a photo taken of Mike, Tina, Murray & I to send to friends Mike & I had worked with together back in Australia, but when I saw the photo I was shocked to see how tired Murray & I looked compared to the refreshed look of Mike & Tina – we were the retired ones! Then I remembered our 2am debacle with the fridge the night before, followed too soon by the 6am wake up call from Hurricane Ike!

Next day Tina went off to work, but Mike was very keen to show Murray his favourite trout fishing spot at Montauk State Park, about a three hour drive from their home and SW of St Louis. Mike drove his car and we followed in the RV as we would continue from here to Kansas City. We had got a late start from St Louis, so by the time we reached Montauk SP and got a site backed right onto the Current River (within the Ozark National Scenic Riverways), the chaps only had about an hour to fish but caught no keepers. Mike lit a great campfire while Murray cooked some fish he had caught previously, and we sat out under the stars and the full moon as we ate dinner and sipped on an Aussie red wine. Some of the local animals decided to check if we had left any food scraps, and Murray and I were thrilled to see our first ever skunk and armadillo alive in the wild, not even 30 feet away from us. Both animals seemed large for their species and looked very healthy, so this area must be very kind to them. The skunk had a huge bushy tail which we hadn’t expected but we didn’t get up to get a closer look just in case it sprayed us! The armadillo seemed a lot bigger than those we had seen squished on the roadside in Texas & Missouri. They never used to be this far north when Mike was a lad, so they have extended their territory. We also heard an owl hooting. Mike bought a sleeping bag and slept on our divan which pulls out to a mini-double bed and re-charged his batteries ready to take Murray fishing again at 7am yesterday. The plan was to return at 9am and head to the nearby lodge for a big breakfast. 10am came and there was still no sign of them…

I’m happy to report both guys caught some lovely trout before returning to the RV to pick me up for brunch at 10.30am. We had a big breakfast at the lodge before returning to the RV after which they waded into the river behind us to have another fish before Mike had to head back to St Louis. I baked some blueberry muffins for afternoon tea. Murray & I decided to stay one more night here in the woods without phone, internet or TV, but such a lovely spot. Dinner last night was fresh trout, butterflied a la Mike! Thanks for a great experience.

Last night in Illinois

Fridge Digital Display

Our last night in Illinois taught us a valuable lesson – don’t block ventilation areas! On Saturday we were watching the weather for effects to our area from Hurricane Ike which had done so much damage to Galveston. You may recall we had been caught in the torrential 8” of rain and accompanying westerly winds courtesy of Hurricane Gustav, and unknown to us at the time, it had forced water through the refrigerator ventilation vents and the water had pooled in a cavity underneath the fridge. So this time when they predicted we were to expect wind and rain at about 6am Sunday, we taped some plastic sheeting over that area as a precautionary measure. Well, the fridge overheated, and at around midnight, we heard a loud muffled pop. Neither of us could work out what it was until I noticed the fridge showed an error on the digital readout. We pulled out the instruction manual and followed the instructions. Apparently we could have one chance to reset the cooling system, otherwise we had to take it to a refrigeration mechanic. So we removed the plastic sheeting off most of the vents and just left a portion at the top to limit water entry, then we turned the fridge off and left it to cool for an hour to maximize our chances. After half an hour we turned it back on and presto, the error light had gone out and the digital readout was back to normal. But we wanted to check there were no lasting effects, so we waited until 2am before settling into bed, very relieved that we did not have to try and find a technician on a Sunday!

Sure enough, at 6am we were rudely awoken by buffeting winds and lashing rain as Ike moved north east towards Chicago. Fortunately the winds didn’t get anywhere near as high as we had been used to, and having the jacks down kept us stable. It was pretty much all over by 10am and this time no water got inside the ventilation area. Could have been a costly mistake to cover those vents!

Meet me in St Louis, Louis

Toasted Ravioli

Photo courtesy www.blueberryhill.com

Ted Drew's Frozen Custard Stand

Last night Andrea drove us to The Hill (Little Italy) precinct of St Louis city where we tried a new appetizer called ‘toasted ravioli’. It is ravioli that is dipped in seasoned breadcrumbs and then lightly fried. It is served with a bolognaise sauce plus or minus a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. It was supposedly created and popularized in St Louis and it really was delicious. After that we drove to try another locally famous eatery, Ted Drew’s frozen custard stand. Murray & I were surprised to people lining up at the four windows and cars coming and going, but it is a very popular dessert here. You can order it as a sundae using frozen vanilla custard (very much like a soft serve only with real milk and eggs) and various toppings, or as a ‘concrete’ which is like a sundae with flavouring and topping and then all squished together like a slurry. Interesting. The locals only have a one more week before summer is officially over, so they are making the most of the balmy nights and treating themselves to this summer delight!

Fortunately we had a beautiful evening for our 30 minute jaunt to St Louis last night as we woke up today to the effects of Hurricane Ike – wind around 25 mph (warning of gusts up to 45 mph) and beating rain. Flood warnings are in effect and as flash floods are common in this area, we are deferring our departure to Mike & Tina’s in St Louis until it settles which should be around noon.

We know it is time to go home as we noticed some trees starting to turn yellow and red, autumn is nearly here. Spring started in Australia 2 weeks ago, so it is almost time to head back and enjoy an Aussie spring and summer once again.

Hurricane Ike

Galveston Seawall 17 Apr 08
Galveston Seawall during Ike
http://www.chron.com/news/photogallery/Hurricane_Ike_approaches.html

Yikes – Ike hit landfall on the US coast at Galveston at 3.10am local time this morning, so yesterday we were regularly checking in on the weather channel to follow it’s progress. Yesterday morning we rang friends of ours who live just west of Austin Texas to see if they needed to evacuate, but they were not even expecting any rain (which they badly need). Ike was headed right for Galveston, an area rich in oil platforms that were subsequently evacuated. This resulted in the price of fuel jumping from around $3.56/gal ($0.94/litre) where we were in Kentucky on Thursday, to over $4/gal ($1.06/litre) by the time we drove out on Friday morning. One place was making a real killing by selling it at $4.99/gal. In news film clips from Galveston we could see water crashing over the road that we drove on earlier this trip (photos above). Ike is supposed to have weather implications as far north as Canada, with heavy rains and possible tornadoes predicted for Sunday in the area we are in here in St Louis. I am glad both friends we are staying with have basements.

Yesterday we left Kentucky, crossed the Ohio River, and entered Illinois. For a short time we were driving parallel and right beside the Mississippi River - but I was driving so no photos! We are staying with friends in a town east of St Louis, but still in Illinois. Tomorrow, Sunday we will drive and visit with friends right in St Louis and stay with them for a few days (we will make sure and check on the weather before we hit the road!). When we stay with friends, we plug into the household power and only run minimal appliances to keep usage low. We sleep and have breakfast in our RV to minimize disruption to the household, and that works well for us.

Lest We Forget

Today is the 7th anniversary of 9/11, a heinous event with immeasurable implications for global security. A sad day in our history....

(Photo courtesy www.heartlight.org)

Driving Through SW Kentucky

Amish Buggy Tracks on Side of Highway

Jefferson Davis Memorial
Tobacco Fields (Note some drying on rack)

After we left Tennessee yesterday, we drove north over the border and into Kentucky. We had visited Lexington & surrounds last year, so this time we headed towards the NW corner. Once I map out our route, Murray then peruses a book Jan & Dick gave us for Christmas last year titled ‘Most Scenic Drives in America’ and if he finds interesting drives or places of interest nearby, we refine our route. We try to get off the major highways and see a bit of the farmland and little towns that often get bypassed by the interstates. On this occasion he read that the Jefferson Davis Memorial and Amish country were in the vicinity, so we adjusted our route to go through Hopkinsville and take route 68 E to Russellville. What a pretty drive it turned out to be. We were on the lookout for the familiar Amish buggies we were used to seeing up in Pennsylvania, but although we saw their tracks and horse droppings, we didn’t actually see any buggies on the road.

The crops we usually see on the roads are corn, soya beans or wheat, so it was interesting to start seeing tobacco fields. Apparently Kentucky has an ideal climate for growing tobacco which is its main crop contributing to 50% of agricultural income. At this time of the year tobacco is being harvested and smoked, so lots of wooden shacks in the field were ‘smoking’. It was overcast, warm, and with high humidity, so the smoke hung in the air contributing to the misty haze in photos of this area.

We did a tour up into the 351 ft high Jefferson Davis Memorial and were thankful they provided an elevator! It is 2/3 the size but otherwise a carbon copy of the Washington Monument. The Washington Monument was created to honour the first US President George Washington, and this monument was to honour the first (and only) Confederate President, Jefferson Davis. Hence the scaled replica! Interestingly, Davis is not listed as a US President as the Confederate States of the Civil War were seceded from the Union at that time. Davis was born and lived in a cabin that is now home to a Baptist Church nearby. Interestingly Abraham Lincoln was born only 100 miles away and while he was President of the United States (Union), Davis was his counterpart in the Confederate States of America, so Kentucky had raised two Presidents who served concurrently!

Ms Meador Finale

The next two videos are here so that Joe Bill & John Benton's wife Betsy can right click and download them to their computers. Their 98 year old mother is simply amazing; spending time with her made me miss my own 90 year old mum. In less than two weeks I will be on a plane winging my way back to see her again. I'm coming mum...put the kettle on.

Ms Meador

Gaylord Opryland Resort

Opryland Indoor Gardens
Wedding Setting

Bride Arriving on River Dick Murray & Jan

Hotel Rooms

Prior to our evening at the Grand Ole Opry, we called in to check out the magnificent Opryland Resort next door. It is a 2881 room Resort & Convention centre with 9 acres of indoor gardens, an indoor river and waterfalls. As we meandered through one area of the indoor gardens we saw an area being prepared for a wedding, then a few minutes later, we saw the bride coming down the indoor river on a flatboat. I tried to capture it for you all to enjoy.