Las Vegas 2013

What an exciting birthday celebration and start to our 4 month USA RV trip for 2013.  We had a great party on Saturday night where family and friends joined us for my 60th birthday party. We finally got back to our apartment at 2am, then to bed at 3am - Benn forced me to have one last wine! The next day we drove to Brisbane and Ret, Murray & I caught up with Joy, Benn & Daina for dinner. Very enjoyable get together. Our flight left Brisbane around 7am the next morning, and after landing, Benn drove us to visit Peter Gibbs and young Jethro before dropping us at the international terminal for our flight to LA. 

Family celebration

Mother and Son

Special Friends

Jethro & Peter Gibbs

We managed a few hours sleep on the flight to LA, and despite planning a 3 hr gap before our flight to Las Vegas, we ended up having only 20 mins to sit in the departure lounge before the flight. It didn't help that we were an hour late leaving Sydney and arrive 30 minutes late into LAX. Customs, waiting for baggage on the carousel, immigration then going through security again sure sucked up the time. Be warned Jen, and be thankful you have lots of time. 

Desert Club Resort - Las Vegas 

Lounge Area

Kitchen Area 

Rainie and Murray with groceries - check out pink mountains in background

Our friends from Florida, Rainie & Tom pulled up in front of the Las Vegas airport with a hire car as we walked out with our suitcases. Perfect timing. The weather was glorious - about 22 C. Rainie and Tom have a time share apartment at Desert Club Resort which is one street back and parallel with The Strip. It is a fabulous apartment, two bedrooms both with an ensuite and a fully kitted kitchen with dishwasher (complete with enough dishwasher tablets to last our 4 night stay).  It also has a large screen TV with cable TV in the lounge room, and another TV in each bedroom. It also has free WIFI. We called into a grocery store and now have enough supplies to save us going out for breakfast and lunch unless we have a change of heart! We'll have an early night tonight, an easy day tomorrow, and then we'll have dinner at Caesar's Palace tomorrow before attending the 7.30pm Shania Twain show there. Tomorrow is another day...

Perusing Perth, Western Australia

Kitchen of Monica and Steve's temporary home: Jared, Monica, AD, Ret, Gem (me in front)

Our train ride on the Indian Pacific terminated in Perth at around 9am on a Saturday morning. We were excited to see Gemma & Bill waiting to whisk us to King's Park for a coffee and chat to catch up. The hotel we had booked was only 2 blocks from niece Monica's home where Gemma & Bill were staying, so it was very convenient. The fact that it was also walking distance to a lovely big shopping centre was an added bonus. On our first night in Perth, Monica & Steve invited us to dinner, and met us at the door with a bottle of Moet Champagne. Very special indeed! We had the chance to wander across the road to check out where they will be living for the next 12 months while their home is demolished and rebuilt. After a delicious family dinner, we walked back to our hotel and fancy that, we started a game of Rummy King. I think we finally played the last game at midnight. This was repeated on every night to follow.

Although we did play numerous games of Rummy King on the trip, we allocated some time to see a bit of the Perth environs! Bill drove us 40 mins down south to Rockingham to have a very enjoyable dinner with some long lost cousins - Margot Biddle and her husband Paul Harris. What wonderful hosts! Their back deck was ideally located to catch the sea breeze. On another day we visited Fremantle on the coast, and walked around the Maritime Museum and the Round House. The Round House was built in 1831 as a gaol and was Western Australia's first permanent building. Apparently you can't visit Freyo (as Fremantle is known) without having fish and chips at Kailis on the waterfront, so we didn't want to break with tradition. They lived up to their reputation, although we almost melted in the heat - I think it was in the high 30's C (100 + F) that day. Thankfully that night we were invited to a BBQ with friends of the family, and they had a very inviting pool which got a lot of use. Thanks Peta and Mike! Personally I preferred to chill off internally with some champagnes! An old nursing remedy that did the trick!

FIsh and Chips at Kailis

AD and Gemma wandering back from the lighthouse

After 3 days in Perth, AD, Gem, Ret and I headed south for 3 days at Margaret River - a region known for its famous wines, amongst other things. We took a drive to the western most point of southern Western Australia to the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, sited where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. On the way back to our delightful Heritages Accommodation, we drove through the Karri Forest. The trees are among some of the world's tallest hardwoods and survive an average of 300 years. During our stay we visited a candle shop, a chocolate factory, a silk warehouse, a Berry Farm (without seeing the usual blue wrens that frequent the place - so Gem bought me a gel sticker for my window instead!) and the odd cafe or two.

Wine tasting the conventional way!

Wine tasting Ryall girl fashion - straight from the vine

Breakfast at White Elephant Cafe on our last morning in Margaret River

We kindly gave Gemma some quiet time by disappearing each evening after dinner to play Rummy King

The Busselton Jetty is less than an hour north of Margaret River and is the longest wooden structure in the southern hemisphere. It reaches almost 2 km (1.2 miles) out to sea and has a rail line along the length of it. There is also an underwater observatory at the end which descends 8 metres (26 feet) below sea level.

A delightful stop in at Busselton Jetty

Our sister Rosemary wasn't with us, but this sign was! She was with us in spirit. 

All good things must come to an end, but we knew more delights awaited us in Perth. We dropped Gem off then checked into our hotel - Miss Maud's Swedish Hotel right in the middle of the city. Ret was due to fly back to the Gold Coast that night, but before she needed to be at the airport we met up with the family at their favourite Chinese Restaurant. It was the nicest Chinese Restaurant I have ever eaten in - the staff, decor and food were second to none.

AD out the front of Miss Maud's

Chinese dining: Gemma, Bill, Monica, Ally, Me, Ret (AD took the photo)

On Saturday AD and I made the most of the close promimity to the malls, and shopped till we dropped. Then on Sunday we walked up to the beautiful St Mary's Cathedral where the Archbishop said Mass. Gemma and Bill were singled out to take up the Offertory.

Gemma and Bill with the Archbishop

Sunday was our last day in Perth, so after Mass Gem and Bill drove AD and I to King's Park so that we could walk in the Botanical Gardens and get a bird's eye view of Perth. It was quite a hot day, so we didn't linger too long. We were glad to get back to our airconditioned room and pack our suitcases prior to having a delicious smorgasbord dinner as part of the hotel accommodation. We sampled both the breakfast and dinner buffets in the Hotel, and have never seen anything like it in any other hotel. Amazing. 

Our flight left Perth at 11.30pm and 4.5 hours later, Murray was picking us up at Gold Coast airport. Tired but very happy little vegimites. We made it home in plenty of time to prepare to celebrate AD's 89th birthday coming up on 30th January!

AD taking a photo from Kings Park - click on the photo to see it better!

A Very Special Train Trip

Recently my Aunty Dympna (lovingly abbreviated to 'AD'), my younger sister Loretta and myself excitedly boarded a train, the Indian Pacific (named after the two oceans it travels between), for a 3 day train journey from Sydney (New South Wales) across the country to Perth (capital of Western Australia - a total of 4352 kms (2698 miles). We kicked off with complimentary champagne before settling into our twin Gold Class cabins which were next door to each other. The cabins had an ensuite, and were prime examples of an efficient use of space. Our meals were served in The Queen Adelaide Dining Car, and it was a wonderful experience to sit with loved ones, choosing meals from a great selection of gourmet dishes, while watching the Australian landscape go past the window as we dined. We watched a herd of wild camels scatter as the train rolled past, saw a few wild dingoes in Cook, some emus, several kangaroos, sheep, horses, cows and goats. While we were at breakfast each morning the cabin steward converted our bunk beds into a sitting room, and each evening did the reverse and made up our beds. At 6am the steward delivered tea/coffee if you arranged it the night before. One of the special parts of each morning was when my sister brought her pillow down from her top bunk to join me on the lower bunk and as as sat up and sipped our tea, we marvelled at the sunrise or the changing view, but more than anything, we just appreciated 'the now'. Very special. My aunt had taken along her game of Rummy King and enjoyed teaching me the game and the three of us played it in the dining car for several hours a day. The game entertained us in between looking out for wedge-tail eagles (often seen soaring near the train) and other animals as we sped across the Nullarbor. 

An official photo of the Indian Pacific and better than anything I could take from inside!

Our route from the Pacific Ocean in Sydney to the Indian Ocean in Perth

On the platform at Broken Hill

Official photo of the lounge car where we had our pre-dinner drinks

Complimentary champagne in the lounge car to kick start the trip

Breakfast in the dining car - a bit dark, but if I lighten the foreground, I lose the scene out the window

The train only had a few stops where we had the opportunity to get off. The first one was in Broken Hill where we only had about 30 mins (instead of 2 hours) to wander on the platform as the train had hit 22 kangaroos during the night, and one had damaged the air brakes resulting in a 2 hr delay overnight. We had a few hours stopover in the city of Adelaide, and took the opportunity to catch a taxi into the city. We also had a short stop in a siding called Cook where only 4 people live. The train drivers change here - with the driver having a 2 day stopover and rest before relieving the next driver. The only stop where we actually did a tour was in Kalgoorlie, a major gold mining city in West Australia. The sun was just setting as our train pulled in, and within a short time it was dark so it was difficult to see the historical buildings our bus tour guide was pointing out to us. Part of the tour included a visit to the Open Cut Gold Mine that is 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long, 1.6 kilometres (1.0 mi) wide and 512 metres (1,680 ft) deep. A massive business that operates 24/7 and is the major employer in the town as employees have to live locally, unlike many of the fly in, fly out mines in the state. 

Stopover at Cook to change drivers

Some of the scenery along the track

AD took this photo of sunrise on the Nullarbor

Note pink setting sun at end of train platform on our arrival in Kalgoorlie

Our twin cabin - day view. Ensuite door on left. 

During the trip we got to chat with several couples as we enjoyed a pre-dinner champagne. It was interesting to hear where they were from and what brought them on the trip. One couple had done the trip five times - they just love it. For me it was a wonderful, one-off experience that I would recommend doing, but not necessarily one that I would need to repeat without a good reason. I was pleasantly surprised to find I had reception on my iPhone for 95% of the trip. There were only a few areas where I had no signal, but the lack of signal never seemed to last very long. I was able to take phone calls, text, FB and play WWF throughout the whole trip. Thanks Telstra. 

Murwillumbah and Jacaranda Trees

How is this for a beautiful view of the Tweed River in Murwillumbah, with a flame tree on the left bank, Mt Warning in the centre rear, and the beautiful Jacaranda trees on the right bank?

My sister Gemma and I spent Halloween on the Gold Coast last night, and stayed at our friend Jenny's lovely home on the river. We went out for the evening, so missed the trick & treating in the neighbourhood - if there was any. We have a sneaking suspicion the lollies left for the kids may have been consumed by the resident adults! 

Today we had a lovely drive an hour south of the Gold Coast and en route to our homes in Ballina, and we called in to visit our two cousins who live in Murwillumbah. Gemma and I kept oohing and ahhing over the beautiful Jacaranda trees, and we had to keep stopping to take photos. I just had to put them on the blog for you all to share. 

We hadn't caught up with our cousins Relly and Vernita for two years, so it was great to have a few hours together today. 

Gemma with Relly and Vernita

Trish with Relly and Vernita (note the carpet of purple blossoms)

Stunning view as we walked across the Tweed River

Hard to see us but we wanted to get in the magnificance of the Jacaranda

Trick or treating for Halloween is a cultural event in the USA and like most other money-making themes, it is taking on over here in Australia. Over the past few years an increasing amount of stores are selling Halloween merchandise. However, I don't think our streets are up to the numbers of trick or treating a friend experienced in her neighbourhood in Alexandria, Virginia. I thought you might like to get a glimpse of what it was like there last night!

As Time Goes By....

That's right folks! More than a month has passed since my last blog entry, but I have made it at last. At the end of the previous blog I mentioned that the next morning I was going to get in line to buy the new iPhone 5. I can happily report that when my aunt Dympna and her friend Margaret and I arrived at the Telstra store in Lismore around 7.20am (they opened at 8am) there were only 12 people in front of us. The photo above was taken inside the Telstra shop with our salesperson - we are each holding our new phones. We had a great time - while we were waiting, Telstra kindly gave us a voucher for a free coffee from a cafe next door, and so it was skinny flat whites all around. They were good too!

After a few cloudy days at home, we realised we were needing to turn the kitchen light on during the day to have enough light to cook by - I like a lot of light. In an effort to kept our electricity bill under the radar, we decided to have a skylight installed. Take a look at the before and after photos. We are very happy with the outcome. I'm sure you will agree that it was a very worthwhile addition.

Kitchen before skylight

Kitchen after skylight 

Once the dust settled after arriving back home from America, we were keen to go to Melbourne and meet Murray's new grandson Dane, and catch up with his kids and the other two grandsons Blayke and Heath (see family pic below). We stayed with friends Jo and Ross, and had a nice lunch with Pam and Denis. Both couples have retired in recent years like us, and it is interesting to hear their experiences and travel stories. Murray drove over to Melbourne as he wanted to catch up with friends in Sydney and give his golf clubs a work-out on the way there and back, but I flew over and back and Murray did the Melbourne airport pick up and delivery for me.

L-R: Adrian with Blayke, Jeremy with Dane, Stephanie, and Murray with Heath

Two girlfriends Jenny & Leonie came to stay for a weekend while Murray was golfing in Sydney en route home from Melbourne. Our mutual friend Sharyn came down to join us for lunch, and my younger sister Ret also came to catch up as Jenny, Ret & I nursed together in the early 1970's. While they were visiting, we had morning tea at a Tea-Tree plantation where my eldest sister and aunt joined us. We got a nice photo of us three sisters (Gem, me and Ret) out in the garden. 

 

Here we are L-R: Leonie, Jenny, Ret, Trish. Having scones on my back patio. 

The weekend after the girls left, Ret and I flew to Sydney to look after her youngest grandson Jethro who is eighteen months old. He was a delight to be around and we had a very pleasant weekend. My son Benn and his girlfriend Daina met Ret and I at Sydney airport and drove us to my nephew Peter and his wife Sam's home and they stayed to have a tasty BBQ dinner with us that night. They left at one-thirty am - yes, it was a enjoyable night! The photo below shows the patio area where we spent the evening.

L-R: Peter, Benn, Daina, Jethro, Ret (Sam in kitchen inside)

Ret on Grandma bathing duty with Jethro.

Murray and I recently had the opportunity to attend our first ever book launch. I mentioned the author Eva Bennett in a blog some years back, after reading the first book she wrote titled 'So What Do We Do Now' about babyboomers retirement issues. Since buying her first book, Eva and I have met a few times and email each other from time to time. Her second book 'As Time Goes By' looks at relationships, redundancy and retirement. Like her first book, I am finding this latest book very easy to read and very pertinent to issues facing all age groups today. It is also very current with several references to athletes who competed in this year's Olympics. At only $20 (includes postage and handling) a copy, it is a worthwhile purchase. The details are on her website which you can access by clicking on the book title above. Personally, I would also recommend anyone considering retirement to also purchase her first book as well. The book launch was held in Kingscliff, about an hour north of our home, and in a stunning location overlooking the ocean. For the duration of the launch I had Eva's camera and I was so busy taking photos with her camera for her, that I never took one of her with my iPhone. So as a last resort, I asked Murray to take one of me with Eva's new book, and I wanted to share the lovely view with you as well. To the left of the photo is a caravan park that is in a prime location just a few feet from the sand and rolling surf. How I would love to pull our RV into that spot for a week or two! 

Family, Fun and Food

Sisters Rose and Ret and brother Tracy

I could say it is hard to believe we have been home for three weeks already, but when I look at what we have done in that time, one might think we had been home for 3 months! Thankfully our days have been full of delightful activities, mainly surrounding family. No Kim, you are not 'chopped liver' little one - you definitely are family too, but you aren't here, and Copenhagen is such a long way from Ballina!! Your turn will come!

Within a week of arriving home I had caught up with my five siblings who live in Australia, and my Aunt. It usually takes me a while to enjoy being home before I feel like travelling again - even the few hours travel up to Brisbane. But this time I had a reason to be in Brisbane for a day, and it couldn't have worked out better as I got to have lunch with my brother and sister who live up there. As we were walking to our dining table on the restaurant's verandah, a lizard (a water dragon I believe) lead the way!

Local lizard greeting garden restaurant guests

This next photo was taken heading into Surfers Paradise...

Two and a half weeks after arriving home we were honoured to host my brother-in-law's 60th birthday party. As well as four of my five siblings and my Aunt in attendance, we were thrilled to have two nephews and a niece join in the gathering. Two of them came down from Brisbane (one with a husband and young son) and one flew up from Sydney with his wife and young son. Here we are gathered for a family photo taken by my nephew. Sadly the two on the edges are almost cut out (Gem I slipped this photo from your Facebook entry).

Within 3 weeks Murray has turned our back garden around from looking rather neglected after our four month absence, to having it look strong and healthy once again. The plants and vegetables are flourishing and we love spending time out there. The weather has been very obliging - most days have been fine, warm and sunny. The nights are still quite cool which makes for ideal sleeping weather. Like many areas of Australia, we could do with some good rain, but we had a nice shower the other night which saved us watering the garden. Some parts of Australia including Alice Springs and Brisbane experienced the driest August on record, despite Brisbane having the wettest winter in four years. Weird weather everywhere - reports mention an emerging El Nino - no doubt it is blamed for the drought in the corn belt in USA and the low Mississippi River levels.

Regular followers of my blog may recall my excitement earlier this year at getting a kitchen appliance called a Thermomix (world's smallest, smartest kitchen) - every day that I cook in it is an adventure and a delight. On the days that I have been home, I have used it at least once a day, sometimes three times a day. In an effort to eat healthier I regularly make a batch of wholesome vegetable soup (including lentils and pearl barley) and we often have that for lunch. I am also experimenting with kale - drying it in the oven and serving instead of potato crisps.

Kale chips - they almost melt in your mouth  - an easy way to get kids to eat greens!

 Another healthy addition is a tasty broccoli salad which uses raw broccoli, carrot, onion, green apple, yoghurt, lemon juice, dried cranberries and walnuts. Just put all the ingredients into the Thermomix and blend for 6 seconds. I have also made my own butter (with no artificial additives) and raw beetroot salad. The other evening I cooked an Indian dish (Butter Chicken) in it. I also made a toasted muesli - most of the recipe required oven cooking, but I used the Thermomix for a step or two. Last week as we were leaving a shopping centre, I deliberately avoided looking at the bakery store items so that I wouldn't be tempted. But not Murray, not only did he have a good look, but he noticed a tray of Chia fruit buns. He called me back to have a look as we had never seen or heard of them before, and of course, we had to buy one each. They were delicious! I immediately got on the internet, found a recipe for a Chia Fruit Loaf (I converted the recipe to small buns instead of a loaf) to make in the Thermomix and presto, that was this morning's effort - along with another bowl of broccoli salad! In case you haven't heard of Chia seeds, they are touted to be gluten free and are the best plant source of Omega 3 (with 8 times more Omega 3 than you find in salmon) as well as a rich source of fibre, protein, minerals and vitamins and other good things. If you want to be gobsmacked by how power packed they are, take a look here.  If that has got you interested here is a link to 40 Ways to use Chia Seeds. Sorry Jan - my blogs and emails always seems to talk about food! Runs in my family!

Raw Beetroot salad

My home made toasted muesli

Another exciting day awaits tomorrow - my 88 year old Aunt and a friend of hers are joining me to drive to a nearby regional centre to line up at a store for its 8am opening to purchase an iPhone 5 each. I am picking them up at 6.45am, and I am crossing my fingers that: 1. The line is not very long, and 2. They still have 3 phones left by the time we reach the front of the line! I always enjoy new tech toys!