EIGHT WEEKS ON THE ROAD

January 6 Sydney, Australia

Mom and I have been traveling for 8 weeks and we are not finished yet. We left Kansas City November 7 driving to Dallas. We have been living out of suitcases, but we have created some awesome memories with Kevin, Mendy, Mia and Noah in Brisbane, and Thanksgiving with Bob's family and more.

Our stops have been - Dallas TX, Tucson AZ, Rancho Mirage CA, Phoenix AZ, Rancho Mirage CA, Valencia CA, Brisbane AU, Hamilton Island AU, Brisbane AU, Sydney AU, Los Angeles CA, Valencia CA and more. We are back in the USA at 6:30 AM January 7 and we will be at Bob's in Valencia for 3-4 days. We are grandchild sitting while Beth and Sarah are in San Francisco.

We have started packing a few of our suitcases. We are allowed approximately 50# per suitcase. I estimate we have 250# of stuff counting stuffed backpacks and carry-on luggage.

I may extend the trip to China so, as the image illustrates, I am trying on some proper clothes.

THE SQUEAKING WHEEL GETS FREE BREAKFAST

January 5 Sydney, Australia 

Six million people are all on the ferries to the beaches, or drinking at the Opera bar. Found a great cup of coffee and breakfast at the Marriott. e.g. eggs, sausage, bacon, porridge, cantaloupe, watermelon, salmon, cheese, orange juice and more. $40AU for breakfast, but we were comped because I squeaked a bit on check-in regarding orders I placed at Marriott's website for airport transportation and fruit in the room, which was not provided. The fruit they provided later and the $40 (each mind you) breakfast was comped because of  the transportation fiasco. The squeaking wheel gets the oil, a saying that has been around for decades, is genuine truth and is country independent. I consider squeaking a legitimate form of feedback that the hotels need to improve their service so I am doing them a favor by pointing out little things they can improve on.

The Sydney beaches are awesome. So many more places to purchase tee shirts.

later.

WINE AND THE WALLABIES.

January 1

It is hot. I jump in the pool for awhile, but it is still hot. Meanwhile, Kevin is dedicated to watching Dexter. Mia is dedicated to watching the Vampire Diaries. Noah, incessantly, plays call of duty or an equal video. Mom watches Law and Order and I watch The Good Wife. Later we are going to see the Hobbit. The iPads, the laptops and at least two TVs are all going simultaneously. We all have our own device vices.

Mendy and I discussed a book concept last night that she has titled The Tribal Rituals of the American Teenager. The premise is that the rituals have changed over the years in the manner that the rituals are expressed, but the underlying theme is still the same. e.g teenagers desire to go out with their friends on their own and parents are reluctant to let them. It is a ritual that every teenager and every parent has experienced. Also, there is the ritual of the proper clothes, the proper friends and so on. 

These rituals are practiced in Australia, America and I suspect every other country too. Around the world, teenagers have many common characteristics and observe the same tribal rituals. The rituals seem to be independent of time and geography. I will check back with Mendy in a few months to see how the book is progressing.

Yesterday, we visited a local winery. It was perched on hill that overlooked a valley of grass, which was also a gourmet buffet for dozens of wallabies. We stood on a deck and about 100 yards in the distance was a platform where famous singers perform, Mariah Carey was just there. Mom bought some cheese, prosciutto, pate and bread and it was almost like Napa - A jug of wine, a loaf of bread and thou. It was wonderful.

Tomorrow, the Sunshine coast and then we fly to Sydney.

HOW DO AUSTRALIANS GAMBLE?

December 31

It is New Year's eve. 

We plan on traveling into Brisbane later today and watching fireworks from the Southbank. Tomorrow's plan is a wine tour. Friday's plan is a trip to Morton Island and Saturday we plan to leave for Sydney. Time always moves forward and at a pace that when you arrive in the future, it seems like no time at all has passed.  It is an enigma if there ever was one. The past compresses into a fleeting thought and the future expands with a person's plans. I prefer to make plans.

Currently, we need another suitcase to make the trip home. Thank heaven I packed all my clothes in my backpack. I wore shorts and shirt every day, just like everyone else I met. Kevin and I went to the Brisbane casino yesterday. It is the place to go for air conditioning. It was wonderful. We lost a bit, but had some fun. I believe the casino, located in the center of the city, is another of those buildings that used to house prisoners. Now it houses, 3 bars, 500 slot machines and an assortment of roulette and blackjack tables. The games are all the same as Las Vegas. 

Australians gamble just like Americans, pushing the money in with one hand and drinking a beer with the other. I learned that hats are not allowed in the gambling area because it hides your eyes from the video camera. I had to place my Royals hat in my pants. 

RIVERS GIVE BIRTH TO CITIES

Monday December 29.

Played golf in the rain yesterday.

It could be Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis or any one of a hundred cities founded on a river. However, it is Brisbane, Australia,  located on the Brisbane river, as seen from the Marriott. The river supports commerce, the people come for the commerce and the buildings are constructed for places for the people to work. Oracle has a tall building here, as well as several banks and the energy companies. Australia has large coal and gas reserves as well as a recently discovered cache of yellow cake to support the nuclear power industry. The locals recommend no swimming in the Brisbane river because of a large population of aggressive bull sharks. We did not swim in it. 

Ferries take people back and forth across the river. We took a ferry the length of the whole river and saw several universities, recreational areas, gambling casinos and high rise apartments. Cities look pretty much the same to me. 

I searched everywhere for a decent breakfast and a great cup of coffee without success. I can say that the food, at KFC and McDonald's, except for the coffee, taste the same as in the states.

AUSTRALIAN POLICE TOOK US FOR A RIDE.

December 28

It's Sunday. We leave next Saturday for Sydney.  We still have a few coasts to visit, sea world, a museum and another island. On Friday, I took Helen to Brisbane for an overnighter for her birthday. We stayed at the Marriott, the same hotel Obama stayed at when he was here. We had a single room, he had the top two floors. We paid for all of our room and like the rest of Americans we all chipped in for his.

We got a bit lost one of the days and asked a police officer for directions. He told us to jump in the police van and he took us back to the hotel. It happens like that only in Australia. It was Boxing day on Friday. The restaurants have menus with two prices, a regular price and another price about 10-20% higher for public holidays. The Queensland mall was wall to wall people with prices reduced and the restaurants charged more. Many restaurants were closed, but those that were opened charged more to eat on Boxing day. There is no tipping in Australia, which makes total sense to me and I had no trouble adjusting to that cultural characteristic.

Helen and I took a two hour bus tour of Brisbane. It seemed to me that all the main buildings were prisons at one time, or were towers that they hung the villains from for all the other prisoners to see. It was believed that this visual act discouraged more crime  It must have worked because all the people we met seemed real nice now. The photo is Helen with the Story bridge over the Brisbane river in the background. It is lit up at night. You can climb to to the top for $100 and rappel down the sides for another $100. We did neither. 

AUSTRALIANS KNOW HOW TO CELEBRATE

December 26

Today is Helen's birthday. We are going into Brisbane to spend the night and sample the restaurants. It is Boxing day so I do not know quite what to expect. Mendy and Kevin are going to drive us into the city. We plan to take a ferry around the river to see the city from the water.

We already made merry Christmas face time calls to Kelly and Bobby. It is Christmas day in the USA.

Yesterday, we had a feast. Two families were from South Africa and we sampled some SA food. But mainly we had shrimp, salmon and calamari. As it turned out, our host was an expert bow hunter. He showed several pictures of him and his "kill," e.g. large African animals, displayed in a national bow hunter magazine. It was impressive. 

It was a bit warm so it was not long before a water fight started. Then the water balloons came out and the water war rapidly escalated, just like America.  It started with the kids throwing water balloons at the adults then it became a gender war. No one escaped. It felt just like home.

Last night Kevin's friends dropped over and we made an evening of toasting. It was a late night.

Yes, I agree the picture shows I need to get back to exercising again.