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Hello from Singapore! Another new country for me. I arrived just after midnight on Monday night. The flight was 45 minutes late in leaving, but thankfully made up most of the time, hurrah. Passport control was painless, but I do miss the passport stamps! This is the fourth country I’ve been in on my trip…
Hello from Adelaide. My pland changed this week and I’m spending more time in Adelaide than I thought, but probably not seeing as much! If you’ve been here since the start of my trip I’m sure you remember my pet pals Lali and Carlie that I looked after in Hawai’i, well this time I’m looking…
I’ll talk about the Koalas first, as those of y9u who have no idea who Bluey and Bingo are, can stop reading when I get to that point! Following on from my post yesterday, I wanted to talk a little more about my visit to Loan Pine Koala Sanctuary. The sanctuary opened in 1927 with…
That was a question I asked myself this afternoon at Loan Pine Koala Sanctuary. I understand when you have children with you, that might be something you do, but as adults on your own??? Maybe I’ll try it and report back. Maybe not! On arrival here in Brisbane yesterday I dumped my stuff and headed…
Hmmm, that might be the name of my book! Haha. With this length of trip, I knew some things were bound to go wrong. I thought leaving my passport at the currency exchange on Thursday was enough for Sydney, but no. Checking out of the hotel yesterday morning I clearly must have put my handbag…
Yesterday I decided to go and change the rest of my NZD into AUD. If you’ve been here a while you’ll remember I had that HUGE win at the casino in Auckland. I was going to hold on to it and change back to GBP on my return home, but I figured that would just…
I do like these hop on, hop off bus tours! If you’ve been here since the start, you’ll remember I did the hop on, hop off in New York. It included a NYC by night tour, was mid to late June, the sun was shining, the city was light until 8pm… Last night I did…
I arrived into Sydney airport late on Saturday afternoon to be reunited with one of my wonderful friends Maria. I met Maria while working on a Girl Scout camp in Boston in 2002 through Camp America. Little did we know then that 24 years later I’d finally get to Australia to see her! Maria has…
It was one of those days today. It started well enough, I was on the wee ferry to Queenstown and over there before 10am. When I say “wee ferry”, I’m not even sure you could call it a ferry – more like a water taxi. I think it could hold up to 24 inside, and…
Today I passed a signpost for the Cairngorms scenic point! My hotel is on York Place, Elm Row is just around the corner and I’ve walked along Princes St, George Street and Hanover Street. Heriot Row and Frederick Street are not too far aware either! The bus stop has buses to Portobello, Corstorphine and Helensburgh…
It was frosty when I headed out this morning! I’m still struggling to understand that it is cold here in “summer”. Well, the UKs summer! It was 3c this morning, it did get as high as 9c though! I have to leave the hotel early tomorrow for my next onward journey – I have looked…
Yesterday I arrived in South Island. The ferry trip over from Wellington to Picton was fairly smooth and the scenery was stunning – when it wasn’t misty! The 3.5 hours passed relatively quickly, that might have been because I was in the comfort of the lounge. After the ferry, there was a two hour wait…
In my original plan I was arriving and departing from Wellington in the same day without seeing much if anything! I am so glad I changed my plans! Everyone I’ve met in New Zealand so far has been incredibly friendly, but the folk in Wellington even more so. I have only good things to say…
Something I’ve realised, and appreciated a bit more recently is how small each one of us are in this massive place we call earth. Yesterday I took the cable car in Wellington and the views there were absolutely stunning. In Hawai’i I had similar thoughts. I did wonder if this was because both Hawai’i and…
All those excess baggage fees are finally justified – I need my long sleeves and fleece! For those of you who have been here since the start, you probably wanted to tell me to shut up about how hot it was – I will now be telling you about how cold it is!! I’ve gone…
Who knew there were two very different places with very similar names! I might be totally wrong, and this is not to offend anyone, but I do wonder if the Hawaiian and Maori people are related in some ways. They have very similar traditions in terms of their ancestors. I do however need to do…
I don’t think jet lag has affected me on this trip – not yet anyway! Now, whether that’s just because I keep going in one direction or it’s all in my head I’m not too sure! Anyway I was awake stupidly early this morning so just decided to get organised and head out. The wee…
It didn’t exist. I left the USA on Thursday 16th, flew 13 hours and arrived in Auckland New Zealand on Saturday 18th. Friday did not exist! I remember mentioning that to the oldies (yes, they know I call then that and no, they’re not offended – or say they’re not!) when I was organising this…
I’m not sure where the last (just over) month has gone, but I’m typing this out on my phone in the sky on my way to Auckland! I’ll admit starting this trip in Rochester, where Keith and I had spent a few years was a risk, but one thst I thought worth taking and it…
Bears. But without the lions and tigers today! In this next clip there are three brown bears – honest! The one in the middle is the male called JB. He lifted his head every so often, but that was about as much as he seemed to be able to muster! This was a visit to…
Those who know me, know that I’ve struggled with my weight for a long time. Between now and Thursday afternoon I need to lose a stone and I’ve no idea how to do it. My luggage weighed 64lbs today and thankfully I was in first class giving me an allowance of 66lbs! Don’t get all…
Pioneer Park is a 44 acre historical “theme” park in Fairbanks. It’s about two miles outside of the main town, but it was a gorgeous day, only two miles and, after sitting in the train for so long on Saturday, I knew the walk would be good. You can walk all the way along the…
I’m in the North! Really north!! In fact, I was so far north today I was in North Pole! North Pole, Alaska! It is a quirky year-round Christmas themed town and it is actually 15 miles south(!) of Fairbanks where I am staying. I put North Pole on my list as, when my parents visited…
Yesterday I spent nine hours on a train! The Alaska Railroad begins in Seward on the South coast and travels north to Fairbanks. I say north, but technically Fairbanks is pretty much in the middle of the state! The railroad was completed on 15 July 1923. On arrival at Talkeetna station yesterday morning I thought…
Disclaimer/trigger alert/whatever I’m supposed to write etc, etc. Mentions of suicide in this post. Firstly, mum, don’t worry, I’m fine. I know those of you who read this who are friends and/or family care. I know you do. However, this isn’t just a blog about my travels. As the front page says it’s about my…
Which is??? Alaska was the 49th State to be officially admitted to the United States on 3 January 1959. Arriving into Anchorage Airport at 5am yesterday morning the weather very much reminded me of home! I’ll admit it was a shock to the system after Hawai’i! My jeans and hoodie which had been in the…
Aloha! Just wanted to post a wee bit more about my time in Hawai’i. I absolutely will be back. It’s funny talking about Hawai’i as, technically I was not in Hawai’i, I was in O’ahu, one of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawai’i is actually otherwise known as Big Island. The Hawaiian Islands include eight main islands…
I felt similar today at Pearl Harbor as I did when visiting The Alamo in San Antonio. You’ve heard of the place, but it’s not really your history so you only know partial details. It’s full name is Pearl Harbor National Memorial and the area is a US National Park. The area is free to…
Weirdos, that’s why. Bloody weirdos! Inside one of the hotels here is a famous bar called Duke’s. Duke Kahanamoku was a famous Hawaiian surfer, although he did win Olympic gold in swimming! You can read more about him here. Anyway, it is always really busy so today I ventured to the bar…mistake, bloody big mistake!…
Which basically means an old lady just swindled me out of $30. Well, maybe. I’ve just been wandering today. First to the Honolulu Cookie Company. They are similar to the ABC stores I mentioned yesterday, but they are about every four blocks rather than on every corner! There is a wee packet of them on…
It was supposed to rain in Waikiki today and drop down to a frightfully chilly 24 degrees! It didn’t! I’m back in Waikiki after my few days pet and house sitting down in Ewa Beach. If I’d thought properly or indeed been a wee bit more organised (did I tell you I sorted this in…
I went to Safeway this morning! Who from the UK remembers going to Safeway for shopping? I think it was Morrisons who bought them out. Anyway, it is the local grocery store here in Ewa, O’ahu, Hawai’i. Whether or not it is the same brand – who knows! The logo does look quite similar. I…
Yesterday, a few hours after my surfing lesson I took a wee tour around the southeast corner of the Island of O’ahu! I’ll admit I get very confused with the names of the Hawaiian islands, but O’ahu is the island with Waikiki and Honolulu and where the majority of the Hawaiian population live and it…
I bloody well did it – I surfed on Waikiki Beach this morning!! Did I stand on that board? Hell no – have you seen the length of those things? Did I kneel on the board? Don’t be ridiculous! Did I lie on that board and push up with my arms every time a great…
I’m in Waikiki! It was an early start from Anaheim this morning with the Uber at 0430! A pretty quick drive up to LAX, a steaight forward bag check and through security. I’m pretty sure I was at the gate for 0530 for my 7am flight! Upgraded fobfirst on tge flight, how exciting, but why…
I’ve been away for 16 days and today is the first day with no real plans! Firstly I must tell you that although on Saturday I was too heavy for the Santa Monica carousel – yesterday I was too light for the California Adventure (Disney’s second park in Anaheim) Ferris Wheel! The Ferris Wheel has…
It’s true, I was fat shamed in LA today. I say LA, it was actually in Santa Monica. Santa Monica beach has a pier with various attractions on it, jusr my kind of fun. On approaching the pier I see they have a carousel. I love carousels so quickly got my $3 to give to…
Woo hoo! I made it to Disneyland today – the original one! For those of you who have been to a Disney park, or indeed planning a trip you will know how expensive it is! However, today I worked out some Disney maths. My American readers will say math, but it’s plural (there is more…
I cried today. More than once, but the second time was for such a lovely reason. On my river tour yesterday, I saw a beautiful painted butterfly on a wall and I thought, “oh, I want my picture there”. Of course I was here, there and everywhere today and totally forgot about it – until…
What a lovely place! It just goes to show you, you shouldn’t judge a state by one of the states! The people here are so friendly – everyone says hello! The city is also very clean – there are people employed to keep the streets clean, they all have yellow t-shirts on and more than…
My 28th state – I think! I need to take time and double check that, but for now, we’ll say it’s 28. I’ve had a plan ( of sorts) for years now that I want to visit all 50 states. When I told a few people I was visiting Texas their response was “why?” I…
Today I had planned to get up sharp and be at the laundry for 0700. The laundry is currently still dirty and in my luggage for the next stop! I got to tick something off my bucket list today, seeing a show on Broadway! If you’re planning a visit to NY, eheck out the ricket…
Did you know that the New York Public Library has been in more movies than Meryl Streep? No, me neither, but now we do! Last night I did the evening bus tour which was awesome, although we were just a little early for the Empire State Building to have its lights on! This morning I…
Well it has been a whirlwind few days in Upstate NY! I did indeed fly into Newark on Saturday and then right on up to Rochester, NY. For those of you who don’t know, Keith and I spent just over two years in Rochester from 2010-2012. We visited in 2016 but have not been back…
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It's my life, and it's now or never! 