Yesterday’s extraordinary visit to Cairns …A full afternoon…A great day…

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The colors in this bloom were unlike any we’ve seen.

We apologize for today’s late posting. It was time for me to workout and the fitness center is only open from 8:00 am to 11:00 am on Saturdays and we needed to get on the road. Plus, I was behind managing the many photos from yesterday’s outing. 

Bright yellow and brown blooming flower. We’ve seldom seen so much brown in flowers.

With the sun shining when we returned it was also time to soak up 30 minutes of Vitamin D. I had started the post as soon as I was up and dressed, but left it unfinished with so many photos to download from yesterday’s outing.

We can’t quite reads the name of this on the included sign.

After completing yesterday’s post, we decided to head out on a sunny day to check out the Cairns Botanic Garden. In most countries such garden are named “botanical” gardens. In Australia, like many other countries/continents we find that many words and expressions are different than our familiar US words and expressions. 

These red berries accompany a dark, almost blackberry.

Not surprisingly, I’ve found myself using some of the Australian words and expressions. How quickly one could change their manner of the use of their native language. In many ways, the easy to understand words and expressions are rather logical here in Australia, even the shortened words such as “veg” for veggies or vegetables.

These were common in Hawaii.

In a future post, we’ll share some of these words and manners of speech. At the moment, I’m accumulating a list that we’ll share most of which are charming and humorous. 

Part of the grounds were blocked off for the construction of a new conservatory.

Whether its named botanic or botanical, we decided to visit the venue in Cairns we’d read so much about these past seven weeks. Easy to find with well marked signs on Highway 1 in the city of Cairns, past the airport, we were a little confused as to which “car park” we’d take. 

The Silk Floss tree we’d seen in Kauai.

As we drove along the huge expanse of the grounds which includes: Flecker Garden, Visitor Centre, Centenary Lakes, Rainforest Boardwalk, Australia’s Gondwanan Heritage Garden and Mount Whitfield Conservation Park, we managed to snag a free street parking spot close to the entrance of Flecker Garden.

The purpose of these spikes is to protect the tree from destruction by possible intruders. These has gorgeous blooms during the summer months.  Its winter here now.

For most tourists and local visitors, Flecker Garden holds the majority of the interest. Many other areas are designated for serious hikers with steep trails and mountains not intended for those less than experienced and fit hikers. 

However, Flecker Garden provided us with a perfect perspective of Australian vegetation and even a bit of wildlife we’ll share here over the next few days as we post some of our best photos.

Although many of these plants and trees grow in Hawaii as well as Australia, most of them originated on other islands throughout the world.

When we visit an attraction such as this, we’re always torn over whether it’s necessary to identify each of the items in each photo we post. Often, we’re able to name most of the subjects of our photos. However, yesterday’s tour of Flecker Garden made it difficult.

The bright orange of these vines stood out among the greenery.

With the growth of many of the wide variety of plants and trees, the originally placed signs with were often ambiguous as to which plant or tree the sign was intended to identify.

Heliconia. Wow!

As a result, only some of our photos will be identified. Otherwise, we’d be spending days searching online for the names of each plant.  With the high cost of wifi at this time, it makes little sense. If any of our readers would like to provide input, feel free to do so via email or a comment at the end of the post and we’ll happily update the photo with the proper name.

Snake Cactus.

We often wonder if the technical names of plants and scrubs really matter to our readers when in essence, we’re not a botanical website. We are world travelers sharing our wide array of experiences of many aspects in a certain area and by no mean profess to be an expert in any of these areas.

Close up, Snake Cactus.


As we wandered about the vast grounds of Flecker Garden, we found ourselves reveling in the many new and unusual plants and also smiling over others we’d seen in other tropical areas of the world, primarily in Hawaii on the four islands in which we lived over a period of eight months.

Once we entered the main entrance to Flecker Garden we were reminded that there was no entrance fee (we’d seen this fact online). This was a first. Of the many botanical gardens we’ve visited throughout the world, there was always an entrance fee which we’d gladly have paid. 

Unusual red bloom without a sign identifying it.

In some areas of the world, our visit to gardens has been “hosted” based on the fact that we’d be providing additional marketing exposure via our online photos and promotion. Not having the responsibility of creating stories as a more professional piece, we were more at ease as we wandered through the gardens, thinking only of what would appeal to our garden enthusiast readers and our own personal tastes.

Cascading pale yellow flowers.

Tom doesn’t love visiting gardens. As a matter of fact, he’d just as soon not visit them at all. However, as shown a week or so ago of us visiting a military museum, we compromise, attempting to show tolerance along with a degree of enthusiasm when we’re dragged along on a less than interesting sightseeing expedition.

Extra-long stamen of a lily.

Considering that 80% of our sightseeing appeals to both of our tastes and interests, these compromises are merely an exercise in attempting to offer ourselves and our readers a wide array of what each country has to offer. 

This flower was blooming on the Flame Tree.

We realize that we tend to stay away from many of the most popular tourist attractions when crowds, traffic, parking issues, and expense are factors for us. Plus, out intent in traveling the world was never about hitting all of the “hot spots” but, instead about immersing ourselves in “living” in an area and experiencing life as close as possible to that of the locals.

The Australian Brushturkey, also called the Scrub Turkey or Bush Turkey freely roamed around the gardens. These turkeys are not closely related to American turkeys. Click here for more details.

It is this type of experience that brings us the most joy and fulfillment in our travels as explained in the post a few days ago when we discussed living life as the “accidental tourist” as shown in this post, in case you missed it.

Over the next few days, we’ll continue sharing many of the exquisite discoveries we made at the Cairns Botanic Garden and hope that you too will find them interesting and worthy of a peek.

May your weekend be filled with that which brings you much joy!

                                              Photo from one year ago today, July 25, 2014:
One year ago, it was only five days until departure from the island of Madeira after a highly enjoyable two and a half months in the lovely home in Canmpanario overlooking the sea in an ideal contemporary house. Although little English was spoken in our area we found a way to communicate with the locals. For details as we wound down the last few days in Madeira, please click here.

The news follows us…We can run but can’t hide…

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The surrounding mountains remind us of Kauai, although it’s very different here than in Hawaii.

We watch the news almost every day now that we have a TV. Once we arrive in Fiji in early September for four months on two different islands, we won’t have a TV. The only news we’ll be able to access is online from that point forward. Unsure as to the quality of the wifi, it’s questionable.

We walked out onto a very short pier for a slightly better view of the beach.

We haven’t had a TV in a number of past locations and we’ve managed fine without it. After all, it’s only news and documentaries we care to watch, aside from at the moment Australia’s version of Dancing with the Stars that started last Sunday and in a few days, Australia’s version of The Bachelor.

A long stretch of uninhabited beach in Cairns.

We’re not too proud to admit we do enjoy these types of mindless drivel from time to time.  Seven days a week, we spend the entire morning researching and preparing for our daily posts. A bit of mindless drivel in the evening is a welcome break from our lives of travel, including writing, researching, and photo and the accompanying challenges and level of planning and concentration required to live such a life.

Oh, we love our lives and particularly enjoy the diversity of our lives. Learning new information about the world around us, visiting venues in our current place of residence, meeting new people with perhaps a different manner of speaking and communicating their hopes, dreams, and views and, the constant search for anything of interest that may appear in the lens of our camera and into our hearts.

A huge tree along the Cairns Esplanade.  Looking online, I couldn’t find the name of this tree, but soon we’ll visit the Cairns Botanic Garden (yes, botanic, not botanical) and I’ll update this photo with the correct name. Any suggestions out there?

We spend a period of time some days doing nothing of significance. I’ve gone as far as downloading a few mindless drivel jelly-type games on my phone. I can easily wile away an entire hour of news or a documentary on the TV in the background while playing either of these silly games, paying total attention to both.

Cloudy day at the beach in Cairns at low tide.

Recently, Tom and I have begun playing the card game Gin again after a long respite when I was winning so often he got bored and even angry at times, once throwing his cards across the room. I laughed. We quit playing. Now, when back home, we play each afternoon around 4:00 pm, my preferred tea time.

It’s always interesting to visit beaches at low tide when as more birds wander about the sand in search of tasty morsels.

Actually, now the winning seems to be more evenly distributed and the challenge has improved for both of us resulting in the playing being more fun. No card throwing. No swearing. Plenty of laughing.

We walked along the Cairns Esplanade encountering an occasional jogger or bicyclist.

After we busied ourselves with sightseeing, planned or unplanned, we hunker down to the now-familiar “home” for the time being and do what most people do when not out and about…a bunch of nothing…a series of repetitive, familiar comforting tasks and forms of entertainment which we gravitate toward during idle time.

We hadn’t seen this species prior to the visit to the Cairns Esplanade. After considerable research, we found they are Silver Gulls.

As we watch the news trying to figure out what’s happening in the world, we discover little. Once in awhile the US Today Show pops up on the guide which we’ll watch with curiosity as to what is going on in the US and are often disappointed to see that so much of the news revolves around the rampant sensationalism of Hollywood and its celebrities.

It appears these birds are Silver Gulls, common near the sea in Australia with their pink feet and beaks.

Also, we’re amazed by the constant bashing and criticism of other well-known individuals throughout the world for their human-like flaws and foibles. When did any of us become so perfect that we so easily bash others?

The park at the Cairns Esplanade was quiet with few visitors on a cloudy day.

I particularly cringe over the constant promotion of ways of eating and foods that continue to make the world unhealthy and unfit including the ongoing promotion (by the food industry) of a low fat, high carb diet. Ah, I won’t get out the soapbox that I continue to haul all over the world with us.

Are we missing something wrapped up in our own little world? Based on what we’ve seen lately on a smattering of US news, we aren’t. We both have news apps on our phones and laptops that we reference daily. Our intent was never to be totally isolated from that which is transpiring in the world around us.

We’ve certainly seen our share of palm and coconut trees this past year.

Today and yesterday on Australian news we continue to hear about the disharmony between Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj and now, enters Katy Perry and her opinions. Surprisingly or perhaps not, the Australian news, so far away from Hollywood and the US entertainment industry is also caught up in reporting the scuttlebutt.

This unexplained orange sculpture is along the path on the Cairns Esplanade.  Any comments from our Aussie readers as to the story of this sculpture?

Yesterday, at the market, I noticed the magazines at checkout; Kim’s baby bump, Tom Cruise’s new movie, and Bar Raphael’s wedding plans. Oh, good grief. Give me a break. I want to hear about Stephen Hawking’s plan to discover life on another planet, the newly discovered Earth 2.0 or, what is really happening in the world and how the current horrors are being addressed.

It boils down to this simple fact: One can run but can’t hide. No matter how far away we travel, it’s still there.  Although, I must admit that when we lived in Kenya without a TV, we didn’t have a clue what was going on and we didn’t miss a thing. 

Cute name for a restaurant in Cairns.

Instead, our news for the day in Kenya centered around when the power was going out again, were we really safe at the grocery store surrounded by armed guards and 24-hour security at our home, or how many venomous centipedes inside the house can Tom squash under his shoe in one day?  It’s all relative.

                                               Photo from one year ago today, July 24, 2014:

As we ventured out on a road trip with only seven days until departure from Madeira we continued to revel in the beautiful scenery. For details from that date, please click here.

An accidental tourist…The key to our best adventures…Mangrove Boardwalk…

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It was a dreary and cloud-covered day, not the best day for entering a rainforest-like environment. We entered anyway.

Years ago, I watched an excellent movie entitled, The Accidental Tourist with William Hurt, Geena Davis, and Kathleen Turner. It was a quirky movie adapted from the book of the same name by Anne Tyler.The movie, produced in 1988, generated rave reviews for which Geena Davis received an Academy Award

The vast marsh area was relatively barren before entering the boardwalk.

The name of the movie has stuck in my brain over the years and surfaced when we began sightseeing throughout the world over these past almost three years. The accidental tourist…that’s us. Why is that so?

We never saw another person the entire time we walked through the salt marsh. It was a little eerie entering on this dreary day.

As it turns out, our favorite sightseeing experiences are those we stumble upon as opposed to planning in advance. Whether it’s a beach, a desert, a flock of birds or an interesting neighborhood, when we happen to encounter a photo-worthy scene, it’s often by “accident.”

You can zoom in to read any of these signs.

So was the case a few days ago when returning from the Cairns Central mall when Tom unintentionally turned down a road leading to the airport where a sign prohibited him from making a left turn to the main highway back to Trinity Beach.

Once inside the long, narrow boardwalk took us deeper and deeper into the marsh.

This happens from time to time. How can we possibly anticipate every left or right turn as being accepted on an unknown road when we don’t have wifi on our phones with no cell contracts?

As it turned out, low tide gave us an opportunity to see the unusual tree roots which at times are under water.

We map ourselves the old way. We either take a photo of a map with turn by turn directions before we leave home or commit the directions to memory which here in the Cairns area is easy to do. There are only a few main roads leading to everything.

Notice these little holes that creatures quickly ran in and out of as we passed.

Thus, if we explore without a plan in mind and most often we do, we’re “winging it.” Thus, the term accidental tourist certainly comes into play when we frequently discover an area we may never have found otherwise.  Tom’s superb sense of direction always, prevents us from getting lost.

When we lived in Belize, we toured a mangrove area by boat and explored the rainforest.

Plus, a person could drive the entire perimeter of the continent of Australia without a map and never get lost. Following the coastline itself continues for an estimated over 12,700 kilometers, 7891 miles. Click here to see a video by a scientist explaining how difficult it is to determine Australia’s or any other coastline’s measurements. 

In certain spots, the holes were larger.

As a result, whenever we drive to a specific location, we find ourselves veering off the beaten path on the return drive hoping to stumble upon something amazing we may have never planned and mapped to see. That’s the essence of what makes our travels all the more exciting.

The more we continued on the boardwalk, the denser the tree became.

If any of our readers review our previous over 1000 posts, it would be apparent that many of the highlights of our experiences have been as a result of being the “accidental tourist,” perhaps not in the manner as implied by the book and subsequent movie but, instead, by the interpretation of the words in themselves.

The fact that these trees survive living in saltwater for part of the season is interesting to us.

As Tom turned down the above-mentioned road that led to the airport with no apparent exit for turning around, we both expected that in moments we’d arrive at either the departure or arrivals levels. 

Tangled root systems proliferate in this environment.

Of course, I never complain about Tom having to make such an unexpected turn. I don’t drive the car leaving me with little right to comment about possible wrong turns. Nor would I want to when I, too, am scanning the area for potential points of interest we may have otherwise missed.

We never thought much about these types of areas.  Seeing this firsthand gave us a new perspective.

There we were on the airport road and suddenly a small parking lot appeared to the right, a spot where we could possibly turn around to avoid driving into the airport complex. As we pulled into the “car park” a sign read, “Parking for Mangrove Boardwalk, visitors only.” Our interest was peaked. What’s a Mangrove Boardwalk?

Wouldn’t this be a logical spot for crocs to hang out? If one appeared, we were up high enough to avoid being eaten (after I’d take a photo, of course).

Getting out of the car we moved to read the posted signs to discover that the Jack Barnes Bicentennial Mangrove Boardwalk is a scenic, easy to navigate path through a dense saltmarsh and marshlands.  To quote from the site:

We scoured the banks of the creek hoping to spot wildlife.

“The Jack Barnes Bicentennial Mangrove Boardwalk is a special place to learn about tropical Australian mangroves and saltmarsh. Visitors can learn about a broad range of species, and some of the key functional attributes of these tidal wetland systems. The walk has two distinct parts, heading either north or south into closed mangrove forests from the carpark situated adjacent to a small saltmarsh and saltpan area.

Water from the creeks remained in some areas of the saltmarsh.

The northern boardwalk extends to Little Barron Creek where viewing platforms are provided at the creekside. About half way along the walk, a canopy tower offers a view across the tree tops. This section of the walk returns in a circuit to the carpark. Signs are placed along the boardwalk to provide information on the many ways that plants and animals have adapted to this interesting environment.

The southern boardwalk offers a slightly different experience and explores a number of different types of mangrove forests. This section terminates at a canopy tower near the mouth of Swampy Creek. Signs along this section provide information on the productivity of mangrove forests.

It was odd and somewhat eerie, never seeing other people.

The boardwalk was opened on 27 February 1988 by Dr. JT Baker, OBE, Ph.D., FRACI, Director of the Australian Institute of Marine Science. It was constructed by the Cairns City Council on land made available by the Cairns Port Authority. Construction was supported by the Cairns Bicentennial Community Committee, with the assistance of dedicated employees who constructed the boardwalk, working closely with the Cairns Port Authority, the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service, and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

Location Details

    • Distance/length: Two sections: north 0.8 km, and south 1.2 km
    • Location: Just off the road to Cairns Airport.
    • Walking Time: 30 and 40 mins, respectively.
    • Address: Airport Avenue, Cairns.
    • Directions: Directions as if going to the Cairns International Airport, look for signs to Mangrove Boardwalk when nearing the airport.

Contact: For more information: Cairns City Council, Cairns

We wondered if these little sticks popping out of the ground were remains of downed trees or future trees growing in the salty ground.

Walking through this unusual area was both eerie and interesting at the same time. The raised wooden walkway was in excellent condition and easy to walk, although too narrow for us to walk side by side. I led the way while Tom followed behind reminding me not to fall off a few times. I never felt as if I’d fall off the one-meter wide boardwalk without a railing. Then again, he’s always looking out for me.

It wasn’t far down to the ground from the boardwalk.

As we continued on, the mosquitos started to congregate around my repellent free legs causing me to stop on occasion to swat them off. It wasn’t until the next morning that the bites began to itch which still continues today. Alas, I could have refused to enter this heavily forested area. But, being who I am, I was determined to go and never complain.

This complex cluster of tree roots was hard to miss.

At one point, it felts as if the boardwalk would never end and perhaps we’d get lost. I suggested to Tom that we may have to turn around and go back the way we came when there were no signs posted with map of the boardwalk once inside the path.

We stopped to read each sign along the way.

Tom said, “Let’s keep going.  The path will come back around to the beginning.”

I didn’t take the time to read this sign when close to the water, the mosquitos were in a frenzy.

We continued on and alas, in time, we eventually found the path that circled around the entire perimeter returning us to the beginning. It was quite an interesting and unusual walk unlike any other than we’d done in the past, except for a few tours on which we embarked into various rainforests in a few countries.

Another large muddy creek, a habitat for wildlife.

The only wildlife we encountered was birds none of which we were able to take photos of and also, the most peculiar little creatures that rapidly ran in and out the holes in the ground at low tide when they heard us coming, again never able to get a good look at them, let alone take a photo. We assumed they must have been some miniature type of marine life.

Finally, we were back at the beginning. Although I enjoyed seeing this most peculiar area, I was thrilled to get back into the car away from the mosquitos.  Once inside I noticed a stick roll-on repellent I’d left in the car. Next time we explore, I’ll bring it along, using it as needed.

When the walk ended, we commented on how often we find such interesting spots to explore and that truly our favorite experiences are often those we encounter as “accidental tourists.”

                                                  Photo from one year ago today, July 23, 2014:
The scenery over the island of Madeira was breathtaking every day.  Our time was winding down and we began to think ahead in this year ago post.Please click here for details.

A diverse and unexpected day out and about…Problems with men’s shirts…Many new photos coming!

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It was easy to find the shopping center in Cairns with only a few turns required off the main highway into town.

Yesterday morning, after uploading the post and in an impromptu manner I suggested to Tom that we head to Cairns, the closest big city for a visit to the largest shopping mall within hundreds of miles/kilometers.

We’ve giggled when we’ve seen signs mentioning Australia’s biggest “stocktake” sales, an expression that is definitely Aussie.

We each needed a few items, none of which we’d ever be able to find in the next many months after leaving Australia. We’d never be able to find our shortlist in Fiji and receiving packages is the island is outrageous after estimates we received from our mailing service.

Tom needed a new white dress shirt for formal nights on the many upcoming cruises. Often there are as many as three formal nights on a 14-day cruise. On longer cruises, there may be as many as five formal nights.

In the US, a similar store is called “Bed, Bath and Beyond.”

We’ve learned that we both can get by dressing “business casual,” him in a long-sleeved white dress shirt (no tie or jacket) with black pants with his more dressy Cole Haan shoes and me, in a long skirt with any of my tops belted or with a scarf and a bit of costume jewelry. 

Tom asked me not to take any photos of him wearing this same shirt from the previous day. But, I do laundry every day and he wore this shirt again while trying to wear out a few shirts before tackling the less used stack of tee shirts tucked away in his luggage. He eyeballed the old fashioned candy in this store, not buying a thing.

Once we’re seated at a shared table with eight to twelve other cruise passengers and have an opportunity to explain our limited luggage, then rest assured we aren’t totally uncouth as they dine with us many wearing their evening gowns and tuxedos. 

After all these cruises (11 so far) we don’t feel uncomfortable in our more casual attire. However, having a few items to enhance our attire is crucial to feeling acceptably dressed. For Tom, a proper fitting white shirt is essential.

We noticed a number of these tax preparer kiosks in the shopping malls. The Australian tax year-end June 30th and returns are filed by October 31st. If a taxpayer uses a registered tax preparer they may apply for an extension which it appears most of these people have done.

The problem with that is the fact that now that his weight is down within 10 pounds of his lowest, once aboard the ship he’s unable to resist the carbs and sugary foods and he usually starts gaining weight on the very first day, no matter how much we walk the decks. Within a few days his white dress shirt begins to fit tighter and tighter each day until finally, it doesn’t fit at all.

The mall is as huge as any we’d visited in the US (except for the Mall of America in Minnesota) including a multiplex movie theatre, food court, and undercover parking ramp, referred to as a “car park” in Australia, not a parking lot.

Oh sure, he could curtail his eating. But, if my way of eating wasn’t necessary for my survival, I’d have no will power on a cruise ship. Maintaining one’s weight isn’t enough of a motivator to avoid those tempting desserts, appetizers, poolside burgers, and fries and ice cream cones in unlimited amounts. 

In my old life, before eating this way, I’d never been on a cruise ship to experience the temptations of unlimited appealing foods. Although I’ve always been relatively slim, I was always “watching” my weight, occasionally falling prey to sweet temptations. 

Peering over a railing to view a huge book sale.

Now, it’s no temptation at all when it comes to my health. It isn’t even about self-control.  It’s about quality of life. We wouldn’t be traveling the world if I started eating one of my past favorites, doughnuts, as shown in one of today’s photos. Doughnuts, pastries, cookies, cakes, pies…in my old life I loved it all frequently baking and struggling to resist excess amounts.

For a Tuesday midday, the mall was very busy as shown here.

Back to the white shirt. The one Tom had been wearing on the past few cruises no longer works. If he lost the last 10 pounds, it would fit perfectly. It will never work one more time on a cruise. 

The problem in finding him a long-sleeved dress shirt is a problem many men have today which may include smaller neck size, shoulder width, and sleeve length and yet possessing a bit of fluff around the middle. 

Before we know it we’ll be in Thailand to experience authentic Thai food firsthand.

I’m not complaining about the fluff. My only concern is in regard to how that fluff may affect health in the long run. The same goes for women. Had I not been on this strict way of eating, I’d certainly have fallen into that same belly fat condition. It’s an age related dilemma that few are exempt from after 60 years of age.

Tom is always shocked by the prices at McDonald’s but it’s been a long time since he made a purchase. Prices have changed over these past years since we’ve been gone from the US.

Yesterday around noon, when we entered the lavish shopping mall in Cairns,  Cairns Central, finding a new shirt for Tom was highest on our priority list. We’d seen online that Myer, a department store where we’d most likely find a wide selection of dress shirts.

After perusing many racks and noticing that most of the white dress shirts were marked “slim fit” we were ready to walk out until finally, a lovely saleswoman was available to assist us. In Australia, sizing is different than we were used to and honestly, we weren’t sure what size would actually work with his shorter sleeve length and smaller shoulder measurements.

Considering that a double-sized burger is AUD $9.70, the US price of $7.21 doesn’t seem that high to me.  Is that higher than in the US?

The trusty saleswoman shipped out a tape measure, quickly checked his measurements arriving at a size that would work for him all the way around. I was skeptical but kept my mouth shut as he tried on a shirt in the Aussie size of 43/86. Go figure. We’d never have figured this out on our own.

Hungry Jack in Australia is actually the same as Burger King in the US.

In a matter of minutes, we were walking out the door with a perfectly well-fitted shirt with room for “cruise food,” in a carefree fabric that was considered wrinkle-free and yet has a quality designer feel. 

At a meager USD $37.08, AUD $49.95, for the fine shirt, we were couldn’t have been more pleased. He’d easily have been willing to pay twice as much for such a great fit. I suggested he purchase two identical shirts at this price but, weight restrictions always prevail in any of our purchase decisions.

These prices appear considerably less than McDonald’s.

At that point, we were off to look for a few items on my shortlist. How shall I diplomatically say “undergarments,” simply put, panties. (What a weird word to put in writing!) I only share this tidbit of information as part of our travel experience.

This donut shop reminded us of Dunkin’ Donuts in the US.

Us girls (and guys) always have a preference for a particular fabric and style. The last time I purchased panties (ouch) was when Okee Dokee and I headed to Komatipoort in South Africa to a women’s shop in February 2014. Click here to see that post. 

I purchased eight pairs in South Africa in varying fabrics, none of which will survive one more washing. The bra I purchased at that time, later ended in a donation pile when it itched while wearing. Tom suggested commando.  I declined. No women my age goes commando unless they’ve “forgotten” to include these when dressing. I’m not there yet!

My mouth watered checking out these donuts. Tom had little interest in them since he doesn’t like the frosted or sugar-coated types. I’d have eaten any of these in my old life.

As we perused the shops in the vast mall we stumbled upon a shop, Body Cairns, that caught my eye. My eyes flitted over the wide array of workout wear and also, a table of panties not unlike one would find in Victoria’s Secret store in the US.  I purchased five pairs and, two Capri length workout/leggings that are perfect for everyday wear as well as trips to the fitness center. 

Here’s Tom’s new long-sleeved white dress shirt for which he paid USD $37.08, AUD $49.95.

After paying USD $59.31, AUD $79.90 for all seven items I was pleasantly surprised by the quality, selection, and prices, although a little confused by the sizing. A friendly young woman assisted me encouraging me to try on the leggings which I did, happy with the fit.

Purchases completed, we decided to wander through the remainder of the mall, checking out the stores and the food court. Although I encouraged Tom to have lunch, there was nothing he felt like ordering after his big breakfast at home. In any case, it was fun to see the shops and fast-food restaurants popular in Australia.

Here are my seven-item priced at AUD $79.90, USD $59.31.

After leaving the mall, we drove around Cairns on a self-directed sightseeing tour for the remainder of the afternoon enjoying every moment even on the cloudy day. We’ll share more photos over the next few days including a totally unexpected and somewhat peculiar find in tomorrow’s post.

Thanks to so many of our reader friends who wrote to us via comments and email to wish us well with the good health reports. Your interest in our well being means the world to us!

                                               Photo from one year ago today,  July 22, 2014:

One year ago, we posted photos of the morphology of the banana tree with progressives photos of a bloom. Please click here to see these photos.

How much did we spend out of pocket for all the medical?…Haircut problems for Tom…Figuring it all out, one way or another…

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Its amazing how quickly it grows.

Yesterday morning, we both had final appointments with Dr. Konny at Apple Tree Medical in the town of Smithfield near the shopping center. Tom had his physical and according to what Dr. Konny could determine, he’s in excellent health.

He had his blood tests which will arrive by email in a few days. Once those have arrived, we’re done with the doctor. After Tom’s appointment, he headed to the lab located in the medical clinic while she and I reviewed my newly arrive test results.

Much to our delight, all is well. I have a clean bill of health. I must admit now that it’s over that the pain I had in Kauai was not a bladder infection after all. After we arrived here in Australia it started up again. It just wasn’t symptomatic as a bladder infection. 

The justcuts store is located only a few doors from the pharmacy, making it easy to find.

Over a week ago I had a CAT scan in Cairns as the pain had continued for days. We never mentioned the CAT scan here when we felt we should wait until we had results. I was upset about having to have the scan not wanting to pay thousands of dollars for the expensive diagnostic test.

We almost fell over when we paid the bill after the test was completed. It was AUD $365, US $269. As a matter of fact, Dr. Natasha had called four different diagnostic centers while I was with her to find us the best price. I don’t ever recall our doctor making phone calls for “deals” for us! The difference in pricing at various clinics was as much as AUD $1000, USD $738. We couldn’t express enough gratitude!

Keeping in mind we have no insurance to cover this when our insurance only covers hospitalization (hospital stays, surgery, and inpatient services) this was the full price, not a co-pay. I can only imagine the out of pocket cost we’d have incurred for such a service in many other countries.

Tom was reading a book on his phone while awaiting his turn.

Waiting for the results was angst-ridden. I was more worried about how we’d manage if I needed surgery or had a dreaded disease while on the move. One can do a number on oneself imagining the difficulty in these circumstances. But, we both held firm to a relatively positive attitude, and the days passed quickly until we knew the results.

As a result of a surgery over 20 years ago, I had adhesions in the left groin area (guys, figure that out on your own. Girls get it!) and a possible bit of diverticulitis. The pain from this can come and go and for now, it’s at bay once again. Reducing fiber intake seems to reduce all the pain. So for now, I’m on a low fiber, low carb, grain-free, starch-free, sugar-free, chemical-free diet. Good grief. 

Knowing it’s nothing more serious and not impeding upon any internal organs, it’s not worrisome. Occasional discomfort, I can manage. Worrying is eliminated. What a relief! As for the additional food restrictions, it’s no problem for me. Currently, I’m having low fiber veggies such as mushrooms, onions, leaf lettuce (no more cabbage), and a few others.

Tom’s former haircut gone wild.

As for all the other tests including tests for colon cancer, everything is negative. Now we wait for Tom’s results and we’re home free (literally and figuratively). Later in the week, when we grocery shop we’ll make our dentist appointments with a dentist located by the mall with a beautiful office and modern technology for teeth cleaning.

In the interim, Dr. Konny wrote my prescriptions for six months (all the law in Australia allows) for the few prescriptions I’ve taken for years, having recently eliminated one more due to good health. After the doctor appointments, we dropped off the prescriptions which will be ready by Thursday. With these, I’ll have enough on hand to last for the next 16 months. 

After three doctor appointments for me, one for Tom, multiple blood tests, and the CAT scan we spent a total of USD $$1075, AUD $1458. All that remains is is the cost for the three, six-month prescriptions which surely won’t be over US $200, AUD $271.26. Unreal. In the US, we’d have spent thousands for all of these out of pocket services. Once Tom’s results come in, we’ll report here, anticipating all will be good.

In no time at all, he was done. I particularly watched how Byron cut along the ears and back with which I’d had trouble. I can’t wait to try it again.

We were very happy with the level of medical care and service at Apple Tree Medical. If traveling to this area, one can rest assured they’d be in good hands with this clinic and with these fine doctors, including Drs. Natasha and Dr. Konny.

After the doctor’s office, the stop at the pharmacy, and Tom purchasing a battery for his watch which was a bit pricey at AUD $19.95, USD $14.71, we headed to JustCuts for Tom’s much-needed haircut. Why wasn’t I cutting his hair with our recently purchased hair clippers with the zillion attachments?

Simple answer. When we plugged it into our electrical adapter the noise was earsplitting and it quickly became overheated, approaching burnout. Apparently, these clippers won’t work in some countries but certainly not in Australia. My US purchased flat iron which uses more powers works without a problem. I offered to give him a scissors cut but he refused.

The bottom edge at the back had been tricky for me.  Now, I know how to do it.

The male pharmacist suggested we try his favorite haircutters, JustCuts, located a few doors from the pharmacy in the mall. Walking into the clean, modern, well-equipped hair cutting establishment made us feel we were in good hands. The stylist, Byron, a local guy did a fabulous job giving me tips for when I am able to cut Tom’s hair again. 

After a perfect cut along with an affordable price of US $14.71, AUD $23 we were thrilled. Hopefully, in Fiji, the hair clippers will work. If not, we’ll have to find a new haircutter before we head back to Sydney in January to board the cruise to New Zealand.

After all of our stops after the doctor’s visit including a trip into the grocery store for a few items, we were on our way, out to breakfast. Unfortunately, breakfast was over at the few restaurants we visited and it was too early for lunch.  With rain pelting down and preferring to avoid walking on the beach in the rain, we decided to head back home and go out to eat another day.

When we returned home, I collected all of our medical information and scanned every medical report saving it on our hard drive and the cloud we use, OneDrive, for which we pay a small monthly fee. We have almost one terabyte of data to save in a cloud and thus it requires a small fee for this amount of storage. We use the portable hard drive and the cloud for safekeeping in case our hard drive is ever stolen although I keep it in my possession at all times when we travel. 

Byron was a friendly and competent stylist suggesting a number of areas we plan to visit in the near future.

Tom’s test results will arrive by email by Friday. If all is well, he’ll have no further need to return to the doctor.  Once we receive them, they too will be stored on the hard drive and cloud. 

We’d received a DVD of my CAT scan which we plan to store at our box at the mailing service, along with accumulated receipts and our expired second passports which we no longer need but that I’d like to save as keepsakes. We’ll put together a small package of these items and send them to Nevada before we leave in September. More later on why we no longer need second passports but did when we originally began to travel in 2012.

That’s all the news for today, folks. Thanks for traveling along with us. We hope you enjoy reading the costs we bear along the way. We post them with the intent of informing travelers as to possible costs they may incur in their travels. If any of our readers have specific questions about any travel-related expenses we may not have included, please comment or send an email and we’ll happily respond.

Have a wonderful day!

                                        Photo from one year ago today, July 21, 2014:

A natural rock formation we discovered on a drive in Madeira. For more photos of that day’s road trip, please click here.

Photos from a new area…Off to a Monday morning appointment…Never late if we can help it…An amazing video from one year ago…

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Rocky shoreline at Ellis Beach along Captain Cook Highway narrowed the farther we drove.

Most mornings, we are up and dressed for the day by 7 am. Knowing we had to head out the door at 8:40 made it difficult for either of us to stay asleep beyond 5 am. Is that an old person thing? As we’ve aged we’ve noticed that we always attempt to be early for appointments rather than simply on time.

We drove further than we’d ever driven to Ellis Beach.  We’ve yet to head to Port Douglas but that road trip is coming soon.

What’s the deal with that? In my old business-orientated life and certainly in Tom’s railroad life, being on time was a vital part of our work and persona. Why be late when one can be on time? Why bear the embarrassing consequences of lateness when in most cases it’s entirely avoidable?

From this location, we could see the backside of Double Island and another view of Scout Island.

I’ve never understood the mindset of those people who try to do “one more thing” before they head out the door often making them late for the person waiting for them. Does doing the “one more thing” make the person waiting feel happy and respected?  Hardly.

House atop a hill on a peninsula in Ellis Beach.

In the case of professional appointments of one type or another, the person waiting may feel less personal about it but they develop a perception of the late person that is difficult for them to ever shake, at times having an effect on the quality of the service provided throughout a working relationship.

Ellis Beach is another pristine unpopulated beach.

Isn’t it ironic how right now, at this very moment, we could each make a list of 10 people we’ve known going back as far as 20 years or more as always being late? It’s a sad perception to leave in the minds of those who may otherwise care deeply for that individual.

This life we live has no room for tardiness. One can’t be late for a flight or a cruise. Imagine the additional inconvenience and cost one would bear from being late and missing a departure time. 

It’s surprising to see even a single person walking along the beach.

Of course, on a rare occasion being late may be due to an unforeseen occurrence. But, older people tend to factor in an extra period of time for the “unknown” when possible. In our minds, other than sudden illness or injury, being late is entirely avoidable with good planning.

This morning, in our somewhat obsessive manner (for lack of a better descriptive term) we hustled about the house tidying up, moving things out of the way, and even cleaning, knowing that Sylvie and Andy are coming to do the floors when we leave for the doctor appointment.

Zooming in as much as our less than stellar camera would allow, we spotted this fishing boat off the coast of Double Island.

We’ve worked out an equitable cleaning arrangement between us and the kind owners who could have chosen to do nothing to help us. However, their thoughtful mentality consisted of the fact that they usually provide cleaning for their short term renters, why would we be exempt from that service for us long term renters.

They’d offered to do the entire cleaning and bedding change but we refused in an attempt to be equally thoughtful. The compromise definitely reached amicably was this: we clean and do the bedding and they do the floors every two weeks vacuuming the area rugs and washing the floors. 

The sand is soft beneath our feet and yet few find their way to lounge in the sand during the winter months here in Australia. The temperature is ideal for beach activities and yet people stay away. Perhaps, apprehension about sharks, stingers, and crocodiles keep visitors off the beach.

Of course, in the interim, we (I) use the dust mop almost daily and sweep as needed. Tom is oblivious to crumbs on the floor whereby even a small gathering of dust requires my immediate attention. Weekly, I dust all the tables and surfaces and daily clean the bathroom and kitchen (Tom does dishes and cleans the kitchen after dinner and again after breakfast). This works perfectly.

Coming up at our next location, Fiji, we’ll have maid service twice a week  (included in the rent) which for us is more of a bother than helpful when we (I) always feel a need to clean up before they arrive.

More rocky shoreline.

The other aspect of our getting out the door in one hour from now as I write this is my desire to upload today’s post before we go, a lofty task this early in the morning, when usually, I submit it to the world wide web close to 11 am or at times later, depending on the content and number of photos.

Most often, I take my time, local news on in the background, coffee in hand, with no sense of urgency. Today, it’s different. We’d like to experience our first meal in a restaurant by the sea on a sunny day like today without the thought of rushing home to upload the post.

At this spot, there was a parking space where a few caravans had stopped to enjoy the sunny day. To the right, is the curve in the road, Captain Cook Highway which follows along the shoreline for many miles/kilometers.

Don’t get me wrong. I never dread this daily undertaking. Never. But, on days like today, having not planned a post in advance, my inept uncoordinated fingers are flying across the keyboard trying to avoid errors and hoping to be ready to go out the door in plenty of time, so we won’t be late.

And I promise we won’t be late. Not in posting before we go to the appointment nor in arriving on time for our 9 am appointment with Dr. Konny (yes, correct first name spelling). 

Tomorrow, we’ll be back with comments on Tom’s doctor appointment, my final test results, and how we actually spent the remainder of the day including our dining experience in a restaurant by the sea. Have a good day!

                                              Photo from one year ago today, July 20, 2014:

One year ago today, we drove on a mountain road in Madeira under this waterfall. On the post that day, we included a video as we drove under the waterfall, the entire time squealing with delight. To see that video, please click here.

The progression of a sunrise over the Coral Sea…Pinching ourselves…Not used to it yet! TV in Australia…

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Tom’s first photo of sunrise over the Coral Sea at 6 am this morning. 

A few days ago while we were busy with our record-keeping flipping between screens on both of our laptops, a wildlife show flashed on the TV. Australian TV offers a constant stream of interesting documentaries of both its own continent and that of other continents which when we staying in we often keep running in the background.

Quickly, the scene began to change.

It was from watching documentaries that we’ve been inspired to visit many parts of the world. It was in 2004 that we watched a documentary on the Great Migration that stuck in our brains. It was nine years later that we found ourselves in the great Serengeti and the Maasai Mara in Kenya. 

He said it changed in seconds, not minutes.

We must admit that while I’m preparing the daily posts and Tom’s busy searching for future travels we keep the TV turned on to Australian news and documentary type shows. Without cable TV and only an antenna at our rental, there’s no BBC, US news, or world news on any of the channels here, although on occasion the US Today Show will pop up for no reason at all. 

TV programming by antenna only is lacking, to say the least except for the few treasures we’ve stumbled up. We were warned about this by our shipmates on the last cruise.  Most often one can only find “footy” (football/soccer in Australian talk), old reruns of MASH, and a few tiring game shows. 

Tom doesn’t usually capture amazing shots such as these.  I’m impressed!

We seldom, if ever, sit down to watch the TV itself. It’s only at night after dinner that we watch a few of our favorite shows. Instead, as we’ve mentioned in the past, we feel lucky when there is a flat-screen TV into which we can plug my laptop via an HDMI cable to watch a few favorite downloaded shows. In a few past vacation homes, we had no TV at all and we were content to watch the laptop’s 15.6″ monitor.

At present, we’re watching “Breaking Bad” (starting season three tonight) having recently completed the fabulous seven seasons of Sons of Anarchy, an all-time favorite. Also, we love BBC shows, recently completing Poldark and Crimson Fields, both amazing shows recommended by our friend Liz in Bristol, UK.

By the time I walked out the door, it had already changed this much.

Let’s face it, we’re just like most people who wind down at night to engage in a number of favorite pastime activities such as read, listen to music, drink wine and/or watch a few shows. We all need some “downtime” and the fact that we live a life of travel doesn’t change that fact. 

He handed me the camera, but at that point, the magical scene was nearly gone.

By evening, especially after a good meal and cleanup, we have no interest in searching for new places to visit in the future and our brains aren’t working well enough to maintain record keeping or handle financial matters.  Those tasks are best served during the day when we’re most alert.

What we’ve found most peculiar about Aussie TV programming is the fact that shows don’t necessarily start “on the hour or half-hour” and aren’t necessarily on at the same time each day or week or, on at the time listed on the online guide. One can easily miss a favorite program if counting on the next episode occurring on the same day and time a week later. 

Tom had already captured the very best of it.

As a result, we’ve made little effort to watch any Aussie produced shows other than documentaries that pop up on occasion when we happen to take notice. As mentioned a few days ago, we’ve loved David Attenborough’s documentaries but, there are numerous documentaries about life in Australia, the Outback, and travel around the continent.

Many of these shows we’ve stumbled upon have inspired us to visit various beaches, book more Australian cruises, and consider returning to Australia during the gaps in our itinerary as shown in yesterday’s post. 

Mountains and the sea are a perfect combination here in Trinity Beach.

The Australian documentaries are beautifully produced and give the viewer an appealing perspective of this vast relatively low populated continent. With its 23.5 million residents (2014) and size comparable to the US with its 319 million (2014), Australia relatively unpopulated for its size with most of the population residing near the perimeters closest to the sea.

Watching an occasional documentary has inspired us in many ways to further appreciate this unique continent.  I supposed we could say that most continents we’ve visited thus far are unique in their own ways for their terrain, lifestyle, and of course, their people. 

The beauty of the sunrise wafts away.  The beauty of a new day just begins.

Yesterday, we took a drive with more good photos to share over the next few days. Tomorrow morning, we’re off to Tom’s medical appointment and my final test results. Since he won’t be able to have breakfast before we leave due to upcoming blood tests, we plan to go out for coffee and breakfast in Trinity Beach by the sea, weather permitting. Photos will follow.

The dawn of a new day.  We’re grateful for every day we’ve been given.

For today, we couldn’t resist posting these sunrise photos Tom took this morning when getting up before 6 am.  I heard him go outdoors and I followed shortly but by the time I got outside, the amazing sky had begun to wane. The more intense photos shown here today are his and mine are the less than vibrant batch. 

Have a lovely Saturday or Sunday, wherever you may be!

                                              Photo from one year ago today, July 19, 2014:

While in Madeira one year ago, we visited one of the other rental homes owned by our landlords, Gina and Carlos. As we toured the beautiful house, our eyes were glued to the many works of art on the walls including this above needlepoint made by Gina’s mother and aunt. As a result, we posted photos of many of these works which can be found by clicking here.

NEW UPDATED ITINERARY!…September 7, 2015 to May 15, 2017…Includes two gaps yet to fill…

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The house is surrounded by lush vegetation, including many large coconut and palm trees and endless varieties of shrubs and plants.

With considerable enthusiasm, we share our upcoming itinerary for the next 617 days from the time we leave Trinity Beach, Australia beginning on September 7, 2017:

 Location or Ship  Days  Address or Ship  Dates
 Sydney Hotel   1   9/7/2015 – 9/8/2015
 Fiji Rental  88    9/8/2015 – 12/6/2015 
 Fiji Rental #2  29    12/6/2015 – 1/4/2016 
 Sydney Hotel  1    1/4/2016 – 1/5/2016 
 Sydney to Auckland – Cruise  14  Celebrity Solstice   1/5/2016 – 1/19/2016 
 New Zealand Farm  87    1/19/2016 – 4/15/2016 
 Sydney Hotel  1    4/15/2016 –
4/16/2016 
 Sydney to Singapore – Cruise  14  RC Voyager of Seas   4/16/2016 – 4/30/2016 
 Bali House  59    4/30/2016 – 6/28/2016 
 Hanoi Hotel – to be booked  10    6/28/2016 – 7/8/2016 
 Hanoi to Ho Chi Min City – Cruise  15  Viking Mekong    7/8/2016 – 7/22/2016 
 Phuket House  41    7/22/2016 – 9/1/2016 
 Bali House  59    9/1/2016 – 10/30/2016 
 Sydney Hotel  1    10/30/2016 – 10/31/2016 
 Sydney to Perth – Cruise  16  RC Radiance of the
Seas 		  10/31/2016 – 11/16/2016 
 Perth to Sydney – Cruise  17  RC Radiance of the Seas   11/16/2016 – 12/3/2016 
 GAP 12/3/2016 – 3/1/2017  88    12/3/2016 – 3/1/2017 
 Sydney to Sydney – Cruise  12  Celebrity Solstice   3/1/2017 – 3/13/2017 
 GAP 3/13/2017 – 4/22/1017  40    3/13/2017 – 4/22/2017 
 Sydney to Seattle – Cruise  24  RC Explorer of the
Seas 		  4/22/2017 – 5/15/2017 
Total number
of days		 617

With 128 days in gaps to fill, we still have our work cut out for us. However, the options are many with both gaps beginning in Sydney. With our visas only allowing 90 days in Australia at any one time, we surely can find places to stay in the outlying areas of Sydney.

This colorful plant is eye-catching.

Although Sydney is an amazing city which left us breathless when our ship arrived at the amazing port of Sydney Harbour, it’s expensive to stay in or near the city. There are suburban areas an hour’s drive from the city or more that may be less expensive for longer-term visits.

Also, we’re considering other island countries in the South Pacific.  Soon, we’ll begin looking at our options, especially due to the fact that the first gap falls over the Christmas season

In Hawaii, these red  leaves were growing on Tiki plants. Here, they are called Cordyline.

For now, we’re taking a short break from spending money on deposits and searching for vacation homes online. The cost of the wifi for our “borrowed” hotspots is running around USD $103, AUD $140 every three weeks for 16 gigs which I use almost exclusively. Not one to do much browsing when not preparing for a post, I end up using half of a gigabyte a day for research and uploading each day’s post.

Without the separate hotspot, we wouldn’t be able to post with the poor connection here or, it would take all day to upload the photos. When we’re busy looking for vacation homes, I can easily use a gig or more in a single day.

In the interim, we’re awaiting the posting of new cruises by the cruise lines. Generally, they aren’t available online until 18 months from sail dates. Thus, we’re not too far away from seeing new listings.

Back steps leading to the owner’s area of the house. We’re on the ground level while they are above us.

When we have gaps as indicated about, we enter an estimate on our spreadsheet of how much we anticipate we’ll spend during the gaps, based on our current cost per day. 

Yesterday, we entered all of the important data on the spreadsheet for the three new cruises, three of which we’d yet to enter. It’s a time-consuming process that, if it is for only one cruise, is less intimidating.

With no chaise lounges down by the pool, we’ve yet to use it.  This steep stairway prevents us from hauling chairs down these steps and back up each day.  We’ve been able to get a short stint in the sun on our veranda where there are two chairs.

There are three separate worksheets in the Excel workbook where we log all of our travel and expenses;

  1. The itinerary with booked rental costs and estimated other expenses (based on history)
  2. A record on a separate tab for deposits paid, how paid and balances due with due dates
  3. Another separate tab (worksheet) for cruises only, which includes such items as cost, cabin number and cabin size, tips included or paid separately, name of the ship, and any cabin credits that may be included.

Those of you who are experts in the accounting industry may argue with our record keeping but for us, it works. (We keep a special tab for tax deductible items). We’ve investigated possible travel related apps that may make our record keeping a little less time consuming but at this time we haven’t found one that attributes to the vast amount of travels we’re doing.

A tiny blue flower.

Are there any aspects to this itinerary that we’d change if we could? Our only hesitations have been staying in Fiji for a total of four months, at two different properties which lessen the long period.

And, we also have hesitated over the two separate stays at the same exquisite Bali house broken up into two segments partly due to visa restrictions. However, at certain points, staying put for awhile greatly supports our budget. We’d have loved to spend the entire four months at the Bali house at one time.  

This gulley runs off the side of the property. Situated into a hill/mountain, the runoff is good as we observed with it raining during our first month in Trinity Beach.

However, in Bali, we were able to negotiate an extremely reasonable rate by leaving the property over the expensive “high season” enabling the owner to collect higher rates during the middle three months. Its these kinds of decisions, that may be seen as illogical to some, that allow us to stay in much nicer, higher priced properties that we may have otherwise avoided.

In every case, there’s a motivation to our decisions, none of which we expect to regret in the future provided each of the properties we’ve book meet our expectations based on the online representation. 

More colorful Cordyline.

There’s been only one experience, our very first in Belize, our first vacation home outside the US, that we felt wasn’t fairly represented from which we moved after the first week. There was no running water other than for a few hours a day and the screens (holes too large) didn’t keep out the no-see-ums, making staying there utterly impossible when I had no less than 100 raging, itching bites all over my body.

At that point we lost our prepaid first month. A week later we found a condo directly on the ocean in a fabulous resort for our remaining two months in Belize turning a less than desirable situation into a wonderful memory.  If you haven’t read about that experience, check our archives from January 30, 2013 to February 6, 2013 during that difficult experience, right out of the chute.

A sunny day in Trinity Beach inspired me to take photos in the yard.

Overall, we’ve had our fair share of “safari luck” which we feel continues today while we thoroughly enjoy our Trinity Beach home and our thoughtful and gracious property owners, Sylvie and Andy.

Today, we’re off to explore a little, staying in the north part of town as opposed to the south where the “show” holiday is packed with locals and tourists who are attending the local Cairns carnival and craft shows.

Have a wonderful weekend, dear readers!

                                              Photo from one year ago today, July 18, 2014:

The pier is Funchal where we boarded the Sea Born catamaran for the whale and dolphin watching. Please click here for details.

Part 2…A military day…Australia’s and other country’s involvement in the world wars…New story with military photos…New itinerary tomorrow!

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At one point I poked the lens of the camera through a hole in a chain-link gate at The Australian Armour & the Artillery Museum to take this photo of the grounds surrounding the building.

We realize that many of our readers have little interest in photos of military vehicles and equipment. We’ll finish posting these photos today and be off to a new and different topic tomorrow.

Australian M113A1 Fire Support Vehicle (Saladin Turret)

As a matter of fact, tomorrow we’ll be posting our new itinerary that includes the next almost two years. Here we are again, with two years ahead of us, well planned with only a few gaps to fill.

The interior of the above Australian Fire Support Vehicle.

Early on, we’d be worried about filling gaps but now with more experience, we have no need to scramble to fill them. As long as they’re filled one year out we’ll still be able to find great options.

French Panhard AML 245 Light Armoured Car, Model 60 Variant.

Over these past few years, we sense an increase in world travel as more and more seniors retire deciding that travel is a great way to kick off the first few years of their newly found freedom. We see this in “sold out” bookings for vacation homes, cruises, and various modes of transportation.

We could see the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway from the armour building. The roundtrip cost for two is US $111.20, AUD $150, not an event or expense that is important to us at this time as we continue to layout considerable sums for future bookings.

Many of our readers anticipated that our interest in traveling would wane after a few years. But, here we are fast approaching the end of our third year and entry into our fourth. It’s hard for us to believe we’ve continued on for this long and have already seen so much of the world.

Interior of a tank with a rotating turret.

As we fast approach having all of our medical exams and tests out of the way we have an even greater degree of enthusiasm realizing that for now, we can feel at ease that poor health won’t stop us. 

Another tank painted in camouflage.

Sure, health issues or injuries can arise in a flash.  We’ll never take good health for granted. Even if we broke a leg we’d be down and out for a period of time, perhaps looking for a new place to reside, possibly losing huge deposits and making many changes in the itinerary.

We wonder about the soldier who wore these boots in this Vietcong and North Vietnam display.
More in the Vietcong and Vietnam equipment.

This possibility is highly instrumental in our caution in avoiding to partake in activities that may be beyond our fitness and skill levels. I have to remind myself at times that it was only four years ago I could hardly walk based on the degree of pain I was experiencing due to an advanced degenerative spinal condition.

A US Patton tank.

It was my change in diet that virtually eliminated the pain due to inflammation that gave me a new lease on life three months after I began this way of eating. Here again, we never take the benefits that I’ve derived from eating a very strict diet from which I never waiver, nor will I.

USA M1 Stuart Light Tank MK111.

Yesterday, by coincidence, there was a PUBMED research document posted on my Facebook that espouses the many benefits of a ketogenic diet including the massive reduction in inflammation, among improvements in Alzheimer’s Disease, seizure disorders, and Parkinson’s Disease. If any of you would like to see this document, please email me and I’ll send it to you. 

British Valentine Infantry Tank. In the background is a poster of the movie with Brad Pitt, Fury. Several months ago, we watched this excellent movie.
The interior of a British FV433 SPG.

Although I’ve read hundreds of scientific studies confirming the value of this diet since the day I began, it’s always important to read new and evolving studies and information. 

German half-track.

In time, this way of eating will become more mainstream. The public and the scientific community are slow to accept “different” modalities from that which they’ve believed for decades, i.e., that a “low fat” diet is good for health. I won’t get on my soapbox on that topic. 

Interior of an above German tank.

I consume about 100 grams of healthy fats each day and remain in good health and fitness. If you want more information on this, please write to me and I’ll send you a reading list from some of the top medical researchers in the world. 

A variety of hand grenades.

Today is Show Day, a public holiday in the Cairns area only, not the entire state of Queensland. Some businesses and all government buildings are closed while many employees are off work to celebrate this special “state fair” type event. 

More hand grenades.

Of course, many enjoy having a day off without attending the carnival and craft markets that represent the special day. With our aversion to crowds and traffic (more Tom than me), we’ll stay away from the hustle and bustle, either staying put today while I work on updating the itinerary with all the new cruises or heading out in the opposite direction away from the traffic. 

German tank.
Whatever we decide to do, we’ll find ourselves content with a great Friday night dinner planned of fresh Barramundi, sautéed scallops, homemade crab salad, steamed veggies, and a salad. Life is good.

                                              Photo from one year ago today, July 17, 2014:

A week or so ago, I mentioned we hadn’t seen any whales.  I should have been more specific in saying we have seen whales up close as in the case of this small Tropical Whale while on a whale-watching expedition in Madeira. And, in Hawaii, we spotted many Humpback Whales while viewing from our yard in the Big Island (Hawai’i). But, we’ve yet to have one of those amazing boating experiences where a whale breaches close to the boat and we’re able to take photos.  Perhaps someday. This photo was taken by the onboard professional photographer, Claudio who gave me permission to use his photos when the boat was so crowded I could hardly get a shot. For more, please click here for Part 2 of whale watching photos in Madeira. 

Part 1…A military day…Australia’s and other country’s involvement in the world wars…

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Located on Highway 91 on the way to Cairns, The Australian Armour & Military Museum is a popular point of interest for tourists and locals.

Deciding on the venues we’d like to see in our surroundings is relatively easy for us. In our desire to inspire one another we often choose sightseeing that is befitting both of our interests.

Tom in front of a restored tank outside the building.

However, on occasion, one of us bites the bullet and we visit a botanical garden (Tom’s least favorite) and in the case of yesterday, a historical military venue, The Australian Armour and Artillery Museum. 

As the photographer in the family, thinking in terms of the next day’s post, I can usually be easily be entertained attempting to take good photos. However, the topic surrounding world wars has never been of particular interest to me. 

These two boys were wearing hats and equipment while playing with this military mockup. It was obvious they were having a great time.

The sorrowful loss of lives has always gripped my heart in a manner that elicited disinterest in the means by which these horrific human losses occurred. Looking at such equipment and vehicles was a stretch for me.

Mortar shells.

Over the years I’ve observed how some men seem to have an innate interest in military equipment in a similar manner that some women show more interest in flowers and botanical gardens. Yes, we are different in some ways. This is not intended to stereotype the sexes. It’s a mere observation. 

Various land mines.

Yesterday, when we returned home and I was busy downloading photos and Tom was busy responding to cruise booking inquiries from our new rep, a fabulous TV show came up, David Attenborough’s documentary on lion cubs learning to hunt in their first two years of life. 

This land mine was referred to as “Bouncing Betty.”

Since we’ve been in Australia we’ve watched several of these high-quality documentaries as the finest we’ve ever seen presented by the BBC from which we watch a number of excellent programs at night as we wind down.

More land mines.

As we watched the show on lions, a tremendous number of references were made as to how the male and female lions have distinct roles, totally predicated by their gender. I often believe this is also the case with humans. This is not a political statement. It’s a human (or animal) nature statement. 

Artillery was located in the first area we perused.

Thus, my interest in military tanks, trucks, and artillery is very limited, not beyond how they look in a photo.  Regardless of this reason, I happily went along as we perused each and every item in The Australian Armour and Artillery Museum with nary a complaint with boredom or from standing for several hours. 

This wheel is used for the elevation and aiming of the cannon.
Tom, whom I consider very knowledgeable about the world wars was explaining the functioning of this artillery shell to me.

On many occasions, Tom who was enjoying every moment asked me if I was bored to death and of course, I said I was fine. There was no way in the world I would attempt to shorten his enjoyment or diminish the value or meaning of his experience.

Notice the camouflage hanging over the tank’s barrel.

We continued on through the massive building in awe of the size of the collection. Not only were there Australian representations but many other countries were represented, both allies and enemies. Undoubtedly, it was an impressive collection.

A British breech-loading Howitzer.

Most of the items had been restored to what in many cases appeared to be almost new condition. We noticed a restoration center across a field from the building where we imagined much of the restoration was taking place.

A variety of Australian military items used during the wars.

In some cases, the interior of the various tanks and vehicles were available for viewing when doors were left open. Peering inside the various vehicles was of particular interest to both of us imagining how these soldiers could possibly fit inside the tight spaces. 

More sophisticated equipment with gauges was developed over time.

Tom surmised that many soldiers were young men, as young as 18 years old, and may not be fully grown at that time. Also, as shown over most recent decades, the size of men and women has changed and they are generally larger at this time than they may have been during the world wars.

Imagine a soldier sitting on this seat turning these wheels for firing accuracy.
Loading end of the breach of the barrel in the above photo.
Actually, seeing these small spaces was heartbreaking only adding to our angst over the ravages of wars. We are incapable of even imagining how these soldiers existed in these horrible circumstances. There’s no way we can offer enough reverence and respect for those who fought for our freedom.
Anti-aircraft shells. There were skylights above us that reflected the midday sun in some of our photos.

On a few occasions, I found myself peering outside a door or window to the grounds surrounding the enormous building noticing a few birds, the cable cars that travel to the rain forest (not of much interest to either of us), and the groundskeeper mowing the lawn inspiring me to take a few photos. 

A Russian ground to air missile S-75. 

Finally, after Tom had read every sign describing each item in the museum, he meandered toward the exit, looking to me to come along. He asked, “Is there anything else you’d like to see?”

I smiled, “No, thanks honey,” I answered, “I’m good.”

This is the interior which is under renovation of the US M3 scout car in the photo below.
USA M3 scout car.

Hand and hand we walked out the door reminded and grateful for our freedom, our health, and our lives on a bright sunny day in Australia.

This is a Jerrycan used for carrying fuel.

Tomorrow, we’ll share a new story but complete our photos from The Australian Armour and Artillery Museum.

Have an extraordinary day!

                                               Photo from one year ago today, July 16, 2014:
One year ago today we boarded a huge catamaran in Funchal, Madiera to go whale watching. We spotted a few whales at a distance but more so we saw pods of dolphins. Claudio, a professional photographer on board the boat kindly let us use some of his photos taken with much more skill than I and a much better camera. For more of these photos, please click here.