Search Results for: Retirees

Limitations…Living within our means…Not always easy…

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View from the chaise lounges of the pool, the Jacuzzi to the left, and beyond it, the cold plunge pool. Nice.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica” 

Even the entrance to this property is stunning, as taken from the veranda on a cloudy day.

It’s been raining almost every day. We knew when we booked this property during the rainy season, but we decided with as much “work” as we had to do while here, it wouldn’t matter to us so much.

Besides, the likelihood of finding a reputable rental car facility was iffy from what we’d read online and heard from our landlord Aad. Hence, we decided to rent a car periodically (via Aad’s contacts), which we’ll be doing one week from tomorrow for five days.  We’re waiting for the quote and will post it here.

We realized that if we’d paid the premium prices for a decent car for over three months, it would be sitting in the driveway most days due to the rainy days. So it wouldn’t make sense to go sightseeing on these mountainous roads during rainstorms which occur by noon almost every day.

We noticed the times it starts raining since we attempt to use the pool each day, but often I don’t get done uploading the post until almost noon, and by then, the sun is gone with thunderstorms and lightning surrounding us, not a good time to go into the water.

Neither of us cares to go sightseeing in the rain when we can avoid it. Thus, when we have the rental car next week, we’ll try to get out in the mornings, and a few of our posts may be uploaded later in the day. We’ll let you know when and if this occurs.

On Monday, the 21st, the first day we’ll have the car Aad will have arranged for us. In addition, we both have dentist appointments at a distant location at 1:00 pm, giving us ample time to post before heading out.

Pretty plants and trees are scattered throughout the grounds, which Ulysses keeps perfectly maintained.

This past Friday, we’d intended to go to the weekly Farmers Market in the village at 1:00 pm based on times stated in an online ad we’d seen that said it started at 6:00 am and ended at 6:00 pm. 

Well, as it turned out, Marian, Aad’s wife, informed us that the Farmers Market closes at 1:00 pm. So thus, we canceled the taxi driver with a plan to go next Friday, the 25th, when we could go on our own in the rental car, taking our time to mosey around and take plenty of photos.

Many tourists rent cars in Costa Rica without incident. But, there’s a big difference in renting a car for a week or two instead of three and a half months. The agencies tend to give us the least desirable vehicles based on the extended period and the reasonable prices we’ve received online.  Generally, this is fine with us when we’re saving vast sums of money over extended periods. 

In this case, it just didn’t work out, so we’re somewhat stranded in the interim. However, we always strive to live within our means, especially with the pricey Antarctica cruise in five months which we’ll pay off in full by October 16th, in a mere two months.

Our “belts are tightened” during this period to prepare for this significant outlay of cash. Recently, we had a cost of almost US $10,000 (CRC 5,761,850) for our extended stay here in Costa Rica for this fine property. With a strict budget to follow and much upcoming in the future, we live as modestly as we can. 

A careless world traveler could efficiently run through money so fast they’d quickly put an end to their travels. So for us, we carefully manage every dollar we spend to ensure we can continue until we physically can’t go on any longer, not when we “run out of money.” 

The driveway pavers are laid to perfection.

We live off of our fixed monthly income comparable to that of most retirees. Yet, living as comfortably as we often do (with a few exceptions here and there), we must continue to be frugal. That means few expensive professional tours, dining out at a minimum (my diet dictates this more than money), no needless shopping, planning and cooking our meals, and above all, not being wasteful. 

A huge benefit of spending 2018 and part of 2019 in Africa is that it enables us to recover from the high expenses of the three upcoming cruises, all occurring by January 23, 2018. 

When we leave Costa Rica on November 22nd, we’ll fly to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for one night, after which we’ll be embarking on a 30-night back-to-back cruise to South America, finally ending in Buenos Aires, where we’ll stay 31 plus one night, as mentioned in a post of a few days ago, as shown here.

In a 78-night period beginning on November 23, 2017 (Thanksgiving Day in the US) and ending on February 8, 2018, we’ll be cruising for 47-nights.  The remaining nights we’ll be living in Buenos Aires as mentioned above.  Here again, we’ll have a long stretch where we won’t cook a single meal or make a bed.

Once we arrive in South Africa on or about February 9, 2018, we’ll begin to “lick our wounds” and once again be shopping, cooking, and taking care of our day-to-day lives on our own. A cleaner will come once or twice weekly while living in Marloth Park, comparable to here in Costa Rica, the delightful Isabel.

Gorgeous blooming plants.

That’s not to say we won’t have some significant expenses while in Africa with all we plan to do while there, leaving South Africa every three months (visa requirement) for one type of expedition or another that we’ll book once we arrive and settle in.

We’re in a constant state of flux, a state of being we both find exciting and adventurous, definitely not for everyone. However, most humans tend to find great comfort in gaining familiarity with their surroundings and creating a place to call home. 

Perhaps we nomadic humans in this world are more like the wildlife. We tend to go where the going is fruitful, where the going is exciting, continually on the move for the next adventure. So stay tuned, fellow travelers, fellow readers. Much more is yet to come.

Photo from one year ago today, August 13, 2016:

In the 1980’s I stayed in Phuket, Thailand, for a few weeks (before Tom, whom I met in 1991), splitting the time between two gorgeous resorts on the beach. Living in a vacation home in a resort town proved to be an entirely different experience when the front yards of many homes looked like this in the neighborhood of the lovely house we rented. This is the life of world travel, not always dreamy and gorgeous. For more details, please click here.

Atenas, a small village, rich in culture and history…

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A church across the valley.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

The sunsets behind the mountains, viewed from the veranda. It gets dark very early in the evening with no daylight savings time in Costa Rica.

There’s no question; we always prefer to live in less-populated villages, far from the typical tourist communities. With a population of around 5000, Atenas does attract some tourists, and several ex-pats live here.

With plenty of opportunities for sightseeing within a two-hour drive, it couldn’t be more ideal for our needs. We’re in the process of booking our first sightseeing tour with Aad and Marian, the property managers and tour company.  

The hazy afternoon before the rains come.

Here are a few details about the region in Costa Rica from this site:

“Atenas (ah-TEN-names) is the capital city of the canton of Atenas in Alajuela province in Costa Rica. It is also the name of the distrito (district) that includes the city.
The district of Atenas covers an area of 8.93 km² and has a population of approx. 27,000 inhabitants. The city of Atenas itself has about 5,000 inhabitants. Its name means Athens (Αθήνα), the capital of Greece.
The city lies at an elevation of 698 meters above sea level on the western edge of the Central Valley (Valle Central), 25 kilometers southwest of the provincial capital city of Alajuela, 20 kilometers from Juan Santamaria International Airport, and 35 kilometers from the national capital city of San Jose. (Continued below photo).
Tomorrow night we plan to cook in the outdoor kitchen.

The town is surrounded by mountains and coffee plantations. It is located in a prosperous agricultural area that hosts a weekly farmer’s market on Friday mornings. The town center features an immaculate white church and a picturesque park lined with palm trees. There is a community health center, pharmacies, doctors, dentists, tennis court, fitness center, swimming pools, parks, banks, shops, bed-and-breakfasts, and restaurants.

Atenas is a popular place for North American and European retirees.  There are four major real estate developments with existing homes and building lots: Roca Verde, Vista Atenas, Lomas Al Paraiso, and Hacienda Atenas. There are other real estate developments in various stages of completion.

In mid-October 2011, a major landslide occurred on the Atenas exit of the Autopista del Sol. The exit has since re-opened, improving travel time to San José, Escazú, and Pacific beaches.
It is popularly said that Atenas enjoys the ‘best climate in the world’; the reason for this attribution is that climatic factors like temperature and humidity are stable all year round, with temperatures ranging from 19 Celsius at night (66F) to 34 Celsius (92F) during the day with a yearly average of 26 (79F) Celsius.
It also has varied sets of altitudes starting at 300 meters above sea level in the Balsa and the Rio Grande areas ascending to 1,200 meters above sea level in the San Isidro area. This broad spectrum of heights provides to marked and well defined climatic subregions within the greater Atenas area.”
One of many varieties of plants thriving in the yard.

Some have asked why we don’t stay in larger cities where activities, restaurants, and nightlife are abundant. From time to time, we do, when the town offers what we need at that point in our travels.

Over the next few days, we’ll be pinning down a hotel booking for Buenos Aires, a city with a population of over 15 million. In this particular case, we’re searching for convenience when we’re only staying for one month and need a hotel where we can leave most of our luggage for the immediately following Antarctica cruise.

Valley side of the property.

A vacation homeowner won’t be able to accommodate keeping our luggage, nor would we feel safe leaving it in a private home in the big city. A hotel will be the best option for these particular circumstances. Once we select a hotel we’d like, we’ll contact them to inquire about the luggage storage before we book it. 

As for the city of Atenas, we are currently located in one of the above four mentioned gated communities of Roca Verda, which has a guard at the main gate 24/7. The house itself is gated, but the area is known as safe, and we aren’t worried about crime, although, as always, we’re sensible when traveling into town. 

The yard and gardens are amazing, definitely on a smaller scale to Bev ad Sam’s stunning property in Kauai, Hawaii, a former botanical garden. We can see their personal touches in the gardens and the interior of the vacation home.

As for this fabulous vacation home, we continue to appreciate all of its good features.  Bev and Sam left no stone unturned when they renovated and stocked this property a few years ago, and we’re taking advantage of its many amenities.  There will be more details on the property as the days continue.

Again today, we’ll stay put with considerable research required to wrap up somewhere to live in Buenos Aires. Hopefully, we’ll be back with our final decision over the next few days.

Have a blissful day!

Photo from one year ago today, August 4, 2016:

A fishing boat tied to a tree at the beach in Phuket, Thailand. For more photos, please click here.

Here’s our newspaper story with a video…

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The Lymans
‘This is the main photo in the Chanhassen Villager newspaper about our world travels.

Today, we’re posting the actual story, photos, and video Southwest News and Chanhassen Villager newspapers used to share our story. There’s a limit on how many times it can be viewed from their site, so we posted it here verbatim to ensure it will work in our archives indefinitely.

Here’s the link and also the actual story which we’ve copied from the online newspaper: 

“On Oct. 31, Tom and Jess Lyman mark five years traveling the world, enjoying extended stays in rental homes, and assimilating themselves into other communities and cultures.
It’s an unlikely retirement for these two former Chanhassen residents, who were previously homebodies. Jess had a long career in real estate and retired in 2010. Tom, five years younger, worked 12-hour days for the railroad. Weekends were spent visiting Home Depot for projects around their house, entertaining, and hosting dinner parties. So their decision to sell everything they owned and hit the road to travel was, to some people, madness.
Earlier this summer, the Lymans returned to Minnesota for the first time in five years. They spent six weeks at the Country Inn and Suites in Plymouth, their home base, as they spent time with family, former neighbors, and friends. They even hosted a meet-and-greet for local followers of their website and blog (started in March 2012), www.worldwidewaftage.com.
In January 2012, the couple discussed Tom’s upcoming retirement at the end of October. They considered doing the “snowbird” thing. But it didn’t excite them.
“Snowbirds have two homes,” Tom said. “If you’re in Arizona, you’re still heating a house and paying property taxes in Minnesota, and when you’re back to Minnesota in the spring, you’re worried about the extreme heat in Arizona. You’re always worried about the home you’re not living in. That’s not my idea of retirement.”
So when Jess posed the question, “What should we do?” Tom quipped, “Travel the world.”
Little did he know that his flippant comment set off something in Jess.
For a week, Jess worked on her computer, creating Excel workbook after workbook, and then announced, “We can do it.” “Do what?” Tom asked, not remembering what he’d said in jest.
“Travel the world,” Jess said. “But the way to do it is to have nothing. No storage, no car.”
 They got rid of everything except what they could take on the road.
“I had three closets of off-season clothing, including a closet for the current season,” Jess said. “Now, I have one suitcase for clothes, five pairs of shoes and no handbag. I stopped using a handbag when we were in Kenya and were told that bandits would cut off your arm for your purse.”
MIRACLE
How does a couple, Tom, now 64, and Jess, 69, go from couch potatoes who loved their favorite chairs, comfy bed, and cable TV to two nomadic retirees?
The catalyst was Jess’s health. Before 2012, Jess endured chronic pain due to a spinal condition. Her life changed once she adopted a diet consisting of only meat, vegetables, and a little dairy: no sugar, no starches, no fruit. And, after three months, no pain.
“I thought it might have been a placebo effect,” Jess said. By November, I was still pain-free; in January, we decided to travel the world. I get goosebumps when I think about it.”
BLOG A DAY
Jess started their blog to document their process of preparing for their adventure.
“March 12, 2012, is my favorite-ever post,” Jess said. In it, she lays out the beginning of their story. Nearly five years later, the website is comprehensive and filled with information about living the life of nomads; how they sold their home, all their possessions, the necessary medical and dental checkups, immunizations, medications and antibiotics, their health insurance, the types of passports and visas required to travel to the exotic, off-the-grid areas of the world they wanted to see, and more.
It’s not an exaggeration to call their website an encyclopedia of travel know-how, tips, and workarounds for the many travel inconveniences and snafus that are bound to occur.
And Jess has found that, despite her restricted diet, she can eat well no matter where in the world they have been. They food shop and cook at their rental homes as much as possible to accommodate her diet, save money, and get to know the local area.
CRUISING
No fans of flying. They travel from continent to continent, destination to destination by cruise ship whenever possible. It makes their travel time leisurely and carefree. And Tom gets to indulge his sweet tooth and his craving for french fries.
They blog every day and post photographs, sharing their adventures, delights, and mishaps with their readers, numbering nearly a half-million from around the world. Over the years, people they’ve met have suggested the couple write a book.
“It’s already written,” Jess said with a laugh. “It’s all there on the website. Besides, writing a book would be too much like work. Everything we do is done in a way that lets us be stress and worry-free, and happy.”
24/7
The most frequently asked question the couple is asked is, “How can you spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week together?”
“We have no trouble being together,” Tom said. “Jess’s friend says we’re lucky we found each other years ago and that we can do this together.”
“A big part for us is to travel and be stress-free and happy,” Jess said. “We’ve found that with less stuff, the happier we became … In our naiveté, we started with 15 pieces of luggage. Now we’re down to three pieces, limited to 50 pounds or 23 kilos. We each have a case for clothes, a wheelie duffel bag for miscellaneous stuff, a carry-on with medical supplies, and a backpack for all our electronics.
“All the things we dumped were stuff that we thought we had to have and to prevent discomfort, but once we got to Africa, talk about discomfort,” Jess said. “If you have 100 bugs crawling on your arm, don’t whine or complain. Just brush them off. Whining won’t get rid of them.”
NO END IN SIGHT
From the first, they agreed they’d stop traveling if either one of them said, “Stop.”
“When we first started, we said we might do it for 5-10 years,” Tom said. “But now, we see no end in sight. Our health is a factor. But we have no intention of ever renting or owning a house again.”
“I told Tom, when my time comes, just take me to the Drakensberg in South Africa and kick me off the mountain,” Jess said with a laugh. “Leave me to the lions.”
Their nearly five years of travel have changed them in many ways. They avoid big cities, preferring small towns and out-of-the-way locations. Tom’s philosophy is “the further from tall buildings, the nicer the people.”
BUDGET
While their lifestyle might seem extravagant, they are tightly budgeted.
“We realized that we paid a lot (in our former life) to have stuff,” Jess said. “Now, we have no cable bill, no utilities. If an average homeowner added up what it costs to live, with fuel, snow shoveling, mortgages, car payments, and insurance … we live in the world for that amount. If we did the snowbird thing, we’d pay twice that much.”
“Here’s the thing,” Jess said. “People are curious about it, but very few want to do what we do. In all our travels, we’ve never met a couple that is as free of stuff as we are. Most have an apartment or condo, or they have storage or treasures. We have no storage.
“To do this, you have to have the mind of an accountant,” Jess said. “I enter everything we spend on a spreadsheet. If I buy a water bottle from the vending machine for $2.50, I have to write that down. We have a budget that we stay in.  And, based on what we’re doing, we can continue until we die.”
Surely, our regular readers have heard this story repeatedly during the past five years since our first post on March 15, 2012. Please bear with the repetition as we are excited to share this with many others throughout the Southwest Suburbs of Minneapolis and now, here on our site, throughout the world.
If you know anyone who may enjoy the continuing saga of our day-to-day lives on the move without a home, storage, and only one suitcase each of clothing, please pass on our link:  www.worldwidewaftage.com or send today’s link for this story specifically.
Here’s the link to the video that our reporter, Unsie, shot during our three-hour interview two weeks ago today:
http://www.swnewsmedia.com/jess-tom-lyman/youtube_15977986-26ee-54db-84f7-63734ec5f127.html
We never intended to be the topic of any such publication and do not, in any manner, pursue publicity for our story. But, we’ve surprisingly discovered that many people glean some pleasure reading about the details of the ups and downs of living such a life throughout the world. 
For some, they recall their former lives of travel. Many that travel now finds morsels of information that may enhance their experiences in the future. And, for the many others, they revel in the prospect of travels yet to come. 
Of course, we also appreciate those who read merely out of curiosity being able to peer inside the intimate details of a senior couple who’ve stepped outside the box of traditional senior living to chose a life of uncertainty and adventure. 
Regardless of the motivations of our readers, we appreciate every one of you and hope you’ll continue to enjoy our experiences as we continue.  Our heartfelt thanks to all of you and SW News Media for sharing our story.
Enjoy your weekend!
Photo from one year ago today, July 14, 2016:
Selling crickets for consumption is a big business in Cambodia.  These lighted (at night) plastic bags attract the crickets overnight, which are later collected and often sold to other countries worldwide. Due to wi-fi issues in Cambodia, there was no post on this date one year ago. Here is the link from the date of this photo.

Tom’s family sure knows how to throw an 80th party…Happy birthday, Margie!

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Margie with one of her two birthday cakes.  This photo was taken by nephew Joe’s wife Donna before our arrival around 4:30 pm. The party had started at 2:00 pm, and by the time we arrived the cake was cut. Thanks for the good photo, Donna!

The birthday party invitation read the event was starting at 2:00 pm. Knowing how late Tom’s family can stay up to have a good time, we decided to head out a little later to get a few things taken care of in preparation for our upcoming departure from Minnesota in a mere 12 days.

 With few daylight hours together at the hotel (other than while I’m preparing the day’s post), we did some laundry while I began the process of taking all the tags off Tom’s new clothing, neatly folding each item into a tidy pile.  Sure, he could do this himself, but there are just some things better left to me. So, he did the laundry while I snipped and folded.

When I met Tom three days short of 26 years ago, I attended a party in a garage for the first time in my life. I’d never heard of such a thing but now all these years later it’s the expected location of his family parties in my mind. Many lingered inside Paulette and Mark’s home and around their exquisite lakefront yard with the huge group.

The shirts, tee shirts, socks, and underwear, all overly tagged and wrapped in excess amounts of cardboard, plastic, and paper, took longer to prepare than I’d expected.  What’s the deal with all this “packaging?” A simple price tag stuck to the item’s promotional tag is all that’s required.

Those little plastic tags that, once snipped, leave a “T” shaped piece often caught in an unreachable spot are quite annoying.  If it weren’t for those, I’d have been done in half the time. Leaving one of those items behind is a huge annoyance for the wearer when these little buggers hurt and scratch until they’re found and removed.

After we were done, we packed our handy Celebrity Cruise Line shopping bag (I don’t own a handbag) with iced tea, tea bags, and zippered sweatshirts. It’s been cool these past several days, and a party in a garage could become chilly as the day wore on. At the moment, at 11:00 am, it’s a chilly 57 degrees in this area.

Tom’s blind brother, 24 years his senior, and his daughter Kathy who is a big help to him in his day-to-day life. Every day Tom sends our post to Jerry after deleting the photos.  He has a computer with text-to-talk technology suited to the blind and enjoys “hearing” our daily posts.

We’d expected hot weather while in Minnesota in late June. I guess we’ll have to wait for warmer weather until we arrive in Las Vegas soon, where at 9:00 am, it’s already 100 degrees with an expected high of 112 today, a little cooler than last week’s record-breaking 117. Wow!

The drive to Ham Lake didn’t take as long as we’d expected, with light traffic on Saturday. With the help of the navigation system in the red SUV, we quickly found niece Paulette’s lake home.

Kaitlin is Tom’s sister Margie’s great-granddaughter which makes her Tom’s grandniece. Oh, gosh, how can I keep up?

We hadn’t been to their home in years, and after extensive remodeling, we hardly recognized it at all. We couldn’t help but admire the attention to detail, quality design, and amenities. 

But, oddly (or maybe not so oddly), we imagined (and easily recall) the commitment and cost required for the upkeep, maintenance and constant cleaning, an aspect of most people’s lives we gave up long ago. No longer do our weekends revolve around a trip to Home Depot and the time required to complete one project or another.

The party was held at Tom’s niece Paulette’s (husband Mark) beautiful lake home in Ham Lake, Minnesota. The food and drinks were abundant and delicious.  I was happily able to eat some roasted meats and munch on nuts.

Recently, when we stopped in a market for a few items Tom noticed the giant bags of water softener salt. He couldn’t stop smiling over how hauling those 50-pound bags was a part of his long-ago past.  

 Tom recalls waiting until the salt was on sale and subsequently buying eight or 10 bags, loading them into his vehicle and bringing them into the basement.

Both white and chocolate cakes were served along with giant muffins.

Now, in this simple life we live, the only salt we haul is a little hand grinder filled with pink Himalayan salt to season our food. Ah, life is not only good, but it’s easy. Relatively.

No, we don’t have any negative feelings or perceptions of those who live a busy and fulfilling life of home ownership, of entertaining guests, or of spending time on projects they find meaningful and enjoyable. We did that. At the time, it was all we knew. 

Tom’s two sisters seated here are Margie and Mary.   Margie is talking to son-in-law Ken, Tom’s niece Ann’s husband.

And, we admire those who bring meaning and significance into their world with their dedication and commitment to their homes, families, and friends. It’s in this same manner we admire those who branch out in their retirement and find a warm climate where they spend the cold Minnesota (or other states) winters in a second home or traveling the country in an RV.

Then, of course, some cannot afford an RV, second home, or winter escape. And yet, we find ourselves reveling in other ways that those retirees and others find purpose in their lives.

Tom’s sister Colleen is hiding from the photo but showing her adorable granddaughter, Ella.

Yesterday, while I sat at Jerry’s side during the party, he shared with me how he orders talking books through an organization for the blind read aloud on discs he inserts into his computer. It’s easier than trying to figure out and pay the outrageous fees for online text-to-speech books offered at various outlets. 

Daughter-in-law Tracy helps grandson Vincent hold Ella for the first time.

We’re so proud of Jerry, almost 89 years old, for finding ways to make these later years of his life enjoyable and with purpose. For him, this means of reading brings him considerable pleasure. And that’s why Tom never misses a day in sending him our posts with the photos removed. 

Jerry, you’re a great inspiration to us and Tom’s many other family members who celebrate life together regularly and with such enthusiasm. We find them all delightful.

Today, I’m off to a stage presentation of Shrek at a local children’s production company with daughter-in-law Camille and granddaughters Maisie and Madighan for a “girls only” afternoon. No doubt, it will be yet another great time spent with family.

Tom’s sister Margie with Kaitlin, her great-granddaughter, and Kaitlin’s baby Harper, who is Margie’s great-great-granddaughter, making Kaitlin Tom’s great-grandniece and baby Harper, Tom’s great-great grandniece. Whew!

We love all of you and are grateful for the efforts our family and friends have expressed in sharing valuable time with us during this memorable stay in Minnesota.

Thanks to Paulette and Mark for hosting the party and for all those who contributed food, drinks, and support for the large group. And, happy 80th birthday, Margie! It was a fabulous celebration so richly deserved by YOU!

Photo from one year ago today, June 25, 2016:

On our last morning in Bali, we had the joy of seeing this final “sighting on the beach. Wow! Was this Mother Nature’s way of saying goodbye? We were happily returning in two months for another two months after we visited Southeast Asia. For more Bali photos, please click here.

A sunny day drive through the country…Nature at its finest…For the less experienced reader, how to use our archives…

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This was our favorite photo of the day, a huge Billy Goat with quite the beard and defined facial marks.

Even today the weather is cloudy and overcast, but that does not bother us. We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of sunny days since we arrived in Tasmania more than three weeks ago.

By car across the countryside, you can see the ocean in the distance.

Each sunny day, we head out to take photos as shown in today’s post, photos from the countryside, the quaint towns, the ocean and the points of interest we’ve found to be most appealing.

Cattle are funny when humans come by.

In many locations around the world, living in more remote regions often leaves us looking for photo opportunities. We had assumed this would be a dilemma over the four months we spent in Bali (with a two-month break in between) as of April 30, 2016. 

Nice country sign, by the way.

But, the photo opportunities in Bali kept coming and coming as evidenced in our posts, easily reviewed if you missed them, by researching our archives located on the right side of this page below our advertisers.

Cattle on a hill.

As a matter of fact, here are the step by step instructions for using our archives.  For our more experienced readers, please bear with us as we review these instructions:

  • Scroll down the day’s home page, below our advertisers, to PREVIOUS POSTS 
  • Note the list of years since we began posting beginning in 2012
  • Click on the little black triangle of the year you’d like to research, that looks like this:  ► 
  • Once you click on this ► the entire year’s posts, month by month, will be displayed.
  • Select the month and search for headings, you like to see. If you’re looking for something in particular and are unable to find it, please don’t hesitate to send me or Tom an email and we’ll send you the link by email.
Highland Breed cattle.  See this link for details on this breed.

Many of our new readers find they are more easily able to grasp the nature of our continuing story by reading the posts from the beginning. Our story is a a continuing day to day journal of the lives of two retirees with no home, no storage and only a few bags in our possession, traveling the world for years to come. It’s less of a “travel and sightseeing” log one may find elsewhere and more of a personal account about living all over the world.

This annoyed male approached the fence when we stopped for photos.

Many have written to us explaining how they began reading our posts from the beginning to grasp the full intent and meaning of why we do what we do and how it impacts our daily lives. Could YOU do this? Some could, some actually do what we do, although few would choose this odd life.

Although this one mooed at us, she/he didn’t bother to get up.

Yesterday, we loved speaking to our family members on Christmas Day (in the US) and were reminded of how much we left behind. Any yet, after hanging up, we giggled with delight over the prospect of seeing them in a mere five months, spending six weeks in Minnesota and three weeks in Nevada.

The countryside in Tasmania certainly reminds us of New Zealand.

Will we run out of photo ops while in these two locations in the US? Hardly. We’ll be busy in our “home town” looking at it through new eyes and a new perspective. We’ll share the nuances of living in the US for our readers in other countries (and in the US) and perhaps a different perspective after having been away for almost five years at that point.

Old log house seen along the country road.

And, for now? We have hundreds of photos we’ve yet to share and the stories surrounding them.  There’s no doubt we’ll leave Penguin having many photos we’ll never have had the opportunity to post. In the interim, we’ll share our favorites, which we hope our readers find interesting.

The hills, the trees, the vegetation and the sea create a breathtaking scene.

Today, while the house is being cleaned, we’ll head to Ulverstone to shop for groceries. After discovering pesticides are used on most of the produce at Woolie’s we no longer buy their produce. Instead, we now purchase organic produce at the local Fruit & Veg market, a delightful five minute walk down the road. 

The views of farm fields, bodies of water and the sea is always stunning.

There’s nothing quite like a walk down the road to the veggie mart. Then again, there’s nothing quite like Penguin. Leaving in three weeks leaves us with a twinge of disappointment. It won’t be easy to say goodbye.

We hope all of you who celebrate had a fulfilling Christmas as we anticipate the New Year rolling in.

Photo from one year ago today, December 27, 2015:

During a period of many cloudy and rainy days in Fiji, we visited the capital city of Suva. This photo is the top of the President’s house located in Suva. For more Suva photos, please click here.

Day 10…Circumnavigating the Australian continent…Sea day…Conversations surrounding US politics…

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The hallway of the Shops of Centrum.

“Sightings on the Ship in Australia”

More art from the art center aboard ship.

How is it possible that we’re having such fun day after day, night after night? It never seems to end. Nor do we have periods of time where we’re wondering what we should be doing to fill our time.

Each day’s pleasant routine allows us to be face to face with new people along with those we’ve already met. The interactions are filled with interesting conversations. Over the past few days, conversation has mostly centered around politics, escalating today on election day. 

The Shops of Centrum have an array of pricey shops.

Aussies, Kiwis, Brits and others are very interested in the results of this US election when the outcome will reverberate throughout the world in many ways.

As we mentioned in the past, we’ve chosen to avoid political views on this site. Although both of us are highly opinionated on the topic of politics we’ve decided that those views aren’t relevant to this site. 

Now that I wear the FitBit, no longer do I have any interest in watches.

Although we’re closely following the election results as they roll in, we won’t be discussing it here. We’ve all been bombarded with this campaign long enough. 

Our intent is to focus primarily on the stories and photos of our daily lives and experiences of two happily married retirees traveling the world, homeless, unencumbered and feeling free to make our decisions as to what appeals to us the most.

Jewelry stores are most popular shopping venues on ships.

This is as opposed to that which others may expect from world travelers such as a continuous travel log of sightseeing, adventure sports and dining. For us, it’s all about the people, the culture, the common features of where we live at any given time and the exquisite beauty of nature and our surroundings.

Living on board a ship for 33-nights leaves us reeling over the simplicity of this temporary life; no meals to cook, no dishes to wash, no bed to make, no cleaning and for now, no time to watch any of our favorite shows at night. 

For US $19.99, AU $26.11, these gift sets are hot sellers.

Our social life is beyond our hopes or expectations for this cruise or any cruise for that matter. No doubt, a part of it revolves around the fact that both of us are friendly and outgoing welcoming every opportunity to chatter with whomever comes our way.

Today, a sea day, once we’re done posting, we’ll head to the movie theatre, one hour before the movie begins in order to ensure two seats together. The tiny theatre only holds 50. We bring our laptops while we continue to work and research until shortly before the movie begins.

After not owning a handbag since 2013, I can easily pass by these displays without giving it a thought. In Kenya, I threw out my handbag when the risk of it being stolen was too high. I have learned to function without a purse, especially with Tom’s roomy pockets.

Yesterday’s movie, “Tarzan, the Legend,” was a favorite of mine. Tom only nodded off for a few minutes while I stayed awake and alert during the entire screening. Today’s movie, the 2016 remake of “Ben-Hur” should appeal to both of us.

Duty free liquor store. Any alcohol purchased during the cruise may not be brought to a cabin.  It is stored until the last night of the cruise.

Tonight, we’ll hang out with our new US friends at the Diamond Club and again for dinner. Gee… This is great! We’re loving every minute!

Be well. Be happy!


Photo from one year ago today, November 9, 2015:

Badal visited us almost every day in Fiji checking out what may be on the evening’s menu. We never failed to give him a plate of something delicious. After his meal he’d sit cross legged on the veranda looking at me, hoping for second helpings. For more photos, please click here.

Changes over the remaining 10 days in Sumbersari…Can YOU do this?

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Fishing boats handmade out of plastic tubes.

“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”

All family members participate in fishing, including the youngest members of the family.

With the owner’s arrival at their villa next door and their use of the Internet we no longer have the mediocre WiFi signal we’ve had over these past many months. We don’t have much signal. I cannot open my email or prepare for today’s post using the usual online application Blogger.

Instead, at the moment, I’m writing in Live Writer, an offline program that enables me to prepare the post minus photos to upload at a later time when we can get a signal if the owners aren’t online. The system at these two houses isn’t suitable for both houses be online simultaneously. We’ll just have to live with it for the next 10 days. 

Hopefully, over this period, until our departure from the villa we’ll manage to upload a post each day. If you don’t see a post on a certain day, please know we’re trying and will be back online as quickly as possible.

This guy was standing on the beach with a camera waiting the motorcycle club to drive by.

Once I posted each day, I don’t mind being offline. I have plenty of books to read and mindless drivel type games to play on my computer and phone. For Tom, who can easily spend an entire day online, minus walks, talks, pool time and dining, it’s all the more frustrating.

Tom had hoped to call his brother Jerome today on his 88th birthday, but Skype won’t be working with this poor signal. Also, we’d hoped to stream the third presidential debate tomorrow morning, but that, too, may not be possible.

Posting photos will be especially tricky. We’ll do our best hoping to share new photos we’ve been saving for these last days at the villa.  It’s hard not to find myself in a mindset where I have little interest in taking more photos when the prospects of being able to upload them is minimal.

The photographer crouched down when he realized the bikers were approaching.

Our use of the Internet is such a vital element as we travel the world sharing stories and photos each day. It’s unlikely we’d be traveling as we are if it weren’t for the availability of the Internet.  It would be too difficult to plan to travel and live in so many locations utilizing various means of transportation from one country to another.

One may ask, “Are we prisoners to the Internet, more dependent on it than we “should be?” In our minds its as vital to us as our response would be if we were asked, “Are we prisoners to electricity or running water, more dependent on it than we “should be?”

Undoubtedly, we’re sensitive to the fact that many don’t have electricity or running water, many right here in this little village walking distance from the villa. And, our hearts go out to them as we fully appreciate how well they’re managed to thrive without such modern conveniences.

A group stopped to help when one of the bikers motorbikes quit working.

As “they” say, everything is relative. Many of us have been blessed with power and water all of our lives. Based on this fact, does that make us spoiled and uncompromising? Not necessarily. 

We’re all products of our environment. It doesn’t make us any less the people that we are, by having been fortunate enough to have access to modern technology. That doesn’t have a bearing on the empathy we feel for others less fortunate who may never have a cell phone, a computer or a TV. 

We can admire them for their fortitude functioning well in a world where they may feel deprived. In some of the more remote locations throughout the world they may have no concept of what they’re missing.

In my humble opinion, none of this requires us to feel ashamed or guilty for what we have, nor do we feel less compassion for those who do not. It’s the nature of the world we live in.

In no time at all, they make the repairs and the biker was on his way.

Am I attempting to justify our “need” for a good WiFi connection.  Perhaps, yes. Many who do not know or understand our lifestyle would say we’re living a seemingly easy and affluent life of world travel. 

We don’t believe nor have we ever intended to ever make this life on the move appear easy. It’s not. It’s required an enormous sacrifice that few would undertake even if it were affordable. As for affluent? That’s not us. We pinch every last penny, diligently keeping track of everything we spend and how much we can spend in the future totally determined by our income.

Sure, most retirees on social security only, paying for insurance required by Medicare and health care needs, cannot do what we’re doing. It is only through Tom’s 42 years of working on the railroad, saving chunks of money along the way, that has made this possible for us. 

Add the reality of our careful planning, the constant negotiations for better pricing and refusal to spend endless sums on dining out, partaking in pricey tourist attractions and drinking alcohol at home, that makes this possible. 

 This may be this baby buffalo’s first walk on the beach.

Cooking all of our meals, two to three days at a time, saves us huge amounts on groceries. Not paying utilities, cable bills, phone bills, car payments, car and home insurance, property tax and household maintenance have an enormous impact on our ability to travel.

There are locations throughout the world where those who’d like to travel may do so for half as much as we spend, opening up possibilities that may be suitable within their means. But, for those at retirement age or with families, it’s a difficult proposition requiring all the more planning and diligence.

We’ve read numerous stories where expats live in Ecuador, for example, for under IDR 19,537,483, US $1500 a month including rent, utilities, groceries, medical and transportation.

If a traveler is young and fit backpacking and living in hostels may work, occasionally working at odd jobs, living for even less than the above example is possible. Those of us who aren’t affluent must ask themselves this question, “What am I willing to sacrifice to live such a life?” For many, its not even a remote possibility, or even of interest.

Coconut palms growing from abandoned coconuts.

We spend the majority of our days in outrageous heat and humidity; living with insects often crawling on us (I found a slew of ants on my toothbrush a few mornings ago); having no TV in our language or no TV at all; missing family and friends; no access to good medical or dental care; limited availability of foods we like and can eat; a possibility of an uncomfortable bed or furniture every few weeks or months, and never having anything we can all our own other than that which is contained in a few pieces of luggage. It’s not easy.

Then, why do we do it? Because we love the adventure. Because we love the sense of freedom. Because we love the culture, the local people, the vegetation, the scenery, and the wildlife.  Because somehow we fit in, we’re accepted.

If something isn’t working, we discuss it, analyzing our options, discussing it with a positive attitude to those who may be able to assist. But, the most important aspect for us living this peculiar life is simple…don’t complain…not to staff, not to locals, not to people we meet along the way, not to property owners or managers, not to shopkeepers and service providers and…above all, not to one another.

And so, we have lousy Internet? We live with it. We find other ways to entertain ourselves while hoping for a moment when we can get online, upload a post, say hello to family and friends and hopefully stream a show; the debate (tomorrow) and the Minnesota Vikings game (next Monday).

Be well. Be happy.

Photo from one year ago today, October 19, 2015:

 One year ago, we posted this story. The gentleman on the front right is Tom’s brother, Jerome, who celebrates his 88th birthday today. He’s blind and each day, Tom removes all the photos from our posts and send Jerome only the text which he “hears” on his computer. Tom’s mother, shown in front row center, wrote a book, “Memories of Muggs,” of the family’s history. On the date of the “book signing” the family got together to celebrate the special occasion. This family photo was taken in 1997 by Tom, his mother Mary and his siblings.  From left to right front, seated: Rita, Mary, Jerome; middle row: Mary Ellen, Margie, Patty and Sister Beth. Back row includes Colleen, Tom and Jim. The book is listed at the Minnesota Historical Society. For the rest of this story, please click here.

Busy viewing morning…TV watching habits…

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Crops covered with metal tubing to avoid sun damage.

“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”

Angler on the beach ready to land his nets.

During daylight hours, we never turn on the TV other than to watch the Minnesota Viking Games and to air political debates after plugging in the HDMI cord. 

In our old lives, the TV would often be on all day during Tom’s days off and for a select hours during the days after I retired. There were some favorite shows that I had run in the background while I was constantly engaged in a multitude of tasks. 

He’s contemplating where he’d have the most success.

Actually sitting down to watch a show rarely appealed to me except in the evenings when I’d run out of steam, needing to wind down in my comfy chair passed in a flash. I retired in 2010, two years prior to Tom.

We’d stop our routine for unexpected visitors, household cleaning and maintenance, miscellaneous yard work, trips to the grocery store, Home Depot, the health club, preparing meals and activities with family and friends. Frequently entertaining guests consumed massive amounts of prep time.

He tosses the weighted nets in the sea.

When we envisioned our retirement, I can honestly say with a degree of embarrassment, that had we stayed in the US living as many retirees do, we’d have spent several daylight hours in front of the TV watching news and financial markets while our fingers flew across the keyboard on our laptops. 

In the evenings after dinner, we’d surely have parked out butts in the same comfy chairs to mindlessly watch several shows we found to be particularly entertaining, which we’d recorded on one of three DVRs; in the kitchen, the bedroom and the family room.

A short time later, he’d had success, most likely having caught squid.

Happy together as a couple, with plenty of family and friends, there’s no doubt that our lives would have been good. But how about GREAT as opposed to GOOD? Could we somehow achieve a heightened degree of happiness and fulfilment? We discovered we could and, we have.

We never stop appreciating an ocean view.

For us, the way we’ve accomplished having this GREAT life was  making the exciting yet difficult decision to travel the world in January, 2012. We left Minnesota on October 31, 2012 after a full nine months of planning while busy organizing and selling everything we owned while we created an itinerary for years to come.

In light of all this, we no longer spend endless hours parked in front of a TV screen. If anything, we watch no more than two episodes of favorite series, we can stream or have already recorded on my laptop. We don’t have a TV in many vacation homes or, as is the case in Bali, there are no English language channels.

There are many farms located along the ocean.

This morning, Monday in this part of the world, we’re currently situated in the villa’s living room on the main floor (no AC, hot and humid) in front of the TV watching the Minnesota Vikings Game on the NFL GamePass app. After the game, we’ll stream the political debate. 

By 11:00 am, we’ll head out to the pool to spend the remainder of the day outdoors, walking the beach, watching for photo ops of sightings on the beach and loving this simple life. Most days, we’re outdoors by 8:00 am.

We crossed countless rivers and waterways in the four to five hour harrowing road trip, coming up again in 19 days.

The two Ketuts just arrived with their usual smiling faces carrying bags of fresh prawns and vegetables for tonight and tomorrow’s dinners. Ribud is cleaning the veranda, the grounds and the pool after a weekend of winds and pouring rain which left behind quite a mess.

And as always he’s setting up the chaise lounges with cushions and fresh towels and cleaning the cabana for our use later in the day when we escape from the sun. He cleans the cushions, straightens the pillows and sprays for those biting red ants. 

The ocean to our left as we made our way from Denpasar.

There’s no major TV time for us in this life of world travel. We’re preoccupied with simple joys and the uncomplicated nature of our daily lives, grateful and in awe of the world around us.

May your day be uncomplicated and joyful!


Photo from one year ago today, October 10, 2015:

In Fiji, this popular “island with three trees” is mostly underwater at high tide. For more details, please click here.

Creating our own good news…Planning for the future…

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A fishing boat tied to tree at the beach.

In yesterday’s post our heads read, “Bad news keeps coming and coming… How do we handle the risks?”

After rethinking this negative heading and after watching more bad news on TV, we turned off the news and started thinking positive thoughts as to how we can reframe our thinking during this difficult period in our country, in our world’s history?

It’s easy to get caught up in all the negative press much of which is often over reported, over dramatized and over exaggerated to enhance viewership. How easily we can become entrapped into this cycle!

The way out? Don’t let it get inside our heads! This is not easy, but it’s doable, just like everything else we choose in our lives. We can find joy within the framework of our lives or we can allow ourselves to let outside influences have a profound effect on our daily lives.

The ocean is extremely shallow in this area.

I suppose in part, I’ve become engrossed in the negative news since our arrival in Phuket two weeks ago when we discovered we had English speaking news the TV which we’ve had on all day while we’ve stayed indoors as I continue to recover. That’s easy to do when one is housebound after an illness, injury or surgery.

Although I remain somewhat housebound, in an attempt to avoid the outrageously bumpy roads we must travel to get to the highway, yesterday we had no choice but to get out when our food supply had dwindled down to a completely empty refrigerator.

Tom could probably grocery shop without me, but it’s important for me to get out and besides getting out is uplifting. I’d brought along the camera hoping to take a few photos, but again it was cloudy and rainy. I never took a single shot.

A fisherman looking for a possible catch.

Once inside the huge market, Tom pushes the trolley as we both become engrossed in the shopping mode ending up having a good time selecting from the array of fresh, organic, non GMO foods, free range eggs, grass fed meats and wild caught fish.

During this outing, I started thinking of the last place we lived where we grocery shopped on a regular basis which was the three months we spent in New Zealand living on the alpaca farm from January 19 to April 15, 2016.

We arrived in Bali on April 30th after a cruise.  One month later I was injured, somewhere around June 1st.  Here we are over two months later, while I’m still focusing on recovering. 

How we ever managed all the tours on the Mekong River cruise baffles me when now I gingerly maneuver through each day desperately avoiding bending, twisting and sitting too long. I continue to feel confident that my limited level of activity is contributing toward my attaining a full recovery in months to come.

Close to the shore, this fisherman may be looking for squid.  Fried calamari is a popular dish in Thailand, especially for tourists. These circles are fishing pools.

In time, light exercise and more walking will be appropriate but for now, easy movement combined with rest seems to be most effective. I suppose all the activity on the river cruise may have been detrimental to my condition when there were days that my Fitbit showed over 10,000 steps. 

For now, I stay under 3000 steps a day frequently getting up and down engaging in light household activities that don’t include any bending or lifting. It would be great to get outside to walk the neighborhood, but the ruts in the road are so many and so deep, even the most surefooted of walkers is taking a risk.  Falling would not be good.

Back to yesterday, when we returned from shopping Tom put all the refrigerator items away while I sat at the dining table cutting veggies for our salad and side dishes. 

Island across the bay where numerous boats stop to enjoy the sandy beach.

We purchased two roasted chickens, deliciously seasoned with cinnamon and lemon grass (a Thai thing), one for each of two nights. Adding a huge salad and two side vegetables, fresh green beans and asparagus, rounds out the meal. 

As I chopped, I was thinking about getting my thoughts outside of this news related state of mind.It was time to turn off the TV and start planning again.  Tom loaded his favorite radio podcast on his computer, Garage Logic (from KSTP 1500, Minneapolis, Minnesota), that often has us howling with laughter.

We were able to tune out the limited discussions of negative news to make a point of listening to the endless chatter that easily elicits rounds of hearty laughter from both of us. 

A short time later, sitting at my computer, (the day’s post was uploaded hours earlier) the research began and the first thing I tackled was booking tickets for the Sydney Opera House for March 19, 2017. It’s a good thing we’d booked tickets now. Based on leftover available dates there wouldn’t have been tickets remaining if we waited any longer.

The water is barely ankle deep at low tide.

The tickets and great seats we chose are for a Sunday at 5:00 pm. The day of the week was irrelevant to us. Us retirees find days of the week for activities less significant as when we were working when Fridays or Saturday nights were preferred for most social events. It doesn’t matter now.

Let’s face it, opera is not Tom’s first choice of entertainment although I’ve always been a  huge fan. However, the idea of spending a few hours at the famous opera house is an experience neither of us wanted to miss during the 40 days we’ll spend in Sydney from March 13 to April 22, 2017, while awaiting the 24-night cruise from Sydney to Seattle.

Its this very cruise on April 22, 2017, in exactly 8 months 17 days, that will take us back toward the US. After an Alaskan cruise ending on May 26, 2017 we” fly to Minnesota where we’ll stay seeing family and friends for six weeks. Later we’ll be heading to Nevada to see more family for another three weeks. Then, we’ll be off “for the world” once again!

Phuket consists of hundreds of smaller islands.  For more information, please click here.

The simple process of booking the tickets for the Sydney Opera House reminded me of how much the future holds, especially seeing family and friends for a total of nine weeks and then, the journey continues on.

We can choose to create positive news in our lives, news that can take us away if only for awhile to live life to the fullest in the best way we can.  

Now, we’re back to researching for the future! May you find ways to incorporate good news into your daily lives!

Photo from one year ago today, August 5, 2015:

Boats docked at the marina in Port Douglas, Australia. For more photos, please click here.

The ox cart rides for passengers on the Viking Mekong River cruise….

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The carts and oxen were ready to load.

Bottom line, we’ve had difficulty uploading many photos based on the poor WiFi signal we have at this point on the journey on the Mekong River. We aren’t certain as to when this will improve, but in the interim we’re doing the best we can.

Using Enrico’s laptop while sitting at his desk, I managed to upload a few photos for the post dated July 16, 2016. Please check that post to see the photos.

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The oxen hung around ready to get to work.

If this continues to be the scenario over the next several days, once we arrive at the hotel in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) on Wednesday where we’ll stay for two nights, we’ll attempt to get caught up with the photos we have waiting to be posted. We apologize to our readers. 

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The workers started preparing the carts.

Many of you have written expressing your interest in these photos, only to find we have hundreds backed up we’re unable to upload. Time will alleviate this situation. Even, if we’re unable to get fully up to date, we can easily continue posting the Vietnam/Cambodia photos once we’re settled in Phuket.

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Early morning photo of the oxen awaiting their cart hookup.

We’re really enjoying the cruise otherwise, having met so many interesting and well traveled passenger, many who’ve expressed an interest in this peculiar life we live while others are shocked we’ve been willing and able to travel the world as we do. 

IMG_6917
As our regular readers are aware, we love seeing any type of creature.

Of course, we’re equally fascinated by their lives, whether they travel a lot or not. We often wonder what our retirement would have been like had we stayed in one place, only traveling on occasion, as is the case for most retirees.

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The oxen are gentle animals.

The cruise itself continues to provide the utmost in customer service, entertainment and food, all of which are most important to cruise passengers. Feed me well, fulfill my expectations of great service and offer me an array of options to keep me entertained and a cruise becomes a highly worthwhile means of taking that holiday/vacation most long to experience.

Viking Cruises leaves no stone un-turned, in ensuring each passenger’s experience is as impeccable and meaningful as possible. If we ask for anything, they’ll do everything in their power to accommodate the request. 

Then again, we don’t ask for much other than ice for our cold tea, modifications for my meals and if possible a working WiFi connection which, if isn’t possible, we don’t complain or ask for a service they cannot provide based on location.

As for the meal modifications, last night we were served a traditional family style Cambodia meal.  Had  I been able I’d have tried some of each beautifully presented dishes. After speaking with the chef there wasn’t a single item on the menu that would be suitable for my way of eating. 

To make it easy for the kitchen staff when so busy making the varied dishes for the special meal for the guests, I suggested I have a dish they presented at lunch, which sent me over the moon, grilled eggplant and minced pork, seasoned to perfection. It was delicious. 

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The oxen seemed gentle and used to being around humans.

Unfortunately, they had little left to reheat for me after the lunch so they make me a quick tenderloin stir fry with veggies along with the small portion of the eggplant dish, and a Caesar salad minus the croutons. It was a perfect meal I fully appreciated, expressing considerable praise for their efforts to the efforts since the cruise began last Wednesday, July 13th. 

Its hard to imagine we’ve only been on this cruise for four days when we had so much activity, even with my lingering spinal condition impeding many activities. We’ve taken hundreds of photos, only a small portion of which we’ve been able to post.

Please stay tuned as we continue to make every effort to stay as current as possible with our daily posts and photos.

Have a lovely day and we’ll be back soon!

Photo from one year ago today, July 17, 2015:

Australian M113A1 Fire Support Vehicle (Saladin Turret). Tom especially enjoyed the visit to Australia’s Armour Artillery Museum near Cairns.  For more photos, please click here.