Another afternoon of exploration…

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The water, the mountains, a blue sky.  What more could we ask for, here in Trinity Beach, our home for three months?  Lovely.

With plenty of photos backlogged from our exploration of a few days ago, we decided to head out another day when curiosity got the best of us. An odd scenario we experience living in this house is that the garbage bins for both recycling and garbage are located at the bottom of a very long, very steep hill from the house to the street.

The waterway continued through many neighborhoods in this lovely Trinity Beach location.

With the panoramic views, we have from the yard, this steep incline is to be expected. The steepness of the driveway is such that walking down the long-distance carrying trash makes no sense as one would need to consider their balance on the steep decline. 

For a 20-year-old this may be fun and challenging. For us old-timers, caution is more important than this type of needless trek.  s a result, each time we have garbage, we have to drive down the hill.

In doing so, already in the car, we may as well drive somewhere and check out the exquisite area in which we’re living. Soon, we’ll be planning a road trip as there’s much to see within a day’s drive that we’d like to experience in our time here.

Yesterday, the sun was finally shining so we were especially interested in getting out.  As a matter of fact, with the sun shining again today, we plan to spend our 20 to 30 minutes soaking up Vitamin D, a vital nutrient especially for seniors that cannot be derived from food to any great degree. Since carrying lots of vitamins is prohibitive in our lifestyle and having difficultly finding them in some locations, any source from which we can glean Vitamin D becomes vital to our health.

As we always state, we happen to be living in Australia, enjoying the culture, the way of life, the nuances.  Close to the beaches, parks, and wildlife, if we never left the area of a one-hour radius, we’d be content.  But, we feel a certain responsibility to our worldwide readers to share that which is beyond the scope of our immediate area. 

Thus, we’ll visit some of the sites in Queensland during our three months here. Yesterday, as we drove through the gorgeous neighborhood where the Bluewater Marina is located, seeing all the lovely homes, many new and many being built, we marveled over how we have no interest in living a life in a house, with a car, utility bills to pay and a lawn to mow. 

We felt no sense of desire or the coveting of such a life. We had that life. Now, we don’t. And, we love this peculiar life on the move. We do enjoy reveling in the lovely properties, imagining what they’d be like inside their doors with no interest in our lives, whatsoever. 

Most homes along the waterway have this same type of dock to their boats. It’s winter here now and the docks stay in the water year-round, not like in our old lives where we had to remove the dock during the winter to avoid its destruction from the ice on the lake.

Our interest in continuing on in our travels has only escalated instead of waning over these past 32 months. A few weeks ago, we realized that I’d misstated how many continents we visited since the onset of our travels.  Tom pointed this out to me after I’d posted that we’ve been to six of the seven continents, the only exception at this point is Antarctica.

Of course, we have much exploring ahead of us down the road and further exploration of the continents we’ll eventually revisit. Health providing, we have all the time in the world. We feel no sense of urgency. 

What will be, will be.  The only control we have is over our ability to continuing to travel is the efforts we exercise (literally and figuratively) to maintain a good level of health and fitness through being active, engaged, having a positive outlook, and eating a healthy diet of foods in their natural state; lots of fresh leafy greens and non-starchy vegetables, grass-fed meats, wild-caught fish, free-range chicken and organic cheeses, eggs and raw nuts.

And yes, there are days that we’re lazy, don’t walk much and spend the better part of the day doing a “bunch of nothing.”  Then again, who in our age group is always active?  Who in any age group is always active, even if they are sitting at a desk at work, standing on their feet performing a repetitive type job or simply sitting reading a good book?

Living a good life encompasses many avenues of passion we each choose that provides us with the greatest joy and meaning. Finding that passion is the greatest challenge. We’ve found ours and this discovery alone had led us on this path.

Continue with us on this journey. In many ways, it’s just begun. We have so much yet to discover and learn
Photo from one year ago today, June 19, 2014:

The beautiful mountains and hills of Madeira were breathtaking to us each and every day. For details from that post, please click here.

Checking for best prices for future bookings…Do we use a travel agent?…What’s the deal with Australian egg yolks?…

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While on the ship, several Australian mentioned the light color of the ship’s egg yolks. Back on land, Aussie eggs come from free-range chickens and when not fed grains the yolks are dark and dense. Lovely.

After the fun cruise from which we just departed, we look forward to future cruises around Australia with a new found enthusiasm. Tom, the cruise person in the family, makes an effort to frequently check for new postings and price changes.

Nitrate free bacon purchased at Woolie’s in the deli section. This is some of the finest bacon we’dd had in a long time. This morning we made bacon and scrambled eggs with cheese. None of the cheeses here are dyed with orange or yellow dyes. Thus, cheddar cheese is all white, and shredded cheeses for Mexican food is also white. We like that.

The cruises we’ve already booked of which there are four at this time may have price reductions that we can take advantage of between the time of booking and up to 90 days before sailing when the final payment is due.

Variety of meats offered at a meat market in the mall.

If there’s a price drop, all we have to do is notify our booking rep at Vacationstogo.com that there’s been a price drop and we’ll be given the benefit of the reduced prices. Our entire cruise documents package is reissued at the new price.

The tricky part of this is that it’s our responsibility to check for price changes. No cruise agency is going to check for price reductions every day for thousands of upcoming cruises. As the consumer, that’s our task.

The lamb chops were considerably more at the meat market than at the Woolworth’s store, AUD $38.99, USD $30.22 vs. AUD $23.99, USD $18.59 per kilo (2.2 pounds). Yesterday, we purchased an ample dinner-sized portion for me with six chops for AUD $7.19, USD $5.57. To be able to enjoy lamb for this price per meal will keep me coming back for more. Tom doesn’t care for lamb.

Most travelers have one cruise booked at any given time, making this checking fairly quick and easy. This can be done daily. Price changes can be posted and an hour later they’re back up again. It’s important to notify the booking agent quickly, making a copy of the price change and sending it by email.

After Tom caught a reduction last night, this morning our new confirmation came through saving us over US $500, AUD $645.29. This was certainly worth taking a few minutes to check once a day. If the price returns to a higher rate, we’re locked in at the lowest price on the most recent cruise documents.

A well-stocked Asian grocery store in the mall.

For those who cruise, this is definitely worth the undertaking. Since we began cruising we’ve literally saved several thousand dollars taking advantage of these changes. 

Of course, we’ve been on 11 cruises in the past 32 months, more than most cruisers for this period. But, even if one cruise once in three years, it’s certainly worth checking prices for reductions after paying the initial deposit. Also, it’s important to have a price guaranty in writing from your chosen cruise travel agent.

Bakery in the mall near “Woolie’s” the name Australians use for their popular Woolworth’s grocery store. We won’t be buying anything from this case but it’s fun to look at.

Using a travel agent for cruising is the only travel agent/agency that we use. Many have suggested names of friends or agents they recommend we use in an attempt to make our travels easier. 

We appreciate the thoughtful suggestions but based on the nature of our travels and having complete control over every step of the way, we wouldn’t be able to use an agent, picking out vacation homes, flights, and venues for us. 

This is the indoor Farmer’s Market where we were able to buy fresh daily organic vegetables at very reasonable prices. Woolie’s is in the background, making it easy to stop for produce after buying protein and essentials.

We look at 100’s of possible vacation homes in each possible future location, a task no agent would have time or inclination to consider tackling. Also, we like the freedom of negotiating the best possible prices, terms and conditions, and of course, schedules. Leaving this in the hands of another could potentially be a fiasco.

Our goal remains the same…” wafting through our worldwide travels with ease, joy, and simplicity,” as stated as our motto at the top of our changing-daily-homepage. 

We are not a “travel log.” We are a “daily life log” of two crazy retirees who wanted to step outside the box to spread their wings to live a different kind of life in our later years, a life of change, adventure, and wonder. 

The locally grown produce was abundant in quality and selection.

On top of it all, we love the freedom we have to live each day exactly as we choose whether exploring an area, out on an adventure or simply lounging at home doing exactly what many retirees do each day; a trip to the store, a walk in the neighborhood, preparing a special meal, and maintaining a comfortable home environment.  We love it all.

And, we love all of our readers for sharing it with us. Today, we’ll venture out for a drive to check out the area and hopefully report back with good photos tomorrow.

Thanks to friend and reader Staci for her coffee-making suggestions including “cowboy coffee” and checking thrift stores for a “coffee perc.” Thanks to our many other readers who sent emails with other suggestions.

Have a wonderful day. Back at you soon with more new photos.

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

The view from our veranda in Campanario, Madeira on a clear day. For details from that date, please click here.

What we’re missing so far in Australia…Guess we need to accept and adapt…

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The seafood is offered by the kilo (2.2) pounds in AUD. As a result, these prices are not bad. For example AUD $20 is USD $15.51.

Every country has its nuances and its lifestyle commensurate with centuries of history and tradition. We try as much as we can to adapt to these differences that we find wherever we may travel.

As our long term readers know we’ve sacrificed many aspects of our lives in order to have the joy of traveling the world, few of which we ever find difficult to change after a few weeks have passed.

These sacrifices may include many items of which we become glaringly aware the first few weeks in a new location. Here in Australia, a few items stand out that may take some getting used to such as a lack of international news on TV (we’re news junkies). 

At first glance, these also look pricey when in reality, they are lower priced than we paid in many countries, especially in Hawaii. All the fish is wild-caught.

We like to stay abreast of international news, which keeps us in touch with the outside world as well as keeping us aware of where we shouldn’t travel due to intense political unrest.

On a lesser scale, Australians don’t drink much coffee. We can’t find an electric or appropriate stove top coffee pot. Arriving here last Thursday, we’ve scoured several stores, (no less than five) to discover that Australians don’t brew coffee as we know it, in a pot with or without a filter.

They do use a few pricey apparatus such as the French press machine which we did find at a pricey kitchen store for US $54.31, AUD $70, which based on its small size would be cumbersome when we each may drink three cups in the morning. Pressing for this amount of coffee would not be worth using the small press.

Some of the fish products are pre battered.  If we use a batter, we’ll make it using coconut or almond flour both of which I’d been able to purchase at the Woolworth’s grocery store.
We both like our coffee hot and this style of coffee making leaves it greatly cooled by the time it’s served. We used such a press in Morocco but found it made the coffee too strong and subsequently cold.  Neither of us wanted to spend that amount of money on a device we didn’t like using. Even K-mart didn’t have many possibilities. They didn’t have a coffee machine section nor could the rep suggest where we’d find such a thing.

We could send for a coffee maker from Amazon.com but, by the time we receive it after paying high shipping costs, we’ll be used to living without it and nearly be ready to move along. At the grocery store, there was a small coffee section with bags of beans, none of which works for us. We’ve decided not to drink coffee in Australia and may encounter the same scenario in other locations in the South Pacific.

As I scurried about K-mart, looking for an electric coffee machine, Tom reminded me to stop asking for an electric coffee pot. He assumed such questions and ancillary comments would make me appear as the “ugly American.” I stopped asking now that I understand that primarily, Australians drink tea. When we saw many Aussies drinking coffee on the ship, we assumed this was a popular morning beverage.

Next time, we shop for groceries, I’ll be purchasing some of this fresh fish from this local fish market located in the mall.

Since I like tea, giving up coffee won’t be too difficult for me. Although most mornings I like to drink coffee, I usually have tea at 4 pm each day, not unlike the British way. Maybe it’s harder for Tom, who doesn’t like tea as an alternative. For some reason, I can’t seem to get the coffee out of my head. Perhaps it due to the fact that we have one bag of delicious Kauai coffee with us and no way to brew it.

On the ship to Australia, I never had coffee when it was made too strong for my liking. Tom drank it using half decaf, half regular, adding real sugar and fake cream (no real cream was available). 

At least now he won’t be consuming six teaspoons of granulated sugar each day, hardly befitting our way of eating a low carb, starch-free, grain-free, and sugar-free diet. The lack of coffee for me is only psychological since I haven’t had a cup since we were in Hawaii, 24 days ago. “They,” say it takes three weeks to “break a habit.”

Speaking of “cruise food.” Tom has already lost all the weight he gained on the ship. In reality, he didn’t go overboard (no pun intended) eating starchy, sugary, carb-laden foods. He never had an ice cream cone and had few desserts. Instead, he ordered margaritas and Mai Tai’s which were included in his drink package. 

An indoor farmer’s market in the mall.

I didn’t gain an ounce and as a matter of fact lost a few pounds although I had a substantially large breakfast each morning along with a cup of homemade hollandaise sauce served with each dinner to keep my fat consumption at high levels which is a requirement of my diet, referred to as LCHF (low carb, high fat with moderate protein).

Cooking again has been good. Last night, we made organic burgers (no grass-fed ground beef available so far) with avocados, homemade ketchup, sautéed mushrooms, onions, organic sliced tomatoes topped with fine cheeses, and some of the best “streaky” bacon we’ve had in a long time. 

We haven’t seen bacon referred to as “streaky” bacon since living in Kenya, almost two years ago. Streaky or not, the deli is the only area in the grocery store the bacon can be purchased. There is none of the expected pre-packaged bacon. The streaky deli bacon is smoky flavored and delicious.

Yesterday’s grocery shopping trip worked out well. With only a tiny space in the freezer, we can’t purchase meat other than that which we’ll consume in a few days, another challenge and change from what we’ve done in the past.

Although I don’t eat fruit, this red dragon fruit certainly looks appealing.  Here again, prices are per kilo (2.2 pounds). 


Today returned to the Telstra phone store. The SIM card we purchased wouldn’t work on either of our hot spots devices. Much to my delight and surprised when they couldn’t get our devices to work, they gave us a loaner to use while here in Trinity Beach. 

The rep didn’t require me to pay a deposit or sign a form for the “loaner.” How unusual is that? He stated that he had no fear that I’d return it before we eventually leave.  Where in the world does this happen? We’re both in awe of the trust the rep exercised in letting us walk out the door with the pricey device.

That’s the nature of the Australian people; kind, friendly, and trusting. So, if we have a few inconveniences, they are more than balanced out by all the pluses of living in this wonderful country.

To sum up a few of the new sacrifices we’ve discovered for life in Australia:
1.  No morning coffee  (there are a few coffee shops but not something we’d spend money on each day).
2.  No purchasing protein beyond what we’ll use in a few days.
3.  No international news unless we watch news online.  With the poor wifi signal, this isn’t a good option.
4.  No screens on doors and windows.
5.  No grass-fed beef other than a few steaks offered at US $34.87, AUD $44.95 per kilo (2.2 pounds).  Mostly I’ll focus on the huge selection of wild-caught fish and free range chickens, having beef only occasionally.

This glorious life we live requires changing our needs and wants almost every few months, finding “workarounds” that suit us in the interim. Oh, one more workaround for Tom that he’s experienced many times in these past 32 months…he’s now driving on the opposite side of the road and shifting using his left hand (he’s right-handed).  

Now, my big challenge is walking up to the correct side of the car to open the passenger door and get in. In three months, I should be able to get this under control.

                                              Photo from one year ago today, June 16, 2014:

The fog rolled in while Tom stood on our veranda in Madeira, Portugal. It was quite a sight to see. For details from that date, please click here.

Settling in to our new home…Rainy days continue…

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The private swimming pool for our exclusive use.

After days of preparation to leave Hawaii, constant activities on the ship over 17 days and nights, 22 hour time changes and now getting settled into our new home in Trinity Beach, Australia, we’re particularly pleased to have slowed down the pace a little.

The side yard off the kitchen. 

Today, we’ll complete washing and drying the seven loads of laundry we created after unpacking. With all the germs on the ship and many passengers very sick, we’ve decided to wash just about everything we own. 

Beautiful fern inside yard.

We’ve yet to go and do the major grocery shopping instead of picking up enough bottled water and food to get us through the next several days. By Monday (it’s Saturday today), we’ll return to the nearby Smithfield Shopping Center, one of the most comprehensive malls we’ve seen in years.

This lime is growing in a pot on the veranda, almost ripe for the picking.

Before arriving in Australia we speculated that it may be hard to find certain ingredients and products we frequently use. Ha! There is as much abundance here in Trinity Beach, a cozy resort town, that we’ve seen in major cities throughout the world. We’re impressed and in awe, to say the least. 

Familiar Hibiscus found in most tropical climates.

The Aussies have it all figured out. In their relatively low population (23.6 million) continent compared to many other parts of the world, these resourceful people have adopted a modern-day lifestyle that can hardly be matched.

As for our new home, it has it all; working, albeit slow wifi, cable TV, modern kitchen appliances (no dishwasher), lovely décor, and a view that takes our breath away. Sure, some things are missing, one, in particular, that makes life particularly challenging for me…no screens on the windows.

Yellow Daffodils.

And, yes, at the moment, I have no less than a dozen mozzie bites, red, inflamed, and swollen. But, as of today I’m back to wearing repellent around the clock and have learned my lesson about not doing so, once and for all.  Tom, as always, is exempt from bites for whatever reason.

The gazebo by the pool.

The shower and bathroom are superior. There are powerful ceiling fans in each room and we have plenty of closet space. Oddly, there are no empty cupboards for storing food so where we’ll put grocery baffles me at the moment. Otherwise, the cupboards are filled with nice pots, pans, cooking utensils, and dishes.

Fence required to enclose the pool area.

The refrigerator and freezer are tiny making grocery shopping necessary two to three times per week. There are one miniature ice cube tray and we Americans like our ice. Soon, we’ll purchase a few more ice cube trays forfeiting much-needed freezer space. 

More Hibiscus.

There’s no coffee pot although there’s a teapot. In Hawaii, we had to purchase a teapot. Here, we’ll purchase a coffee pot, the cheapest we can find to use and leave behind in 85 days. 

Our exclusive use hot tub. 

The lovely owners, Sylvie and Andy rousted up a few good beach chairs for us and when the skies clear, we may venture down the steep steps to the pool or simply lounge on our veranda for the most amazing views we could imagine.

The comfortable bed, covers, and powerful ceiling fan have allowed us to sleep well these past two nights for which we’re very grateful. At the moment, Tom is sitting at the outdoor table and chairs enjoying his favorite US radio show, Garage Logic, and the views while I stay indoors away from the mosquitos. Once the cloudy skies are replaced by less humid sun, I’ll certainly be able to spend plenty of time outdoors as well.

Long vines hanging from the trees.  We’ve begun watching for wildlife which is abundant in the area.

Now, back to the piles of laundry. By next week, we’ll start venturing out to check out the beach and this beautiful area we’ve joyfully landed in here in Australia.

                                             Photo from one year ago today, June 13, 2014:

What a view, one year ago today, from our veranda in Madeira, Portugal.  Surely, we’ll have equally amazing views here in Trinity Beach over these next many months. For more photos, please click here.

We goofed!…Not crossing International Dateline until tonight…Dreading the end of the cruise?

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Sunset over Tahiti.

All I can say is that we’re having such a good time, we didn’t pay enough attention to our itinerary over these past 12 days simply due to every moment being filled with pleasurable activities. 

As a result, yesterday’s post was inaccurate in stating that we were crossing the International Dateline last night when in fact, we’ll cross it tonight. With a two-hour time change to boot, we’ll be setting our clocks ahead by 22 hours, jumping into Saturday when for many of our readers it will be Friday.

As the ship pulled away from the pier in Tahiti, the sky darkened with remnants of sunset.

Yesterday at 2:00 pm I attended a classical piano concert that was performed by a highly acclaimed pianist from the Philippines while Tom was relaxing in the cabin filling out the required immigration forms before entry into Australia. 

At 3:00 pm, he attended “The Shed” while I worked out and later read a book on my phone on our veranda. At 5:00 pm, we met at the bar on the ninth deck and later returned to the cabin to change for dinner. 

Shoreline in Bora Bora.

By 6:30, we were seated at the Centrum bar mingling with people we’ve met over these past days, engaging in conversation and laughter. By 7:00 pm, we were seated at a table for 10 in the Romeo & Juliet Dining Room chatting with some familiar and some new tablemates.

Life aboard a ship is easy. As Tom says, “I don’t have to make the bed, do dishes or take out the trash.” Although I don’t mind daily household tasks, this definitely is an easy way of life for both of us.

Tom standing on the miniature golf. He clobbered me.

We’ve spoken to passengers who’ve spent as much as 90 days aboard a ship loving every aspect of the experience. Perhaps someday we’ll take a long cruise. For now, this 18 or shall I say 17 days has been glorious this far.

After another fine dinner with excellent food and friendly people, we went to the live evening show. The performer was an Australian magician although neither of us particularly cares to watch magicians. But, the energy in the packed theatre made the show worthwhile and we left with smiles on our faces. 

The scenery along the shore in Bora Bora.

A 70’s disco show was being performed in the Centrum at 10:00 pm. We watched for a while as the singers and dancers performed while passengers danced. By 11:00 pm were back at our cabin, never falling asleep until after midnight. By 6:00 am this morning we were both up and about, a little tired but anxious to begin another day.

Tomorrow will be Saturday for us and we’ll only have five days left until we disembark in Sydney on June 11th.  In our old life, as the cruise time would have begun to wind down, we’d have been disappointed and filled with angst to return to the “real world” however pleasant that may have been.

There are numerous small islands in the South Pacific.  We find ourselves curious as to what it would be like to stay on such a small island. 

We’d have dreaded the pile of mail, the unpacking, the laundry, and the spoiled food in the refrigerator. We’d have dreaded the return to responsibilities and mundane tasks. However, in a few days, most of that dread would dissipate and we’d settle into our daily lives and activities.

Instead, excitedly we’ll exit the ship, go through immigration, grab a taxi to the airport, board the Qantas Airline flight to Cairns for the short (to us) three-hour flight, get our luggage, pick up the rental car to drive 22 minutes to the house in Trinity Beach.

Once we arrive, the owners will be awaiting us to familiarize us with the workings of the property. How excited we are! There’s no mail to collect and sort through since we’ve already reviewed the few pieces we’ve received online in the past weeks from our mailing service. We receive no junk email. 

More small islands on a cloudy stretch in the South Pacific.

As for the responsibilities, we’ve paid off all of the credit cards while we were on the ship using our Hotspot Shield for privacy and security. We’re paid up for future rentals well into July. We already paid the doctor bill from my one incident in Kauai at $311. 

We don’t owe a dime on any other bills.  With no utility, cable, or cell phone bills, mortgage payments, property taxes, car payments or insurance (other than health and our hauled belongings, paid once a year) life seems easier than in years past.

Once we unpack and settle in, we’ll head out to dinner. The next day we’ll grocery shop together. Tom always shops with me the first time in a new location based on the huge amount we need to purchase. He does all the heavy lifting, my own personal “pack mule” as he calls himself.

Another island in the South Pacific.

These tasks aren’t tasks to us. We feel like kids “playing house” as we learn the area, its nuances, and the names of stores and products we’ll typically use in our daily lives.

Later in the day, we’ll check out the health club and most likely I’ll sign up for the three-month membership.  I’ve already communicated with the health club confident it will be a good match for me. By the end of that weekend, we’ll be totally settled and able to embrace living in the beautiful resort town of Trinity Beach, Australia.

Another cute towel pet sitting atop our bed when we return to the cabin at the end of the evening. Our fabulous cabin attendant Jill grabbed my sunglasses to top off this cute rabbit.

Dreading the end of the cruise? Not us. We’ll continue to cherish each remaining day on this wonderfully social cruise. If our minds wander to the task of disembarking we can easily toss those thoughts aside knowing the process should be easy and stress-free.

We’ve learned the nuances of exiting a ship with low stress. Even occasionally “overly grumpy” Tom (on travel days only) is beginning to trust the process and go with the flow.

One more day at sea and we’ll reach Fiji, where we’ll be living in a little over three months. We’ll see what the day brings. Please check back. 

                                                  Photo from one year ago today, June 4, 2014:

This scene of the view from the veranda in Campanario, Madeira took our breath away. Every day provided a new and intriguing view of the mountains and hills. For details from that date, please click here.

Crossing the International Dateline…Today is June 3rd…Tomorrow is June 5th…

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A cloud-topped mountain in Bora Bora.

It’s an odd thing for us. Crossing the International Dateline tonight, we’ll awaken tomorrow morning and we’ll have lost an entire day. How does one lose an entire day? Wasn’t this an 18-night cruise?

More of Bora Bora.

Apparently not. Vacationstogo.com listed this cruise as 18 nights. Once on board and checking the itinerary further, we discovered it is only a 17-night cruise. How weird is that?

As we approached Bora Bora there we numerous smaller islands.

Of course, the number of days is predicated by the number of times we go to bed and wake up the next day.  The International Dateline is explained in detail here:

“The International Date Line (IDL) explained:

The International Date Line (IDL) is an imaginary line of longitude on the Earth’s surface located at about 180 degrees east (or west) of the Greenwich Meridian.

 
Illustration image
                                                              Time Zone Map showing IDL
The dateline is shown as an uneven black vertical line in the Time Zone Map above and marks the divide where the date changes by one day. It makes some deviations from the 180-degree meridian to avoid dividing countries in two, especially in the Polynesia region.
The time difference between either side of the International Date Line is not always exactly 24 hours because of local time zone variations.
Interactive Time Zone Map
If you travel around the world, changing standard time by one hour each time you enter a new time zone, then a complete circuit would mean that you adjusted your clock or watch time by 24 hours. This would lead to a difference of one day between the date on your clock and the real calendar date. To avoid this, countries are on either side of the International Date Line which runs down the middle of the Pacific Ocean. If you cross the dateline moving east, you subtract a day, whereas if you are moving west you add a day.

GMT vs. UTCThe Greenwich Meridian is a north-south line selected as the zero-reference line for astronomical observations. The line in Greenwich in London, UK represents the world’s prime meridian – longitude zero degrees. Every place on Earth is measured in terms of its distance east or west from this line.

The United Kingdom observes GMT only in the winter.
The line divides the Earth’s eastern and western hemispheres just as the equator divides the northern and southern hemispheres.
The Earth’s crust moves very slightly on an ongoing basis so the prime meridian’s exact position is also moving very slightly. However, the prime meridian’s original reference remains to be the Airy Transit Circle in the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, even if the exact location of the line may move to either side of the transit circle’s meridian.
The Royal Observatory in Greenwich is the home to the time zone named Greenwich Mean Time – GMT. This time zone was first adopted as the world’s time standard at the Washington Meridian Conference in 1884. However, GMT is now loosely interchanged with UTC to refer to time kept on the Greenwich meridian (longitude zero).”
Another smaller island near Bora Bora.
Well, this is all interesting. Losing a day in the realm of the number of days in the average lifespan should not seem like much of a difference, especially when someday when we travel in the opposite direction, we’ll recover the day. As for our day today, the day we do have, we’re still at sea. We just finished breakfast in the main dining room and are comfortably situated in the Schooner Bar posting for today, content as we could be.
View from our balcony as we approached Bora Bora.
Yesterday, Tom attended another men’s group, “The Shed” for lively guy chatter with such topics as politics, sports, household projects, observations about the cruise, and more. Once he returns to our cabin shortly after 5:00 pm, he shares some of the topics with me and the good time he had with the other, mostly Australian men.
A lovely house along the shore on a small island in Bora Bora, in the Society Islands chain.
Being on this ship has given us an intro to the Australian way of life and its people. Undoubtedly, this 17-day cruise has given us a better perspective of life in Australia, of which we knew little.
At a distance, a small beach area.  Excuse the blur.
While he was gone from 3:00 to 5:00 pm, I lounged at the pool reading a book on food science (my favorite topic) which is very technical but somehow has grabbed my interest, and it’s hard to put down. I never knew at this point in life, I’d be learning so much from reading and from the world and people around us. Tom feels the same way.
Had we stayed put in a condo in a warm climate somewhere in the US we may not have had the opportunity for such varied experiences from our surroundings and people we encounter along the way. Through this learning process, our minds are alert and hungry for more.
A beach house on a small island near Bora Bora.
Providing that we continue to take good care of our physical health, we hope for long and productive years in our old age.  Sure, we may miss out on a few experiences based on our conservative nature in regard to physical challenges and adventures. But, the experiences we choose in its place are rich in content and meaning.
Not as lush and green as some of the other islands we’ve visited, this is a portion of Bora Bora, known for its huts/bungalows over the water.
Wrapping up today, tomorrow’s post will be there. I’ll have to figure out how to change the date of the post when this app automatically reverts to the next date overnight. Thus, you’ll see a new post during the day tomorrow. Oh, by the way, we’ll also be experiencing some hourly time changes in addition to the entire day. Oh, this could be confusing. 
At a distance, we could see the coral reef in its lighter-colored waters.
But, as always, we’ll figure it out and be on our way relishing in the day at hand, whatever day it may be!Tom had a great verbal slip last night. When ordering off the menu, he requested the “Chicken Placenta” as opposed to “Chicken Piccata.” I couldn’t stop laughing. This morning he said, “That’s not so bad of a verbal slip. A chicken placenta is an egg.” More chuckles. Life is good.

Photo from one year ago today, June 3, 2014:

I took this shot while on a walk on the steep road in Madeira, Portugal, one year ago today. For more photos and stories, please click here.

“Sexiest Man Aboard Ship Contest”…Tom and the “Shed”…

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The ceiling fixture in the main lounge area, the Centrum.

Cruising is ideal for us.  We love the routine we naturally slide into within a few days, hanging out with new friends, meeting more people at meals each morning, evening, and when wandering about the ship.

Yesterday afternoon Tom attended the daily “Shed,” an Australian tradition whereby men get together and shoot the breeze. He had a great time and most likely will return again each day. How unusual for us to be apart for a few hours. I easily filled the two-hour time slot working out and taking photos.

In three days, we’ll reach our first port of call, Moorea, Society Islands, where we’ll get off the ship to check out the island. It’s especially enjoyable for us when we have an opportunity to visit new locations to see if it’s a place we’d return to someday for an extended stay.

Tom refused to partake in the “Sexiest Man Aboard Ship Contest” that transpired yesterday afternoon. We both got a kick out of watching the contest poolside.

If not, it’s still interesting to see other parts of the world, the local customs, the way of life, and the dedication many islanders must exercise to fulfill the expectations of tourists constantly flooding their area.

We’re very sensitive to that fact and we make every effort to be kind, patient, and appreciative when services are provided to us. Many island nations have lived off the cruise business and tourism to sustain a quality of life that may be impossible without it.

Part of the competition was pushups. This passenger did the most number of pushups, 66, and eventually won the competition with his excellent dancing skills.

Most of the islands we’ll visit between Saturday, May 30th and June 11th have small populations, high poverty levels, and struggle to make it through life. It is through the naivety of us travelers that a simple beautiful life can be had living on a tropical island. 

But, for the masses living on these islands, life is hard, fraught with poverty, illness, and strife often without running water, electricity, and modern comforts and conveniences.

This poor guy couldn’t do one pushup.  This made Tom especially happy he hadn’t participated.

We have no delusions in our pleasant way of life of following the sun, that the people that serve us in any manner share in what appears to them to be an affluent life. For us, it’s hardly affluent when we’ve made many adjustments and sacrifices in order to live this life we’ve chosen. 

We’ve often said this and continue to remind ourselves…we are humbled by this life we live. Humbled by the beauty of the people, the environment, the way of life, and how simply one can live and find happiness at every turn.

This guy did a “moon shot” while the dancing part of the competition took place. 

Sure, it’s easy for us to say this as we lounge on a cruise ship writing to our readers today using modern technology, eating good food, and having all the “creature comforts” one could want.

From one laugh fest to another, one great philosophical conversation to another, to one enriching expose of our lives to theirs, we strive to maintain a degree of gratitude and humility.

One of the buffet tables in Romeo and Juliet, the main dining room.

However enthusiastically we share our story that often leaves mouths agape as to how we could possibly manage to let go of all of our worldly goods, the people we love, and a place to call “home” we don’t forget for a moment that is could change on a dime.

As each day comes, we find ourselves being grateful for one more opportunity to become engaged in our surroundings whether its people, scenery, or wildlife, and when, on occasion, it’s all of these.

The dining room as it was being set for breakfast.

At the moment we’re sitting outdoors near the pool in a dining area with tables and chairs drinking cold beverages on a hot, humid day and a somewhat overcast day at sea. We don’t have a complaint in the world.  The seas are relatively calm so far and that too could change on a dime. If it does we’ll be ready to take on the challenge with aplomb.

Please bear with our less than perfect photos aboard the ship. There are only so many photo ops on the ship.  However, in a few days, we’ll have more exciting photos to share of the many islands we’ll visit on the journey to Australia.

G’Day!

                                              Photo from one year ago today, May 27, 2014:

At night the island of Madeira became a cacophony of lights and magic as we enjoyed this view from our veranda. In the entire two and a half months, we never tired of either the daytime ocean views or the lights. For details, please click here.

Sailing takes me away to where I’ve always heard it could be…Ship couldn’t leave…

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Balcony view of our cabin.

With a party to attend at 9:30 am today, I wanted to be able to stay and enjoy ourselves without leaving early to upload today’s post. Thus, I’m rushing a bit. We’ll check back later for error corrections.

Consistency means a lot to us and to our much appreciated worldwide readership which last night grew well over 300,000 reads. Perhaps, that’s nothing compared to millions of other sites but, for us who aren’t necessarily bogged down by these numbers, it’s astounding.  hanks to all of our readers for the dedication to following along with us.

As for today’s heading, this song has been running through my brain over the past few days. The next few lines in this 1980s song continue with:

“Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free

Well it’s not far back to sanity, at least it’s not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away and find serenity
Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see
Believe me”

Our cabin, small but well equipped.

Ah, these words not only bring back memories from another era of my life when I was single at the time, owned a 26′ Chris Craft cabin cruiser that I kept in a slip on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota, had two kids, owned a house and a business and life was a combination of raging responsibility and occasional carefree fun at age 32.

This song also holds true today for the joy and freedom we experience in our daily lives. We’ve already met and made friends with a lovely couple from Australia, Judy, and Mal, whom we’ll surely see again. And last night, at dinner we had an excellent time with Michael, Allison, Jenny, Jenny, (two named Jenny), and Ken, again all from Australia.

View of Honolulu.

The ship is supposed to be on it’s way to Australia and the South Pacific, where we’ll live for the next almost two years. However, last night there was an announcement regarding mechanical problems. Here we are at 9:00 am Monday and we still haven’t sailed away. We’re still in the harbor in Honolulu.

This morning the captain announced we’ll be ready to sail by noon, 13 hours later than last night’s schedule 11 pm departure. We’d never experienced a late departure of a cruise ship. Hopefully, it’s not a sign of things to come.

Tugboat.

Boarding the ship was painless. We arrived at noon and within 30 minutes, our bags were whisked away (we kept our carry on with us on the cart). By 4:00 pm when the bags hadn’t yet arrived, we grabbed our laptops and headed to the bar. 

Before it was time to dress for dinner, the bags were awaiting us outside of our cabin door. I’d been wearing the same clothes for two full days and was anxious to unpack and freshen up to get ready for the evening. 

Lobby bar.

Two things are different on this cruise than on the 10 cruises over the past 27 months. For one, this time Tom purchased the drink package for the first time at $57 per day, $1026 for the entire 18 night cruise. 

At the ship’s prices of $10 to $12 a drink (in a small glass), economically it made more sense. Tom is generally a lightweight drinker but why shouldn’t he splurge a little and have all he wants? Besides, that’s part of the fun of the venue; cruising, schmoozing, and whooping!

Honolulu.

Luckily, this cruise ship doesn’t require both of us to purchase a package or he wouldn’t have done it. That rule prohibits the “sharing” of one package. All I drink is water, iced tea, plain coffee, and hot tea, definitely not worth a “package” when all of these are included in the fare.

What precipitated Tom’s decision to purchase the drink package was the second item that’s different on this cruise. We were able to purchase an unlimited wifi package for the entire cruise, suitable for two devices concurrently, for a grand total of $299! 

A barge and tugboat from our balcony.

A package such as this had never been available on any past cruises when we often paid well over $1000 for metered wifi, jumping off and on to avoid ringing up a bigger bill. We’d sign up for two $400 packages, using every last minute. Writing and posting alone would eat up most of that.

You may ask, why would we be online when we’re on a cruise? When we’re not eating, participating in activities, going on tours, hanging out with others, attending parties, seminars, and movies, or reading books, our lives continue as always. 

A view looking up.

A cruise for us is not a vacation/holiday. It’s a continuation of our worldwide travels and daily lives that happens to be on a ship which we use for transportation when possible. The tasks we continue to document and the searching for future locations continue regardless of where we are, on a ship or on land. Tom enjoys Facebook, email, and Ancestry.com. I enjoy researching our travels and my other interests.

Plus, we particularly enjoy staying in touch with friends and family wherever we may be. Yesterday while we were relaxing in the main lobby bar, I received a Skype call from my dear friend Chere. I admit the signal was bad and will be worse out to sea but we had an opportunity for a few minute conversations to be resumed once we’re on land.

Luckily, we can’t be pressured into buying art aboard a ship. We don’t own a wall!

As for the ship, Royal Caribbean’s Legend of the Seas is old and a bit worn in spots. A toilet overflowed before we boarded and there was an awful stench in the hallway outside our door. We addressed it with the maintenance department. They explained that they’ve made the repairs but, the smell remains until the carpets are all cleaned this morning. We shall see how that goes.

Otherwise, it’s not unlike the other ships on which we’ve sailed in the past. The cabin is small as always but has a full-sized sofa and coffee table which makes us happy that we don’t have to sit on the bed when we stop in to relax, unwind or watch the news. 

A short time later, the band began to play.

More on the ship later as we continue on and become more familiar. We’re content, excited to spend these 18 days and night aboard ship, see the sites and ports of call along the way, and to interact with the many people we’ll meet during the days and at dinner. 

The view from the main lobby area.

So far we haven’t met any Americans. This cruise ends in Sydney. In speaking with many Australians, they arrived in Honolulu early for the beginning of their vacation, then taking the cruise back home.

Tom, shortly after signing up for unlimited drinks. Check out his eyes!

Tomorrow, we’ll be back with a reminder of the upcoming itinerary, more ship photos, and perhaps people photos.

We hope our US friends and readers have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day especially in remembering the powerful message on this important holiday.

                                           Photo from one year ago today, May 25, 2014:

Gina, the property manager, brought us this gorgeous rose. For more details on our post from one year ago, please click here.

Synonyms for “Hopefully”

An extraordinary evening…The Descendants, the movie, while living in Kauai…Five days and counting…

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A man looking over his shoulder at the beach behind him, two people standing in the distance by the water.
The theatrical release poster for the movie appears to have been taken at Hanalei Beach.

Photos included today are not ours.
We’ve made an effort in every country in which we’ve lived to watch a movie that was either made in that country or depicts the country in rich detail.

Last night, we watched the Descendants, the 2011 Golden Globe winner for Best Picture and Best Actor, Drama for George Clooney, and also an Academy Award winner for Best Adapted Screenplay.

The pool at the St. Regis Hotel is shown in the movie.

The critically acclaimed movie had been on our minds for months, especially after hearing many comments by locals as to it being filmed here in Hanalei and in part in Princeville when the production was on location in 2010. Also, portions of the film were filmed in Honolulu and the Big Island.

Production still of the King family as they look down to the land they own - via Google.
When we saw this scene, I thought it might have been Princeville Ranch. Tom felt it wasn’t. Once again, he was correct when we checked at this website that contains various scenes in the movie to we discovered it was at Kipu Ranch, a 3000-acre cattle ranch in southern Kauai, a location used for many movies.

I won’t share the storyline here to avoid creating a spoiler alert. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth watching even if you’ve never been to Hawaii. The scenery was breathtaking, especially at the beach and pier in Hanalei, my favorite spot on the island of Kauai.

We would have watched this movie sooner had I not assumed we’d already seen it. But, as we began winding down our time in Kauai, I finally looked it up to discover that we hadn’t seen it and it was time to do so with only five days remaining in Kauai.

The map of the location of the ranch scenes in the movie.

The book was written by author Kaui Hart Hemming, a long time resident of Hawaii.  She had a cameo appearance in the movie as Matt King’s (George Clooney’s role) assistant. It’s not a true story, although it’s a storyline one could easily imagine that would be appropriate in Hawaii.

The movie was interesting and held our attention. Clooney played his usual believable character with passion, skill, and vulnerability as was also the case with the remaining cast. If you currently have or have previously teenage kids living with you, you’ll easily appreciate the humor and challenges of this period in young people’s lives not only for themselves but, also for the parents.

“When The Descendants’ co-producer George Parra says “Every location [used in the movie] is the real place,” he wasn’t kidding. For example, pick the bar that Matt King’s Cousin Hugh (Beau Bridges) hangs out in. It’s a real-life Hanalei bar called Tahiti Nui, a favorite local hang-out.”

We particularly enjoyed the movie when we spotted familiar scenes, for example, at the St. Regis Hotel, which we’ve often visited when wandering down the road for photos on our many walks in the area.

Also, there were several scenes in downtown Hanalei, the sleepy little tourist town we’ve often visited when dining out resulting in considerable photos ops.

When we were living in Tuscany, Italy we decided to start watching movies depicting the areas in which we’re living at the time, such as in; Tuscany in the summer of 2013 when we watched “Under the Tuscan Sun” and then, in Kenya, in the fall of 2013, when we watched “Out of Africa” and, a year ago, when we watched, “Casablanca” while living in Morocco.

The expansive lawn of a cottage located on Hanalei Bay used in the making of the movie.

We haven’t always been meticulous in watching movies with scenery and /or storylines of countries we visit. In the future, we plan to be more diligent in doing so, sharing photos and comments here. 

Do you have a suggestion for a movie filmed in Australia, particularly near Cairns or Trinity Beach, located in the Queensland area?

Have a happy Monday filled with hope for the future as well as the ability to live in the moment.

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

This photo was taken by Gina, our new friend, and property manager in Madeira, Portugal where we were living one year ago. The views of the ocean were exquisite. For more details, please click here.

Counting down the items in the cupboards…Whittling down food, supplies and toiletries on hand…Six days and counting…

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This pretty gazebo is located on a private ranch.

Each time we leave a location, we make an attempt to use what we have on hand down to the last item. Leaving considerable numbers of items behind defeats our efforts to be financially sensible only adding to our total expenses.

Speaking of final costs, this upcoming Saturday prior to leaving for the airport, we’ll be posting our total costs for the over four months we’ve spent in Kauai. I can already see we’re over budget, on the cost of groceries, all of which figures we’ll share in the post including average monthly and daily totals.

A few weeks ago we carefully reviewed the contents of the cupboards and the refrigerator and freezer shopping only for odds and ends to fill in meals and snacks. This is always a fun challenge for us for which we often find ourselves proudly clucking like hens over our accurate assessments.

We had no idea how magnificent the Running J Farms Estate actually is until we checked it out online at this site. Wow!

Early on in our arrival to Kauai, we made a huge Costco run.  Now, all we’re left with from that lofty run is a few boxes of bags and 11 cans of wild-caught tuna. With two packs of pork chops, one steak, one packet of mixed wild-caught fish for me in the freezer, and individual single-serving bags with various low carb grain-free muffins I’ve baked in the past week, we have little left to consume.

For Tom’s breakfasts I’d baked an ample supply of his favorite item; bacon, egg, and cheese muffins which we keep in the freezer, removing a three-day batch to thaw in the refrigerator every few days which he pops in the microwave each morning for a delicious fast meal. There is exactly the correct amount of these left in the freezer to get us through the upcoming week.

As a result of baking various low carb items, we leave behind baking soda, baking powder, unsweetened chocolate (never used it here), spices, and various extracts. As for my trusty pink Himalayan salt grinder (Costco), that’s going in the luggage. There’s no way we’re leaving that behind. Who knows if we’ll be able to find it in Australia?

This scarecrow at the Running J Farms, a private vacation rental estate, is dressed in rain gear holding a sign that says, “No bad days!”

We don’t use a lot of body products and toiletries in an attempt to save on weight in the bags and the necessity of finding a means of replacing them. Years ago, I used lotions, creams, lotions, essential oils, and a wide variety of cosmetic apparatus. In this life, we both wash with quality bar soaps and use organic deodorant. I gave up using lotions a few years ago, using coconut oil as needed for dry skin. 

Besides packing a small bottle of coconut oil, we include one bottle of shampoo and conditioner, one hair gel, toothbrushes, a tube of whitening toothpaste (plus baking soda and hydrogen peroxide), contact lens solution, razors, and my small black bag of cosmetics. Tom doesn’t use any face or body products. He now shaves with his newer electric razor. Neither of us uses any scented products, perfumes, or shaving creams. 

Over these past months, we’ve been mindful of using up any big bottles of toiletries in order to take smaller (not trial sizes) sized items on the upcoming cruise which serves us well with minimal storage space in ship bathrooms.

An exquisite home was located beyond these iron gates in Kilauea. Check out their view!

Of course, tonight’s dinner will consist of cheesy tuna melts on a bed of shredded romaine lettuce. The tuna salad is made with onions, celery, hard-boiled eggs, spices, and homemade mayonnaise. 

With dinner, we’ll also have fresh steamed green beans and homemade low carb coconut blueberry muffins all topped with organic butter. I made this new muffin recipe yesterday in an attempt to use some of the remaining ingredients we had on hand.

(I don’t eat fruit due to the high sugar content. However, each muffin has about five blueberries which are one gram of carbs. Of all the fruits, berries are the lowest in sugar. One cup of fresh blueberries has 21 grams of carbs, 15 grams of sugar which is equivalent to 3 1/2 tsp. of table sugar, more carbs than I’m allowed to eat in one day. It’s hard to eat only a few at a time so I avoid them entirely. For the toxicity of sugar including sugar in fruit, please click here).

Another extraordinary home was located beyond this decorative gate.

Yesterday afternoon, after the Preakness horse race, we headed to Kilauea in search of photo ops. It had been raining off and on all day but, feeling better, I really wanted to get out after being ill for 11 days. Today, I’ve turned the corner and am gratefully on the mend. Thanks to all of our reader friends who sent thoughtful emails, prayers, and comments. 

No more than a minute after we walked out the door, there was a downpour. In Kauai, it can rain one minute and be sunny the next. That’s exactly what transpired during our outing.

In every direction, it takes only moments to find an ocean view.

After the trip to Kilauea, we stopped at Foodland for a few items for the cruise including antibacterial wipes for cleaning the TV remote, the door handles, and all surfaces in our cabin which we’ll do immediately upon entering. We were surprised to find small packets of wipes that will easily fit into Tom’s pockets. We’ll use these everywhere we go on the ship although, typically we don’t touch handrails and door handles.

Today, I’ll start organizing our third suitcase which contains all of our supplies. With one large box of Ziplock freezer bags left from the Costco trip, I’ll replace all of the worn bags that contain a wide array of items.  Keeping items categorized in these bags prevent leakage and provides a level of organization that simplifies our lives.

Mature palm trees always present an appealing landscape on private property.

We love simplification. Sure, from time to time, I miss a few kitchen gadgets, a few “girlie” type accouterments, and my former wide array of clothing. Each day while dressing, it’s as simple as choosing which tee shirt goes with which pair of shorts. No longer do I change multiple times for social occasions in an attempt to decide on the “perfect outfit.” 

No longer do I put on an outfit and ask Tom, “How do I look in this outfit?’ His answer would be irrelevant. If it makes me look bad, there aren’t other options. Besides, men always lie anyway when asked this question.

Happy Sunday!

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

One year ago today, we were moved in and settled into our new home in Madeira, Portugal, an island off the northwest coast of Africa. We couldn’t have been more thrilled with the house, Gina, the local manager, and its modern décor and conveniences. For more photos of the house, please click here.