Four days, no sun…Cabin fever setting in?…Dogs, flowers and beaches…A little bit of “this and that”…

Simple, but delightful.

We’re anxious to get out to explore, but with rain over the past four days, most likely we won’t be doing so today. Neither of us sees any reason why we should get soaked on a walk in the rain (not our thing).

On a walk across the street which is lined with a wide variety of blooming flowers, we spotted this unusual plant.  Any comments from locals or flower enthusiasts?

Nor do we see any purpose in driving through the countryside with limited visibility, making photo taking annoying to say the least. There’s strong storm conditions in the Australian continent and we suspect we’re getting some of that inclement weather as well.

Instead, like many of you, on bad weather days, we choose to stay close to “home.” In our old lives, when we had to work, we never hesitated to go out when it was below zero or on rainy or snowy days. 

Note the purple/mauve borders and veins on the leaves. 

Now, in this life, we don’t have to go out in bad weather unless we have a definitive reason, such as a travel day; to catch a flight or when boarding a cruise. We love how flexible we are in this life!

Two dogs swimming in the ocean on Christmas Day, the last sunny day in Penguin.

Do we get cabin fever on days like this? Tom, who can easily occupy himself online for days at a time, has no problem to prevent cabin fever. For me, spending little time online after posting the day’s blog, conducting research or logging future travel plans and financial matters, I have little interest in using my laptop. 

Aside from vast expanses of white sand beaches in Tasmania there are rocky areas.

Somehow I find myself with plenty of tasks that easily consume part of each day, whether it’s preparing a meal, doing laundry or organizing and rearranging our “stuff” to make the next packing session all the more seamless.

Little bells.

Today, I’ll be rearranging our pill bag. I take three prescriptions, while Tom takes none. Recently, we received a shipment of a one year’s supply of my three meds each of which is wrapped in blister packs.  

Having used all the loose pills I had on hand, I decided today would be a good day to open all the blister packs putting the individual pills in the appropriately labeled plastic pill bottles from past purchases in Australia. 

Walkway along Penguin Beach on Christmas Day.

Yep, I must admit, as an old timer myself, I use a monthly pill container case since I take the three meds together once each morning. It contains space for 28 days. Thus, like many of who are taking multiple medications, it makes sense to use a pill case to ensure errors aren’t made. 

Looks like this possible Great Dane was looking for her/his owner to return from the shop. We took this photo on a very cool day.

Pressing the pills through the blister packs for an entire year’s meds could take a few hours. For three different meds for 12 months, that is 1095 “presses” in the blister pack. 

Dogs allowed.

I realize that keeping the pills in the blister pack may extend their freshness, but in an effort to eliminate excess weight, getting rid of the superfluous paper and plastic makes more sense due to our circumstances.

Also, today, I have to use a needle and thread to sew a few items. I don’t mind doing this, but have trouble threading the needle unless I use that silly little tin thing that is often included in a package of various sized needles. Its this thing:

Ever use this thingee when trying to thread a needle? I’m lost without it. Must be old age.

Yesterday, I made enough low carb, grain free, starch free pizza for several meals, leaving only a salad to chop for today’s meal. We left out enough pizza for two days, freezing three packages we can later reheat as  additional meals. 

Specifically, Penguin Beach.

Sure, I have a touch of cabin fever, but with plenty to do plus a few favorite downloaded/streaming TV shows we’ve been binge watching in the evenings I’ll be fine. We’ve been watching these shows: “This is Us,” “Victoria” and “The Crown.” We seldom watch TV during the day, although we may have local news or talk shows on in the background.

More of Penguin Beach.

We hope you have a great day today filled with a little “this and that” to keep you occupied and entertained.

Photo from one year ago today, December 29, 2015:

We’d been warned against purchasing locally caught fish in Fiji when it’s often caught close to the shore where bacteria is heavy in the waters from sewage disposal.  As a result, we never purchased any fish for four months. For more photos, please click here.

Today is our 4 year anniversary of traveling the world…We’re boarding the cruise shortly!…

Our ship is shown behind us off the top of the hotel.

The red eye wasn’t as bad as I’d anticipated, although neither of us slept for more than 20 minutes during the flight, other than nodding off from time to time for five minutes or so. It wasn’t possible to get comfortable.

Finally, we arrived in Sydney and within 45 minutes we breezed through immigration, customs and baggage and were on our way by taxi to the Old Sydney Holiday Inn the Rocks hotel, a 20 minute ride.

Seeing that the ship has arrived at the port is always exciting to us. This will be our 15th and 16th cruises since we booked the first and second leg as a back-to-back considered to be two separate cruises.

We were tired, but neither of us slept for more than 30 minutes once tucked under the covers in our darkened hotel room. At 4:00 pm, we decided to forget about trying to sleep and go down to the bar for a cocktail. The hotel has a two for one drink special during happy hour for priority club members.

As I decided to drink some white wine from time to time, I did not waste any time ordering a delicious glass of Pinot Gris. The first sip made my tongue tingle with pure pleasure. So did the second and third. By the end of the evening, I had two glasses of wine and was totally drunk since I hadn’t had a glass of wine in six months since our last cruise. Guess one needs to build up a tolerance to the stuff.

From our vantage point I couldn’t get the entire ship in the photos.  Notice the blue sky, perfect day in Sydney.

Oh well, it was time to celebrate! While sipping our drinks at the bar we met a wonderful couple from Canberra, not cruise passengers but visiting Sydney for a short holiday. Our conversation was lively and we all decided to have dinner together in the hotel’s restaurant.

By the time 9:00 pm came around, we were both fading and knew bedtime was neigh. I could hardly get undressed and under the comfy covers quickly enough, never reading a word on my phone or watching a smidgen of the repetitive news. 

The Sydney Harbour Bridge.

I awoke once during the night and found myself with a bit of a hangover. One 500 mg aspirin later and I was back to sleep in minutes, not awakening until 8 am. Tom had an equally good night’s sleep, which we hadn’t had in quite a while.

This morning was busy with the late wake up. We needed to take photos from the hotel’s rooftop to post today and with a bit of luck we met another fine Australian couple, who are passenger on the ship with whom we chatted for quite some time. They offered to take these photos of us which we were thrilled to have on this special day.

The second half of the ship, Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas.

After the enjoyable visit, it was time to head to the pharmacy, the same chemist we’d visited a few times in past visits to Sydney in order to load up on Vitamin C, probiotics and an array of toiletries we’d waited to purchase after the flight to keep the weight under control. Cruise lines don’t charge for baggage, regardless of the weight.

The pharmacist remembered us and we had a fine time chatting with him as we made our purchases. We’ll need to find a market when we go ashore during the cruise to find coconut oil and baking soda both of which we use for dental and health care.

Once back at the hotel, we packed the bags with the few items we’d used overnight. Tom ran them across the street during two trips down a steep flight of steps to check them in at the port. All we’ll carry in hand is the yellow Costco bag and the computer backpack.  

Us, with the Harbour Bridge in the background.

By 2:00 or 3:00 pm, we’ll be able to get into our cabin and unload those two bags so we can relax, maybe get a bite to eat and begin more of the festivities. Good grief, the cruise hasn’t even started and we’ve already having a great time. 

I’d like to get into more details of our anniversary but time doesn’t allow it right now. We’ve decided to celebrate tomorrow since it will be hectic on the cruise tonight. I plan to ask the dining room captain to order a cake for our celebration in the main dining room tomorrow evening.  I won’t eat cake, but Tom will certainly enjoy my share. I’ll take a photo and give it a sniff.

Tom’s finished showering. As I write this its 11:53 am. We due to check in at noon when each deck is given a designated boarding time. Here we come, 33 nights at sea, a first for us!

We’ll be back tomorrow with more photos of our ship, cabin, meals and a new equivalent of “Sightings on the Beach in Bali” which we’ll figure out in the next 24 hours when we write again.

Have a beautiful day! 

Photo from one year ago today, October 31, 2015:

Us in Hawaii, one year ago. The next day we posted a new photo of us together from Namale Resort. Here’s a link to our two year anniversary. Here’s the link to the one year ago post, our third anniversary.

Final new photos from Trinity Beach…Tomorrow, our favorite photos in Australia…Next day…final expenses and we’re off…

This morning I shot these gorgeous yellow flowers.

As we wind down the remaining two days in Queensland, Australia, we’re planning the posts over the next several days. With many of our readers one day behind us, please keep that in mind when reviewing our upcoming posts, when we say it’s Monday, it will be Sunday in your part of the world.

We plan to post each of the next following days with photos. On Monday, with an afternoon departure to Sydney, we’ll have time to post our final favorite photos and total expenses for the three months we spent in Trinity Beach.

Trinity Beach, another sunny day at the sea.

On Tuesday, with a 6:30 am departure from Sydney to Fiji with a connecting flight between islands, it’s likely we may not be able to post based on information we read for wifi at the Nadi, Fiji airport. If it’s available, we will post photos.

In the worst case, we’ll be missing one post on Tuesday (perhaps on your Monday). Otherwise, we’ll be back on Wednesday with an update on our arrival and photos of our new home. 

The stairway leads to an overlook.

We can hardly wait to have these two travel days behind us. Neither of us enjoys flying, mostly due to the waiting and the baggage commotion. Then again, boarding a ship isn’t the most pleasant experience either, spending considerable time waiting on either end.

Cove at the beach where a little blue tent protects a beach-goer from the intense sun.

Travel days are stressful for Tom, even if everything goes well. At times, there’s an issue with our baggage or another matter that sends him into a tailspin although, there have been a few flights that have been seamless and he stayed calm. My rationale is simple, get us there safely and I’m content. The rest? Hopefully, it will be over in no time at all.

The sun rising over Yorkeys Knob, photo taken from our veranda, another excellent view we’ll remember in years to come.

These last few days always feel a bit unsettled. Mostly packed, we don’t have much we have to do. We’ve totally lost interest in sightseeing at this point and have begun to fill our heads with thoughts of our new location and getting the travel days behind us.

Yesterday, I prepared everything for our final meals for tonight and tomorrow night. I’d purchased and made exactly the correct amounts for Tom’s breakfasts and midday snacks. 

The kangaroos and wallabies that we’d previously seen at this nearby spot have moved on to greener pastures. We only spotted these two at a distance when we visited the area for the last time.  We visited this spot many times in the past three months.

I plan to have a late lunch before we depart on Monday since the airline food is never right for me even if I list my requirements on the airline’s website. As a result, I no longer bother to enter the information, giving Tom whatever they serve me.

Various types of fern trees are common in Australia.

In the past when I’ve requested a special meal, they always served me fruit and processed meats, of which, I eat neither. I don’t expect nor am I disappointed that the airlines aren’t able to accommodate my way of eating. It’s too peculiar for their constraints and I fully accept this.

Flowers blooming over the pool area.

At Woolie’s, I purchased a bag of raw almonds for snaking during dinner on the flight, if I’m hungry after the late lunch. With this way of eating I’m seldom hungry and at times, force myself to have a meal, especially if I’d eaten anything within the past eight hours. What’s the point of eating when one isn’t hungry? Our bodies have a magical way of letting us know when we need food or drink. 

Impatiens continue to flourish in the yard.

Today, a sunny day will be perfect for a short stint in the sun. Now that the packages are sent and packing is under control, there’s little else to do but lounge and enjoy the fresh outdoors as much as possible.

Our final photo overlooking the rainforest to Double Island.

We’ll be back tomorrow with our favorite photos we’ve taken in Australia. Thanks to all of our worldwide readers for staying with us during these quiet, less exciting times especially as we wind down the last few mundane days in a location. Soon, the excitement will be ramped up as life in a new country begins!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Photo from one year ago today, September 5, 2014:

One year ago today, we visited the Blarney Castle in Cork, Ireland. Tom had visited Ireland twice in his life before we met but, he was excited to show me this historic site. For more details, please click here