Aging while living a life on the move…Check out these final Green Island photos…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 2 Comments
There were many seagulls in the area surrounding Green Island especially when the fish were fed by the staff.

Providing we take care to avoid injuries and happen to be fortunate enough to avoid natural disasters and risks in public or at our home at the time, our biggest enemy is aging. Of course, we’re all aging from the moment we’re born and in reality, aging appears to progress at a regular and consistent pace once we become adults. 

The green cast from the coral below created the water’s pretty color.

Recalling our own differences between ages 30 and 40, 50 and 60 and now that we’re both in the ’60s to ’70s decade, it all seems to have progressed similarly, unfortunately, all downhill.

All the exercise, healthy diets, and lifestyle changes can’t stop the progression, although it may slow it to a degree. Although, if one is lucky, the progression may not be as evident on them as on others for the sake of appearances. However, what’s going inside the body is another matter.

Although there were a number of boats conducting tourist activities around the island, it wasn’t as crowded as we’d expected.

For most of us, as we age, our appearance becomes less and less important. Being alive and well becomes of the ultimate significance. We do our best to show the world a pleasant appearance, through whatever means suits us whether its’ a mustache, haircut, or close shave for men or makeup (or not) and certain hairstyles for women.

To a degree, most of us make some sort of effort whether it’s wearing a clean tee-shirt and pair of jeans or an entire put-together outfit that makes one appear to have stepped out of a magazine advertisement. 

The seagulls went wild when the fish were fed by the staff in order to give the visitors a show.  They explained they monitored the amounts they fed the fish to avoid them becoming complacent in their search for food. However, with these multiple daily feedings, complacency may have been unavoidable.

It’s all a matter of personal choice and who has a right to comment or complain about the decisions of others in this area? As we live in a world desperately attempting to love and accept each person, regardless of their appearance, we find we still have a long way to go.

Will the future bring “designer babies” with perfect features or will we all meld into a level of total acceptance finding beauty in all of our differences? When we lived amid wildlife in Africa, we observed even the most peculiar of animals with admiration regardless of their snarly looking faces, unwieldy tusks, and unkempt sprouts of coarse and wild hair. 

Few tourists spent time at the beaches at Green Island from what we observed during our half-day visit.

I speak of the ungainly warthog, which some may consider as one of the ugliest creatures in the wild.  And yet, when we saw those unruly faces, we felt admiration and warmth in our hearts, not over their looks but over their playful demeanor. Would that we could feel such admiration and attraction for one another regardless of our appearance.

As it relates to aging, the inevitability of it all becomes more evident to me as I approach 70 years old.  It was only yesterday I was in my 30’s and yet, here I am, happier than I’ve ever been wondering how long this amazing life will be able to continue with aging knocking at my door, the same aging knocking at your door.

A few of the beaches had lifeguards on duty and yet few visitors hung out at the beach.

This all came to my mind on Thursday as I completed three loads of laundry, spent hours in the kitchen making various foods for our way of eating, cleaning and dusting the house, never asking Tom for help while he sat outside on the veranda. 

He was happily content researching his family tree, never aware as to what was going on inside, other than when I asked him to put the freshly washed tight bottom sheet back on the mattress and walk the garbage down the steep hill to the bins. He’d have easily helped me with anything else on the agenda, had I asked.

Tom walking on the pier checking the sea for signs of life, carrying our huge unnecessary bag loaded with towels, ice tea, extra camera batteries, etc. We could easily have gotten by without the bag and its contents, putting everything we needed in our pockets. Since I no longer own a handbag, Tom usually carries my few items in his roomy pockets.

But, like him, I was happily content busying myself inside doing household tasks I’ve always seemed to find rewarding for some odd reason. 

As I did the work, periodically I checked my Fitbit device hooked to my shorts, wondering how many steps I was taking in my frenzy of activity. It was less than I’d anticipated in this relatively small house at a total of 5800 steps for the day, a far cry from my goal of 10,000 steps hardly reached most days in this life unless we’re out for a long walk.

There were hundreds of these birds in the visitor’s shopping area where there are scraps of food offered by tourists, not a good idea when “people food” can be harmful to birds.

For the first time, as I whizzed through my day, I began to wonder if I will be able to keep up this pace in 10 years. Will I still have the energy and ability to move relatively freely from one task after another? Will the bit of exercise I get and walks we take be enough to see me through these upcoming years to allow me to continue to perform these tasks.

Seagull amid flight in the breeze.

One could say since I’m five years older than Tom, that eventually he can do it all. As much as I’d like to think he could and would, it’s not likely he’ll be motivated to make the low carb, grain, starch, and sugar-free muffins or the delicious mushroom casserole we’ve been enjoying as a side dish recently.

Yesterday, with the house clean and laundry done (except for the daily one load of bath and kitchen towels), I found myself on a new reign of activity while I prepared two free-range chickens with vegetables (great leftovers for tonight) to begin to roast at 4:00 pm, baked a batch of our favorite macaroons, made a salad, cleaned fresh green beans and folded the one load of wash.

As we waited for the Rocket Reef (boat) to arrive at the pier to return us to Cairns, the seagulls gathered around us.

(We can’t purchase “take away” meals when none of the options are suitable for my way of eating. Dining out is challenging at best. Instead, we cook all of our meals, many simple meals prepared in short periods and others requiring more time and effort).

All of this type of activity is commenced after typically spending my entire morning preparing the daily post, often not finishing until close to noon. Don’t get me wrong…I love doing posts. 

This scene reminded us of the many ports we’ve visited over these past years.

To date, our daily post never feels as if it’s a chore. Then again, neither do the household tasks as long as good health continues and I’m able to continue to perform these daily tasks. Is it inevitable that one slows down in their 80s or even 90s?

We left friends behind 10 years older than I, still able to keep a pace comparable to mine. They remain an inspiration. Aging is not an illness or condition. It is a fact of life that faces every single one of us. How we choose to live through that process whether we have limitations or not, is truly our choice.

We couldn’t imagine what an eskie is when we read this sign.  Once home, we looked online to discover it’s a cooler or “chill box.”

Putting negative thoughts behind me after allowing them to fester for two days, today I awoke with a fresh perspective. No more worrying about my ability to be as active in 10 years as I am today. Instead, I choose to embrace the moment and the imminent future. 

Good grief, we’re on our way to Fiji in nine days! 

                                            Photo from one year ago today, August 29, 2014:

It was one year ago today that we posted this taxidermy kangaroo photo from our visit to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, UK. Now, we can drive down the road to see live kangaroos. How ironic. For more museum photos as we wound down the time in the UK, please click here.

More Cairns Botanic Garden photos…Quiet day on the home front…Lots of steps?

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 2 Comments
A beautiful bouquet already made by nature.

After yesterday’s workout and finally completing the post around 1:15 pm my day had gone haywire. Most days I’m done by noon and we can go about our day of either shopping, sightseeing, or hanging out at home.

Lipstick bamboo.

With the late start, I found myself running around like a Tasmanian Devil (hope to see more of these someday soon) in ten different directions at once. With laundry to do, dinner to make, Tom’s blood test results (they were perfect) to scan, and tidbits of organizing here and there, my day was full.

These must be a treat for the many birds in the Cairns Botanic Gardens.

Tom had a hankering for our bread-less sandwich. But none of that for me here in Australia. All the meats are processed as opposed to sliced real meat we’ve been able to buy in some countries. Also, all the meats were filled with gluten and sugar. 

Orange puffs.

Tom doesn’t care if he eats small amounts of sugar or gluten nor does he react to the perils of gluten and sugar in lunch meats so I opted for a salad with bacon, avo (Aussie slang), cheese, celery, lots of cos (romaine) lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and chicken chunks, my favorite salad.

We saw these Sausage Trees in Kruger National Park in South Africa.  These pods are huge.

Based on the fact that I was making two totally different dinners, I spent a considerable time chopping, dicing, and slicing for both of our meals. Plus, I got this crazy desire to make a new recipe for Low Carb Blueberry Coconut Muffins with less than two carb grams each.

Some creek beds were dry.

Although I don’t eat fruit due to the high sugar content, berries are relatively low in carbs in small portions and I can easily handle the five berries in a single muffin. It was the first time I’d made the recipe and they were moist and delicious. 

Moments later we saw this waterfall.

If you’d like the recipe please email me. It is written and prepared to go. If you want to replace the sweetener with real sugar, feel free to do so, but the carbs will increase exponentially making it an entirely different muffin, although it will still be moist and delicious.

According to a friend/reader, this is a Prickly Pear. 

By the time I was done in the kitchen, the laundry was done and put away, the muffins were cooling undercover (lots of flies here) and we were able to sit down and play cards until dinner.

Gecko on a rock at the Cairns Botanic Gardens.

Each day I wear a FitBit which keeps track of my steps and other pertinent health information. I’m only interested in the number of steps I do each day. When we’re staying home, I can’t seem to top 5000 steps in a day. 

Tom was busy inspecting this huge tree.

This place isn’t big enough with no steps to run up and down and, it’s impossible to go for a walk when the driveway is too steep to get down on foot. With no parking allowed on the road and the fact that we can’t block the driveway for the owner’s comings and goings, walking in the neighborhood isn’t practical.

Pink beauty.

Instead, we amp up the walking and subsequent steps when we’re out and about. No matter what they say, managing 10,000 steps at home in a day is outrageous unless one goes for long walks. 

Even the smallest flowers are lovely.

We only manage to do this three or so times a week when we visit a good location suitable for walking. Add in my HIIT workout and Tom patiently waits for me in the car while reading a book, that’s about as good as it gets for us.

The Flecker Garden was laid out in a manner that aided in seeing everything possible with ease.

In a way, I think walking is overrated as a means of fitness. Getting up and moving around seems to be more important for us than sitting all day. Doing the resistance and burst training seems to work well for me, adding greatly to my strength and stamina. 

We see tons of people walking who don’t appear to be very fit, especially on cruises. That’s not to say that we’re highly fit. We’d probably both flunk fitness tests.  With our bad shoulders, neither of us can do a single pull-up or push-up.

Easy to navigate walkways and occasional steps led to a different level in the gardens.

By the time we had dinner, I was ready to wind down. We like to watch a fun show during dinner each night. I know. “They,” whoever they are, say one shouldn’t eat and watch a show. Who cares what “they,” say? We’re discovering “they” were wrong on many points regarding our health and well being. 

We enjoy dining and watching a show. It’s almost comparable to having popcorn at the movie theatre which we don’t do anymore (not because of the movie, but, due to the fact that we don’t eat popcorn) watching an entertaining show makes the meal seem as if it’s a social event. We do talk and make comments to one another. It’s kind of like a fun date.

This was one of my favorites.

Over the past several months, we watched all seven seasons of Sons of Anarchy, disappointed when it ended.  Now, we’re doing Breaking Bad, well into season three, another show filled with gore that may not be appropriate for dining. Tom always cringes when they show a character puking while we’re eating. He’s gagged a few times. It makes me laugh. He keeps watching.

We watch one episode a night and without commercials, it only lasts for about 45 minutes, perfect timing for dinner. Once we’re done, he does the dishes and then the remainder of our relaxing evening continues. 

In reality, our lives are simple and uncomplicated except for managing bookings, financial details, and travel days. The remainder of our days are spent just like yours except for the excessive amount of sightseeing we may do at times.  We didn’t do much of that in our old lives. Do you?

                                               Photo from one year ago today, July 26, 2014:

The quaint village of Campanarios was preparing for the annual “Festa do Santíssimo Sagramento,” a religious celebration during which most of the village participated.  For details and more photos, please click here.

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

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 2 Comments
At one point I poked the lens of the camera through a hole in a chain-link gate at The Australian Armour & the Artillery Museum to take this photo of the grounds surrounding the building.

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

Australian M113A1 Fire Support Vehicle (Saladin Turret)

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

The interior of the above Australian Fire Support Vehicle.

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

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

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

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

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

Interior of a tank with a rotating turret.

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

Another tank painted in camouflage.

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

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

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

A US Patton tank.

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

USA M1 Stuart Light Tank MK111.

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

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

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

German half-track.

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

Interior of an above German tank.

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

A variety of hand grenades.

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

More hand grenades.

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

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

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

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

Results from doctor appointments…Tom’s appointment is next…Cruise updates…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 4 Comments
Nothing is as beautiful as a sunny day at the beach.

Alive and well after three years without having a physical exam, I am relieved most of it is over. Aside from a few remaining tests that we expect to be fine, I am thrilled its almost over and all is well.

A huge contemporary house near the beach.

On Monday, Tom begins the process, with his first appointment at the clinic. When all is said and done, including all tests the cost will be under US $800, AUD $1031 for both of us, not bad considering all is paid out of pocket when we only have major medical/hospitalization insurance.

Actually, our fixed monthly budget included a monthly estimate for medical of US $50, AUD $68 which we’ve never used except for the trip to urgent care in Kauai. When all is said and done all of these appointments and expenses are covered by that estimate, almost to the penny.

A contemporary house at Holloways Beach.

With continued good health, we plan to wait for another check-up in three years from wherever we may be at the time. Most likely, it won’t be in the US when we’re there in the summer of 2017. 

Another large home at Holloways Beach.

Costs of medical care are approximately four times higher in the US (out of pocket) as compared to what we’ve paid in Australia. There are good medical facilities in most areas of the world where we’ll be living in the next three years so we have no concern at this point.

Yesterday, when we arrived for my 3:00 pm appointment at Apple Tree Medical in Smithfield, I was disappointed to discover my last physician Dr. Natasha was out sick. Instead, I met with Dr. Konny Komlovari whom I found to be equally competent, warm, and friendly. Their onsite lab makes blood tests easy to arrange and process.

A small park at Holloway’s Beach.

Next month, we’ll make our dental appointments leaving all of this medical stuff behind. Thanks to all of our readers who encouraged us to get all of these done and out of the way. It was good advice.

As for the three cruises we reserved over the weekend, last night at 10 pm we spoke to our new rep at Vacationstogo.com, Brooklyn Earnhardt, who is highly experienced and capable. We both felt comfortable and assured that she’ll do a great job for us for these three cruises and all future bookings.

Double Island makes us curious as to what it would be like to visit.  Here are details of visiting Double Island.

We’d gone ahead and reserved the three cruises with Royal Caribbean over the weekend. Now, we’re in the process of transferring them over to our new agent, Brooklyn which can be done within 60 days of booking with the cruise line. 

In transferring the cruises to VTG we are able to use our own agent and agency for receiving various cabin credits that the cruise line itself may not offer. Plus, they receive their usual commissions. This type of loyalty is important to us. Relationship building is vital to our success in booking various aspects of our travels.

Tom looking out the sea undercover at the beach.

In yesterday’s post, we mentioned sharing a little info on our itinerary for these three new cruises which we’re summarizing here. Soon, as we’ve mentioned we’ll include our new updated itinerary

1.  Sydney to Perth: October 31, 2016, 16 days

2.  Perth to Sydney:  November 16, 2016 (back to back above the same cruise, same cabin number) 17 days

The above 33-day back-to-back cruise circles the entire continent of Australia, with multiple ports of call enabling us to see considerable sites along the way.

3.  Sydney to Seattle:  September 22, 2017, 24 days, crossing back over the International Dateline, arriving in the US on May 15, 2017

During these above three cruises, we’ll visit such new cities as:

  • Brisbane, Australia
  • Darwin, Australia
  • Benoa, Bali
  • Geraldton, Australia
  • Perth, Australia
  • Esperance, Australia
  • Adelaide, Australia
  • Melbourne, Australia
  • Dunedin (Port Chalmers) New Zealand
  • Akaroa, New Zealand
  • Wellington, New Zealand
  • Picton, New Zealand
  • Il Des Pines, New Calendonia (we missed visiting this port on our recent cruise due to rough seas)
  • Noumea, New Calendonia
  • Mystery Island, Vanuatu
  • Cross the International Dateline (getting our lost day back)

The last of the three cruises breezes through Hawaii on the way to Seattle, Washington, USA, stopping at Kona (Big Island, Hawaii), Lahaina (Maui), and Honolulu (Oahu). By that time, it will have been almost two years since we lived in Hawaii. 

Park at the beach with a covered area.

Besides these three above new cruises we booked in the past few days, we previously booked three other cruises in Australia, details of which we’ve shared online in past posts. A few of the ports of call are repeated on these other cruises but here are some of the highlights of the new locations we’ll have yet to see:

  • Hobart, Tasmania
  • Tauranga, New Zealand
  • Bay of Islands, New Zealand
  • Auckland, New Zealand (where we stay for 90 days in a nearby village)
  • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Singapore, Republic of Singapore
  • Lifou, New Caledonia
  • Lautoka, Fiji

These 23 ports of call plus some repeats of others we’ll have previously visited  (not listed here today) are all new to us in our world travels. This gives us an additional opportunity to see as much as we wanted to see in the South Pacific in almost two years including this relatively short period of time of 97 days aboard ship on these six cruises.  

This house near the beach could be anywhere in the world, utilizing the benefits of solar power.

During these periods we’ll be housed, fed, and entertained aboard the various ships with the opportunity to socialize each and every day. By the time we head to Seattle, we’ll feel confident we’ve thoroughly scoured the South Pacific to our liking.

Over the next year, we’ll be deciding on how much time we’ll spend during our relatively short visit to the US in 2017 and begin booking vacation homes and cruises for our next foray to an upcoming new continent. 

As always, we’re excited as to our future choices while we’re thoroughly “loving the one we’re with!”

Happy Monday or Tuesday to all!

                                                Photo from one year ago today, July 14, 2014:

Colorful steps at an elementary school in Campanario, Madeira, Portugal, one year ago today. For details and more photos, please click here.

Another afternoon of exploration…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
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.

The end of an era in paradise…How to make Kauai work for a vacation or holiday…Two days and counting…Favorite Kauai photos…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
The view from our lanai.

For those living in more beautiful places than Kauai, do tell me where you are and we’ll hope to visit someday soon.  For those living in barren, desolate areas, we appreciate the beauty of those places too.

The beach at Hanalei Bay.

Our hearts skipped a beat over the barren desolation in three countries in Africa, finding an indescribable beauty that will linger in our hearts and minds forever, hoping to return to Africa sometime in the future.

An albatross parent looking happy.

It isn’t always about ocean and mountain views, lush greenery, and blooming tropical flowers. It can be sand blanketed desert or rocky tumbleweed covered plains and the unique beauty is evident. 

An Eyebrowed Thrush we spotted in the yard.

Wherever we may travel, we find ourselves in awe of Mother Nature’s bounty of terrain and vegetation appropriate to a climate and elevation. How magical is that fact in itself? 

Anini Beach on a cloudy day.

As for Kauai, its truly a paradise and if scenery provides the traveler with a much needed respite from the rigors of daily life, Kauai is the place to visit. Many assume that it’s hard to travel to Kauai when in fact there are direct flights from some major cities. 

The dry caves at Tunnels Beach.

In the worst case, a short layover in Honolulu will result in a short 30-minute flight heading this way every few hours. Car rentals are reasonable, especially if booked online at such sites as rentalcars.com. We were able to rent a car in Kauai for under US $700 a month, surprisingly reasonable. (For shorter rentals, the rates may be slightly higher on a per-week basis).

Birdie added a lot of fun to our stay in Kauai.

Accommodations are plentiful in Kauai whether one chooses to stay in Princeville, Hanalei, Kilauea, Kapaa, Poipu, Waimea, or any of the other resort areas. Prices vary from as little as $120 a night to $1000’s per night.  Overall, most average rates are around $265 a night for a well-equipped condo that may include an ocean view. 

African Tulips bloomed and not bloomed.

By staying for a week or more with a full kitchen one can keep the costs at a reasonable level by cooking some of the meals. Our average cost for groceries has been under $50 a day as opposed to approximately $200 or more (for two) who may choose to dine out twice a day. 

Beautiful, the name escapes

Many condos with full kitchens are equipped with basic spices and condiments. Being able to avoid purchasing paper products, cleaning supplies and condiments keeps the costs at bay. It may be worth asking if any of these items are included in the rent.

A newly hatched albatross chick, nestled under a parent.

With our long one to three months stays in mostly houses, we have no expectations of the owners providing us with paper products, laundry and bath soaps, shampoo and cleaning supplies. However, these items may all be included for the one to two-week stay in a vacation property.

A Princeville shore.

Dining out is sketchy at best in Kauai. It’s important to check the reviews on TripAdvisor for restaurants in Kauai to decide what will fit your budget and food preferences. For us, there were few good options, mainly due to my way of eating.

A waterfall on the treacherous path down to the Queen’s Bath.  We can’t believe we made that hike!

Will we ever return to Kauai? The answer would be “yes” if we didn’t have so much world yet to see. At this point, we’ve seen so little of the world and have many plans in mind for the future which doesn’t include returning to Hawaii.

During our visit to the southern shore of Kauai, this horse seemed happy to see us.

Would we ever live in Kauai, if and when health requires we settle down, which, let’s face it, most likely will occur at some point? If that occurs, most likely we’d prefer more convenient access to competent medical care.  Who knows?  Preferably, we’ll be able to stay fit and healthy and when our final days near we’ll be situated in a favorite location for a 90 day or longer stint.

The Spouting Horn in Poipu.

Kauai is not necessarily suitable for those with chronic health conditions who may need frequent access to treatment and facilities which, if needed can be found an hour’s drive from Princeville in Lihue or perhaps taking a flight to Oahu. 

Rainbow Eucalyptus tree. 

We’ve spoken to some locals that travel to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona for annual physicals and treatment and others who fly to Honolulu for care. That may be too cumbersome for long-term residents.

This Kauai sunset will remain a favorite.

If, as a traveler, walking is your preferred activity, Kauai offers the utmost in trails, designated sidewalks, beaches and tourist towns for some of the finest walking to be found anywhere. 

A clear pool of water at high tide.

If all one did when coming to Kauai was to walk, partaking in some of the many trails based on the level of fitness, and spent time gazing at the scenery, the sunrises, and sunsets, it would be an extraordinary and memorable experience. It isn’t necessary to spend much if any money on tours if one is on a budget and longs to visit Kauai.

This shot was taken on our hike down the steep path to Hideaways Beach.

We leave Kauai with happy hearts for an experience we’ll always cherish for its constant beauty and for the many friendships we’ve made and the memories we’ll always treasure.

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

We took this photo from a steep road on our way to Ribeira Brava in Madeira, Portugal. For more details from that date, please click here.

Trip to a doctor?…What about a dentist?..How does this work in foreign lands?…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
The path that we’ve walked these few rainy days where we’ve found many beautiful plants and flowers.

This morning, I was responding to an email to our dear friend and 26-year neighbor Sue in Minnesota. She has homes in both Florida and Minnesota and will soon return to Minnesota now that the horrific winter has finally ended.

As I reported that we’re feeling well and healthy, I was reminded by the fact that neither of us has been to a doctor in a long time, me in September 2012 and Tom in December 2012 (he had tests while we were in Scottsdale) when we both received a clean bill of health.

It wasn’t as if we never intend to see a doctor. We simply decided that we won’t do so unless we can’t manage an injury or illness on our own. With plenty of antibiotics in our possession, we feel relatively secure, never taking them unless absolutely necessary.

These pretty pink flowers, Double Hibiscus, have begun to bloom right outside our door.

We’ve only used the antibiotics on a few occasions since we left when I couldn’t kick a three-week old sinus infection and again in Morocco a year ago when I had tried to recover for two weeks from a horrible intestinal infection I’d picked up from a salad on our first day there. I never ate a salad or uncooked item in a restaurant again while in Morocco.

There have been a few occasions that seeing a doctor came to mind, especially when we were injured on the collapsing stairs in Belize on our anniversary in 2013. Please click here to read about and see photos of what transpired.  

I had hurt my back and neck so badly, I thought I broke something. It took over a month to recover with self-care. To see a doctor in Belize required a four-hour drive each way. We didn’t go based on my insistence.

Chi’a Flower blooms in many colors.

In our old lives, especially when I was suffering from chronic pain and abnormal blood tests, it wasn’t uncommon for me to visit the doctor once every month or so. Once I began my way of eating in August 2011, within three months I no longer had the abnormal blood tests nor any pain, resulting in only visiting the doctor before we left Minnesota for a general physical and multiple immunizations in preparation for traveling to Africa.

Tom, who’d followed along on the diet with me and is doing so now, had lost 40 pounds, dropped seven medications a day, and no longer had IBS, GERD (heartburn), or Barrett’s Disease (an inflamed esophagus). To this day, he has no symptoms and in December 2012 when he had his final tests everything was normal.

Sure, a physical check-up, mainly for blood tests, would be good to do at some point. For now, we feel no need to do so other than to get a new prescription for our two Epipens which have both expired. Both allergic to bees (hornets and wasps) and with the huge bee population in Australia, we may need to make a doctor appointment in Cairns, shortly after we arrive.

This is the ever-blooming Ixora a widely used plant in landscaping in Hawaii.

My insurance doesn’t pay for office visits since Medicare doesn’t work outside the US. Plus, I waived Part B when discovering it won’t pay. Instead, we purchased international major medical for me and a policy for Tom as well, although he still has insurance that may or may not pay outside the US. Once he turns 65, his insurance drops and he’ll continue on with our international policy which offer emergency evacuation as well.

The fact that we don’t have insurance to pay for doctor visits has had little effect on our decision to avoid doctor visits other than consideration of the cost in Hawaii. We’d have gone here for the Epipens but, from what we’ve read online, the required office visit will cost considerably less in Australia than it would in the US, let alone Hawaii.

The bark on this live tree was peeling making us wonder if it was a seasonal thing.

We aren’t concerned that we haven’t been to a doctor all this time. We both feel wonderful healthy. Why would we? When we were kids we hardly ever saw the doctor unless we had a high fever or couldn’t shake an infection after many days, often weeks of waiting for it to subside. Those of you in our age group can relate to this.

As for the dentist, we tried once in Maui. But, Tom didn’t feel right when we arrived at the peculiar office arrangement to be told we’d have to wait an hour for our appointment. Somehow, red flags popped up for him.  We canceled and left, especially after we were told to wait for our appointment at the senior center across the street. 

More stunning anthurium flowers.

I would have been OK going ahead with it. Long ago, we agreed that if one of us doesn’t feel comfortable with an activity, we won’t do it, avoiding any argument, feelings of being pressured or shaming one another.
 
In the interim, we continue to spend tremendous effort in caring for our teeth. Currently, neither of us has any issues with our teeth or gums. At some point, we’ll arrange a cleaning in another country.

A Brown Gecko is commonly seen in the Hawaiian Islands.

This philosophy continues to work out well for us. It also works the other way around as well; if one of us longs to see a certain part of the world, then we’ll go. It’s always about safety and passion, safety first, passion second.

Again today, it’s raining off and on as it had for over a week. Although I’ve continued to work out at the Makai Golf Course’s fitness center and pool, we’ve only lounged by the pool on one occasion in the past week. 

A pair of Myna Birds on the hunt for food.  Not too much available in this parking lot.

When the sun peeks out for a bit and it often does, we head out for a stroll in hopes of getting a dose of Vitamin D, considerably important for the senior population. Here’s an excellent article on a study on the benefits of Vitamin D for both seniors and the younger population.

With a busy social weekend ahead on both Friday and Saturday night, we’re looking forward to seeing many of our friends once again. We’ll report back on these two events.

Be well and enjoy a wonderful Wednesday!

                                            Photos from one year ago today, April 29, 2014:

These clumps of yarn were hanging outside to dry on this railing outside the souk creating this scene. For details from this post, one year ago, please click here.

Part 2…Why would YOU want to visit Kauai?…Today, the flip side…Any reasons, “why not?”

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Overcast days at the beach still present a pleasant experience.

Whenever we make suggestions or recommendations we consider that many people may not be candidates for our suggestions for any number of reasons. Under certain circumstances, travel may not be an option due to health issues or concerns, personal finances, or merely a distaste for the nuances of travel of which there are many.

We also understand that a certain faction of our readers have no interest in travel itself but enjoy following our day to day activities. Our vast number of readers are somehow inspired to follow our day to day posts for which we are very grateful for their interest. 

These downed trees not only provide shade but also a habitat for insects and small critters of which there are few in Kauai.

As a result, we feel it is only fair for us to disclose our perceptions on the flip side of any suggestion we may make. What are the drawbacks? Within that framework, if only one reader decides against following our recommendations and chooses an alternative path, then we’ve done our job by showing both the good and not so good.

Isn’t all of it about perception anyway?  If someone had told us, “Kauai is mostly for serious hikers with many dangerous trails and tide pools from which many tourists are killed each year,” we may have stayed away.

There’s always a chicken on the beach.

Instead, we came to Kauai, safely experiencing a few of the more difficult trails realizing that tough trails aren’t for us. However, Kauai offers so much more than tough hiking trails and dangerous tide pools as shown in our past 2½ months of daily postings with hundreds of photos.

Please click these three links for disheartening news stories on injuries and deaths that incurred on the rough trails in Hawaii, not exclusively in Kauai:

News story #1
News story #2
News story #3

What are the drawbacks to visiting Kauai from our perspective which, please keep in mind, maybe very different from yours after staying here for this extended period of time? (However, we’ve yet to meet one person who doesn’t love Kauai).

These billowy white clouds are seen almost daily.  There’s rarely a time of solid blues skies in Kauai for longer than a few hours.

Let’s take each point, one by one:

1.  Price of vacation rentals: Renting a modest single-family house under $10,000 a month is difficult if not impossible to find.  However, if two couples shared in the cost of a multi-bedroom house for a few weeks it becomes more affordable, certainly no more costly than a hotel. For an average condo rental, small such as ours at 700 square feet, the rental rates vary from approximately $150 to $200 per night. Many offer special weekly and monthly rates.  In our case, due to our frequent mention of the condo here on our site, providing great exposure for the landlord in addition to our long-term stay enabled us to benefit from a significantly reduced rate which is often the case for our long-term rentals. You know…a bird in the hand. Having a condo with a full kitchen cuts down on the necessity of dining out for each meal.  More on that in a moment.
2.  Price of hotels: St. Regis in Princeville starts at about $550 per night, the Westin Princeville at $337 per night, and the Hanalei Bay Resort at $199 with numerous other options in between. Other areas such as Lihue, Kapaa, and Poipu Beach have prices beginning at $175  a night on up. Of course, staying in a hotel adds to the rate when including WiFi fees when not included, tips, taxes, resort fees, meals, and tempting purchases.

Zooming in on a tiny bud.


3.  Cost of meals in restaurants with tax and tips: Considering each time we’ve dined out, each at mid-range restaurants, we’ve spent an average of $72 per restaurant visit, keeping in mind I don’t drink alcohol and Tom never ordering more than one cocktail. Also, we don’t order appetizers or desserts.  That’s for one meal for two people. If one had two or three meals out per day at mid-range local restaurants the cost would be from $125 to $200 per day or more depending on alcohol, sides, and desserts. However, these costs may be typical for most resort type areas. Dining in the hotels is considerably more costly, as much at 100% higher.
4.  Cost of groceries for dining in: In reviewing our Excel spreadsheet with the cost of literally every expense for food including trips to Costco, farmer’s markets, health food stores, produce stands, and grocery stores, we’re currently averaging at $47 per day. Considering that I only eat one meal a day (intermittent fasting) and Tom has one main meal and two light low carb snacks/meals, the cost for three meals a day could reach the $80 per day range. The fact that we eat no processed or packaged foods, soda, fruits, or snacks also reduces costs.  In part, our costs may be slightly heightened by eating mostly organic locally grown foods which are approximately 10% higher than mass-produced foods. The grass-fed meat we’ve been purchasing at the gas station from Curly’s Princeville Ranch is no more expensive than the grain-fed meat at Foodland. These figures may not be considered high for some travelers but for many, they could be prohibitive.

These pods are less than one inch long.

5.  Cost of airfare: Let’s face it, Hawaii is not conveniently located. From most locations, it requires multiple layovers and high fares. The average cost for each of our 12 family members that visited at Christmas was $1300 per person, round trip. In the off-season, the fare is as much as 40% less. For senior travelers with medical concerns, multiple layovers and long flights may present a problem. Also, fees for checked baggage and overweight baggage is a factor to consider.6.  Recreational Activities: If we were to list the most popular tourist activities in Kauai, as much as 85% require some level of fitness, especially the treacherous and difficult hiking trails. Many resort areas throughout the world have museums, art galleries, historical buildings, and sites easy to navigate. Hawaii, especially Kauai, is mostly about nature, although there are a few small museums. Yes, there are many tours in vans and buses but, many of these include getting out of the vehicle to view the scenery. For some seniors, this may be an obstacle and result in frustration. Many of the boat tours include rough waters with considerable bouncing about which may be difficult for some.

It’s not unusual to see many downed trees still showing signs of life along the beaches.

7.  Medical care: Most residents of Kauai with whom we’ve spoken, young and old, fly to Oahu for medical care at a cost of around $150 or more, round trip per person, for a daytime flight. If one requires frequent doctor visits, this cost and inconvenience can add up. When adding the cost of taxis, tips, and meals when arriving in Oahu, for those on a fixed income, these only increase the expense. Of course, emergency medical care and medical clinics are available on the island but, from what we’ve determined one may be more inclined to head to Oahu, if possible. It isn’t unusual for a patient to be airlifted from Kauai to Oahu for medical care. This type of insurance is vital for average travelers. (Our insurance policy includes these fees).

These downed trees are perfect on sunny days for those seeking a respite from the bright sun.

8.  The weather: Kauai is the garden island. It rains a lot. We’ve seen our next-door neighbors arrive for a week’s vacation and never experience a sunny day. For us, this is fine. For those spending upwards of $3500 for a week’s vacation, this could be very frustrating. Many of our neighbors haven’t minded the rain and have still spent every day exploring the island. But, for serious hikers, which many are, the trails are slippery and dangerous when wet. A few of our neighbors have experienced minor, non-life-threatening injuries on the trails on rainy days. For us, rainy days as for many retirees is a good day to stay home unless we’re committed to attending a social event. We’ve also experienced several sunny days in a row. During our 75 days on the island, it’s been the rainy season. With spring in full bloom, we expect we’ll see more sunny days. But, even the summers in Kauai may be rainy. If one is looking to lounge in a lawn chair by a pool, drinking tropical cocktails, occasionally walking along the beach, and dining out in fabulous restaurants, Kauai may not be a perfect choice.  Maui and Oahu may be better choices during their prime seasons with less rain. Of course, it can rain in the morning on any of the islands and become sunny for an hour or more, which is more common than not. The trade winds result in drastic weather changes in a matter of minutes. Many days, we put on our swimsuits hoping for a visit to the pool, only to change out of them a short time later when a dark cloud cover has suddenly appeared. 

The rope of this tree is ideal for a swinging splash into the water.

9.  Long drive to Lihue from many locations for shopping: Princeville has a small shopping center. One may purchase a good pair of walking shoes for $195, a dress or men’s shirt for a special occasion for $175 or more, and a pair of costume jewelry earrings for $65. The shopping center in Princeville is not unlike shopping centers in other pricey resort towns. For a 35 minute drive, one can head to Kapaa where there’s a more well-stocked larger grocery store, Safeway, Long’s Drug, and a GNC, and more, none of which are located in Princeville. If one desires to make a trip to Costco, Walmart, or a regular mall with chain type stores, a trip to Lihue, a long hour’s drive in traffic, is necessary. We’ve been to Lihue on two separate occasions to go to visit Costco and to Kapaa three times. 

None of these “flip side” observations should prohibit most tourists from visiting this glorious island of Kauai. If only to drive around the islands as far as the roads go, only occasionally getting out of the car, one would see scenery the likes of which they’ve never seen before. 

A downed tree on Anina Beach.  Children were playing off to the right.

Even sitting on the quiet, easily accessible Anini Beach on an overcast day is a pleasing experience that Julie and I enjoyed when she was here. Add the friendly people everywhere, and there’s no place on earth that we’ve seen so far that compares to Kauai.

Oops, although I’m dressed for the day, the sun just peeked out. Should I change into a swimsuit? We’ll keep an eye on it and perhaps a trip to the pool and a walk later in the day may be on the agenda. If not, we’re still content.

After all, we’re in Kauai and the view from where I am sitting at the moment is unbelievable.  Check out these two photos below for that view.

This is the view with the screen door open from my seat on the sofa as I post each morning.
By standing up and walking a few feet we’re on the lanai for this view.  It’s obvious why we love Kauai.
 

Photo from one year ago today, April 1, 2014:

Tom’s eyes scanned the interesting décor in the restaurant. For more photos, please click here.

Part 2…The Louvre…What can we say?…It was all we’d imagined and more…Tomorrow, Part 3, with Venus de Milo!

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
In taking this photo from a window, I later thought it was a painting. But, it was a photo I took.

Yesterday morning, we canceled the trip to Notre Dame. After a horrible night’s sleep of only three hours on Sunday, I just don’t have the energy to climb 22 flights of stairs up the Cathedral and then walk for an entire day. 

In this photo you can see a reflection of a statue behind me and also, me taking the photo.

Sunday night, at a nearby restaurant where we had an awful meal, in a desperate attempt at something different to drink, I ordered a Coke Zero which I rarely do. I’d given up drinking soda a long ago.

Whatever happened to figurines such as these, that our grandmothers had on a Fhyfe table in the living room next to the sofa.

The caffeine from the Coke Zero coupled with several cups of tea later in the day kept me awake, not falling asleep until 3:00 am, awakening at 6:00 am. After a good night’s sleep last night, I’m raring to go and we’ll be back out again today.

These cups and saucers reminded Tom of a set he’d had that belonged to his mother that was over 100 years old.  He saved it in a tote with other memorabilia that he left with family to later give to the grandchildren. It may not have been valued as much as these shown, but, it was fun to compare.

I believe Sunday’s post may have included more photos than we’ve posted in any of over 700 posts. There may have been more when we were on safari in Kenya or on a busy “visitors” day in Marloth Park.

More familiar looking dinnerware.

Loading more than 10 photos per post presents problems with editing, increasing posting time by almost double. How could we not share the number of photos we’ve been posting in Paris? Please bear with us if the formatting is less than perfect, particularly in paragraph spacing.

This pattern was similar to a set of dishes I’d purchased years ago, that were well over 100 years. We sold the set to friend Peggy, knowing they’d be in good hands.

With over 80 remaining photos to share, we’ll be adding Part 3, the Louvre for Wednesday. As I go through the remaining photos deciding what I could leave out it’s impossible to decide. 

Small jewelry boxes created with the finest of detail.

As a result, posting the Louvre on Wednesday, especially convenient when we didn’t do the Notre Dame Cathedral on Monday, will wrap up that segment leaving days for sightseeing which we’ll commence again today.

Another room with royal treasures.

The Louvre is a complex place. One could visit every day for a year finding something new each day. For a scholar intent on studying the complexity of the Louvre, it would be a daunting task.

Clocks are a common theme in several modern art areas of the museum.
Perhaps an official or a self-portrait.

For us, neophyte photographers that we are, and seldom art aficionados, the undertaking is pure pleasure combined with curiosity. However, this website is not intended as a scholarly journal. 

Stained glass windows.

Instead, it’s the telling of an ongoing tale of two semi-retired 60 something’s with few aspirations beyond the exciting lifestyle associated with that “telling.” 

More exquisite stained glass windows.

Many blog writers have dreams of writing books, making public appearances while itching for a certain degree of notoriety. Not us.

Could these be compasses with only one hand?

Many world travelers, some similar to us, have embarked on book writing campaigns with TV appearances, book signings, tours of their native country, and beyond. That’s not for us. At times, we’ve discussed writing a book. (How easy it could be when we already have the outline here online!). 

Pocket watches.

But, as we’ve observed a few other world travelers similar to us in ways, on news programs, dressed in business wear, hair, and makeup was done by the network, we cringe at the thought. 

Art is more symbolic than literal to be interpreted by the beholder, as in the case in these beautiful pieces.
Mother and daughter.

We have no interest in traveling across the US to go from bookstore to bookstore, signing and smiling until our hands and faces hurt to promote a book. We want to live the contents of what such a book would tell, not tell about such a book.
Religious connotation.

For many years, I promised myself I’d write a book. Now, as the book industry rapidly changes from paper to digital, the profits have been diminished and it just wouldn’t be worth it. If someone offered me one million dollars today to give this up, I wouldn’t accept it.

As we peered outside there didn’t appear to be many visitors in the courtyard.  Most of them were already inside trying to take photos of the more popular works of art.

Happiness is happiness. Why would one sell out happiness for money? Sure, peace of mind about money is nice. We have that as long as we continue to follow our budget. Does more peace of mind guarantee more happiness?  I doubt it.

Heaven and earth?

After a few days, the knowledge of having more money settles into the familiarity zone and in no time, the quality of the life one had before the money seeps back in. If one was happy then and is happy with the new life the money dictates, then all is well.

Ladies playing cards.

For us, an advance on a book would mean pressures of time and effort I don’t feel we want to give, especially the contractual piece about promoting the book in bookstores and on TV. No thanks.

Could this be a card reader?

I don’t know what this has to do with the Louvre. Perhaps it revolves around the fact that we make every effort to create an appealing story with photos each day with “literally” no ulterior motives, no priming for a book deal, or notoriety. Its basis is a pure and simple pleasure.

Are these smaller boats “tenders” of that era, taking passengers out to the ships?

This legacy in words and photos for our grandchildren and for generations to come in leaving this adventure behind also provides us with great joy. Knowing that we have almost 200,000 readers worldwide (by the time we leave here on Saturday) gives us all the satisfaction that we’ll ever need.

We loved the depth in this painting.
We spotted this man drawing from a painting on the wall.

We hope that through our stories and photos that readers may find a morsel that appeals to them, piquing their interest and inspiring them. Some of our readers write saying that they “travel along with us in spirit.

This farm scene with goats was located in the Nordic area of the museum.
From the romantic period.

Such words from our readers mean more to us than any mandatory book tour or a chunk of money we’d add to our safety net, forgetting about it in a few days or weeks.

This is Queen Marie de Medici by Frans Pourbus.
A man and his dog.

As we continue to write about the Louvre, we smile at the reality that we aren’t into sightseeing and Tom’s not into walking. Although, that’s all we’ve been doing since we arrived 12 days ago with over 35 miles, 56 kilometers, logged in the first eight days.  Surely, we’ll walk many more miles.

Enjoy these additional photos of the Louvre today, finalizing tomorrow in Part 3 with excellent crowd-free photos of the Venus de Milo.

Happy Tuesday!

                                            Photo from one year ago today, August 12, 2013:

A year ago, I wrote describing this book I’d read while in Tuscany about how we as humans can spend too much time sitting and how destructive long periods of sitting are to our health. For details from that day, please click here.

A drive in the mountains…Surprising finds!…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 2 Comments
This plant made me squeal with delight. Tom laughs at me and happily maneuvers the car for a better view.

Yesterday, after posting here, we decided to go for another drive on the endless roads in these mountains. One can go any which way, ending up at a dead-end or going on into what seems to be infinity.

The ocean is behind this old vine-covered garage.

Little did we know that we’d encounter so many new-to-us treasures of which this island has many. What a place! Without a doubt, the roads, turns, and views may appear repetitive. But, when driving through the hills each hairpin turn brings a new experience our way. When possible, Tom finds a spot to pull over enabling me to take photos. 

There is Ms. Goat posing for a photo as we drove by as she munched on vegetation.

In some cases, I have no choice but to take photos from inside the car while on the move when cars are behind us and there’s no shoulder or if it’s simply too dangerous to stop which is most often the case on the narrow winding steep roads.

This black goat was munching while tied up on a hill.  Goats are often tied up to prevent them from wandering off with few fences anywhere in the area.  Next door to us, the mom goat stays tied up but the two kids aren’t, as they naturally stay close to their mom at all times.

When we think back to a year ago when we moved to Boveglio, Tuscany, Italy, and the terrifying roads, we’ve come a long way. Tom has mastered driving in these mountainous roads and I’m no longer frightened. 

We discovered many homes covered in vines growing prolifically in this ideal weather.

If I can keep my eyes straight ahead looking out the windshield as opposed to the side window, I can keep the possibility of motion sickness at bay. It’s hard to do when I’m a wild woman seeing one thing after another, eyes darting every which way. “They,” say eye movement effects motion sickness more than any other factor.  Somehow, I’m able to keep any queasiness in check.

We share today’s photos with much enthusiasm. With so many taken, we’ll continue to share more over the next several days. 

Grapes are growing everywhere.  Madeira is known for its wine including the popular pink Madeira wine many of us drank in the ’70s and ’80s. 

Perhaps our enthusiasm isn’t warranted by some. A photo of a plant, a tree, a goat? So what? For us, nature is the basis of our travels, and at times it’s hard to contain our excitement. Based on our readership, we’re making the assumption that most of our readers also find some pleasure in our simple finds. 

As we crossed a bridge, I was able to get out of the car to see this creek.

If nature is not your preference, please bear with us. We’ll be in Paris in 41 days and London a few weeks later.  We’ll have plenty of photos of buildings, art, history, food, and the magic of both amazing cities. Although nature is our primary objective, we could hardly travel the world and miss these two major cities or any of the other big cities we’ve visited in the past and will again in the future.

This is the bush from which I took the shot of the flower in the following photo. Love this!

At the end of our self-tour, we headed to the little market for a few groceries which we actually enjoy. The quaint market where no one speaks a word of English is enchanting, the prices are no more than the supermarket in Ribeira Brava and surprisingly we are able to find many items we need. Soon, we’ll make a trip to the big supermarket for items that are unavailable locally.

 I couldn’t get a perfect shot of this flower while we were on the move but it was fun to see.

Having not dined out in weeks when we’ve enjoyed our home-cooked meals, tonight we’re going to dine out in a restaurant up the road (literally, “up”) from here. We’ll report back with food photos, prices, and our general experience. It’s a restaurant Gina showed us how to find that has great reviews on Trip Advisor.

The terraced farms and gardens planted in even squares and rectangles cover the hills.

Today, we’ll be back at work to find where we’ll live for our first 89 days in Australia. Prices are extremely high, especially when our main criteria is to be close to the ocean, preferably with a view.

Another important factor is the weather in Australia when the seasons are opposite of the northern hemisphere.  Northern Australia’s temperate winter weather (winter starts in June) will be ideal when our ship arrives on June 11, 2015, one year away. In December, it would be too hot in the north.

An old boarded-up house, uncommon on the island.

We definitely need to book something shortly. As we see from the many vacation rental sites we use, the properties are booking well into 2015. Our search is none too early.

Have a fabulous weekend. We’ll be back tomorrow with more news and photos from our drive.
                                                        _________________________

Photo from one year ago today, June 21, 2013:

As much as we loved the charm and romance of moving into a 300-year-old stone house in Tuscany, Italy, we had to face some obstacles not uncommon in these old houses. This was the stairway to the lower level in order to get to the front door. To the left was the step up onto the veranda where we hung the laundry to dry, tended to the box garden, and spent time outdoors.  Stepping up onto the veranda from this stairway was tricky, definitely not for those unsteady on their feet. Falling could be life-threatening. We were extremely careful each and every time. For details of this and other obstacles in the old house, please click here.