Counting down the days until our next adventure…

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Earlier this week, while on the Manly Ferry, we were finally able to take sunny morning photos of Sydney Harbour, a cruise ship, another ferry, and Harbour Bay Bridge.

There’s an app we often use to calculate between two dates.  I must admit I probably use it everyday for one reason or another. So if this free app, Time and Date, could be of use to you, please click here. Enter the dates you’d like to calculate and voila!  Easy.

The Sydney Opera House appears to be a floating island.

This morning, contemplating upcoming travels sent me into a tizzy of unbridled enthusiasm, especially now that prior worrisome factors are behind us. Here’s a few calculations made from today’s date of March 31, 2017 that we’re anticipating for the remainder of 2017 using the above app:

22 days –  Cruise from Sydney to North America (24 days)
48 days –  Cruise from Vancouver to Alaska (9 days)
57 days –  Flight from Seattle, Washington to Minneapolis, Minnesota
99 days –  Flight from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Las Vegas, Nevada
124 days – Flight from Las Vegas, Nevada to Costa Rica
237 days – Cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Valpareso, Chili on to a back-to-back cruise to Buenos Aires, Argentina (30 days combined)
268 days – Buenos Aires, Argentina (30 days – ending January 23, 2018)

Lighthouses always create an interesting photo opp.

Of course, of all of the above dates, we’re most excited to head back to the USA to see family and friends. By the time we arrive in Minnesota on May 26, 2017, it will have been (again using the app) as follows since we left Minnesota on October 31, 2012:

“From and including: Wednesday, October 31, 2012
To, but not including Friday, May 26, 2017

Result: 1668 days

It is 1668 days from the start date to the end date, but not including the end date.

Or 4 years, 6 months, 26 days excluding the end date”

Wow! That’s hard to believe! We won’t have seen our three adult children, their partners, and our six grandchildren since they visited us in Hawaii during Christmas time in 2014, a total of 875 days (as of January 2, 2015, when most of them left Hawaii). That’s a long time.

Beautiful scenery.

As for son Richard who lives in Henderson, Nevada, we won’t have seen him since January 3, 2013, when we sailed away on our first international cruise. So it’s been a total of four years, six months, and four days since we’ve seen Richard, and it’s slightly longer for sister Susan who lives in Las Vegas. So, unfortunately, Richard wasn’t able to join us in Hawaii, but we’ve all stayed in close touch over these years as with the others. 

Sandy beach on a sunny day wasn’t populated early in the morning.

Between Skype phone calls, interaction online, and chat in Facebook and email, we’ve been able to stay in touch with all of our family members and friends. Had the Internet not been available, a journey such as ours would have been heart-wrenching, if not impossible.

Across the bay from the ferry.

Instead, we anticipate seeing everyone and spending as much quality time together as their schedules allow. Of course, we’re excited, as is evidenced by our frequent calculations of the number of days until we arrive.

In the interim, with the sun finally shining here in Fairlight/Manly with the after effects of Cyclone Debbie hitting our area last night. The cyclone has since passed leaving a wake of destruction in its path. Also, check out this video of a shark that made “landfall” during the cyclone, which Aussies are now calling “sharknado!”

The Sydney Opera House took on an entirely new look in the sunshine, especially after our own opera experience at the world famous venue.

On a more serious note, please click here for details regarding Cyclone Debbie. We pray for the safety and recovery of the many citizens who suffered the ravages of this destructive storm that hit Queensland this week.

Perhaps this was a tourist helicopter ride?

Today brings us partially cloudy skies with snippets of sun peeking through. Should this continue through the day, a sightseeing expedition may be on the horizon.

Happy day to all!

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

There were several refrigerate cases with a wide array of New Zealand-made and Fonterra Cheese Factory-made cheeses.  With cheese suitable for our way of eating, we often seek to visit cheese factories when we travel. For more details, please click here.

An inside peek on the joy of meeting people along the way…Smiling and blushing at the same time…

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Bob explained this single red bloom, a type of lily, is growing out of season.  The photo was taken on a cloudy day.

There’s no doubt our hearts are filled with appreciation and joy from the kindness and love we receive from people we meet along the way, whether it’s in a town, a quaint village, or on a cruise.

The curiosity and interest in our lifestyle are often coupled with an abundance of warmth and friendship we can hardly believe comes our way with such ease. We often ask one another, “How did we get so lucky to meet so many fine people?”
Now 11 days since the last cruise ended, we have received emails from passengers we met during the 12 days at sea. Again, we were asked for our web address prompting us to hand our business cards more times on this shorter cruise than when we sailed on the 33-night cruise when we’d attached ourselves to the same two fine couples for happy hour and dinner every night. 
We had a lot of fun with Lois and Tom and Cheryl and Stan, remaining in touch since the cruises ended on December 3rd via Facebook. It was a memorable experience during the lengthy cruise, which circumvented the entire Australian continent, which we’ll always remember fondly.
With the steep drop in the yard of the holiday home, there’s a protective fence, as shown with this pretty succulent leaning against it.
However, we learned a valuable lesson…mingle. The depth of the meaning of our world travels enhanced by having a wide array of experiences; meeting people from all walks of life, meeting people from many parts of the world, while hearing their often exciting and unique experiences of not only travel but of life itself.
Mingling with many people provides us with the added opportunity to learn even more about human nature, a process that hopefully will continue through the balance of our lives regardless of where we may be at any given time. 
We’ll never delude ourselves in stating, “We’ve seen and done it all.” But, in many ways, we’ve just begun with so much more of the world to see ahead of us. If we continued to travel for 10 to 20 years or more, we’d barely have touched the surface of what this world has to offer. 
We remind ourselves daily to remain humble and in awe of the world and our opportunity to live this life, often through challenging and difficult times, which to date have not deterred our enthusiasm in any manner.
Tom took this photo of the center of the above succulent.  Simple beauty with dewdrops.
When we receive an email such as the message we’ve included below, we share it not to “toot our own horn” or to “brag” about people “liking us.” That’s not us, as those of you who have followed our candid and vulnerable story for any length of time is most assuredly aware.
We share this email with our readers to join us in the pleasure we glean from meeting wonderful people along the way. After all, our loyal readers seem to empathize with our trials and tribulations as well as in the memorable happy events we encounter day by day.
While aboard the recent 12-night cruise ending on March 13th, we met a lovely couple, Christina and Harold (whom we’d mentioned on a few prior posts) on the third day of the cruise during Cruise Critic’s “cabin crawl,” an event where various members volunteer to show their cabins in other categories.

In this particular case, Christina and Harold kindly hosted a lovely event with food and drinks in their penthouse cabin, which even we’d never seen after 17 cruises in the past four-plus years. 

Coleus, an excellent shady area plant.

Little did we know we’d hit it off so well with this special newly engaged couple, considerably younger than us (by about 25 years), world travelers in their own right, with Harold having visited many of the exciting countries we’ve stayed in our travels.

It wasn’t just the commonality of our experience that connected us. It was the warmth and kindness we all exuded in one another’s company.  
Yesterday, we received this beautiful message from Christina that warmed our hearts, prompting us to ask if they’d mind if we share it here today. Christina wrote back promptly saying they love for us to share it, and thus, here it is, presented with a bit of modesty and surely a blush on our faces:  
“Hello from sunny Florida!!!
Harold and I went to Christchurch, Auckland, Vegas, and Houston before my return home to Tampa last night – It’s been a fantastic adventure!! 

You were the most memorable couple we had the pleasure of meeting – We looked for you in your designated spot on the last day, went to the lounge, called your room a few times, and didn’t get you – you were like beautiful angels who had now disappeared. 

Harold is a world traveler (I’m brand new to his adventures). He has never met anyone who traveled for pleasure more than he did until he met you, and he’s been raving about you ever since – We’re honored to have met you!!!! 
We want to say THANK YOU for being so kind and open, telling us about your lives, giving the great life lessons and advice you gave (we kept looking at each other in shock because you were honestly speaking to us), your travels, your healthy eating lifestyle (as I’m trying to convince Harold that that’s the way to go.) and inviting us to meet you someday out on your adventures. These excellent chapters of your life have genuinely impacted us!! 

I finally got a chance to look at your website and the fun memories you share!! We love what you’re doing in your retirement and look forward to seeing you again someday, hopefully sooner than later. 

We will keep you in our prayers for safe travels and excellent health throughout, and we’ll be watching with admiration and love!!

It’s back to reality here on the home front – work, work, work – However, now the plan is to fund a perfect retirement, vacation more, and enjoy life!! 

You’re our heroes!!!!

With love,
Christina”
Unknown variety of red berries.

We wrote back expressing the appreciation we feel for having met them, the time we spent together (including dinner served by butlers in their suite) and at various times throughout the ship and, the hope that our paths will cross again someday. Thank you, Christina and Harold, for sharing a part of your lives with us and for your heartfelt, meaningful message.

It’s not only a breathtaking scene, an exquisite animal in the wild, or a blissfully colorful flower we encounter in our travels that fills us with an appreciation for this magical world… it’s the people we meet who open their hearts to welcome us for a moment, for a day, or a lifetime…
P.S. I couldn’t resist including contact information for Christina’s real estate business in Tampa, Florida, USA.  We have no doubt she is a highly competent real estate professional.  Please contact Christina at this link. 
Thanks, dear readers and friends, for sharing another day in our lives!
Photo from one year ago today, March 23, 2016:
When seeing these fish prices in New Zealand one year ago, we felt they were quite reasonable. For example, one TV guru Gordon Ramsey’s favorite, is the John Dorey and red snapper (which we purchased).  At the NZ price of 37.50, the US $25.33 for a kilo is 2.2 pounds! What a great price! For more details of our visit to the seafood market, please click here.

Working on our immigration issue…Five days and counting….

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The sun peeked out for a few hours while we were in Manly making our way to the ferry.

When we left the Australian Immigration office in Sydney nine days ago, we were told to watch for the Bridge Visa we’d received via email by the end of the day.  The officer at immigration had given us a phone number to call if we had questions in the interim.  We had many questions when we’d had a difficult time understanding the vague and complicated instructions given to us by the immigration officer who, with the best of intentions, was unsure as to how to handle our case.

Later in the day the email arrived stating we had another appointment at the same office on March 27th at 10 am. That was clear to us.  Thus, we didn’t call the phone number which we’d left on the kitchen table which continued to nag at me.  Should we call?  Or should we wait until our appointment?

Yesterday morning, we decided to call to see if there was anything additional we could do or prepare for the upcoming appointment on Monday.  After waiting on hold for 20 minutes in the queue, finally a friendly rep came on the line.

Sailing on a windy day.

In reviewing our file, she adamently stated we needed to apply for Visitors Visa #600 before our appointment on Monday.  When we asked this same question to the rep at the immigration office “Should we apply for the visa online?” the she wasn’t sure if we should or not, leaving us confused when we left.

Calling might provide us with an answer.  There was no way we wanted to show up on Monday having failed to do something required in this complicated process.  Yesterday, we were relieved we’d called when we were told we better not show up on Monday without having applied online for Visitors Visa #600, a necessary adjunct to our Bridge Visa which was in place for only two weeks (ending on March 27th).

If we didn’t get the Visitors Visa, we’d be in big trouble next Monday when the Bridge Visa expires at midnight.  The phone rep immediately sent us the link to apply for the Visitors Visa. 

An appealing candy kiosk in at the Manly Ferry station.

We each followed the link in the email deciding to complete the form simultaneously on each of our laptops in order to aid one another in ensuring accuracy.  There was no margin for error in this process and lately, as error prone as I had been (you know…wrong day at the opera), following along together made sense.

Before we could even begin the 20 page process, we had to sign up for an online immigration account which required a series of seven or eight security questions. 

Having to deal with answering security questions can be a tricky process.  If an answer is off by only one letter, one number or a single aspect of the answer, it may result in total frustration when trying to recall what was originally intended.  

Manly is a charming beach town with shops, restaurants and water activities.

We didn’t want to make a lengthy handwritten list for each of us.  We’d already written down the complicated passwords including all types of characters, capital and lower case letters and numbers.  You know how that goes.

It ended up taking at least a half hour to getting our individual accounts set up.  As we’ve mentioned, its been very rainy and humid since we arrived.  When we were 10 minutes into this process, I suggested we turn on the air con.  We were both drenched in sweat.  Oh, I don’t like this stuff.

Immediatey Tom turned on the air conditioning.  Besides, we’d done two loads of laundry hanging it indoors on the portable rack making the humidity all the worse in our little apartment. The air con was a welcomed relief.

Yummy looking mounds of interesting flavors of ice cream at the Manly Wharf.

Once we’d established the accounts, we proceeded to begin the 20 page online document.  It was a slow process when we continually received error messages for entering words in unacceptable formats.  We plodded along.

Once we completed page 4 and hit the “continue” button for page 5, we both received an error message, “You cannot continue from this point based on your current status.  Call the immigration office immediately.”  Oh, oh.

We called again, waiting on hold on Skype for another 30 minutes only to be told, when a different rep came on the line after looking up our file, that were not supposed to fill out this form.  We were to wait and see what transpires on Monday. Oh.  She was very kind and apologetic that we were told otherwise.  We asked her to note the conversation in our file which she promptly handled.

After dark this cruise ship headed out to sea from the Sydney Harbour.  Hopefully, that will be us one month from today on April 22nd.

In one way we were relieved to avoid completing the remaining 16 pages but in another way, we were further concerned as to the outcome on Monday.  There was nothing more we could do at this point.

Worse case scenario…we could be told to leave the country immediately and not return for three years, missing our cruise on the April 22nd, forcing us to fly to New Caledonia, book a hotel  for almost a month and wait for the ship to arrive at a port of call three days after the cruise begins and then have to load our bags on a “tender boat.” 

Best case scenario…we’ll get another Bridge Visa, good until April 22nd when we’ll board the ship in Sydney.  There’s another possibility that we’ll have to leave the country, fly to another country and return a day later.  Also, there are possible fines, penalties and circumstances we aren’t aware of at this point which by Monday, we’ll be well informed.

Kookaburra atop the roof of neighboring house.

We’re surprised how we’ve been able to still enjoy our time in Fairlight, Manly and Sydney based on our concern over this situation.  We’ve taken many photos, seen so much and have been out and about reveling in this beautiful area.  Also, we’re still able to laugh and maintain a hopeful and positive perspective. 

After all, the results of this scenario whichever way it goes, won’t cost us more than money, time and inconvenience.  In the realm of things, as we always say, “If we have our health, we’re safe and we have one another, we can handle it.”

So it goes.

May you have good health and be safe with those you love.

________________________________________

Photo from one year ago today, March 22, 2016:

Many farms in New Zealand have ocean views adding another layer of beauty to the scenery.  For more photos, please click here.

Comment from a reader…Keep those comments and emails coming our way!…

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Painted performers at Circular Quay.

Regardless of the content (except offensive comments), we generally post comments we receive from readers. At times, we receive comments daily, and at other times, we may not hear from our worldwide readers for several days.

Visitors from all over the world visit the popular area of Circular Quay.

As we’ve mentioned in the past, we love hearing from our readers and promptly reply within 24 hours, usually earlier, providing we have access to the Internet. The same goes for email, even when we may receive dozens of email messages within any 24 hour period. 

Some of the comments we receive are spam, advertising for a wide array of products and services, none of which we care to share with our readers. However, if we encounter a product or service that may benefit our readers (such as a coupon for products they may use), we may mention it within the body of a post.

This is the ship, Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas, that we hope to be able to board on April 22nd to bring us back to North America for a nine-week family visit.

A few days ago, we received the comment below from a newsreader that makes us chuckle. Of course, we were happy to have the new reader onboard, but it confirmed how misleading it could be to start reading our posts part way through.

Reader said…

“OK, silly question, If you are gone for more than a month, why not have a lawn service cut your grass? I am new to your blog, and you might address it. We are going to be doing some of this once we retire.”    

Jessica said…

“Dear Reader,

Perhaps you haven’t had an opportunity to read more of our posts, but actually, we sold everything, and we don’t have a lawn, a house, a car, or storage. So instead, we have 3 checked bags and 2 carry-on bags as we travel the world for 53 months to date. Thus, no lawn to mow.

Thanks for stopping by,
Jess & Tom”

Our upcoming cabin is located two decks above these two lifeboats in the approximate center in this grouping.
In jumping into our almost 1700 posts (today is post #1699) out-of-sequence would make it impossible for a reader to grasp the comprehensive nature of our five years of posting (beginning on March 15, 2012) and the life changes we’ve made to embark on this journey over the past 53 months.
We certainly understand how reading partway through our story could be deceiving as to how and why we’re living this nomadic life. Most would assume we have a condo, house, or apartment somewhere, a place to go to repack, do laundry, catch up with family and friends and take care of business.
Tourists dressing in rain gear to partake in a high-speed boat tour in Sydney Harbour.
Alas, we are wanderers, free from the encumbrances of owning “stuff,” opening mail, washing windows, and of course, “mowing the lawn,” as the writer mentions above. 
Looking up, we observed people on the popular attraction, the Bridge Climb on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The walkers are tethered to a railing as they make the walk. 
Yes, if we had a lawn, we’d certainly arrange for it to be mowed in our absence. But, that’s not our life, nor will it be anytime in the future if we can help it. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with having a home of any type with its accompanying belongings that many treasures after a lifetime of accumulating a variety of personal treasures.
Could it be that the Bridge Climb is not as scary as it looks from below once up there?
Many people we meet on cruises say to us, “Oh, I could never do that!” Yet, when we tell our story, we rarely encounter anyone interested in living as we live. On the contrary, we totally respect and understand that. Nor do we tell our story with the intent of convincing anyone this is the ideal lifestyle. For most, it is not. 
Customs House now contains shops and restaurants.
It just happens to work for us. In the process, we meet many travelers who spend the better part of each year traveling to interesting and exotic places, many of whom have done so for many more years than we have. We love hearing their stories and suggestions.
McDonald’s is in almost every big city in the world.
Then again, we love hearing the stories from others of their pleasant home lives, wherever they may be, enjoying their surroundings and the lives they built for themselves and their families. It’s easy to recall the pleasure we gleaned in our old lives as well, for those very same reasons.
Department of Lands Building Clock Tower in Sydney.

Today, we’re heading out with Bob for a little shopping. Last night, he joined us for dinner, which, not surprisingly a delightful lengthy conversation. He’s had an interesting life which he freely shares in detail with heartfelt emotion. So, again, we’ve been blessed with another very special landlord who will surely become a lifelong friend.

Happy day to all.

Photo from one year ago today, March 21, 2017:

One year ago today, we booked our current holiday home with this garden and view, including chaise lounges, a gas grill, and an outdoor dining table overlooking the bay in Fairlight/Manly. For more photos, please click here.

Horrible weather in Sydney…Opera House tickets tonight…Happy St. Patrick’s Day!…

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This cockatoo stopped by for a visit, alighting atop Bob’s medicinal Papaw tree in the yard.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to those who celebrate. Today, March 17th in the US is also eldest son Richard’s 50th birthday. Happy birthday, Richard! It’s hard to believe you’re 50!  Richard is a highly successful real estate agent in Henderson/Las Vegas, Nevada with nothing but five star reviews in Zillow. (See here for details). We wish you continued success and much happiness and look forward to seeing you in July!

Evening walk through a portion of the shopping area near the Manly Ferry.

Today around 3:00 pm, we’re off to the Sydney Opera House in this outragous weather; windy, rainy and cold.  Bob will drive us to the Manly Ferry which will bring us within a 20 minute walk to the venue. 

Fish Cafe in Manly where we dined this week.

The only part of the trip that concerns us is that 20-minute walk from the wharf to the opera house in the event the pouring rain continues. We’re not concerned about getting soaked on the return walk to the ferry. It won’t be fun to be soaking wet while sitting in the theatre during the performance. 

Daily specials posted outside the restaurant where we dined with Bob this week. The highest-priced items on this menu at AU 36.90 is equal to US $28.42.

Bob has supplied us with an large umbrella which along with our hooded parkas we hope to stay dry.  Unfortunately, our parkas aren’t necessarily stylish for the opera but we have nothing else to wear. Plus, the only shoes I have that are appropriate for my outfit and the long walk are black sandals. So it goes.

We were early and the rush of diners had yet to arrive at the popular local restaurant.

This is a reality of our lives of world travel…if we chose to partake in a more dressy affair, we don’t necessarily have the appropriate clothing. As always, we’ll make the best of that which we have on hand. It’s worked on formal nights on cruises and will certainly be sufficient for the Sydney Opera House.

My plate of grilled barramundi, vegetables and a side of sour cream.

According to the theatre’s website smart casual is acceptable although they say many attend wearing formal attire while others may be dressing more casually. It was a relief to read this comment. Overall, Australians tend to dress casually for most events although they certainly can “dress to the nines” when they so desire.

Tom, with little interest in grilled fish, ordered the fish and chips.

Although no photos will be allowed during the performance, we’ll bring the camera in a waterproof bag and take as many photos as possible of the exterior and interior of the world renowned theatre which we’ll share in tomorrow’s post.

Bob dined on the grilled swordfish and salad.

Today’s photos are from a night out to dinner with Bob at a popular seafood restaurant in Manly. The beachfront area is rife with shops and restaurants which we look forward to browsing when the weather improves. Since our arrival five days ago, its been raining each day. 

Aquarium in the Fish Shop Restaurant where we dined  with Bob earlier in the week.

A week from Monday, we have a scheduled appointment at the Australian Immigration office in Sydney, after which we’ll know what we have to do in order to be able to board the cruise to the US on April 22nd. We’ll keep you updated on how this rolls out.

Manly Beach across the road from the restaurant.

For those who celebrate, have a safe and fun-filled St. Patrick’s Day. While in Ireland in September, 2014, we didn’t kiss the Blarney Stone after we heard dreadful stories about it. 

DSC03477
Us, in front of the Blarney Castle in Ireland in September, 2014.  Click here for this link.

Instead, we kissed one another with Irish on our minds although Tom kissed it twice on previous visits to Ireland (before I came on the scene). According to Ancestry.com DNA test results Tom is 99% Irish, certainly sufficient to warrant celebration on this special day.

Happy green beer day!

Photo from one year ago today, March 17, 2016:

For a heartwarming and equally heartbreaking story of a favorite alpaca we so much loved, Mont Blanc, please check our year ago post.  Please click here for the details. 

Today is our fifth anniversary of posting…Photos of our new home for the next 38 nights…We hope…

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We “borrowed” today’s photos from Bob, our landlord here in Fairlight/Manly. Last night, while dark and cloudy we spotted two cruise ships leaving Sydney Harbour heading out to sea.

With our current immigration issues in Australia (see yesterday’s post here for details) we are doing everything we can to maintain our usual optimistic attitude. 

Today, we’re heading back to Sydney, taking the Manly Ferry for more immigration handling and to meet with old friends Linda and Ken, from Marloth Park, South Africa for lunch at a popular pub near the port of Sydney.  We’ll be back with photos tomorrow.

The house from the lower road.  We entered the property from the upper road to facilitate hauling our heavy bags.

Yesterday, the entire day was spent attempting to resolve another unexpected business matter, a technical issue with PayPal which prevents us from being able to send payments to property owners (who don’t accept credit cards) since we don’t have a US phone number that receives texts.

Our phone number with Skype doesn’t allow the use of texts. Without a phone number, we can’t use Skype when their new identity check requires the use of a text to confirm identity. We’ll share more on this in tomorrow’s post when we see what rolls out today after trying for another solution again later today.

The master bedroom is spacious with en suite bath and suitable closet space for our needs.

With space at a premium in this fabulous holiday home and our stuff cluttered about, we decided to use our landlord’s photos which we’re sharing here today. Once we encountered the immigration and PayPal issues we were too busy to clear all of our “stuff” in order to take our own uncluttered photos.

The house is newer and in impeccable condition, a pure delight for our needs.

We couldn’t be more pleased with the “apartment” although it’s not an apartment in the typical sense. It’s a large home, converted to include a separate apartment on the ground floor level which we’re currently occupying.

The upper street level is where our kind and thoughtful landlord Bob lives which also includes a bed and breakfast which he offers to tourists coming and going for long or short periods visiting this beautiful area.

There are no bug screens here but there are few insects. Bob said we won’t see the dreaded Funnel Web Spider in this area of Sydney. Few mozzies and flies enter during the day with the door fully open as shown.

We’ve never rented a bed and breakfast space when we prefer not to share living quarters with others, whether it’s a landlord or other guests. In this lovely lower floor unit, we have total privacy and all the necessary amenities and more; great WiFi, flat-screen TV with HDMI plug-in, washing machine with a portable hanging rack, full kitchen and en suite bath with spacious shower, and more.

Please click here for more details on this special property which we highly recommend for either short or long-term travelers. For those comfortable with a bed and breakfast, this link will also direct you to that option by contacting Bob Reed, the kindly owner. How did we get so lucky to have yet another amazing property owner determined to provide us with an outstanding experience?

A comfortable Italian leather sectional and coffee table is located at the end of this room, beyond the table and chairs, all the space we’ll need during this relatively short stay, should we be allowed to remain in the country.

Today is the fifth year anniversary of our first post on March 15, 2012. Please click here for our first post on this date. We can hardly believe it’s been so long. By next week, we’ll hit our 1700th post which is comparable to writing 1700 chapters in a book with photos.

Seeming to be a daunting task, for us, it continues to be a labor of love. Even today, with so much on our minds, we’re happy and grateful for the opportunity to share our journey with our many worldwide readers, whose numbers continue to grow each and every day.

With Bob living upstairs, he’s happy to supply any kitchen items or anything else we may need while here. 

We continue to maintain the philosophy that as long as we’re safe and healthy, challenges we encounter along the way such as the current immigration issue, always have a solution one way or another. 

Sure, the solution may be costly or inconvenient but we’ve planned for such potentially unexpected scenarios. If we end up having to leave the country, lose money for this rental, pay for a new rental and airfare to another country and miss a portion of the upcoming cruise from Sydney since we can’t stay in Australia to board the ship, we’ll survive, won’t we?

Only stepping outdoors from the kitchen to the lawn we’re provided this amazing view and private yard.

We never fail to be grateful for one another, our loved ones, good health, and the ability to fulfill our dreams of world travel. Please continue to follow along with us as the story continues to unfold.

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, March 15, 2016:

The beautiful tree clusters created a pleasing scene for our photos at sunset in New Plymouth, New Zealand. For more photos, please click here.

Facing the biggest challenge of our travels to date…Telling it like it is…Arrived in Sydney to a fabulous vacation home…

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View from the veranda of our new holiday home in Fairlight/Manly, a suburb of Sydney.

As we discussed in prior posts, we never fail to “tell it like it is,” although, at times, we may wait to post a troublesome situation after we know more about it. This was the case when, on March 6th, while already onboard the cruise for six days when Tom received an email from Australian Immigration stating that he violated immigration laws. Oddly, this didn’t include me at that point.

When we met with immigration upon boarding the ship, an issue came up at that time in regard to Tom’s visa, here again not mine. They let us board saying we could deal with it later. Perhaps it was some glitch, one we could deal with after we disembarked the ship on March 13th.

The sky’s been overcast since our arrival yesterday morning. 

We never gave it another thought until the email came through on the 6th. The email requested documentation of our travels in Australia, particularly recent cruises to which Tom quickly responded, providing appropriate documentation.

On March 9th, four days prior to the end of the cruise, the ship’s immigration officer called us in the cabin stating they were putting a call through from the immigration department in Sydney regarding “both” of our immigration violations.

When the rep came on the line, it sounded as if we were in serious trouble. Apparently, according to their records, we’d violated the maximum 90 day period we’re allowed to stay in Australia, thus canceling our one-year visas entirely (our second in these past two years). 

Reef Bay, our views from the veranda.

According to their records, we’re currently in this country illegally. Ouch. Rather than spend paragraph after paragraph trying to explain the immigration laws of Australia, we’ll simplify how this happened, as we’ve now discovered may be entirely our fault from misunderstanding the immigration laws in this country.

As meticulous as we’ve been over these past years to maintain the highest level of compliance for all laws, rules, and regulations, we’re stunned to find ourselves in this predicament.

Bob, our amazing landlord and new friend came running to tell us the Kookarburros were on his veranda. We couldn’t believe our eyes for this up-close view of these huge beautiful birds.

Here’s what transpired in a nutshell. First, we’d assumed (yes, we know the word “assumed” shouldn’t be in our vocabulary) that sailing in and out of various countries during a cruise would restart the 90 days we can stay in Australia. 

How wrong we were. In Australia when sailing from and ending up in the country, its referred to as a “closed-loop,” with none of the countries we’ve visited counting toward restarting the 90 day ticker of time allowed in Australia.

On the phone call with immigration on March 9th, we were instructed to show up immediately at the immigration building in Sydney upon our arrival without stop or delay.

The size of these beautiful birds is astounding when up close and personal. We’d seen them in Trinity Beach in 2015 but never this close. They didn’t fly off when we approached, but they certainly checked us out.

As much as we wanted to comply, it was impossible to bring our three heavy bags and two carry-on bags into the building with us. Surely, security would have had to go through everything in the government building. 

Instead, after disembarking the ship, we decided to take a taxi to the vacation rental (30-minute ride), drop off the bags, and immediately return to Sydney’s center to the Australian Immigration Building. 

By 10:45 am, we were waiting in a queue to speak with someone who’d hopefully help us figure out the best solution to our dilemma.  Our options were few:

1.  Leave the country for good: We’d lose the money for the vacation rental for 40 nights plus a portion of the cruise fare for our return to the US on April 22nd, having to board the ship during a port of call in another country.
2.  Apply for a “bridge visa” only good for a short period while we attempt to find a solution while working with immigration.
3.  Fly out of the country with a “bridge visa” in place and also apply for a new one year visa hoping it would be approved (but not guaranteed) for our return to board the cruise.”

The Kookaburras were squawking at Bob for a treat. He complied while we watched in wonder.

Fortunately, the kindly rep we met with was willing to help us put some of the above options in action. She directed us to apply online for the “bridge visa” and scheduled an appointment for us to return to immigration on March 27th, the last day the “bridge visa” will be valid. 

Yesterday afternoon, after returning to the vacation rental, we spent hours applying for the bridging visa, which was approved later in the day when we received the online confirmation. Unfortunately, this doesn’t warrant or guaranty in any manner that we can stay until the cruise on April 22nd. 

At this point, we have no idea what will transpire on March 27th. We can only be patient and wait and see. In the interim, we’re making every effort to stay upbeat and positive, neither of which will impact the outcome, both of which will aid us in maintaining our sanity in the process.

Last night’s cloudy view in the shopping and dining area of Manly Beach.

As for the property in Manly…its outstanding, as is our fun, funny, thoughtful, and generous property owner with whom we dined out last night and have already spent considerable time hanging out together. Both the property and owner are exceptional.

Tomorrow, we’ll share more photos and details on the fabulous accommodations and surroundings in this very special beach town of Fairlight/Manly. We’ll keep you updated on our immigration status as we learn more over these next weeks.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, March 14, 2016:

We never figured out the source of smoke in these photos but the scene was gorgeous none the less. For more photos, please click here.