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. 

                                              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.