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We're home safe and sound - and the trip home was uneventful (fortunately!). Thanks to all of our friends who helped out so we could be gone that long. An amazing trip. We both think the highlights were Melbourne and the Blue Mountains.

Blue Mountains and Spring Awakening

The day tour of the blue mountains was amazing. We had a private guide (with Jon and Charles). Saw lots of Kangaroos in the wild. They are amazingly graceful creatures and have a face a bit like a black lab (ok - I'm projecting there a bit...I miss our dog) - but seriously it's cute. The tail swings up when they are in motion to provide balance and they just kind of glide through the air. They are also quite abundant - and a food source for the area. Apparently they are a bit like deer in the midwest. Due to the way the people have changed the land, they are overpopulating.

The other really interesting thing is that the blue mountains go from rain forest to mountain top (pine tree type) in a matter of a few feet. The blue hue, btw, is caused by a mix of the oil from the Eucalyptus tree and the dust in the air somehow refracting the light to give it the blue shade. The town (Katoomba) is kind of a resort town with lots of cute little restaurants and shops.

That evening we went to one of the restaurants and I had a mixed grill which included 'roo. Actually, it was quite tasty - not gamey at all.

The drive back to Sydney was a bit of an adventure. The GPS that we were using was always about 5 seconds late telling us to turn. Plus it turns out the car rental return place isn't technically in Sydney, but in a suburban town. Both Sydney and the suburb have the same street (williams street) - so we ended up in front of some bloke's house who clearly wasn't in the business of returning rental cars. We finally made it back (thanks to Charles who did all of the driving...on the left) and celebrated with a pitcher of Sangria and some lovely snacks at an outdoor cafe near our hotel.

Last night we went to see Spring Awakening at the Sydney Theatre. The theatre looks to be almost brand new and was built in an old warehouse adjacent to the harbour. The venue was fabulous. Spring Awakening won a bunch of Tony awards last year (or the year before) so I was looking forward to it. I was ready to leave after the first act, but others seemed to enjoy it so we stayed for the whole thing. It included stories about physical and sexual abuse, one suicide, one death due to a botched abortion, really BAD choreography (mostly in the first act), a plot which did not become clear until 2/3 of the way through the first act, and music that almost all sounded the same. I will say the lighting design was cool, as was he set design. However, if this was the "best of show" so to speak for that year, perhaps some years they should just not award Tony awards!

Today is our last day in Sydney and tomorrow we head home. I told Ray last night I'm not ready to go home. Except for one little matter I had to take care of (CDC released a request for qualifications that we needed to respond to), I've totally unplugged from the office and that's been really good. I also really like Australia. It has a lot of sophistication of the big cities, a very European flavor, and I LOVE the accent and wish I could learn to speak like that! While they don't have gay marriage they are actively pushing for it and some of the states do already have it. Certainly being a gay couple over here is no problem at all. Ray and I keep looking for retirement locations - I'd certainly consider Melbourne or Sydney and I suspect we'll come back and spend more time in both of those cities. Plus I'm thinking we'll do a tour of some of the wine country over here.

Melbourne and into Sydney

I feel like I’ve been a bad blogger – haven’t updated in days. Melbourne was WONDERFUL. We were fortunately to have two friends of the guy who is housesitting for us to act as tour guides. It’s a wonderful, cosmopolitan city. Great ethnic diversity (READ FOOD) – French fries with herbs and wonderful slices! We went up in the skytower and saw the skyline of the harbor at sunset, had dinner, and then went to their apartment for a relaxed evening where they told us all about life in Australia. The next day they acted as tour guides taking us all around the city. Melbourne is definitely on our come back to list.
The day at sea was relaxing – didn’t really do much except sleep and enjoy the entertainment. Usually Atlantis has a special guest star as a surprise. But, due to us all going to the Mardi Gras parade this evening there wasn’t – but we enjoyed a great cabaret duo, and a great comedian.
Sailing into Sydney was wonderful. It’s a gorgeous sunny day. We did a harbor cruise and some souvenir shopping. Now we’re back on the boat getting ready for the parade. The weather is perfect so we’re really looking forward to it!

The pictures are of Craig and Scott - our hosts in Melbourne and of our sailing into Sydney Harbor.

Rough Seas

OMG - we are bouncing around like I don't know what. Went on almost all night. Had a few hours of quiet and then hit another BIG storm. Ray's in bed...I'm drinking.

Furry things sleeping

Cupcakes and Moonsets

Cupcakes from the Farmer's Market and Sunsets over the ocean sailing out of Dunedin.

The Catchup Blog

We've had 3 ports in 3 days - so this is a bit of a catchup!

As I write this, we’re currently crossing the Tasman Sea going from New Zealand to Australia. It is to be two days at sea. After we got on board to start this sailing, the captain came on the intercom and basically said that we were expecting very rough weather for the next day – 15 to 20 foot waves and 40 mph winds. So we were supposed to move all breakables off the shelves onto the floor in our rooms, not to wear high-heels (you can imagine the uproar that THAT caused with a few of our contingent). They were going to close and drain the pools, and put steel plates over the windows on the lower cabin portholes. For the first time in my life I thought to myself – ya know, I’d rather be on an airplane right now!!! At least they can fly around or above it.

It seemed so surprising that the weather was going to turn sour since it was actually a beautiful starry night. The moonlight reflecting over the ocean was spectacular and one of the things we both commented on was how brilliant the starlight was – and how many more stars there seemed to be in the sky. I assume that’s because we were moving further and further away from light pollution – or maybe it’s our position on the globe. It’s very different. I heard several of the staff say that the weather crossing the Tasman Sea is a bit unpredictable in terms of weather and this is the end of their cyclone season (the equivalent of the end of hurricane season at home). I wonder why they call them cyclones here and hurricanes at home? I’ll have to check that out – something to do today.

It did get bumpy in the night, but really not any worse than what we had a few nights ago. What’s different is that it IS very rainy and windy. Looks like a March day in Indiana – but it’s still fun to see the ocean and whitecaps. The captain said this is going to last until around midnight, so it’ll be an indoor day. Fortunately, neither of us get seasick. Everyone is walking around looking drunk…but on a boat with 1400 gay men they very well could be drunk already – or it could be the remnants of all their attempts to walk in heels last night (which apparently became the informal night to do drag since the captain said basically no heels after midnight) – or some combination thereof. Actually, I’ve decided it’s a little easier to walk around the boat in this weather after a drink or two!

Yesterday – Dunedin – was a very short port stop. We scheduled a wildlife exploration by Argo Vehicle. Basically, it’s similar to an ATV, except it’s got 8 wheels rather than 4, and is supposed to be amphibious (we didn’t test that theory).

We did get to see penguins and seals, including baby pup seals. Ray said the seals reminded him of our dog. They just lay there looking cute – yawn once in a while – and then go looking for food. Seems to me that’s true of all of us at some point in our lives.

We also saw Albatrosses. Once hatched and ready for flight, they spend five years at sea before they return to the land to mate. They have a 10 meter wing span – so roughly 40 feet. Much larger and they’d be a regional jet…and probably have more leg room.

We didn’t really have time to stop and tour the town. Plus, being Sunday almost nothing was open. It’s basically a university town (University of Otega) – they have about 20,000 students with the medical and dental schools.

Christchurch was the previous day. That was a full day tour. We went to Riccarton House which as the first farm established in Canterbury district established by the Deans family. Btw, if these names all sound English, you’d be right – New Zealand, while independent, is still part of the British Commonwealth and the founders of this area all attended schools/ churches in England and gave them the names based on their affiliation with these. Riccarton House was pretty – what was MORE fun was that they were having a Farmer’s market. It was so good to see late summer produce. And there were some amazing baked goods including some very intricately made cupcakes, homemade salsa, and barbecue sauce. The house was nice – old house that had been tacked on to several times. The farmer’s market was much more fun to watch and interact with the people. Fortunately the tour guide could understand that and gave us as much time as she could there.

After that we went to Homebush, the farm that had passed down in the Deans family. Lunch there was WONDERFUL – bbq lambchops, beef tenderloin and several other dishes prepared with local foods. Pavlova is a really interesting dessert that is a local specialty. It’s basically a baked meringue iced with whipped cream and covered with fresh fruit. Almost an inside out baked Alaska. Very light and delicious and quite original (hey Kris…are you listening!)

We then went from there to the Arctic Centre. Turns out that Christchurch is the home based for many Antarctic bases. It’s a five hour flight. I’m sure I knew this somewhere in my junior high school geography, but the arctic circle (north pole) is water surrounded by some land masses. Antarctica is actually a continent about twice the size of the USA which is surrounded by ocean. They had some very interesting displays, including and “arctic storm” where they put you in a really cold room and kick up the wind to give you a sense for what it’s like to work down there. We didn’t bother – but you could see it would be great fun for kids!

I think we’ve both decided we’ve kind of had it with looking at scenic countryside, and as the New Zealander’s call it – “pristine bush” – which is what we call woods. I mean think about it – exactly how pristine can it be! It’s a little cleaner - they don’t have snakes or some other pests, true. And actually – interesting fact – they didn’t have possums, cats, or rats until European settlers arrived. Most of the birds in New Zealand were ground dwelling and were easy prey for the newly introduced predators – resulting in the extinction or near extinction of several species. “Pristine” to them specifically means they have eradicated the cats, dogs, etc. so that the ground dwelling birds can return and re-establish themselves.

Nevertheless, there’s only so many times you can look at grassy plains and say how beautiful they are, and sound sincere. Melbourne, which is where we’re headed, is supposed to be a wonderfully cosmopolitan city. We’re in port overnight. We were supposed to do a panoramic tour the first day, and then do some kinds of nature tour the second day. But I think we’re both having “Lisa Douglas” moments and going to punt the nature tour and just spend the time touring the city.

Wellington: Flavors for all the senses

Wellington: Flavors for the senses
We pulled into Wellington right on time. After about a 20 minute walk into town we could see why it is referred to as the cultural center of New Zealand. It is much more “eclectic” in terms of people and architecture. Besides being the city capital, one of the major universities, the University of Victoria, is there. They have a lot of outdoor art which I’ve always found fascinating; including some interesting signs as we were walking in shown in one of the photos below.
We took a walk up Cuba street, which bares a lot of resemblance to Castro street in San Francisco. The irony of the Cuba-Castro connection did not hit us until we got back on the boat. First order of business was lunch in a Café about ½ way up Cuba street. Then we walked all the way up to the end and back down the other side. There were lots of very interesting shops and bars – plus this really cool waterfall which is kind of a Rube Goldberg type thing very reminiscent of one at the Children’s museum in Indianapolis. We were both so low energy we went to a coffee shop for a Latte and I finally gave in to indulgence in a local delicacy called “slices” – which come in lots of flavors. They are basically a very dense sheet cake with an equally dense icing and sometimes and in-between layer, which are cut literally into slices. Chocolate- Caramel, Citrus, Mocha, Cherry, Peanut-butter Caramel. They are quite different and VERY satisfying. Note to Kris Parmalee if you’re reading this – you could do an AWESOME job on these. We’re going to look for a cookbook with these.
We then went through the Botanical Gardens. One nice thing about New Zealand is that they apparently don’t have Japanese Beetles – we went through lots of Rose Gardens that were amazing – and no little critters! We also went through the sculpture garden and they had some very odd pieces as well as some very interesting pieces. One is a staircase out of black granite labeled “Body to Soul” On each step there is a different word – on the first step is “BODY” and the last one is “SOUL” – what the artist did is change one letter on each step to get the progression from one word to the other. So Body became bony became bend…sour … soul. It was quite fascinating and the artist’s intent was to have the viewer contemplate the progression from body to soul that we all go through.
We ended up walking for almost 6 hours, ending up back in the Cuba district. Had a garlic bread pizza with sides of homemade pesto and olive tapenade and split a bottle of white wine, before walking back to the ship. We certainly slept well!

Why don't ships have seatbelts!

Yesterday was a day at sea. Ray did acupuncture. I enjoyed the sauna and spa. Our friends Jon and Charlie went to the kitchen tour. They met the person who’s sole job is to crack eggs. Apparently he cracks them 9 at a time. Like 4000 a day. Apparently they’ve tried using machines to do it, but get too many shell piece fragment in things, so they hired this guy full time. I can’t imagine doing nothing but that all day. And of course career wise he has no eggs-it strategy (that one was for Anne Luther-Sander). LOL!

Had a very nice dinner and then enjoyed the comedian showcase. Atlantis always brings a number of entertainers on board, including several comics. It was a good laugh. They each did a short segment and then they will have their own show later in the week. We went to a couple of parties and then turned in for the evening.
Sleep, however, proved to be somewhat difficult. The boat had been a bit bumpy all day, but overnight we encountered rough seas – 8 to 12 feet. Apparently there’s the remnants of a cyclone near by. During the day it was fun to watch everyone try to deal with the unsteady boat. It wasn’t clear who was drunk and who was just trying to get sea legs! Ray and I did a 2 mile walk around the deck and when we would cross either the bow or stern there was this odd feeling of weightlessness or extra gravity depending on the motion of the boat.

It’s one thing to be in an aircraft in a seatbelt during rough air (which I abhor) . It’s another to be tossed about while lying in bed trying to sleep and to be awakened every 10 to 30 minutes feeling like you needed to hold on to something so you didn’t get thrown out of bed. Kinda reminded me of some scene from a Jerry Lewis movie or something. Funny, but not very restful.

Today we’re in Wellington, which is the capital of New Zealand. It’s located at the south end of the north island. We ended up not getting a packaged tour for this port – the one we wanted was sold out. However, it’s supposed to be quite a walkable city – and it turns out we’re arriving early (12 Noon rather than 3pm) so we have most of the day there. Since we didn’t sleep too well, I’m kinda glad we don’t have a fixed schedule. They have the only cable car in the southern hemisphere which takes you up and over the city which is where I think we will start. The weather is supposed to clear up and there is a botanic garden near by which I’m hoping to get to. Cuba Street is supposed to have lots of cool shops and the like, so I’m sure we’ll stop there as well.

Actually, ever as I write this the weather has started to clear. It was very foggy and rainy yesterday – but as we’ve moved closer to Wellington this morning the clouds have cleared and it’s going to be a sunny day. Cooler than we expected (like in the 65 degree range), but still better than Indiana! The New Zealand coastline is quite beautiful to cruise past. Picture attached.

Day at Sea

We spent yesterday morning getting ready to get on the cruise. Ray bought housekeeping basics…I bought two pairs of shoes. I found a great pair of “tramping boots” (New Zealand for hiking boots) and a pair of exercise shoes – both of which are VERY comfortable. The shoes were a good deal – especially considering that the US dollar is worth about 25% more in New Zealand.
We had a lovely harbor-side lunch and then made our way to the ship. Check-in was remarkably easy compared with some of the other ships we’ve been on. Our room is bigger than on other ships – though that’s still not huge. What always amazes me about cruise ship staterooms is how well designed the storage is in them. They really know how to utilize every nook and cranny.
We did dinner in the “fancy” restaurant last night – it was good, but neither of us thought it was out of this world good. We were both kinda surprised they charged for it separately. The show last night was a Liza Minnelli impersonator – quite funny though I will admit to snoring part of them time being awakened by Ray laughing. We came back to find the pictured “towel dog” in our room – announcing the dog tag dance for tomorrow. It was a cute reminder of Babe.
Today is mostly a day at sea. We did do some scenic cruising past White Island, which is an active volcano. It was quite interesting to be able to get that close – you could certainly smell the sulfur. Tomorrow we arrive in Wellington, which is the capital of the country. The tour we wanted actually sold out like a day after it went on sale – so we’re going to do our own walking tour. We are actually arriving two or three hours early, so we’ll have plenty of time to explore with the guidebook we brought along.

It's just a theory...that was proven! Cell phones DO work in NZ

So theoretically our cell phones work in NZ - but not in Australia. I had turned my phone on when we got here and completely forgot about it. At 5am the phone starts ringing - bringing us both our of a sound sleep. I didn't get to the phone in time to answer it - then got a text. My sister forgot we are world travelers now - just calling to get my cousin's phone number! LOL - we got right back to sleep, but it was funny to think about how connected the world is now. Not that long ago it required overseas operators and scotch tape to make a connection like that. Now we do it unwittingly. Kinda cool to think about - and fun to hear a familiar sound from home.

btw - Rob Seibert...please call Anne again - she lost your number!

Auckland Tour

Today we did a semi-private tour of Auckland. We saw gorgeous countryside and waterfall. The land truly is beautiful. It reminded us a bit of Copenhagen, being a series of Islands. We then drove about an hour further out into the countryside for a sheep shearing demonstration. I had my doubts it was going to be worthwhile - but it was actually quite informative. The New Zealand record for sheering an entire sheep is about 15 seconds - given how large the animals are that's a pretty amazing feet. We had dinner with Jon and Charles and some friends of theirs from SFO. Jon and I went to visit the local gay bar for a quick drink and to meet some of the people who were on the cruise. It was fun, but we only stayed about 1/2 hour before deciding to head home and get ready to get on the boat tomorrow. I'm still hoping to find some shoes to wear - the stores here close early - like 6pm - so by the time we got back from the tour we didn't really have much time to shop. We can't get on the boat until noon tomorrow - so we'll have some time to shop beforehand.

Heading out to explore Auckland

Last night we met up with Jon and Charlie and had a great steak dinner. We got the best night's sleep in several nights and feel great. Today we're meeting up with some friends of theirs from SFO and we've hired a guide to take us around Auckland. I'm hoping to get some new walking shoes or boots. I brought a pair of sneakers with me that are identical to the ones I wear to work out (just newer) but apparently something is different - the right one is really painful to wear. Fortunately I have other shoes, but none really good for long walking. I'm thinking I will look at hiking boots - which they call "tramping boots" here.

Valentine's Day in Sydney

Valentine's day was really rainy. We did walk all over and Jim bought an authentic Australian hat made from Kangaroo - he wasn't going to get it, but Ray decided after we'd been shopping for a while that it looked good on him so we went back to get it. This will likely become his version of the Red Hat club. Pictures forthcoming. We had brunch in a lovely area near Oxford street and then dinner at a seaside restraunt directly opposite of of Sydney Opera House. It was still rainy - but it stopped long enough for us to enjoy a lovely dinner outside.

Walking back from dinner we came across "Martini Dry Cleaners" - our kinda cleaner! (Well, Ray's - Jim's not much into Martinis).

Breakfast will be served at the sound of the smoke alarm

We spent yesterday evening walking around Darling Harbour and various waterfront areas. Had mediocre Chinese food (it's was the hotel's recommendation) and went to bed around 9:30pm...so not that much different than home for me. Was awakened to the sound of the hotel fire alarm system going off. Turned out to be a false alarm - but it was 6am and so with 9 hours of sleep we went exploring for coffee and Lattes - walked past the botanical gardens and several major historical buildings. Came back to the room to get camera and supplies and will head back and take pictures. Dinner this evening is on the waterfront overlooking the Sydney Opera House - a very romantic way to spend Valentines day! Made reservations a week ago and barely got in.

What I'm noticing most is the true mix of architectural styles - very contemporary next to very classic traditional. Everyone is very hospitable and my favorite phrase so far is "No Worries" (coming from the Customs agent no less). The concept of no worries is so foreign to my personality...kinda fun to contemplate though!

A Dashing (literally) start

We made it to Sydney - and it's summer here and there's no snow and we love it! We barely made it though. The flight was 2 hours late departing Indianapolis. We landed at LAX 5 minutes before the flight to Sydney was to depart. Delta staff met us on the gangway pointing which direction (3 gates to the right) and to RUN! We did...we made it - and to Delta's credit, even our luggage made it. WOW. The flight was fine - it was a 777 with the individual pods. I got about 6 hours sleep - Ray actually got a pretty good night's sleep.

Our room wasn't ready when we got here - but we're in walking distance of the harbor and the Opera House - so we strolled around and had lunch and by then we could get into the room. No pictures today - just letting everyone know we got here and are getting settled in.

Jim & Ray

Itinerary

Date	Port
11 February	Fly to Sydney
12 - 15 February	Touring Sydney
15 February	Fly to Auckland, New Zealand
15-16 February	Touring - Auckland, New Zealand
17 February	Board - Auckland, New Zealand
18 February	Scenic cruising White Island
19 February	Wellington, New Zealand
20 February	Lyttelton(Christchurch), New Zealand
21 February	Port Chalmers(Dunedin), New Zealand
22 February	At Sea
23 February	At Sea
24-25 February	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
26 February	At Sea
27 February	Sydney, Australia
28 February	Disembark Cruise and Travel to Blue Mountains
28 February to 2 March	Touring Blue Mountains
2 March to 4 March	Touring Sydney
4 March	Fly Home

Getting Ready

Hi Folks -

So we're getting ready for our next big adventure. Below is our cruise itinerary. We fly to Sydney on Feb 11th - spend a couple of days there, then head over to Auckland to get on the boat and then have a few days back in Australia, including some time in the Blue Mountains before heading home. Overall we're gone 3 weeks.

We'll put this blog URL out on our Facebook pages and you can also subscribe to the blog to get updates. Or just ignore if you're not interested!

Ray and Jim