Matilda Waltzes North

After two weeks of searching and readying Matilda, she was ready to leave by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, February 17.  We could have spent another night on Worrall Wind, but decided Matilda was ready to go to the ball, and she didn't want to wait any longer....and neither did we.   Our first leg north was pretty short, and we reached the campground near Glass House Mountains by 6:30 p.m.  We spent the first night in our cozy little pop top.  We were pretty worried about mozzies, so we slept with the van closed up and it was a little too warm.

Glass House Mountains are these lava plugs that were once under the sea where the land was flat.  Once  the sea receded, the flat seabed eroded away leaving the exposed plugs sticking up.  As mountains, they are not very high.  What makes them interesting is they just seem to popup in the middle of flat, rolling lands.

Sidewalk Mosaic

On Friday morning, we explore the Glass House Mountains.  Later in the afternoon, we took a 3 kilometer hike through a national park from the town of Landsborough to Maloolah on a deserted railroad bed through a bat filled tunnel.  The nice part about the tunnel was it was cool and provided some relief from the heat.

Dazzling White Bark Gum Trees

We were really looking forward to seeing some wildlife outside of the zoo.  But no, we didn't see any koalas or kangaroos.  The bush however was noisy with cicadas and birds, quite a contrast from the quiet bush in New Zealand.  It was a nice walk and felt good to be out and moving.

We made our way up to Maroochydore on Friday night and stayed in a lovely campground by the Maroochy River.  We got there early enough to play with our mosquito netting before the mozzies make their late afternoon appearance.

Room with a view

There really weren't very many bugs in this highly civilized campground, but now we know how to open the back hatch and let the breeze blow through the van while we keep the mosquitoes and flies out.

Saturday morning, we traveled further up the coast to Noosa Head taking in the coastal beauty and then headed inland to the little town of Gympie where the Australian Gold Rush started in the 1860's.

Gympie reminds us of Sonora.  On our way to Gympie, we ate lunch in a park where several boys were skate boarding.  Every one of the little towns we have driven through have lovely parks with public restrooms, and many have skate board parks to attract young people who enjoy this sport.  We chatted with one young man who looked to be about 15 who was eating his lunch as well (two large chocolate bars).  I would have preferred that too!

We told him in California, that the public parks require helmets, knee and elbow guards.  He thought that was pretty funny.  The kids in these parks were wearing nothing but shorts and shoes.  He took a cigarette from behind his ear and lit up when one of his friends came over to eat some chocolate.  The boys talked about their plans for the evening and were excited to go somewhere there was going to be a party with girls and drinks.  The boys waved goodbye, put their skate boards under their arms and walked along the public path.

Russ and I reached our campground late in the afternoon, and just enough time to do some grocery shopping for dinner for two nights.  The grocery and other stores are closed on Sundays.  We bought ourselves a roasted chicken and made a green salad for dinner.

Today is Sunday, and we had a fun day on the Rattler, an old steam engine driven train that took us through the countryside to a a little town of Imbil,

 It was serendipitous that we chose this day to ride because every 3rd Sunday, the docent/actors reenact a train robbery at the end of the line.

Officer will soon die in gun battle

Our ascent into Imbil seemed to be going more slowly than our itinerary indicated, but we enjoyed the beautiful scenery as we gazed through the open windows of the old train.

We arrived midway at a stop for refreshments and were about a half hour behind schedule.  By the time we got to the end of the line we were an hour behind schedule.

The actors reenacted the train robbery which was quite entertaining. 

Cryer call for justice

After the train robbery, we were to go to the front the train to watch the engine be turned around on the turntable.  Sadly, the engine wasn't moving.  The poor thing died.

Ran Out of Steam!

Apparently, our slow ascent was due to a steam tube that had burst and was watering down the coal fire.  By the time we got to our destination, the fire was too cool to move the train any further.  While we waited for  air conditioned rescue busses to take us back to Gympie, we ate our picnic in the shade, watched the trial and flogging of the train robbers, and browsed the tourist shops in Imbil.

By 2:45, the passengers on the ill fated Rattler boarded our busses and returned to Gympie making a scheduled stop for wine and cheese tasting.  We arrived back in Gympie ahead of schedule after a very enjoyable day where we met and talked with lots of nice folks.  One of the ladies we met is a retired middle school teacher who has invited us to visit and stay with her a few days in her home near Morton Island.  She enjoys visitors and is signed up with a website called Global Freeloaders.  Haven't heard of it, but plan to look it up.

Tomorrow we are headed up to Bundaberg where we will visit our friend Ken on Trim and hopeful get a taste of Bundaberg Rum.  Russ has made reservations on the ferry to Tasmania out of Melbourne in two weeks, so we will need to start Awaltzing Matilda southward in a couple of days.  We're having fun and both feel great.

All is well with the 2 Travel R's on Awaltzing Matilda.

Yanks in America with Waltzing Matilda

Crikey! These Salty Crocs Are Big!

A thunder storm rolled through the marina this evening after a beautiful sunny, but sticky day here in Scarborough.  It's raining and the "just rained" smell is cool and fresh.  Today was a sad day for us as we said goodbye to one of our fellow cruisers.  Our friend Claudia left for the states today, via Japan to visit her daughter and family. She and fiancé Brian spent the night on Worrall Wind with us before heading to the airport this morning.

Claudia and Brian headed to airport.

Claudia and Brian have their boat up for sail and  are returning to the states, their voyage ending here in Australia.  We met this couple in the remote Cook atoll of Suwarrow, and have been with them several times in American Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and here in OZ.  We have had a lot of fun together crabbing, repairing a jetty, collecting trash in the middle of the Pacific, snorkeling, diving, playing games including Bingo with villagers in Vanuatu, fixing generators in remote locations, visiting schools, sight seeing, etc.  Brian is staying back a few more months hoping that the boat sells, but then he too will be returning to the states.  They both have some work years ahead of them.

Our first two weeks back in Brisbane have been busy, busy.

We spent the first week scouring ads and hunting for used camper vans in the greater Brisbane Area. Our little rental car was put to good use.  The price here in Australia for used vans is much higher than in New Zealand, and the vehicles seem to be in worse condition...lots of dents, rust, and backpacker abuse.  The vans have these big bullbars in front so you don't kill yourself if you hit a kangaroo...not something we plan to do, but there is a load of roadkill.

It's been quite warm here in Queensland (Australian State), probably 85-95 degrees with high humidity.  Finding a van with air conditioning was on our want list.  Before we could buy a van, however we had to open a bank account, have dollars transferred, etc.

After finding nothing in the immediate area, we decided to visit our friends Brian and Claudia on SV Skylight about an hour and a half north of Brisbane in the community of Malooloobah.

As it turned out, there were three vans in the area that were for sale so the trip had a double duty purpose.  To make a long story short, we bought a van but had to wait after making the offer for our American dollars to be transferred.

While we waited, we stayed on Skylight a few days.  We took advantage of the wait time to visit the Australian Zoo started by the Irwin family.  You may recall Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, who was killed a couple of years ago while swimming with a large sting ray while taping for his TV Show.   His mother and father started the zoo when he was a child.  Steve's USA television show made him and the zoo famous. Crikey!

The zoo is a wonderful place.  It is lush, green, and the animals have beautiful natural habitats to live in.  The staff are dedicated to keeping the animals amused, entertained, and engaged in activities so that the animals do not become bored and depressed.   We were able to feed the kangaroos, and pet the Tasmanian devils. wombats, and those adorable Koalas.

We also toured the rescue hospital on the site where injured animals are brought in for treatment by the wildlife warriors.  It's quite impressive.

Australian children returned to school after a 3 month holiday, the day we visited the zoo.  Consequently, the place had only a fraction of the normal attendance giving us lots of free open spaces and elbow room.

Yes we got to see our first Tasmanian devils, kangaroos, wombats, crocodiles, kookaburras, and koalas.  The animals here are not unfamiliar to most of us in North America as we have seen them on TV or in zoos.  But it is pretty amazing that this collection of unusual animals are only found on the Australian continent and nowhere else in the world.  The zoo is expanding to include animals that are endangered as well, including tigers and elephants.

No Rust on Matilda

Poptop, awning, previous owner Cheryl, and her grandkids

Stove on left, cabinets with no sink straight ahead

Russ aligns cabinets, installs water tank

Refrigerator on the right

Stove swings out on hinges for cooking

After our day with the animals, we were notified of our dollar transfer.  On Tuesday, we bid farewell to our friends and to Skylight, went to the bank for a check, picked up our "new to us" van, paid the seller, filled out the appropriate paperwork, registered the change of ownership, got insurance, and drove both it and the rental car back to Scarborough, stopping along the way to buy a 3 way refrigerator for the van (electric, battery, propane).

The following day, we took measurements of the van and then went on a hunt to find material to make some minor modifications to the interior.  Primarily we wanted to install a water tank, sink, hand pump, and new bench top.  The refrigerator didn't quite fit, so that needed some modification as well.  We hope to have the van finished up after Valentines Day.   The boat yard that made repairs on Worrall Wind for us is doing some of the wood cutting for us as Russ does not have a table saw to cut the bench.

Once the van is finished, we'll take "Matilda" who has been sitting on the sidelines,  a waltzing up the coast a couple hundred kilometers for a shake down run, then return to Scarborough where we will make final adjustments to Matilida, button up the boat, and head South to Sydney and Tasmania for a month or two.

While waiting for our parts to come for Matilida, we spent one morning in Brisbane extending our visa until the end of January 2013.  What took us nearly four months in New Zealand, took us 20 minutes in the very efficient downtown office of Brisbane.  They were quite friendly as we forked over $600 for the extension.  Ouch!  We actually plan to stay until we leave on the Indonesia rally in August of 2013, but in order to get another extension, we must leave OZ and return.  We may fly back to states and/or do some other out of OZ traveling for a bit.

That's it for now.

All is Well with the 2 Sail R's on Worrall Wind
and the soon to be 2 Travel R's on Waltzing Matilda

Arrived Safely In Australia

G'Day from Oz!

It took us about 24 from Weimar to arrive at Scarborough Marina in Brisbane.  We cleared customs in Sydney where it was pouring a warm rain.  It was like stepping into a sauna.  Fortunately, we made a domestic transfer without having to go outside.

When we arrived in Brisbane, the sun was out and it was nearly 90 degrees.  After retrieving our luggage, we picked up our rental car and quickly peeled off the jackets, turtlenecks, socks, and long pants.  We stopped for a fish and chips lunch (ate half and brought the rest back for dinner), picked up a few groceries, and arrived at the boat about 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, or about 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 31, in North America.  We lost a day.  The mysteries of traveling west across the dateline into the future.

Worrall Wind is doing fine.  Other than being surrounded by hoards of blue bottle jelly fish and brown water from rain run off, all looks good.  The boat was dry inside (that's a good thing considering the amount of rain fall Brisbane has had) hot, and stuffy when we opened her up.  But there has been a nice breeze blowing through the boat as we unpacked our gear.  We'll have to get used to the rocking again.

Neither of us wants to go to bed until it gets dark, but it is daylight savings time here and the sun is pretty hight in the sky at 6:30 p.m.  Our bodies still think it's about midnight on Tuesday.  We are exhausted not having slept well on the plane, squeezed like sardines in a huge air bus, and the girl sitting next to me had a horrible cold and cough!  Geez!  Most of the time air travel results in a head cold for me.  This time, I'll know the culprit.  I've been taking vitamin C like crazy. Oh well.  No more planes for a while.

Tomorrow we start to plan our next couple of months and search for a camper van.  The adventure continues.  Will keep you posted.

All is Well with the 2 Sail R's on SV Worrall Wind.

Joyous Reunions - Sad Goodbyes

We've been in America now for almost three months and have enjoyed every moment of our "Worrall Wind" trip from sea to shining sea.   Our time has been well spent with family and friends.  With the exception of a few folks who missed our camera, we will treasure our memorable photographs of this past holiday season.

Russ and I are truly grateful for all of you who took the time to see see us and be with us during the last three months.  We've gained a few pounds while we have been home.  Thank you to all of you who fed us so well while we were here and filled our cups with your love and hospitality.  Thank you for letting us share our journey with you.

Please keep in touch with us, and we will keep in touch with you as we resume our travels around the world.  Next stop, Australia.

All is well with the 2 Sail R's soon to be reunited with Worrall Wind.

Happy Holidays

December 26, 2011


Wishing all of our friends and family joy, light, health,  and happiness now and into the New Year.  
We just spent a wonderful three days in Sierraville at the Monico Homestead.  The great surprise was a cute little companion for Mom and Dad.  Abby and Neal gave them a sweet little dog, Peanut or Babe or Noel or....... Name has not yet stuck.


Here are a few photos of our time.

What fun we had with the dog, mechanical cat, IPads, and just visiting with one another.

Back to Sacramento Via Chicago, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles

November 29, 2011 - With heavy hearts, leaving our son and daughter-in-law after a wonderful visit, it was time to travel west.  We left Vermont after several hours of delay due to high winds at O'Hare in Chicago.  When we finally arrived in Chicago, we missed our connection and our flight was rescheduled 24 hours later.  So we were stranded without luggage (hats, gloves, jackets, pajamas, toothbrushes, etc.) in the windy city.  Through the airline, we were able to get reasonably priced accommodations for the night.

Serendipity

The following day, we made good use of our time. It was a crisp clear day in Chicago, and we enjoyed a day of sight seeing and a lunch with my cousin Mike who works in the city.  This was an unexpected and welcome pleasure.  

We departed Chicago in a small jet and headed for Las Vegas late in the day.  Now the winds were in Las Vegas!  When we touched down after being buffeted about in howling 50 miles an hour winds, the passengers broke into a relieved spontaneous applause and bolted from the plane.   Miraculously, we were reunited with our luggage, secured our rental car,  and navigated our way with our iPad to Abby and Neal's home.  We love our new iPad!

Las Vegas - November 30-December 7

What a delight to be reunited with our daughter, son-in-law, and grand pet Noodles. Abby and Neal both had to work the Thursday after we arrived, so we were on our own to rest up and do some touring.  We went to the Atomic museum and learned about the the nuclear testing in Nevada.  It was well done and very interesting.

Spring Preserve Museum

On Friday, Abby had the day off.  Mother and daughter luxuriated with a a pedicure and manicure.  Later in the day, Russ, Abby, and I toured the Spring Preserve in Las Vegas.  When Neal came home, we had some light snacks, and headed of to see Cirque de Soleil, Ka!  This was our Christmas present from the kids.  It was an incredible show.  We were left scratching our heads and marveling at the engineering of the sets and incredible flexibility of the humans.  We capped the evening off with dinner at the MGM Grand.

Saturday was a ski day for Neal, Russ, and Abby.  Neal is on the National Ski Patrol at Mt Charleston about 40 minutes from their home.  Elevation is about 8500 feet and there was fresh snow.  So it was a great day for all of them.  

Sunday, the five of us, including Noodles, set off for the Valley of Fire, and some short hikes through the sandstone formations.  Noodles with her scarf and hiking boots, looked very cute prancing through the sand and climbing up the rocks.  This was a first for Abby and Neal too, so it was especially fun discovering something new together.

Monday was back to work for Abby and Neal.  Russ and I caught up on laundry, reading, and working our photos.  Originally, we had planned on taking a flight tour of the Grand Canyon, but because of weather the Monday flights had been cancelled.

Grand Canyon - December 6
Tuesday morning, we boarded a touring Cessna to fly to the Grand Canyon.  The scenery from the air was gorgeous. The wind sock hung limply, the sky was blue, and the desert looked as if it had been lightly dusted with confectioner's sugar.   It took us about an hour and half to get to the south rim.  From there, Russ and I boarded a helicopter, to get an even closer look of the Canyon. 

The Canyon was dusted with snow, accentuating the many exposed layers of sandstone and eroded gullies.  The contrast of whites, pinks, beiges, and reds was spectacular.  We had plenty of time to visit some the famous look outs for for photos.

A bird's eye view sure beats a road trip!  We had a great day.

Hello Los Angeles - December 7 - 8

We arrived in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, and awoke early Thursday morning to spend 14 hours at the Happiest Place in the World.....Disneyland of course!  It's been years since we have been to Disneyland, and we've never been at Christmas so we enjoyed the festive decorations and the changes to the park.  We also enjoyed meeting up with fellow cruiser, Lori Newell, from SV Trim.

Pirates of the Caribbean is now more reflective of the movies than visa versa.  The Haunted House was decorated as The Nightmare Before Christmas, Swiss Family Robinson House is now Tarzan's Tree House, It's a Small World was lavishly decorated for the holidays, the submarine ride now incorporated finding Nemo, Tomorrowland's Inoventions is reflective of our high tech world, and best of all was the Star Tours ride now in 3D.   That was fabulous. 

Woodland Hills - December 9

We slept in on Friday morning after our long day at Disneyland and took a leisurely drive north along the coast and over the mountains through Topanga Canyon to Woodland Hills where we spent the afternoon and evening with Teresa and Conor the Irish Setter.  Our nephew Mike was on an overseas junket with Peter Greenberg http://www.petergreenberg.com/, travel expert.  Mike frequently works as Peter's radio engineer on these trips.  He has had some amazing experiences.

We missed seeing Mike, but enjoyed being with Teresa and seeing the progress that Mike is making on his sailboat project.  Between the boat and other home projects, both Mike and Teresa are busy.  The boat is looking beautiful.  It will be too pretty to put in the water.

Long Beach - December 10

We departed late morning and made our way south once again, this time to Seal Beach.  After checking into our hotel, I spent the afternoon with Aneta Murphy.  We enjoyed visiting.  Russ and I introduced Aneta to geocaching.  We found a cache just a few feet from the hotel.  Early in the evening, we enjoyed wine and hors d'ouerves with Aneta and Peter, then dinner with Irv Howard at the Long Beach Yacht Club.  What a joy to see them and to catch up.  There have been many changes to middle grades education at the state level, some good, some not so good.  When this trio retires from the California League of Schools, I sure hope there are some great people with big feet to fill their shoes!  They do a terrific job for California's teachers and students.

Sunday, December 11-18 It's Party Time!
We arrived back home in Colfax late December 11, spent 1 night in our own bed, and headed back down to the Bay Area for some visiting.  We spent time with friend Carlene Abbors, Russ's brothers and sisters-in-law Ted and Marian, and Don and Diane, Roz's Aunt Laura, friends Wayne and Carol Martin, and new acquaintances and Nauticat Boat owners Barb and Dave Tishler.  We returned back to Colfax to have breakfast on Saturday with Roz's former colleague from California Department of Education Marsha Robinson and her friend Bill.  Saturday afternoon was spent at Wendy Stevens home in Carmichael with our former Fleet I group.  We had a great, fun-filled reunion with several friends.  Sunday, it's dinner with the McElhaney's and friends......phew!