Blogging Out

Day 32:
Unpacked. Began laundry. Tidied house. Continued laundry. Went shopping. Still more laundry. Read e mails. Where is all this laundry coming from? Made supper. I'm sure that sock isn't one of ours. Washed up. Is there no end to this laundry? God I'm exhausted. I need a holiday.....

Thanks to everyone who commented on the blog during our trip. We loved hearing from you and it made our holiday even more enjoyable. I hope none of you think I ever took one minute of this trip for granted, or that I intended to show off. I am immensly grateful to Ross for planning and financing this most extraordinary celebration and after living with him for 25 years, all I can say is: "Boy, do I deserve it!"

..and the Oscar for Neatness in a Starring Role goes to...

We were lucky enough to be in SF on Oscars Night, so for once I didn't have to try to stay awake all night to watch them. It would have taken us 6 hours to drive down to Hollywood, so we had a party in our hotel suite instead. Margo bought food, drink and of course the obligatory tiaras, and we ordered the most expensive pizza in the world from room service. We sat and watched the show in true Californian style, toasting the winners with wine and bitching about the women's dresses.
Our evening of fun was, however, rudely interupted by a chance comment from Jack. Our hotel, part of the Westin chain, is famed for its "heavenly beds". One reason we picked it was to ensure complete comfort for Ross' back.
"That's not a heavenly bed," Jack noted. "In fact it looks like it folds up into the wall."
We'd been so tired when we got in the night before, we hadn't even noticed, but he was right, and Margo deftly pushed it up to prove the point.
Ross was aghast. He wanted his heavenly bed, so he ran down to reception. Always one to get his own way, minutes later he was back.
"You're right. We're moving. Now."
"But we're in the middle of a party," I complained. "We'd have to pack up straight away."
"That's right. Now."

Now what may surprise some of you who know Ross well, is that although his office desk is usually buried under a sea of paper, when it comes to packing he could win awards for neatness. Everything has to be just so, and packing days have become something of an issue between us. As long as a case closes, I can't see the problem, but Ross has to have it pristine. I guess it must be something to do with the x ray machines. I'm sure a security guard must have complimented him on his folding prowess once upon a time.

Anyhow, on this occasion he just didn't have time, and after four weeks of careful packing, we had to throw everything in , not even zipping the cases shut since the management decided we had to move straight away.

So it was we completed our final move zooming down the regal corridors with clothes bulging out of all corner, and Margo pushing our food trolley for all she was worth. Now that should have won an Oscar...

San Francisco Snaps

Here's a scene you don't see everyday. Australia came to say g'dbye to us in San Francisco with a tourism exhibition outside our hotel, the Westin St Francis, in Union Square. The show featured a real, if somewhat moth- eaten kangaroo, as well as a record breaking pavlova.

The postcard prisoners in Alcatraz would have sent their loved ones if allowed.

Ross didn't mean to lose his temper with the guard...... He should be back home in 2020.

We have stayed in hotels like this in the past, but fortunately not on this trip.

Every tourist should visit Fisherman's Wharf, and then immediately move on to the more pleasant parts of the town.

Guess where this picture was taken...

That's right, on a San Francisco cable car.

Cheers. Enjoying a little wine tasting in Napa.From the left: Petra, Margo, Abi, Hilary, Jack

Front row: Robin and Ross

Not over yet...

Check later for a final round of pictures and the exciting conclusion to Around the World in 31 Days....

Pretty Women?

The last evening of our trip was nothing if not memorable. After eating, and fainting, in some of the best restaurants in the world, our friends Jack and Margo came up with an interesting choice. Asia SF is a typically Californian restaurant/nightclub. It has a snazzy website, a modern gourmet menu and some unusual entertainment, of which more, later.
Unfortunately, the evening didn't go well. First of all Margo was all excited with the great table they had given us. It was in a corner, which apparently would give us a great view of the show. The trouble was, we all had to perch on bar stools, our feet dangling, and this was no good at all for Ross' back. The menu wasn't too good for me and Abi either, since most of it contained shell fish and we had to go for a set menu because there were seven of us.
The restaurant boasted state of the art mood lighting around the walls. More like, in a mood lighting, for us. It was okay when it was yellow, but pale blue and green were difficult to read by, and by the time they hit red, you may as well throw the menu away. Since we had no real choice, anyhow, I guess that didn't matter.
We moved to another table, more comfortable for Ross, but with a view looking up at the show, instead of across. (This is because the show was on top of the bar. More later, remember).
To be honest, Abi and I didn't much like the food. However, we both perked up when dessert arrived, an ice-cream cone each. Depending on what mood the walls were in at the time, the cones changed colour, and we couldn't tell what they were.
Abi and I swapped our vanilla and coconut, which was fine, but that left Ross and Robin with something purple. Robin thought it was liquorice, but it turned out to be an exotic Asian fruit. Trouble was, it stained their mouths purple too, but with Ross' ever continuing dental problems, I think he thought he could always get the dentist back home to scrape it off.
Then it was time for the show!
This was performed by our waitresses, a stunning looking gang. The thing was, they were all transexuals. To be honest, I felt faintly jealous they all looked so beautiful. Why didn't they sag and flop everywhere like us real women do?
Anyway, so there we were, the anniversary couple, two straight friends, one gay one and our children in a drag club...I couldn't decide if should win the coolest parents of the year award for taking them there, or be locked up by the NSPCC!
Robin made a brave job of enjoying himself, although he declined Jack's suggestion of giving one of the girls a flower.
Abi started frantically texting on her mobile and looking anywhere but at was happening around her.
Maybe next time we'll stick with McDonalds....

Escape to Alcatraz

One thing we simply had to do in San Francisco was visit Alcatraz. How do you get there? Commiting a murder or two is always an option, but these days it's simpler to catch the ferry, which only takes about 10 minutes.
I knew the tour would be fascinating, and it was. An audio tape gives explanations and stories from former inmates, as well as brilliant sound effects of the gates closing, guns being cocked, etc. It was a cold and creepy place, but what I hadn't realised was how beautiful a place it is too.
The prison takes up an entire island in the San Francisco Bay. There are gorgeous trees and flowers around it, and the views from the top of the hill, spectacular.
There are barred windows around the prison so you can see the views. This may sound a little odd, but the idea was that the prisoners could see what they were missing. Apparently, they could sometimes hear the sound of music coming across from the city, particularly on New Year's Eve. Quite what effect this had on hardened criminals like Machine Gun Kelly I don't know, but it seemed quite poignant to us.

There is No H in Wine

Shortly after arriving in San Francisco, we were renunited with the children, who we flew out to meet us for the last part of the trip. I always knew three days would never be enough to do justice to such a great place, but we gave it our best shot. So first thing the following morning we set off the to the Napa Valley, as you do.
Our host was Margo Montoya, a friend of our friend Jack, who lives in SF. She kindly hired a people carrier, so by 10.30 a.m. we were off; Margo, Jack, his friend and colleague Petra, Ross, Robin, Abi and I.
There is a song about it never raining in Southern California. I know why. Because it never stops in the North. (That probably isn't fair, but was certainly true while we were there) In fact calling it rain is a bit of an understatement. There was torrential rain all day, but I suppose they must need that as well as the sun for the grapes.
What surprised me was how close Napa is to the city. All you do is drive over the Golden Gate Bridge, drive for under an hour, and there you are. Whereas in England we may spend our Sunday afternoons driving around looking for country tea shops, the Californians drive from one winery to another sampling the goods, and very good they were too.
Robin, who most people know, failed his wine course at uni, (well, they do now) thoroughly enjoyed himself. Of course it was less fun for Abi, because in the U.S you cannot drink alcohol under 21. I warned her not to whine, but once you have had one bottle of water, you have pretty much had them all.
In the end, the rotten weather forced to cut the tour short, but for those of us full of champagne, it didn't seem to matter...

Hawaiian Farewell

Hilary in an internet cafe when she should have been taking a helicopter ride (see previous entry)

It stopped raining just long enough to take some photos. This is actually a picture of a wild chicken on Nawiliwili Beach, Kauai. They became wild after a hurricane in 1992, when all the chicken coop on the islands were destroyed and they suddenly found themselves free to enjoy the beaches, restaurants etc.

View from the ship as we sailed away. This picture was taken just before we passed the most beautiful views in the entire state. Needless to say, by the time we reached them, they were covered in fog. However, if you want to see what we missed, rent a copy of Jurassic Park.

After the disappointment of not being able to climb the Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Ross loses no time in preparing for the Golden Gate in San Francisco.

This is our last entry from Hawaii, where the sun shines every day unless we are in town.

We're now moving on to the last stop, San Francisco. I may or may not leave my heart there, but I'd be more than happy to say farewell to my luggage!

Mahalo and Aloha from Hawaii

The Newlywed Game

The best thing about our cruise has been the many wonderful people we have met. We haven't made any life long friends, but have shared meals and meetings with some lovely folk with great stories to tell.
The most unusual must be the couple we had breakfast with today. They married in the ship's chapel two days ago. Personally, I think they rushed into things a little. They have only been together eight months, and yet they have already married. Shouldn't think it will last..
Actually, it turns out they were high school classmates back home in San Antonio, Texas. He never asked her out on a date, much to her annoyance, because he said she was a terrible dancer.
They both married other people, but eventually met up at a high school reunion. To be honest, they must have been the only people there, because they are now both 88 years old.
They were tremendous fun and admitted they had not had breakfast in the restaurant before, because after all, they were on honeymoon, and didn't get out of bed til late.

A Perfect Day

Today should have been the highlight of our Hawaiian cruise, if not the whole trip. We saved our money to book the must do excersion, a helicopter trip flying over the most beautiful island, Kauai. It is where many Hollywood films have been made, like South Pacific, Jurassic Park and most recently, King Kong. As I write, we should have been whizzing over beaches, a canyon and waterfalls, just like at the beginning of Magnum, for those of you old enough to remember the TV series.
So, why am I here, you may ask? Well, there is a reason why this part of Hawaii is so lush and green. It gets rain. And plenty of it. In fact so much rain today that all the trips were cancelled, even those on land.
So my enduring memory of this paradise island is this internet cafe. But at least I have a poster advertising the flight right in front of me. Just to rub salt into my wounds.
NB: I am writing this item looking for messages of sympathy. Please stop laughing.

Snap Happy

You certainly feel like a celebrity on a cruise ship. They never stop taking your picture.
As we queued for our "formals", we found ourselves behind an American family group - they tend to travel en mass, probably to save sending postcards to anyone left at home.
What we learnt from watching them:
1. Never have your photo taken with children or animals.
2. If you have three children in a photo, one will smile, one will cry and the other will pick his nose.
3. When the nose picker stops, the crying child will fall asleep and the smiler will stick her tongue out.
4. When the smiler puts her tongue back in, the nose picker will scratch, the crying child will pull his mothr's hair and the smiler will start crying.
5. When you travel without your children, you may miss them, but you sure get good photos.

Tour de Force

"I'm not doing one of those ship excersion's," snapped Ross. "They charge twice what everyone else does. We'll find one on shore and save money."
My heart sank. We got off the ship at Hilo, a port on the Big Island. We chose a hippy-like American with long grey hair tied back in a pony tail and a battered straw cowboy hat.
"Yawl have a good time with us," he enthused. "And we'll start just as soon as we've sold the other 6 places on the bus."
Half an hour later he sold us on to another company, unable to fill his bus. It was obviously some kind of holding area for stray tourists.
Our new guide, Tommy, was a 7 foot tall Hawaiian with a giant mop of hair. Not wanting to waste our day, or antagonise him, we meekly climbed into the mini bus.
Tommy must have either read and digested every book about Hawaii ever written, or had a wildly creative imagination. He was an expert of everything, from wildlife and botony to history and fables. And the stories. We must have heard every ancient legend ever handed down since the year 1,200. Twice.
One passenger commented that we were getting so much information that we could probably claim college credits.
As our 4 hour tour turned into 6 1/2 hours, we saw Mount Kiliuea from the top, waterfalls, plus of course the obligatory factory shop stops. Big Island Candies, Mauna Louy macadamia nuts and an orchid farm. Of course we were annoyed to be forced to stop at these less than educational stops, but it would have been impolite not to buy at least one thing from each one, so we did.
By the end of the day we were losing the will to live. We were seated at the back of the minibus, and Ross stretched out to go to sleep. Anyone who went to ask a question was shushed by their companions as the minutes passed by.
We had to run away from Tommy as he embarked on a lengthy Hawaiian farewell as the ship was preparing to leave.
"The good news is I'm starting my own tour company soon," he called out to us. "So be sure to look me up when you return to Hawaii!"

Captain's Blog

Celebrating my birthday on board. The beautiful dragonfly brooch was part of Avril's gift.

Our ship, the NCL Pride of America. (We'll airbrush the blue skies in when we get home. The weather is warm, but usually overcast and very windy)

Ross in shopping heaven. His own shop! This is where the shop assistant asked if I qualified for a "senior's" discount. Not quite what you want to hear on your 49th birthday!

We had to do the touristy thing and attend a luau. It was great fun, and it seemed very intimate with only 688 other people, since there are 2,000 people on the ship.

There was a very good show of traditional Hawaiin dancing.

Ok. This is our tour guide Tommy. Remember him, because when I have time I will be writing about him in some detail.....

Every tour includes a stop at a factory. This one produced orchids.

We visited the National Volcano Park. This picture is actually taken inside a lava tube.

On top of
Mount Kiluea

Above are just a few highlights of our trip to Hawaii so far. The interenet on the ship is extortionate, so we were delighted to find this internet cafe in Kona. Of course it is famous for coffee, but we decided to forgo the scenic tour so we could update the blog. Good to know we still have our priorities right!

Warship in Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbour and the New Japanese Invasion

Before setting sail on our Hawaiian cruise, we had an important stop to make. As well as being famed for its beautiful surfing beaches, Waikiki is also home to Pearl Harbour, where the Japanese bombed the US navy in 1941.
The site is now a monument to the battle, and a particularly interesting part is the wreck of the USS Arizona, now a major US memorial.
To reach it, you take a naval run ferry out to the remains. Above it is a rectangular gallery, but if you look down beneath the water, you can clearly see the remains of the rusted carcass below. Oil still trickles up onto the surface of the water, which the Americans say is the tears of the 1,700+ men who perished below.
The only Japanese invaders today, of course, are the huge tour groups who visit Australia and Hawaii in their droves. It seemed very appropriate, on this occasion at least, that they came to remember too.

So Long Sydney

Well, another last day. This evening we are leaving Sydney, and of course Australia. We have had a marvellous time here. We expected the weather to be glorious, which it was, and the food sensational, which it also was. However, what we didn't expect was the warmth and humour of the people. They have really made our trip. In Melbourne and Port Douglas particularly, we met dozens of people along the way, who made us really feel at home. Sydney is more like London, but a great place to visit nonetheless. Even now, I still cannot believe we have seen the Harbour Bridge and Opera House for real. Maybe one day we will be able to return so Ross can climb the bridge.We leave here with many happy memories, and for Ross, the world's most unusual sun tan. Travellers' Tip: If you use a spray sun tan lotion, you must still rub it in. Otherwise you are left with a strange blotchy effect, a bit like the Turin shroud. See picture below....

Is it me, or can you see a map of Australia in white across Ross' stomach?

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Remember to tune in soon as we say "Aloha" to Hawaii. We'll be crossing the International Dateline, so see you on Wednesday, 34th Mayvember.

Life's a Beach

It was so hot on Friday that we decided to stop being city slickers and spend a day on the beach. I believe it snowed a little in London that day! Oh well...

We took the ferry from Sydney Harbour to Manly Beach.

The crime rate in Manly is so low that the police have time for a second job! (Or perhaps they were practising for the not so secret policeman's ball.

Contrary to popular opinion, Ross doesn't spend all his time surfing the net.

Japanese tourists waste no time in trying to imitate Vettriano's well known painting, The Singing Butler.

CA UK meets CA AU

We have just spent a really enjoyable evening with Hunter Chang from the CA office here in Sydney.
We look forward to meeting with him the next time he visits London!