You're going to hate me...

33C. Swimming pool. Nothing to do... no phones, no meetings, no personal engagements, no planning, no errands to run, no agenda beyond the next meal. It has been a long time since I abandoned myself to a swimming pool with less on my mind than I had today. And I floated...

We are actually staying about 45min drive south of Frederick, in West Virginia near a charming little town called Shepherdstown. The hills roll past the Potomac River, the forest sways, the grass seems impossibly lush and extends an eye's breadth. Noone hear seems to have fences, so all the propeties stretch into the neighbour's.

We've seen a couple of wild deer, a racoon, an opossum, foxes and a multitude of squirrels. We ate on the back porch on Monday night, and fireflies lit up the grass. We are keeping our eyes peeled for hummingbirds.

Yesterday we slept late [10am] and after an extended breakfast rode the train into Washington DC for the afternoon. Our wanderings down the Mall between Capitol Hill and The Lincoln Memorial took in a statue of Einstein, the Vietnam, Korean and WWII Memorials, and the enormous Washington Monument [euphemistically called the Clinton Monument...]

Interest in unexpected places: Aaron picks Einstein's brain through his nose [photo evidence coming]; Zoe's sadness at the unending names on the Vietnam Mem wall; the huge underground train stations.

Getting used to the amount of people has been an adjustment... one that will continue unabated with it's culmination in India and China... but that's getting too far ahead. I am agog that it's only just over 2 weeks since my good side has graced the chair in my office. It seems so far behind. Only 21 weeks to go...

While we were in Savannah, Shannon effected the passover to us of batman superhero figurine. He has already travelled with her to far flung countries... Bahamas, England, Wales, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii & USA, Germany, Netherlands, Peru and Turkey. He has a Facebook site under the name Bruce Wayne, but is looking to open up a blog spot soon. As we add a dozen more countries from across the seas to his travel diaries, we'll complement his photo albums with more strange and amazing photos...

We went to a baseball game tonight back in DC... yes, quite a lot of driving. But it was great. The Philly Eagles against the Washington Nationals. Philly won 8-5. Star spangled Banner, tshirt rockets, we sang 'Take me out to the ballgame' at the bottom of the 7th innings and all that... it was great. The kids didn't get to bed until 1am... though they slept in the car on the way home are we bad parents? They really are an extraordinary pair...!

I'll try to get some photos up tomorrow... the internet service where we're staying in West Virginia is more like dialup speed, so a bit frustrating sorry...

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Savannah in the summer really is a beautiful place. Downtown starts at the river - once the busiest port in the USA. River Street is world famous here [like everything else!] Pirates used to bring their bootleg merchandise up here, past Florida from the Bahamas etc.
Downtown Savannah has 24 parks, surrounded by the most fantastic houses, one particularly that features in the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil [with Kevin Spacey].
In one square, a statue of John Wesley stands testament to his presence here in 1736 - come to preach to the territories. Under enormous oaks squirrels rummage for their lunch, the locals escape the heat, and tourists like us wear out our cameras. Here's another youtube link to Savannah... [please accept my apologies for the infomercial, but it shows off the city really well...] Forest Gump was largely filmed around here, and just over the border in South Carolina. The opening scene is Chipewa Square in downtown...
The Savannah Theatre has, apart from the main entrance, a staircase up the outside of the building that was for the Blacks. Under grudging concession they were given access to the movies, but only in the balcony, and not through the front door. Not too long ago really. Not too far away, on another Savannah square, is the Lucas Theatre that was rigidly 'white only'.
As we were sitting in the park, a black guy [incongruously holding a golf club?] was singing His Eye is on the Sparrow - a rather stirring negro spiritual. We were both quite overcome by it all [the kids on the other hand, had discovered that they could balance a coin on each finger and spin around...!]
That our journey should involve our ordinary selves seems sacreligious somehow. We still need to eat etc, and the kids still gripe at each other, and all the while your eyes and brain are taking in amazing things. Trying to reconcile these things takes some doing... but we'll struggle on! ha
Some other interesting things we've discovered here in the religious south are: Breakfast Cereal called 'Ezekiel 4:9' and Genesis 1 Bread! We also saw at the supermarket - for those of you too tired to cut your own - bags of freshly sliced apple...! couldn't quite believe it. We did some shopping and at the checkout - one person scanning, and another packing - almost every item received it's own plastic bag! Coming from Adelaide where the consciousness is growing about this stuff, it seemed outrageous.
I have felt clear headed this morning - the first time since leaving New Zealand and beginning our time-zone hopping... The kids have not been in bed before 9pm yet, and it has taken it's toll, but still they continue to charm their way into people's hearts. In fact, yesterday on River Street, a man making and selling reed roses gave one each to the kids. He was selling them for $5ea. A little later, in the shade of the great oaks in the park, Aaron approached an elderly lady and gave her his rose. I think it made her day. [She ended up giving him $1 for it which made his day as well! ha Quite the entrepreneur].
The following quote by Mark Twain says so much... 'Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime'. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

'Airport' means WAIT in many languages...

The most tedious part of travelling by far... airports! Having left Honolulu at 4in the afternoon, we finally arrive in Savannah, Georgia this today at 3pm. Spent 6 hours in Chicago - only an hour longer than planned - which is pretty good for the busiest airport on the planet.

Being at Waikiki made us realise what fantastic beaches we have even in metropolitan Adelaide! Can't beat the tropics though, and the palm trees and frangipani's and hibiscus flowers. The kids took mum and dad on an aqua-cycle for an hour, out to the reef. Zoe helpfully suggested that I do the peddaling and she would do the steering...

Learning more than ever to 'check under the seats' for things left behind... as any parent will know. This trip is already too ambitious to contemplate returning to Hawaii [as nice as it is] for a vodafone hat and pair of goggles...

I know we've talked many times of our anxiety at carrying the alchemist's 'motherlode' around the world with us... in fact it has been very uneventful... New Zealand Customs [bless them for all their interest in soil on our shoes] actually confiscated a nice little jar of Buzz Honey instead of worrying about the 2kg of medications. It was nearly morning teatime... US Customs worried more about the fact that Jude attempted to walk through the metal detector without her boarding pass! SHOCK! So, at this stage all is good on that front.

The kids have taken the long, strange hours well in their stride. In the last 24 hours, they have slept only 3 hours, and that was under the seats in a Chicago departure lounge that held perhaps 150 people... I'm really proud of them.

Savannah is as beautiful as I remember. So southern. The welcome has been very very warm, and we are looking forward to a slow meandering week...

As they say in Savannah... baah now...

Our Itinerary

Hi all. I've had a few requests to put down an itinerary so people could have something tactile to drool over now that I'm gone. ha

• 3 days Sydney
• 1 day Auckland, New Zealand
• 3 days Hawaii
• 1 week Savannah, Georgia USA
• 1 week Frederick, Maryland USA
• 3 days Newark, New York USA
• 3 days Copenhagen, Denmark
• 1 week Bergen, Norway
• 4 days Iceland
• 1 week driving through southern Germany weaving through eastern France and western Austria, through Liechtenstein into Switzerland
• 1 week Switzerland
• 1 week Stellenbosch [Prooooo-vence] Western Provence, South Africa
• 3 days Kruger National Park, South Africa
• 6 weeks Beira, Mozambique [staying at the House of Blessing orphanage]
• 6 weeks Pune, India [south of Mumbai]
• 1 week Chiang Mai, Thailand
• 1 week Beijing, China [this will be Christmas - hopefully snowing]
• home on or about the 29th December...

The winner is ... Sidd-er-ney

This truly is a fabulous city! We are staying in Neutral Bay with a view of the Harbour Bridge from our balcony... This morning in the shower, I opened the window and discovered that if I leant out far enough that I could see the Bridge from in there as well! I suspect the neighbours also had quite a view...

We were quite overwhelmed with our send-off from Adelaide airport yesterday. Quite a number of folk had planned an ambush and were there quite a while before we turned up. Walking down the ramp onto the tube, a woman behind me a little jealously said, "looks like half of Adelaide has come to see you leave." [read: 'make sure you leave'] ha

That famous old saying came to mind... A journey of a thousand miles begins at an airport!

We picked up a supersonic tailwind, so the flight over was less than an hour and a half. As soon as we were settled in our seats, Zoe [peering at the safety evacuation info] said, "Mum, where's the ordering sheet?" Might as well be first in line... ha

Zoe was very struck by the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, and counted for 2min25seconds at 80kmh through the Lane Cove Tunnel on the M2. Any of you maths boffins work out how long it is? Need to allow for inconsistent counting rhthym...

The friends we're visiting live up in Nth Sydney, and have leant us their car so we can get from our Neutral Bay flat to their house each morning and evening as it's far too cramped with 4 adults and 6 kids. We had a bbq and small fire out in the back yard last night [perhaps broke a few fire brigade laws] and the kids roasted marshmallows.

Being World Youth Day today, Jude and the kids have trundled off into the city on the train.. not to see the Pope, but friends of hers and the kids from school. They may look like devotees, but it's hard to keep up the ruse when you're going in the other direction.... I don't think Mr Onarope will miss them...

Jude and I lay in the first of many strange beds last night and marvelled at what a difference a day can make...

PS. Terry, as we were taxiing out from the terminal yesterday, we saw the signwriter's van pull up with our banner... just a few minutes too late... thanks for trying anyhow....

I am a Sausage

I am a sausage. I have jumped off the bbq plate of life onto the paving stones of freedom...

Yee..haaaa! I had my last day at work yesterday. It feels quite strange I must say. And now, Friday morning 11 July, only 2 days remain till our blind date with Qantas. 

We'll be staying in Sydney for a few days with some friends we only catch up with every couple of years, and then off to the beach in Hawaii!

If we get sand in our eyes, don't cry for us...