Hi Jean and John and Benson!
Trust everyone is well Thank you for your last few messages, Jean.
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| Port Macquarie |
Hello LL and JDP!
Belated Birthday wishes, Lynne. From sound of Peter's description of party it was a wonderful celebration. We certainly enjoyed San Miguel as you might recall. Will have to arrange a long de-briefing session once we are both back, you from eastern Europe, we from Japan, as former on Cora Lee's list. Please pass along best wishes to Birgitta and Graham. Sarge is following the Masters, bit difficult to know which round is which, initially, as we move about, with time difference. Glad to know you have the Malt Clock ticking away!
Hello, Corinne and Patrick!
Sorry again for taking time to write.
Great that you could come to Osaka for both weekends!
I've never been to Hong Kong but heard enjoyable place for shopping and eating.
Thank you for the post card from Australia.
Sounds like you are having lots of fun!
Looking forwad to hearing about your trips.
There are some questions:
1. Did you get in touch with IZUMI-san in Hokkaido?
2. Do you have any plans or meet anyone in Japan?
If you do, which areas in Japan or when?
3. Do you prefer to stay in a place for long days and go from the place?
or prefer to stay several places according to where you go?
I can make plans according to 1 and 2 if you have any.
Hokkaido very big and depends on where she lives, trip plans change a lot.
It's better to make plans accoding to whether you are visiting there or not.
Nagasaki (spelling right!) is in Kyushu (southern part of Japan).
Takes clost to 5 hours by Shinkansen, 2hours by plane and train from Osaka.
I attach a sheet of possible plans.
Please let me if you have anything, anything you are interested in doing in Japan.
Corinne, are you interested in wearing Kimono in Kyoto or Nara?
Patrick, are you interested in Whiskey or beer brewery or Sake factory or tasting?
Love, Toshiko
Hi Goils!
Couldn't leave the Worst Exotic Motel soon enough! Didn't even take time to have a quick breakfast!!! Unfortunately, we had not counted on the end of the long weekend traffic, compounded by at least one traffic accident. Funnily enough, in retrospect, when we left Sydney it was on Good Friday morning and we encountered heavy, heavy traffic trying to find its way on to the F3 motorway. In our case, this would take us to Cessnock, the start of the Hunter Valley. After making our getaway from Port Macquarie, we inched along for over an hour of bumper-to-bumper, stop-and-go, snail's pace driving, (listening, all the while, to local traffic reports, the announcers suggesting drivers avoid the very route we were on), to leave surface, arterial thoroughfares to exit for freeway. This process repeated itself, once again when we were as far north as Byron Bay. (We later learned that the traffic was probably caused by all the vehicles leaving the Annual Blues Festival held just south of Byron Bay.) By this time it was going on 2:40pm so we decided to stop in Byron Bay for a bite.
Left the highway to make short detour into town and found a parking spot on one of the main streets almost as soon as we entered town centre. Took a quick stroll to look at beach and then we headed off in different directions, agreeing to meet back at the car at 3:10pm. Cora Lee went in search of fish and chips, Flamin' a gelato and I a cappuccino while Sarge wanted a beer. I was also looking for an ATM. Ended up making a sandwich, (great cheese buns and smoked salmon from our cooler), and wandering cross-streets, munching away. Town is a real surf/tourist spot, plenty of young back-packer types, as well as families on holiday. I stumbled across a hat shop and bought a straw fedora, similar to one I'd picked up in Mexico last January. Only $20, half the price of one I'd contemplated buying in Hong Kong, so I was pleased. Decided I had enough cash to last me until following day so bought a java at a place across the street from our car and rejoined gang who had just arrived. Asked Cora Lee how she liked my hat and she said I looked like a Mafia thug so took that as a compliment, Dear Reader!
Back in car and onto highway and soon were speeding along at 110K on a divided portion of the Pacific Coast Highway all the way into Queensland. Little trouble finding 10 Rudder Court, only about 20K north of the NSW/Queensland border and we knocked on the door at just after 6:00pm. Pretty good time given traffic and significant portions of but a two-lane highway and quite a few portions with restricted speed zones due to construction, even though no workers present on holiday weekend. Elly and Tony welcomed us and after we had unloaded, (Sarge and I were mules as The Sisterhood visited on the spacious covered patio deck overlooking the canal!), we all sat around and visited. Elly brought out tasty hors d'oeuvres, (olives, dips, crackers, cheese), and Tony poured white wine for The Babes, beer for himself and Sarge. I was still thirsty from my 2.25 mile swim that morning so I was happy to re-hydrate with iced water. Around 7:30pm Tony fired up the barbie and Sarge oversaw the grilling of boar sausages, lamp chops, chicken skewers, Tasmanian salmon and corn-on-the-cob. Elly put together a green salad with slices of pear and halved cherry tomatoes and cukes, and brought out a quinoa/olive/cherry tomatoe/coriandre salad she'd made earlier. We contributed a Balgownie Cab/Merlot and a Kirrihill Shiraz from our stash and we feasted in more than sumptuous style.
Caught up on everyone's lives over the more than leisurely meal and for dessert Flamin' brought out some of the Easter chocolates that we'd given to each other. By 10:00pm everyone was starting to yawn so The Sisterhood helped Elly load the dishwasher and put away the overlefts while The Brotherhood chatted, too exhaiusted from carrying all the bags from the car into the house to help in the kitchen! Around 10:30pm we thanked our gracious hosts and made for bed. After brushing and flossing we both read for half an hour or so, turning off the bedside lamp at just past 11:00pm, the overhead fan on, sleeping under nothing but a sheet. Still quite warm but comforable with slight breeze from fan blades.
Greetings from Mermaid Waters!
Hello Faithful Few of the Peleton!
Sorry to disabuse you of your notions about time it took me to complete 100K but I was afraid to tell you that it only took an hour and a bit, knowing you would never join me again! Please keep this under your collective helmets as truth might well induce apoplexy in Ragin'!
Gold Coast, is in fact, rather intersesting, inasmuch as it has a bit of a reputation for being overly commercialized and more of a tourist trap than its poorer cousin, to the north of Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast. On past trips we've stayed near on on the coast of the latter, so it has been a terrific opportunity to see Surfers' Paradise, and environs for ourselves. Elly and Tony, our hosts, (met in 2010 on the canal barge along the Canal du Nivernais), live in a gorgeous home on one of the man-made canals, (originally drainage ditches for the dairy pasture land in this area), akin to communities in parts of Florida and Venice Beach, LA.
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