Archive for February 2016
A Little Delay On My Journey Down Under Results In An Unexpected Visit To The City Of Angels.
They say the best made plans of mice and men often go awry and they sure did for me on the first leg of my long journey to Australia. My nephew Charlie dropped me off at the Scranton- Wilkes Barre airport around noon and I thought I’d be on my way to the Southern Hemisphere…
Read MoreAustralia Trip Day Two: An Unplanned Morning Walk Around LAX Airport.
I was glad to get a few hours sleep last night, but, when I awoke, I was still disappointed I wasn’t on a plane nearing the continent of Australia. No sense crying over spilt milk, So I decided to make the best of my unexpected day in Los Angeles. Looking out the window of my…
Read MoreAustralia Trip Day Two: Los Angeles Delay-The La Brea Tar Pits
There is so much to do in a city as big as Los Angeles, and I have been here a few times and seen a lot of it. One thing I have wanted to see, since I first heard about them as a child, I think when watching the Flintstones, was the famous La Brea…
Read MoreAustralia Day Three: I Finally Made It “Down Under” And The Delays And Long Are Forgotten As Soon As I Saw Sydney Harbour.
It took me an extra day, and a long fifteen hour plane flight, which was hard on my back, but I safely arrived in Sydney around 8 a.m. this morning. Australian customs were efficient and quick and after a nice taxi ride with a pleasant driver I arrived at my hotel, the Holiday Inn Old…
Read MoreAustralia Day Three: I Finally Made It "Down Under" And The Delays And Long Are Forgotten As Soon As I Saw Sydney Harbour.
A Visit To The Barangaroo Reserve: A Little Off The Beaten Path In Sydney.
I was tired from my long flight but the Sydney summer sun came out and i wasn’t going to spend my afternoon catching up on sleep. I looked at the maps and saw a park, the Barangaroo Reserve not far from the hotel. I kind of liked the name so decided to check it out.…
Read MoreAustralia Day Three. An Evening Walk Along Sydney Harbour
I was asleep about five minutes after posting my last blog yesterday afternoon. I woke up five hours later, at 10 p.m, and, of course, decided to take advantage of the mid Summer night in the Southern Hemisphere. My hotel, in The Rocks, is just minutes from the harbour and I followed the crowds of…
Read MoreAustralia Day Four: Bondi Beach To Coogee Beach – An Ocean Lover’s Dream.
I woke up early yesterday to try and watch the sun rise but the clouds didn’t co-operate. I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do for the day. I lost a day due to the airline delay and had to cut out some places I planned to visit. Well I am glad I…
Read MoreAustralia Day Four: Bondi Beach To Coogee Beach – An Ocean Lover's Dream.
Australia Day Four: Yes , More Sydney Beaches- Manly And Shelly
I returned from my hike from Bondi Beach to Coogee yesterday and was looking for something to do in the afternoon. A number of local folks told me I should take the ferry ride through the harbour to Manly and Shelly beaches. They insisted it was a must see on any Sydney visit. I knew…
Read MoreAustralia Day Five. A Way Too Short A Journey To The Blue Mountains
I was still having some difficulty adjusting to the time change here in Australia, and even though I got little sleep, I still was out of bed early Monday to watch the sunrise. I wanted to see the famous botanical gardens while in Sydney so I walked past the Circular Quay, already abuzz with early…
Read MoreAustralia Day Six. Back To The City. Central Sydney And The Celebration Of the Chinese New Year.
I awoke early yesterday in Katoomba hoping to watch the sunrise from Echo Point, the famous overlook from which a spectacular view of the “Three Sisters’ rock formation can be seen. I left the hotel only to go back inside to get my jacket. It was pretty cool for a Summer morning up in the…
Read MoreAustralia Day Seven : A Walk To The Botanical Gardens And On To Perth, The Old Fashioned Way, By Train
Sorry it’s been a few days since I got to my blog but we had no wi fi internet on the train ride from Sydney to Perth. It was a lovely trip and seems so long since I was in Sydney. But let’s see what I can remember. I got up early Wednesday morning hoping…
Read MoreAustralia Day Eight: My First Full Day On The Indian Pacific. I Learned Australia Is Vast And I Love Train Rides.
I will have to admit I was not really sure how I would sleep on the train. Well the first night I was so exhausted I fell right to sleep and found the bed they pulled down to be quite comfortable. I didn’t mind the swaying, jerking or clanking of the train one bit and…
Read MoreAustralia Day Nine: Nullarbor Plain And The Ghost Town Of Cook
On my second night on the train, I decided to leave the shades in my cabin open so I could fall asleep with the bright stars shining in the dark Australian sky. I couldn’t make them out at the time, I was facing South and I am not familiar with the southern Constellations, but I…
Read MoreAustralia Day Ten: My last Day On The Indian Pacific And Finding Out Perth Isn’t The Remote Backward City I Thought It Was
I slept well after our last dinner on the Indian Pacific and awoke shortly before the sunrise the next morning to find our train stopped again. We were waiting to let three long freight trains pass and we were in a position where I again missed the sunrise. We got moving, after the sun was…
Read MoreAustralia Day Ten: My last Day On The Indian Pacific And Finding Out Perth Isn't The Remote Backward City I Thought It Was
Australia Day Eleven: A Ferry Ride On The Swan River And Across The Indian Ocean To The Unspoiled, And Spectacular Beauty Of Rottnest Island
I awoke early my first full day in Perth and began to decide what to do. I had no definite plans and there was just so many choices. I decided to take a ferry from Perth to Rottnest Island. I read the island was beautiful, and I would not only see a lot of the…
Read MoreAustralia Day Twelve: A Wonderful Morning In King’s Park And A Late Night Plane Flight
I awoke just up before dawn on my last day in Perth and took a taxi to King’s Park to await the rising sun. I was lucky, it was a clear and cool morning for Perth. A strong southerly wind had broken the heat wave they were having. I took in the Perth skyline, as…
Read MoreAustralia Day Twelve: A Wonderful Morning In King's Park And A Late Night Plane Flight
Australia Day Thirteen: Planning On Sleeping On My Flight Wasn’t A Good Idea, But Seeing The Australian Red Centre Made It All Good.
Well it wasn’t as easy keeping up a daily blog while traveling as I thought it would be . Sorry I am safely home in cold, but beautiful, Northeastern Pennsylvania and will have to relate my experiences from my memory, which isn’t what it used. Glad I kept a journal. Will try and get this…
Read MoreAustralia Day Thirteen: Planning On Sleeping On My Flight Wasn't A Good Idea, But Seeing The Australian Red Centre Made It All Good.
And So It Begins: With The Lowly Skunk Cabbage, A Harbinger Of Spring At The PPL Wetlands
It was a mild morning for late February here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It was mostly sunny with temperatures in the low 50’s, and I decided to hike in the PPL Wetlands. It has been almost a month since I was last there and the wetlands were in the middle of the first long cold spell…
Read MoreAustralia Day Fourteen: Sunrise In The Outback And A Hike To Kata Tjuta. And Then The Stars.
I slept well my first night in the Australian outback and woke up refreshed well before dawn the next morning. I had booked a tour to the other attraction at this United Nations World Heritage site, Kata Tjuta, which left a 5:15 a.m. I got up earlier to take a look at the morning sky…
Read More