This map shows the 4 legs of the trip ... the thick dash lines are air travel .... the dotted lines are road travel.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
USA July - August 1991
This map shows the 4 legs of the trip ... the thick dash lines are air travel .... the dotted lines are road travel.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Prelude
12/7/91 Departed Perth 2.30 on SQ224 arrived Singapore 7.30pm. The transfer from the airport to hotel was very good. We settled into our room at the Riverview, then went to Newton Circle for tea.... not good. The pork I had was mostly gristle and only half cooked. Walked back to Orchard Road for a look around, then taxi back to the hotel.
13/7/91 Saturday am - to Orchard Road to look at cameras - almost bought a Canon EOS1000F but got bogged down in the bargaining process. I decided that there were no real bargains to be had and so I couldn't really justify spending that much money on a camera. Bought a soft case for the Fujica, film, battery. Lunch at Macdonalds, rest at hotel, then to Chinatown. (element, shirts, jeans). Then on the cable car to Mt Faber, Sentosa Island. Had tea till the evening entrance price applied, then went on the monorail. Looked over the whole island, then stopped at the military museum. Then on the monorail again to the garden area where we waited for the light show to start. Then back to Singapore on the ferry and back to the hotel on bus & taxi.
14/7/91 up at 8am, pack, taxi to Raffle's area. B'fast at M/D, then on to church at Pasir Panjang Rd, back to Chinatown. (Clock, 10 films) Then back to the hotel and on to the airport. The plane landed in Hongkong after about 4 hours, then on to San Francisco - arrived about 7pm after a 12 hour flight.
13/7/91 Saturday am - to Orchard Road to look at cameras - almost bought a Canon EOS1000F but got bogged down in the bargaining process. I decided that there were no real bargains to be had and so I couldn't really justify spending that much money on a camera. Bought a soft case for the Fujica, film, battery. Lunch at Macdonalds, rest at hotel, then to Chinatown. (element, shirts, jeans). Then on the cable car to Mt Faber, Sentosa Island. Had tea till the evening entrance price applied, then went on the monorail. Looked over the whole island, then stopped at the military museum. Then on the monorail again to the garden area where we waited for the light show to start. Then back to Singapore on the ferry and back to the hotel on bus & taxi.
14/7/91 up at 8am, pack, taxi to Raffle's area. B'fast at M/D, then on to church at Pasir Panjang Rd, back to Chinatown. (Clock, 10 films) Then back to the hotel and on to the airport. The plane landed in Hongkong after about 4 hours, then on to San Francisco - arrived about 7pm after a 12 hour flight.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Leg 1 Grand Canyon
16/7/91 Tuesday Left Oakland about 9am and travelled south on the freeway. Driving was very strange and required great concentration. The countryside is very sparse & dry almost no trees (except for forests of man-made ones - wind generators). San Joaquim Valley is huge and obviously very productive - but it seems lifeless - no trees, no bush, no birds, no animals. Stayed overnight in Motel 6 at Barstow - plain, cheap but good. Booked the helicopter ride & motel at GC
17/7/91 Wednesday Left Barstow early and travelled through the "High Desert" - lots of stark barren mountain ranges in interesting shapes. We arrived in Grand Canyon about 2pm & had a look around. It was very hot so we headed for our motel - NO A/C! Don't recommend Moqui Lodge. Went to Canyon Rim to photograph the sunset.
18/7/91 Thursday Up at 5am to go out to the eastern end to see the dawn. It was worth the effort, despite the clouds. Continued on to Desert View Lookout - Indian Watchtower. Then back to the village for our helicopter ride - WOW - cost $75 each but well worth it. Left GC about 10.30am and travelled via GC caverns (worth seeing but not as good as Aussie caves). On Hwy 93 to Las Vegas - passed through another stark gorge of Colorado - fantastic scenery. Hoover Dam is very impressive. We arrived in Las Vegas in time for tea at Sizzlers (met our first rude drivers in US about this time) Motel 6 was good again.
19/7/91 Friday We breakfasted at Grenada Casino next door to the motel - Anne had to gamble! Then north (passing miles of condo boxes) out of L.V. on #95 (via Amargosa Valley, ) into Death Valley. We stopped at Zabriski Pt, Park Village & Panamint Springs) An awe inspiring drive - from minus 268ft to 5000ft, down again, then up again all in the space of 30 miles. We stopped at Lone Pine info center; then along the foot of the Sierra Nevada Range (with beautiful views) to a shopping stop in Bishop K-Mart.
On to Mammoth Springs - nice & cool at 9175ft. We booked in at Motel 6 then went further on to the ski resort area and down, down to the bottom of a deep valley to see the "Devil's Postpiles" - well worth the somewhat scary but beautiful trip through fir, pines, avalanche sites. Back to the town area - tea at Macdonald's.
20/7/91 Saturday Started the day with a visit to the bakery - cheese & chili buns, brownies. Anne & I bought spray jackets at a bargain shop mine reduced from $80 to $40. We left ML about 9am and drove north to Tioga Pass and into Yosemite. Stopped at Ellerton Pass (moormots!, chipmunks, white/beige rock & wall to wall people) Yosemite -great grey walls of stone! Wellington Dam's cliff magnified many times over; waterfalls - even in the middle of summer! Pity we had to leave early because of so many people (and the rain). What a wonderful 5 day adventure. Left Yosemite and drove back to Oakland arriving late afternoon.
21/7/91 Sunday Left 386 at 9.45am to go to Berkeley for church. We took an exit ramp too soon and had to get back on to the freeway. By the time we found the church, we couldn't get a parking space. We found the shop that had the Pocquet PC but it was closed - had hot chocolate & hash browns for breakfast instead. Church on the radio was just as good so we headed on down University Ave so we could do the "Bay-for-a-bob" trip. Noticing an open computer shop, we did a U turn and had a look. The dealer was very good and after a lot of discussion, I decided that the Atari was a better deal than the HP. Mainly because the extra memory capabilities of the HP didn't seem worth paying double the price. We continued our bay trip after resolving to return to the shop with the data disks so that I could see the Atari in action. We then headed across the Bay Bridge and found our way down to Pier 39. Had a good walk round, then decided to continue on to the Golden Gate Bridge. En route we noticed a "computer show" sign and went in... it was a market place. We bought Professional Write for $100 ($400 in Aust) and a scanner for $47 ($300 in Aust) Fantastic bargains! On across the bridge to View Point, then past Sauselito and back to Oakland via Berkley. Helped Renee with the computer in the evening.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Leg 2 - Alabama to Florida
Trip Diary Week 2 - Alabama
22/7/91 Mon... We were all up at 5am and left for the San Francisco airport by 5.30am. It was a wild ride along the 101 freeway with most of the traffic travelling at 70 MPH! We did well to get to the right place as once again, the freeway signs were confusing and we almost stayed on the freeway instead of exiting. After dropping Dad & Maisie at the United terminal, we had to return the rented car. Fortunately we saw an Alamo bus that we could follow to the rental depot. If we hadn't seen that, I'm sure that I wouldn't have found the place from the directions given on the rental information sheet! DELTA Flt 98 0820 - 1546 Atlanta - Max & Joe were there to meet us... after a while of "freeway wandering" while Joe couldn't work out where he was, he found the right road and we headed for home. We stopped in Douglasville for tea at Ryan's Steakhouse.. a scrumptious meal. This was our first taste of the type of food place where you can serve yourself and refill your plate as much as you like. On to Rock Run via Bremen, Buchanan, Cedartown (very pretty), Cave Springs, Forner then to the Jones Hideaway! Their 25 acre property is set well off the road in an area which was once mined extensively. It's well covered with pines and other timbers and is very pretty.
Tuesday 23/7/91 Up at 7.30am - a deer was grazing about 30m from the kitchen window and it stayed put long enough for a photo. Pancakes & bacon breakfast. I parcelled up the disk drive & scanner etc and posted them from Centre. On to Fort Payne to see Linda (Kevin’s wife) in hospital, then to Mentone for lunch at the Log Cabin Restaurant. Stopped in Calhoun Ga for a "shake”. Then thru Tate, Marblehill, Dawsonville to Dahlonega in Lumpkin County. The Dahlonega college has a steeple which is gold-plated.
Wed 24 July 91 - stayed the night in a cabin at Music Mountain Camp, had a BIG breakfast at a roadside steakhouse. Wandered round the town centre looking in the tourist shops (big bear, money jar) Visited the museum. Left Dahlonega about midday for Helen (Ga). Photo of "kudzu" plant growing over trees. (this grows 9” in 6 hours - it was imported from Japan as a soil stabiliser) Nora Mills - water powered flour mill operating for 112 years. Spent a while in Helen - a town imitating an alpine village - very kitch electronic bell - lots of small shops including a candle shop where we watched a beautiful candle being made. On to the flea-market - our introduction to their addiction. There were heaps of bargains - a US flag, a bell for Max & Joe and many more that we didn't buy. For the rest of the trip, I regretted not buying more but Joe and I have worked out a system for things that are not too heavy. Then on down through Canton and Cartersville to Rome - to the Wall-Mart. Tea at "Po Folks" - too much! Many eating places have a system of you eating as much as you like for the one price. This makes over-eating very easy.
25/7/91 Thursday - After a night of chasing a cricket, we arose about 7.30am and farewelled Max after a pleasant time sitting on the porch. Spent the day relaxing and recovering. A sorely needed break from travelling. We washed clothes and had a look round the area of the house. I had a look at Max’s Brother word processor.
26/7/91 Friday - went into Gadsden with Max, met her workmates. then into town, found the $3.00 store (where we found a "situp exerciser"), the Bible shop, the bank and then looked for Ray’s machine with a small degree of success. Lunch at Wendy’s then up to Noccalulla Falls. We went on the train ride, then walked round... a very pretty place. Shopping for groceries then back to pick up Max. Arrived back home to find Joe at the bottom of the hill with a flat tyre. The tyre wrench didn't fit and it was pouring with rain so we all went home.... then the Ford had a flat too!
Sat 27 JuL 91 Collinsville Flea Market - amazing bargains but all too heavy to take home or not allowed. Air powered tools - sander = $18 - drill = $20 - wrench = $20 mini-spray = $18 Went home midday and rested - put up the bell. Went to Fort Payne to see Linda after tea - home about 10pm.
28/7/91 Kevin rang at lam to say that Linda was being transferred to Birmingham - so off we went back to Ft Payne. I went with Kevin to Birmingham while Anne & Max took Chrissy to a baby-sitter, picked up Mrs Floyd and followed us. Linda had a boy delivered by CS at 7.58am. 26 weeks (14 prem) - one pound 11 ounces. A very busy morning! Drove back to RR about midday - M&J went back to Birmingham and Anne & I went to bed for the afternoon. M&J came home at about 2230hrs. Baby hanging in but Linda isn’t well.
29/7/91 Monday - We've been at Rock Run for a week. With the travelling and baby problems, the "fish rule" seems to be in recess but we will need to move on soon to give M&J a break. Joe is loaning us his 1975 Pontiac and we will be driving to Tennessee tomorrow to stay with Helen & Ernie for a couple of days. Joe took Anne & I to Cave Springs (fudge, antiques, Shumate’s Cafe for Lunch) then Joe took me with him on his paper route. A tiring 5 hour run round the area to the east of Centre - a lot of it on the shores of Weiss Lake. The photos were ready but I was a little disappointed with the quality of the prints. We met Kevin later - Linda is a lot better and the baby (Michael Wayne) is improving also.
30/7/91 Tuesday. After seeing Max off to work, we packed and headed off via Cedar Bluff to Chikamauga National Monument - very impressive display. On to Chattanooga where we got very muddled with the route and traffic. We tried to find the "Choo-choo" but gave up and headed through Dayton to Helen & Ernie's. Arrived about 5.30pm. After supper & a lot of "Zac attack", Helen took us for a drive into Spring City. Ernie works late shift at Lazy Boy in Dayton as an industrial electrician. He usually starts at 4pm and finishes about 2-3am.
31/7/91 Wednesday Drove over to Sweetwater to check out the trade-day. Not much there. The trade-day part is only on weekends. On to the Lost Sea at the southern end of the Appalachians... too many people so we kept going. Back to Spring City to Flat Rock Creek - a very pretty picnic spot. Home for a hot-dog lunch and a look at Ernie’s compressor then Ernie off to work. After a rest we headed off for a tour of the local area with Helen & Zac "Insurance Bluff" (Zec fountains in the back seat!), Dayton Wallmart, supper at Macdonalds, feeding the ducks in the lake, home via the back roads. Sitting on the swing seat in the quiet of the evening watching the fire-flies.
1/8/91 Thursday We were up soon after 7am so we could get the Pontiac into Dayton to have the exhaust leak fixed. Got to DJ’s to find that the appt hadn’t been written down and we had to wait till 9am before it was looked at. It turned out to be a leaking exhaust manifold as well as a broken pipe and it took about 3 hours to fix. While waiting, we found a hair salon next door and Anne had a timely hair cut. We then went across the road and watched the world go by from a shady grassed area beside Hwy 27. Then off on Rt 30W to Athens & Englewood. We crossed the Tennessee River on a vehicle ferry. The current is very strong. North on Rt 411 to Maryville where we tried to contact Chris’s friend. Through Townsend to Cady’s Cove - a little farming pocket in the Smokey Mountains. Very pretty one way drive round an early farming area that was settled about the time that Perth was founded - spotted a woodchuck in the grass, a deer in a field and another deer about to give birth. Left there and called into a flea market between Townsend and Maryville. Here we found a wooden maze (the same as one that we had enjoyed in Tasmania 12 years ago). On thru Lenoir City (Hwy 321) to Kingston then south on 58. A very pretty drive with very little traffic. We called into Spring City to have tea at Hardee’s. Then back to Helen’s at about 8pm.
2/8/91 Friday Left Helen’s at 9am and headed for Huntsville via Dayton, Dunlop, Jasper, Scottsboro, Guntersville to H. Stopped at Jasper (Ten) for lunch. The whole drive so far had been very hazy - almost like smoke. No real views because of it. In Huntsville, we found the Space centre without any frustration (thanks to Anne's good navigation) and WOW! What a place. We touched the rocket that launched the Lunar flights and stood beneath the shuttle "Discovery". We saw the parts of Skylab that landed in Australia. it was an incredible few hours. Then back on Hwy 65 to Cullmen, then 69 to Jasper AL. and Tuscaloosa. This was a very pretty drive through wooded hilly country. Stopped at gas station in an all black area, got a free car wash. The accent is so different that it is hard to recognise as english. It was too early to stop so we went on down Hwy 43 - a fast drive after dark. Arrived in Meridian about 9.15pm and started looking for a bed - we’ll book ahead in future! Finally found one at a "Scottish Inn" after an accidental detour on rough roads that had us driving up a slippery, muddy, narrow track in pitch dark!
3/8/91 Friday We Left Meridian about 9am and headed south arriving at Gulfport about 11.30. We did some grocery shopping and rang Gary. He met us there and took us to Teddy’s home where the reunion was being held. A great gathering of beaut people that we had heard of many times but never met. The gathering broke up about 6pm and we followed Gary & Karen, Ernie & Helen to Gary’s house where we all piled into "Sherman" (the Pontiac tank) and went for a drive down to Biloxi.
4/8/91 Sunday Over to Hardin's at 10am and dawdled till 12 when 10 of us left in 3 cars for N'awlins. We spent about 2 hours in "Aquarium of the Americas" and then went to a Cajun/Creole restaurant - very pleasant, good food. Then past Jackson Square to Bourbon St. A fascinating walk down this infamous street and then back to the car, said goodbye to Teddy, Jenny & Barbara; headed for Gulfport via Pas Christian.
5/8/91 Monday Left Gary’s at 7.30am and headed east on Hwy 90. At Mobile, we spent about 1.5 hrs at the Battleship Monument Park looking at the USS Alabama and the USS Drum. At one point we climbed into the main turret and looked down to where the loading numbers worked. It was difficult to imagine the hellish noise and heat that must be endured in the turrets when the 18” guns fire. On through Mobile, Daphne, Fairhope, Foley, Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, past Laguna, Montego Bay, Panama City and many other famous names. Stopped for the night at the Westgate Motel in Perry on Hwy 19 in Florida. (Freeway Symphony, Spinningtop Records) We went to bed during a terrific thunderstorm - very loud, very close.
6/8/91 Tuesday Left Perry at 9.30am. Average expenses have been $122/day between us - but the next few days will increase that. We continued down Hwy 19 to Chieftain and then turned SE on 27. Then at Acote we went onto the 1-75 and the Florida Turnpike. Stopped at the Central Florida Welcome Centre where we bought tickets for Universal Studios. Then somehow I turned north for a while (it drove me crazy trying to work out how!) but we turned around and got to Kissimmee (south of Orlando) at about 2pm. We found the BIG flea-mart and had some fun there. We bought two travelling bags for $14 each and I found a computer pouch. Left there about 3.30pm and had some fun & games with "Sherman" - he seemed to get a vapour lock and kept on stalling. We eventually found the correct Days-Inn and settled in for a snooze. At 7pm we went exploring again. The traffic was incredible! After we finish 2 months of driving in USA, I reckon I can do anything! We found a pocket of shops in International Ave and had "Super spuds" at Arbies. Then we were ensnared by another flea-market. We'll have to FLEE from them in future. I found some good savings on computer books and Anne found T-shirts & a puppet. Another good night. A magnificent a sunset with a pink "shell" framed by blue sky above and a thunderstorm below.
7/8/91 Wednesday After a pleasant night, we had no hot water! As we I didn’t feel like gambling $50 on whether or not they would fix it, we booked into Motel 6 and moved out. Then off to Universal Studios. The parking method was very good ($4) and we were in by 9am. But 2 of the 4 rides were not running straight away. We went on the "Kongfrontation" then found a huge line at Earthquake so went to Hitchocks - very good. Tried E.T. - not working! Had a bite to eat and then went to the line for "Back to the Future". After a 40min journey on a serpentine line, we had a 4 minute "ride" that made the waiting all worthwhile. By 2pm, most things now had long lines & I was worn out so we left the centre and went to Motel 6 to book in and rest. The room was beautifully cool. At about 4.30pm we went back and enjoyed a studio tour, Earthquake, tea & live music (two excellent musicians at the mexican bar), E.T. (after a long wait) and finished the day with a free icecream (cos I happened to ask for it after the till had been closed.
8/8/91 Thursday After a welcome sleep-in, we headed for EPCOT Center and tried the monorail over to Magic Kingdom. By the time we changed trains and waited in queues to get on again, this took an hour! Back at Epcot Center, we first tried the MET trip - excellent - then Anne tried the exercise bikes, on to Horizons (very good also - moving walkways, long ride); Transportation (ditto - Sway-to-go, Lean Machine); booked the air-passes (just as well - a lot of hassle); lunch at Land (chili potato); Sea; Spaceship Earth; Brain Command in Life; Energy; tea (potatoes again plus beautiful icecream); Imagination and finally Illuminations (preceded by Nature's version - a big thunderstorm with lots of rain & lightning. A great day. (We later found out that Michael Wayne Jones died today)
9/8/91 Friday Breakfast at Burger-King for $2 each then on 1-4 after re-tracking to try to find Anne’s sandals. Stopped at the markets in International Drive but not many open. The book stall didn’t have any new stock yet so back on to 1-4 and head east. At Sanford I saw a big sign for "Americans Largest Flea-market" but after exiting at the correct off-ramp, no further signs were seen - so we gave up. But it was good for a US Post stop and a bible bookshop. On to the next stop - St Augustin - a lovely place worthy of more time. We found a fife & some cheap whistles plus another good cheap bookshop. On past Jacksonville and through many little towns to a late motel stop at a CHEAP motel ($23) in Dublin. (El Sleazo!)
10/8/91 Saturday After a good night at "EL Sleazo", we decided to head direct for Rock Run rather than going via Helen. Went on 1-16 to Macon, then turned west on a very scenic route (Talbottom, Greenville, Newnan, Carollton, Bremen, Cedartown, Cave Springs) to Rock Run. Arrived at M&J's at 3pm.
11/8/91 Sunday Went to Piedmont Columbian Presbyterian Church, lunched on great chillies by Joe. Birthday icecream cake by Heten! Helen & Ernie left about 4 pm. A quiet evening of trip planning & Perry Mason.
12/8/91 Monday Woken at early hours by phone calls from Australia for Maxine’s birthday. After a slow start, we headed into Centre to do some shopping and have a look around. We visited the Elementary School to have a look at an American school - very interesting. Met one of the 5th grade teachers (Barbara Young) She was there with her husband, Phil, to prepare her classroom. Very nice people. In the evening, we all went to Cedartown for a meal at the chinese restaurant.... but it was closed. So we went to the T&W Steakhouse near by - wot a night!! The food was poor but the complaints were brilliant! The food was salty, the steak was cold, the coffee was old.... and the night was one to remember.
13/8/91 Tuesday I helped Joe tow the broken-down yellow pick-up into Rock Run for repairs. Anne went on the paper route with Joe today while I stayed home to cook tea, write letters & postcards. A quiet relaxing afternoon.
14/8/91 Wednesday My birthday. Maxine rang from Australia. Did the washing and prepared for the next stage of the trip. Spent a lot of time ringing car-rental firms to work out our plans. Went for a drive to Spring Garden & back. Special tea with M&J.
15/8/91 Thursday Got away at about 9am and had breakfast at Hardies in Centre - then travelled down the "Lookout Mountain Parkway" toward Gadsden to see the sales stalls (there is an annual outdoor sale along this road from Cincinatti to Gadsden). Thru Gadsden, Anniston then on 1-20 to Atlanta to catch our plane. On the way, we stopped in Douglasville for fuel and donuts. A suggested name for Max &Joe’s place "Joe's motel for international travellers" and “El Chunderosa" for the steak house.
Flight 774 to Buffalo - lots of rivers, mountains, towns.... this is such a crowded country compared with Aust. Arrived 6 after a short, good flight and got the hire-car (Chev Corsica) with no trouble. On to Niagara where we booked into the Youth Hostel. This is OK but I think I’ll probably prefer the privacy of motels in future. I am in a dorm with 10 other men - in 5 double bunks.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Leg 3 - Niagara to Boston
16/8/91 Friday up to an early start with guys having showers at 6am! Left the YH at 7.45am after Anne having to do her stint of vacuuming. Headed toward the Falls and stopped at a tour operator. Ended up booking on a 4 hour tour - which ended up being good value as we saw things that we wouldn’t have seen, we had no traffic hassles, no parking and a minimum of walking. The tour started by going into Canada and going up the Skylon tower to see the falls, then back across the bridge and north to the power station. Then back to the “Maid of the Mist" boat ride and finished with a stop at Goat Island. We were both very impressed by Niagara. A trip highlight. We finished the tour at 1pm. Headed north to the shores of Lake Ontario then followed the Lakeside highway eastward to Rochester. A wrong choice of route landed us in "badlands" - lost! We were north of town instead of south. After losing about an hour, we found our way again and headed SE along Hwy 96 Victor, then turned south through Geneva to Ithaca, turned NE to Cortland and found our Econolodge Motel at McGraw. After tea at Wendy’s (with the usual wrong order due to language difficulties) we settled into a very pleasant room.
17/8/91 Saturday After a night disturbed by an ice-machine 2m from our room, we left Cortland at 7.45am and headed south on 81. We saw nothing of the scenery as there was heavy fog till about 9.30am. Turned onto Rtl7 at Binghamton and onto Rt30 at East Branch. We stopped at Downsville in the Catskill Mts for breakfast and again at Arkville for a flea-market (where I found an oiler for $18). On to Kingston and down the 9W beside the Hudson River. Turned onto the 1-84 - complete with traffic jam. We tried the road beside the coast but it was very slow so we got back on the 1-95 and were immediately stuck in another jam! We got to Warwick about 6pm and Stephen came to meet us. A good time of sharing - the first time in forty years!
18/8/91 Sunday - We tried going to church again and ended up at a United methodist church in Scituate Road, west of Cranston. A good service. Afternoon - Kathy, Dave & Cindy.. waiting for hurricane Bob, watching a tape of the Paul Simon concert, swatting bees, eating corn & lobster.
19/8/91 Monday - We woke at 6.30am and turned on the TV to find out that the hurricane is headed right for us! 115 mph winds are expected at 2pm. Evacuations have been ordered and all businesses closed. We tried to change our flight but it was not possible. Driving out of the area is not an option as tornadoes may hit roads instead. So we will stay put at Stephen’s. He is preparing water supplies and we have moved our gear down into the basement. Rang home at 8am to let them know what is happening. By 11.30am the “eye” is about 120 miles south and all the roads will be closed at 1pm. At 11.50am we get the first good gust and the neighbours lose two trees. The wind continues and the "eye" veered up Naragensett Bay and passed a few miles to the east of us at about 3.30. By 4pm, the worst was past and things were clearing. The rest of the day was spent clearing up the trees which had been blown over.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Leg 4 Seattle - Vancouver - San Francisco
The arrival and car collection at Seattle was trouble-free (9pm) and on the advice of a "local" that we were sitting next to, we cancelled our motel booking and drove north so as to try and catch the ferry to Vancouver Island next morning. Midnight found us about 20 miles from the ferry but all motels were fully booked! We drove on - planning to sleep "on the beach" - but found a very nice motel in Anacortes. It was $70 but well worth it by that stage!
21/8/91 Wednesday We started the day with a rush to get to the ferry but found that it needs to be booked two days in advance! So .. on the road again after stopping off for breakfast and a clothes washing session. We took a different road north (off the freeway) - very pretty but slow. The ferry trip from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay was smooth and the ride through Nanaimo, Parksville & Quaticum Beach to Courtenay was equally picturesque. So far, this corner of the continent has impressed us with its neatness and beauty. Tea at Wendy’s and a fruitless attempt to contact Richard & Sandra.
22/8/91 Thursday After a very good rest, we found the LETS address and filled in the 30mins till it was time to see him by going for a drive to Cumberland. On the way back, I spotted a large stationery engine in a cement yard. It turned out to be a pair of large Crossleys (Sn 101231, 101230) with common flywheel They were complete and in near running order. Back to see Michael Linton (see file A:LETS) then on to the ferry at Comox. After arrival at Powell River, we drove 30mins to Saltery Bay for the next ferry ride which took us to Earls Cove. This 50 minute trip was a delight with a waterfall and other beautiful scenes. Then by road (BC101) down the "Sunshine Coast" to Gibsons where we hoped to be able to contact Richard & Sandra. We booked into the "Sunshine Lodge" and checked out all the ideas we had but to no avail - we couldn’t locate the people who were the contact point. But we met some nice people in doing so. Doug Elson (a Canadian whose wife is an Aussie and she is the regional education superintendent) took us on a long scenic drive which ended at the dump where we were able to see a bear in the wild! Back to town and a pizza for tea.
23/8/91 Friday After a bit of phoning, Anne found the elusive number - only to find that S&R had moved onto Vancouver Island ....... yesterday. So we packed up and headed for the ferry. We were late for the 10.30am sailing but it was just finishing loading when we arrived and we were waved onto the end of the line! Once again, the ferry trip was magnificent. After disembarking, we took the old highway 90 which wound round the bays from Horseshoe Bay to North Vancouver. At a shopping center, we rang round for accommodation and got a B&B for $70. Canada is very expensive compared with the US. Then over the Lion Gate Bridge (very high!) to Stanley Park - a beautiful spot in the middle of the city. Back across the bridge to North Vancouver and up to the Capitano Suspension bridge. This is a foot- bridge suspended over a 250 ft chasm - set in a private garden with Indian artifacts (which were very nice but VERY expensive). This is halfway up a ravine in which is a large dam and the "Grouse Mountain Skyride which took us 3,750ft up in a large ski-lift. The views were breathtaking even with an overcast day. We have been to many spots that are higher but none where you look straight down from such a height. This is a big ski place in winter - and a lookout in summer. Then down the mountain again and off for tea at Burger-King. We had some tense moments on the way in the traffic as there are some CRAZY intersections here. After tea we continued on to find the B&B and then crashed for the night.
24/8/91 Saturday Breakfast at the B&B was very pleasant and we then headed over to Dave Boon’s place (a friend from long ago who is now in Vancouver). After a while of "catching up", we headed off to see the Lonsdale Markets (the Golden Twin Guitars, bug-gun), into "downtown" to Dave’s office (where we at last managed to transfer the disk files!), a walk down Robson St (hologram shop). We then picked up Susan & Lauren and all went to the Pan-Pacific Center for some food. I splurged and bought a "coon hat". Dave then took us all out to Deep Cove - a very pleasant picturesue spot at the foot of Seymour Mountain. A trip round to Horsehoe Bay to the Bay Restaurant completed the day. Unfortunately the lack of service tended to spoil the pleasure. As we left, 7 year old Matthew said as we Left "Aren't we going to tip them?" No, Matthew!
25/8/91 Sunday We said goodbye to Dave & Susan at 10.30am and headed south east on the Trans-Canadian Highway 1. At Fort Langley, we stopped to look at the Agricultural Museum but it wasn't open despite the published information. Soon after, we were held up by 1/2 hour Long traffic jam. This (as usual) had been caused by road construction - They seem to have no method of diverting traffic past bottle-necks. Past Hope Slide (where the side of the mountain slipped and covered a valley (see photos) on past Manning ski resort in Alison Pass, through Oyooso, Oroville to Omak where we found a bed in the Stampede motel (watched "Fiddler on the Roof")
26/8/91 Monday Week 7 With an early start, we drove through the Okenogan Forest to Winthrop (a restored wild west town). Then into the REAL mountains near Washington Pass at 5477 ft, we stopped to look at snow which turned out to be frozen. We chipped away enough for two handfulls. On into the mountains - breath-taking views - a morning to treasure. The mountains are one of the wonders of our trip. We have been so privileged to see them close up. Down from the heights, we went on to Seattle and stopped at the Museum of Flight. This an impressive display of rebuilt originals and replicas of aircraft housed in the original Boeing factory (which started as a boat-building factory). After this, we found our hotel and investigated our options for getting from Seattte to SF. These boiled down to National car rental again as they had no drop-off fee. Unfortunately, AMTRAK was booked till after we leave US - it would have been a good trip. (Later - it's a pity we didn’t think of flying!)
27/8/91 Tuesday Back to Sea-Tac airport to change cars then south through a rainy morning. The weather meant no views and no point to any sight-seeing detours It’s a pity that we can’t "take a rain-check" on' today! The rain cleared by midday but it has to be a "freeway day" so we can get to San Francisco. Stopped at Grant’s Pass.
28/8/91 Wednesday Left GP in solid rain and headed south on Rt 199. If it hadn't been raining , the scenery would have been beautiful. Then, soon after entering California, WHAM! BANG! a large rock fell from the cliff beside the road and came through the windscreen. It hit me on the left hand and did some damage to the little finger. Anne stayed with the car while I was taken into hospital in Crescent City (30 miles away). The car rental firm were very good and it was arranged that the car (and us) would be taken by tow truck to Eureka where a replacement car would be ready. In the hospital, I was attended to (after a 2 hour wait) and the finger was x-rayed. It was broken and the whole upper flesh of the finger was separated & had to be sewn back on. It had bared the tendons but not damaged them - very close! After my repairs, we went with the tow truck to Arcata and swapped cars. We drove on through Eureka to Redcrest where we found a very pleasant little motel nestled in the redwoods. The local wood-working shop had many very good redwood souvenirs.
(PS - a fragment of glass from the windscreen worked its way to the surface of my little finger on 2/9/95 - almost 4 years to the day after the accident!)
29/8/91 Thursday Leaving Redcrest, we followed the "Avenue of the Giants" for its 25 mile length. This road winds between the huge redwood trees and is magnificent for both its beauty and the size of the trees. Then back on Fwy 101. We had intended to divert to the different road that follows the ocean but when we stopped for breakfast in Leggitts, we realised that the turn-off had been passed some way back. When we reached Geyserville, we headed east so that we could get to Walnut Creek to see a quilting exhibition. This road was a narrow, winding pretty road for most of the time we were on it. The exhibition was of about a dozen quilts (ranging in value from $8,000 to $11,000). The designs were inspiring for Anne. We then headed for Oakland (via the shop where the computer had been bought) arriving about 7pm.
30/8/91 Friday After an educational experience having my finger checked at a nearby hospital, we drove to the airport to change rental cars then drove south to San Jose. On the way, we stopped at the "Weird Things" computer shop where they sell unusual computer parts. No bargains surfaced so we headed on to San Jose and arrived at the quilting show to find that it had closed 20 mins before. We drove to the coast at Hollow Creek Bay and drove north along the coast through Pacifica. The ‘Frisco fog had come in and we were driving through swirling mist till we got to the city centre. We stopped for tea at the “Chinese Garden" in Piedmont Ave and were very pleased.
31/8/91 Saturday - Posted the parcels, then went to downtown Oakland to see Bill & Renee’s shop. After buying shoes, we headed for the Marin County Quilting exhibition in San Raphael. We went via the Golden Gate Bridge again and also found a flea-market to stop off at. Lots of goodies but we have spent our cash at this stage and thus need to watch our spending. The quilting exhibition was found eventually and it was quite a show! Hundreds of examples of exquisite work hung in rows down a large hall surrounded by stalls selling all kinds of materials useful to quilters. We managed to find our way back to Oakland without mishap and went out for a birthday dinner at "The Old Spaghetti Factory" with Bill & Renee. A very nice place. This was next to a small bar which is famous as having been the drinking spot of Jack London, writer of the Alaskan adventure tales. Afterwards a drive round the scenic night spots of Oakland followed by icecream pie.
1/9/91 Sunday After a restful start, we went over to Concord to visit a BIG shopping centre. It had all the big name stores and gave a lot of exercise just getting round it! After 3 hours I went to sit in the car & read but Anne managed to endure the ordeal for a further 2 hours and even had stamina to look for a further shop! We were home in Oakland by 6.30pm and had a quiet last evening with Bill & Renee.
02/9/91 Monday While standing at the kitchen window this morning, we saw a man "casing the joint" next door. Bill dashed off to follow him while Renee called the police. A good bit of excitement to start the day! Today will be a resting day before we fly to Singapore tonight. In the afternoon, B&R came home and we went up to San Pablo to Droslyn (Renee’s daughter) & Tony’s piece for a BBQ. Tony is a TV engineer in a similar position to Pete. We were home by 6.30pm in time for the "49ers" vs NY Giants game and then at 8.30pm we said our farewells and headed for the airport. I dropped my glasses as we left and one lens was broken. Our ticketing and luggage was completed by 10pm and we settled down to await our departure on the "long haul".
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Post-lude - SF - Hong Kong to Singapore to Home
3/9/91 Tuesday This is the "day that never was”! After a delay (due to shortened flight time) we took off at 2am SF time (5.30pm SP time) and will land at Hong Kong at 6.30am on the next day! 13hrs 5min flight
4/9/91 Wednesday Arrived on time at Hong Kong after a very good flight. We had asked for seats in row 41 which has a large space between 41 & 42 and so we were able to stand up often and stretch out well while sitting. Next stop was Singapore at 11.15am. After a quick get-away from the airport, we settled in at the Seaview Hotel, then headed for Orchard Road and Chinatown. This was a bit of a mistake as we were both tired but it was still good to be able confirm that cellular phones are not on the possible purchase list. After a lot of haggling, I bought a very nice leather jacket for S$140.
5/9/91 Thursday Slept in till 8.30am after a night when the fire alarm went off at 2am & 3.30am! Fortunately both times were false alarms. The morning was spent at the Park Tower shopping centre where we had hair-cuts and I had my finger checked by a doctor. In the afternoon, we went into the Stamford Hotel to register for the convention, confirmed our tickets home and the discovered a shop selling Chinese musical instruments in Cashin street - what a place! We bought 10 instruments - each of them will be very useful and give pleasure.
6/9/91 Friday Congress Day 1 There are 5,250 people from 11 countries! There are only about 20 people from Australia. There is a very different atmosphere compared with Australian conventions. The speakers are very good and we are being made to feel very welcome by our Singaporean hosts. It was a long day that finished at 6pm. We crashed after getting back to the hotel.
7/9/91 Saturday Congress Day 2
Session 1 - Paul Anderson
1) Keep "technique books" in which suitable ideas are stored in subject order.
2) Post annual review sheets prior to follow-up
3) Keep a "Success Journal" to look back over in the hard times
4) "JUST DO IT"
5) Make a s/s of the weekly production figures over the past ten years
6) See the people, see the people, see the people.
Session 2 - Bonnie Nelson
A - awareness of who I am, who my client is
A - acceptance ourselves, our strengths, weaknesses
A- actualisation - applying the things we know William Marsden 1920's - dealt with normal people rather than problems. (Emotions of normal people)
Continuum ACTIVE --- PASSIVE
Dominance - intent: overcome influence - intent: persuade
Stability - intent: supportive
Competence - intent: avoid trouble
Session 3 Paul Naidu - Paper Management
Session 4 Andrew Goh - 55 Reasons why people buy. Very good - see Anne's List.
Evening Session - Denis Waitley
8/9/91 Sunday We finally caught up with a letter from home - it had been announced from the platform on the first day but every time we found the right person to collect it, they had passed it on to another person.
Warren Greshes - "The 3 S’s of Success"
S - SEE IT S - START IT S - SUSTAIN IT
PauL Anderson/Allan Altman - There are no tragedies in Life, only roadblocks. Why me? Because I am someone special.
Karen Ho - practical results of Life insurance
Medhi The streets are paved with gold - just go out and get it
Norman Levine - just do it (His youngest agent at 19 didn't finish high school, isn’t local - but writes $5million per year because he sees 100 people per dayl) Convention finish at 1.30pm. We walked to the nearby food centre for lunch, then went back to the Seaview to rest & change into cooler clothes. At 4pm we went into Chinatown, 5pm to Queenstown for church. 6pm Church of the Saviour, Margaret Drive, Singapore
3 RULES OF THE RACE
1) Don't look back,
2) don’t look around
3) only look forward to the goal.
There are many distractions - criticism, praise (all these things must not be allowed to take our attention from the goal. In this race, everyone who runs can be a winner - we only need to reach the goal
Then back to Chinatown with Soo (a friend that we met at church) on the MRT. Back to the hotel at 8.30pm for a foot soak & bed.
9/9/91 Monday our last day. We packed and checked out, then went over to the Katong Shopping Centre which is about 150m from the hotel. After a while of last minute shopping, we found a "cuppa spot" in a bowling centre. Unfortunately the tea was made with sweetened condensed milk and not very nice for Anne. The bowling alley is a fully computerised one with all the scoring done automatically. Anne had a bowl while I watched. Then back to the hotel to be picked up by the taxi we had booked for an afternoon tour ending at the airport. This took us to the western end, the northern side and back to Changi. The driver gave a fulsome commentary the whole way. We had a beautiful tea at the "Svensen’s Restaurant" in the Changi Terminal to finish the Singapore phase of the trip. Arrived back in Perth at 1.25am to be met by Maxine & Dad.
4/9/91 Wednesday Arrived on time at Hong Kong after a very good flight. We had asked for seats in row 41 which has a large space between 41 & 42 and so we were able to stand up often and stretch out well while sitting. Next stop was Singapore at 11.15am. After a quick get-away from the airport, we settled in at the Seaview Hotel, then headed for Orchard Road and Chinatown. This was a bit of a mistake as we were both tired but it was still good to be able confirm that cellular phones are not on the possible purchase list. After a lot of haggling, I bought a very nice leather jacket for S$140.
5/9/91 Thursday Slept in till 8.30am after a night when the fire alarm went off at 2am & 3.30am! Fortunately both times were false alarms. The morning was spent at the Park Tower shopping centre where we had hair-cuts and I had my finger checked by a doctor. In the afternoon, we went into the Stamford Hotel to register for the convention, confirmed our tickets home and the discovered a shop selling Chinese musical instruments in Cashin street - what a place! We bought 10 instruments - each of them will be very useful and give pleasure.
6/9/91 Friday Congress Day 1 There are 5,250 people from 11 countries! There are only about 20 people from Australia. There is a very different atmosphere compared with Australian conventions. The speakers are very good and we are being made to feel very welcome by our Singaporean hosts. It was a long day that finished at 6pm. We crashed after getting back to the hotel.
7/9/91 Saturday Congress Day 2
Session 1 - Paul Anderson
1) Keep "technique books" in which suitable ideas are stored in subject order.
2) Post annual review sheets prior to follow-up
3) Keep a "Success Journal" to look back over in the hard times
4) "JUST DO IT"
5) Make a s/s of the weekly production figures over the past ten years
6) See the people, see the people, see the people.
Session 2 - Bonnie Nelson
A - awareness of who I am, who my client is
A - acceptance ourselves, our strengths, weaknesses
A- actualisation - applying the things we know William Marsden 1920's - dealt with normal people rather than problems. (Emotions of normal people)
Continuum ACTIVE --- PASSIVE
Dominance - intent: overcome influence - intent: persuade
Stability - intent: supportive
Competence - intent: avoid trouble
Session 3 Paul Naidu - Paper Management
Session 4 Andrew Goh - 55 Reasons why people buy. Very good - see Anne's List.
Evening Session - Denis Waitley
8/9/91 Sunday We finally caught up with a letter from home - it had been announced from the platform on the first day but every time we found the right person to collect it, they had passed it on to another person.
Warren Greshes - "The 3 S’s of Success"
S - SEE IT S - START IT S - SUSTAIN IT
PauL Anderson/Allan Altman - There are no tragedies in Life, only roadblocks. Why me? Because I am someone special.
Karen Ho - practical results of Life insurance
Medhi The streets are paved with gold - just go out and get it
Norman Levine - just do it (His youngest agent at 19 didn't finish high school, isn’t local - but writes $5million per year because he sees 100 people per dayl) Convention finish at 1.30pm. We walked to the nearby food centre for lunch, then went back to the Seaview to rest & change into cooler clothes. At 4pm we went into Chinatown, 5pm to Queenstown for church. 6pm Church of the Saviour, Margaret Drive, Singapore
3 RULES OF THE RACE
1) Don't look back,
2) don’t look around
3) only look forward to the goal.
There are many distractions - criticism, praise (all these things must not be allowed to take our attention from the goal. In this race, everyone who runs can be a winner - we only need to reach the goal
Then back to Chinatown with Soo (a friend that we met at church) on the MRT. Back to the hotel at 8.30pm for a foot soak & bed.
9/9/91 Monday our last day. We packed and checked out, then went over to the Katong Shopping Centre which is about 150m from the hotel. After a while of last minute shopping, we found a "cuppa spot" in a bowling centre. Unfortunately the tea was made with sweetened condensed milk and not very nice for Anne. The bowling alley is a fully computerised one with all the scoring done automatically. Anne had a bowl while I watched. Then back to the hotel to be picked up by the taxi we had booked for an afternoon tour ending at the airport. This took us to the western end, the northern side and back to Changi. The driver gave a fulsome commentary the whole way. We had a beautiful tea at the "Svensen’s Restaurant" in the Changi Terminal to finish the Singapore phase of the trip. Arrived back in Perth at 1.25am to be met by Maxine & Dad.
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