John's Adventures

Going Home

johnsd — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 18:00:00 GMT

Going home today. The morning began as usual. Kevin got up, made coffee (I skipped the coffee today due to not wanting to get caught in a long que or stuck on the bus to the airport) and then got ready for work. I took a quick shower and finished packing. I had done most of it last night, but there is always a few things that need to be stowed away. We all headed out around 7:10. Kevin walked with Joe and I for the first block then split to go to work. Joe helped me with one suitcase to the Quest Hotel, where I scheduled a SkyBus pickup for 7:30. The bus arrived at 7:17 and Joe and I said our goodbyes.

It was a quick trip to Southern Cross Station where I had to change busses to get to the airport. Both rides were pleasant because there weren’t very many people on them. I got checked in and through security in about 15 minutes. I was about 2 hours early, so I waited in the United / Cathay Pacific Lounge. It was a nice place and I even snoozed a bit. Boarding was a snap and we were on our way.

The flight was uneventful. There was only one screaming baby, but that didn’t last long. Better parents on this trip. We arrived 15 minutes early. I cleared customs, got my bags and caught the shuttle to the Budget Rental Center. They gave me an Impala, didn’t like it, and I headed for Leslie, Ken and Pat’s house. I wanted to see them and find out how the move went. It was a very pleasant, and tasty event. Pat showed me a book that someone had written about her home town area. It was interesting to see the old pictures from the Lake Samish area of Washington.

Not wanting to stay too long as I hadn’t slept much and had been up for 20 hours, I said my goodbyes and headed for San Diego around 10:30. The drive was good, I was a bit drowsy though, and I got home without any problems. I quickly brought in the luggage and called Mike. He met me at the Budget Rental in Mission Valley and brought me home. I spent the rest of the day and evening catching up on work and getting organized. Lots of mail. Two big bags to go through. I have my work cut out for me.

Thus ends the last cruise of 2016. I have a couple more I want to go on, but we’ll see how this year goes.

Photos: Last Day

johnsd — Sun, 15 Jan 2017 18:51:00 GMT

Last Full Day of My Vacation

johnsd — Sun, 15 Jan 2017 18:00:00 GMT

Last full day of the trip is here. We got up, had coffee and were on the road by 8:30 this morning. Kevin wanted to get back with enough time to stop at “Woolies” (Woolworths) to get some groceries. And it’s right by the South Melbourne Market so we are going to have lunch there, YEA!!

The drive home was through the Otway forest and it was spectacular. A deciduous forest with HUGE Ferns. Like the drive yesterday, the road was very winding. It reminded me a bit of driving through the Black Hills, but with different trees. That part of the drive took about 45 minutes. We then got to level land and eventually to the interstate, where I fell asleep. I didn’t come to, until we were about 5 minutes outside of Melbourne.

We parked the car at Woolies and walked a block to the Spanish restaurant where Joe and I ate at the 2^nd day of the trip. I was happy to eat there again because I wanted another Brekky Bruschetta. People around us had the Paella, which looked fabulous. I bet Luis would have ordered that dish. On the way out of the restaurant, we passed the area where they were making the paella. They had 3 large paella pans each in various stages. One just starting, one about finished and one that they were serving from.

I waited outside while Joe and Kevin did the shopping. They didn’t take long and we headed to the apartment. We got everything upstairs in one trip. Kevin left to return the car and Joe and I did our thing on the computers. Of course I am working on the blog.

We just hung out at the apartment for the rest of the afternoon. Kevin did game with 3 other guys online for awhile. We went to Criniti’s for dinner. We had a fabulous last supper. I had the macaroni 3 meat, Joe had lasagna, very good and Kevin had the gnocchi Alfredo, also very good. We did have a calamari starter as well. AND, we ordered a dessert plate that came with cannoli’s, tiramisu, ricotta cheese cake and ice cream. Just as we were finishing dessert, Praba, Kevin’s friend from work joined us for a coffee and the desserts we couldn’t finish. We had a nice time visiting and broke up around 7:30.

I finished the blog and will do my packing tonight. I have scheduled a 7:30 AM pickup for the ride to the airport.

Vacations almost over. Now to get home and see everyone I missed.

Photos: Great Ocean Highway Road Trip

johnsd — Sat, 14 Jan 2017 18:11:00 GMT

Great Ocean Highway

johnsd — Sat, 14 Jan 2017 18:00:00 GMT

Road Trip Day. We have our trip along the Great Ocean Highway today. Kevin got up early and picked up the car and we were on our way by 9:30. The Great Ocean Highway is a road that runs along the coast From Torquay west. I am not sure where it stops, but it goes to the 12 Apostles and a bit further to ‘London Bridge’. We are going to spend the night at a Air BnB in Apollo Bay.

The drive to Torquay and then to Lorne was nice, but repetitive. Not much of interest until we got to the coast. At Lorne we stopped at a couple of spots to see the coast, and it was nice. There was a lighthouse in town that we had to walk a couple of blocks to see, but the view was great. We stopped for lunch in Lorne at a burger place called “Bottle of Milk”. The burger was good, but neither Kevin or Joe liked the milkshake.

From there we walked around a bit, not much to see and then headed to Apollo Bay. This part of the drive was very nice. Fabulous views of the coast. When we got to the town, we stopped at our house and unloaded things and took a nap. Like I said before, sitting on your butt takes a lot out of one. After the nap we headed out to see the 12 Apostles.

This was another spectacular drive. It goes from Apollo Bay inland a bit and winds through the mountains on the way. Lots of scenic views of the valleys and forest. When we arrived at the 12 Apostles everyone was amazed at the view. The location gets it’s name from remnant formations that have had sediments and limestone eroded away around them. Originally there were 12, but one toppled so now there are just 11, but they still call it 12. There were LOTS of people there, mostly Chinese and it was VERY WINDY. I thought I was going to lose the rest of my hair. I stopped at 3 viewpoints along the 1 K walk and took pictures at each. That was fun for me.

We then headed out to see the “London Bridge” about 6 KM west. This is a spot with similar erosion remnants but in this case a tunnel had formed, making it look like it was a bridge. However, it had collapsed stranding some people on the end who had to be rescued by helicopter. You can see one more tunnel creating another ‘bridge’. There must be some very active erosion as there are no blocks of rocks left from the collapse that can be seen. They may be there below the water level, but it looks very clean to me.

We made one more stop at Loch Arde Gorge. This is geologically similar, but what makes this interesting is the erosion into a small bay. People with more energy than us, hiked down to the water and were playing in the sand. There was also a shipwreck in the 1850's at the point here. Again it was very windy and getting chilly.

Then we saw our most exciting 'Australian'. A brown kangaroo. The first and only one we saw on this entire trip. We were very happy to have seen one as it would have been disappointing to come all this way and miss the one thing Australia is know for, outside of hot lifeguards and BBQ's.

From here we headed back to Apollo Bay. We noticed that the temperature had dropped to 12 degrees Celcius (54 degrees F). Around 8:00 we passed a bar/restaurant called Roadhouse that looked interesting. Not wanting to eat late, we decided to stop there. I had the ‘famous steak sandwich’, which was very tasty and they made my chips crispy, much to my delight. Joe had a pasta dish and Kevin had their Chicken Parm, which was a huge piece of meat and a plate full of chips. He only at about half of it and Joe took the rest home for breakfast (he ended up not eating it and forgot it in the fridge. Oh well.

We headed back to the house and Joe and Kevin went right to bed. I stayed up another hour to download files and work on the blog. We are planning on taking a different route back home tomorrow.

Photos: Last Full Day in Melbourne

johnsd — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 21:25:00 GMT

Fancy Dinner - Last Full Day in Melbourne

johnsd — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 18:00:00 GMT

Another lazy day. Joe and I spent most of the day inside due to rain, and the need for a couple of more naps. Resting is hard work. We did go out for lunch at a neat little place called BondStore. They just serve breakfast and lunch. I had a smoked chicken sandwich, which was just OK. It had a Vietnamese slaw on it that had pickles. Joe had a pulled pork sandwich, again. We walked home and Joe took his ‘main nap of the day’ and I worked on the blog and watched Joe sleep. In Joe’s defense, he did do a load of laundry today, so he deserved a nap after all that hard work. Being retired takes a lot out of one, especially while on vacation.

I offered to take Kevin out to dinner as a thank you for the hospitality. We went to a seafood / steak restaurant called WaterFront. It’s in the Southgate area next to the river. We have walked past it numerous times and decided that we would try it tonight. We were not disappointed. They brought a seafood chowder that was fabulous and then we got our steaks. Kevin and Joe had the Filet and of course I had ribeye. It was the best meal we have had on this trip. Only Kevin liked the Pinnacle Grill’s filet better. We followed the meal up with ice cream from a place next door. It was a great evening.

Tomorrow morning we have an overnight trip planned to see some sights along the coast.

Photos: Dinner in the Central Business District

johnsd — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 18:22:00 GMT

Lazy Day

johnsd — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 18:00:00 GMT

This was the laziest day I have had in a long time. Joe and I must have been tired from all the excursions we have been taking lately. After Kevin left, Joe and I got up and within an hour we were both ‘resting our eyes’. We finally made breakfast and shortly thereafter, we took a nap. Joe went back to bed and I napped on the couch for a bit. I did some work on the computer and Joe got up for the second time around 12:30.

We looked at future cruises and discussed one in particular. There is a 5 day cruise out of San Diego in April that will allow us to take advantage of some credits we earned on the Fiji cruise. We are tempted to take it, especially Joe because it is almost free for him. Me, it would cost a bit, but I really want to see Victoria Island and Vancouver, Canada. We’ll see if we make the trip. Decisions have to be made by the end of this month.

After that EXHAUSTING discussion and internet research, we jut HAD to take another snooze. We conked out for about 45 minutes and woke up just in time to get dressed and meet Kevin for dinner. We had made plans to meet Kevin in the CBD on one of the ‘lanes’ as the locals call them. As I mentioned in the blog for Tuesday, there are these little side streets that are old alleyways that are full of little restaurants and shops. We decided on Cafe Andiamo. It is an Italian place with just a few tables. The food was good and all enjoyed the dinner. Joe and I had the minestrone soup for a starter and then I had lasagna while Kevin had carbonara and Joe had a spaghetti.

From there Kevin ran a quick errand before he and I had to leave to go play bridge. Kevin had made arrangements with a couple of friends he had met at the bridge club he belongs to, Seng and Des. We caught the tram and after a 15 minute ride we were close to Seng’s home. Since we got there a bit early, so we stopped at Roscos@Chevron for a cold water and soda.

Seng’s Condo was just a block away and we walked over at 7:00. They have a lovely condo, wish I would have taken pictures but I forgot. We played until 9:30 and then Des gave us a ride home. I worked on the blog and Kevin had to kill some bad guys in his game.

Tomorrow it is supposed to rain. We had originally planned to spend Friday in due to the rain, but since we did that today, we may have to go out and do something. Check back tomorrow and see if the naps take over and win again.

Photos: Country Towns

johnsd — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 18:02:00 GMT

A Day in the Country

johnsd — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 18:00:00 GMT

We spent the day in the country. Colin T. had invited Joe and I out to Hurstbridge and Eltham for lunch and to spend part of the day with him. Joe and I got our breakfast, shower, dressed and out the door by 9:45 this morning. I wanted to get to the Flinder’s Street Station a bit early to top off my MyKi card (the one you use to ride the public transportation in Melbourne and surrounding suburbs). I had a bit of a problem because my credit card requires a signature and the machine wouldn’t do it without a PIN. So Joe lent me 10.00 and I was able to get on the way.

We hopped on the train and Colin met us in Eltham where we boarded another train to Hurstbridge. Total train ride was about an hour, but there were a few stops along the way. We got to the sleepy town of Hurstbridge, where the sign said “Where Melbourne meets the Yarrow Valley”. It is and has the feel of a small country town, much like you have in the US. We walked along main street for a bit and decided to have some lunch. We stopped at Stoneground and we each got a sausage roll and a meat pie. They were very tasty.

From there we walked a bit more and saw 2 interesting trees. One was a large Eucapiptus and the second was an old one. The first was just interesting, the second was a bit historic. It had been used to warn and call the townspeople when there was a fire. They had hung a bell in the fork of the tree, which was rung when there was a fire. The locals preserved the tree and have a sign to tell visitors the history. I have included a picture of the sign if you want to read all about this tree. I decided I wanted dessert and a cup of coffee. We stopped at Coffex and I got a piece of carrot cake. It was good, but the used buttercream frosting and I was hoping for cream cheese. It was very pleasant to sit outside and visit for a bit before going to Eltham.

We caught the train to Eltham, Colin’s home town and walked to his house. He lives just 5 minutes from the station. It was a very nice visit. We stayed there about an hour and then had to catch the train back to Melbourne. We had made arrangements to meet Kevin at 5 ish for dinner. I had to give Colin my goodbye as I will probably not see him again, until I come back to Melbourne, or he comes to San Diego. I enjoyed spending the day with him. He is very proud of Melbourne and his home town. He grew up in the area and was a great guide and made the day very enjoyable for Joe and I. Joe will probably see him again before he goes back to San Diego on February 1st. I am coming back on Monday.

Joe and I rode the train to the Metro Central Station, which is where Kevin works. He was waiting for us at the Lion Hotel Pub, where Joe and I met him the first day I arrived in Melbourne. We had a couple of beers and were joined by his workmate, Colin (not the same Colin) and his girlfriend Sarena. We had a nice visit for about and hour.

Joe, Kevin and I went down to level 1 in the same building and grabbed a quick dinner. We wanted to try the Korean Fried Chicken at Uncle Jong’s. Kevin decided he didn’t want any, because it has bones. Joe got a plate of ‘nugget’ type chicken and I got the regular fried chicken. It was nothing special. We won’t be eating there again, but it was worth one visit.

From there Kevin walked home because he needed to stop at the market. Joe and I walked a couple blocks and caught the tram. We ended up meeting Kevin just as we arrived at the building. Kevin walks really fast. We came upstairs and I worked on the blog and Kevin started gaming with Colin, the same one from this evening at the Lion.

Tomorrow has nothing planned until evening when Kevin and I are going to friends of Kevin’s to play bridge.

Photos: Queen Victoria Market

johnsd — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 18:12:00 GMT

Queen Victoria Market

johnsd — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 18:00:00 GMT

Today was supposed to be a cleaning day. Kevin had made arrangements for the cleaning service to come in and do the apartment. They were supposed to be here at 10, but somehow there was a problem with scheduling and they didn’t show. We picked up and had the place ready. Since they couldn’t reschedule until Friday, Kevin decided to just wait until I leave to have the apartment cleaned.

Around 10:30 Joe and I headed out to Queen Victoria Market. We grabbed a tram that took us there, but the last few stops crowded as we were in the Central Business District. It turns out it is only 2 or 3 blocks from where Kevin works. We walked up and down the aisles looking at things. It is a very big market. Must be hundreds of vendors there. Many selling the same thing and lots of rows of vegetable and other food products.

We ended our journey there with lunch in the food court. I got a pizza, not very good, and Joe had a pulled pork sandwich, much better. There was a small alley way that had lots of graffati murals painted on them and in particular there was one of Trump. I think it represents the collective opinion of our president elect that the Australians have. From there we grabbed the tram to Flinders Station and walked across the bridge to Southgate. We stopped at the shop that sells meat pies and picked up a steak and a chicken pie.

We walked the 4 blocks home and took a nap before dinner. Joe warmed the pies up in the oven and they were very tasty. Kevin had one left over that his friend the chef Colin had made for him. We all had a nice dinner.

After dinner we finished watching the season 2 opening episode of Sense 8. We all liked the first one. I would recommend it as it is a very good SciFi program on Netflix.

Tomorrow is our day with Colin. Stop back and see how much fun we had.

Photos: City Circle

johnsd — Mon, 9 Jan 2017 18:34:00 GMT

City Circle

johnsd — Mon, 9 Jan 2017 18:00:00 GMT

Monday is laundry day. We got up around 6:15 and Joe and I had coffee. Kevin has to work today so he ate, dressed and was out the door around 7:00. Joe and I took our showers so we could was the towels. We did 4 loads of laundry and then headed out to do something more fun.

Joe suggested we ride the City Circle Tram. They are old trams that go in a circle, they go both ways, around the central Business District. It takes a little over and hour to go around the way we went. We got on at Flinders Street Station and rode it to the end. We stayed on the tram so we could ride it around and end up where we had gotten on. We were going to do it again, because we only had seats for about half the ride and couldn’t hear the narrative. However, the locals use it for getting around and it is very crowded and once it fills up, it is not so pleasant to ride, so we quit about a block from Flinders Street.

We are going to make burgers for dinner tonight. Corrections, Joe is going to make burgers tonight. Kevin and I are going to eat them. Joe and I walked around a bit looking for a bakery that had the perfect hamburger bun. We stopped in a couple, they had very tempting sweets, but didn’t find what we were looking form. Joe said that we would just pick something up at Coles, their grocery store.

Out walk took us through some ‘between streets areas’. That’s what I call them. They are narrow walking streets that have little restaurants and a few stores. They looked very inviting and we were tempted to stop and sample some wares. But, we were being good boys and decided to wait for dinner.
One door away from Coles was a liquor store called ‘Liquorland’. I stopped in and asked if they carried the 150 Lashes beer. I was very happy when the clerk said YES!!!!. I bought a six pack (23.00 AU, about 17.00 US). At the end of the block and right before Flinders Street Station, Joe spotted a donut shop. We stopped and got something for each of us for dessert. A treat for all.

We walked home and rested until Kevin arrived, around 5:30. Joe started dinner and we had our special burgers at last. We may stay in tonight and watch a movie.

Photos: Bridge with Michael and Phillip

johnsd — Sun, 8 Jan 2017 18:40:00 GMT

Social Game of Bridge

johnsd — Sun, 8 Jan 2017 18:00:00 GMT

Today is Sunday and it was supposed to be cooler. We didn’t want to stay in the apartment, so Kevin called a couple he met at the bridge club and arranged a game. But first, Kevin had to go to the market and get groceries and some household supplies. Since Joe and I didn’t want to go, he left around 8 and was back by 9. He has a little cart, Aussies call it a trolly, that they use to carry groceries.

While Kevin was gone Joe and I took showers and had a bit of breakfast. Around 9:45 we headed to the tram stop. We have to transfer in the Central Business District and pick up the 109. The same one we took yesterday. However, this time we didn’t go as far. Michael Bugler and Phillip Evinson live in the Vietnamese area, just a short distance from the CBD. They have a lovely house with big windows. It was a very nice house and we enjoyed them very much. We played bridge for about an hour and then decided to go to lunch. They have a favorite restaurant called Van Mai just a short walk from their house. Along the way we saw a sign for "Kevin's Hairdressing", we got a chuckle over it.

They had brought a bottle of wine along and we enjoyed an Australian bottle with our lunch. I mostly enjoyed the wine. Phillip kept filling up my glass and I think I had about ¾ of the bottle. Not that I minded. I had the roasted duck with plum sauce, Joe had fried noodles with seafood and meat combination. Kevin had sweet and sour chicken and the two others had sweet and sour pork and pork ribs. The duck was fabulous and it was a great meal. We visited for awhile and then headed back to their house to play some more bridge. Around 4:00 we quit playing and checked the tram schedule. We had a few minutes to wait so we just visited. We soon headed out to catch the tram. The ride back was quick and it was a lot less crowded, so this time we got seats.

We came back to the apartment and decided to just have sandwiches for dinner. We’ve had enough of eating out this weekend.

Tomorrow is a work day for Kevin. Joe and I are going to find something to do, but don’t feel like planning anything tonight. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Photos: Hot in Melbourne

johnsd — Sat, 7 Jan 2017 18:06:00 GMT

Hot Times in the City

johnsd — Sat, 7 Jan 2017 18:00:00 GMT

Saturday in Melbourne started off with a beautiful sunrise. My ‘bedroom’ is the living room on a very comfortable air mattress. We slept with the patio door open, we’re on the 14^th floor, and I woke up around 5:00. The sky started turning a deep red then kept turning to a brilliant red and finally the rising of a red sun around 6:30. Kevin had gotten up by then, so we watched the end of it together. Then the sun started heating up the living room so we had to close the door.

It is very hot in Melbourne and will be so tomorrow. Today we had plans to meet Colin and Nic for lunch at a restaurant called Mrs. Parma’s in the Central Business District. Since the apartment started heating up around 8:00, Kevin called Colin and told him that wen he got off the train to call and we would meet him at SouthGate (the river area) for coffee. We all met up around 10:15 and went to Rive Gaucho’s. I had a very strong ‘Long Coffee’, Joe had a cold water, Kevin passed and Colin had a coffee, but they put the wrong milk in so he didn’t drink much.

The day was heating up so we had to come up with some way to stay cool until lunch. Kevin remember that the 109 tram is new and the cars are air conditioned. So, we jump in one and rode it to the dock / port area and then back to the CBD. I enjoyed seeing the area and having Colin along was great because he added a ‘native narrative’ to the journey.

We still had some time to kill so we went into one of the arcades areas. These are just what they call little malls or buildings full of different shops. We found Haig Chocolate and Colin and I just had to try one. Very tasty, plus we all got a sample of their dark chocolate. It was now time to meet Nic for lunch so we headed to Mrs. Parma’s. This restaurant / pub specializes in making many different kinds of parmesans like chicken, veal and eggplant. I had the Mexican chicken and it was very good. The serving was huge. Everyone’s parma covered almost the entire plate. Plus, they served a very large bowl of salad and chips. We couldn’t eat it all…there was a bit of salad left.

We wanted to visit a bit more so we decided to walk to a coffee place. As you can see in the photographs, this is the Theatre District. They have a few popular shows open, or will be opening soon. We stopped at a place called the Espresso Bar and had some cold drinks. We visited for awhile and about 3:30, Nic headed home and the rest of us jumped on the 109 again and took it to the other end of the line. This trip was very nice as it went through 3 or 4 different suburbs. They were older and very interesting. They were developed in the late 1800’s and there were many brick and wood Victorian homes. You could tell that they were old and in poorer neighborhoods because the houses looked like they needed some repair. Quite a few were well maintained and were beautiful. There were some very impressive churches along the way as well. Unfortunately, the windows in the tram were not conducive to photos, so I didn’t take any. You’ll just have to take my word for it.

We rode the tram to the Casino stop where we got off and went inside. It was nice and cool there. Joe, Kevin and I decided to do a bit of gambling. Joe and I wish we would have just gone home. I don’t know how Kevin did. He was/is gaming when we got to the apartment so I haven’t had the chance to talk to him. He’s gaming with another friend from work, also called Colin. It’s apparently a common name here in Australia.

Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer than today, so we are going to have to get out of the apartment again. Stay tuned to see what we do/did.

Photos: Transfer to Melbourne

johnsd — Fri, 6 Jan 2017 18:14:00 GMT