April 2018 – Steps to Anywhere

Wrapping up the Journey

Posted on April 15, 2018 by Ted Thorpe

Our last dinner in Honolulu was at Tony Roma’s and it brought back memories of a birthday dinner in Burlington more than 20 years ago. Some of you may remember. For those who weren’t present here’s the short version. Dinner plans began with four celebrating my birthday and one other. It ended with a group of more than 20 in attendance as a result of contacts made throughout the day with friends who shared Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) as a hobby.

Our flight from Honolulu to Vancouver was delayed more than an hour because of a needed tire change on the Boeing 737 that was transportation. A task that should have taken half an hour, according to the initial announcement, took much longer. They seemed to have difficulty finding a suitable replacement. By the time the replacement wheel had been installed there were three wheels under the airplane, the original and two potential wheels that didn’t fit. After that, the trip was uneventful but we arrived in Vancouver about two hours later than scheduled.

The Culprit Tire

Honolulu Tire Change IMG 3189

After a night of sleep we returned to the airport for our flight to Toronto. There were no delays with this airplane, in fact we arrived in Vancouver 30 minutes earlier than scheduled. It turned out to be irrelevant as did our quick clearance through Canada Border Security thanks to NEXUS. The luggage handlers didn’t get suitcases onto the carousel for nearly 30 minutes. We did get lucky and our bags were among the first group to arrive. Kevin picked us up promptly and we started the drive back to Burlington.

We picked up our car from Kevin’s home, transferred our baggage and collected groceries for our next breakfast, however, we still needed to have dinner. A quick call to friends Chris and Marie found them ready to share a late evening table at Kelsey’s. The trip home continued after an enjoyable meal and once home the suitcases were virtually abandoned until the following morning.

We have no plans for another trip although I am nearly certain there will be another and when plans are made the journal will again become active.

Thanks to all of you who followed our 2018 journey we, Gail and I, hope you found something of interest in the commentary and posted photos. Another thank you for the comments made on many posts. I have now added the nearly 1000 trip photos and videos to the gallery which can be accessed directly at the link Australia 2018. You will also find the Photo Gallery menu item above and link to the photos from there. There is also an Australia 2018 link on the sidebar of this page. Not all of the photos are captioned but that should cause no trouble.

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Aloha Hawaii

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Ted Thorpe

The boarding passes showed a 7:15 pm departure but our actual departure was 8:20 pm because, they said, the airplane was late being delivered from maintenance. Now who, I ask, could complain about the airline wanting you to have a safe airplane? We were certainly not rushed at the airport. We arrived in the afternoon and discovered that Sydney Airport is essentially a large shopping mall with air service around three edges, road and rail services on the other side.

We did no buying other than food but I did manage to add a little excitement to the afternoon by walking away from a small case containing my laptop and Gail’s iPad. We were half way across the mall when the light went on as I glanced up to see a woman sitting at a table typing on her laptop.

We hurried back, hopefully, but when we looked at the last known location it was gone. There was a group of young men sitting in the area. We asked if they had noticed what happened to the case. They all said they had seen an airport employee pick it up and go that way (indicating by hand gesture). The first employee we saw wore a Qantas badge and we hit pay dirt. He escorted us across the mall to the security desk where he had earlier delivered the case with contents which were returned after I identified its contents to the satisfaction of the security staff. Time to restart heart.

The flight was uneventful, even the food wasn’t bad. We always have hopes of sleeping on a night flight which are only rarely realized. Perhaps one of the nine hours was actually sleep, most of the other eight were spent unsuccessfully trying to sleep. It was somewhat fortunate that the entertainment system offered a decent collection but it failed to create sleep like it does at home.

Our arrival in Honolulu was rather unusual. The airplane’s contents, nearly 300 people, were escorted to waiting busses and transported in groups of 40 per bus, to the customs hall where they joined other arriving international passengers. Our NEXUS/GLOBAL ENTRY status allow us to avoid the masses and arrived where our luggage had yet to be delivered. The carousel was far too small for the the load so there was staff offloading the carousel and placing it in rows beside. We were lucky enough to have our bags and get through inspection well before the majority of our flight. SpeediShuttle was waiting and a few minutes later we were at the Hawaiian Village. Although it was only noon the check-in desk at the Ali’l was able to find us a room. There was the bed and it was very tempting to just crash but we pressed on.

The air conditioning was not working in the room so that was quickly reported and we started our first lap around the resort. There are at least five hotel towers surrounding the resort. There are half a dozen pools nestled among the luscious tropical gardens with streams and pools populated with large koi and other species of smaller fish. There are lots of birds plus the usual doves, pigeons and gulls. Outdoor bars and restaurants abound along with clusters of shops and bistros offering a wide variety of food choices from asian to Italian to $150 steaks. After grabbing a couple of sandwiches that were far too big for either of us to eat, we returned to our room, poured a couple of glasses of wine then sat on the balcony. From there we got to watch the Aloha Friday Night Hawaiian music and hula performance around the Super Pool followed by a short but spectacular fireworks display from the beach. How we stayed awake this long we have no idea but we faded fast after the fireworks.

We awoke! It was light outside! It must be Saturday! It was!!!

Yesterday’s humid, hot, bright sun was replaced by less humid, warm, overcast with a forecast of flash flooding. Needing supplies for the next few days meant a walk to Walmart which took us through Ala Moana Mall. As we passed the food court I caught the aroma of a Cinnabon shop but we continued walking. With the Walmart stop complete and completely successful, we walked back through the Ala Moana centre again. It was near lunch time and Gail found some agreeable lunch time fare so once again I heard the Cinnabon call me. I swear I was only going to have a small one but then I saw the macadamia nuts and the caramel and it was too much. It was a total contrast. Gail with her healthy broccoli soup and orange salad; me with the macadamia, caramel Cinnabon and coffee.

We are officially spoiled. This afternoon we found ourselves walking in the beautiful lagoon, around the busy, glistening pools, along the beach sand, wading in the ocean and complaining. Well, not really complaining, just comparing. Here we find ourselves with thousands of people on a few hectares of beach compared with the Gold Coast with hundreds of people on thousands of hectares of beach; gritty, gravelly sand compared with silky fine sand; tiny, gentle waves bringing the tide up the beach compared with absolutely continuous one to two metre waves crashing onto the shore. We think it must be time to go home.

We first visited Hawaii in 1973. We have visited four of the islands on cruise ship visits numerous times and Honolulu about four times as a stopover point when flying between North America and Australia or New Zealand. On every visit we have passed the iconic Diamond Head, or Lē’ahi, but only today did we climb to the top. The trail is about 1.3 kilometres one way climbing 171 metres. From the top there is an expansive view of the shoreline from Honolulu to Kuamookane. That, I think pretty much puts an exclamation point on the trip and the journal posts.

The Climb

View toward Honolulu

View toward Kuamookane

We arrive home on April 12 and once the jet lag has subsided I will get the photos online. The final post of this tour will be to announce the final photos are on line.

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Good-bye Australia

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Ted Thorpe

We spent a very leisurely final full day in Burleigh Heads. After arranging transportation to the Gold Coast airport for Wednesday April 4, we grabbed a bus to Burleigh Waters, a nearby area. We had a quick lunch, picked up something for dinner then returned. My TRANSLink GO card had a balance of $5.23 and the fare was $2.60 each way. The plan was to end up with a 3 cent balance but they fooled me and counted our return trip as a transfer so I end up with a fine balance of $2.63. We spent some of the afternoon walking in the sand as the tide went out. The waves are quite unpredictable. One moment we were walking on wet sand. The next moment the wave can bring the water knee high then try to drag our feet back seaward.

Wednesday morning found us packing the final bits for the flight back to Sydney then collected the remainder of our groceries to leave with our hosts John and Ubon Thomas. By 10:45 all was ready for John to take us to the Gold Coast airport. John very graciously drove us to the airport where checkin at this pleasant little airport was quick and efficient. After a quick hamburger lunch we awaited our airplane.

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We were to board about 12:30 but were delayed until 1:30 PM because one of the cabin crew had become ill and required paramedic services. Of course a replacement had to be found. Our departure was about 2:00 pm and our flight was uneventful and we landed about 3:30.

There were plenty of taxis at Kingsford Smith airport so there was almost no wait. Unfortunately, the delay resulted in the trip being made during the beginning of rush hour traffic thus raising the cost slightly. After checkin at the hotel we ate at the hotel, not our favourite restaurant but the meal was adequate.

We recovered the large suitcase left in storage at the hotel and began repacking for the next leg of the journey. Packing was completed, more or less, on Thursday morning. The large suitcase now weighs half a kilogram less than the 23 kilogram maximum but will not need to be opened until we arrive home. The three smaller bags were packed for expected activities in Honolulu and, fortunately, we are able to check four bags at no cost on our Qantas flight.

We made another stop at a nearby pharmacy to replenish Gail’s diabetic supplies then zipped down to the opera house and found a t-shirt that interested Gail. After lunch at Circular Quay we returned to the hotel for a while then started our last excursion. The plan was to travel once again to Watson Bay by train and bus then walk another part of the cliffs. We expected to take a ferry back to Cockle Bay for dinner but our plans changed when we discovered that the Government Ferries stopped just after 4 pm and we missed it. There is always an alternative so we found a bus that brought us back to our hotel.

After dinner I checked in with Qantas and printed our boarding passes. Earlier we became somewhat confused about our departure time. One document had our departure time at 10 pm while another indicated 7:15. The boarding passes say 7:15 and that’s good enough for us.

Ready to go!!

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Gold Coast Good-bye

Posted on April 2, 2018 by Ted Thorpe

As I start this post I want to acknowledge the comments I have received both directly to the posts and some by email. Although I may not reply I read and appreciate them all. Anyone can read the comments added to any posting. The remainder of the post includes a few more or less random thoughts and a few summary photos.

Our Apartment Entrance

Apartment rear entrance DSCF4791

Easter weekend has been quite busy here in Burleigh Heads. If you plan to eat at any of the restaurants that have table seating you should make reservations early. They have all been full Friday and Saturday evenings. The swimming areas of the beach have been noticeably busier but there is so much beach it is easy to find unoccupied sand. We preferred the quieter days.

A Light Day At The Beach

Low Tide DSCF4781

Our Saturday afternoon visit to the beach came to a sudden conclusion when Gail’s iPhone took an unplanned salt water bath. We have been taking it into the surf in a waterproof plastic sleeve on a lanyard. Gail began using a continuous glucose monitor just before we started the trip. The sensor transmits by bluetooth to her phone, thus the reason for keeping it close. Well, it was this day that the ziplock style seals on the sleeve decided to fail. When we came back to the beach the phone was quite dead. Perhaps it might have recovered from a fresh water bath but not salt water. Once the post mortem cause of death was confirmed, Gail’s first question, “Is there an Apple Store nearby?” There was!

When, after a 25 minute bus ride to the Robina Town Centre shopping mall, we arrived at the Apple Store there was only 90 minutes until closing time and we were told that an appointment at the Genius Bar was unlikely. We began talking phone upgrade with a sales rep when we were given an immediate appointment and offer of a reduced cost direct replacement. Fearing my explanations might be too clinical, Gail did all the talking to the Apple folks. Her heart rending explanation of why she needed the phone as a medical necessity seemed to work. I was there only to provide needed login credentials for her accounts. Less than 60 minutes later we left the store with a replacement phone. It wasn’t free but a reasonable alternative to a new phone at full cost. My evening was spent restoring the phone from an online backup using the very slooooooow internet service here at the apartment. Before bed time all was working again and the new phone was in its new Life Proof watertight home. Never a dull moment here.

Public Transit Trains

Over the past few days we have used public transit quite a bit. Even though we are in a holiday weekend the longest wait at a transit stop has been less than 15 minutes. Most of the busses have been on a 15 minute schedule and for some destinations accessible on multiple bus routes wait times are only 5 minutes. The trains and trams seem to operate on 30 minute schedules and are within a minute of schedules. There is also an iPhone app that provides minute by minute information about schedules and transit vehicle locations. Colour us totally impressed.

Easter Monday began with rain. A second wave of rain showers moved in as we started walking along the beach but we took cover in one of the many picnic shelters along the beach walk. The beach was busy again as the Easter weekend came to a conclusion and we found our time on the Gold Coast coming to an end. That also means our visit to Australia is also nearly over.

Some ideas just turn out to be a lot better than others. We decided that when we arrived in Australia we would activate one of our cell phones on a local network. We had no specific reason to do so, it just seemed like a good idea. I had investigated Australian mobile offerings briefly before leaving home but the language was as obscure as every contract. We ended up talking to a young fellow in a JB HiFi store and asked for a package that included the ability to telephone to Canada. I was referred to Pay-as-you-go package from Telstra that offered international calling to Canada, USA and numerous countries along with unlimited texting and 50 Gb of data service for the magnificent price of $30, plus the $2 for the SIM card.

It is now four days before we depart Australia and there is still lots of data service available and the phone has been invaluable. The unlimited texting was worthless. I never did figure out how to text home but with Facebook Messenger available it was irrelevant. Although not strictly speaking essential, we have called friends and family back home with no need to consider the cost. We have called Canada for technical support with Gail’s continuous monitor, called Hawaii to arrange airport transportation, friends in Brisbane to organize our visit, the Apple store at Robina and numerous other calls. Years ago, before we had mobile phones or the internet how did we arrange things. I suppose many of these tasks were once accomplished by travel agents who could be reached by traditional telephone services. We still value the services of a travel agent who is now accessible by telephone and email. Some of the posts to this journal have been created and uploaded using the data services offered by this Telstra data service. The Telstra service expires in five days, we leave Australia in four days. I love it when a plan comes together.

Pretty Birds

In earlier posts I have mentioned the Rainbow Lorikeets in the area. They are as noisy as they are pretty. Apparently they travel 30 kilometres or so morning and evening between feeding or nesting areas and nightly roosting areas. Burleigh Heads is clearly a roosting area. I am unsure how many birds use the Norfolk Pine grove near the beach but they are typically 10,000 birds and may be up to 50,000. The noise of their screeching is very loud indeed and, for those more technically inclined, I have measured the racket at 90 decibels 10 metres below their roost. Every evening we can see them pass our balcony in groups of up to several hundred.

Noisy Birds

Rainbow Lorikeet Murmuration

As great as this area and beach has been it is apparently not the best beach on the east coast. Although it seems unlikely we shall return here we know there would be more to see if we did. Bye-bye Gold Coast.

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