|
2006 Journey
Margaret and Bob Kellett
23 Dec 05 - 4 Jan 06: Auckland to Melbourne (Air New Zealand return), stay with Boyds. Spend Christmas and New Year.
31 Jan -5 Feb 06: Auckland to Melbourne (Qantas - free flights using our Amex Membership Rewards). Ethan starts school. Fergus' 3rd Birthday is on 1/2/06.
Ethan's First Day at School Fergus Loved His Birthday Present
16 Feb 06: Wedding Day for Lotta Windhal from Sweden, who had lived with us for a year in 1991 as an AFS exchange student. She marries a New Zealander, Spencer Noonan, whom she first met during her exchange here. Lotta is completing her doctorate through a Swedish university, but lives mainly in New Zealand now. She and Spencer look after our apartment when we are overseas.
Lotta, Spencer and Flowergirls Lotta's Parents, Rigmor and Torgny
9 Mar 06: Air New Zealand to San Francisco, stay two nights Argent Hotel. Fly SFO to Ottawa. Stay at Welburns. Birth of Georgia Welburn, a planned homebirth, on Fri 17/3/06 (St Patrick’s Day). Help out for three weeks until end of March.
1 Apr 06: United Airlines, Ottawa to San Francisco, catch bus up to the Petaluma KOA and uplift our Fleetwood Pace Arrow Motorhome (and Jeep). Set off again on 2006 travels across USA.
Apr 06: Visit Pam and Jason Kraan, who had recently moved to Victorville, CA. Pam had lived with us for a year in 1989 as an AFS exchange student. Also caught up with her mother, Donna, sister Jennifer and husband Bob; all now living also in Victorville .
Our American Daughter and Her Family The "Mecca of Tackiness" Beckons
Apr 06: Drove on up to Las Vegas. Whilst there we decide to trade our Fleetwood Pace Arrow for a new Tiffin Allegro Bus Motorhome, having found a great deal on the Internet with Kings Campers up at Wasau, WI. By telephone and fax we established a company, Playtime Motorhome LLC, in Missoula, Montana, which will legally own the new motorhome [no sales tax in Montana]. To get to Wasau, Wisconsin from Las Vegas we have a long but scenic five day drive across Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, then up through Illinois.
Vail Pass, Colorado, Elev 10,000 ft The Other Side
28 Apr 06: Complete purchase of new Playtime. Kings Campers had looked after us well whilst they spent a full week checking over every part and system in the new Tiffin Allegro Bus, just to make sure everything was working properly. Accordingly we drove away happy and with a good deal of confidence.
Changing from Playtime1 to Playtime2 Set To Go Again
May 06: Wend our way up to Canada from Wisconsin, through Illinois and Michigan. At Detroit we drive over bridge back into Canada, then spend relaxing few days at a RV Resort in Windsor, Ontario. Then we head up to Ottawa and settle into Recreationland RV Park, spending 10 days enjoying Welburn family. Move RV to storage facility whilst we’re away in Europe for the month of June.
Smiling Faces Greet Us At Ottawa Victoria and Colin Come to See Playtime 2
Relaxing Inside Playtime 2 Preparing Dinner
29 May -30 Jun 06: Fly Air Canada from Ottawa, viaToronto to Frankfurt, Germany. Activate Eurail Pass. Train to Berlin, stay four days at Steigenburger Hotel whilst we enjoy very warm hospitality from the Berliners.
New Palace, Potsdam Checkpoint Charlie Now Looks Better
Then four days in Dresden (Venice on the Elbe) which is still being rebulit after the massive damage suffered during WW2. On to Nuremburg, then Regensburg. The 2006 FIFA World Cup has started, and on at venues throughout Germany we enjoy wonderful experience joining in with exuberant crowds, watching the games on big TV screens set up in cafes, tree-covered beergardens, plus in our hotel rooms. At Munich we visit the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site; harrowing, but history we should never forget.
Guess Who These World Cup Fans Support Nefertiti Finds Another Admirer
At Vienna we soak in its fascinating history and great shopping. President Bush and Sec of State, Condi Rice, are also visiting Vienna for a conference. One afternoon the whole of the city centre stops as tens of thousands line the streets for several hours waiting to catch a glimpse of the Leader of the Free World. We join the crowd, but all we eventually see is a convoy of black-windowed limousines, with massive security cover, drive at 40 plus mph through the city streets. The aura of the President of the USA, and the personal danger he is faced with daily, are very apparent.
Our Hotel In Regensburg Vienna Has a Feast of Magnificent Buildings
Move on to Salzburg, then back to Frankfurt to catch our flights back to Ottawa.
30 Jun - 17 Jul 06: Summer holidays in Canada, help at Welburns, stay back at Recreationland RV Park (with lovely view of Ottawa River).
17 Jul - 2 Oct 06: Travel in our new ‘Playtime’ from Ottawa, through Quebec up to the Maritime Provinces. From Moncton, New Brunswick we drive across CONFEDERATION BRIDGE (12.9 km long) to Prince Edward Island. At PEI we enjoy the Lucy Maud Montgomery [Anne of Green Gables] scene.
Crossing Confederation Bridge Over To PEI Anne of Green Gables Revisited
Move on to Nova Scotia and view the Bay of Fundy Tidal Bore. We stay in a RV park right on the water's edge in St Margaret's Bay. Visit the much-photographed town of Lundenburg, plus the famously scenic Peggy's Cove.
Margie Especially Loved St Margaret's Bay Peggy's Cove
Our personalised PLAYTIME registration plates arrive from Missoula, Montana (with Big Sky logo). D rive back up through New Brunswick and enter the USA at St Croix Border Station, into Maine. Drive through Maine and New Hampshire, arriving at Bennington, Vermont, where we learned about the fiery patriot, Ethan Allen and his band, the Green Mountain Boys .
On to Gettysburg where we saw an impressive diorama of the battle there, then drove in the Jeep around the Battlefields, listening to a CD interpretation of Abraham Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address, which illustrated again Lincoln's remarkable combination of vision and humility.
Drove through Maryland to Charlottesville, Virginia, where we visited Monticello , home of Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the USA, and the person most responsible for drafting the Declaration of Independence. Nearby was the home of the 4th President, James Madison, which we also enjoyed visiting.
Stayed for a week in a very peaceful RV park in the middle of the Shenandoah National Park, then drove down to Williamsburg, VA. Very historic area and a lovely place to live, we decide. Drive across CHESAPEAKE BRIDGE-TUNNEL, described as ‘A Highway Across 17.6 Miles of Ocean’. Experience tail end of Hurricane Ernesto whilst parked at Williamsburg, VA.
Thomas Jefferson's Home, Monticello Home of James and Dolly Madison
Thence drive down to North Carolina via Cape Hatteras. The massive Wright Brothers memorial dominates the view at Kitty Hawk. We use the excellent ferry services to island hop South from the Cape, arriving eventually at Morehead City, NC.
Typical Houses at Cape Hatteras Our Rig is Loaded on the Ferry
Bob goes deep sea fishing at Morehead City and catches two huge Wahoo, which are great fighting fish, and good to eat. Next is Charleston, South Carolina , one of the most charming cities in the USA. The grand mansions built as summer houses illustrate the great wealth enjoyed by the early plantation owners. We also visit Fort Sumter, a Federal bastion that received the opening shots of the American Civil War.
Examples of Charleston Summer Town Houses Built By Early Plantation Owners
We drive up to Asheville , NC. From there we visit the Cherokee Reservation in the Great Smoky Mountains and learn the sad tale of their "Trail of Tears". Playtime is then put away for the Winter in a new facility called GSP Storage, near Greenville. Stay two nights at Fairfield Inn Marriott, Greenville and enjoy the marvellous collection of Andrew Wyeth paintings at the Greenville Art Gallery . Fly out of GSP Airport to San Francisco. Spend a relaxing week at Prescott Hotel, San Francisco before catching Air New Zealand back home to Auckland, arriving 2nd October 2006.
8 -15Nov: Air New Zealand to Melbourne. Stay with Boyds, mind the boys whilst Louise sits Psychology paper.
11 Dec - 7 Jan 07: Air New Zealand to Melbourne. Stay firstly with Boyds for several days, then fly on to Adelaide to catch up with the Turnbulls . Attend their School Prize Giving/Musical production, then join in for Christmas Carols with their church group. In a Hertz rental car we drive back to Melbourne, taking the route through area called Riverlands (Murray River) - Renmark, Mildura, down to Bendigo. Countryside desperately dry – forest fires throughout Victoria. Stay two nights in Bendigo, then drive into Melbourne and stay again with Boyds. Spend Christmas and New Year with Boyds. We mind boys for three nights whilst Louise and Stephen go on R and R. Move into Stamford Plaza Hotel , in central Melbourne, for final week before returning to Auckland.
The Turnbulls Have Had a Good Year We Celebrate at Popular Restaurant
|
