2007 Journey

2007 Journey

Bob and Margaret Kellett

11 December 2006 - 7 January 2007:

Fly Auckland to Melbourne and spend time with our youngest daughter, Louise Boyd, her husband, Stephen, and three boys, Ethan, Fergus and Varick. Then fly to Adelaide to visit son Paul Turnbull, his wife Sandy, and their three children, Amy, Kelly and Joel. Attend their school end-of-year prize giving/musical production and Carol singing. By rental car we drive back to Melbourne via the Riverlands [Murray River area], staying overnight in Bendigo, which has grand old buildings and a magnificent City Art Gallery, mainly as a result of the wealth the area gained during the goldrush there in the 1850s. Spend Christmas in Melbourne with the Boyd family. Mind boys for three nights, allowing Louise and Stephen a R and R break, then we return to New Zealand.

The Boyd family in Melbourne Christmas 2006 with the Boyds

5 -20 February 07:

Fly Air New Zealand to San Francisco, spend three nights at the Prescott Hotel, where we especially enjoy their hospitable Club Bar, then fly on to Greenville/Spartanburg Airport, South Carolina. Overnight at the Fairfield Inn. Next morning Kathy Ashworth, owner of GSP Storage, collects us and we go out to uplift our vehicles. Both the Allegro Bus and the Jeep are in great condition, and in no time we are back in the "office", driving down to the Oak Plantation Campground near Charleston,SC.

There we get a MotoSat satellite dish installed on the roof of Playtime. The system costs US$5,500 to supply and install, plus a $60 monthy connection fee, but it gives us an independent and reliable fulltime wireless internet service [our own internet cafe], thereby eliminating the frustrations of the varying reliability of the internet services we have experienced so far.

Visited Kiawa Island, an area of upmarket holiday homes, also visit the charming beach community at Folly Beach. Really enjoyed the numerous Antebellum homes for which old Charleston is famous. Before the War of Independence Charleston was one of the major centres of the British Empire, so has great history. Also visited the island fortress of Fort Sumter, where on 12 April 1861 the first shots of the Civil War were fired by the Confederates against the Union forces manning the Fort.

Lunchtime in Playtime Mounting the Motosat Aerial on Playtime

21 -26 February 07;

Flew to Ottawa, Canada, to stay with eldest daughter Victoria, husband Colin and our four Canadian grandchildren; Anna, Isabel, Toby and Georgia. Warm outdoor clothes essential as temperature steady around Minus 16 C. We skate on the Rideau Canal, and ski at Eidelweiss Skifield, right next door to Colin's old family home. These pursuits, especially the latter, are totally exhilarating for Margie as she flies down the slopes with granddaughters Anna and Isabel.

27 February - 3 March 07;

Our return flight to Charleston is delayed, and we have to overnight in Chicago, all due to a huge snowstorm which closed many airports in northern USA and Canada. Leave Charleston for Hilton Head, a beautiful holiday resort area. This coastal region is evocative of Forrest Gump country, with shrimp boats and tidal inlets. A terrible storm lashed the area for two days.

Visit Savannah, GA, which has many grand historic homes and buildings which have been restored after being badly damaged, firstly during the War of Independence, then again during the Civil War.

Margie cuts out approximately 2,500 pieces for start of "Saxony" inspired quilt project.

4 - 23 March 07

Drive south to Titusville, FL, and have a marvellous, inspiring tour of the Kennedy Space Centre. Drove on to Orlando, but returned the following day to view launch of the Space Shuttle. Unfortunately the launch was postponed for several weeks due to hailstone damage to its outer skin whilst on the launch pad. Back to Orlando, where we became kids again for a day at Disney World.

Margie with Walt Disney in Orlando Bob Does Officework in Playtime

South down the Florida Turnpike to Homestead [near Miami] we encounter probably the worst driving standards experienced here so far [elsewhere in the USA the driving standard is generally far better than in New Zealand].

Visit an alligator farm, then the Everglades National Park. Amazing wildlife everywhere. Drive down the KeysFlorida's tail on the map], The Keys are small islands joined by countless causeways and bridges. On down to the last island, Key West, which is colourful and scenic, and looks West across the Gulf of Mexico. On a deepsea fishing trip Bob catches a trophy Sailfish !!! For this specie there is a strictly enforced catch and release policy, but we have a photographic record. Margie working on her patchwork quilt project.

Bob's Sailfish, Key West, March 2007 Please Pat Me !

24 March - 3 April 07:

Drove across the Everglades on Hwy 41 to Chokoloskee Island, near Everglades City. Checked into a very upmarket RV resort and were given a prime campsite right on the water's edge. Went on an exciting Airboat ride through the mangrove channels of the Everglades.

A fault developed with the Motosat satellite dish, requiring a technician's support. The nearest one was back at Fort Lauderdale, so we agreed to meet him halfway at Clewiston, beside Lake Okeechobee. Motosat had the replacement parts FedExed to us and they arrived at the RV park in Clewiston about the same time we did, with the technician arriving shortly afterwards. The fault was promptly repaired and we were soon heading north again, this time to Ocala, a major horse breeding and riding region. Ocala is a very pleasant place, and clearly a very popular retirement destination. The famous John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston reside there in a house beside their own airfield and fleet of private jets.

We did our bit for the local economy there by purchasing a new Sony laptop for Bob, plus a very good WiFi-capable HP portable printer and a small scanner, thus upgrading our office facilities in Playtime to being fully wireless. Providing our laptops are within a radius of about 50 meters from the motorhome we can be online and send tasks to the printer without the need for any cables. This gives us the freedom to work on our laptops on the picnic table outside, enjoying the balmy Spring weather.

On the Road to Key West Airboating in The Everglades

4 -11 April 07:

Onwards to Tallahassee, crossing the Suwannee River, where the bridge sign sports the first few notes of that famous song! The managers at the RV park in Tallahassee are fellow Kiwis, Kevin and Jan Kenworthy, originally from Wellington. We enjoy dinner with them at a local Western-themed restaurant, complete with sawdust covering the floor!

Nexr day we drive on to Pensecola and Biloxi. The huge damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2004 is still very evident. It will take years to repair everything.

We Meet Two Other Kiwis in Tallahasse Festival in New Orleans

12 -16 April 07:

Arrive at Poche Plantation RV Park, right on the Eastern bank of the mighty Mississippi River, and about 20 miles upriver from New Orleans. This area was settled 500 years ago by the French, then became part of the USA when Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Purchase from Napoleon.

Great atmosphere at a jazz festival in the colourful French Quarter of New Orleans. Many residents in New Orleans still live in FEMA trailers [caravans provided by the Govt as temporary emergency accommodation]. Apparently there are major problems, mainly insurance and flood protection issues, to overcome before substantial rebuilding can be done.

In the surrounding districts there are a number of grand plantation mansions, illustrating the wealth enjoyed by the early owners [on the backs of slave labour].

Enjoying a Jazz Festival in New Orleans A Grand Plantation Mansion

17 -22 April 07:

Arrive at Houston, Texas. Visit NASA's Johnson Space Centre, which is the Control Centre for the space flights that operate from the Kennedy Space Centre. Next stop, San Antonio, staying at the Blazing Saddles RV Resort. Visit The Alamo, where we become most impressed with Texan history and their struggle for liberty.

Take a drive in the Jeep south to Laredo, walk over the bridge across the Rio Grande into Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Massive contrast in living standards - people are poor, buildings are decrepit. It is a graphic illustration of why Mexicans illegally enter the USA at the rate of over 1000 per day in search of a better life!

The Immense Saturn V Rocket Margie at Main Entrance of The Alamo

23 April -3 May 07:

Drive to Waco, north of Austin, and visit small town of Crawford. George and Laura Bush's ranch is located nearby in very attractive countryside, and although we drive by they don't invite us in for a cuppa! There is a large Secret Service base sited at entrance to the ranch, a sober reminder of the hazards of life at the top.

At the local restaurant we enjoy one of the nicest hamburgers we have had anywhere, then join other patrons taking photos of themselves alongside lifesize cutout figures of this famous family.

Drive on to Caddo Mills, some 30 miles east of Dallas. At nearby town of Greenville we trade in the Jeep Liberty for a 2006 Jeep Commander with ony 51 delivery miles on the clock. They gave us a really great deal here!

Margie Meets the Bushes Our New Jeep Commander Meets Playtime

4 -6 May 07:

On to Murfreesboro, Arkansas, visit The Crater of Diamonds, a diamond mine open to the public. Spend a day prospecting for diamonds, knee deep in mud! We find a small rock that causes some interest, but it turns out to be just a piece of quartz. We keep the day job!

7 -10 May 07:

Via Little Rock, Arkansas, to Memphis, Tennessee. Drive over the Mississippi River and enter Memphis during a rip-roaring thunder storm, crawl down Elvis Presley Boulevard, turn into the Heartbreak Hotel, behind which is the Graceland RV Park [directly across the road from Graceland]. Absolutely love our tour of Graceland, which reminded us again just why Elvis was, and still is, "The King".

The King, With a Ardent Admirer Graceland

10 - 16 May 07:

Depart Memphis and drive down the Tammy Wynette Highway on way to Red Bay, Alabama. Check into the Allegro RV Park, operated by Tiffin Motor Homes for the benefit of Tiffin motorhome owners who want to have repairs carried out at the manufacturer's own facility. A tour of their assembly plant confirms we have made a good choice in buying a Tiffin Allegro Bus.

Have a range of small repair jobs completed. There is no charge for either the repairs or the five-day stay at their RV Park. Tremendous hospitality, includes a free Bluegrass band 'jam session' one evening. Bob Tiffin, with his family and staff, provides the best example we have experienced of good manufacturer back-up, and first class after-sales service.

During this period we also visited the birthplace and home of Helen Keller, at Tuscumbia, near Florence, Alabama.

Day One, Building a New Allegro Bus Margie Eyes Up a New Allegro !

16 -20 May 07:

At Paris Landing, Tennessee. Just managed to bypass, by turning the rig around and 'running' the other way, a frightening thunderstorm that lashed the area. After it passed we drove on in to Paris Landing and see much damage, with many trees down.

Our RV park is right beside Lake Kentucky, with serene water views and much wildlife, including families of Canada geese, turtles and many brilliant red Cardinals [birds].

Margie works hard on her "Saxony" quilt project, whilst Bob goes fishing. Visit Fort Donelson National Battlefield [Civil War] where Brigadier Buckner [Confederates] surrendered to Brigadier Ulysses S Grant [Union] in February 1862.

Two Families of Canada Geese, Lake Kentucky Replica Civil War Soldiers Quarters

21 - 24 May 07:

Arrive at Duck Creek RV Park, Paducah, Kentucky, where the Museum of American Quilters' Society [MAQS] is located. Margie very excited! The quality of the quilts on display astounds us. Even non-quilters would find a tour of this Museum a major highlight [as Bob did].

A Walk in a Kentucky Woods Lunchbreak on a Quiet Country Road

25 29 May 07:

At Country Cane RV Park, Mammoth Caves National Park, Tennessee. Walk through several miles of the massive Mammoth Cave complex. Later we paddle a canoe 7 miles down the Green River. We also visit Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Park, then the Patton Museum. Drive past Fort Knox, but no entry is permitted, nor any free samples of their stock!

Lincoln's Family Log Cabin Is Inside This Memorial Fort Knox. Show Us The Money !

Entrance to Mammoth Cave General Patton's Staff Car

30 May -3 June 07:

In Delaware, Ohio, we spend a day shopping at the vast Polaris Shopping Mall. Then a long drive on to Canandaigua in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. Very attractive area, reminded greatly of Lake Taupo in New Zealand.

4 -22 June 07:

Arrive in Ottawa and set up again on our regular site at Recreationlands RV Park. Great to be back with the Welburns again. Anna and Isabel have sleepover in Playtime.

Place Playtime and Jeep in storage facility in Ottawa, then fly San Francisco. Stay three nights again at the Prescott Hotel, visit the colourful town of Sausilito, then back of to Auckland, New Zealand.

Victoria and Colin, June 2008 Lunch in Ottawa with the Welburns

23 June 07:

Colin and Victoria Welburn have 11 th Wedding Anniversary.

5 -8 July 07:

On 5 July the Welburns arrive from Canada and stay with us in The Pines. We leave the Welburns there and fly to Cairns, Queensland, Australia, pick up a rental car and drive north to Port Douglas and check in to the Rendezvous Reef Resort, awaiting the arrival of everyone for a grand family reunion [similar to our September 2005 Alaskan cruise together].

9 -16 July 07:

The Welburns and Boyds arrive together from Melbourne, the seven children having had their faces painted in various animal designs by the airline flight crew. Turnbull family arrive from Adelaide two hours later. Whole family [18 in total] spend marvellous week together. Louise and Stephen Boyd have 9 th Wedding Anniversary. We enjoy numerous family activities and visits to many tourist attractions, including a gondola ride up into the rainforest, and spending a day out on the Great Barrier Reef snorkelling.

What a Fearsome Lot !! Ready to go Snorkelling, Great Barrier Reef

Kareoke Night Stars Shopping in Port Douglas

We Go Searching For Crocodiles We Find One !!

17 -26 July 07:

In Melbourne together with the Boyd and Welburn families. The Welburns fly to Auckland on 22 July [to stay at The Pines again], we follow on 24 July. Welburns then fly back to Ottawa on 26 July.

Meeting More Cousins in Melbourne Dinner at End of Family Reunion

11 -15 August 07:

We fly to San Francisco and stay at the Prescott for four days. Visit the Museum of Modern Art and view a Matisse exhibition as well as a Martin Munkacsi photography exhibition. Catch a tram to Pier 39 and watch the sea lions, then mooch Fishermans' Wharf. Back in the city centre, we visit a store, Farinelli's, near China Town and inadvertently purchase an amazing [and expensive] king-size bed, then arrange to have it shipped back to New Zealand.

15 August -6 September 07:

Back in Ottawa, uplift Playtime and Jeep from the storage facility, then set up again back at Recreationlands RV Park out at Rocklands. Share time with the Welburns [who are busy having a new kitchen installed in their home]. Meet up for dinner and outings with Peter and Sue Krayer, an Ottawa couple we met in Laredo, Texas, earlier this year.

On our last weekend in Ottawa the Welburns join us for two days at the Campground, setting their tents close by our motorhome, and we have a lovely time together. Adults got hooked on the game "Balderdash".

Anna and Isobel Sleep Over in Playtime Toasting Marshmellows

3 September saw the Welburns strike camp and head back to their home in Ottawa, whilst we headed west, going upstream along the line of the Ottawa River. Overnight at Sturgeon Falls, on the banks of Lake Nipissing, then on to Sault St Marie [Soo]. Our second time at the very good KOA RV park there. Learn about the early voyageurs, and the history of the gateway between Lake Huron and Lake Superior that is provided by St Mary's River.

7 -16 September 07:

Depart Sault St Marie, cross the enormous bridge system there connecting Ontario, Canada, with Michigan, USA. Drive through the Hiawatha National Forest with some of the heaviest rain we have experienced. It is so bad we pull off the highway at Newbury, Michigan. Spend two nights there whilst the rain abates. Visit the Lake Superior Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point.

The rain had caused a short in Playtime's horn wiring, making us very popular with fellow campers until we were able to disconnect the horn! We are only one day's drive from King's Campers in Wasau, Wisconsin, from whom we purchased the Allegro Bus in April 2006, so we head there.

They give us a very warm reception; fix the horn problem, spend all day repairing a number of other small matters, then refuse to let us pay anything for their efforts. Another example of how some businesses go so much further in keeping customers satisfied!

Drive south down to Madison, Wisconsin. Attend huge Quilt Expo at Alliant Energy Center. Margie purchased a "Quilt Cut 2" fabric cutting system, which gives greater accuracy when cutting quilt fabrics.

Also visited "Taliesan", the home of Frank Lloyd Wright; plus a zany folly called "The House on the Rock".

17 -18 September 07:

At Springfield, Illinois, Abraham Lincoln's home town. Visit his Tomb and the Lincoln Museum, all illustrating this great, but humble, man.

Lincoln Memorial, Springfield, Illinois His Tomb

19 September -17 October 07:

Drive to Branson,Missouri, in the Ozark Mountains. Here we stay for one month, our longest time in one place since we started RVing four years ago. Branson has 114 threatres, many of which put on up to three live shows daily. We attend 30 different shows, including the Moon River Theatre, where Andy Williams [aged 80] is still performing. It was all good fun.

Whilst there, Margie both celebrates her birthday, and completes a patchwork quilt top, "Following the Sun" , using Kaffe Fasset fabrics.

The Birthday Girls Gets Flowers AND a Balloon !! Working on "Following the Sun" Quilt

18 -21 October 07:

At Osage Beach, Missouri, an attractive town surrounded by lakes, with a fabulous Outlet Mall where we enjoyed some shopping.

22 -25 October 07:

At Basswood RV Park, Kansa City, Missouri, getting things ready for storing the vehicles and returning to New Zealand.

26 October 07:

Our 40 th Wedding Anniversary!

Put vehicles into storage at SubTropolis, a converted mine providing over 5 million square feet for underground commercial office facilities and storage areas, all set up to a very high standard. We are most impressed with both the facilities and the services they provide.

Arriving at SubTropolis to Store Our Vehicles We Leave Them In Good Hands

27 -30 October 07:

Fly back to Auckland.

1 -3 November 07:

Visit Whakatane.

8 -14 November 07:

Fly to Melbourne to visit the Boyds. Mind the boys for several day whilst Louise and Stephen visit Hobart, Tasmania.

The Boyd Boys Go Biking Lunch in the Shade

22 November 07:

Spend day with Australian visitors Noel and Halina Dix [Noel was Bob's roommate at the Australian Officer Cadet School, Portsea, Victoria, in 1963].

10 December 07:

Spend day with Helen Welburn [Colin's mother] and her partner, Don, who are visiting from Canada.

22 December -1 January 2008:

Boyd family fly over from Melbourne, stay with us at The Pines. We celebrate Christmas together.