We landed on the tarmac at SeaTac airport and it was over. Just like that. We found it hard to believe that it could have gone by that quickly. It seemed like Sandy and Jerry had just dropped us off at the airport for an 18 hour voyage to Singapore that would be the start of our grand adventure. The trip was awesome in so many ways it’s hard to know where to begin. To try and describe all that we have seen, learned and experienced would require several weeks and we still couldn’t hope to really scratch the surface of [View Full Entry]

---

---

Packed like sardines in a large tin can, the airport shuttle carried us to the Amsterdam airport, where we attempted to check in at the airline kiosk. To our surprise, we were not assigned seats next to one another. The prospect of sitting apart for over 8 hours was not very appealing, so we made inquiries at the luggage drop. We explained that we had around the world tickets on a single reservation number and couldn’t understand why did not have seats next to one another. The lady was quite friendly and said she would note this on the computer and [View Full Entry]

---

---

It was a dark and stormy night…….no wait a minute, it’s 2 o’clock in the afternoon. Sure is dark and rainy though. Welcome to Amsterdam in March, where the wind howls off of the North Sea and the conditions can change from sunny and breezy to windy and sleeting in a matter of moments. It’s not quite officially spring as we write this, but we are sure hoping to escape some of these cold sea breezes. We are wearing four layers of clothing and it still feels like the wind goes right through you. This is what we get for coming [View Full Entry]

---

---

Ah, London in winter……the skies are consistently gray and a threat of rain is constantly in the air. But yet this city is quite alive despite this onslaught of sub-optimal weather. We couldn’t wait to land in this great city and take in the sights, sounds, and smells of one of the truly magnificent cities in the world. As our plane was on approach into Heathrow some 27 year old gentleman from Sri Lanka was jumping the security fence at the airport and running onto a runway near an airplane. The authorities quickly caught him and began their questioning. Security is [View Full Entry]

---

---

A 10 hour flight and a five hour time change later, we find ourselves in an incredible place like no other…Dubai. We’ve transported ourselves from the land of OZ, to the land of shopping, opulence, outrageous construction projects, and the Muslim religion. Each morning at about 5 AM, the call to prayer is heard across the city courtesy of the many mosques. We get up and open the window to hear the chanting from the loudspeakers. It’s the signal for all worshippers to get ready to face the east and pray. The chanting only lasts about five minutes, but we enjoy [View Full Entry]

---

---

After a train ride through the most desolate parts of this large island-continent, it was good to be back in a large city again. We are both admittedly city dwellers, but certainly don’t mind venturing out into the lesser populated regions. Perth is a city of almost 1.5 million people. If you looked at a map, spotted Perth and looked at its latitude, you would notice it was at about 32 degrees give or take a few degrees and minutes. Then, if you headed west on that same parallel until you hit land again, you would have to go all the [View Full Entry]

---

---

Indian Pacific Railway- Sydney to Perth In the immortal words of Johnny Cash, “ I hear that train a comin’, comin’ down the track……. It was time to ride the rails and take a good long look at some of the most remote parts of this large country. We have had the most wonderful adventure taking the Indian Pacific Railway all the way across Australia. The 4,352km (2700miles) transcontinental journey between Sydney and Perth is one of the longest and most fascinating train journeys in the world. It also contains over 300 miles of the longest straight stretch of railroad in [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hello, hello, hello! Great news, we have a new camera and so far we like it a lot. It has a great zoom on it. I’m sure it will take us a little while to get comfortable with it so please bear with us. Sydney is as spectacular as you can see from the photos. It is one of the Great cities of the World!! The Harbour Bridge and the Opera House are outstanding!! What a beautiful city. It is very cosmopolitan and diverse. This city is full of life and crazy drivers on narrow streets. Speaking from experience, it is [View Full Entry]

---

---

Ugh! We have just realized that our camera is starting to go out on us. This camera has been with us for more than a few adventures, but we’re afraid that it’s tired and the photos will prove that. This group of photos will be marginal at best. We’ve already bought another camera and promise stunning pictures for the next blog. We are not sure where all the flies have gone but we have not run into many on this part of the coast. It is so wonderful!!! Anyway……we have previously mentioned in our blogs that once in a while we [View Full Entry]

---

---

G’day Mate, here we are in Queensland, which is called the Sunshine State. Does that sound like Florida? There are some sunny similarities. Take a glance at an Australian map. We’re starting the next part of our trip on the northeast coast of Australia… Port Douglas to Hervery Bay. In all honesty, it was good to flee the heat of Alice Springs and head to something more palatable weather-wise. It “only” goes up to about 30 or 31 degrees in Cairns. That’s 86 degrees for you Yankees. Sure it’s humid, but after 106 degree heat, this is almost cozy! So on [View Full Entry]

---

---