For many years I have avoided visiting London. It was not because I did not want to see London, but rather the inertia from not knowing where to start. There are so many literary, historical and cultural threads that connect Americans to England that it is difficult to pick and choose what to see. I have a 300 page book that is just one the literary connections in London. As time passed, I finally realized that I had to just go, and if I missed things, I might just have to return. We are accustomed to flying to Europe from Atlanta, and the two hours difference in flying from JFK rather than ATL was a relief, although on most days I would still rather get a root canal without anesthesia than fly through JFK. (Hey, JFK, ... read more

Happy Thanksgiving to all!! This is a story I wrote about 5-6 years ago. The pecan Santa hangs in a place of honor on my tree. The Back-of-the-Tree Ornament The old man sat in the old overstuffed chair, sipping his apple cider with brandy, and listening to Jingle Bell Rock playing softly in the background. As he had always done, he had put up his Christmas tree, set out a few of the Dickens village buildings and figurines, and set up the crockpot with apple cider and mulling spices. It was harder now. Since his wife had died, it had taken more energy every year to put up the display she had so loved. But still he set the little skaters on the mirror with the magnets so they appeared to skate over a frozen pond. ... read more

We left this day for our return home. Last night we availed ourselves of a last opportunity to go to the Sydney Opera House and see La Bohème. Never a bad way to end a visit. We spent that day are-visiting Doyle's on the Beach for a last lunch of wonderful Australia and New Zealand seafood. WE embarked on our return with some trepidation. By that time the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was getting into pretty serious action. The day after we left NZ they shut down incoming and outgoing flights. Australia was getting more serious than they already had been. There were beginning to be the first reports of cases of people who flew through LAX. Nonetheless, our options were limited, fo fly out we did for the somewhat shorter trip back than the outgoing trip (tailwinds ... read more

Leaving Paihia, we dawdled down the beautiful coast back to Auckland. All along the coast are wonderful vistas either at. sea level or from the heights above, and the coast is replete with wide sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters. As in all places in New Zealand, tramping trails abound. We took some time working our way back to Auckland, since we had little desire to do anything there other than see the wonderful museum with its Maori treasures. The Auckland Museum surmounts a hill in the large park called the Auckland Domain, occupying an old volcanic crater. The park includes tree-lined drives, walking trails, and a glass-enclosed botanical garden, and occupies 75 hectares (185 acres) just southeast of the main downtown area of Auckland. The park was established in 1843, and the Auckland War Memorial Museum ... read more

Crusin' and playing the radio With no particular place to go Chuck Berry After leaving Doubtful Sound, we had to make a long drive to the Fox Glacier area. We planned to see the glacier while we were there, but also had hoped to have great views of the Southern Alps from the western side along the way. We were frustrated in both aspirations. In the more southern part of the trip, we saw some beautiful lakes, such as Lake Wakatipu at Queenstown and the side-by-side lakes Wanaka and Hawea. But as you drive along the western coast of the South Island, you are largely in vegetation-covered foothills, and only rarely catch glimpses of the mountains themselves. We frequently crossed wide snow-fed alluvial streams, with the typical shoals of gravel, now barely flowing at the end ... read more