H20 Chica

Today marks the end of my 6 month leave of absence....wow, how the time has blasted by! I recall 4 years ago when I started to plan for this time frame and thought , "good gawd, 4 years of saving is a long time"........and then that 4 years flew by in a flash. I managed to accomplish everything in these past few months that I set my heart on: travel, spend some valuable time with my family and sell Harvey.........mission(s) accomplished! During my travels, I met so many people and will keep in contact with a few special ones: Vanda from Tucson, Kate from Vancouver (and places inbetween), Alex from Australia, Scott from Australia, the boys at Artini II and all my Australian family Lee-Anne, Graham and Georgia Vickers, Chick, Auntie Ange and Benny! Every day ... read more

Whoa.....neglecting my blog! For those of you that are following along, I know, it's been a while. Arrived home from overseas on April 3rd to a grand welcome from my peeps. Home for a couple of weeks and then off to Arizona........love the weather there! First adventure was to head north from Phoenix to Lake Powell on the Utah boarder.....fabulous drive takes you through the painted desert and scenery beyond description........ read more

Well.......I have been home for just shy of a week and the jet lag still lingers. Small price to pay for a glorious trip! It's great to be home and in my own bed (even though the sleep has been fragmented). Thanks to everyone for checking in on my blog, I hope that it has provided you with some entertainment and insight into various worldly places that you may be thinking of visiting...... Every trip brings about some interesting insights, into ourselves, but also into others......and so goes the next part of the story......... You might notice some slight changes in the blog entries........a few pictures removed, or you may not notice at all.....and I guess that's the end result.......I want to look back on this trip and only remember what a fab time I had ... read more

I arrived in Canberra on March 26th from Denpasar, Bali........spent a few days getting the body temperature to drop to where I wasn't sweating 24/7.......got rid of the "big hair".......and set out with Lee Anne and Pauline on a "business trip" to Melbourne...... This would be flight #16 for me since January......short hop skip and a jump in comparison. Melbourne is a busy city full of interesting places to eat and drink and shop and watch sports! We are heading to the AFL game Saturday nite.......I don the team colors of Lee Anne's team.....Essendon.....the game was thrilling to the end......the seats where awesome and the crowd wild.......luved it! The game was close right to the end and we happen to be sitting right behind the goal posts where the final goal was missed: North Melbourne v ... read more

Friday March 23, 2012 - Hari Raya Nyepi, the Silence Day, Island Wide The month of March brings us Nyepi - Bali's official day of silence (24hrs). Nyepi marks the first day of the Balinese Saka calendar (1929) and is practiced island-wide where the Balinese dedicate an entire day to introspection and spiritual cleansing, embarking on a new year based on the Balinese lunar calendar. Nyepi is my favorite day of the year. The night before the silence begins, there is an island wide parade of paper mache monsters (Ogoh-Ogoh) sent about making a rukus to scare evil spirits off the island, back to where ever they came from. Starting from approximately 6 a.m. on Friday, March 23 and continuing until 6 a.m. the next morning, EVERYONE will stay in their family compounds (or hotels) ... read more