UMTravels

How appropriate that I’m staying in a former Boy’s School (amongst other things). I’ll post pictures when I get a real connection rather than the dial-up in the lobby which is valium slow. The grounds are stunning, the rooms amazing, and I can’t wait to see the chapel on the grounds (which isn’t WorldMark controlled). [...]

Checked out by 8:30 for the three and a half hour drive back to Auckland. I won’t miss the large picture windows of the timeshare with my passion for wandering around in my birthday suit. Some roadwork, but nothing major. With a gas/food stop, made the airport rental car place by noon. No problems with [...]

Out of bed at 8:30am for no particular reason. Drip coffee for the first time in weeks courtesy of the exploding pot (OK, the lid wasn’t screwed down). Shit, shower, shave and off to the office to register (since I arrived after close last night). Lovely woman at the front desk gave me the three [...]

Auckland here we come. 7am wake-up call and then off to the airport to deal with turning in the car and getting onto a plane at 11:30 for Auckland on Air Zeal 320. Should be fun! Well, Internet service is again “sketchy” — works on the phone, but can’t update the blog. Wake up call [...]

Joyce left early for the airport — 6:45am — good thing I said goodbye last night. We actually got out of the resort by 8am! We split the driving back to Sydney — Eric first, then Marty, then me. Breakfast was a sausage McMuffin on the road (for all three of us!) Lunch at Hungry [...]

First things first. Latest pictures. Lots of the most recent photos are from the botanical garden in Coffs Harbour. And then there is Waylon, the Gowins’ travelling frog companion. Today it’s off to the Internet cafe while the rest of the gang tours to scenic lookouts (they are waiting for me as we speak — [...]

Morning Marty breakfast followed by Sawtell Internet time, followed by a trip to the botanical garden in Coffs Bay. Our meat this morning is the lamb sausages from last night that everyone was too full to eat last night. Did I mention the marmalade? Marty is a big fan and we have two different kinds [...]

Well, I finally have a wireless connection — at Cafe Annabel in Sawtell, just up the road from the resort. MANY days worth of entries and photos to upload. Here are the photos: The other item on the agenda is to get a reservation for my one night in Sydney before leaving for Auckland. It’s [...]

Woke up to overcast with the sun trying to peek out. By ten it was another downpour with no sun in sight. At least the eggs and bacon were sunny. Today’s plan. Write postcards, finish Tarek’s unpublished manuscript, use the internet terminal to deal with longer emails and check on a hotel in Sydney, shopping [...]

After a lazy morning which included leftover chicken and stuffing for my breakfast, today’s adventure is into Coffs Harbour proper. There is a huge botanical garden, and we can track down where the bus station is for Joyce’s arrival tomorrow. Just Marty and I for this run, Eric winded himself on their exploration of the [...]

Ah, the joys of Nescafe — seems that’s what coffee is for a lot of the world. No different here. Parrots and cockatoos screech outside our screened in deck. A great place to just watch the birds, drink your coffee, and read the morning paper. Breakfast was bacon, eggs, and toast — very American, though [...]

Check out time was 10am — seemed a little early, but it did put us on the road at about the right time to make the resort by 4pm. A gas and lunch stop along the way with Marty having a “cheese sandwich” that looked like what you mother would have packed for your lunch [...]

Up in the morning, should have taken the 9am shuttle to the airport rather than the 10:10. Took them awhile to find a van that had a current registration through when we were travelling. Didn’t hit the harbor until almost noon… Marty and Eric had been there by ten. Joyce decided to use her hotel [...]

Welcome to the Hotel Ibis Sydney Airport, may I take the bags from under your eyes? Flight went well. Seat next to me was open, and he had an extra seat to himself � oddly enough he chose not to sit on the aisle � which I could understand since I kept getting bumped through [...]