TravelStream™ news feed for member wdhm058 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/wdhm058 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:09:06 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wdhm058/1/1210843740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wdhm058/1/1210843740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wdhm058/1/1210843740/tpod.html Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:09:06 -0500 Our round the world pilgrimage to see special people and places (old and new) in our lives - HK, Prague, London, Ireland, USA and Hawaii

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London, United Kingdom

We awoke to rain and grey skies. The wonderful weather seems to have disappeared ... for the time.
H had lunch planned with colleagues from the London MO so we took the tube to Leicester Square then Knightsbridge. So much has changed in the area ... The site beside the hotel is a huge construction site for luxury apartments and the Tube station is being revamped so it was a bit chaotic. We emerged at the entrance to Harrods .... Took ourslves to the food hall and looked at the delicious cheeses and exotic foods etc. Slurged on a coffee (£6)! and watched the world go by. I'm not sure who buys things in Harrods - everyone seemed to be 'just looking'. After coffee we wandered across to Hyde Park Corner and to old areas Bill remembers from the past.
H had a lovely lunch with Keith and Carolyn and met up with some wonderful staff from 5 years ago when she was delivering FMP in London. The years rolled back as we caught up on lots of news and stories. A stroll after lunch took us to Hyde Park where the grass and trees are so green and lush. Such a contracts after Australia's dryness.
The Tube has improved from my memories of 2003 ... stations are clean and the trains are updated. We arrived home and had a lovely dinner with Wendy and discussed what to do on the w/end.
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Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Steve and Yukari dropped us at the airport and we bid fond farewells to them both. Thankfully the Qantas disputes didn't affect our flight and we left on time. The food and service on board was excellent - fresh salads and smaller portions with wholemeal breads offered!!! H had developed a head cold by the time we left and suffered in the plane with runny nose, blocked ears etc. The ears became quite painful as we landed in Sydney with air pressure changes. Having had a perforated ear drum before ... I did not want this to happen again. Thankfully they settled down by the time we transferred to the domestic terminal and caught our flight to Melbourne. We both gave thanks as the plane tyres hit Tullamarine's tarmac safely. Except for one hitch in the US our planes have left on schedule with no problems. It is wonderful to be home again and our little cottage was warm and welcoming when we entered last night. Mum has done a sterling job caring for the garden etc. and it all looks immaculate. Our pile of mail is too large to hurdle over! So today will be spent paying bills and attending to domestics ... Oh how quickly reality catches up again!
To our many friends around the world - heartfelt thanks for your friendship, care, hospitality and kindness whilst we undertook this special 'pilgrimage'. It's been a wonderful adventure and provided so many memories which will be shared and enjoyed for years ahead.
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Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

We have had the most wonderful time and will fly out on the morning. It's been great to know people here and we've seen parts of the big island the average traveller doesn't - including a pineapple plantation where we saw so many versions of bromeliads (pineapples are part of the species) and some gorgeous Hawaiian gardens. The weather has been superb - blue skies and balmy sea breezes. The view from our bedroom is wonderful to awake to each morning.
Yukari has seen to it that we have eaten SO well each night. Last night was a wonderful Hawaiian\Thai restaurant - 'Chai's' with entertainment (singing and dancing) from local Hawaiian singers. We were treated to a 'local legend' who did some old folk/traditional dances. He had the most amazing long fingers and danced with such grace. The Hawaiians have a delightful culture and are very proud of it.
Tonight we enjoyed Alan Wong cuisine - creative on the plate and SO delicious! This has been a wonderful ending to our travels and we've so enjoyed the time with Steve and Yukari.
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Los Angeles, California, United States

Last night's dinner of NW salmon and prawns was memorable and we watched the sun go down over Seattle from a waterfront restaurant. Bill was a bit misty eyed and kept wanting to take photos in case he doesn't return again.
This morning we were up early to be on the road by 8.00am. No problems returning the car to Mr AVIS at the airport and we checked in quickly. Don't need to see our luggage till we get to Hawaii.
Am writing this from LA airport where we have just connected with a friend of Bill's from NY who has been in Australia. Have just heard about the airline engineer problems ... so hope they don't impact on our return flight. LA is a huge city as you fly over - the city verges on the desert and things look so dry.
More news when we get to Hawaii!
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Seattle, Washington, United States

We started the day with a delicious breakfast and then headed off to visit the rest of the family ...! We stopped in at the Magnolia farmers market for flowers. First stop was to the home in Magnolia that Bill's father built in early 1930's. Then we headed to the other house B spent most of his childhood in. In both cases the owners let us in and made us so welcome whilst they learnt more about the previous owners. The first home (WH Davis) was beautiful and full of inbuilt book cases ... It seems the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree. Bill's dad must have loved books also and had so many bookcases built into the house. The location of the house was superb - on the high side overlooking the Lake. We thanked the current owners of the house and felt so touched by their generosity.
Fort Lawson cemetery was the next place to visit Helen - Bill's mum. It was such a peaceful and green place. We both shed tears as we laid her flowers and sat beside the grave updating her on so much of our news. The next and final stop was Bill's Dad - W.H Davis in Lake View. It seemed fitting that he was the final person to visit and appropriate that this w/end was Fathers Day. Bill thinks it's over 40 years since he last visited his gravesite. Somehow it was very soothing and touching to locate a man H has been researching for over 1 year. A very special day ...
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Chittenden, Vermont, United States

After a great sleep we awoke to sunny blue skies and prepared for the 2 hour drive to Vermont. H badly wanted to do some family research on Bill's family. The drive there was wonderful - no wonder Vermont is called the Green State. The mountains and land areas are full of trees - pine, elms, oak, cedar etc. You drive for miles with various shades of green. Our first stop was Chittenden across the river in Vermont and we parked the car in a small lane near the cemetery. Two dogs barked madly and Bill walked over to calm them down, then the owner walked out to see what was happening so we explained our reason for being there ... She was very friendly and interested in the photos and notes I had. Next she called a neighbour because she thought the man across the road was a distant cousin of Bill's from the Hatch side! H shed a few tears when she saw the family tomb stones - finally she was here and able to see for herself where Bill's family came from. The headstones provided lots more information and we were able to locate John and Susan Davis - Bill's great-great grandparents and know their birth and death dates. We wandered around taking photos and notes and enjoying the time to reflect on how his family would feel if they knew their great-great grandson would visit in 2008. Then the 'mystery relative' drove in ... he and Bill talked for ages and swapped details so we can stay in touch. Unbelievably the 2 farm houses that Bill's father had grown up in were still there (in much the same condition as our photos from 1970).
It was such a special time and one we'll remember for a long time. Then we headed to the town records office. The girls in the office were wonderful and amazed we had come all the way from Melbourne Australia! We finally found the birth record for great-great g'father Silvester and records for land left to Dartmouth College by a distant relative from the Hatch family. Being a small town - news of our arrival got out and a lady H had been emailing since last year was wanting to meet up so the town clerk called her. So many pieces of information just fell together - it was amazing. By this time it was 4.00pm and we had a 2 hr trip back so we headed off feeling pleased with all we'd discovered.
B is getting the hang of driving again - we only had a few times when he headed to the wrong side of the road with H shouting "go right".
We returned to Contoocock about 6.00pm and shared news of our great day with Pat over a glass of wine and delicious dinner while we gazed over the mountains and apple orchard. This is such a special place.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wdhm058/1/1213634220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wdhm058/1/1213634220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wdhm058/1/1213634220/tpod.html Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:13:28 -0400 Our round the world pilgrimage to see special people and places (old and new) in our lives - HK, Prague, London, Ireland, USA and Hawaii

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Seattle, Washington, United States

We wanted to do the undeground tour of Seattle and have bought tickets for 11.00am today. Then we'll head to Pike Place market and other city sights. This will be a day without the car as we'll go by bus. More later ...
The tour was fantastic. It lasted 90 mins and took us to areas underground in Seattle that the average person doesn't see or know about. After the big fire in the late 1800's, someone decided to use salt water to wash the soil down the slopes and built up Seattle's low lying areas. Any building built then now has the second floor as the ground floor!
After the tour we walked to Pike Place market and drooled at the huge Dungeness crabs, Alaskan crab legs and the wonderful salmon on display. If only H had a kitchen to do some cooking! Foot sore and tired we headed home for a rest and then to dinner at Chinocooks a fab Northwest restaurant for a memorable dinner of Copper River salmon cooked on alder wood planks for flavour. Needless to say we slept well and planned our last day in Seattle! Our B&B is wonderful - quiet but well located and with caring staff.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wdhm058/1/1213462200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wdhm058/1/1213462200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wdhm058/1/1213462200/tpod.html Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:10:48 -0400 Our round the world pilgrimage to see special people and places (old and new) in our lives - HK, Prague, London, Ireland, USA and Hawaii

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Yakima, Washington, United States

Bill's Mum came from Yakima so we drove the 3 hrs from the airport to see some remaining cousins and relations. Yakima is such a different place to Seattle - rolling dry plains and almost no trees, yet, interestingly, it is becoming one of the nation's biggest growers of wine - grade grapes, for instance. We stayed with Anita and George Sargent (B's cousin) and Mickey the Cat, who decided to impress us one morning by capturing a bird and presenting it to Heather. All three made us most welcome and the two men caught up on lots of family news. Goerge took us around downtown Yakima and showed us the sights. It was amazing to realise how big the towm has grown. A family dinner one night, then breakfast with the same family members the next day topped the event. Finally H could put names and faces together and we caught up on lots of family history and news. A distant cousin Karen from Arizona flew in to meet Bill and it was special for him to connect with the few remaining family members.
Then ... back to Seattle, over the gorgeous Cascade mountains that form the climatic dividing line between Western Washington and Eastern. It was a wonderful drive and back in Seattle, we tucked into a delightful B&B in Queen Anne - the area B went to school in. Bill was set loose as driver, and managed to forget where everything he grew up with was located.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wdhm058/1/1213982160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wdhm058/1/1213982160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wdhm058/1/1213982160/tpod.html Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:06:01 -0400 Our round the world pilgrimage to see special people and places (old and new) in our lives - HK, Prague, London, Ireland, USA and Hawaii

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Seattle, Washington, United States

After a wonderful time in Friday Harbor with Annette and David, we left on the 11.00am ferry to Anacortes and then drove back to Seattle for our last night on the west coast. The ferry trip back was superb - the water was like a mirror and the snow capped mountains soared around us. It was so lovely to watch the changing scenery of pine forests, boats, lakeside houses etc. No wonder Bill loved living in WA in his childhood. Our car was still parked safely in the carpark and no signs of any damage - so we started the drive back to Seattle (about 1 and half hours). The traffic wasn't bad but I wouldn't like to be on the road tonight. It's great weather for the w/end and so many people will be heading to the San Juan islands.
The hotel is great - another success on Expedia.com .Our room overlooks Lake Union and is very comfy.We plan to have a meal of seafood and fish tonight - our last fill of NorthWest food for a while ...
We are both fine but a little weary. Heading home is something we now look forward to and are so grateful to have a wonderful lifestyle to return to. Our travels have been more than we expected - wonderful times with friends and family, great places to visit and delicious food/drink to enjoy along the way. How blessed we feel to have been able to do this over the last 2 months. Thank you to all who have helped, cared and looked after us.
Next stop - Hawaii which will be quite a change! We SO look forward to seeing Steve and Yukari.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wdhm058/1/1213729260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wdhm058/1/1213729260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wdhm058/1/1213729260/tpod.html Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:02:34 -0400 Our round the world pilgrimage to see special people and places (old and new) in our lives - HK, Prague, London, Ireland, USA and Hawaii

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Seattle, Washington, United States

The morning was spent on domestics - laundry, writing and posting thank you cards, collecting dry cleaning etc. vital when you are near the end of the clothes supply! The red splotches which the HK laundry provided on our clothes at the start of the trip are still with us! Countless washing and drying has faded them but we still have underwear and one shirt of Bill's with a red rash! It's an overcast Seattle grey day but hopefully no rain.
We have extended our Avis car rental so we can drive up to Ancortes, leave the car there for 2 nights and catch the ferry (2.45pm)across to Friday Harbour to see Annette and David. We'll then return to Seattle on June 20 for the final night before we fly to Hawaii. Hopefully there won't be any airline dramas like when we flew from JFK! It's been nice to be in one place for a few days so we can see and relax a bit more. We are both fit and well and so thankful for the wonderful times we've had.
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