Australia 2023 – Introduction

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Australia 2023

The older we get, the more often Judy and I say to ourselves, “Someday we’re going to have to quit doing these crazy-long trips. We need to settle down and do normal stuff. You know, tour the U.S., hit the highlights of Europe, watch Rick Steves on TV. That kind of thing.”

So maybe this is going to be our last hurrah before beginning to act our age as senior citizens, dozing off in the back of the motor coach as the guide drones on about yet Another Bloody Cathedral. We’ll see.

This time we’re doing Australia. Singapore and parts of Indonesia come along for the ride, plus a change-of-planes in Doha, Qatar.

This is actually going to be our longest trip in terms of distance – literally around the world, flying eastbound to Australia and continuing on to our starting point in Florida. Adds up to 22,183 miles. It’s equal in time to our previous record-setting trip – one month, for the 2016 trip to New Zealand.

This will be a five-part adventure:

  • We’ll fly on November 13 from Tampa to Singapore via Miami and Doha, Qatar, 28 traveling hours in all. We’ll spend a day and a half in Singapore, staying at the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel, the two-tower skyscraper you see in all the pictures of Singapore. A highlight will be a six-hour “Eat Like a Local” tour, promising six to eight hawker stops for food – think food stalls in a mall or food trucks on the street.
  • Next, it’s on to Bali, where we’ll spend a day and a half touring Indonesian temples. This is a pre-trip extension put on by Viking Ocean Cruises.
  • We board the Viking Orion on November 19 and set sail for 17 days stopping at 9 ports along the way. Snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef is part of the plan.
  • We disembark in Sydney on December 5 and immediately fly to the Australian Outback (no, not the steak house) to visit Ayers Rock and Alice Springs. Then on to Melbourne for a quick visit, returning to Sydney on December 11. This is a Viking post-trip extension, so we’ll be molly-coddled by tour guides who will hopefully keep us out of trouble.
  • We’re spending two days in Sydney on our own. The Sydney Opera House is on the agenda. We’ve booked a performance of an Australian choir that is performing “festive” music of some sort. Not grand opera but being at the venue is the big deal; the music is secondary. From there we fly home on December 13, leaving Sydney at 11:30 AM, changing planes in Houston and arriving in Tampa at 3:18 PM the same day, thanks to the International Date Line. It’s in reality a 20-hour trip this time.

I’ve provided two maps to show the lay of the land. One is the world view of the trip and the other is the Australian part in detail.

As usual, I’m going to try to blog each day and post pictures as we go. I’m not sure if I’ll have much to say on the five “at sea” days but we’ll see. How many pictures of Judy drinking Mai Tais, Margaritas and Jagerbombs you can stand to look at (and how many can we drink and keep standing)?

If you’ve received daily emails from me on previous trips, there’s no need to take action for this trip (unless you want me to stop pestering you). Otherwise, shoot me an email and I’ll add you to the list of those who receive announcements each time I make a new post.

Thanks for traveling with us! Your comments as we go are always welcomed and appreciated.

Esme’s Hawaii Trip 2023 – Judy’s Observations

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Traveling with Esme has been amazing and lots of fun.  She gets very excited and animated about things she is seeing and doing.  That excitement is very contagious and I get excited to see her having so much fun and learning!

Esme is very social and took no time making friends the first night.  She told us tonight that she knew the minute she saw one of her friends that they would be friends.

One of the aspect of the trip our guide is teaching is the Hawaiian way of honoring your grandparents and he requests that grandparents and grandkids spend time at meals and other events together.  Esme has done a great job of juggling the Grandparent time and friend time. Part of the reason we choice this kind of trip was so she could have time with other kids as well as time with us.

One thing I learned about Esme on this trip is that she loves to shop, unlike her Nana.  She loves to shop for other people! She brought gifts for at least 12 – 14people (I lost track to be honest).  She is very careful with her budget and is quick to say something is too much for her to spend or for us to spend on her.

The last purchase she made was for herself because her Grandma Longo had given her money and she wanted to make sure she got something to remember Grandma’s gift to her.  As she was making the purchase she said, “I think Grandma and Pupa will like what I brought.” I know they will next week when they are on their vacation with Esme in Old Orchard Beach, ME.

Esme is so excited to give everyone her gifts.  She says that is the most exciting part and she can’t wait to give everyone their gifts she has picked out for each person.

Another great accomplishment for Esme is being away from both of her parents for 11 days.  It is the longest time away from them and she was amazing.

We are so proud of Esme and all that she has accomplished on this trip.  Being with each of our grandchildren for a trip is very special and this one has been wonderful with our very special granddaughter Esme.

Esme in Hawaii 2023 – Day 10 – More Snorkeling and Goodbye

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You’d think after two snorkeling experiences the third would be same-old, same-old. But today’s trip turned out to be different, just as exciting in its own way. And for my money, it offered the best underwater experience I could imagine or hope for.

This time we traveled by a twin-engined zodiac, capable of holding sixteen passengers and a crew of two. The hull is an inflated rubber tube, the twin engines made for a fast ride and the structure of the hull made for a bumpy and thrilling ride. The biggest thrill came when our captain made sharp turns. Our group was divided into two boats. Judy and I were, with Esme, assigned to the girls’ boat. That meant that every bump, twist and turn resulted in high-pitched shrieks of delight and fear. I’m guessing the boys had a somewhat different response. The girls also broke out into song. Taylor Swift? Beats me.

We went south, as we did yesterday, but because we were traveling faster, we went further. Kealakekua Bay was our destination, which we reached in an hour or so, including a brief stop to view Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins. These animals feed at night and rest during the day. Hawaii prohibits swimming with dolphins because such activities disrupt their rest period. But they are attracted to boats and loud noises and this group gave us a good show.

The fish were plentiful in number and variety. They had to haul me out of the water because every time I got ready to quit I saw a new fish that I had to chase and photograph. I haven’t looked at the pictures yet, but hopefully I’ll have some keepers this time.

Equal to the fish was the coral. Every shape, color and size you’d care to see. Our captain told us that visibility at Kealakekua was 100 feet.

Kealakekua Bay is home to the controversial Captain Cook memorial. James Cook landed here in 1779 to repair a broken mast. While relationships with the local inhabitants were initially friendly, one thing led to another and Cook felt it necessary to teach the natives a lesson when one of his crew members was assaulted. Cook and his armed crew were driven back to the bay where cook was bludgeoned and stabbed to death. The Brits erected the monument in 1878. Hawaiian’s mark 1779 as the beginning of European intrusion and the end of traditional Hawaiian culture.

A luncheon of deli sandwich wraps, chips, cookies and pineapple was served and then we headed back. The trip home was interrupted several times as out captain showed us lava tubes, sea caves, sea grottos and blow holes that can only be seen from a boat. One lava tube is said to be 16 miles in length.

The afternoon activity involved the kids going with Kaika for some as yet undisclosed activity. The adults went out in the parking lot where Mel showed us how to cut samples of native trees. The idea is that we’ll give the clippings to the grandkids who can plant them at home and remember the trip as they grow. In our case we’ll work with Esme to plant them in Melrose. Then, she can bring the plant inside for the winter or we can bring it to Florida. Hawaii is about the same latitude as Miami so we ought to have a good climate for the plant in Sun City Center.

The final event of our trip was the farewell dinner, held in the hotel dining room. Everyone took a turn giving his or her favorite aspect of the trip. Judy and I agreed that learning about Polynesian culture was high on the list, but the real highlight was being with Esme.

Judy’s written a piece about our time with Esme, which I encourage you to read.

Now it’s just the trip back home. We fly 11ish to Honolulu and then a nonstop from there to Boston, arriving in the early morning hours of Monday. Esme heads for Old Orchard Beach on Tuesday and we’ll return to Onawa on Wednesday or Thursday.

It’s been a great trip but it will be great to be home with family and friends. Thanks for traveling with us!

All pictures, 100+ of them, are now online.

 Esme in Hawaii – Day 9 – Snorkeling, Swimming and Shopping

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The trip this morning started with an on-board continental breakfast before leaving the dock. Then, when underway for our hour give-or-take trip up the coast (north), we received a detailed safety briefing on what to do and not to do when in the water.

The snorkeling this time was a reef of, I’m guessing, as deep as 30 or 40 feet and rocks that jutted up to 10 feet beneath the surface. The water was much clearer than the shallow water we were in yesterday. There was no sand to get kicked up by the waves and the swimmers so the water appeared a beautiful shade of, I guess you’d have to say, aqua.

While beautiful, we saw a smaller number of different fish species this time than yesterday. Moray eels and turtles were advertised as possible sightings but none appeared to my eye.The fish we did see were farther away, which is my way of making excuses for poor fish photos this time. I did snap a mermaid or two, or more precisely, Esme snapped pictures of her friends, the mermaids.

While the fishing was perhaps disappointing, the water activities exceeded expectations. The upper deck of our ship sported a water slide and a jumping platform that the kids really got into. There were other floating devices for relaxing on the water.

Lunch was served on board before returning – burgers and chips.

Upon return, Esme hit the pool with her friends. Judy and I spent a little bit of time in our room before joining Esme for shave ice, a local treat, and sunning on the pool deck. Later all three of us retreated to the room to “chill,” or in Esme’s case to shower and apply sun relief cream to her somewhat reddish face.

Around 4:30 the three of us headed for town, hitting every gift shop we stumbled across, and that’s a bunch in a tourist town like Kona. You’ve got to hand it to Esme, though. She kept finding gifts for family and friends before she knuckled down to find something, at the very end, for herself. By 6:30 the job was done and returned “home” to the hotel for a most enjoyable dinner pool side, just the three of us.

Esme was tempted to take an after dinner dip in the pool but elected instead for staying in the room with us.

We continue to debate with our leader, Mel, as to the objective of this trip. Mel’s focus is to encourage bonding between grandparents and grandkids, thereby fostering the Hawaiian ethic of strong family ties and respect for elders. While we’re all for that, our focus on this trip is in building within Esme a love for travel and building her self confidence that she can thrive in a new environment far from the comfort of home. Tonight’s shopping trip and dinner together accomplished both objectives, I’m happy to report.

Tomorrow, believe it or not, is our last day before flying home on Sunday. But before we escape, we’ve got another snorkeling adventure and more time for fun in the sun.