I hope Jaro does not take offense to my tweaking of his suggestions, but given my prior visits to New Caledonia, I hope I am not out of line to submit the following: La Tontouta is the only international airport in the territory, and it is almost an hour northwest of Noumea, as, despite the seemingly short distance, only a small portion of the road was 4-lane motorway as of my last visit (the rest was one lane paved in each direction). Alas, this is a common situation in NC, so you have to factor in a good deal more driving time than the apparent distances might suggest. By car, you will likely be able to actually see many of the 46 species of gymnosperms existing in the country (all but one are supposed to indeed be endemic). However, I would be greatly surprised if you actually got to see a live plant of Parasitaxus ustus. Although it is reasonably well-distributed throughout the country, in my experience it is sited in seriously remote and inaccessible areas. Only people in the know can lead you to the assorted locations where it grows. Unlike other conifers, including far more rare species, which you might see growing in arboreta or planted displays (a small but lovely one can be found at the IRD headquarters at Anse Vata district in Noumea), to my knowledge, no one has yet successfully propagated or transplanted and grown this species in a horticultural setting, so you are unlikely to find it even in a garden. Port Boisé is indeed near the only known locality where Araucaria nemorosa grows in the wild. The species, however, does not grow at Port Boisé itself, but rather just before the road descends from the plateau down to sea level to the Gite Kanua at Port Boisé. Although one can certainly reach the spot via the Chutes de la Madeleine, that would be a considerably less direct route over roads which are confusingly marked (and often unpaved) on the local map. A more easy-to-follow route (and faster, despite seemingly being a bit more circuitous), is to go directly to the southeast coast via the main road to Yate, through to, and continuting past, Goro, to where the road turns inland upwards into the plateau (for a view of what you'd see behind you as you climb to the plateau on that road, see www.garystutler.com/Pages/Works/LeColDeGoro.html www.garystutler.com/Pages/NCgal01.html Once you turn inland, you will reach a clearly marked crossroads pointing the way to Port Boisé. Shortly before that cross-roads, you will cross a small river. Look closely at the near bank of the river before crossing. You will see Retrophyllum minor and Podocarpus novaecaledoniae. Throughout the plateau region of the South (also known as the Plaine des Lacs), Dacrydium araucarioides is exceedingly well represented. At the higher elevations you will see interestingly shaped Agathis ovata dotting the area. Despite not being the most direct route to see A. nemorosa, the Chutes de la Madeleine is well worth a visit, not just because of the beautiful waterfall, but because of the astonishing diversity of conifers and other flora, which you are unlikely to see anywhere else. In fact, this preserve is probably the only place where you will be able to actually see Neocallitropsis pancheri and Dacrydium guillauminii. Downstream from the main viewing area (and across the river itself) you can see some pretty huge Araucaria muelleri (although they might be rulei . . . a bit tough to see from that distance, and they are not readily accessible by foot). Although it is absolutely true that there is one or two tiny populations of montane N. pancheri, I am informed that they are located in the Montaigne des Sources preserve (which is closed under lock and key to incidental human access), and in one other highly protected and very remote area which mere mortals are seldom given the chance to even approach. Trust me: If you want to see N. pancheri outside of an arboretum or garden, you must visit the Chutes de la Madeleine preserve, not just for the beautiful waterfall, but for the amazing flora (both gymnosperm and angiosperm). (By the way, although in the old days, N. pancheri was indeed exploited for its perfumed resin and other qualities, the tree is today so exceedingly rare and protected, that it would genuinely amaze me if resin could actually be purchased nowadays for something as trivial as a tourist souvenir. I can't say it's impossible, but I have never seen it offered for sale in NC or anywhere, and I would be thrilled to find out where I can get some during my next visit, if you do indeed locate a source of something like this). By the way, although the Parc Rivière Bleue is open to the public and well worth visiting because of the visitor centre and the extensive plantation of numerous endemic conifers, virtually all of the most interesting wild areas of the park have been closed to incidental traffic as of a few months ago. This is because a hurricane (cyclone in that part of the world) damaged a crucial bridge, rendering it unsafe for traffic, and cutting off the heart of the park from the main highway. It is possible that repairs have been done since my last visit, but from my conversations with friends, it seems that the money simply wasn't there. I hope that this is not the case, as the forested heart of this park is magnificent, simply chock full of amazing flora: Giant Agathis lanceolata, huge Dacrycarpus viellardii, Acmopyle, Libocedrus, Falcatifolium, and the list goes on. But the visitor centre is itself very well done and worth the visit, even if the heart of the park is closed. If you want to see some nice specimens of very rare (and hard to get to gymnosperms), you should take the time to visit the IRD's small garden (interior atrium), Parc Rivière Bleue's conifer plantation, and the Parc Forestier on top of Montravel in the heart of Noumea. The latter is a glorified zoo, but it also has several huge Agathis and Araucaria (and perhaps now other genera as well --- they were working on it not long ago). As for collecting seed or plant material, I wouldn't recommend it. Americans are not viewed with the highest esteem at the moment around the world. Although you may well have the odds in your favor and leave the country after successfully violating their rules about collecting and exporting germplasm, if you do get caught, not only would you personally get into some deep do-do with the gendarmerie, but you would intensify the official hostility against Americans who are working hard to establish official contacts for scientific purposes with the responsible Caledonian agencies. Enjoy your stay in NC.

Thank you, SailAway, for being a SS sink lover and admitting that those *%^($&$(# water spots are a pain in the (*&^! I've dealt with my SS sink for 22 years, and can't wait to replace it with a Silgranite so I don't have to clean those water spots any more. Full disclosure, I grew up with a cast iron sink, so my role model, my mother, never had to deal with the water spots. Occasionally she would use comet to get rid of the dark marks. But if you really use your kitchen to cook, you're running water frequently, and having to wipe out the sink each time is not my idea of having fun in the kitchen. My cleaning lady gets my sink to really shine, and I have finally mastered the skill. What I have learned is that not only does the stainless need to be clean, but it needs to be very dry, and then buffed, to achieve that shine. So, at the end of the day, I will wash it with Dawn, rinse thoroughly (I forgot that rinsing it thoroughly is another part of the process), dry it with a towel, then REALLY dry it with a paper towel, then buff it with a soft clean cloth. Seems like a lot of work, doesn't it? I think I'm going to try your method of just focusing on the back portion and see if I like that better.

Thanks for the reply. I called the manufacturer this morning and they are going to send someone out on Friday to look at it. The stain looks to have faded some but I still feel like it's there a little. They told me it shouldn't stain that easily and it may need another seal. I paid for a 10-year seal but I'm starting to have doubts about it. My wife is frustrated because the laminate was zero maintenance and this is appearing to be opposite. We use our kitchen a lot - it's definitely not just a show piece. Side note - has anyone used this product before? Does this product add a seal when used? If so, would it hurt to do an ocasional cleaning with it? My neighbor likes it but isn't sure if it seals. She has a similar color granite and said she has never had it professionally sealed and has never had issues with staining.

Thank you for sharing that site. It looks like most of the issues I am finding other people have are more oil or dark spots...I have yet to see anyone who has the same white spot issue. Its frustrating because I dont have the information from when these countertops were put in (what sealant was used, etc) so I am just hoping to find a way to make these countertops look great again... :)