So I took a little plane ride back in March...
10 years ago
about 19 hours and 11 thousand miles worth...It has been number one on my bucket list for at least 37 years...the first day I met my future husband he said I reminded him of a little Koala Bear...I didn't even know what a Koala Bear was...I became obsessed with them...did our first sons nursery in Koala Bear wallpaper and had over 100 stuffed ones on shelves...saw them at The San Diego Zoo and when they were on loan to the Atlanta Zoo...but it wasn't enough...I wanted to hold one...Well they don't let you do that anymore but I got to give him a good rubdown!
so in March my two besties and I flew to Sydney...It was the most awesome 9 days...beautiful people, beautiful city...If you ever get the chance to go...by all means GO!! In nine days there I never saw a BLUE LIGHT (Police)...felt very safe...rented an AirBNB apartment and just shopped and ate and basically had a ball!!
I'm the one rubbing his most soft little body...he coulda cared less...LOL
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10 years ago
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updates continued thru March 18th.
Comments (2)These stories are terrific. I'm so enjoying them & am glad you're sending them to the forum, not only to keep us abreast and for our entertainment, but so you've got a record with fresh details of your journey. All the little events that make the ride so special would be lost down the memory hole if you'd tried to recall them after the trip. Life is more colorful in Louisiana, isn't it? People there will interact with total strangers -- it's great. I'm praying for good weather & safety for y'all....See MoreDo you remember your first plane ride?
Comments (47)My funniest experience in an aircraft happened while I was stationed in Germany. The Air Force used to use a Kaman HH43 helicopter for an emergency responce crash vehicle. They had a huge 6ft diameter round metal pressure sphere that was loaded with firefighting foam which they carried on a hook under the helicopter. Two firemen were inside the helicopter with the Asbestos firesuites on. When an aircraft crashed they would fly in quickly and set the firebottle down and the firemen would jump out and grab the foam line, then the helicopter would hover over the burning aircraft using the downdraft to blow the flames back while the firemen laid down a path of foam till they could get to the aircraft and pull the crew out. One day my buddy, who was a crewchief on the helicopter called me and said they were going up on a training flight and asked if I would like to ride along, so off I went. As I boarded the helicopter I saw the pilot & co-pilot up front, my buddy, the crew chief, two firemen and another guy who worked at the base chapel that was coming along for the ride. We were all seated in the back while the helicopter just flew around in circles close to the base when suddenly we heard a radio call on our headphones. They had a crippled F4 Phantom coming in with an engine fire, so the pilot told us he had to go back and hook up the firebottle and while they were hooking it up I and the guy from the chapel would have to jump off. The chopper landed and while we were jumping off one of the ground crew hooked the cable on the lifting hook and the chopper took off again, but when it was about 50ft off the ground one of the firemen jumped out, bouncing off the ground from 50ft and broke his leg. I didn't have a clue as to why he just mysteriously jumped out, but later that afternoon while sitting in the NCO club my buddy the crew chief came in and he told me. It seems that while we were flying around the guy from the chapel had got airsick, but not wanting to appear like a whimp to the other guys onboard he didn't ask for a burp bag, instead, he had barfed in the firemens boot and while we were jumping off the firemen was pulling his boots on. By the time he realized that the guy had barfed in his boot he tore off after the guy without even thinking and jumped out....LOL...See MoreMarch 2015 vs March 2014....
Comments (16)Annette - a dry future in the long-term would sure be a change for much of B.C. - I assume you're not in the Okanagan where dry is currently fairly normal...? How hot and dry this summer will be here is now the big question.... Last summer was cooler than normal and a bit drier in our garden than 2013 (644 mm. Apr.-Oct. in 2014 vs. 674 mm. in 2013) but higher than the average here (563 mm. - 22.15") Rainfall here can vary a lot from month to month and year to yearbut, luckily so far at least, dry periods have been temporary, unlike what some of you have been suffering through! I'm not sure what long-term climate impacts are expected to be here. other than hotter! Precipitation forecasts seem to be more uncertain for here. peren.all - we've now had a few days with highs above freezing and even some drizzle overnight last night. There is now grass and bare ground appearing around the neighbourhood finally. With warm temperatures and even some rain in the forecast for the next few days, I hope the snow will be gone soon! Then it's supposed to get cold again mid next week :-( Temperatures don't reliably warm up here until the jetstream retreats north of Hudson Bay - and stays there! That's usually mid-April or later. It's not uncommon for me to be gardening with a ski jacket on in the first half of May! daves10 - are those magnolias? Ours bloom 2nd-3rd week of May (Picture below is May 22 2014). The neighbours' star magnolia is the first to bloom, in April....See MoreI took in a female 12 week old tuxedo kitten less than a week ago.
Comments (20)Cathy, A week is not very long - she's still adjusting, and like cats who've come from other high-stress situations like some shelters it just takes time for them to relax andfor their true nature to come out. Dont worry about in breeding or whatever - it just sounds like typical kitten behavior to me. Young animals simply dont understand about people trying to sleep and they dont know that they're hurting someone, esp if they were taken away early and didnt learn from sibs/mom how to inhibit their aggression in play situations. ... or in this situation which was probably quite chaotic and stressful. I dont care for spray bottles - like you're going to have one at your finger tips at all times? Suppose you could get a holster for it, but as Cooper wrote a simple yell of OW accompoanied by shrugging her off will suffice. I had a cat who for whatever reason liked to take a flying leap and climb me like I was a tree. This was bad enough in winter, with layers of clothing on, but in summer - claws digging into bare skin - ouch! A couple of loud yells took care of it. If you arent already doing so, Id still be keeping them separate and then switching their spaces periodically so they can start getting used to each other's presence and scent but without having to confront each other all the time. Putting up a screen door temporarily is a good idea too. Let your old guy set the pace for how quickly the process takes. As much as possible, keep up your routines with him and he should have the esteemed positions like sleeping with you at night or whatever your routines were before the kitten came....See More
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That was it, Featherdale. It's a nice little park. When we were there they had a crocodile. Was it still there? It was enormous and scary.
We didn't do NZ either. We went to Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns in the north. That was 10 years ago next month.
So glad you got to go and see and do so much. Great picture of you and your travel companions. We rode a railway too, then took a tram down, as I recall. Did you do that too? Maybe it was the Kuranda Scenic Railway.
Thanks for posting about your trip. It allowed me to reminisce about our wonderful trip.
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