Around the World in 63 days
"Every flyer who ventures across oceans to distant lands is a potential explorer; in his or her breast burns the same fire that urged adventurers of old to set forth in their sailing ships for foreign lands"
06/05/2006 - To 08/07/2006
After arriving in New Zealand in late 2004, we decided to stay and work in Auckland for at least a couple of years. Once we began working in June 2005, planning for our first big vacation commenced. The decision was to take two months off in June and July 2006 at the end of our first full year of New Zealand employment.
Three years away from the USA left visiting family and friends a high priority. In addition, seeing some new places is always high on the list. As you know, New Zealand is far away from just about everything. Comparing the cost of a flight to the US with the cost of a "Round The World" ticket helped formulate the plan. Round the world we go! First stop - Sydney. One month in the USA. East to Europe for three weeks in Italy. Better stop in Asia - how about a week in Singapore? Back to Auckland. This is a quick log of the whirlwind tour.
Airport self-portrait "here we go!" on the way to Australia.
Stunning sunshine at the beginning of our mid-winter escape to summer in the Northern Hemisphere. However, our first stop is still down under -- three days in Sydney, then a non-stop flight to San Francisco.
Sydney, Australia
Three great days in Sydney. This purpose of the trip to Sydney was three-fold. See friends living there, see a bit of Sydney tourist highlights, and get a sense of whether Australia might be on our list of next-stop destinations for Whisper. We accomplished all of these in just three days!
The Sydney Opera House is more impressive in person than any photo can communicate.
The Sydney Harbor Bridge and an inbound seagull.
Aussies may have the lifestyle thing right. Take a ferry into the city to work. Come home to your quaint suburb with your boat on a mooring out front. Unfortunately, the price of real estate on the Sydney waterfront is even more ridiculous than Auckland. Oh well.
We took a little ferry tour around the harbor. Nice city-front. Almost as nice as Auckland! Sorry, just had to participate in that whole Kiwi-Aussie competitive thing.
Downtown Sydney comes alive as the evening light fades. Its a beautiful city and has much to offer. Hmmm.
The shady pedestrian mall through Sydney's main parks (Hyde? Phillip?, Cook?) downtown.
Main Cathedral on the park. Better get used to it. There are plenty of cathedrals to come next month.
The Cathedral interior.
One of the primary reasons for this Sydney detour was to see friends Scott and Nancy. They ended their cruise from Finland to New Zealand on their Swan 53, sold their boat, bought a bach (holiday home) on Waiheke island (in N.Z.'s Hauraki Gulf), then promptly moved to Australia where the work/life opportunities were more in alignment with their goals. Babies were also in their plan and they were making good progress -- Tasman had arrived and she was ready for visitors.
We rented a car and drove up to Whale Beach near Palm Beach and Avalon. It turns out that yellow line across the road has something to do with a school zone and we were promptly pulled over for speeding. The very understanding police woman let us go with only a warning. We then knew exactly what a school zone looked like and promptly slowed for each one we encountered.
On the way up to Whale Beach, we stopped off in Manly -- a very nice suburb with a decent surf beach and tourist-friendly downtown. The only thing that prevented Duncan from pursuing his life-long desire to own and proficiently play a didgeridoo (purchased at the exclusive and well-stocked didgeridoo shop in Manly), was that he couldn't come up with a way to stow it on Whisper. I guess he'll have to wait another couple of years.
Robin fancies herself an explorer. Captain James Cook demonstrates the correct stance she'll need to assume.
Just a few surfers off Manly beach. How many surfers come out when the weather is nice and the surf is bigger?
Whale Beach. A high-end suburb north of Sydney. Nice walks, a saltwater swimming pool, sandstone cliffs -- all just 40 minutes from downtown. Sweet.
This is the area near Avalon where Nancy and Scott just purchased their new home. The Whale Beach beach house was a rental. We did get an up-close drive-by of the new home and neighborhood, and we'll definitely be back for another visit!.
The entire Sydney area reminds us of a larger and more bustling Auckland. The real estate prices were just as insane, the work-life-balance seems to tip a bit more toward work, and the traffic is even worse, but the climate and lifestyle seemed very similar.
We will learn more if we ever sail over here on Whisper. Maybe we will even try to stay and live and work here for a while? We shall see.
Scott and Tasman.
Nancy, Tas, Robin and a rainbow. On our way to breakfast in nearby Avalon.
A smidgen rainy, we hide out under the sandstone cliffs on Whale Beach to wait for it to pass.
Duncan takes a stroll on Whale Beach.
From the nearby Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, we catch a glimpse of the inland cruising areas available just north of Sydney on the Hawkesbury river. Friends that have cruised in this area loved it. This island looked like a whale, so we have named it Whale Island. We even saw a whale in the distance.
Looking west from the West Head in the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. This is a very quiet National Park, but just minutes from Sydney.
Looking back toward Avalon across Pittwater. Whisper may end up anchored here someday on another visit with Scott and Nancy.
Duncan and Robin on West Head.
San Francisco, California -- USA
Sydney to San Francisco, non-stop on United -- we used miles to upgrade to business class. How does anyone survive 13 hours in coach? So spoiled are we. We arrived mid-day on a weekday and had trouble getting a taxi at the international terminal. We finally got one and headed to the Commodore hotel to check in and get settled.
Our first objective was to meet up with friends Jim and Catherine. Jim and Catherine are fellow Hallberg-Rassy owners we met in Seattle and again in Sweden back in 1998. We had some excellent meals, great wine, and a good catching-up, but this is a whirlwind tour, so our time there was unfortunately very short. Go, go, go! will be a theme throughout this trip.
The view across the Golden Gate from Crissy field's beach (between the Presidio and Marina district). San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge in the fog.
The iconic TransAmerica pyramid.
Jim, Catherine, and Robin.
Jim, Robin and Duncan.
Mountain View, California
Our next objective was to take a quick friend-stop tour through the Silicon Valley. We stayed in Mountain View and San Jose, and visited Palo Alto and surrounds.
In Mountain View we mooched off friends Scott and Julie for a great meal and VERY comfortable overnight accommodation in their newly remodeled guest bedroom and bathroom. Although Scott and Jul had Sumo as a surrogate child in 2006, they were making great progress on an open adoption of a newborn son. Welcome to the family Niko!
Scott, Sumo, and Julie.
Sumo!
Another great visit and catch-up. Visiting friends back in our old neighborhood always makes us miss living and working in the Valley.
Tasty cedar-plank salmon on the grill. Roughing it in Mountain View.
SGI Team Reunion
In 1995, a group of about 100 people implemented a full Oracle Apps implementation at Silicon Graphics in just over a year. This team and their achievement brought dozens of people together in a way that only an intense, big, scary technology project can. Over a dozen years later, the friendships made in 1995 are still going strong. In some cases, the romantic relationships formed then have resulted in entire families by 2006! It was great to see a group of these friends at a mini-reunion hosted by Marge and Dave in San Jose.
Dave, Pam & Cindy.
Cindy & Lilly.
Bill and Dave. That's either Bill's pirate look, or I was a bit too close with the camera.
Dave and daughter Nicole.
Cindy, Sean, Bryce, and Colby.
Pam and daughter Meaghan.
Marge and Robin.
Dave after a late night in the spa. Dave is distressed after someone messed with his remote control. Now nothing works -- it may still be broken.
Kirkwood and Incline Village, Lake Tahoe (CA & NV)
Although we only planned a visit to friends Mike and Tracy's near Kirkwood on South Lake Tahoe, we took the extra day to drop-in unannounced on friends in Incline Village, NV. As you'll see, this worked out great.
Off to Tahoe, and we encounter SNOW! in June.
Robin, Mike, and Tracy. We knew Mike and Tracy from a John Neal sailing seminar we took in San Francisco back in the late 90's. We have remained friends and will take any chance to see them.
Fresh snow in Kirkwood -- in June!
Mike and Tracy - they treated us to precious abalone gathered by Mike as well as accommodations and an intro to the Kirkwood area.
Then, off to the North Shore of Lake Tahoe. We passed beautiful Emerald Bay, on the short drive north.
North Shore motel: Michelaneos. We stayed here on the beach and were even invited to a big Greek family and friends party held at the motel. What fun.
In Incline Village, we dropped in on friends from our first days in California. Kathy, Pete, Robin, Dee, and Tori (front left). These guys are pretty much extended family so they didn't much mind our showing up unannounced (we hope).
Robin and Duncan on Lake Tahoe. A picnic on the beach in the local community waterfront park is a great way to catch-up.
Catherine and Kathy. Kathy is also our good friend Sandi's sister (we visit Sandi and Roger in Florida later on this trip).
Robin and Pete. Robin worked for Pete at IBM when we first moved to California in 1990.
Portland, Oregon
After a great catch-up in Tahoe, we drove off to Reno to grab a flight over to Portland, Oregon. It's with this next group that we need to be very careful. Brain cells could be damaged. Silly behavior could ensue. Just as feared... It does.
You may remember this group from Mexico cruising. Richard and Marianne on MR Destiny and Chris(tian) and Chris(tine) on Spirit Wind. Well, Chris and Chris sold Spirit Wind and moved back to Portland to start a new business (nau), and Richard and Marianne are living in San Diego on their new yacht Wavefarer. We convened at Chris and Chris's new pad in Portland's Pearl district. First activity - catch-up over some new signature cocktails.
A toast to anything and everything.
The pad in the Pearl district. Rough livin', huh? Robin and Duncan will have to stay here for a couple of nights. Oh well.
Cruising the Pearl. Marianne, Richard, Christine, Robin, and Christian.
Pataloha madness. Chris used his Patagonia connections to trick us all out with stylin' new Pataloha's. Festive no?
Up the back-roads up to Seattle passing Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier on the way.
After a great time in Portland, it is time to say goodbye and move along. We'll see more of Richard and Marianne in the coming week back in San Diego.
Seattle, WA
Duncan's sister Susan and kids, Samara and Kyle, live just outside Seattle in Renton. Friends Todd (Todd outfitted Whisper) and Lara (and new baby Ben) live in downtown Seattle.
Via rental car, we drove from Portland to Seattle via back roads to enjoy some lakes, volcanoes, and lots of clear-cut forests on the way.
Hanging out with Duncan's sister Susan in Renton. We'll see her again in Florida when the whole fam-damily convenes there.
A great dinner and a nice catch-up with Todd and Lara. Our first chance to meet new addition Benjamin.
Santa Barbara
Seattle to Santa Barbara. The morning of June 22nd, we flew from Seattle to Santa Barbara. Boy, were our arms tired. Works every time.
Robin and Duncan in Santa Barbara. We lived in Santa Barbara in 1998 and 1999, made some lifelong friends and basically fell in love with the area. Someday, we might return to SB to live, but for now, we need to keep exploring.
Rose, Robin, and Bill. Rose and Bill were originally our real estate agents, but became good friends in the time we lived in Santa Barbara. You will find Rose and Bill Reed in our 2003 log of our western USA tour. They are still the best real estate agents in Santa Barbara and surrounds.
At one of our favorite little Montecito restaurants -- Cava, we had a brush with geek fame. Steve Wozniak enjoyed an evening at Cava and Duncan photographed his ride.
State Street, Santa Barbara.
San Diego
Marianne, Richard, and Robin in San Diego.
Marianne and Richard at Umi Sushi. Mmmmm, sushi.
Wavefarer. MR Destiny was replaced by this fine new Island Packet, Wavefarer.
Santa Barbara to San Diego. A few hours south, through LA traffic, and on to San Diego. After a few days here and some quality time with simpaticos, we keep moving along. Next stop? Florida.
Thus ends the first-phase of our western USA whirlwind-tour. Duncan's sister, Susan, will fly from Seattle, and Robin's sister, Kari, will fly down from Chicago as well with everyone convening in Fort Myers, Florida. Luckily, both sets of parental units (one from Michigan, one from Missouri) retired to Florida within 20 miles of each other.
Florida
San Diego to LAX, to Orlando, Florida. After a six hour flight and an hour on the runway in Orlando awaiting thunderstorm lightning clearance, we were in Florida.
Pirates Putt-Putt mini-golf - we can no longer afford to go to Disney. We spent the night in Orlando, so had to challenge each other to a rousing 36-holes of mini-golf before moving onto to first visits in St. Petersburg/Clearwater and Sarasota.
Master-putt-putter. But of course, Duncan won.
It was great to see Roger and Sandi in their home in Florida (moved there from Dallas several years ago). Sandi is (Incline Village) Kathy's sister. Dee is Kathy and Sandi's mom. Robin worked with Sandi and for Kathy and/or Pete at IBM. Duncan lived at Pete and Kathy's house in California when we relocated to San Francisco in 1990. Got it?
Off to Sarasota to meet with another prior co-worker from the late 1980's. Duncan and Robin in rental car, Roger and Sandi on their bikes.
Looking for shark's teeth on beach. Sandi and Roger 9 teeth. Duncan and Robin 0. Love the white powder-sand beaches on Florida's gulf coast. You can have the murky-green water, but love the sand.
Caught up with friend Jeff in Sarasota. Hey, he dyed his hair to match Duncan's hair.
Fort Myers
A quick stop to say hello to Kathy (Robin's mom) and husband David. Dave and Kathy will accommodate us for four days and Duncan's folks will host us for another four days.
Nice digs here in Fiddlesticks.
Robin, Duncan's dad Bob, and sister Susan. An Airstream similar to this one gave Duncan his first tastes of travel.
The Bobs - Duncan's dad and grandfather
Duncan's mom Judy and sister Susan.
Love the hibiscus. Anything grows in Florida.
One of the main events would be a 4th of July (Independence Day) party at Duncan's folks house.
Robin's mom Kathy and David
Duncan's uncle Adrian, wife Hanah, and long-time family friend Betty.
More 4th party.
Neighbor Mark drains his fryer after creating some of the best fried fish and hushpuppies ever produced.
Then another neighbor pours the hot oil into his Mercedes Benz. Of course, who wouldn't with fuel prices these days. Actually, a $70 US part converted his older model Mercedes diesel to bio-diesel capable.
Kathy and David head off in David's new toy.
Kinda cute.
Kathy, Robin, and Kari.
As a treat, Kathy and David took us all down to Naples for a night out and some shopping.
We spent the night at the Inn on Fifth in Naples and had a great afternoon by the pool and dinner out.
The bed was an improvement over a boat-bed as well. After five years living aboard, we start to appreciate the little things.
Back in Fiddlesticks, Robin catches up on world news.
Robin and Kari on the Mystery Train.
We enjoyed an evening out on the "Mystery Train" with Kathy, David, and Kari.
Dinner out on a train, with some light "who-dun-it?" dinner theater.
Go, go, go it was in the U.S. for just around one month. We did the "something old", now it is time for the "something new". Well, Italy is not actually new, but it will be new to us. Hooray, let's get on the plane.