Post Travel - Day 19 in Ottawa

I’m settling into my third week back at the old grind. The pace is slow as projects are assigned one by one. This is beneficial as to not inherit others' problems. I can ease into finding my way in the system. I wonder how far I will get before I’m completely disillusioned and disenfranchised from the North American world longing for something different.

As I reflect on our trip I am adjusting ok. Writing this post has been emotional for me as I remember my experiences and reflect on the impact on our family. In some circles, there is not that much interest around our trip. People can’t relate, I suppose. Who takes a year off, let alone travels to 17 countries around the world logging tens of thousands of kilometres over land by car, bus and rail, by sea, and by air - with two kids in tow? It was and will remain truly ours. It will be our family experience to keep with us always.

Was it worth it? How do you put a value on this experience except to measure value in the good times we shared together. I had my moments of doubt though when we had our family stresses (yes they did happen) that resulted in conflict. There was conflict between the kids, between the kids and us, and between us as spouses. There were times when it felt like a matter of endurance – enduring a place or each other until the next stop. It certainly cost a lot of money and an opportunity cost associated with the spending of the money we saved on our trip, versus paying off our house or the purchase of some other tangible item – say a new car or a house full of the latest modern gadgets and electronics. We’ll forego the super LED LCD HDTV for now and stay with our decade old CRT TV. But our trip was truly an accomplishment. A joint accomplishment but lots of credit is due Kathi.

As for the kids, they are happy to be home but sometimes recall fond memories of events on our trip. Only time will tell how it moves them in areas of maturity and understanding of their place in the world. They are certainly more knowledgeable of world events, places and bits of politics and history way beyond their years. They can place cities and countries that adults cannot, let alone their peers. Especially Jackson, who at eight years old, has taken on recognizing and identifying dozens upon dozens of international and regional flags. They can visualize places and the faces, and the sights and sounds of some familiar and some very foreign lands.

One standout experience for me, for example, is life in Vietnam. There is the tug and pull of the memory of the streets of Hanoi, Vietnam where the sidewalks - where there are any - are jammed with motorbikes forcing one to walk along the road. You take your life in your hands as you attempt to cross multiple lanes of bikes going in both directions that ignore the traffic signs and laws. The noise and chaos motivates a yearning to leave - as soon as possible - but the stimulation exacts an excitement and happiness within for having been there.

Another observation of the ‘new world’ occurred to me yesterday. People around seem to be strutting around in an air of entitlement, arrogant in their behaviour. This is much like us beforehand, as Kathi rightly points out. People who haven’t travelled seem to be oblivious to the realities of the world beyond these borders, self-absorbed in the minutia of their own lives. When you have experienced a flash flood, as we did travelling overland by bus in Tanzania, and with the recall of the recognition of a real and possible danger, one can relate better to the floods of Pakistan half a world away. For us, including the kids, our experiences of the news, a movie, or a book are brought more alive as result - from the recent flooding in the mid-western U.S., to the streets of Tokyo in a movie, or the lines of a Hemingway book set in Paris, because we have lived it.

Next stop - somewhere off Bank Street.

TE

Travel day 365 +/-: Ted

Architecture of Chicago:We headed down the highway south out of Saskatoon (and Canada) on Tuesday July 20th. Our plan was to head south into Montana briefly, enroute to South Dakota and east through the midwest to Ontario. Things proceeded nicely in the beginning. Although we got a late start, our entry into the U.S. was smooth and uneventful, as all our cross-border ventures have been.

However, we didn’t book ahead for a room, thinking it unnecessary. As we soon discovered, the good people of North Dakota are drilling for oil. There are no rooms to be found as they are all taken up by long-term oil workers. Pushing on we were resigned to the possibility of spending some time – and possibly the night - in the car. The boys were cheering, “it ain’t a road trip till you spend a night in the car”. We headed through North Dakota in the dark in the direction of Mount Rushmore.

As the night wore on it was clear that we were not going to find a room. We stopped for a while to try and rest in the car and then in the middle of the night decided to carry on. An electrical storm could be seen off in the distance and to the west. However, we were heading right for it. Lightning soon was all around us and the rain picked up. The sky lit the surrounding flat land of South Dakota for miles. Finally, we found a small town with a couple of big rigs off to the side. We took the opportunity to wait it out. You know if the big rigs have pulled off then road, you better do the same.

By early morning we were off again, after a restless and uncomfortable night, for Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota where we spent a few hours in and around Mount Rushmore. We found a room for the night in Rapid City and decided to book ahead from that point on. Kathi was able to always book great deals through Hotwire and so Hotwire become our hotel website of choice for this leg of the journey.

Historic Mt. Rushmore (in case you're wondering, it's George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln):

Our next days were direction east toward home. We crossed the state and spent the night in near luxury in Sioux Falls, SD passing by the town of Mitchell. Cornfields filled the view to the endless sky. Our next day sent us by another town called Jackson, Minnesota enroute to Waterloo, Iowa.

However, along the way we stopped at what would be the first of three Frank Lloyd Wright houses. Mason City, Iowa is home to the Stockman house. This was an early modest Prairie style home designed and built by Wright in 1908 while working on a couple of commercial buildings in town. We spent a quiet night at a Super 8, dinner at Olive Garden, got the car oil changed and used a public coin laundry. The fun of life on the road.

An early example of Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie style in Mason City, Iowa:

FLW often designed the built-ins and furniture for his homes also:

Our intent now was to visit Cedar Rock, another FLW house that I had the chance to visit 18 years ago. It is quite a bit off the beaten track in the rural Iowa countryside. The house is one of the most complete of his houses, which was built in 1950. He not only designed the house for Mr. & Mrs. Walter Lowell, who had no children, but designed the built-in plywood tables, chairs, couches, and selected the dinnerware and glasses. It bears his signature red tile, being his seal of approval. It’s located along the Wapsipinicon River, right near Quasqueton, Iowa. As it happens there has been lots of rain and the river was rising to near record levels. The boathouse was at the time flooded to above the boat garage and, unfortunately, off limits. Anything that was not fastened in was removed but a lot of furniture was built in. The house and property along with a small endowment was left to the State of Iowa in 1981 after Mr. Lowell passed away and remains so today with tours available to the public.

Cedar Rock in Iowa: example of Frank Lloyd Wright's organic architecture, inspired by the surrounding nature:

Next stop, the windy city. Chicago was even worthy of a two night stay at the airport Intercontinental Hotel. Another great Hotwire deal. Arriving on a Saturday and spending Sunday in the city worked for us. We used our own vehicle for getting around, starting with taking in the third FLW house in three days.

We visited the home and studio of FLW in the beautiful Chicago neighbourhood of Oak Park. This was his home and studio from 1889-1909. He initially lived here with his family. When he began to practice on his own he added a drafting studio where he ran his business. There are several homes in the surrounding area designed by Wright including the Cheney residence. The wife of this particular client later became his mistress and the ensuing publicity and controversy caused them to leave the U.S. for Europe for a while, later returning to take up residence in Wisconsin. In the gift shop, Kathi picked up a copy of the recent novel, Loving Frank, which tells their story from Mrs. Cheney’s point of view and she found it to be a fast and engrossing read.

FLW's Home & Studio in the Oak Park neighbourhood of Chicago:

The home that Edwin & Mamah Cheney commissioned FLW to design for them (also in Oak Park):

Our day in Chicago was sun filled. We spent the afternoon first looking up at the Sears Tower (now called the Willis Tower), and touring the Magnificent Mile along Michigan Avenue window shopping and people watching.

Next we headed for the fantastic Millennium Park. It has a great outdoor amphitheatre called The Jay Pritzker Pavilion and Great Lawn designed by another Frank – this time Gehry. The site has a bridge over the adjoining street (BP Bridge), also designed by him, and a great water park/feature/fountain (Crown Fountain). Check out the link because our pictures don’t do it justice.

Chicago's downtown skyline:

The Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower):

Architecture of the Jay Pritzker Pavillion in Chicago's Millennium Park:

Crown Fountain:

The park is a great place to run and blow off steam after being well-behaved in several Frank Lloyd Wright homes :)

Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate sculpture, made of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect the city's famous skyline and the clouds above :

The boys check out their reflection in the cloud:

The city of Ottawa could take some lessons here for the new Landsdowne Park redevelopment. The fountain has all the great features of being something interesting and striking to look at but is very interactive. Crowds of people of all ages were running in the water, soaking under the main fountain, and sitting at the edge taking it all in. At the theatre we got to take in the beginnings of a free Chopin concert as the sun began to set.

So ends our trip across America.

TE

Interactive Crown Fountain:

Travel Day 326: Kiwi Tour - Part III

Our motoring excursion around the north island of New Zealand has taken us over 1200km from Auckland and back traveling clockwise to the east coast, through the middle, and on and up the west coast. After Rotorua, we drove though the central lake town of Lake Taupo and on to Napier. Our daytime drives were at a leisurely pace, never exceeding four or five hours – something I enjoy very much.

Napier is the east coast town that is known for its faithful and well-preserved Art Deco architecture. In the early 1930’s Napier was hit by a major earthquake that devastated the town. The buildings that didn’t fall by result of the tremors burned to the ground in the ensuing fires. Over two hundred people died. Despite being in the middle of the world depression, the town was rebuilt. It was all rebuilt in the same time period in the years that followed. The streets were widened and the buildings erected had a similar look of the era. It’s been well preserved in the few blocks of the core from that time. We enjoyed a stroll around the area. It was particularly quiet even for a Saturday afternoon because it is the winter season.

Art Deco building and main street in Napier:

We stayed at another backpacker hostel. It’s very cold at night right now. It’s the kind of place that you meet fellow travelers from all around the globe sitting in the warmth of the common lounge. The employee hosts here were German and so were some of the guests.

Next we traveled inland through Palmerston North, through the very picturesque Hawke's Bay Winery region, and on to the west coast town of Wanganui.

Entrance to Mission Estate Winery, near Napier-Hastings, lined with plane trees. We thought we were in France for a second - old plane trees lined the Canal du Midi in much the same way:

The town of Wanganui on the west coast seemed to strike the right chord with us. We decided almost right away to stay two nights. The Tamara Backpackers’ Lodge where we stayed had the right feel. A big bright room, a nice kitchen to prepare meals in, and a dining room and lounge. The host employee was Canadian.

Beautiful old Edwardian building where we stayed in Wanganui - great, high-ceilinged rooms and a big, well-equipped kitchen so we could make our own meals:

Dinner at our guesthouse:

Wanganui is known for its artists and artisans, and teaching of arts. In particular, it is known for glass and glass blowing. We took in a local artists studio and gallery in the downtown area called the Chronicle Glass Studio.

Picturesque restored main street of Wanganui:

Observing the students at work at the Chronicle Glass Art studio in Wanganui:

In addition, we drove the river road north along the Wanganui River some 200 km in a circuit that brought us back to town. The road is a winding road along the river path that at times is high and other times low along the valley. It is the quintessential beautiful New Zealand scenery. The hills and the roads were cast with the many farm animals. It had rained in the previous days and night resulting in some rock and mudslides along the road. We encountered several that seemed to have only freshly occurred.

Lots of animal sightings along the River Road (did you know there are 35 sheep to every person - during lambing season - in NZ?):

One of several rock slides we encountered:

Wanganui has its own little controversy as we discovered. The name is a traditional Maori name. The Maori spelling would have an h after the w. This changes the pronunciation as well. One local New Zealander woman who was operating the observatory lift on the hill overlooking town got indignant when we asked whether or not the pronunciation was ‘wanganuee’ or as the more indigenous Maori would pronounce it ‘fanganuee’. Anyway, to me it seems that the latter would be more correct.

Scenery along the gorgeous Wanganui River Road:

Next we ventured up the beautiful west coast for New Plymouth and beyond to Waitomo. The surf was rolling in high at New Plymouth. A sole surfer in his wet suit plied the waves and looked to be quite experienced.

Surfer in the Tasman Sea near New Plymouth:

We rolled into Waitomo around 4:00pm and checked into a place called Juno Hall, another hostel. This place was well equipped with the kitchen and had a homey, alpine lodge feel to the lounge complete with wood burning stove. It was sorely needed on this night, one of the coldest of this winter so far. The employee host here was also a Canadian from BC - in between commitments.

By 4:30 we made it to the Waitomo caves. The caves are home to a glowworm, arachanocampa luminosa, similar to those that can be found in other places in the world, but unique to New Zealand. The caves are the result of underground river flows. The local river still flows through the caverns. We toured the caves, in part, by foot and then deep into a blackened hole of a cave in a small fishing type boat. In the eerie silence one gets a pretty good look at, and an amazing show from the lit tail of the hundreds of glowworms that dot the ceiling. They only move when they turn into flies and then have a life span of several months. From their tails they drop a thread like web that catches their pray, mosquitoes mostly, that follow the breezes that go with the river flow.

No photography was allowed inside the caves but we pulled this one off Google images to show what the interior looked like:Our last night in Auckland was a quiet one of dinner in and some TV at a lodge near the airport. The next morning we left Auckland at 7:00 AM for Apia, Samoa.

TE

Travel Day 314 in Narrabeen, Australia: Ted

View towards Caloundra at Point Cartwright:How ya goin, mate? -from Narrabeen, outside Sydney

We are at the end of our camping excursion down the east coast of Australia. This has taken us 3000km from Cairns to Sydney in our ‘Jucy Campa’. Until now the weather has cooperated. Unfortunately, it’s raining as we head into their winter. The temperature is still bearable for the most part, at around 20 degrees during the day. It’s a little warmer when the sun is out. The days have been mostly sunny and spectacular along the varied coastline. The shore is rugged to sandy dunes.

This last night we pass the time indoors at our camp games rooms. We have access to the Internet and television with a bit of shelter from the cool, wet night air. I especially liked the northern Queensland area. It’s a little less congested and built up. Perhaps it was waking up to the spectacular sunrises in Yeppoon where we were guests of Kathi’s old pal from her working stint in Oz during her uni days. It could have been just the warmth of the sun with just the right temperatures and the views over the oceans. Of course, we didn’t experience it at its worst aspect with conditions of super unbearable humid heat. But I have great memories and loved it just the same having had the luxury of a great visit with new friends and the small experience of a place the way people who live there live it.

Our camper gave us accommodation and wheels again for a night as we progressed south toward the Sunshine Coast. Then it was Caloundra for three nights where we visited with the family of another old friend of Kathi’s. We enjoyed their company just the same and had a locals’ tour. The weather cooperated and we came away with more great memories of visiting the bluffs at Point Cartright with views back toward Mooloolaba and Maroochydore. These were once separate beachfront communities that dotted the Sunshine Coast. They are attracting more and more visitors and permanent residents. One community government has been created to manage the increasing pressures that these new demands place on the community. The need for more housing is just one of them.

Another highlight was a visit to the Eumundi Saturday morning market. Just one of the many markets we’ve visited along the way but this one was very large and unique in its own way with the marketing slogan “if you want it, they make it, bake it, grow it or sew it!”

Horseback riders on beach in Yeppoon:

Next we traveled to Brisbane. We enjoyed a stop in what was expected to be a large chaotic city. However, it was more pleasant than chaotic. We managed to negotiate the streets and traffic into town. There is a lot more to Brisbane than what our one day could afford. With time limited to a few hours, we concentrated on a stroll through the Botanic Gardens on the north shore of the Brisbane River. This leads to the Goodwill Bridge, a modernist pedestrian structure that connected us to the trendy and very nicely made up South Bank Parklands. Lunch at a riverside café was followed by a short visit to the Queensland Art Gallery and the Queensland Museum, a natural history museum with an Australian focus.

Curtain fig tree in Brisbane's Botanic Gardens:

Goodwill Footbridge across Brisbane River:

South Bank Parklands in Brisbane:

Queensland Art Gallery:

The rest of the coast line has been a bit of a blur. There is just not enough time to do it justice. The southern route continued to Byron Bay known for it’s surfin’ waves and alternative lifestyle, (where we camped right next to the South Pacific ocean beach), Nambucca Heads, Southwest Rocks, Port Stephens/One Mile Beach -another beautiful surfing spot- and finally Narrabeen just on the outskirts of Sydney.

Byron Bay:

Byron Bay = the place to surf:

Byron Bay main street:

Nambucca Heads:

Southwest Rocks:

Our month in Australia, including 5 days in Sydney, has been a great adventure. There is one more day in store with a trip to the Sydney Aquarium. The next time we'll be back may be as SKIers (Spending The Kids’ Inheritance) like the greyheads we have met along the way. Auckland awaits.

TE