The Cheekyricho camper conversion has started

The Camper conversion has started, the new awning, drop down table for outdoor cooking and the solar panel with big expensive lithium house battery have heralded the start of what is to become our cosy home on wheels for holidays with our two darling little dogs. We can't wait. The bed and UHF radio are also in and the fridge and cabinetry and sink have been waiting patiently in storage for the opportunity to join our merry little troupe.

Ahead of us lay many arguments about the right way to do things. I don't know why Richo persists in challenging my design ideas, it is so much easier and quicker to let me have my way in the first place. I always win... Why fight it?🤔😉

Back home & hit the floor running

Well it's been a fortnight since we got back. I've had another operation on my foot.

This time to straighten a couple of toes that protested at the previous tendon transfer and bone fusions. So more tendon work and metal Implants to sort that. Not painful really except for these muscle/slash nerve spasms that have given me grief every night. Mind you  pain medication is keeping the bad stuff at bay. 6 weeks in a Moon Sandal and I should be able to wear my normal boots and shoes again. Yesterday was very cold so I baked bread and made pots of soup. Richo is installing some lights etc in our new carport and we made an unscheduled trip to Bunnings Hardware for more bits for the job. 

I bought another car, it's not a new one but we should have plenty of fun in it.. We don't like the new model, they have downsized the diesel rnfine, removed a heap of storage compartments, squashed the sides in around the luggage compartment and now the new back seats don't lay flat. This is similar to the one I relocated for a company from Melbourne to Brisbane a year or so back and let me tell you, I did not want to give them back the keys. Doesn't everyone lie flat on their back after foot surgery and research & then buy a car. Or is it just me? Oh and my tricky back has sent me off for another MRI. Please please just be  muscular  and not some random hardware issue, I really don't want anymore spinal surgery.

Great news though my friend has invited me to Cairns, in a week or so,  for a few days catch up, sort of of a girls long weekend. So excited, I need a holiday and I've only been back a fortnight LOL, how did I ever find time to go to work. Retirement is just so busy.

Airfares, accomodation and restaurants all this while I'm being followed by a moon sandal, moon sandal, moon sandal my cat Stevens fan friends will understand..

We Love Virgin Airlines. Well done Sir Richard!

We boarded our Virgin Australia flight home. It left on time we had an ample luggage allowance included with our flight. There were complimentary pens, masks, blankets, pillows, ear plugs,  water, USB charges for our devices,  head phones and an extensive entertainment system with oodles of variety for us when we arrived at our economy (cattle class) seat which was larger, with more leg room than any plane we have flown in in years. The information over the speaker was easy to understand, clear, concise and audible. The safety information was also displayed in an entertaining fashion on each and every headrest as well as a live demonstration by the cabin crew ( who were amazing throughout the entire flight)

Food service was a choice of 3 hot meals, we opted for the beef casserole with parsley mash and root veges. Salted caramel gelato and a Fat yak beer. With a bread roll. It was really nice, no I'm serious I'd happily eat it at home. This airplane food had flavoursome taste, variety and texture. Good job, and we weren't that hungry but it was a decent sized portion. There was the alternative of Thai chicken or a vegetarian pasta dish too, so most tastes were covered. I was impressed with the selection of complimentary drinks, wines, beers, juices and tea or coffee offered as well.

Full belly, lights out, goodnight.

I watched The Martian on my personal entertainment device, snoozed on my head hugging head rest with my pillow and awoke to surf the movie channel again. Sometime during the night the flight attendant offered us a crisp icy cold, juicy sweet apple and a napkin to mop up the juice and store the spent core. Perfect, freshen your palette after the the cabin air dried you out a bit. 

Breakfast was an egg and sausage wrap, it was tasty, hot, not soggy with a blueberry muffin and creamy fruit yoghurt, coffee and juice. All great, tasty, healthy, not too heavy yet satisfying. Well Done Sir Richard!!!!!

We Didn't have to queue for the loo until last thing, a delivered call before landing where passengers were fixing hair and brushing teeth to greet the morning and even then it was a short wait. We were given destination arrival information, temp, time, weather etc and arrived a little early.

This is our view of the daybreak over the ocean a pink hue tinged the wings musky pink as they carried us safely home.

Our first view of land. Moreton island with its sandy beach fringe and blue waters.

Not long now and we were safe home in one of the loveliest  countries in the world. 

I have been collecting Qantas frequent Flyer points for decades and have been saving them for this trip. A one way flight for the two of us would've used around 300,000 Qantas points. That would've used up nearly all of my carefully amassed points. I have also

Been collecting Virgin Velocity points for a little while. This trip home, for the two of us, used just over 100,000 points plus a couple of dollars for taxes etc. we were shy of a few points and Richo's son was able to gift us the short fall of 10,000 points which we can repay anytime as I have them connected to the credit card we used whilst away. This was without any doubt the most welcoming, comfortable long haul flight we have ever experienced. It's the thing you dread your whole holiday. It's the thing you need days to recover from when you get back, it's the thing that wards people off travelling big distances, that dreaded long, dragged out, cramped end or beginning to any holiday or business trip. The time passed quickly and we arrived home refreshed.

Sir Richard and your friendly welcoming staff, catering crew and entertainment design team nailed it, really aced it. You deserve a big hug for the outstanding service Virgin Australia provided for us on VA8 from LAX to BRIS this week. 

Oh and I'm not collecting Qantas points anymore, why would you?!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to you and your entire team.

Goodbye USA

It's been a wonderful holiday but now it's time to go. Thanks for looking after us Anerica, we have learned a lot about you and enjoyed your hospitality.

Disneyland Adventure

The Happiest place on earth is also the busiest. We left on a cool morning that looked like it was going to rain, by mid day the sun was out and it was really warm. Richo was quite happy to ride Splash Mountain and cool off.

After dining on a feed of sticky, spicy moist and tender ribs with some baked beans with bacon and coleslaw and potato salad washed down with a glass of iced tea we ventured back out into the sunshine to stand in more lines and be thrilled by the rides. Richo passed the time quickly chatting to fellow passengers. Everyone was interested to hear more about Australia, discuss our gun laws and politics and share stories of their home town. Everyone including old people to tiny tots were so well behaved. Despite the incredible crowd, which we were assured was 'not that busy', people moved about in an orderly fashion. Richo hates crowds but he enjoyed Disneyland we were tired when we got there after the last couple of massive days. He had no intention of staying for the parade but an exmarine we met in line talked it up and told us the best vantage point so we stayed and Richo was just as enthralled as the fellow park patrons, some of whom had seen it many times. On the way out we stumbled across the Buzz Lightyear ride which only had a 30 minute wait, this had lines up to 2 hours long earlier so we decided to check it out. I had no idea what to do, I should've asked a kid, but Richo cottoned on and flogged me in the game 2:1 back out into the crush, the last of the fireworks and onto the bus home. We had some chicken and salad on ice in our room with cherries and beer, an odd but welcome combination to get us through to breakfast. There simply wasn't time to stop and eat dinner at Disneyland with so much to see and do.

The parade was stunning and everyone was dancing and singing.

Buzz Lightyear giving Richo some last minute flight instructions. To Infinity & Beyond!

Goodbye Disneyland and thank you for another magical day.

Death Valley

The Consisently Hottest temperature on earth. Death Valleytoday is a cool one.

We had a picnic lunch under the only tree we could find.

Meat & cheese roll with a zero coke and a banana. Even a crow was walking around with his mouth wide open in the heat. Richo reckons he was wearing a poor colour choice. Black Jacket, explain that one Darwin.

134 is the record here so this would've been a cool day in comparison. The little Jetta is just coping with the air con. We turned it off a couple of times to avoid overheating. Richo is enthralled with this place. The different coloured sands, rocks and mountains are impossible to describe.

Deep valleys of long forgotten glaciers. This place is a geologists dream. The highest mountain in North America is Mount Whitney and every time we round a bend we see a huge mountain, we are already   about 5-7,00 ft above sea level and these mountains loom up way over that he still continues to predict that mountain over there must be Mt Whitney.

I thought it would be a good idea to buy an egg and fry it on the bitumen and Richo thought that would be too messy. Just bake it in the sand instead. You can buy cold hard boiled eggs in their shell at service stations for 45c perfect for a protein snack or impromptu picnic. Off to Vegas.

Hubbard Glacier Alaska

We set the clock to get up early to visit Hubbard Glacier. I wanted breakfast first but Richo wanted to get some Glacier photos. The scenery was majestic. 200 foot high cliffs of ice breaking off big chunks that fall into the sea and cause mini tidal waves. This process is called calving when a baby ice berg falls off the mother glacier. The ship travels through these baby bergs to about .5 nautical miles of the face. The water is clean and blue and about 2,000 feet deep in places. The wilderness lecturer has been here dozens of times and said this is the best weather he has ever encountered. You are lucky to strike 1 day a month like this is summer and here we are with beautiful blue skies and snowy white ice bergs float all around us.

They make a thundering crack and then a chunk falls off somewhere but you never know where and with a face this wide I was lucky enough to get a shot of one make its entrance into the ocean.

Sometimes baby seals sit on these floating ice chunks and killer whales form a team to bump the ice from underneath, dislodging the seal and delivering into the mouth of another waiting whale. I am so glad I didn't witness this terrible spectacle. These whales also bubble feed by circling a school of fish emitting bubbles to form a veil from below them and effectively herding them into a circle before charging through them and eating them.

The little bergs are clear and some have rocks lodged on them where they have a braided the rock surface as they travel forward.

Skagway Alaska

We had a nice breakfast in the dining room. Walked into town and caught a bus tour to the Ukon. We had to take our passports as we were entering British Columbia which is Canadian territory. TheCanadian  Border guy boarded the bus and smiled at us all wished us a great day, inspected our passports and left with a wave. How refreshing! It was the easiest and friendliest border crossing we have ever traversed. We bought a couple of hats and things for friends back home. The scenery is breathtakingly amazing. We saw mountain goats. Look hard in the centre of the picture and you will see 4 creamy coloured goats on a patch of grass. 

The air is cold and dry and the melting snow produces pretty waterfalls.

This the Alaska we have come to see not cruise ship owned jewellery stores selling costume jewellery from places like Africa &  Australia. 

The bus has large tinted windows, comfortable seats. There are ample stops and photo ops. It's warm and comfortable. Our guide Marv was very knowledgeable and informative plus he is a photographer so he is happy to take very good photos of you with your own camera. He took us into a Musher Camp where we saw 4 day old Husky Puppies. They didn't have their eyes open yet and were shivering but the lady that breeds them is a competitor in the Iditerod dog sled race.

 The puppies were really cute.

There was an old dog there that had been hit by a car and could no longer run. He is now a pet and will live his life out being cared for such is the life of a sled dog. Once we had reboarded the bus we saw the sled dogs return towing a little car.

It was quiet, I don't know why but I expected them to be barking and making a racket but they had arrived before we realised it. Future tours will include the possibility to ride a dog sled if you wish to. There is the white Pass Railway which is a narrow gauge rail to and from the Summit. There was no guarantee for us to be back in time to rejoin our particular ship so that is why we went in the bus. Apparently it is about half the price of the train and travels a lot further into the Yukon with plenty of stops not available on the train.  BUT the best reason to take the bus is....

This guy standing on the roadside munching flat out on dandelions, he wasn't worried about us at all and those dandelions sure looked delicious. Marv turned the bus around so we could take lots of photos, he even took passengers cameras and took great shots of the bear. We were there for quite a while. It was such a thrill to see this fellow in his natural habitat, we weren't allowed off the bus because it would be difficult to explain to the border security that some passengers had become bearbait. We did learn some bear aware safety tips, hope we never need to use it. Marv reckons he was a male because there were no Cubs and he wasn't afraid of the bus.

He was quite relaxed lay down and then sat up like a dog and scratched under his chin with his back leg.

These guys can run at 35 miles per hour so you won't outrun it and even though humans aren't their normal diet, older or desperate bears may attack if they feel threatened.

Richo was pretty excited to see this guy so close for so long was pretty special. Can't do this on the train so this is another reason to consider the bus.

The lakes are beautiful and we could ask questions and Marv told us stories about the history of the area about local characters and facts about local plants and animals in an entertaining way. The tour took just over 2.5 hours and was well worth it. 

Mendenhall Glacier Juneau Alaska

This is the Mendenhall Glacier, there are over 140 glaciers in the Juneau Snowfields, this being the most famous and popular. You can land on it by helicopter and they do. It's like Apocolypse Now with choppers arriving and landing or flying by in a constant procession. The Glacier has retreated at an alarming rate over the recent century. Scientists believe Global Warming has significantly contributed to this retreat. I'm no scientist but I can't help wondering how much impact the airflow from helicopter rotors and heat from the engines would affect the glacier. All day, everyday the choppers are passing close or landing upon the surface. We saw a constant procession of 4 in a row backwards and forwards travelling in close single line formation.

This is nugget falls out tour guide said they didn't exist 36 years ago when she was a child the glacier covered their present location. There are large chunks of icebergs that travel around the lake for months at a time gradually melting over many months. These icebergs look like ice sculptures. Some like sharks, seals, polar bears and snails, from different angles they look like different things. The wind is cold. It makes your nose run and your eyes water. 

I found a piece of iceberg it was crystal clear and slippery cold with air bubbles enclosed inside it. It tasted nice Richo put some in his mouth and commented his sensitive toothpaste is working. LOL

This iceberg has taken over 200 years to reach the surface of the glacier and has broken off leaving an ice blue edge on the surface of the glacier before bobbing around on the silt rich,  probably gold filled icy lake until it joins the water in its melted state.

We did a town tour on the way to the glacier and it took us over the bridge to Douglas Island where we got a birds eye view of the cruise ships in town.

These ships dump up to 10,000 passengers dockside for the day. Most of the shops immediately adjacent to the port are owned by the cruise ships companies. The prices are identical from shop to shop, the merchandise and quality likewise and most are run by people from India who are very skilled at high pressure sales techniques. They are only here for the summer cruise season and I am sure they make a killing. People on vacation tend to spend more on less they they would at home for some reason. 

These are actual snow shoes and ice spikes. There are native handicraft shops. Totem poles, bone carvings, buttons, teeth, leather moccasins, fossils and mammoth tusks. It's like a museum where you can buy the exhibits. There is trinketty stuff too but the quality is exceptional and the staff are friendly, helpful and know there stock.

We enjoyed Juneau but not for the shopping. We had a huge cup of delicious coffee, the best we have had since we left home. Probably because of what we are used to but I am a bigger fan of espresso style coffee than drip coffee that has a more bitter and different strong taste.

The tour guy said these homes downtown are worth between $400-500k USD they have no view, are no where near the water but apparently the tourist season dictates the price for these homes. A fellow passenger was gob smacked and said these styles of homes would be lucky to fetch around $40k in their home town. 

Breakfast in Juneau

Tha capital of Alaska is only accessible by ship or plane. Nestled along the dock is the city at the very foot of a huge mountain which is heavily wooded with pine trees and topped with snow with the occasional waterfall.

The tops of the mountains are invisible for the cloud. There are at least 3 cruise ships in port today and it looks like it will rain.

This is a view of the Centrum Which is the foyer of the ship from the levels above there is a piano bar and a glass staircase with lights in the glass. The bubble elevators give a gold fish view of each floor from inside and out. At the dock is a sky tram that takes visitors to the top of the mountain for a birds eye view. It is enclosed so suitable for all weather provided the cloud cover isn't too low.

We are going ashore to explore.