Home again

So the trip is over. It was good while it lasted but it's always good to get back to familiar territory and drive on the familiar side of the road. The return trip was mostly uneventful, witht the exception of Trish not being able to make it to the airport at Auckland for a farewell hug. I even had an exotic meal planned, but I guess McD's will get by without my business :) ....Joking Trish. Just a couple of photos this time...one from the Kelowna bound plane over a very poluted Vancouver, and one from my deck this morning as the sun neared the horizon.

I think I'll let the blog run and maybe use it to show my mundane retirement life for a while, even my art attempts when there are any to show :)

Bondi Beach et al

Just got back from a trip to see Sculptures By The Sea. An art show spread over a couple of miles of sea shore. Some was great...some was weird...and some was really weird. (In my opinion that is)One great thing was that it was a free show, and you know how I go for freebies :) By the way the dogs are sculptures and life size. Of course a visit to Australia is incomplete without a photo of Bondi Beach so here is one of that also. Would you believe it's just another beach....sand and water? This is my last day here so any further entries will be done after I get home. Oh yes it's sunny and hot.

North Sydney roam

Today. Oct 24, I went for a wander in North Sydney. Would you believe it's on the north side of Sydney harbour :)Anyway got a couple of interesting photos...interesting to me at any rate, one of a comparitively old house set between high new buildings, and for sure the little old place has all the character the new edifaces lack. The other pic is a church, which struck me as having age and character also. Must come from my years as a bricklayer.

Today the sun is shining and it's warm...no coat today....after yesterdays coldest October day in ages for this city. For some weird reason there were more smiles on faces too, including mine. Only one more day here and I start home. It will be hot for sure on Sunday :)

Oct 21

Went to Ku-Ring-Gai national park today, to a section where the intent is to rescue orphaned kangaroos and wallabies and get them to a point where they can be safely released into the wild. A pleasant, quiet place where one wanders through the forest spotting the animals and loads of wild birds. The kids loved it but I'm sure the animals wondered why those little humans always have to rush around like the fire siren has gone.I got a half decent photo of two wallabies and a cockatoo to show, and also a photo of Claire, the youngest grandchild, age 2, after we got home. Why can't she always be that peaceful?

more backtracking

Scanning again and found this photo among a group I took in a botanical gardens in Christchurch NZ. Thought it was worth showing. It was very peaceful there.

backtracking

Was scanning some photos and came across one taken at Huka Falls (sp?) just out of Taupo. Again a tourist trap but the amount of water rushing through the narrow channel was impresive. Would be interesting to see if anyone could do an effective painting of that lol. I'm not even trying :) By the way, dates showing on my blog are BC Canada times and dates so they are a day behind what I am on here. Just in case you were wondering :)

roads etc

Took a walk yesterday to get some pics of a bridge we had driven over. North Bridge is the name far as I know heading north from Sydney. All plaques had been erased so no idea by whom or for what occasion it was built. The bridge spans a chasm or gorge in which is a recreation area, so far down one would need a telephoto lens to get any pics of what's going on down there. On the way back I took the shot of some prime real estate when it struck me that we are using ridiculous amounts of property just to get where we want to go in less time. Are we really in that much of a hurry?