November 2016 - Australia and USA

bird perched on the City Cat

photo of jacarandas in New Farm Park QLD Australia......

30 November 2016 Wednesday - Langley WA
Evening meal at Prima Bistro with Richard and his friend Natalie.

29 November 2016 Tuesday - Bellingham to Langley WA
Road trip to the island of Whidbey to visit a friend who moved down from Juneau and also to research my great great grandfather Frank Weber who moved to this area as a butcher in the 1890's and is buried at the Langley Woodmen's cemetery, although there is no marker there.

28 November 2016 Monday - Bellingham WA
Spent all morning having work done on my van.....they ran diagnostics on my new fridge only to tell me what I already knew regarding the bad board! So they will order it and hopefully have it in next week before I leave town!

26 November 2016 Saturday - Bellingham to Oak Harbor WA
Meeting another newly found second cousin on my mother's side of family. Jerry lives on a sailboat at the marina in Oak Harbor....another very rainy day.

25 November 2016 Friday - Bellingham WA
The sun has returned for my day of doing errands....oil change and sussing out storage places for my van while I am visiting my sister and mum for the next few months.

24 November 2016 Thursday - Bellingham WA
Happy Thanksgiving! The drive north was through heavy rain, fog, wind....but this is the first time that I have driven through Seattle on I5 with very little traffic....normally I am stuck in a traffic jam or I take an alternate route to the east.

23 November 2016 Wednesday - Salem Oregon north to Washington

22 November 2016 Tuesday - Salem Oregon
Morning coffee with Dawn's friends Jane and Jean and then lazy afternoon listening to the pouring down rain.

21 November 2016 Monday - Salem Oregon
A morning visit to the libraries but the only one that has ancestry/genealogy access is closed on Monday.....walkabout on Willamette University campus and downtown Salem....return to wash my van while there is a bit of respite from the rains.

20 November 2016 Sunday - Medford to Salem Oregon
Very rainy and foggy for my drive north to visit Dawn and Duane in Salem and but no snow on the passes of Sexton Mountain, Smith Hill, Stage Road, Canyon, all at about 2000 feet.

18 November 2016 Friday - Medford Oregon
Staying put for a few days to wash clothes, get a haircut, read my postal mail from the past four months and ensure all accounts are in order....and get started on my taxes! Organizing to get unpacked from Australia and repacked for travels to visit my sister and mum.  Morning walk to Fred Meyer for fresh organic fruit and veggies.....did not find much organic in Australia.

17 November 2016 Thursday - Orland CA to Medford OR (192 miles)
It is now very COLD! Drove I5 north over the passes (only 4000') in northern California at Weed and southern Oregon at Ashland where there is new snow on the mountains.....seems like I am always driving this road in early spring or late autumn and worry about the weather!

16 November 2016 Wednesday - Manteca to Orland CA (158 miles)
Early morning departure from Hazel's and north on I5 through the heavy traffic of Sacramento which also had a few accidents to slow us down. Overnight at Parkway RV in Orland where I have stayed before. I had hoped to visit my mother's cousin here who I had just found out about but they are hunting in Idaho.

15 November 2016 Tuesday - Manteca Ca
Morning walk around Manteca then evening event at Genealogical Society of Modesto

14 November 2016 Monday - Manteca Ca
Enjoying absorbing all the information that Hazel has gathered on our family from her recent travels to Norway.

13 November 2016 Sunday - Palo Alto to Manteca California (77 miles)
Drive to Manteca to visit my father's cousin Hazel who has done extensive family genealogy research.

12 November 2016 Saturday - San Francisco California
A wonderful sleep finally! Now to collect my mail and overnight in Palo Alto with friends Annette and Tom.

11 November 2016 Friday - San Francisco California
Returned last evening to find my van still parked and I reconnected the battery and it started up just fine then a short sleep in the van before my appointment with Les Schwab to install new house battery and check the car battery, brakes and tires..... then to Morgan Hill for warranty work on my new refrigerator and the new board did not solve the problem.

10 November 2016 Thursday - Australia to USA via Hong Kong
I depart Australia on Thursday morning and arrive San Francisco Thursday evening (via Hong Kong)....but more than that many hours in between! I checked in online but could not print my boarding pass.....the Cathay Pacific website stated that I could print one at the kiosk at the airport.....but no, they still do not have a kiosk.....so had to wait for counters to open before I could get a pass and go through security to enjoy the lounge! Two hours to Cairns then another six hours to Hong Kong with about four hour layover so will enjoy free massage at the lounge (and I never go hungry!).....then another twelve hours to San Francisco. I have gone through security so many times but this time going through security in Hong Kong, they confiscated the folding scissors that I have in my first aid kit....which they did not do when I came through three months ago.

9 November 2016 Wednesday - New Farm QLD
My last full day in Brissie.....and rain is predicted........sitting in the library next to a man who has a horrible cough so hoping that I stay well!

8 November 2016 Tuesday - New Farm QLD
Another very hot day so a morning swim and sunbake then visit to Sam and Angela with "stuff" that I have accumulated that hopefully they can use....nice new bedpillow, beach towel from the Hilton, loo rolls from various accommodations where I have stayed!

7 November 2016 Monday - New Farm QLD
Had hoped for a sunny day by the pool but very overcast so walked to New Farm Neighbourhood Centre for computer time.

6 November 2016 Sunday - New Farm QLD
Another very hot day......morning walk to city to visit Riverside markets at Botanical Gardens (again) then walk over Brisbane River on Goodwill pedestrian bridge (built 2001) to visit Collective (every weekend) and Young Designer (1st Sunday) markets at South Bank and Suitcase Rummage market on Queen Street then met Sandra in the city to ride the City Cat ferry along the river from North Quay to St Lucia (one end) and then to North Hamilton (the other end of the route) and then to New Farm (about three hours)!

5 November 2016 Saturday - New Farm QLD
A much warmer day today.....summer is arriving so time to return to the much cooler climate of San Francisco! Morning walk to the Powerhouse markets then time in the much cooler library for doing my family research.

4 November 2016 Friday - New Farm QLD
Morning swim in the sunshine....then walkabout at New Farm park watching the birds in the jacaranda trees....a warmer day today and tomorrow!

3 November 2016 Thursday - New Farm QLD
More cloud than sun today....morning yoga at the New Farm Neighbourhood Centre with Christine then free computer time at the Centre.

2 November 2016 Wednesday - New Farm QLD
Beautiful sunny day for a morning swim at the pool then walkabout in New Farm. Only one week remaining so have started thinking about the packing task and getting rid of stuff that I do not need...I no longer shop while travelling, only for food but did find a nice food steamer that I have been using so trying to fit it in the suitcase!

1 November 2016 Tuesday - New Farm QLD
Melbourne Cup today (won by Almandin)!
Morning walk to the supermarket and returned just in time before the rain started....may be a day to watch the DVDs I had gotten at the library! I stopped to visit Sam and his sister Angela then off to the New Farm Neighbourhood Centre and library to use their computers....I am now back into my genealogy mode and finding new information from my father's cousin who visited Norway in September.