Now at Tambo
Long drive today up to Tambo which is on the Landsborough Hwy 200k south of Barcaldine, the birth place of the Australian Labor Party during the great shearer’s strike in the 1890s (? to check). Roma and the countyside around is full of these bottle trees, they are not Boabs. One could take endless series of photos of these, they are all different shapes and sizes and one can see different expressions in the knobs and bumps on the trunks. A political cartoonist could find all sorts of likenesses I’m sure.
Sat down tonight for a plate of chillie con carne and all the trimmings outside the Imlay’s van and intoduced them to Percival the pig (Percy for short) which is our van animal and whilst it makes a noise it doesnt eat anything or make small deposits. The girl’s (Imlay’s animals do) were a bit perplexed by Percy. I will have a photo of Percy for you on the next entry.
Who does this look like?
Allthego and Athomealone at Roma, both on the go!
After some months of silence allthego is on the go heading to outback Queensland in the van for a month of frenetic sightseeing and relaxation. Accompanying us on this occasion are the Imlays in their van with a couple of animals to keep them company. Currently we are at Roma and have been here for two nights enjoying the local scenery, culture and life at the BIG RIG Van Park. Just back from some rump steak and stir fried vegies on the BBQ with a drop of red. Have spent today trapsing around the town taking in the historical landmarks and bottle trees. Roma is one of the coal seam gas centres and seems to be a thriving town, a few whingers (and then maybe they are the wise ones) around compaining about the gas, but not the beer.
Guess who is on the exercise equipment getting fit for something
Leaving Houston!
Well we are on the go. Off now for a bit of last-minute sunglass shopping for Gillian at Oakley and then lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings…what delights await here! When we return there will be rushed packing before heading to the airport for the return home flight.
Farewell!
“She was 21 when he left Galveston……….Galveston O Galveston”
Up the pole at Keemah
- On the beach at Galveston
- Ellissa
Thus sang Glen Campbell, we arrived and left the next day and are long way from 21.
We have returned from an overnight stay on the harbour in Galveston and a morning on the Boardwalk at Keemah, an amusement Pier. At Keemah we had a ride up a vertical lift type ride that gave an all round view about 170 ft up. Leanne declined the experience. Mitchell had a go on the roller coaster, was the only person on it! Both places were semi deserted as winter approaches. This would be a good place to come back to when there are a few more people around. There was a major hurricane here around 1900 and the more recent Hurricane Ike in 2008 which was a Brisbane flood like experience but with the water coming from the sea.
We wandered around the Strand area which has a lot of restored buildings from the early 1900s when Galveston was a major commercial centre in the South, ‘the New York of the South’. Historically it was a centre for piracy and a major Civil War sea battle took place here. Galveston is also famous for its flounder which is in plentiful supply in November and I enjoyed a grilled one for dinner, Leanne sampled a largish Crab Cake .
As we left for Houston for the return to Houston we drove along the sea wall and had lunch at a ‘shack’ on the sand overlooking the Bay.
Turkey massacre
The chef withdrawing the turkey
- The Turkey is ready
Well we have survived the Thanksgiving day holiday and festive attractions. Not so for numerous turkeys. There is probably now a great shortage of turkeys and they will need to build flocks over the next 12 months. Although we did see two Cajun turkeys in Kroger’s fresh turkey cabinet today marked down of course.
We attended a family Thanksgiving lunch at Mitchell’s in-laws, all up about 30 or so gathered and shared in 4 deep-fried turkeys and one stuffed baked one, with giblet gravy. Pies also abounded…pumpkin, sweet potato, pecan, strawberry, cherry, apple amongst other Texan salads. There was also some red and white wines, beers and soft drinks. Things kicked off about 11am with the first turkey going in the pot for about 50 minutes, transfixed on a stake and immersed in peanut oil at 350d fah. It was excellent, crisp skin and moist flesh! I must get one of these boilers for back home.
It was a great affair!
Remember the Alamo!
The Alamo church facade
We have returned to Houston from San Antonio, the home of the Alamo! We travelled to San Antonio via Fredericksburg…no not the Fredericksburg of Civil War fame. Fredericksburg is a small town in the Texas Hills district north-west of Houston about 4 hours drive away. It has a German settler background and a wine industry surrounding it as well as a craft brewery and a micro brewery in the main street. People wander up and down the street with a plastic glass of beer in hand checking out the shops, Christmas nick nacks and antiques abound as well as local produce. We stopped for lunch at the Silver Creek eating house for some German fare and beer in the sun. Were entertained by a laconic bluegrass musician singing country interspersed with some hill country sayings and homely quips. Made for a sleepy onward trip to San Antonio later in the afternoon.
We arrived in San Antonio late in the day and booked into the Emily Morgan hotel which is situated right beside the Alamo. The hotel was built in the 1920s and was originally a hospital of some sort, it is 13 or 14 stories high with a dome on top. The ground floor and bar area has that old world charm with the walls adorned with pictures from the past. The rooms were comfortable but not elaborate.
Spent quite bit of time looking over the Alamo site and the various memorabilia from the time. The current Alamo area is but a small portion of the original establishment which spread over quite
San Antonio riverwalk area
a large area, the original outlying walls have long gone and the remnant buildings are basically the core of the original complex. There is a model of what the original site is thought to have looked like in a small building off the site. This model is owned by Phil Collins, the English rock star, who is a big collector of Alamo memorabilia. He gives a commentary on the site and the role played by the various buildings in conjunction with the progress of the siege in 1836 by the Mexican forces against the Texan patriots led by Travis, Bowie and Crockett. As we know from the John Wayne movie all the Alamo defenders were killed by the Mexicans. Some weeks later the Mexicans were defeated by the Texan forces and Texas became a republic in its own right before joining the United States a few years later. Saw an IMAX film reliving the battle.
The Alamo is a bit like the ANZAC tradition in Australia. Defeat at the Alamo was seen as the noble thing, defending and fighting for liberty and freedom from oppressors and forging the American way for future battles and successes. ‘Remember the Alamo’ is the battlecry!
We also had a wander around the Riverwalk area of downtown. This is not unlike a canal system that follows the old San Antonio river course through the town. It sits below street level and is lined by eateries, barges go up and down carrying tourists and visitors. Quite a pretty and busy area, lots of hustle and bustle with spruikers enticing you into their establishments. We had a really good Italian meal one night. Unfortunately the weather turned a little rainy which finished us off in time to return to the hotel and leave for Houston.
Saint Arnold is the place to be in Houston
Saint Arnold bar is open
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Saint Arnold the patron saint of brewers
Saint Arnold is the oldest craft brewery in Houston having been around since early 90s. The founder used to brew beer in his dorm room whilst at University and has a passion for the original and not mass-produced beers. A craft brewery has 3 requirements; must brew less than 6m barrels p.a. (they do about 30,000), a person ( I think the brewer) must own at least 75% of the company and they can’t use corn or rice as an ingredient to thin the beer and so make it go further. Saint Arnold say that the current commercial fad of very cold beer is designed so that you can’t taste the beer, because when it warms up a bit there is no taste!
Originally got onto this place via the Endeavour’s blog see Blog roll below. The brewery was having a competition to name their next beer and it was a vote between ‘Eleven’ and ‘Endeavour’; Endeavour after the space shuttle ‘Endeavour which had been named after Capt Cook’s ship the Endeavour. The Endeavour on which I had done a recent sailing trip was encouraging votes for Endeavour of course! Anyway ‘”Endeavour’ won and the beer will be available post-Christmas. The brewery produces seasonal beers one of which is Christmas Ale a most impressive drop and I will try to bring a few bottles back. I have put a link to the Saint Arnold web site in the blog roll below.
Allthego at the Butterfly House
Squirrel allthego
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- The red train in Hermann Park
Well today we were at the Houston Museum of Natural Science downtown. First off we had a look at an IMAX film ‘Born to be Wild’ in 3D. This was about saving orphaned baby elephants in Kenya and orangutans in Borneo. All very mushy but some great photography. After this we went for a ride on a red train in Hermann Park and lunch by the McGovern Lake, burgers and chips. Back at the Museum we looked through the Butterfly House, which not only had butterflies of all shapes and sizes but also a rather large Iguana which would have caused surprise if bumped into in the night. There was also a big display of all sorts of insects and the like. Many cock roaches. An interesting item on dangerous frogs, multi coloured little things from down in South America, quite poisonous. Also strolled around the park and took in the state of the autumn colours and energetic wildlife, mostly squirrels. Mitch picked us up around 4.30pm and we returned to our lodgings in Cypress enjoying the Houston rush hour on the freeway.
Birthday party at Shogun!
Hawiian Hurricane
- Here we are at the table food is yet to come
Birthday party was at Shogun Japanese restaraunt. Shrimp, calamari and steak with fresh veggies cooked in front of us with that chef’s flair. Had a few cocktails. As a special Leanne was given a birthday hat and the guests all sang happy birthday. Great food and very healthy Gill.
Birthday in Houston!
Leanne has had a birthday in Houston. Actually we were able to catch her birthday in Australian time on the 15th before it clicked over to the 15th here, if anyone can follow that approach. She did not age by two years though. Spent some time yesterday at a very expansive DFO type complex doing some shopping,also went to Lowes for some hardware. A full day of action which then continued into the evening with a game of Taboo after dinner. It is overcast today with a bit of light rain, quite warm and humid outside. Not sure what is going to happen for the rest of the day but we are out for dinner tonight somewhere. I will report in after the celebrations.
Arrived in Houston and moved in
Tyler on the ball
- Hayden on the ball
We have arrived in Houston and have moved into Junior Brown’s residence in Cypress. Been here 4 days now, weather is on the cool side although today was a hotter and humid day than when we first got here. Trip over was long due to a 7 hour stopover in LA waiting for the flight down to Houston. Have recovered well though and are fighting fit. Spent a few hours yesterday at Hayden and Tyler’s saturday soccer sessions followed by lunch at Willy’s for their end of season breakup party. There are a vast number of these family style restaurants around the place all with their speciality food/points of attraction. We both had a shrimp salad with endless diet coke. Friday we were at the Galleria shopping mall for a look-see, seemed to be plenty of people around spending, particularly in the food shops. We lunched in the Cheesecake Factory, more salad and endless diet coke. Took some cheese cake slices home for after. Today we went to the Houston Ballet’s Nutcracker Thanksgiving/Christmas shopping spree, it is a fundraiser for the Ballet supporters group. They take over a big convention centre type place and fill it with vendors of all shapes and sizes selling their wares. We picked up a few Christmas nick nacks and sauces, dips etc to bring home with us.Pizza tonight.
Still at Exmouth
- All onboard
We sail tomorrow. Went aboard this morning at about 9.30am. Have spent today going through all the various duties on board; including handling ropes, climbing afloat,watches and manning the helm. Yes they entrust the helm to each of us for about an hour each day during our watch.I am in Solander’s cabin which he shared with another. Could not possibly have been at the same time. Solander was one of the artists who drew the botany and animals discovered on the voyage. He died on the way back to England from dysentery in Batavia (now Jakarta). I have decided not to go aloft at this stage as there is a fair bit of climbing where you take big steps sideways and the need at times to squat as you move which is not very comfortable for the knee! I will have a go towards the end of the trip. Have seen lots of whales during the day, some breaching and others just cruising past. apparently, we will see plenty of them on the way south.
We go out of internet range so this will be my last blog until Geraldton in about 10 days. You can follow along on the ship’s blog which works via satellite. See blog roll below for link.
Arrived Exmouth, Endeavour in port.
The Endeavour waiting for her crew
A Whale Shark by the road
Well I have arrived in Exmouth to join the Endeavour on the sail down to Geraldton.This is a bit under 1000 km and will take about 10 days. In Exmouth I am staying at the Ningaloo Lodge. Exmouth is the base for the Ningaloo Reef fanatics and the spot you can go diving and swimming along with the Whale Shark amongst others such as Manta Rays and Hump Back whales and the like. Crystal blue seas and clear skies. Spent the afternoon at the Exmouth Game Fishing Club overlooking the Exmouth Gulf with the Endeavour laying offshore. HMAS Wollongong is also here and a few of the crew are also at the Club, interesting characters about 10 blokes and one lady. Look a lot like the crew from that TV show Patrol Boat. Looking out across the Exmouth Gulf you are actually looking east with the sun setting behind you, seems odd over here in the west! Will try to post daily blogs but may not be able to because of internet availabilty, you can also follow the ships blog but using the link on the side here in the blog role.
Allthego at Uluru
The red earth and colour
Well we spent yesterday chasing the sun in the morning and again at night, it was a long day finished off at the Outback Pioneer BBQ Bar. You buy the steaks of varying types and prices ( or emu, kangaroo, prawn skewers) and then cook them yourself on the BBQ, throw a bit of weary salad on the plate with a baked potato. and away you go to find a seat among the masses eating and listening to a one man band. Must be the most profitable eatery at Yulara. Slept like a rock.
Rock slide at Uluru
One of the standouts of the trip has been the native plants and flowers. The recent heavy rains have thrown the cycles out a bit and the landscape is full of colours; green, red, yellow, purple, pink, white. This is all set against a red earth and a deep blue day after the morning haze burns off.
We finish up today and fly back to Brisbane.
Kata Tjuta in a day
From the Karingana Lookout on the Valley of Winds walkKata Tjuta
Set off today,actually it was yesterday I am a day behind, for Kata Tjuta or The Olgas in the European tradition. I prefer KT. This is about a 45 minute drive from Yulara and we left around 9am with the intention of doing the Valley of the Winds walk, the full circuit and staying on for the sunset. Well we did the VoW circuit but were so worn out that we headed back to Yulara early. It was a great walk, took us 5.5 hours up hill, down hill and across slopes. Was a real tester for my knee which came through reasonably well. I was pretty determined to do it after being passed in the early stage by a young guy with artificial legs below the knee, a bit of a reminder that there is always someone else doing it tougher. Leanne and I are both stiff in the legs after it all though and not eager for another long walk. Some great scenery amongst the domes. When you look at Uluru you wonder what is inside the Rock and when you are within the domes of Kata Tjutu you wonder what is on the outside!
Kata Tjuta
Allthegobro 