#52Stories, Week 35, What future destinations are on your vacation wish list ? Which of them do you truly believe you will see in your lifetime ?

England – all the unexplored spots and all the special places to return to

Ireland

Scotland – refer England

Wales – as above

USA – only seen 4 States, so plenty more to see there and in different seasons too

Germany,

France,

Italy,

Belgium

Netherlands,

Switzerland,

Greece,

Sweden,

Norway,

Iceland

Canada

Australia – still 2 States and a Territory to tick off the list

Fiji – it is a l-o-n-g time since I was there

Perhaps India, Bali, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan in the spring…

I would like to think I could see half of them, but I think with careful planning and time management I might be able to see them all.

#52Stories, Week 34, What was the longest continuous vacation of your life ? How long were you gone ? Do you remember how much it cost ?

Well.

This would have to be the UK trip in 2014. It wasn’t going to be a vacation. It was intended to be a whole new life plan – for two years, maybe more. But ! Sometimes things just don’t turn out how you think.

Not sure what went wrong, probably planning and bad communication, different expectations – and all that. Nevertheless, we had a 3 month vacation in the end.

We explored almost every nook and cranny on that island. Coming from our own island nation we got a little thrill each time we crossed a border from England to Wales or Scotland to England. It just seemed so weird – no planes involved and no passports either. So unlike things on this end of the planet.

We met family members – some we had never met before. We explored villages and hamlets and churchyards and stepped in the footsteps of our forebears.

There weren’t many places we visited which we would not return to; and there were plenty we missed which are being saved for a return visit. One day.

Middlesex, Surrey, Sussex, Somerset, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Wiltshire, Powys, Montgomeryshire, Flintshire, Devon, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Shropshire, Essex, Berkshire, Norfolk, Yorkshire, Kent, Monmouthshire, Denbighshire, Radnorshire, Brecknockshire, Glamorgan, Leicestershire, Suffolk, Lanarkshire, Midlothian, Argyllshire, Inverness-shire, Selkirkshire, Roxburghshire, Dumfriesshire, Peeblesshire, Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland…some we just drove through, others we lingered for longer. Even more we wished we had had a better plan.

Still, we made some great memories and now there is the goal to get back and revisit, rediscover and just explore.

#52Stories, Week 33, What are all the modes of transport you have tried; motorcycle, car, van, bus, train, raft, canoe, sailboat, gondola, cruise ship, airplane, hot-air balloon, rickshaw, horse, wagon, helicopter, camel...

Well this could be a long list or a short list – but a list nonetheless. Some aren’t strictly speaking modes of transport – but they have got me from A to B from time to time.

·         Pram – does that count ?

·         Tricycle

·         Bicycle

·         Scooter

·         Roller skates

·         Car

·         Bus

·         Train – Wellington. Auckland, London, Sydney, Frankfurt, Brisbane, Melbourne,

·         Airplane

·         Sailboat

·         Truck

·         Ice skates

·         Skateboard

·         Rollerblades

·         Ferry - Interislander, Wellington Harbour, Auckland Harbour, Sydney Harbour

·         Motorbike – zooming around Sydney with Donna

·         Helicopter

·         Horse

·         Gondola – the type that go up a hill (Christchurch, Queenstown, Rotorua)

·         Cable car

·         Tram

·         Horse drawn tram

·         Shanks’ pony

#52Stories, Week 32, What was the biggest, most exotic vacation you took with your family when you were a child ? What memories stand out ?

We went on great holidays.

Road trips around South Island in the summer holidays. The first one in 1965/66 even had a white Christmas at Milford Sound – and had Mum racing to the shops in Invercargill to get everyone whatever winter weight clothes were on offer. Summer holidays – pfft.

Weekends or day trips to Raglan, Taupo, Rottenrua Rotorua, Coromandel, Waihi or the Mount, sometimes longer. Trips to visit grandparents, other summer holidays exploring Hawke’s Bay, Northland and Taranaki.

But probably the most exotic would have been our trip to Sydney and Melbourne in January 1977.

Back then you didn’t need a passport to visit Australia – and the Aussies didn’t need one to visit us. So much more simple. It felt then like we were friendlier than we are now, in some respects.

We flew to Sydney and stayed in Potts Point. Walking down Darlinghurst Road in the early evening sure was an eye-opener, I think Mark’s eyes nearly popped out of his head ! We went to the Hyde Park Barracks, Taronga Zoo, caught the hydrofoil to Manly and the bus all the way back to town, went on an all day bus tour to Warragamba Dam and the Lion Safari, explored The Rocks and shopped.

After about a week, we caught a flight to Melbourne. No airbridges then – it was like stepping out into a sauna when we disembarked. We stayed in Carlton I think – or Fitzroy – near to the Carlton Gardens. We went on a day bus trip to Echuca, and an afternoon/evening trip to Port Phillip Island to see the Fairy penguins. As well, we met a cousin of Mum’s and went to see her Uncle Frank and Aunt Kath. Another day we went to see Dad’s cousin and his family. I think we caught a train there – they lived near Sorrento. We shopped as well, getting lost in buildings and laneways.

I remember buying jeans for $10 – so cheap ! I got two pair cos at that price who could say no. Mum and I had split up and gone our separate way to Dad and Mark. It was SO hot ! But nice and cool in the shops. We came upstairs from somewhere – or out of a shop - to go and meet Dad and Mark and it was pouring. Crazy weather.

It was a great holiday.

#52Stories, Week 31, How many different states and countries have you visited throughout your life ? Which were your favourites ?

Let me see then - there aren’t that many,

Australia:

          New South Wales

          Victoria

          South Australia

          Queensland

          Australian Capital Territory

Fiji

England

Scotland

Wales

Germany

US of A:

          California

          Arizona

          Utah

          Nevada

Which one was my favourite ? I don’t know if I can choose. They all had their own unique appeal. They are all places I have either returned to many times, or plan to.

This almost leads into another topic ‘Have you ever travelled to a place that you could imagine yourself moving to permanently ? What did you love about it ? What does it offer that can’t be found at home ?;

The answer to this question – almost everywhere ! The challenge of starting again, of finding your way, of fitting in. There are just two places which spring to mind that I wouldn’t want to move to. Sorry if they are your fave places – Wolverhampton and San Francisco.

Wolverhampton just seemed to be run down and with no heart or vibrancy when we were there. Maybe we were just in the wrong places, or there at the wrong time. Maybe it was just that they put GOLDEN SYRUP on my hotcakes at McDonalds instead of maple syrup…

San Francisco – I had such high hopes. Maybe it was because I had a cold and wasn’t feeling 100%. It just didn’t live up to my expectations.

#52Stories, Week 30, If it is true that “home is where the heart is”, what are the barest essentials you would need to make any place a home ?

Well this is a bit timely. When this was meant to be written life was a bit chaotic. Filled with downsizing and decluttering. Now, living is very minimal while we wait impatiently for what was left after the decluttering, to make its way across the sea.

So what are the barest essentials ?

·         A bed and fresh linen.

·         A light to read by.

·         A chair to sit in. Maybe not the one which I have right now, but the one I wanted, that you could curl up in and relax with a book or watch a movie. Why can’t you just buy “off the floor” and why does everything take 6 weeks ?

·         Something to read

·         Unlimited data

·         Laptop & phone

·         Flowers, fresh from the market or wherever else you can get them fresh

·         Somewhere to cook or bake – and the ingredients. Even just flour, salt, baking powder butter and milk is enough to satisfy that basic urge to bake (scones, pikelets – comfort food)

·         A great shower – not one that just trickles and wets you.

·         A fridge

·         A nearby laundromat or a washing machine.

Although we have most of these things right now, or the ability to have them, there are a few other things I will be pleased to see again once they arrive ! - like a couch to stretch out on. 

#52Stories, Week 29, What major crossroads have you faced in your life, where you had to choose among competing paths or opportunities ? Who or what helped you make the right decision ?

Which job offer to accept ?

To sell or not to sell ?

Stay or go ? Cut and run.

I guess these three questions sum up most of the crossroad type situations I have been in in my life.

One day 20 something years ago I was offered two jobs. Both in Johnsonville (so handy to home), both paying about the same. Which one to take ? I can’t even remember the details of the one I didn’t take; maybe something in the education sector in that business complex on Broderick Rd. The one I did accept, I ended up staying for close to 20 years ! Who could have predicted that. What a team – my Yellow family. Wouldn’t change it for the world – but then there came another crossroad. Too many changes over all that time and the last one, a change in reporting line was the catalyst. Cut and run. Live life my way. Make choices for ME.

Then another, that eternal restlessness. There must be gypsies somewhere in my past I think. To move or not to move. To sell or not to sell. To take a chance or settle. No regrets (well not many)

There have been plenty of stay or go, cut and run situations. Sometimes indecision or low confidence made me stay longer than I should. But when the decision to go gets made – things happen. FAST.

Advice ? Sometimes this seems scarce. Sometimes it isn’t offered. (Maybe people don’t read my signals well.) Sometimes it is misguided. Sometimes people play the devil’s advocate, sometimes they lay all the cards on the table. But usually the final decision is mine. Then the regrets, if any, are my own demons to deal with.

The experience makes me more resolute, determined not to follow the same path again. It challenges me to make things work, to learn from past mistakes.

YOLO – choose how you want to live it. Be brave, take chances.