As my first day back of work brings me crashing back to reality, I have some very exciting news to share with our Blogging friends and the wonderful people we met along the way in Arizona - I am GETTING MARRIED!
I returned to Australia on Friday after a week spent relaxing in Laguna Beach and Long Beach doing as little as possible to be greeted with open arms by my long-term boyfriend and parents at Canberra Airport (after missing my connection from Sydney mind you). Michael proposed Friday afternoon and of course I said YES!
What a way to end an amazing 7 weeks. Of course, the first people I wanted to share it with were my very own Charlie's Angels...I hear they are already fighting eachother for the role of head bridesmaid.
Thanks again everyone for sharing the journey with us, and I look forward to sharing the next chapter of my life with many of you, although not so publicly this time round.
See you sometime soon (I hope).
Sarah
Monday, May 31, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Home!
Well
I am not sure anyone will check our blog now the 'stars' have 'left the building' but Sally, Caroline, Peter and I are all home and back in the arms of our families. Sarah met her friend and was heading to Lagoona Beach from the sms that hit Sally's phone at LAX. All safe and accounted for.
I certainly can say my family were happy to see me (although there were tears!).
Driving on the other side of the road was very strange but comforting.
Nothing had changed...only me I would say and that is because I have just experienced the most amazing six weeks in the most amazing place.
Poor Jamie could not shut me up as I continued to tell him everything that came to mind. He did have a respite last night because I was falling asleep at dinner...
So today is a new day. Guess what! washing and the garden await!
Catching up with special people will make the weekend go fast and then life hits me in the face again! in a good way.
But please know there is a part of my heart in Arizona and I will treasure this experience . What a way to remember turning forty! Thank you.
I am not sure anyone will check our blog now the 'stars' have 'left the building' but Sally, Caroline, Peter and I are all home and back in the arms of our families. Sarah met her friend and was heading to Lagoona Beach from the sms that hit Sally's phone at LAX. All safe and accounted for.
I certainly can say my family were happy to see me (although there were tears!).
Driving on the other side of the road was very strange but comforting.
Nothing had changed...only me I would say and that is because I have just experienced the most amazing six weeks in the most amazing place.
Poor Jamie could not shut me up as I continued to tell him everything that came to mind. He did have a respite last night because I was falling asleep at dinner...
So today is a new day. Guess what! washing and the garden await!
Catching up with special people will make the weekend go fast and then life hits me in the face again! in a good way.
But please know there is a part of my heart in Arizona and I will treasure this experience . What a way to remember turning forty! Thank you.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
What happens in Vegas...
Stays in Vegas!!
Just kidding, we managed to tick off many "must do" Vegas sights-
Eiffel tower lookout - we stayed in the Paris hotel
new York new York rollercoaster ( not recommended!)
Bellagio fountains
Caesars palace - (not the real one)
zumanity - a cirque de soliel prodution - amazing!!
Many many casinos... Did we Ever walk the strip!!
house of blues
the Venetian
put $20 on black and lost!
We are now waiting at Vegas airport, surrounded by tired girls and poker machines! Only in Vegas right?
See some of you very soon.. And to our American friends.. See you sometime soon :-)
Just kidding, we managed to tick off many "must do" Vegas sights-
Eiffel tower lookout - we stayed in the Paris hotel
new York new York rollercoaster ( not recommended!)
Bellagio fountains
Caesars palace - (not the real one)
zumanity - a cirque de soliel prodution - amazing!!
Many many casinos... Did we Ever walk the strip!!
house of blues
the Venetian
put $20 on black and lost!
We are now waiting at Vegas airport, surrounded by tired girls and poker machines! Only in Vegas right?
See some of you very soon.. And to our American friends.. See you sometime soon :-)
Monday, May 17, 2010
Tearful Goodbyes
Caroline again, sorry - this time from 'back home' in Phoenix, where it is Rather Hot compared to the Canyon! I can't believe it has been five weeks since I was last at the lovely home of Charles and Wilma, but it is like home and it's wonderful being here.
Our afternoon on the rim of the Canyon was wonderful. We had shade and water, and even ambience when Don Schiller serenaded us all on flute (a man of many talents), but it was hot and we did end up getting a bit more imaginative than usual:
The cheeky neighbourhood squirrel was given the name Garreth and climbed onto my lap (rabies be damned, he was cute and left darling tiny dusty footprints on my trousers);
Sally and I played "Mr Squiggle" (they didn't have him, over here, by the way) - I feel Sally's depiction of "a very angry man who is scared of air" is deserving of a place on the fridge, Al and Jo.
At last night's Conference dinner the company was treated to a performance by members of the Arizona Broadway Theatre. They were amazing and, to all US Rotarians, if you haven't yet seen "Rotary, the Musical", you must - it is very clever and very funny!
This morning's farewells were emotional as we said goodbye (but only goodbye FOR NOW) to some of our wonderful, kind, generous and fun new friends. I want to name some of you but it wouldn't be fair - there are too many. But we include among our new loved ones Uppi, Raj, Nami, Sushma and Umesh from the Indian team; and I must make mention of Mike King who wrote us a truly excellent poem - thank you!!!!!!!!!!
Can I just take the opportunity to thank our Blog Followers? We understand not all our (myriad) fans have not necessarily been able to join as Followers and we understand not everybody has been in a position to make comments. But, those who have, you have no idea how much we've appreciated knowing you're there, and that you're reading.
Enough, Caroline! I need to go and figure out how to get 300 lb to weigh 50 lb in preparation for tomorrow's flight. [I mean my luggage, not me.]
Our afternoon on the rim of the Canyon was wonderful. We had shade and water, and even ambience when Don Schiller serenaded us all on flute (a man of many talents), but it was hot and we did end up getting a bit more imaginative than usual:
The cheeky neighbourhood squirrel was given the name Garreth and climbed onto my lap (rabies be damned, he was cute and left darling tiny dusty footprints on my trousers);
Sally and I played "Mr Squiggle" (they didn't have him, over here, by the way) - I feel Sally's depiction of "a very angry man who is scared of air" is deserving of a place on the fridge, Al and Jo.
At last night's Conference dinner the company was treated to a performance by members of the Arizona Broadway Theatre. They were amazing and, to all US Rotarians, if you haven't yet seen "Rotary, the Musical", you must - it is very clever and very funny!
This morning's farewells were emotional as we said goodbye (but only goodbye FOR NOW) to some of our wonderful, kind, generous and fun new friends. I want to name some of you but it wouldn't be fair - there are too many. But we include among our new loved ones Uppi, Raj, Nami, Sushma and Umesh from the Indian team; and I must make mention of Mike King who wrote us a truly excellent poem - thank you!!!!!!!!!!
Can I just take the opportunity to thank our Blog Followers? We understand not all our (myriad) fans have not necessarily been able to join as Followers and we understand not everybody has been in a position to make comments. But, those who have, you have no idea how much we've appreciated knowing you're there, and that you're reading.
Enough, Caroline! I need to go and figure out how to get 300 lb to weigh 50 lb in preparation for tomorrow's flight. [I mean my luggage, not me.]
Sunday, May 16, 2010
It's nearly over! Oh my gosh!
Greetings from lunchtime during the Rotary District Conference in Tusayan, the newest town in Arizona, having only been incorporated months ago. We are all staying at the Grand Canyon Squire Inn, just outside the Grand Canyon National Park.
We have been so happy to reunite with so many of our friends that we have met during the past few weeks. Also, last night we were treated to a dance performance by the gorgeous Sushma, GSE Team Member from India.
This morning we made our very last presentation, to District Conference. Thank you to the kind people who said we did a good job; we meant everything we said.
Now we are off to the rim of the Canyon once more, this time to meet and greet Rotarians on an afternoon excursion.
Tomorrow we head back to Phoenix to finish off our GSE journey. (Although, our own adventure is not quite at an end - two nights in Vegas to follow!)
What will we do without our blog to maintain? What will we do without one another???? Must it really end????
We have been so happy to reunite with so many of our friends that we have met during the past few weeks. Also, last night we were treated to a dance performance by the gorgeous Sushma, GSE Team Member from India.
This morning we made our very last presentation, to District Conference. Thank you to the kind people who said we did a good job; we meant everything we said.
Now we are off to the rim of the Canyon once more, this time to meet and greet Rotarians on an afternoon excursion.
Tomorrow we head back to Phoenix to finish off our GSE journey. (Although, our own adventure is not quite at an end - two nights in Vegas to follow!)
What will we do without our blog to maintain? What will we do without one another???? Must it really end????
Friday, May 14, 2010
Another one bites the dust!
So much to say since our last Blog, but so much of it cannot be put into words and pictures do not come close to providing any sort of an explanation either...but more of that later.
Tuesday morning started with a trip to South Mountain (sadly not Camelback :P) with the lovely Lisa and always smiling Craig as our guides for the morning. Maury, our wonderful driver scaled the mountain in our fabulous tour bus like a pro. Thanks Maury for keeping us at ease - they were some sheer drops on those bends.
After our many photo opportunities we headed off to meet Bruce and Tina at 360 Adventures (www.360-adventures.com) for an afternoon of FUN! Bruce and Tina offer team building as part of their operations, and we were very fortunate to be hosted at their own private residence where we had an opportunity to mingle with the dogs, cats, chickens and donkey, all before we participated in the 'Salsa Challenge'. We were split into 2 groups of 4 (my group was Sal, Caroline, Lisa and I) where we were required to create a salsa recipe, make the salsa, create a logo and a 30 second commercial promoting our product. Both teams made each other roar with laughter because we were all a bit cheeky, but due to good judgement, we WON! Woot!
To help with the salsa challenge, Bruce made some very tasty margaritas which I think helped get us over the line. Chef extraordinaire Bruce cooked up a feast of Fajitas, beans and Mexican rice for lunch, with our own home made salsas to top the fajitas off nicely. If ever you are in Arizona and seeking some adventure, I suggest you look up 360 adventures. Thanks Lisa, Tina, Bruce and Craig for a fantastic day!
On Wednesday we hit the road to Camp Verde where we were met by Lee and Elsa, Caroline's hosts for the next two nights, who then drove us up to the Grand Canyon. Another sad farewell was had as we sad goodbye to the very hospitable and always smiling Maury. Thanks Maury - you really are a true gentleman.
The drive to the Grand Canyon took most of the day and we arrived at the Canyon mid afternoon. My new host 'mum' Clarinda took me for a brief walking tour around the Southern Rim of the canyon, where the hotels are before John picked us back up. To my absolute delight and complete unexpected surprise, Clarinda was able to organise an impromptu chopper flight for me of the Grand Canyon. It was an absolute highlight of the trip and I strongly suggest doing it if you are ever at the Canyon. It doesn't even begin to show the sheer magnitude of the Canyon, but it's a good start. There was still plenty of snow on the North Rim which was pretty to see from the air.
After coming back down to earth, it was a quiet night in, in preparation for today's adventure - HIKING THE GRAND CANYON!!!!!
The team met at 8.30 this morning to start our hike into the Canyon on the Kaibab Trail. The hike in was relatively easy, but it was extremely steep and there were lots of stairs and loose ground. At one point I lost my footing and landed hard on the side of my foot, spraining my ankle quite severely and ripping a decent chunk off the top of my finger. Thanks to John's walking poles saving me from a much greater fall, I can be grateful that I didn't break my ankle. Thanks Elaine for patching me up. I soldiered on regardless, as we were 3/4 of the way down the trail...but coming back up was going to be interesting.
No words can describe how awe struck I was today. The Grand Canyon is without a doubt the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Every part of the Canyon is so different, and as the day and the light changes, so does the Canyon. It was great to have Clarinda and Elaine on the hike with us, as they were both so knowledgeable about the Canyon and everything in it, so there was plenty of information to take in.
The hike back up to the starting point was slow and steady (for me anyway). Peter was kind enough to stay with me and take the slow walk back up the trail. I tell you what, those girls are a fit bunch - they were up the top in no time. Just as the top of the trail was in sight, we had to move out of the way of the Mules which were coming back up the trail from the base of the Canyon. It was great to see them in action, and they were absolutely beautiful Mules - for some reason I expected them to be a bit unfortunate looking, but that wasn't the case.
After the hike we met up with Lee and Elsa for some lunch and then took a wander down to the Watch Tower. Unfortunately due to my ankle I didn't climb to the top, but the others did, so I will have to rely on them for photos.
I am not sitting at home, with my ankle iced and in the air, looking at my photos from today and trying to take in today. It was an amazing experience and very grounding (literally haha). The last day and a half have provided me with two wonderful memories that I will never forget. Thanks Clarinda for giving me the opportunity to make these memories - I am forever indebted to you.
Enough of the ramblings...now for the pictures...
Tuesday morning started with a trip to South Mountain (sadly not Camelback :P) with the lovely Lisa and always smiling Craig as our guides for the morning. Maury, our wonderful driver scaled the mountain in our fabulous tour bus like a pro. Thanks Maury for keeping us at ease - they were some sheer drops on those bends.
After our many photo opportunities we headed off to meet Bruce and Tina at 360 Adventures (www.360-adventures.com) for an afternoon of FUN! Bruce and Tina offer team building as part of their operations, and we were very fortunate to be hosted at their own private residence where we had an opportunity to mingle with the dogs, cats, chickens and donkey, all before we participated in the 'Salsa Challenge'. We were split into 2 groups of 4 (my group was Sal, Caroline, Lisa and I) where we were required to create a salsa recipe, make the salsa, create a logo and a 30 second commercial promoting our product. Both teams made each other roar with laughter because we were all a bit cheeky, but due to good judgement, we WON! Woot!
To help with the salsa challenge, Bruce made some very tasty margaritas which I think helped get us over the line. Chef extraordinaire Bruce cooked up a feast of Fajitas, beans and Mexican rice for lunch, with our own home made salsas to top the fajitas off nicely. If ever you are in Arizona and seeking some adventure, I suggest you look up 360 adventures. Thanks Lisa, Tina, Bruce and Craig for a fantastic day!
On Wednesday we hit the road to Camp Verde where we were met by Lee and Elsa, Caroline's hosts for the next two nights, who then drove us up to the Grand Canyon. Another sad farewell was had as we sad goodbye to the very hospitable and always smiling Maury. Thanks Maury - you really are a true gentleman.
The drive to the Grand Canyon took most of the day and we arrived at the Canyon mid afternoon. My new host 'mum' Clarinda took me for a brief walking tour around the Southern Rim of the canyon, where the hotels are before John picked us back up. To my absolute delight and complete unexpected surprise, Clarinda was able to organise an impromptu chopper flight for me of the Grand Canyon. It was an absolute highlight of the trip and I strongly suggest doing it if you are ever at the Canyon. It doesn't even begin to show the sheer magnitude of the Canyon, but it's a good start. There was still plenty of snow on the North Rim which was pretty to see from the air.
After coming back down to earth, it was a quiet night in, in preparation for today's adventure - HIKING THE GRAND CANYON!!!!!
The team met at 8.30 this morning to start our hike into the Canyon on the Kaibab Trail. The hike in was relatively easy, but it was extremely steep and there were lots of stairs and loose ground. At one point I lost my footing and landed hard on the side of my foot, spraining my ankle quite severely and ripping a decent chunk off the top of my finger. Thanks to John's walking poles saving me from a much greater fall, I can be grateful that I didn't break my ankle. Thanks Elaine for patching me up. I soldiered on regardless, as we were 3/4 of the way down the trail...but coming back up was going to be interesting.
No words can describe how awe struck I was today. The Grand Canyon is without a doubt the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Every part of the Canyon is so different, and as the day and the light changes, so does the Canyon. It was great to have Clarinda and Elaine on the hike with us, as they were both so knowledgeable about the Canyon and everything in it, so there was plenty of information to take in.
The hike back up to the starting point was slow and steady (for me anyway). Peter was kind enough to stay with me and take the slow walk back up the trail. I tell you what, those girls are a fit bunch - they were up the top in no time. Just as the top of the trail was in sight, we had to move out of the way of the Mules which were coming back up the trail from the base of the Canyon. It was great to see them in action, and they were absolutely beautiful Mules - for some reason I expected them to be a bit unfortunate looking, but that wasn't the case.
After the hike we met up with Lee and Elsa for some lunch and then took a wander down to the Watch Tower. Unfortunately due to my ankle I didn't climb to the top, but the others did, so I will have to rely on them for photos.
I am not sitting at home, with my ankle iced and in the air, looking at my photos from today and trying to take in today. It was an amazing experience and very grounding (literally haha). The last day and a half have provided me with two wonderful memories that I will never forget. Thanks Clarinda for giving me the opportunity to make these memories - I am forever indebted to you.
Enough of the ramblings...now for the pictures...
Grand Canyon from the sky
Very excited!
Sal at the Grand Canyon
Sal and I at 'ooh-ahh' (sp?) Point
Kirsty at Cedar Ridge - our turnaround point.
Me partaking in my first ever piece of Beef Jerky - interesting...a little like overcooked kangaroo, but tastier!
The team at Cedar Ridge, paying homage to Kingman :p
The mules doing their thing
More mules
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Photos capturing yesterdays shenanigans
At the Phoenix Convention Centre
Chef Jesus cooking up a breakfast storm in his wonderful purpose built kitchen that he cooked for us in
Caroline and Jesus - two people very passionate about food!
The team after we completely stuffed ourselves on our 'continental' breakfast!
Scorpions in high heels - yes please!
Coopertown - Alice Cooper's bar! Woot!
Tourists? Indeed!
Charlie's Angels strike again...
Oops I ate too much
Who would have thought it? We seem to have eaten too much.
Mother's Day was a lovely day for us all. Kirsty spent time with Craig and Mary's family, while Maurie, Sally, Sarah and Caroline joined Peter, Fred and Agi at Fred and Agi's daughter's place. Sharon and her husband Phillip are fabulous cooks and fed us too much but hey, as Agi says, "Eat! You diet when you go home!"
(Thank you Sharon, Phillip, Marcus and Ilan, and Phillip's parents and Molly who we hope to see in Australia SOON.)
Back to work on Monday 10 May - how rude! But oh my gosh, what a day.
At the Phoenix Convention Center we were hosted by Cynthia, who has been a GSE team-member herself. The Convention Center in its current structure is only a couple of years old and is a really beautiful facility. We were impressed by the public art, the environmentally sustainable practices and the decor. But most of all we were impressed by the philosophy adopted by the management and staff. How refreshing to find a government 'office' that is so focused, not only on customers but on its staff. Regular Line-ups for networking, sharing good news and recognising one another are only one aspect of the operation. Really fantastic, place - thank you to everybody who joined us and showed us around!
The BEST bit, however, was the element that sets the facility apart from other convention facilities - the Innovation Kitchen! Clients are invited to this secret hideaway for tastings and sampling to select menus for their events. We too were treated to the experience, with renowned Chef Jesus Cibrian. You would not believe the food we were served! They said it would be a Continental Breakfast, but it was three courses and hot; and served by the man himself. A lovely, funny, entertaining, clever man - no wonder he has a regular television segment. Thank you for your hospitality, Jesus!
Not full enough from Mother's Day and breakfast, we moved on to Moses Anshell, dynamic advertising agency... where we were served lunch while we met with many members of the big team. We wished we could spend more time there - even if only to shoot some hoops in the inhouse basketball court... But no, we had to move on again...
To the Arizona Office of Tourism. We were honoured to meet with The agency Director and several members of the AZOT team, who gave us so much time and were happy to answer all our questions. Brian, we got your email already, thank you so much. Yes, yes, we want to keep in touch, keep exchanging information and would LOVE for you to come and visit us some time too.
A huge day, but not over yet... Last night we were joined by many of our Phoenix friends for dinner at a hot Chinese restaurant named George & Sons. [Andrew - from the team that came here last year - we hear you "went nuts" about this place and we can see why!!] The food was AWESOME. We waddled home and rolled ourselves into bed last night, sobbing, "No more, please, no more."
Everything is going well. I am travelling with some of the funniest chicks I have ever met. If only I could get Sally to laugh with one of my brilliant jokes. She's a hard nut to crack, that one. Just saying.
Mother's Day was a lovely day for us all. Kirsty spent time with Craig and Mary's family, while Maurie, Sally, Sarah and Caroline joined Peter, Fred and Agi at Fred and Agi's daughter's place. Sharon and her husband Phillip are fabulous cooks and fed us too much but hey, as Agi says, "Eat! You diet when you go home!"
(Thank you Sharon, Phillip, Marcus and Ilan, and Phillip's parents and Molly who we hope to see in Australia SOON.)
Back to work on Monday 10 May - how rude! But oh my gosh, what a day.
At the Phoenix Convention Center we were hosted by Cynthia, who has been a GSE team-member herself. The Convention Center in its current structure is only a couple of years old and is a really beautiful facility. We were impressed by the public art, the environmentally sustainable practices and the decor. But most of all we were impressed by the philosophy adopted by the management and staff. How refreshing to find a government 'office' that is so focused, not only on customers but on its staff. Regular Line-ups for networking, sharing good news and recognising one another are only one aspect of the operation. Really fantastic, place - thank you to everybody who joined us and showed us around!
The BEST bit, however, was the element that sets the facility apart from other convention facilities - the Innovation Kitchen! Clients are invited to this secret hideaway for tastings and sampling to select menus for their events. We too were treated to the experience, with renowned Chef Jesus Cibrian. You would not believe the food we were served! They said it would be a Continental Breakfast, but it was three courses and hot; and served by the man himself. A lovely, funny, entertaining, clever man - no wonder he has a regular television segment. Thank you for your hospitality, Jesus!
Not full enough from Mother's Day and breakfast, we moved on to Moses Anshell, dynamic advertising agency... where we were served lunch while we met with many members of the big team. We wished we could spend more time there - even if only to shoot some hoops in the inhouse basketball court... But no, we had to move on again...
To the Arizona Office of Tourism. We were honoured to meet with The agency Director and several members of the AZOT team, who gave us so much time and were happy to answer all our questions. Brian, we got your email already, thank you so much. Yes, yes, we want to keep in touch, keep exchanging information and would LOVE for you to come and visit us some time too.
A huge day, but not over yet... Last night we were joined by many of our Phoenix friends for dinner at a hot Chinese restaurant named George & Sons. [Andrew - from the team that came here last year - we hear you "went nuts" about this place and we can see why!!] The food was AWESOME. We waddled home and rolled ourselves into bed last night, sobbing, "No more, please, no more."
Everything is going well. I am travelling with some of the funniest chicks I have ever met. If only I could get Sally to laugh with one of my brilliant jokes. She's a hard nut to crack, that one. Just saying.
Monday, May 10, 2010
There's always time for a photo montage...
Saturday was a relaxing day for us all, when we had the opportunity to kick back, catch up on some rest and spend some time talking to our families for Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there reading our blog.
Our host 'mum and dad' Maury and Kathy hosted a great party at our house on Saturday night with all of the other host families and the team invited over for what turned out to be quite the night. With Sarah, Caroline and I all staying here with Maury and Kathy, it is becoming quite the party house.
Enjoy the images of the last week...
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Beautiful glass artistry by Dave Chihuly at Desert Botanical Gardens.
The girls taking in the surroundings at the Heard Museum.
Sal being very studious at the Space Centre.
The A Team - Kirsty & Caroline keeping us musically entertained on Saturday night.
A Wickenburg Sunset.
The gang with Jim Corbet and the lovely weiner Lucy.
Our host 'mum and dad' Maury and Kathy hosted a great party at our house on Saturday night with all of the other host families and the team invited over for what turned out to be quite the night. With Sarah, Caroline and I all staying here with Maury and Kathy, it is becoming quite the party house.
Enjoy the images of the last week...
.JPG)
Beautiful glass artistry by Dave Chihuly at Desert Botanical Gardens.
The girls taking in the surroundings at the Heard Museum.
Sal being very studious at the Space Centre.
The A Team - Kirsty & Caroline keeping us musically entertained on Saturday night.
A Wickenburg Sunset.
The gang with Jim Corbet and the lovely weiner Lucy.
Mum (Sals mum) this a Mothers Day picture for you!
Happy Mothers Day!
I just wanted to wish everyone a special day. I know you have 'been there done that' before us here in the States but you know we are on US time here.
To Caroline's, Sarah's and Sally's Mums I would also just like to share that you have done great jobs with your girls as they made me feel very special last night and I am so proud to be sharing this trip with them all. Peter too probably did a better job than Jamie ('you're not my Mother') as I received a lovely card from him. I will congratulate you Libby on your training!.
Today I will share with Mary and Craig's family in Anthem, not far from Phoenix. Pizza and relaxing are in order (sounds good to me..). Tomorrow we have a full program so I will make the most of their 'family' time.
We are on a count down now. It is fair to say all of us have been thinking of home and the fact our trip is almost over. It is great to see comments and to know friends and family are sharing our journey..
To Caroline's, Sarah's and Sally's Mums I would also just like to share that you have done great jobs with your girls as they made me feel very special last night and I am so proud to be sharing this trip with them all. Peter too probably did a better job than Jamie ('you're not my Mother') as I received a lovely card from him. I will congratulate you Libby on your training!.
Today I will share with Mary and Craig's family in Anthem, not far from Phoenix. Pizza and relaxing are in order (sounds good to me..). Tomorrow we have a full program so I will make the most of their 'family' time.
We are on a count down now. It is fair to say all of us have been thinking of home and the fact our trip is almost over. It is great to see comments and to know friends and family are sharing our journey..
To Phoenix!
Hello from the world of slack bloggers.. we've been busy catching up on rest time!
Thursday saw us say another sad farewell to our first female driver (GO KIM!!) and Wickenburg Peter.
We arrived back in Phoenix to meet up with Craig Wilson for a tour of the State Capitol, led of course, by a Rotarian named Larry. The Capitol is at the centre of some controversial new legislation but it was all quiet when we had our visit. Not only did we get a chance to see some historical law making rooms, we learnt a lot about the history of the state, and saw some fantastic art work and museum displays.
Craig then donned his docent cap and took us around the memorial park opposite the Capitol that paid tribute to the men and women who represented their country in various wars, which included police officers and their dogs and 9/11 to name a few.
From there we again helped the local economy by visiting the HUGE Scottsdale Fashion Square. Enough said.
Sarah, Peter and myself went to Greek Patio for dinner with our hosts.
Friday we attended the Phoenix 100 Rotary Club Meeting. This was our last presentation to a club until District Conference. We were very happy to see our first host families again, but it was a great experience to visit such a large club - membership sits at around 275, with approx 150 at the meeting. It was great to hear from 3 international youth exchange students about their year in Arizona.
We all have agreed that our final presentation was a good one, although we did cut it short due to the full program on the day. A little bit bittersweet!
The Heard Museum of Native Cultures & Art was next for us that afternoon. The Heard is an amazing, interesting collection of Native Cultures & Heritage. All up there are 12 galleries and 3 gardens. We had the "blink of an eye" tour by Shalliyah, who gave us a great amount of information in a very short time.
The Heard has both national and international acclaim for their exhibits. While we enjoyed the tour, there were some very sombre exhibits that gave us all some food for thought about what different cultures face in Arizona and around the world.
After a quick costume change, we headed to the Desert Botanical Gardens for some blues. Dave Riley (who has performed at the Byron Bay blues and roots festival!) kept us entertained with a mountain of Saguaro Cactus watching from behind. We were fortunate enough to also see some Chihuly glass pieces bought by the gardens after his exhibit a few years previously.
It was a very nice way to pass our Friday evening - Blues, red wine and good company!
Thursday saw us say another sad farewell to our first female driver (GO KIM!!) and Wickenburg Peter.
We arrived back in Phoenix to meet up with Craig Wilson for a tour of the State Capitol, led of course, by a Rotarian named Larry. The Capitol is at the centre of some controversial new legislation but it was all quiet when we had our visit. Not only did we get a chance to see some historical law making rooms, we learnt a lot about the history of the state, and saw some fantastic art work and museum displays.
Craig then donned his docent cap and took us around the memorial park opposite the Capitol that paid tribute to the men and women who represented their country in various wars, which included police officers and their dogs and 9/11 to name a few.
From there we again helped the local economy by visiting the HUGE Scottsdale Fashion Square. Enough said.
Sarah, Peter and myself went to Greek Patio for dinner with our hosts.
Friday we attended the Phoenix 100 Rotary Club Meeting. This was our last presentation to a club until District Conference. We were very happy to see our first host families again, but it was a great experience to visit such a large club - membership sits at around 275, with approx 150 at the meeting. It was great to hear from 3 international youth exchange students about their year in Arizona.
We all have agreed that our final presentation was a good one, although we did cut it short due to the full program on the day. A little bit bittersweet!
The Heard Museum of Native Cultures & Art was next for us that afternoon. The Heard is an amazing, interesting collection of Native Cultures & Heritage. All up there are 12 galleries and 3 gardens. We had the "blink of an eye" tour by Shalliyah, who gave us a great amount of information in a very short time.
The Heard has both national and international acclaim for their exhibits. While we enjoyed the tour, there were some very sombre exhibits that gave us all some food for thought about what different cultures face in Arizona and around the world.
After a quick costume change, we headed to the Desert Botanical Gardens for some blues. Dave Riley (who has performed at the Byron Bay blues and roots festival!) kept us entertained with a mountain of Saguaro Cactus watching from behind. We were fortunate enough to also see some Chihuly glass pieces bought by the gardens after his exhibit a few years previously.
It was a very nice way to pass our Friday evening - Blues, red wine and good company!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Back in the saddle again...come on you know the chorus
Wednesday dawned a beautiful clear morning and we spent some special time at the Hassyumpa Nature Preserve with John, a gentle cowboy who showed us the joys of this special river that flows mostly underground. The shade of the cotton wood trees and the hope of seeing javalina made this morning lovely and we all enjoyed just sitting, listening to the birds and enjoying the breeze. It was hot in the sun and we were once again reminded we had picked the best time of year to get up close and personal with Arizona.
Wickenburg Peter filled a begging half hour or so at an Antique store with metal animals of every shape and size in the car park. Inside we all found interesting things to look at. I am amazed that once an antique store gets to a certain size it is in my opinion- organised chaos. I loved it!
The highlight of the day was to come. A sumptuous buffet lunch with pie to die for (I did have some salad first girls) at the Rancho de los Caballeros. An historic guest ranch (Dude ranch they used to be called). Charming Rui showed us their fantastic accommodation while I grilled him on statistics and staffing. We then proceeded to meet our horses and ride through the desert with Ian our sequential cowboy (married to his horse and loving Arizona). The walk was very special we saw a jack rabbit and big sky I will remember always. My horse was Trinidad who knew where half way was as if by magic. Ian guided us expertly home with a story or two on the way. We alighted...gently and eased back into walking by strolling to a vantage point to watch the horses run to their evening pastures. Where was Tom Burlinson and our Man from Snowy river?. I didn't much care as Ian looked pretty good in the dust as the horses cantered by. It was the perfect scene to end our Caballerios experience.
After a shower to wash away the eau de horse, we ventured into the countryside to David and Kim's home and enjoyed great hospitality and some time with our hosts before packing up and saying goodbye to our Wickenburg friends.
I will always remember 'The soldiers of the desert' (credit to Cecelia for that lovely turn of phrase) the saguaros and the sunset of pink as we returned home that evening with Pa in the car.
This is the end of week four and as I sit with my new hosts, but old friends Craig (leader of the Arizona team 2009) and his beautiful wife Mary. I amazed at what we have achieved in our time here. Thank you Wickenburg and bring on our next Pheonix adventure!
Wickenburg Peter filled a begging half hour or so at an Antique store with metal animals of every shape and size in the car park. Inside we all found interesting things to look at. I am amazed that once an antique store gets to a certain size it is in my opinion- organised chaos. I loved it!
The highlight of the day was to come. A sumptuous buffet lunch with pie to die for (I did have some salad first girls) at the Rancho de los Caballeros. An historic guest ranch (Dude ranch they used to be called). Charming Rui showed us their fantastic accommodation while I grilled him on statistics and staffing. We then proceeded to meet our horses and ride through the desert with Ian our sequential cowboy (married to his horse and loving Arizona). The walk was very special we saw a jack rabbit and big sky I will remember always. My horse was Trinidad who knew where half way was as if by magic. Ian guided us expertly home with a story or two on the way. We alighted...gently and eased back into walking by strolling to a vantage point to watch the horses run to their evening pastures. Where was Tom Burlinson and our Man from Snowy river?. I didn't much care as Ian looked pretty good in the dust as the horses cantered by. It was the perfect scene to end our Caballerios experience.
After a shower to wash away the eau de horse, we ventured into the countryside to David and Kim's home and enjoyed great hospitality and some time with our hosts before packing up and saying goodbye to our Wickenburg friends.
I will always remember 'The soldiers of the desert' (credit to Cecelia for that lovely turn of phrase) the saguaros and the sunset of pink as we returned home that evening with Pa in the car.
This is the end of week four and as I sit with my new hosts, but old friends Craig (leader of the Arizona team 2009) and his beautiful wife Mary. I amazed at what we have achieved in our time here. Thank you Wickenburg and bring on our next Pheonix adventure!
"Back, back to schoo-oo-ool" (as per lyrics from song in the movie 'Grease')
On Tuesday we travelled to Peoria (which happens to be where Sarah and Sally each spent their first few days here) and while the Indian team spent the day in Wickenburg we spent the day around Anthem and Surprise.
Kind Tom (aka Doc) accompanied us for the day, taking us to the Arizona Challenger Space Center where we joined a Grade School class excursion, then to Lake Pleasant Park for great views and a close encounter with a desert tortoise (behind a wall) and a rattlesnake named Freddie (behind glass).
Then we were joined by Barry and Al and joined in an Interact meeting at Sandra Day O'Connor High School. The students there are raising funds to help provide better access to fresh water in Africa. This week the school carnival will include 'sports' whereby students must carry large quantities of water - and pay for the privilege to do so - in order to get some idea of what people must do in some places of the world, just to drink. (They will not have to carry it on their heads, though.)
Interesting to me - in order to gain access to college, high students are required to put in Community Service project time.
Kind Al welcomed us at his house for a relaxing afternoon, joined by Barry, Tom and Ray (who promised to feed carrots to the horses at the horse rescue centre on our behalf... have you done that, Ray?).
Then the evening ended very happily with a dinner together with the Indian team at the home of Rotarian Paul Pulicken, whose wonderful wife cooked us a spectacular South Indian meal. We are very grateful to our Anthem hosts, Paul and his family, the Indian team who are such good fun (even though Umesh DOES think too much...) and "Surprise Peter", Cindy and Randy who came to dinner too. (If I have forgotten anybody, I am very sorry!) Special thanks of course to Surprise Peter who not only drove us from Anthem back to our homes in Wickenburg but then drove all the way home again to Surprise BUT ALSO said "Kirsty" with a perfect Australian accent!!!
Still no live Javalina in sight. For heaven's sake.
Kind Tom (aka Doc) accompanied us for the day, taking us to the Arizona Challenger Space Center where we joined a Grade School class excursion, then to Lake Pleasant Park for great views and a close encounter with a desert tortoise (behind a wall) and a rattlesnake named Freddie (behind glass).
Then we were joined by Barry and Al and joined in an Interact meeting at Sandra Day O'Connor High School. The students there are raising funds to help provide better access to fresh water in Africa. This week the school carnival will include 'sports' whereby students must carry large quantities of water - and pay for the privilege to do so - in order to get some idea of what people must do in some places of the world, just to drink. (They will not have to carry it on their heads, though.)
Interesting to me - in order to gain access to college, high students are required to put in Community Service project time.
Kind Al welcomed us at his house for a relaxing afternoon, joined by Barry, Tom and Ray (who promised to feed carrots to the horses at the horse rescue centre on our behalf... have you done that, Ray?).
Then the evening ended very happily with a dinner together with the Indian team at the home of Rotarian Paul Pulicken, whose wonderful wife cooked us a spectacular South Indian meal. We are very grateful to our Anthem hosts, Paul and his family, the Indian team who are such good fun (even though Umesh DOES think too much...) and "Surprise Peter", Cindy and Randy who came to dinner too. (If I have forgotten anybody, I am very sorry!) Special thanks of course to Surprise Peter who not only drove us from Anthem back to our homes in Wickenburg but then drove all the way home again to Surprise BUT ALSO said "Kirsty" with a perfect Australian accent!!!
Still no live Javalina in sight. For heaven's sake.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
You asked...we deliver - photo time!
The Australian Olympic Kayaking team. We really aren't sure what the Indian Team meant, it wasn't that strenuous at all :p Thanks Steve for the heads up. Our shoulders are forever indebted to you.
Our very entertaining Teppanyaki chef. The man was hilarious and a GREAT CHEF to boot!
And he provided candlelight (or flame in this instance). All eyebrows were saved in the making of our meals...phew!
Some of the fabulous Rotarian's from the Lake Havasu City Rotary Club, and in particular our host for the evening Jerry (& my host 'dad' Ben) for their wonderful impromptu song they wrote and performed for us on the night. No persons were injured in the performing of the song.
Kirsty and her host 'dad' Tom arriving in style for our departure from Lake Havasu City. I hope someone got Caroline in the fire truck, because I was too caught up in the moment to get my camera out...sorry!
Sal at Hoover Dam. Yep, Pejar has nothing on Hoover...in case you weren't sure.
The highest bridge I have ever laid eyes on. It makes my stomach churn just thinking about it. So glad it wasn't finished when we were there, because I really don't think I would cope well with driving over it.
Charlie's Angels...ensuring the protection of all visitors to Hoover Dam that day. Be careful or they will kill you with their charm and good looks!
My arty (or alcohol induced?) shot of the lights of Laughlin from Nate's yacht. I'll let you decide.
The Colorado Belle at night - our hotel and also a casino. It's not an actual river boat, but it's cool regardless.
Peter solving the problems of the world with some guy he met downtown this afternoon.
Actually this is one of a number of very cool sculptures in downtown Wickenburg that tells the story of the history of Wickenburg and its people. An $800,000 project. Wowee!
We promise to upload more photos in the next couple of days...stay tuned!
I Am Woman; I Am Invincible; I Am Tired
The title of today's blog comes from a sticker we saw today and I think it sums up our situation (except for Peter to whom at least two of the statements apply...).
We each enjoyed a fairly relaxing weekend with our host families, occasionally touring the Wickenburg district, writing postcards, doing laundry, eating (am yet to experience bread-in-a-can but am very eager!).
On Saturday evening we all went along to Cinco de Mayo (held here on 1 May just to be different), a community festival held in the middle of town. Good food, great music, really good crowd despite the winds, and jolly good company! To our great joy it was also Prom Night, the venue being the community centre (owned and operated by Town Council) opposite the festival site. Sally's "host brother" was one of a posse who Made An Entrance to Prom in matching suits and matching scooters. Awesome! Sarah and I were fascinated to find out how the Prom Queen / Prom King thing works, too - ah, High School Politics, what joy.
Sunday, a lovely barbecue was hosted at the Snedecor residence (home of makes-a-mean-Margarita Bill and Roberta, Coco the poodle and Abigail the 4-month-old Labra-doodle; hosts to Sarah and me). It was windy but we were sheltered on the patio, and not only were we joined by some really terrific people BUT also two snakes, a couple of Cardinals among many other birds, some ground squirrels and the wood-pile bunny! Best of all, though, was when Sarah discovered the JUST-hatched Quails from the patio nest and we spent quite some time chasing down eleven teeny, tiny, gorgeous fat little birds to attempt to return them to their mummy (mommy?) outside the garden wall. So cute and so much fun!
... Bill and Roberta assure us the five-foot Bull Snake that gatecrashed the party would have been a vegetarian snake who would not have been interested in the least in Mr Ploppy and the other baby Quails.
Afterwards Chuck invited us back to his place for pizza and Moose Tracks (don't worry, it's ice cream and it's GOOD) and we were treated to spectacular views, a blissful oasis featuring a running stream, and unbelievable houseplans for Chuck's under-construction home. Also we were sent around the bend by Sally's host David and his wicked magic trick. He eventually succumbed to our whining and threatening to burn him for witchery and he taught Kirsty/Kristy/Kirsten/Krista - Favouritism based on the fact yesterday was Kirsty's and Jamie's 18th Wedding Anniversary (congratulations, both of you!!).
How rude to have to return to work, today! But first stop was the Chamber of Commerce where we were all blown away by Exec Director Julie and all the amazing things she does along with her staff and 600+ (yes, really) volunteers. Inspirational and interesting - we all made lots of notes. By the way, it was Julie's desk that sported the sign in today's title and no wonder.
Following lunch and retail therapy we then met Town Council manager Gary Edwards at Town Hall for a tour and talk. Council meetings here are filmed and streamed live on the 'net and shown on cable TV.
Bill's Margarita is hitting the spot - more later.
We each enjoyed a fairly relaxing weekend with our host families, occasionally touring the Wickenburg district, writing postcards, doing laundry, eating (am yet to experience bread-in-a-can but am very eager!).
On Saturday evening we all went along to Cinco de Mayo (held here on 1 May just to be different), a community festival held in the middle of town. Good food, great music, really good crowd despite the winds, and jolly good company! To our great joy it was also Prom Night, the venue being the community centre (owned and operated by Town Council) opposite the festival site. Sally's "host brother" was one of a posse who Made An Entrance to Prom in matching suits and matching scooters. Awesome! Sarah and I were fascinated to find out how the Prom Queen / Prom King thing works, too - ah, High School Politics, what joy.
Sunday, a lovely barbecue was hosted at the Snedecor residence (home of makes-a-mean-Margarita Bill and Roberta, Coco the poodle and Abigail the 4-month-old Labra-doodle; hosts to Sarah and me). It was windy but we were sheltered on the patio, and not only were we joined by some really terrific people BUT also two snakes, a couple of Cardinals among many other birds, some ground squirrels and the wood-pile bunny! Best of all, though, was when Sarah discovered the JUST-hatched Quails from the patio nest and we spent quite some time chasing down eleven teeny, tiny, gorgeous fat little birds to attempt to return them to their mummy (mommy?) outside the garden wall. So cute and so much fun!
... Bill and Roberta assure us the five-foot Bull Snake that gatecrashed the party would have been a vegetarian snake who would not have been interested in the least in Mr Ploppy and the other baby Quails.
Afterwards Chuck invited us back to his place for pizza and Moose Tracks (don't worry, it's ice cream and it's GOOD) and we were treated to spectacular views, a blissful oasis featuring a running stream, and unbelievable houseplans for Chuck's under-construction home. Also we were sent around the bend by Sally's host David and his wicked magic trick. He eventually succumbed to our whining and threatening to burn him for witchery and he taught Kirsty/Kristy/Kirsten/Krista - Favouritism based on the fact yesterday was Kirsty's and Jamie's 18th Wedding Anniversary (congratulations, both of you!!).
How rude to have to return to work, today! But first stop was the Chamber of Commerce where we were all blown away by Exec Director Julie and all the amazing things she does along with her staff and 600+ (yes, really) volunteers. Inspirational and interesting - we all made lots of notes. By the way, it was Julie's desk that sported the sign in today's title and no wonder.
Following lunch and retail therapy we then met Town Council manager Gary Edwards at Town Hall for a tour and talk. Council meetings here are filmed and streamed live on the 'net and shown on cable TV.
Bill's Margarita is hitting the spot - more later.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Oh to have a break!!
Last Wednesday saw us take our leave of Havasu City and head off for our 'break' in Laughlin. Neil (or 'intrepid' driver) took us via Oatman (an old mining town in the foothills but still on Route 66) to experience a little of the wild west. He promised us burros (donkeys, asses) in the main street and he was true to his word. These animals are the descendants of the working burros that were left here when the mines closed in the early part of the last century and are now (probably) the main tourist attraction of Oatman - don't know if they would work in the Highlands or Cooma. The girls managed to feed them some carrots (the thing to do) and Sally managed to buy herself a 'coke' after some difficulty! We could understand what she wanted but the woman serving her seemed to have extreme difficulty in understanding the accent even tho 'coke' sounds like 'coke' in any language and she only had about 4 items on her inventory!
We headed off to Laughlin to drop our luggage at the Colorado Belle - a Casino/Hotel on the river - and then headed off for the Hoover Dam with two members of the Indian Team - Sushma and Umesh. We arrived at the Dam after an hour and half drive and, whilst the dam is extremely impressive, we were blown away by the "OMG Bridge' that is being built just below the dam. Due to open in December it is an amazing structure and needs to be seen - put it on the 'bucket list'.
We all did a tour of the tourist part of the dam (unfortunately the full tours were booked out) and headed back to arrive at Laughlin around 7.30pm. We headed for the bar for a 'light' dinner (there really is no such thing in the US) and tried some of the local beers just to say that we had.
Thursday was a very lazy day with each of doing our own thing during the day (mainly resting, movies, resting, walking, resting, shopping, resting) until 5.30pm when we caught one of Nate's (Nathan Michaels - GSE Team member to Australia last September/October) water taxis down to his yacht for an evening out on the river. The yacht was beautiful and Nate and Charlotte were great hosts. It was lovely to meet Charlotte and also to share with them the joy of the upcoming birth (mid October) of their first child. Nate's business is very much a family affair with uncles and aunts everywhere and it was a great night out on the water with lots of food and the occasional drink to pass the time.
I know that Caroline has some pictures of all of this so we will endeavour to put some up for you to see us enjoying ourselves!
Friday was a travelling day from Laughlin down to Wickenburg (via Parker where we farewelled Steve and Neil and picked up our new driver Peter Giroux). On arrival we were met by Cindy Logan, President of the Club, at her Art Gallery business (some great art on display) and met with our hosts for the next 6 days.
Stay posted - there will be more to come!
We headed off to Laughlin to drop our luggage at the Colorado Belle - a Casino/Hotel on the river - and then headed off for the Hoover Dam with two members of the Indian Team - Sushma and Umesh. We arrived at the Dam after an hour and half drive and, whilst the dam is extremely impressive, we were blown away by the "OMG Bridge' that is being built just below the dam. Due to open in December it is an amazing structure and needs to be seen - put it on the 'bucket list'.
We all did a tour of the tourist part of the dam (unfortunately the full tours were booked out) and headed back to arrive at Laughlin around 7.30pm. We headed for the bar for a 'light' dinner (there really is no such thing in the US) and tried some of the local beers just to say that we had.
Thursday was a very lazy day with each of doing our own thing during the day (mainly resting, movies, resting, walking, resting, shopping, resting) until 5.30pm when we caught one of Nate's (Nathan Michaels - GSE Team member to Australia last September/October) water taxis down to his yacht for an evening out on the river. The yacht was beautiful and Nate and Charlotte were great hosts. It was lovely to meet Charlotte and also to share with them the joy of the upcoming birth (mid October) of their first child. Nate's business is very much a family affair with uncles and aunts everywhere and it was a great night out on the water with lots of food and the occasional drink to pass the time.
I know that Caroline has some pictures of all of this so we will endeavour to put some up for you to see us enjoying ourselves!
Friday was a travelling day from Laughlin down to Wickenburg (via Parker where we farewelled Steve and Neil and picked up our new driver Peter Giroux). On arrival we were met by Cindy Logan, President of the Club, at her Art Gallery business (some great art on display) and met with our hosts for the next 6 days.
Stay posted - there will be more to come!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
3 miles is better than 16
Well it was a few days ago now but we had a great morning paddling our kayaks on the Colorado River at Lake Havasu. With much trepidation we prepared for a shortened adventure after the Indian team experienced the Colorado ALL day with evening rescue pick up due to their misadventures....thanks to 'the legend' Steve our driver we were prepared for a shorter version on the water to experience Lake Havasu. The morning was still (with 20 knot winds predicted but now eventuating). Sarah kindly volunteered to paddle with the old girl in a double kayak and we did OK enjoying the water and trying not to swallow the little bugs that wanted to explore facial orifices and stick to our clothes for a ride.
My favourite time on the water was under the London bridge as well as seeing the small scale lighthouses dotted on the shore line. We saw some amazing boats on the water.
So we survived, reasonably dry, changed and experienced Japanese food at 'Sho Gun Tepinyaki (no spell check assistance on that sorry) restaurant'. A special chef does not only prepare your food on a BBQ in front of you he hurls it at your mouth and calls your scallops marsh mellows....This is when I realise I am a country girl. Despite all those who know me and would have anticipated the food throwing very successful with my big mouth. I could not stop laughing and remembering my father telling me not to play with food. Neil our 'handler' and Kayak enthusiast had the only success with the flying prawns hitting the target...
So that was our day. Again with great weather and lots of laughs.
We have taken a couple of days between blogging. And I know the next few days will give us some opportunities to fill you in as we are now in Wickenburg and looking forward tonight to a street party.
Over half way now with many of our wish list items taken care of including a big 500 mile day to see the Hoover Dam as well as move camps to our rest hotel called the Colorado Belle.
I will let the team share a bit more.
My favourite time on the water was under the London bridge as well as seeing the small scale lighthouses dotted on the shore line. We saw some amazing boats on the water.
So we survived, reasonably dry, changed and experienced Japanese food at 'Sho Gun Tepinyaki (no spell check assistance on that sorry) restaurant'. A special chef does not only prepare your food on a BBQ in front of you he hurls it at your mouth and calls your scallops marsh mellows....This is when I realise I am a country girl. Despite all those who know me and would have anticipated the food throwing very successful with my big mouth. I could not stop laughing and remembering my father telling me not to play with food. Neil our 'handler' and Kayak enthusiast had the only success with the flying prawns hitting the target...
So that was our day. Again with great weather and lots of laughs.
We have taken a couple of days between blogging. And I know the next few days will give us some opportunities to fill you in as we are now in Wickenburg and looking forward tonight to a street party.
Over half way now with many of our wish list items taken care of including a big 500 mile day to see the Hoover Dam as well as move camps to our rest hotel called the Colorado Belle.
I will let the team share a bit more.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Got photos?
The iconic London Bridge - yes, it is the 'real' London Bridge, the oldest antique in the world.
Sally with our wonderful Kingman hosts Larry & Cindy Lewis. We miss you both already!
An interesting concept - a Monte Christo. It's a deep fried meat sandwich that you put honey or jam on. As awful as it sounds, it was actually quite tasty.
The girls at Parker Dam with Neil Ott.
Stay tuned for tomorrows summary of our goings on today - kayaking the Colorado, the funniest lunch so far and the 'soiree' tonight...
And the people will come......
Who would have thought a man could have so much vision to create a town forty odd years ago and get people to come because he wanted cheaper costs for his business...
Lake Havasu is just that town and yesterday..Monday I think...we started a very busy vocational day and learnt a lot about this place- that sort of just appears in the desert an hour and a half from Kingman.
Our morning began with breakfast in the company of District Governor Jeanie at International House of Pancakes (IHOP to the those in the know). This experience was to scar me for life as I think I was served the biggest waffle I had ever seen (Caroline made me do it) while Sally and Sarah attempted a mountain of pancakes that reached unknown heights hidden under fruit compotes. I am sure Peter was also set for the day. It was nice to meet with Jeanie (thank you YUM) and share a little of our journey so far. Neil our handler and Steve our trusty driver also partook in this memorable breakfast.
Steve then took us to the Chamber of Commerce where we met up with Arizona outbound team member 2009, Jenny Coke.It was great to touch base again and we were introduced to a dynamic team dedicated to making Lake Havasu a tourist and business development destination. We appreciated the time of Lisa (knew it all!), Doug (started only a few weeks ago and found time for us) and Garry (AKA James Bond)and I think we could have chatted all day!
Lunch was at a combined Rotary meeting of the three clubs in town (London Bridge, Sunrise and lake Havasu). We gave our presentation and enjoyed the views to the famous bridge that is a big water feature the anyones scale of things.
Off to the council and to Charlie Cassens acting CEO, who shared how the town with a population of 55,000 (to be confirmed in the census this year) runs and a little about it's management including the water issues . We then headed to the town museum and took in some history of the town with the London bridge purchased for just over 1.3 million and shipped to the states after being carefully dismantled and the pieces numbered...Yes they did know which bridge they were buying...Caroline purchased yet another cookbook in the gift shop and we all enjoyed the model displays, advertising and films(classic 1960s) to encourage people to move here as well as the fantastic Indian baskets.
A quiet walk under the bridge with a snow cone to cool us down completed our day in town.
We then headed up the hill to the edge of town limits and Deans beautiful home for drinks and a view of the lake second to none. Thanks Dean and please look after those hummingbird babies.
I returned home to my hosts, Gloria and Tom, for a lovely dinner and chat. I had hoped to hear more Cyotes (as I had the night before) but alas the evening was still and the moon full.
Lake Havasu has been a big surprise for me. I think it an amazing venture to bring people to a planned town and encourage them to stay and create a community where before there was nothing but desert. Google it and see for yourself. Perhaps the saying is true..Only in America!
Lake Havasu is just that town and yesterday..Monday I think...we started a very busy vocational day and learnt a lot about this place- that sort of just appears in the desert an hour and a half from Kingman.
Our morning began with breakfast in the company of District Governor Jeanie at International House of Pancakes (IHOP to the those in the know). This experience was to scar me for life as I think I was served the biggest waffle I had ever seen (Caroline made me do it) while Sally and Sarah attempted a mountain of pancakes that reached unknown heights hidden under fruit compotes. I am sure Peter was also set for the day. It was nice to meet with Jeanie (thank you YUM) and share a little of our journey so far. Neil our handler and Steve our trusty driver also partook in this memorable breakfast.
Steve then took us to the Chamber of Commerce where we met up with Arizona outbound team member 2009, Jenny Coke.It was great to touch base again and we were introduced to a dynamic team dedicated to making Lake Havasu a tourist and business development destination. We appreciated the time of Lisa (knew it all!), Doug (started only a few weeks ago and found time for us) and Garry (AKA James Bond)and I think we could have chatted all day!
Lunch was at a combined Rotary meeting of the three clubs in town (London Bridge, Sunrise and lake Havasu). We gave our presentation and enjoyed the views to the famous bridge that is a big water feature the anyones scale of things.
Off to the council and to Charlie Cassens acting CEO, who shared how the town with a population of 55,000 (to be confirmed in the census this year) runs and a little about it's management including the water issues . We then headed to the town museum and took in some history of the town with the London bridge purchased for just over 1.3 million and shipped to the states after being carefully dismantled and the pieces numbered...Yes they did know which bridge they were buying...Caroline purchased yet another cookbook in the gift shop and we all enjoyed the model displays, advertising and films(classic 1960s) to encourage people to move here as well as the fantastic Indian baskets.
A quiet walk under the bridge with a snow cone to cool us down completed our day in town.
We then headed up the hill to the edge of town limits and Deans beautiful home for drinks and a view of the lake second to none. Thanks Dean and please look after those hummingbird babies.
I returned home to my hosts, Gloria and Tom, for a lovely dinner and chat. I had hoped to hear more Cyotes (as I had the night before) but alas the evening was still and the moon full.
Lake Havasu has been a big surprise for me. I think it an amazing venture to bring people to a planned town and encourage them to stay and create a community where before there was nothing but desert. Google it and see for yourself. Perhaps the saying is true..Only in America!
Monday, April 26, 2010
WORK!! - isn't that a 4 letter word?
As indicated from Caroline's last missive we were to have a day of working with the Rout 66 Rotary Club on some maintenance at Recreation Area 3 in Hualapai Mountain Park (about a mile from where I'm staying with Larry and Terri Thornton).
We all fronted there around 9-9.30 (with the exception of Caroline who was a bit later due to her host having to unexpectedly go to work). The girls were set the task of washing down the bathroom walls of a hut at the site prior to painting and then set about painting it. I set off to dig some holes for the horseshoe pits (and beautiful holes they were to - except somebody kept filling them in with sand!).
Around 11.30 Larry Lewis suggested that we needed another cultural experience and offered to take us in to Kingman to see what was happening with the Harley Davidson event in town. I agreed that this was an opportunity to good to miss so we left the Route 66 team to their devices and headed down the mountain. We dropped in to Larry's place (magnificent) so that he could pick up his Harley and his wife, Cindy, drove us in to town.
I have never seen so many Harley's in one place! I'd hate to think of the total value of the bikes that were there but ther were thousands - and all gleaming (they do love their bikes!). After having a good wander around the bikes and the Harley shop Larry and Cindy took us off for another US experience to have lunch at the local Cracker Barrel Restaurant. There was a shop attached to this eatery and Caroline managed to find another cookbook (your in for a taste sensation when she gets home Scott!)
We went back to the Harley show to see if Larry had won the raffle (another Harley) but he was unsuccessful. Heading back up the mountain we checked out the work of the Rotary team (they achieved so much in the day - about 40 from the Club plus support for Bull Head Rotarians - and were just cleaning up and settling in to a BBQ when we arrived. We needed more food like a hole in the head but sat around talking with our hosts and others until we all headed off to our respective homes.
I have been stayin with Larry and Terri on top of the Mountain (6500ft) with great vistas all around. It was amazing coming home on Thursday evening with heavy snow and the car (truck) having some difficulty with the wet conditions - but Larry got us through. This was an Arizonan experience I didn't expect but it was beautiful to see.
Off to Lake Havasu today - beautiful morning and expected to be 94F down trhere. Watch this space!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Photo Montage!!
Grand Canyon West!! Everyone should google Grand Canyon Skywalk - amazing experience!
Caroline and Lucy!
Wilfred, Sarah, Kirsty & I
Sedona on the jeep tour!
Enough Said :-)
The Palace Bar on Whiskey Row, Prescott
Peter taking his fill at the Page Springs Winery.
SNOW! in the car on the way through Seligmen to Kingman!
Our freezing Jeep tour!!
There are no words
Good morning (Saturday morning) from Caroline at my "host dad's" desk at his office. By the way - it is appropriate to call somebody your "host dad" when he's three years younger than you???
Anyway, yesterday was the most incredible day!
Our day began with a good fun meeting with the Route 66 Rotary Club - complete with Sargeant-at-arms dressed as a biker in honour of this weekend's Harley-Davidson event in Kingman. Thanks to all the members of the Club for being a great audience :).
Then Larry drove and Mary Kay accompanied us on a great adventure. First stop, the Route 66 Museum where we met with Joshua, who works for the Chamber of Commerce. We owe much gratitude to Joshua -
First, because he introduced us to members of the Route 66 Association and we made a great connection with the most famous touring route in the world. [Penny, Nick and all my KAW colleagues - I took notes and got some good info to tell you about.]
THEN, Joshua also organised for us the Best Day! We all travelled up to the West Rim of Grand Canyon to spend the day with a most amazing man, Wilfred Whatoname [pronounced Wha-TON-a-meh] who is the son of the Chief of the Hualapi tribe. We were invited to experience the Skywalk. Hoo hah. Some of us never thought we would do it... Sarah in particular conquered a great fear by walking on a glass floor 4,000 feet above the canyon floor. Mary Kay also was extremely brave, bouyed up by the strength of Wilfred who held her hand. Meanwhile, Larry jumped up and down a lot and freaked us all out...
We came back to a lovely reception with the Club at Nate's gorgeous home. Everybody here is so kind and friendly.
I have to go now as we are helping Rotary on a works project in Kingman. I just want to say a huge thank you to Joshua for setting it up, Larry for driving, Mary Kay for joining us, and especially Wilfred and the other members of the Hualapi who were beautiful and welcoming. When Wilfred blessed us at the end of our day and taught us how to greet one another with a handshake that enables you to feel the heartbeat of your friend, we were rendered unable to speak for emotion and gratitude. Sorry that this description is inadequate - there just are no words.
Anyway, yesterday was the most incredible day!
Our day began with a good fun meeting with the Route 66 Rotary Club - complete with Sargeant-at-arms dressed as a biker in honour of this weekend's Harley-Davidson event in Kingman. Thanks to all the members of the Club for being a great audience :).
Then Larry drove and Mary Kay accompanied us on a great adventure. First stop, the Route 66 Museum where we met with Joshua, who works for the Chamber of Commerce. We owe much gratitude to Joshua -
First, because he introduced us to members of the Route 66 Association and we made a great connection with the most famous touring route in the world. [Penny, Nick and all my KAW colleagues - I took notes and got some good info to tell you about.]
THEN, Joshua also organised for us the Best Day! We all travelled up to the West Rim of Grand Canyon to spend the day with a most amazing man, Wilfred Whatoname [pronounced Wha-TON-a-meh] who is the son of the Chief of the Hualapi tribe. We were invited to experience the Skywalk. Hoo hah. Some of us never thought we would do it... Sarah in particular conquered a great fear by walking on a glass floor 4,000 feet above the canyon floor. Mary Kay also was extremely brave, bouyed up by the strength of Wilfred who held her hand. Meanwhile, Larry jumped up and down a lot and freaked us all out...
We came back to a lovely reception with the Club at Nate's gorgeous home. Everybody here is so kind and friendly.
I have to go now as we are helping Rotary on a works project in Kingman. I just want to say a huge thank you to Joshua for setting it up, Larry for driving, Mary Kay for joining us, and especially Wilfred and the other members of the Hualapi who were beautiful and welcoming. When Wilfred blessed us at the end of our day and taught us how to greet one another with a handshake that enables you to feel the heartbeat of your friend, we were rendered unable to speak for emotion and gratitude. Sorry that this description is inadequate - there just are no words.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Let it snow...
SNOW! In Arizona! In Spring...
Today was our travel day to Kingman. After our freeezing day in Sedona yesterday, i was well prepared with LAYERS of clothes.
We enjoyed seeing the lovely Mayor of Prescott, Marlin Kuykendall again and meeting with him and his dynamic team to discuss our trip so far and also their future plans in tourism.
After saying a sad farewell to Jim and John (thanks again!!!!!) Norm drove us to Seligman. Seligman, for those of you playing at home, is where the cartoon movie CARS was based.
On the way there it did snow! I personally have not seen snow actually fall before, so was super excited!
We arrived in Kingman and had a tour of the towns two Musuems, and have settled into our hosts homes. Tomorrow we will present to the Kingman Sunup Club and afterwards will be heading to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon!! There is a Skywalk there that is going to be amazing.. more tomorrow...
When i find my camera cable i will put some of our fantastic photos up!
Today was our travel day to Kingman. After our freeezing day in Sedona yesterday, i was well prepared with LAYERS of clothes.
We enjoyed seeing the lovely Mayor of Prescott, Marlin Kuykendall again and meeting with him and his dynamic team to discuss our trip so far and also their future plans in tourism.
After saying a sad farewell to Jim and John (thanks again!!!!!) Norm drove us to Seligman. Seligman, for those of you playing at home, is where the cartoon movie CARS was based.
On the way there it did snow! I personally have not seen snow actually fall before, so was super excited!
We arrived in Kingman and had a tour of the towns two Musuems, and have settled into our hosts homes. Tomorrow we will present to the Kingman Sunup Club and afterwards will be heading to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon!! There is a Skywalk there that is going to be amazing.. more tomorrow...
When i find my camera cable i will put some of our fantastic photos up!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Arizona cold? Never! apart from odd Wednesdays...
Today was another early start as we joined Prescott Sunrise Rotary Club. We made the most of sharing with new friends from our time in Prescott and presenting to the members of the largest club in town. Don't forget to put our flag out next week!
It was then off to Sedona with Don on board sharing the plans for District Conference. We hope many Rotarians will join us for this unique experience of the Canyon (and us) as well as an opportunity to get together with fellow Rotarians.
Jim our tireless coordinator and driver was taking us only so far and then Richard took over as we headed to the red rocks and busy roads of this tourist town. Richard took a little while to adjust to us Aussies after driving the Indian team. After identifying roadkill skunk and the accompanying scent he concentrated on the interstate drivers instead of helping us to read the road signs.
We did stop over at the National Park Forestry Centre. I personally was intrigued by the scat display which amused Richard and kept us inside away from the wind.
Those clouds looked ominous!
We all enjoyed our quick tour of Richard and Renata's fantastic home. The views were awesome ! Richard makes some wonderful iron art which we also admired.
Then onto Sedona Rotary club to share our presentation # two for the day. (We are getting pretty good at it now!). It is great to meet so many people who have travelled or know someone who has been to the country we love. Thank you for welcoming us.
The day grew colder but our adventure was only just beginning. Thanks to the generosity of John we took our seats in an open jeep to face the hills of Sedona and head up into the wilds. It was less than seven degrees before the wind chill.
So dangerous we had to sign a waiver, so cold our noses were running and so rough bras broke free in distress! David our fantastic driver did not stop sharing great stories, interesting facts and gave us the inside scoop on some celebrity gossip. It was another great G.S.E. experience and will be a great story for our return. At least laughing kept us a little warmer.
When we got back we had no time to waste- getting back into the van to head towards Montezuma's Well, a fantastic natural spring in the middle of nowhere the Indians had used hundreds of years ago. We had a quick walk, took photos and then back into the van to defrost.
We were pleased to see Jim and Don back at the rendezvous point for the trip home. Thank you to R and R for all their hard work in Sedona and thanks also for letting Lucy the sausage dog share our time too.
Tonight I have enjoyed artichokes for the first time and a great chat with my special hosts Walt and Pat. What a wonderful couple they are. It has been a great 'almost' week and I will be sad to hit the road tomorrow as we head toward Kingman and new adventures. Perhaps we will have double figure temperatures too. Lets hope the road isn't as rough...
It was then off to Sedona with Don on board sharing the plans for District Conference. We hope many Rotarians will join us for this unique experience of the Canyon (and us) as well as an opportunity to get together with fellow Rotarians.
Jim our tireless coordinator and driver was taking us only so far and then Richard took over as we headed to the red rocks and busy roads of this tourist town. Richard took a little while to adjust to us Aussies after driving the Indian team. After identifying roadkill skunk and the accompanying scent he concentrated on the interstate drivers instead of helping us to read the road signs.
We did stop over at the National Park Forestry Centre. I personally was intrigued by the scat display which amused Richard and kept us inside away from the wind.
Those clouds looked ominous!
We all enjoyed our quick tour of Richard and Renata's fantastic home. The views were awesome ! Richard makes some wonderful iron art which we also admired.
Then onto Sedona Rotary club to share our presentation # two for the day. (We are getting pretty good at it now!). It is great to meet so many people who have travelled or know someone who has been to the country we love. Thank you for welcoming us.
The day grew colder but our adventure was only just beginning. Thanks to the generosity of John we took our seats in an open jeep to face the hills of Sedona and head up into the wilds. It was less than seven degrees before the wind chill.
So dangerous we had to sign a waiver, so cold our noses were running and so rough bras broke free in distress! David our fantastic driver did not stop sharing great stories, interesting facts and gave us the inside scoop on some celebrity gossip. It was another great G.S.E. experience and will be a great story for our return. At least laughing kept us a little warmer.
When we got back we had no time to waste- getting back into the van to head towards Montezuma's Well, a fantastic natural spring in the middle of nowhere the Indians had used hundreds of years ago. We had a quick walk, took photos and then back into the van to defrost.
We were pleased to see Jim and Don back at the rendezvous point for the trip home. Thank you to R and R for all their hard work in Sedona and thanks also for letting Lucy the sausage dog share our time too.
Tonight I have enjoyed artichokes for the first time and a great chat with my special hosts Walt and Pat. What a wonderful couple they are. It has been a great 'almost' week and I will be sad to hit the road tomorrow as we head toward Kingman and new adventures. Perhaps we will have double figure temperatures too. Lets hope the road isn't as rough...
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Got cake?
Okay, so, we were warned months ago that GSE actually stands for "Get Sleep Eventually" and we politely laughed but hoo hah it's no lie.
Papparazzi Jim (who is at the D'Backs tonight, lucky Jim!) has put us through our paces during our time in Prescott, but all a great adventure.
This morning we scraped ourselves together for a 6:15am meeting time to spend the day in the town of Prescott Valley. We attended the PV Chamber of Commerce quarterly breakfast meeting along with around 100 local business people.
Then our Driver Du Jour, John took us to Tim's Toyota Center. [Please note - for those doubters out there that suspected John would either lose us, lose the van or lose his drivers licence, he was a fab driver!] Now, do you, like us, think Tim's Toyota Center would be a car dealership? Not that we wouldn't have adored a visit to a dealership... We were relieved to discover it's actually a significant entertainment arena/stadium - home venue for the Sundogs Ice Hockey team and several other sporting and music events. Stevie Nicks, Willie Nelson, Chicago and many others have played here - REO Speedwagon and Pat Benatar are coming soon.
Close by is the brand new Library and Council Chambers, where we were graciously met by members of Council and the Mayor, and Vice Mayor Lora Lee Nye took us on a tour around this magnificent facility (constructed to reflect the nearby extinct volcano) - including a groovy high-tech virtual reality suite.
We returned to the beautiful Palace in Prescott for a lunch meeting with the fun Frontier Rotary Club - and were delighted the Club President was able to find synergies between tourism and gardening/landscaping in all our presentations...... somehow... More really excellent questions from the Club, too - thank you all.
After lunch we were accompanied by driver Norm, who kindly made a detour to Costco and allowed us to wander goggle-eyed through the store. Why oh why may I not bring home 2kg of Red Vines, 2.5kg of Jelly Belly and 1.8kg of Reece's Pieces??? Not to mention Pretzels filled with Peanut Butter (seriously). And Kirsty discovered a new treat named "Aussie Bites".
Back to our responsibilities, and the Prescott Valley Tribune had us in their offices to do an interview with us about ourselves and the GSE - thank you for your interest and for letting us steal all your office chairs, Tribune team!
Last official stop of the day was at the Highlands Center, a really beautiful nature education facility just out of town. We took a beautiful walk through the Ponderosa Pine forest. Dave encouraged us all to sniff the bark of a tree........ Is he at home this evening amusing his family with the story? "Ha ha! You should have seen all these strange Aussies today, smelling a tree!" Actually, it did smell delicious.
[Jane K, Ross L - I reckon I have found the perfect solution to prettying up the public toilets in Centennial Park, Cooma! Gorgeous handpainted tiles adorned the washrooms at Highlands - I took photos to show you.]
Sarah's hosts had us all over for dinner this evening, a really relaxing and happy evening capped off by the most enormous (112oz) 'All American Chocolate Cake' which my host Barbara brought from Costco.
Sorry for the lack of photographic evidence (eg of The Cake) - I am too tired to organise myself just now and we've another early start tomorrow.
Message for the day is Happy 42nd Anniversary to Peter and Libby (even though it's tomorrow already, for Libby). It is true, we did not sing romantic songs to Peter today but we DID sing our National Anthem to John in the van this morning..... does that count?
Good night.
Papparazzi Jim (who is at the D'Backs tonight, lucky Jim!) has put us through our paces during our time in Prescott, but all a great adventure.
This morning we scraped ourselves together for a 6:15am meeting time to spend the day in the town of Prescott Valley. We attended the PV Chamber of Commerce quarterly breakfast meeting along with around 100 local business people.
Then our Driver Du Jour, John took us to Tim's Toyota Center. [Please note - for those doubters out there that suspected John would either lose us, lose the van or lose his drivers licence, he was a fab driver!] Now, do you, like us, think Tim's Toyota Center would be a car dealership? Not that we wouldn't have adored a visit to a dealership... We were relieved to discover it's actually a significant entertainment arena/stadium - home venue for the Sundogs Ice Hockey team and several other sporting and music events. Stevie Nicks, Willie Nelson, Chicago and many others have played here - REO Speedwagon and Pat Benatar are coming soon.
Close by is the brand new Library and Council Chambers, where we were graciously met by members of Council and the Mayor, and Vice Mayor Lora Lee Nye took us on a tour around this magnificent facility (constructed to reflect the nearby extinct volcano) - including a groovy high-tech virtual reality suite.
We returned to the beautiful Palace in Prescott for a lunch meeting with the fun Frontier Rotary Club - and were delighted the Club President was able to find synergies between tourism and gardening/landscaping in all our presentations...... somehow... More really excellent questions from the Club, too - thank you all.
After lunch we were accompanied by driver Norm, who kindly made a detour to Costco and allowed us to wander goggle-eyed through the store. Why oh why may I not bring home 2kg of Red Vines, 2.5kg of Jelly Belly and 1.8kg of Reece's Pieces??? Not to mention Pretzels filled with Peanut Butter (seriously). And Kirsty discovered a new treat named "Aussie Bites".
Back to our responsibilities, and the Prescott Valley Tribune had us in their offices to do an interview with us about ourselves and the GSE - thank you for your interest and for letting us steal all your office chairs, Tribune team!
Last official stop of the day was at the Highlands Center, a really beautiful nature education facility just out of town. We took a beautiful walk through the Ponderosa Pine forest. Dave encouraged us all to sniff the bark of a tree........ Is he at home this evening amusing his family with the story? "Ha ha! You should have seen all these strange Aussies today, smelling a tree!" Actually, it did smell delicious.
[Jane K, Ross L - I reckon I have found the perfect solution to prettying up the public toilets in Centennial Park, Cooma! Gorgeous handpainted tiles adorned the washrooms at Highlands - I took photos to show you.]
Sarah's hosts had us all over for dinner this evening, a really relaxing and happy evening capped off by the most enormous (112oz) 'All American Chocolate Cake' which my host Barbara brought from Costco.
Sorry for the lack of photographic evidence (eg of The Cake) - I am too tired to organise myself just now and we've another early start tomorrow.
Message for the day is Happy 42nd Anniversary to Peter and Libby (even though it's tomorrow already, for Libby). It is true, we did not sing romantic songs to Peter today but we DID sing our National Anthem to John in the van this morning..... does that count?
Good night.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
You had me at merlot!
Yesterday was a 7.45am start as we were heading to Sedona, and what a day it was!
We met at Janette and Dave Bill's house in the foothills of Sedona for brunch and boy did they deliver. Janette cooked an amazing brunch - bagels, fruit, sausages, eggs, potatoes and something else that I cannot for the life of me remember. Brunch was a great opportunity to get to know the Indian team a bit better and learn about what they do at home.
We met at Janette and Dave Bill's house in the foothills of Sedona for brunch and boy did they deliver. Janette cooked an amazing brunch - bagels, fruit, sausages, eggs, potatoes and something else that I cannot for the life of me remember. Brunch was a great opportunity to get to know the Indian team a bit better and learn about what they do at home.
After brunch, Ed our wonderful driver took us up to the Chapel of the Holy cross which provides spectacular views to some of the rock formations and over a large residential area, which mostly blended into the landscape, with the exception of a monstrosity of a house that was directly in everyones line of sight (pictures to come).
After a short drive through the newest shopping precinct in Sedona, we were off to Cottonwood (best name ever!) with Casey as our wonderful tour guide. We took a short stroll down the street until we arrived at Arizona Stronghold. Formed by Eric Glomski, the owner and director of winemaking at Page Springs Cellars and Maynard Keenan, owner of Caduceus Cellars and lead singer of the band TOOL (woop!), the two have come together under the banner of Arizona Stronghold Vineyards.
We sampled 4 wines under the Arizona Stronghold label - Nachise, Mangus, Tazi and Dayden. All named after key figures of the Chiricahua Apache.
Arizona winemakers use grapes I have never heard of - Petite Sirah and Malvasia Bianca to name two. Apparently Malvasia Bianca is set to become the signature grape of Arizona.
Sam Pillsbury's tasting room was our next stop, which was conveniently located just across the road. When entering the facility we were greeted with 'hello you bastards', which could only come from one of two nationalities - a fellow Australian or a Kiwi. Yep, Sam was a kiwi.
Wine tasting at two tasting rooms all before lunch is hard work you know, but we decided to push on regardless to our next stop - Page Springs Cellars. Here we were hosted to a wonderful lunch provided by Renate, Richard and their merry group of fellow Rotarians. The very knowledgable Norris was our wine tasting expert for the day. As we sat on the deck overlooking the running Spring and spending time with some wonderful Rotarians, it reminded us all how fortunate we are to be here and to be given this wonderful opportunity.
With the water flowing alongside us and the hot sun on our backs, I, like many of the others could have easily curled up and had a siesta, but we soldiered onto our final destination for the day - Alcantara Vineyards.
Located in the Verde Valley and established by husband and wife team Barbara and Bob Predmore, Alcantara is the first winery on the banks of the Verde River. With over 10,000 vines planted over 20 acres, there are some big plans in the making for Alcantara. Barbara is a woman of great vision and passion and I am confident that with her at the helm, her vision will come to fruition in a matter of years. With plans to build a B&B, plant more vines, introduce olives, build a Tuscan restaurant and an entertainment space including an ampitheatre, Barbara and Bob have their work cut out for them.
An ENORMOUS thankyou to our wonderful driver/area coordinator/paparazzi/most tolerant person alive, Jim Clemens for putting up with us the last few days, laughing at our jokes when I am fairly confident weren't even funny and generally being a great person to be around. Thanks Jim - it is people like you that make this trip so special for us all.
We have a Chamber of Commerce breakfast in the morning and we being picked up at 6.15am, so over and out for now...
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