Author Archives: Mark
Two Sans – Antonio and Francisco
We touch down at San Antonio International Airport. It is an international airport to Dallas and Houston. Not much else. San Antonio is a city that has grown immensely over the past few years. Not in a good way. It has oozed concrete in all directions. The growth seems poorly planned, and city planning has […]
Back in the USA
The homeless duo travel via Qantas to the USA. From Brisbane we connected in Sydney, then it was off to DFW and finally Atlanta. My last glimpse of Australia was a great one. From the window leaving Sydney, I had a fantastic view of Sydney Harbour, including the Opera House. Not a bad way […]
Hanging out in Brisbane – Just Pictures
(Click any pic to start a slideshow)
Day One
Day one of being homeless: we moved into a local Airbnb for a couple of days. The first thing to note was the extraordinarily large amount of space. Normally, we are always near each other on the boat. Today, we can sit across the room and be far enough away not to touch. The TV […]
Cream Puff is Sold
Wow… right! Big news. Cream Puff is officially sold. This means we’re officially homeless. Nope, we do not have a home anywhere. Challenge on. We’ve owned our Amel since 15th July 2011, some fifteen years ago. For the past twelve years, Cream Puff hasn’t just been our boat. She’s been our home. Selling her wasn’t […]
Back in New Caledonia – Round 3
We are back in the land of fresh croissants and baguettes. When we arrived, our agent, Clementine, asked about our stay in Australia. We told her how much we loved it there. As the conversation progressed, she told us how, in her earlier days, she lived there and worked for a year. A lot of […]
Adios, Ciao, Bye Bye
When Cindy and I first started on this wacky adventure, we both hoped that one day we’d pull into a port and think to ourselves, we should make this home. This happened after 11 years of sailing and landing in Australia. But alas, Australia has zero programs that provide a path to citizenship for retired […]
We’re Not Dead
I just realized we haven’t updated the blog for some time. Well, that’s a lie. I’ve been meaning to but just gotten a little lazy as time has flown by. Also, the fact is, we’ve been quite busy. But before I bore you with all the projects we’ve been doing, we have had some fun […]
Coober Pedy Opal Mines
Wow. In the last post we talked about our drive along the Great Ocean Road. Our timing turned out to be perfect. Due to massive wildfires followed by torrential rain, flooding, and landslides, the road is currently closed in both directions. We left off in the wonderful little town of Warrnambool. We crashed here for […]
Australia’s Great Ocean Road
“To err is human, but to really ‘ef’ something up, use a computer.” I’d like to amend that saying to: “To err is human, but to really ‘ef’ something up, fly Qantas.” This was how our latest adventure to southern Australia began. Get ready for some STUNNING photos. Seriously – I’m not kidding. A couple […]
Back in the Land Down Under – Part 2
I was thrilled to discover that the Sydney Opera House offers behind-the-scenes tours. These tours dive into everything — the global design competition, the construction saga, the political brawls, the triumphs, and the obscure little tidbits you’ll never hear on a standard visit. The only downside? About a million steps. Maybe two million. Somewhere between […]
Back in the Land Down Under – Part 1
The picture above is a checkmark on my quasi bucket list. You will rarely hear me mention bucket list items. That’s not really who I am. I don’t have a bucket list, per se. But seeing the iconic Sydney Opera House from Sydney Harbour has been something I’ve wanted to do for a very long […]
Back in New Caledonia
We are in the wonderful French territory known as New Caledonia. Like most of the islands in the South Pacific, New Caledonia was named in 1774 by Captain James Cook when he sailed past. The landscape reminded him of the Scottish Highlands, so he borrowed the name. Caledonia was the Latin name the Romans used […]
Christmas in July – Down Under
When most of the world thinks of Christmas, they picture frosty mornings, breath hanging in the air, and the smell of something roasting in the oven. But here in Australia, where we’re currently moored, December 25 is more likely to involve sunscreen, a wide-brim hat, and the sound of waves rather than sleigh bells. The […]
Gnarly and Nostalgia
Gnarly Let’s start with something really gnarly. We went whale watching. No, this isn’t your average whale-watching excursion. Let’s start with the boat. The vessel, aptly named Eye-Spy, leaves from the Redcliffe Jetty. The first thing I noticed is how new everything on the boat appears. There is no rust, the windows aren’t hazy, it […]
