“Life In The So-Called Space Age”
This was the longest trip I’ve ever done. Four flights and over 35 hours in total it’s not something I’m keen on ever repeating! But I made it safe and sound and am now in Melbourne.
First impressions are that it’s much like Sydney only even more multicultural? But to be honest yesterday (it’s 3 am) was a fugue due to jet lag and loss of sleep, so it could be anyway outside this hotel room.
I met this character. You’ll see more of him in the days ahead….
It was a busy year for us, and we saw and did many things. Here’s a summary, in which I only selected photos with us in them. If you want to read more about any of what is mentioned in this post, go back and check the original entries which are all here on the blog.
The year started – as it has for over a decade – down in Oz, where Bernard and I were on the Gold Coast about to drive down to Newcastle. We went to the usual places and did the usual stuff and had the usual fun we always have, but all this was heightened due to the fact we’d never been to many of the places we visited on our road trip. It was a memorable vacation!
In March, back in the USA, we had a record-breaking snowstorm. On one day we got just shy of two feet of snow, and I almost wore the snowblower out trying to clear it. That was a busy day!
In May we went to Japan for the sixth time. We stayed in three cities and had a jam-packed vacation that was so incredible I already want to go back (and may already be planning the next one…)
August saw us jet over to Ireland for a holiday full of scenery and the usual laughs. Once again this trip brought many highlights, not the least of which was visiting Skellig which the Star Wars films have now made famous. KLS enjoyed Ireland so much she’s went again in December!
And then in September we went to New Hampshire for a few days, visiting some caves, a giant arcade and taking lovely train and boat trips. As usual we packed a lot into a few days and it was great.
And in less than two days I’m heading off again to Australia, to once again meet Bernard in a city we’ve never been (Melbourne this time) and then to once again take a road trip back to Newcastle. This time however we’ve leveled up our itinerary, and our drive will take us a lazy ten days through the interior of VIC and NSW and then along the coastal road heading north. It promises to be great, and you can (and should!) read all about it right here starting in a few days…
Until then, Happy Christmas 🙂
This series turned out longer and more work than anticipated but as we all know, all good things must come to an end.
The largest portion of my stamp ‘collection’ is still affixed to the hundreds of postcards I have stored together in a box. From all over the world and spanning over twenty years, these contain a fascinating selection of stamps and cancellations.
The New Zealand stamps on the postcards sent by Bernard were quite special and varied, but I also like the mini airmail stamp attached to the Swiss stamp and the (very unique!) Death Valley cancellation.
There’s those Star Wars stamps attached to a postcard I sent from Hawaii a decade ago. There’s the only postcard I ever received from Italy (and boring at that) followed by an example of my creative stamping from England.
Those were both from Oz last year, and you may have seen these on your cards? Australia seems to have doubled down on large and lavish animal stamps these past years, and I always seek them out to include them on postcards.
In fact I’ve got no problem whatsoever eating up large portions of the back of a postcard with lovely stamps…. like this:
Which is another specimen I sent KLS last year. I’ve done the above several times over the years, but this one may be my masterpiece!
One thing I’ve learned doing research for this series is that while collectors prefer stamps to be as pristine as possible, there are certain stamps that are more collectible if they had been used for postage. This is why I particularly like the ones attached to my postcards, since they were used to mail stuff to me!
In a few days I’m off to Australia again. This time, when you get your postcards, spare a moment to appreciate the stamps. It’s likely I put as much thought into them as I did the card itself or even what I wrote on it.
I hope you found this series interesting. I ended up much farther down the rabbit hole than I ever expected, and at times even I couldn’t see light, but I’m glad I’m out now and can move on with the usual topics 🙂