More Whangarei Hike

There were steps when it got steep

Whangarei Headlands

Had a great hike today from the beach in the background to the ridge of the Whangarei Headlands. Beautiful views and beaches. Quite a drop from near the top. Northland, New Zealand on the Pacific Ocean.

How do you pack for six months on the road?

It's the question everyone asks. The answer? Very carefully.

These are our fully packed suitcases. Two checked bags (24" and 25") and two carry ons that can fit in the overhead of even a small regional jet. You can buy much bigger bags and carry a lot more but trust me, you will not want to lug them around 20 different airports or try to shove them into a small taxi in Vietnam. Not to mention the checked bag fees! Our checked bags are only slightly larger than our carry ons. It should be obvious that given these constraints you can't possibly bring enough for your entire trip. You just have to treat it like the trip is for two or three weeks and plan to do laundry. That said, here are some tips.

First, make sure most of your clothes go together, i.e., similar color scheme, so you can mix stuff up. That will make you feel like you have a lot more clothes.

Second, try to choose materials that dry quickly. Unless you're prepared to pay exorbitant hotel prices to launder your clothes you'll have to do it at least some of it yourself. You just can't count on being able to find a laundry to do things for you at a reasonable price and on what may be a tight schedule. You'll find that it's not that hard to wash clothes on the road, but drying them is a different story. If most of your clothes are cotton you're going to have a problem. Cotton's not only heavy but it takes a long time to dry. It's no fun putting on a wet pair of jeans right before you hop on a plane for four hours.

Third, choose your shoes carefully. They weigh the most and take up the most room. And always wear the biggest, heaviest pair, e.g., hiking boots, on the plane.

Fourth, pack carefully. There are a million articles and videos explaining the most efficient ways to pack a bag. Watch a few and pick what works for you. Packing cubes can be great. Give them a try.

Last, a word about toiletries. Most people say just buy what you need when you get where you're going. That's fine if you have one destination. But if you're going to be traveling all over creation you can't buy new toiletries every time you move. That's not only expensive but very time consuming. In total your toiletries can be some of the heaviest stuff you carry. So choose wisely.

And be ready to jettison. We decided to cut about ten pounds of stuff when we made our first stop in Vancouver where it was still possible to ship home at a reasonable cost. If you make a mistake admit it, fix it and move on.

You may not always be the height of fashion but hey, that's not why your doing this anyway, right?

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Ready to go

Air New Zealand 777. Only 14 hours from Vancouver to Auckland. We leave in an hour and a half.


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Rainy Beautiful Night in Gastown

Trip Kickoff in Vancouver BC

Rainy, slushy, cold -- and what more perfect conditions could there be for lunch at the best ramen joint outside of Tokyo? Hokkaido Ramen Santouka. Delicious. Now back at the Four Seasons for a brief snooze in style, courtesy of the Oracle rate. Thanks to David for setting it up :). Then perhaps our favorite Blue Water Cafe for a late dinner ...

The next day before our flight, we met Steve and Ginger Olsen at West in Vancouver.  Great meal.  John and Steve went to kindergarten together so they've known each other for about 60 years!

Sunday @ Social for Oysters and Champagne

After a bike ride on the Anacostia trail in DC with Eva.

Croatia

Croatia again. Can't have too many nice sunsets.

Waiting for sunset in Rovinj

In front of our apartment and all around the harbor, hundreds of people watching the sun set on a beautiful, warm night.

Cheapy Peachy

The fruit at this market was beautiful. Perfect late summer everything. Note the price. 2 kg for 10 kuna. Last time I went to Wegman's peaches were about $1.00 each. This is 4.4 lbs for $1.50. That's our story for Zagreb. Beautiful and cheap, cheap, cheap.

Road Food.

Fresh figs, cheese from Pag.

Atlanta Botanical Gardens

Shillings on the Square, Marietta, Ga

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Stone crab at Atlanta Fish Market

Memories!! Still the best.

Maple Ave, Vienna

Top 50 NOVA. Definitely. 6 course brunch.

Natural water slide, Sliding Rock State Park

Oak Creek Canyon, near Sedona, AZ. The water was freezing but what fun. The park had just reopened after being closed for several months following a forest fire. This was a Friday so it was pretty empty. Even so, you had to wait your turn.

Sliding Rock State Park, Sedona AZ

Great fun!

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Desert View Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon risk taker

That's a couple thousand feet down my friend.

Grand Canyon South Rim

On the way to the Grand Canyon

Sassy and Johnny

Grand Canyon of the Little Colorado

About 30 minutes from the Grand Canyon Desert View

The sun rises, the power of the Vortex stirs

Feel the power says Eva.

I do, I do says Betty.

Sunrise at the Airport Vortex, Sedona, AZ

 Grand Canyon 2014

John and David Gallagher

David's on his way to see Justin Timberlake.

Los Olivos, CA

Sides Hardware and Shoes Restaurant

Welcome to Union Square Hyatt

Boutique-y little new hotel. Bikes checked in and ready to hit ABC then the Lobster Shack. Love this area!

Breakfast

Breakfast in Playa del Carmen

Christmas ham warmed by the fire ........ sort of

Christmas Eve ham. No oven because of remodel.

Moving Day

Just a bad lipstick application

All is well. On our way to dinner.

The judges gave her a 9.6

But the acrobatic face plant resulted in a few cuts and bruises. She is fine but when you see her in a few days just please know there was no elder abuse involved. Just a small obstacle course outside of Waterloo station on our way back for
Windsor.

Jeez he's got a funny look in his eye.

Check the sign.

East meets west in Greenwich

Ah, that's better

Something was just missing.

Prime meridian

The classic tourist photo of us straddling the prime meridian but say Mel, shouldn't our feet actually be in the picture?

No stone unturned

Trying to decide where to have lunch we have to consult our sources, and they are many. By the way, perhaps it's time for a real pair of glasses? Not that the pink frames aren't so very stylin'.

Kensington Palace Gardens

Now they all want a bite....

Look how she's following me, acting like all she wants is a picture. As if.

It was deelicioso

Came back past and the smell got me. Just ate lunch but had to have this.  Look at those onions.

Chorizo, Piri Piri Chicken, etc.

Street food London style. You have no idea how great this smelled but we were on our way to a Thai restaurant for lunch so I had to pass .... temporarily it turned out.

Greenwich Market

Now that's some fish and chips!