The morning was over and we had conquered our fear of heights. Now, we were going on a sightseeing tour of the island. There was nothing to fear about. We shall find out!

The East End Tour began at the Tour Plaza where we boarded our open, canopy-covered vehicle, good for 12 people. The open Hummer that we were expecting to ride was out on maintenance service.

Tweet Years ago, a trip to the Hunter Valley meant a couple of hours drive north of Sydney, some wine tastings in a few vineyards, lunch, then another 2 hours drive back home with one, two or three cases of Shiraz in your car. These days, there is more to the Hunter Valley than just
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We had been preparing for this day – with two adventurous activities scheduled, we were psyching ourselves that we could do these. The first on the agenda was the Zipline Eco Tour. My friend – Jaye, and I, both have a fear of heights. But, I was daring myself to do this and I had to encourage Jaye to join me to do it, too.

Tweet Editor’s note:  Our guest poster is traveling the world on an indefinite sabbatical and fulfilling a dream.  He graciously agreed to share some of his jaunts with us.  ”He” adds a fresh look at the world, from the eyes of someone discovering nooks and crannies of the globe, with a camera and a journal.
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After all these years of being a California resident, I was finally going to visit Avalon, Santa Catalina Island, which is just 22 miles away from the Los Angeles and Orange County coast line. Also referred to as Catalina Island, it is a rocky-mountain island located south west of Los Angeles. It is part of the Channel Islands of California, one of eight, that falls under the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County. With a population of close to 4000, it is administered by the Catalina Island Conservancy. It remains to be privately owned by the Wrigley family.

It is amazing how certain songs, smells, sounds, and places can transport you to a place you may or may not have been in before. One such place is the Strand Arcade, Sydney. I imagine myself getting ready to go shopping in the newest city mall. Choosing to dress in my Sunday best – hat included, I catch a tram into town to see what all the hype is about and to see for myself the electric lights – one of the first malls in Sydney to be lit by electricity – in this much-talked about modern, four-storey shoppers’ paradise. The year – 1892.

As I watched the amazing Sydney Harbour fireworks display to welcome in the new millennium, I thought to myself – that has got to be the most beautiful harbour in the world. I have not seen every harbour in the world, but how can you top this? Every time I drive across the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and view the famous Sydney Opera house surrounded by that sparkling blue water, I think…..I am so jealous – what a beautiful city to live in! Then it dawns on me – I do live here!

Tweet Healdsburg is a town central to three wine-producing wine regions in Sonoma County – The Russian River, Dry Creek, and Alexander Valleys. I took a day trip from San Francisco to seek out wineries that could serve up wines evocative of the regions and a little something extra. With over 100 wineries to choose
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We had first gone to Mondsee Cathedral where the Captain and Maria had gotten married. The church seemed so much smaller than the grand wedding scene the movie had shown but beautiful nonetheless. After, we crossed a street lane lined with trees that looked the same as the ones the Von Trapp children had climbed as the Captain and the Baroness had driven by in their car.

Tweet Yesterday afternoon was a fun in the sun day with my sister as we found ourselves moseying over to University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto for the 2 day Art Festival.  That was actually the second reason we were there. The first was because I wanted to get my hands on some honest to
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