IT'S OVER!

We have had an absolutely wonderful time since leaving home September 24th. We have never had a vacation like this before, actually it was several different kinds of adventure for us...

1. The coach tour through The Kimberley in Northern Australia.

2. Our time 'alone' in Broome, Perth, Alice Springs and Ayer's Rock.

3. The road trip with Rod and Lyn from north of Brisbane to their home in Maryborough.

4. Living in Maryborough the past month.

Each had its own different flavour and high points. There were some negatives of course. Living out of a suitcase and sleeping in a different bed every few nights is not all fun.

The Australia that we saw and lived is not what most tourists experience. We never went to Sydney, Melbourne per se, nor Brisbane. We DID experience 'country life' in Maryborough. [It is technically a city but to me it is a large Country Town]. We saw no Opera, Theatre nor culture in the accepted sense of the word. We did experience some rough and ready parts of this big and varied country, from aboriginal towns with all their warts and faults to dried up farmlands with struggling families and dying towns. In the west, it is big time boom time. We have had long talks with many, many Australians who confirmed that we share many of the same problems and issues in our respective countries.

There was really no one thing that I can say 'this was the best part', it is all rolled up into one big ball of an educational experience. It was rather neat to experience an election from start to finish in a country other than Canada and the US, [where there seems to be one continuous election].

Some people may question what Fellette and I do regarding 'working' all the time. It is not work, that is how we play. Some people go to restaurants and bars, some to the Theatre, to some beach vacations or golfing etc. are big parts of their life. To each his own, all are perfectly acceptable. The problem with the blog is that you KNOW what WE are doing, you do not know how others spend their time.

We do have quite a varied life, and for that we are very thankful and grateful. The last two months have been a very busy time for us, it will take some time to sink in. I hope that at least some of you caught the blog once in a while. I imagine most, if they thought about it would say, "my gosh, are they still there?"

The two photos show the Puppet Theatre built for Lyn to give to their nieces and nephews. Our last bit of fun with the Lindroths.



We sincerely thank Rod and Lyn for their hospitality during our rather lengthy say. They were gracious hosts and very tolerant of our eccentricities. They regret that we did not spend more time touring about this interesting part of Australia. We, however have no regrets at all, we did what we wanted to do.

We are looking forward to seeing our kids, grandkids, relatives, employees, friends and neighbours and, sleeping in OUR OWN BED!

Hopefully the weather is a bit more moderate at home than in Saskatchewan where Vivian says it is somewhere about -28 C, with a wind!

Thanks for following us. To some of you, see you in a day or two!

Love to all of you, Fellette and Doug

To bed now for our last sleep!