B is for Boarding

Day 2 is going to be a super exciting one! Travel to Heathrow, checking in, checking baggage, security and currently...

... waiting to board. 

Currently my flight is 1hr 25 mins late and at Heathrow that tends to accumulate. My flight is 16hrs 50 mins to Perth. So it will be Saturday by the time we land. Where I have to collect my bags, clear immigration, and checking for my internal flight now in 2hrs 😥

Psalm 139 says:

"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."

Even when my 🛫 (flight) is delayed! 

When you have to walk to the furthest gate for your flight... Start a new hobby - plane spotting! 

A is for Adventure

It all feels a bit surreal to be setting off after so many months of counting down the days.

I'm currently training my way from Bristol to my parents house. This will allow for a slightly later start for Heathrow tomorrow. 

As I lay in bed doing a mental count of the clothes a few days ago, I was reminded of Matthew 6:25- 34: 

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ... But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Nonetheless, I realised if I start today I can fit in 26 days of posts and that means alphabet titles! (hint - K falls on Koala Sanctuary day - how satisfying!!)

Australia - T minus a few days

Koala days are coming... 

This is all suddenly happening quite fast! 

My flight out is on Friday and my cat, Flo, reckons she should be coming too: 

I fit! I fit! I fit!

Nonetheless she is being left to the mercies of my nephew and my kind friend!

A brief itinerary to get us going: 

Leaving UK Friday 10th, Arriving Cairns late on Saturday 11th. 

Sunday 12-14th. Cairns. Including Great Barrier Reef! 🐠 

15th. Train down to Hervey Bay. 

16th. K' Giri

17th. Train to Brisbane. 

Saturday 18-19th. Brisbane including Koala Sanctuary 🐨 🥰 

20th-24th Conference. Two talks on Wednesday. 

25th Brisbane free day. 

Sunday 26th Train to Sydney.

27th-29th Sydney.

30th Flight to Melbourne.

Friday 1st-3rd May. Melbourne including tour along Great Ocean Road.

3rd May Fly home.

4th May Arrive and back to Bristol.

much delayed - San Juan Islands

Having meant to go my first Summer in Seattle finally at the end of June I organised myself to go to the San Juan Islands. This is a collection of islands, or archipelago, between Seattle and Vancouver.I only went for a day, a bit of fleeting visit. I left from Pier 69 at 7:45am on a Clipper ferry so it was an early morning. The Clipper to Victoria was leaving at 7:30 so it was a long cue for Breakfast before the ferry set off! 

Setting off to Victoria

As is my usual MO for water craft I stayed on the top deck in the wind, luckily it was a beautiful day and I was wrapped up against the 'breeze'. 

The journey was gorgeous with boats, islands and wildlife to see but it did take 3.5 hours to get to Friday Harbour, my destination, on San Juan Island. Here is a selection of shots...

Once at Friday harbour I had five and a quarter hours to look around whilst they conducted a whale watching tour (which I wasn't paying for) before the ferry home again. 

Whilst at Friday harbour I had a little walk around the town and popped in some shops. I had a look at the whale museum which had some really nice murals,information about different types of whales, and a few skeletons. It also told you about the pods in the area which was interesting. After that I ate some battered seafood and chips and then walked around to the local beach. This was great except that I had to root march back in order to catch the ferry in time!

The journey back was equally charming. With the sun shining brightly. I was particularly enamoured with the sparkling sunlight on the water. 

Sun sparkling. 

Of course the cherry on the cake was seeing whales. This did make the top deck a bit crowded and there were a few excited screamy girls which was a bit of a shame. There was a pod of 5-7 between us and Whitby Island so we had a really good show. 

Whales, whales where are you? 

I arrived back in Seattle at 7:30pm. A long day but worth it. I took over 900 photographs so be glad I edited them for you!