Month: November 2019

Every Day Life

How Remote is the Australian Outback?

I heard a story the other day about a man who was trying to drive from Perth to Adelaide across the Nullarbor Plain. He had driven as far as Kalgoorlie (593 km or 370 miles) only to find out the the Eyre Highway across the Nullarbor was blocked because of bushfires. This direct route (at […]

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USA

We Are Finally Home Again

We finally arrived home from our ill-fated trip to the USA at around noon yesterday. Our five hour-flight from Dulles, Washington, departed at 5.00 pm on Sunday and connected with the fifteen-hour Qantas flight out of Los Angeles at 10.50 pm . That flight was a little over an hour late in leaving but arrived […]

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Our Final Day in the USA

We have reached Washington DC after taking two days to travel slowly from Asheville. We fly out of here on a 5.00 pm flight today (Sunday) which will get us home at 9.50 am Melbourne time on Tuesday, November 19.. Jill is bit nervous about the fight, but she is generally OK without any surgical […]

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USA

We are Starting our Journey Back Home.

Our good news is that we now have confirmed flights out of Dulles Airport in Washington on Sunday evening (November 17). We will have a six hour flight on Alaska Airlines to Los Angeles and then a sixteen hour flight from there to Melbourne. Thank heavens for business class! Yesterday, we drove a short part […]

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USA

We Are Ready to Move On From Sylva

Over the  last couple of days we have been making plans to leave Sylva and begin our way back to home. I’ll leave here with some very mixed emotions. On one hand, I’ll be glad to get out of this little town and head home. On the other hand, I’m feeling sad about leaving behind […]

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USA

Day Tours Around Sylva

Now that Jill is the Rehab unit, I’ve been able to get out and do some sight seeing around this area of Northern Carolina. Jill is doing well, but she is not enjoying the ambience of the rehab unit. It is actually more of a convalescent unit, as rehabilitation only takes up only a short […]

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USA

Sylva Update

I have come to know parts this town rather well over the last twelve days (at least the route between my hotel and the hospital) First,  an update on Jill. She was due to move from the hospital to a rehab facility yesterday but was suffering some problems caused by one of the new antibiotic […]

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USA

More Good News About Jill

It’s Monday morning here in Sylva and quite cold. It’s going to be a clear sunny day with a temperature of 12C but at the moment it’s -1C. I’m still resident in the Holiday Inn Hotel. The beautiful autumn colours have gone and the trees are bare. The heavy rain last week knocked all the […]

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USA

Some Notes About Southern US Culture

We are not in the deep south of America but I am finding that this southern area the US has a culture that is very different to ours at home. We are in the region of the Appalachian Mountains. While endowed with abundant natural resources, this region of the USA has long struggled with poverty. […]

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USA

Jill is Doing Well

I’m pleased to report that Jill is sitting up and doing well. Here she is yesterday in her room at Harris Regional Hospital. She finds that lying in bed is very uncomfortable for her, so she has been sitting all day. I think that she has spent so many days on her back that her […]

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USA

Better News From Sylva

Today has been a good day. I’m feeling far more positive and comfortable with the future. I was down at the hospital by 7.30 am this morning after sending yet another couple of documents to the insurance company (It never seems to end). I’m told that I might get a decision on my claim overnight […]

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