Oregon Living 2025 – Blog #11 – A Week and More Just for Recovery!

 

Thursday, March 20^th., 2025…… I felt pretty good so far today. Cathye not so much. She is still coughing and has no energy. She rested for the day while I had enough energy to dump the suitcases, and sort through the laundry and the souvenirs. I didn’t mention this earlier, but I thought it was pretty cool to see them advertised as ‘takeaways’ instead of souvenirs! Anyway, I had separated all of our takeaways and I was done for the day. Later, I think Cat got one or two loads started. But that was it for us. We’re pooped!

Friday, March 21^st., 2025…… Same thing today, We are still having jet lag and trying to get things done, while still feeling the effects of the travel and crisp weather. Cat is still down and now I’m, coughing. I still think mine happened on the transition from the PDX shuttle pickup and home. Mine is chest congestion and Cat is still dealing with her head and sinus infection.

Saturday, March 22^nd., 2025…… Cat worked some on laundry and I did pretty much nothing. We are still struggling….

Sunday, March 23^rd., 2025…… Cat woke me up around 4:30am and said she needed to go to the emergency room. I got dressed and took her. They had her for a bit so I came home to take care of the dogs. She called and was ready to come home. Yep, it’s a viral sinus infection!  They gave her antibiotics and we both came home and rested for the day and evening. I don’t seem to be feeling any better either.

Monday, March 24^th., 2025…… I think the drugs are helping Cat because she looked a little better today. Still coughing and all but she’s able to rest and relax in her chair and sleep when she needs to. I am also holed up with no strength and I am now sore from coughing so much. For me, it’s still in my chest. I have ok days but cough so much at night that I have to go to my recliner and sit up in it to allow me to rest. Not getting much sleep.  As for Cat, she had a mammogram scheduled for this morning and went for that. No problems but she came home beat. We both rested today.  Penny has been great through this!  She calls every day and wants to help. Today, we asked her to go shopping for us. We are running out of essentials. Thanks, Sis!

Tv and bed.   

Tuesday, March 25^th., 2025…… We both had haircuts scheduled today but yesterday Dianna texted Cat and cancelled because she was also sick. Rescheduled for next week. I had it in mind to go help out at our Tuesday workshop, but thought better of it and stayed home and rested. I worked on the blog cruise 2 but that was about it for today.   

Wednesday, March 26^th., 2025…… Cathye is feeling much better today. I think the antibiotics are helping. She’s breathing better and not coughing near as much. Not so for me. I feel worse. I just can’t get the phlegm to loosen up! I try to control coughing strain but it still makes me ache. But, during the day, I feel fine and can breathe. We walk the dogs and I think being outside in the fresh air helps (as long as it’s not raining!). Today was a record high (81°) for the area since the 1920s. But, we have a big front coming in with high winds and rain and they are saying we could get hail up to egg size! That is scary! We will keep watch on this….   

Thursday, March 27^th., 2025…… Weather is great!  Sunny skies and warm like yesterday! But, we can see on radar that the storm is coming. Our neighbors took advantage of the nice weather to mow their lawns. But for us, we couldn’t.   Number 1 - we aren’t up to it, and number 2 - it’s still way too soggy on 90% of the lawn that we can’t mow anyway! The plan today is to go for our massages. Neither of us is contagious so we are good to go.  I went first. I told Emily about how we are doing. She had me call so she could talk to Cat. They decided to have her stay home today just to be careful. But I got a version today where she kept it lighter than normal. I felt great when I left!

When I got back, we could see the dark skies coming in from the South. We decided to try to get our cars all under cover because of the hail that would be coming. So, we rearranged my shop garage so we could park the Honda in there. That left room in the house garage for the truck so we were ready!

Later, the rains came and it got heavy at times. But so far, no hail!  We waited and waited and then went to bed but the hail never came. Oh well, no harm no foul! Tv and bed.  

Friday, March 28^th., 2025…… Today starts our Camp Koinonia square dance weekend. We were supposed to go there with the motorhome for the weekend, but that wasn’t going to happen! The new plan was to go on Friday night to the potluck (with lasagna and cupcakes) and then back again on Saturday morning with our assigned breakfast dishes. We had the responsibility for hosting breakfast and had to bring hashbrown casseroles. So, Cat went shopping. She is doing way better these last few days. Just tired easily. She got everything we needed and we set out and made everything. We put together three casseroles – one with sausage, one with bacon, and one with veggies. We got those loaded into carriers and left for the evening. They got stored in the fridge and we served the lasagna. We ate and then before the dance started, we decided to come home. Neither of us is ready to dance right now. We were both in bed super early.  

Saturday, March 29^th., 2025…… I had a tough night with coughing. I just couldn’t sleep and when the alarm went off at 5:45am, I wasn’t feeling it!  So, Cathye headed over for the morning and I went back to bed. I was interrupted a few times with text and calls, but managed to get some sleep. I got up and showered and felt better. I walked and fed the dogs and came back in to crash for the morning. Cat came back later, but Penny also came by to see if I was ok. I don’t need the er – just some rest and some time to get better. Cat took a nap, then went back and had dinner with the group. She didn’t feel like dancing so she came home early and we settled in for tv until bedtime.  

 

 

 

 

 

Oregon Living 2025 – Blog #10 –  Our Cruise – Part 2

  

Monday Mar. 10 day 16  cruise day 11
Today was another at sea day. So, we did absolutely nothing. Until it was time to change into formal clothes, then go get pics and then dinner. Cathye is still not feeling up to dancing and I'm good with not going. We sat at a table with new friends and had dinner. Tonight's show was called Encore and was very good. Then back to our stateroom and  bed.
Tuesday Mar. 11 day 17 cruise day 12
We woke up this morning in Melbourne. We needed to be done with breakfast and at our pickup point for today's tour.  We are going to see Alleyways and Arcades. We had a tour of 16 (14 were from our group) and our local guide, Isabel, fitted us with radios and earplugs so we could hear her. We boarded a tram which took us downtown and we walked. And walked... Temps here today were in the high 80s so it was plenty warm. We saw art work on the alley walls as well as beautiful architecture of the old and new in the cityscape. Cat took a tumble up a small curb. Like this one...

No major injury, so far a bruised hip.. After about 2 hours, we stopped for tea and cake at a high tea shop. It was a fun day - a lot more fun than I thought. Here are pics from the day….

 

We got back and went to our stateroom and took naps. Cathye left to go walk around and see how her hip felt. She took ibuprofen. I went to do a last load of laundry. It was crowded but I got through it. But, by then, it was too late to meet our group for dinner, so we changed and went out looking. We ended up going up to the buffet. We only had lunch there once and then only breakfasts after that. No dinners there until tonight. This turned out to be a great choice! No crowds and they had a wide variety of foods we didn't see on our first meal there. We both found flaky fish and also baked mac and cheese! Yummy!. After that, we went down and found a bar and had drinks before the show...

Tonight it was The Cover Girls. They just joined the cruise in Melbourne for the one night.  Sure wish we could see more! They did a tribute to girl singers from the 40s to the 80s.  My favorite was the Andrew sisters Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B.

We made our way back but I needed to go up to the buffet to retrieve Cat's sweater. They had it! I found David and Dawn up there and we talked a bit. They were on the walk and asked how Cat was doing after her fall. No worries. We will be there for the last dance tomorrow afternoon.

Wednesday Mar. 12 day 18  cruise day 13
Last day at sea. We dock early and our group has all received luggage tags for those first off the ship. We will be meeting our bus when we clear immigration. We will go from 130 dancers on the cruise, to 80 for the land tour.
Ok, it's later now. I have begun packing. We have to have our tagged luggage outside our door early tonight so we held tomorrow's clothes out and will put today's clothes in our carry-ons. We also have to guess on the luggage weight. For the flights to and from Cairns its 44 lbs. for the bags and 15 for the carry-ons. We came over under that and don't have much to add so we should be ok. We'll see.
We went down for the last session for dancing. It was only 1 1/2 hour so Cat did well. We don't remember David telling us anything about dancing for the land tour, so we'll see.
Later, we changed and headed up to the dining room for dinner. Then the last show. Tonight is the Princess Orchestra Rock Edition. It was pretty good. They have played for all of the shows and it was nice to see them highlighted. Back to our room and to bed. Early morning tomorrow...

Thursday Mar. 13 day 19  tour day 1
We were up super early this morning. 5:30am. Thank God for cell phone alarms! This was the first view we got early early this morning view when we opened our balcony curtains as the ship got in to dock....

We cleaned up and doublechecked our room and that we had everything.  We met our group in the Vista Lounge and at 6:30am we all made our way off the ship and to the Globus Tour Line bus for a trip to Sydney airport. We got a quick look at the Sydney Bridge as we left the harbor.....

Yep, its big!  At the airport we got checked in and I got us exit row seats at no charge. Our luggage was over by a lb. or so but they let it go. We made our way to our gate and the flight left on time. Next up was Cairns (pronounced ‘canes’). Once we got everyone loaded (we have two buses 80 people) we made our way to our hotel. We are at the Bailey hotel. I will remember that name because one of the other two in the chain is Rylee!  
Next up was a walk later to dinner as a group. Dundee's was at the aquarium just down the street and we had tables for all of us together! The meal was served as group for 4 each. Several meats and veggies and sweet potato fries. Everything was very good!  All of this type of treatment is included in our package. We usually like to go out on our own but it’s been kinda nice not having to arrange things. We'll see how it goes after the week is over!

Friday Mar. 14 day 20  tour day 2
We met in the lobby after the buffet breakfast. The trip to the marina only took 5 minutes. We loaded up on the Sunlover

and took the 2 hr. cruise out to the Great Barrier Reef.  The weather was not so great today. Temps in the high 70s but it was rainy and didn't look like it would let up. The catamaran takes you to the large anchored pontoon, where things are based.  You can chose many things as part of the package we were on - the glass bottom boat, the semi-submersible, and, of course, snorkeling. We did the glass bottom boat first. Wow, it was beautiful. I tried to catch items through the glass floor, including giant clams. You may have to zoom in to spot any....

Next up was lunch. There were 283 on the boat so it was crowded.  But we managed, then went on the submersible. Reminded me of the submarine ride at Disneyland! 

It was hot and stuffy and our side didn't get too much of a view!  Next up was snorkeling. They provided everything. It was required that everyone use the 'stinger suits' 

because of the jellyfish in the area (we didn't ever see any). Once we got the rest of the gear on, we made our way down to the platform in the water, and we were good to swim around. Really nice warm and clear water, just really choppy! I borrowed these photos....

not us, but you can see what we were dealing with. But we both saw a lot of fish and beautiful coral. Some from our group saw a sea turtle, but we missed it. After a bit, I was ready to come back.

It took way too much effort to get to the swim platform and I was pooped! Cathye did more than me and came back a bit later.  We got out together and  changed and got ready for the trip back. Once back at the hotel, we were on our own for dinner. We immediately headed down to the night market down on the esplanade. We chose La Pizza and we enjoyed the food and the drinks.  Then we found the vendor booths at the market square. Lots of choices! We got back to our room around 9:00pm and watched TV for only a short time before turning in. We were tired from our busy day!

Saturday Mar. 15 day 21  tour day 3
We went down to breakfast before the group headed out at 8:00am. Today, we are going to the rainforest.  The weather was terrible. We all had our raincoats or ponchos though, so we were ready. We were supposed to take an old time train up the mountain to Kuranda, but it was open sided and they had to cancel. No worries, plan B!. Our bus driver took us up to the depot at Kuranda, where we walked around and shopped. I found an Australia opal for Penny here. Plus a few things for the great grandkid twins coming next month. Next up was the wildlife center. We saw koalas (not bears - they are marsupials like wallabies and kangaroos). 

We also saw lizards and snakes and crocodiles. This one was the granddaddy of them all - close to 12 ft!

After that, we had lunch and then met up at the ducks. These are the US made amphibious vehicles and they really put them to the test here!. We traversed a lot of hilly ground up and down plus went into the water. No wild crocs up here on the mountain so we were good. 

We then went over to the aboriginal house to see traditional dancing.  

Next up, was a didgeridoo session.  Lots of work and it takes a lot of practice. After that, they showed us how they hunt with throwing spears.  

 Last up, was a boomerang demonstration.  We each had a go.... I think I did pretty well. 

I was thinking about a decorative boomerang as a souvenir  but now I want a returnable one! Then we boarded the gondolas. They showed us the bottom station on the way up and our driver met us there after the ride.  On the gondola,  you could get out and walk the boardwalk to see Barron Falls. It was worth it to see this…

We got back on and made our way down. This gondola was about a 45 minute ride above and through the rainforest. Very scenic and relaxing. Toward the end, as we were almost in the flatlands again, we looked down and saw 20+ wallabies sleeping in the grass. We were so mesmerized, nobody took pics! Will add here if someone else got pics....

Our bus got us back to the room where we rested for two hours before getting bussed to dinner. We went to a place called Ochre and were served family style again. This time it was emu, kangaroo, crocodile and salmon. Interesting!  I liked it all! The others, not so much! 

We got back to the room and packed. We have to be outside with luggage tomorrow morning at 4:30am!!!

Sunday Mar. 16 day 22  tour day 4
Thanks to my cell phone alarm we were awake and ready to head down to meet our bus and make the 10-minute ride to the airport for our 6:45am 2.5 hr. flight to Sydney. We lost an hour time change.  Our seats were separated on the flight but we made it ok. Cathye slept all the way. Me not so much in the cramped seats! Our group got bags collected and we got shuttled to Sydney.  We are at Swisotel  tonight, but won't check in until later. We got a tour of the Sydney Opera House….

It was magnificent! Some of our group have tickets for an opera there tonight.  Not our thing but I bet it will be an experience! Anja had our driver take us to see some other city sights.  Sydney city limits is 30-40 miles.  We got another look at the Sydney Bridge. Yep, still imposing!

We also did a drive-by at Bondi Beach. It is Sunday and temps are in the 90s, so it was packed! We were on the wrong side of the bus for any good pics....

Later, we got in to our room. Very nice. It  is a free evening. I ended up going out for takeout. The only place I could find was McDonald's.  They call it Macca's here. Early to bed after a long day!

Monday Mar. 17 day 23  tour day 5
Happy St Patrick's day! We hit the hotel's breakfast buffet, then were ready for our trip out today. We are seeing Cawson Farm, and the Blue Mountains. We are having lunch at a stop on the way. But, Cathye needed a break today and had a stomach issue as well, so she decided to skip the day and stayed in the room. She said later she walked down the street for a chicken bagel. As for me, it was lonely but still enjoyable.  Cawson Farm is a working farm as well as an attraction. They had pens for koalas, as well as goats and emus. The wallabies were in an enclosure which you could go in. They also had draught horses that were very friendly! We saw a couple of demos – one with a bullwhip, and another with a dog herding sheep…

After that, we headed to the Blue Mountains. No snow in Australia, but this is one of the only spots where they get heavy frosts in the winter. It was about as nice a view as I have seen here. The rock formation is called the Sisters.

This is the stop that Cathye would have really enjoyed!  The views would have mesmerized her. Next stop was the Hydro Majestic Pavilion and its converted boiler house restaurant. They served us a package meal that was huge! No one ate it all!

Last stop today was the Botanical Gardens. Once there, I chose the forest path which was hilly. I needed to test my legs for tomorrow's walk!  It was a beautiful place even though most of their flowers were past season. 

When we made our way back home, I checked on Cathye. She had a nice day and needed the rest! She was feeling a lot better!  Later, we made our down to the tour's hosted dinner, which was a nice buffet and drinks, including these, which we have been drinking since we got on the ship!  

Back to our room and bed.

Tuesday Mar. 18 day 24 tour day 6
Today is Bridge climb day! For me anyway. We both knew that Cathye wasn't up to the climb. Her hip is still sore from her fall in Melbourne and she is out of breath easily again. We think her overexertion has re-engaged her long covid. But, she wants to go there and walk around. They have a tower climb and you can also walk the bridge on the path adjacent to the roadway across. There were about a dozen of us going so we split up and shared taxes for the 10 minute drive  I left Cathye in the gift shop and checked in. For our 9:15am climb, there were 11 from our cruise, plus 3 others. We got through the safety session and breathalyzer and got suited up. You are not allowed anything on your person except for rings and glasses and small earrings.  Once that was done, we got harnessed up. The cable attachment goes into a slot and you simply drag it up through the system as you go. Very simple and yet brilliant!. Then we went through some practice stairs to see how folks climb. Our guide, Jack, asked us to pair up so Jenny and I went together. She and I were the oldest, so we were up front. But we kept up with Jack, and at times there was a gap to the younger climbers behind us! I am so proud to say that we held our own!

As far as the climb, in few words, it was spectacular! Many stops along the way for water and misters to stay hydrated. But, most all, it was well worth the effort to climb. Turned out easier than I anticipated.  Jack took photos of us (available for purchase and yes, I did!) Once down and changed, we made our way back to the hotel. We immediately left for Five Guys for a bite to eat. Then, later, we gathered our group for the busses to take us to the wharf where we got on the Clearview for a hosted dinner.  

Again, tons of food and drinks, plus great views of the harbor, including the Opera House and the Sydney Bridge. Tomorrow we head home!

Wednesday Mar. 19 day 25 last day!
The transportation today to the airport was divided.  Our flight isn't until 5:25 this afternoon, so we were on the last bus. Cathye is all congested and her chest and back hurt from coughing so much these past few weeks. But, we got up and going and since we got a lot packed last night, it was easy to finish up this morning, and we had plenty of time to go down to breakfast. Since we got to the airport early, we had to sit in the area outside before checking in. But once we dropped off our bags, we made our way to the gate and rested some more before boarding. We stopped at KFC for a light lunch and went to our gate and sat. I had already got us upgraded to exit row seating, so we were very happy with that. We are on a Qantas Airbus A380-800, the double decker model.

 

No, we don't have upstairs sleep pods (way to pricey) but we are in the front of the plane where we enjoyed the 13 hour flight. Cathye moved to an open three seat combo and layed down and slept the whole way. They had a few 5 across but I waited too long. No worries - I was able to stretch my legs.  We got into LAX and had to collect our bags and go through customs, then recheck them on to PDX. But it was a two hour layover,  before boarding the Alaska a/l flight, so we had plenty of time. The snag today was our Groome Shuttle from PDX.  They moved our pickup time from 7:30 to 8:30pm. Then it was a 2 hr. shuttle ride to the Comfort Suites in Albany, where Penny was waiting. A big ask for my sister, who goes to bed early! Thanks Sis. A super long day and Cathye is exhausted, but we made it. Read more below for overall thoughts and emotions....

And the story goes on...
For me, the 25 day adventure was very enjoyable. Even though we were bussed everywhere, I don't think I would change anything. There was a couple who stayed in Sydney and extended their time to see everything there. Then, they rented a car and drove to Cairns afterwards, doing our trip in reverse. I'm sure they had fun, but we really enjoyed our tour guide and all her info about everywhere we visited and drove by. We would do this type of trip again. David and Dawn asked us for input for future (2028) cruises. We suggested the Panama Canal and that was popular with our fellow travelers, so we'll see. As far as favorite experiences or excursions, for me, it was, hands down, the Sydney Bridge Climb! I also liked the Great Barrier Reef day with the snorkeling. From the ship, I liked the day we went out to see the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Hobart Tasmania.  I enjoyed the glow worm caves and the Aboriginal village and demos. Downers for me was the jet boat ride and 4 wheeler drive. If the weather was nicer, it would be up there on my list. The dancing on the shop was fun, but for me, I wasn't impressed with the overall group, who, for the most part, were all SoCal friends and pretty much squared up together most of the time. Those we did dance with, were friendly and Cathye kept up well - until she pooped out!  We tried to find different folks to eat with each night and by doing that, we met some nice people.
Ok, for Cathye -  her favorite thing was the snorkeling. She also liked the terrain and the rain forest, especially high above on the gondolas. She enjoyed soaking in the thermal pools in Tauranga. Least favorite was her getting sick on the boat ride. She was chilled and couldn't stop shivering. That's what put her in quarantine, so it wasn't that fun.  Would we go again? Not back to Australia and New Zealand – but on another cruise somewhere else! Heck Yeah! David and Dawn are asking about where to go next? They may plan another one in 2028. We suggested a Panama Canal Cruise.

Ok, that's about it.  We both do need to say a special thank you to both Penny and Cherrelyn. They tag-teamed it while we were gone and kept the house intact and took care of the puppies while we were out having fun.  We can't say enough!  But - once we recover, we will be taking you out for a nice dinner -  your choice!