off on a grand tour

[earendel]

Monday morning elwing and I are departing for the trip of a lifetime. We fly (in stages) from home to Los Angeles, to Honolulu, to Aukland, and to Brisbane, where we spend a couple days, then fly to Alice Springs and drive to Uluru and an opal mine. Then back to Brisbane for a day, then fly to Cairns for a boat excursion to the Great Barrier Reef. Then back to Brisbane again, where we embark on a cruise that takes us to Guam, Okinawa, four stops in Japan, three stops in Alaska, and finally docking in Seattle on May 1. Access to the internet will be spotty at best, so I will be unable to participate in the witty rejoinders and snappy repartee that is the Bored. Try to keep the place standing while I'm gone.

[tlynn78]

Monday morning elwing and I are departing for the trip of a lifetime. We fly (in stages) from home to Los Angeles, to Honolulu, to Aukland, and to Brisbane, where we spend a couple days, then fly to Alice Springs and drive to Uluru and an opal mine. Then back to Brisbane for a day, then fly to Cairns for a boat excursion to the Great Barrier Reef. Then back to Brisbane again, where we embark on a cruise that takes us to Guam, Okinawa, four stops in Japan, three stops in Alaska, and finally docking in Seattle on May 1. Access to the internet will be spotty at best, so I will be unable to participate in the witty rejoinders and snappy repartee that is the Bored. Try to keep the place standing while I'm gone.

Have fun storming the ..uh ..kangaroos?

[silverscreenselect]

and drive to Uluru and an opal mine.

Bring back some opals for us.

Have a great time and g'day mate.

[mrkelley23]

Wow! That is grand. Congratulations and safe travels.

[BackInTex]

Sounds like a fantastic trip! Have fun.

[Bob Juch]

Bon voyage!

[MarleysGh0st]

A grand tour, indeed! Especially that cruise--Australia to Seattle by way of Japan and Alaska!

Bon Voyage!

[Beebs52]

Have too much fun!

[mellytu74]

Safe travels!!!

Have a marvelous time!!

[SportsFan68]

I second the bon voyage!

[earendel]

"Well, I'm back," to quote one S. Gamgee. It was an amazing trip, marred by o;ly one incident, which I'll describe in a later post. In a nutshell, New Zealand was fantastic, especially Hobbiton; Australia was beautiful - we drove the only north-south road some 800 miles from Alice Springs to Coober Pedy in the outback; our cruise stops included Hiroshima (very moving), Tokyo (never realized how many Kit Kat flavors there were), and Aomori (near Sapporo, where the Winter Olympics were held); the best Alaska stop was Ketichikan and the lumberjack show.

[BackInTex]

"Well, I'm back," to quote one S. Gamgee. It was an amazing trip, marred by o;ly one incident, which I'll describe in a later post. In a nutshell, New Zealand was fantastic, especially Hobbiton; Australia was beautiful - we drove the only north-south road some 800 miles from Alice Springs to Coober Pedy in the outback; our cruise stops included Hiroshima (very moving), Tokyo (never realized how many Kit Kat flavors there were), and Aomori (near Sapporo, where the Winter Olympics were held); the best Alaska stop was Ketichikan and the lumberjack show.

Welcome back! Sounds like you had a fabulous time. Looking forward to hearing more and about the incident.

[tlynn78]

"Well, I'm back," to quote one S. Gamgee. It was an amazing trip, marred by o;ly one incident, which I'll describe in a later post. In a nutshell, New Zealand was fantastic, especially Hobbiton; Australia was beautiful - we drove the only north-south road some 800 miles from Alice Springs to Coober Pedy in the outback; our cruise stops included Hiroshima (very moving), Tokyo (never realized how many Kit Kat flavors there were), and Aomori (near Sapporo, where the Winter Olympics were held); the best Alaska stop was Ketichikan and the lumberjack show.

Nice!

[silverscreenselect]

Welcome back. We've missed you. Our daughter was in Japan on a vacation two weeks ago, but I guess you missed crossing paths.

Glad you had a great time and are back to see us.

[Beebs52]

Welcome back and it sounds like your trip was amazing.

[Bob Juch]

Was this the lumberjack show?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfRdur8GLBM

[earendel]

The incident - part 1
Because of peripheral nerve damage in my legs I use a mobility scooter for getting around (I can walk for short distances). In Cairns, Australia, I was driving the scooter and came to a curb cut (handicap ramp). My front wheels hit the slight lip and we heard a "thunk". The front wheels had fallen off the cart thanks to a bolt coming loose. My wife called a cab, we took the scooter back to our motel, and fortunately, the owner had some tools and was able to put the bolt back. Unfortunately that didn't completely fix the problem - the scooter would no longer turn left. My wife called the business where we bought the scooter (in Detroit), and sent pictures of what had been done. They replied that there were some washers missing. We found a hardware store, bought the washers and some penetrating oil, and everything worked. But we wanted to have it checked out so we called a scooter store in Brisbane (the only one, as far as we could tell) but they closed at 4PM on Thursday and would be closed until the following Tuesday, celebrating Good Friday. Our plane from Cairns landed after 4, and the cruise ship left on Monday, so we had to proceed hoping there would be no further problems.

The incident - part 2
Aomori, Japan, the last of five stops in Japan, I was driving the scooter down the gangway and at the bottom there was a fairly steep decline. I went down it and when I hit the bottom, I hit very hard and the scooter wouldn't steer. The wheels were spavined. The front axle had bent at almost a 45 degree angle. My wife took me into the cruise terminal where I waited while she toured the area, then we went back, asking the ship's personnel for assistance. We got the scooter to our cabin, elwing took the axle off and went to Guest Services to complain and ask them to do something. They refused, since the scooter was private property. She said it was due to their gangway but they were resolute. So elwing went in search of some "strong man" who could bend the axle back to its approximate shape. She found one, he bent it back, she reinstalled the axle, and all was well.

The incident - part 3
Juneau, Alaska, once again departing the ship, I went down to the last decline and tried to take it slowly, but I ended up going "ass over teakettle" - the scooter hit the bottom of the ramp and stopped, sending me fling through the air and landing on my back. It's a shame no one had a video of my aerial exploit, because I'm sure, with the proper editing (such as the Benny Hill music in the background), I would have become a viral sensation on Tik Tok! The axle, of course, was bent again. I was bruised in several places (still sporting a lovely purple one on my left thigh) but otherwise unharmed. Again elwing found someone to bend the axle back and we were in business once again, with only one more stop.

The incident - part 4
Ketchikan, Alaska. This time we took no chances and had ship personnel bring the scooter down off the ship and onto the dock. We went around the city, took a tour to native village where they carve totem poles, saw the lumberjack show (competitions such as pole climbing, log rolling, etc.), and a little shopping. On the way back I drove across a pedestrian crossing and as the scooter hit the slight lip of the curb cut, "thunk". This time, the axle broke completely. We called a cab go get back to the ship (the driver didn't charge us anything), had ship personel bring the scooter back aboard, and gotit to our cabin. For the rest of the trip, aboard the ship, elwing had to push me around in a wheelchair. I had to use wheelchairs through SeaTac airport and the Indianapolis airport.

[Beebs52]

Holy crap

[Bob Juch]

What brand of scooter do you have? How much trouble did you have with transporting it on your flights? How long were you without it when boarding and deboarding? I'm considering buying one and would like to know which not to buy!

On my recent trip to Springfield, I had wheelchairs at the airports, but a long wait in Chicago on the way back nearly caused me to miss my flight.

I rented Shootarounds for my Walt Disney World/Universal trip and the L.A./Disneyland trip. I found them totally comfortable and reliable, even when I drove off a curb and fell at Disneyland. (The angle of the shadow made it look at street level.)

[silverscreenselect]

Ear, I'm glad to hear you got through your "adventures" relatively safely. At our age, spills like this can be very hazardous. But you seem to have gotten through it and maintained a sense of humor. Good for you.

[mrkelley23]

Wow! Nothing like adding adventure to the adventure. I'm glad you and Elwing were able to work things out with your ingenuity, but angry at the circumstances.

[Appa23]

We tried to see the lumberjack show when we did an Alaskan cruise back in 2022, but it was cancelled due to excessive rain. We did do the totem village tour, despite the rain.

Sounds like you had a grand time, despite the ongoing scooter issues. Glad that you are enjoying your retirement.

[earendel]

What brand of scooter do you have? How much trouble did you have with transporting it on your flights? How long were you without it when boarding and deboarding? I'm considering buying one and would like to know which not to buy!

This is the model I had.
https://mobilitydepartment.com/products ... 4QEALw_wcB

We drove to Detroit to see it and for me to try it out. It folds itself via a remote, weighs about 55 pounds, comes with two rechargeable batteries that can be removed for taking the scooter on airplanes. The scooter wasn't the problem as much as it was what is supposed to be handicapped ramps for getting onto and off of sidewalks (and the gangplanks of cruise ships).

[tlynn78]

Quite the adventure, Ear. It sounds amazing, except for the scooter parts. Glad you returned relatively unscathed.

[Beebs52]

Our neighbors are on the Royal Carribean world cruise. Left in Dec, get back Sept. It was diverted around Cape of Good Hope, to avert Red Sea stuff. They eventually end up in Med, but don't think any river cruises. Jeff gets updates from their kids.
I can't imagine being on a cruise for almost a year.
Yours, except for mishaps, sounds doable.