October 28, 2001 – we have returned from our travels – this page has been updated today for the last time.

Dear Family and Friends,

We have been visiting our cousins in Boston, during which time we have also been whale-watching. As you will see from the photos, we were very lucky to have a completely calm ocean with plenty of sunshine, you can hardly tell the difference between the sky and the ocean….

‘Fancy’ (the horse) has BLUE eyes!

Unfortunately we were too early in the season to see the beautiful colours of the foliage, so we will have to come back another time for that.

Our next stop is San Francisco – Michelle & Ami

During our first day in San Francisco, September 26, we took the Powell-Hyde Cable car from our hotel at Union Square to Fisherman’s Wharf.. Again we are enjoying beautiful weather, as you will see below on the photos we took at the Cable Car station, the seals and Fisherman’s grotto at Pier 39. Take note of the Japanese garden in Golden Gate Park. Friday September 28 we took a daytrip to Yosemite Park – as you can see, we are still enjoying beautiful weather! We leave for Hawaii tomorrow – Michelle & Ami

Aloha, from Hawai’i, the land of sun, sea, women and beautiful scenery! During our 3-day stay we have visited the Polynesian Cultural Centre, where we have learned all about the various islands of the South Seas, one of which is Aotearoa, ‘Long White Cloud’, or as it known today, New Zealand, which happens to be our next stop. By the way, the volcano crater is called Diamond Head. As they say on the Islands, ‘Hang Loose’ – Michelle & Ami.

As I mentioned previously New Zealand used to be called ‘Long White Cloud’. We now know why - this extremely long and not so white cloud has been following us practically all the way down from Auckland. However, the clouds cannot spoil the views of the majestic scenery.. Each turn in the road brings a new vista and it is difficult to know where to look first. The beauty of the countryside is complemented by the warm-hearted hospitality extended by the natives. Doing the homestay / farmstay ‘thing’ is a wonderful way to get to know the country and its inhabitants. Sue is New Zealand’s answer to the bio-degradable industry. As you can see, although the cows are running away from Michelle, the sheep are not so scared! We leave for Australia tomorrow.

We started our visit to Australia with our cousins in Sydney, where the weather was much more clement than in New Zealand. The overwhelming hospitality we received from our family only increased our enthusiasm for the wonderful city, see below:

From Sydney we moved on to the ‘Red Centre’, Ayers Rock and Alice Springs, to see more wonders of the world. We have now arrived in Cairns and will be returning home after this stop – Michelle and Ami.

The pictures below show Cairns and surroundings, at the northern part of Queensland: the tropical rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef (where we spent the actual day of our 30th Anniversary). We have concluded our world trip, which turned out to be the trip of a lifetime, safely and in good health.

Best wishes to all of you - Ami & Michelle