Reno, Biggest Little City in the World?

Posted on August 8, 2018 by kenwehner

7 August 2018

Pic 2018-0807 01 Reno (27) Edit

With our original plans trashed by the California forest fires, we decided to head northeast and to get ahead of the smoke filled skies. Ony 30 minutes up the road from Carson City is Reno, Nevada.

Reno’s slogan is “The Biggest Little City in the World” but probably Americans more often think of it as “Not Vegas.” I’ve always been curious, so why not stop?

Pic 2018-0807 01 Reno (15) Edit

Besides the casinos and bright lights the city is famous for, Reno is also home to the National Automobile Museum. The museum is well done and a must see for any car enthusiast. It has a collection of over 200 vehicles from early steam powered carriages to the mid 20th century.

National Automobile Museum

We – well my son and I – got lucky, it was opening day of the city’s Hot August Nights festival. The event is centered around a large classic car show and cruise. So after taking a walk around town, the girls went shopping and the boys went to the car show!

Over all we enjoyed our visit, mostly due to the cars. The city itself has some charming features and glitzy casinos but it suffers from being dependent on those casinos in some of the same ways as Atlantic City. It can never out shine Las Vegas so its upside is limited until it finds its niche outside gambling. I can see the potential but the reality makes me sad.

Hot August Nights

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California Plans Up in Smoke

Posted on August 8, 2018 by kenwehner

6 August 2018

Starting our road trip home in Sacramento worked out well; however our plans in California did not. Originally we planned to visit Yosemite National Park but unfortunately the Ferguson Forest Fire closed the park. Plan B was Lake Tahoe but smoke from the Ferguson and Carr Forest Fires turned the sky a menacing gray. As excited as we were to be in Tahoe, we felt it was better to come back another time when we could enjoy the scenery. So our week in California went up in smoke just like that!

Pic 2018-0807 04 Lake Tahoe (2) Edit

Lake Tahoe in the Smoke Haze

We pushed on to nearby Carson City, the capital of Nevada. Carson City is a sleepy town with old west style. We make it a point to visit the state capitol buildings so we checked that box. Time to regroup and decide where next.

Nevada State Capitol and Kit Carson Statue

 

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Sacramento, California

Posted on August 7, 2018 by kenwehner

6 August 2018

Pic 2018-0807 01 Sacramento Capitol (5) Edit

We chose Sacramento for our long awaited return to the mainland. We picked it because it is a relatively small international airport that is much easier to get in and out of compared to San Fran or LAX. We only spent a day in town before heading east but was pleasantly surprised. Sacramento might be considered sleepy and boring compared to its more glamorous neighbors. We found it to be a charming small city, a worthy under the radar stop for families travelling in the area.

Sacramento is the capitol of the ‘Golden State’, California so it is well kept and has several state museums and attractions. The Capitol Building itself is impressive with a neoclassical design similar to that of the United States Capitol Building in D.C. Like most capitol buildings, the walls are adorned with portraits of past governors. California being California, we got a chuckle seeing the Hollywood versions of President Ronald Reagan and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Hollyweird version of Governor Jerry Brown.

The highlight for us was Old Sac, aka Old Sacramento State Historic Park. What a cool place! In the heart of the city and along the river are several city blocks of old western buildings converted to shops and restaurants. Western themed museums, steam locomotives, river boats, and a Pony Express Memorial all made us forget the cars zipping past on the nearby expressway.

Pic 2018-0807 03 Old Sac (33) Edit

 

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Waikiki, Hawaii

Posted on August 7, 2018 by kenwehner

2 – 5 August 2018

Pic 2018-0805 01 Waikiki Beach (89) Edit

We stayed in Waikiki on our trip to Australia to break up the arduous journey. It’s the perfect place to spend a couple days so we stopped again on our return trip to the States. If we had more time, I’d rather have explored one of the islands we haven’t yet been but Waikiki can’t be beat for a quick respite.

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Australia, Until Next Time…

Posted on August 1, 2018 by kenwehner

2 August 2018

Pic 2018-0727 02 Coolum Beach Sunrise (33) edit

As our Australian adventure comes to an end we will not say ‘good-bye’. Instead ‘until next time’ because we will be back. When we decided to take a year off from our normal life, our primary motive was to get away from it all and concentrate on family. Australia was simply the place we chose to do it. We expected to enjoy the travel but I don’t think we expected to love the land, the lifestyle, the people as much as we do.

As Americans we are told we live in the greatest country in the world. The more we travel, the more we realize we do live in a great country, but there are many great places in the world. In Australia we found the people to be as warm and welcoming as their sun drenched sandy beaches.

While we are sad this experience has come to an end, it has given us lasting memories, good friends, and a new perspective on what the future might hold. Yes, it came at a cost but worth every sacrifice we made. Would we do it again? I hope to.

Stay tuned for our Best of Australia series in the upcoming months. But first, a good old American road trip home.

Here are a few pictures from our last days in Coolum Beach and Surfers Paradise.

Coolum Beach and Surfers Paradise (bottom)

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Hervey Bay Whale Watching

Posted on July 24, 2018 by kenwehner

23 July 2018

Pic 2018-0723 03 Hervey Bay Whale Watch (185) edit

Hervey Bay is one of Australia’s top whale watching spots. Between mid-July and October Humpback whales stop here along their long migration to rest and teach their newborn before continuing to Antarctica for the summer. The bay also provides calm waters for a smooth ride.

We had visited Hervey Bay last year on our Great Barrier Reef trip but bad weather ruined our plans. This time we had nearly perfect weather.

Dolphins enjoyed swimming with our catamaran which was a real crowd pleaser. They also liked to swim with the whales which actually helped us spot them. The first part of the tour, the whales glided up and down occasionally showing us their tale of flippers. As the sun started to set, they started playfully breeching the water and putting on a remarkable show.

Thanks to good weather and some feisty whales, Fraser Island and Hervey Bay became one of our favorite experiences in Australia.

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Fraser Island

Posted on July 23, 2018 by kenwehner

22 July 2018

Pic 2018-0722 03 Fraser Island Lake McKenzie (42) edit

Fraser Island is a popular tourist destination, one that is commonly found on top Aussie tourism lists. Located between the Great Barrier Reef and Sunshine Coast, Fraser is the largest natural sand island in the world and just over a 2 hour drive from our apartment in Coolum Beach. We took a quick two day trip to Hervey Bay to see Fraser Island and go whale watching.

The island is accessible from two ferries, one at River Heads outside Hervey Bay and one at Inskip near Rainbow Beach. The only roads are rough sandy trails and beaches so it can only be tranversed with high ground clearance 4-wheel drives by someone with experience. It looked like a fun challenge but for this newbie, I opted to take one of the 4WD bus tours.

We only had time for the one day tour although 2, 3 and 7 day packages were available. The one day trip was perfect for anyone who wants a taste of Fraser’s rugged beauty. We got to experience the island and see the most visited spots without having to worry about getting bogged in the sand. The bus ride was fun but rough on our necks. The tour included stops at Lake McKenzie, 75 Mile Beach, Maheno Shipwreck, Eli Creek, Central Station, The Pinnacles, and Eurong Resort for lunch.

Frazer Island was one of our favorite days in Australia. For a tourist, it provides a uniquely Aussie experience. For locals, it is a great resource to escape everyday life and enjoy its natural beauty.

Lake McKenzie

Maheno Shipwreck and The Pinnacles on 75 Mile Beach

Mouth of Wanggoolba Creek near ferry landing (top left), sand roads (bottom left), and crystal clear stream water near Central Station

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Return to Goldie

Posted on July 20, 2018 by kenwehner

15 – 18 July 2018

Pic 2018-0716 02 Coolongatta Beach (7) edit

We visited Gold Coast twice before but decided to return to tick a few new boxes and re-visit some of our favorites. It did not go quite as planned. The first day we encountered heavy traffic delays that prevented us from planned hikes in the Tamborine Mountain area. The last day we had to rush back to make re-scheduled soccer matches for the kids. Despite having less time than hoped, we had a good time on the Gold Coast.

The first full day we spent at Coolangatta Beach, our favorite in Goldie and one our favorite family beaches in Australia. After sunset we played mini-golf at Putt Putt Golf in Mermaid Beach, classic family fun.

The seond full day we took the kids to Warner Brothers Movie World. While Warner Bros pales compared to the many Disney parks we’ve been, it did get high scores for thrill rides, small crowds, and easy in and out.

In the gaps between we enjoyed time at Treasure Island Holiday Resort, our first and one of our favorite caravan parks. We have stayed at dozens of caravan parks in the past year and TI will certainly make our top 5.

Gold Coast is a good time. It feels like a combination of Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida. Not a place we’d want to raise our family but a place we’d like to visit regularly.

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Bribie Island

Posted on July 19, 2018 by kenwehner

10 July 2018

Pic 2018-0710 03 Bribie Bongaree Beach (11) edit

Bribie Island is one of three islands in Moreton Bay, the gateway to Brisbane. Just below the southern end of Sunshine Coast, it is roughly the midway point between Brisbane and Maroochydore. Despite its location Bribie still feels out of the way. The beaches of Bongaree and Banksia on the bay side are only good for fishing. Woorim Beach on the ocean side is a long wide stretch of sand as nice as most in the area. Bribie Island does not offer much excitement for visitors but it seems like a nice area to live for commuters to Brisbane’s northern suburbs.

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Return to Adelaide

Posted on July 6, 2018 by kenwehner

4 -6 July 2018

After a few days on Kangaroo Island we returned to Adelaide. We first visited Adelaide in September as part of our epic road trip into the Red Center. With some experience in the area we decided to stay in Glenelg, a suburb on the coast with a direct tram to Adelaide’s city center. We spent the first day enjoying Glenelg and recovering from a rough Kangaroo Island ferry ride across choppy seas.

Rested and feeling better we spent the next day at some of our favorite places in Adelaide, starting of course at Central Market.  I did not spend too much time taking pictures in the city since we had been here before.  They are posted at Adelaide (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Gardens and Museum) and Glenelg.

The highlight of our return visit was supposed to be Mount Lofty and Waterfall Gully. We did enjoy them both but fog limited our views of the city from Mount Lofty and wet weather prevented us from hiking the Waterfall Gully trail. It was a risk we took coming during winter.

Despite questionalbe weather during both our visits, we rather liked Adelaide. It might not be a tourist hot spot but certainly a nice place to raise a family.

Pic 2018-0706 02 Waterfall Gully (12) edit

Waterfall Gully

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