March 22 - April 6, 2012 – Brisbane, The Spencers, Frankie Valli, and The Gabba

Frank looked at me after breakfast and declared that today we would begin running to get ourselves in shape for running with the Hash. I laughed and said we certainly do not have to get in shape to run with the Hash House Harriers! But in his mind we do and he will not settle for walking or not being able to run the entire course next time. We designated the run/bike/walking trail from Dockside Marina, around the end of Kangaroo Point and down to Southbank as our training ground. Amazingly that first day I couldn't believe I ran (jogged) the entire way. We think it is approximately 5km. On completion we waded into the pool at Southbank rather I waded; Frank fully dunked himself. Then we had lunch at one of the local cafés before walking back. We made a circuitous route of it, walking the return, via Southbank trail as far as the steep stair climb up the climbing wall to The Cliffs café and then down to the Story Bridge and back over to Dockside. That night we realized we had pushed ourselves a bit much on this first attempt. Geez, I hadn't run since last July in Denver. We both popped a couple of Aleve's before going to bed. The next morning I stumbled out of bed and literally felt like I'd been clubbed from hip to toe. I could hardly move my legs. My motions were so herky-jerky I was immediately reminded of the scene from "Men in Black" of The Bug, who invaded the farmer's body. Oh my gosh, I was walking like him! Trying to walk just up the dock to the boardwalk was so painful and my legs so twitchy I looked like I'd never had legs attached to my body before.  All I could do was laugh at myself and wonder what other people must be thinking as they passed me by. Frank declared that the only way to deal with this is to run. So we set off again after breakfast, me jerking like I was having electro-shock therapy with every step. How could he just take off like that? He did. He set right off as though he hadn't a care in the world. I thought surely I was in better shape than him! Not in the legs, however, and so I jerked along behind him until, about 2/3 of the way I finally had to just try to walk for survival to the pools. This became our ritual for the next two weeks. I had to take a day off here and there to just walk, but we were getting our lard-asses moving which was the objective.

Saturday afternoon, Scott and Muriel picked us up for a big night out on the Gold Coast. We had tickets for the Frankie Valli show at the casino.  We arrived at the casino early for dinner before the show, and as we were standing around one of the foyers pondering our food choices, who walked right by us, but a tiny little man with big hair swept back from a tall forehead? Himself. I stood rooted staring at him gape-mouthed as Muriel said, "Well there's Frankie Valli, coming right at us!" I knew he was of small stature but never realized how frail he appeared at close range.  He had a spry step, however, as he passed me making direct eye contact probably wondering, "What's wrong with her mouth?"  We enjoyed an amazingly good show by him and his studly foursome of back-up singer dancers. Oh What a Night! He really got the crowd going, clever trick really so that he wouldn't have to hit the high notes, wink, wink. It was truly a memorable night and great fun to actually put on some heels and a black dress for a change.

The following week we met the Spencers and Will (Lauren's guy), for dinner at our new favorite Chinese place in West End. Then because we were planning to head out on Friday, we lunched with them again on Thursday.  During lunch, Frank and Muriel decided that because we had not yet seen a live Australian Rules Footy game at The Gabba, we had better stick around a little while longer to catch one. Muriel had gone online and found that Carlton would be playing the Brisbane Lions the following Thursday night. Although we are by nature of knowing these guys and the Wises, Collingwood fans we swallowed our pride to attend this match. It was worth the thrill of getting to be present at the Gabba, especially with these guys who are expert fans. Once again, although Carton just killed the Lions, we had such a wonderful time with Scott, Muriel and Lauren. When it was time to say goodbye and goodnight I choked up. We love them so, and seriously pray this is just "See you later".

On Good Friday, we departed Brisbane with deep sadness, and as we rode the ebbing tide out the Brisbane River we heard that faint click of yet another door closing behind us.

March 19 – 21, 2012 Brisbane and Scott’s final days with us

Monday afternoon we were all bushed but nothing could keep Frank and Scott from the Story Bridge Hotel for some ice-cold beer and sports on TV. They freshened up and set off within the hour. I phoned Deery's, the steak house at Story Bridge for a dinner booking and then settled in for some P's and Q's. At the appointed hour I walked up to Deery's to meet them for an astonishingly good steak dinner.

Tuesday we walked Scott half to death. We had one full day to show him the town, so of course we took him to our favorite highlights. First we hopped on the river ferry across to town for a stroll through CBD to Queen Street, and then over the bridge to Southbank. Frank introduced Scott to The Plough Inn. It was of course a big hit. The sun came out for a good bit of the day – thank you Mother Nature. We walked from Southbank to West End for a tasty Chinese lunch at West End Gardens, and then afterward the guys decided to bar-hop their way back via Southbank, so I went on ahead and left them to their last day of guy-time.

In spite of the return of intermittent rain, we donned our "going out to eat dinner" attire and walked to Spizzico that night for a good old-fashioned home cooked Italian meal. Scott left EARLY Wednesday morning to catch a cab to the airport. His return would be a flight to Sydney and then an afternoon flight back to the States.

March 15 – 19, 2012 Sailing Overnight to the Gold Coast and Visiting Gold Coast

Rock and roll as the story goes, from Coffs. We pitched and we rolled under gray skies out of the harbor heading offshore chasing the current and hoping to catch good wind. It was not our favorite overnighter. None of them are for me anyway. We were thankful to have Scott and the extra pair of eyes and a body to take the load off watches. We were all too keyed up, though to make an attempt at sticking to a schedule. I have been feeling somewhat under par, and after mid-morning I was down for the count, leaving the boys to take care of the day. It was like that on and off all day and into the evening. I felt somewhat guilty, but the exhaustion was nearly overwhelming. They both seemed to enjoy being up there together in the cockpit, alternatively reading and watching for obstacles. There wasn't much else to do. Into the night we dodged several large ships and fishing vessels. Daylight could not come soon enough, but as always it did and as always we made it through just fine. Winds were not cooperative, nor was weather but thankfully that is why we have an engine.  Our arrival at Gold Coast's Mariner's Cove was much easier this time as we hit it at nil tide around 2:34 in the afternoon.

The rain has remained with us but was now slowed to fits and bursts. We were all very tired from that journey and although we wanted a good meal, we settled for the mediocre Hogs Breath Saloon where we paid entirely too much for a sub-standard meal, but according to the boys the beer was cold and afterward, Scott enjoyed his wine so the evening had its successes.

Friday brought more rain. We wanted to take Scott to the beaches, which are so nice here and made it a short walk to the surf club. We took him on the bus to Surfer's Paradise so he could see what the Gold Coast hoopla is all about. He was fortunate to catch sight of two scantily gold-clad meter maids.

Saturday I needed to get to the Apple Store at Robina for some tutoring on my MacBook, and it was raining anyway so the boys came along. Little did we know this was the day they were rolling out the new iPad. The Apple Store was filled to overflowing and had a queue of hopeful patrons running halfway through the mall. We settled for lunch and a little shopping.

Sunday the guys went to a local bar to watch rugby and I managed to get my appointment at Apple.  The rain persisted.

Monday we left at 6:00 AM, heading for Brisbane. Time to get a move on so Scott could at least see a little of Brisbane before he left. We arrived at Dockside Marina at 3 PM. Guess what?! It was raining.

March 11 – 15, 2012 – Last Time at Coffs Harbour and a Visit From Friends

Good Sail for the first part of our day and then as a curtain falls, so did the wind. We made it into the marina at Coffs Harbour in time to get checked and for the boys to scramble off to the yacht club for drinks. I opted for some solitude.

Monday, the boys took off for a round of golf while I went into town.  I enjoyed my day of no men. It is nice that Frank has a friend to do "guy stuff" with, and nice for me just to have some time alone. I went into every store that I felt like browsing without the irritation of having someone impatiently waiting outside or hovering over my shoulder.  A friend of mine and I agreed one day that men take all the time in the world when they are in a marine store, DIY store, hardware, auto parts, or liquor store, but when it comes to shopping with us they grunt and moan as though being punished. So, yes I enjoy these times alone. I ended my browse around town and then walked the few miles back down toward the marina where I stopped for a very good lunch and a coffee. I retuned to Destiny, stowed my (mostly grocery) purchases and then settled down with a book to get the laundry done at the local facility. I was nearly finished with the washing when the boys appeared in high spirits. Scott insisted on treating us to dinner at the new local seafood restaurant overlooking the bay. We enjoyed that while appreciating a very lovely sunset.

Tuesday it rained. Frank went into town to take care of some of our personal banking business, with Scott in tow. I did rainy day chores. Then on Wednesday, Jan Meggitt's parents, Cecil and Patricia Williams, who live in Coffs Harbour, came for a visit. We had missed them the last time we stopped here. They drove down with Pat's sister Jean to the marina for a peek aboard Destiny, bearing an entire branch of Coffs Harbour bananas. We had a cuppa and some biscuits and then went up to the yacht club for lunch. After a lovely visit with them and a short stroll they returned home and we returned to Destiny to finish our chores and to ready Destiny for an overnighter to Gold Coast.

March 6 – 11, 2012 – Port Macquarie, Scott Morlan’s visit cont’d

On the way up to Port Macquarie (Port to the locals) from Port Stephens we warned Scott about "The Bar" into Port. Frank timed it so perfectly, however, that Scott wondered what the fuss was all about as we easily cruised through the jettys. The roughest part of that trip was getting literally thrown all over the place leaving Port Stephens! My gosh it was awful, and it wasn't until quite a long way out of there that conditions settled enough to feel really secure. I told the boys I would not be spending much time in the galley, and that they are on their own for lunch.

Because this is one of our favorite stops along the Aussie coast we enjoyed showing Scott the highlights. Foremost on the list was Finnian's Pub for the $10 NY strip steak. He loved it, as we knew he would and in fact we made a return visit for dinner one night for fish and chips. Everything they cook there is good.

Two of our days in Port, Frank and Scott played golf on the two different courses, declaring one of them nicer than the RYGC.

On the first pretty day we took Scott on the jetty walk along the waterfront of town out toward the river bar, showing him the colorfully decorated granite boulders that lined the entrance.

We paraded Scott on the "Bat" walk, through the park area along the stream. He didn't care so much for this one due to the stench of the massive amounts of guano and the screeching of thousands of Flying Foxes hanging from the trees above us. Parts of the walk are quite lovely though, taking you through the botanicals and along some very pretty trails.

Another day the boys amused me by accompanying me on the very long coastal walk toward Flynn's beach to the local second hand bookstore/coffee shop. We had gotten Scott hooked on Lee Childs' Jack Reacher novels, so he didn't mind so much perusing the shelves. Afterward, we hiked back into town along the inland path (road) and stopped at a local pub for a bit of people watching.

By now Scott has become quite the yachtie. He has very nearly perfected weighing and setting the anchor, grabbing a mooring ball and helping Frank with general boat chores. He is a good cook and insisted on helping out in the galley, washing or drying dishes. He has a great attitude about living aboard. We even taught him our favorite card game (Baja Rummy) and how to play Qwirkle. We got him as into "My Kitchen Rules" as we are. And best of all he became very comfortable with our evening after dinner ritual of having a cup of tea while eating chocolates. He of all the visitors we have had on board now understands the life and lifestyle of Frank and Barbara living aboard a yacht. He is now ready for an overnighter. This he would experience very soon.

At 5 AM on March 11^th we effected a very dark departure from Port due to two objectives: number one was to go with the outgoing tide from here and number two was to arrive at Coffs Harbour before nightfall.

March 2 – 6, 2012 - Port Stephens

We sailed fast and rough most of the way from Broken Bay. Weather was ugly making our ride a wet one. We pulled into Port Stephens' Nelson Bay in the pouring rain and finding no available mooring we dropped the hook. Eventually the rain lightened to intermittent, giving us a shot at going to shore. The boys found a great people-watching bar, and so that is just what we did. We sat, ate and watched all the people.

Saturday morning we could hear music wafting through the air from somewhere on shore. As the skies cleared we noted several small tents set up along the walkway at the local park. Frank and Scott decided to go in for an exploratory mission, leaving me on the boat. I really thought they were just going to see what was going on and would come back for me, but they were gone for several hours. I decided I could either be angry about this, feeling more than a little abandoned, or I could kick back with a good book and enjoy the solitude. I chose the latter.  Around mid-day, the Coast Guard stopped by to let me know that they would be clearing out the anchorage in the afternoon in order to move in the fire-works barge for a big show that night. I phoned Frank to let him know that we should move the boat. When he didn't answer I realized a rooster was "cock-a-doodling" from our study. Frank's cell phone ring is a rooster. Well so much for that. I climbed out on deck and craned my neck, searching the crowd but found no sign of Frank or Scott. I returned to my reading, counting to 100 first..

The sun made a big entrance at about mid afternoon and at that time Frank came out in the dinghy to tell me there is a BIG fishing tournament going on, a wine-tasting, music festival and market all happening together and that I should come to shore because I was missing all the fun! Now is this the best thing he could have said to me? I think not. I said that he initially was going to go check it out and get back to me...hours ago. He explained very innocently that he forgot his phone. Oh – I see, that explains it.  I then casually mentioned to him we had to move the boat. We began to weigh anchor just as storm clouds reappeared, blotted out the sun and threw wind into our faces, churning up the water. With great effort we managed to get Destiny moved over to the next cove and secured to a mooring. By now, the entire bay was filled with whitecaps. Frank wanted me to return to shore with him and I probably would have had he intended to go to shore at the beach where we were moored, and then walk over to the festival from this anchorage. He felt that would take too long and was worried about having left Scott alone to fend for himself. I told Frank with a wine festival and a beer booth at his disposal Scott would be just fine, nonetheless, he opted for the faster route across the cove around the point to Nelson Bay in the dinghy. I thought he was crazy because it was too nasty, and opted to stay onboard.  I watched Frank take off heading back with my heart in my throat. Several times he bashed into oncoming waves that literally stood the dinghy straight up on the stern. Only when he rounded the point into the protected waters of the marina did I exhale.  Eventually, Frank and Scott returned none the worse for the wear. They had a great time and carried commemorative wine glasses to prove it.

Sunday, Pauline phoned from her place at Boomerang. She was scheduled to drive home to Sydney that night and if she had time she planned to stop at Port Stephens to see us one last time. I tried to urge her to come early for the festival. She made no promises, having her hands full for the day. The weather had cleared to a nice sunny day. After breakfast Frank, Scott and I went to shore. There was plenty to see and do. They boys were done with wine. We strolled the waterfront tasting some of the food, checking out arts, gifts and other displays, then sat in the entertainment pavilion to enjoy some great live music.  Pauline phoned with the good news that she was on her way over. She joined us for part of the frivolity and then we watched the return of tournament fishing boats. We ended the day with a lovely dinner and then I tearfully saw Pauline to her car and on her way back to Sydney. I knew this was the last time I would get to say goodbye to my very dear friend. She above everyone else has gotten so close to me. She is my Aussie Gemini sista! I love her dearly. She hugged me hard and promised to come visit us when we get into Asia. I believe she will.

Frank and Scott had wanted to play golf at Port Stephens but with the crazy weather we experienced there they just couldn't get to it. We took Scott for some of our walks that we always enjoyed so much here, and then all too suddenly it was time to leave. Tuesday morning, Frank announced that we should be leaving around 9 or 10 AM so that we will hit the Port Macquarie Bar at incoming tide.  We braced ourselves for the rodeo ride out of beautiful Port Stephens and again, had a thriller of a sail all the way up the coast.

Feb 28 – March 2, 2011 Goodbye to Broken Bay and our Friends the Meggitts

Tuesday afternoon's arrival at Broken Bay was met with a downpour of rain and typical Russell/Aussie style hospitality. He had driven his classic Holden car down to pick us up at Bobbin Head, all smiles and ready to meet Scott. He deposited us at his house where he, Frank and Scott immediately began the male bonding process – meet new friend over a beer. I sought out Jan who had been busily preparing dinner. We enjoyed a down home evening with them, ending with one of Kate's mouthwatering dessert specialties: sticky date pudding.

Wednesday morning Jan picked me up for a girl's day out. We hit the Hornsby (Mall) shopping center where we enjoyed a wonderful seafood lunch, shopping at her favorite dress shop where I bought 3 lovely dresses, and went to see the movie, "The Vow".  We arrived back at Bobbin Head in a torrent of rain. I had forgotten to bring an umbrella. We didn't have the marina key so we sat in her car watching the downpour intensify while trying to figure out how to get in there. After quite a while of sitting and hoping for someone to come along with a passkey Jan was able to raise Russell on his cell phone only to find that they were sitting on board Tomkat in the marina berth. They didn't seem keen on letting us in. Instead, Frank appeared in the dinghy instructing me to meet him at the public jetty. I gave Jan one last long hug, thanking her profusely for everything and promising to always stay in touch as I bounded out of the car. I was laden with bags of food and clothing trying to walk from the parking lot down to the public boat ramp in the rain. I was drenched by the time I reached him. He grinned up at me, proffering my foul-weather jacket and although it was a little too late to do much good, I accepted his peace offering. I just couldn't be upset with him. He was so charming I knew he felt guilty about something, but I didn't want to know what about.  He seemed relieved when I sent him on his way (back to the boys and the beer), so I could get my purchases dried and stowed. I was very happy to be onboard a dry Destiny. Quite a long time passed before Frank and Scott returned. I'd had a big lunch and presumed that they would not be ripe for dinner, and had retired to our cabin to read my book. I was nearly nodding off when I heard the approaching dinghy motor, followed by giggling, stumbling and something crashing which I presumed to be Scott into the cockpit. He is still developing his sea legs. I stifled a laugh and sent up a prayer that neither was seriously injured.

Early Thursday morning we moved Destiny out to Little Pittwater Cove close to the mouth of Broken Bay.  The boys told me about their day with Russell. He took them in Tomkat over to his favorite restaurant in Broken Bay at the Patonga Beach Hotel. They declared it the best Fish and Chips in the Universe, as they know it.  They bonded with the proprietor and a local radio station celebrity who offered them t-shirts and a spot on the early (radio) show if only they would be on the open channel at 4:00 - 6 AM. He wanted them to broadcast their adventures moving along the coast. I am sorry to say it didn't get to happen.

Friday, March 2, we swallowed some coffee, weighed anchor at 7:00 AM and were off for Port Stephens. We enjoyed a bit of a rough ride exiting Broken Bay, which is on par in these parts, but that discomfort did not compare to the sadness I felt leaving here for the last time. One more door slowly clicked shut, keeping a piece of my heart behind.

February 16 – 28, 2012 Loving Sydney Again and the Arrival of Scott Morlan

We blew in through the Heads of Sydney Harbour literally in a storm. It was late and as tired as we were all we could do was scramble over to Spring Cove and drop the hook.

We spent the next several days moving about from Blackwattle, where we visited Mark and Heather to Birkenhead Point where I had a few more outings and lunches/coffees with Pauline and Janet, which included a trip t the Picasso exhibit. I could have sent all day there! Then over to MHYC for a tie up, water fill and a boat rinse.

Heather and Paul invited us to join them on another hash run but we could not make it that night and because Frank had a friend arriving next week, we knew it would be fruitless to plan to hash again. I was extremely disappointed but Frank promised to begin getting in shape so that we can really run with the hash again somewhere in the future. We arranged to meet for dinner at Heather's home in Balmoral the next evening. Heather's home is a three-story modern beauty. The top floor opens completely on two sides to reveal an impressive view of Balmoral beach and Middle Harbor. Frank immediately plopped down and felt at home. He said this is the design he wants when we settle down into a house again, although Lord knows when and where that will be.

On Friday, February 24^th, Scott Morlan arrived from Denver. We filled his days and nights as much as possible with the sights of Sydney. Scott being Scott was a bit more interested in where the best bars were and golf.  We walked him through Sydney, much the same as Karen's first day. Heather Olson and Paul had moved her yacht, Billyana over to Blackwattle Bay. We invited them over for Happy Hour with fresh oysters, prawns and sashimi from the Sydney Fish Market. Afterward we piled into Heather's car for a trip to Newtown where we literally feasted at Atom (Thai).  Saturday the boys set off for the Coogee to Bondi walk and were planning to grab the Hop-on-Hop-off bus from there. I spent the day in the Mac Store (Apple) getting tutorials on my new MacBook Air. My original MacBook completely crashed when we were in Virginia recently. I lost everything. When I'd returned to Australia, I'd taken my external hard drive into an Apple Store where they attempted to restore it. We are still trying to get there unfortunately. Heather Olson joined me. She was getting a tutorial on her Mac products. She and I spent the day in town and enjoyed a lovely lunch. Frank and Scott returned SEVERAL hours later very sunburned, very jovial and more than a little tipsy. On Sunday, we walked Scott to some of our other favorite sites in Sydney, and found his favorite spot to be the café/bar outside the QVB (Queen Victoria Building), where we people watched and were entertained by street buskers.

Monday we took Destiny over to Rose Bay so the boys could play golf at the Royal Sydney Golf Club.  Scott returned very happy and exited. They'd had a really great time, at the swanky club and on the beautiful course but the best part for Scott was seeing kangaroos all over the course. He said at one of the holes, he crested a hill to find a herd of camels! What a great experience! Late afternoon we moved over to the MHYC dock to fill up with water and show the place to Scott. We ran in to the Tuppenny girls and some of our other friends there who got to meet Frank's mate. Early the next morning, Janet and Pauline drove over to have breakfast with me before we left Sydney. This meant so very much to me because it was quite a drive for both of them (coming from opposite directions) clear across Sydney just to meet me one last time. It was an emotional goodbye. Today marked the beginning of a lot of goodbyes.

As we sailed out of Sydney Harbour for the last time I teared up, feeling my heart tighten as I felt I was leaving so much love and companionship behind. Door One of many to follow, slowly closed and as we rounded the South Head I swear I heard a faint "click".

Feb 8 – 16, 2012 A Disappointment on Return to Newcastle, Haul-out and a Surprise Visit

Back in Newcastle, we arrived late. Exhausted. It was raining. We wanted to fall into bed but immediately noticed there was no electrical power to the boat. As I am processing this, the awareness that no power meant no fridge or freezer hit me. As Frank raced out to the power unit on the dock, I opened the freezer lid to find its contents swimming, ruined. Oh no, this did not happen.  I braced myself as I opened the refrigerator for the inevitable unpleasant and disgusting results. It was so, so bad.  Some time during our absence our power plug had shorted and blown at the box. While Frank rewired the plug I dove into the sickening task of emptying the contents of fridge and freezer, lamenting the loss of literally hundreds of dollars worth of food. Because of what I'd found growing in there I spent hours cleaning and sanitizing both boxes. The next day Frank spoke to Howard the marina manager, who told him it had rained and stormed nearly every day that we had been gone. He had no idea that our power had blown. None of us had a clue as to how long it had been out, although at this point it didn't really matter.

Obviously we hit the grocery store the next day and then made arrangements for Destiny to be hauled out for a bottom cleaning. We also arranged for some zipper and canvas repairs to a few ripped and worn spots that were appearing on the dodger and bimini. We are praying that the canvas, sails and rigging will remain intact until we reach Thailand at the end of 2012. We have been in so many incidents of high winds and rough weather it is time for replacements.

Rain, rain and more rain tormented us. Pauline phoned telling me she was up the coast at Boomerang and would try to arrange a stop at Newcastle on her way back to Sydney.  I begged her to make it happen. She arrived on Friday, picked me up and we set off for town and a Girl Day. We started with coffee and a catch-up, followed by some serious window-shopping and lunch on Darby St. We ended the afternoon picking up new deck chairs for Destiny before returning to pick up Frank for dinner. We drove back over to Darby Street where we met two of Pauline's good friends and former colleagues, Reece and Rosemary Delaney at the ever-popular restaurant, Goldberg's. Pauline stayed the night with The Delaneys, and early the next morning they picked us up for a trip to the Newcastle Farmers Markets where we shopped and ate to our hearts delight. Afterward, Frank had some work to do, installing our new horn and I was committed to finishing the laundry that had been sitting since before we flew home. Rosemary insisted that I bring the washing to her house, while Reese helped Frank wire the horn. Pauline opted for a nap. We enjoyed a nice afternoon and ended up staying on for dinner. At the end of the night Pauline was itching to get on the road back home, so she ran us back to the marina before setting off for the drive home.

Frank and Reese had toyed with the idea of playing around of golf, but the weather just never gave us a break. We finally got hauled out on the 16^th.  The hull was high-pressure washed, and then some electronic bits were installed that had to be done with the boat out of the water. We splashed just a few hours later and then on Thursday morning we rose early for the long journey back to Sydney.

January 13 – Feb 7, 2012 – Tragic News Back Home and an Unexpected Trip

The night after Karen left we received a strange text message from my brother who was on a cruise in the Pacific Ocean…"Ma has fallen and dislocated her hip. She'll have surgery today or tomorrow. We're at sea but get updates from Sam". It didn't' sound too bad – a dislocated hip must be painful but nothing to cause alarm, although we didn't know hip dislocation would require surgery. This stirred in us mild cause for alarm. We texted back asking for Sam's cell # so that we could get more first-hand information. Apparently, Ma fell while in her apartment and shattered her hipbone. Oh my God! She was presently in the urgent care facility of Fairfax Hospital, sedated while the doctor attempted to stabilize her in preparation for surgery. Now we prickled with fear, because at her age a broken hip can be very grave. Over the next two days it was agony not knowing what is going on with Ma, although we texted back and forth with Samantha and Kevin the news was sketchy and erratic. Finally we were told that Ma was stable and would be having surgery on Monday morning. We phoned her at the hospital but she was so out of it we doubt she even knew who was on the phone. Meanwhile, Pauline had invited us to their beach house at Boomerang. We sat on the fence about that and after hearing Ma's surgery was a success and that she was recovering nicely we agreed to ride with Janet up to Boomerang. Just a couple of hours before leaving, however, we received word that Ma was in distress. We began looking for flights to Virginia. Back and forth it went like this for two more days, when finally on the evening of January 18^th we received word from Kevin that we might want to get there. She was asking for Frank. We immediately booked a flight to depart on Friday the 20^th – it was Thursday in Virginia.

We had no place in Sydney to leave Destiny for nearly 3 weeks. I had just been to Costco with Pauline and filled the freezer to near capacity. We had also a fridge full of fresh foods. We needed Destiny to remain plugged in while we flew home.We had no place in Sydney to leave Destiny for nearly 3 weeks. The closest and most affordable berth would be in Newcastle, some 50-60 NM up the coast. On the 19^th we sailed out of Sydney at daybreak, arriving Newcastle’s marina just before closing time. Thankfully, our flight to San Francisco out of Sydney wasn’t until 4 PM on the 20^th. We arose in the dark Friday morning, walked to the train station that fortunately is only about 500 meters from our dock, and rode to Sydney’s Central. From there we took the airport express train, arriving just in time to check our bags and get to the departure gate.

Our travel days to Virginia were wrought with frustration and delays. We departed Sydney on time, but arrived Friday morning in SFO just as our connecting flight to Dulles was to begin boarding. We rushed off the plane but could not clear US Customs before the connection departed. We were left literally standing in the terminal with our bags. United would not let us recheck them through, rather pointed us in the direction of the DREADED Customer Service Desk queue, where we noted a growing crowd of already distraught travelers. We joined the line and during our wait heard continual announcements that one flight after another was being cancelled due to weather on the east coast. Time ticked away as we watched the departure board flash "cancelled" next to one flight after another. By the time we reached the desk we were told we could be placed on a wait list for tomorrow at 10:00 PM, however, we were the lowest of the low on that list not being premier/elite class members of United's mileage plus program, or Business or First Class travelers. The best they could do for us was to confirm us on a Sunday afternoon flight to Dulles. We asked what would we do in the meantime? The answer, very clearly articulated, was: Not United's problem. This is an act of God. We appealed on the basis that we had a family medical emergency, but those appeals fell on deaf ears. We continued our appeal at two other Customer Service locations until Frank managed to get the attention of a kind-hearted agent who gave us a hotel voucher and a meal discount voucher, put us on a (Saturday) dawn flight to San Diego, that connected to a 10:20 PM flight to Washington DC, putting us into Dulles at 5:46 AM on Sunday. It was the best that he could do for us. We took it.

We boarded a transport bus from the San Francisco airport to the hotel at 7 PM. It had been a long and upsetting day. Halfway there I received a simple text message from Mary: "Ma passed about 8 this morning". We were devastated.

The next couple of weeks were a bit of a blur. Karen managed to fly in from Denver, Jen from Houston. Most of the grandchildren made it. We did all the things that family do, and thanks to Ma had a beautiful reunion, overshadowed by the pain of not getting to her in time. Rest in Peace Ma. We love you and we miss you.