An historic milestone approaches

I've finally posted the last update on our recent US road trip. Click here to read more about Tombstone, Arizona; the town too tough to die.  Our next overseas adventure has already been booked.  We're off to Wellington, New Zealand for a long weekend at the end of January.  Qantas launched a massive sale on flights last week in a bid to entice customers following months of industrial unrest. Garry and I decided that return flights to Wellington for less than A$330 was too tempting to ignore.

This will be Garry's first trip to New Zealand's capital city and my first return visit since the late 1980s.  I was briefly in transit at the airport a few years ago enroute to Melbourne which really doesn't count.  We're looking forward to seeing the new national museum on Wellington's waterfront and soaking up the city's cosmopolitan urban vibe.  I'm curious to see what I remember, and just how much the city has changed.

Our visit will coincide with a unique personal milestone.  At some point in January 2012 I'll have lived more of my life beyond New Zealand than within its borders. I left its shores for the last time as a permenant resident in February 1990.  Since then I've roamed the global calling both Sydney and London home at one time or another.  Ironically, I'll be travelling to Wellington on a new Australian passport.  I submitted an application yesterday for my third such passport.  How swiftly time flies.

More travel is also planned for next year.  I'll be accompanying my parents on a trip to China in May, taking in the sights of Shanghai, Xian and Beijing.  Then in June Garry and I will be heading to Port Douglas for a family wedding.  However, this Christmas will be travel-free for the first time in six years.  We're planning to stay put in Sydney and enjoy a series of day trips to the surrounding area.  We're hoping to see Wiseman's Ferry, Berowa Waters, Brooklyn on the Hawkesbury River and other scenic spots in between seasonal festivities.  Finally, we're hoping to spend a weekend in Canberra around Easter with my brother and sister-in-law who're planning a long weekend in Sydney.

Arizona remembered

I've prepared a series of posts on our second week in Arizona in late-September.  Click on the links below to learn more about:

• The stunning sight of fossilized trees scattered across The Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert.
• A trip down memory lane as we visit Route 66 in Winslow and a spectacular hole in the ground called Meteor Crater.
• Getting up close with a Titan II missile, a deadly Cold War relic south of Tucson.
• The disappointment of Biosphere 2, a unique ecological experiment in the foothills north of Tucson.

Please check back again soon for additional posts. Highlights yet to come include:

• The Pima Air and Space Museum, which included a fascinating bus tour of America's largest aircraft bone yard.
• Tombstone, Arizona.  The world's original wild west town, complete with dusty boardwalks and the odd random bullet hole.
• The classic sights and sounds from Garry's first proper tour of Los Angeles.