2026 Australia Part 1

We will begin our story with a visit to San Diego, California. It is the first leg of this mega trip that will mostly center on Australia. After a few days in California and a couple of weeks of on-our-own touring in Oz, we will board a cruise ship to see even more. That cruise portion will be described in a separate blog post. Hey, I’ve got an idea. Maybe I’ll call that one, “Part 2.” 

The Lady Adventurer and Dan on Rottnest Island

San Diego

“Why is the floor rumbling?” Dan wonders. It must be some kind of equipment running nearby, probably within the hotel. “Could this be…” Lady Adventurer begins to wonder. Dan finishes the question for her. “An earthquake?” It doesn’t last more than a minute, and it’s not what you would call violent, but it’s definitely happening. Lady A. and Dan have never experienced one, so it’s pretty exciting for them. It wouldn’t have been if it had been stronger or closer. But they’re not unusual here in Southern California, where they are visiting before flying to Australia. Amazingly, within sixty seconds of the quake’s completion, a web search revealed the magnitude and location on a map. What a world.

Earthquake!

San Diego calls itself “America’s Finest City.” And why not? Fine, it is. To begin with, Lady A. and Dan take a long and pleasant walk through Balboa Park. It’s a huge city park with gardens, art, and museums galore. Since it’s Martin Luther King Day, there are a lot of people about, but nothing is truly crowded. The weather is beautiful.

Balboa Park

A short visit to Coronado allows L.A. and D. to experience beaches and views of the city from across the bay.

Cabrillo National Monument also makes for a memorable day visit. Lady A. and Dan had spotted it from Coronado the previous day. The trails are nice, and the views are great. That is, until the Marine Layer moves in and takes over. A marine layer is a cool, moist layer of air and low clouds that forms over ocean waters, changing the local weather in a hurry. Dan and Lady A. lose sight of the distant city skyline and the nearby Naval Air Base as the clouds swiftly move in, darkening and cooling everything. However, they can still hear the military planes and helicopters taking off and landing. It’s all kind of surreal. But the hike is a great one, regardless.

Cabrillo National Monument

Cabrillo National Monument

You can’t swing a cat in California without hitting a winery. Or, you can at least get to one fast. That’s because all available land that is not used for growing grapes is part of some twenty-five-lane freeway. Lady Adventurer likes her wine and her wineries, so she is happy to get to a few. Dan is fine with it as well. Specifically, they visited Callaway Vineyard in Temecula and Bernardo and Cordiano Wineries in Escondido. They were all nice. The Temecula area, they learn, is especially good for wine.

Lady Adventurer and Dan take a nice little hike in Mission Hills Trails Regional Park. It’s another nice day. Even when the weather’s lousy here, it’s fine. Next thing they know, it’s time to pack up and fly to Perth.


Perth

“Before we left home, I did some analysis regarding holes,” states Lady Adventurer. “It appears that if you dig a hole in our backyard down to the Center of the Earth and continue through to the other side, you would,” she begins. “Be both stupid and dead,” adds Dan, helpfully. “Wind up not in China, but somewhere in the Indian Ocean near Perth, Australia,” she continues. This means that Perth is about as far from home as you can get whilst you’re still on Planet Earth. That’s one of the reasons why it’s always fascinated us.

Perth

Perth

Dan and Lady A. don’t feel so fascinated as they touch down in Perth, however. The trip had been long and hard, kind of like Third Grade was for Dan. But now Dan and Lady A. are walking. They’re walking a lot. They see everything being set up for the Australia Day celebration scheduled for later today, the 26th of January. (They don’t stay up or out for the fireworks, but the rumbling, like the California earthquake, does shake them up. There was also a terrorist bomb threat in the city.) 
After a wine tour is canceled, Lady A. and Dan remain in Perth and walk some more. This time, it’s over to the Western Australia Botanical Gardens. What a lovely day and what a wonderful place to walk. And walk. And walk. It’s all lovely, but it tuckers Lady A. out.

“Let’s see. We’re already on vacation, but we’re going to go on a vacation from the vacation,” says Lady Adventurer. “And, we’re already on an island...” ((Editor’s note: she is considering Australia an island, whereas it’s really a continent. I think. Let’s just see where she’s going with this, however.)) “And now, we’re going to another island for this secondary vacation,” she continues. Dan smiles. He knows she is employing “Dan logic,” and that it’s irrefutable. 

The island destination in this case is Rottnest Island. It’s a major attraction when you’re in Perth. If you cross a kangaroo with a rat and add a silly smile on its face, you get a Quokka. There are thousands of these friendly creatures on Rottnest, but there’s also some history and some great scenery. After ferrying over, Dan and Lady A. take a short, clangy train ride, get a tour of a World War II era bunker and battery, and mostly see the sights. It is all quite beautiful, and the quokkas are as friendly as advertised.

Rottnest Island

Quokkas on Rottnest

Adelaide

Adelaide is having a heat wave when Dan and the Lady Adventurer arrive. It’s in the low 40s C, which is well over 100 F. What can you do when it’s this oppressive? Explore wine country, of course.
South Australia is known for its wine, and the Barossa Valley is the most famous region in the state and the country. Lady A. and Dan ride a hop-on, hop-off mini-bus through the area with some fellow oenophiles. The wineries are scenic and offer great wine for tasting. After the mini-bus breaks down, a substitute vehicle brings everyone (all good friends now) back to the city.

Barossa!

Barossa!

Barossa!

<<Excerpt from Dan’s Running Blog>>  Oenophile Dan (he prefers this name to ‘Wino Dan’) sets out on his second run in Adelaide. He’s here mostly to sample the wine, but also to see the sights in South Australia. His first run had its ups and downs. On the upside, running along River Torrens was scenic and interesting. On the downside, the preponderance of bugs detracted from the experience. Dan thinks they’re like the deer flies he deals with back home. But since there are no deer here, maybe they’re kangaroo flies. Yeah, he’ll go with that. But they’re no fun. This time, Oenophile Dan finds a city park that’s away from the river. Maybe there won’t be so many flies here, he thinks. He thinks wrong; they’re bad here too. Otherwise, the run is okay. After arriving, he circumnavigates the park, for a loop of about 1 ¾ miles. Dan decides to do a few more loops to get up to ten miles. Early in his first loop, Dan notices some people who appear to be Aboriginal standing in the park as he runs by. Not much else happening at this early hour. As Dan runs by the second time, there are several more people, all sitting down on a nearby hillside. The third time, one of the people, a lady, calls out to Dan, “Hey, are you a marathon runner?” Dan stops, smiles, and answers, “Yes, I do run marathons, but not today.” She mentions something about running around and around. Dan moves on, thinking, yeah, that’s what I do. The fourth and final time, Dan is thinking of doing only a little more in the park and then getting ready to return to his hotel. The people are gone, but a lady (it may have been the same one who called to him earlier) is out in the street, disrupting traffic. As Dan cautiously approaches, he notices that she is naked from the waist up. She’s yelling something at the drivers, who clearly don’t know what to do. There are multiple lanes of traffic, so this is a dangerous situation. Dan is afraid that something very bad may happen, but he is not sure whether to intervene in some way. Then he sees a man emerging from the park. He’s yelling loudly at the woman and walking over to her. Dan is relieved that he’s apparently rescuing her from the traffic, but then Dan begins to wonder if perhaps she was trying to get away from him for a good reason. Dan hopes everything is okay with the people. He’s relieved further as he returns to his hotel. <<End Excerpt>>

What to do in Adelaide when you’re not drinking wine? That could be a trick question (because there is no such time), but Dan and Lady A. skip the “Cellar Door” festival at the nearby Adelaide Convention Center. Instead, they walk over to visit the Central Market, which is similar to Cleveland’s West Side Market. After dinner, they walk down to the scenic River Torrens, which is quite nice with parks and such. It’s also where Dan does most of his ‘normal’ running.

The second trip to the Barossa Valley is even more fun, if such a thing is possible. There is food, and even more wine to be had, and… Sorry, Dan doesn’t remember much else.

More Barossa!

Hobart

“Remember: drive on the left side! You’re too far over to the left! Watch out for those cars coming at you!!!! And the ones merging!!!!! WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!!!” Lady Adventurer is a great navigator, but she truly lives up to her name when Dan gets behind the wheel to drive on the left for the first time in 15 years. This, on the narrow, winding roads here in Tasmania. On the multiple-lane roads where the lanes are narrow with speeding traffic everywhere. After trying to get into the wrong car doors, and after Dan figures out the controls, turning wipers on when he wanted to use a turn signal. Lady A. and Dan manage to and get to the Customs House Hotel from the Hobart Airport in one piece, after which they pry Dan's fingers from the steering wheel.

Driving an hour and a half to Port Arthur is even more fun. The winding roads would be challenging even if Dan were driving on the correct side, in a normal-sized vehicle rather than a huge SUV. Port Arthur is a historic village on a faraway peninsula on this faraway island. Prisoners, many of them children, were held here, beginning about 200 years ago. The entire village has been preserved as well as possible. The setting is idyllic, but the history is profoundly disturbing. Dan and Lady A. get a harbor cruise and attend talks at some of the buildings.

Port Arthur

Port Arthur

Port Arthur

Mount Wellington is close to Hobart, and it overlooks the town. The way up is steep, narrow, and winding. It’s a stunning location, as the views are about an expansive 360 degrees. On the way back down, Lady A. and Dan stop at Historic Cascade Brewery for an interesting tour, some tasting, and dinner.

Mount Wellington

Mount Wellington

Cascade Brewery

The Tasmanian weather has (so far) been perfect. The people have been super-friendly. And the food, wine, and beer have been excellent. Lady A. and Dan think it’s the best of the best of Australia. And guess what? They aren’t even done yet.

The Cascade Female Factory initially sounded intriguing to Dan. He had been wondering how females were assembled. But it isn’t that. It is a historical area dedicated to the remembrance of the incarceration of girls and women from England. They were forced into labor of different kinds, some in homes away from the prison walls. Many became pregnant, and the children were then raised within the prison walls as well. 70% of them died within a year of birth. It’s all quite sobering and sad.

Dan and Lady A. make their way to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. They immensely enjoy the experience. Dan runs in an adjacent park, where he has seen kangaroos, wallabies, and lorikeets.

Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens

Lady Adventurer and Dan are walking through a primeval rainforest, complete with huge tree ferns and trees so tall that they touch the sky. They reach the beautiful, cascading Russell Falls, then continue on from there. This is Mount Field National Park. It’s about as nice as can be. They climb many stairs as they ascend to the top of the falls. (Lady A. isn’t so thrilled with this part.) Then they admire Horseshoe Falls and continue their trek to the Tall Trees Trail. Eucalyptus regnans grow as high as 300 feet. They rank a close second to Coastal Redwoods as the tallest trees in the world. Lady A. and Dan can’t get enough of them as they walk among them on the trail. They return on a quiet park road. Mount Field National Park is about as good as they get.

Mount Field National Park

Russell Falls, Mount Field National Park

Mount Field National Park Eucalyptus Trees

“I could live here,” says Lady A. Dan agrees. They have been enjoying all of Australia, but Tasmania is the best of the best. The weather, food, scenery, and friendly people are unforgettable. The vibe on the Hobart Waterfront is nifty. If only I didn’t have to drive here, thinks Dan. He has managed to get the two of them around and then back to the Hobart airport, but the experience was stressful. Next time, maybe he will just drive on the right and let everyone else get out of his way.

Sydney and Onward

Flying into Sydney

Lady Adventurer and Dan fly to Sydney for a one-night stay. Dan gets a shave, so he will look normal again for the cruise. (Remind him not to try growing a beard ever again.) That’s about all the excitement these two can handle. Not doing anything else in Sydney is not a problem; they’ve been here before. Now, it’s time to embark on the Oceania Riviera. The cruise portion of this story will continue in Part 2. Check it out.

Clean-shaven Dan

2026 Miami to Miami cruise

Been a cold, nasty winter in Cleveland. Although we have travel plans for later, we began to wonder if there was a way to get away from the cold even sooner. Voila! A short Miami-to-Miami cruise with relatively cheap last-minute fares presented itself. This cruise was going to places that we would normally not go out of our way to visit: Cozumel, Belize, and Honduras. But the trip had the one thing that we very much sought: warmth.

Compared with some of our other travels, a one-week Miami cruise is relatively easy. We had non-stop flights. We stayed the initial night in Miami before embarking.

Hilton Blue Lagoon Miami Airport

Our ship is the Oceania Insignia. It's an 'R' Class ship with a maximum of 650 passengers. We like that. But it's an older ship that will be decommissioned within a couple of years. Our sail-away from Miami was fun, as always. Everything else on board is mostly fine as well. The best thing is, it's warm!

Miami sail-away

Driving by the Southern tip of Miami Beach

Not much happening in Cozumel. Our ship arrived early, and Lady Adventurer and her faithful companion walked around for a couple of miles. As we were heading back, we had to fight through a throng of thousands of people coming ashore from the Carnival Breeze. Somehow, we survived.

Cozumel

Belize it or not, we had a pretty fine time there. We visited the Lamanai Archaeological Reserve. It was stunning. Lamanai was once a major city of the Maya civilization. It's only partially excavated, but what we did actually see was quite impressive. Several structures were huge and as high as 100 feet.

Olmec faces on a Maya structure

We climbed to the top

Lady A. at the top of Lamanai, looking down at main plaza

Getting there was half the fun. From our ship in Belize City, we took an hour-long bus ride, then a 40-minute speedboat ride for 25 miles on the New River. Saw some wildlife at the site and along the way: iguanas, howler monkeys, crocodiles, all kinds of birds. It was all quite unbelizeable.

What a croc

A friendly male iguana, looking for love in all the wrong places

Roatan is an island that's part of Honduras. It's about 30 miles from the mainland. We visited a park called Gumbalimba. There is plenty of magnificent wildlife; there are scarlet macaws, white-faced capuchin monkeys, hummingbirds, wild guinea pigs, and all sorts of other animals. However, these guys were not quite as wild as advertised. For example, the monkeys and birds can come and go in and out of the park, but they're more than happy to stay, where they're well cared for. Scarlet Macaws are among our favorite animals. But not when they (like the monkeys) crawl all over you. In fact, it was all just a little too touristy. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

About to cross the suspension bridge

Scarlet macaws

White-faced capuchin monkey

Our Itin

Then, it was back to Miami in time to begin our next adventure.

2025 Travels

2025 was yet another Big Year for traveling. After spending two months in Florida, we resumed our quest to visit all 63 U.S. National Parks. When the year began, we’d had 15 yet to go. We also enjoyed an epic trip to Alaska with the family. Here’s the complete but abbreviated rundown.

Our winter visit to Panama City Beach was mainly like usual. The snow and ice storm was fun, and we also stopped in Selmer, TN, and Tupelo, MS on the way down. There were a few other new experiences as well.

In March, we flew to Albuquerque and rented a car. Driving around in a vast circle, we managed to visit six new (to us) National Parks in New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. We saw and did a bunch of other great stuff as well.

Our 50th Wedding Anniversary came along in June. To mark the special occasion, we got the family together for a cruise and land tour of Alaska. After everyone else flew home, Lady Adventurer and her Faithful Companion stayed on for further adventures. We were able to visit five remote National Parks we hadn’t been to. And the bear encounter was fun both for us and the bear.

For something really different, we took a trip to Armenia and Georgia in September. It’s an interesting part of the world we hadn’t been to.

Finally, in November, we flew to Las Vegas, rented a car, and drove to the four National Parks that we’d missed along the way. There were three in Utah and one in Nevada. It was more stunning beauty, but the big news is that WE MADE IT! ALL NATIONAL PARKS ARE OURS!

What do we do for an encore in 2026? We’ll think of something.

2025 Nevada and Utah National Parks

For this trip, our goal was to see the remaining national parks we had not yet visited. There were four of them, all in Nevada and Utah. We planned to fly into Las Vegas, rent a car, and drive to the parks, staying in nearby hotels. The government shutdown could have had other plans for us, however. Would the parks be open? With the air traffic control problems, would we even be able to get there?

The plan

It turned out that the parks were open, although some areas and visitor centers were closed. And we did manage to arrive in Vegas as planned.

Great Basin National Park

Lady Adventurer: "How is Great Basin National Park going to be different from the rest of the Great Basin that we've been driving through for four hours?"

Dan: "It will be the same, but there will be more of it."

Such is the conversation as we travel North from Las Vegas to Great Basin National Park. The Great Basin is a large, arid region in western North America, characterized by being the continent's largest landmass with no outlet to the ocean. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and parts of California, Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming. It is defined by a Basin and Range topography, with alternating mountain ranges and flat valleys. The climate is dry and desert-like. Great Basin National Park hosts a sample of the incredible diversity of the larger Great Basin region.

Great Basin, near the closed visitor center

The two visitor centers were closed; we ventured into a mostly-empty park that we had nearly all to ourselves. The famous Lehman Caves were closed. The scenic drive up to Wheeler Peak lived up to its name, but it was closed for the season near the top. At an elevation above 9,000 feet, we were able to walk among Bristlecone Pines, some of the planet's oldest living organisms. We took a short nature hike to enjoy the outstanding scenery, and called it a day. And a visit.

Next to a Bristlecone Pine

Nice mountain views

We stayed in the Gateway village of Baker, NV, which was nearly as empty as the park itself.

In the desert near Baker

Capitol Reef National Park

It was another four-hour drive to Torrey, UT, and Capitol Reef National Park. Nothing prepared us for the beauty and grandeur of the place. It's absolutely stunning. Capitol Reef's name comes from its unique geological features: the "Capitol" refers to the white sandstone domes that resemble the dome of the U.S. Capitol building. At the same time, "Reef" describes the rugged, barrier-like cliffs of the Waterpocket Fold. The "Waterpocket Fold" is a 100-mile-long warp in the Earth's crust, and the name was given by early settlers and prospectors who saw the similarities to the Capitol building and a coral reef. It didn't fool me at all. The long, skinny park runs North/South and is bisected by Utah State Route 24 near Torrey. Just that short section is fantastic. But we ventured in further at the (open!) visitor center.

Based on the Park Ranger's recommendation, we drove to the end of the 10+ mile paved portion of Scenic Drive, then continued on another 2.5 miles to the very end on the dirt portion. From there, we began our hike on the Capitol Gorge Trail. There are sheer cliffs all along the way, sometimes close-in enough to consider it a slot canyon. To say it was "gorgeous" is an understatement. This out-and-back hike ranks among our most scenic ever.

Capitol Gorge Trail Hike

We also made stops at several other points throughout the park, but we didn't get to see good portions of it. Count Capitol Reef among the parks we'd love to return to.

Great scenery throughout the park

Fruita Section

Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands National Park is big. The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded (like the Grand Canyon) into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their respective tributaries. We spent our day in the popular Island in the Sky District.

We drove the park road as far as it went, then hiked a couple of miles from there. Sound familiar? This time, it was called the Grand View Trail, and grand it was. There were incredible vistas on both sides of the ridge we went out on. Beyond all expectations, we, along with around ten other hikers, managed to get lost on the way back. The route was more difficult than expected, but we managed to get back without further incident. The views all along the way were great. We also walked around Mesa Arch, and this shorter hike was a tough one as well. Sound familiar?

Grand View Trail Hike

Grand View Trail Hike

Mesa Arch

Looking through Mesa Arch

After our adventures, we stayed in Moab, Utah, for the first of five nights.

Arches National Park

National Park number 63 of 63 was a doosie. Arches National Park has over 2,000 natural stone arches, hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive rock fins, and giant balanced rocks. It's among the most appropriately named parks from the Institute of Appropriate Park Naming. Arches is one of the most congested parks, so we got an early start.

Early morning hike to one of the arches

The early morning light was perfect on the red rocks and arches. Gobs oohs and ahhs were forthcoming. We drove all the major park roads and stopped at many pull-out viewpoints. In the Windows Section, we hiked the Windows trail (where we spotted several large arches) and then over to Double Arch. Further on, we spotted the famous Delicate Arch from a distance. It is the well-known symbol of the State of Utah. In the Devil's Garden, we hiked to see Landscape Arch, the longest such span on the planet. It was quite a day.

North Window Arch

Double Arch (also appropriately named)

Delicate Arch

Landscape Arch

And, it was quite a trip. We accomplished our primary goal, and now it was time for some relaxation and fun in Moab.

Goblin Valley State Park

Grappling with Goblins? Hiking among Hoodoos? That was us. The landscape, covered with sandstone goblins and formations, is often compared to Mars. There were no marked trails. You meander around the goblins, which are all over the place. It's easy to get lost, but you're never too far away from the parking lot. It's impossible to walk in a straight line; if the goblins don't get in your way, the dry riverbeds do. Goblin Valley State Park is most like Bryce Canyon, and it's a really nifty place.

Goblins Galore

Dead Horse Point State Park

Located adjacent to Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse Point features some fantabulous views of the Colorado River Canyon. An immense desert landscape of canyons, high desert woodland, and miles of trails, the park did not disappoint.

Dead Horse Point

We hiked some trails near the visitor center, where the views of the canyon were spectacular. Then, we drove to Dead Horse Point (as far as you can go by car), where the views were even more amazing. Here, you can see the Colorado River winding and making a big U-turn. Our hike at this location involved taking the West Rim Trail back towards the visitor center, then crossing the road at the "Neck", before heading back to Dead Horse Point on the East Rim Trail.

East Rim Trail (that's Lady A. up there)

Las Vegas

All that other stuff done, we drove back to Las Vegas for one more night before heading home. We stayed at the Fontainebleau. It's over the top in every conceivable way, as well as a few inconceivable ones. It was an experience, but neither of us feel the need to spend any more time in Vegas.

A Few More Thoughts

Moab is a cool place. It's both artsy and outdoorsy. And there are so many parks and activities. I would come back, but not in the high season, when it becomes bustling and crowded.

We had perfect weather, with cool nights and daytime highs in the 60s. Some places were hazy, especially Dead Horse Point. We learned that, sadly, industrial air pollution was to blame. Dead Horse Point had another problem as well: the landscape is scarred by an industrial potash operation smack-dab in the middle of the canyon below.

Our biggest surprise was Capitol Reef National Park. In a (very) good way.

Our biggest letdown was... None of the above. We thoroughly enjoyed all of the parks and areas in between. We did have a problem with the car rental - they forced us to accept and pay for insurance that we didn't need or want. Oh, and as I write this, we are very concerned about getting home, considering the government shutdown.

It would have been nice to visit Bears Ears National Monument and Monument Valley. Maybe next time.

Best of all, we made it to all of our national parks! You will hear more from me about this. I promise!