Today is the three month anniversary of the start of our year long voyage. We're a quarter of the way through. It really doesn't feel like time is moving fast or slow. It feels just right. Today is one of those days I want to remember. It may be because we cleared the decks on our two big planning obstacles (I plan to dedicate an entire blog entry to securing a tourist visa to India in case any of you are planning such folly). It may be because we have disco...

We took off from sunny, blue Rarotonga this afternoon and landed in grey, rainy Auckland 28 hours later (remember the international dateline?). I didn't realize how far south New Zealand is. The South Island is well below the Australian continent and only the southern tip of South America is farther south in terms of the major inhabited parts of the earth. It feels a little like Yellowknife in May here. It feels good. Deb and the girls could have taken anothe...

It's been a while since I've had that special feeling Canadians sometimes get when they travel overseas. Americans don't give a rat's arse where anyone comes from, least of all the freeloaders to the north. My last international trip was to Sri Lanka two years ago. Sri Lankans view Canadians as supporters of terrorism largely because Toronto has the largest Tamil population outside of Sri Lanka and because our government has politely but publicly suggested tha...

If New York is the place where people came from all over the world to make their dreams come true, L.A. must be where they go to see them die. After a six hour flight from JFK we landed at LAX just after dark. The cab ride to our hotel in Burbank cost $105. As we approached downtown LA my eyes began to water and I started sneezing. The kids' noses began to run. The air was thick with dirty, nasty smog. Not even the sight of the Staples Centre, home of the L...

They say everything can change in a New York minute. Or was it just Don Henley who said that? Anyway, it feels like everything has changed tonight. It's 3:30 am here in Manhattan and I just hailed a cab on 9th Ave to take Mom to La Guardia Airport and home. Sherry is on the same flight as her to Toronto, with Olin following later this morning in their own homeward bound cabs. We loved experiencing the Big Apple with them and making great and lasting memories...