24 March: We took a ride to Wentworth, NSW this morning. Mildura is right at the border of both New South Wales and South Australia. Wentworth is a nice little town that once was the commercial hub of the area. We had coffee at a cafe, walked around the town and then headed home to get ready for an overnight on the paddle boat and tomorrow's tour on the Murray River. There is a fairly steep riverbank with wooden steps held in place by spikes to get to the boat. On the way down, I got stuck with one of the spikes. Frank took us to the hospital while Kay stayed on the boat. Three hours in the Mildura Hospital Emergency Dept, seven stitches in my left calf, and AU$171.50 later we were on our way back to the boat. Kay had been picked up by other boating friends we would be traveling with on the river. As Frank started the boat, the steering cable snapped. Other boating friends came to help Buzz and Frank with the repair. We finally joined the others a few km up the river, and pulled up to the bank for the night. Dinner was almost at midnight.

25 March: I slept really well, and after last night's excitement, it was great to have a quiet relaxing day on the Murray. I awoke to go to the loo during the night and was treated to the fabulous display of stars one can only see where there is no ambient light. In the morning, Frank gave Buzz a cursory lesson in steering and mentored as we went along. I mostly sat and watched and took pictures. Even though it rained a great deal, the day was mild. The scenery along the river is varied with stands of different kinds of gum trees, beautiful cliffs of layers of different colored rock, and too many varieties of birds to remember. The sun showed itself just before we pulled up for lunch with the two other boats. The guys lit a fire in the sand, and Frank and Kay made Jaffles which are toasted sandwiches cooked in special irons that you set into the hot coals. They were delicious, and fun because they were accompanied by a running commentary from the Tucker's friends. We were also accompanied by the ubiquitous little, sticky flies that are emblematic of Australian country life. We were back to the mooring at Red Cliffs just after 5PM and had a quiet evening at home. My leg is only a little sore.

26 March: This morning Buzz went out for a walk with Kay around 7:30. Around mid morning we went back to Mildura to see the sights. Our first stop was the visitor's center where we saw a couple of movies about the history of the area. We stopped at a gallery called the Art Vault and saw some really wonderful aboriginal art. The pieces I really liked would require walls larger than any in our home! Then we went to Rio Vista, the home of the Chaffey family. W.B. And his brother George were Americans who developed the irrigation scheme for the Mildura region. We toured the house and the art gallery and had a look at the new Mildura theatre which is really lovely. We then went to tour the replica of the old Mildura Homestead and grounds. On the way home we stopped at a table grape vinyard where Kay has permission to pick. I took photos, and Kay took grapes. We got home just as a storm came upon us. It was short and powerful with thunder and lightning. In a place where there was drought for ten years, every bit of rain is welcome. We had a rest, a cup of tea, and good conversation and then went to the Gateway Tavern in Mildura for dinner. Tomorrow we head back to Melbourne.

27 March: We left Red Cliffs after breakfast hoping we had persuaded Frank and Kay to plan a trip to visit us in New Hampshire. We had a pleasant drive to Melbourne with stops in Inglewood and Bendigo to do a bit of "antiquing". We found our hotel easily, walked to the local Chinese restaurant for dinner, and relaxed for the evening.

28 March: We have had two March 28ths. On the first one, we dropped our rental car off, and went to the Melbourne airport for our flight through Auckland to SanFrancisco. We had two uneventful flights. On arrival in San Francisco, we found we had a damaged suitcase. Two hours after arrival, we were on our way north. We are so unaccustomed to crowded highway driving. It took another two hours to drive the 50+ miles on I-80 from the airport to Vacaville. Too much stress. We checked in to our hotel, took a nap,and went out to dinner. If you happen to be in Vacaville, the Hisui Japanese steak house is very good.

29 March: Awoke to pouring rain. We had hoped for some California sunshine, but the rain is badly needed here. We did a few errands this morning including buying duct tape to get our damaged bag home. We have to file our claim with the Auckland airport Air New Zealand office. We had lunch with our dear friends Lanie and Jay Keystone at an Italian restaurant called Fuso in downtown Vacaville, and I did a load of laundry at their house. I was starting to fade by late afternoon; so we bought a grocery store rotisserie chicken and some salad and decided to "dine in" tonight. At about 4 PM I closed my eyes for a minute...and woke at 6:30!

30 March: Slept late and then drove to Davis to have lunch with Deb and Mark Van derList. Deb's dad was our GP in Western Australia. He delivered Robyn. We sat down to lunch around one o'clock, got to chatting, and, before we knew it, it was 7 PM! We continued our conversation at their favorite Indian restaurant and got back to our hotel around 9PM. An entirely satisfactory day.

31 March: Californians are reveling in another day of rain. We didn't mind it. Stopped at the AAA in Vacaville to get a area map before heading to Berkeley for a lunchtime visit with cousins Art and Lucille Poskanzer. Art is our family genealogist, and we spent a great deal of time talking about our family. At 82, Art is still working four days a week at UC Berkeley, and Lucille is very involved with the local lifelong learning center. It was a delightful afternoon. We came away feeling fortunate to have them in our family circle.

1 April: We packed up for the final day of this trip and drove to Benecia to meet Lanie and Jay for lunch. We were a little early; so we checked out the antique shops. Lunch at Sailor Jack's overlooking the bay was excellent as was one more chance to spend time with these dear friends. We had a leisurely drive (in the rain) to the airport, turned in our car, and waited for our flight to Boston.

2 April: Robyn was at the airport to greet us at seven this morning. The only glitch was that our plane arrived at Terminal C and our luggage arrived at Terminal A! In any case, we were home by nine o'clock. A shower and then a nap in our own bed were the perfect ending to this adventure. Hope you have enjoyed this trip.