KatieKat 2004 Cruise Chapter Five

31 March, 2004 -- Signs

We're presently in California (it's tax time) but will hopefully return to Australia within the month and continue our cruising on KatieKat. In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few photos of signs which struck my funnybone (or unfunnybone) during our recent travels.

This I thought was a very imaginative name for a veggie store. Certainly gives a smile to anyone reading it. I like it!

Don't usually snap photos of bumper stickers, but this one was cute.

This popular billboard never fails to capture my attention.

Inane road signs irk me, because the moneys spent on them could be used to fill some more potholes. Am I missing something here?

Speaking of snow, Alaska, here I come! It was 40degC (over 100degF!) when I snapped this photo.

This road sign is often seen in Victoria to mark a place to be able to simply pull off the road into an undeveloped parking area (as compared to an improved "Rest Stop").

No comment

If it sounds good, market it! A counter-counter-culture attempt or sheer nonsense? This one was leftover from Fiji.

Going down into this Crown Casino parking garage in Melbourne, one begins to wonder if Star Trek transporters maybe do exist ...

Now, here's a traffic sign often seen in downtown Melbourne. Remember, in Australia you drive on the left side of the road and what this sign says to do in order to make a RIGHT turn at the intersection is go all the way over to the LEFT! It really does work and it avoids backing up non-turning traffic. Think about it.

Tram ads are sure distracting!

This has nothing to do with signs or KatieKat, but as we were sitting in this open lounge at Brisbane Airport I realized that they really did go to some trouble to make our stay a more pleasant and comfortable experience.

Within a day of arriving in California, I had already spied a couple of questionable signs ... these two were on the same street in the town of Los Gatos.

Having succeeded in overturning a U-turn traffic ticket in court while I was in college, I'm sensitive to this topic. Does this sign on a quiet side street mean that I can make a U-turn everywhere except in the intersection?

A couple of quiet side streets were heavily plastered (littered?)with these signs. Go figure.

Whinge (whine): "I wanna go back to sailing!"

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27 April, 2004 -- California

Going back to the US evokes mixed reactions: it is wonderful to see family and friends but it is always painful to catch up on administrative and domestic maintenance necessites (as well as doing taxes). I don't discuss politics on this website, but suffice it to say that what I saw and heard was very disquieting.

Our house has been taken over by critters. This mouse was quite tame and I simply picked him up and put him outside. The ducks love the pool.

Speed traps are alive and well in California, and a great source of local revenue. This one is on El Monte Avenue heading into Los Altos from Interstate 280. Watch out! (No, I didn't get nailed, but I find this a perversion of law enforcement).

I now find conversations with my son Alec to be downright pleasant, despite his reluctance to have his photo taken, .

Kathy went up to visit with her parents in Oregon. After doing the taxes, I took a quick 2500-mile round-trip drive up to Canada to visit visit some old friends (can't believe I forgot to take photos), and also stopped in to say hi to friends and Kathy's family along the way.

The ferries in both Washington and British Columbia provide the much-needed transportation lifeline. As we were leaving Horseshoe Bay just north of Vancouver, I snapped this photo of an approaching ferry with snow-covered peaks in the background. Pretty!

A snapshot of the one-hour traffic backup at the Peace Arch when returning from Canada.

Obligatory photo returning from Oregon of Mt. Shasta in the distance. Notice that Kathy's car has now also sprouted mirrors (NO blind spots!!).

Dang, can't get away from those Aussies! This is outside Redding in Northern California.

Introducing our Australian possum to Kathy's nieces' cat.

Attended the large boatshow in Jack London Square in Oakland across the Bay from San Francisco. Notice, TWO Seawinds (one for sailing demos).

Ah, the joys of home ownership! The first photo is from a video image showing a sheared sewer line under my parents' house. Digging it up and repairing it was a pleasurable task akin to grinding fibreglass.

The return trip to Australia through Japan is sleep-depriving. Kathy managed better than I did.

Our designer luggage once again survived the trip. Had three of these boxes.

Kathy sprucing up KatieKat after our return. The boat fared much better than we did.

Nice to be home!

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