Alaska Ornament - done

We had a great weekend at Aireys Inlet on the Great Ocean Road - It was so nice to get down there and away from it all.
I spent some time on the Robot ABC and got 2.5 letters done - F and A and a bit of G. Only have G to do now. I will be very pleased to have this one done as I love the bright colours. 

When we got home on Sunday, I started and finished the little 'I Love Alaska' ornament I got on our recent trip. I was surprised at how quickly I got it done - I don't think I've ever completely finished a design in 1 day before. It was on quite small Aida so it was a bit fiddly but fairly basic and quite simple. I am very pleased with my new ornament for the Christmas tree. I'd like to do similar little ornaments for the other places we have been.  It was good because it came with the gold frame, ribbon and everything needed to complete it.

I didn't get a chance to do any beading on the Snowy Owl over the weekend but I'll have to find something else to stitch whilst watching TV tonight... watch out stash, here I come!
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie

Holiday Pics #2

Again, this is a picture heavy post...

I think I got up to about day 4 or 5 in the last post... Note: these are not in exact chronological order as they re-organised themselves when I imported them, and I don't have the time to go back and put the in exactly the right order. They are roughly correct.
Today I'm starting off in Banff...

The Goldola in Banff gave a great view over the whole area. I can't imagine it being covered in snow during the wintertime but it would be beautiful.

This was the view from the top of the gondola. Our hotel (the Fairmont Banff Springs) is towards the bottom right of the picture and the town is about in the centre. It was only a few minutes walk from the hotel and absolutely lovely. Although, there were plenty of Australians there (not that that is a bad thing!) The taxi driver, waiter & hotel concierge were all Australians.

This was the view from our hotel at Lake Louise. Absolutely stunning. It was a pity we were only there for 1 night, but apparently, this is about all there is to see. There is no town or anything like that near the hotel. We did go for a short walk around part of the lake which was lovely, but they warned about bears and other animals so I always had a eye out for rustling bushes just in case.

We saw a real live bear on the side of the road on the way to another night-stop (I can't remember where at the moment). Luckily, it was only about 50-100 mts from the road and the bus was able to pull over and let us all get our bear fix.

At Whistler, we posed with the Winter Olympic Rings (actually these are my parents). I really like Whistler and could see myself going there again. It was very busy though - heaps of people and mountain bike riders. The shopping area is huge and has just about everything you could think of. That was where I got some Cow Chips. We discovered these in Canada last year and loved them. This was the first shop we found that had them. They are chocolate covered potato chips which sounds a bit weird, but they are so delicious.

This is Shannon Falls - beautiful

This is the ship we were on for 7 nights - Holland America Westerdam. It was so relaxing to get on board and not have to have our bags ready by 8am or be somewhere at a certain time - we could just do as we wished when we wished and it was wonderful.

I think this is from Sitka - a town in Alaska. Alaska used to belong to Russia, so there is still a lot of Russian culture around. These dolls and Santas were beautiful.

 This was one of the beautiful sunsets were watched whilst on the ship.

Glacier Bay was truly spectacular. This glacier is approx 100m high but the photo doesn't do it justice. There were several glaciers entering the sea. We hoped to see some break off, but we weren't that lucky.

I can't remember where this was, it might be Ketchikan. Beautifully painted houses line the creek which runs into the ocean. The green house on the right used to be a brothel and very popular with the visiting sailors, now it is a museum.

Next we went to San Francisco where we attended the baseball game between SF Giants and the LA Dodgers - a home-town rivalry of sorts. We had good seats right up high so we could see the whole pitch and out over the water. I had no idea what was going on, but still loved it. We got free caps so that was a nice souvenir to take home from the game. We had hot dogs for dinner and I was surprised, they were actually quite OK. I don't know what I was expecting but they were yummy.

 This was the view from our hotel room on the 6th floor. The Golden Gate bridge is to the left and Alcatraz is to the right, both behind the buildings.

 It is hard to get a picture that really shows just how steep the hills are in San Francisco. I think this one does a pretty good job. I knew it was going to be hilly, but it was so much more hillier than I expected. I don't know how there could be any overweight people in San Francisco if they have to do any walking at all around the city!

 Here is the world famous Lombard Street. I feel sorry for the people who actually live there - they have tourists going past all day long and people queuing to drive down the street - it would be a nightmare to actually live there! The flowers look lovely and it was indeed a very steep street!

 On the day we had our SF city tour, it was a little overcast. We had lunch on the other side of the bridge shortly after this photo was taken. Over at Sausalito it was bright, warm and sunny - completely the opposite of this photo.

 And I had to include a photo of Alcatraz. We only went past it on a ferry and I don't know what I was expecting, but I was disappointed. It had graffiti and was in ruins. I'm glad we didn't pay to visit it.

Then we ended up in Los Angeles. This was the view down the street from our hotel - just as I imagined it would be with the tall skinny palm trees.

 This was the view from our hotel room right in Long Beach. It was lovely.

 Just one of the many beautiful beaches. I didn't make it to the beach as I was involved in a conference during our time at Long Beach, but my husband and parents got there.

 Here is my husband and I outside Universal Studios. Given it was a 40C degree day, the extra cost of the VIP tickets was so worth it. We didn't have to wait a second for the rides, the tour guide was giving us water all day, and we had a delicious buffet lunch included. It was a tiring and long day but very enjoyable.

 And on our last day we did a LA city tour. Here is the obligatory Hollywood sign picture. Around to the right of this picture we could see the big bush fires burning in the LA hills.

When I was going through all the photos on the weekend, I decided to watch a slideshow run through of them all before I started to pick and choose which ones to use. I didn't think it through - I have almost 5000 pictures. It took 4.5 hours to watch them all for 2-3 seconds per photo. I have to admit though it was enjoyable to relive the holiday that way. I think I'd like to print some sort of holiday book with the good photos but I'll leave it a while before I start on that.

So now I won't bore or make you jealous with my holiday talk (until the next one that is...)
Thanks for sharing my holiday!
Happy Stitching,Kerrie

Holiday Pics #1

Ok, let's start with a warning - this is a picture heavy post
Trying to summarise a 30 day trip with almost 5,000 photos into just a select few has been quite difficult!

Flying Business Class with Air New Zealand was fantastic - we arrived fresh and relaxed and ready to go (and on the way home as well, no one suffered from jet lag!)

My first cross stitch purchase was this little Christmas kit and a slightly more advanced stitching themed design from a shop called Buttons and Needlework in Victoria.

We did a whale watching tour in Victoria, but this was the only whale we saw...

The Butchart Gardens in Victoria were absolutely beautiful. The colours were just lovely. The use of water and plain greenery was very effective throughout the gardens. It is hard to imagine it used to be an ugly quarry!

This is the Capilano Suspension Bridge in Vancouver. Quite long and fairly narrow with heaps of people trying to get across. It was very busy!

So then we hopped on a train and began the journey across the Rocky Mountains to Jasper. This is one of many waterfalls beside the tracks.

The little black blob towards the top left corner is a bear on the side of the train tracks!

These bears at the Jasper Park Lodge were very friendly!

Then we started to head towards the Athabascar Glacier. Snow started to fall on the way which was just magical as I have never experienced snow before! This waterfall looked lovely among the snow covered trees.

This is my husband and I on the Athabascar Glacier being snowed on - it was my favourite memory of the trip!

 I can't remember the name of this lake, but it was on the way to Lake Louise. There is no photo-shopping involved - it really is that spectacular colour in real life. Truly amazing.

 This is Johnston Canyon. I made it across this rickety bridge, but after that I sat on the chair to wait for the others. That's when my little chipmunk friend made an appearance.

 Other wildlife we came across were elk just near the hotel in Banff

 I've run out of time for today, so I'll call it quits and start again, hopefully tomorrow...
I hope you enjoy these pics. I can highly recommend the trip we took - if you ever get the opportunity, do it!

 Happy Stitching,
Kerrie

Holiday #19

Well, our holiday is almost over... We are at LAX awaiting our flight to Auckland, then to Melbourne. Amazing as our trip has been, we will be glad to get home.

Yesterday we had the Universal Studios VIP tour. It was SO worth the cost since it was 40 degrees and we didn't have to wait longer than 5 minutes at each ride. The guide was very knowledgable and helpful giving us cold water when we wanted it. We also had a great buffet lunch.

If you ever go to Universal Studios, I recommend you splash out and do it VIP style!

Then today, we were picked up at taken on an all day LA city tour. Again it was 42 degrees. At first the bus was good, then the aircon started to fade and it was stinking hot! Photo stops were very quick as no one wanted to be out in the heat longer than absolutely necessary. One couple didn't make it back to the bus in time, and they got left behind after we waited 10 minutes for then. I felt sorry for them, but the bus driver specifically told them (they were of Indian descent) that Italians and Indians are always the ones who ignore the time to be back at the bus. It was their own fault.
We saw the Hollywood sign which I guess was a highlight. Also some celebrity homes, but they were always behind big hedges. Hedge trimmers must be well paid in Hollywood!
Eventually we got dropped off at LAX and went to the Air New Zealand lounge. Business class has its perks! The shower was AMAZING. Never had a better shower! Now we are waiting for our flight but it is relaxing and we should sleep well on the plane.

Thanks for sharing in this holiday adventure with me! I can't wait to get some cross-stitching started... I'm getting withdrawal symptoms!

Until next time,

Kerrie.

Holiday #18

Another great day of sessions at the theological library conference in LA. I have so much homework to investigate further on a number of different issues over the coming months.

I also made contact with a colleague I have been corresponding with via email from the UK. She was telling me about the 2018 European equivalent that will be held in Germany. I've always wanted to go to Germany, so our next holiday destination is set! Just have to plant the seeds in my manager's mind and let it grow over the next year or so...

Tomorrow morning is the last day of the conference. After lunch, we will be picked up and we will change hotels so we are closer to Universal Studios for our visit on Sunday. It is supposed to be very hot on Monday for our LA city tour, but I am looking forward to that.

Then Monday night it's back to the airport for the trip home. We leave Monday night, and get home Wednesday at lunch time. We miss Tuesday due to crossing the international dateline. My husband is not happy as his birthday is Tuesday and he misses it!

Until next time,
Kerrie

Holiday #17

today was the first full day of the American Theologicak Library Association conference. I have so many notes, catalogs and brochures to do further research on when I get home! It was a very informative and productive day. If nothing else happens in the conf, it has been well worth coming!

We went for dinner to a place nearby called Gladstones which had some very nice seafood. We all needed to walk around a bit to ease the squeeze! After that, I did a little shopping at the shops which are thankfully open late. Got some great bargains so I am happy.

Until next time,
Kerrie

Holiday #16

today, we were collected from the hotel and dropped at San Francisco airport with plent of time for checking in and getting through security. It was nowhere near as busy as Seattle. Still took about an hour though!
After arriving in LA, I felt famous again as the driver had my name on a card at the airport. We arrived in Long Beach at our hotel mid afternoon. We're only on the 4th floor, but still have a great view out over the lagoon and the Queen Mary. We had a short walk around the area before I had to get busy with the theological library conference. The others in my group went shopping and exploring some more.
For dinner we went to Rock Bottom Brewery for a very large but delicious meal.
The next 2.5 days for me will be taken up with conference sessions, I have no idea what the others will get up to. I know for a fact my mum has already picked out a chair under an umbrella by the pool for doing her crosswords!

Until next time,
Kerrie

Holiday #15

we didn't have anything planned today, so we had a bit of a sleepin, then got some breakfast at the same cafe as on Sunday, which was very nice (Roxannes cafe). Then wandered around waiting for the shops to open. Most didn't open until 10am which seems weird to me, especially when the shops in Melbourne open at 9am on weekdays. I guess they stay open here later so it evens out. We got a few things, not too much and eventually found ourselves at the Cheesecake Factory on the rooftop at Macy's for lunch. I had done delicious lettuce wraps with Asian chicken inside. They were pretty messy to eat, but very delicious. Then we caught one of the old style tram cars around to Fishermans wharf, looked around there for a bit and got a cable car back to the hotel. Doesn't sound like a lot, but there was a fair amount of waiting at each of the stops waiting for cable cars and tram cars. Thankfully, it was quite sunny, a little windy but overall very pleasant to be out and about. I think we'll all have a snooze now before going to the Nob a Hill Cafe for some Italian pizza and pasta for dinner, mmmm.

Tomorrow we have an earlier start with pick up for the airport at 8am then we fly to Los Angeles for my theological library conference which I am really looking forward to.

Until next time,
Kerrie

Holiday #14

Today we had a San Francisco shuttle tour booked. It was very good although it did feel a little rushed in places. We walked down Lombard street which was beautiful, saw the 7 sisters which are the beautifully painted Victorian houses, walked through China Town (tasted a fortune cookie from the first fortune cookie factory), visited Grace cathedral, saw Mrs Doubtfire's house, drove over the Golden Gate bridge, had lunch in Saucalito (delicious sandwich) then got the ferry back past Alcatraz. I'm sure I've missed out a few of the other things as well, it was pretty jam packed with stuff. When we got back, we had a cable car ride up to the hotel which was a lot of fun. The hills were so steep, we all slid down the seats! After we got back, I think we all had a snooze then we went to Big 4 Restaurant for dinner (named after the big 4 millionaires who made their money on the railroads, not connected to Big 4 caravan parks in Australia, which made it an interesting experience. One is budget, the other is super fancy and was a great experience).
Tomorrow we have a free day so we will try to sleep in for a bit, then grab some breakfast and hit the shops!

Until next time,
Kerrie

Holiday #13

baseball game today - Giants vs Dodgers.
Giants won so that was good to see, but I have to admit, it was pretty boring until about half way through when they started to score. We saw one Dodgers home run which was exciting. It was collected by someone in a boat in the bay! The crowds were great to watch, they really gave it to the Dodgers fans in a friendly way. It was fun. I had a hotdog for dinner at the game and it was the funniest thing I've seen. It had a tiny little roll with the hot dog hanging out each end. I have a photo to post when I get home. Also had garlic fries which apparently are a bit of a SF tradition, they were delicious!

Earlier today, we had a great breakfast at a place called Roxanne's Cafe and walked around the shopping area a bit. Funny thing is the big shops don't open until about 10 or 11 which we thought was unusual for a big city.

We have a city tour tomorrow to see the city highlights so we are looking forward to that. We've had great weather and it looks to continue tomorrow too.

Until next time,
Kerrie

Holiday #12

why did they decide to build a city in a location like San Francisco? It is SO HILLY I'd never have believed it if I didn't have to walk it myself. Sure, I've seen movies and tv shows, but actually walking it is ridiculous. My husband put his phone on the ground to measure the gradient, and it wouldn't stay still, he had to stop it with his foot! It said it was about 10degrees but I don't know if that is correct.

After being picked up at the airport (having your name on a card feels like I am famous!) we had a short drive to the Fairmont San Francisco - how fancy can you get? It is a beautiful hotel on the top of a hill, so every way you go is down, which means it is up to get back!
We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant in china town which was very nice. The walk back up the hill helped to wear it off.
Tomorrow we have the baseball game in the evening but we have the day free so we might head out to do some shopping around union square.

Until next time, thanks for sharing my holiday...
Kerrie

Holiday #11

hello again,
It feels like ages since I was able to post. Sine Sitka, we have been to glacier bay, Ketchikan, and Victoria CAnada and this morning we are in Seattle at the airport about to head to San Francisco for a few days. The cruise part of the trip was amazing, very relaxing, wonderful scenery. All we've been doing is eating and sleeping! I've kept a list of what we've eaten and will describes me things in more detail when I update the posts with pictures after I return home.
Didn't get any more cross stitch kits as the shops in each place all had the same six designs. Materials for patchwork were amazing. If I was in to patchwork, I could fill another suitcase!
T we will be fine for the trip home as we have business allowance which is higher.
It will be nice to make a home in the hotel in sf for the next few nights. We are all really looking forward to the baseball match on Sunday night. SF Giants vs LA Dodgers. I don't have a clue what is going on but it is still fun. We also have a tour booked for Monday to see all the major tourist highlights which will be good. Tuesday is our free time shopping day. We are at the weight limit with our luggage so we might have to pay extra for the domestic flight to LA
So far, the weather has been great everywhere we've gone, and the scenery and activities amazing. Also, no one in our group has been very sick (my parents both had colds, but otherwise all good).
Until next time,
Kerrie

Holiday #10

back into range after a few days at sea. We are in Sitka, Alaska.
We've witnessed some amazing scenery, seen some whales, Eagles, otters and bears over the last few days. Yesterday we were in Glacier Bay which was lovely, the day before that we were in Juneau, capital of Alaska. Tomorrow we are in Ketchikan, then Victoria before we get off the ship in Seattle on Saturday.
Got news that our dog had escaped, but thankfully he is back where he is supposed to be. Bit of a stress, but not much we could do about it from here.
We've seen about the whole town of Sitka, it's not very big so we might go back to the ship for more food! There'll definitely be a diet waiting for me when we get home!

Didn't get any cross stitch stuff in Juneau as they didn't have any smaller designs. Great shop if you're into quilting though, beautiful fabric patterns. I got a small polar bear and owl mill hill cross stitch set in Sitka which will match the kit I got on the Canada trip last year.

Until next time,
Kerrie...

Holiday #9

today we left Whistler. Due to an error by the tour director, the peak2peak gondola ride wasn't supposed to be included in our tour, it was an optional extra. As it turned out, it was quite overcast and wouldn't have been worth buying a ticket for as there wouldn't be a great view. So instead we had free time. I went to the Whistler public library and was very surprised with how neat it was. All the books were perfectly lined up on the shelves with some front facing display books. I complimented the staff on their shelving work.
We grabbed a small lunch then left for the trip back to Vancouver. Tonight we have a farewell dinner to mark the end of our land part of the tour. Tomorrow we have a very early start in order to get through the US border and customs crossing with time to hopefully get lunch on the cruise ship for the start of the cruise portion of the tour. We were told it would be a good idea to get some supplies in case we get delayed at customs which could be up to a couple of hours - hopefully we go through without any delays.
Then we start the cruise portion. Everyone is really looking forward to not having to get up at a certain time, not having to be in a certain place at a certain time, etc. it will be wonderful. But it also means I won't have Internet access unless I go ashore when we stop and can find wifi. Therefore, it might be several days until my next post.
Thanks for sticking with my holiday diary the last week or so. I hope to visit some cross stitch shops in a few Alaskan stopovers and will be sure to tell you all about them!
Until next time...
Kerrie

Holiday #8

it was another long day in the bus today, but again, absolutely amazing scenery. It is nothing like I've ever seen in Australia. Every turn is another perfect picture postcard. We had a few photo stops and got into the Westin at Whistler about 4.30pm which gave us a bit of time to wander around. It is very similar to Sun Peaks but way bigger and way busier! I finally found a Cows ice cream shop with cow chips (potato chips covered in chocolate, sounds weird but they are amazing!) so I got a couple of packets of those and also a Whistler souvenir tshirt. Our room at the Westin is, I think, the best we've stayed in so far. It has a large lounge space, a reasonable kitchen, big bathroom and king size bed. We even have a (fake) open fire and a balcony. Very fancy indeed.
Looking forward to dinner tonight if the standard of the room is any indication of the standard of the hotel in general.
We have a peak2peak gondola ride tomorrow which I'm looking forward to. Hopefully the weather stays clear and calm for it.
Until next time...
Kerrie

Holiday #7

today we spent a long time in the bus. From Lake Louise to Sun Peaks. We had a short time before dinner to walk around what I imagine it is like in a Swiss skiing village. Then we had to eat again, because we just haven't been eating enough on this trip! We had plenty of photo opportunities today, again sorry for not posting any, I will update the posts when I get home.
We don't get very long at Sun Peaks as we're on our way again early tomorrow heading for Whistler. Then the next day we have a Peak 2 Peak gondola ride which I am looking forward to.
Everyone on the tour is hanging out for the cruise part of the tour where we can get up when we want, do as much or as little as we want and not be confined to a schedule. I've already decided I'm going to treat myself to a massage on the cruise ship.
I hope you're enjoying hearing about our trip as much as I am enjoying taking it!
Until next time,
Kerrie

Holiday #6

today we have arrived at the Fairmont Lake Louise, and what you see on the postcards is what it is really like. Stunning, spectacular, there aren't enough words to describe it. We are lucky to get a lake view room so our view is amazing. Again I'm sorry I can't post any pics but I will definitely update the posts when I get home to include some.
We have a king size bed tonight which will be nice, last 2 nights have only been a queen size.
Hopefully we can get a good nights sleep as that has alluded us so far...
Until next time,
Kerrie

Holiday #5

Today we could sleep in, so nice not to be in a rush. We had a leisurely breakfast and then walked into the township of Banff to look at the shops. It was a beautiful sunny morning. On the way back, we walked along the river and came across 2 female elks. After lunch, we had a bus tour of the Banff region, taking in Johnson falls and caves, Banff hot springs, and another lake I can't remember. I had a rest on a bench at the falls and 2 little squirrel things came past. They are so cute. Saw some deer on the way back to the hotel, so the wildlife count is growing...
Dinner was at the hotel and was very nice again. Tomorrow we meet a Mountie and go on the Banff gondola before heading off to lakeblouise.
Until next time,
Kerrie

Holiday #2

Today, we had breakfast at the Buchart Gardens. WOW they are really beautiful, and breakfast was yummy too. We had eggs benedict which was delicious then we had about 2 hours to wander round the gardens which sounds like a long time but was just enough to see everything. I so wish my iPad would let me upload the photos I took, but that option isn't available for some reason - sorry! I'll have to update the posts when I get to a computer.
After the gardens we had a quick city tour and time for a light lunch then we had a whale watching tour. We got great seats on the boat and enjoyed the ride, but unfortunately we didn't see any whales. It was an enjoyable trip, but not unforgettable. On the way home, the captain took us past some harbour seals on the rocks so we could say we saw something, but it was very disappointing not to have seen whales or orcas. You can't schedule appointments with wild animals...
It was dinner time when we got back from that so we headed off to an English pub next door to the hotel and I had very nice fish and chips, just what I wanted after being in the chilly wind all afternoon.
Tomorrow, we leave Victoria and head to Vancouver for some touring before boarding the train for the journey to Jasper - really looking forward to the train trip.
Until next time,
Kerrie

Holiday #1

After many hours of flying and waiting around airports, we have now arrived in Victoria, CAnada and it is a beautiful sunny day. We've been for a walk around the city before our tour starts with a group dinner tonight.
I made it to my first cross stitch shop - the Button & Needlework Boutique. They had some beautiful designs but I wanted to make sure I will actually stitch what I buy so I only got 2 things - a Christmas design and a stitching pattern which they had on display in the store and it looked wonderful.

I'm having image issues but will continue to work on it. For some reason, I can't access my photos on my iPad to post them...
Kerrie