Home again, home again, jig-a-jig-jig!
Well our Trip of a Lifetime is complete.
We are safely home at Granite Glen – and it was such a sight for sore eyes. I tried to hug my kitchen. Sad but true.
In just over a month, we have:
1. Spent approximately 40 hours in planes (and covered enough kilometres to circle this planet).
2. Driven on the wrong side of the road for around the same amount of time (and managed to wipe out NO locals)
3. Visited eight cites in the US of A and loved them all for varying reasons.
4. Gazed upon (and been charmed) by the countryside and small towns of two US states (Oklahoma and Texas) and recognised a million similarities and an equal number of differences to our own home.
5. Laundered clothes in a New York laundromat, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and Anaheim hotels, and an Oklahoma ranch laundry room (the last one wins totally on facilities – and not just ’cause it was free!!).
6. Clung to door handles/the nearest passenger during hair-raising trips in airport shuttle buses in three American cities. (Never have I been so pleased to see a hire car, as I was in Dallas after our New York shuttle/suicide mission.)
7. Survived the theme park trifecta: Universal Studios (the start), SeaWorld (the middle) and Disneyland (the end) – although the latter did give us a minor extra we didn’t pay for in the admission (a 36-hour vomiting bug for darling Violet).
8. I have packed and unpacked four enormous suitcases of clothes/flyers/boots/electrical cords and appliances/25000 toiletry items approximately ten times. And by the time we got back here it had grown to six suitcases. I refuse to pack again for a year.
9. Enjoyed all kinds of America hospitality – from slick Beverly Hills service, to the warp-speed and fabulous New York variety, the drawling friendliness of San Antonio, the relaxed ministrations of our Tulsa hotel, a heart-warming Oklahoma ranch welcome, the busy-but-keen-to-please attentions of our Houston hotel hosts and the more touristy variety that dwells in Anaheim.
10. Met many fabulous, fabulous people – including three bloggers who all proved to be even better in person (if that is possible) than I anticipated. Her, her and her. They totally lifted my trip from great to amazing. I am in awe that I somehow managed to pull off each meeting – quite an adventure in themselves!
11. Eaten a lot of unfamiliar food – some wonderful, some not so… and including bacon masquerading as wafer sticks…
(For our American friends: Aussies eat bacon a fair bit leaner and cooked in a pan with only a little fat – so it’s still pliable!)
I have also taken thousands of photos. I am not kidding, or even exaggerating slightly. I am currently pulling around 5000 images from our portable hard-drive into my home desktop. I hope it doesn’t kill my computer. I have so much editing and decision-making to do that it blows my tiny mind. And to those kindly enquiring about WHEN I am going to blog this trip properly I assure it will be REAL SOON.
But first, I have to attack a month’s worth of bills. Vastly less exciting but (according to my business colleagues and those waiting for our money) far more important. (Hey, they aren’t bloggers, so you’ll have to excuse them!). Otherwise I shall be utterly consumed with guilt, and possibly be harangued by those mentioned above. And you don’t want that, do you?
So I shall see you soon – with a chronological and pictorial walk through Bush Babe’s America.
Thanks for your patience. And for checking back despite my terrible posting record lately. I’m a lucky girl to have y’all out there…
♥
BB
PS For fun, I have a little test for you. Let’s see who knows where EACH of the pics above was taken ? (i.e. What city/state) There’s a free BB print in it for the person who is closest to correct…
PPS Happy St Patrick’s Day everyone.
PPPS I love green – all of Granite Glen is green and grassy and wonderful to come home to. Our whole property is celebrating St Paddy’s day!
PPPPS I cannot stop thinking about Japan’s tsunami survivors and the looming nuclear ‘situation‘ – so I am smiling with contentment at being home again one second, and frowning with helpless concern for our northern friends the next. Please God, keep Japan safe…
12 Comments
Scotty
Welcome home, BB – so glad to read of your adventures and to hear that you had a wonderful trip.
🙂
Scotty´s last blog post ..New Element
Fleur McDonald
Fantastic summary – will read all of the blogs in a bit more detail, soon. Fab photos as ever! And welcome back to the good country!
Sal
I bet some furry friends were VERY excited to see you home too. And if they are anything like ours, would have been crazy-mad with excitement when they laid eyes on you! Welcome home, what an amazing trip! Look forward to peeping at some of your favourite pics. Hope the kids are recovering well!
roger
well done, no mean feat to do all that and get back in one piece
Colin (HB)
OK – BB – I’ll go for somewhere in New York – the photo comp. – somewhere in Grand Central Park???
You are amazing to have so much enjoyed and so much entertained. God, don’t you sleep or is St.Paddy on your side????
I agree the photos out of Japan are horrendeous. Completely beyond comprehension.
MAny thanks for including so many in your travels. Hope the “pink boots” were not lost????
Cheers
Colin
Leonie
So happy to hear you’re home safely & loving being in your own part of the world. Can’t wait for the next instalments. xox
Buttons
Welcome back. My prayers go out to Japan also. B
Buttons´s last blog post ..Maple Syrup! In the Rain On My Mind
Theresa in Alberta
So very glad you arrived home safe and sound!! Looking forward to seeing all of your pictures…..but as the chief bookkeeper of a small trucking company please pay your bills k 😉 Your outback, country kids look like they adapted to city life pretty good eh!
ellie k
We had dinner last night with a lady from germany doing a trip around the USA. She was in Calif. at 3 different places, then Huston, now Florida and then N. Caroling and Virginia and on to NY and then back to Germany on Easter day. She is a retired lady visiting military familes that she has befriended in germany over the years.
Glad you had a great trip and are home safe and sound, homeis always good no matter where you go.
Quincy's Keeper
Home is a great place to be. I was only gone for two weeks and was so glad to be home. I couldn’t imagine a whole month!! You are a braver woman than I 🙂
Okay let me guess with the pics….
1-the Lodge
2-Australia
3-uhm…an airplane
4-Houston
5-Anaheim
6-Oklahoma
7-Disneyland
8-Ree’s place?
and the last pic is Central Park…I think.
Kelly
Glad to know you’re home safe and sound. Y’all really packed a LOT into a short time (in the grand scheme of things).
I look forward to lots more photos!
Kelly´s last blog post ..What Am I 6
Kate
1-Your place?
2-Australia airport
3-a plane somewhere
4-Texas
5-California
6-Oklahoma
7-Disneyland
8-Texas
9-Cowgirl book, hard to tell
10-Breakfast, hard to tell
11-Central Park, NYC
Welcome home. Cannot wait to see more! An entire month – wow!!!
Kate´s last blog post ..Thankful