Category Archives: Uncategorized

September 3, 2021 Today we walked through Naples, an upscale neighborhood built on three islands, separated by canals which open into Alamitos Bay.

September 2, 2021 We are starting our West Coast trip in Long Beach, just south of Los Angeles. It’s not a city that we have spent time in before but we like what we’ve seen so far. We are staying in Belmont Heights, a quiet neighborhood of Californian bungalows and Spanish style houses. Down theContinue reading “Long Beach, California, USA”

August 20, 2021 We walked across the border and into Maryland, ending up in Bethesda, the suburb where Mal spent a number of his childhood years. It takes its name from Jerusalem’s Pool of Bethesda where Jesus miraculously healed a paralyzed man, according to the Gospel of John. Lauren remembers its downtown area from herContinue reading “Bethesda, Maryland, USA”

August 19, 2021 About fifteen miles outside Washington DC in Potomac, Maryland is the Glenstone art museum. With a collection of around 1,300 works from post-World War II artists, it is the largest private contemporary art museum in the United States. On a muggy late afternoon we strolled the extensive grounds with our friends KellyContinue reading “Glenstone, Potomac, Maryland, USA”

August 8-11, 2021 We just spent four days visiting Lauren’s sister, Marion, and brother-in-law, Jeff, at their beach home on the Jersey Shore. This isn’t the shore of Guidos and Guidettes made famous in the MTV reality series. In fact, Ocean City, put us more in mind of the pristine seaside town of the 1988Continue reading “Ocean City, New Jersey, USA”

July 3, 2021 On an absolutely perfect evening we walked out from our house and across the nearby border into Chevy Chase, Maryland. It is an idyllic neighborhood with large stately houses on quiet tree lined streets. It being the day before Independence Day, there were also more than the normal amount of American flagsContinue reading “Chevy Chase, Maryland, USA”

June 12, 2021 On a glorious sunny Saturday, we joined the crowds heading to the beach, edging along in bumper to bumper traffic most of the way. We made our way to Long Beach and Seal Beach, just south of Los Angeles. Guiding us were our son Jake, his girlfriend Kylie and Kylie’s daughters, SophieContinue reading “Long Beach / Seal Beach, California, USA”

June 10, 2021 After spending the last five months hiding out from the world and its problems down in New Zealand, we have finally returned to Washington DC. On the way, we visited our sons, Jake and Ben, who live in LA. Flying in, it was easy to see why LA is so well knownContinue reading “Los Angeles, California, USA”

June 3, 2021 On our way back from Cambridge to Auckland we stopped in Hamilton to visit the very impressive Hamilton Gardens. On the banks of the Waikato River, the gardens cover 54 hectares (133 acres) and includes many different types of garden. It is the Waikato region’s most popular attraction, attracting over a millionContinue reading “Hamilton, New Zealand”

June 3, 2021 From the age of eight to thirteen years, Mal lived in the small country town of Cambridge, about two hours drive south of Auckland. At the time it had about five thousand residents but it has grown dramatically since then to over 20,000. It is a lovely town with a decidedly EnglishContinue reading “Cambridge, New Zealand”