Hi all.  The countdown to our return to Oz has begun.  Yesterday marked 5 weeks until we touchdown on Australian soil again and we will have clocked up 342 days of travel.  Wow.  Hard to believe that we are getting so close to the end of our massive journey.  We are all feeling ready to come home and see what Australian life has to offer us again but still have the wonders...

I have always wanted to go all the way to Key West in Florida; the southernmost part of the USA.  From where we are staying in Tavernier near Key Largo, it is a 2 hour drive to Key West; we thought we’d drive to Key West and back in one day and do it as a day trip.  This worked out perfectly and we really enjoyed the time we were there.  I must admit I was a little bummed...

Here is the link to my critter spotting article I wrote for The Chronicle newspaper.  We have had so much fun spotting creatures great and small all over the world.  Check out the link to see some great photos.

http://www.thechronicle.com.au/story/2011/12/06/critter-spotting-everglades-np/

Here are Steve, Harris and Patrick at Shark Valley Visitor Centre in Everglades...

After leaving Orlando on 1st December we headed for Naples on the Gulf Coast of Florida. As you may have read already, we stopped and did a spot of manatee spotting on the way and then on our first day in Naples we drove to Sanibel Island to do some shell collecting.  What else did we do in Naples? 

• Hung out at the hotel pool and gym and ate a hearty breakfast every...

As we countdown the weeks until we go home, we are starting to think about a new list of things to do.  Whilst this list is not as big a list as when we were preparing to leave the country, it is still a substantial and important list of ‘stuff’.  Here are some of the things that we need to consider to make the transition to our ‘regular’ lives of work, school and running a...

For the last week my Uncle John was critically ill in Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.  His list of ‘conditions’ were horrendous and we wondered if it was possible to overcome such obstacles.  This morning he lost his battle and died peacefully in hospital.  His loss saddens us all.  My husband and sons never got to meet him and I have not seen him for many years. ...

Here is my latest article for The Chronicle newspaper in Toowoomba:

http://www.thechronicle.com.au/story/2011/12/01/top-tips-theme-park-travel/

What do you do when you stay in Naples, Florida?  You drive an hour north to Sanibel Island to see their famous shelly beaches.  The best of their beach runs east-west rather than north-south so they become a dumping ground for shells. These beaches are covered in shells and often the shells form large drifts.  It was certainly worth the drive to see them all.  We found one...

On our way south from Orlando to Naples we needed a place for our picnic lunch.  When we saw the sign for ‘Little Manatee River State Park’ we thought we’d turn off the highway to find it.  After a short detour we found ourselves paying a park ranger $5 to enter the park and he gave us a map.  The park was only quite small so we found the picnic area and playground easily...

Recently we celebrated our 300th day of world travel.  Yep, 300!  We were lucky to be staying with our friends, the Beaton Family, in Orlando and were able to enjoy real American pizza and a delicious celebratory cake with them.  Thanks to Dot for ordering such a great cake.  We had a great 300th day at Universal Studios and are counting down the days until we return home...