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Alligator Alley

January 2023
A 14-day adventure by Cruising Read more
  • 14footprints
  • 2countries
  • 14days
  • 204photos
  • 4videos
  • 27.3kkilometers
  • 25.9kkilometers
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  • TravelerAlligator Alley
    Day 1

    Flying high

    January 7, 2023 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    It felt like the day was filled with "hurry up and wait" periods, where the hurry up was manic and the wait was relaxed and chill. It started on the wrong foot when the taxi was 20 minutes late, then at Auckland airport the queue was the longest I've ever seen - it took us over an hour and a half to get through immigration and security. And to add insult to injury, they singled Phil out for drug and explosives testing. Luckily all travellers were in the same boat, and they delayed our flight till everyone got through. At Houston we had to run the gauntlet again - this time with dogs as well - and it was my shoe that failed the test and had to go through the x-ray machine by itself.

    The flight to Orlando was fun. We flew along the coast over Corpus Christi, New Orleans, Pensacola ... with the blood-red setting sun glowing at the edge of the horizon.

    Arrived in Orlando half an hour early, in time to get front seats on the bus and a bird's eye view of the pashing couple in the vintage Chevy truck stopped at the traffic lights. They looked like they belonged in the back row of an old-time drive-in movie.

    The first view of the resort was breathtaking - majestic palm trees lining the curving driveway to the spotlit fountain and lobby portico. Almost as good as the view from our room over the tennis courts and golf course to the downtown skyline.

    It felt entirely fitting that they put on a fireworks display to welcome us back to Florida 😁    Read more

  • TravelerAlligator Alley
    Day 2

    Reconnecting

    January 8, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Such a cool day that began when we shared breakfast with fellow DGE Paul and Sue Rogers. They were fully versed with the layout and foibles of the resort and were able to guide us through the buffet, the best shops, cafes & and bars, and take us directly to the Registration desk.

    On the way we caught up with most of the contingent - found out Wayne got in at 6.30am and still didn't have a room, chatted with Prath & his wife who flew in from Darwin, heard that some got stuck in LA, some in Dallas and some had been in the area acclimatizing for several days.

    It was a beautiful, balmy 25-degree day perfect for walking around the complex to check out the facilities. I counted 4 swimming pools and 3 hot tubs. Philip was most interested in the full championship golf course designed by Arnold Palmer, Then there were the volleyball and tennis courts, and of course, the fishing dock. But most interesting of all ... on the other side of the water hole was a quite large alligator soaking up the sun too!

    We had an informal Australia, NZ, Pacific Islands meeting in the afternoon to sort out our "costumes" (t-shirts and scarves) and other important business ... like when to wear them!! Following a reviving margarita in the bar, it was time to pipe Gordon and Heather into the welcome reception. It was very colourful and social, and after a taste of the delicious Italian buffet, I spent the rest of the evening catching up with Ravi and Shobana. It felt like it was only a few months since we'd stayed with them, not 11 years. Amongst all the family news, I was fascinated to hear that a bear and her 2 cubs had moved into their home in Kotaguri during covid. Those bears have good taste 😁

    We talked and talked, promising to spend more time together, until the jetlag finally kicked in, and it was time to say, "See you later ..."    Read more

  • TravelerAlligator Alley
    Day 3

    Singing for our supper

    January 9, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Fun time is off the menu, and it was down to business today. We savoured the last few minutes of freedom by looking at the view out the window, trying to spot that alligator - no luck - and instead seeing a beautiful white egret.

    Gordon announced his theme at the first session, and we picked up our beautiful themed tie and scarf, ready for a photo op and special Presidential lunch tomorrow. Then we were split up to go through our respective workbooks at opposite ends of the complex.

    The work was interesting, but the part I enjoyed most was meeting new people. Like Marie Angela from Brasil practising her very good English, the ex-marine Bill from Virginia who loves the Lord of the Rings and wants to visit the film sites in NZ, the recently retired DEA agent Victor from Miami who spent 14 years in the Airforce deployed around the world, the food importer from Nazareth whose husband is responsible for all the Rotary clubs in Israel. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

    We all - Australians, Kiwis & Pacific Islanders - had an informal dinner together tonight, which was very relaxed and low-key. But it was soon obvious that people were ready to "talk to the pillow" as Geoff put it when we said goodnight at the ridiculous time of 7pm.    Read more

  • TravelerAlligator Alley
    Day 4

    Scotch mist

    January 10, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Woke to a hazy, misty morning this morning, with steam rising off the greens where the sunrays were sneaking through the clouds. It was another busy workday broken up with an invitation-only lunch and photo op with incoming president Gordon and his wife Heather. They recognized us when we lined up for the photo and remembered that we came from "the end of the world" (District 9999). I was even more amazed when Heather singled me out for a specially big warm hug and a relatively long, easy conversation in a room full of about 200+ important people. She's a really lovely, kind and very funny woman. We didn't get to chat with Gordon as he was being monopolized by the VIPs at the other end of the room.

    Shobana and I have been spending a lot of time together, and this afternoon we worked on our "Peace" crafting project. It was a nice relaxing antidote to the full-on programme, though neither of us could claim to be an artist! I must admit that I played hooky for the last half hour of the day. Came back to our room and was mesmerized watching the egrets feeding by the water's edge - a nice timeout.

    This evening was great fun. We sat next to one of the Rotary directors - Jeremy from the Cayman Islands - and also with our Aussie friends from South Australia. I was nervous about the Haggis on the menu ... but it came to the table looking more like a Wakefield pie than some animal's intestines, and it was quite delicious. We were entertained with pipes and dancing, taught how to do proper scottish... though Phil and I sat that out. We were still yakking away with Jeremy and hearing the story of the exploding haggis ... when his mother microwaved it!

    Heather, accompanied by the guitar and flute, sang a beautiful Scottish love song and then one of my favourites, the Banks of Loch Lomond.

    The formalities ended with a toast (a wee dram) to Gordon's dad, who was manager of the Glenmorangie Distillery. One sip was enough for me, though it was smoother than most whiskeys I've tried. The Koreans at the table were keen to join in the toasting, but alas, thought it was the knock-back-in-one-shot kind of drink, and had to do the official toast with an empty glass! It was all good fun and a wee taste of Gordon's beloved Scotland.    Read more

  • TravelerAlligator Alley
    Day 5

    The colours of the map are running

    January 11, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Tonight was cultural exchange night, where we got to mix and meet with attendees from all over the world. It was colourful, chaotic bedlam rounded off with international tasting stations from India, China, USA, Australia, and various other nations. We ate our BBQ prawns under the stars in the hotel courtyard with strings of fairy lights to see by and all sorts of background music playing from Italian opera to Zorba the Greek.

    Earlier in the day we'd heard from the best speakers yet - Gordon telling his own story of the impact of mental illness; a young semi-paralyzed victim of a gunshot wound to his head at age 13, and the impact on his life; a John Hopkins doctor speaking on the treatments available and how advanced they are; a young woman working to provide humanitarian aid in Ukraine with the full support of her Indian parents (her father could remember the trauma of partition in 1947); and Heather talking about being Gordon's Rotary partner.

    The image that will stay with me was the partially-repaired young man Freddie talking about Kintsukuroi - the Japanese art of sealing breaks and cracks in their ceramics with powered gold to make the "broken" object more valuable and beautiful than before.    Read more

  • TravelerAlligator Alley
    Day 6

    You take the high road

    January 12, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    A lighter day today for partners, we just had one working session, then a farewell celebration in the sun-filled courtyard. There were infused waters - strawberry, pineapple & orange, cucumber - to drink, and fruit kebabs to eat. If you felt semi energetic, you could do chair yoga, Tai chi, sudoku, or other pastimes. I spent the time talking about what to see and do in New Orleans with Mark (his photos of oysters the size of plates stuck with me), discussing the merits of the programme with Ian, and passing on greetings from Nelson to Tom Thorfinson.

    I also had some lovely conversations at the meal table with Marie Christine about the beauty of France and in particular her hometown, Les Sables-d'Olonne on the West Coast. Then she asked me about the native animals in New Zealand, and I explained that we mostly had birds that can't fly. She thought that was very odd. I mentioned that we did have one native mammal - a bat. Pardonne-moi, she said, a what? Bat, I repeated. She reached for her phone and Google Translate, and after I spelled it, she said cautiously ... " A flying mouse??" Mais oui, I said, that's right 😁

    One of the biggest highlights for me has been reconnecting with Shobana over the last few days. At least once or twice a day, we hang out quietly together and talk about everything and nothing, and we introduce one another to each other's friends, or in Shobana's case - the latest hilarious meme. It's good to know that she and Ravi are coming to Melbourne, so we'll be able to catch up again at the Conference.

    The last night banquet was a chance to round off the week and relax with our new friends. We shared our table with Bill & Deb and half a dozen from the German contingent. They all spoke excellent English, and we had some interesting conversations about how they were planning to organise their year. The night ended with speeches from the three RI leaders, who were eloquent and inspiring.

    Although we were invited to Craig and Kiki's stunning suite for the after-match function, we said our goodbyes in the hallway, and headed back to our room to talk to the pillow 😴    Read more

  • TravelerAlligator Alley
    Day 7

    Walkin' through N'Awlins

    January 13, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We stepped into our first Mardi Gras parade less than two hours after landing at Louis Armstrong New Orleans airport! We literally walked out of our hotel door and into the middle of the stiltwalkers, butterflies, walking dead .... and police cars with flashing blue and red lights. For a moment, I wondered if there'd been a murder (Mark's words about our area "being dodgy" ringing in my ears). But no, it was time to party.

    So, slightly disoriented, we headed off in the wrong direction and had to backtrack to Oceana Restaurant to catch up with James. He was patiently waiting in the queue on the cold, windy street to get a table for us ... at peak hour on the Friday night of a long weekend! It was worth waiting for though. The place was bursting at the seams and buzzing with energy and all the N'Awlins atmosphere I had imagined.

    I ordered the famous crawfish étouffée, Phil had the BBQ prawns, and James had the gumbo and a New Orleans tasting plate. But the food took second place to catching up on the last year years and planning the next few days. Even though we'd finished off with vanilla ice-cream smothered in delicious, rum-caramel sauce, and drunk the first decent coffee in days, and paid the bill, and figuratively fought off all the people queuing for our table, we were still talking when the long week started catching up with Phil. So we adjourned to our deluxe room and talked some more!

    However, we don't have the stamina of Kiki and Craig. The party they hosted in their suite last night kept them up till 2.30am this morning! We travelled across the continent with them (the long flights giving them time to get 40 winks) and shared a taxi into the city. Katrina was front of mind as we drove over bridge after bridge across the swampy, low-lying suburbs. And it was a sobering moment when we drove past Caesars Superdome - the "shelter of last resort" for those who couldn't evacuate during the hurricane ... so hard to believe it was over 17 years ago.

    I knew I was in New Orleans when I overheard the flight attendants making plans as I disembarked, "What's the time?", "Almost 4.30" "Good, let's go have coffee and beignets then".    Read more

  • TravelerAlligator Alley
    2
    Day 8

    All that Jazz

    January 14, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    The highlight of the day for me was sitting in The Spotted Cat Music Club, catnip* in hand, listening to Macumba playing Brasilian jazz with rhythm and passion on clarinet, bass and piano accordion. I was in my happy place.

    It capped off a morning of rambling through the picturesque streets of pastel-painted French style houses, shaded by oaks, palms and wrought-iron trellises. Every house was a photo op, and the camera just enhanced the azure blue background of sky.

    We'd started with breakfast in the dining room adjacent to the courtyard - still a bit nippy to brave the open air, and James joined us whilst we ate, making plans over coffee and toast. We meandered our way to Jackson Square via the praline shop, the Sox shop, and the hot sauce shop.

    Of course, we bumped into Ron and Deb in the Square and learned that Ron's suitcase was AWOL! And after checking out the mighty Mississippi and watching Dave and Robyn's paddleboat sail upriver, we stopped at the French market for oysters in the half shell. They were very tasty, but we'll below Bluff raw oyster status. We'll have to check again tomorrow to see if N'awlins can do better!

    Appetites whetted we ambled through the Frenchmen Street neighbourhood and found the Croissant door café selling heated Swiss cheese, ham & tomato baguettes, and very drinkable coffee. It was a good way to fill in time until the music began.

    And later for dinner, we ubered with Linda across town to the Magazine Street restaurants, expecting that they wouldn't be as crowded and over-subscribed as those in the French Quarter. We were wrong. We found an outside table in the little French restaurant Lilette. The food was delicious - I had sizzling shrimps (king prawns) and roasted duck breast, which were both beautifully prepared and full of flavour. We would have liked to sample the very tempting dessert menu, but we were getting colder and colder.

    It was back to the hotel to warm up and plan tomorrow's adventures.

    * catnip = mango vodka, orange liquer, cranberry & pineapple juice = very yummy!!    Read more

  • TravelerAlligator Alley
    13
    Day 9

    Feelin' good was easy ...

    January 15, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Dinner at Drago's was the icing on the cake! We shared a dozen chargrilled, butter flambéd, smoky oysters, and relived the day over a chaser of chardonnay and crabmeat au gratin.

    James had reserved a rental car and generously drove us to Natchez so I could see the city where Greg Iles set his haunting Mississippi trilogy and where he grew up and currently lives with his family. It was exactly how I envisioned it.

    On the way, we made a few stops. Baton Rouge was a surprise. We began by visiting the newly named LSU Campus Mounds (previously the Indian Mounds), now thought to be 11,300 years old, which makes them older than the Egyptian pyramids!

    At lunchtime Phil & I had the shrimp po'boy and James had the local gumbo, at the very elegant Watermark Hotel, We mooched through the downtown area - it's got a very smart, modern feel, with beautiful, mature trees near the old capitol "castle" facing out to the river - and a Rotary-built lookout point. We were dodging marathon runners whilst we were there, which made navigation very tricky, and it took a bit of winging it to find the scenic highway.

    But, with only a quick drink stop at Woodville, Mississippi, we made it to Longwood in time for the very last tour of the day.

    The potted history of the unfinished "town" (party) house set on 90 acres of land is that it was built in part by slave labour for Julia & Haller Nutt in 1860, but never finished - due to the Civil War. The estimated cost of the completed octagonal house would have been over $200,000 due to the size, opulence, and ahead-of-their-time features such as pocket doors, inbuilt insect screens and insulation.

    In 1864, Haller died of pneumonia, shortly after his infant son, and his $3,000,000 fortune evaporated. Though Julia tried to gain full reparation post-war, she was awarded approx $90,000, which she used to pay debts. She and some of her children lived in the basement of the unfinished house for the rest of their lives - until it was sold and subsequently gifted to the Pilgrimage Garden Club in 1970.

    The funny story of the day goes to our breakfast stop for beignets and coffee on the outskirts of town. James ordered for us, then had to go and get his backpack out of the car. The elderly waiter - who had a slight resemblance to Manuel - brought us our breakfast and headed back to the kitchen. We were munching away on our beignets when he came RUNNING back ... "No, no - you have to put the sugar on" and he proceeded to slap the back of the shaker so hard there was an icing sugar storm all over the table, the floor, Phil's shirt, everywhere .... He looked very gratified when we sampled his handiwork and thanked him for his help 🤣    Read more

  • TravelerAlligator Alley
    1
    Day 10

    There is a house (or two) in New Orleans

    January 16, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    I'm not sure the streetcar was called "Desire, " but it was standing room only to get to the Garden District - home to centuries-old, live oak avenues and mansions of the rich & famous such as Sandra Bullock and Beyoncé. It's also been the setting for many iconic movies, including the aforementioned Streetcar, and Easy Rider.

    We found Philip['s] Street with one or two antebellum places he could move into, and after checking them out, we'd walked up a thirst which required quenching at The Chicory House. This was our second coffee stop of the day. The French Truck was our first, and of course, we had to sample the almond croissants... very nice!

    There was evidence of where the water level had been during Katrina on some exteriors of the houses - it looked like it was around 3 metres deep. And although the homes and gardens were spectacular, the roads and sidewalks were in poor condition - it would be easy to sprain or break an ankle. The combination of tree roots, building over old canals, and the damage from stormwater, can make pavement walking like intrepid rock climbing.

    After lunch, and the best salted caramel ice cream ever, we ubered with Michael - the retired chef - to City Park, asking for the best meal recommendations on the way.

    We spent a few leisurely hours photographing the c800 year old, Spanish Moss clad oaks that would have been there in the plantation days, checking the bayou for lurking alligators, listening to the Pink Panther theme, La vie en rose, Orsini, and Stevie Wonder played on the saxophone to all-ears boys, whilst we watched Linda, the bubble lady, making magic for the excited kids.

    Sadly, James flies back home in the morning, so it was an early night for all - ready for more adventures tomorrow. Huge thanks to James for showing us the very best of New Orleans and driving us halfway across Mississippi. Not to mention all the interesting conversations and insights. It was really special reconnecting and heaps of fun reminiscing about the good old days 😁    Read more

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