1982
In August 1982 we set off on the great adventure, flying to Los Angeles where we visited Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, and the Dancing Stallions before going to Vancouver where we were warmly welcomed by Ron, Judy, Michael and Melissa. Ron was keen to show us the beauty and interesting places they had discovered. They took us to Capilino, to an Indian village, and to the highest suspension bridge in the world, to the ski resorts on Grouse Mountain, and also to Mount Seymour, all of which were an easy distance from their home.
One week we went on a busy tour to the Columbian Ice Field, the Rocky Mountains and Yosemite Park, where we saw a tarantula, and the Grand Canyon – truly a different world. The Butchart Gardens are world renowned, but Elizabeth Park, the Van Ducen Gardens, and Stanley Park were all different. Squirrels, chipmunks and skunks all came looking for a handout. People are not supposed to feed the animals, but they obviously expect, and usually get some. The Bloudel Conservatory is a huge dome-shaped building with plants and birds of all sorts. There I was thrilled to see a nightingale, which I had not seen since I had one in my aviary many years before. The undersea gardens showed us bright coloured plants and fish, and Sea World, the performing seals, dolphins and killer whales. Catalina was a small island, similar in a way to Stewart Island, but all the sand on the beaches had been shipped there. San Francisco was different again with its quaint streets and trams, and the Golden Gate Bridge, which we went on, over and under before we left.
We were to stay two or three days in Hawaii on the way home but when we got there Dad was not feeling very well and rang the airline to see if we could travel earlier. “That will cost you 70 pound each,” they said, so he replied, “I’m not bad thanks”. The day before we left on the trip his Doctor had rung to say he had made an appointment for him for an X-ray, and when he told him we were leaving for Canada that day, he said “I don’t suppose it will make any difference, make it when you get back”. When we did get back six weeks later the X-ray machine was out of action, and it was another three weeks before he did get it. It was only a short time later that he was in hospital and operated on, followed by a time of chemotherapy, and was just home in time to share Christmas Day with us in the basement of our home.
During the early part of 1983 we flew to the South Island to see Graham’s farm and his family and neighbourhood. Another of Dad’s dreams was realised that year – to own a new car – and so he did, though he didn’t get to drive it himself for very long. He did get to enjoy it for a while even though having to submit to being driven. By Christmas 1983 the cancer had taken over again and he really couldn’t enjoy the dinner or the day at all. Ron and Judy came to visit him in April, but by that time he was not able to eat a meal, only specially prepared liquid and he passed away one day after our 44th Wedding Anniversary, 16 June 1984.
On June 15, 1984, Nellie and Doug arrived with a lovely big bouquet for our 44th wedding anniversary- but I wept for I knew we would not be likely to spend another anniversary together; I didn’t expect Dad’s end so soon, though he could not do the things he saw needing doing. Norman was with us at the time and was a great comfort to me and along with Diana and Nellie and Doug helped Keith plan the service and carry out the details necessary. Many were the expressions of sympathy both expressed and written, and were much appreciated. Of course I missed Dad very much and many a time there would be something I wanted to tell him- and could not.
At that time I came to my remembrance two events taking place overseas that I had wished I could attend. I wondered if it was too late to do so. Enquiries found that tickets for both the Passion Play, at Oberamammagau, and the Military Tattoo in Scotland were still available and could be worked in one trip, so bookings and plans made. I set off for England on August 18. There I stayed for a week with Debbie Stewart, husband and baby Adam, seeing the sights of London. I was surprised that time spent playing Monopoly in my early days meant I was quite familiar with parts of London and enjoyed seeing them in reality, Buckingham Palace, the Changing of the Guards, Trafalgar Square, the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge and the river Thames, Big Ben (though at that time his face was covered for repairs), St. Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, Oxford and Churchill’s grave, Warwick and Carnavon castles, Harrods and Australia House. Debbie and her son accompanied me and made it all more interesting.
A tour from there took me through the English countryside, some of Wales and through Scotland. I did not see the Shetland Isles, where my Mother’s parents came from, but I did see the many lochs and the Isle of Skye and then to Edinburgh, to view the gardens and then to the tattoo. Being there was wonderful, but I’ll never forget the finish- the lone piper way up in the battlements of the castle- eerie and haunting and beautiful. Back in London for a night and then off on another tour. First of all on the hovercraft across the channel to France. There I stopped to take a photo and then couldn’t find the rest of the party. Finding my way back to the bus, the driver guessed my trouble, and though he didn’t speak English he took me to where the rest were. A cruise on the Seine (under the bridges of Paris), a visit to the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, the Eiffel tower and the Arc de Triumph, all places I had read about. Then on to Germany, and a cruise on the Rhine, and then on to Oberamammagau. The houses there all had window boxes filled with bright coloured flowers, mostly geraniums, but the play I had come to see really made the life and death of Christ very real. The climax was wonderful, and the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus a fitting end, though I did think it would have made it more personal if the audience had been asked to join in.
On then to Innsbruk and Venice. We dined on a balcony at the waters edge and then were serenaded while we were treated to a moonlight trip on a gondola. A short stop at Verona, and then on to Lucerne in Switzerland. There I went up Mt. Rigi in the cable car, but it rained so hard I couldn’t see a thing. I did see some of the Swiss agriculture later though, cows, sheep, hay being made, mostly by hand, but snow capped mountains too. In Geneva we saw the headquarters of the Red Cross, the Palace of Nations and the World Health Organisation building but we did not visit them. Back then to Paris and the gardens of Versailles and then back to London. The whole journey had been dominated by castles and cathedrals, some we went through and others just viewed from outside.
Back at the hotel Debbie and co came to say farewell, as I was to leave the next day. They alerted me to the fact that I hadn’t confirmed my ticket and when I tried to do so, they had cancelled it and I had to find the office and rebook. Fortunately no one else had taken it so all was well. I had hoped to visit Kew gardens on the way to Heathrow but one was advised to keep hold of ones case at all times and as I couldn’t carry it round the gardens, I had to forego that pleasure. At Auckland, Norman met me and took me to his home for a meal and to replay some of my journey and thence to my own home after a most enjoyable trip.