December 17 - Optometrist Visit

This week was my annual optometrist visit. Although my eye condition is irreversible, there are always other things that could go wrong. Past a certain age, and I won’t say what age that might be, it is a good idea to have a regular eye exam. Actual age aside, current thought is that children can and should have their eyes checked at the early age of six months.

 

Back to topic, in COVID times, I was hesitant to have any close contact at the optometrist office and so I put off my appointments. In the meantime, the office staff at my clinic had changed. When I arrived at the clinic last week, I didn’t recognize the women behind the counter and they didn’t recognize me. No problem. They could just look up my file. Turns out that there was a problem. Nobody could find my file. Even though I assured the staff that I had been coming for my eye exams at the same place for many, many years, they wanted to start me off as a first time patient.

 

Eventually everything was worked out but I did find the initial asking and answering of personal questions a bit frustrating. In the end it was the optometrist herself who found the clerical error.

 

Nevertheless, the whole experience had me thinking back to some of my previous optometrist appointments. I remembered the first time I heard the words “legally blind.” I think that my thought processes just shut down. I had no understanding of how the diagnosis was going to affect me. It certainly altered the trajectory of my life’s plan.

 

Adjusting to being legally blind was a steep learning curve for me. The good news was that as I grew into this new role, technology was growing with me. I am still learning but the initial emotional trauma is behind me.

 

If you haven’t made your next optometrist appointment yet, I encourage you to do so. While not all eye conditions can be treated or cured, there are huge advances in the field of vision research. Early diagnosis is often key to your future eye care and vision health.

 

 

December 9 - Travelling fun

People sometimes ask me why Lyle and I travel as much as we do. The simple answer is that we like it. Travelling broadens our horizons. We like to see new places, revisit favourite haunts, meet new and interesting people and connect with old friends and family. Of course, in winter there is the added bonus of leaving the cold of Alberta behind for a short break in a warmer climate. Yes, for us, travelling is fun.

Last week we arrived back in Canada after our Australian holiday. The time away met all of our expectations – well, perhaps the weather wasn’t quite as warm as we would have liked it to be, but otherwise it was all good. This spring, Australia has been experiencing much cooler temperatures than usual and above average rainfall. Flooding in the interior has been disastrous. While we did meet up with a lot of rain, our itinerary didn’t take us close to the affected flood areas.

Our best days away were spent with family. It was so relaxing sitting outside, sharing memories, eating familiar foods, and just being with people with a common familial bond. Thanks to Jill, John and Jane and Jan and Roger for making some of those days so very special.

Two other days that stand out were when we connected with old friends. We had brunch with Blair sitting outside at a coffee chop on the shore of the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. On another day we had lunch with Beverly and Roy in their Blue Mountain home. I will finish this post with a nostalgic reminiscence of that day.

We took the train from Sydney’s Central Station for the nearly two-hour trip to the Blue Mountains. The most popular spot for tourists is Katoomba but avoiding the crowds, we alighted a few stations sooner at Wentworth Falls. Beverly was waiting for us on the platform and Roy drove us straight to the Falls Lookout. Beyond the guardrail the Jamison Valley spread out in front of us. Beverly pointed out Mount Solitary rising up around six miles to our right and the falls a couple of miles to our left. I couldn’t see the falls but even at that distance I could hear the tumultuous roar of the water. It was hard to imagine that anyone at any point in time could have made their way through the dense bushland, but back in 1813, with the help of the Indigenous people of the area, three inveterate explorers did so. Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth now have mountain towns named in their honour. Equally inconceivable was the fact that only two years later under the direction of Sydney’s Governor Macquarie, a road was carved out through the same dense bush.

There are two pictures with this post. Both show the expanse of green that is the Jamison Valley. There are various walks in this area of the National Parkland but when we were there, some of these were closed due to the unusual rainfall and subsequent rock falls. We stuck to the marked pathways. If you are traveling to Australia, this is definitely a spot to visit.

 

Jamison Valley, National Parkland, Australia

Jamison Valley, National Parkland, Australia

 

November 21 - The Otways

Lyle and I have spent the last five days in Apollo Bay, a town at the eastern end of the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia.  The area around here is known as the Otways. We have had a lot of fun exploring here.

On Saturday our adventure began with a drive through the Otway National Forest.  The road was obscenely winding and impossibly narrow. Can you imagine our surprise when halfway along the track we came across a road sign which read, “Road Narrows.”  We weren’t sure how this would even be possible!  In spite of all this, the scenery was spectacular with tall, tall trees and very huge ferns.  We were in the depths of a rain forest.

We emerged from the forested area to see rolling hills and wide expanses of green pasture land.  I’m sure the grass was as green as it was because of all the more than usual rainfall.  Lyle was impressed by the good condition of the cattle he saw grazing in the field.

Eventually we pulled into our destination - the Otway Fly Treetop Adventure.  What a great place!  I would highly recommend a visit here - provided that you are in fairly good physical condition and are not afraid of heights.  Also, take a rain coat.  After all, the tree walk is through a rain forest and you can certainly expect rain.

The strenuous part of the adventure wasn’t the 600 metre walk along the elevated metal catwalk, but rather the lengthy downhill slope and subsequent uphill climb leading to and from the walkway itself.  Still, it was absolutely worthwhile.

The the trees were immense.  We were 40 metres above ground level and I couldn’t even see the base of the trees.  The trees still stretched high above us, some nearly 100 metres tall.  Lyle said that the ferns on the ground were positively huge.

There are four pictures with this post.  The first shows me about halfway down the trail to the tree walk. In the second I am standing beneath some of the tropical ferns.  The third photo shows on the elevated metal tree top walk.  The last is of the suspension of the tree walk. 

This was definitely our best day in the Otways.

 

Sue on a path at Otway National Forest

Sue on a path under ferns at Otway National Forest

Sue on a metal walkway at Otway National Forest

Suspension tree walk at Otway National Forest

 

November 17 - Leaving Tasmania

Today we are leaving Tasmania, flying from Launceston to Melbourne.  It’s been a good week, although much colder than we anticipated.  At least the rain stopped for our last full day of sightseeing.

One of the more enjoyable days was the drive out of Hobart to the top of Mt. Wellington.  It was cold and windy at the summit, and the landscape felt as if we had reached the end of the earth.

The first two pictures at the end of this post show me standing at the summit in front of the boulders beside the boardwalk.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any pictures from our boat ride out of Port Arthur.  The camera was in my pocket but it was way too rough and windy to even think about pictures.

The third picture with this post was taken beside the Tamar River in Launceston. There were some great walking trails by the river where the water was high enough and wide enough to look as if we were standing beside the ocean.

We are sorry to be leaving Tassie but we are looking forward to warmer weather when we reach the mainland.

 

Sue on the boardwalk at Mt Wellington

 

 

Sue in front of boulders at Mt Wellington

 

November 14 - Southeastern Tasmania

We have had an interesting couple of days. On Saturday, we visited the weekly Salamanca Markets in Hobart, and then visited the historic town of Richmond in the afternoon. Today we took the Tasman Island Wilderness Cruise.

I’ll start with the Markets. Shopping is not really my thing, I was amazed at how many vendors there were (over 300) and how many visitors were all crowded into the same area. It was a difficult place to negotiate, especially for a white cane user.

We spent a pleasant afternoon at Richmond. The pastries at the local bakery were excellent and we had lunch sitting in the warm sunshine. We toured the heritage goal, the oldest in Australia, but I feel the $12 admission per person was a bit much for what was there. I wondered how anyone could have survived the cruel and inhumane conditions of the penal system in the early days of the colony.

We wondered around the exterior of St. Luke’s, the earliest Anglican Church in Australia. The stone marker was dated 1834 but some work must have been done and there are improvements to the original structure. From here it was only another hour or so south to Port Arthur.

On Sunday afternoon the rain began. Fortunately, we were able to complete most of the Tasman Island cruise before the rain began. The cruise was three hours in an open sided boat in choppy seas. We were issued with red rain gear and anti-nausea pills, and were told to fasten our seat belts before we headed out to open water.

Lyle enjoyed the cruise, especially the rough water bits, although we did get a bit wet. He saw lots of seals, a variety of birds including two albatross and several eagles, and of course, the whales. I could feel the spray and taste the salt on my lips. Even though I couldn’t see the wildlife, I’m glad I did the cruise.

We are back in our warm, cozy motel. It is still raining as I write this, but tomorrow is another day - a driving day for us as we had north to Launceston.

Sue in front of St Luke's Anglican Church in Australia

 

 

 

November 12 - Walking in Hobart

Lyle and I are in Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania, the southern most state of Australia. Although the flight from Sydney to Hobart is relatively short, it felt like a very long day.  Fatigue might have been one factor that contributed to the difficulty I experienced on walking around on first day here.

By the time we picked up our rental vehicle, found our hotel, bought a few groceries - well, I was pretty tired.  Also, the sidewalks, or should I say footpaths around are hotel area were too narrow to walk side by side.  Our hotel, although quite lovely, was built on the side of a hill and there were slopes in every direction.  Additionally, it was a sweltering hot day.

On day two, we packed a picnic lunch and drove to the summit of Mt. Wellington. This mountain is 1270 metres above sea level and looks out over the city and harbour.  In contrast to the day before, the wind was bitterly cold but the walking was far more to my liking - wide pathways, secure wooden board walks, and the steps leading to the lookouts had hand rails on both sides.  The rocky landscape made both of imagine that this is what the surface of the moon looks like.

We stopped for lunch halfway down the mountain - out of the wind and at a lovely spot with picnic tables, a coffee kiosk, and a rather rustic toilet.  We ambled along a well defined pathway along a former Heritage Gardens area.  I say former because several decades ago it was totally destroyed in a major bush fire.  On our walk, we could smell the eucalyptus and hear the birds singing in the trees.

We had a lovely day.  It was relaxing with easy walking and good scenery.  As Lyle said, “There’s nothing quite like the Australian bush.”

November 5 - Blind Navigator

Lyle and I are in Australia. Yes - the suitcase I mentioned in my last post was eventually purchased and has been put to good use.  We arrived here last week and proceeded to our usual holiday spot about an hour north of Sydney.  We like it here.  The NSW Central Coast area is pleasant and it is easy for us to walk or drive around the streets that have become very familiar to us.

However, I digress.  A few days ago we were invited to a family luncheon in Sydney.  No problem!  On the appointed day we hopped into our rental car and Lyle attempted to put the Sydney address into our GPS. Problem!  Our GPS is old enough to be obsolete and the address wouldn’t take.  New maps are no longer supported by our old device.  In the end, I phoned my cousin who gave us verbal directions.

This was all well and good, but you need to know that Sydney is a city of over four million people with a crazy system of freeways and convoluted lanes, streets, crescents, etc., many of which have unfamiliar names.  For example, we are staying on Kurrawyba Avenue.

There were some tense moments on our drive.  I wondered how we ever managed to find our way in pre GPS days.  Lyle reminded me that then I could see, and also we had paper maps.

Now that I am visually impaired, I am supremely grateful for audio assistive devices.  Without the GPS, I relied on memory while Lyle scanned for unfamiliar streets signs.  I know that many people now use a GPS system of some sort when they are travelling, but for the two of us, this device has become invaluable.

On our way home from lunch in the city, our first stop was at an electronics store where we purchased a new GPS system loaded with the newest maps.

Blind navigation is not my forte, and Lyle needs a more reliable source for locating our destination.