FAR FAR AWAY

Ah yes, Boca and Bubba hit the road again. More or less. "To stay young, the doctor said to exercise and eat the right foods" said BUBBA. "What?" said BOCA, " I thought he said ACCESSORIZE AND BUY NICE SHOES." And so begins Boca and Bubba's next adventure.

HOW TRAVEL DECISIONS ARE MADE

After several long car drives, Boca thought it was time for a bit of a different kind of "cruzin". Ah yes time for the high seas. NO NO NO yelped Bubba. "Don't you understand we are in a recession aka depression!!!" That was until one of his good buddies said, "Hey Bubba, this cruise looks pretty darn good. Are ya goin?" And that was all it took. "Well, hell yes. We are in good buddy!" Must be a man thing. And so begins Boca and Bubba's next adventure. It has all the making's of some Bubba and Boca madness...start in LA and end in Shanghai. Look out Charlie Chan- be sure to follow the google calendar below. And yes yes I am behind already.

Day 19 March 1 CRUISING THE CORAL SEA


The Coral Sea is a marginal sea off the northeast coast of Australia. It is bounded in the west by the east coast of Queensland, thereby including the Great Barrier Reef, in the east by Vanuatu (formerly the New Hebrides) and by New Caledonia, and in the north approximately by the southern extremity of the Solomon Islands. It merges with the Tasman Sea in the south, with the Solomon Sea in the north and with the Pacific Ocean in the east. On the west, it connects with the Arafura Sea through the Torres Strait.
The sea is characterised by its warm and stable climate, with frequent rains and tropical cyclones. It contains numerous islands and reefs, as well as the world's largest reef system, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1981. All previous oil exploration projects were terminated at the GBR in 1975, and fishing is restricted in many areas. The reefs and islands of the Coral Sea are particularly rich in birds and aquatic life and are a popular tourist destination, both nationally and internationally.
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While the Great Barrier Reef with its islands and cays belong to Queensland, most reefs and islets east of it are part of the Coral Sea Islands Territory. In addition, some islands west of and belonging to New Caledonia are also part of the Coral Sea Islands in a geographical sense, such as the Chesterfield Islands and Bellona Reefs



Still floating over the Great Barrier Reef, this Northern Queensland area is sparsely populated, backed by the Great Dividing Range.    The York Peninsula is one of the last untouched wildernesses in the world covering 77,220 sq miles-roughly the same size as Great Britain.  Lots of national park up this way.  I bought a postcard yesterday of an outline of Australia fitting all of Europe inside the outline with a lot of land left over.  Think about it- the size of the US (population 250 million) with a population of 21 million in Australia.


Bubba's favorite thing to do on sea days....







Then time for a cocktail...and a weenie???  The idea of drinking before dinner has its roots in the Prohibition era. When the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act were passed banning alcohol consumption, citizens would host “cocktail hours”, also known as “happy hours”, at a speakeasy (an illegal drinking establishment) before eating at restaurants where alcohol could not be served. Cocktail lounges continued the trend of drinking before dinner.  So where did the term Happy Hour come from?  The NAVY!


Dr. Wineolgy, Larry, has been teaching Bubba how to put his beak in the glass for a sniff.  Actually, the technical term for the study of wine and wine making is oenology or enology.  Bubba is going for his advanced study of the grape. It is estimated that there are 10,000 different Australian wines on the market at any given time.   So lots to chose from Bubs.   I on the other hand am glad that JESUS made water into wine- and in my book provides the best of wine and has provided wine for his followers to drink- yeah Jesus and Amen!  Keep the sniffing up Bubs, I know you will catch on soon with the good professor Dr. Wineology.


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