Rob and Di: February 2005

Making Marmalade on a mordling Saturday

The weather in Tasmania is dismal ... not cold, but a steady light rain. Fantastic for the garden, but this is the weekend, and its summer!

We have plenty of lemons so I made some lemon marmalade ... very simple recipe, and the result looks good ... haven't tasted it yet. Here are the details:

750 grams lemon
7 cups of water
2.25 kg sugar

Slice up the lemons finely ... they are going to be the pretty bits in the jar at the end, so a combination of small chunks and fine slices is the best. Add to the water and put on a hard boil for 15 minutes. Take off the heat and add the sugar - stir to disolve - back to the heat and hard boild for 20 minutes. Once done, turn off the heat (let the marmalade stand on the element) and prepare the jars - clean and steralise in the oven for 15 - 30 minutes. Then ladle the marmalade into the jars and seal. Easy peasy.

Area 51 ... watch out for low flying aircraft, and they might not be from Earth! We had no luck in the flying saucer spotting department.

Tonopah ... in Nevada ... old mining town now struggling to remain relevant. It has an airforce base close by, but still struggles

On the road ... oh oh! the sign says "prison area - no hitchhiking" this is a new one for us!

Wheeler peak, at the Eastern border of Nevada, is a fantastic national park. Rising out of the desert, it has its own glacier, and is home to the bristlecone pine, which the park says is the oldest plant in the world (but we know that our own pine in Tasmania is older!)

After leaving SF and travelling through Yosemite it was on to Nevada ... long straight roads through plenty of ghost towns. This was our home for ten days ... and very comfortable too. Seirra Nevada range in the background.

First day in America ... we had a quick middle eastern meal, then headed to China town ...

China town in SF ... just like china town in Melbourne, Sydney and New York

no more needs to be said

Cable cars ... originally a public form of transport, they have now become a tourist attraction in their own right. The drivers are great characters and showmen and the ride is great fun, but only for the tourists!

very tourist oriented ... but well done

Centre of SF ... the memorial is to a great victory over the Spanish in the Philipines ... the building in the background is city hall, where Arnold hangs out

Lombard street ... actually, just a tourist construct and there are plenty of streets just as steep, if not steeper than this one in Hobart. But hey, the idea works for them!

Great engineering feat ... now, thats a cable!

Golden Gate bridge .. we had a great time walking over it, unfortunately, the day was foggy and this was the view.

Di helping other tourists enjoy themselves - at Alcatraz - I guess there were a lot of other people who did not enjoy their time there!

The seal colony, Fisherman Wharf, SF ... see how close the tourists can get to the colony ...

Seals at Fisherman Wharf, SF - these guys have really made themselves comfortable and were having a great time!

Some of the imaculately kept houses and gardens in SF. The overhangs are a great idea for getting just that little bit of extra room area from a limited ground footprint

Our hotel in San Francisco, right in the heart of town. Restored to its former glory, it started as a guest house for migrant workers.

El Capitan from Tunnel View ... One of the classic views in Yosemite park. We had a great day there and really enjoyed the views with not too many fellow tourists.

Sheltered path to the front gate ...

Visitors are surprised to see a Mandarin tree full of fruit in the garden

The birdbath is solar powered ... when the sun is shining a pump pushes water into the bath from a reservoir under the gravel ... resulting in a cheerful waterfall and plenty of fresh water that all the birds love