Thursday 23 April 2009 - Mount Vernon

Being the excitable bunch of girls that we are, our shopping trip to Dallas in the Tillery’s motor home was a fabulous treat! Wow – when they say everything is bigger in Texas they really mean it!!

Grace Carroll and Tilai took advantage of the queen size bed and snuck in a nanna-nap during the two 2 hour drive to Texas.

Our excitement for the day included a tour of the Dallas Arboretum (magnificent gardens), the Women’s Museum and cowboy boot shopping in one of the big Western stores called Shepleys (yee-har!).

We all indulged in an aperitif and nibbles on the return trip while our fluffy mascot “Tucker” caught up on a few ZZZzzs after an exciting day with the girls.

Wednesday 22 April 2009 - Mount Vernon

Wednesday included an excellent vocational visit to the central distribution centre for “Lowes” – a home improvement store very similar to Australia’s ‘Bunnings Warehouse’. The team took a tour through the factory to learn about the systems used to sort and distribute the various products to 100’s of stores in the eastern Texas area. Much to our amusement we also learnt about the ‘Big Ass Fan Company’ fans which are used to keep air circulating during the hot and humid Mt Vernon Summers.

Lunch time we met with the lovely people at the Rotary Club of Pittsburg where we made our first presentation. Thank you to President Chris for his hospitality and to all the club members for the warm welcome and for showing such great interest in our lives in Australia!

The afternoon was spent visiting the local museums and some of the fabulously restored homes (thank you Libby and Ron Milton) about town. (Gracie coulen't resist a photo with one of our favourite friends Mr Tom Ramsay and his photo with President George W. Bush). Mt Vernon was established in the 1850s when Europeans made the pilgrimage from Oklahoma into Indian country.

B.F. Hicks hosted a chili night with the Mount Vernon locals at the Church Inn, where as always we were made extremely welcome and spoilt rotten with food and good conversation.

Tuesday 21 April 2009 - Mount Vernon

Our first full day Itinerary started with a bang and an intriguing visit to Jordan Health Service, where we immediately blew our schedule out by gas bagging too much. When we reached the end of our visit the lovely ladies actually confessed that they were expecting a bunch of old people. When they saw us coming round the corner they squealed with excitement at the raucous bunch of young women descending on them.

We had a tour of the town and some of the local museums, but the highlight was discovering it was National Jelly Bean day when we visited the library and were bestowed with large bags of brightly coloured treats. Needless to say the expected sugar rush ensued and we were bouncing around the local council chambers and court house like a Tetris game.

Dinner was an amazing affair of ribs and fall of the bone BBQ treats at Carolyn and Rex Tillery’s house, set in beautiful woodland surrounds. A few glasses of wine kept the sprits high until we all fell into bed exhausted and happy.

Monday 20 April 2009 - Mount Vernon

Farewell San Francisco, hello Texas!

The team’s excitement overflowed into squeals of pleasure when we walked through the arrivals gate to a large welcome banner and a bunch of happy smiling faces. We were soon packed into Pat Wright’s ‘floating palace’ – a huge van that comfortably seated us all better than a normal lounge suite would.

Our impressions of arriving in ‘dry country’ were quickly quashed when we turned onto the east-bound highway and the esky was opened and beers freely distributed to the thirsty travelers.

After a speedy 60 mile trip to Mount Vernon (thanks to lead-foot Pat) we arrived at the Mi Casita Mexican restaurant for dinner. Our welcoming committee included Mt Vernon Mayor Mr JD Baumgardner and his lovely wife Iris, Past District Governor Bill Rains, town lawyer and historian BF Hicks and about 20 other Rotary family and friends who immediately made us feel right at home.

After dinner we went home with our host families. Renee and Team Leader Grace Ley are staying with Rex and Caroline Tillery (and the naughty knicker-stealing shiatsu “Tucker”), Gracie and Nikki are at the beautiful lake house home of Sandi and Tom Sheils while Nina and Tilai were taken to the historical and intriguing home of BF Hicks at his converted Church Inn.

Within the first few hours of being in Mount Vernon we have quickly realized how wonderful (and slightly overwhelming) this experience is going to be!

Arrived in San Francisco

Well we have arrived in the USA at last after all that planning. We had a good flight, which we all survived amazingly well. It was a very long FFFrrriiiidddaaayyy, as we arrived in San Francisco before we left Sydney. Not to be seen as layabouts we checked into our hotel (the Palace very nice) and then we took to the streets, followed by a visit to the "Ball Game" San Francisco Giants vs the Arizona Razorbacks. It was freezing and there was not enought hot coffee or hot chocolate to keep the cold out. Yesterday we went to Fisherman's Wharf on the cable car and had our first clam chowder in a bread bowl. It was excellent! What a great day, good company good food and a good time. Nina, Renee, Tilai and Nikki went to Alcatraz while the two Grace's walked around the shops and then up hill and down dale all the way home. Who needs the gym when you have the SF hills? Indian for tea and then to bed.