michi

Laura Secord and The Pig War

Mike I can't thank you enough for your outstanding contribution to this thread (Pig War).

In a previous question about my reference to Laura Secord and the War of 1812, we found on our return from Australia an interesting article about a change at Brock University which is named after Sir Isaac Brock, the British army general who fell mortally wounded durng our notorious War of 1812 with the Americans (this was not The Pig War but what I think Americans call "The War of Independence&quot.

I worked at Brock University (not far from Niagara Falls, Ontario, for eight years before returning to Toronto. For a reminder who Laura Secord was and how she fit into our history please read the following.
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"The heavenly chocolates, premium ice cream, and other "sinful" treats tempt us to buy at least one item, or at our weakest, a handful, when we visit one of their many stores. Most Canadians associate the name Laura Secord with the confectionary manufacturer, but there's much more to the the name than just chocolate.

"For many years she [Laura Secord] was the only flesh and blood, real, actual, woman to appear in many historical narratives told about Ontario's history, specifically about the War of 1812," stated Dr. Cecilia Morgan, a Professor at University of Toronto."

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The recent news article to which I refer stated:

"Brock [University], which now draws more first-choice applications than some schools twice its size, has hired a Toronto image consultant to help convey its growing academic record and is considering changing its logo, a cameo of school namesake General Isaac Brock. The trouble is, most people either don't know who it is, or they think [it's Laura Secord]quipped president David Atkinson."

Happy holidays Mike Travels. When are you leaving?

MikeTravels

Alas, not until next March. Spending every day between now and then thinking about it doesn't seem to speed the days along much. I don't think I've devoted so much attention to any one trip since our first venture to France fresh out of school. Nor have we been able to go so long! We're going to do four weeks in NZ & Oz.

michi

Hi Mike

I am doing some posting of our travels on this site called "Michi (Addie) & Bill in Australia. I'm afraid it's not your usual reporting job since I'm not much good at that.

My last will be Sydney where we spent eight good days.

michi

AndrewDavid

You must be home and sleeping by this time. It seems a federal election is about to be annouced in Canada and wonder if you're interested in coming for it since you will miss voting in the Australian one.

michi

To our Fodor Friends

(I decided to post our trip here since writing it I find that it has limited interest to those who were not active on this board either as writers, readers, or questionners, and will ask to have the other site removed).

Bill and I had a wonderful trip to Australia. Experiences and meeting people are so enjoyable. We know we didn?t even scratch the surface, but in future when we read or hear of things Australian, we will feel a connection.

Two highlights were meeting Pauline Burgher of Canberra, my email Insight and Fodor friend with whom I had a prearranged dinner soon after arriving in Sydney. And Margo_Oz, a contributor to this board, who also treated me to dinner at her favourite Vietnamese restaurant and introduced me to area I would otherwise not have seen.

We met countless people on the way, most being from Australia and New Zealand who were very friendly once they discovered we spoke English. This led to many interesting conversations and for Bill an opportunity to ask about Australia history and politics. We were surprised by the large numbers of Japanese tourists -- especially in the Cairns/Pt. Douglas areas. You can always tell a tour group from Japan by their huge look-alike, multi-coloured luggage.

Following four days in Sydney on arrival, we left for Tasmania and then Cairns and Pt. Douglas and back to Sydney for four days.

Tasmania. Our four-day tour (the first part of a 12-day tour), started in Launceston but we missed the first day due to fog in Sydney. While there were some disappointments in places we did not visit or visit long enough, they were more than made up by the company of friendly people from Australia and New Zealand. The exception was a member from Buffalo, New York, USA, which is a stone?s throw from where we live in Toronto.

From Launceston I enjoyed the winding roads to Freycinet National Park, the beautiful beaches and surf. At an animal compound we were introduced to a growling, snarling, shrieking Tasmanian Devil, and that night we had a forgettable (according to our fellow travellers) half crayfish dinner, and watched the sun go down over the water -- beautiful.

Pt. Arthur was surprisingly beautiful and park like. What should I have expected? I don?t know. I thought maybe an acre devoted to a miniature of the convict colony as it once was would have given a visitor more pause for reflection, a better sense of Australia?s heritage and the importance of the area and era. The guide?s commentary was what one traveller described as a ?sanitized? version of history. But I was happy to have visited Pt. Arthur and those are personal comments. I had the best chicken pot pie ever, in the cafeteria. I ate two, one for dessert.

Hobart. We spent a few hours in the pretty Georgian village of Richmond where Bill discovered a sleek red sports car he had never seen before. I fell in love with the bridge and a two-storey sandstone house or inn with that attractive lacy ironwork. In Hobart our hotel was across from the harbour where we spent a lot of time, and it was there we left the tour and spent several leisurely, lovely days exploring the city and buildings. People were friendly and helpful and we felt at home and comfortable. The hotel reception desk provided the best Gala apples I?ve ever eaten so I visited there often. We enjoyed a lot of seafood and had a Japanese dinner across from the hotel.

On the eve of Easter Saturday we sat in the near darkness, in St. Joseph?s Church and listened as a vocalist and organist practised (mass had been cancelled). We visited and enjoyed Salamanca Market and were overwhelmed with the offerings. Flowers and plants were huge and different from anything I have seen. We joined the crowds listening to the music/singing of the South American band at the market, and found a very reasonable Internet cafe from where I finally sent messages home.

Our day trip to Bruny Island was in the rain and the sea was rough. We saw little of the whales, dolphins, penguins, eagles and other animals described in the brochure, so the sighting of a shark?s fin manoeuvring through the water became the highlight of that trip. But the skipper made up for it with his hilarious commentary. I loved the speed of the high powered boat, the bays and cliffs. We did eventually see some seals and an eagle. There was an excellent tea break at an outdoor shelter with gorgeous coloured birds enjoying leftovers,. Lunch was served at an nondescript house and turned out to be one of the most enjoyable meals of our trip: pumpkin soup (the first of many) and beef or chicken done up exquisitely and served by friendly staff.

Since we did not continue the tour, we probably missed some of the highlights of Tasmania such as Cradle Mountain, but we were happy to have seen and experienced what we did. The weather was nice except for two days. It didn?t seem to matter much. We enjoyed every minute. We left for the airport early in the morning for our flight to Cairns. We liked Virgin Blue. It may be a budget airline but the colourful leather seats, good service and good natured comments by the crew puts our national airline, Air Canada, to shame.

To be continued...

michi

The weather in our first four days in Sydney was excellent except for one afternoon downpour. Tasmania was also good, quite warm except for two days when it rained, and Cairns/Port Douglas were very good with morning and evening downpours and some slight rain at times during the day of which we took little notice. Our last four days in Sydney the weather was perfect.

Cairns
The Cairns Colonial Inn is a large resort complex and for us it was fine but might not suit everyone. We knew ahead the CCC shuttle to downtown stopped at 6 pm, so getting there and back was by taxi after that hour. For us it was a change from hotels and I enjoyed the tropical vegetation in and around the complex. Time to read, relax and wander. It was a busy place, pleasant staff in colourful shirts (I thought they were kind of cute), good for families, good laundry facilities, reasonable restaurant and also a less expensive poolside restaurant. We were happy there.

We spent time downtown in used bookstores (found a Clive James book and later bought Unreliable Memoirs in Sydney), souvenir shops, browsing in stores and using inexpensive internet at $2.50 our. We did not discover the harbour side until late in our stay and enjoyed wandering about. We went to Mass at St. Monica?s Cathedral in a pretty area. While there are negative comments about Cairns, we found it fun, a break and interesting.

Our travel agent mentioned we were celebrating our 50th anniversary so almost everywhere we went we got upgraded rooms and at CCC a bottle of champagne (neither of us drinks so a surprised member of our Cape Tribulation tour got it).

In Cairns I discovered those large tacky plastic plaid shopping bags I had seen in China ($2). We bought one to to take our extra baggage home on the plane, and six more for family. Bill bought himself a large ?Made in Australia? kangeroo. When I signed a VISA slip I mentioned that I liked the pen. The owner took a new one from the shelf and gave it to me. The shopping mall gave us a chance to compare products, prices and it?s always interesting to see how others live, shop and work. The same American big names were there but didn?t even find a Roots store.

We went to Kuranda, and from Port Douglas we took a small group tour on 4WD to Cape Tribulation and Daintree. Also took the Quicksilver GBR excursion. Since there is already much said about these tours and places I won?t dwell on them other than some personal comments.

I enjoyed the train ride to Kuranda especially, and some of the presentations were interesting but predictable as are most major tourist attractions. It gave us the opportunity to see various areas and villages especially on the small group tours (4WD). They didn?t all live up to our expectations or go to the places we thought (read the disclaimers), but in the whole realm of our travel they were experiences. I didn?t explore the possibilities in the Cairns/Pt. Douglas areas as I might have, so my only regret is that we didn?t take more advice from people like Pat Woolford on other available tours. Some of these were pre-arranged by our travel agent. In retrospect, I think we should have held off until we got to the area.

Our Cape Tribulation/Daintree small group tour was in a 4WD. A nice mixture of friendly people helped overcome our disappointment at not seeing crocodiles and other brochure-described wildlife. We did catch sight of a large rare bird near the road and like the shark?s fin at Bruny Island, it was a highlight of the day. I liked the walk through the rainforests, the beaches with the odd/pretty patterns in the sand made by hardworking little crabs (I think). Also coffee/tea in outdoor makeshift eating places was fun and good for conversation.

About Quicksilver and the Outer Barrier Reef, Bill and I would have enjoyed more the suggestions of local authors who suggest less commercial small group tours to an island with a beach, shallow water snorkelling and swimming. This takes nothing away from the Quicksilver experience that came through with everything mentioned in their brochure but we didn?t realize there were so many people (maybe 200+. The sight of so many of us in tight fitting blue lycra protective suits at $5 was hilarious and something I?ll aways remember. But sometimes it?s not possible to know what is the best tour to take until after the fact. One does not see any land, of course.

I snorkelled outside the pontoon for about half an hour until I started to get seasick from the waves. Our views from snorkelling, the glass bottom boat and the undersea viewing area was disappointing as we only saw brownish coral and small schools of brown fish. It may have been the waves or the time of year because I understand when the water is very calm, one can see much more. My only other snorkelling experience was many years ago in the Bahamas when I was still able to dive on my own and see the colourful fish.

Our accommodations at Hibiscus Gardens in Port Douglas was beautiful; one block from the main street, a short walk to a nice beach with restaurant close by, and shops with everything from groceries to internet service. Once again we had an upgrade to a one-bedroom accommodation. I suspect PD is somewhat of an upscale resort village judging from the resorts/accommodations, and buildings being erected. Much of what the shops held were on the expensive side for us. We were close to the beach, a block from the main street , restaurants and shopping and we spent a relaxing few days there.

Back to Cairns for a few days and a happy ending to our time in the GBR area.

more to come... Sydney. We loved it.

pat_woolford

Hi Michi - sorry to hear that your reef trip wasn't all you were hoping - brown coral sounds like dead coral to me - possibly due to over abundance of visitors of the human kind. It would also vastly affect the variety of fish life. Also sorry that the crocs were in hiding - although you were lucky to see a cassowary as they are now an endangered species and a getting rarer by the day. Assume it was a cassowary (huge flightless bird with leathery casque and electric blue throat).

michi

Hi Pat

Yes, it was a cassowary standing next to the road just after our tour leader mentioned it as an endangered species and that we might, but probably wouldn't see one.

We enjoyed Cairns for its variety and vitality jut as we enjoyed the tranquility of Tasmania. The heat and humidity hit hard at first but we soon got used to it. I loved the vegetation!

Too bad crocs and colourful fish don't come out on demand but tourists have to expect "no shows." So getting to a zoo like Featherdale provided the opportunity to see animals missed; penguins for example.

At the CCC they had a fish tank with some beauties in it. Nevertheless, the Quicksilver trip was an experience.

michi

Tasmania. A correction. I mentioned ? ...the company of friendly people from Australia and New Zealand. The exception was a member from Buffalo, New York, USA, which is a stone?s throw from where we live in Toronto.? I should have made clear the traveller from Buffalo, New York, USA was friendly too, but not from Oz or NZ.

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SYDNEY

In addition to good suggestions for off-the-beaten track places to visit around Sydney, this thread has become notorious for going off on tangents with minds of their own. I have no objection. As irrelevant as these wanderings may have been (and I am one of the guilty), this thread has provided both hilarious and sober reading. It was never dull.

We spent a total of two-four day periods in Sydney and didn?t get around to all we wanted to see or do. That may be due in part to our senior years, but we were never bored. In Sydney we wandered, relaxed, and enjoyed watching life go by. Our idea of excitement may not be yours so if you?re looking for where we spent our night life you are on the wrong thread.

We are grateful to our travel agent whose arrangements made sure all flights connected and all hotel accommodations were as specified (or better). She arranged for us to be picked up (in a luxury car) at the airport by private car and delivered to our hotel after the long flight from Canada. The driver waving our name card at the airport was one of the prettiest sights in Australia.

The location of the All Seasons Premier Menzies Hotel enabled us to walk to The Rocks, around the main streets, to Goway Travel, to St. Bede?s and on. We noted with interest 1) locals were dressed in fall clothing due to the cooler weather. Most were wearing all black or something black and, 2) tourists were attired in summer clothing due to the warm weather.

We quickly found the underground shopping mentioned by Liz and from then we wanted for nothing. By the second day we had been to The Rocks, Queen Victoria Mall, The Strand, Ashwoods, Dymrocks, sent emails, walked to St. Bede?s over the Pyrmont Bridge, and around the Casino. I sat by the water?s edge near countless white tents bordering it and ate my $3 muffin while Bill explored the Maritime Museum. We took the monorail back and that evening I met with Pauline Burgher from Canberra for dinner, where I hope she felt as I, that we were like old friends.

We attended mass at St. Bede?s on Palm Sunday. Since the priest was conducting his first mass at the church that morning it was hardly the time to ask him about its history. It was the first of several experiences kneeling on unpadded kneelers -- what pain! We met a Chinese couple (from Malaysia) who had arrived 40 years previously as students; the husband now a retired doctor and his wife a nurse turned real estate agent. We might have had breakfast together but had to rush to The Rocks guided tour.

The Rocks Walking tour, and the City Sights Tour by APT was excellent. About six of us (all Canadians) toured the area with a guide who gave us an orientation walk and talk and history that proved useful on our return visits. The tour gave us an overview of Sydney and surrounding areas that would have been difficult to match on our own or by taxi: Kings Cross, Double Bay, Vaucluse, Paddington (love that iron lace!), Mrs. Macquaries Chair, The Rocks, The opera house, St. Mary?s Cathedral, Darling Harbour, Circular Quay and much more. We did go to Bondi Beach on the tour, a good place to relax and stretch our legs. The driver/guide?s commentary was excellent and we were astounded by the high price of real estate in the area.

We visited the Strand Arcade on two occasions although we couldn?t afford to buy anything more than the Vienna Almonds. An astounding place. We have nothing like it here in Canada to my knowledge. In Ashwoods I tried to recreate a scene of a youthful Neil and Alan but they neglected to described themselves.

So ended our first four days in Sydney and our return to the airport in another luxury car.

On our return from Cairns we spent an additional four days in Sydney. On that occasion Margo and I met for dinner and a drive as mentioned earlier. This meeting and dining with two live Australians was a pleasure I hadn't anticipated. Thank you.

I successfully made the bridge climb at dusk. Everything went according to the brochure and once our group of nine was dressed and equipped with about 5 kilos of equipment (head lamp, light jacket, handkerchief, hat, radio), we got a trial ladder climb inside.

I am still agile for my age in spite of arthritis and I attribute it to the fact that I am in good health and was atheletic in my youth. The problem I encountered was the first minutes on the narrow catwalk where trains, cars and water were below and above us. With nothing on either side other than a narrow rail I got a little dizzy. I knew we were well secured so once that part was accomplished I had no problem with the ladders or the stairs. I think walking directly behind the leader helped me gain confidence and the climb became a challenge I knew I could do.

It was light when we set out but almost dark when we reached the top. What a wonderful sight. What a good memory. What a lot of money - $215 my son owes me for the climb. One woman from another team was led down the bridge by a professional and we all felt a sorry for her, but it's not for all and I say that it certainly wasn't for Bill.

for anyone reading this, the next will probably be the last -- at last.

michi

Although I replaced all the question marks to single or double quotes as needed, they all turned out unedited. Does anyone else have this problem? I typed this on WP first because of the length.

You'll notice some repetitions, spelling and other errors -- those are mine.

crazymina

Michi, if you are using Word and have "smart quotes", those seem to turn into question marks when copied and pasted here. Here's how to turn them off:

On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect, and then click the AutoFormat As You Type tab.


Under Replace as you type, select or clear the "Straight quotes" with "smart quotes" check box.

Hope that helps. I haven't been keeping up with the boards for the last couple of months and am happy to see I have some great reading ahead of me. I look forward to to finishing your report!

michi

crazymina

I'm trying it now to see if it works so I'll put in some examples below. If others are having problems with this, this could be the answer.

IT WORKED! THANKS

EXAMPLES
don't "Toronto, Ontario"
"haven't" "smart quotes'

michi

Pig War

Bill being the historian in our family asked if you might be confusing it with the Boer War. (He was kidding)

michi

Blue Mountains. We chose the APT 4WD small group tour (nine of us) because it was going to Mt. Wilson via the firetrail. The description read:

"Join this 4-wheel drive adventure tour and enjoy remote bushland. Escape to the wilderness and enjoy unsurpassed beauty in the Blue mountains on our specialist 4-wheel drive small group tour. Tour the remote Bell?s Line of Road. Enjoy panoramas of rugged cliffs and deep forest valleys. Hear the calls of native birds and look for Australian wildlife.

?Drive past the Sydney Olympic Park, Visit Featherdale Wildlife Park, climb the back roads via Bell?s Line of Road into the scenic mountain range. Travel by purpose-built vehicle and go off-road for over one-and a half hours, along an old fire trail to Mt. Wilson. Take an independent hike downhill amidst the canyons and pristine bushland. Gain an appreciation of the various types of eucalypt trees with their blue-green hue. Discover quaint mountain retreats. Get to know your fellow travellers at Mt. Wilson?s Posthouse during a home cooked gourmet luncheon including wine. Enjoy the opportunity to ramble through the lush canopy of prehistoric ferns and fertile temperate forests. Try your skills throwing a traditional boomerang, or test your musical abilities on an Aboriginal didgeridoo. View ancient sandstone rock formations and splendid Australian bushland.? $164.

You can imagine my surprise when we whizzed by the road to Mt. Wilson. "Hey, Mike, you missed the road to Mt. Wilson," I wanted to shout, but thought he might be taking a different road. But no. We were told the restaurant at Mt. Wilson was closed so another location had been chosen. It grieves me to report this to Alan, but I can assure him that the substitute location was a beautiful site with a wonderful panoramic view of the mountains and valley below. Later, beautiful scenery with sandstone cliffs. I also had a chance to ride beside Mike on the winding, hilly dirt road.

The independent downhill hike turned out to be a short group stroll on the dirt road we were driving on. Two of us were ready to go down the embankment and through the underbrush to the canyon floor and were terribly disappointed. Frankly I don't think either of us would have made it there or back. Our walk in the rainforest was short but impressive and I was surprised by the size of some of the indigenous plants and trees -- so tall with huge exposed roots. Once again wildlife eluded us. I was also fascinated with what looked like small trees bearing corn on the cob. Very peculiar.

Since we saw so little wildlife on our whole time in Oz, we enjoyed seeing the animals at Featherdale. The crocs, penguins, and I especially liked the kangeroo lazing about in the sun. My favourite was a mother leaning against a fence with her joey's little behind sticking out of her pouch. The animals of Australia are such a novelty for us Canadians who see mostly dogs, cats, cows and horses. As for the boomerang, Mike said the local gendarmes did not view boomerang throwing positively so he just demonstrated how the boomerang was held and thrown without letting go. Luckily we saw this at Kuranda and I failed miserably on my throw. The didgeridoo never left the vehicle.

The tour was under the competent leadership of a Paul Hogan look-alike. Mike was intelligent, knowledgeable, and I was impressed that he often spoke of aboriginal practises and wisdom. Pleasant fellow travellers made good company at the outdoor coffee stop provided by Mike and at lunch, and helped to dispel my unhappiness about missing Mt. Wilson and the downhill hike.

On the second to last day Bill headed to Canberra on the Canberra Explorer Tour described as a comprehensive tour of the nation?s capital. He left at 8 am and returned about 10 pm having seen or learned about the National Museum, Houses of Parliament, National Library, the history of the ANZACS, War Memorial and so on. Late morning I took off for the River Cat ferry to Parramatta, but before leaving I had time to sit in front of the Wild Fire restaurant at the quay (as suggested) and enjoyed the view and watching the green and yellow ferries. Parramatta was a great ride, nice scenery. That evening I had dinner with Margo as mentioned earlier. Margo must be the official Fodor's Australian greeter and plays that role well.

Our last day in Sydney was beautiful warm and sunny. We took the Matilda Rocket Harbour Express, a small ferry from Circular Harbour that makes hop on, hop off stops at Taronga Park Zoo, the Aquarium and Cockle Bay, Opera House, Fisherman?s Wharf, Watson?s Bay, Darling Harbour. Our first stop was Watson?s Bay and I didn't want to leave. Although a very small beach I loved soaking up the sun, wading, watching a young child play in the water and eating the best fries of the trip at Doyles. I was savouring each moment of our last day.

We stopped at Taronga Park Zoo, and had a good look at the Opera House but too late for a tour ($22) and spent time soaking up the sun and lazed about before returning to the hotel to pack for our trip home the next day. Our last dinner was at Emperor's Choice restaurant; excellent.

We loved Sydney, we loved Cairns and Port Douglas, and we loved Tasmania and Hobart. A land of friendly people, such interesting wildlife and interesting history. We would like to return, but Australia will probably remain a wonderful memory.

We never encountered AndrewDavid even though he gave a good description of himself on this thread and I lied about mine.

Unfortunately our Canadian Seniors cards were not accepted anywhere. I think in Canada visitors would be granted senior status at many places but not on public transportation. As for Kiwis, we met and ate many. No, we didn't need Panadol and Bill didn't come home with Dengue fever.

We are so grateful for our good health that allowed us to visit Ireland, China and Australia in the past year. Travel has proved broadening; there is so much we don't know.

Here's our email address if anyone is thinking of coming to our city: [email protected]

Where next? Maybe a month in the winter; somewhere warm, inexpensive and interesting. Maybe one of those last minute deals. We've made many trips to Portugal but consider Madeira. Any ideas?

Come to Canada if you haven?t already.

Thank you, thank you. I shall continue to "lurk" on this site. I will also post some photos.

michi

I'll be on my way to the Yukon soon (July 27) to take my six-year old grandson home to Whitehorse. Two weeks ago we became grandparents of two granddaughters born two days apart. This makes three new granddaughters in six months and brings the total to 11 grandchildren. The oldest will be starting university this fall. So we have been busy.

I have been enjoying AndrewDavid/DavidAndrew's account of their trip to Australia. I have wanted to post at least one photo on this site but no one in the family has a website i can use. Needless to say, if I had to choose one photo it will not be of my husband and me, but the photo of the bridge climb (sorry Bill). I loved it.

So for those who post their addresses, I will send a few photos. If anyone else is interested write me at [email protected]

Ah those memories of Australia...

ps. AndrewDavid/DavidAndrew do i get to see your bridge climb photo?

michi

Photos of Michi's (Addie) & Bill's visit to Australia. If you are interested please go to the separate post:

"Stroll or scroll through photos memories with Michi (Addie) & Bill's visit to Australia" on this forum.

Or directly (no text)

www.kza.yk.ca/australia

I've included photos of Quicksilver since people have contacted me about it and seeing photos helps them make the decision "big or small" trip to the GBR.

Cheers!

spider1

I know it's an old thread but the info is good and I'm topping for a friend.

michi

spider1

A surprise to see this thread resurrected, however, it is so full of information, banter, humour, history, politics, and local lore, I'm sure many of the contributors will be delighted to see it and will add more.

I hope your friend has a great holiday.

Alan

Oh, come on, Michi! I know the truth: "Spider 1" is just YOU, and this so-called "resurrection" is just a shrewd scheme to give this thread two extra entries, because you got worried that the Jaisalmer School thread would overtake you and steal your current crown as having initiated the longest thread in the entire history of Fodors!

Well, it won't work! I plan to invent twenty more pen names for myself and have a twenty-way conversation with myself on the OTHER thread, so that this one becomes an "also-ran"!

Nice try!

Neil_Oz

Alan, I hate to be a wet blanket (or do I?), but this one has a long way to go before matching some of the threads on other forums. I saw one on the Europe forum that was approaching 700 posts, and I suspect that it's not the longest. Apparently at least one has been going, on and off, since 1998.

The very long threads seem to fall into one of two categories, the provocative and the dull. The latter may be something like "Where were you born?", which enables people to post a reply without having to think (well, most of us, anyway).

Which leads me to ask whether anyone else has noticed how dull this forum has become in the last few weeks? Is it holiday season ennui, election exhaustion, or what? Everything seems to be about travel.