Around the World in 80 Bags

In 8 years of criss-crossing the oceans between the United States and the South Pacific region, I have gone through 8 suitcases.

If only those suitcases could talk...they'd tell you about exotic tropical destinations like New Caledonia (Coral Sea), the northern tip of New Zealand (Wahihoihoi), the southern tip of Australia (Tasmania), the beaches of South Florida, the dunes of Oregon, and a trip or two to my all-time favorite destination, Vancouver, BC.

The two green suitcases I first took to Australia in 2003 are long gone. The two black bags I brought back from Tasmania were donated recently to the Goodwill store in Wilton Manors, Florida, where I picked up a cloth suit bag and a Sharper Image carry on bag for under $25.

I have bought a new suitcase every know and again, and buying a brand name does not always mean better than the no-name hand-me-downs from the Salvation Army stores that I frequent at every destination.

For instance, I bought a Kenneth Cole designer suit bag in bright orange in Manhattan for a pretty penny, swayed by the warranty (which was not honored a month after purchase for workmanship). It never made but one or two trips and I "donated" the unsuitable bag to the Muslim Charity Container in Sydney. Actually, the bag was too big to put into the bin, and I had a feeling it would be scarfed up overnight. Good riddance!

My hot pink-wheelie and designer pattern bag from New Zealand remains my all-time favorite. I almost didn't buy it in Rotorua, but glad now that I did. Worth every penny, it has traversed the Pacific Ocean 5 times so far. I have to watch carefully at baggage claim carrousels that someone doesn't grab it and run. It's so distinctive, I've never seen another like this Quicksilver-brand bag.

My latest additions are not long for the world tour. Maybe a dee-tour or two. But the $25 WalMart special is only designed for a few plane changes before it is replaced with one of those fancy new roller bags, and the tiny orange cosmetic bag - well that was an impulse buy for carry-on cosmetics.

I consider it a credit to claim my entire worldly possessions can be contained in about 8 suitcases (3 I leave in Australia, 3 I travel with, and 2 are in storage in Florida). I can't even count the number of golf bags and computer bags I have owned over the years and schlepped across continents. Many R.I.P., and many are living new lives ex Salvos, Goodwill, and the Charity Shops I have encountered across the miles.

What's your footwear?

Which pair of shoes best describes your summer travel plans?

Flip Flops | Hiking Boots | Spa Slippers | Tennis Shoes | Go Barefoot

I have been trolling Florida beaches on the Gulf of Mexico coast in advance of the oil spill spoiling the white sands, translucent water and wildlife. Walking lightly and enjoying the water and waves while still pristine.

Travel writer Dee Farrell currently lives and works in Australia and Florida.

Fancy Florida Feasts

For the past 4 weeks, amidst worsening news about the oil slick ruining tourism and fishing in my home state, I have been eating at restaurants with names like Shell Bar, Poseys Seafood, Wharf Express, and the Catfish Pad along the Gulf Coast from St. Marks to Apalachicola Bay.

Favorite Five Foods

1. Catfish and Hush Puppys. Forget the cheese grits and fried okra, I went straight for the fish and backbone fried in pure peanut oil.

2. Fried pickles with dip. A meal in themselves but beer helps.

3. Smoked Mullet followed by Oyster Stew in heavy cream soup.

4. Fisherman's bay catch. Deep fried in corn meal, combo scallops, oysters, shrimp.

5. Chicken livers and hot boiled peanuts on the side.

Did I mention Florida lobsters, fresh water crayfish, and stone crabs? I am sickened by the thought of an end to this harvest when the oil spill hits the Florida coast and the Keys.

Florida's Sunshine State: Home Sweet Home

Travel writer Dee Farrell currently lives and works in Australia - when she's not renewing her driver's license and post office box and voting in her former home state of Florida. She's lived in the capital city of Tallahassee, once a sleepy college town, and at the furtherest tip in Key West, a.k.a. The Conch Republic. She's been gone for 15 years, and things have changed. Not to mention the impending "high test" oil slick hitting her beloved beaches on the Panhandle in the Gulf of Mexico. Paddle on!

Here in North Florida, the weather can change every 10 minutes. I've even experienced simultaneous rain in the front yard and sunshine in the backyard. This visit has been pleasantly cool, not too humid or "buggy." I ventured to the far beaches, paddled down a river, went lake fishing, and erstwhile drove around visiting my former abodes of 35 years ago. Seeing friends and family has been warm, as if I never left, but the traffic congestion and crime has been a shock. Oh well, progress, eh?

St. George Island is still pristine (pre-oil spill arrival), and the local catches of shrimp, mullet, and oysters plump and tasty as I remember. (I paid $4 for a half-dozen versus $4 each in NYC at the Fresh Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station last month!)

Other favorite foods I've been goughing on? Boiled Peanuts, Smoked Mullet, Crayfish and farm-grown trout in lieu of local catfish that I devoured regularly with lots of hush puppies on the side. (The source - Lake Talquin Inn - is closed. So is world fanous Poseys at St. Mark's Refuge and Lighthouse Point where I used to peel pounds of shrimp at a sitting with my local seaf00d-loving mates.)

Ode to Moms

I have 3 half sisters who are Moms. Lots of good vibes to them today and may they be appreciated by their many children.

Speaking of many, I am the first of 10 by my birth mother (above at 83), RIP. I miss you Mom!

My adopted Mother is still going strong (at 93.5!) , and happy I got to see here on this visit up from downunder.

Travel writer Dee Farrell currently lives and works in Australia.

King Tut Nut

Long time Egypt nut, I was drawn to the King is Back exhibit in NYC this month. King Tut, on his way to final resting spot in Cairo, returned to New York 30 years after the first King Tut tour took the US by storm.

I saw the show maybe twice around the US, and recently saw an exhibition of mummys and masterpieces from King Tut tour at the Australian Museum in Sydney.

By far the New York show was brilliant and the self-paced tour well- choreographed. The 25-minute, 3 D film at the end of the galleries and gift shop was more than worth the $5! Those 3 D glasses really make a statement, eh?

Not as good as being on the Nile with my travel mate Cheryl, but at least I was there with her in spirit at the exhibit while she was at Abu Simbel.

Travel writer Dee Farrell currently lives and works in America and Australia.

It's been a fast two weeks of travelling to get from downunder to the US, with bicoastal visits so far.

My flight from SYD to LAX only took 12 hours - thanks, says my back. After 12 hours near the airport at a hotel with a spa and pool, my aching back and I got on another 12 hour flight and car trip, making it 36 hours in total to get door to door.

I took my birthday week to visit with family in Hershey, the sweetest place on the planet. Ate my fair share of chocolate! Got to see my grand niece and newborn nephew, plus my pregnant niece and her husband. There must be something in that chocolate...Mom is 93 and 122 pounds and Heath is 22 pounds at 8 months! Interesting extremes!

Now I'm in the Big Apple, after an absence of one year. Same Same. Only Different.

I think I'm on my seventh suitcase now, about one a year for the 7 years of wanderlust I've been enjoying.

Deetouring Dee

Travel writer Dee Farrell currently works in Australia and is visiting around the US. American by birth, Australian by choice.