Travels with Tam

Randy is 3 Years Post Double Lung Transplant and Doing Well!

September 9, 2016 By Tam Warner 24 Comments

miracles, transplant, tam warner minton, travels with tam — Randy at the incredible Minack Theater, built into the Cornish Cliffs, in 2008.

It has been 3 years since Randy, my husband, received the last minute gift of a double lung transplant. Randy had been on life support for almost 2 weeks, and time was running out. His lungs had failed, but no one really knew why (after the transplant at UT Southwestern Transplant Center it was determined that Randy had Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis). The past 3 years, post transplant, have been full. Full of fear, sorrow, hope, joy, and relief. I think we have run the gamut of emotion, and it has been a true roller coaster. The last year has been much more tranquil, though, for which we are grateful. Both of our children married in 2015 and we have welcomed two new family members! Looking back, I want to reprint my post from September 10, 2013, reminding us all that Miracles do Happen! [Read more…] about Randy is 3 Years Post Double Lung Transplant and Doing Well!

What it is like diving the Ribbon Reefs, Great Barrier Reef

September 5, 2016 By Tam Warner 24 Comments

I hope you all had a lovely Labor Day Weekend readers in the U S of A!

Today, I continue my journey on the Spirit of Freedom on the Great Barrier Reef! Our dive spots were the Ribbon Reefs at the far northern edge of the Great Barrier Reef, stretching for 50 miles along the continental shelf! These are famous dive sites for any level diver. The best time to dive this area is during the dry season, May to November. October through May is known as “the wet”. Water temps were around 78 degrees Farenheit, very comfortable yet still refreshing. During June/July you may see Dwarf Minke Whales! But that is for another post! For now, enjoy these awesome creatures from the Ribbon Reefs.

Check flights to Australia right now!

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great barrier reef, ribbon reefs, scuba diving — Islands and sea mounts dot the ocean

And

Heading to the Great Barrier Reef on The Spirit of Freedom

August 30, 2016 By Tam Warner 10 Comments

After a couple of days resting at the Shangri-La in Cairns, I was ready for another dive adventure. I booked myself on the Spirit of Freedom, a 124 foot live aboard dive vessel. After the Arenui, I was ready for a let down, but in truth, I enjoyed the Spirit of Freedom very much. The Spirit of Freedom is the only dive liveaboard on the Great Barrier Reef where every cabin has its own bathroom! We each had our own little “cubby” for our dive equipment, and ample room for cameras and gear. Not luxurious, but it was a great boat. The crew of the Spirit of Freedom were awesome, especially the Cruise Director, Ren! Unlike the Arenui in Indonesia, the divers on the Spirit of Freedom had the choice of whether or not to go with a Dive Master. Each buddy group could go on their own if they so desired. As a solo diver, I went with the Dive Master, and so had a small dive group of four, which I like best anyway…unless I am in a spot well known to me. Dive Masters know where all the cool animals and creatures are, so I usually prefer to head off with them.
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All of these photos are from my very first dive on the Great Barrier Reef! Til next post!

Great Barrier Reef, Spirit of Freedom, Scuba diving Australia — Clark’s Anemone Fish

Great Barrier Reef, Ribbon Reefs, Spirit of Freedom — Another clam, see the inside of the mollusk!

A Funny Thing Happened When I Arrived in Cairns!

August 26, 2016 By Tam Warner 6 Comments

In June and July of 2016, I took an epic trip to Sydney, Australia, Bali and Komodo National Park in Indonesia, then I finished with a fantastic voyage on the Spirit of Freedom, a great dive boat experience in the Great Barrier Reef! But…I had to get from Komodo to the Great Barrier Reef….

Garuda, Bali, Cairns, Fin — The harbour lights at Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.

Taking up where I left off, I had a most wonderful trip to Komodo National Park, and if you missed those blogs and photographs, I highly recommend you take a look at them! After disembarking in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, most of the dive group and I made our way to the airport to catch a flight to Bali on the airline Garuda. Garuda Airlines is named after the great, mythical bird who served as the mount for the Hindu deity Vishnu. The airline was much nicer than I expected it to be. In fact, at the airport we were ushered into the VIP lounge and served coffee and delicacies. The china was particularly beautiful with its gold markings. (It was British…yes, I looked!)

The flight was calm and uneventful, and at the Bali airport I walked from the domestic terminal to the international to catch my Malaysia Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur to connect to another Malaysia Airlines flight to Sydney to catch a Qantas flight to Cairns. Yes, a very long trip in a very large area of the planet. And to top it off, I thought my flight to Cairns was on the same day as my flight to Sydney. No such luck. It was for the next day. I’d already been traveling for 24 hours, and I needed to find a hotel near the airport.

Don’t ask me why, I have no earthly idea why, but I booked a cheapie hotel close to the airport. Why I didn’t return to the wonderful Stamford Sydney Airport is beyond me. I thought, oh save some money and stay at a smaller hotel. It was smaller, all right!

It looked okay on the internet. I can only say: do not stay at the Airport Hotel Sydney. It looked a lot better in photos than it did in person. The area was a bit sketchy, it seemed like, and the hotel even more so. There is a single door leading into a lobby which does not deserve to be called a lobby since it is so small and dingy. The guy who checked me in informed me that an American immigration officer told him “Americans are jerks” and he proceeded to tell me not to complain. I wasn’t complaining, just expressing a concern about my luggage because there was no lift in the hotel. He put me on the ground floor, and the first room he gave me was already occupied. Awkward! Seriously, not a good place. I went to bed, and got up hours and hours before my flight so I could go to the Qantas Business Class Lounge to shower and dress. Ah, Qantas has lovely lounges!

I relaxed in the lounge until time to head to Cairns which is in Queensland. My dive boat to the Ribbon Reefs, Spirit of Freedom, would leave from there. I checked into the fabulous Shangri-La Hotel at the Marina in Cairns. Ahhh. Luxury! Find the best deal, compare prices, and read what other travelers have to say at TripAdvisor

The Shangri La was beautiful, and between the marina and the esplanade. It was heaven to sink into the comfy bed and flip on CNN! (I’m a diehard CNN fan, especially Anderson Cooper 360 and Wolf Blitzer’s Situation Room and Erin Burnett Out Front…you get the idea!) I got out my computer and put a status on my Facebook page, that I was in Cairns, finally! The next thing I know, I receive a message from my good friend Fin! Fin Out of Water is also a blogger, check out her Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/finoutofwater/?fref=ts. I met Fin on a Ray of Hope Expedition last year in the Yucatan. She is from New Zealand, a dive instructor and marine biologist.) So Fin, from Auckland, NZ, says she too is in Cairns! We were both so excited and made plans for dinner the next night! Talk about a funny thing…what are the odds that Tam from Dallas, Texas and Fin from NZ would be in Cairns, Australia at the same time?? Oh, how wonderful it was to see her! She is just one of the most wonderful people on the planet. So awesome to see you, Fin! It’s just funny…and serendipitous! Don’t you think so?

Another Fabulous Stay at the Hyatt Regency Austin!

August 23, 2016 By Tam Warner 11 Comments

Austin, Texas, Hyatt — An incredible view from our room!

Last summer my husband and I ventured to Austin, Texas to see the bats…and our son, who lives there. Sadly, the bats didn’t make an appearance, but our stay at the Hyatt Regency Austin was so fabulous we decided to stay there again, and this time, we saw the bats! Any trip to Austin during the summer should include a trip to Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge (Ann Richards was Governor of Texas 1990-1994). Beneath the bridge sleep 1.5 million Mexican Free Tail Bats. At dusk on summer nights, the bats begin to emerge, and what an incredible sight! Just two weeks ago we sat at our hotel room window and watched the bats emerge. Fantastic!

The Hyatt Regency Austin has the best location in the city. Yes, you heard me, the best location in the city for awesome views! At night the city of Austin is lit up across Town Lake (aka Colorado River), at dusk bats fly, and during the day you will find kayakers and paddle boarders happily paddling the lake. I was one of them!

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Austin is a fun city to visit. It is rare to find so much outdoor activity in the heart of a city, and it makes Austin unique. It is the state capitol, and home to the University of Texas Austin’s forty thousand plus students! There is never a dull moment! And since Austin is such a great destination, I recommend staying at the Hyatt Regency Austin in order to fully appreciate the city and the glorious views! Be sure and check out Trip Advisor, and read my review!

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These opinions are my own.

Diving Komodo with Ray of Hope was a Powerful Experience!

August 18, 2016 By Tam Warner 14 Comments

Last month, July 2016, I traveled to Bali Indonesia to board The Arenui for a Ray of Hope Expedition with Marine Megafauna director Dr Andrea Marshall. The trip was nothing short of amazing. My dives with The Arenui and Ray of Hope Expeditions were so fabulous…I saw so many animals I’d never seen before, and I want to see them again (well, not the Komodo Dragons! Once is enough). I have posted so many dive photographs, and photos of the formidable Komodo Dragons, but not the life of the boat or the people who populated it, neither have I posted many photos of the incredible islands of Komodo National Park. Dive boats are a special experience because the bonding that takes place on board, even if only for the trip itself, is unusual. Just a day after boarding you have met everyone, and personalities emerge immediately. Divers get right to it, they don’t need to have a persona, or a social mask. We are all so excited to be on a dive boat, ready to go, that we start sharing information and experiences immediately. This trip was somewhat atypical for me because it had so many Americans on board. Usually it is the League of Nations, with several different nationalities and ethnicities. There was a lovely Australian couple on board, and they were hilarious and wonderful and fabulous divers. The cruise directors were Mexican and British, the crew was Indonesian. Hopefully this photo post will give you an idea of the trip overall! The Arenui is absolutely luxurious! I’m ready to do it again!

This Golden Girl is Ready to Explore Life Beyond the Ordinary!

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