Picto Diary - 3 to 7 June 2026 - Kimberly Bound

Above: Wood, Ash, Rye (WAR) restaurant. St. George, UT. 03 June 2026.
Bishop and Drums post dinner after driving three hundred fifty miles to St. George from Park City. Precedent to Seabourn adventure cruse along Australia's Kimberly.

Above. Ivins, UT. 04 June 2026.
AM Walk. 6K steps.

Above: Mesquite, NV. 04 August 2026.
With driver Lou en route to Las Vegas Airport.
Las Vegas departure on Delta a quantum amount less expensive than a departure from SLC. Go figure. Granny a champion at getting the best deals.

Above: Melbourne Airport. 05 June 2026. Post 16-hour flight from LA.
Jetstar Airlines. Budget strategy. Like US carriers Allegiant and Breeze. All carry-ons are weighed and must not exceed 8 KG. On to Darwin, 4.5 hours flight time.

Above: Hilton Hotel, Darwin, New Territories, Australia. 05 June 2026.
Seeking The Kimberly.
Seabourn Pursuit.

Welcome who? She organized the whole trip, but she's not here!

Email message from Granny:
"Have fun. Keep your things organized and don’t rely on [Drums] to do everything for you like I do. TIMDT"

I know. TIMDT doesn't trust me not to over rely on Drums. I'm sure she is spending lottsa time wondering if my shirt buttons are buttoned and whether or not there are stains on my shirt. Truth be told, her worries are essential to me being presentable. She is right most of the time and I am a better man for it.

OZ seems more digital prone than the US. I haven't seen any currency exchanged anywhere yet. For anything... cab, bottle of water, of course restaurant bills, just tap your card or your phone.

Restaurants and bars along Mitchell Street, Darwin's main drag, are mainly order and pay via QR code. Some of the establishments do fast casual. Go up and order your drink and food, tap your card. Pick up your drink. Go to the numbered table and wait for your food order to be delivered. No tipping.

Drums is great with all the tech/robot order process. Jetstar Airlines offered virtually no human help checking in for the Jetstar flight from Melbourne to Darwin. Drums got me processed with aplomb. Bording pass, luggage checked yada. Ozes, as a generalization, seem more attuned than Americans to non-human service processes.

In the US, I avoid stores where I am required to check-out sans clerk assistance. Walmart, in St. George, tried to steer most of its customers to self-check-out a couple of years ago. I stopped going there. Of course, the marketing managers are just waiting for my generation to die off, knowing that the younger people seem to have no problem with robotic service processes.

Much appreciation to TIMDT for setting all this up. I'm finding grandson Drums to be a great travel companion. Helpful, but not intrusively so, as I understand kids and grands these days are often wont to ramp up oversight as parents/grandparents morph into geezers.

Above: Pee Wee's restaurant, Darwin, NT, Australia.
Seeking The Kimberly.
Seabourn Pursuit.
Image: Crocodile. Tastes like chicken.

I asked Drums to do a search for the best fine dining restaurant in Darwin. We could not get in to Pee Wee's until 8:30 PM, but on the positive side, that would force us to stay awake during the jet lag of flying just shy of halfway around the world.

After the crocodile appetizer, both Drums and Mwah (sic) ordered barramundi. Timor Sea waters teem with barramundi. Ours was fresh... excellent.

Above: Parap Market, Darwin, New Territories, Australia. 06 June 2026.
Bishop 'n Drums with Monte Dwyer. Oz TDS author Monte Dwyer, from Central Coast NSW, toured America to understand the DJT phenomenon. Hawking his findings in his self-published book.

Above: Parap Saturday Market, Darwin, NT, Australia. 06 June 2026.
Seeking The Kimberly.
Seabourn Pursuit.
For back country off road driving in US, go to Moab. In Oz, go to off roader base camp Darwin.

Above: Park City High School. Park City UT. 06 June 2026.
B1b, Mynduveroan, and FeeBee at Mynduveroan High School graduation ceremonies.

Above: Seabourn Pursuit. 07 June 2026.
Thru a bit of luck and Granny finagling, we end up with one of the best suites on the ship.

Addendum:

Above: Massapequa, NY. 04 June. 2026.
Below are some amazing photos of my home that were taken by a RE photographer yesterday using a drone. I think my home will start to be publicly advertised for sale this weekend. My RE agent has agreed to our terms that there will be no yard signs, no open house viewings, and anybody who wants to see the inside of the house has to prove in advance to our agent that they have the financial wherewithal to complete the purchase. I'm sad to leave Massapequa, but it is time to be closer to our daughter and grandson in Viera Florida.

Above from Fred who is relocating to Orlando, FL. What a great home to give up!

Good looking kids. Wish them well
Ed,
Highland, NC.