Well, I had a fantastic holiday. We saw so many wonderful and in many cases, amazing Quilts. Might add, I was just about 'quilted and fabriced' out but really, it was all a marvellous experience.

We visited quite a few Quilting Guilds and Groups in America and England and met some delighful ladies who all extended very warm hospitality to our group of twenty eight.

Some of the Groups provided a 'pot luck' meal and a couple had a lovely sit-down dinner. Some of the highlights included the evening we spent with the Quilters at Animas Quilts in Durango, Colorado and swapping name patches with each other at the end of the evening. Also the meal we shared with an Amish family in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Another, a delightful few hours in a georgeous private home in Lutherville, near Towson, Baltimore with a group of very talented Quilters. It was really special as the weather was perfect so we were able to wander outside and enjoy the lovely garden setting and the delicious fresh salads etc that they served for lunch, so very much appreciated after the restaurant type food that we were beginning to get a bit sick of after a few weeks away.

We always had 'Show and Tell' where the ladies showed us their marvellous Quilts so there were lots of Ooo's and Ahh's and cameras clicking left, right and centre. The Lutherville ladies amazed us when they produced a large Aussie flag while we were all piling back on to our tour bus and waved it madly as we departed.

Apart from the Quilting side of the Tour there was plenty of sightseeing. Highlights were - When it snowed and snowed in Denver and everything looked like fairyland, especially with the lights at night. The coach trip from Denver to Durango with the snow and huge stalactites along the side of the roads. The day spent at Mesa Verde National Park where we saw the cliff dwellings which were built by the ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi Indians).

Sante Fe with it's Mexican influence and amazing adobe brick buildings. The time spent at the wonderful Quilt Show in Paducah, Kentucky where the Quilts were mind-boggling and our room at the Executive Inn had a nice outlook over the Ohio River. It was an enormous affair with workshops and trade stalls everywhere. In fact the whole town was involved with courtesy buses to ferry us around and 'Welcome Quilters' signs everywhere. Must mention the beautiful Dogwood trees that were in flower just at the right time for us.

Next, the lovely restful few days at Bird-in-Hand, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in the peaceful Amish countryside. From Baltimore, the day trip to Annapolis and the Harbour cruise on Chesepeake Bay, also the day trip to Washington where we hopped over the border to Virginia to Arlington National Cemetary to see President and Robert Kennedy's graves, also Jackie's, also The White House, The Lincoln Memorial, The Smithsonian etc etc; all things I never imagined I would ever get to see! Also enjoyed the Aquarium in Baltimore.

Then over to England and as well as the hospitality as mentioned before we had an enjoyable ten days in the South of England.

London was were the Tour finished and where my friends Sue, Heather and I then took an apartment and re-lived many of the things we had done when in London in '96. Forgot to say that our friend Gene had to cancel just two days before leaving Adelaide because of ill health, which was sad for us all.

We then enjoyed our lovely B & B at Hook Norton, near Banbury and explored The Cotswolds in our hire car. So that we were close to Heathrow, which was also where we had to return the hire car, we spent one night at a very nice B & B in Windsor, where once again we visited The Castle and this time were able to go into St George's Chapel which was where Sophie and Edward were to be married a couple of weeks later - The Chapel was closed to the public when we were there in '96.

We were now nearing the end of our holiday but as we were flying 'United', we had to fly back through The States and as Vancouver BC was counted as a stop-over, we spent four lovely days in a B & B about fifteen minutes out of Vancouver. Really enjoyed the day tour to Vancouver Island and the beautiful Butchart Gardens.

Arrived home safely with an absolute treasure trove of wonderful, wonderful memories.