My wife just spent 3 weeks in Australia, visiting family in Sydney, Byron Bay and then our family reunion to Hamilton Island, way up north in the Great Barrier Reef. The Island is situated about an hours flight north east of Brisbane the capital of Queensland..that’s 600 miles north of Sydney. We rented a 5 bedroom home on the Island for $850 a day, with a pool, plung pool with great views as there were 7 of us staying for 5 days. It was way more cost effective to rent the house than staying in a Hotel as it’s very expensive on the Island for everything. The home included a golf buggy but we got 2 as there were 7 of us. We stayed on the north side of the Island where there are lots of holiday homes as well as rental homes….big homes they were. Downtown has some great restaurantssuch as the yacht club and a beautiful harbor full of $1mil yachts. All in all this was one of the best vacations my wife and I have had. We eat out 3 of the 5 nights and cooked on the Barbie the other two as we had a talent night one night and a story night the other with good conversations and plenty of good wine. Ended up raining a bit during out stay but one cannot every predict the weather in these parts but all in all always a great sunset every night. Log onto my web site to learn more about our travels and my experiences around the world. Thanks for looking, Cheers Glenn
Glenn's Blog
Kauai’s Beautiful Island Flowers
Words cannot describe the amount of beautiful trees and flowers that are abundant on the Island of Kauai. I don’t know all the names except a few of the visual ones that I have seen on other Islands in our travel. I do know that most of them are not native of Hawaii and most were imported from other areas of the world. So here are some pictures that I have taken with my Canon 7.1 MP Point & Shoot camera. Lighting is everything when shooting pictures anywhere. All these pictures were taken in the north of the Island where it’s more lush. Just click on any of the thumb nail shots and enjoy the array of the colors that we enjoy every time we visit the beautiful Island of Kauai. If you have any questions in regards to Photography with a Point & Shoot cameras just visit my web site or email me. Thanks for looking, yours Glenn Ritchie
Another Home for Sale in Fullerton
Here we have a nice view home in Fullerton, 609 W. Malvern. At the moment the sellers are fixing it up a wee bit so I will have some latest pictures real soon. It boasts 5 Beds and 2 Baths, which 2 of those Beds and 1 Bath are on the second floor. The upstairs had been added by the previous owner and can sleep 2 kids (one in each room) as the ceiling is at an angle same as the roof line. The rest of the house is nice and the views are great from the huge long porch at the front. All the walls are bull nose and one can feel the breeze while having breakfast in the breakfast nook. The back yard needs a green thumb, oversized 2 car garage is big and has additional parking for 3 or 4 cars with alley access. Asking price is now $599,000
New Freon for Air Conditioners.
Hello homeowners that have an Air Conditioner or Heat Pump on their property. As of January 1st 2010 Air Conditioner manufacturers no longer produce air conditioners containing R22, commonly known as Freon. Remember a little while back when the Auto industry changed the Freon for the cars. Well, I remember very clearly, as I had a service on my car, they told me that because of a leak and no supplies of R13 left they had to replace with the new. The mechanic by law couldn’t charge the system with the old and had to change the whole system costing me hundreds of dollars. Well it’s like this again, when the industry runs out of the old “Freon” they will charge your Air Conditioning system with the new R-410A Refrigerant called “puron“
Fullerton Homes For Sale by Glenn
Malvern Home 214 W. Malvern Ave Fullerton, 92832
Click on link above to view details.
Another Malvern Home 609 W. Malvern Fullerton, 92832
Here we have a nice view home in Fullerton, 609 W. Malvern. At the moment the sellers are fixing it up a wee bit so I will have some latest pictures real soon. It boasts 5 Beds and 2 Baths, which 2 of those Beds and 1 Bath are on the second floor. The upstairs had been added by the previous owner and can sleep 2 kids (one in each room) as the ceiling is at an angle same as the roof line. The rest of the house is nice and the views are great from the huge long porch at the front. All the walls are bull nose and one can feel the breeze while having breakfast in the breakfast nook. The back yard needs a green thumb, oversized 2 car garage is big and has additional parking for 3 or 4 cars with alley access. Asking price is now $599,000
Click on link above to abtain additional details.
Craftsman Home in Fullerton
What could be better that to walk to Downtown Fullerton to shops, restaurants and venues. I have a charming craftsman home for sale in the Historical area of Fullerton California. This home boasts some nifty features like whole house fan for those hots days, tankless heater, earthquake retrofitted for those rolling days and the list goes on. With a cosy 3 bedrooms, 2 beautiful bathrooms, 2 car garage with alley access and even a front driveway for the sports car you have always wanted. This house is just under 1600 sqft on a 7100 lot with beautiful hardwood floors, it has AC and the attic is all insulated. You can have this great 1921 home for yourself…..make an offer. Call me if interested in looking at the beautiful Craftsman home.
Travel to Australia
I grew up in Sydney Australia and before I settled in Fullerton, California I traveled the world (see my Bio). The biggest difference I see every time we fly into Sydney (Kingsford Smith Airport) is the beautiful blue sky with those huge fluffy clouds. It takes my breath away every time I look outside and see this great city. Being on the east coast it’s more humid like our east coast in the US. The second thing that is really different is the fantastic long beaches and coves which surround Sydney harbor. I nearly forgot, I miss the great PUBS in and around Sydney. The third is the great transportation system with ferries, subways, buses and tons of taxis. Not a lot of Freeways and traffic is thick at times going everywhere just like here until one gets out in the outskirts where the roos are. www.glennritchie.com
Buyers Plumbing Problems
I just closed an escrow on a really nice Condo in the Chino Hills area. This older clean Condo was like a small house, one level in a small complex with a huge back yard (approx 40’x40’). This first time buyers were very patient in acquiring the unit but it paid off in the end. They moved in and a few days later had a plumbing problem and had it fixed. That was not the end if it as a month later they had another situation. The question is… what does anyone do when this unforeseen problem happens. I was thinking about my small old home here in Fullerton build in 1912 a lot older than the Condo build in 1958. I remember a friend who is an honest plumber telling me once, do not put anything down the drains except the toilet paper and liquid. Even hair can cause problems. So I was thinking how does first time buyers know all these little things of home ownership. I try to tell all my buyers lots of homeowner hints like check the hoses on the all the faucets etc ,or check the AC filters and so on. I guess we all have to all learn when we own a home of all the little things that are helpful to prolong the longevity of our home.
Homeowner for Fluorescent lights
I live in Fullerton in the OC California and last year we made a conscious effort to change all the light bulbs in our little 1200 sq ft home to Fluorescent lights. In doing that we have saved about 26% off the Edison bill. The one thing I have learnt re the Fluorescent bulbs is its more cost efficient to leave them on for a longer time. I have had a few go out before their stated life time because I switched some on for a shorter period, so perhaps that’s not good for Fluoresents compared to the others. I foresee in the future they will perform better, come on quicker and last longer without blowing sooner. Read more of my home owner tips at my web site link Glenn Ritchie
Choosing Digital Cameras
Don’t fall for the expensive high Pixel Digital Cameras!! We are in the land of marketing the biggest and the latest, but that’s not always the best. A “14 megapixel” camera is not always going to give you the best result when a “7 megapixel” can do the same job. Without getting too technical, the higher the pixels the more light that comes through the lens to the chip inside the camera. Yes, pixels count but it’s the size of the chip plus a good lens is in my opinion what counts. So when you are looking for a nice quality camera, buy a camera that you need for your application or profession, not because of the higher pixel count. The way the chip size is calculated comes from way back when we had camera tubes in the 1950’s (before my time) and that archaic method is still used today. Also don’t get caught up on the big zoom cameras, you don’t need that either.
Here is a shot taken with my Canon 900IS 7.1 Megapixels ( in the US is’t called (Powershot 800IS) with fill in flash taken at the Sydney Harbor where all types of water transport meet. About 500ft from me one can catch the underground and go anywhere in the City. To the left of me is the Sydney Harbor bridge, so you can see that when shooting travel pictures you can capture all in one with a bit of thought.
Example: If you are looking for a quality digital camera, one with a “7 megapixel a 1/1.7 chip” is better that of a “14 megapixel and a 1/2.5 chip” Check out the new Canon S90 features and read the specs for an example of a good Point & Shoot camera. Log on for more tips from Glenn
