And boy, does it ever take a long time to get there and back...
Ben and I left for Australia right after New Year's and returned home on January 19th, 2008. We flew into Sydney and spent time with my extended family at their home in Narrawallee (on the Sapphire Coast); then took a road trip through Pambula, Thredbo (in the Snowy Mountains), and Beechworth, before reaching our destination of Melbourne.
Staying in a serviced apartment sandwiched between the high rise central business district and the more funky Brunswick Street, (and convenient to the tram), we set out to discover Melbourne in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees fahrenheit. We ate every type of ethnic foods we could get our hands on (Chinese, Greek, Thai, African), and we cherished the taste of the local brew - Coopers (Pale Ale, Sparkling Ale, Lager, Nut Brown, Stout - they're all good) in a neighborhood bar called Gertrudes Brown Couch.
We were able to learn about opals in the Opal Museum, stroll through Fitzroy Gardens, visit the Melbourne Gaol, the Victoria Gallery of Art, and the Melbourne Museum. We left the rest of the family in Melbourne, and Ben and I flew back to the Sydney area (New South Wales) again.
Staying at the Sydney Travelodge (which also houses the NSW Football Club), we were conveniently located to the Domain, Royal Botanical Gardens, Opera House, Circular Quay, Darling Harbour, and the Aquarium. We took a ferry to Manly Beach, and were treated to the sight of a giant sandcastle (a work of art, really) and some yacht club races.
After renting a car, we drove (yes, on the left) to Leura in the Blue Mountains National Park (home to the Three Sisters), where we dined on Indian food and hiked. Then we set off for the Hunter Valley, where we ate Japanese food and went on a wine tour.
We capped off our trip with a show (Le Grand Cirque) in the Sydney Opera House.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Holidays
It was so nice to be home after an absence of almost six months...
I made a scrapbook for my youngest son (long overdue), worked dilligently on a wedding gift for my friend Carla and her new husband Matt (fashioned after something I had seen in an art gallery in Ireland), and decorated the house for the holidays (sans Christmas tree). I was happy to be included in a few Christmas gatherings, and I sang a few Sundays with the choir at church. Our immediate family enjoyed a very informal and low-key holiday together. But the main event was Carla's wedding reception on New Years Eve, which was by all accounts a great success.
(I had even postponed my departure for Australia until afterwards...)
I made a scrapbook for my youngest son (long overdue), worked dilligently on a wedding gift for my friend Carla and her new husband Matt (fashioned after something I had seen in an art gallery in Ireland), and decorated the house for the holidays (sans Christmas tree). I was happy to be included in a few Christmas gatherings, and I sang a few Sundays with the choir at church. Our immediate family enjoyed a very informal and low-key holiday together. But the main event was Carla's wedding reception on New Years Eve, which was by all accounts a great success.
(I had even postponed my departure for Australia until afterwards...)
The Journey Home
I can't believe that two months has passed since I've posted to my blog!
After my last post, I bid a fond farewell to family and friends on the East Coast and started my jouney back home. My car packed and ready to go, the morning of December 3, 2007 witnessed an ice storm, as only they can occur in the east. My car had a quarter inch of ice encrusted on it, which had to be chipped away before my departure. I made my way (slowly) down to the nearest interstate highway before the wrap job around my bicycle came loose. Leaving the plastic wrap behind in a motel garbage can, I went forth. I encountered heavy winds in Pennsylvania, which gripped my car with a strength I had underestimated; but eventually arrived unscathed in Indianapolis, IN at day's end. I even had enough energy left to play a little prank on Krissi upon my arrival! We had a nice evening, eating at the Jazz Kitchen and hanging out with her sister and friend.
My destination the next day was Minneapolis, home to my friend Terri. For the most part, the weather cooperated (at least until the Dells, WI when it began to snow). Inadvertently earlier that day, I had dropped my debit card at a gas station in Remington, IN - and, of course, didn't notice until I needed gas next. (Three weeks later, we were reunited...) Upon entering Minneapolis, I took 694 toward Silver Lake and encountered the worst traffic jam (due to the bridge collapse earlier this year), coupled with icy conditions (many vehicles in the median ditch) that I have ever experienced. What should have been a 20 minute drive turned into a two hour ordeal. Thank goodness I was planning on spending two nights in Minneapolis, so as to get some rest in-between the legs of my journey.
After spending a great day in Minneapolis with Terri (including snowshoeing around Silverwood Park, and dining in Dinkeytown at the Loring Pasta Bar), she escorted me through the back roads of Minneapolis to get me headed in the right direction out of town (to avoid the traffic congestion of 694). I took the interstate toward Albert Lee to avoid secondary highways because it had started snowing again (imagine that - snow in December!), and then turned west on 80 toward Rapid City, SD, which was my destination for the evening. Some folks had asked me whether or not I was going to do any sight-seeing on my way back home, and I hadn't planned on it. But the signs beckoned and piqued my curiousity; so I got a wild hair, and ended up at The Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. Never been there? Hmmm... The snow started in earnest around Kadoka, and the surreal orange glow of the Air Force Base outside of Rapid freaked me out - but I arrived at Jim & Heidi's (who live IN the Black Hills) just in time for dinner (and wine). I learned a lot from Jim about some of the lesser-known exploits of my eldest son when he was a teenager...
The next morning I was headed for home. There were sketchy moments with snow (mostly around Sundance and Livingston), but it was nice to be driving along familiar highways, and I made it home safe and sound to a nice reunion with my boys and my dog.
After my last post, I bid a fond farewell to family and friends on the East Coast and started my jouney back home. My car packed and ready to go, the morning of December 3, 2007 witnessed an ice storm, as only they can occur in the east. My car had a quarter inch of ice encrusted on it, which had to be chipped away before my departure. I made my way (slowly) down to the nearest interstate highway before the wrap job around my bicycle came loose. Leaving the plastic wrap behind in a motel garbage can, I went forth. I encountered heavy winds in Pennsylvania, which gripped my car with a strength I had underestimated; but eventually arrived unscathed in Indianapolis, IN at day's end. I even had enough energy left to play a little prank on Krissi upon my arrival! We had a nice evening, eating at the Jazz Kitchen and hanging out with her sister and friend.
My destination the next day was Minneapolis, home to my friend Terri. For the most part, the weather cooperated (at least until the Dells, WI when it began to snow). Inadvertently earlier that day, I had dropped my debit card at a gas station in Remington, IN - and, of course, didn't notice until I needed gas next. (Three weeks later, we were reunited...) Upon entering Minneapolis, I took 694 toward Silver Lake and encountered the worst traffic jam (due to the bridge collapse earlier this year), coupled with icy conditions (many vehicles in the median ditch) that I have ever experienced. What should have been a 20 minute drive turned into a two hour ordeal. Thank goodness I was planning on spending two nights in Minneapolis, so as to get some rest in-between the legs of my journey.
After spending a great day in Minneapolis with Terri (including snowshoeing around Silverwood Park, and dining in Dinkeytown at the Loring Pasta Bar), she escorted me through the back roads of Minneapolis to get me headed in the right direction out of town (to avoid the traffic congestion of 694). I took the interstate toward Albert Lee to avoid secondary highways because it had started snowing again (imagine that - snow in December!), and then turned west on 80 toward Rapid City, SD, which was my destination for the evening. Some folks had asked me whether or not I was going to do any sight-seeing on my way back home, and I hadn't planned on it. But the signs beckoned and piqued my curiousity; so I got a wild hair, and ended up at The Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. Never been there? Hmmm... The snow started in earnest around Kadoka, and the surreal orange glow of the Air Force Base outside of Rapid freaked me out - but I arrived at Jim & Heidi's (who live IN the Black Hills) just in time for dinner (and wine). I learned a lot from Jim about some of the lesser-known exploits of my eldest son when he was a teenager...
The next morning I was headed for home. There were sketchy moments with snow (mostly around Sundance and Livingston), but it was nice to be driving along familiar highways, and I made it home safe and sound to a nice reunion with my boys and my dog.
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