I can't wait to be tired of kangaroos!
Friday, November 13, 2009
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Our two families in Corvallis, but missing Aaron and little Elsie
Diantha singing w/ the Akabella Choir our last night in OZ
I'm standing with the quilt makers, also referred to as The Incredibles
Caroline, Debbie, Wayne, Graeme, Jeanette, Jenny, Gavin, and Steve
Dame Edna bids me farewell from Macksville Public School
Aren't you hot, Santa? Good thing we're in the shade!
Luke, Caroline, Dean, and Wayne Sharkey at Caroline's Art Opening
Girls Night In 2010
Kat and Marlene with the Fridgies and Me
Thanks for the workout, Shelley! Now I can have that extra Lamington!
Kat, Marlene and Annie: Friday Aqua
Neal & Cat's boat
What's lurking in the grass?
Diantha & Ross enjoying a Hungry Head beach walk!
At Caroline Sharkey's Art Opening - www.carolinesharkey.com.au - with Monique, Annie, and Allie.
With Marc and Lydia, San Francisco
Emu
Springtime: Purple Jacaranda Tree
The stadium is just behind Diantha
Training home from Brisbane to Urunga
Yet another airport. Aaron loves this part.
Breakfast fixins at the Cairns hostel
coral
Cuttle Fish
Giant Blue Speckled Clam amongst the corals
White Tip Shark - "Harmless"
Harry the Sea Cucumber?
Sea Turtle!
Make your own caption on this one!
Aaron, Jolyn and I suit up and Pats already in the water taking a photo!
The Great Barrier Reef
I so wanted to feed a dingo!
Bar stools in the Alice Springs pub
The ladies' powder room
Marathon Walkers
Happy guys - the climb is in the background
Wild flowers growing up on the Rock
Top of Ayers with Olgas in distance
Straight doowwn! Ayers Rock
The Top 'o the Rock
Still going up the chain. J and I are waaay down below at the itty bitty bus down there! The guys have half again to go to the top.
It's open to climb! Aaron is in the white shirt at the start of the chain.
Pat, Jolyn and I read how the Aboriginal community would rather we didn't climb, for spiritual reasons. Fair enough. See the chain above on the rock?
Looking to the north down the Rock
Ayers Rock: the Climb path. See the chain that starts 1/4 up? At the top, it keeps going 1/2 again that we don't see from here! But alas, it's closed for high winds . . .
Ayers Rock, Northern Territory - almost in the exact center of Australia
"In" The Olgas
"Ross, have you seen Pat?" "He's out back!"
Still in his uniform doing (and loving) homework after school.
Oh that's what he's doing!
Thorny Devil
Coffee in the Ouback, 6:00 a.m. The Best.
How'd ya sleep, Jolyn??
Little Ruby, Mulga's daughter, discussing with Pat the reasons she doesn't need to take a shower after hiking, camping, and traveling for three days . . . Can't you hear it?
Mulga, our guide, a true outback Aussie, cookin' up our grub in the strategically placed bathtub fireplace in the bush!
That's our campsite with our bus. How cool is that??
Jolyn in front, me in back - plenty of photos of guys climbing to come . . .
My new-found courage!
Kings Canyon, Northern Territory
Starting the hike at Kings Canyon
Red Centre, Northern Territory - campsite
See Sept 5, 2010 post
Aaron lands a whiting
Blackfish/Luderick
Graeme with his flathead!!
Shovelnose shark
Aaron hooks an eel-tail catfish
Liam gets alittle bream action
am
Owen hooks a whopper bream
Jaime gets some garfish action
Ross hooks a bream
Marc hooked into 2 garfish
Graeme's bull shark (about a 4 footer)
Graeme catching beachworm about 5+ Feet!!)
Beachworm poking out of sand looking for dinner
Sydney, check. Blue Mountains, check. We're off to Melbourne, then on to the Red Center and Ayers Rock!
Starbucks, how I've missed you!
We can't take your dad anywhere . . .
Behind us are the Three Sisters, Blue Mountains, Australia. Who knew?
G'day Mate!
Divas
Sydney Harbour Bridge, January 1, 2010 ! If you photo-shopped us, we could all be together!
Sydney Harbour Bridge, September 27, 2010
We're off to Sydney to explore the Big City
Jenny, Glenn, and Jeanette H.
Aaron and James
Chillin' at the American Barbeque
Deb, Jeanette, Steve, and Kim
Welcome to Oz Aaron and Jolyn!
"Dad! I just stepped over a Tree Snake taking out the garbage, and now he's in the tree!!"
Pat and Aaron worming - mm, mm! Good fishin' bait.
The coastline near our place
"Whoa, Dad! Stop the car!!"
Pippis!
They heard huge splashing behind them, turned around and saw this roo bounding through the water!!
Okay, okay, now would one of you close the fridge door??!
Team USA on Their Way!
Rainbow Lorikeet
Kookaburra
Ross is leaving for Vietnam. Is he ready??
Urunga Ball
The blokes clean up good!
Old School Billiard with Drew and Jack at Pub With No Beer
Drew and Ross pose next to the crusty pub Aussies!
Hang on. No Beer? And this display is in a church on site!
The Infamous Pub With No Beer
Nice form!
Does it matter which end you buzz into?
It Don't Mean a Thing if it ain't Got That - er, Buzz??
Yet another beach to walk - Mylestom, just up the road
After that night you could take Advil, or go fishing . . .
Glenn, Kate, Jeanette, and the Pasta!
This mama is eating grass and her joey in the pocket is, too!
South West Rocks
Karen, Jacki and I search for whales, I mean birds, I mean dolphins, I mean . . .
Playing hookie in Byron Bay: Shhh!
Me, Ben, Karen, Bonnie, Kat: Tom Jones, eat your heart out!
Caroline, Pat, Wayne, and Deb: Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Mate!
Jacki and Bonnie early on
Debbie, Kat, Annie, and Karen
At Urunga Pub we drowned our sorrows that Ashley was leaving early tomorrow!
My principal, Glenn, with Ashley, Jacki and Bonnie at school (our new hall being built in background).
Tailgating before our big hike through the rainforest. Brush turkeys here we come!
Bonnie and Ashley joined us late last night. Paul sips coffee, and are those railroad train pajamas, Pat Momsen??
Carolyn and Debbie
Snags on the barbie and heaps 'o blokes: Graeme, Pat, Paul, and David
Pat and Ellen arrive from Corvallis!
Dude, Owen!
Liam hooks the Big One
Homies
Luke and Jack, meet Liam and Owen. Welcome to the Chill Life. This is how we do.
Sarah, Moyra, Jacki, Karen, and Janine
Jacki and Karen visit from Liberty in Albany!
Shhhh! The Tour Guide is taking a break.
The biggest workout for him; the best entertainment for the rest of us!
Aussie's call this a "Stinger Suit."
Setting sail from Airlie Beach - Anaconda III
Meanwhile, Ross is tearing it up on Mary's Peak in Corvallis!
Airlie Beach, Queensland
Lunch break on Devil's Nose
Dr. Seuss trees
Pam's home, Adelaide
Adelaide home
Swinging bridges be damned!
Australians love their meat pies!
A schooner, anyone?
The sign says, "Crocodile Dundee line dancing."
Ice Creamery in Hahndorf, South Australia
Afternoon Tea en route.
Looking out over the Barossa Valley. Yellow Tail anyone?
Don't you love the Australians?
How cool is this city park with exercise machines!
Pub Grub
So what are ya gonna read next, Pat?
Bob
One of the penguins is named Bob. Another is Aaron.
Granite Island, South Australia
Urunga, Port MacQuarie, Adelaide, Whitsunday Islands, Urunga!
Read any good books lately, Pat?
The "Fishing" Trip: John, Paul, Robbo, Pat, and Mick
Our walk inbetween games: our soccer-mom tradition!
Any coincidence their colors are black and orange??
Cheering the Boys from the sidelines! Go Braves!
Matt, Jamie, Ross, Coach Steve-o
Team USA
Poinsettia Tree! It is winter!
Bellingen Scholars in Sydney
Lydia's graduation! Lydia and Emilie
Red Bellied Black Snake on our trail
Their left feet are hanging off the cliff to the abyss on the other side of The Breadknife. Not pictured: Diantha for obvious reasons
Always studying a map . . .
Pat makes an Aussie friend
At the campground: emu in the back, roos in front
pausing on the hiking trail
Campground koala - there every day!
The Breadknife @ Warumbungle NP
32 lb. mullaway/jewel fish, thanks to Graeme's coaching & patience!
Natalie makes a friend down under.
Aw eeee aw ee aw! Mom swinging down under in the Blue Mountains.
Fox Glacier, New Zealand
So it's a rock.
Of course.
Moeraki Boulders, NZ
Chef Andrew and Pat with the catch of the day at Fleur's.
Moeraki, NZ
Do you love this like I do? So peaceful. Otago Peninsula.
This peninsula is full of treks all along these farmlands. I could walk every one of them. Still in search of penguins.
We're at the ocean now. I could live here. Ross not so much.
We started a hike through this farmer's pasture to the ocean in the distance. I loved this!!
Stop the car! Is that a penguin out there? nah. Otago Peninsula, NZ
Chow Time in the Youth Hostel
Milford Sound
Waterfall #5,789
Milford Sound
Ross
After they've jumped. Ross is beaming. Pat is white as a sheet - but a dry one!
Kawarau Bridge, Queenstown, New Zealand: Ross and Pat ready to bungy jump.
Ross front left, Pat front right, me hiding in back . . .
Queenstown, NZ
The base of Fox Glacier: No bridges necessary . . .
Franz Josef Glacier: All the way to the top and half way home!
OK, so I hate the stinkin' bridges!
" . . . you-love-with-lo-ve-"
"Show-er-the-peop-le"
Lord of the Rings filmed in this valley
just kidding
US, UK, Canada and Australia Exchangees at the top!
Chain-ing our way down . . .
Brown Snake? What Brown Snake?
Yes, he is swinging on that vine . . .
Ross' team, The Braves. Yup, orange and black!
Last night in Australia - Party ON!
Communicating w/ Kanga
Whitsunday snorkeling
Andrew w/ Tim & passengers getting ready to go goat herding
Queensland flooding -We didn't go this way!
Tim saves a turtle from road kill!
Kangaroo burger anyone?
Kitchen spotless, washing folded, lawn mowed, fridge restocked, Pat out! . . . what is he reading??
Ouch.
Tim, Pat, Daniel, Neil, Kat
Daniel! Go Beavs!
Sydney Opera House
Paul and Diana: New South Wales, Summer (January), '10
Ellen and Pat: California, Summer (July), '09
Aboriginal art on the high school walls
The quad at Ross' new high school
Back to School
My new classroom!
Surfs Up!
Stinging Nettles
On the sky walk at the rain forest - no climbing trees required!
At the beach down the street . . .
Aboard Captain Cook's Endeavor, Sydney Harbour
Christmas Day in the backyard; the Kalang River in the background
Sending Ross off to Oz! Bye for now, Corvallis!