Our last day in Adelaide was spent on yet another beautiful hike. We ventured into a national park closeby and hiked out to Devil's Nose. The views were gorgeous, and the trees are some of my favorites. They look like Dr. Seuss characters! We were finally "walked out!" Monday we spent travelling to Airlie Beach, at the Whitsunday Islands, and celebrating Pat's birthday (at Baskin Robbins - woo hoo!).
Airlie Beach is at the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef. It is a sleepy beach town that comes alive in the evening if bar-hopping is your gig. If not, good luck getting a good night's rest! The town has a public "lagoon," a swimming pool set to resemble a beach, with sand, gradual slope, and rocks along the sides. It's the perfect place to sun, read, or picnic. We did all of that!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Day 5: City Center and more Fun Australians!
Today we visited with Diana's sister and family at their beautiful historic home in the downtown area of Adelaide. Pam showed us the city highlights by car, and then we toured the Cultural Museum to see the Aboriginal exhibit and the Australian rocks and minerals. We braved the chilling wind to walk home along the river past the university. Once back near Pam's I spotted another, yes, swinging bridge. Luckily we didn't need to cross it. Whew! But guess who needed to cross it and even jog across it while it bounced up and down and my hands sweated and sweated? Yes, Patrick. Well then I needed to just cross it, too. So there!
We had an amazing Aussie barbeque with Diana's family. Pat loved their malamute, Max. I loved their bitsy lap dog named Coconut, when he's at home and "Bruce," when he's at the construction worksite with Dad! We love the sense of humor Australians have, and we enjoy every one of these great evenings!
We had an amazing Aussie barbeque with Diana's family. Pat loved their malamute, Max. I loved their bitsy lap dog named Coconut, when he's at home and "Bruce," when he's at the construction worksite with Dad! We love the sense of humor Australians have, and we enjoy every one of these great evenings!
Day 4: Off to Hahndorf
This is a charming village near Adelaide that celebrates its original German settlers' heritage. The buildings are quaint and the pubs are the real deal (they all are, but these really are!). We were told not to miss the leather shop. Good thing someone told us, or we would have missed the leather shop. Well, we would have noticed Crocodile Dundee out front line dancing (see photo), but we would have walked right on by the shop. It was definitely the real deal. It was one of these places that you have to go slowly and read all the little notes and sayings posted on the raw rafters low overhead. Belts, vests, coats, hats, knife sheaths, tee shirts, paper money from every country imaginable, indescribable containers for things I'm sure I don't even know about, tumbler cozies, more belts, wallets, purses, on and on and on. Oh, and out in the back, just dirt floor with a rabbits pen along the back where the roof line comes down and meets the ground. Didn't purchase anything there, but enjoyed the adventure!
We ended the afternoon out with German pastries and coffee. We didn't have tools to set down at four for "Foursies," but we did put our forks down and hit the road back to the neighborhood!
We learned that "Foursies" turns into "eleven-sies" in this neighborhood! Australians know how to enjoy their cocktail hour, let's just say that much. We met up with Bruce and Drew again, thanking them for rescuing the rotting food, water system, and stovetop. It was nothing, they said. "We're neighbors!" We met their wives and the other couples nearby. They all built their houses up on this hill 30 - 35 years ago, have raised their kids together, and now are able to visit and help each other more since retirement and empty nesting. It is a lovely group of people, very generous, very genuine, and very hilarious.
Soon pizza arrived at the door, so the evening continued on. Chris pulled Diana and myself aside to show us her quilting projects. Bruce pulled Pat aside and took him to the garage to show him his pride and joy: a red 1968 Mustang with a left side steering wheel! He let Pat sit in it, which apparently some of the other guys have never been allowed to do! Lastly, Bruce heard that we needed to leave the house for our 6 a.m. flight Monday at 4:30 a.m. and insisted that he be the one to take us. Wow.
We ended the afternoon out with German pastries and coffee. We didn't have tools to set down at four for "Foursies," but we did put our forks down and hit the road back to the neighborhood!
We learned that "Foursies" turns into "eleven-sies" in this neighborhood! Australians know how to enjoy their cocktail hour, let's just say that much. We met up with Bruce and Drew again, thanking them for rescuing the rotting food, water system, and stovetop. It was nothing, they said. "We're neighbors!" We met their wives and the other couples nearby. They all built their houses up on this hill 30 - 35 years ago, have raised their kids together, and now are able to visit and help each other more since retirement and empty nesting. It is a lovely group of people, very generous, very genuine, and very hilarious.
Soon pizza arrived at the door, so the evening continued on. Chris pulled Diana and myself aside to show us her quilting projects. Bruce pulled Pat aside and took him to the garage to show him his pride and joy: a red 1968 Mustang with a left side steering wheel! He let Pat sit in it, which apparently some of the other guys have never been allowed to do! Lastly, Bruce heard that we needed to leave the house for our 6 a.m. flight Monday at 4:30 a.m. and insisted that he be the one to take us. Wow.
Day 3: Glenelg and Barossa Valley
We spent our next day touring out to the ocean of South Australia. We walked the pier at a popular beach location, Glenelg on Gulf St. Vincent. Then we drove east to the wine country to visit one winery, just to say we had! Actually, it was a good excuse to a) see a place someone had recommended, b) taste some wine at 11:00 a.m., c) have a walk through vineyards, and d) sit in a picturesque setting to have our picnic lunch! No sale, though. You could say we did "a runner."
Moving on, we drove to a national park and did a beautiful walk up into the pasture lands. We had vistas out over the vineyards and walked past old, old farm buildings. We saw roos along the way, but not one wombat.
Moving on, we drove to a national park and did a beautiful walk up into the pasture lands. We had vistas out over the vineyards and walked past old, old farm buildings. We saw roos along the way, but not one wombat.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
What We Did on Our Winter Vacation
We are glowing in the memories of our past two weeks. We have had such a great vacation time. We started on the train from Urunga and made a big, big loop to Port Macquarie, Adelaide, Airlie Beach, Great Barrier Reef, Brisbane, and back by train into Urunga. Thanks to P.Mollahan Travel Agent, we traveled not only by train, but also by plane, car, foot, sailing ship, and fins. All was perfect, even with no water for a time, a wind storm, a late flight, and high seas. Get out your map!
We traveled to Adelaide with Paul and Diana to a home-exchange. We were met at the airport by the neighbor, Bruce, who drove us the hour up to the Adelaide Hills, to One Tree Hill. The home was in the pasture lands, on 10 acres, and had been left to us while the owners were traveling in Europe and the states. It is a lovely place with a wrap-around veranda, big windows looking out, and a non-working fridge and fully-stocked freezer and chest freezer. Oops. We were able to turn on the heat (pretty cold in Adelaide in the winter - low 40's), but not the water or the gas for the stove. Hmmm. A few phonecalls to Bruce later, we did without flushing or our stir fry, and opted for sticking to our separate bathrooms and cold cereal for dinner! We just laughed. After all, we've heard of teaching exchange stories where the families lived like this for the entire year, and this was just 24 hours worth of inconvenience!
After more cold cereal for breakfast, we started out to see penguins (my only request!), and Bruce and the neighborhood team 'o guys arrived to clean out the 10 rubbermaids worth of rotten freezer food and dodgy fridge condiments. They also repaired the water pump, replaced the leaky gas canister, and invited us for "Foursies" Friday at, yup, 4:00. "Tools down at 4:00," smiled Drew as he waved goodbye while we drove away in the borrowed Mazda 2, scarves and jackets on, penquin-bound!
We drove to Granite Island, south of Adelaide, where we would find penguins. These are the Little Penguins, or Fairie Penguins, who swim and feed in the ocean, and then come ashore to tend to their nest and/or babies for the night. We watched them feeding in the rehabilitation center. We hiked the rocky hills of the island for the afternoon, and then at night we went with a group to see others come ashore. Sure enough, these little guys were hiding in the rocks, waiting for us to move away so they could continue on their path to their nest in the hills. We also watched possoms (not the same ones we have at home) scamper about on the rocks. By shining a special "torch," flashlight into the nests, we could see the babies playing and waiting for mum and/or dad. So cute.
We ended the cold but great day with dinner at a pub on the way back. A fire burned in a huge fireplace, and their baked vegie casserole was to die for! Sure enough, we returned "home" to a sweet-smelling fridge, a working stove top, and fully-flushing toilets! All was very good.
We traveled to Adelaide with Paul and Diana to a home-exchange. We were met at the airport by the neighbor, Bruce, who drove us the hour up to the Adelaide Hills, to One Tree Hill. The home was in the pasture lands, on 10 acres, and had been left to us while the owners were traveling in Europe and the states. It is a lovely place with a wrap-around veranda, big windows looking out, and a non-working fridge and fully-stocked freezer and chest freezer. Oops. We were able to turn on the heat (pretty cold in Adelaide in the winter - low 40's), but not the water or the gas for the stove. Hmmm. A few phonecalls to Bruce later, we did without flushing or our stir fry, and opted for sticking to our separate bathrooms and cold cereal for dinner! We just laughed. After all, we've heard of teaching exchange stories where the families lived like this for the entire year, and this was just 24 hours worth of inconvenience!
After more cold cereal for breakfast, we started out to see penguins (my only request!), and Bruce and the neighborhood team 'o guys arrived to clean out the 10 rubbermaids worth of rotten freezer food and dodgy fridge condiments. They also repaired the water pump, replaced the leaky gas canister, and invited us for "Foursies" Friday at, yup, 4:00. "Tools down at 4:00," smiled Drew as he waved goodbye while we drove away in the borrowed Mazda 2, scarves and jackets on, penquin-bound!
We drove to Granite Island, south of Adelaide, where we would find penguins. These are the Little Penguins, or Fairie Penguins, who swim and feed in the ocean, and then come ashore to tend to their nest and/or babies for the night. We watched them feeding in the rehabilitation center. We hiked the rocky hills of the island for the afternoon, and then at night we went with a group to see others come ashore. Sure enough, these little guys were hiding in the rocks, waiting for us to move away so they could continue on their path to their nest in the hills. We also watched possoms (not the same ones we have at home) scamper about on the rocks. By shining a special "torch," flashlight into the nests, we could see the babies playing and waiting for mum and/or dad. So cute.
We ended the cold but great day with dinner at a pub on the way back. A fire burned in a huge fireplace, and their baked vegie casserole was to die for! Sure enough, we returned "home" to a sweet-smelling fridge, a working stove top, and fully-flushing toilets! All was very good.
These people are hilarious.
Tonight on 60 Minutes the Australian Prime Minister, Julia Guillard was being interviewed. It's an election year here, so the topics are hot in the media right now. Here, like at home, they like to ding the opposition.
So, the interviewer mentioned how Tony Abbot is very athletic. His point perhaps was, can someone so into fitness really be a serious politician?
He began the question by saying how Tony Abbot is usually seen in athletic wear, that is, "running shoes, lycra, tennis shorts, a budgie smuggler . . . " Ha!
So, the interviewer mentioned how Tony Abbot is very athletic. His point perhaps was, can someone so into fitness really be a serious politician?
He began the question by saying how Tony Abbot is usually seen in athletic wear, that is, "running shoes, lycra, tennis shorts, a budgie smuggler . . . " Ha!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Happy 4th of July!
I celebrated the holiday with my school in grand style! It started with a little idea a year ago that maybe I could bring some patriotic wristbands and give them out to the whole school. It ballooned into an entire day of costumes, lemonade stands, hot dogs, cheerleading, line dancing, and even the YMCA! The children were dressed in everything from the Statue of Liberty, Paris Hilton, Scooby Doo, Men in Black, Minnie Mouse, cowgirls, cowboys, and even Uncle Spiderman Sam!
A teacher on staff spent her senior year in high school in Maryland, so she came dressed in her cheerleading outfit and letterman jacket. She lead us in the Pledge to the Oriental Trading flag I'd brought, and we raised it and stood while the National Anthem played. Marilyn came with me for the day and was a trooper helping hang banners, slicing 400 hot dog buns (no, they do not come pre-sliced), taking photos, and standing by my side for the Anthem. My costume was simply an American Flag tee shirt, but I think bringing a real American with me for the day counted for something!
The children had a ball and it was a great international team effort all the way around. Even the tee shirts and prizes for best costumes and best cheers were bought in Corvallis, brought to Maureen, sent over the hill to Marilyn, then carried by Marilyn to the southern hemisphere for the event! Thank you Team Albany/Corvallis!!
We ended with a potluck staff lunch, which they all thought was very funny, since they'd never heard the word 'potluck.' I told them, today they had to talk my way; the other 364 days of this year I'd try to talk their way!! Bugger it!
It was a perfect way to end a term before leaving on our two-week holiday. We'd finished report cards and parent-teacher conferences, so we were truly ready to have a party.
Now Pat, Ross and I are truly ready to have a holiday! Ross has flown home to Corvallis for two weeks, and Pat and I are sightseeing in Adelaide for the first week.
A teacher on staff spent her senior year in high school in Maryland, so she came dressed in her cheerleading outfit and letterman jacket. She lead us in the Pledge to the Oriental Trading flag I'd brought, and we raised it and stood while the National Anthem played. Marilyn came with me for the day and was a trooper helping hang banners, slicing 400 hot dog buns (no, they do not come pre-sliced), taking photos, and standing by my side for the Anthem. My costume was simply an American Flag tee shirt, but I think bringing a real American with me for the day counted for something!
The children had a ball and it was a great international team effort all the way around. Even the tee shirts and prizes for best costumes and best cheers were bought in Corvallis, brought to Maureen, sent over the hill to Marilyn, then carried by Marilyn to the southern hemisphere for the event! Thank you Team Albany/Corvallis!!
We ended with a potluck staff lunch, which they all thought was very funny, since they'd never heard the word 'potluck.' I told them, today they had to talk my way; the other 364 days of this year I'd try to talk their way!! Bugger it!
It was a perfect way to end a term before leaving on our two-week holiday. We'd finished report cards and parent-teacher conferences, so we were truly ready to have a party.
Now Pat, Ross and I are truly ready to have a holiday! Ross has flown home to Corvallis for two weeks, and Pat and I are sightseeing in Adelaide for the first week.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
How's the fishing, Pat?
I talked to Pat after the first day of the fishing trip to Yamba.
"Hi! Did you have any luck?"
"Yeah!" he says.
"Great! What'd you catch?"
"Oh, we didn't go fishing!" Oh. I guess I don't understand the term, 'fishing trip!' That's fine. I don't expect him to understand 'girls' weekend!'
"Hi! Did you have any luck?"
"Yeah!" he says.
"Great! What'd you catch?"
"Oh, we didn't go fishing!" Oh. I guess I don't understand the term, 'fishing trip!' That's fine. I don't expect him to understand 'girls' weekend!'
Marilyn and Jamie Visit!
They arrived by train within hours of each other, and it was great to fill the house back up! We met their train at 8 p.m., and then went back to get Ross on the midnight train. The next morning we enjoyed coffee and "rego" faxing before packing up for the next adventures: a basketball tournie in Port MacQuarie (2 hours south) for us and a week-long fishing trip with the Guys (Paul, et al) in Yamba (2 hours north) for Pat.
"Rego" is Aussie for registration. Yes, Graeme helped us register right then and there for Jamie to play with Ross' team for the weekend. They grabbed him a jersey and pair of shorts, asked if he was "any good," and he was in! We took Ross' buddy, Jack, who Jamie had met in the corridor in Sydney last week, and we were off! Just like old times, Marilyn and I taking "the boys" off to the next sports game, cooler in the back, walking shoes on, and water bottles for all.
"Team USA" was quite a hit, with Jamie getting right back into the basketball groove, and Ross hamming it up in style. Marilyn and I cheered from the sidelines like we always have, and marveled at how we never thought we'd be sharing this in Australia! They played three games over the weekend, winning 2 out of 3. Marilyn and I were able help fix burgers and fixings for the two teams back at the motel, and then enjoyed relaxing with the parents for the evening. What a great way to get to know a different culture! We were able to take a beautiful walk the next day along the headlands at the ocean before the last game.
We visited the Koala hospital before leaving Port for home. One can walk around the grounds, whether it's open or not, and see koalas rehabilitating in their "pens." Their "pens" are natural trees where they climb up and sleep above as they get better. Sooo cute. Right above one of the koala's areas was a fabulous kookaburra on a branch. Perfect for our American visitors!
"Rego" is Aussie for registration. Yes, Graeme helped us register right then and there for Jamie to play with Ross' team for the weekend. They grabbed him a jersey and pair of shorts, asked if he was "any good," and he was in! We took Ross' buddy, Jack, who Jamie had met in the corridor in Sydney last week, and we were off! Just like old times, Marilyn and I taking "the boys" off to the next sports game, cooler in the back, walking shoes on, and water bottles for all.
"Team USA" was quite a hit, with Jamie getting right back into the basketball groove, and Ross hamming it up in style. Marilyn and I cheered from the sidelines like we always have, and marveled at how we never thought we'd be sharing this in Australia! They played three games over the weekend, winning 2 out of 3. Marilyn and I were able help fix burgers and fixings for the two teams back at the motel, and then enjoyed relaxing with the parents for the evening. What a great way to get to know a different culture! We were able to take a beautiful walk the next day along the headlands at the ocean before the last game.
We visited the Koala hospital before leaving Port for home. One can walk around the grounds, whether it's open or not, and see koalas rehabilitating in their "pens." Their "pens" are natural trees where they climb up and sleep above as they get better. Sooo cute. Right above one of the koala's areas was a fabulous kookaburra on a branch. Perfect for our American visitors!
The Quiet Before the Storm
The early month of June was mostly quiet. I went to Sydney the first weekend for a Teachers' Federation meeting. I'm not the political type by any means, but the school districts here face the same dilemma with State Testing that we do in the U.S. So after listening to the staff room conversations and reading the newspaper, my curiosity was peaked. I was invited to attend the meeting to hear what the current issues are that teachers here are facing. Besides a very interesting meeting (I know, that sounds like an oxymoron), I met some more great people who showed me around the city. I learned that teachers in New South Wales are passionate about their profession and their students, just like us, and they like to have a good time, just like us. Karaoke anyone?
We caught up on housework after our busy May, I wrote report cards for mid term, Pat caught his fabulous enormous fish, and Ross kept up with basketball and friends.
Ross went on a 5 day trip with his Society and Culture class to Sydney mid month. They visited a mosque, a synagogue, markets, and more for 5 or 6 different cultures represented. I'm sure it was nothing but wholesome and educational.
At that same time, Marilyn and Jamie arrived from Corvallis - and they were happily surprised at their youth hostel by the arrival of Ross and his Society and Culture classmates! Having stepped off the plane hours before, Marilyn met these tall handsome boys in the corridor, all speaking in beautiful Australian accents and Ross, of course, giving her a big hug. Surreal. They overlapped in Sydney for two days before all coming up to Urunga on the train.
Let the visitors begin!
We caught up on housework after our busy May, I wrote report cards for mid term, Pat caught his fabulous enormous fish, and Ross kept up with basketball and friends.
Ross went on a 5 day trip with his Society and Culture class to Sydney mid month. They visited a mosque, a synagogue, markets, and more for 5 or 6 different cultures represented. I'm sure it was nothing but wholesome and educational.
At that same time, Marilyn and Jamie arrived from Corvallis - and they were happily surprised at their youth hostel by the arrival of Ross and his Society and Culture classmates! Having stepped off the plane hours before, Marilyn met these tall handsome boys in the corridor, all speaking in beautiful Australian accents and Ross, of course, giving her a big hug. Surreal. They overlapped in Sydney for two days before all coming up to Urunga on the train.
Let the visitors begin!
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