Australia Diary

Hello from Singapore

2003-10-18T23:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I still have time to kill in Singapore. I arrived, shopped, ate, checked e-mail, shopped some more, ate some more, and there is still over an hour left to kill (more like 2, actually), so why not write a journal entry?

Oh what a hard morning. Peggy and I were up until after midnight, frantically burning CDs (all the photos we've taken over the past six weeks--I think they fill five CDs. We are very prolific).

We were getting up at 4 a.m., so it didn't leave long to sleep. Chippa, settled comfortably on the couch for the night, checked on both of us during the night. She knew something was up.

It was a weepy awakening, shower, coffee, more tears. Chippa kept pawing me as if to say "don't go."

But it was time to go. As I struggled with my bags, to remove them from the guest room, Chippa showed up with a new stuffed roo in her mouth--I've named it "Chipparoo" and it is the perfect souvenir. Peggy bought it at Caversham Park while I was browsing the gift shop. Kangaroos have played such a bit part in my time in Australia, that having "Chipparoo" to bring home is perfect. She kept her head poking out of my backpack, like a joey in a mother's pouch, while I checked in.

Difficult drive to the airport. Peggy asked if I wanted her to help me with my bags (since they are so big and so bulky), but neither of us wanted to prolong the goodbyes--we are both so terrible at them--so it was a quick hug at curbside and I managed to get to the Qantas counter by myself.

Did some shopping and eating and more shopping at the airport, and then boarded the plane. Unfortunately, there was a mother with two children, one of them a daughter who looked to be about a year old, sitting two rows in front of me. Part of me felt sympathy for her because I know what it's like to travel with a difficult child. Part of me was ready to fight for infantacide by the time we landed in Singapore. The little girl either screamed or shrieked (depending on whether she was happy or unhappy) the entire 5 hour flight.

I managed to get an hour of sleep, but not more than that.

Qantas service cannot be faulted. Their food was very good, their attention was very good, their attention to passenger needs was very good. It was the first time, however, that I realized that a digital camera was considered an electronic device (don't know why I didn't realize that). I was going to take pictures coming into Singapore, but was told I had to turn the camera off. So I have pictures--spectacular pictures--flying over Perth when we left, but nothing coming into Singapore.

We flew out quite a ways from the coast going up Western Australia, which is too bad, because I hoped to try to pick out Monkey Mia, but it was too far away. However, the map on the monitor did show me when we were over Geralton. I have lovely memories of our time(s) in Geralton, so I smiled as I recalled them...thinking of the assault on the Rivers shoe store, the time at the war memorial (with the woman who tried to peek up the skirt of the statue there), our stormy trip out to get take-away chicken, getting lost in town (little did we know how prophetic that would be--it was our first day on our first trip!), and so many other lovely memories of Geralton.

But Geralton passed, and then Monkey Mia, somewhere out there in the clouds, passed, and then Australia passed and it was on the Indonesia and ultimately Singapore.

The aiport is quite a bit busier than when I was here six weeks ago. All the shops are open (bad thing for me), but I actually haven't bought anything much. Junky stuff.

I've checked e-mail while here and already had word from Peggy that Chippa misses me and keeps checking to see where I've gone. I really came to love that dog. Keno, too, but Chippa was special.

And now time to do one more turn of the shops to see if there is anything left in Singapore that I absolutely can't live without (and am willing to carry) and then to park myself at gate F-52 to wait until time to board the plane. I have a brand new Kay Scarpetta (Patricia Cornwell) book that I'm reading and that, plus my choice of in-flight movies, should help me sleep and pass the 18 hours or so before we finally land in SF.

This time tomorrow I'll be back in Davis and Australia will seem very far away. It is very far away. But keeping my eyes on 2005 when Thelma and Louise will hit the Nullabor. Hang on, Thelma--I will be back...

-Louise

Tick, Tick, Tick

2003-10-17T23:57:00.000-07:00

Tick...tick...tick... The clock is ticking much too fast and it is too short a time before I'll be headed to the airport. There will probably be a day's gap in entries, I suspect. Not that it will really bother anybody.

We got an early start this morning and were at the park before 6 a.m., in time to watch the sunrise.

The day brought my time in Australia full circle, like the whole six weeks was enclosed in one gigantic parenthesis. The first day I was here, we went to the park and saw roos running up into the hills, and it rained. We haven't seen roos in the bush since, but today there were 3 running up into the hills...and it rained. It was kind of like a signal--OK: you've seen it all now, time to go.

Because it rained today, it gives me the chance to use this photo from the other day, when we got busy doing other things and the morning's walk took a back seat in the journal entry. We had gone to the park with Janne and with Anne and it started to rain. We all took cover under a tree until the storm passed, but Peggy tore open one of the plastic dog poo bags everyone uses here (a clean one) and put it over her head to protect her from the rain (I, of course, stepped out into the downpour to get a photo). She looked like a little Dutch girl with a turned up little hat.

But no poo bags on the head today. The rain didn't last, and we made it back to the car. I turned and took one last look at the park which has been one of the real joys of starting each morning. Chippa raced toward the car, Keno plodded along behind on her big, flat feet, and my days of running the dogs came to an end.

The end of the walk added one new adventure to my time in Australia: I came home and went to get in the shower, noticed something strange below my knee, checked with Peggy and yes, all the chasing of the roos through the more bushy area of the bush had picked me up a tick. Peggy, an old hand with ticks, smoked the thing out with a cigarette and managed to get it removed with tweezers and a needle. Surprisingly, it didn't really hurt.

Then there was a load of wash to do. Got all my clothes in the washer and hung up on the line and about an hour before they were dry enough to consider bringing in, it started to pour, and we had to finish drying them inside before I could finish packing. However, Peggy did finally record that I have actually hung cothes on a line while here (several times, in fact).

The day itself was spent alternately watching the Red Sox lose their chance to get in the World Series, finishing up projects we've been 'going to do' for weeks now and never started, and getting all of my stuff into suitcases.

Packing was a daunting task. I had no idea I'd bought so much stuff. Even with the vacuum sealed bags that I'd purchased before leaving home, there was still so much--and so many oddly shaped pieces. I hardly knew where to start, and so I kept doing bits and pieces of it, but not making much headway, which was driving Peggy nuts (I think she was afraid I'd actually have to stay longer!).

It was the damn shoes. So many shoes! How did I acquire so many shoes? I finally decided there was no way I was going to be able to pack them all, so put together a box to mail home, hoping I could get away with just one box.

Peggy finally decided I was never going to finish packing and she became a whirling dervish. In a short time she had given me a bigger suitcase, unpacked everything I'd done, repacked it all (including what I'd packed in the box), and I now have the world's heaviest suitcase(s) and will undoubtedly be paying a fine for heavy luggage--but I don't have to pay postage to send any of it home...and it's done. Well, except for last minute clothes, which I will stick in in the morning.

The mail brought a going-away gift from Claire and Penny, who sent me a book about the attractions of the SouthWest, so I could have a memory of what we've seen and see the things that we missed. It was very sweet of them to think of me. (Two days ago, I received a going away postcard and bookmark from Sue and Irene, in Melbourne, whom I've never met, but who have been following our exploits via this journal.)

Tonight we had a riotious farewell dinner with Janne, Chris, Anne and Julie. It was absolutely the perfect way to bring this trip to an end. The high (or low) point was a riotious discussion about grammar school reading primers. In the States we had Dick and Jane (and Puff and Spot). Here they had either Dick and Dora or John and Betty and there was much discussion over the pets' names, with Chris finally getting up to go to the next table to take a poll. The waitress also weighed in on the subject.

When it was over, and I'd had my tearful farewell with Anne and Julie, the rest of us got into Peggy's car and these six old ladies went drag racing like old farts (not exceeding the speed limit) down the highway to home. We almost hoped we'd get pulled over by the cops just to see the look on their faces when they looked into the car.

But no. We made it back to Janne & Chris's without incident. They gave me a lovely book about Australia and we had a very heartfelt and tearful farewell. Peggy and I are spending the rest of the evening burning the final CDs and hoping they fit in the suitcase.

Then there is nothing else to do but get on the plane and head back over the rainbow and see what's lurking in my own front yard. It's been...amazing. I go home with a heavy, but a very full heart, a whole new circle of friends, wonderful memories and about a bazillion digital photos to (some day) get into slide shows.

Swan Lake

2003-10-16T23:56:00.000-07:00

We tentatively planned to go to Rottnest Island today. It was the only tentatively thing planned on this trip that we hadn't gotten to yet. But...somehow...it's all winding down, we're both "traveled out" and Rottnest just didn't seem that important. I plan to return, if not next year, then the year after, and we can leave Rottnest for that time.

We had a good run at the park this morning. It was a bit of everything--as if the park was starting to say goodbye. We got there to morning mist through the trees, the dogs had a great run, there were spiderwebs, frost on the leaves, and lots of birds in the "bird tree." What's more we had our cameras with us, and Peggy even managed to take a bunch of short movies which she strung together into an almost 10 minute movie of the dogs on their morning walk. It's a perfect memento.

One of the things I will miss most here is the sight of Chippa racing through the bush, jumping over shrubbery, tongue hanging out, ears flapping in the breeze. I've come to really love that dog.

We still have a lot of piddly details to do--computer stuff, and (for me) packing. As I told someone, I have the horrible feeling that putting all this stuff in my suitcase (and the second one I bought) is going to be very similar to stuffing a dozen clowns in a little tiny circus car. I may have to send stuff back.

So, faced with a mountain to pack into a molehill, I did the only logical thing: I went out and bought more stuff.

Despite the fact that I've been here so long, I haven't really been in Perth proper. I've skirted the edges, I've been to the zoo, I've been to the mall, but really hadn't seen Perth. I also thought I might like to go back to the mall and get a few last minute things.

We started at the famous (new) bell tower, which books will tell you is Perth's premiere attraction (though there may be some disagreement among disgruntled citizens, who feel it was a waste of money). The Swan Bells include the twelve bells of St Martin-in-the-Fields which are recorded as being in existence from before the 14th century and recast in the 16th century by Queen Elizabeth I. The bells were again recast between 1725 and 1770 by three generations of the Rudhall family of bell founders from Gloucester in England, under the order of the Prince of Wales who was later crowned as King George II. They are one of the few sets of royal bells and are the only ones known to have left England. From one of London's most famous churches, in Trafalgar Square, the St Martin-in-the-Fields bells have rung out to celebrate many historic events.

England's victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588, the homecoming of Captain James Cook after his voyage of discovery in 1771 and the World War II victory at El Alamein in 1942 are just a few of the momentous occasions marked by the bells. The bells have also rung in the New Year at Trafalgar Square for more than 275 years, and have celebrated the coronation of every British monarch since King George II in 1727.

Commemorating Australia's bicentenary in 1988, the twelve bells of St Martin-in-the-Fields as well as five specially cast bells were presented to the University of Western Australia, the City of Perth and to the people of Western Australia.

The London diocese of the Church of England and the parish of St Martin-in-the-Fields gave authority for the project to proceed. The additional bells cast in 1988 include two from the cities of London and Westminster, who each gifted one bell to the project, and a total of three bells bestowed by a consortium of British and Australian mining companies. Completing the ring of eighteen bells, a sixth new bell was commissioned by the Western Australian Government to mark the second millennium.

The above bit of background came from the bells' home page, which I didn't read until after we returned home, so I didn't know all of that. What I knew was that the bell tower was situated smack dab in the middle of Tourist Central, and we headed for the shops (since the parking ticket machine didn't work and we only had an hour). Instead of paying $6 to enter the bell tower and climb the 6 flights of steps as far up as you can go, we spent most of our time in the shops buying the aforementioned last minute things, and stopping at a take-away to get sandwiches for lunch.

But we did hear the bells ringing, and sat on a bench in front of them, eating our sandwiches and fending off obstreperous seagulls, all of whom were, again, skreeching "Mine! Mine! Mine!"

The time on the parking ticket up (no meters here; you buy a ticket and leave it on your dashboard, even on the city streets), we drove some more, and Peggy took me to the grounds of the hospital where she works. I was very glad to see it because it's much larger than I imagined and it's nice to have things all in perspective (I now also know where Monty works and where Janne works.)

There is a lake in front of the main hospital building.

I realized I was leaving this city whose symbol is a black swan, without ever seeing one here. So we stopped by a park which was filled with black swans, ducks, signets, and other birds. The one thing I just love about this place is that it seems there is a park every couple of blocks, all spacious with rolling green hills, beautiful trees, very few people, and lots of wildlife.

In the evening we went round to Monty and Carolynn's for tea. Carolynn had spent 2 hrs preparing a special seafood pie, with muffins for dessert. I had heard so much about these two before I came here and I've been delighted to have the opportunity to meet them and to spend time getting to know them. Our bike ride yesterday will stand out as one of the memorable moments of the trip. It was difficult to say goodbye, but I'm sure I'll see them again.

So having spent a "Swan Lake" sort of day, tomorrow is my swansong day. I've been fighting the weepies for a few days now. But it has been an amazing walkabout and it's time to go home.

I Don't Know Why I Swallowed a Fly

2003-10-15T23:55:00.000-07:00

As the song goes, "there was an old lady who swallowed a fly...perhaps she'll die.

Australian flies are particularly irritating buggers. They are small, don't buzz loudly, but are always there and you can't get rid of them. Peggy tells me that I've perfected the "Aussie salute," which is accomplished with a wave of the hand across your face to brush away whichever fly has chosen you as his special person for the moment. Brush, then brush again, then brush again. The fly never takes the hint (I know people like that...). On our time going north, whenever we got out to photograph wildflowers, I began to understand all those natives in Third World countries who stand for National Geographic cameras, flies stuck to them everywhere. After awhile it becomes "why bother?" It's an exercise in futility.

I do, however, draw the line at actually injesting flies. The very idea recalls Marty Feldman as Igor in "Young Frankenstein."

Today was a red letter day. Until the fly episode, I was going to thrill SecraTerri and entitle this entry "Shimano components" because I remember when Terri raved about getting Shimano components for her bike. After nearly 6 weeks here, in this land whose bike paths put Davis, "the city of bikes," to shame, I was finally going to ride a bike.

Peggy dusted off her bike (unused since her own fall on her first ride, 2 years ago) and brought it out into the patio area for me. I looked at it and my heart leaped up. The bloody thing had Shimano components coming out the yin yang. Now, I honestly don't know what Shimano components are, or why they make Terri excited, but I gather that the Shimano company makes really good stuff and this baby was loaded with all sorts of doo dads which all had "Shimano" stamped on them. Hot damn. I was ready.

We decided I should at least take it out for a test run. It had, after all, been four months since I'd been on a bike.

I decided to pedal around the block. To get here to Peggy's house, you have to come up an incline, similar to the formerly horrible overpass I finally conquered in Davis, and with no exercise whatsoever under my belt for four months, I didn't think I was ready to try going up this hill (and how embarrassing to walk the bike up the hill!). But to go round a couple of blocks was all flat, so I put on Peggy's much too small biking helmet, tried to remember how to actually get on a bike, and set off.

I had gone the equivalent of two blocks when I encountered a car coming straight for me. that's when I remembered I was in a country that thinks one should drive on the left hand side of the road, so I moved over. (Peggy says "Now do you see why I wouldn't let you behind the wheel of my car?")

I safely maneuvered the equivalent of about 4 blocks and made it home unscathed. I was ready for Monty and Carolynn, who had invited me to come biking along the coast bike path today. You can bike the whole length, from Perth to Fremantle, but Monty had kindly chosen a relatively flat (in most spots) stretch of about 5-6 miles for us to ride, after which we would meet Peggy for lunch.

We followed Monty and Carolynn to Mullaloo Beach, unloaded the cars, got our water bottles, straddled the bikes, and we were ready to leave. Peggy, chuckling at the whole idea, took our photo, got in the car with her new book, and drove off to Hillary's Marina to meet us when we'd completed the ride.

As we continued down the path, I discovered that it really is "like riding a bicycle" and that it all comes back to you. Though I expected my legs to turn to jelly and my breath to come in heavy pants, the more we rode, the better I felt. I was using higher gears and my legs were responding, as if awakened from a long sleep. Let it not be said that I am any sort of expert biker, but I hadn't turned completely to mush during my four month hiatus.

The path is beautiful. Smooth, mostly flat, and it goes right along the edge of the beach. Sometime the view of the water is obscured briefly by a sand dune, but mostly the whole time you are in view of that beautiful blue water, and getting the benefit of the sea breeze.

After we had gone probably a mile and a half or two miles, we stopped at a beach to take a break, and to walk along the water's edge. This panorama shot isn't terrific, but gives you an idea of the vastness...and the lack of people.

It was after our stop at the beach that I had my fly encounter. I'd been performing the Aussie salute for some time and made the mistake of taking a big breath at an inopportune moment and felt the fly fly right into my mouth and stick at the back of my throat. Yuck. (I thought about the time Judy Garland said she was singing "Over the Rainbow" at the Hollywood Bowl and had a moth fly into her mouth.)

I was surprisingly not totally grossed out by the experience, though I did stop to take a swig of water to wash the damn thing down. Well, at least I've ridded Western Australia of one nasty bugger, and so far my system seems none the worse for wear.

We watched a military plane pass low over the ocean and drop a life raft (a training maneuver, Monty told me), and we passed by a lovely little lagoon, with a nice bridge over a duck pond where people had thrown crumpets that looked like mushrooms.

We also saw some kids taking a kayaking class at Hillary's Marina. Now that's an interesting gym class!

We were meeting Peggy at 12:30 and got to Hillary's sooner than expected, so we biked another mile or so and I made it up a "hill" (well, not really a "hill" but an incline). We did hit a patch of sand at one point, however. Peggy's bike is a mountain bike, so should work all right on uneven and weird surfaces, but it ended up being a kind of strain on my shoulder (which had been letting me know that it had been a long time since it had to grip handlebars). It didn't exactly injure the shoulder, but I wanted to be cautious, so decided not to do the return trip with Monty and Carolynn after we all had lunch at Spinnakers restaurant on the marina.

It felt so good to be out on a bike again. I can feel that I'm not exactly back 100%, but I'm back enough to do short rides again, and if you are going to do a short bike ride, my god, you couldn't ask for a more gorgeous one.

I Apologize

2003-10-14T23:55:00.000-07:00

I need to apologize to the country of Australia.

A week or so ago, I wrote an entry about differences I observe here from what I'm accustomed to at home. Peggy's local supermarket, Dewson's, was prominently featured and I contrasted the one here with the one in Margaret River and the one in Mt. Barker. I talked about the lack of "vastness," the fact that you bag your own groceries, etc., etc., etc.

Concerned messages came in from Australian readers (most of whom know Peggy), telling me that this country does, indeed, have super stores where supplies are plentiful and where clerks will cheerfully bag your groceries for you.

Today, Peggy was shamed into taking me to one.

So I am here to publicly apologize to the country of Australia (or perhaps just the state of Western Australia) for so vastly underrating its position in modern society.

We went to "Action," a huge supermarket. The bread section alone is mind-boggling.

As is the produce section.

And yes, there are wide aisles, lots of checkers, and they bag your groceries for you. Silly me.

I spent a lot of time looking at prices of things. most things were on a par with US prices (especially if you take into account the exchange rate), but I was definitely appalled to find the prices of jellybellies. (Yes, that says $39.99!) Heck, if I'd known this I could have been rich here! (Assuming I could find someone silly enough to buy jelly bellies from me!) I brought over enough jelly bellies to pay for my trip, at these prices!

Naturally, as with any huge supermarket, there are bargains to be had. Peggy spied a display of knives as we came in the door.

It was 41 pieces, including measuring cups, hanging rack, at least 6 steak knives and a block to hold them. Now, Peggy does not cook (it's not that she can't...she's quite a good cook when she wants to be--it's just that it's not a priority for her). She does not entertain. She's managed wonderfully having me here and I haven't had to eat dog soup too many nights. But I don't see her throwing any grand parties after I leave (other than to celebrate getting her house back to herself, that is...but that will probably be a party for one human and two dogs). So buying a 41 piece knife set seems rather silly. But--it was a bargain at only $8.95 and her eyes lit up as she grabbed it. "I can't pass this up," she said.

Now we've unpacked (and washed) all the knives and I suppose they will be a lovely thing to dust in the coming weeks.

This morning I had another new experience. Knowing that I arrive home on the 18th and that we leave for Santa Barbara on the 22nd for Tom's wedding, and knowing that my hair is way too long, I wrote to Shelly in Davis and asked her to make a hair appointment with Robbie for me. However, Robbie won't be working until the 22nd, so that lets that idea out. So I decided to go for the full Australian experience.

Peggy made an appointment for me at her hair dresser's, and I walked down to get my hair cut.

Super Cuts, this is not.

First of all, I was the only customer. I had Rachel (the woman who cut my hair) and Scott (who washed it) all to myself. Scott greeted me with a menu of complimentary drinks and when I asked for coffee, he asked if "percolated was OK." Hey...OK for me!

Then Scott washed my hair, a long, luxurious wash, with scalp massage included that was worth the price of the treatment itself.

Next Rachel took over and took a lot of time examining, talking, cutting, shaping, tapering, and blow drying. When it was over, I looked a lot better, felt a lot lighter, and wonder if I can keep this looking at least somewhat decent until time to pose for wedding photos. (And it didn't even cost a fortune either.)

It's been a rather mundane day, but we got a lot accomplished, and I finally know that Australia is not behind the rest of the world in modern supermarkets. I am officially impressed.

Well, There Ya Go

2003-10-13T23:54:00.000-07:00

Caversham Park may well be my favorite place in the Perth area.

Today the school kids are back in school, the weather report predicted showers, "clearing" by mid-morning, and warm temps. We figured it would be the perfect day to return to Caversham and complete our tour of the park.

It's not a large park, but we ran out of batteries for the cameras the last time we were there and rather than go on with no cameras, we had enjoyed our time with the birds and the kangaroos that we decided it warranted a second trip. Time is growing short, and we weren't sure if we would have time to fit it in, but today seemed perfect.

You may recall that we got to Caversham because we went looking for camels to ride. We never found the camels, but we found this marvelous wonderland of animals to admire, photograph, and pet.

My one fear was that the day wouldn't go well. Someone told me once that there is a Chinese proverb which says that you can't put your toe in the same place in the river twice. If we returned to Caversham, would it hold the same magic? I hated to think of going back to that already special place and coming home sorry that we had gone.

But we went anyway. The skies weren't looking like they would clear any time soon, but we figured that it would probably keep away mothers with small children and that we'd have a chance to have the park to ourselves again.

This time I'd brought the better camera. Last time, expecting to be sitting on a camel, I left the Olympus at home and just brought the Casio, which fits in my pocket. The Casio, while a good snapshot camera, had been a bit of a disappointment last time and I was hoping for better results with the Olympus.

We started off, again, at the bird enclosure and when we got home and I looked at the photos, I was thrilled. The results were significantly better than with my other camera, and exceeded what I thought I was getting.

From the birds, we passed a koala enclosure. Several animals were there, but only one was awake, but she had a teeny baby hiding behind her who finally, after we'd waited a long time, came round to her pouch and began to nurse, so we could get some photos.

While we waited for the koala, a couple of groups of people passed by. I kind of felt sorry for them that they were doing the park so rapidly. The real magic of this place is taking your time, doing it slowly, going at the animals' pace and just watching to see what they do. You can easily see Caversham, which is a relatively small place, in an hour, if you just rush from enclosure to encosure. We were there 3-1/2 hrs and I would like to go back again. Maybe on another trip.

After the koalas, it was the roos again. The roos had occupied us for fully an hour last time; would we find the same fun again? There had been rain off and on throughout the morning and so all the moms were gathered together in the back, many of them lying down. We picked up pocketsful of roo food on our way back there and were immediately greeted by lots of eager kangaroos, all waiting for a snack. Though they were very gentle, they were as insistent as goats in a petting zoo. Fun, though, to have a kangaroo almost nose to nose with you as it begs for food!

We spent a long time there taking pictures and movies. Peggy's commentary usually includes several uses of the expression "there ya go...," hence the titleof this entry. At one point I glanced off to the back of the pen and saw a sign on the next enclosure down: "Camel Rides." We finaly found our camels. We had gone looking for camels a few weeks ago and instead found Caversham. Today we went to Caversham and found camels. Naturally we had to go see about a ride.

The camel rides are designed for little kids, so what were these two old broads doing on a camel ride. My camera was getting in the way of trying to figure out how to mount the damn thing, so I never did get any pictures, but Peggy kept hers and managed to suitably embarrass me, not only with still photos, but with movies of my attempts to get on the animal and stay on as it lurched to its feet.

I was upset that I had no camera when Peggy got on, but we started out, feeling rather foolish, this guy walking ahead of us, holding one camel lead in each hand...like he were leading a couple of 5 year olds on this walk. It began to rain a bit and he asked us if we wanted to go back, but brave, hardy souls that we are, we said no, we'd continue on.

Then the skies opened up and it rained buckets. We were, unfortunately, at about the halfway point, so there was no way to cut the ride short. We were absolutely drenched, the camels were unhappy (I had visions of winding up upside down under the beast, as the saddle slipped off--what a great shot that would have made for Peggy!). The poor guy leading them was one soggy wet, unhappy bloke.

When we got off, all three of us (and the two camels) were dripping wet, and the children waiting in line for their turn were suitably entertained...also, the rain stopped and the sky turned blue about that time.

After we had dried out and stopped laughing, we continued on. It was getting late and we were hungry and the cafe was off in the distance.

"We don't need to go down that way," Peggy said, but I had spied a sign that said "koalas," so I said that I thought we would get to go in a koala enclosure. "Nope," she said, but I continued walking.

We came across a guy putting eucalyptus leaves in a locked enclosure with a few koalas in it and started to take pictures. "If you go down to that end enclosure," he said, "you can go in and pet a koala." Hooray--just what I hoped!

We went into the enclosure and there were 9 koalas, most of whom were doing what koalas do best: sleep. But we were able to stay as long as we liked, take lots and lots of photos, and yes, even pet a koala. Must be time to leave: I've now done it all in Australia, save for learning how to blow a didgeridoo, which I doubt I even want to try.

Fore!

2003-10-12T23:54:00.000-07:00

You see them everywhere, especially around Davis. All those miniature golf places. There is Scandia which is south of us--big sleeping beauty type castle, all sorts of strange creatures to hit a ball into or around. There is another one near where Ned works, which is dominated by a huge windmill. At Lake Tahoe there is a dinosaur world, where you hit balls into prehistoric beings. I don't even want to think about the variations in So. California.

Miniature golf is not my sport.

Well, sport is not my sport. I have never been coordinated enough to play any organized sport. Other than biking, I've never even been passable at anything, but get me on a miniature golf course and you have good fodder for a good slapstick comedy.

I can remember taking the kids...and later, foreign students...miniature golfing. Everyone had a great time, except me. They were all laughing at how totally uncoordinated I was, how I exceeded the maximum for every hole, and I was playing along, feeling like I wanted to crawl into one of the holes myself.

So I have been less than chomping at the bit ever since Janne and Chris suggested that we go out some moring, have a nice breakfast and then do "putt-putt golf." But this is a trip about not saying "no" (not even to the sardine, olive and ricotta sandwich this afternoon), and so I said that yes, I would love to go miniature golfing.

If nothing else, I figured it would give the girls a laugh and make great fodder for a journal entry.

We went to Botanic Golf Gardens, which is a far cry from the plastic-and-fantasy miniature golf places that I'm accustomed to.

The setting is lovely, full of beautiful flowers, birds, ponds, waterfalls, and putting greens. Before we went out to play, we had a lovely brunch on the terrace (just before a party of 50 arrived for a combination breakfast/christening).

Instead of garish plastic obstacles, each of the holes here is set off by brick or rock, with obstacles being strategically placed bars or tunnels, but always with the green setting and flowers everywhere.

We paid our fees, got our clubs and proceeded to the first tee. Mercifully, we were the second group to go round, and we pretty much had each tee to ourselves, without feeling other players were breathing down our necks.

They told me to go first, and I took a deep breath and put my ball down. This was probably going to be very embarrassing, but I was going to have fun. I was sure all these women were much more coordinated than I. But Peggy has been making fun of me for five weeks, so why deny her the chance today?

I took my stance and hit the ball--looking ahead, like golfers do, knowing full well that I didn't have a clue what the hell I was doing and couldn't aim to save my soul. Well, the first ball I hit didn't go flying out of the green, so it wasn't that bad. It was a par 2 hole and it took me 4 hits to get it in the hole. Coulda been worse. Chris followed me and took 3 shots. Janne followed her and took three shots. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Peggy stepped up. OK...I was in for it now. But no, it took her 4 shots as well. I was very encouraged. (She must have made quite a sight too; even the kookaburra laughed!)

Janne went first on the second hole and did the par 2 in 2 shots. Chris followed and took 4 shots. Hmmm...maybe they weren't better than me after all. I went next. THREE! I had beaten Chris. Then Peggy took her turn. First she had to clean off the green because, neatik that she is, it bothered her to be putting on a messy green. She also felt that cleaning debris off the green would improve her game. Five It took her five tries to sink the ball.

I was not very sympathetic. In fact, one may say that I gloated a bit.

By now I was feeling more confident that I wouldn't totally embarrass myself. On the third hole, Janne took 3 shots for the par 2. Chris made par. Peggy and I each took 3.

Then came the fourth hole. Another par 2. The scores? 2 for Janne, 2 for Chris. 3 for Peggy and....a hole in one for me!!!

I was now downright cocky. I held my own throughout the game. On the 6th hole, a par 3, Janne hit par, and Chris took 4, Peggy hit 5 and I did it in 2, one under par.

We had a wonderful time completing the 18 holes, and we laughed a lot. It was good that none of us took it seriously.

Peggy continued to clean the greens each time but somehow it didn't seem to help her game anyway.

On the 16th hole, Janne got her own hole in one. (Peggy took 7 hits on that hole, as did Chris; I got it in 4).

By the time we got to the last two holes, we were in plain sight of the people eating at the cafe, who enjoyed our antics. Peggy got out her Panasonic camera to take movies of all four of us hitting on the last hole (7 for Janne, 5 for Peggy, 4 for Chris and me on this par 2 hole!).

When it was over, Janne, as the big winner, got to buy us all coffee and muffins as we sat on the terrace looking at our movies and adding up the scores.

On the whole I didn't do too damn bad and I had an absolute ball. Terrific way to spend the morning. And what's even better, Peggy got all the greens clean and neat for the players to follow.

The afternoon was spent quietly, napping, eating, washing, and going over photos on the computer. We realize that the time is growing short, that we have a buttload of photos that have to be consolidated so I can take my own copies home so I can make slide shows ('cause we know it will be a cold day in hell before Peggy gets around to making any!).

Really a very nice day. Better than I might have expected, given that I had virtually no sleep at all last night, due first to the next door neighbors having a very loud gathering, and then just to general insomnia that had me up chatting with Steve on Instant Messaging at 2 a.m., and reading at 3 a.m. Peggy had a hard time sleeping too and we got the dogs out for a walk before 6 a.m. this morning.

ADDENDUM: As I was posting this, Chris and Janne came round to let us know that Chris had just won a $4,000 diamond on a radio contest. She was beaming--she's been entering contests forever and it finally paid off. We're going out for a "last supper" on Friday, before I leave, to celebrate.

I've Been to Bindoon

2003-10-11T23:53:00.000-07:00

Today's destination probably doesn't appear on any of the tourist guides to Western Australia, except perhaps as a roadside rest on the way to someplace else (like New Norcia or someplace like that). But it was another one of those really special days on this walkabout of mine.

We went to Bindoon today to visit Julanka, "the place of the trees," 5 acres of land which belong to friends of Peggy's. We had brought along a "chook" (chicken) to share for lunch.

I had been to Bindoon a few weeks back, when we went to the monastery at New Norcia with Monty and Carolynn. On our way home, we stopped at a cafe in Bindoon for coffee and scones. But now we were spending the day there.

The original idea had been to bring the dogs with us. Chippa and Khasi (Ann & Julie's dog) are best friends and it would be fun for the three of them to romp together. But Ann called in the morning to say Julie had killed a snake that morning. Summer is rapidly approaching and the snakes will be starting to come out. As this area has some of the most poisonous snakes in the world, the thought of sending the dogs romping through the bush was not a good one, so Chippa and Keno stayed home.

Khasi was so funny when we arrived. She immediately hopped in the car and was very disappointed to find only 2-legged creatures in it. After we had settled ourselves on the porch, overlooking the kangaroo paw plants and the bush beyond them, Khasi went back out to the car, and circled it several times, seeming certain that if she just looked in the right spot, Chippa would surely be there. Eventually, she joined us on the porch and with a heavy sigh settled herself into her chair. No playmates today.

We were offered a tour of the place and readily accepted. The tour was amazing. I mentioned once before that springtime in this part of Australia is really incredible. We have seen fields carpeted in purple or yellow or blue or a combination. It's enough to make you gasp. But what is even more amazing is that if you stop the car and get out in the woods, you realize that the blaze of color is only half the story. As we walked through the bush we were surrounded by dozens of tiny orchids and other plants. The sort of thing you can't possibly see from the road, because they are too small and too close to the ground.

Julie knew the names of each plant, showed me how you could identify an orchid so incredibly small you can barely see it, and where special plants were located. Peggy got out her close up lens and got several "photos of the day."

While we were walking, Khasi was racing around the bush and under a "black boy" (or "grass tree") she unearthed a bob-tail lizard and had a wonderful time barking at it.

On the way back to the house, we passed a field of electric blue flowers. I did take a photo, but it doesn't nearly do it justice.

We had a lovely lunch--the chook we'd brought, with fresh-from-the-bakery bread, a huge salad and drinks.

When we'd finished, Julie brought out a "chocolate slice" which Ann had made for dessert. We were told this was only the second time in 8 years that she had made this, so I felt honored indeed.

The afternoon was spent discussing cameras and comparing digital photos, and looking at the photos of the renovations that had been done on the house. The time passed quickly and too soon it was time to leave.

On our trip back, we took a scenic route through beautiful countryside (again...does the beautiful countryside ever end in this country?). Julie had given us very explicit hand-written verbal directions and a very clear map with the route traced in irridescent pen on it. How we ended up taking a wrong turn halfway to the Great Northern Highway is beyond us, but we found ourselves heading back to Bindoon and after 20 km had to turn around and retrace our steps. But then...would it be one of "our" trips if we hadn't gotten lost?

It's hard to imagine that in just a short time all this lush green, flower-covered land will be dry and brown and there will be a shortage of water. I am so lucky to have come at this time of year.

We were home in time for tea, but neither of us was hungry, so after giving dog soup to the dogs, we retired to our computers to check over our photos for the day. As usual, Peggy had the best shots. I'm getting used to that (but don't tell her I admitted it, OK?)

Thar She Blows

2003-10-10T23:52:00.000-07:00

All my life I've wanted to see a humpback whale "up close and personal."

I've always wanted to go whale watching and had only been once, a disasterous afternoon spent with Diane in Puget Sound watching the backs of killer whales bob up and down. It was decidedly anti-climactic, and Diane has never let me forget it (nor have I been able to forget the horrible boat ride, where I thought we were going to drown, and where I left my brunch behind for the whales.

I have purchased whale calendars, devour whale specials on TV, and never thought I'd get the chance to really see the big guys.

Today we were finally going to go whale watching.

We had been told in Albany that this has been a bad year for whales--very few have been showing up. When you purchase your ticket on the whale watching boat, it says plainly that they can't guarantee you'll see anything, and if you don't see any whales, your next ticket is half price (fat lot of good that would do me!)

Still I was hopeful. It was a glorious day. The waters were calm, the breeze was just perfect, and there weren't too many kids on the boat. As we left the harbor and headed in the direction of Rottnest Island, Peggy was glowing. "I don't care if we don't even see whales," she said. "I'm just loving being on the boat."

I was too, but I was really hoping to finally have that whale experience.

My hopes were fading after an hour of our two hour cruise when the captain announced that they'd been searching for whales for the past 30 minutes and for everyone to keep their eyes open for signs of activity.

We were on the starboard side of the boat, on the open sea side. Rottnest was on the port side. Suddenly there was a gasp from the other side of the boat and excited questions..."Did you see them?"

We were going to see whales after all.

Of course, having had the perfect viewing spot for an hour, we were now about 3 back from the crowd that had rushed the rail to see the whales. I was standing on tip-toe looking over the head of a group of Japanese tourists and not able to see a thing. This was starting to be very disappointing.

Then a spot opened up right at the back, where I could hang over the side of the boat and aim my camera, hoping for something.

I managed to take a photo or two, but I could tell my photos were crap. Peggy was standing next to me, trying to fit her camera over the heads of the tourists, so I decided to give her my spot, knowing she had the better camera, and I contented myself with sitting by a window to look.

"They are all at the front of the boat," a crew member told us, and there was a rush to the top deck.

Miraculously, I found myself standing by the rail, trying to look over the head of some retired women who was standing on the railing, totally blocking my view. It was very frustrating. But suddenly everything cleared, the woman stepped down, and there they were: a pod of 3 whales. I took a few pictures. They weren't very active, but I was getting something.

Then I remembered something important. When Jeri was in the first grade, she started ballet lessons. At the end of the school year, they had teir first ballet recital and we all went to it. I, naturally, had my camera at the ready. I was so intent on capturing her first recital on film (and did in so-so photos) that when it was over, I realized I'd missed the entire thing.

How many things in my life I have experienced through the lens of the camera rather than as a participant in what was going on?

Here I was having the experience I'd dreamed of all my life and I decided to put the camera away and just experience it. (In truth, I knew Peggy was clicking away anyway and would have better photos than I could get, so I knew I wouldn't be missing anything!)

Once I took time out to just watch, it was glorious. To be close enough to hear them blow air out of the blow hole, to hear the sound of them diving, to watch the fluke as it slowly slid under the water.

All too soon, the captain was saying we would have to turn around and go back to shore. We watched the pod surface and dive one more time, and then we were headed back.

It was Peggy who spied the young whale cavorting off starboard as we sped back past Rottnest. I don't know how many other people saw him. It was almost like he was our own private whale. She got the photo of the day of this young whale who seemed to be having....a whale of a time...diving over and over again.

I named him "Indy," because s/he reminded me of the fun that the puppy Indy had when we were on the farm.

All too soon, the experience was over, but it was just glorious. We stopped back at Hillary's Marina to get a drink and a muffin, and then came home. As we pulled into the driveway, Chippa was there to greet us.

Peggy settled in to watch cricket while I started "tea." This is a sports night, so I was in charge of food. I finally cooked the cute little roast that we bought the other day and we've just finished eating it while watching the opening ceremonies of the World Rugby Championships (which may just rival the opening ceremonies for the Olympics, in fact!).

It's not often that you live to be 60 years old and finally get the chance to experience something you've dreamed about all your life, but today I did it. It was a red letter day.

If the Shoe Fits, Buy It

2003-10-09T23:52:00.000-07:00

Three years ago, in October 2000, Peggy was in the States and we spent a lot of time shopping. Specifically shoe shopping. I gave her a hard time, then, for all the time she spent trying on shoes and all the money she spent on shoes.

It is with some chagrin that I admit that while in Australia I have purchased four pairs of shoes and a pair of slippers. That's more than I owned when she was in the States.

Today we returned to Freo (Fremantle). On our first trip, our goal had been the maritime museum and I learned a lot about Australia II, which took the Americas cup from the US. But I learned nothing about the ship Batavia, about which I'd prepared by reading on the Internet. So this trip to Freo was to serve two purposes: We would walk the shops (it's a great shopping town), and we would visit the Batavia.

Fremantle is a modern town with an old feel. Many of the historic buildings underwent rennovation in the 1980s, under the direction of Alan Bond and his promotion for the Americas Cup. The old town hall, prison, and hotels are now museums, cafes, and tacky souvenir shops. It's an interesting blend of old and new and I was glad to have the chance to get back--and to finally see The Batavia.

On the way we visited all the op shops (second hand stores) and shoe shops.

At the op shop, we found cheap stuffed toys and Peggy picked up a handful for Chippa. I took a picture of her grinning like a happy grandmother with all these toys for "her girl" but she broke my camera and the photo didn't come out. Trust me. It was truly the "photo of the day" and you missed it. Peggy was also looking for sandals and we went in several stores, unsuccessfully. We did hit pay dirt at a "wide sizes" store, where she didn't find anything she liked, but I found some very comfortable walking shoes (so difficult for me with my wide foot and foot problems) and despite the prices, I decided to buy them.

Finally, we ran out of shops and it was time for the museum.

After seeing so much of Australia's rocky coast and its extensive reef, it's amazing to me that the country ever got settled by anybody who wasn't indiginous to the region. So many shipwrecks have occurred off the shore of Australia that an entire museum is devoted to shipwrecks. The sign on this building (formerly a prison) reads "Maritime Museum Shipwreck Galleries."

Here is a piece of the Batavia, recovered between 1972 and 1979. A piece of the hull of the boat is erected and I was amazed at how huge it was...and even more amazed when I discovered that this huge piece, significantly taller than my head and requiring a second story balcony to see the top, represented only one teeny corner of the bottom of the hull of the huge ship.

Peggy insists that I include information about the skeleton which is on display here. I argued that I didn't want to use it, but again, I'm an ever gracious guest and will do anything to keep my hostess happy, so here are her photos:

When I had thoroughly examined the Batavia and some of the contents rescued, we went into the other galleries and I began to get a feeling for how difficult it was to get to this land, let alone survive the rigors of life on the often unforgiving continent.

I chuckled to read about the "Success," which ran aground at Carnac Island...and its successor, also named "Success" which ran aground 20 years later. Perhaps someone should have re-thought that name!

Eventually, we'd run out of shipwrecks and decided that our time in Freo was about over. We took the scenic route home, via....another shoe shop, where Peggy hit pay dirt and not only found two pairs of sandals she liked, but was able to get her current sandals (purchased 3 yrs ago in the US) sent in for repair. An all around very positive stop.

The plan had been to come home and cook that cute little roast lamb for dinner, but instead we went down to Hillary's Marina again, booked a whale watching tour for tomorrow, and had a chicken salad while we sat and watched families cavort in the water off the bay. It truly is Paradise here.

While I was eating, we were visited by a very persistent seagull. I took his photo and while I was taking it, he snatched a piece of chicken off my plate as Peggy shooed him away. The photo I took was great, but the camera screwed up. Peggy tried using some sort of repair program to retrieve the photo, but we were only able to get half of it. We tried fixing it with Photo Shop, but could not come up with anything which really did the trick, so I've put in what we did come up with just because I love the look on the bird.

After dinner we had a terribly wicked ice cream cone (I had boysenberry and cheesecake ice cream mixed with raspberries and a TimTam; Peggy had chocolate and Nutella ice cream, with a spoon full of Nutella and a Tim Tam...both were then piled high in a waffle cone). We came home "stuffed" by all definitions of the word (Australian "stuffed" is exhausted; we were also "stuffed" with food).

There was a full moon rising when we left Hillary's and tomorrow we will be back again to catch the ferry and hopefully see a whale or two.

My time here is growing short. It will be difficult to leave.

"I wonder what the inner brotherhood recommends for cramp"

2003-10-08T23:51:00.000-07:00

(It's a quote from Gilbert & Sullivan)

The cramp hit sudden and hard and I couldn't get past it. We were standing by the water's edge at Trigg Beach, having walked down from the parking lot, when suddenly I got this horrendous Charleyhorse--not in my calf, where I'm used to having them, but in the back of my thigh. No matter what I did I couldn't reduce it and everyone had to stand there while I bent over trying to move the leg into some sort of comfortable position.

We had come to the Trigg Beach Cafe with Monty and Carolynn for lunch. I'm not sure what I was expecting...something similar to where we stopped for coffee a couple of weeks ago, I guess. I was not prepared for the absolutely gorgeous setting of this beachside cafe.

Earlier in the morning, the glass man finally came and fixed the shower door. While he was working, I was outside digging weeds out of the front lawn. By the time the glass man left, I had put in my weed digging stint. It seems to have been good exercise for my arm, as by the time I'd finished, I was feeling a little more strength in the muscle, though it still hurts like hell to use much pressure on that arm.

It's also difficult to weed when you can't kneel and have difficulty getting up and down. Gawd, it's hell to get old!!

Earlier in the day, I had finally managed to upload the web page for Settler's Run which I'd finished designing the previous day. (I was waiting for some additional information from the server so I could FTP it to the web). I'm pleased with how it came out and I hope everyone checks it out so you can see where we spent last week.

But Monty and Carolynn came around. Monty was going to install a new CD burner in Peggy's computer, but first we were going to lunch. My god, what a meal. Carolynn and I had Thai prawns while Peggy and Monty had a surf 'n' turf platter of ribs and calamari. Portions were huge and all was delicious. I tasted a bit of the wine Monty ordered, just to say I'd had a bit of Australian wine in Australia, but mostly I stuck with my newly discovered drink: lemon lime with bitters. We splurged on dessert, an enormous meringue with ice cream, whipped cream and strawberries. (I offered to split one with Peggy, but she insisted on her own, so, gracious guest that I am, I agreed to have a whole one myself--the sacrifices one makes to keep your hostess happy. But I suffer in silence.)

Then it was time to walk off at least one or two of the calories.

We were going to walk down the path near the beach, but Monty felt I needed to be able to say I actually walked on a beach in Australia, so we headed down to the sand. That's when the cramp struck. Fortunately, Monty is a paramedic, so I figured if I needed medical attention, I was in good hands, but the cramp eventually worked itself out without my having to dive into the ocean to get cold water on the muscle.

We all took photos of each other to prove I was actually there.

Trigg Beach is a popular surfing beach and we watched a lot of guys riding the waves. I had earlier marveled at how these guys hop on their bikes, still dressed in wet suits, bare footed, with surfboards attached to the back of the bikes, and pedal on home.

After walking on the beach for awhile, we moved back up to the path, which doubles as a walking/jogging path and bike path (Marn, please take note). Monty and Carolynn have bikes and made a passing suggestion that we go for a ride together, since Peggy has a bike she hasn't used in a very long time. So I may actually get out on a bike next week. Peggy has offered to drive me to a starting point and pick me up at an ending point. I suspect my arm (and knee) are recovered enough that I can actually ride again, but I'm going to ride around the block here first just to get the lay of the land and see how really rusty I am after not riding since June.

Back to the house, eventually, and Monty put in the new drive. Chris stopped by and she and I sat outside chatting while all the computer work was going on inside. Finally all the visitors left, and the little girl from next door stopped by. She had caught me earlier in the day and I thought Peggy had caught on--the new camera she "won" at the Perth Show is a water camera and she got me good when she asked if she could take my picture. I never mentioned that to Peggy, figuring she'd actually looked at the camera, but she ended up getting splashed too, so we made a child's day very happy today (even if the two of us got wet doing it).

We are both too full from our huge lunch to even think of eating again, so the evening will probably be spent with Peggy trying to explain the rules of cricket to me, or as much as she can explain before she falls asleep. I figure that should take about 3 minutes, the way her eyes are already drooping. As for me, I expect to be awake all night, thinking about returning home to Governor Schwarzenegger. The very idea is enough to give one nightmares.

The Glass Man Commeth

2003-10-07T23:50:00.000-07:00

I had never seen one quite like this before. It's a mini (micro, really) rolled boneless leg of lamb. Cute, I thought. Peggy wasn't sure it would feed two of us, once it cooked down, but I convinced her to buy it anyway.

The Big Deal of the day was picking up food at the local grocery store. (Such an exciting life I am living!) Actually, we expected the glass man to come to replace the glass door on the shower, which broke the week before we left for our trip up north. They first scheduled to be here the day of the football championships, and never showed up. Then they rescheduled for today at 8:30.

Peggy woke me up by yelling "Are you awake yet?" I had a bad night and was awake from 1:30 until after 4:30, so I hadn't had much sleep. But within minutes--less than 5, I'm sure--I was in the car getting the dogs out for their morning walk. We had to be back in time to meet the glass man.

It was just the four of us this morning--Peggy, me and the two dogs. Janne is on early shift, so didn't meet us. We got them run in record time and were home in plenty of time to put out the first load of wash on the line, get some breakfast, and be ready for the glass man.

Who, of course, never showed up.

After an hour, Peggy called her insurance company and got permission to take care of it herself, find her own glass company and bill the insurance. The new place was very accommodating, were not surprised at the unprofessional behavior of the first place, and promised to have someone out here by 3:30. As it was now getting late in the day, that narrowed our options. Besides, we still had washing and ironing to do (yes, I ironed...stop chortling. You know who you are.)

By about 2, Peggy suggested we take a quick run to the shop and pick up bread and something for tea, to add to the leftover take-away Chinese dinner we had from last night.

Peggy shops in a little strip mall at a place called Dewson's. I thought Dewson's was a tiny little local mom and pop store. From the look of it--the tiny size, the cramped aisles, the foods crammed into every nook and cranny--you'd think this is the case.

But we seem to be running into a Dewson's nearly everywhere we go. Peggy says she thinks they may have been taken over by some larger corporation because she sees them popping up more and more.

Each location has its own unique feel. The Dewson's in Mount Barker, where we shopped with Claire and Penny, was huge--easily as large as a small supermarket in the States. But it was cavernous and half of it almost echoed with space that might have been used better for food displays (though in a town that is 3 blocks long at best, why??) A piece of the cavernous half was filled with a display of toys and holiday items (Christmas--already?), but it had more the feel of a garage sale, rather than the flashy displays one might expect.

In contrast, the Dewson's in Margaret River was a neat and tidy little boutique of a supermarket, with freshly made locally produced delicacies (like the package of beef satay we bought for our tea the first night), great looking produce, and a wonderful deli counter.

I love looking through markets of any sort in another country. You always find such interesting things. Like kangaroo bones. And the aforementioned boutique lamb roast. We were standing at the deli counter today and I saw something labeled "pumpkin pie." I pointed to it and said "I'll bet that's not a sweet." And no, it's a "savory," the vegetable use of pumpkin rather than the dessert use of the plant.

I've been surprised to discover that Weight Watchers Australia has a whole line of products that I have never seen in the States. Boxes of cereal, for example, with some unidentifiable bits in it, but which is 97% fat free and loaded with fiber. There are great Weight Watcher cookies and pudding mixes and other things. I don't know if there are Weight Watchers frozen meals--haven't seen those, so perhaps in this country the "make it yourself" option wins out over the "thaw-it-yourself" option!

Peggy also buys soft light butter, which may exist in the States, but which I haven't seen. It looks like, spreads like, and tastes like real butter, but with only 50% the fat. (I'm starting to sound like a commercial.)

We returned from Dewson's in plenty of time to meet the new glass man at 3:30 and I was getting concerned when it was approaching 4:30 and he still hadn't arrived. But he did eventually show up, measured the door, went back to the shop to see if they had glass to fit it, they did, and he is now scheduled to come and fix it at 9 tomorrow. Let's hope.

In the meantime, I hear that tomorrow is the day we discover whether California has "total recall" or not. I groan when I think of returning home to a state governed by The Terminator. That may give me nightmares to keep me awake tonight as well.

(My time here must be growing short--it's the first time I've thought seriously about any political issue since I left.)

The New Navigator

2003-10-06T23:49:00.000-07:00

It was a new record. We got lost going out of the driveway today.

For a change, it was not the navigator's fault. The driver, having given up on her navigator, took matters into her own hands. "Turn right at the end of the driveway," Penny said, giving the driver a shortcut from Settler's Run to catch the Albany highway. The driver took a left turn at the end of the driveway, interpreting the term "driveway" to mean the end of the road which connects with the driveway. The driver had gone about 10 km when she began to get angry with this huge 4 wheel drive riding her tail, with high beams glaring in her eyes. Then the 4WD cut the beams, and then flashed them. "That's Penny," the driver said, and pulled over. Penny had been chasing us at significantly over the speed limit to let the driver know she was already lost. The driver asked if she could just keep going in the direction we were headed, but Penny said it would be quicker to turn round and head back to the house again (if we had kept going, I swear we would have ended up on that damn Margaret River-Busselton highway again!) Once we were pointed in the right direction, it was pretty impossible for either the driver or the former navigator to get lost, since it was a straight shot from the road to Perth. We did stop in Kojonup for lunch. The sign "coffee shop" seemed promising, but it was anything but. It looked like a nice efficient place, but the people running it appeared to be on loan from the local old folks' home and there was much confusion about orders, and it took forever to slap some chicken salad onto a piece of toasted bread (which was only toasted on one side). While we were waiting for our food, I bought a CD. It was 5 songs recorded by a local group of 3 kids, aged 14, 15 and 17, who have been singing together for 3 yrs and who had obviously put out this home-grown CD on which they thank their parents for all the miles they have driven them to gigs. How could I not buy it? (We played it in the car and it probably won't get played again, but I feel good for having contributed.) We took our sandwiches and went off looking for someplace to eat them. We were right near the cemetery (which is across the street from the hospital, an arrangement that would make me uncomfortable on hospital admission!), so we parked under a tree overlooking the graves and ate lunch. Peggy pointed out that we seem to be visiting all the local cemeteries--I think this is the third one we've been to. We did not, however, get out of the car, owing to the fact that we appeared to have parked near the home of some of the largest ants I'd ever seen and I was afraid they'd bite my ankles if I tried to step on the ground. After lunch, it was just get on the road, follow countless huge trucks over hills on the 2-lane highway, and eventually spy Perth in the distance, hitting it just about the time rush hour traffic was starting. We pulled into the driveway at about 4:10, 10 minutes later than Peggy predicted when we left the farm (coincidentally about the length of time we drove down the wrong road...ahem) and the dogs seemed happy to have "Mum" home again. I suggested we have Chinese take-away for tea tonight, so I walked down to the shopping center and picked it up. As I walked back, I realized that except for pictures of the lambs this morning before we left the farm, I hadn't taken a single photo all day. Fortunately at about that time, I spied a 28 and a pink and gray walking together in front of the veterinary office and I took a picture of them, so that's all you get for photos of the day. It's good to be home, but it sure was a wonderful week. Tomorrow we have washing and re-settling and organizing of photos to do and I suspect won't be leaving the house much. I have to admit that as we get back into the routine here, I'm already missing our little farmstay cottage...

The Ashes Are Blowing in the Wind

2003-10-05T23:49:00.000-07:00

It was sunset. The water was calm and the boat barely rocked. Celine was singing in the background. Penny stepped to the side of the boat, opened the box, and sent their friend Hillary to her final resting place. The other passengers on the boat tossed flower petals. The ashes rested for a moment on top of the water, and then sank into the bay.

It was the end of our day. We had come to Albany to join Penny, Claire and their friends in the scattering of the ashes of their friend Hillary, who had died one year previous. They had rented Albany's premiere whale watching boat and figured that it might be a good way for us to see some whales as well (though this has been a very bad year for whale watching, and no, we didn't see any).

But the tribute to Hillary was very nice. The weather had been fairly good, a bit nippy, but not unbearable. Peggy and I spent most of our time on the top deck of the boat, since we didn't really know anybody who was there to honor Hillary anyway.

The day started with a misty morning sunrise that allowed me to get some lovely photos of the horses in the field.

We futzed around the farm for the morning. I worked on the web page. We did the usual stuff. At noon, we left to drive to Albany (the "al" is pronounced as in "Albert"), where we spent a couple of hours at the whale watching center.

Most of what we did at the center was sit by a gorgeous picture window and eat lunch. Then I did made some more contributions to Australia's economy (no wonder the Australian dollar is getting stronger), and then we started through the museum.

The museum covers many buildings in what was once a whale processing facility, and there are signs everywhere warning that this is NOT necessarily 100% safe for tourists, since it was designed for production, so if you hurt yourself, don't sue us. (I can just see something like that going over in the states!)

I didn't get to see a lot here because we got split up, and since we were on a tight timetable, it seemed that most of my time was spent in trying to find the others. But I did see the platform where they stripped the blubber off the whale, and the huge saw which they used to cut up the jaw, which is too tough to be cut by human hand alone. Then I spent the last 20 minutes trying to hook up with Peggy, Claire and Penny. Missed the whale carcases, and especially the preserved whale penis. I guess I will have to live the rest of my life without seeing that.

On our way to the boat, we had to pass by Dog Rock, which Char had told me before I left home that I had to see. I have now seen it:

And then onto the boat for Hillary's last trip.

It was late when we returned to shore and had an hour's drive back to the farm. We stopped in to Penny's for coffee, but as her cold had left her with virtually no voice whatsoever, we decided it was best to call it a somewhat early night.

We leave in the morning to return to Perth. Peggy asked me last night what had been my favorite part of my trip thus far (with only 2 weeks go go). I thought about it for a bit and decided that these few days here at Settler's Run has been the highlight. I don't know what there has been about it, but the time to relax, to get to know Penny and Claire, to get away from everything has just been lovely. Perth isn't exactly hustle and bustle, compared to the life I lead in the states, but it's going to seem a lot more hectic compared to the few days we've just been through.

Thanks for a wonderful vacation, Penny and Claire!

Who Needs TV?

2003-10-04T23:48:00.000-07:00

The Lady Laura was not happy.

They had come for her regular pedicure and she wanted none of it. Each time someone took hold of her foot, she yanked it away and stamped it impatiently. She was not in a mood for all this foolishness.

Laura is a Clydesdale and Shane, the farrier was here at the farm today to clean and trim the horses' hooves. He had already done three of the miniature horses. Now it was Laura's turn and she was definitely not willing to cooperate.

It was "farm day." We didn't do much but hang around the place and it was an absolutely wonderful day.

I was up at 5, watching the mist slowly evaporate as the morning sun rose over the hilltops. Then I helped Claire feed the sheep again. I love that they put the milk in beer bottles.

We had our respective jobs to do. I settled in at the computer to start working on the web page for Settlers Run, the others went off to do...whatever they were going to do.

In time, Claire returned, looking for Peggy's camera. She explained that the farrier was having problems with Laura and Peggy wanted the camera. I gave her Peggy's camera, grabbed my own, and the two of us headed off across the daisy-covered field, the three lambs following along behind us like puppy dogs.

It was quite impressive watching Shane work, maneuvering that huge horse around to get all of her feet cleaned and trimmed. By comparison, when it came time for Silver (a retired racehorse) to have his feet trimmed, he was quite docile, lifted his feet obediently and actually seemed to doze off while Shane worked. (We had visions of Laura snorting back in the stall..."Wimp!" we're sure she was muttering.)

Eventually I decided I needed to return to the web page, so left the others in the field. Shane finished his work and Peggy went off to chop wood for an hour. ("I'm in my element here, you know," she glowed, when I found her, axe in hand, later.) Then we all sat down for lunch (soup guaranteed to help you fart, we were promised. Just what none of us needed!)

In the afternoon, we took the dogs down by the river. But this was no mere stroll down a country path to the water. First there was a sheep herding lesson. Zack, the old dog, has taken Indy, the baby, under her wing and it was amazing watching her actually teach Indy how to herd sheep. Following Penny's shouted commands, Zack got the sheep to race this way and that way, or just around in circles, while Indy joined in, sometimes tripping over her own feet, sometimes making mistakes, but when a few sheep cut out from the herd, little Indy ran after them and brought them back. It was a beautiful demonstration.

The river--the same one that had flooded the road we drove down yesterday--had washed lots of debris over a bridge, and was still quite high. Zack jumped in, chasing sticks (sometimes watching branches floating downstream--the doggie version of "Pooh sticks"). Indy, who has not yet perfected swimming, wore herself out, trying to jump in, falling in, dog-paddling, coming out again, and chasing Zack. It kept us amused for a very long time. The puppy was one exhausted dog by the time we got home, having leaped over tall grass, flowers, in and out of water, and chased both Zack and the sheep for over an hour.

Penny and Claire both took turns using Peggy's camera and got some wonderful photos. Penny's were particularly brilliant and I told her that some of her "artsy fartsy" photos reminded me of a Monet painting. She was quite taken with herself, and rightfully so.

On the way home, we stopped to speak with the horses, and Penny, the horse, blew in my ear.

We ended our afternoon romp in our cottage, where Peggy served chocolates from the Margaret River Chocolate factory, along with cups of coffee, and then we all changed for our big night on the town.

We went into Mount Barker to the "bottom pub," (as opposed to the "top pub"--there is no "middle pub" because the town isn't big enough) where we had t-bone steaks with chips and salad. There's something about sitting in a pub at 8 p.m. at night watching first Stuart Little, and then Winnie the Pooh on the big screen. Our big night of partying. I think there were all of six other people in the place, two of whom were under the age of 5, little girls who sat there clutching their blankies and holding hands, mesmirized by the movies.

It was a little before 9 when we finally left the pub and headed for home, our big night on the town finally over. I simply had to take a photo of "downtown Mount Barker on a busy Saturday night."

Always Chasing Rainbows

2003-10-03T23:47:00.000-07:00

The title doesn't really have much to do with today's report, except that it rained off and on and we kept finding these wonderful rainbows...and I couldn't pass up the chance to use the title.

potty of gold at the end of the rainbow!

What a wonderful place this is!!! We are at Settlers Run farmstay cottage. Of course, we are here because we are visiting, but Penny and Claire have given us the use of the cottage that would normally be rented out.

It's a beautiful place. I awoke this morning to the sound of a kookaburra sitting on a post outside the back porch, laughing. His mate sat on a telephone pole nearby. Never did get a good photo, but it was a good omen.

We wandered around the grounds here. They own 100 acres and have lots of livestock. We enjoyed watching the sheep (and bottle feeding 3 of the nearly-grown lambs).

We followed Penny around as she let the horses out and gave us a tour of all the outbuildings on the place. The puppy, Indy (named because she was born on the 4th of July), had a great time keeping up with us, romping through the fields of daisies, and herding the lambs (she's a border collie, so sheepherding is in her blood).

We did our turns at the computers. I got a couple of Funny the World entries uploaded and registered a domaine name for Settler's Run, Peggy worked on some graphics and we found an interesting way to solve a technological problem---

Peggy had taken pictures of the cottage for me to use in the web page I'm designing for Settler's Run. The picture was nearly perfect, except she thought it would look better with a more interesting sky and more clouds...and Penny was unhappy that there was a wattle tree in the foreground, which she doesn't like and means to cut down.

Peggy spent some time trying to get the sky right, to get blue behind the leaves of the wattle tree, and to make the picture look just perfect.

As she worked, she looked out the window and saw that the sun had come out, the clouds were beautiful and...what was she doing trying to craft the perfect photo in PhotoShop when she could just walk outside and take it again! Not only that, but Penny picked up an axe and hacked away at the wattle tree and in a matter of seconds, Peggy had the perfect picture--lovely clouds and no offensive tree-- without so much as manipulating a single pixel.

I had a bit of a moral twinge in the mid afternoon. We had just come from the raptor center in Margaret River where we had learned about the value of hawks, and the injustice of the laws which allow the killing of hawks in Western Australia, and the raptor center's attempts to get that law repealed. Here, they have a cage of small birds and a hawk has been making raids and has killed several of them. The hawk was back yesterday. Penny grabbed her gun and with one shot, put a bullet right through his head. I wondered what the guy at the raptor center would have done in a similar situation.

After lunch, we drove in to Mount Barker, did some shopping, and got the grand tour. While it doesn't take long to see greater downtown Mount Barker (which is about 3 blocks long), Penny whipped her 4-wheel drive around some "road closed" signs and through some beautiful scenery, until she came to a spot where the river was overflowing a bridge and decided that maybe it was better to turn around and go back from whence we came.

The skies opened up as we got home and we've had a nice bit of rain. But as I type this, Penny and Claire are out on the patio putting a barbie together for us, and Peggy is dozing off in the lounge. The dogs are asleep under my feet.

This was a day to relax, and just what the doctor ordered.

Reeaalllly Big Trees

2003-10-02T23:47:00.000-07:00

We were only 10 km out of Margaret River and already we were lost. Peggy has given up on her navigator as totally useless. The Navigator feels that occasionally she gets it right, but the issue will remain forever in discussion. Best not to dwell on it.

However, every time we got lost (let me count the times....), we ended up having an unexpected adventure, so the navigator feels that these little side trips have actually been a lovely part of the holiday experience.

For example, if we hadn't gotten lost 10 km out of Margaret River, we never would have seen the guy taking his cows across the road. So there. >

Anyway, instead of going to Mt. Barker via Nannup, we took the roundabout way and ended up (at least this part was by design) in Augusta, which is the southwestern most city in Australia. We stood at the Leeuwen Lighthouse with the Southern Ocean on our left and the Indian Ocean on our right and froze our buns off. I have mentioned several times that the Indian Ocean is a different color--and you can really see it at this point (though it does not show in photos). The Southern Ocean looks dark and cold, while the Indian still maintains the bright azure blue when they meet at this point. (I decided against putting my feet in the Southern Ocean.)

After we left Augusta, we were headed for Pemberton and the Karri trees. Karri trees are the tallest trees in Australia and the third tallest trees in the world (second to the California redwoods and some ash tree). The oldest are estimated to be older than 400 years (making them younger than California redwoods as well). But they are uniquely shaped and impressive to walk under. When you see a forest of them on a hillside, it appears that the tallest of them are reaching out sharp branches to grasp at the air in the sky above.

We stopped in Pemberton at the visitor center to get the lay of the land and figure out where we were going to go. Peggy wanted to stop at the cemetery because she had been there before and remembered a grave she had seen of a young man (age 26) whose dog, after the man's death, used to come and sleep on top of the grave. After the dog died, they buried him with his master and added a statue of the dog to the tomb stone.

I love wandering around old cemeteries. You get such a sense of history of the town. But as I walked around Pemberton's cemetery, I got such an overwhelming sense of pain. Many of the graves were of young men who died accidentally, presumably in logging accidents (since this was a logging town--and still is). There were many babies and small children who died as well. When we came to one grave for a young girl of about 7, I just lost it and found myself unable to stop the tears. I've never quite been affected like that in a cemetery.

Next stop was a grove of karri trees. We decided on the Glouster Tree, the tallest in the area, and one which has been spiked so foresters can climb to the lookout house at the top and check for forest fires. It is now a tourist attraction and tourists are invited to climb the 153 spikes in the side of the tree (despite my stunning performance at the caves the day before, I declined the chance to climb several hundred feet into the air onto a small platform which was swaying in the breeze.)

We did, however, take an 800 meter walk through the grove of trees, which was lovely, as we were the only people on the trail until we got back near the Glouster Tree. We had a little dove-like bird which waddled on down the path ahead of us for quite a way, as if showing us the road, and an electric blue colored little bird which flitted in and out tantelizing us to try and catch him in our photo lenses. But we finally made it back to where we started and realized that it was after 1 p.m. and we hadn't had lunch yet.

We went to a take-away place and got chicken salad sandwiches (here "chicken salad" is chicken with salad, so it's a roll with sliced chicken, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, and who knows what else....quite tasty). Peggy asked the navigator where we should go to eat our sandwiches. The navigator got us lost. Again.

HOWEVER, it was another mini adventure, as when we stopped to eat our sandwiches and check the maps, suddenly we found ourselves surrounded by six MG's, all of whom were out on their own travels from Perth. I had to take a photo. The car on the left in the photo (there are 3 cars which don't show) is from California. "Someplace that starts with G," the guy told me.

No more things to see, and we had places to go. We had another 100 km or so to drive, and made it almost without stopping, thought we did make one stop along the way to re-energize. When we got out of the car, we realized that the ground was covered with tiny wildflowers of all colours, which are so small that they are not visible from the road, but which are just gorgeous if you take the time out to stop and look around. It made the stop quite special.

We were headed to the home of friends of Peggy, Claire and Penny, who own three houses on several acres of land. They rent out one of the houses for people who want a "farm stay" in the country, and we are staying in that cottage. It came with freshly baked bread, warm blueberry muffins, a puppy, and a corned beef dinner. Now this is livin'!

We spent our first hours here investigating the livestock--sheep, miniature horses, big horses, various types of poultry, ducks, cats, and a couple of dogs, including the aforementioned puppy, who had Peggy eating out of her paw in about...oh...10 seconds or so. She took some terrific photos of her.

We had a lovely time over dinner, laughing a lot, and then retreated to the computer room where we settled in to get the "fix" we'd been missing for the previous two days. We will be here until Monday and it's a great place to just totally relax and enjoy communing with nature.

To Busselton and Back Again

2003-10-01T23:46:00.000-07:00

For two people on holiday, who are supposed to be having a lovely relaxing time, we have spent the most stressfully deadline-oriented day imaginable.

We had planned to do two major things, with a couple of others thrown in, as time allowed. We were going to explore one/some of the limestone caves which are all over this region (some 360 of them, it is estimated), and we were going to go to the local raptor center. The raptor center had a "free flight" demonstration (where they talk about the birds and let them fly around the arena) at 11 a.m. and at 1:30 p.m. Piece o' cake.

That was before we realized we had brought the wrong photo card reader and would be unable to download photos to the computer, to free up the cards so we could take more photos. Peggy spent about half an hour trying everything to make the computer recognize the reader we brought, but to no avail.

Well, we thought, there is an Internet cafe in town; we'd check it out first thing in the morning.

First thing in the morning (or 9 a.m., which is when everything opens), we went into town. I went to the visitor center to pick up brochures about all the local attractions; Peggy went to the Internet cafe. She found out where we could find the local computer shop (which, coincidentally, happened to be on the road to the raptor center) and we set off to get a new card reader.

Only they didn't have them, of course. It was a software development shop and though they were lovely and helpful, they couldn't get us what we needed. For that we would have to go to Busselton, the town we didn't stay in the previous night so that we could get an early start at Margaret River.

Sigh.

What to do? Well, it was 9:30 and the raptor center didn't open until 10. It was a 35 minute drive into Busselton. The "free flight" demonstration wasn't until 11. We could make it.

Hot-foot Peggy got behind the wheel and we drove to Busselton (45 km), where we did find one (and only one) reader which would work. We bought it. One other thing we wanted to do, if there was time, was visit the Margaret River Chocolate factory, which was near the unpronounceable Cowaramup, a whistle stop between Margaret River and Busselton. We had passed it on our way into Margaret River, we passed it on our way out of Margaret River.

There was also a cave at Yallingup, just outside of Busselton. Time for a change of plans. We could explore the cave at Yallingup, stop at the chocolate factory on our way back to Margaret River and get to the raptor center before the 1:30 free fly. Piece o'cake.

We bought petrol, bananas, and chocolate bars (lunch...well, not the petrol) and drove to Yallingup to the Ngilgi Cave.

Ngilgi was the first cave to be discovered in this region and, they say, changed tourism in Western Australia. It is an amazing place. You climb down and down and down into another world of stalagmites, stalagtites, and other "ites" I can't remember. It's hot and humid and I was dripping sweat before we started, but we spent 40 minutes checking out the twists and turns in the passages. "Are you going to be all right climbing back out?" Peggy had asked me on our way in. "No problem," I answered. (Fortunately I hadn't said "no sweat," 'cause there was lots of that.) It was definitely worth it and, again, I was struck with how different my life is today than 3 years ago. Lots of flab on these bones, but I'm able to do stuff like this...and see wonders like this.

(NOTE: Peggy took almost all the photos on this page...all the good ones, she will tell you. Often.

Unfortunately, the cave trip took longer than we anticipated and we were in danger of missing free flight at the raptor center ("Eagles Heritage") so it was Hot Foot on the throttle again and we sped down the road once again from Busselton to Margaret River, no time to stop at the chocolate factory.

Lovely scenery, but no time to stop for photos.

We got to Eagles Heritage about 15 minutes before the free flight demonstration. Whew.

This raptor center opened in 1988 to take care of birds of prey that were injured or orphaned. It now boasts the largest collection of raptors in Australia and is run in conjunction with the Society for the Preservation of Raptors, Inc.

I absolutely loved this place...and even those who hate zoos would, I think approve. The unkempt grounds (raw bush land) are testament to the fact that this is not run for visitors, but for its feathered guests. These are birds who would no longer survive in the wild and they have been given a home at the center. The aviaries are large and covered with nylon netting, which prevents them from further injuring themselves. The aim of the center is education on the value of raptors and, it is hoped, to prevent the killing of these magnificent birds. They also have a breeding program, with young birds released into the wild when they are ready to leave the nest.

The free flight demonstration was an opportunity to learn about the life and value of (and threats to) raptors and anyone who wants is allowed a moment to hold a raptor on his/her arm so that the folks in the audience get a photo op. Seeing one of these magnificent birds up close, and looking him in the eye is an amazing experience.

All in all, we spent about 2 hours wandering the large park (which is blooming with wildflowers now) and taking lots of photos.

It was 3:30 when we left and the chocolate factory closed at 5, so we decided we'd head there, back toward Busselton again. Only (a) it was farther than I thought, and (b) we started out on the wrong road so we weren't sure where we were going. It was after 4 before we got there, but we were in time to sample chocolate and buy too much of it. We decided to have coffee, at least, but the cafe part had already closed.

Since it was about 4:30 when we left the building, we decided to see if the cheese factory nearby at Cowaramup was still open. It was. It was 4:45 when we pulled into the cheese factory parking lot, but we were able to sample (and buy) cheese.

By now we were into the free food samples and we thought that if we could find one more place, maybe we wouldn't need tea. The Candy Cow, another candy tasting place, was nearby so we went there, arriving 3 minutes before closing. Our sample was a sliver of fudge--not enough to fill anything--but we did buy lots more candy there.

We had by this time decided to splurge and order room service for dinner, but then Peggy realized I hadn't yet seen the ocean at Margaret River, which is purported to be different from other places along the coast, so she suggested we get take-away chicken and go watch the sunset. Only again we were on a tight time schedule because the sun was already setting and we weren't exactly sure where we were going. Back on the road to Busselton, of course, but only briefly and then over to the coast.

The ocean is different here. One would think, to look at it, that it was the place where two oceans meet, since the waves seem to be coming from two directions and meeting in the middle, creating wonderful waves (making this a great, popular surfing spot). I suspect the phenomenon is due to the shape of the reef, but it certainly was interesting.

We arrived with plenty of time to spare, and sat watching the waves crash, the surfers surf, the seagulls fly, and the sun sink into the Indian ocean while we munched our chicken and chips, before heading back to the hotel.

This deluxe room came with a spa and I fully intended to give it a try (I've always thought the jets of water would be good therapy for my shoulder), but by the time we got here, installed the card reader to check our photos, and sat down with a cup of coffee and a sample of our newly-purchased chocolate, both of us dozed off on the couch almost immediately and when I woke up, I was just too zonked to even think of doing anything but getting into bed and going back to sleep.

There's nothing like a nice relaxing vacation.

And a Wonderful Bunbury It Is Too

2003-09-30T23:45:00.000-07:00

In "The Importance of Being Earnest," Jack Worthing has created an imaginary friend named Mr. Bunbury. Whenever he wants to get out of town on some holiday, he explains that he has to go and visit his sick friend, Mr. Bunbury. Thus he comes to refer to his fun adventures as "Having a Bunbury."

Today we started off on our next Bunbury...and our first stop was...the town of Bunbury!

Bunbury is about two hours south of Perth and I knew before I even got here that I had to visit the town of Bunbury before I left Australia. It is not, of course, like walking back in time to an Oscar Wilde story. Bunbury is the second largest city in Western Australia and is a bustling metropolis.

I have long bemoaned the "homogenization" of the United States, where you fly into any airport, get whisked to the nearest Holiday Inn, see the same fast food joints, read "USA Today" and leave without ever having experienced any "character" of the town which you've just visited.

Not only, apparently, has our industry infected the U.S., but other countries as well. Not only do you not know what city you're in, but in some cases, you may not know that country you're in. We turned off the freeway onto the main drag of Bunbury and what did we see: Target, K-Mart, KFC, McDonald's, Burger King, Woolworth's, and H&R Block. So much for local colour!

We stopped at K-Mart because I brought all warm weather clothes to Australia with me, and it's been a bit more chilly than we anticipated. I managed to find sweat pants and a sweatshirt for $18 total, which, when converted to U.S. currency, was an offer I couldn't refuse--and I'll be more comfortable now!

We ordered sandwiches from a take-away in the local mall and drove out to a deserted point overlooking the marina and ate, while watching the display of clouds, wind, and rain. Then we drove to the local tourist office, where I could pick up a couple of post cards, and then we checked town itself.

As the rain had stopped and the sun was out, we wandered along the estuary and watched seagulls and one obstinent pelican beg for food from picnickers (how do you discourage a pelican determined to share your hot dog?), but it was kind of cold so we decided to press on.

We had planned to stay at a nearby town called Busselton, but it was early enough that we decided to drive the 100 km to Margaret River, which was where we planned to begin our adventures the following day.

Janne and Chris had told me that the road south was quite different from what I'd seen thusfar, and they were right. The road to Margaret River takes you through rolling farmland, tall trees, and fields of calla lillies (I thought of Katharine Hepburn, as all the calla lillies were definitely in bloom...acres of them. Peggy calls them "death lillies."). Ultimately, we began to see vineyards. This is Australia's version of the Napa Valley. It's all wonderfully bucolic.

I don't know what there is about this place, but I have consistently been struck by how vivid colours are. From the azure of the Indian Ocean to the blue-blue of the sky contrasted with the beautiful cumulus clouds, to the emerald green of the fields and the purple and yellow bushes of wildflowers which lined our path. The place is electric. Perhaps it's the total lack of pollution which allows the true colours to display themselves to their fullest. (Peggy says it's because she finally cleaned my bloody glasses!)

We had come to Margaret River because our guide book to accommodations showed a myriad of places to stay and as this was mid-week, we figured there would be no problem finding a place. However, this is a popular tourist spot (the main drag boasts several surf shops, for example) and we began to worry when every single hotel/motel/B&B we passed had "no vacancy" signs hanging from it. We drove thru and out of town without seeing a single vacant place. Then we started on the side roads, wondering if we'd have to go back to a previously visited town to find a place to sleep.

Eventually we passed the Margaret River Resort and did not see a "no vacancy" sign, so I went in to enquire. Yes, they had a vacancy. Yes, it was double what we had paid anywhere north, but it was a special discount rate and it was there so I took it. Up to now we had spent only a fraction of what I had anticipated for accommodations anyway, so why not splurge?

And splurge we have. We have, again, a two room suite overlooking the forest. It comes with all the amenities and one could not ask for better.

We settled in and went into town to pick up food to heat up at home. We ended up getting beef satay, potato salad and cole slaw and heated the beef in our microwave, using the bakery bread we bought in Bunbury to sop up the gravy.

The hotel has provided us with a videotape of things to do in Margaret River (most of which involve wineries, which we probably will not visit, since neither of us drinks--though the chocolate factory is a definite possibility!), but we settled in to watch the 30 minute video, which was more entertaining than one would expect a commercial video to be. We are now armed with information about the local raptor center (expecting wonderful pix of bird of prey) and the local limestone caves to explore and so our day tomorrow is mapped out for us.

Why Didn't WE Think of That

2003-09-29T23:44:00.000-07:00

Australians have a neat thing, for a country that is threatened with drought. They have designed toilets that are significantly more efficient than our water-guzzling monstrosities.

It took me a couple of days, wondering how you flushed anything with that little amount of water, to figure out that on the tank there are two buttons. Obviously the two buttons are for #1 or for #2. For little middle of the night piddles, button #1 does nicely. A little trickle of water and it's all gone. But for the heavy duty stuff, punch in #2 and away go troubles (and everything else) down the drain.

Why didn't we think of that?

While I have not traveled extensively, I have had occasion to visit a few other countries and it's the little differences that I find fascinating. It becomes a "why didn't we think of that" sort of thing.

Every time I go to plug anything in here, for example, I think of trying to vacuum or iron (yes, iron) at home, having to stop every so often to replug the machine into the socket--somehow nothing ever fits snugly and if you are using an appliance which tends to move around as you use it, the chance of the plug falling out of the socket is great. Here, no problem. The added safety feature is that the socket itself can be turned on or off.

Why didn't we think of that?

And then there's money. What color is our $1 bill? Green. And the $5? Green. And the $10? Green. And so on. Not so here. The money is all different colors (I didn't have a $10 bill when I took this picture, but it's a bright blue).

Not only is it different colors (making it easier for tourists to figure out what denomination they are handing over to pay for their faux aboriginal art work), but they are different sizes, which must make things easier for blind people to deal with. And the little plastic inserts which are imbedded into the paper portion of the money certainly cuts down on counterfeiting.

Why didn't we think of that?

Why am I thinking about cultural differences today? Well, basically this is the reason:

I crashed last night and couldn't keep my eyes open by 7:30. "Why don't you go to sleep," Peggy said, in exasperation after listening to me yawn over and over again. I went into the lounge and sat down to watch "Antiques Roadshow" and never got past the discussion about the value of boxes that used to be used to store tea in the colonies in the 1700s. Next thing I knew, Peggy was there asking if I always slept with my glasses on, and after she took them off of me, I didn't know anything until 1:30 when I woke to piddle (I knew you'd want to know--it was the #1 button) and check e-mail, and then didn't wake again until 6:15--latest I've slept here.

When I woke up, it was pouring rain. Pouring. The dogs wanted to go for a walk, but there just was no way. We sat here until about 9 until there was a break in the storm and then ran them off to the little park, until Keno pooped out and it started to rain again.

Since we are leaving tomorrow to head south, it's just as well that the weather is so bad today because it gave Peggy a chance to clean house and get ready. I felt like a real sloth, sitting in the lounge in the recliner, reading my John Grisham novel, but I knew that I would be more of a hinderance than a help to her and just sensed that she'd be more grateful for my sitting in a corner out of the way than actually trying to pitch in and help. ("I definitely don't want you dusting," she said over our plastic cheese-and-ham sandwiches. I shuddered, picturing me, a dustcoth, and her collection of ceramic zebras and other bric-a-brac. Not a good combination. I crept back to the recliner until it was all finished.)

But all that inactivity made me wonder what I would write about in my journal tonight (especially after Sue called and mentioned how much she enjoys reading it. Oh swell...the pressure to create something from nothing!)

So I started thinking about the things that I have found which are different here than at home. Like England, there seem to be more postal stations than actual post offices. We used to have postal stations in Davis, where you could buy your stamps or mail your packages at a local small shop, but no more. Now you have to stand in line with 3 dozen other frustrated Davisites. But here you get your stamps at the stationery store, or at the news vendor or other local shops. I really like that.

Australians also apparently invented the revolving clothesline. Now that might not mean much to Americans who are in love with their dryers, but I have to admit that in the past three weeks I've developed a grudging appreciation of the clothesline. There is something really...nice...about the smell of clothes fresh off the line (and, surprisingly, they seem to dry faster, in the breezes here, than they would in my dryer). The rotating cothesline means that you can stand in one place and hang clothes on all sides of it, rotating the line as you go (I didn't think of this at first and was convinced I would back up and fall off the wall of the level on which Peggy has her clothesline--but I think I've gotten past that). It also is great on a really windy day to sit here and watch the clothes line go spinning around and around. I have visions of it taking off like Mary Poppins some day.

(dog toys hanging out to dry)

(I may actually give some serious thought into erecting a clothesline when I get home. But then I might also have to learn how to iron....)

And while there may somewhere be a big supermarket comparable to Safeway or Albertson's, I haven't seen one. Peggy goes to the local shop, which is small, cramped, but seems adequately stocked (even with kangaroo bones, which she bought for the dogs the other day). The difference is that here you bag your own groceries. I remember when we were in Ireland and I went to the store with Nora, who was surprised when I just STOOD there waiting for my groceries to be put into a bag for me. No baggers. No person to take your bags to the car for you. You do it all yourself.

Well, not all cultual differences are an improvement.

Give 'Em the Axe

2003-09-28T23:43:00.000-07:00

I know about team rivalries. I went to Berkeley, where the Big Game each year pitted Stanford against Cal and tempers flared, pranks were played, gloating was done by the fans of the winning team toward the fans of the losing team.

This morning, following yesterday's stunning win by Brisbane in the footy finals, Peggy couldn't help herself. She had to gloat over her friend Sue, in Melbourne. Thus we spent the morning crafting a brilliant cartoon which was e-mailed around noon.

(I know you can't read the words, but
it wouldn't mean anything to anybody else anyway.)

It was great for me because Peggy was working in PhotoShop, the gold standard for graphics imaging and I got a good "how to" lesson as she worked on the various components of the cartoon...which ultimately included about 20 different layers that she was manipulating--doesn't look like that, but this little thing took about 4 hours to craft. I was very impressed as I watched it come together.

With the dig at Sue accomplished, it was time for us to go off and have our own day.

Two years ago, in the days when Peggy actually did something with the photos she takes and made slide shows, she sent me a show from Lake Joondalup and for two years I've been wanting to go to Lake Joondalup. So, with nice weather here, this seemed the perfect day.

We had a lunch here, packed up the cameras, got in the car and drove to Lake Joondalup.

We walked past the picnic area and onto the foot path. Once you get past the sounds of kids playing, you'd be hard pressed to realize that you are just a short distance away from a housing development--and all the city offices as well as Edith Cowan University. It was like being in another world.

It's spring, of course, and so wildflowers were everywhere. I loved the airy-ness of it...no masses of color, just very subtle, but everywhere around you were standing ankle deep in color. Well, until we saw the snake slither across the path and someone told us it was "one of the bad ones" and that there were lots of them around. After that we didn't stand ankle deep in anything and kept our feet firmly on the path as we walked. (Australia is home to an incredible number of the most deadly snakes on the planet, you know. Enjoy your walk!)

With the profusion of wildflowers there was also a profusion of butterflies everywhere we looked. We spent a lot of time trying to get good photos (this was not an "ooohhh...what a great photo!" day, as we sat at our computers at the end of it reviewing the day's efforts!)

I also spent a lot of time trying to catch those spiders in the center of spider webs. It was the damndest thing--I could see them, I could aim my camera in their direction and as soon as I got the camera aimed, they would disappear. Oh, they'd still be there, but I could not for the life of me find a web in my viewfinder. I snapped lots of pictures, hoping I'd see them on the computer screen, but no dice. This one, however, was a success.

We stood at the edge of a reflecting pool and watched 28s (parrots) flying about in the trees. I heard my first kookaburra. We also watched a bit of the survival of the fittest. When we walked out to a platform over the lake, we were either watching a duck gang-bang, or a mass execution, as a gang of ducks simply would not leave this one duck alone and kept holding its head under water. I don't know what finally happened, as we left. Guess this was the real Ugly Duckling! (Kind of reminded me of the California recall election!)

It was, all in all, a lovely afternoon and we both came home sated with fresh air. Peggy got some washing out on the line and I fixed a Chinese dinner (which she enjoyed enough she went back for seconds; I call that high praise).

Now if I can keep my eyes open long enough, I'll get this posted and I suspect I'm going to be asleep very early tonight.

What it Was Was Aussie Rules Football

2003-09-27T23:43:00.000-07:00

The U.S. has the Super Bowl. Australia has the Australian Football League finals.

Today was "footy day."

Nothing really had been planned. Well, nothing complicated. A guy was coming to fix the shower door "sometime before 12 o'clock" and then we would sit and watch the playoffs...and then we would have dinner at Janne and Chris' house.

Except for dinner, it didn't quite happen that way.

First of all, Peggy left me home to let the shower repair guy in so she could go grocery shopping. But he didn't come. By 11:45, she was on the phone to discover that the appointment never got on the books and he wasn't coming at all. He is now scheduled to be here Tuesday, which will probably delay our trip down south a bit.

But that's OK, 'cause it was almost time for footy! Even before I left the States, I had been told that this day was sacrosanct. No matter what we were doing, no matter where we might be, we would be home in time to watch the championship game. We planned our trip up north with that in mind, as well as next week's trip down south. So here we were: footy day. We had our meat pies. I had begun to learn the rules of the game. We were ready to settle in for the afternoon.

Only the TV decided to go on the fritz. It's been turning itself off after a couple of hours, but this morning it decided to turn itself off every few minutes. Peggy couldn't figure out why.

She tore out of here to drive to Janne & Chris's house to make arrangements to watch the game there (they were going out). We packed up our meat pies and other stuff and headed over there, where we spent the afternoon watching Brisbane clobber Collingwood (sorry, Sue). Fortunately, we had decided to support Brisbane in their attempt to march into AFL history by becoming the first team to win three championships in a row. The 134-84 win was pretty decisive. (Go, Bears! yeah, I know they're Lions, but I put that in there for Char)

Australian Rules Football is Australia's game. It was devised by one Tom Wills, his cousin H.C.A. Harrison, W.J. Hammersley and J.B. Thompson in 1858. By 1866, rules had been formalized competition took place and they haven't turned back since.

To watch it for the first time is to experience total chaos. At times it looks like American football. At times it looks like volleyball. At times it looks like wrestling. At times it looks like soccer. All the time it looks like some guys who are making up the rules as they go along. The pace is fast and furious. There is no protective gear and bodies fly up into the air (and smash down onto the ground) with great regularity. This is no game for sissies.

I've now seen several games and am getting a teensy inkling of the rules and goals.

It's played on an oval playing field and there are goal posts similer to football, only there are four of them--two short and two tall (the taller are in the middle). If the ball goes through the tall posts, it's 6 points. If it hits the post or goes between the tall and the short posts, it's 1 point (at least I think that's the basic rule).

The game starts when the ball--which looks like a flattened football, and which must have the consistency of a greased pig, given how easily it slips out of everyone's hands--is bounced on the ground. Then people start chasing it around--they can kick it, throw it, lob it, hit it. There is very little stopping for time outs. There are 18 men on each team, so 36 on the field at all times, and no offensive and defensive lines. When you begin to see some sort of organization in this chaos, you realize it's quite a fascinating game.

The finals have some similarity to the Super Bowl, but it lacks the media hype. You don't pay a bazillion dollars for commercials and given the commercials that did air in the brief moments after a goal was made, ain't nobody gonna watch this show for the entertainment value of the commercials. In fact, most of them were not even poor network quality commercials.

There is a big whoop-dee-doo before the game, which was broadcast, but if there is a fancy schmancy half-time show, it doesn't get broadcast to the television viewing public (that's when we were eating our meat pies anyway).

Those (especially those in my family) who have watched my disinterest in most things sports for the last many years will probably be surprised to hear how much I enjoyed myself this afternoon. I'm kind of sorry the season is over. (But I'm glad Brisbane won...)

When the game was over, we considerately cleaned up Janne and Chris's house ('cause they were having company for tea, you know) and came home for a couple of hours until time to go back to Janne and Chris's house as their guests for tea. They had made an authentic Australian roast dinner (leg of lamb with all the trimmings) which was delicious.

It was a fun evening, the tone for which was set when Chris pointed out that she had spilled something on herself and Janne said "Oh, you pulled a 'Bev,' have you?"

Sigh. Long after I've gone, people in Australia will be talking about anybody who is sloppy or uncoordinated or a little bit odd as a "Bev."

Well, at least I'll be remembered here. I won't just be some generic "Sheila."

Up Periscope

2003-09-26T23:42:00.000-07:00

I was all prepared. I'd done my homework. I'd studied up on the Batavia, which shipwrecked off the coast of Australia in 1629. It was the country's second oldest shipwreck (the first was a ship belonging to The East India Company in 1622.)

The Batavia is noteworthy because of (a) her history, and (b) the fact that the wreck was discovered within the last 40 years, and so it's a very big deal around here.

The shipwreck was a prelude to an extraordinary tragedy. Commander Francisco Pelsaert, all the senior officers, some crew and passengers, 48 in all, deserted 268 people, on the wreck and on two waterless islands, whilst they went in search of water. Abandoning the search on the mainland coast, they made their way to Batavia (modern Jakarta), to obtain help; the journey took 33 days. On arrival, the high boatswain was executed, on Pelsaert's indictment, for outrageous behaviour before the loss of the ship. Skipper Adrien Jacobsz was arrested for negligence. The Governor General dispatched Pelsaert in the jacht Sardam to rescue the survivors. With extraordinary bad luck, it took 63 days to find the wreck site, almost double the time it took the party to get to Batavia. At the Abrolhos, Pelsaert discovered that mutiny had taken place. A small group of mutineers had massacred 125 men, women and children. Pelsaert arrested the mutineers and executed some of them.

When the Sardam finally returned to Batavia, some of the lesser offenders, who had been flogged, keelhauled and dropped from the yard arm as punishment on the voyage, were executed. Out of 316 people aboard the Batavia, only 116 survived. Pelsaert died in the following year. For the VOC it was a political and financial disaster. In the years that followed the events were not forgotten, a book was published entitled Ongeluckige Voyagie van't schip Batavia and it was through this and Pelsaert's Journal that the wreck was finally rediscovered.

See? I'd done my reading. We were planning to go to the new Maritime Museum in port city of Fremantle and I was eager to see the Batavia and its recovered contents.

But. Uh. One little problem. Contrary to what we thought, the Batavia is not housed in the new maritime museum at all, but in a nearby museum dedicated to the history of shipwrecks off Australia's treacherous coastline and we never did see her.

However, despite that, it was a lovely excursion. We were joined today by Janne, who had the day off, and the 3 of us set off around 10:30. Peggy found a great parking space only a mile from the museum (ok--slight exaggeration, but after our forced march across the sands, the shop area, over fences, and thru woods we came to the real parking lot, with spaces just steps from the front door--so I feel justified in giving her a bit of a hard time).

The museum is modern and slick and well arranged. I learned a bit about the fishing industry in Australia (and also learned that Australia interned Italians during WWII...I know the black history of the US in interning Japanese I guess I never realized that we were not the only country to do such a thing).

There is an impressive display for Jon Sanders and his ship the Parry Endeavour, in which he sailed around the globe 3 times, alone. The ship is tilted at the angle that it was during storms. There is a display of some of the items that he took with him, along with a list, which included something like 50 jars of vegemite...no wonder he travelled alone.

The premier display piece, however, is the Australia II, in which Australia took the Americas cup from the US in 1983. It's a marvelous display with all of its crew on board, in wax figure form (of course they looked authentic to me, but what do I know?) A huge sailboat. Very impressive. Peggy took a 3-picture series that she stitched togther that may give a teeny hint

When we finished with the museum itself, we took a tour of the HMAS Ovens, a submarine launched in December of 1967 and commissioned in April of 1969. It had the capacity to launch up to 9 torpedos and as they are now guided electronically, the guys guiding the torpedos probably got their training with Mario Brothers and advancing levels of computer games.

Our tour guide...I think his name was Nick...was an old submariner himself and warmed to his tale. We were constantly being prodded ahead by the tour groups coming behind us because Nick had gotten so wrapped up in his stories and descriptions about the ship and about life in a submarine.

When that tour was over, we had the forced march past the empty museum parking lot, back across the fences and sand dunes and scrub to get to the car before it was ticketed for being parked too long. Then we went off to the market for lunch, wandering around the shops, and eating ice cream while watching the ships pull into the port at Fremantle for loading.

We drove home along the coast and stopped to watch a bunch of guys parasailing.

We would have been home in time for tea (dinner) but we were both still full from the late lunch and the ice cream, so we're just relaxing and getting ready for tomorrow's strenuous day, watching the footy playoffs, eating meat pies, and having tea at Janne & Chris's when it's all over.

I'd Walk a Mile for a Camel

2003-09-25T23:41:00.000-07:00

...more like drive about 200 miles and no camels at all.

When you think of Australia, you don't immediately think of camels, but our big plan that was rained out yesterday was to drive up to a place called Clackline, the location of the Blue Gum Camel farm where you can learn to ride a camel under supervision or go on a 5km or 10km trek. Peggy thought it would be something different and something fun. This is a trip about firsts for me, so what the hell.

We set out for Clackline around 10 a.m. and made good time. Along the way we stoped to ooh and aaah over more beautiful wildflowers.

The road in spots reminded me of the highway up to Lake Tahoe, only instead of evergreens on the landscape, there were eucalyptus trees, showing black-like tree trunks instead of bushy pine needles.

We made it to Clackline shortly before noon and dutifully turned at the sign pointing to the Blue Gum Camel Farm and then we drove. And drove. And drove. And drove. Not a single hump did we see.

We finally stopped at a tavern and asked a woman where the farm was and she pointed us 15 km back in the direction from whence we'd come, but added that she didn't think there were camels there any more, and that they had all moved to Whiteman Park...back in Perth.

We decided we weren't going to be too disappointed. We had already taken a beautiful ride in the car and now we drove another 10 km or so into the town of Northam, where we picked up sandwiches and coffee at a coffee shop and then out to the Avon (the "a" is as in the word "has," not the word "save") river, where we sat and ate lunch and watched two swans building a nest.

We also stopped back in Clackline at "The Famous Bakers Hill Pie Shop" to pick up meat pies to have during the Footy championship game on Saturday.

Then we drove to Whiteman Park. It was a little confusing getting there at first because the navigator (me) had left all the maps at home, so Peggy was going on memory, but she managed to get there unerringly. There was a sign entering the park, saying that for now, admission was free. Peggy figured that probably meant no real attractions (like camel rides) available (she was right). But the park also contained the Caversham Wildlife Park and we decided as long as we were there, we might as well go through the park, though the sight of a field of school kids did not bode well for quiet enjoyment of the animals.

Later, I told Peggy that everything happens for a purpose. We had driven about 200 miles out of our way to a place she never ever would have thought about taking me, and we had an absolutely fantastic afternoon. In spite of the fact that, figuring we would be spending time on a camel, I had left my "good" camera at home. In spite of the fact that Peggy ran out of room on HER good camera. In spite of the fact that we only saw about a quarter of the park. It was a great day!

We paid our entry fee and went into the animal part of the park and the first thing we saw were jumping mice, who were sleeping, not jumping. Then we tried to find a skink, but it was hidden. Things were not looking promising.

Next was a big cage of galahs. Unlike the cage in Kalbarri, this was a large cage and the birds seemed happy and definitely friendly. We spent a long time with these birds, photographing them and scratching their heads, which they seemed to relish.

Next we moved into an open-air cage filled with lorikeets. We had fed lorikeets at the San Diego zoo on Peggy's trip over to the States, and this wasn't quite the same, but still we got up close and personal with several of the colorful birds. And by now the park was getting very quiet, as all the school children seemed to have left.

We moved on to the wallabies, and then the barking owls (they really do sound like barking dogs!) and then the kangaroo enclosure.

The kangaroo enclosure!

I don't know how long we were there--perhaps an hour. We shot dozens of photos and brief digital movies. We outwaited several groups that came and went. We just stayed and stayed and stayed.

This is a place where the roos are tame and have this great huge enclosure and the park provides a big bin full of food that you can scoop up by the handful to feed the animals. Many of the females have joeys in their pouches who peek out at you. It's hard to describe, but it was just....magic. That's the only word I have for it.

Peggy took lots of photos with her better camera, but she seems to have dozed off, so I think this journal is going to be stuck with mine...but mine aren't all that bad either.

It all started with this little guy. Peggy managed to get a digital movie of this baby climbing back in his mom's pouch. I went and got some food and started feeding her and trying to take a photo with the other hand while mom's neck was stretched upwards. The joey's legs hung out of her pouch like this for the longest time. She eventually hopped away from where we were feeding her and we later found her over in what I decided to call "the nursery" section of the park, where there seemed to be a lot of moms with swollen pouches and/or tiny joeys hopping around next to them. This mother was relaxing by the fence, baby's feet still dangling from her pouch.

Once we had discovered this section of the enclosure, we just went crazy, quietly walking around, taking movies and pictures of the moms and babies.

Eventually, the battery in Peggy's good camera died, the memory stick in her other camera was filling up, and I was nearly out of room in my camera too, so we decided that we would skip the rest of the park and come back another day.

On our way out, I discovered they also had mother/baby koalas and when I checked the website for the park, I see that you can actually hold a koala.

Caversham Park is just 15 minutes from Peggy's house, but this visit would never have happened if we hadn't decided to go for a camel ride this morning. We still want to try to do that (but next time we'll call ahead to check on location and availability first!). But we came home feeling just great because we'd had an unexpected treat and a delightful afternoon.

What's more we were able to heat up meat pies for dinner, so nobody had to cook.

Doing My Bit for the Australian Economy

2003-09-24T23:41:00.000-07:00

We had a new wrinkle on our morning walk today. Ann joined us with Khasi, another German Shorthair Pointer, who is Chippa's best friend. Seeing the two of them together is really something and it was fun watching them chase each other all thru the bush while the rest of us walked along chatting.

The dogs like it when Ann comes because she brings a water bottle along so they are able to stop and get a drink when they get thirsty (the photo on the right is is Chippa helping herself). From the way they take to the bottle, it makes you wonder how they've made it all this time without having the chance to take a water break before now!

At the end of the walk, we tried to get everyone lined up for a photo, which was a near impossibility, but since the dogs are the important ones, I'll forego the photo with everyone's face in it and go for the photo which shows the dogs to best advantage. They are, from left to right:

Keno, Chippa, Khasi, Connie, and Molly

Peggy had checked the radar map on the internet this morning and discovered that there was no rain in sight anywhere so we made big plans for the day. I'd say what they were, but it's such a nice title for an upcoming entry, that I think I'll hold off.

Suffice it to say that Internet radar predictions are not 100% accurate.

We were on our way to....there when it kept getting darker and darker and drizzled heavier and heavier. We decided that was probably not a good idea, so Peggy suggested that we go into Perth to shop.

When she was in the States, the concept of "downtown" was foreign to her. Here, what we would call "downtown" is the actual city of Perth and the outlying areas, which we would consider part of the city, are their own little burgs (suburbs). So, for the yanks, we went downtown. For the Aussies, we went into Perth.

It was my first real shopping day since I've been here, and I must say that the Australian economy is much the better for it. I have do-dads and gigaws up the ying yang. I've seen every bloody piece of ceramic, cloth, and plastic this country has with "Australia" written across it or koalas stamped on it...and acquired a number of those things for myself.

We did stop in one store to look at shoes (since we hadn't bought shoes in at least 3 days). I always dread that horrible "shoe buying experience," and knew that I had to get something to wear with my lovely "mother of the groom" outfit that we bought my first day here. Shoes. Yuck. Hate 'em.

But Peggy, the shoe maven, walked into the store, picked out a pair that she thought would work, the clerk went and got my size (amazing that they carried boats that large), they fit, and within a matter of minutes I had my wedding shoes.

The only reason the entire transaction took half an hour was that while she was waiting for me to decide about my own shoes, Peggy found shoes that she liked too and apparently the department was storing them in outer Mongolia because it took forever to bring out her size. But they fit, looked great on her, only cost half the amount of her house payment or her next new camera, and she was happy.

We stopped in the food court for a sandwich, made another tour through the shops, and finally, as we headed back to the car, the sun came out.

I realized that I hadn't taken a single photo all day long, except for the ones I took at the park this morning. But it was just too crowded and grey and not very photographically interesting (because of the weather and the crowds, and the construction going on in the center of the plaza). I finally took a photo from the top of the car park, just so I could say I was there.

When we got home, the dogs were at first ecstatic to see us, and then uncharacteristically disappeared. The reason was immediately clear. They had gotten into some stuff that Peggy had stored on top of a dresser in her bedroom and had torn up a book and part of a gift we had purchased for me to take home (sorry, Diane!). We got that all straightened up and then Peggy went outside and discovered my "knickers" (which I'd left drying on a rack in the bathroom) lying on the patio. I may forgive her for telling the little girl next door (who was visiting) that it was such a huge job to transport my "Bombay Bloomers" outside that it must have taken both dogs to handle it. But I haven't decided yet. Keno and Chippa are both female dogs, but they aren't the only two bitches in this house. Harumph.

The plan had been for me to cook dinner tonight, but we're both full from the late lunch and the fruit smoothie that we got on our way back to the car, so it's leftovers for dinner and perhaps tomorrow the radar will be accurate for a change and I can use that great journal title I came up with this morning.

On My Own

2003-09-23T23:40:00.000-07:00

I knicked down to the shops to pick up some rice this afternoon.

I'm not only getting into the lingo around here, but I've had my first experience all on my own. Wow--and after only two weeks.

"It's nice that we could have a relaxing day," I said to Peggy earlier.

"WHAT?," she replied.

Yeah--I remembered. It was a relaxing day for me. Some of us actually did work around the place today.

We got the dogs to the "little park" at 6:40, in between storms. She had already washed and hung up the first load of clothes, and with how the wind was whipping around, they were dry and the line ready for the second load by the time we came back.

The "little park" was a different experience from taking the dogs to the cemetery. I should explain that "the cemetery" is not what you'd expect. Yes, there is a graveyard there, but the cemetery sits on acres of bush land, so where we walk the dogs is far away from where anybody is ever buried (or likely to be buried in our lifetime). The dogs go bounding through the bush, chase roos and rabbits, etc. The "little park" is just that: a park. Lawn, sandbox, trees. That sort of thing. We wandered around up and down, back and forth, and the dogs foraged under the bottlebrush. I came across a fuzzy caterpillar, Cockatoos flew overhead, parrots (28s and rosellas) flew up into trees. A wattle bird scolded me for coming too close to her nest.

And in 20 minutes we were back in the car and back to home.

I hung up the second load of wash. I'm discovering that reaching up and hanging clothes on a clothesline is good exercise for my arm--in fact, my arm is feeling almost normal again and we will probably go biking one of these weeks.

When the wash was done, I came in here to my computer and started putting photos on the Net, while Peggy did a third (?and fourth) load of wash, cleaned all the red dirt from the trip out of the car, folded clothes, washed down the bathroom, fed the dogs, cleaned up the yard, and several other dozen things.

"Get into the car," she said. We went to a place where she could wash the car ("What can I do?" I asked. "Sit there and read," she said, grabbing hoses and wax and getting to work), then we went to a mall, did some shopping, decided on what to have for dinner and then she took me to lunch.

Next off to Janne and Chris's where Peggy helped Chris install some software on her computer and invited the two of them to join us for "tea" (dinner).

Yes, it certainly was nice "we" had such a relaxing day.

So when Peggy noticed she might not have enough rice for all of us for dinner and was about to drive off to the store, I noted that it was close by and I probably could find it myself without getting lost or killing myself or anyone else.

Dubiously, Peggy pointed me at the footpath and gave me instructions on how to walk the three blocks to the market, and gave me a shopping list and by golly, I found (a) the shopping center, (b) the market, (c) all the necessary ingredients (I even improvised and bought some milk for cereal for me), and (d) my way back home, without getting lost. I done good.

We got dinner prepared for the four of us and laughed a lot through the meal. Peggy and Janne went outside to have a smoke while Chris and I did the dishes. And now we're back at our respective computers working on the net and trying to decide what we're going to do tomorrow.

"Do you want me to cook dinner tomorrow night?" I asked.

Peggy got this wary look in her eye..."how much mess do you make when you cook?" she asked, knowing full well what a klutz I am.

Sigh.

Maybe I'll boil potatoes. Easy. No mess.

'Tain't a Fit Night Out

2003-09-22T23:39:00.000-07:00

Fortunately, yesterday was a travel day; it was not a day conducive to doing much sightseeing.

As we got up and began packing the car, the skies kept getting darker and darker. Rain had been predicted and for once the weather persons got it right. It didn't rain continually, but it rained enough that this was not a day we were going to meander off the road and wander into fields to take pictures of anything, dead or alive.

We didn't even make a real rest stop. Peggy had packed up a thermos of coffee and the sausages from the previous night's barbecue and we pulled off at one point, trying to balance all on our knees, making sandwiches out of the sausages, drink our coffee, and get back on the road again. We made record time back into Geraldton.

We had called ahead to the place where we stayed on our way up. We had been so pleased with our accommodations in unit 22 that we decided to go back and requested the same suite--two bedrooms, kitchenette, living room, great internet connection, etc.

When we arrived, we were told that the folks in 22 loved it so much they'd decided to stay, so they'd put us in a different room. And since it "wasn't quite as large," they'd knock $2 off the price.

They should have knocked $20 off the price, for what we got. But still it had that great ocean view, which we could almost see through the torrential downpour which began shortly after we got the car unloaded. But that was OK, because the footy game was about to begin, so we settled in and watched Subiaco get destroyed by W. Perth, by which time the rain had subsided enough that we could think about what to eat for dinner.

With no kitchenette in which to fix anything, we opted for take-away and went to "Chicken Treat," where we got chicken, chips, and fried pineapple rings--with cheesecake for dessert. We ate our entire week's allotment of grease and fat in one meal (I came home, weighed myself and discovered I lost 2 kg on this trip--Peggy kept me away from food and on my feet walking and climbing all over Western Australia).

After dinner, we settled in to read, and both found ourselves dozing off at 7:30, so we both ended up going to sleep at that time. That meant, of course, that we were awake long before dawn and had our first up of coffee at 3:30 a.m., after which we read some more, dozed some more, and finally got up and going around 6, packing the car and on the road by 7:30.

The original plan was to drive down to the town of Jurian, find some place to spend the night, and then visit The Pinnacles Desert, part of Naumbung National Park. I had seen postcards of The Pinnacles, and Peggy (who had never been there) had, of course, heard about The Pinnacles. But with the weather looking as bad as it was, we decided to skip it and just head back to Perth.

However, as we drove along, we hit patches of blue and we checked the map and decided we could do both--see The Pinnacles and get home in time for dinner. We turned our wheels toward Jurien.

Despite our familiarity with the place through photos, we weren't prepared for just how impressive it actually is. It consists of thousands of limestone monoliths rising up out of the sandy plain, looking--I can't help but continue to make showbiz references--like the set for some weird science fiction movie.

We drove the loop around the stones and stopped several places to take photos, climbed up to the overlook where you could see the stones, the sand dunes beyond, and the ocean beyond that. We were very glad we'd come, though we were windblown, had sand in our teeth, and it was about to rain again.

We briefly considered staying in Jurian after all, but decided that when we hit the bakery for steak and mushroom pie and the coffee shop for cappucino, which we enjoyed in the car, overlooking the beach, we had pretty much seen the high points of Jurian, and "dog soup" was sounding awfully good for dinner, so we got back on the highway and arrived back in Padbury around 3:30.

We've had everybody come around to see us since we've been home. The little girl next door was here within half an hour; Janne and Chris (who had been taking care of the dogs) stopped by for coffee; and Monty and Carolynn were here to pick up Monty's laptop and get Peggy's computer hooked back up again.

Now the storm is raging outside once again, the furnace is turned up, and sleep is sounding mighty good right about now. Tomorrow I suspect we're going to be washing, vacuuming, unpacking, and getting back to normal until the next adventure.

Nice Weather for Dolphins

2003-09-20T23:38:00.000-07:00

They predicted that a storm might blow in today. When I awoke at 2:30 a.m., it was to the sound of the wind howling. I slept fitfully for the rest of the night, always waking to the sound of the wind. Was it going to rain and ruin our chances of seeing the dolphins, the ultimate reason for this trip?

Surprisingly, when morning came, the sun came with it, and the wind had died. There was hope after all. We had breakfast and got on the road as early as possible. It's a 27 km drive to Monkey Mia.

'Mia" (pronounced "my-ah") is an Aboriginal word meaning "place." Despite what one might think, this is not "the place of monkeys." The Monkey was the name of the ship which brought surveyor Ommanney to Shark's Bay to evaluate the place with respect to fishing. The spot where Ommanney's ship docked became known as "Monkey Mia." The whole Shark Bay area became famous for both fishing, and also for pearling. (The booklet says that at one time the streets were paved with mother-of-pearl.) One of the attractions at Monkey Mia today is an excursion boat which will take you out to the old pearl farm.

But we had come for the dolphins. Sometime in the 1960s bottleneck dolphins started visiting the Bay and interacting with humans. Over the years the keepers of the park have worked this habit of the wild dolphins into a tourist attraction. Up to 25 dolphins have been known to visit. They come on their own and are fed up to 3 times a day between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. They don't feed them after 1 because they don't want them to become dependent on humans for food.

There is no real timetable--it's all up to the dolphins--and there is no way to predict which dolphins (or how many) will show up on any given day or any given time. It's the beauty of this place--the dolphins are still wild and whatever interactions they have with humans is of their own free will, much as the pelicans at Kalbarri.

When we were at Kalbarri (and at home in Perth), I loved watching the pink and gray Gallahs flying around and nesting in the trees. In our apartment complex in Kalbarri there was a caged Gallah who greeted everyone with a cheery "hello" and, as his owner told me, "wouldn't stop talking." It's a beautiful bird and it made me sad to see him cooped up in a too-small cage, while other Gallahs were flying overhead into the palm trees.

So I loved being at Monkey Mia, where the dolphins are in charge and the people only there to observe.

It was immediately apparent that the Park Service had worked this into a real money-maker. I had initially thought we would be staying at Monkey Mia, in one of the cottages just steps from the water's edge. When it was already booked and we ended up being 27 km away, I was slightly disappointed. But all along on this trip, we have had calm, quiet places to stay, balconies to enjoy the ocean views, and the chance to relax. Immediately stepping into the hustle and bustle of Monkey Mia, walking through souvenir shops, playgrounds, and crowds of people made me just as glad that we were on the other side of the peninsula.

We had missed the first feeding, so we wandered around a bit. There are pelicans here too, who seem to have permanently settled into the beach and ignore the tourists who sneak up on them for photos. I thought this guy's picture with the Australian flag was wonderfully appropriate for this whole week's trip.

We booked a 2-1/2 hour boat tour on the Aristocat, which has a glass bottom and which would take its passengers out to see the dolphins and the dugongs and other marine life and give instructional information. It sounded like fun and I booked for the 1:30 sailing, figuring we would have had a chance to see the dolphins coming in for feeding at least once before the catamaran left.

The problem was that the front the weather people had talked about was moving in. The skies were getting darker, it was getting colder and what had started out as a lovely day was beginning to look not so lovely.

Peggy went back to the car to get a jacket and I walked down to the water's edge and there, amazingly, were two dolphin fins. Mickey and her baby had come for a feed. The crowd began to gather and I began to be afraid Peggy would miss it all (but she arrived shortly after that--I didn't realize the dolphins hung around for so long).

The woman with the microphone got out into the water and began talking about the dolphins, which ultimately numbered, this time, four in all.

We just continued to snap photos. I could tell I wasn't getting good pictures, so I just put my camera away, trusting that Peggy would get something better, and she did get some amazing shots.

The crowd (by American standards this crowd would hardly be noticeable, which was one nice thing about being here!) was asked to step back out of the water and individuals were invited in to feed the dolphins. (We were not invited, but that was OK; I probably would have fallen onto one of them anyway!)

When all the fish was gone, the dolphins knew it and headed back out to sea and the crowd dispersed. We went to the cafe to get coffee and scones and review our photos. The rain, which had been threatening, moved in at this point and we watched the choppy water and saw the downpour and decided that perhaps our scheduled boat ride was ill-advised. Peggy had visions of me spending the whole trip hanging over the side of the boat.

So I was able to get a refund on the reservation and we decided to head back to the cottage in Denham. As we got on the road, the rain stopped, but by the water was still choppy so we continued on back. We tried to visit the Francois Peron park, but the sign said that it was accessible only by 4 wheel drive and even though Peggy was now getting into all this rough road driving, we decided not to chance it.

Instead, we followed a road to "Big Lagoon" (such an imaginative name) and found a deserted beach, calm, smooth water, and total peace. We got out and walked along the sand and I picked up a few shells and took a small sample of the red earth, to remember how unique this place is. It was the perfect stop and as we were walking along, Peggy happened to casually mention that we would probably be back at the cottage in time for the footy game (another semi-final Australian rules football game, leading up to next Saturday's playoffs). She had been such the perfect hostess that when I booked the cruise, she didn't even mention the two games that were scheduled to be broadcast that afternoon, but now that the cruise was off, the game was on and we immediately got back in the car.

The right team won the first game, the wrong team won the second and in between, Peggy barbequed lamb chops and sausages for dinner. I got caught up in the games and watched both (but admit to dozing off before the end of the second).

We were both exhausted at the end of the day, and asleep before 8:30 (I got up at 3:30 a.m. to write this). It was the last day of relaxing. Tomorrow we head back to Geraldton (where I'll finally be able to post these entries!) and the next day we'll either be in Cervantes to see the Pinnacles, and back to Perth on Tuesday, or head directly to Perth tomorrow, depending on the weather.

Dead Roo in the Middle of the Road

2003-09-19T23:38:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, when Jeri was doing summerstock in Ohio, we went to visit her for a long weekend. On that weekend, I proclaimed Ohio as the "road kill capitol of the country." I never saw so many dead opossums and skunk as I did that weekend. The "Roadkill Restaurant" could be a real possibility in Ohio.

While Ohio may have it over the outback in quantity, Australia beats it all to heck in quality. When there is roadkill here, there is roadkill, by gum! On our trip from Kalbarri to Denham, we counted 6 dead kangaroos, 3 rabbits, a couple of lizards, and one emu. Now that's something you're not likely to encounter in Ohio.

The emu was particularly exciting. We found it because Peggy spied the eagle which was tearing it up and she skreetched the car to a halt. As she did, a cloud of feathers went flying up off the road like some real-life Roadrunner cartoon.

We circled back, trying to get a photo of the eagle, but it flew off to a nearby tree, a piece of the emu's flesh hanging from its talons. Peggy was able to get a good photo before it flew off into the bush, to be attacked by crows, who ended up stealing the meat. It was like watching Wild Kingdom without the TV.

Now how often do you get to see that along I-5, I ask you!!

For a day which progressed in such a bloody fashion, it had a rather benign beginning. We checked out of our apatment and went down at 8:45 to the spot where they feed pelicans each day.

It's a great show. The birds fly in right on time and the woman with the bucket of fish gives a lecture about pelican life and lets spectators toss fish to the birds, who squabble over each piece and, when the bucket is empty, fly off again. I was having camera trouble with my main camera, but fortunately had my new little Casio, so managed to get lots of photos anyway.

When feeding time was over, we got right on the road headed for Denham, a 400 km drive from Kalbarri. We were definitely out of wildflower country. The bush may look like a set for Star Trek's first season, but this is real.

Amazingly, in the middle of all this desloation, we came over a hill and found some of Western Australia's finest (police), who were pulling cars over for a routine traffic inspection. They were checking everyone's driver's license and registration, and giving them a breath test, to check for drunk driving--maybe the cause of all those dead animals we'd been passing. The experience did give me a chance to get a picture of Peggy blowing into a tube for the nice officer.

We had a good laugh about this--imagining what the folks in Perth would say when they heard--when suddenly Peggy swerved hard and let out an expletive. I quickly glanced up and saw an emu's head just by the driver's side window. The thing had run out in front of the car, and it was just luck (and, of course, Peggy's skilled driving) which had prevented us from hitting the huge bird. We circled back to make sure the thing had escaped (I'm not sure what we would have done if he had been injured) but there was no sign of him. I wonder if his heart was beating as fast as Peggy's was.

Onward and onward toward Denham, our final destination for the night. We made a side stop at Shell Beach, where millions of small white Fragum cockles have accumulated over time to create this unique environment. There is no sand on this beach--it is nothing but these tiny white shells. It is estimated that in some spots the shells are 10 meters deep. The beach itself stretches for over 120 kilometers around L'Haridon Bight and, when we arrived, it was totally deserted. For hermit Peggy, having an entire beach to herself was like dying and going to heaven....

...until the busload of Italian tourists marched over the hill, looking like the final scene of Fellini's 8-1/2 (especially since some of the women carried parisoles).

I could see people wading very far out into the bay, still only up to mid-calf depth, so I decided to take off my shoes and socks and paddle a bit myself. The water was deliciously cool, not at all cold. A good beach to take small kids--no waves, no undertow, safe depth and no sand to stick in all those chubby folds. I didn't go as far out as a lot of folks because Peggy was sitting on the beach, camera in hand, and I just knew that if I pressed my luck, I'd end up falling on my bum, giving her the perfect photo op.

One more stop on our way to Denham was "Eagle Bluff," purported to be the home of osprey and offering an opportunity to observe marine creatures--dolphins, dugongs and sea turtles--from a bird's eye perspective. The road was probably the worst we have encountered, with the soft sand so deep that the car had no traction whatsoever, and the hard surfaces so bumpy, Peggy was afraid she'd leave a few hupcaps behind. The view was indeed spectacular, but we saw no osprey nor marine life. Still it was lovely being on that high place, totally alone, with a vista that stretched for miles.

On the ride back to the main road, Peggy was determined to beat the poor driving conditions and did her best imitation of an Indy-500 stock car racer, staying off the flat part of the road and hugging the sloped sides. I, wimp that I am, was convinced the whole way that we were going to tip over, so it was a white knuckle ride for me, as Peggy cackled about what a chicken I was.

Finally Denham. We are staying at the Seaside Tourist Village, a place which was located for us by the Tourist Center in Kalbarri. Good thing to have planned ahead, as there seem to be no vacancies here as well. This is primarily a camping ground, but with some cabins. We are in #13, which may or may not bring us bad luck. But we again have a glorious view of the ocean. Shortly after we arrived, a young kangaroo hopped through the park and stopped right across the road from us for a snack of the palm tree fronds.

As the sun set, I walked down to the sand dunes just a few feet from our front door and sat taking photos of the glorious display. All in all, another wonderful day in Paradise.

Gorgeous Gorge

2003-09-18T23:37:00.000-07:00

Today was the day to visit Kalbarri National Park.

There is much to recommend Kalbarri as a recreational area---water sports, marine life, fishing, among others, but it is most recognizable for the gorge through which flows the Murchison River, and its coastal cliffs. We have become quite familiar with both.

We had breakfast on the balcony, watching the sun come up and listening to the birds chattering in the trees. Before I left on this trip, Olivia had suggested that I bring a tape recorder and record bird sounds, since I will hear songs here that I have not heard before. I did that this morning, and have a recording of bird songs, car noises, and the conversation of a cabbie picking up some folks leaving the complex. I will probably record more tomorrow. Probably a tape I'll never play, but fun to have.

We decided to get an early start for the gorge, so were on the road by 8:30. It's a 27 km drive in from the place where you pay your fee to get to the gorge....27 km of unpaved, sandy road (Mike Blackford would have loved it). We were the only car on the road.

We arrived at our first stop, "The Loop," a hike where there are several places overlooking the gorge (you can also take an 8 km circle walk, which we decided we had no time for...and after trying to climb up and down the rocks like a mountain goat--which I definitely am not--I knew that this would be for persons more agile and sure-footed than myself!).

The guidebook describes the gorge as "only a few million years young." The Murchison river ate through the tumblagooda sandstone to carve out a winding gorge which, while not as spectacular as the Grand Canyon, is gorgeous in its own way. The cliffs are a mosaic of color, formed by the bands of red and purple and white, rich with fossil remnants.

Our destination was "Nature's Window," a 400 meter hike/climb down from the car park to a natural rock arch that frames the upstream view and is an ideal photo-taking spot.

We had the place all to ourselves until a busload of tourists arrived and then that place of natural beauty, which took your breath away, suddenly became a tourist mecca, funny pictures being taken, and somehow the mood altered a bit.

We hiked back up to the car and drove on to Z-bend, another viewing spot, a 1 km circle walk from the car park. This one was all downhill (the climb back up was interesting) but the view was even more spectacular, looking up the river through the cliffs, watching the more agile climbers make their way down to the river itself. I gave thanks more than once that I'm carrying less weight this year and, though sweating on the climb back up, was able to make it to this spot and see how gorgeous it was.

We drove back out to the road (this time passing other cars on their way to the gorge) and at one point came to a dead stop--us, the car coming toward us, and the van behind it, so we could all get out and take pictures of a "thorny devil" who was crossing the road. Amazing creature. About the size of a large lizard and with a gait that was one step forward and two back and to the side--it's amazing he ever gets anywhere!

We came back home for lunch and then out to the airport for our scenic flight over the park and the river. It was a six seater plane and I wondered how I'd do, figuring I'd be terrified, especially since there were already wind gusts. Surprisingly, I wasn't scared at all--perhaps because I was sitting in the co-pilot seat (which was fine until I inadvertently stepped on the pedals!). I will admit to a bit of nausea as the plane bumped and lunged all over the outback (one woman behind me used her airsick bag...I've never known anyone to actually need one of those things). But the view was spectacular, especially the last leg, where we flew out over the ocean and back along the cliffs.

After the flight, we came home, parked the car, and took a long walk along the beach, down to the store, where we picked up something for dinner, then walked home and settled in for the night.

"You did good today," Peggy told me. I smiled--I did do good. This was why I wanted to start whipping this body in shape--to be able to enjoy things like this.

Tomorrow on to Monkey Mia.

Perfect

2003-09-17T23:36:00.000-07:00

If there is a Heaven, and if I'm very good, perhaps I will have the opportunity to live over again a perfect day. I may stop and think for awhile about "perfect" (or almost perfect) days in my life. Perhaps I will not choose today, but I think it will definitely be in the running.

The day began with waking to the sight of the Indian Ocean off in the distance, the smell of coffee from the kitchen, and the promise of glorious weather. It progressed through a journey of indescribable beauty, included wading in the Indian ocean, and ended on a balcony watching the sun go down into a beautiful blue bay.

Can it get any better than that?

We had breakfast in our garden cottage in Geraldton and then made a brief (and far from profitable) stop in a shoe outlet store. Peggy in a shoe store. Only those who have experienced it will understand the significance. I got caught up in the moment and, when we left, had to buy another carry-on bag for the return home, since I can't possibly fit two more pairs of shoes in the suitcase I brought.

We did some sightseeing in Geraldton, specifically a memorial built to honor the H.M.A.S. Sydney and her 645-man crew, sunk by a German ship during WW II, after distinguishing herself in battle with Italy. The memorial overlooks the coastline and that blue-blue water. There is also a statue of a woman looking out to sea waiting for her men to come home. I had to laugh that as I went to take a photo of the status, a woman next to it leaned down to peek under her skirt! (Moments before her son had been feeling the woman's boob.)

Then it was onward and onward and heading north toward the town of Kalbarri, on the edge of the Kalbarri National Park. We had expected wildflowers along the way, and we found them in abundance. We found fields of yellow daisies...

and fields carpeted in purple...

and quiet places which were ablaze with multicolored flowers (and thick with flies)

We finally had to force ourselves to stop stopping to take pictures of flowers or we'd never get to Kalbarri.

We arrived in town in the early afternoon, and looked for a place to stay. We began to get a little nervous when every place we passed had a "no vacancy" sign. We finally saw the Murchison View Apartments, which had no sign, and I went in to inquire. They had one apartment left which was available only for two nights (coincidentally just what we wanted) and they had been about to put out a "no vacancy" sign as well, since they usually rent by the week, apparently. We decided it was meant to be that we be here.

When we opened the door to our unit (which cost significantly less than it would in the States...and in Australian currency to boot!) we could hardly believe our eyes. We have a living room, a huge kitchen (easily twice the size of mine, if not more), two bedrooms, and a huge bathroom which includes laundry facilities. On top of that. the balcony has a view of the bay that is gorgeous--and since it is off the beaten track, we don't get street noise. Can it get better than this?

That done, we went to the Traveller's Center and inquired about accommodations in Monkey Mia, where will be going on Friday. Given the "no vacancy" status here, we wanted to book ahead. The first place was booked, but Gundrun, the helpful agent, was able to reserve a cottage for two nights somewhere else, so that is one worry off our minds. We also checked our various options for Kalbarri itself, and booked a 45 minute flight over the park's scenic attractions for tomorrow afternoon.

With all the "busy work" attended to, we drove out to one of the beaches and I waded in so that Peggy could take my picture standing in the Indian Ocean.

We stopped at a store and bought a cooked chicken, then came home to our huge kitchen, I cooked up some veggies and we ate dinner on the balcony, watching night fall (we can't quite see the sunset). The driver, exhausted from all that stopping and starting, curled up on the couch with a book and was asleep very early. I dozed off myself thinking about what an absolutely almost perfect day it had been.

Onward and Onward

2003-09-16T23:36:00.000-07:00

On the wall of an historic settlement in Greenough, near Geraldton is a translation of the oldest known Aboriginal writings, written about travelling around with Europeans. I should have taken a picture so I could really do it justice, but each day starts with something like "onward and onward and onward and then we ate [such and such]...and onward and onward and onward until we reached [someplace]," etc.

That's how today seems. Onward and onward and onward until we reached our destination for tonight--this lovely beachside town.

We started the morning by meeting Janne and Chris at the park to walk the dogs. They had brought coffee and biscuits, so after we had photographed more spider webs, we stood overlooking the cemetery and had a farewell "party"of sorts.

Onward and onward to home to pack up the car, do last minute cleaning, and get on the road. Chris will be staying with the dogs in our absence.

After we had left the populated areas, we got into the countryside, with its red dirt and the fields of daisies and other flowering plants. Like Death Valley, spring does not come to the Australian countryside in consistent riots of color. While there are stretches of eye-blinding yellows and purples, there are also more subtle signs of spring...red things and fluffy white things, and feathery white things, and ball-like orange things (can you tell we didn't have a book of "Wildflowers of Australia" with us?)

Mostly it's just onward and onward to the next stop.

We stopped for a quick lunch in a place called Badgingarra, "the home of the badginburger." The sign for Badgingarra proudly announces that it is truly rural:

We passed some sand dunes and then were in Dongara, a lovely beach town with more of that blue...blue...blue water and a reef, which causes the water to break waaaaaayyy off in the distance.

From Dongara it was just a hop, skip, and a jump onward and onward to get to Geraldton, where, with some difficulty, we found ourselves a lovely motel. We have a 3-room suite overlooking the Indian Ocean. We went out to Subway (the only place we could find open) and brought back chicken terriyaki sandwiches, which we ate while watching the sun go down into the sea.

Peggy took this photo

With no dogs, no serious internet connection, no cleaning or ironing or games of footy to distract us, we spent the evening having good heart to heart discussions, and solving the problems of the world. It's what I came here for, and was very nice...with more of same to follow, as this "vacation week" progresses onward and onward.

All Creatures Great and Small

2003-09-15T23:35:00.000-07:00

The sun was up when we went to run the dogs this morning. Instead of grey skies and leftover rain on the ground, what greeted us was a glorious field with sun shining through the mist onto the grass. Each day at the park is a new adventure.

There were no roos this morning, but the weather conditions had awakened the spiders. The whole bush looked like jack frost had come along decorating all the shrubbery with glistening snowflakes...but it was just the sun shining off the dewdrops on the spider webs. We had a good time playing with our new toys and taking pictures of a lot of them.

(these photos were actually taken by Peggy)

It seems that each day is a new day of discovery down at the bush, from the big ones like the roos to the smallest ones like this little creature, or the spider webs, or a fungus, or watching the tiny flowers open up, a little more each day, now that the sun is coming out. I wonder if I'd ever lose the awe of seeing the new little things each morning...or the sight of Chippa running full tilt through the bush, the picture of total joy.

Since our original plan had been to be on the road headed north this morning, we were left without any real plan for the day, but there was work to be done getting things ready to leave tomorrow. Peggy did most of it, with me filling in either where I felt I could, or where she felt I could safely be trusted not to screw up too much.

I'm discovering that hanging clothes on the clothesline is great physical therapy. It gets my arm up in the stretched upright position several times and that, combined with Motrin, which I've started taking again, just because it helps get over those little glitches, have really started to noticeably improve my shoulder.

We also made a quick run to a vacuum cleaner store to get a new belt for the turbo-charged vacuum cleaner (if I ever used one like that the thing would keel over in a faint. I look at how much was sucked up out of this spotless house and I don't even want to think about what is imbedded in my carpets in Davis!)

Then Peggy got a bee in her bonnet about making little carry bags for our new little cameras, so we stopped at a fabric store to get material and this evening she made pouches for herself, for me, and for Chris.

We are now three little bags with bags.

I told her they remind me of something a Hobbit would carry with him on a great adventure, so I suppose that we are ready for our own walkabout (or, more accurately, rideabout) tomorrow, our trusty Hobbit pouches at our sides, ever at the ready.

That and some suitcases, a travel kit for coffee, several more cameras, a supply of batteries, a battery charger, a laptop, memory sticks and smartmemory cards, software, drivers, e-mail lists, temporary internet connection, optical mouse and a few other things I've probably forgotten.

Little hobbits didn't have the internet to worry about.

Kangaroo Farts

2003-09-14T23:34:00.000-07:00

It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. In the middle of the afternoon, Peggy and I were riding home, passing by the cemetery and she asked if I'd like a brief tour. A tour of a cemetery? But I said yes.

Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park is unlike any cemetery I've seen before. From the web site: Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park is widely considered to be the most environmentally responsible cemetery in Australia. The park, which had its first burial in 1978, has been developed and maintained as a natural bushland cemetery, planted with native species only, with flat bronze plaques to mark graves. No monuments are permitted.

So it's not really like walking around a cemetery at all, which is why it's a great place to run the dogs in the morning. This afternoon, however, we were without the dogs. One reason you go to the cemetery is to visit the final resting place of a loved one. One reason why you might go to this cemetery is because the dearly departed share the place with the kangaroos. A nice bit of life that is guaranteed to bring a smile to any face.

We got out with our cameras and stalked the not-so-wild roos who were sunning themselves among the grave markers. (My friend Shelly asked when seeing a roo in the wild is going to be a "ho hum..another roo" event, but judging by Peggy's interest in taking photos, after living here for 20 years, I suspect "never" is the answer to that question!)

We sat on a bench within about 8-10 feet of a group of roos, some of whom were lying down, others of whom were sitting up, and a couple of whom where munching grave flowers.

Suddenly there was the unmistakable sound of breaking wind. The kangaroo from whose direction the sound came had this "Oh? Was that me?" look on his face and then leaned over in the direction of the sound and began fanning the air underneath him, as if to get rid of the odor.

Even kangaroos are apparently embarrassed by farts!

Today was scheduled to be "getting ready to leave tomorrow" day, but we kept getting side tracked. Monty came in the morning to leave us his laptop computer so we'll have access while we're on the road and to take Peggy's computer home with him to work on. He suggested that we all go down to the beach to have a coffee, so when the works was finished here, we went to pick up his wife Carolynn and go down to Burns Beach.

I don't know if the Indian Ocean is more blue than the Pacific or the Atlantic or if it's because the air is so clean here, but this ocean is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. I just loved standing there watching the waves. (I was remembering Judy Garland in The Pirate getting her first view of the Caribbean.)

We walked along the ocean for a bit while Carolynn told me about native plants and I oohed and ahhed over the beauty of the beach itself. She tells me that one reason the beaches in Australia are so beautiful is that there is a volunteer society which makes certain that garbage doesn't get left on the beach, that native plants flourish, and erosion is minimized by proper use of plantings.

We also enjoyed the antics of a lot of birds along the beach, this gallah in particular.

We stopped at a cafe for coffee and a treat. I had an apple and berry tart with a dollop of whipped cream (picture posted on fotolog). Then we left and came home via the supermarket, so Peggy could get veggies to finish her next batch of "dog soup."

We needed to drop the lawn mower off at Janne and Chris's house, so we drove over there. Chris has just made fresh scones, which were delicious. We're taking comments, though, as to what they look like. Feel free to check out the photo on fotolog and record your answer in the guestbook either here or there!

There was still lots to do--more washing to get done, the house to clean, ironing, packing, etc. And Peggy is not feeling up to par, so we've put off leaving on our trip for a day and will do all that last minute stuff tomorrow.

Why Am I Not Surprised?

2003-09-13T23:33:00.000-07:00

I knew how it would end up two days ago. Who was she kidding?

Two days ago, the sale sheet for the local store, Big-W, came.

"Let's look at the cameras," she said. "Chris needs one and I told her I'd look around for her."

Yeah. Right.

The camera she'd read about was there--the Casio R-4, 4 megapixels, does-everything-but-the-dishes model was on sale. But there was another one too. This is the R-40 and it won't do dishes or dust, but it does just about everything else.

"Hmmmm," she said.

Yeah. Right.

So today we took the day off to do home stuff. She washed clothes, I hung them on the line (great physical therapy--all that stretching the arm up). She did a bit of a clean up. We both showered. We were in the car by 9:30 headed to the mall.

The purpose of going to the mall was to buy internet access for the next 10 days so we can have it while on the road.

"While we're there, we'll pop into Big-W and have a look at the Casio for Chris," she said.

Yeah. Right.

On the way to Big-W, we stopped in at a camera store to see about getting a camera lens to replace mine, which broke about a month ago. No luck, but as we were leaving, there in the window was the Casio R-40, on sale. Not as cheap as the Big-W ad but there it was, just a window away.

She asked to hold it. I knew what was coming. It's about the size of a pack of cigarettes, only thinner. Does amazing things. Has incredible quality.

Could they match the Big-W price, she asked? The clerk conferred with her manager, went to Big-W to get their quoted price, came back and said that yes, they could.

While she was away, Peggy was checking out the camera.

"Are you really buying that for Chris?" I asked.

"Well, I'm going to try it out first," she said, a smile playing on her lips.

Before the sale had been rung up, she was already talking about "if" she decided to offer it to Chris and by the time she'd played back the test photos she'd taken with it, she was saying that she would have to suggest to Chris that she go to Big-W and buy her own camera.

After all, Peggy hadn't bought a new digital camera in...oh...weeks, at least. Some folks collect stamps or Beanie Babies. Peggy collects digital cameras.

So we called Chris so that Peggy could tease her with "I bought you a new toy, but I've decided to keep it." We were invited over for a visit and tea.

Chris loved the camera. "I need to get one," she said.

"You want one?" Peggy asked. "Want to go get one now?" There was a definite gleam in her eye.

"Yeah!" Chris said. Janne rolled her eyes.

"You want one?" Peggy asked me.

"uhhh....yeah," I said, softly, thinking that it would be fun to learn the cameras together, and knowing I'd learn it much better under Peggy's tutelage.

Off they went, while Janne and I sat at home drinking tea.

Within an hour they were back and the three of us had our Casios. The next half hour was filled with the noise of beeps and instructions and guesses on what button did what.

Now as we set off on our driveabout on Monday, we'll have about 10 different cameras (ok...slight exaggeration) with us to experiment with.

I knew as soon as that ad came out, we'd be doing this. "I'm getting this for Chris." Yeah. Right.

* * *

When we left Janne & Chris' we raced off to the store to buy food, because Peggy had invited them to join us for "tea" (dinner for the Yanks) and we had to buy veggies, then rush home to straighten up just in time for their arrival.

Peggy made a great corned beef dinner with all the trimmings (proving that she really can cook).

Janne and Chris arrived about 30 minutes before the start of the next playoff game of "footy" (Australian football), and as we sat down to dinner, the game had just started. Since I was only seeing (or not seeing, as the case may be) my second game of footy and since the others were passionately interested, seating at the table was arranged accordingly.

It's hard to know whether the outcome of the game was what was desired, since there were divided loyalties among the fans in the lounge, but I was out in the kitchen washing dishes.

No sightseeing today, just at-home stuff, which was really very nice.

Roo the Day

2003-09-12T23:32:00.000-07:00

If yesterday was a day for the birds, today was a day of roos. It began with the morning walk. No ears popping up over the hill in the bush, but we went down by the cemetery and there was a large group grazing on flowers and grass among the graves. Peggy took the dogs off running (so they wouldn't go chasing the roos) and I snuck up to take some photos.

When we'd finished our walk, we came home to get ready to leave within the hour. We were meeting Peggy's friend Monty and his wife Carolyn. Monty (who is originally from Dublin) is the guy who keeps Peggy's computer running. He has networked her two computers to give me internet access, he's loaning us his laptop when we travel next week (probably won't be a daily entry next week, but whenever possible), and he had helped me with some computer questions via e-mail some time ago, so I was quite eager to meet him. They are delightful people.

We drove to a town called New Norcia, Australia's only monastic town, about an hour and a half (82 miles) from Perth.

The drive up was in spots eye-blindingly beautiful. The canola fields are in full blossom and as far as the eye can see are fields of yellow.

We arrived in New Norcia with several dozen caravans...Peggy and Monty agreed there were more tourists than they'd ever seen in that part of Western Australia (and were careful to make the distinction that they were not tourists, but sightseers. I, as a non-Australian, was a tourist).

New Norcia was established in 1846 by a Spanish Benedictine monk, for the purpose of christianizing the Aborigines. An on-line Catholic encyclopedia describes the situation thusly:

This mission at first had no territory. Its saintly founder, like the Baptist of old, lived in the wilderness, leading the same nomadic life as the savages whom he had come to lead out of darkness. His food was of the most variable character, consisting of wild roots dug out of the earth by the spears of his swarthy neophytes, with lizards, iguanas, even worms in times of distress, or, when fortunate in the chase, with the native kangaroo. After three years of unparalleled hardships amongst this cannibal race, Salvado came to the conclusion that they were capable of Christianity.

An informational building explains that as aborigine couples married, they were given houses on the monastery grounds and over time, a village grew up. Where New Norcia stands today, the boundaries of that original village are indicated by pieces of fence, the foundation of one of the original buildings is preserved, and the monks still live and work in the monestary. I had problems with New Norcia. As I stood in the museum and looked around at the trappings and artwork of the church, the same vestments, and religious paraphernalia that was so familiar from my youth, I was struck with a certain sadness. I remember sitting on the porch of the Mission at Santa Barbara with Steve and hearing him say "so this is where they destroyed the Indian culture..." I remember reading about the missionaries in Hawaii and their determination to bring Christianity to the heathen Hawaiians.

While I have no doubt that Dom Rosendo Salvado was a well-intentioned man, it made me sad to see that bringing religion to the indigenous people anywhere came at the expense of the culture of those people.

There are, however, touches of the culture evident. I loved that the Stations of the Cross in the Abbey Church are painted on the wall

...and I loved this depiction of the Nativity:

We stopped for lunch at a pub in the hotel near the museum and art gallery, then went through the museum and art gallery, picked up a nut cake in the shop and went to the car to have a snack before going up to wander through the cemetery.

I love Australia. It's like the States in that the old historic places are generally from the 1800s, as opposed to Europe where the old historic places pre-date the pyramids and the Great Wall of China. It was a very familiar feeling to identify with the "really old" graves as being from the mid 1800s!

On the way home, Monty stopped at the university campus where soccer practice was going on, under the watchful eye of a group of grazing kangaroos. We began to walk toward them and just kept getting closer and closer, while I continued to snap photos. I loved the baby peeking out, leaning out when the mother was grazing to take a nibble of the grass himself.

We ended the day watching the first playoff game of Aussie rules football (which appears, from first viewing, to be a combination of football, soccer, and volleyball...and makes you realize what wimps American football players are, with all that protective gear!)

Alfred, Is That You?

2003-09-11T23:32:00.000-07:00

I'm sure I saw Alfred Hitchcock today. Yeah, yeah, I know he's been dead for years, but I'm certain we must have been in a production of The Birds today. It was a literally a day for the birds.

It started with our morning walk. This time I was prepared, camera in hand. The rains had come and gone and I felt we were going to be OK. But no rabbits; no roos. And for awhile there it appeared that we would have no birds either, but then we came up to that big ol' eucalyptus and there they were...pink and grey gallahs, flying around the tree, sitting in the tree, chasing the white cockatoos. I love these birds because they are so different from anything I've seen in the wild...ever. I took several pictures (there's a great cockatoo picture here too.)

After our walk, breakfast (I got to have some of the dogs' yogurt), and morning ablutions, we were set for the day's adventures. We weren't going to wimp out just because of some ol' black clouds and a chance of rain. We had weathered monsoons and come out with photos to show for it. Off we headed to Kings' Park.

If you've ever seen photos of Perth, Western Australia, chances are they were taken from Kings Park. It is a 400 hectare park, 2/3 of which is unspoiled bush land. The other third is gardens, picnic areas, and playgrounds. The park overlooks the city of Perth and the Swan River and the vistas are breathtaking.

Remember when there was no pollution, when skies were blue-blue-blue and waters crystal clear? In Perth they still are. It was everything Peggy has said it was...and more.

We started our time in the park with a stop at a concessionaire for coffee and Lamingtons, a traditional Australian cake. I made faux lamingtons for a party I was going to awhile back, which happened to be held on Australia day. Native Aussies have laughed at my pathetic attempts, so Peggy decided I needed to try the real thing.

We sat ourselves at a table outside and watched the birds--magpies, Western Red Wattle Bird, and parrot-like birds known here as "28s" (I found on Google that they are "like Rosellas"). I tried snapping photos while the birds were flitting about, when one of the 28s discovered we had food and invited himself to join us.

He was so delightful and had us giggling at his insistance that he be given his share. I took a few brief movies (which I can do on my digital camera), and that set us off in a whole new direction: we could take movies as well as still photos! We owe this new discovery all to this little guy:

(notice the coconut still clinging to his beak?)

When the three of us--Peggy, myself, and our feathered friend--had polished off the lamington, we set off to explore Kings park on foot (how grateful I have been these last 3 days that I am so many pounds lighter!) With cameras ever at the ready, we went clicking our way through the park, all the wildflowers, the vistas, the park grounds, and a beautiful new "tree top bridge" (a new suspension bridge that is attracting visitors), which was the scene of one of Peggy's worst nightmares:

The wonderful thing about coming to a continent as removed and as different as Australia is the number of wonderful new things there are to see. Like the black kangaroo paw plant (the link is to my photo on fotolog) and the oddly shaped boab trees.

Eventually we ran out of sights to see and got back to the car for the next adventure, a trip to Hillary's Marina, a mere hop, skip and jump from Peggy's. It was here that I'm sure we felt the ghost of Alfred Hitchcock.

We went to a wharfside cafe for something to eat (we decided on "dinner" even tho it was only 3 p.m. because then we could just have toast as the last meal of the day, and save Peggy from cooking two days in a row--except for the dogs, of course).

Shortly after we sat down at our outside table, people at the next table left and the whole outdoor area was instantly bombarded by hungry seagulls. All I could think of was the gulls in Finding Nemo and imagined all these guys screetching "mine! mine! mine!"

After our early dinner, we went to the nearby Aquarium of Western Australia, which was such a kick. From the entry level, you descend three flights of stairs to a glass walkway where fish of all sorts swim by you and over you. I was having no luck with taking any photos at all and decided to switch to digital movies again. That's when Peggy realized she could do that too, and the two of us had such a great time (when we weren't surrounded by tourists) taking digital movies of the fish, especially the sharks and rays.

We had such fun there that we stayed for about an hour, outlasting several sets of school children, families, and Italian tourists.

Finally, bone-weary, we got back in the car and came home, first to a nice visit from Peggy's friend Chris, then to our toast and fig jam, and finally to spend the rest of the evening admiring each other's photographic work during the day.

All in all, an absolutely delightful day.

Top Dogs

2003-09-10T23:31:00.000-07:00

"Don't put your backpack there," she said. "That's the dog's couch."

Like the obedient houseguest that I am, I removed my things and moved them to the kitchen table.

The dogs are lovely. Keno (10) and Chippa, who turns 6 today. They are German Shorthair Pointers (or GSPs). They let Peggy live here because she takes such good care of them (and because, with no opposable thumbs, they are unable to write cheques to make the house payments). But it's pretty clear who's in charge.

The lounge area--"living room" to the yanks--consists of a TV, two reclining chairs, the "dog couch," two dog beds (one of which sits squarely in front of the heater (so they can keep warm), and a box full of doggie toys.

Peggy's bed, a queen size, has an electric blanket under the bottom sheet. Her side is set at "1," the dogs' side is set at "3"...they like it a bit warmer. And if it's not warm enough, there are those fleece-lined coats she made for them.

(this is actually Chippa and her friend Khasi)

On my first night here, "tea time" rolled around and it was time to feed the dogs. Out came a plastic container of a concoction she'd made for them and two large bowls. Into the bowls went some kibble, a couple of spoonsful of the concoction, some hunks of "meatloaf" which she cut off of what looked like about a 10 lb. roll, and 2 chicken necks. The dogs leaped excitedly and followed her to the patio, where they slurped up their meal and then came in to get a doggie treat for dessert.

"Are you hungry?" she asked me.

"Sure," I replied.

She began putting something in a pot to warm.

"Wait a minute!" I said. "Isn't that what you just gave the dogs?"

"Yeah," she replied in a tone that asked "and yer point is...?"

It's "dog soup," she explained. She makes it once a week and it consists of bacon bones simmered with so many vegetables that some of them I don't even recognize the names of. Then she tosses in a handful of soup pasta and divides the whole thing into containers for the week for the dogs.

I had to admit it was tasty (though I didn't get a doggie treat when I'd finished).

When we were starting to think about the next day, Peggy, who is not really a big food person (she is that person I admire--one who eats to live, not like me, who lives to eat), asked "what about breakfast? What would you like for breakfast?"

Thinking I'd be very easy and agreeable, I noted that I'd seen some vanilla yogurt in the fridge and that would be fine.

"That's for the dogs," she said. "I mix it with some cereal for their breakfast. But I guess you could have some of that."

Gee. Thanks.

A few more days of this and I might start craving kibble.

Roo encounters #2 and #3

I decided this morning around 3:30 that I had singlehandedly stopped the drought in Australia. It was another monsoon, which not only woke me up, but which apparently knocked out the internet connection, so I was left with only starting a journal entry I could not post and playing free cell. I did both until it was light.

When the rest of the house came to life, we headed off to the park again. I didn't take my camera this time because the weather was iffy and I didn't want to risk getting the camera soaked. I was, of course, sorry for that decision, as it didn't rain and there were many good photo ops.

The first were the roos at the neighboring cemetery. The ones we saw yesterday headed off quickly, but today's lot were just grazing on grave flowers and I could have gotten some good shots had I had my camera.

But we didn't watch them for long because Chippa startled a rabbit and the poor thing was running so fast to get away from the dog (who probably wouldn't have known what to do with it if she'd caught it) came zipping past us, tripped on a rock very near Peggy's foot and did a sommersault before racing off again, with Chippa in hot pursuit.

Being in the bush is really a wonderful experience. Like a wildlife park without a gift shop or ice cream vendor. We saw beautiful pink and grey birds (called Galahs) in a tall eucalyptus tree, watched white cockatoos and a green parrot fly overhead and land on nearby tree branches, and watched black cockatoos flying off to some other destination.

We left just moments before it started raining again, though only lightly now.

Then came the inevitable decision: what to do today?

The choices seemed to be zoo or the new maritime museum. I was inclined toward the museum, given the weather, but Peggy was optimistic about our chances at the zoo, and pointed out that the museum was in Fremantle, and that after we'd walked around inside, we would want to walk around outside as well, so the weather would still be a factor. The zoo it was.

Well, we didn't quite have the blue skies we'd hoped for, but after a cloudburst or two, it was a quite nice, and tolerable, if a bit cold, with intermittent slight showers.

The Perth Zoo is very nice, and nicely laid out. There is an extensive Australia section (not surprisingly) and Peggy talked me into petting a (very wet and not very happy looking) kangaroo (the ultimate Australia experience, right?). I have to admit that after even only two days running with the dogs in the bush and catching glimpses of roos in the wild, it made me sad to see these guys cooped up in a zoo, even if they aren't confined in a traditional cage.

I definitely felt the same way about the caged birds. I'd watched wild cockatoos and Gallahs flying around the eucalyptus trees at the park and it seemed very sad to see them caged in the zoo.

Less sad looking were the koalas, still cute and cuddily looking. There were three and two were curled up tightly against a tree, huddled to protect themselves from the rain, while this little guy was quite active and performed nicely for those of us with cameras trained on him.

We walked around the zoo for about 4 hours, stopping toward the end for lunch. My knee was finally starting to notice that I'd been walking on it a lot the last couple of days, so it appreciated the chance to sit and rest.

We had one last stop to make before leaving, and that was to check on the new rhino baby, born in December. It is always amazing to me that the infant of anything has a softness in its look that makes it cute, even if it's something as ugly as a rhinocerosis. The baby was actually playful, galumphing across the pen, trying to get some response from Dad and investigating his aunt in the next pen. We spent a lot of time watching him until the rains threatened again, and it was time to turn the wheels toward home.

One last stop--the grocers, where Peggy actually bought real food. People food. And she came home and cooked. We had a lovely dinner of lamb chops, baked potato, Greek salad, and sauteed mushrooms. The dogs didn't get any of it, and I didn't have to eat a doggie treat for dessert.

Deja Vu

2003-09-09T23:28:00.000-07:00

It was deja vu all over again. She was down on her hands and knees, fiddling with one of her expensive cameras, trying to get the right shot. I was standing nearby taking a picture of her down on her hands and knees, fiddling with one of her expensive cameras, trying to get the right shot.

Thelma and Louise have hit the road again for a sequel.

We both woke up early this morning. I woke up at 2:30 and heard Peggy coughing, so I tried to be very quiet and not wake her, but I couldn't get back to sleep, so I eventually snuck into the computer room, hoping that she was actually sleeping and that I wouldn't bother her. Next thing I know, she'd come in too and so by 3:30 the two of us were sitting here, back to back, on our respective computers. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Eventually the dogs, Keno and Chippa, realized that there was movement in the house and so they figured it must be time for a walk. And so by 6:15 or so, we were down at the park I've heard so much about and the dogs were off in search of kangaroos.

It's a lovely nicely manicured park that butts up against a fence which leads to the bush--wild and untamed and the perfect place for a dog to go exploring, or a roo to run around. We watched the sun come up and did see a couple of roos off in the distance, but the dogs didn't notice them. However, there was a rabbit that raced across our path, with Chippa in hot pursuit. The rabbits had apparently been busy the previous nights, since there were rabbit holes everywhere, which Peggy filled as she came to them, fearing one of the dogs might step in one (or her clumsy houseguest, for that matter!)

I loved the morning ritual, which will take place every morning that we are home. The sights...the sounds...the wildlife, all new for me. Lots of bird songs, but birds I hadn't heard before. That was the best part. I will eventually get some pictures, when opportunity presents itself.

Over breakfast (there is a whole entry coming up about eating here!), we tried to decide what to do. The weather was iffy--"showers" were predicted, but it had "showered" around 5 a.m., so we hoped that they were over for the day. We could go into Kings Park, or could go walk around Freemantle. The zoo was looking like a winner for the day until Peggy suggested we could go see some tulips. We decided on the tulips and headed for Araluen Botanical Gardens, 35 km southeast of Perth. It was a lovely way to spend the day.

The setting made me think of a Merchant & Ivory period film, updated to modern times. Sweeping grassy areas, brilliant colored flowers, people walking around sedately, carrying cameras, pushing strollers or wheelchairs. You expected parasoles. There were no parasoles. In the background a guy whose sign identified himself as "pianist, composer and therapist" was playing background music on an electrified organ.

We immediately fell into our familiar pattern. She took close-ups. I took pictures of her taking close-ups. We argued good-naturedly about who was taking the better photos. I ran into things. She laughed at me or rolled her eyes. Three years had faded away and we were back in form again. I loved it.

We ate nutritious food. On the ride down we had biscuits (cookies)...the good thing was they were Weight Watcher cookies, so sort-of ok. For lunch we each had a container of chips (french fries), and at the end of the several hours in the park, we stopped for a "flake" (soft ice cream, topped with chocolate, with a log of Cadbury chocolate stuck in it) and a "coke spider" (coke float).

The park is just gorgeous. All the tulips were in bloom and the place is ablaze with color. It can't rival the tulip festival outside Seattle, but in its own way is just as impressive. There are groomed beds, and discoveries everywhere you look. There are several waterfalls and bridges, and a cute little motorized train/tram that will drive you around the grounds if you don't want to walk. I'm a jock; we walked.

We eventually had seen it all and photographed most of it, we'd eaten our share of junk food, and the early morning waking was hitting both of us--especially the driver--so we decided to call it a day. Now the driver is taking a nap, and I'm waiting for her to wake up so we can share photos and see who has the "photo of the day." (I'm sure it must be me...you decide...let us know what you think.)

Tulip Photo

Waterfall Photo

Over the Rainbow

2003-09-08T23:26:00.000-07:00

That little house I've been whirling around the sky in for the past 33 hours has finally landed (not on any witch, fortunately), and I am finally in Oz.

After spending an eternity in Singapore, I was finally able to get back on the plane (oh joy) for the next five hours. By that time I was too excited to actually be approaching Australia and couldn't concentrate on a movie (also, this plane did not have "movies on demand" the way the previous one did, so if you missed the beginning, you had to come in on the middle). I watched the time to landing count down from 4 hrs 23 minutes....3 hrs 10 minutes...and so on.

It was a great thrill when Australia finally came into view. I wasn't sure we'd see it, there was such cloud cover, but the clouds parted and there it was, the north coast of Australia, with red, red dirt and crystal blue water.

I watched the coast as we flew down until a bit south of Shark Bay (where we will be headed next week), the clouds started to come in and it was pretty much cloudy all the rest of the way.

There were four international planes that had landed within a few minutes of each other and it was a total zoo at immigration. It was like standing in line for a popular ride at Disneyland--only with more crying babies.

Once you got through the immigration clearance, then you had to go through customs declaration (after the suitcase had been collected). You must declare any food or medicines that you bring in and since I had four boxes of See's candies, some Jelly Bellies, and my blood pressure medication, I had to stand in a line that stretched forever, snaking around all the luggage carousels.

But when they saw how little I had, they shuttled me through a bit easier (after a 20 or so wait) and then I was finally free.

Peggy was waiting for me, and we got to the car and home just before the skies opened up and a monsoon descended. It's supposed to be raining off and on for the next four days. I have to admit that I did like the cozy feeling of being indoors with the rain pouring outside. Besides, I'm too exhausted to do anything but listen to the rain anyway.

So I'm here and tomorrow I hope to start looking at some of the photos I took en route, and getting some posted.

But for now I'm going to catch up on that sleep I didn't get on the way here.

Disney Was Wrong

2003-09-07T23:25:00.000-07:00

They say it's a small world after all, but try to travel from one part of it to the opposite part and I think you'll feel that it's not such a small world after all.

I am sitting at a terminal in the Singapore Airport, having successfully weathered the first part of the trip. For awhile I thought I was the only person in the airport. Long, long aisles totally devoid of human presence. .

There is a tram to take you to Terminal 1, where the famed Rainforest Lounge is purported to be (I still have't found it), but that's closed (the tram). The moving walkways are closed. It's a loooooonnnnngggg way to terminal one when you're carrying a 10 lb backpack (I haven't found any of those manned stations where you can store your gear. I haven't even found an electronic one which takes Singapore coins. .

So I walked, figuring the exercise was good for me. I'm not sure what the temp is here, but I think they said it was something like 83 degrees coming into Singapore. I dunno, but it's hot enough that as I sit here, sweat is pouring off of me. .

The flight leaving San Francisco was interesting. First, as I walked up to the counter of Singapore air, the clerk looked very concerned as she kept punching in things and finally said it says flight suspended. Swell. .

But it turned out that it was the computers which had gone down and passengers lined up behind me waiting for them to come back up. When they finally came back up again, with some difficulty, she was able to check me in, but couldn't give me a boarding pass from Singapore to Perth. (I may be stuck in Singapore...I feel like Charlie on the MTA.) I'm supposed to pick that up here, but of course, at 2 a.m., there is nobody at the desk.

Next was to go through security, which was no problem until I got to the end and couldn't find my boarding pass, which I'd handed to the security person as I entered. I started to explain that to the guy who was letting me leave, when I realized that my passport was missing too...and then found both of them tucked away in my fanny pack. Sigh. Things were no starting well for this "walkabout."

Finally got on the plane and I was in "steerage." The very last row. It was the only place with 2 seats across instead of 3 and I swear it has less leg room than all the other rows. The guy who was assigned to the seat next to me was one of the most unpleasant people I've come across. Very large (I envisioned a very uncomfortable 12 hours or however long it took us to get here). Didn't even make eye contact. Obviously NOT happy with his seat. IT didn't look good.

Fortunately, the plane was not full, so as soon as all the passengers were loaded, he changed seats, which was lovely because I could spread out and occupy two seats myself.

Service on Singapore cannot be faulted. It has some of the best airline food I've tasted (when I get to Peggy's, I'll post pictures to My Food Log, but as an example for lunch I had Oriental style roast chicken served with plum sauce, my "light meal" was Bulgogi, a Korean style beef dish that was incredible, and then I had sea bass in a tomato sauce, which I only ate part of.

Best part of the flight was flying over Tokyo, which was totally covered with clouds. All you could see was Mt. Fuji sticking up out of the clouds. Really cool!!

I did not get off in Inch'on, Korea. I would have had to bring all my stuff with me and I didn't want to do that for such a brief stop. But when all the passengers (re)loaded in Inch'on, the plane had only ninety people! The entire center section was empty and I thought I could sleep, but it was terribly uncomfortable and more comfortable to lean against the window with an extra pillow.

Speaking of sleep, I haven't had much of it. But I've seen lots of movies. I watched Bruce Almighty and then Whale Rider and then slept thru The Inlaws. After some meal, I watched The Rabbit Fence an Australian film (figured I'd get in the mood).

Now I'm going to explore some more here at te airport, see if I can find that damn rainbow forrest (though I wanted it for internet access and now I don't need it!).

At 9:30 a.m. Singapore/Perth time I will be headed for my final destination. That is, if they decide to let me board the plane. Sigh.

It very definitely is NOT a "small world." Trust me on this!

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

2003-09-06T23:24:00.000-07:00

5 September 2003

My bags are packed ... I'm ready to go....

Welcome to the first page of the Australia diary. This entry is very definitely uninspiring, but I promise it will get better. As I post this, in 24 hours I will be in the air--it's down to counting minutes.

I don't know how often I will be updating. When Peggy and I are at home, I will have a computer at my disposal all the time, so I will probably be updating most days, but when we are on the road, updates will be spotty. Best way to know if there is a new entry or not is to join the Notify List because I will send out notices whenever I update.

I also hope to liberally spice these things up with photos.

But for now I'm going to cook Walt a "last supper," and attempt to get some sleep. We leave for the SF airport at the crack of dawn tomorrow and I'm off for my Grand Adventure. Can you die of terminal butterflies?

See you on the other side of the world...