Halloween Aussie Style...and then some. :)

My God... Where have I been lately?!?! I have returned back to Melbourne for about a month and a half and then my Visa expired so I was home in time for Thanksgiving. Then after the holidays I came back here to Melbourne on a tourist Visa. So, I'll post the one I was working on before heading home and then add a few more shortly afterwards to catch you up on the journey home for the holiday's...

JUST WHERE DID MY SUMMER WEATHER GO?!?! When I arrived back here at the beginning of October, there was this perfect series of weather that was sooo easy to get used to and now it has disappeared and we are freezing our arses off once more! That's alright, it made Halloween a little more like home for me.

Halloween Aussie style, well let's just get one thing straight. We are NOT in Kansas anymore folks. You'll see why as you read on. First of all, hardly anyone 'celebrates' Halloween here. I distinctly picture entire streets lined with Jack-O-Lanterns and hundreds of ghosts and goblins and witches and princesses parading up and down the street with monster sized bags getting filled up by not handfuls but HUNDREDS of pieces of candy. Here in Melbourne very small pockets of neighborhoods have Trick or Treating and hardly any houses in the neighborhoods seem to participate. One thing people at the bakery didn't understand was what if you didn't want to participate? Well, I explained, "You leave your porch light off and if you want to participate you usually have a jack-o-lantern or two on your front step lite up to indicate you are a Halloween friendly household.' "AHHHHH" most of my Aussie friends replied, "that makes sense." So luckily for the traditional American in me, the street my little bakery is on participates in a Trick or Treating gig for the local kids. Most of the shops along the street put up a sign in their window to indicate they will be participating and a few even decorate their front window. Sharon, knowing how homesick I can be, invited me to help her decorate the windows of our shop. So on Halloween Eve, out came the witches hats, spiderwebs and ghosts and up went all the decorations in the shop. She also kindly took me with her to pick out a costume to rent. She perfectly fit into the Queen of Hearts costume while I managed to squeeze into a Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz costume. I even had a basket with a stuffed dog for Toto. So like I said... We're not in Kansas anymore!!

The next day I got to hand out Lollies to all the kids as they crowded in to the shop and we had 300 bags prepared. Last year they had around 200 kids or so. My guess-timate is that there was actually over 500 kids this year because we blew through the 300 in less than an hour and hoards of kids were coming in when we didn't have anything left. So off we sent someone to the IGA to buy more and we did that trick two other times. I had skinned some small roma tomatoes and boiled some spaghetti noodles. They were in black cauldrons and the witches were using the eyeballs and brains for their magic spells. :) Some of the kids even recognized me the next day when they came in and I was back to work in my normal uniform. Sharon was running through the street screaming "Off with their heads!" dressed as the Queen of Hearts and chasing her kids around. All in all it was incredibly fun and luckily the nice weather came back shortly afterwards so I have been desperately trying to soak in some sunshine and take advantage of the warmer weather before I head home for the cold winter that lies ahead in Spokane. I'll be home for Thanksgiving just in time for more winter!

After Halloween was over, my friend Robyn threw a birthday party for John (the friend I went to high school/college with). I offered to prepare the food for her and on a frenzy I went starting on Thursday... I made spanish chicken kababs with peppers and zucchini, guacamole, pork picadillo empanadas, fresh salsa and a huge batch of taco meat. I met Robyn (and eventually John) at Flinders Street train station when they got off work and they helped me carry the goods back to their place. We had some nachos with the taco meat for dinner while we waited for the first of the guests to arrive. Matt met up with us later and had the blender with him in the car. Soon after, there was margaritas all around and before I knew it, it was 2 in the morning and we were heading home. It was really great. I got to meet some more Aussies and have some girl talk with Robyn and Kaila. Poor Matt was out playing video games in the living room with John while the three of us gossiped away. But, man... that was fun!

I paid for it on Saturday though... I ended up sleeping away most of the day and then we had dinner at Peter's house (Matt's Dad) that night. Then the next week was Melbourne Cup Day. This is a public holiday in the State of Victoria. And it sure was fun. The day is full of glitz and glam with most everyone dressing up for the occasion. We had so much fun that we came back to the races on Saturday for the Emirates Stakes Day event. Much more low-key but still many people were dressed to the nine. At least I could walk around a bit more and see some of the horses up close and personal. They are just GORGEOUS! Not only that... but you can't beat the view of the city from our reserved seats in the grandstand. We were almost dead onto the finish line so we could see just who won in the final seconds.






I can't believe that it is time to head back so soon. Just when the weather got nice again... I get to head back State-side for winter number 3. Yahoo!

The Surprise of a Lifetime!

Some of you know that I have been conspiring with my sister and cousin Monica to come back to the State and surprise my Dad at his retirement party. It was the hardest secret I have ever tried to keep with my family constantly asking when I would be coming home for the past several months. It wasn't too bad till I actually had my tickets in hand and then I had to lie to my parents. Even though it was only on the phone and 20,000 miles away, I still quivered every time I fibbed about looking at tickets, etc. But, the look on their faces was worth it. They of course were crying and Mom saw me first. She smacked my Dad upside the arm and said "It's Alison. She's Here!" Dad was too busy chewing out the host for allowing any kind of surprise to realize what was really going on... then he conceded that this surprise was okay and gave me a big hug when Mom finally let go. :) It was so great! The party was an absolute riot with many speakers who told some outlandish stories about my father past present and future. I was laughing so hard most of the time it was hard to catch the next joke! The speakers ran an hour long and in their jokes was woven some of the biggest compliments and credit to my Dad. He has been a huge part of the Credit Union movement in the city, state and even in the country with annual visits to Washington DC for lobbying our senators and congressmen for the past decade and a half. It really was a great evening. I got to see lots of people I haven't seen in years and catch up with everyone as well.

So being on American soil? So strange to walk through crowded streets or areas and hear all of these silly American accents. I have to keep reminding myself that I am IN AMERICA now so everyone SHOULD sound American for the most part. Riding in a car on the right hand side of the road has been quite the experience as well. But I am quickly finding my comfort zone again. The stop over in Honolulu was perfect. I got to spend two very warm sunny days with my friend Nicole and her partner and we had a great time.
I have pretty toes and we had lots of laughs. I could have stood to be there longer, but the humidity was a little much for my nine months of winter body to adjust to. Oh well, it was great anyway. :) The stopover there really breaks up the trip and makes traveling so far soooo much easier! Landing in Seattle Sunday evening, Monica kindly picked me up and whisked me up to Bothell to spend the night before hitting the road to Spokane. I got to see Lena in the morning and Nora for the first time. What little dolls. I told Monica she isn't playing fair because her kids are just to darn irresistible. We made a short drive over to Spokane and the retirement party began that evening.

I spent the next several days lounging with my parents and sister and relaxing in the warm sunny fall weather. I got caught up on the family happenings and played catch with the dogs for hours. Nanette has a new pup named Buddy and he is relentless about playing and playing and playing... I went to see Grandma and Grandpa a few times and they seemed to be in really good spirits. It was really great to catch up with everyone and just kick back and relax. We did go out to dinner at a new Mexican restaurant in Airway Heights... YYUUUUMMMMMMMYYYY. The super sized Margarita's did help make me feel like I was floating on cloud 9. I have to share with the Australians who read this blog... This is what real Chips and Salsa looks like. You only get a measly 5 chips at the 'Mexican restaurants' around Melbourne... if you only knew what you were missing!!



Mom had pears to can so she spent a few mornings taking care of that. I did little to help, but did take some photos because I've decided it is really cool that she cans fresh fruit and jams annually. Nanette was taking some notes because she adopted a canner from Grandma's collection in the basement.







We went to a Cougar football game down in Pullman. It was a great family outing and I ran into an old college friend who just returned to the States from living in China for the past two years. It was great to catch up with him a little and hear about his adjustment to being back. He sounded so incredibly happy. The Cougs stomped on the neighboring University of Idaho Vandals, which always feels good.

On the following Wednesday, I drove back over to Bothell to spend some more time with the Yate's and hold that darn baby for awhile longer. I have to say that the drive from Eastern Washington to Western Washington has got to be, still to this day, one of my favorite things. There is so much diversity in the landscape as you make the 4 hour drive. I fell in love with Washington all over again on this journey. Some things you just take for granted when you can do them anytime. This time away has really brought back the pleasure in the small things.

I got to pick Lena up from preschool and play tea party for hours. We met up with some of the mommy friends and I got to catch up with all of them. Friday I went into Bellevue for lunch and hanging out with old co-workers from Symetra. It was so weird to walk around Bellevue and recognize people left and right. I have been so isolated for so long, I forgot what it was like to recognize people... Time went incredibly fast and I didn't get to catch up with everyone I meant to in the short afternoon.

Over the weekend I spent time with my girlfriend Kristy and saw her fabulous new 'farm house' that needs LOTS of work but will be a great place when time and money allows them to fix it up. :) I am so happy for her! Then she hosted a little BBQ and all the remaining Seattle girls came down for brats and drinks. It was so great to see everyone, but still not near enough time to get caught up. I went back up to my other cousins place on Monday and got to see their new house and hang out with their kids too. I told them lots of stories about water restrictions and other lifestyle adjustments I've had since moving to Australia. Their oldest daughter Sydney thought some of my stories were pretty cool so she put them in her journal at school. We had a great family dinner and then off I flew to Honolulu. I am back spending more time with Nicole and Leigh and even got to do some sun bathing this time! Wahoo!

After an incident with a flat tire and a day of snorkeling in Shark's Cove, I headed back to the airport to fly direct to Melbourne. I hear rumor the weather is getting nicer and I am looking forward to some warm sunny days when I get down there. It was a little humid there with 71% humidity, but there was some rain the other day that helped break the heat!

I'll got back on Tuesday, a little tired, but not jet lagged. I am so looking forward to not living out of a suitcase. Speaking of suitcases, I had one that is FULL of food from the states. Everything from Hot Tamales to Crisco and peanut butter chips. :) Let the baking begin...

Bread Street Bakery-Home away from home!

So people back home are having trouble understanding what the bakery is like here since it is very unique and not like anything else back home... I took some photos today. Partially because I wanted everyone to see it and also because I wanted to show off my talents at 'scrolling.' Scrolling is where you roll up a big long log and then cut it so the product looks like a cinnamon roll. Aparently--some people who have worked at the bakery before have struggled to get the hang of this art. But thanks to Grandma... I have been pretty good at it. :) She taught me well!

So the bakery consist of three parts in my opinion. #1 is bread. We sell bread. LOTS of bread. There are block loaves, high tin, flour, cobs, viennas, ciabattas, bagels, turkish breads, sour doughs, sticks, rolls, wholemeal (wheat for you Americans) white, country grain (my favorite!) high fibre (nope--I spelled it correctly), ultra grain and SoLo (wholemeal base with lots of yummy soft whole grains plus poppy and oats and... well LOTS of fun things!) It is what Australians call Low GI which means it is slow to breakdown into glucose and takes longer to digest into your system. Better for your blood sugar and energy levels.














It is beautiful! I pretty much have a roll and yogurt every day when I am working for my mid-morning snack. :) That is... if I don't have a bagel dog.

Now, I've described them before, but in case you missed it... A bagel dog looks and sounds like the weirdest thing... but if you just give it a chance, you'll be hooked forever. :) It is an "American" hot dog wrapped in an onion bagel blanket. Think pigs in a blanket... but it isn't piglets it is full grown, hog to market, pigs. :) I have to admit... they are quite addictive and since they typically come out of the oven about 10 to 10... I have been known to have a bagel dog as my mid-morning snack a few times a week... Since I take my break at ten, it can be really hard to resist.

Anyway, I got off subject there. The other two parts of the bakery are Sweet and Savory. There are four glass cabinets in the front of the shop and in two are the Savory things and in the other two are the Sweet stuff. :)

The savory has a bit of everything from ham and cheese danishes, to turkish pizzas and plain cheese rolls. it is hard to describe, but there is a wide range. One of the strangest things to me are the Cheese and Bacon rolls. These are just plain rolls that are covered in diced bacon bits and sprinkled with 'tasty' cheese--Australians call their cheddar 'tasty.' I tend to disagree with the tasty bit... but that is purely because I miss Tillamook cheese like you wouldn't believe! These things sell hot out of the oven to all the school kids in their uniforms. There is about 20 or so that come in at least three times a week and I see them coming in and I just bag up a cheese and bacon roll and off to school they go. I've tried them... I just don't get it. :) It is a bit like Vegemite... which we have Cheesy Mite Scrolls that are... drum roll please, cheese and vegemite rolled up like a cinnamon roll. WEIRD! Then the sweet cabinets have apricot or blueberry danishes, scones, muffins, apple scrolls (look like a cinnamon roll but with diced bits of apple in them) coffee scrolls (as close to an American cinnamon roll as you get) with icing on top, twists, fruit buns (little squarish buns that have currents and sultanas (raisins) in them with a sweet sticky wash soaked into the top), finger buns--which look like a hot dog bun, but with a sweeter dough and then have boston icing on top with hundreds and thousands (sprinkles) and a handful of other treats. There is a couple of pregnant ladies that come in almost every day to get a fruit bun or three because they say it is the only thing they can keep down when they are morning sick... Whatever makes them happy is fine by me. :)

My roll when I work during the week is to open up the shop at 6am and then help in production by making the pizzas (supreme and tropical), mediterranean scrolls (spinach, feta, semi-dried tomatoes, and kalamata olives) and the artichoke and ricotta scrolls.


Then I work on merchandising the shop while helping customers. I make room in the cabinets as hot stuff comes out of the oven and get all the signs up. All our bread is made fresh daily, so as it comes out, I have sign it and face it as I go through it during the day. I get to chat with all the regulars and catch up on community gossip. Make faces at their kids in strollers and tease the younger kids as they get their cheese and bacon rolls and head off to school. Most of the morning customers come in everyday and get pretty much the same thing. They even typically come in in the same order and I've gotten to a point that I know if they have slept in or out and about early... It is that regular. :) Most have asked me over time where I am from and what I am doing here, so they always ask me if I've heard the latest news story coming from America, if I am home sick or if I am going back to visit soon. The customers are truely beautiful. They care about the success of this shop as well as all the shops along Hamilton street because it is very much a part of their daily lives. They notice if I 'bugger' off for a few days on a trip with Matt and always ask where I've been. I am even learning most of their names which says a lot since we are cash only shop and it's not like I am learning them from the credit cards.

I've never in my life felt more at home at work before... it partly is because I am so far away from my home, friends and family and the people at the shop and the customers have welcomed me into their family but also because it is just that kind of place. Fresh baked bread, the smell, the warmth and the color are a very addictive thing. I can't say I have ever paid much attention to bakery's back home and now I will always want to be near a shop like this no matter where my life takes me. The production staff--or bakers, they like to call themselves-- are pretty much all guys anywhere from late teens to twenty's thirty's and even David, who is in his fifties. They get to work anytime between 2 and 3 in the morning to start the doughs and warm up the ovens. Then a few more come on around 4 or 5 to start shaping and tinning the dough up. The 'oven man' controls when everything goes in and when everything comes out and can either make or break the day. Some days are rough around the shop... A burnt batch of bread or savory/sweet trays can mean a few hours delay in getting that product on the shelf for the customer... No pressure there. :) and every once in awhile, someone over sleeps or has a late night and can't concentrate on their tasks. It happens. People make adjustments and everyone makes fun of them. If the oven man curses because he burnt himself... no one really feels bad and anyone who spills or drops something and makes a mess gets their photo taken and they get nominated for a Razz... The rest of the staff knows about the mistakes by the end of the week and you never quite live it down. Sharon, who helps David run the shop, always says... 'There is nothing we haven't seen.' Whether it is burning something, adding too much water and making soup out of the dough to adding the wrong flour or too much yeast or not enough or spilling an entire jug of olive oil on yourself... it has been done, it has been laughed at and it will be remembered. :)

There's Gold in them there hills...

Hallo All!

On Wednesday, I took a train up to the ‘little’ town of Bendigo. This is the third largest city in Victoria, so I put little in quotes… because it was much bigger than I anticipated. Anyway, it was a quick trip with Matt and I driving back on Saturday morning. Bendigo gets its roots from a reawakening of the gold rush in the late 1930’s when two women found some gold while they were washing their laundry in the creek just west of town. They digging begun and the second largest output of gold in Australia history proceeded over the next 20 years or so. Lots and Lots of gold. I took Thursday as an ‘instant gratification day’ as my friend Abby coined after she moved to Seattle. I slept in until 8. I know… sleeping in until 8… BIG DEAL! Well, when you work at 6 in the morning and get up at 5, 8 IS a big deal. Then I went to a day spa and got a lovely 60 minute massage… it was WONDERFUL! The therapist is an American who moved here 31 years ago as a teacher. She and her husband got permanent residence visas as long as they taught for at least one year to help Australia bring their education standards up to international levels. We had lots to talk about and chatted away the whole time. I still felt incredibly relaxed and plan on going back to the Spa in the future for more. J Then off to the city for some shopping and wandering.

The center of town has some beautiful parkland and old, classic stone architecture dominating the sky line. The shopkeepers all proved to be Aussie-style friendly and very informative about the area. One of the gourmet shops told me that more than one of the local, old school farmers are convinced that the drought is over. Several of the folks here in Melbourne have talked about this being the wettest winter they remember for at least the last ten years and one of the coldest in years. So that was good news. I heard about a paper craft store so I wandered that direction to find some paper. J After chatting with the clerk there, I realize that I should have kept my card stock instead of giving it all away… Oh well. Found lots of inspiring items at the shop and then headed back to meet Matt for dinner. The food in Bendigo was really fantastic. J We had Italian, Chinese and good ‘ole Mexican. That’s right, we found some decent Mexican in town for dinner on Wednesday. One yummy Tequila Sunrise and a Margarita later… I was quite happy to sleep in again the next day. When the maid knocked on the door I was surprised to see I slept in until 10! So I hurriedly got up, dressed and headed out toward the mine. I took at 2 ½ hour tour of the Central Deborah Gold Mine. The best part of the tour was the fact that it was me, the tour guide and a volunteer who had to tag along because they only let groups of three or more down into the mine at a time. Some kind of safety thing. I didn’t care, I was digging for gold! The tour included level 2 and 3 of the 17 level mine and the tour guide was incredibly educated about the geology and history of the mine. I learned a lot… more than I can really articulate in an email because hands on is so much better! Again, another profession that is NOT my cup of tea because after about 5 minutes of sifting through a pile of rubble, I was ready for lunch. I did get a demonstration of the conditions the early miners had which was two candles that lasted 4 hours each. In an 8 hour shift, they could only have one lit at a time to last the whole day. I don’t know how anyone finds gold specks with a single candle shedding the light. I about went blind. Much less, how they managed to not go insane working day in and day out for 10 schillings a day in the dark, cold, musty confines of the mine. Lunch was my first taste of a pastie. We get asked for pasties all the time at the bakery and I had no idea what they were until now. It is a meat and three veg (peas, corn and carrots) wrapped up in a filo pastry shell with the seam on the top scrunched together like the edge of a pie crust. It was quite nice actually and the tour guide claimed that the crusty bit along the top was a ‘ handle’ so the miners, whose hands were covered in arsenic and other toxic compounds, could hold the pastie by the handle, eat all around it and chuck out the handle when they were done without consuming the small amounts of arsenic that build up in the body to kill you. Not that there weren’t a dozen other things that could kill you in the mining business… rocks falling on your head, loss of oxygen, pneumonia, getting lost… you get the idea right? In the years this particular mine was in full operation they only had one death and that guy went down the shaft before his work buddy was ready and ended up getting crushed by falling rock. Oops… The early bird doesn’t get the worm that time! Well, I had a great time, would do it again in a heart beat and if you ever visit this neck of the woods, I recommend you get off the beaten-in every tour guide book- path and make the short journey up to Bendigo for a few days. Between folklore, shopping, spas and the wines I didn’t get to explore… there is a little of something for everyone I think. J

I went to a little bakery called The Beechworth Bakery and had a ‘lemon slice’ for a snack on the way back from the mine. It was very tasty and I picked up a recipe or two in their cookbook. Hallie… I know you wanted me to learn one thing while I am here… and I have done it! I have a recipe for sausage rolls. And YUCK! I don’t know why your are interested/obsessed by them, but it is now in my capable hands. I’ll give it a try and then I’ll send you my notes on the recipe… it is all in metric by the way. J

I have to share the commercial I just saw on TV while I was working on this email… It starts showing all of the bronze, beautiful people on some of the famous beaches here in Australia, then poses the question of “What happened to us, Australia?” then shows some shots of fat people lounging on the beach and on the couch and goes on to say. “We have become one of the fat-est developed nations in the world.” They show lots of stats about how many Australians are obese and that 1 in 4 kids are obese, the amount of money obesity is causing (remember they are on public healthcare here…) etc. Wow. What a statement!

Sorry… had to tell you about that one. J Saturday, we drove back to Melbourne and it dawned on me just how flat the Melbourne area is compared to the rest of Victoria. We headed to the Collingwood footy game that evening and watched Collingwood make fools of themselves against Brisbane. They lost miserably by 93 points. Then on Sunday it was Matt’s sisters’ birthday and we met up with all of Matt’s family at his Mum’s house for afternoon tea… Remember, that afternoon tea means eating and drinking to some degree...You just never know if it will be a whole meal or just a snacky type thing. I have learned to love Champaign because we have some just about every time we meet up with Matt’s Mum for anything… which is just about weekly. Kate had a lot left over from her wedding, so we are making the sacrifice of chipping away at the stockpile one bottle at a time. Matt and I gave Kate a necklace that Julia made. Matt picked it out from her website and I picked it up while in Hawaii on my way here. It was a huge success and Julia now has lots of Australian admirers of her work. J It was a fun gathering with his family but it made me awfully homesick. I miss my friends and family back home lots and lots now. Not that I wasn’t before, but just watching his family all interact together, made me miss home. So I ate graham crackers and American marshmallows when I got home and will probably have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner. J

Sorry I don’t really have any pictures from this trip… hopefully next time.

Take care all of you, and enjoy some summer sunshine for me. I am tired of the chill of winter! L

Cheers,

Beer, Pokies and Crocadiles...

Okay, for you Monday morning breakers… reading this may take longer than your allotted 15 minutes… but if you don’t care, or know you’ll make it up some other time anyway… read on. Otherwise, you would be smart to read this at lunch instead. It is a little long winded. Not only because it has been awhile since I have written anything, but also because there was just sooo much to write about from the last trip. Matt had a work trip to north of Sydney. So on Sunday morning we packed up and flew up to Sydney. It is only an hour flight and we had a rental car waiting for us at the airport. I got to navigate to the rich, North Sydney suburb of Manly. Just to give you a snippet of the housing I caught mere glimpses of (remember—I was in charge of navigating so I was staring at a map most of the time), Sydney is a harbor city, therefore just about everywhere you go in Sydney, you can see water. And the homes of the northern suburbs take full advantage of any view they can muster. I saw a 6 story house that had an entire wall of plate glass windows. I could see the white couches and artistic lamps and chandeliers. There was a sweeping staircase that curved to each of the floors while taking advantage still of the view. This home hovered on the side of a cliff with three homes plastered below it. I am sure that then home was easily valued over 2 Million dollars and everyone driving down the highway could see into the house day or night. There were no blinds that I could see and every room of the house faced the water and the bridge that I was crossing. So much for privacy!

Anyway, as I was navigating, it came really apparent that Matt has no sense of direction nor an attentions span. He had told me this in the past, but I really didn’t realize until this trip just how bad it really was. Perhaps this is because it is the first time we have driven somewhere that was mutually unknown to both of us since we drove to the Blue Mountains two and a half years ago. And when we drove there together, I assumed responsibility for the wrong turns and missed stops because I was trying to navigate from the wrong side of the road and also trying to learn about traveling in Kilometers instead of miles and interpreting all the weird signs along the road. Who wouldn’t be a bad navigator under those circumstances. But now, I am pretty well practiced at the Kilometer thing and have worked out most of the signs and symbols used here on the Australian roadways. I really do think it is Matt and not the navigator. Left and right seemed to have become too complicated to retain for more than about 30 seconds and forget trying to give directions for something more than five minutes away. Hence, I was constantly watching the map so I could make sure to harass Matt in time for a turn or two. Sadly, this meant that I didn’t get to look around me all that much on the complicated route to Manly, but I did get to gaze in awe at a few sites along the way. I want to point out that if you think Seattle traffic is a nightmare… oh my, come, try to drive in Sydney. It is absolutely ridiculous. When you come to visit this lovely city… stick to public transport because it is far easier to tackle and it takes you to pretty much all the sites anyway. So as we wound down into Manly, a much praised surfing beach of the rich and famous, I was shocked to find out that we were staying RIGHT near all the action. We were right across from the pedestrian mall and kiddy-corner to the Manly Warf.

The mall was quiet. Even though it is school holidays here and a lot of people travel this time of year, they weren’t bombarding Manly. They probably went further north to find warmer weather. The weather was fair while we were there if only a little too windy. I can tell that this area is insane during the summer months and packed to the gills. The mall was lined with shops, eateries and “hotels” Hotels here mean pubs/bars. Usually with a ‘bistro’ inside serving just about anything you want for grub.

At one end of the mall is the Manly Warf where the ferry from central Sydney arrives every half hour or so and the other end lands you at the beach. Not just any beach… but a boardwalk lined beach with nudists, kids and tourists most of the day and then at lunch time the folks dressed in their business suits and skirts come out to have lunch on the steps of the beach. Some even must change at work just for the occasion and take quick swims or surfing stints… Anyway, the place did get crowded from about 11:30 to 2 on Monday.

I managed to find a nice spot to sit and read along the steps until a little Chinese woman decided to plop down with an ENTIRE loaf of bread… She began feeding the Seagulls you can see here and then hords of them came flocking to the area. The noise of them fighting over each little crumb of bread drove me away and I went to find a new place to settle down to read. I did walk by about an hour later and she was still there feeding the birds and was only about halfway through the sack of bread. There area had pretty much cleared of people, so I wasn’t the only one driven away by the scene.

The day spent people watching at Manly really made me start to compare living here with Seattle. You definetly can’t go surfing at lunch in Seattle and you can’t renew your energy stores by catching rays everyday. Although I still think that the overall beauty of Seattle is better. Come on, you have snow capped mountains on either side of you and on those really clear crisp days, you have to relish in the nice weather because they don’t happen everyday. Here, there are in the midst of a 4 year drought and water supplies are down to 18% of capacity here in Melbourne and 50% in Sydney. Some areas are worse than that and we all have water restrictions to some degree. The threat here in Melbourne is that they will move to stage four restrictions come August if they haven’t gotten X amount of rain (by the way X is a VERY large number). Yet, everytime it rains, everyone is complaining about the drizzle and grey skies. The folks at the bakery are always shocked about how non-chalent I am about the rain… walking to work in the rain, I don’t carry an umbrella as when it rains in Seattle it is usually windy too so the umbrellas tend to just snap up and break. I tell them this is nothing because I know that the next day the sun will come back for at least half the day. I tell them about the 29 days of rain we had in Seattle during the winter of 05/06. And not just drizzle of showers… full on rain most of the day. They don’t believe me. Like I said… the rain here is NOTHING!

So the next day we drove further north to the city of Newcastle. This isn’t exactly a city that makes it on many peoples radar when seeing the sites of Australia, but I will say that I really liked the town. It was fairly good sized, but still felt like a small town. It had all the necessities, but retained most of the olde town feel of colonial times.

That evening Matt and I walked to an RSL. Returned Serviceman League. This is a club for members that pay an annual fee. However, if you are a visitor to the area and live greater than 5 K’s, you can come for free and play on the slot machines (pokies) and get cheap food at the bistro… I qualify since I am from another country. J And when I say cheap… I really mean cheap! It was great food, and the prices are subsidised by the house takings from the machines. Think Vegas in a very small establishment. Anyway, we had dinner and I put $20 bucks in the pokies. (remember---slot machine!) I played for about half an hour and was down to about 10 bucks when I hit the ‘bonus’ play and won $37. So I cashed out and found Matt where he was playing Roulette. He was down to about $7 bucks and he had also put in $20. He survived for another 20 minutes or so and then crashed and burned. Meanwhile, I was having my first Ginger Beer. It is SOOOO YUMMMMMYYYYYY. I can’t go back to Ginger Ale after having that stuff! It was like what I imagine going to A&W and getting a fresh root beer must have been like 30 years ago. Matt was jealous of my winnings and so we went back to the hotel. The next day he had to go back up to the suburbs to work at some stations and I was going to walk around the town until he came to pick me up around lunch time.

The town did suffer from severe flooding about three weeks ago when they had some torrential rains in the hills surrounding the Hunter Valley. This all drains into the Hunter River which is a major port at Newcastle. The main level of all the buildings in downtown Newcastle were all boarded up or having repair work done as the flood waters had receded. It was a little eerie to walk down the street and I kept picturing New Orleans in my head. I haven’t been to New Orleans before or since the damage from hurricane Katrina, but can picture in my head now the desolate destruction that must have happened in some parts of that city. In the storms a Bulker ship anchored off shore managed to get blown into the reef/sand bar off the Knobby beach. The spectacle of trying to recover the giant ship was all over the news here for weeks on end and the night before we arrived in Newcastle it was finally tugged off shore 13 miles. From a tower in Newcastle I could see the tanker off shore with its tug boats still attached and later in the day it was tugged into the port for further inspection and repairs as the propellers were damaged while it was stuck and some damage was done to the hull. With damage to the major rail lines and the harbor itself, the major export of coal from the area wasn’t available. In the mean time, the ships scheduled to come pick up there loads to take to China were backing up outside of the port. From Newcastle Beach I could count 24 large bulkers waiting offshore and on the news that night they indicated there were some 74 ships waiting to pick up there loads. The mines inland were all in working order but the rail lines weren’t keeping up because of the ongoing repair work. It sounded like they were close to being 100% again, but who knows. I did take the train out to the suburb Matt was working in to help save him some time and everything seemed fine.

We then drove further north again to the town of Taree. This town is true rural Australia. Even though it has a population of around 18k, it is spread out and we stayed at a Best Western along the Manning River. It was just a small portion of the river that was sectioned off by a decent sized island. The water was thick with brown mud and the banks crowded with overhanging bushes and shrubs. In the morning while Matt was checking out of the hotel, I went down to the BBQ pit to check out the river and half expected to see a crocodile floating just under the surface. I have never got such a chill before. I had to leave pretty quickely because I had freaked myself out so much. I am sure that there aren’t any Crocs in the area, but it definetly felt like there could be. So after Matt worked at the service station for two hours we started to drive to Singleton which is a bit west of Newcastle. There was a town on the map with my name so we took a back route hoping to find a sign with my name, spelled correctly, on it. But, after winding through and around some beautiful valleys, bluffs and stations, there wasn’t so much as a sign for the turnoff. I then promptly fell asleep because the winding ride had exhausted my brain with sensory overload. It was the epitome of Australian landscape. The 100 Kilometer drive was vast, rugged and energizing. The sun was baking the already dry, crusty earth and the muddy streams had evidence of large washouts with scarred sand bars swirling around them ten or fifteen feet on either side. The road followed the path of druken cows through the ruff landscape and if I was the type to get car sick, this would have been the trip to do me in. Luckily, I can hold my own as long as I am not drinking something while reading in the back seat. So, I just marveled at the landscape and since it was the only way to anywhere, I didn’t have to study the map much so I could gaze out the window most of the time. It really made me feel small. As we pulled into Singleton, it was getting dark so I didn’t know what to expect the next day. It was a smallish town that was A shaped. The two main streets colliding at the tip of the A with little side streets crisscrossing in between. The main strip that was to the south had shops and cafes lining the busy street and I went exploring over in that direction since Matt had to work at yet another service station. As I wandered along I came across a sign for the worlds largest sun dial. Okay… Can’t resist that, so I went to have a looksie. Sure enough there was a nice big sun dial and a man wearing white socks, tennis shoes and shorts was animately talking to a woman with long hair, sunglasses and a light jacket. Americans. I made my way over to them and asked them where they were from, they were surprised when I said that I was from Seattle (remember—Australians have no idea where Spokane is for the most part). So I chatted with them about where their journey was taking them and recommended a few places along the coast (Narooma is one of them) and they went on their way so I could take this picture of the worlds larges sundial that points south instead of north!

Exciting isn’t it??? I thought so! Anyway, then Matt and I took off to get back to Sydney. And we took the road less travelled back to the big city. Again unequal beauty and mistique as we wound our way through the Yengo National Park. Again, I found myself comparing the vastness of this land and the urban-ness of the city. As I was riding along, I couldn’t help bu be overwhelmed by the cast difference this area felt from everywhere else I had traveled so far. When we went to the Blue Mountains, this landscape is similar to that area, but the emptiness felt much greater here because we still had 100 Kilometers to a city or town. Where the route to the Blue Mountains is dotted with towns and service areas. I really began to realize where the cities and happenings are and why they are so crowded. I miss the country. This trip really made me crave small town America. Taree and Singleton reminded me of Colville and reminded me that there is no going back there for me anymore. My Grandparents house will be sold by the time I return home to the states. This caused a very strange sensation to wash over me. From longing and homesickness to resolve and a renewed strength to make my own way in life and build my new version of home.

No one can tell me that Australia is unfriendly. I have met many nice people. People that are willing to stop and provide directions, information or recommendations. And people that are just happy to be here. America could take a lesson from the folks here. Especially the people in the smaller towns and cities. Absolutely hospitable. The cities are definitely cities here as anywhere… probably slightly nicer than the average American city, but the towns are where the gems are. This trip really made me miss living in the country and being neighbors with people you actually knew. I had a rare experience in Seattle with my neighbor Sharon being so open and friendly I think. Anyway, take some time and meet your neighbors if you don’t already know them. It is invaluable, whether it is for that ‘cup of sugar’ to finish up the baking or someone to notice that something at your house isn’t right… Know your neighbor. I have to take my own advice and meet my neighbors. One of these days very soon, that is my goal for this month, to meet my neighbors. Just wait, I’ll meet them all and then Matt will finally decide to be serious about house shopping and I’ll have to start over again. That’s okay. J It will give me something more to write about!

I do want to share a few more things (told you it was long winded!). First of all, driving back through Sydney to the airport was costly! We had to pay a toll for the freeway into the city. $4.40 and then to take the tunnel under the harbor was another $3.00… Not only that, but it was very confusing. We wanted to try and take the Harbour Bridge (the one you see in all the pictures) but at the last second realized that we were in the wrong lane. We were hoping to see the USS Kitty Hawk that has anchored in the Harbor for a week to let its crew have a bit of a rest on its way to or from—not really clear on that—the Middle East. There are about 5000 crew members on board and the city of Sydney was quite excited to have all the boys on shore. Oh… by the way, prostitution is legal here and the Brothels were at the pier ready to welcome the ‘boys’. The news was interviewing a couple of the women and asking about their rates and how much they anticipate making while the soldiers were in the city… unbelievable!! None of them actually said their rates, but hinted about making >$10,000 this week alone. OMG!

The last thing I want to share is this link to a map I created on Google. This has all the sites I have visited since meeting Matt. I don’t have my original trip on here as of yet and I haven’t decided if I am going to put it on there… but as I see sites, I’ll add book marks. I also put Matt’s family’s homes on there as reference. J

http://maps.google.com.au/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&om=1&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107762479173856320796.000001120dbd6016194e6&ll=-34.270836,146.074219&spn=18.228947,41.132813&z=5

If you click on the link and then on any of the funny blue bookmark peg things and then zoom in, the bookmark you selected will stay centered and you’ll be able to see a lot more detail.

As always, keep letting me know what the news at home is because I love hearing from all of you! If any of you have a web cam and want to chat, I am usually logged in 3-4 times a week around your early evening time on MSN. alison.edgett@hotmail.com send me an invite, I would love to see you!!

Cheers,

Alison

It's a Small World After All!

So I have been told in the past that I know everyone… I really thought that by moving to another continent in a different hemisphere that I could prove those people wrong… but alas, it is not to be true. I have come to learn through the power of internet and being unemployed for near two months that someone I went to high school (and college by the way) with lives here in Melbourne… The best part is , is it is someone really cool that I thought was pretty nice back in the day of Cheney High. John lives in St Kilda which is a suburb just south of the Central Business District (CBD). The CBD would be similar to downtown Seattle from about Pike to James from I-5 to the waterfront but on a river instead of a bay. Anyway, I sent a message to him not too long after I had gotten here but didn’t hear back for some time and I figured either he wasn’t still in the area, didn’t use MySpace much or didn’t want to talk to me. I figured option 1 or 2 were most likely because it wasn’t a very John-like thing to do to ignore someone on purpose. He finally got my message and responded. After the footy game on Monday the 11^th Matt and I met up with him at Federation Square and we had nachos and drinks and caught up a little.

Let me tell you, it is great to have another American to relate to. He has been here for about 9 months or so and has settled in pretty well from the sounds of it, but he has noticed some of the same strange things as I have but he hasn’t been to the footy yet. I hope that he’ll come to a game or two with Matt and I so he can help Matt appreciate my confusion as an American thing and not just a me thing.

Matt’s dad just bought a new place and sold his house. On Monday the 11^th (it was a holiday here—the Queen’s birthday) we went over to the new place to inspect. He had the painters out and is getting new carpet this week before he starts moving his stuff in. It’s a nice three bedroom unit with a lot of cupboards, double garage, ensuite (direct bathroom access from the main bedroom for you non-aussie speakers) and a good size kitchen and courtyard. He got the place for a reasonable price considering the land size and value of the house. He also sold his house for a fair bit and has been able to buy a new car with the proceeds. He is pretty excited and it got Matt looking at housing again. We found one in the same suburb online that has an inspection (open house) Thursday morning that I plan on going to just to check things out.

Oh---I need to tell you about the Mexican adventure… After watching Pirates of the Caribbean III on Sunday we went to dinner at Taco Bills. This Australia’s version of Azteca or Las Magheritas/Taco Bell combined. Taco Bills has sit down or takeaway and the menu was pretty complete. The best part was the drink menu. Magheritas. Now, they had the fancy flavours (strawberry, mango, watermelon etc) and extra shots of this or that, but how does their standard magherita stand up? Lemon, not lime flavour (and no—according to Aussie English I have not spelled flavor wrong) and really sweet. I drank it… and I had another, but definitely not the same as Las Magheritas (next to the Symetra office in Bellevue) by any means. What I wouldn’t give for Tequila Tuesdays on 8^th Ave in Bellevue. :P

Working at the bakery is still fun. I have become “That American girl at the bakery” and have figured out most of the regulars. Everyone has been very nice still and they all like to try to complain about how cold it is here. Don’t worry. I don’t let them get away with that. They think 10° Celsius is cold… HA! That is nothing. Besides they keep sneaking in these really warm sunny days every so often. Nothing like the wet grey months of Seattle winters.

So far, no trips have come up that I’ll actually get to go on, but as soon as they do, you all will be the first to know. Hope you are enjoying your nice warm summer. I really miss summer. I don’t recommend two winters in a row to anyone… even though this is a mild winter, It is still dark way too early and the cold days are a bit tiresome when I should be thinking about Seafair, Hydro’s and the Milk Carton Derby at Green Lake.

Miss you all!

Cheers,

I miss quarters...

And no… I don’t mean the sporty evenly divided period kind… I mean good ‘ole George Washington/Eagle Freedom or State Quarters. The twenty five cent piece. The best coin in the world.

Where do I start??? On Friday the 18^th, I went for a walk to Hamilton Street (ten minutes away) to go to the News Agent, a little shop that sells newspapers, lotto tickets, stationary, makes copies, etc... On the other side of the train station, there is a little street that has some local shops on either side of it. There are a couple of coffee places, a lawyer, a dentist, a chemist (pharmacy) IGA (yes, this is the same as in America—Independent Grocer) a butcher, a fresh fruit and veg stand, a bakery, some op-shops (Salvation Army—second hand type stores) and a post office among other things. So I went for a wander down the Hamilton Street after buying my new favorite magazine “The Notebook.” As I walked by the Bakery I looked in to see how busy it was and I noticed a sign that said they had a unique and rare opportunity… Somebody took Marketing when they were in school… J Anyway, it just said Call David if interested. So, I programmed the number in my mobile—that’s right, I am using the word ‘mobile.’ And continued on my walk. On the way home I ran a conversation through my head a half dozen times about why I wanted to work in the bakery. When I got home, I called and left a long rambling message about being an American and wanting to plant roots in the neighborhood or something absolutely opposite of all the conversations I planned out in my head. Anyway, a few hours later, David called me back and gave me some information about the position and said he would talk to his business partner over the weekend and get back to me.

When Matt got home from work I told him a little about the job and we went to the bakery on Sunday before catching the train for the footy game. We got some Danishes and the place was pretty busy. It smelled sooo yummy! On Monday morning, David called me and asked me to come around at noon to meet him and Sharon for coffee and a chat. Now… I know I came from a pretty formal industry working in Life Insurance for 4+ years… but what happened next was just the strangest interview I have ever been through. David and Sharon were really nice and we went to a little coffee house down the street for ‘coffee.’ Most of you know me well enough to know that I don’t drink coffee and I am caffeine intolerant so avoid chocolate, most teas and soda… so going to a coffee house in a country where tea and coffee are the most important part of 90% of peoples days… I had to order something. Luckily, prominently displayed was some caffeine free teas and one that was apple spice or something that sounded pretty good. Sharon and I sit down after ordering the tea and we have a little chat about the bakery and David’s background with Bakers Delight which she indicates are the biggest bakery in the world (I haven’t confirmed this information) and that David broke away after some poor dealings with them and opened up his own bakery.

Side Note: Bakers Delight has franchised to Western Canada under the name of COBS. They have recently opened a bakery in Bellevue at Crossroads also name Cobs… I suggest you wet-siders stop by and take a gander. Then you can see a very similar set up to what this bakery is like…

Anyway, Sharon told me all sorts of information about the shop, what the culture is like, how they operate and what the position would be like. The culture sounded like exactly what I needed and wanted to get my feet wet with. Besides. I love to bake and be in the kitchen and maybe, just maybe, someone there could share with me how they make pie crusts. J David joined us after about 20 minutes and then he told me a little more about the shop. He admitted to being a little bit of an aggressive, vocal personality, but only because he knows the business and wants everyone to do the best they can. Anyway, they wrapped up the conversation knowing very little about me, they hadn’t asked for a resume or what my qualifications were. There weren’t any questions about my integrity or you know the one that ALWAYS gets asked… “Tell me about a time when you… “ You know the one… where you have to tell about a time when you could have made a big mistake… but you were able to persevere and things turned out like a soap opera where everyone was happy and even the customer was raving? I was a little confused at the end of the chat and didn’t really know what to think. David did ask what kind of visa I was on and if I had any limits on working. They asked if it was something I was interested in and if I needed to talk to Matt about it, I could give them a call the next day.

So, I talked to Matt (he was in Perth for work) that night and told him that it just kind of felt right. The two people I met were really nice and I felt like they would be understanding of my limits and the entry level position is what I needed to start getting my feet wet with Australian society. –You all have read my previous emails detailing some encounters… you should understand that things are more different then they first appear. JBesides, if I really liked it, it was something I could continue doing even if I did decide to get a better paying, more along my career path lines type job. As well as it is casual so if it was too much, I could cut my hours down and take things slower… so I called Sharon in the morning and took the job. They asked if I could come in that day around noon for “induction.” I agreed and soon was at what America calls orientation. I got a tour of the bakery and a few introductions to some of the staff. David asked if I could come in at 10 the next morning and work until around 2 or 3. And there you have it. I work at the bakery now.

The first day went so incredibly fast. I can’t even really say what all I did. I know I learned to slice bread on the big machine and not squish or tear it. Then, I learned that they want me to take everything home… every time I work, so I can sell it to the customers… try it 47 ways so I can describe everything inside and out… Fun. The last thing I remember is trying to make change. Total $2.25. Amount handed to me over the counter $10.00. Now here is s very brief lesson in Australian currency…

Coins: $0.05, $0.10, $0.20, $0.50, $1.00, $2.00

Notes: $5.00, $10.00, $20.00, $50.00, $100.00

Now. I worked at Subway for something like 4+ years and have had many volunteer stints at booths selling everything from raffle tickets to beer, so giving change can almost come as second nature to me… so, the $2.00 coins no problem… actually, love them. J They are about the size of a nickel, but thicker and gold colored. Okay, so my problem? What do I do about the lack of 3 quarters to make $0.75???I froze. Deer in headlights. Wait, should I say Kangaroo in headlights now? There aren’t deer here. Anyway… I froze. The lovely Sharon asked me “what do you need love?” and I just stammered something about coins and quarters and how, wha, where, I mean..ummmmmmmmmmm… WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!!! I am just staring at the change drawer and frozen. Finally Sharon must have put together that I needed 75 cents and selected the appropriate coinage out of the drawer and cracked a joke about me being an American who can’t figure out the funny Aussie money…

Well… the best part is… It wasn’t the only time. It was the only time that day but the next day at least 4 times throughout the day 75 cents was stalking me. So, I practiced when I got home. Yes, I got change out of the change jar and practice. Luckily, Friday went a lot smoother and I felt really good. Then… I had the weekend off. Today, first transaction of the day. 6am in the morning… I had to change 2.75… luckily at that time of the morning, no one expects anyone else to be awake and so I could pretend it was because I wasn’t awake yet… ha! If only they knew…

So that it’s it for now. The end of the new job-bakery drama. I hope you enjoyed it. It still cracks me up anyway… or maybe I am just going crazy. Crazy… I was crazy once, they locked me up in a white room…

Cheers everyone!

Oh…and the picture I promised awhile back… here you go!

Remember, this is the Narooma inlet from up on the surrounding hill. The island that is visible towards the left is Montague Island… where the penguins live. J

Oh… and this is a little valley on the way to Tilba Tilba.

Yes, we were driving down the dirt road… oh, and it is a “touring drive…i.e. tourists are supposed to take this route. J It’s historical and very, very scenic. J

Cheers,

So what road trip isn’t complete without rice krispy treats to see you through 8 long hours in the car. I don’t think I have ever been on a decent road trip with out them. So, given that Matt and I were about to embark on an 8 hour car trip to beautiful Narooma, I thought it would only be appropriate to make some of the handy, easy-to-eat-while-driving snack that can keep you happy and nutritioned for hours. Okay—so maybe not nutritioned—unless you are Kristy who can live on coffee and ‘snacks’ for weeks on end, but needless to say, they are filling. So off to the ever-confusing grocery store, or as Matt likes to say, supermarket for another adventure in the baking aisle.

First, the cereal aisle. Where I find Rice Bubbles. These are in a bright blue box with three very similar characters on the front of the box that look and are dressed just like Snap, Krackel and Pop, my good friends from America. Then to the baking aisle, where I wander very slowly looking for some resemblance to marshmallows. I find some finally, ¾ of the way down the aisle on the bottom shelf there are three varieties. Multi-pastel colored miniature sized ones. Medium pink and white ones and “large” sized pink and white ones. Large marshmallows here are apparently half the size of good ‘ole Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows back home. So I debate. I could buy 4 packages of the ‘large’ ones and pick out all the pink ones to have enough white ones to make a small batch or I can risk using the pink and the white together and should only need two packages. I decide to consult the back of the Rice Bubbles box to see what kind of quantities it says since everything is in metric and the recipe as I remember it says 40 large (remember—US large is twice the size of Aussie large) or 4 cups of miniature… again, their miniatures are like 6 colors and I know they won’t look good melted together… As I browse the back of the box there are three recipes and not a single one of them for rice bubble snacks… I decide to turn to the side, as what Rice Krispy box doesn’t have the staple treat printed SOMEWHERE!! Nope. Nothing. Not even anything close. Alright, it is down to my good judgment and I head to the Lolly aisle.

Yes, the Lolly aisle. AKA candy aisle. Here I find a large assortment of tear dropped shaped “cloud” candy. It is closer to the size of Jet-Puffed Marshmallows, but still, white and pink. So I stick with what I have. I made them, and they taste much the same, but they are a nice shade of pink. Matt ate some and I asked if he ever had any back in Seattle on any of his visits and he doesn’t remember having any. I tried to convince him to envision them without the pink and he looked rather confused…nope, still didn’t remember them. Oh well-all is well.

The road trip. We drove a lovely 8 hours from Melbourne northeast to Narooma. Let me tell you. This is the part of Australia I wish I had seen on my very first trip here. Absolutely gorgeous. Every last mile—uh, I mean Kilometer. After about an hour and half of travelling we were officially in rural country. Rolling green hills and ‘mountainous’ peaks… aka, larger hills that resemble mountains when everything else is so flat. As we drove I saw a sign for Snowy River. I asked if it was “the” Snowy River” (from the movie ‘The Man from Snowy River’ and ‘Return from Snowy River.’) and I was told we were quite close to ‘High Country’ which was Matt’s cryptic way of saying ‘Yes’. Let me tell you the movie does not do this area justice—and if I remember correctly, the movie had some beautiful scenery in it. Nothing like seeing in the flesh. It was a nice, sunny day and as we drove closer to the coast, the greener things got. Parts of the way were quite windy through gum tree lined gullies and wrapping around rocky limestone cave regions. Then we would come around dramatic corners to catch glimpses of the shiny blue ocean. After we left a little town there was a lookout that looked back over the sleepy valley. I took some pictures that are on Matt’s camera and I will send some along here as soon as I get them downloaded to my computer. It, like the movie, does nothing for how beautiful it was. It was right near sunset so the light wasn’t to strong and the colors may not have turned out quite right.

Now we have landed in Narooma and it was pretty dark when we pulled in. It rained something fierce over night and it is a little overcast still this morning, but I can see how tropically beautiful this area is. It is suppose to be getting on into winter and yet everything is green and several plants are blooming. This area is one of the most mild in all of Australia because it gets warm northerlies in and cool southerlies in but never the extreme of either… By the time they reach this area, they are about as mild as they can be. So the weather is consistent most of the year around, but I would say it is perfect as it is right now. I plan on spending some time walking around this town the next couple of days while Matt is working so I can take lots of pictures. Hopefully we’ll get at least a day or two of nice sunshine so the inlet has it’s best qualities shown.

Day One:

Wow. What a view. I am just in awe of the view from my hotel room. I want to live right HERE!

What great weather too. Pack up the sunscreen, visor and camera and I am that lone tourist in town because this is the off season my friends and this sleepy little town has nothing but Rugby and fishing to keep the locals busy. I took a nice little walk down to the left from the hotel and very shortly I was on the “flat” as they call it. This is where the main little strip of shops and services are and there are two large caravan parks on either side of the two lane highway that serves as the main drag through town. Also. There is one signal along the highway in this area and it is for a crosswalk, not for cross traffic. Anyway, Matt is working along the highway at a service station so I stop to check on him. He has a little bit of a toothache that developed before we left Melbourne, but he seemed to think it was going to be fine. Ha. I know what kind of agony my sister went through with her tooth from hell, I wasn’t convinced. He told me it was getting worse and it is only day one. On I continued across the bridge. The water below is brackish sea water meets fresh water but clear as Evian water. Stunning turquoise blue and full of fish.

I walk along the footpath to Mill Bay board walk. The board walk goes across the north shore of the inlet and out to the protective rocks. I had a look at the tide schedule before I left the room and knew that high tide was to come within the hour. As I walked along the boardwalk I was in true wonderment at the clearness of the water. Then I noticed this stream of fish. Millions of these were lined up and swimming in with the tide. The line up began about where the Gum trees began shading the water and it turns out that it continued all the way to the end of the boardwalk. Millions.

Little did I know that I would get to see the biggest Sting Ray I have ever seen. Not that I have seen that many, but it was incredible. I found myself following its elegant, graceful movement back down the boardwalk and took half a dozen photos along the way. It seemed to be very happy to stroll along the bottom right near the boardwalk in the shade of the Gum Trees. I learned later in the day on my walk back to town from a local man that there is one that is very friendly with the local fishing charters and often hangs around the fish cleaning station on the other side of the bay when the charters come in with their haul for the day. The local seaman feed it and it is quite tame and nice. Don’t worry Mom, I was very safe on the boardwalk and there was no chance the deadly barb could get anywhere near me, much less in my heart like the incident that killed Steve Irwin last September. The thought did cross my mind as I watched this one go by.

I could go on for pages about all the wildlife and stuff I got to see on this day… but these are by far the highlights of day one. In the evening Matt and I drove a couple of miles down the road to Mystery Bay where he taught me all sorts of fun and exciting facts about geology. I learned about folding, why some rocks weather or wear away faster than others and dykes. Absolutely fascinating. Rob—you and Matt could go for hours I am sure. While we were exploring all the fascinating rocks, I found some fun tidal pools filled with anemones, little fishies and even a few starfish. Matt was on the hunt for crabs, but we didn’t find any.

On day two I went for a walk along the south end of the inlet and took in the view of Montague Island where fur seals take a rest and a small colony of penguins call home. The island has some significance in the local aboriginal history and has been preserved from any danger by the Australian government. You can take guided tours out to the island to check out the historic light house and it is a very popular tour in the spring (August through October) as there is fabulous whale watching as they head towards the Antarctic ocean. Then down to the beach to look at more tidal pools and this fabulous rock. Look like anything you might know?

Day three:

I got to help Matt with some Micropurging. Woo-hoo! His toothache was making things very difficult for him to concentrate. It wouldn’t be because he couldn’t really eat anything and he was taking some codeine coated painkillers to get through the day or anything… He did make an appointment for the next day with a local dentist, but had to finish up with 8 monitoring wells before we could go back to Melbourne. Abby—I don’t know how you do this for a living… Definitely not my cup of tea. J Fun for the day… not a career option for me. The next day, even though Matt was struggling, we did take a nice drive around the inlet and I got to see lots of birds and a great view of the inlet from higher up.

We also drove to Tilba Tilba. This town exists because of cheese. This whole area is very good for dairy cows because it has lush grass year around and the weather is not too extreme cold or hot, so Bega, Tilba and Bodalla all grew up to be great cheese towns. Think Wisconsin, but warmer. J Now Tilba is a historical town with local artisans and crafters selling their wares in old little shops. Very quaint and fun for exploring. Matt had an appointment at 3 for his tooth and we had to get back to Narooma. He had an abscess that is now waiting for a root canal in the next week or so. Matt really turned around after that appointment. He was feeling so much better after that was over. In fact, he slept something like 12 hours last night because he hadn’t been able to sleep for nearly a week with the tooth hurting the worst laying down at night.

We made it back to Melbourne and settled back in. I already want to go back to that area. It is just incredible. If you are ever planning on coming this direction… I can’t say enough how great that area was. It is not commercial like some of the other coastal towns I went to on my first trip and it was truly beautiful.

Hope all is well back home and hope to hear from you soon.

Lots of love and a big hug!

Alison