Our Final Few Hours In Melbourne

We're less than 12 hours away from our 4:15 wake-up call, after which it's go-go-go from Melbourne to Sydney to L.A. to Detroit and then eventually home, thanks to brother Rich and his chauffermobile.  That's roughly 30 hours of travel to get through, once again.  It's been a fantastic trip and visit with Tammy and Ryan, and they've been outstanding hosts to us both, but I'm definitely ready to get home and see Jonesy and Emma after a 3-week absence.

Tammy and I did our final "daily workout" this morning, riding the bikes down to the river that runs through downtown (aka "The City"). 

Tammy missed about a week of exercise, thanks to the flu, but I managed to only miss about 4 days out of the 19 we were here.  At one point I was 5 pounds lighter than I'd arrived at, but our weekend driving tour, which featured way too much food and sitting in the car, undid most of that.  I may end up being down a couple pounds or so, which isn't bad for being away for 3 weeks and eating lots of big meals.

Anyway, this should be my final blog post from Melbourne, if all goes well tomorrow. 

Winding Down Down Under

We're very nearly done our Australian trip now.  We've got one full day left - tomorrow, Monday - and then it's a quick, early (7:00 a.m.) flight Tue morning from Melbourne to Sydney before we tackle the longer trans-Pacific and then trans-American flights that will bring us home.

Over this weekend, the four of us went on a driving tour of the southeast coast.  Our first stop was a lovely beach that was perfect for wading out, and throwing a ball around in:

After that, while still-somewhat-sick Tammy slept in the car, the rest of us grabbed some lunch at a fish&chips joint:

Next up was the Gibson Steps, which we didn't count, but there were definitely a lot of them:

In that same area, you can see the famous "12 Disciples" rock formations:

Even atheists are welcome there, it turns out:

Eventually we made it to Port Campbell for the night, a sleepy little resort town:

At the edge of the very small town, there was a jetty into which the ocean roared:

After an evening of Euchre and watching Australian TV in Port Campbell, we got up this morning and made our way to the Loch Ard Gorge:

Vicki was dwarfed by some stalactite-like growths:

and then seriously misjudged either the water's intentions or how water-resistant her pants were, down in the gorge itself:

Our last major stop on the tour was the so-called London Bridge - a big slab of rock that resembled a bridge before a section of it (see left side of photo below) fell into the sea in 1990, stranding a bunch of tourists on the fully-detached side of it until they could be airlifted out:

Then it was back to The City, our cross-country adventuring done:

And all that remained, for me anyway, was to head to the gym to work off some of the 5 pounds I'd packed on during that 2-day trip!!!

Random Updates From Melbourne

Here we are, on Tuesday morning, heading to our unbooked tennis match, full of hope and joy:

And here we are a funny minutes later, devastated by the news that the tennis courts were overrun, wild rabbit-like, by a group of women who had the unmitigated nerve to book their matches ahead of time:

Here are our tennis shoes, discarded and unloved:

Later that night...

Here's Tammy puking 9 times between 3:00 and 10:00 a.m.:

 The next day...



Here's Vicki and I, apartment-bound while Tammy sleeps, watching Bewitched and dreaming of being free:

The next next day:

Here's Vicki in the ocean, up to her armpits in salt water and killin' in a Gilligan hat:

Later that same day...

It was time to visit some fountains, both the white ones:

and the blue ones:

And that was our last 3 days...

Tomorrow we head out on the Great Ocean Road, if Tammy's well enough for it.  She ventured out to a museum/art gallery today, to test out her sea legs after being bed-ridden for 2 days.

Malady In Melbourne

After going to see The Impossible (starring Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor) at the theatre last night, we came home around 11:30, all ready for a good night's sleep.  Or so we thought.

Poor Tammy woke around 3:30, and started throwing up.  We didn't hear her until a couple hours later, but before long she'd vomited half a dozen times on a half-hour frequency, and there didn't appear to be any end in sight.  She eventually got some Gravol into her, allowing her to grab a couple of hours of sleep.

Around 9:30, I headed off to Chapel Street in search of a pharmacy.  There, I was told that Hydralite was what she needed, even though I'd never heard of it before.  I bought some, along with a bottle of "Dry Ginger Ale", and returned home just hoping I hadn't screwed up my mission.

It was awhile before Tammy woke up again, but as soon as she did, Dr. Vicki got a couple Hydralite pills (mixed in cold water) into her, and Tammy immediately reported an improvement.  She said that her body responded to the liquid instantly, such that she wanted to keep drinking it.  She perked right up, as well, after downing the quarter litre of the stuff, and was able to phone Ryan at work and tell him she was feeling better.  She's been sleeping most of the day since then, ingesting another helping of Hydralite along the way.

Our plans for playing tennis in the morning and hitting the beach in the afternoon went out the window for today, but at least Tammy appears to be getting better so there's hope for the future.

A Potpourri Day In Melbourne

Today started with a 1-hr bike ride for Tammy and I, down to St. Kilda Beach. Then it was back home for SuperBowl Monday with Vicki.

When the game looked like a blowout at halftime, Vicki and I took off for lunch (at Grill'd) and a visit to a comic store (Comics 'R' Us) on Chapel Street, before returning to discover that the game had gotten close. Unfortunately, the 49ers still lost, but at least the final quarter was exciting.

This evening, the three of us trammed into The City to meet Ryan for dinner at Sea Salt, a fish & chips franchise (quite good!). Then we strolled around for awhile, taking in the sights and snapping a few pics.

Along the way, I was reminded that the first rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club... and so putting up signs advertising its location should be completely out of the question!

Here's a shot of one of Melbourne's handsomest citizens:

And here's one of its many movie starlets, taking in the night air:

Vicki requested this shot, perhaps because they were nice enough to put her name up on one of their buildings:

And now we're back home, getting ready for our second Euchre Night.  Hopefully this one goes better than the last time, when the cheaters (aka Vicki & Ryan) won by using the underhanded tactic of outscoring poor Tammy & I.

Catching Up In Melbourne

Due to popular demand, or at least one loud-mouthed brother, here is the catch-up on our last couple of days in Melbourne.

Saturday was Market Day, much to my everlasting horror.  We started off at Queen Victoria Market, which was, quite frankly, a zoo:

It seemed to go on forever, or maybe that was just my longstanding aversion to markets at play:

After several days spent there (or possibly slightly less than that), we went looking for lunch. There were lots of interesting choices:

Ha ha, just kidding.  Nobody actually eats there!

Instead, we ended up at a hipster hangout called Little Creatures, that was actually quite good:

We then wandered along Brunswick Street for awhile, only to be tricked into visiting a second market: the Rose Street Artist Market.  My lower back was killing me by then, as it doesn't do well 'milling about' or standing, and we'd done a lot of that already.  Tammy and Ryan purchased a few prints at this stop, but I'd lost my will to live as well as any interest in taking photos.

On Sunday, I opted to stay home and nurse my aching back rather than traveling out to the countryside with the others.

They returned several hours later, with dozens of photos.  I have no idea what any of them are of, but I can make stuff up at least as well as the next fella.

Here's Ryan and Tammy, auditioning for the Australian version of The Amazing Race.  I don't think they got picked:

Next, Vicki and Tammy watched a solar eclipse together:

Fortunately, neither of them went blind (whew!).  The kids then switched brains with a pair of six year olds, and it was all Vicki could do to get them to behave themselves:

Eventually they recovered, though not before Ryan earned an extended 'time-out' for pouring sand over Tammy's head.

After that harrowing experience, it was time for some quiet reflection:

And whatever the Hell this is:

And then they came back, and I'd written most of Chapter 9 in my 3rd novel, so who's to say which of us had more fun, eh?

And now it's SuperBowl Monday, as we spend our late morning and early afternoon taking in the battle between San Fran and the Ravens.  Go 49ers!!

Not Much Of An Update

I've been battling a bit of homesickness lately, as well as a sore lower back.  There are pictures on the camera from the last two days but I haven't gotten around to downloading them just yet.  Maybe tomorrow, while we watch the Super Bowl (on a Monday!) I'll get around to it, but no promises.

On the bright side, though, I've just finished another chapter of my 3rd novel.  Chapters 8 and 9 were both written here in Melbourne, and there may even be more to come before we get back home.  Words are flowing in that direction, at least, even if my blogging has taken a temporary hit.

A Beautiful Day In Melbourne

Tammy and I started the day off with a jog-and-walk around Albert Park, during which we had to contend with scenery like this:

We then spent part of the afternoon on Chapel Street, visiting a comic store, eating amazing burgers at Grill'd, and then hitting the Farmers Market on the way home:

After 6:00, hard-working Ryan finally got released from the salt mines (where he'd worked every night this week until 10:00 or later) and joined us in The City for dinner at an amazing outdoor Italian restaurant:

From there, we visited a downtown alley that's specifically set aside for graffiti artists to show their talents:

On our way to a souvenir shop, I spotted the rarest of the rare: a McDonald's that's actually been re-branded as "Macca's", which is what all Australians call the golden arches: 

I have no idea how that ever got approved by McD's Corporate HQ, but I guess somehow it did.  If you look beyond the two Macca's signs in that picture, you'll also see a Hungry Jack's placard.  That's really just a Burger King.  When they introduced BK to Australia, nobody ate there.  But changing the name apparently saved the franchise Down Under.  Weird, huh?

We're settled in for the evening now, and I just realized that we've reached the midway point of this trip of ours.  We've been on the road for 11 days so far, and have another 11 to go before we'll be back home with Emma, Jonesy and Lucy once again.  I think the second half is going to have to go some to match what we've seen and done so far, but who knows: maybe it'll even top it!

A Rainy Day In Melbourne

We've been here a week now and hadn't seen any significant precipitation, which I'd call awfully lucky for a vacation.  But today our luck finally ran out, and the rain moved in:

Tammy and I managed to get a tennis game in this morning, before it got wet, and Vicki and I even got to the nearby Subway for lunch just ahead of the first deluge. Since then, though, we've been socked in by the rain.  It was home cooking (steak, rice & corn) for dinner and now we've settled in for some Aussie TV viewing, as it's just too intimidating to head out in the downpour that's been happening for hours now.

In the absence of anything very interesting by way of a travel update for the day, here are a few tidbits that I've been looking for the chance to introduce:

• "No worries" appears to be the most common go-to phrase around here, as it gets used in place of "You're welcome," "That's OK," and even "See you later," sometimes.
• Everything's incredibly expensive here, sometimes costing as much as twice what we're used to paying back home.  However, the high cost of living can sometimes be at least a little misleading, as posted prices in AUS always include any taxes and tips that might apply.  So a plate of fish & chips for $22.50 seems outrageous, but to compare apples to apples you'd have to consider it as being more like $17.50 before adding 13% HST and 15% tip in Ontario.
• Melbourne's impressive in many ways, including how energetic and vibrant it is.  You see a huge number of cyclists here, as well as people walking and running.  We'd only been here about a day before I remarked to Vicki that there were hardly any obese people to be seen, in sharp contrast to what you see today in any major American city, for example.  There's a real emphasis on physical activity here, making it easy for Tammy and I to undertake our goal of working out once a day during our visit.
• Vicki's been keeping a journal of our trip, which she started in the Detroit airport before we got on our first flight.  I'm terribly impressed by this, as I know writing doesn't come naturally to her as it does for some of us.  I really hope she decides to type up her notes when we get home, so that she can share them with others.
• I've loved getting to know Tammy again, after years of not seeing her very often.  This is the largest amount of quality time she and I have had in probably a decade or more, and I wouldn't have missed this experience for anything.

Beaches, Smooches And Sweets Day

Today was one of the hottest days of our stay here in Melbourne, so we decided to make it another beach day.  We went to the much-closer-to-home St. Kilda Beach, a short tram ride from Tammy's apartment.  The water was extremely calm, and only felt cold until you went under and got completely wet.  After that, it was delightful, so Tammy and I did a few laps and generally hung out together in Salt Water Heaven for close to half an hour while Vicki stood guard back on the shore:

When we'd had our fill of that, we walked by the entrance to the world-famous Luna Park amusement area and provided unsuspecting passersby with a brief public display of affection:

Then it was time for lunch at an Acland Street pub:

But we didn't order dessert, as we had a few stops to make on our way back to the tram stop:

That's right - we made purchases at three different cake shops! You got something you want to say about that? Nah, I didn't think so.  By the time we climbed onto the tram home, we had a small cache of yummy treats to last us for the next several days.

Not long after returning home, Tammy organized a family fitness session, managing to get all three of us down to the gym for 20 to 30 minutes of strenuous exercise in order to earn a dessert reward later on.

I'm not sure what our evening plans are just yet, but it's already been another fantastic day here in Melbourne.

Our Miserables Night

No, that's not a typo: we went to see Les Miserables last night!  I surprised both of my girls with the news that "I'd be OK going to Les Mis... I know how much both of you would enjoy that."  Then I surprised myself by actually loving it!  I know - a musical that I loved!  What are the odds?  We talked about it all the way home afterward.

Other than that, it was a quiet day here in Melbourne.  Ryan worked (we never even saw him, actually) while Vicki and Tammy shopped in the afternoon and I did a little writing.  I needed some down time after the hectic-but-wonderful long weekend, and I got it.

This morning Tammy and I were supposed to go for our first run, but that was scheduled for 7:30 and she's still sleeping as we approach 9:30.  It's probably too hot now for anything quite so strenuous, but there's always tomorrow (or possibly even tonight, if it cools back down and we're not busy).

We're now about 1 week into our 3-week vacation, and it's been terrific so far.  I haven't started feeling too homesick yet, but I'm sure I will.  It definitely helps having both Vicki and Tammy here... now if only Jonesy could've come, too! :(

One Crazy Fun Day Follows Another

Sunday's adventure to the Dandenong Ranges was followed up on Australia Day Monday with even more fun. Tammy and I started the day off right: going for a 2-hour bike ride around Melbourne, taking in the harbour and the nearest edge of The City (downtown) as well as several other areas:

Vicki got the driving tour while we were gone, courtesy of Ryan and the rental car. Then we all reconvened back at the apartment for our arvo (afternoon) and evening travels. We embarked on a 90-minute drive to Philip Island, to wade around in the water where the surfers go:

After lunch, it was Surprise # 1 of the day, thanks to Tammy & Ryan: koalas!

In the same conservatory, we got our first good glimpse of wallabies, also known as "mini kangaroos":

We then had dinner and hung out near another beach on Philip Island, waiting for the sun to get lower in the sky. Vicki and I didn't know why we were doing that, until we got to our final destination, and Surprise # 2 for the day: the world famous Penguin Parade!

Photography wasn't allowed during the march of the adorable little blue creatures as they came out of the ocean and headed to their burrows where hungry offspring awaited, crying out for food. It was a remarkable sight, though, especially as we moved to the boardwalk just above their path, placing us a mere foot or two away from thousands of waddling hunters returning home in small groups just minutes after sunset. I did manage to snap one fuzzy photo before the march began, showing one of the baby penguins waiting near its hole for its parent to bring home the proverbial bacon:

What an incredible experience it was to see this daily ritual acted out before our eyes!

Then it was time for us to make our own trek home, weary but extremely gratified by the day's events.  Major kudos to Ryan and Tammy, once again, for organizing and executing the perfect day trip for their guests.