Top 5 Friday!

Arthur's top 5 adventures in Australia:

5) Taking in the view from the top of Sydney Tower



4) Taking the ferry to Manly, twice



3) Visiting Wildlife World and petting a koala and a huge bug (on separate visits)



2) Playing in the sand at Bondi Beach



1) Hiking to a waterfall overlook in the Blue Mountains

Aaahhh, Myall Lakes!

Saturday we set out from Sydney for a weekend in Myall Lakes National Park, which is about 3-4 hours north of Sydney. It's a rural area near the ocean that reminded us of Monterrey and maybe coastal areas north of SF. The difference is that palm trees and eucalyptus are actually native. They live alongside ferns plus other plants and animals that have no place whatsoever in Nor Cal.

Saturday night after we settled in to our "eco cabins," Linda and I left to do some grocery shopping at the IGA in the nearby metropolis of Booladegah, 15 kilometers away over partially "unsealed track" (some paved road, some unpaved). It was dusk on our drive there, and I was on 'roo duty. Less then 10 minutes into our drive, I cried "Kangaroo! Stop!" And we both watched as a kangaroo stood at the left side of the road, ready to spring across. It was my first wild kangaroo! For about 20 seconds it stood there and then decided to hop across: boing, boing, boing, off into the woods on the other side of the road.

A few minutes later I watched another 'roo (Australians are big on abbreviating) hop casually along the side of the road. It was sublime and satisfying, seeing an animal relegated to zoos and the imagination in the northern hemisphere, as commonplace here as the deer back home.

Sunday morning we set out on an uneventful but lovely bushwalk in the area near our resort. Then we got some food and set out on a drive to a local beach, Seal Rocks. It wasn't long after we arrived that I realized that it may be the nicest beach I have ever been to. It was sheltered by low hills all around, so there was virtually no wind. The sand was as clean and fine as any I've seen anywhere*. During a break from kid duty, I strapped on my boots and scrambled up some rocks (the local kids were doing it barefoot) to the top of an outcropping between the beach and the next bay. It wasn't big, it may have been 50 feet high, but the view from the top reminded me of the high cliff in the movie "Cast Away," the whole continent suddenly seeming as wild and exotic as the desolate island in the middle of the Pacific. There was nothing between me and home except a lot of water and Hawaii, and I half expected to find a mysterious hatch or the recordings of a crazy Frechwoman.

Once I scrambled back down I found my kids were still happily building sandcastles and wandering around the smooth, coal-black rocks, collecting shells and sticks. It was perfect. It was the first time in a long time that a moment was flawless, me and a bunch of my favorite people happy and peaceful in this perfect place, and I wanted it to last forever. We were there for hours, but it seemed like minutes before we had to leave because the sun was getting low in the "winter"** sky.


*It's possible I've been to a nicer beach in Hawaii, but when you're in Hawaii, everything seems better, so it's hard to make a comparison. I really think Seal Rocks is the best ever.

**It's winter here, but it's a safe bet that the weather at Seal Rocks Beach Sunday was nicer than most summer days in Half Moon Bay.

Top 5 Fridays!

Stuff that's backwards here:

5. Driving on the left side of the road

4. Steering wheel on the right side of the car

3. Wall switches: up is off, down is on

2. Sun is in the north

1. Winter starts in June

Last weekend

We had a 3-day trip to Leura in the Blue Mountains, which is a quite lovely and scenic area just west of Sydney. Linda set us up in a really fantastic house close to downtown and great bushwalks (Australian for hikes). Seriously, if you want to book a trip somewhere, but especially Australia or California, talk to Linda.



We went to Scenic World, which is kind of bizarre, given that it's in a national park. If you think Yosemite Valley sometimes seems like a theme park, check this out:


This is a view of the gondolla-boarding platform from the gondolla itself. Above that is Arthur looking through the glass bottom of the Skyway. (I didn't get any pictures on or of the Railway, which features Indiana Jones music, because I was frightened.)



The Blue Mountains really are beautiful, despite the wacky rides. Imagine a gondolla strung from Glacier Point to El Capitan! Anyway, we went on a lovely bushwalk that featured waterfalls and steep cliffs and lots of other cool rocks and stuff that Arthur and the rest of us (including Dad in his awesome new outback hat) loved.



Finally, this is the Three Sisters from Echo Point, one of the biggest attractions in the Blue Mountains. The Sisters appears to be the second most famous rock formation on the continent. There's a lot of flat, sheep-grazing area and desert out there, I guess.

Here we are!

The Southern Hemisphere! The flight went astoundingly well, and we're in our home for the next month: the flat of Steve and Trudy, who are living in our house! (When we were on the plane at some point it hit me that there were probably some strange people walking into our house right then, just movin' on in, like we have now at their home. It was the first time the whole plan seemed weird and crazy to me!

We're all kind of punchy from jet lag, and the boys are napping finally, so that's what I'm going to do...

Almost time to go...

One week from now we'll be in Australia! We'll be fighting jet lag and recovering from a 14-hour flight with two toddlers, but we'll be in Australia! The guest room is pretty much complete. There are some relatively minor clean-up issues in the rest of the house. Last week I packed two suitcases with clothes for me and the boys. This week I need to get the van washed, renew prescriptions, clear out the fridge, obtain some Australia cash, and store away (in the outside office) stuff I don't want our home exchangers messing with (sewing machine, Roomba). And I need to pack carry-on bags.

I'm looking forward to hearing lots of cool Australian accents (are there any good movies with Australian accents in them, so I can start training my ears?); apparently the Australians are very British, and so they say stuff like "lift" and "que," which I get a kick out of. I hope this also includes "trousers" instead of "slacks," because I've always hated the word "slacks" when referring to pants (I think it brings to mind something cheap, plaid and uncomfortable and not suited to Midwestern humidity and heat). And maybe we'll even get to hear Athena's budding Australian-speak!

Heading Down Under?

We've got our best lead yet on a home exchange in Sydney, where Linda and fam are for the year. Some 'hood called Randwick, which sounds very Australian. I didn't think it would take quite so long to find an acceptable home exchange.

I'm also starting to think about all the things we need to do around the house before a home exchange happens. I think I could spend all day, every day for two weeks working on projects and organizing around the house and not be finished...