It's about time

Well, I hadn't posted in a week or more, so I thought I'd put out a brief update. I spent the weekend publishing the pictures from the Australia trip 2006, as well as a brief little section of pictures from New Year's Eve. I could have published them separately, but I was being lazy. Anyway, go take a look at Our latest album and see how much fun we had. I am still not 100% enamored with the JAlbum Editing Software but it is shareware program and I haven't actually contributed any money, so you get what you pay for.

We hosted the largest hold-em party to date. There were 16 people playing. That was amazing. I am glad to see it is getting some traction. It isn't a very serious poker match, but it is a lot of fun. I didn't do very well, but once again I got to playing loose instead of playing tight. That means I lost a few hands I shouldn't have, and ended up getting put all in a couple of times. Once you are short stacked, it is just a matter of time before you get eliminated. I did manage to double up on some folks a couple of times, though, so I didn't feel too bad. Still, it is somewhat hard to be a gracious host and let a ton of folks play poker in your own house. I am getting better at it though. LOL

Colleen and I went with some friends to a Brazilian Steakhouse in Cary for dinner over the weekend. It was quite tasty in my opinion. For some, however, the meat was a bit rare, and the cuts can be a bit fatty, especially if you eat the beef. But, they had wonderful food overall, and Caipirinhas are very tasty, despite being very strong. We wandered over to a pool hall and spent a good part of the evening playing pool badly. :)

Just got word back from my doctor. Looks like my liver functions have returned to normal. That's in no small part to my loss of 47 pounds in the last 6 months. It is also likely due to the dietary changes in general, but either way, I am glad to hear I am back to baseline for my liver. That means I can go to the doctor, see how bad my cholesterol is and then likely get on some form of medication for it. Who knows? Having lost this weight, maybe I managed to fix my cholesterol enough to avoid that as well. I know my primary doctor will still want me to lose more weight, but I am not really sure I want to. I should do more working out or exercise more, but right now I am managing to maintain where I had lost to, and that's goodness.

Well, wanted to try to get at least a brief post out here. I am going to really try hard to do this at least weekly unless I have something interesting going on in my life. For those of you that are out there, hope this is enough. :-)

Cheers!

A week of reality

Well, one week after the trip, and reality has definitely reared its ugly head. Turns out somehow we missed the window, and didn't bring home the souvenir we wanted. That didn't leave Colleen in the best of moods. I was very surprised, however, to hear her admit that she had seen some things that wouldn't have been possible had she been pregnant, or had delivered our baby in October.

Bills by the truckload have started to pour in. UGH! Oh well, I knew at some point they'd come back. At least this time around I did a pretty decent job of paying as we went. We really didn't take on as much debt as we could have for the trip, though it does mean we'll be eating macaroni and cheese for a while. LOL

I did collect $100 from one of my co-workers. Seems he wasn't able to stay quit from smoking, and he smoked while I was in Australia. That meant he owed me the cash based on our bet. I am glad I managed to stay quit. I don't want to go back to smoking.

Today was a very good day for me. I did household chores. Shopping, laundry, and cleaning. I wanted to try to get all of it done before Colleen came home so that she wouldn't have to do anything. She had to work all weekend, and that was hard for her. She does seem excited about the merger at work, however, and the potential that Macy's and Federated Stores can bring to her job.

As for me, I am beginning to question if I stayed with this team too long. I felt at the end of last week that my message was getting lost because I have alienated too many people and they only see the messenger, and don't hear the message. I don't know, but if something doesn't change soon, I may bring in my bag of guns and open fire (that's a joke of course, I don't own a single gun, much less a bag.)

More poker this week. Back to the routine. Maybe I can at least show again. That would be cool. Finishing in the money in your own home is somewhat rewarding. Having to sit and be a gracious host while everyone else competes for the cash SUCKS!!!!!! :-)

Cheers!

Day 32

Well, what can be said? Day 32 was a travel day, and a long one at that (really what should be called THE travel day, as it is all the way back home.) We left the hotel at about 9AM Melbourne time, and caught the first leg of our journey at 12:20. We landed at LAX at approximately 8AM PST on Friday morning. I can't get past that. We landed 4 hours before we took off. LOL. I didn't get any sleep on the flight for some unknown reason, and neither did Colleen. She was not at all happy, again, with me in Business class and her in Economy. Still, we had plenty of time to get through customs, etc. and be ready for our flight to Dallas. She was able to catch a smoke, which at least helped settle her nerves a bit.

American had the flights completely booked, so I couldn't get her upgraded to First class on the domestic legs. Since she was so upset, I told her she could fly home First class on the domestic legs. That gave her a pretty decent chance at some sleep (and a couple of free cocktails to allow her to be drowsy.) I felt a little better about that.

In the security line at LAX, we stood behind Michael Ian Black. If you have seen the recent Sierra Mist commercials, it was exactly like that, since we watched him go through the security gate. He had a very nice iMac, one of the 17-inch bad boys. A real brush with greatness once again. This one was cool because he was a pop celebrity, not a tennis or sports celeb. He did have some partially faded cheesy fake tattoo on his neck, and looked like he'd been partying the night before, but who were we to judge? I know I looked bad. I had been up 16 plus hours already.

While waiting for our flight, we were approached by a fairly drunk man looking for a light for his cigarette. He had flown in from Sydney, and apparently took advantage of the business class liberal alcohol policy. Now, I will admit that I did have at least one in the Melbourne airport to calm my nerves before flying, but I wasn't going to be lit by the time I hit LAX. That's a recipe for disaster and serious jet lag. More water, less alcohol. :-)

The Dallas flight was uneventful. We got to our gate early enough to grab some food in the terminal. Our last junk food meal. :-) By the time we got to Dallas, I was fading fast. When we boarded the plane, I was asleep in coach even before the plane had left the gate. That was handy. Still, I didn't manage to finish my last book. I only have a couple hundred pages left, but I had really thought I'd be done after all the flying.

We landed in Raleigh to find winter once again. Well, actually, when Colleen went outside to smoke, she and I discovered that Dallas was bitterly cold as well. But, it was somewhat rainy, cold and damp here. Very much a winter day in the South. We landed at 9PM. I did the math, and we had left Melbourne at 8PM on Friday night. That meant it was a total of 25 hours of flying time, and a 29 hour day for us. We got home to a ton of mail, etc. to have to go through. Ahh, the miracle of coming back to reality. Bills, checkbook balancing, and taxes. :-(

Well, this is going to be the last post I promised as a daily. I know, I didn't post until Monday, but I was tired, and jet lag had kicked in. I will keep up the blog, and continue to post as interesting things come through. Be on the lookout on our main site for the pictures and slide shows. We definitely have some interesting ones out there. :-)

Cheers!

Day 31 was a travel day. A short hop from Hobart back to Melbourne. Because we had to check out at 10 AM, and the flight didn't leave until almost 5 PM, we had a bit of time to kill. To fill some of it, we chose to visit the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. It was very interesting. Not much in the way of classic art, but some interesting stuff about convicts (go figure) and quite a bit of modern art I really enjoyed. There was a natural history section, and despite them being a museum, did little to satisfy my curiosity about the Tasmanian Tiger, a Thylacine. Still it did consume a couple of hours, which was our goal.

The flight was delayed, which only served to confirm my opinion that I will always plan to travel one day before I want to get there, just in case. In the airport, we did manage to find a power source, and watched Raising Arizona. The flight was uneventful, thankfully.

When we got to the hotel, the Medina Grand was nice enough to give us a free upgrade to the penthouse suites (sorry Sacha!) That means we're on the 21st floor, requiring a special elevator, and we are staying in a 3 bedroom, two story room for the regular room rate. How cool is that. I set the camera and Colleen got some very good shots of the city line from this high up, and I took a few of as many angles as I could to show the size of this place. Colleen is currently reading in a room we aren't even planning to sleep in. The only down side is that the broadband connection (that we have so desperately craved) is upstairs, and the master bedroom is downstairs. Oh well, we'll struggle through it somehow. :-)

Dinner was room service. I didn't want to go out, and this was far more relaxing. We just wanted to unwind. No activity, and no booze. THANK GOD! We have to fly 16 hours tomorrow just to get to L.A. and I didn't want anything to stand in the way of us getting out of here early.

We did take the time to balance the checkbook and pay a couple of bills that should have been paid before we got back to the U.S. Good thing we have on-line bill pay from Bank of America. It makes that pretty handy. Boring I know, but I had to try to remind myself that life was really still going on. It is hard to believe this is the 31st day of posting on this odyssey, and it is just about to end. :-( To be frank, I am ready to be back at home. I am worn out!

Colleen was too tired to post, so she probably won't have a post tonight. I may try to get her to post when we get back to NC. If nothing else, be on the lookout for our picture album to be published soon. I hope it doesn't take too long. I definitely want to try out the new option for slide shows available through my FreeSites Manager. It looks pretty cool, honestly.

Cheers!

Well, so much for the beach. We awoke to Australian rain. That meant it was misty and annoying, but rainy enough that beach would not be a good thing.

However, we didn't let that get us down. It meant we had the chance to do the Cadbury Chocolate Tour. Oh yeah! Cadbury makes a ton of chocolate here in Australia. And, mighty tasty stuff. Of course, like any good tour, we got some free samples, and the chance to buy discounted chocolate at the store. Well worth it. They were very nice, and we learned a lot about the chocolate making process. I was disappointed that the tour guide couldn't tell us anything about Cadbury in the U.S. She suspected that Hershey's makes the chocolate under license from Cadbury, or it is imported from Canada, but the number of items is significantly lower. We got to try our first Turkish Delight. Not really sure what the big deal is. Colleen and I both left with an "ehh" feeling and definitely wouldn't go out of our way to get more of it.

The Cadbury plant was far enough out of town that Colleen and I decided we'd take a shot at visiting Richmond. It is one of the last small towns on the Convict Trail, the designation to the series of towns, prisons, factories, and gaols all over the Southern tip of the state. We started out with a visit to the Richmond Maze. A couple of labyrinths built expressly to allow tourists to waste some time and money, and we did both. I thought it was very cool. Colleen and I both got a bit worried about the second maze, as it didn't dead end but did spend a lot of time making circles. We both thought it had been only 20 or so minutes we had been in the maze, but it turned out we were in there for a bit more than an hour. We scored a couple of pictures and moved on.

The next stop was the miniature Hobart Historic Village. The second such model from our Australia trips (the first was in the pictures from Melbourne last year, thought not nearly as detailed) this represented the way Hobart looked in the middle 1800's. It offered some pictures for perspective, and since we had been in town for a week, we actually recognized a few of the current pictures. It was interesting to see that parts of town we had walked through were actually part of the original wharf, and had only been filled in by convicts in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Lunch was at Ma Foosie's. A quaint little eatery. We ate light again for lunch (we were pretty hopped up on chocolate anyway) and then it was off to our next stop.

The Richmond Gaol Historic Site. The Goal in Richmond is the oldest Gaol in Australia, built in 1825. Most of the original structure is actually intact, which is amazing. I guess the bush fires that ravaged this state several different times didn't make it into Richmond. Colleen and I really enjoy historical sites, and this one was full of some interesting stories. Of course, I found it comical that most of the stories chronicled escape attempts. Colleen bought a book that tells an amalgam of stories that detail the convict experience in the state.

Rain had started falling actively (as opposed to the misty rain we've seen so much of) and so we had to call it a day. I did convince Colleen to go to the Richmond Bridge. It is the oldest bridge in Australia, constructed in 1823, and except for some surface work is still the original structure. That was fascinating to me, and I scored another picture.

Back to the room and time to consider packing and other responsible duties. Or, maybe just vegetation in front of the TV and catch up on the blogging. I know that we have taken a ton of photos this trip, and just going through them is proof this trip was worth it all. :-)

We decided to drive into North Hobart for dinner. I saw a Mexican restaurant, and thought we could give it a try. It ended up like every other Mexican restaurant in a foreign country. The food channels Mexican, but is not in any way shape or form Mexican. Plum sauce on a Chimichanga should be an initial indicator. Another was celery and broccoli in a tostada. Of course, the other important piece is that once again, blender technology seems to escape this country. We had margaritas. They at least resembled margaritas, but I couldn't even tell if there was any tequila in them. They also came frozen. There was no option for on the rocks. I saw that they had effectively slurpee machines spinning some form of frozen concoction, and they added whatever flavor or alcohol you asked for. Very interesting. Lastly, ground beef escapes this country as well. Getting something with beef tips when you aren't expecting so can create a negative dining experience. Now, readers realize that I'd normally include a link here, but this food was so bad, I wasn't about to link to their site and pretend I liked it. ;-)

So, I was doing some looking around and I found out something interesting. It is a good perspective the Tasmanians have about their relationship to Australia. Tasmania has two islands; King Island and Flinders Island. Some of the locals also consider the main island a part of Tasmania. They call it the "North Island." :-) I just had to share that.

Checkout time is 10AM. I don't know why. That means we'll have from 10-ish until 5PM when our flight leaves. I asked about a late checkout, but that is another concept that escapes the Australians in general. I don't know what we're going to do with that time, but I can assure you it is going to be touch and go. Hopefully, we won't end up spending all 7 hours in the airport. The Hobart airport seems significantly smaller than being entertained there allows.

Derek's being nice when he says it was a "negative dining experience!" I ordered the tostadas hoping for something different than chicken. Not very receptive when I bit into a bite of beef fat!!! Oh well, live and learn! I'll stick with chicken!!!lol I'm really sad our vacation is ending! Hopefully we'll bring home the souvenir that my mom asked for!!!(if you've been reading this blog early on you'll know what that is ;) I can't remember that I actually worked before this vacation!!! G'Day!!!

Cheers!

A hangover morning! Too many varied bars and too many varied alcohols. We staggered down and had our morning repast once again in the hotel. At least the coffee is good. Strong enough to kick you in the head and shake loose the night's play.

We started out the morning with a climb to the summit of Mount Wellington. The highest peak in Tasmania (possibly in Australia) it was covered in snow the day before (the picture we took.) A long, winding road took us to the top, so we didn't have to do any real climbing. We stopped a couple of times along the way, and managed to take some outstanding photographs. What a view. You can literally see most of the island of Tasmania from the summit, and they even point out what you should be able to identify.

WOW! Was it cold and windy! Neither of us were really prepared for the wind. It was stiff enough to knock us over, and a couple of times we thought it might actually. There were a couple of serious boardwalks. They gave wonderful views, but of course my fear of heights wouldn't allow me to get close enough to really enjoy it. We made it down the mountain without incident of course. Still, mountain roads are usually narrow, and driving on the left and letting large tour buses get by on one and a half lanes of total road isn't trivial. I only hit a ditch once, and never actually drug the brush.

Since we only managed two hours with the mountain, we got into town reasonably early. We had a booking for a horse ride at 3, and that left us two plus hours to spend in town. So, I convinced Colleen we had to see the distillery. The Lark Distillery in Hobart actually gets part of its malt from Cascade Brewery, and since we had been on that tour, they made mention of this Lark Distillery. It is a single malt whisky lover's dream. I sampled a very smooth single malt, and had an interesting raw single malt and a single malt liqueur. The raw single malt I will have to pass on. It was very much in need of some aging. The liqueur was interesting, with a nose of Anise, but I would pass on that as well. They also offered some schnapps. All in all, I found a couple of good ones, and saw enough quality scotch to make Judge jealous. We bought some obligatory souvenirs, and I bought a small bottle of a single cask single malt for Colleen's dad.

Our next stop for the day was the horseback ride. Now, to be honest, I have never ridden a horse save a couple of circles at carnival pony rides as a child. So, I had some degree of apprehension about the ride. We got there, and he gave me a fairly spirited younger horse. Low enough that I wouldn't fall and break anything seriously. In the end, it wasn't much more than an adult version of a pony ride, as I did get to hold the reins, and there was no circle, but I wouldn't call it a horseback riding experience as much as it was a horse walk experience. 5 Mile Beach (so named because there is literally 5 miles of shore with passable beach) was a fascinating bit of land. The tide recedes fairly far from the coast, so we ended up walking the horses through a lot of wet sand, but it did offer us the chance to see some very pretty country and gum shark eggs. I think if I get the chance, I'd be willing to try again, though I probably need some form of riding lesson so that I get more of a riding experience.

Back into town and a shower to get the smell of horse off of us. Then, it was time to find some dinner. We had walked past an Indian Restaurant on the wharf, and Colleen thought we should try it. It did not disappoint. Saffron Indian Restaurant had some tasty stuff. I had the hottest Vindaloo (and possibly the hottest food I have ever eaten) and Colleen had some very tasty Chenai Curry. We both left satisfied with our dining choice.

This town is an interesting enigma. We couldn't find a single convenience store. We both wanted to stock up on some supplies, and there were few to be had. We found two grocery stores, both closing at 9PM. We found a petrol station with a convenience store, but it closed while we were parking the car. In the end, we did manage to find a 24 hour store and scored some tasty ice cream. The diet starts over when we get back. :-)

Bed was early, and we were more than ready. A good day, and once again busier than we had planned, or hadn't planned as the case may be. :-)

It's Colleen! As much as I had hoped we would be "riding" horses, it still didn't disappoint me! My horse was named Patch, and was as uneventful as you can imagine. He was trained VERY well, to stay behind another horse! I kept trying to get him to walk next to Jazz(Derek's horse), but no go. Still, it was very cool, as I had not been horseback riding since I was maybe 11 or 12. Derek and Jazz seemed to get along very well-both stubborn as hell!!lol! There was also a very beautiful horse named Ruby(don't know what breed), she was sweet as can be. Our trainer/walker claimed the rights to her! I have to give my props to Patch, he was very gentle and sweet; and I felt like he responded to me when I coo'd him. Go to Double SS Wilderness rides if you're ever in Tassie! G'Day!!

Cheers!

The weather turned the wrong direction. We actually saw snow on the mountain above Hobart. I caught a picture early enough to see the snow, and it will be up on the photo album soon enough. But, because the weather was somewhat suspect we decided we'd spend the day touring interesting spots in Hobart proper.

Breakfast was again stellar. We had good food and hot coffee. I hope it ends up that we get our fair share of Vegemite back at home. Colleen and I agreed that we'd buy another jar.

Our first stop was the Cascade Brewery tour. Colleen told me after the fact that she wasn't expecting it to be interesting, but that it really was. Cascade is a Tasmania brewery that has been acquired by Carlton United Brewery, which means they are part of the same conglomerate that has produced some of the nastiest beer I have had in Australia. Cascade, however, has also produced some pretty good beer. We spent two hours in the tour, and got to sample a few quality beers, and bought some souvenirs. We also purchased their stout Cider. That's an 8.1% alcohol apple cider. Tasty stuff really. We got to see how beer was made, and even though part of the tour took me over some metal walkways that were hollow down three flights, we still saw some good stuff. I also learned that most of the leftover yeast from the Cascade Brewery is sent to Kraft foods to make Vegemite. It all comes full circle. I like beer, and I like Vegemite. Go figure! They also provide malt to the local whiskey distillery. Maybe we'll have the time to tour their site, but somehow, I doubt it. Once again, too much to do, and too little time to get it all in.

We had hoped to take the Cadbury Chocolate Tour, but they didn't hold those past 2 PM and we couldn't do that and the Cascade tour. So, as an alternative, we decided to take a tour of the Hobart rivulet. Now, the rivulet is a fascinating word to actually describe what is the storm drain. We put on helmets and took torches (OK, they are just flashlights, but they call them torches here) and walked into the storm drain. It was actually a fascinating tour. We saw some odd graffiti, and learned a little bit about the history of the town from underneath. Colleen and I even got to straddle some odd waste water and wind up in a fairly small storm drain. All in all very interesting.

We came back to the room, changed clothes and then wandered down to the Hog's Breath Saloon. We had a couple of rounds there. Colleen had an interesting drink called a Cowboy Saddle. The only complaint about that is the Australians suck at frozen drinks. It ended up that the majority of it was actually still ice. Work a blender for God's sake. We then decided to have dinner at the Ball and Chain Restaurant. It is a theme restaurant. Salamanca Place was built by the prisoners at Port Arthur, and this was one of the few places that embraced the convict theme. Damned good food. While we waited for our table (no bookings for tables less than 5) we actually got to witness a pissed Australian (that's local for drunk) take his pants off and change into jeans. He even waggled his ass at a group someone in his party suggested was uptight at him lowering his trousers. That was beyond interesting. Our table was very quaint, and we got to sit next to a window that actually still had bars on it. I had my first medium steak. Medium is a bit less done than I normally have, but it was still tasty. I had one of my first brushes with greatness that had nothing to do with work. It turns out the Sri Lanka cricket team was also at the restaurant. I got to gawk like a kid in a candy store. They beat South Africa during the day here in Hobart, and that meant they advanced to the finals of the VB One Day series. I didn't hassle them, though I was seriously tempted.

From there, we walked to a bar Irish Murphy's there in Salamanca. We did a sampler tray. That meant 6 2 ounce beers each. Colleen had actually thought we'd just split one, but I am apparently an alcoholic, as I ordered one each. It turns out that Hobart (or maybe Tasmania in general) locals are pretty stuck up about those people that aren't locals. Oh well, they can kiss our hiney. We had a good time.

We got to talk to our first local tonight. Smoking in the rooms is disallowed, Tasmania is the first state to actually bar smoking of any kind in any indoor facility. That means Colleen has to smoke outside. Because of that, we met a native Tasmanian in the smoke hole. He was actually able to trace both sides of his family to English convicts, and didn't seem to really give a damn about that. He also seemed to be annoyed with what Tasmanians call the North Island (that means the main Australian Island.) They were moving out into the country (here in Tasmania) and buying up land based on their cost of living in the mainland states. Very fascinating stuff.

I should point out that much like the U.S., dialects and accents are varied. It is actually tougher to understand Tasmanians, their accent is much different than it is in Victoria or New South Wales. Colleen and I agree that so far, we appreciate the Victoria state more than any of the three. Different strokes, I suppose.

Is that wrong? I love Tasmania, but some of the people seem so snotty! I'm sure you can tell it's Colleen! We have had a VERY INTERESTING holiday! I can't wait to put all the pics(well not ALL of them ;) on the website. Tomorrow is horseback riding and Mt. Wellington-I can't wait! I think the last time my big butt was on a horse was when I was like 12 or 13! Well, we are very drunk right now, and it's like 1:20 am here, so G'Night!! G'Day(in case you don't know).


Cheers!

What a day! Let me first start by saying that things are much cheaper and nicer in that regard. Our combined breakfast was less than the cost of breakfast in Sydney, and the one here included a variety of hot foods, not just a Continental breakfast. I of course, had my vegemite and toast. I have learned to appreciate the subtlety of the taste. It is pretty good if you slather the toast in butter first and then scrape a very thin layer on the toast.

We got up fairly early and got on the road. It appears that the majority of the Tasmania vacation will be about driving somewhere else. :-) Hobart to Port Arthur is about 90 minutes total drive. However, driving in Tasmania is significantly easier than it was in New South Wales. I am sure it is because of the size of the states in terms of population. Also, Tasmania only has a few main roads we have seen to this point.

Three natural wonders along the way demanded we stop. The first was the Tasman arch. Basically, a rock formation caused by erosion of limestone by the wind and ocean. Still very cool. Not unlike some of what we saw in Victoria on the Great Ocean Road. But, we dug it. The second stop was the Devil's Kitchen. This was another formation that had eroded significantly more than the arch. The resultant hole in the rock allowed waves to churn in multiple directions, making it look like a boiling pot. Also very cool, but harder to shoot pictures. We did our best. Our last stop was the first stage in this erosion. A blow hole. The blow hole is basically the first push of the ocean through the rock. It results in a small (relatively) hole that allows the ocean to push in, and when the waves crest on the ocean side of the hole, the water pushes through and spews spray out the earth side. Also very cool. Colleen managed to collect some good shots of water spray.

From there, our next stop was the Tasmanian Devil Park. It actually had a ton of native Tasmanian animals, but the highlight is the devils. There are two pens. One has immature devils, the other more mature examples. They did not disappoint. We were able to capture several pictures, and stuck around to watch them fed. That was impressive, as they hung the wallaby carcass onto an elastic cord and tied it to a tree. The devils jumped at it, and fought with one another. It turns out the devil will gorge itself on as much as it can eat, so they prefer to provide them the competition and allow some of the devils to miss the meal. They are fed regularly, since the devils actually were out and looking at those of us along the wall as we approached the feeding time, but when Colleen and I first got there, they seemed to not care.

The last stop for the day was Historic Port Arthur. It did not disappoint. The weather did not quite cooperate, as we had intermittent rain showers, and a ton of wind, but it didn't really matter. The sites were impressive. At one point, we took a ferry tour to the Isle of the Dead. This was the burial grounds for the prisoners and free men of Port Arthur. That tour was interesting, though we had a drunk couple that continued to talk loud enough to make it tough to hear the guide over the wind. After boarding the ferry to head back to the main part of the tour, we were informed that we were less than 2000 nautical miles from Antarctica. Very interesting stuff. The tour of the prison was short, but allowed us to explore the grounds fairly freely. Except that a few of the buildings shut down at 5 PM and our tour started at 4:30. Oh well, we still got lots of pictures, and lots of interesting information about the prison. We also found our new piece of art at the souvenir store. It is an abstract representation of the ocean and the coast represented in a bowl. Very cool stuff.

On the drive back, we stopped at the Dunalley Hotel and Restaurant. Some good prawns, some good chicken strips, and some awesome chocolate. Dinner was tasty. By the time we arrived back at the hotel, we hit rain. There was actually discussion on the radio that we'd see snow in some parts of the state. WOW! Summer time snow. I had wanted to go down to the Hogs Breath Cafe and Saloon and see if there were any highlights or delayed tape of the Super Bowl, but open late is apparently subjective, and the restaurant was closed. That means we went back to the liquor store (bottle shop, whatever) and scored a couple of six packs of beer. Drinking in the hotel room and Clerks on the TV. I suppose it is cheaper this way.

Well, it turns out that SBS did actually have the Super Bowl on TV. Serious tape delay, and outstanding editing means that we were spared all the time outs and other play stoppage. The only thing they didn't really edit was the halftime show. We were forced to watch Jurassic Rock in the form of the Rolling Stones. I didn't worship them 20 years ago, and they have had three farewell tours I know of since then. Still, it was pretty sweet to be able to watch some Super Bowl XL, though it is now Tuesday morning just after midnight here in Tasmania. I suppose that really means that the Super Bowl should have appeared in my Day 28 posting, but since I don't have Internet access, I get the luxury of editing after the fact.

Cheers!

Day 26 was another travel day. We packed up our goodies from the Sydney Mariott and headed to the airport. Another driving nightmare, as we were unable to locate a petrol station initially and then we had to do another roundabout to get to where we could actually get back to the one we did find. Yes, petrol is expensive. We paid more money than made sense, truthfully. It was just over $1.13 per liter. That's $4.42 per gallon AUD. We got into the airport very early once again, but we also took the time to verify that we are now getting American Airlines miles for the Qantas Domestic flights.

We arrived in Hobart without incident. It is like a different world here. The weather was significantly cooler, which was a welcome relief. The state is also significantly more rural. Hobart is a small town, and definitely has a small town feel to it. Our rental car was more than slightly dinged, but it was clean, and it was an easy drive into Hobart. It definitely is a smaller state.

The Fountainside Motor Inn is a Best Western. That means it is not exactly the 4 star resort we stayed at in Sydney, but it is definitely more our speed. Colleen and I feel quite comfortable here. The prices are definitely more in line with what we'd normally afford. We get to park for free, and the mini-bar won't require a home loan to actually use.

We walked around town, and found Salamanca Square. There were a few places open, so we picked up the obligatory souvenirs and found a location that was selling pies. I had a chicken, asparagus and cheese pie. Colleen had a potato and beef pie. We also enjoyed a sausage roll, and I had a Vegemite and cheese danish of sorts. All in all, they were very tasty.

We stopped in at a place called the Long Bar. They were nice, but the drinks were horribly expensive. We learned the hard way that most of the area we're staying in closes down or is closed outright on Sunday anyway. We'll see how things develop as we move forward. We found a bottle shop, and were pleased to discover that prices there were also lower. A 6-pack of beer that was $19 AUD in Sydney was only $13 here. NICE!

Colleen wasn't quite ready to post today. We'll see what happens the rest of this week. Hopefully, something happens that convinces her to make an entry.

Cheers!

Colleen and I chose to make Day 25 a do nothing day. We didn't set the alarm clock, and didn't get up until well after 9:30. After a leisurely continental breakfast, we decided to spend the day shopping. I know Colleen loved that. :-)

After the obligatory stop at Starbucks (I am sure there's a link, but who doesn't know who they are?) we moved the way down to Meyer Department Store. The store is very nice, and has an extensive section tailored to women like Colleen. I, of course, was on the hunt for my second pair of manpris. In the end, we both found some clothes we liked, but I was stunned to discover when we got back to the hotel room that they had not removed the security tag from one pair of Colleen's capri pants. That means we have to go back tomorrow and show them the receipt and get them to remove the damned thing before we fly out. In theory, we could wait and probably do that in Hobart, but I'd feel better if we could get it done before we leave town. We worked our way to The Rocks Markets. An incredible mix of arts, crafts, farmer's market and outright flea market, this was a good chance to wrap up our souvenir shopping, and see some very interesting stuff.

We stopped for lunch at Lowenbrau Keller down in The Rocks. I had a Radler as my beverage, and Colleen had a Spaten Bock. We then decided to head toward the hotel again.

On the way, we found Colleen some flats. She really liked them, and they weren't all that expensive. We also stopped at Lowe's Men's Store and I bought what should be my last pair of manpris. I also gave it one last shot at locating the West Sydney Razorbacks logo wear. We got some very blank stares, and a lot of excuses. In the end, a very nice clerk from Foot Locker actually called a friend of hers that plays for the Razorbacks Developmental Squad. He told her that we'd have to get closer to the stadium, well out of town, to find any merchandise. That means we struck out, and I'll have to try my hand at locating it on-line.

We chose a junk food evening so that we could pack and be in bed early. Tomorrow is travel day. We did score some pretty decent ice cream. Yeah, it isn't on the South Beach Diet. Sue us! We have decided we'll probably kick in a phase I two week stretch after we get back and get serious about the diet back in the states.

We still have alcohol to consume. I can't believe that. I wasn't looking forward to a lot of drinking, but it appears we'll be doing at least a little. We don't want to leave anything in the room for sure.

Hey! It's Colleen. I definitely DO NOT want to drink anything else!!! I really want to sleep! Even as we speak, Derek's handing me a beer. NOOOOO!! Oh, and Andy Wismar-Derek will be wearing a pair of his manpris his first day back at the office!!! I have really enjoyed our time here and was starting to get comfy, but I can't wait to get to Tasmania. The shoe store where I found flats(they're not really flats, they have a little heel) had some seriously awesome cute shoes!! I could've spent hours in there! And the prices were much better than some of the boutiques that wanted 100 aussie dollars for a pair of thongs(flip flops, not underwear-they call the between the toes flip flops thongs here). Anyway, time to go! G'Day!

Cheers!

Day 24 was for us justifying the rental of the car. That meant getting the heck out of town. Let me first say, driving in Sydney sucks. The roads are generally narrow, and they squeeze three lanes in where in the U.S. it would be only two. Also, there are lots of directional issues where you can only drive one way or unable to turn right (the tougher turn) when you would like. We did finally get out onto the open road, and only had a couple of minor heart attacks. Like all of Australia, driving is on the left, which means a left turn is the easy one and the right turn involves crossing a lane of oncoming traffic.

It was about 130 KM to reach the Blue Mountains. We liked the idea of getting out into the mountains. There were tours, but then we couldn't have come and go as we pleased, and it would have made renting the car even more useless.

We tried to follow some directions that we got on-line from a site similar to mapblast, etc. They were hardly accurate, and in fact at one point had us driving on a dirt road like we were going to drive to the base of the mountains or something. In the end, I found a route full of tour busses, and we got to Echo Point and the Three Sisters. It was gorgeous, but of course my fear of heights was in full effect. Colleen was a trooper and took all of our photos. Katoomba was a quaint little town, and we had lunch and wandered around. The city was a bit over 1 KM high. That's only significant because it was raining and foggy over most of the trip until we actually got above the clouds. Katoomba was warm and sunny.

The drive back was also just as scary. Well, once we got into town proper. Our planned route got us to a left turn only where we needed to make a right turn. Argh! That meant finding a roundabout and getting back heading the direction we wanted. We both breathed a heavy sigh of relief as we got the car back into the car park.

Dinner was at a Greek restaurant. Colleen figured it was close enough to the Lebanese I wanted to have in Katoomba, where she didn't find anything appetizing on their bill of fare. It was very good. I had stuffed peppers (I must remember to ask why they insist on calling them capsicum.) Colleen had a pasta dish that was outstanding. We tried to go back to V Bar, but this time they had a bouncer, and the dress code, which is posted on the door, is apparently more subjective when they have a bouncer. They wouldn't let me in with shorts. As we were walking back, it started to rain, and Colleen and I decided a quiet night in the room with a few beers would likely be better anyway.

I watched some cricket. The VB One Day series is going on, and the contest if fairly hot. Australia lost to Sri Lanka early in the series, and there was talk that Australia wouldn't make the finals. Their demolishing of South Africa last night pretty much assured they'd be in the final. Cricket is an interesting game, and I only understand about half of it. Still, I am interested in the game. Too bad there's none of it on cable in the U.S.

Hello! It's Colleen. The view from the Blue Mountains is gorgeous! We'll have to put the pics on our website when we get back to the states. We're having a blast, and tomorrow is our relaxation day. No plans, just bumming around. G'Day!

Cheers!

Day 23 was slated to be a cultural day of sorts. Colleen and I wanted to visit a couple of the museums in town, and decided we'd try two. The first of the day was the Australian Museum. It had a special display on animatronics and special effects in movies, which was interesting. We paid to get in, and the extra fee for the animatronics section, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in the museum. Not large, and mostly dedicated to Natural History, but it did have an incredible display on Indigenous Australians and gems and rock formations from around the world. One of the volunteers at the museum worked for IBM Australia at one time, and had worked on the split of Lexmark and IBM in Australia. He wanted to gab quite a bit, but we managed to beg off and move to another room. One thing he did tell us was that this month (February) was the most humid of the year for Sydney, which of course figures. Still, we move to cooler climes soon enough.

Our second stop was Art Gallery of New South Wales.. It was more fine art, paintings from around the world and Australian artists around the period of the settlement of the continent. They are featuring a Pissaro exhibit, but wanted $15 to view that portion, and neither of us are significant enough fans of his work to merit that fee. Otherwise, the museum was free. We did donate $5 for our visit. It was a nice museum, but large portions of it were closed. We had a light lunch there and then trudged back through the sweltering heat to the hotel.

The evening offered a dinner cruise on Captain Cook Cruises. We opted for the starlight cruise, though departure at 7PM in the summer still means it is daylight out. It is a 2.5 hour cruise that will offer some night shots of the Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It wasn't a bad deal all things considered. I was a bit annoyed that the service could have been better, and the cruise itself doesn't mention a cash bar, but we got a good picture taken by the cruise photographer, and potentially some decent pictures of the city line and the harbor and opera house at night. We'll see. I seem to struggle at night shots with this camera. I did have my first smoked salmon, and found it to be mostly like salmon. I am not sure why I thought otherwise, but smoked versus grilled or otherwise cooked salmon just struck me as potentially tasting different. Yeah, I am an idiot, sue me!

We took a cab home. The cab out was $20, mostly due to traffic issues. The cab home was $10. Same distance, just less traffic. I hate that about cabs. They charge me for sitting still. But, it meant we were back at the hotel before 10PM. That's nice. We stopped in at a bottle shop near the hotel, and bought a 6-pack of beer. Somehow, the prices are just stunning. I mean, beer is good, but paying more than $14 USD for a 6 pack is horrible. Oh well.

Cheers!

Today was the first day in Sydney proper. We chose to spend it at the Taronga Zoo. We caught a ferry from Circular Quay that included a pass into the zoo itself and we were off to the zoo. The zoo was impressive, but the heat made it a bit tough on the animals that day. We took a picture of a Tasmanian Devil but he was taking a nap and wasn't nearly as devilish as we had hoped.

A quick ferry ride back and we were ready for lunch. Once again, food was incredibly expensive, but we did manage to find what I considered the best pizza I have had in Australia. We were able to walk to the steps of the Opera House and snap a couple of photos there as well. We also stopped at our first souvenir shop and bought a couple of t-shirts.

Walking back, I thought we should take a stroll through the Royal Botanical Gardens. That ended up being a mistake. Instead of it being shaded and cool, it was close, shaded, and stuffy. The humidity here is seriously higher than it is in Melbourne, and that means temperatures feel much hotter. Colleen and I managed to escape and were glad to see the streets, since breezes moved better there.

Dinner was simple. A stop at the Hard Rock. I got my pin out of the way. I also got my stylist a shot glass. She'll be pleased. Colleen and I decided that we'd go out for a couple of drinks. We started out needing to get cash. Now, it turns out that Bank of America does actually have a partner bank in this country, where using the ATM would not cost us the $5.00 USD transaction fee. Unfortunately, Westpac Bank does not have 24 hour ATM in as many places in town as we thought. We had to walk a pretty good distance. Once we had scored some cash, we wanted to find a bar. Our first stop was 3 Wise Monkeys Pub. It was suggested by the concierge desk. I wouldn't suggest it. The bouncer at the door had some kind of bug up his ass, as he initially wasn't going to let us in, claiming, we had been drinking heavily prior to arriving at his door, and he wouldn't allow them to serve us. Now, Colleen and I had one (literally) beer at Hard Rock (prices are too steep there to really drink) and were by no means tore down. So, we decided that meant they didn't want our money. Then, he whistled us to come back over and gave me more shit before deciding I could go in the door. Of course, his scan with the wand revealed my pocket knife. That knife has been a staple in my pocket for 15 years, and I wasn't even considering it was a weapon. He took it and then said we'd get it back when we left. We popped in, and found (oddly) that it was very well air conditioned in the bar. We had a couple of beers there, and then decided to leave. I asked for my knife back, and he claimed that he should turn it over to the police. I calmly explained to him that I had been in country three weeks, and he was the first bouncer to give me any hassle over it, and that if he wanted to give it to the police and let me sort it out with them, he was more than welcome. In the end, he made it seem like he was doing me a favor, and gave it back.

Our next stop was V Bar. It was a laid back place, and had Jagermeister. We sat for a couple of hours, looking out the open window at folks walking down the street. Afterward, we called it a night. I like that place, Colleen liked it, and I suspect we'll be back as it is "within stumbling distance" from the hotel. :-)

OK, looks like we've put enough together. Going to let Colleen do some posting.

Hi y'all! It's Colleen! I interrupted D's blog to say hi and let everyone know I'm having a great time! It is sweltering here, though. Today is a museum day and then a romantic dinner cruise on the Harbor.( I'm not doing those links for everything that my husband does!!!) I'll make Derek try to post a great pic of some deer that we got at the zoo yesterday! G'Day!

Cheers!