The Great Ocean Raod

sat, nov 20

-travel day
-got up this morning, packed up and headed to the airport for our fligt to melbourne
-kristen assured us we didn't need to be at the airport early, as it's very small and easy to get around
-our flight was at 11:30, kristen live 20 minutes from the airport, and she suggested we leave her house and 10:20 AND we had bags to check
-needless to say, i was a little nervous
-no worries, though - kristen was right (of course)
-HOWEVER, canberra has a new terminal, and the luggage conveyor belts were out of order, which literally put the entire airport out of order (didn't this happen when denver built their new airport years ago? although, this was on a much smaller scale)
-they never got it going, but pulled passengers out of line whose flights were leaving soon, tagged bags by hand, and carried them through and we made it to melburne on time
-HOWEVER, our luggage did not
-qantas assured us that our bags would be delivered to uor hotel as soon as they arrived in melbourne
-that would have been fabulous if i had known where we were staying, but i had no idea where we were staying, (kristen handled this part of our itinerary) to tell the airline where to bring our bags, so of course, i didn't have the required AUSTRALIAN phone number for the to contact (not to mention an address or hotel name!)
-i was a bit caught off guard and had to regroup a bit
-got a text from kristen that her flight (which was originally scheduled to arrive in melbourne and hour after ours) had been CANCELLED, and she was arriving after 6pm instead of 2pm
-so kristen texted me the hotel details and i was able to share them with qantas who assured us they would deliver our lost bags as soon as they arrived
-kristen finally got to the hotel, which turned out to be a fabulous room at the Crown Promenade
-we all settled in for the evening
-(still no bags at 9 pm)
-12 am: call from bell desk that our bags have arrived
-2 bags were brought up (out of 4), and we were leaving bright and early the next day

sun, nov 21

-HAPPY BIRTHDAY CADE IN AUSTRALIA!!!
-gave each cade and tucker they fell in love with when we visited the toranga zoo in sydney and they were very grateful
-9 am the final 2 bags arrived (hip hip hooray!!!)
-out on the road!
-GORGEOUS drive from melbourne to appollo bay where we stayed 2 nights along the great ocean road
-stopped in torqay (a cute-beach-surf-hawaiian-style little town) for a subway lunch
-continued onto appollo bay
-checked into our cottage
-cade, tuck, kristen & simon went off to enjoy the beach, while i (literally) kept the homefires burning - there was a beautiful wood-burning fireplace with lots of wood and we enjoyed fires both nights
-they all had a great time on the beach - tons of tidepools, jellyfish and cade met a little boy named christopher who was also enjoying his birthday!
-there were lots of kids at this resort and each cottage had a back door that opened out onto a beautiful grassy field where little boys could run wild!
-the couple who managed the resort were lovely and had young boys and, therefore, toys for young boys. our boys greatly enjoyed the golf set they brought over!
-we had take-out pizza for dinner
-and, oreo cookies, instead of cake, for cade's birthday

mon, nov 22

-HAPPY BIRHTDAY TO CADE IN THE US!!!
-got to talk to mom, dad, jan, finn & ashe and hear what was happening at home
-left cottage ~10 am to continue along the great ocean road
-~10 mins into our journey and wallaby just hopped across the road (much like a deer would in the states), stopped looked at us and continued hopping
-our first stop was at a lighthouse that we didn't go to, but along that road, we looked into the trees and saw KOALAS just lounging about in the trees above. this was SO cool!!! and we even saw one with a baby on its branch. so cool!
-next stop was the 12 apostles. absolutely breathtaking. amazing!
-we had a late lunch a little further down the road and headed back to our cottage
-battened down the hatches and retired for the night

tue, nov 23

-left cottage at 8 am to head back to melbourne for kristen to catch her 11:30 flight back to canberra
-i'm assuming she made it on time (but just barely) b/c we haven't heard from her
-the boys and i walked over to our lovely holiday inn (it's no holiday inn express like the one in eugene, but it's very comfortable)
-checked into the hotel, got online to discover our flight back to l.a. had been changed (due to the troubles qantas is having with the airbus 380), which meant a 13 HOUR LAYOVER IN SYDNEY on the 29th
-this meant, we wake at 3:30AM in cairns for a 5:45am flight, landing at 9am and get on an 11pm flight back to l.a.
-so, we walked back to the airport (it's just across the street), talked to a qantas agent
-we are now taking a later flight from cairns and have a shorter layover in sydney
-would have preferred to get to la a little sooner, but at least we're not up at 3am, and spending 13 hours in an airport
-that's it for now, we head up north to the great barrier reef tomorrow, so we're gonna take it easy this evening, have some dinner and go to bed

observations:

-NOT impressed with qantas, in all these years, i've never had this many issues combined, on the other hand, no big deal! just get us from here to there safely, and that's all that really matters
-kristen is an AMAZING tour guide, host and friend
-kristen's simon is just gorgeous and a great little traveller, if not a little cheeky at times ;-)
-i would NEVER have known about the great ocean road with kristen, and SO thankful to her for doing all the driving!!!
-australia is HUGE
-my camera broke - using tucker's and my iphone :-(
-cade & tucker said that kristen and i are "chatterboxes" when we're together (i'd have to agree)
-beaches here are AMAZING - cannot believe there weren't more people!
-just an incredible coastline
kind of reminded me of the drive to hana but less crowded, less curvy, wider roads and just generally, more open

And me, without my ballgown...

fri, nov 19

-so, i guess it's not all about me, huh?
-i didn't have the right dress, jewelry, make-up, hair accessories, etc. (i did have an AMAZING pair of shoes thanks to kristen!!!)
-kristen's fabulous beau is faraway, protecting us all from known and unknown predators, which left kristen dateless for tonight's marine ball - the 235th birthday of the U.S. Marines
-i thought it was a chance for everyone to dress up in their ballgowns, tuxedos, and otherwise fabulous outfits
-but kristen managed to arrange childcare (thank you, Maia!!!) for our 3 boys, transportation to the ball and made sure i arrived home safely without even flinching - did i mention she lent me the MOST FABULOUS pair of shoes I've ever worn. seriously
-it turned out to be a VERY moving tribute to our Marines, past and present, who have served our country
-i truly felt honored to be there
-everyone was so nice
-it was a magical evening with amazing and deserving tributes to those who have served in our military, specifically, the Marines
-off to melbourne and the great ocean road tomorrow...

Canberra, Bateman's Bay, Pebbly Beach

today is thursday, nov. 18

we just got back from a day long journey to local beaches around canberra

wed, nov. 17

-so yesterday, we arrived by train in canberra at ~4:30
-about a 4 1/4 hour trip from sydney
-our trip was easy and uneventful and enjoyable
-the best part was that kristen picked us up from the train station - soooo good to see her!
-we stopped on the way home from the train station to pick up little simon from school (he's 2 1/2 and A-dorable!)
-went to market to get items for dinner (homemade by kristen: pesto pasta w/ mushrooms and tomatoes, and a beautiful salad)
-got home in time for an evening walk near kristen's home
-along our way, we got to seen the many kangaroos hopping about that kristen promised we'd see - VERY cool! (kind of comparable to seeing deer in the outskirts of portland, but way cooler!)
-we got back home and got to meet phil, kristen's australian friend, who travels A LOT, just getting back from dubai (i think) yesterday and took off for portugal today!
-so great to meet phil and he entertained us with many australian stories, including some gruesome ones that involve crocodiles
-kristen made us all a fabulous dinner, and we just finished off our day enjoying our friends
-when i asked kristen what time she thought we should leave today, she said 7, we laughed

thu, nov. 18

-we got up ~8:00
-packed snacks for the road and made brekkie for the kids (well, kristen did this, at least)
-it was just kristen, simon, cade, tucker and i, as phil had to travel to portugal (as i mentioned)
-i think after we got gas, we were on the road ~11 am (we thought 4 hours later than planned was pretty good)
-everyone was in a great mood and we were ready to travel
-our first stop was a bakery where we picked up "meat pies" (the boys' and my first try at these!). these were ok, but kristen assured me there are MUCH better ones
-our next stop was at BIRDLAND
-WE GOT TO FEED AND PET KANGAROOS!!!
-we also saw other wildlife, including beautiful birds, wombats porcupine-like creatures
-onto bateman's bay
-ok, this was mostly REALLY amazing
-first off with the not-so-amazing part: we parked in a lot at 'pebbly beach' i about got attacked by a wild parrot while trying to tell my children they're just fine - just hold the food out and they will take it out of your hand. everything still going geat. well, cade asked me to hold his "treat" for the birds, so I did. this beautiful green, red and blue parrott came straight at me, wings-a-flappin. of course i ran backward to get away from it, ended up on the ground, my sunglasses knocked off and my camera 20 feet in the air. i'm certain it was hilarious to witness (especially if you're not me)
-it was the coolest thing to see these different tropical birds just out in the wild - we came into contact (quite literally) with 3 completely different vibrant parrots in the PARKING LOT of a beautiful beach (kristen said it best when she said the first time she saw such amazing, vibrant birds, she figured they must have escaped from the local petshop. nope, they're just regular birds)
-next, we headed down to the beach named pebbly beach
-it was GORGEOUS
-kristen and i concurred that if this stretch of beach (white sand, blue waters, amazing weather) were in the states, it would be completely developed and crowded. in all, we saw about 5 groups total during our entire time at pebbly beach (and it was huge!)
-we got the boys back in the car and headed back home to canberra
-simon fell asleep and kristen and i continued our non-stop chatter about anything - celebrity gossip, the horrifying news stories of the world, and are working on tackling all the problems in the world (i think we're making some progress) - on the way home
-time for a quick dinner, a little reality tv (jersey shore is a season behind here) and off to bed

fri, nov. 19

-kristen and simon went to work and school today
-i woke up and couldn't figure out why my back and shoulders are sore. oh, yeah, from my tumble with the bird yesterday
-the boys and i needed to pick up a few things at the store (tuck needed sandals and cade needed the latest percy jackson book)
-kristen told us how to walk to woten mall
-she said it was about a mile and a half, i'm thinking about 3-4 miles as it took the 3 of us an hour to get there (and we're pretty quick walkers - not janice-quick, but we don't tarry)
-about 3 minutes into it, tuck was 'soooo thirsty' but i wasn't worried because we thought it was not too far, turned out to be a longer walk than we expected, but it was fine and we got there and got
-anyway, we got there, and managed to pick up the few things we needed and grabbed some lunch
-packed up some water and other provisions for our journey home, walked out the door and grabbed a cab
-made it back to kristen's and here we are
-it's about time for me to get ready for the ball tonight and we fly out to melbourne tomorrow to begin our journey on the 'great ocean drive'

observations:

-for my fellow train travellers: just because your seat reclines that far, doesn't mean you should recline your seat that far
-tuck's becoming very interested in taking his own pictures
-it's so easy and wonderful to be a guest at kristen's house
-apparently, i have an accent
-beware of wild parrots when holding the bun to a mcdonald's cheeseburger
-the older you are the more it hurts when you fall

Saying goodbye to Sydney (and hello to Kristen!!!)

We're still having a great time. Here are just a few 'high' lights...

-we got to go to toranga zoo (2 ferries from our hotel) yesterday and had a great day
-it POURED ALL DAY!!!
-PORTLAND POURING, not tropical showers
-dampened my spirits a bit, but didn't phase the boys - just another adventure
-a lot of the animals were inside, but highlights included seeing the silly (CRAZY) gorillas, the seals (i think they were seals) being fed, little blue penguins and our first glimpse of koalas
-unfortunately, i lost my VISA between the zoo and on the ferry (tuck was going crazy for a a figurine of a little blue penguin, so i sent he and cade to the bathroom while i hurriedly bought it and a koala for cade as a little gift for their birthdays)
-somehow between the gift shop and the ferry ride home, my VISA was gone
-i had to deal with canceling, making sure next places all take amex, etc.
-everything turned out fine, as no one used it
-it really was a great day, and it's just one of those things
-poor cade was more worried about it than i was
-enjoyed a $10 steak dinner at cargo bar in darling harbour (woo-hoo!!!)

-enjoyed a lesiurely morning trying to decide what to do today - didn't want to head out to the wrong places if the weather was going to be as threatening today
-we decided to go to manly beach (again 2 ferries)
-almost didn't go b/c of fear of weather (clouds in the sky this morning)
-so glad we chanced it! weather much better ~70, but boys were thrilled to be there and enjoyed the waves for over an hour, swam like they were in Hawaii (but they do that at the oregon coast, right?)
-we got to the ferry landing and stopped for refreshments overlooking what we thought was manly beach and couldn't figure out why no one was there - turns out, we had to walk across the street and a few blocks down the road (thank you threesome from london and Germany for pointing us in the right direction!)
-it kind of felt like a european beach/resort town (don't i sound like the world traveler?!)
-had a great dinner at circular quay
-kind of sad to be leaving sydney, feeling like we've made a little home here

-we head to the train station in the am for a 4 hour trip to Canberra to see Kristen, Simon & Phil

observations:

-things are far less crowded when it's pouring down raining
-things don't really seem to be very crowded here, in general
-incidentals are still expensive
-can't find a bookstore
-cade & tucker are great little travelers
-so glad we purchased the 'sydney pass' to include all ferries, buses, and rail (makes going from place to place much more thoughtless, as opposed to having to consider the price of the fare before going from here to there, e.g., a round trip ferry to circular quay is $10.60/adult)
-we miss our friends and family, but are having a great time here

What day is it?

ok, it's sunday in sydney. we're having a great time. just a few quick highlights. i dont know how to upload photos from here, so that may come later.

wed, nov. 10 (happy birthday, jan!):

-arrived in l.a. around 9:30

thu, nov. 11:

-"enjoyed" breakfast at denny's
-swam at pool
-took bus from lax marriott to santa monica pier (went to wrong bus stop, went to right bus stop, got on wrong bus, switched to right bus, walked a mile to have dinner)
-delicious dinner at fritto misto
-walked to venice beach
-cab back to hotel
-shuttle to lax
-11:30 pm flight to sydney
-slept about 9 hours total
-jan's (and sons') care packages for the boys came in very handy (raisins, granola bars, pens, journals, etc. - qantas could use your expertise. your stuff past thru customs no problem. the dried fruit from the q-snak bags caused all kinds of quarantine concerns!)
-boys have been journaling like crazy - almost an obsession for them!
-boys did great on plane, especially once we all found our optimal sleeping positions (made all the difference!)

sat, nov. 13:

-arrive at syd ~9:00 (~1 hour early)
-sped thru customs as nice flight attendant took pity on me and gave us the express pass
-purchased a "sydney pass" (all train, bus, ferry for 3 days)
-took train into city (~20 mins) & walked about 6 blocks to hotel
-able to check in immediately to our room at 'four points by sheraton sydney harbour' (cade told me i did a good job on the hotel)
-the room looks directly over the harbour with the sydney aquarium in the foreground - we were pleasantly surprised with our wonderful room (i expected a much smaller space, harder-to-work appliances, and just generally "typical ugly american" worries!)
-we were all starving, looked for a place nearby and went to tony roma's (yes, that tony roma's!) next door to our hotel and experienced our first encounter with the sticker shock that goes along with food iand other incidentals n syd (more about this later). seriously, $50 for lunch for the 3 of us
-took a 5 minute walk to the syd aquarium - very cool w/ lots of marine life (go figure), our favorites being the little blue penguins, sharks and the dugong, which is very similar to a manatee
-returned to the hotel for dinner (seriously, the best mushroom soup i've ever had - better than hungarian mushroom from old wives tale) and bed (the boys managed to stay up past 8, and i a little later)
-i got to talk to kristen, our muse for this sojourn, as she called our hotel since i have no idea how to make local calls
-sadly, i did talk to sean last night - he's with friends in the east bay for the or/cal game - to find out josh's car was broken into by breaking a window in his car, and sean and ian's luggage (including all of sean's keys) were stolen. i hate when that happens!

sun, nov. 14:

-left hotel around 9:30 am
-took ferry to circular quay with majestic views along the way
-walked to opera house - very cool (understatement), huge, and i cant believe it hasn't always been around
-hopped on sydney explorer bus to luna park
-luna park has probably about the coolest entrance of any amusement park i've ever seen
-grabbed the ferry back to circular quay
-hopped on the bus to kings cross for a pizza lunch
-sydney explorer back to hotel area and did some shopping for essentials at the market
-paid $25 to get online to find out ducks won by 2!!!??? (did i mention things were expensive here?)
-got stuck on elevator, just for a minute, on way back to the room. kind of cool - i've always wanted to get stuck on an elevator
-got to talk to kristen again & she confirmed i'm gong to be her date for the ball on fri. i've never been to a ball before - another first!
-time for dinner and excited for the zoo tomorrow!

observations so far:

-food is VERY expensive
-we really like it here
-we're having an amazing time
-syd is very easy to get around
-people are very helpful and nice
-weather is amazing (i dont know the temperature, but actually quite hot)
-food is VERY expensive

On our way