Still alive and kicking!

Hi everyone! Wow. It's been WAY too long since I last posted something. I apologize! Mom came to visit for three weeks and Steven has had the computer to study for finals so there hasn't been time for blogging. Hopefully you will still continue to read because we still have two months of travel to go! Please check out the five new posts below, through the Friday, April 3rd post - "Easter Break".

We will be leaving Melbourne for good on Sun morning, flying to Brisbane. After we do some traveling along the northeast coast and north central region we'll head to Bali and southeast Asia...which I can't WAIT to see. We hope everyone is doing well. We miss you, love you and hope you're enjoying each day as much as we are. We are certainly blessed!

Great Ocean Rd...the views never get old

This past Tuesday we took Mom on the Great Ocean Road tour, a trip we took earlier in February. As the title says, the views along this coastal tour never get old. Below are a few images from our last trip in Victoria...


London Bridge has fallen down, fallen down.



Loch Ard Gorge

Beautiful!

Just hangin' out in a tree.

Lovely rainforest!

We were obviously ready for our closeup.

More fun things in Melbourne

While Mom was here we had a bunch of fun outings in Melbourne. We went to a 1950's-style diner that actually imports their chili and Dr Pepper from the states! It was nice to be transported back to the good old USA for an hour.

One evening we had a bit of a therapy session for Mom and visited the SkyDeck, an observation deck on the 88th floor of a skyscraper. For those that don't know, Mom is terrified of heights so to be 88 stories above Melbourne only separated by glass was a bit daunting. But she did so good! And we had some amazing views.

Puffing Billy, Pete and a chair big enough for two...or three

There are TONS of pics from this trip so I think I'll let them do the talking. We went on an day trip about an hour north of Melbourne to the Dandenong Ranges. Here we celebrated Mom's bday and made some wonderful memories!

Playing around before our ride on the Puffing Billy steam train!

Look at all the train-goers!

Warm hands, warm hearts

Can't you just picture him saying "Eh" like the Fonz?

Me & Pete the bird. We became fast friends. PS - crazy hair is because of all the birds landing on my head...not a new do.

I don't know this bird's name. But she looks like a Rosemary...or maybe a Tina. Tina the bird!

Is a symptom of bird flu crazy faces?

Since we figured we can't always have our ducks in a row, we might as well have a picture of it.

Whoa! Imagine the throw for that chair!

Beautiful end to a beautiful day!

Mom Lee touches down in Australia!!

We were so blessed to have Mom come visit for three weeks! Of course I was thrilled to have someone to do stuff with while Steven studied and went to classes, and what better travel buddy than Mom! We sure did keep her busy though. Our first outing was to Phillip Island, south of Melbourne. This was my first real driving experience in Australia and I'm surprised Mom wanted to keep traveling with me afterwards! After about an hour of trying to get out of Melbourne, we were on our way to visit the Koala Reserve, Vietnam Memorial and the Penguin Parade. We got to see a koala upclose and personal which was neat. At dusk we headed to the Penguin Parade where you get to sit in and watch the world's smallest penguins emerge from the sea and waddle ashore to their sand dune burrows. Pictures aren't allowed (we don't want to scare them off!) but here is one image I found online to give you an idea of what we saw...

I soooo wanted to scoop one up and hide it in my scarf to take home but I resisted. Aren't y'all proud of me?

Easter break

APRIL 8-13, 2009

I think Steven got his fill of driving in Australia on this trip (24 hours total). We rented a car and headed north. Our first stop was a city called Mildura, in northwest Victoria. We really enjoyed this city. They have palm trees lining their major street and lots of neat things to do. Wineries, restaurants and shops. We strolled along the river around dusk and Steven caught some good pictures...

About an hours drive from Mildura is Lake Mungo. But there were no beach bums or bathing beauties here. Oh no! Lake Mungo is actually the remnant of an ancient lake.

The Lake last experienced permanent water over 10,000 years ago and has recorded continuous indigenous habitation for 40,000+ years – making it the site of the oldest known human occupation in Australia. This is where they discovered the first known cremation.

Next on our journey was Wagga Wagga (not to be confused with Wocka-Wocka). This was another town we really enjoyed. They had a city park that had beautiful flowers and surroundings. We were able to watch the hundreds of beautiful white cockatoos that inhabited the trees. They also had a nice little market going on around this river area...

Next we headed to Merimbula and Pambula beach. We visited the beautiful beach areas they offer and just basked in the warm sun. Very nice on a cool autumn day! Overall, a very lovely Easter trip!

It's the weekend!

Hi everyone! Easter is coming up which reminds me of how much we have to be thankful for. Every night I go to bed and thank the Lord for each day He has given me and that I get to spend them with my wonderful husband. I've been missing family and friends lately though...one of the stages, I believe, you go through when you're traveling. You feel like you're missing out on things back home. My best friend Katy just got engaged and I wish I could be there to celebrate this time with her. Congrats Katy and Jeff!! And the kiddies are growing up so fast. I miss seeing little Ethan, Lib, Victoria and Justin! But this too shall pass. I wouldn't trade anything for the experiences we're having and this time that we get to be alone.

Good news: we're so excited because we get to keep the flat we're renting for the whole time! Yea! We'll be heading out for Easter break on Wed. We're heading up to Canberra, the capital of Australia, via the Great Alpine Road. Wish me luck because we'll be camping! Ahhh!! Hopefully it's not too chilly or windy. Take care everyone and have a great weekend!