Sunday, January 29, 2012

Pool, School and Wine




Another hot week but this time we ventured to the town pool, it has been completely remodeled.  I was surprised at the size; it consists of 2 outdoor pools and 2 indoor pools.  There are 2 waterslides and a lazy circle, they call it a lazy river but I definitely think of it as more of a circle – obviously they have never been too Texas!  Funny thing is with all those pools, there are no loungers – apparently people do not just lie out in the sun and relax, something about this being the skin cancer capital of the world!!!  Most of the pools actually have shade sails over parts of them.
Our big news this week, we purchased our “not so new” car, we decided on a used Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4 x 4 – small enough that I can hopefully park it at the grocery store but big enough to go off roading in the outback.  The season for going “out bush” is March to November, which is what we are really looking forward to.
Notice the bull bar on the front - just in case we hit a kangaroo!

Most of the week was spent getting the kids ready for school - appraisals, book packs and school uniforms.  In Australia, for some crazy reason you cover all the notebooks and books from the book pack in contact paper – yes, you read that correctly – contact paper.  I spent about 5 hours cursing, cutting and crinkling (not on purpose) roll after roll of this stuff – I certainly hope all the boy’s classmates appreciate the lack of bubbles in their contact paper covered books!!!

We are trying to take in as much Australian culture as we can, and we decided to start with Australian wines, we have discovered 2 that we like very much.  The first is St. Hallet, Garden of Eden Shiraz – we have been told that all the wines from this vineyard are quite good.  We shared this wine while dining with friends at Hanuman, the Thai food restaurant in the Crowne Plaza.  Another wine we have enjoyed is Wyndham Estate Bin 555 Shiraz, this one is a local favorite.  We are looking forward to discovering many more wines over the next few years.
I have also signed up for an Australian itunes account, I am really looking forward to learning about Australian artists.  One that I heard on the morning news show that I liked is Busby Marou – you will have to let me know what you think.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHHyKw-r8cs

Sunday, January 22, 2012

We saw Roos!

Desert Park
It was a quiet week this week, with temperatures from 104 to 107 most days we were creative in finding things to do indoors.  Driving is getting easier, I only find myself on the wrong side of the rode every once in a while.  We do not eat out much but we found a pizza place that has an indoor play park, the boys made new friends and JD and I were actually able to have a conversation at dinner (new favorite place).  We did venture out to Desert Park on one of the cooler days though and being the well prepared outbacker I am, I had on flip flops and no water.

Notice the Kangaroo in the background

Desert Park, in a word was amazing.  The greeting area is impressive, beautiful trees and seating area surrounded by the entrance, a theater and a café.  As you walk through the entrance you are given the option of an audio tour but we chose to just walk at our leisure.  As we started on the trail I was immediately struck by the beauty of the land, being able to see the trees and flowers up close and then having the mountains in the backdrop.  The trail curves around stopping at an amphitheater, bird houses and of course the kangaroo trail.  We were on a mission, the boys wanted to see kangaroos!  When we got to the kangaroo area there was a small gate, I was amazed that the trail continued beyond the gate – we opened it and continued when we realized we were walking with about 10 kangaroos, we were as close as 2 feet away.  The boys were thrilled; some were napping but 3 or 4 were carefully watching us and hopping from place to place. A little further down the trail is the Nocturnal house, my favorite part of the park.  It was very large and dark with didgeridoo music playing as you walked through.  It featured reptiles, invertebrates and rare and endangered animals of the night.  The displays were enormous and really helped the boys to understand the animal’s natural environment. There was an area that had the constellations on the ceiling and a large ottoman to lie on to get the full experience. We purchased a membership at the Park so I am certain we will be back numerous times over the next year.
One thing I am fascinated with here are the birds, you see birds everywhere.  You wake up to chirping and singing every morning.  One morning you might have a lime green bird in your backyard and the next day a pink one.  At Desert Park we saw incredible birds, but I see them everywhere!  I love how colorful they are!



Outdoor sculpture/tunnel

The boys and I visited the Aurelian Arts Center Friday while trying to beat the heat.  There is a museum that showcases the rocks, minerals and animals found in nature here.  I have to say I was a little freaked out by the taxidermy, they had a mouse with suckling babies, an owl with a dead rat in his mouth and a cat licking himself (the boys thought that was hilarious).  Dillon kept telling me “do not look at this, you will not like this”! We loved the skeletons though; there was an emu, snakes, and even a prehistoric bear.  As part of the Arts Center there is an Aviation Museum, craft center, museum, gallery and performing arts hall.  The boys and I walked through the museum to check out some of the local aboriginal art, unfortunately photography was not allowed in this area.  I was impressed with the center, the walking trails and the outdoor sculptures.

Inside the tunnel there were various aboriginal paintings.

Inside the museum


Sunday, January 15, 2012

Wild Things....



Well today I did it, I drove!!  You have to think about every turn you make and parking will take a little getting used to, thank God we have a small rental right now – God help me when we get the 4 x 4 JD has his eye on.  I am not sure how long it will take me to get used to signaling, the wipers are where the blinker should be and then what should be left with the blinker is right and vice versa.  I am certain no one noticed that I am an American since every turn involved, wiper on, wiper off, wrong turn signal, followed by correct turn signal. When I parked at Woolies (the grocery store) I told the boys to give me 100 points for not hitting anything, they said I deserved that plus 1000 bonus points.

We ventured out to the Olive Pink Botanical Garden, think rocks and dessert landscaping.  Jake was already not happy about being there, notice picture – then when we had just started on the trail, Jake saw a bee and started screaming.  We had to leave but at least I got a pic of the boys, Jake’s face is priceless.  I hope for his sake he gets over his fear soon, I have been told there will be numerous flying insects at different times of the year. 

Friday night we went to a club called The Gillon club, we had dinner with neighbors while the kids played in this incredible play area, there is a huge bouncing pillow (bounce house with no walls) outside under a cover, and the kids had a blast.  We then went to the base of the mountain we live by, to feed the wallabies.  It was incredible, you buy pellet food and at dusk they come down from the mountain to eat right out of your hand – there were probably 30 of them.  There were even a few that had joeys in their pouch!  The boys loved it, where on earth do you get to feed and pet a wild wallaby.


Notice the joey in the pouch

Saturday we visited the reptile house – we thought it was important for the boys to learn about the snakes and spiders that are indigenous to the area, particularly since 9 of the 10 most poisonous snakes live here.  At first the boys were nervous around the snakes and lizards but then they started to warm up.  They had a 2 ½’ guana walking around free named Frank, which was a sight to see! There was a show where we taught how to avoid a snake bite – in case you did not know, stand still and pretend to be a tree (an impossible task) – they can’t smell humans and they are deaf. We also learned that Australia has the fewest deaths due to snake bites, about 2 a year compared to 100,000 worldwide. By the end of the show Dillon was holding a skink and he even went to pet the python.  Jake, on the other hand, did not touch a thing.


Daddy was not too happy about holding the skink!
 

Monday, January 9, 2012

We made it to Alice!

Well we made it to Alice Springs!  Our sponsors (people who help you when you first arrive) greeted us at the airport.  They were kind enough to have picked up our rental car for us, so after we loaded up our luggage (think Beverly Hillbillies) we were off to see our new home.  The house is on a great street full of kids with the MacDonnell mountain ranges in our backyard.  We were told that you can buy food and go to the base of the mountain at dusk and feed the wallabies, we are looking forward to doing that.

In the front yard I have 2 eucalyptus trees and next to the front patio there is a lemon tree.  The neighbor told me in June I should have 100’s of lemons (lemonade anyone?).  The house is nice but it will take time to get used to living in a furnished home.  Once I have internet installed I will be shopping for slipcovers!!! The boys have already adjusted to the house, they love their bunk beds.  We spent our first day taking a driving tour of the town and we have been told by many we were lucky to be placed in our neighborhood. We are close to the golf course, casino and the highly recommended restaurant – THE JUICY RUMP!

On Sunday I went to the grocery store with one of JD’s friends from many years ago, it was quite the experience.  So many things are different including the option to purchase kangaroo mince, not sure how long you have to live here until that gets added to the grocery list.  One thing I discovered you will not find here is syrup, if the boys want waffles I may have to ship that in from the USA.  Also, at checkout there is no paper/plastic option, you must bring your own reusable bags or purchase them at the store.
The first two days we were here it rained, which surprised JD but today it is sunny and beautiful. Last night the boys slept for 12 hours and were up at 6:30 this morning.  Now that we are starting to catch up to Australia time we might actually start doing some sightseeing.  That also means I have to start driving, not sure how I feel about driving on the WRONG side of the road.  I have been told that cars have the right away here, they do not slow down for pedestrians – I have also been told when you turn the wrong way or block traffic, rolling down the window and screaming I am an American goes a long way!  This week we are planning to visit the reptile center, the aquatic center (pool, waterslide, lazy river) and hopefully the botanical garden.  The garden is less than a mile from the house and is supposed to have a wonderful café for breakfast and lunch.

Friday, January 6, 2012

The journey begins.

There is nothing like a 16 hour plane ride to test your parenting skills, but I have to say the boys were amazing.  They slept like contortionists for almost 8 hours, there were legs and arms everywhere and they were easily entertained with the movies and television on demand once they woke up.  Our "customer service specialist" (flight attendants) were primarily male and Ryan was right, an aussie accent raises the cute level 2 points.  At one point there was turbulence which made Jake throw up, so that meant we were checked on frequently and thanks to Jake we were given express custom/immigration passes - so thank you Jake and your sensitive tummy.

We arrived in Brisbane and it is beautiful, out hotel is right on the river with a beautiful view.  JD's gold status at Marriot got us upgraded to the executive level, which feels good after riding in coach on the plane.  I have made a new discovery about Australia, they do not tip here.  I have been told that aussies do not tip unless the service or food was exceptional.  Of course this came after I ordered a cup of coffee and tipped the girl with a $2.00 coin, she must think she is the best Barista in town!!!  Once we settled into our hotel and decided we wanted to walk around, it was all of 8:45AM aussie time.  We took a walk along the river and stopped at The Groovy Train for brunch, where I was informed they do not serve alcohol until 10:00 AM.  Keep in mind I had already been up for 9 hours. The city has an amazing water taxi system that takes you around, we were hoping to see more but the boys had other things in mind -so we spent the day at the pool! 
We were in bed by 4:00 yesterday which explains why I am posting now, I woke up at 2:00 AM.  We will be heading to Alice in a few hours and checking out our new home, the boys are both a little nervous they said but I am certain once their WII arrives all will be right in the world of Jake and Dillon.

Last week in Dallas

It still has not sunk in that I have left Dallas, I feel like I am on some crazy extended vacation.  I think about the 23 moves I made before I became a 27 year resident of Dallas, and then leaving was so easy - now it is very hard.  The area of Firehweel we lived in was such a community to me and I met some of the most amazing people - granted this move is temporary and hopefully we will be back, but for the next few years I will not know people everywhere I go, the people who made our lives better.

The last week of good bye events was amazing. There was a happy hour at The Filmore where we shared drinks with new and old friends, some whom we had not seen in 15 years. I had an incredible dinner with the girls/spend the night at Hotel Za Za/spa morning with some amazing ladies. There was a party at Kristen's house put on by some great friends, our last chance to see many of you.  The boy's were not left out, they were thrown a bon-voyage bounce party with many of their friends.  There were about 35 kids there that have been such a huge part of the boy's lives.  Thank you to everyone who organized and assisted with these events, it meant the world to us.  We will miss you all!