What a day of sad goodbyes! Leaving from Adelaide at 8 am, we headed to Melbourne. There my dear friend SOULBRO met us at the airport and showed us around his city. We had lunch at a great place near his w*rk and even walked along the inner city beach at St.Kilda.
We later met up with Classact and his wife Helen. They showed us the booming Jewish community there and we even had dinner at a fantastic Israeli restaurant. The views from the top of the city were impressive and we enjoyed their company very much! They won many *brownie points* with Alden by buying him a pirate ship to color and put together!
We zoomed off to Tasmania late that night and arrived at our hotel, the Wrest Point, close to midnight. I was totally shocked when they told us that our PREPAID room had been given away and there was no room at the Inn. They sent us to another place that had quite a view.....of the Hertz rent a car place...*GRIN*. I sure tried my hardest to NOT be a rude American throughout all of this, and really, this was the only major glitch in the whole trip. Soooooooooo as my aussie friends say: "no worries mate!" March 23
We had to get up early and check out of the one hotel and check IN to the original hotel.To compensate for their error, they gave us a room with a view! We kept waiting for our friends to call and finally we went to Salamanca, the public outdoor market and craft fair. What a festival it was. Food, hand crafts, music! Some "ferals" were playing drums, only they were trashcans and other recycled things. When we got back, still no friends (tho we talked and talked to the front desk to try and locate them). We went to the dinner buffet and had some of the BEST seafood I have ever had!
We finally figured out that another R.Harris was getting all our messages and we tracked down Taztiger and Judy. We had a great visit and made plans to make up for lost time.
March 24
We got up early and hooked up with Taztiger and wife to go exploring. They were so kind to us! They took us to the wildlife preserve and we saw lots of tazmanian devils, petted kangaroos, and saw lots of birds. We also saw the tessalated pavement and went to Port Arthur. It was amazing to step back and imagine the original convict compound there. We had a gourmet picnic and saw incredible beauty in Tasmania before they brought us back. What nice people!
That night, we had dinner in the "brig" at the Drunken Admiral, a *pirate* place for Alden that was recommended to us by Classact and Helen.
March 25
Up and out early. Sigh, our time here was done. However, a funny thing happened on the way...er ( nope, that is another title).......AT the airport as we readied to leave. A man came up to me and tried to give me some books. I hadn't a clue as to why, but thanked him anyway and proceeded to leave. He emphasized that they were free and tried to give them to me again. I again thanked him and told him we were late to catch a plane. When I turned to leave, I heard a man call out my name. It was HIM! A friend that had decided to come and surprise me at the airport~! Though it was a short visit, it meant alot to me!
When we got in to Sydney again, my friend GOZ had driven up from Canberra to visit with us! We had a great visi! One of the things we did was to go downtown to the Centre Point and go up to the top of that viewpoint. What a view it was~! We hooked up with Moya later on and we all went out to dinner. I like the service clubs they have all throughout Australia! Very friendly!
March 26
The day called to us and we took off to the harbor. We were going to meet my friend Goz at the aquarium and then we would be there for the lunch sail that Hands had arranged with his wife Anita. Marie2 was going to be joining us as well! The aquarium was awesome with a glass walkway where sharks and sealife swam all around you. There was not enough time to see it all so people went back after the harbor cruise.
The harbor cruise was absolutely amazing! It was an old clipper type sailboat and Hands had set it up as Alden loves pirates. The day was hot and clear. The breeze on the bay cooled us as we took our time around the picturesque city. Lunch was great and the drinks kept flowing. Hands and Alden helped raise the sails and we had one of the better times of our lives.
That afternoon, I hooked up with my cousins. I just found out I had cousins in Australia and it was a delight to enjoy them so much! I took the train home by myself and felt VERY proud to NOT get lost.
That night we all went out to dinner and Marie2, Hands, Anita and Wab's daughter Niki and her boyfriend joined us. The place was especially nice as that is where Niki w*rks. What a way to spend our last night in Australia!!
This was amazing timing for lots of reasons. It was the anniversary of my mother's death and we lit a candle that burns for 24hours to remember her. Wab said it was still burning when we got home. Classact and Helen were kind enough to get this candle for us when we were in Melbourne. Ta!
March 27
Trying to cram in every thing possible, we headed out to the zoo today after making sure we were packed. It felt completely natural now to walk over to the train station and I even knew when to get off. The ferry to the zoo was fun and views from the zoo were spectacular! In some ways it was a bit of a let down, as we had been seeing animals in the wild.
On our way home to Wab's we stopped to do last minute shopping for things like Cherry Ripe candy bars and to grab dinner. We said our sad "farewell's" to catch the plane at 7:30 pm. Now the funny thing about crossing the time line, is that we got HOME 3 hours *before* we left! And while we were very glad to be home safe and sound in our own bed that night, I have been homesick for OZ and our friends there ever since.
Here are some gifs of this part of our trip: Bob, Sean and Alden Sean Dinner out with Goz, Moya, Wab, Us Goz Goz Taztiger and Judy Long lost cousins Cousin reunion Marie2, Anita, Hands, Wab