So Long Sydney!

So in a few hours from now (Friday, May 8, 2:40pm) I will boarding my flight in Sydney (along with Chris and Grundy) and heading back to the states. 

First stop San Fran, where Chris has already been Googling the local cuisine in the terminals for a very, very American influenced lunch. Then we will head to Denver for roughly another two hours - which I am sure by the time we land I will be a bit hungry again.  No matter what terminal our plane is in, I will scurry over to terminal B and get myself an Auntie Anne's Pretzel AND the LARGEST Dr. Pepper they are legally allowed to serve...pretty sure the FAA has restrictions on the size of the beverages they can serve up these days. 

And finally around 5pm we will board our flight and head to the DMI. Where we will land with heaps of luggage around 9:30 Friday evening.

That being said please feel free to place your wagers on just how much our luggage will weigh for the return trip. I just checked back, and our combined weight for our checked bags on the way to Sydney was 280.5 lbs.  So please, place your bets and I will get the answer to you as soon as I have recovered from my jet lag.

Oh, and I know on the flight to Sydney the math was a real pain on trying to figure out what exactly happened to Thursday (it flat out disappeared on the way to Sydney). But get this...on the way home, Friday is nearly a 40 hour long day. Lovely.

The Great Barrier Reef

Over the long Easter weekend we decided to squeeze in one more trip and we headed north to Cairns, Queensland. And for the record Cairns, is pronounced Cans. As much as we wanted to make the trip to New Zealand while here in the land downunda it just wasn't financially in the cards. And once we had ruled that out as a possible destination the GRB (Great Barrier Reef) moved quickly to the top of the list of places I felt we needed to see before we headed back to the states.

A friend here in Sydney also suggested that while in Cairns, we take a day trip to Cape Tribulation. A spot about 3 hours north of Cairns, one of the two places on the globe where the rain forest meets the ocean. The other being in Brazil. So I figured that this has to be something worth checking out. 

On the way to Cape Trib we stopped at Crocodile farm, a part of the Daintree river where there is estimated to be about 400 Crocs. But after a brief 30 minutes on the water, we were unsuccessful in seeing a single, solitary croc. A bit bummed we got back on the coach and continued our trek north. About another hour along the way we stopped for a "raintree" walk. It to say the least, it under-delivered.

Once we finally arrived in Cape Trib the views really were quite amazing, breath taking even. With the Daintree Rain Forest to our west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. The town itself is even more remote than it had been described to us...leaving us little to do with out having a 4-wheel drive, and bottomless bank accounts. And unfortunately for us, it was just the end of "stinger" season meaning the jellyfish, sting rays and other fatal, yet beautiful stinging sea creatures had yet to migrate, meaning getting in the water was off limits. We had also been told that it was the end of rainy season, and it was for the most part - but just not our part. It rained the entire 24 hours we were there, we played more checkers and Connect Four than either of us care to admit. I am sure you are all wondering, so I will just go ahead and spare the suspense - Chris dominated in checkers, and I think I took the crown in the connect four.

Once back in Cairns we anxiously awaited our day out on the ocean - our day trip cruise really was the highlight of the trip. We were able to be out on the open water, we stopped at two different reef locations, had great food on the boat and enjoyed the sunshine in the afternoon. There was plenty of wind so the crew put up the sails and we sailed all the way back to Cairns. 

At Michaelmas Cay - 2 hours off the coast of Cairns, Queensland

A gigantic purple clam at the GBR

More at Michaelmas Cay,  a sand bottom reef.

Paradise Reef - on the Passions of Paradise day cruise

So little time, so much to do!

Michael Phelps...heading to the bike leg.

Chris and I were both set to participate in the BRW Corporate Triathlon held in the Sydney Harbour and Botanical Gardens on April 5. And about one week shy of the event I decided my freestyle stroke was not cutting it. Not only did I not feel comfortable with my own skill...but after Chris watched me attempt to swim laps in the pool...it was clear he too was questioning my ability. 

I swear at an earlier point in my life I was a good swimmer, back stroke mostly, and although that stroke is 'legal' for the triathlon...I still wasn't feeling 100% on that either.  And although I had kept up with my training I sadly pulled myself out of the competition. But I wasn't the only player to fold - there were initially about 12-15 of Chris's work mates registered to participate..and all but one, our pal Joel (from the US of A) had removed themselves from the triathlon, so I wasn't the only "loser".

Chris on the other hand was ready to take on his first triathlon. This event was technically what those in the world of running call a mini or a sprint triathlon. A 400m swim, an 8k bike followed by a 5k run. There were nearly 5,000 people participating, and about 30 heats, starting 5 minutes after another...there were swarms of people down on the waters edge cheering on all of the athletes.  In the very first heat was an Olympian Triathlete who finished the entire event in 27 minutes. And for Chris's first stab he finished in 36:11, not too shabby if you ask me.

Catching Up!

We had been home from Coolangatta for five whole days before our gang came to Sydney for Spring Break. Our posse for the week; Steph Desouza and her boyfriend Justin and Chris's little brother Stephen came with his pal Becca. (How two 20 year olds afforded the flight to Australia is beyond me...I am pretty sure at that age I consistently had about $.50 in my checking account) We were so excited to have them come stay with us,  and knowing that we would only have them in Sydney for 8 short days we had a jam-packed schedule....and a cozy apartment...but we made it work, who said you couldn't comfortably sleep six in a one bedroom? 

I will spare you the play by play, but I will quickly share with you everything we managed to cram into their holiday. Stephen and Becca arrived first, bright n early on Saturday morning and were immediately raring and ready to hit the beach. So we headed to Manly to give them their first go round with surfing...Stephen did a bit better than Miss Becca who left the beach that day with a a nice bruise on her thigh that had a strange resemblance to Australia - not a bad souvenir for your first full day in Sydney. 

And a quick 24 hours later Steph and Justin had landed and the whole crew was finally here!

We did the Bondi to Bronte walk on Sunday afternoon. Let's see...we did the Hunter Valley Wine tour, celebrated St. Paddy's by going out for Mexican and margaritas, and of course had several green beers throughout the day. We made several more trips over to Manly and Stephen worked on perfecting his surfing skills. They did the IMAX, visited the Blue Mountains, saw Chinatown, the shops on Oxford, Paddington, Darlinghurst, Darling Harbour, checked out the Rocks, and walked up and down  George St. multiple times. We did the Harbour Bridge Climb and one afternoon we let ourselves into the Sydney Opera house and shortly after were escorted out of the building by a mall cop type security guard named Sam... He looked more like a Ned to me. But either way our short stay at the Opera House was over.

I am sure I am forgetting things...they saw the QVB (Queen Victoria Building - huge shopping center), the Pitt St. Mall, Botanical Gardens, we went out in the Quay...took them to my favorite watering (and wedges) hole - the Custom's House. Had a night out at the German pub (think Hessen Haus) Lowenbrau, had an evening out at the Belgium Beer Cafe. We took them to our favorite restaurant in Kings Cross - Caffe Roma, where we had far too much wine but kicked off a fun night of bar hopping through Kings Cross and the CBD. We spent the last full day together at Manly, soaking up as much sun as possible. That night Chris and I headed to the Kings of Leon show at Olympic Park and met up everyone for one last send off drink after the show. (Guys please help me out if I have forgotten something). 

The whole crew at Caffe Roma.

Needless to say I was ready for a nap. 

Power Surge.

So I was going to let this whole thing slide - but now that it has happened twice in the same week I think I need to share it with the group.

On Monday afternoon at about 4:45 our apartment lost power, I thought maybe it was just our unit and we had blown a fuse. So I stuck my head into our hallway and sure enough it was our entire floor and most likely our building as a whole. Chris and I made the trip down our 11 flights of stairs to our lobby, where we found many of our fellow residents opting to wait for the power to come on rather than take the stairs. We wandered over to our gym, hoping we could kill some time there - only to find that they had lost power too. Come to find out the entire CBD had lost power. It wasn't until much later that evening we found out what had happened. 

http://www.smh.com.au/national/plumber-fights-for-life-after-bondi-junction-explosion-20090331-9h9k.html

This gas explosion caused a major blackout during peak rush hour traffic and was out for nearly 4 hours with out any real explanation from the Sydney Authorities.

I understand that outages are bound to happen from time to time especially when there is an accident involved, but as far as I know the Energy Australia company is still not sure as to what caused the surge.

I was pretty sure that would be the end of the energy issues - at least the end of it for one week, but I guessed wrong. This morning (Saturday) at about 10:25am while in the shower we lost power AGAIN! And let me tell you it is no fun being caught in the dark while all soaped up - and of  course I immediately got soap in my eye making matters even more comical.  I thought once again it was just our building but no sir - it was the entire CBD again.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/power-company-sorry-for-second-blackout-20090404-9s9k.html

And if I thought being caught in the shower was bad luck...Chris had headed into work for a few hours to get some work done and he too had lost power - all the way up on the 43rd floor of the AMP Building. Our friend Kari had also gone in to get some work finished up, and her husband Joel and son Ethan had gone into the office to hang out while she worked away. So the four of them waited for about 40 minutes before deciding that they would go ahead and start to make their way down the 45 flights. They made it out safe and sound, but not more than 10 minutes after they were down the power came back on. 

It is safe to say we did NOT have the last laugh....and I missed Saturday morning cartoons because of it. 

Sigh.

Coolie Continued......

Now one of the main issues with waiting to blog about Coolangatta three weeks after the fact is that days 3 and 4 are a bit blurred in my memory.

Both Saturday and Sunday were equally sunny, packed with surfing sun and sand in places I never thought possible. I am positive I flew home from Coolangatta with nearly all of the sand at Duranbah beach. 

Day 3: 

The day began with breakfast at Raw Bar Cafe, where we had bummed into Kelly Slater the day before and I must admit, I was hoping for a repeat appearance but no such luck this time around. Quikie action started at D-bah that morning, and then around lunch time moved to Snapper Rocks where apparently the waves had really picked up. We packed up shop at D-bah and quickly made our way around the corner to Snapper where we got a great spot on the beach. The afternoon kicked off around 1pm and we learned right away that it did not matter that we had beat the bulk of the crowd to Snapper. Because year, after year, after year the fans stand along the shore, practically in the water - cheering on the surfers...making it nearly impossible to lounge on the beach while watching your favorites. (That's right - I am a lazy surf fan, and I would like to lay out and cheer and holler from the comfort of my beach towel). We tried to find a better spot, but it wasn't much luck. We called it day a few more heats and went and got ourselves some lunch, at our new favorite hot spot, Azteca which proved to be a much needed morale boost after being a bit frustrated with the crowds at the beach. 

If you were keeping track it was our second stop for Mexican food in three days - we're loyal customers.

Saturday evening we hung out on the beach, and if my memory serves me correctly, we went and saw a movie at their local theater - which for those of you have had the pleasure of going to a movie at the Spirit Lake theater or the Milford Cinema (near the metropolis of Okoboji, IA) it was quite similar in size and smell. I believe we saw The International with Clive Owen - Chris thought we were seeing Clive Owen's other blockbuster...Duplicity, boy was he surprised when he learned that Julia Roberts was not the leading lady. It was an "Okay" flick, but nothing too spectacular.

Day 4:

So as I have mentioned we did all we could to stay out of our cramped little hostel - so bright 'n early on Sunday morning we headed out for breakfast. On our way to Snapper Rocks we found a great little place called, Bellekai and we immediately wished we had discovered this gem earlier in the trip. They  had a brekky special of banana bread and coffee...and I'll tell you I don't usually get all worked up about banana bread, but this was not your typical nana bread; it was served on a huge plate, two gigantic warm slices of bread sprinkled with powdered sugar and generous side of warm butter...needless to say I was in brekky heaven.

The day of competition started off with the female finals which was an absolute blast to see in person. Stephanie Gilmore, the hometown favorite ended up winning the final match - and it was oh so cool to see her take first place in front of so many of her friends and family, and at a beach where she grew up surfing. After a little bit of downtime the guys hit the water to compete for a place in the semi-finals. We watched all day long,  heat after heat, amazing ride after amazing ride - and just before they called the competition for the day they let one final heat charge the waves at Snapper Rocks. It just so happened to be Kelly Slater v. Julian Wilson (a teenager from Coolum, Queensland). 

The entire crowd was up on their feet for the entire heat between the legend and the up and coming star Wilson -- and much to everyone's surprise Wilson took the heat, and moved into the semi-finals, smashing Slaters chance to move any further in the Quikie Pro....the beach went wild; cheering for both Wilson and Slater, some in shock over Slater's relatively early round loss to the youngster. 

I of course blamed myself for his loss...What if he had been so creeped out by our meeting a couple days before he found it impossible to compete? Maybe he would have been able to dominate had so many fans like myself just left him alone.

....... Don't worry I didn't lose any sleep over this.

But I'll tell you what will make you lose sleep...staying four nights at the Sands (Non-stop Live Music Hall) Hostel. And some of the beach-wear I saw the Brazilians wearing...that could also cause one to lose sleep -- I have never seen such interesting/non-existent bikinis in my life. Oh and speedos are EVERYWHERE! They aren't just for the Olympians any more...

All things considered even with the loud hostel, it was really one great vacation. Filled with sun, surfing, heaps of sand and tons of eating out. Just how I like it.

Snapper Rocks

 A few shots from the weekend in Coolangatta, Queensland.

Kelly Slater on the beach at Snapper Rocks...just before I made a complete fool of  myself.

Duranbah...more affectionately known as D-bah.

The Quiksilver Main Stage at Snapper

On the boardwalk between Coolangatta main beach and Snapper.

The Gold Coast!

With out further delay I must tell you all about the trip to the Gold Coast; Coolangatta, Queensland to be exact. We left Sydney early Thursday (March 5th) morning and got to the Coolangatta Sands Hostel before anyone was even at the front desk to let us into our room. I will share more about the hostel in a bit, but if you are wondering... it was my first hostel stay, and will most likely be the last.

The city of Coolangatta only has about 4500 people - but when the Quiksilver Pro Tournament comes to town -- I would be willing to guess that the population shoots up to 15,000-20,000 people. There was hardly a vacancy in town (trust me, I would know - I tried to find somewhere else to stay after a few hours at the hostel) and the beaches were packed with surf fans and sun lovers alike to cheer on the men and women competing in the Quikie Pro. I will briefly explain that during these tournaments there is a waiting period, and in the case of the Quikie Pro at Snapper Rocks, it was about a 16 day waiting period - and the officials of the tourney are essentially waiting for the best waves to come through; if the waves are good the competition is on, if it's flat the entire operation is on hold. So that being said, the Men and Women were both off on Thursday, and then Men were off again on Friday....

Day 1:

We spent the majority of  Thursday morning walking around and checking out the city - we discovered very quickly that Coolangatta was quite a bit warmer than Sydney in March. It was nearly 85 degrees every day and hardly a cloud in the sky. While we were strolling around killing time before we could officially "check in" to our room we scouted out places for lunch. And after making a few laps of the town center we had found exactly what we had been searching for in Sydney -- and actual Mexican restaurant - you know the chips, salsa and margs...and after a long lunch full of margaritas we headed down to the beach to soak up an afternoon in the sun.

Later that day - back the lovely Sands Hotel (I think I have mentioned before that the word hotel is commonly used for a bar, and in this case it doubled for the name of the bar and the name of the hostel...slightly confusing if you don't know what you're getting in to) we quickly learned that the Sands Hotel was home to many, many nights of live music...and I suddenly realized I'm old. That's right. Old. The idea of live music blasting a floor below all night long was not my idea of a relaxing vacation at the beach. And come to find out there was to be live music for the duration of our trip...not to mention the beloved AC/DC cover band Acca Dacca, who played until the wee wee hours of Saturday morning. Any way after we decided we weren't going to find a better deal on a room we opted to stay at the Sands, and really it wasn't all bad, and I learned to fall asleep with the rage of a party going on beneath us. And by us I mean, me, Chris, and our two other random roommates - Mark from Wales and our other roomie was from Japan, she was a bit of an odd duck who had a strange love for avocados.

Day 2:

Like I mentioned the waves weren't quite up to par for the men to take on the waves on Friday, but the women were in full swing so we headed down to the beach to cheer them on.  After a full day of watching the 2nd and 3rd rounds at Duranbah we headed over toward the main event grounds at Snapper Rocks and checked out all that Quicksilver and its sponsors had to offer.  We made our way to the main beach and watched several free surfers...as we got closer to the shore we realized that one of the free surfers just happened to be the one and only..Kelly Slater. (If you are unaware who Mr. Kelly Slater is, shame on you. If you just need a bit of a refresher please visit www.kellyslater.com  thank you.) So he rode a few more waves right into the beach where I was anxiously awaiting to approach the legend. Like a crazy 10 year old seeing their favorite ball player, I tried to play it cool, but I was hopeless. Absolutely hopeless.

Chris was not about to be the one to make a fool out of himself, so I went ahead and took one for the team. With Chris's 2009 Quiksilver hat in hand I patiently waited for the actual 10 year olds to clear out and then walked up to him. All the things I could've said went rushing through my head but when I finally got face to face to with him all that I could sputter out was.....

Me: Hi

Kelly: Um Hey

Me: Hi

Kelly: (Giving me a look of....should I know who are you crazy girl?)

Me: I'm a big fan, a big big fan. Would you sign the hat?

Kelly: Sure.

Me: Thanks Kelly, goodluck.

Kelly: Thanks.

As I walked away all I could think was .... I am so lame. A big fan, I'm a real big fan? (Buzz your girlfriend woof.) Meanwhile Chris had ran up the beach and was hiding behind the biggest rock he could find, making sure no one on the beach knew he was with me. Oh but let me tell you - it was so worth it. With the autograph now safe in my possession Chris and I headed off to grab lunch - and wouldn't you know it Kelly Slater showed up where we were eating, so now not only had I creeped him out on the beach, but I would have the opportunity to creep him out all over again. What a day! 

That night back at the hostel...more live music!

Day 3 & 4:

Coming soon!

(I mean it Sara, I will have it posted soon!)

Blogging 101

Whelp, it's official. I have undoubtedly been a piss-poor blogger the last couple weeks. And for that I owe all of you out there in the  blogosphere (yes, it is a word you can ask Professor Tim Johnson and he will let you know that it is surely a word) an apology for my lack of time and effort put into KangaRoute the couple weeks. Several blog experts out there will tell you to keep you blog fresh, updated, relevant, and interesting you must updated at least 2-3 times a week, and as most of you can plainly see I have been slacking a bit in that department. 

I don't want to sit here and make excuses, and I know everyone gets busy with other things, so for the rest of our time here I am going to try to stick to the 2-3 blogs a week in order not to let you all down.  I am sure if there were ways to kick crappy bloggers out of the blogging realm I would be next voted off the island for my disgusting display of blogging - it's just plain sloppy.

That being said I would like to give you a little sneak peak of what all I have in store for you -

 The holiday to Coolangatta, Queensland, the Quicksilver Pro Surf Tourney, triathlon training and tidbits, winery tour in Hunter Valley, the Bridge Climb, and lastly what it's like have four of lovely guests staying with you in a one bedroom apartment. As you can see we have heaps and heaps of things to get through. So I will be back soon with a full update of each of these events for your enjoyment.

Until next time (hopefully by Friday)!

Happy St. Paddy's everyone :)

Footy Footy Futsal

I have some bad news in the sporting world to report.

The indoor soccer team...correction...futsal team I have been playing on since November made it all the way to the finals. At the holiday break we stood at the top of the Futsal league with no loses on our record, and only a couple tie games -- we were set to take the season title. After a few grueling weeks of playoffs, today, Monday Feb. 23rd was the championship game.

The final match kicked off at noon - we took off with an early lead with a quick goal in the first five minutes and went into the second half with a lead. And sadly we fell a bit short....the only game all season we lost - the final score was 3 to 1, the team we lost to we had tied in the regular season match.  The team decided that Chris and I will need to come back for next season in order to make a good run for the playoffs again.

Here is a shot of the team during happier times, our semi-final win last week.

From left to right - Dan, Grant, Giles, Spinos (aka Iceman), Holman, Marcus, Natalie, Me, Mel and Laura. The PGI Eddies.

So about that triathlon.....

Now, I know a few of you have been concerned with the quantity of shark attacks that have been reported here on the east coast of Sydney this summer - and I thought to calm your nerves I would share this little piece of news with you. 

This would be the time where you click the link and read on.....

http://www.smh.com.au/national/navy-diver-fights-off-shark-in-woolloomooloo-2009211-8404.html?page=-1

Now, I bet you are thinking to yourself, "Now, Sam, really Woolloomooloo, there is a neighborhood  named Woolloomooloo?" and I would have to say that yes, yes indeed there is place called Woolloomooloo. In fact it is only one little bay over from where we live. Chris and I go running right along this exact spot all the time. 

So, here's the thing, I have been keeping up with my triathlon training, and even before this incident I was a bit weary about the swim portion of the race. And really it was not because of the other animals might be joining me in the harbour -- but more or less, the fact that I am less than a stellar swimmer. But now you go ahead and add this whole "shark factor" thing and well we've got ourselves a whole new ball game - a few of my pals down here have said, "Well you will just have to swim faster -- oh gee thanks. 

Did you see the photo of that NAVY DIVER?  You really think if he couldn't get away in one piece that I will be able to? My good friend John Herrity once told me that I just have to be able to swim faster than the slowest victim (swimmer/racer.) Dear lord John, I hope you are right. 

February - Australian for BBQ.

I bet you're wondering what I have been up to since the Australian Open ended last weekend.

Well lucky for you - I am here to give you an update.

As we are all aware of by now, Nadal and Ms. Serena Williams took the cake at the AU Open - Federer shed a few tears, I lost countless hours of sleep I will never get back, Nadal and Serena continued to rack up their millions and the heat wave let up a bit in Melbourne. But just as the weather was easing up a bit in Victoria it began to really sizzle here in NSW.

Last Sunday we took a little day trip out to Seven Hills/Blacktown via train to have a BBQ at the Hull's-- I should note here that previously we had really only been on city suburb trains, and not the intercity trains, when we hopped on to platform No. 7 at Central Station we climbed aboard to a rather comfy air conditioned train -- we later learned that there is a 1 and 3 chance we would have gotten a non aircon (what the aussies call Air Conditioning) train - which would have been a bit unpleasant in that heat. Dan picked us up at the station and we headed to his parents house, where his Dad, Mark immediately asked us if we would care for a Budweiser -- he bought a 6-pack especially for us (Dan's calls us the Americanos). It was sweet of him, and actually I would never order a Budweiser back home, but it was rather refreshing on a 90 degree day.

The BBQ was a sweet success, Deb, Dan's Mum (not mom) was the mastermind of the entire operation -- Mark is not to be left alone by the grill for more than 2 minutes -- and both Deb and Dan's older sister Kate, had their hands full with him...it was rather hilarious. Mark is such a talker that the least of his concern was what he had going on the grill, and he was much more focused on his guests. The spread that afternoon was amazing; Chris and I were most excited because we hadn't had a real "home cooked" meal in months, and the Hull's did not disappoint!

There was steak, lamb, sausages, shrimp (prawns), sea bass (I think, I am not sure what kind of white fish it was, but it was delish!!), we had potatoes, bread, two kinds of salad....and my wine glass just kept refilling itself every time I would look away, it was the wildest thing. And then, just when I thought I couldn't possibly eat any more Deb pulled out the home made brownies and ice cream she had made for dessert. And of course I couldn't turn down a perfectly good brownie...so I devoured that too.

We spent a good chunk of Sunday hanging out with Dan and his family, exchanging travel stories and mindless trivia - Dan's parents and sister have both been to the states recently so they had plenty to tell us about, and we had tons to ask about Sydney and things.  It was a great get away from the city, and I've already invited myself back over for another BBQ soon, it really was a wonderful time and felt a bit like home which is why I think I enjoyed myself so much.

Let's see here, on Tuesday this week we went over to Joel and Kari's to help them celebrate Mr. Ethan Robert's 2nd birthday -Kari whipped up some excellent tacos and we all watched the birthday boy inhale the cheese and chips:) I am not sure who was more excited for his new toys he opened up....Ethan or me?! Either way I will let him use them first, and I will try out the pail and shovel when he's done...I have always been good at sharing.

Thursday night our pal Andrew invited us to dinner at La Mint, www.lamint.com.au which is only about a 20 minute walk away in a nearby suburb, Darlinghurst. It was French-Vietnamese cuisine and I must say, I was super surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Andrew brought along two bottles of Savion Blanc from New Zealand and we shared the 7 Beefs Main course -- which was amazing.

After dinner we headed up to Oxford street which is just a couple blocks from La Mint, and we had a drink at the Colombian Inn, and then we walked up to the Oxford Hotel - which looked fairly promising from the curb, but once inside it was as if the patrons at this bar had been dancing since last Friday night - and they showed no signs of stopping, it was barely 9pm, several of them had on their sunnies (sun glasses), shirtless, and were apparently not only drinking, but on a cocktail of rave-like drugs as well, we quickly decided not to hang with the party animals and decided to give it another go at the Midnighter. (I think that's what it was called any way) About half way into our drinks we heard some noise start up in the front of the bar, and wouldn't you know it....we had made it just in time to see Thursday nights Drag Show! It was great, and unfortunately I did not have my camera with me last night, but let me just tell you - the second performer of the night had the best pair of stems I have ever seen; for some reason I want to say her stage name was Winnie Cooper, but I am not positive on that.

Aahhh... the Wonder Years.

Oz Open

Okay....I think it's time that admit I have a problem. I am severely addicted to the blue court that is the Aussie Open. Tonight, Friday evening at 7:30, Nadal and Verdasco began semifinal play. It is now 12:18am - and I am up - alone, watching and yelling - and just moments ago Senor Verdasco just took the tie break of the fourth set, and we are now headed into the fifth, and deciding match. Some time ago, probably mid-second set, I ditched the contacts and have been sporting the specs, but my eyes cannot handle this - they(my eyes and the athletes) have been at it now for 5 hours...I was really hoping that Rafa (that's how the cool kids refer to Nadal) would put Fernando (and me) out of our collective misery in four sets - but that's not how the game is shaking out tonight.

I am not sure if it is because of my close vicinity to the AU Open (I do usually get into other Grand Slam matches, but not like this) this time around or what, but I can't pull my self away! I partially blame the lack of ESPN in my diet here in Sydney, so the fact that this is live, and exactly like it would be at home, is really speaking my language. If you'd like to join in on the madness I suggest you hurry up http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/index.html

Because it is all winding down...tomorrow S. Williams and Safina will play for the woman's title, and on Sunday will be the men's final.

I learned today that there is a massive big screen and bleachers set up down at Circular Quay to watch the games live - and they are actually selling AU Open gear (and other necessary souvenirs...so you can bet that I will be checking that out tomorrow).

It's 12:38 in the A.....and they are still going at it. 

Day 2

Tuesday morning started early as well - breakfast, buffet style, yet again -- cereal, toast with an assortment of spreads, Vegemite included of course, some fruit...and baked beans?? I didn't ask questions, it was 7am, and I really just wanted to get back to the beach.

Here is the entire group during our morning stretch together. I think I am over there on the right somewhere. After getting the limbs nice and warm, we broke into our groups, and Justin taught us a bit more about the ocean, how to "search" for the good waves, the currents the rips; the different kind of rips, how to get out of a rip, etc.  And after our lesson on the sand we were back into the water. And as much as I wished I would be able to pop right up on the very first wave, it wasn't that simple. I think it took me about 25 minutes to get the rhythm back that I had the day before. The waves were much smaller, and more inconsistent than they had been on day one - so once a good wave came along we were all fighting for it.

Most of my down time between the lessons were spent glued to the big screen back at camp watching the the drama unfold at Australian Open - it's safe to say I am addicted, and that if I could've I would have spent a fair chunk of January in Melbourne seeing it all in person. The only perk about missing out on the action is that Melbourne is experiencing a massive heat wave right now, they have had 3 days in a row of 43 Celsius (which is about 111 F) They have never had a heat wave like this - ever. So all and all it is okay I didn't make the trek down to Rod Laver Arena in beautiful Victoria.

By the time our fourth and final lesson rolled around my arms were beyond tired and pushing myself up on my board was becoming difficult to say the least. The waves had calmed down to a gentle lull and were even more few and far between than they had been in the morning session. Every so often when a good wave came a long we all wanted it - but at the beginning of the fourth lesson Justin had taught us about surf etiquette, the dos and don'ts of catching waves and how not to look like a complete beginner out in the surf. So, with that being said, we had to try to show some restraint when a good wave was coming up the back.

And surfing may not look like a ton of work, but you couldn't be more wrong. There were campers who were scheduled to stay for 4 full days, and I am willing to bet they are still a bit sore today.

We are heading out to Manly Saturday morning  to try out our new surf skills - we hear the waves are going to be good, and we're not about to miss out.

Gidget goes to Surf Camp!

On Monday morning we set out for a two day adventure to Rip Curl's Surf Camp.

We met up with the rest of the novice surfers at Sydney Central YHA (the main youth hostel here in Sydney) at the crack of dawn, well it wasn't that early, but taking the train at 6:45 in the morning isn't my favorite way to wake up.

Chris and I were waiting around for about 10 minutes before anyone walked past who looked like they might be heading to Surf Camp too - we all stood around waiting for our Grey Hound to pull up to the curb. The majority of the crowd were younger back packer types who smelled, and appeared as though they hadn't seen a bar of soap in a few days -- it was like an 8am lecture in Iowa City all over again.

We packed into the Grey Hound , aka the Skinny Dog and headed about 2.5 hours south of Sydney to Seven Mile Beach, just south of the town Gerroa. We pulled into the camp, off the Pacific Coast highway - and headed toward the Rip Curl bungalows which sat on the river that led us to the beach...where we would spend the bulk of our next two days.

I realized pretty quickly that not only were Chris and I bit older than the rest of the campers, but we were the only wannabe surfers from the states. And besides the instructors there was only one other Australian - our crew was full of Brits, Germans, French, Swedes, Swiss, Norwegians, there a few from Denmark and Finland as well...it seemed like all of our fellow campers smoked, and were more interested in looking good while at camp, rather than actually surfing - I found this all very entertaining.

Chris and I bunked up with Dave, the Australian and Robert the German -- who were also the only other campers signed up for a two day speed course on how to surf. About an hour of orientation and getting settled into our bunks we hit the beach for our first of four lessons. 

Chris, Justin (Our Coach) and Me on the Second Day of Surf Camp.

We spent the first chunk of the lesson on the sand, it is much easier to learn how to stand on your "sand" surf board, and than it is to actually figure out how to get your feet about you in the ocean.  But a few waves into lesson numero uno I was actually standing up on my own!

The way they broke it down for us was a three step process (sounds simple enough right?) Once you feel the wave start to push the board you 1. Push up, 2. Front foot 3. Back foot -- Meaning, you push yourself up, and bring your front foot (could be your right or your left, it just depends which way you stand on your board - I am "normal/right" footed, and Chris is "goofy/left" footed)  between your hands (that should still be down on the board) and the lastly slide your back foot up and it should sit perpendicular to the board. Now, I realize the "1, 2, 3 - Surf!" process may sound easy, but actually mastering it is a whole different ball game.

After the first lesson we headed back to the main hangout/picnic area of camp for a buffet style bbq, and let me just tell you now, the kitchen staff is not paid, they are young guys who came through camp - and decided they wanted more time to surf...so their housing is taken care of, and they can surf whenever they want - but they have to make the food, usually for about 50 campers plus the instructors 3 times a day.....and although we were all starved after our first go with this surfing business, I was happy to know that I would only have to eat the camp food for two days.

By the second lesson, I was no longer dragging my knees along my board, and I had quit doing the "Titanic" move as they call it - facing forward on your board with your arms out like an airplane - you basically look like a huge moron, but I was just so excited not to be wiping out every few waves I could care less if I looked like Kate Winslet in a wet suit! Chris was having a great first day too - he was getting up and catching waves in the first lesson, and continued to take a few pointers from Justin during the afternoon. Half way through lesson number two Justin was teaching us how to shuffle up the board to keep momentum and how to do forehand and backhand turns on the wave -- and much to my surprise, I was able to do both -- I was even able to pull off a trick on my first day in the water, and I was so excited about it, I am going to re-tell it to you all now, just because I am so proud of myself.  

So Justin said, I think you should try to catch this wave, and then once you have your balance jump up and turn, (a 180 basically) so I would be facing the other way, with my left foot forward - and after getting bashed by a couple of waves, I actually pulled it off! I couldn't believe it.

Day 2 of Surf Camp -- Coming soon! So stay tuned :)

Out and About...pictures included.

I promised pictures of the Northern Beach hike - and thanks to my ridiculously slow Internet connection, here are a couple of the shots I could actually get to load! So here are some pictures we took on the way from Manly to Dee-Why, sorry there aren't more to check out. I have however uploaded the walk in its entirety on facebook.

The beach communities here are very fond of the beach side pool, or more commonly known as the bathing pool here in Australia. This specific pool is in North Curl Curl (if I am remembering correctly) it was the one I mentioned in the previous blog -- where there were kids darting around me at warp speed along the rocks racing out toward the pool. Once you make it out to the pool it is basically a dead end -- there are huge boulders and cliff formations around the bend from the pool that we walked out to, but in order to continue on the hike we took a daunting, rickety flight of steps back up the hill -

And here I am at the top of Curl Curl....shoes sopping wet, and slightly winded from the climb back up the hill. If you squint really hard you can see Manly in the background. It was close to 90 degrees that day (that's about 40 Celsius) so I didn't mind that my shoes were wet, it kept me cool for about 15 minutes, and then it was just flat out uncomfortable.

I finished up the Bryson book a week or so ago, but when I feel like you need tidbits of Australian trivia I will pull him back into the blog - if you hadn't picked up on it, I highly recommend grabbing yourself a copy.

And just in case you weren't getting enough inauguration coverage back home - I thought I would share a little bit from a daily paper, Mx, here in Sydney:

Australia and Indonesia think "yes he can" but China, Malaysia and Singapore aren't so sure, according to a new study. Media Monitors' investigation into press coverage across the Asia-Pacific found the Australian media was more enamored with the incoming US president than any other.

 -- I found it pretty interesting, they do really seem to love him in the coverage I have seen on the local news - but frankly I think people would have fallen in love with any one who was in line to replace G.W. And Mom, I know you were worried about me missing out on the history of the big day back in the states - and I just wanted you to know my channel 7 news here was just as dedicated to the historical moment as the networks back home, so I haven't missed out on a thing!

In addition to Obama taking over D.C. we have also had a very busy week of our own here in Sydney. Chris's coworker Kari and her family arrived in Sydney on Sunday, and will be living here for a year - and although they have only been here a few days its great to have a few more Americans around :)

Out and About

So finding a job after the holiday rush here in Sydney is proving to be a bit more difficult than my optimistic-self had originally planned for. But have no fear, it has only been about 12 days of unemployment and I have several decent options in the works.  A bookstore, a few clothing stores, restaurants, coffee shops, and a receptionist for a new gym thats opening in a nearby suburb, Newtown (Not to be confused with Iowa's own, Newton.) So hopefully next week I will be writing to tell you all that I am gainfully employed.

But in the mean time -- I have learned a few things; for example that 5 beers here in Sydney-land does not, absolutely positively does NOT equal 5 beers back home. No way, no how. 

I met Chris after work on Friday at our beloved Custom's House, for our weekly batch of wedges and a nice refreshing pint of Stella. I had another to wash down the awesomeness that are the wedges...(keep in mind I had no intention of getting over served). We finished up there and then wondered over to the Belgian Beer Cafe, located dangerously close to our front door. And to make matters even worse (or better, depending who you ask) we have befriended our very own bartender next door, his name is Mo. And well, I am not sure if it was the first European ale schooner (smaller than a pint) that did me in, or maybe it was the tiny shot sized sampler of some super dark German lager, or I suppose it could have been that final Stella I had to have, in order to keep up with the boys. Whatever it was, it didn't bode well for me. And to spare you all the silly, and rather gory details; but I was out around 9pm, and the saddest part of it all is, Chris had gone across the street to get take out from a lovely little Italian place called Giovanni's. (And here comes the sad part)by the time he brought it home I was down for the count. So lame. And so much for my pasta! That's what you get when you think Bud Lights are the same as Stellas.  Sigh.

On Sunday we headed up north, via ferry to Manly where we had planned a morning of hiking the northern beaches, much like we did on the Bondi to Coogee southern walk, it is the same sort of idea to the north...except this trail was more of a "true" hike, compared to the bike path leisure walk of the southern beaches. 

We saw Manly, North Styene, Queenscliff, Freshwater, Curl Curl, North Curl Curl (yes, North Curl Curl...apparently one Curl Curl was not enough to satisfy the locals for that stretch of beach) we finally called it good when we reached Dee-Why  - a good 4.5 miles from where we had started off. While on the walk there were several spots where we had to scale along the side of the shore on huge rocks...and I am sure I got passed up by a dozen 10 year olds, all hoping along the rocks at seemingly warp speed. I was impressed with their talent to move so swiftly from boulder to even bigger boulder, but I was annoyed with my self for suddenly realizing I was the "old" person in their way. I had only one minor slip up (as most of you know I am a bit of a clutz) about half way through the walk, I was strolling along Curl Curl (I think) soaking it all in and watching everything but the tide...which came up a bit high, (out of no where! And Chris's "watch out Sam!" came a bit too late) and put me in soggy Nike's for the remainder of the walk. Either way the walk was beautiful, sunny, and doable for even non-experienced hikers and I do have pictures to post - I'll do that for you tomorrow.

Cheers!

Happy 2009!

If this photo doesn't scream Happy 2009! Then I don't know what does! This picture was taken about 30 minutes after midnight in Sydney, and there were massive street parties going on all over the city - we were walking back to the apartment when we stumbled upon a bit of dance party happening right on Bridge Street, so we stayed and showed the other party animals a thing or two.

I realize there has been a gap in my blogs, and I am deeply sorry for any loneliness you may have experienced due to your lack of Kanga Route blogging - but I have been a rather busy gal as of late.

The first month and a half of being here in Sydney I was doing some freelance projects for a company back home - and just before the New Year my work was completed with them, so now I am on the hunt for a job here in Sydney. I am actually heading out this afternoon to check out The Rocks neighborhood to see what I can find -- there plenty of little restaurants and shops so keep your fingers crossed that one of the hundred little shops just outside my front door are in the need for a 24 year old, American, for the next four months. Seriously -- keep 'em crossed.

So I am sure you are asking yourself - Sam, what the heck have you been up to then? Well lets see, between Christmas, Boxing Day and New Years - Chris had 10 out of 15 days away from work - we did the walk along the southern beaches; Bondi to Bronte, and then we just kept heading south to Coogee. Christmas Day was a bit cool and cloudy so we didn't end up heading to the beach in our Santa hats like we were hoping -- but Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) it was gorgeous and we hung out on the patio all day, soaking in the Sydney sun. We went to the largest IMAX screen in the world and saw, (for the second time) the Dark Knight. 

New Years was quite the spectacle - the entire Central Business District (CBD) shuts down and the streets are free for all of the people roam all day and all night. It was like nothing I had ever seen before; the streets were just as busy at 9pm as they were at 5am. The weather was perfect, there were nearly 1.5 million people crammed into The Rocks and the CBD area, the streets in the Circular Quay were lined with Hot Dog stands, Fish and Chips stands, people selling glow sticks (much safer than sparklers when you are dealing with millions of people). It was basically like the Iowa State fair x20...and just a bit more classy...but not by much.

Australians really don't mess around when it comes to celebrating, not only were there the traditional 12pm fireworks, but an earlier show at 9pm for the younger kids and families. And our apartment was the perfect spot for the "warm up" show. After the first burst of NYE we made our way over to Chris's office to watch the midnight firework display off of the Harbour Bridge, and from the 43rd floor of the AMP building we had quite a view. Like I said before, the city didn't really quiet down until 5am or so....therefore, there wasn't much sleep to be had - we had several friends stay at our place that night - and no one wanted the party to end. Needless to say, most of us have given up drinking for the entire month of January. And I am okay with that.

And I promised there were surf lessons, just after New Years - and I actually was able to stand up by the end of the lesson! We have booked our tickets to Surf Camp and we will be going later in January -- I will come back a pro I'm sure.

I thought I would share this little tid bit with you to close for the day - from my pal Bryson....

"In 1954 (flight) prices began to fall, but even by the end of the decade traveling to Europe by air still cost as much as a new car. Nor was it terribly speedy or comfortable experience. The Super Constellations took three days to reach London and lacked the power or range to dodge most storms. When monsoons or cyclones were encountered, the pilots had no choice but to put on the seat belt signs and bounce through them......Quantas called it, without evident irony, the Kangaroo Route."

How about that! I should probably let Bryson know that my blog shares the name with the old Quantas flight - how ironic is that!?