Dear Friends and Family,
It's Friday and I've got a little time. So, I think I'll write about Australia.
We went to Australia in March for spring break. Overall, it was an amazing trip. All of our flights (outside of our first one) left on time. All of our luggage made each connection. All of our hotels and rental cars were waiting for us when we needed them. The weather was warm and sunny with the exception of one day in Sydney. So, really, everything was lined up for an amazing trip.
Day 1, Saturday, we left home for the airport for our flight to Los Angeles. We had an intentionally long layover in LA to go shopping at P's favorite clothing store and to give us a chance to stretch our legs before the long flight to Melbourne. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed several hours so we had just enough time to race over to the store before it closed. We made it and bought some pieces to add to P's spring wardrobe. We had time for In-N-Out burgers for dinner. P surprised us all by eating three burger patties for dinner. We thought we were safe with two, but she must have been hungrier than we realized. Mr. mouse ended up eating one lettuce and tomato sandwich and one burger for dinner. Sometime late Saturday night we boarded the plane for Australia. We were all ready for bed which was perfect because it was evening in Australia.
Sunday, I'm not sure what happened to Sunday. I think the international date line happened to Sunday.
Day 2, Monday, we arrived in Melbourne well fed and well rested. We were all feeling a little grubby, but decided to skip the shower and headed out to Healesville Sanctuary, a zoo specializing in native Australian animals. En route, we picked up some cookies, some meat pies, some hot cross buns and some drinks. When we travel, we always pick up odds and ends to snack on and for breakfast. That way we're not spending all of our time and money foraging for food. At Healesville, we got to see kangaroos, koalas, platypuses, echidnas, and wallabies. We made it in time for a show on Birds of Prey that we really enjoyed and another one on platypuses that was fun. P had time to paint two rocks that we took with us on the trip and to play in the playground before we headed back to the kangaroo area for our kangaroo encounter. She was a little scared during the encounter, but afterward she said she had fun meeting the kangaroo. We bought a stuffed kangaroo at the gift shop and she named in Lacey after the kangaroo we met during the encounter. Monday night we checked into our hotel, Wyndham on William, and P promptly grabbed the first room with the king sized bed. We laughed and rolled the two twins together in the second room and called it good. The Wyndham has a lovely view from the rooftop, but the pool up there was a little too cold for a long swim. We came down and ate a combination of take out (spaghetti, soupy dumplings, regular dumplings and french fries) and meat pies for dinner. The shower felt so good.
Day 3, Tuesday, we packed our bags and checked out of the hotel. We spent the first part of the morning wandering around Federation Square. P and I went to an exhibit on local artists while Mr. mouse went to one on Australian cars. We took some obligatory tourist photos in classic tourist spots before heading out in search of fun neighborhoods in Melbourne further afield from the main tourist city center. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bit of a bust so we picked up take-out (chow fun and maybe something else) and headed to the airport for our flight to Cairns. We ate while waiting to board the plane and read and dozed on the flight. We landed in Cairns, loaded up the car and drove out to Port Douglas. We checked into our hotel, Sheraton Port Douglas Resort, carried P to the room, and fell happily asleep.
Day 4, Wednesday, we didn't have anything planned for Wednesday. We left it free to ensure we had time to hang out and play in the pool since P loves playing in the pool when we travel. The pools at the Sheraton didn't disappoint. The pools were warm and empty and it was just perfect for spending the day relaxing. We went out to the beach briefly before heading back to the hotel for lunch. Mr. mouse and I got a beer and smoothie to go with the last of the meat pies while P feasted on the kid's fish and chips. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. We headed back into the room and got clean before applying the bug spray and heading out. Chilly's Pizza has delicious pizzas and the pasta was yummy as well. We couldn't stop eating and we had leftovers to bring back to our room. We found an ice cream place, Wicked Ice Creams, for dessert before heading back to the room.
Day 5, Thursday, we had the first of our two snorkel trips planned for Thursday. Since P had become such a good swimmer, I thought it would be criminal to visit Australia and not take her to see the Great Barrier Reef. And, after much research, we decided to skip the pontoons that we had visited in 1999 because it seemed like they had become overrun and the reef had degraded as a result. And, we skipped the islands because I wasn't as impressed with the islands the last time we were in Australia. So, that left the smaller cruise boats. Our first one, Calypso, held 60 passengers and five crew. We sailed out to three points on Opal Reef. The first site was the most impressive, by far, and P lasted 50 minutes of our allotted 60 minutes in the water. She didn't do as well at the second and third sites because the waves were choppier and the fish were bigger. Added to that, we felt time pressure since we were at each site for only an hour. Ultimately, Mr. mouse kept her company while I snorkeled at one site and I kept her company while Mr. mouse snorkeled at the other. It wasn't ideal, but I was glad we got the first site in together as a family. I was worried about the next day because it would be a waste if she refused to get in the water. But, back to Thursday, we got back to the hotel, practiced snorkeling some more in the pool, got clean, and ate leftovers for dinner. At least that's what I think we ate for dinner because I don't have any dinner locations in my notes. Plus, I know we skipped on the bug spray and we got bug bites over the night in the room. I found the guilty mosquito the next morning. It was bloated. I squashed it.
Day 6, Friday, we had the second of our two snorkel trips. This time we sailed out on Synergy with nine other passengers and two crew members. P made fast friends with a boy named Finn who was a year older than her. Synergy goes to one location on Tongue Reef for three hours. That removed the time pressure since it was plenty of time to see the reef without feeling rushed to get back in the boat to get to the next site. We took our time getting in the water, maybe 15 or 20 minutes, and swam out to the reef. P had fun pointing out the different coral formations and we used our hand signals to check on each other and make sure everyone was okay. We were out about 40 minutes before coming back in for lunch. After lunch, P wanted a break, and fortunately for us, so did Finn and his mom. So, Mr. mouse and I headed back out to the reef while P played on the boat. Agatha, one of the crew, asked if she could take P out if P wanted to go out again and we said yes. At some point while snorkeling we looked up to see Finn and P and Agatha swimming back out to the reef. Agatha had promised P and Finn that she would find Nemo for them. And, she did. P was thrilled. Afterwards, we took P for one last round in the water before we all headed back to the boat. It could not have been a better day. Except it was because when we got back to the hotel for one last dip in the pool, we got to see a bunch of REALLY large bats head out after sunset for their nightly foraging frenzy. Dinner was peri-peri chicken pizza from Domino's and chicken for P from Dave's Take-a-Way.
Day 7, Saturday, we drove down at the crack of dawn for our flight from Cairns to Sydney. When we got to Sydney, it was grey and raining on and off. We checked into our hotel, the Radisson Blu, and walked over to see the Opera House and the bridge. It was wet, but we got P to record a video talking about the weather in Spanish and we found a tourist who we trusted to compose the picture and posed for a picture with the Opera House in the background. After a quick walk back to the hotel and our car, we drove over to Newtown. There P got to see where "Sky Full of Stars" was filmed. She walked down the main street pretending to be Chris Martin. It was precious. After our reenactment, we found lunch. P had sushi. I had tofu soup. Mr. mouse had a little of each. We picked up some meat pies and Clem's Fried Chicken for dinner. P and Mr. mouse bought me two purses. And, we went back to the hotel. The pool was super crowded, but we found a way to make it work.
Day 8, Sunday, we drove down to the Opera House for one last photo since it was bright and sunny in the morning. Then, we headed to the airport for our long ride home. In hindsight we should have napped Saturday night instead of sleeping the full night. But we didn't. So, it was a little tough when we got on the plane, ate "dinner" and tried to go to sleep. We all fell asleep, but with a full night's sleep behind us and loud people around us, there was no way we were going to sleep the bulk of the flight over from Sydney to Los Angeles. We watched a lot of movies. P journaled about the trip. We fidgeted. We rested. We made the time go by. We landed in LA not quite on local time, but not too far off either. After customs, we boarded our flight back home. We all dozed on it which gave me a bad feeling about jet lag since we should have been up. When we landed we knew we needed to stay up until bedtime or around 8 o'clock whichever came first. Fortunately we did and the day that seemed like it would go on forever (we crossed the date line in the other direction on the way back so somehow we had a morning in Sydney followed by 20 hours of travel followed by and afternoon and evening at home and it was still Sunday) came to an end. I almost forgot, P was excited to see that the Easter bunny had visited while we were gone. She had fun hunting down the eggs while we started unpacking.
Still with me? And, that, my friends, was our trip to Australia. It really was a special trip - one I will remember for a long time to come. And, now that P is older, one she may remember for a long time to come. We'll see.
Cheers!
mouse
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