Australia

For spring break, Marni and I decided that going somewhere 'home-like' would be a nice treat. We thought that heading to Australia would be a nice thing to do. When we realized how expensive it would be to find accommodations we then decided it would be a cool treat to rent a campervan (RV) and do some camping.

Getting there was uneventful. Although, the old lady behind me on the plane was really cranky about all the people who had to line up beside her to use the toilet. She was really pissy about the whole thing. Apparently, my size 10 feet are so grossly huge that I managed to step on her feet at least three times. It seems that it was the first time her big ass had been in a plane.

I could not believe the number of Aussie's that would fly from Bali to Perth. After spending a week in the area I have no idea why they would leave. The whole western coast is like the Okanogan with better beaches. It is absolutely stunning.

We rented the RV that we thought was going to be a small mini-van type for the four of us. Somehow, the paperwork confirmed us a 26-foot RV. That is all fine and good except it would really put a cramp in cruising around the city. Kind of like when Mom would lend me the K-Car for cruising chicks. Also, the fact that I had to drive on the left-side of the road also made it a tad tricky. Add to that the idea that I have not actually driven a car since the day we left for Jakarta would also put an interesting spin to the trip. All-in-all, everything went well. The driving was uneventful.

One of our first stops was the town of Bunbury. Nothing too exciting. I did snap a couple of cricket pics for the old man. Somebody heeds to show those kids how to throw a baseball, though. Then we walked across the street to the beach where we immediately saw a pod (Yes, a pod) of dolphins. I have pet them, had them do tricks and kissed them- but, to see them jumping on their own in the ocean was something special.

The next day we found a town called Yallingup. Really, it's like Jasper without a bar. It is nothing but a surfing town. Amazing beaches, tons of wineries and some other cool things to do. We stopped in at a sheep farm and quickly realized why all those Scottish/sheep jokes exist. Did you know that sheep have no upper teeth? I'll just let you put those last two sentences together in any way you like.

I did not get to shear a sheep (although I think one winked at me), but I did get volunteered to do a lot of the demonstration. Zoe got to be a Jackaroo. We were also given a brief description of the working dogs- "If a dog looks like that (man points at Boarder Collie), it herds the sheep!". "If it looks like that (points to some brown dog) it walks on sheep! Get it?" Very informative.

One of the children watching the show ate sheep shit.

One of the brilliant ideas adopted by the Aussie's are public BBQ's. They are not like the crappy hibachi's that we have in the Elks park, or something. These are propane BBQ's that are always full and clean. They are also used a lot. What a great idea! We need more parks with public BBQ's. Oh, and these people live up to the stereotype of 'shrimp on the barbee'.

After me swerving all over the road for five days we finally saw a kangaroo. We happened to stop at a random winery to let the kids stretch their legs and on the way back we spotted one in a farmers field. It made my trip. After that, I could focus on the road. Marni can work a GPS but spotting 'Roos is not a strength.

Caden met a girlfriend. He came running out of a playground with this little girl in tow and raced her to another part of the park. Her name was Grace. He spoke of her often.

Shamus has now seen another continent. Lucky little Leprechaun.

I am officially the proud owner of a 'Roo-skin hat.

We came home to a nice clean house that was spruced up by the hired help.

There, of course were many other highlights of the trip which we will share with you later. Right now, I am happy that we could smuggle in four bottles of wine.