Tassie, yet again!

  Doug's Dad (Jim) and I wandered off to Tasmania for three days. We managed to see some new country and revisit enough of the old that I didn't get completely lost driving. We started the trip with Port Arthur and some of the sights on the way down, like the tesselated pavement (pictured with Jim). We then enjoyed a very nice B&B with a lovely beach that we only saw one other person on! The next day we checked out the Tasmanian Devil, and got caught in a downpour. We then drove up the east coast and saw the spikey bridge, enjoyed a beach walk at Coles Harbour (sign of three weeks of living with us, Dad didn't even complain!). The nest day we did a scenic route through the centre of Tassie and had a lovely lunch with my Dad's cousins, Gwen and Rubean and then it was time to fly back. I'd go again in a minute...

Gold Coast

  The Gold Coast of Australia really reminded those of us who had visited Florida of that state. There were more ways to take your money than you could count, and we certainly enjoyed many of them. Clarissa and I did Wet n' Wild (I think I aged 10 years on some of those rides!), while Doug and Miranda visited Movieworld and Seaworld. My parents and Doug's Dad made it to a wildlife sanctuary during the first theme park day, and there was horseback riding for the girls and I while a 4x4 trip happened for the rest of our party. We also did a bus tour of Tropical Fruit World (Miranda holding a giant Avacado, esp. for Emily!)and Springbrook National Park. On the way we met some rosellas and you can see Clarissa with a silly galah. At this point we said goodbye to my Mom and Dad, as they'll be heading home soon from Brisbane. The rest of us headed back to Melbourne, tired but ready to come back and ignore the commercial end and lounge on the beach.

Great Ocean Road...

Well, we spent Thursday at Ballarat (I took mercy on everyone and decided more pictures were not needed!). That evening we found Doug on a street corner outside the train station and had dinner with our friend Jasmeet, and then met him the next morning for breakfast. We then headed for the ocean, and overnighted in Warranbool. The next day, it was the ocean in all it's glory! ~ I really didn't mean to cut my head off while I walked on the beach, guess the drive is catching up with me. Our next post will be in a week or so after we hit the Gold Coast... Warm weather again, we hope!

Melbourne Zoo, again...

We didn't realize that Grandpa loved zoos, so that made a wonderful Tuesday! Monday was lunch at Docklands (we introduced Grandpa to the local prices, his colour did return eventually!). The zoo was a good trip, the tiger cubs have grown a lot, the wombats were out and busy, the carousal was running, many birds were hanging out... And the lions were actually awake and walked around! We went home for a rest in the afternoon and took Wednesday off, to prepare for Ballarat and the Great Ocean Road...

Grandpa Mewhort Arrives!

Jim arrived on the 31st of March, and the trip seemed to have gone relatively well. Relatively for someone who hasn't been travelling for awhile, well meaning he arrived! We dragged Grandpa out to the Melbourne Flower and Garden show, where we toured the Royal Melbourne Exibition Building and found a mermaid and a garden design we all thought was pretty wonderful. While we were here, Doug and Miranda where at the FINA swimming championships. Grandpa is discovering what we've learned: Life without a vehicle involves a lot of walking!

Dance Mom!

We just finished our first term of dance, and we're loving it! Clarissa is in ballet twice a week, and Miranda is in musical theatre. I get to wash clothes, orginize snacks, wash feet and do hair... Life just keeps getting better! Seriously though, it is fun and it's a wonderful school, Dance Precinct. We got to see the girls doing lessons at the end of first term, March 27th and 29th.