WINE AND THE WALLABIES.

January 1

It is hot. I jump in the pool for awhile, but it is still hot. Meanwhile, Kevin is dedicated to watching Dexter. Mia is dedicated to watching the Vampire Diaries. Noah, incessantly, plays call of duty or an equal video. Mom watches Law and Order and I watch The Good Wife. Later we are going to see the Hobbit. The iPads, the laptops and at least two TVs are all going simultaneously. We all have our own device vices.

Mendy and I discussed a book concept last night that she has titled The Tribal Rituals of the American Teenager. The premise is that the rituals have changed over the years in the manner that the rituals are expressed, but the underlying theme is still the same. e.g teenagers desire to go out with their friends on their own and parents are reluctant to let them. It is a ritual that every teenager and every parent has experienced. Also, there is the ritual of the proper clothes, the proper friends and so on. 

These rituals are practiced in Australia, America and I suspect every other country too. Around the world, teenagers have many common characteristics and observe the same tribal rituals. The rituals seem to be independent of time and geography. I will check back with Mendy in a few months to see how the book is progressing.

Yesterday, we visited a local winery. It was perched on hill that overlooked a valley of grass, which was also a gourmet buffet for dozens of wallabies. We stood on a deck and about 100 yards in the distance was a platform where famous singers perform, Mariah Carey was just there. Mom bought some cheese, prosciutto, pate and bread and it was almost like Napa - A jug of wine, a loaf of bread and thou. It was wonderful.

Tomorrow, the Sunshine coast and then we fly to Sydney.

HOW DO AUSTRALIANS GAMBLE?

December 31

It is New Year's eve. 

We plan on traveling into Brisbane later today and watching fireworks from the Southbank. Tomorrow's plan is a wine tour. Friday's plan is a trip to Morton Island and Saturday we plan to leave for Sydney. Time always moves forward and at a pace that when you arrive in the future, it seems like no time at all has passed.  It is an enigma if there ever was one. The past compresses into a fleeting thought and the future expands with a person's plans. I prefer to make plans.

Currently, we need another suitcase to make the trip home. Thank heaven I packed all my clothes in my backpack. I wore shorts and shirt every day, just like everyone else I met. Kevin and I went to the Brisbane casino yesterday. It is the place to go for air conditioning. It was wonderful. We lost a bit, but had some fun. I believe the casino, located in the center of the city, is another of those buildings that used to house prisoners. Now it houses, 3 bars, 500 slot machines and an assortment of roulette and blackjack tables. The games are all the same as Las Vegas. 

Australians gamble just like Americans, pushing the money in with one hand and drinking a beer with the other. I learned that hats are not allowed in the gambling area because it hides your eyes from the video camera. I had to place my Royals hat in my pants. 

RIVERS GIVE BIRTH TO CITIES

Monday December 29.

Played golf in the rain yesterday.

It could be Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis or any one of a hundred cities founded on a river. However, it is Brisbane, Australia,  located on the Brisbane river, as seen from the Marriott. The river supports commerce, the people come for the commerce and the buildings are constructed for places for the people to work. Oracle has a tall building here, as well as several banks and the energy companies. Australia has large coal and gas reserves as well as a recently discovered cache of yellow cake to support the nuclear power industry. The locals recommend no swimming in the Brisbane river because of a large population of aggressive bull sharks. We did not swim in it. 

Ferries take people back and forth across the river. We took a ferry the length of the whole river and saw several universities, recreational areas, gambling casinos and high rise apartments. Cities look pretty much the same to me. 

I searched everywhere for a decent breakfast and a great cup of coffee without success. I can say that the food, at KFC and McDonald's, except for the coffee, taste the same as in the states.

AUSTRALIAN POLICE TOOK US FOR A RIDE.

December 28

It's Sunday. We leave next Saturday for Sydney.  We still have a few coasts to visit, sea world, a museum and another island. On Friday, I took Helen to Brisbane for an overnighter for her birthday. We stayed at the Marriott, the same hotel Obama stayed at when he was here. We had a single room, he had the top two floors. We paid for all of our room and like the rest of Americans we all chipped in for his.

We got a bit lost one of the days and asked a police officer for directions. He told us to jump in the police van and he took us back to the hotel. It happens like that only in Australia. It was Boxing day on Friday. The restaurants have menus with two prices, a regular price and another price about 10-20% higher for public holidays. The Queensland mall was wall to wall people with prices reduced and the restaurants charged more. Many restaurants were closed, but those that were opened charged more to eat on Boxing day. There is no tipping in Australia, which makes total sense to me and I had no trouble adjusting to that cultural characteristic.

Helen and I took a two hour bus tour of Brisbane. It seemed to me that all the main buildings were prisons at one time, or were towers that they hung the villains from for all the other prisoners to see. It was believed that this visual act discouraged more crime  It must have worked because all the people we met seemed real nice now. The photo is Helen with the Story bridge over the Brisbane river in the background. It is lit up at night. You can climb to to the top for $100 and rappel down the sides for another $100. We did neither. 

AUSTRALIANS KNOW HOW TO CELEBRATE

December 26

Today is Helen's birthday. We are going into Brisbane to spend the night and sample the restaurants. It is Boxing day so I do not know quite what to expect. Mendy and Kevin are going to drive us into the city. We plan to take a ferry around the river to see the city from the water.

We already made merry Christmas face time calls to Kelly and Bobby. It is Christmas day in the USA.

Yesterday, we had a feast. Two families were from South Africa and we sampled some SA food. But mainly we had shrimp, salmon and calamari. As it turned out, our host was an expert bow hunter. He showed several pictures of him and his "kill," e.g. large African animals, displayed in a national bow hunter magazine. It was impressive. 

It was a bit warm so it was not long before a water fight started. Then the water balloons came out and the water war rapidly escalated, just like America.  It started with the kids throwing water balloons at the adults then it became a gender war. No one escaped. It felt just like home.

Last night Kevin's friends dropped over and we made an evening of toasting. It was a late night.

Yes, I agree the picture shows I need to get back to exercising again.

SANTA WAS HERE FIRST

December 25.

You can relax. Santa was here. He left lots of presents for boys and girls and headed for New York. He should be there in a few hours. Santa sent me this picture as he left Australia so I know he is real.

Kevin made a big breakfast, bacon, eggs, pancakes, cantaloupe and juice.  I ate a bit of everything. Although I have been challenged to adapt to the time zone, my stomach has had no trouble.  It is not time zone sensitive. Additionally, I must be adjusting to Australia because I am starting to like the coffee.

We have a number of additional things to do on our Australia list including some additional beach trips to the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, as well as a ferry ride to Morton island. The best food is still at Kevin and Mendy's  home, but I did find a chicken wing store that almost makes them like Grandma Helen did. Almost! They were sold out when we visited yesterday.

I have been watching the Australian news. I believe it i.e. more factual and less dramatic than American news. Australia is accelerating its public service program to provide free wifi everywhere in Australia.

More later.

AUSTRALIAN CATFISH

December 24. 

We spent the morning in the pool. Because we can. We are going to a small church service tonight so we have to spend the remainder of the day

learning Australian Christmas songs. Yesterday, I took my fishing pole down to Wellington point, bought some new lures from the Skipper-the owner of a small bait store- and tried my luck. I had fun just sitting by the dock of the bay watching the waves roll in. I saw no fish except jelly fish. There were about 20 teenagers, playing about 3 meters away from me jumping off the dock railing, approximately 10 meters in the air, into 15 meters of water depth. No fear is the Australian way. I will have to meet with the Skipper tomorrow for some more fishing tips. 

After that I just sat in my chair and watched the action. It is genuinely relaxing to just be near the water, it is no wonder that Australians love it. I noticed in my occasional walks that the smallest Australian house has a boat in front.

Kevin and I saw an amazing fish a few days ago. I checked it out with a fish scientist at the Brisbane museum. The fish(s) is shown in the image above. In the water, it looks like a basketball size mass of writhing eels. It is actually a species of small catfish that swim together for protection.

Last night we put some more shrimp on the barbie. We really talk like that too.

Bob

BRISBANE IS A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE

It is December 23 - 21 days into our Australian adventure. 

Yesterday, we visited an area of Brisbane called the Southbank. We took a train into the city, about 45 minutes, then a 15 minute walk to the Southbank. It is hard to describe, but imagine an area that includes more than 100 shops/restaurants and framed by several large, I mean large, pools with sandy beaches. The pools face the Brisbane river and the city skyline. 

At night there is a large outdoor screen and people watch a movie from the pool, or lay/sit on the beach and grassy areas that surround the area. It is a downtown district that attracts thousands of visitors and locals. The restaurants are all open to the air and have great ambiance and marvelous views.  It is truly a one of a kind experience. 

Kevin met us at one of the restaurants for a drink and some dinner. I had some tasty chicken wings. We met another couple, the husband works with Kevin at Cerner. They had just moved to Brisbane from Lee's Summit, Missouri. The kids watched a movie from the pool. Tonight they show "Home Alone." It is a festive Christmas spirit without the cold or the snow.  It is a bit of a fantasy to sing "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas."

Time keeps moving forward. 

ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER ISLAND IN AUSTRALIA

December 17 Yesterday. A 10 minute car ride from home base,

then drive the car on the ferry and 45 minutes later drive off onto Straddebrook island with 75 miles of sandy beaches. Mom loved it. She spent 5 hours riding the waves. I rode the waves for awhile then sat on a beach chair covered with towels to avoid another sun burn. The lifeguards place flags in the sand and you are directed to swim between the flags to avoid riptides. 

It looked like an island paradise for the young. Camping tents fitted the beach and even McDonalds had an event going on with two big tens with their insignia on the top of the tent. Mia ferried over earlier with some of her friends and we never saw her all day. It is a beach beach with plenty of places to have fun.

The picture by the way is Mom feeding the Loraleets at the Koala preserve.

SUNDAY IN AUSTRALIA

It is Sunday, December 14. We have been in Australia for 14 days. We have 16 more days. I have yet to see a venomous snake, a deadly spider or a Koala bear. I did see a tree that could not make up its mind which way to grow. It was erie and gave me a "fright" as they say down under. 


Mom and I walked 2.5 miles to breakfast this morning (and back 13,000 steps by my iPhone) to the city of Cleveland. We sat in an outdoor breakfast cafe, named Secret Coffee, faced the bay and had eggs benedict. The egg yolk is more yellow than American egg yolks, but otherwise it is about the same. The bay is called Reby Bay and is dotted heavily with large catamarans and 30'-40'yachts. For breakfast, I had a long black. e.g. big coffee with milk. 

It was a busy area dotted with local painters displaying their paintings, not too impressive, but pleasant. The area has about a dozen restaurants facing the bay, sushi, funky Mexican, hogs breath and some seafood places. So far the best food is at Kevin's home. I did have some great sushi at a local mall and will go back for more later this week. 

Mom and I are trying to walk a few miles each day to replace my tennis and her hiking. I am doing a bit of work for two of my clients in America so I have things to do at the business end too. The most difficult issue for work is matching the time zones.

We were briefly considering a 5 day side-trip hiking the fjords of New Zealand, but passed as of today.

HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED GOLF WITH THE KANGAROOS? I DID.

I have some catch up to do so this blog may be a bit disjointed for a few days. I am going to tackle golf in this blog and tackle Hamilton island and Whitehaven beach in the next few days. Go ahead and google Whitehaven beach. The computer pictures are understated. It is what you see and much much more. It is magic, a silicon wonderland. It is also an Australian national park.

On Friday, December 12, I played golf with Kevin, mom and the Kangaroos at Sanctuary Country Club, which is on the gold coast about 40 KMs south of Kevin's home in Ormiston. It was a trip. I

likely saw 100 Roos just relaxing on the course, cautious of us, but unafraid. They were typically in groups of 10-15 spreading themselves out on the grass, but never directly in the fairway, where it would have been safer for them.

The adult Roos just lounge around with the young Roos. They do not seem to interact much with each other, but the moms are naturally protective of the young Roos. As you slowly approach the joeys, the moms stand upright and stare you down. 

The golf course was spectacular. It was nestled in a obvious upscale resort setting near the coast. Mom went along, we took two golf carts, for the ride and took pictures of the Roos and a large variety of birds, including swans and storks. Kevin and I  bet heavily against each other and I ended up owing Kevin $2. I shot 93 and Kevin shot 91. 

It was an awesome day in Australia.

GLOBAL COMMUNICATION IS EASY

Communications.

I can call anyone in the USA, direct dial, no country code, as long as I am on a wireless network. When I am in Kevin's house, I am on wireless.

You can call me too, as long as you are on wireless and I am on wireless when you call.

Wireless to Wireless works anywhere. Period.

Email, websites, etc.

Works  the same -- Wireless enables all apps, just like home. I can pay bills, access bank accounts--everything just like home and the speed may be slower, but the difference is too slight to notice.

I have morning conference calls with my clients in Florida--just like home.

I should not be surprised, but I am.

NO UNUSUAL ANIMALS YET, BUT THE USUAL FAMILIAR FOOD

It's Friday December 5 at 2:00 PM. 

Tomorrow we fly to Hamilton island for 5 days. It is a 90 minute flight Northeast of Brisbane. It will be an adventure.

However, I have now been in Australia for 3 days and I have not seen a kangaroo, wallaby, koala bear or those large Australian bats that hang from all the trees. Nor have I seen a deadly spider or a venomous snake, two species that Australia is said to have a disproportionate share of. 

I have seen a McDonald's, a place that looks a lot like a Starbucks, a KFC (I ate two pieces of chicken as a taste test--it tasted just like home) and a place that looks like a Burger King, called Hungry Jacks. Sushi is everywhere and we have had sushi each day. Noah loves it and it is a popular snack stop.

The bad news is that Australia has malls. We go to the mall most every day for something. It is the highlight of my day.

Helen and I took our first walk this morning, GPS map in hand and found a coffee/bakery shop. We will be a lot more venturesome in the next few weeks as we get our geographical bearings.

UNACCUSTOMED AS WE WERE TO CUSTOMS

We have arrived, had a great dinner, slept soundly and are up early the morning of December 3. Helen adjusted perfectly. I have a ways to go. I was up early and went outside looking for Kangaroos and wallabies, but saw none. 

Some details about the flight and Australian customs. We exited the plane and immediately encountered a group of drug sniffing dogs. Thank heaven they were in training and Helen had packed the 8 pounds of bacon in the luggage and not in her backpack. 

After the dogs, we encountered a lane where we inserted our passport for identification, then we had to answer several display based questions about our visit to Australia, then a final question that asked were we telling the truth about the questions we just answered, e.g. had we just come from Africa and were we telling the truth? I guess that was an IQ test.  Then, we had our picture taken by another monitor, called the yellow monitor and were allowed to pass. No one is immigrating, without permission, to Australia. Then we collected our bags, another brief stop and we were through. Kevin and Mia met us at the exit and in another 25 minutes we were at the Sherwood home. Impressive.

The plane ride was tolerable- 14 hours, 4 movies, 4 snacks, two dinners, 4 trips to the restroom, and endless readjusting my position  in my seat. 

One quick story. To be admitted to Australia, we had to complete several custom forms. One form required us to insert the address and phone number of where we were staying in Australia. When I was completing the form, I did not have Kevin's address handy so I left it blank. Here is the dialogue as we passed through the custom's agent.
"You did not fill out where you are staying."
"We are staying with our son in Australia." We replied.
"Where does he live?"
"I do not know." We replied.
"How long has he been been in Australia?"
"A year." We replied
"And you do not know his address?"
"mumble mumble." We replied.
"Next time take more time and fill the form out properly."


The end.