Maybe in Oz

Ahh, Mt Gambier.  The second largest city in South Australia.  Believe me, that's not saying much.  South Australia is not exactly a thriving metropolis kind of state.  But Mt Gambier is really quirky, and that's why I love it.  It's about a 5-hour drive from Melbourne, and we stayed there overnight on our way to Kangaroo Island.  I had been there once before with friends and couldn't wait to show Phil its wonders.  The drive there is a bit boring, other than the Grampians there's not much but paddocks and trees.  Throw in a holiday weekend and even the sleepy fuel stop towns are all closed up.  The Maccas (McDonalds) however was complete chaos. The Grampians Mt Gambier and the Limestone Coast region is in an extinct volcanic area, giving it some interesting topography.  Lots of conical mountains over a bed of old limestone, and then throw in a few caves - over 600 to be exact.  We decided to explore these unique features, an...

My parents arrived at the beginning of April and we took the opportunity to have an Aussie Birthday Party for my mom.  We invited her Aussie friends over for dinner and they enjoyed the chance to catch up.  My mom met these friends through a painting convention they teach classes at in Vegas.  Year after year she kept taking their classes and they became great friends.  The convention is now a yearly tradition for them, and they fit in plenty of fun before and after.  They had just been over for a visit in March, so it was nice for them to get together and laugh about their trip without all the distractions.  I made an echidna cake for dessert that went down a hit, even with the very American peanut butter filling.  After the party they spent a few days with Janice and Ted and then had a visit with Karen and family before heading to Kangaroo Island with us.  All in all it was a great way to begin their visit over here.  Gail, my dad, and...

This morning we finally explored Organ Pipes National Park near the Melbourne airport.  It was a crisp morning, and besides a few wallabies we had the trail to ourselves.  The park is right under the flight path so every few minutes a plane would take off through the clouds but the noise didn't detract from the serenity. Wallaby in the bushes It was a fairly easy hike, the path is wide and took us straight down into the canyon.  The first stop was the Organ Pipes, a large wall of hexagonal rocks standing tall against a babbling creek.  It was neat to see the unique shapes of the rock faces scattered next to the pipes. Close up of the Organ Pipes The Organ Pipes next to the creek The next stop was the Rosette, which as Phil said looked like an exploding volcanic turd.  It was a strange rock formation, it looked like the rock had exploded and this action was frozen in time.  The nearby canyon was a pretty scene next to it. The Rosette Th...

Last weekend Phil set out to tackle his third of the 7 Peaks, Mt Buller.  After our very enjoyable recent trips to Lake Mountain and Mt Baw Baw we had high expectations for some beautiful scenery.  We drove out through the Yarra Valley and continued for just over 3 hours along rolling golden hills.  The scenery looked very similar to the Central Coast of California, minus the oak trees and with a few more gum trees. California views in Oz I dropped the boys off in Mansfield and they started on their 42 km climb. Ready for a ride Meanwhile I strolled around the town looking for an adventure.  Being a three-day weekend the cafes were packed with people, but the winery was nice and quiet and the gewürztraminer was decent.  I walked around a little more, but the mass quantity of large SUVs with snorkels in the front and swags on the roof made me was to head out somewhere quieter. Not much scenery to take a picture of in Mansfield... I decided to head ...

Pretty much in that order - that's what Cranbourne is known for.  We live on the other side of the tracks (the good side) from Cranbourne and try to avoid making the drive into that town at all costs.  Until today. My parents and I had been to the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens before but there was a quilt display at the gardens this weekend that I wanted to check out.  I made Phil go with me so he could experience the strangeness of this place.  It's free to explore and just a few minutes from our house.  It is truly a beautiful place, an island in the surrounding sea of bogans and ferals.  There are paved paths leading the way around the gardens, through eucalyptus trees and native australian wildflowers.  There is a large pond and several water features and one could spend hours wandering around the grounds.  Here are a few pictures to prove that such a nice spot exists in such a quality place as Cranbourne.

Last weekend we headed a couple hours East to explore the Mt Baw Baw area of West Gippsland.  This was #2 of Phil's quest to ride the 7 Peaks in Victoria, so I dropped him and a friend off 86k out and meandered my way along for the next 4 hours. Les and Phil ready to start the ride My first stop was the town of Warragul, where the local quilt shop was having a fabric sale.  I could hardly pass that up.  Then I started the winding drive up towards the mountain.  The Noojee Trestle Bridge sign caught my eye so I turned off to see what it was. The Trestle Bridge Next I came to the town of Noojee, what appeared to be a watering hole for bike riders before they headed up the mountain.  Here a sign pointing out a water wheel caught my eye and so I took a short hike to explore that. The Water Wheel A little farther along the road was a sign pointing out a road to Tooronga Falls.  I took the turn and followed the bumpy road for several ks before ...

A couple weeks ago I got one of those last minute half price concert ticket emails for Dolly Parton.  I LOVED Dolly Parton when I was young.  Loved.  She had a tv show for a couple years and I would religiously watch it every Saturday night.  I don't remember much about the show except that it involved lots of sequins and she would always end the show with "I'll always love you."  So needless to say, I jumped at the chance for cheap tickets to see her.  She might be 68, but I figured if she's been around that long it was bound to be a good show. Her sequins didn't disappoint, and it was very enjoyable hearing her live.  She told great stories in between the songs and played several instruments, even a tiny little saxophone covered in rhinestones.  When it came time to 9 to 5 we got a good giggle out of watching the 60+ in the crowd dancing along - not the normal sight you'd expect to see at a concert.  Then she finished up and several wh...