Melissa's Idea Garden

I got to talk to Dad and Dianne today and to Ashley and Therese. I tried calling mom, but I missed her and Jim.

Wow, what a day! Who knew how much we could see on a 10 hour tour! We got picked up at noon by David. I have to say up front that he was absolutely the best tour guide we have ever had. David was in charge of taking us on a tour of the highlights of Cairns. He was knowledgeable, personable, and had hands on manipulatives for the passengers to look at. He had photos of local wildlife taped about the bus. He had copies of major news stories - big fish to crocs to floods. He had a cane toad in a jar and some bugs in jars. And he was funny, warm, and friendly. He made it a point to get to know all of our names and where we were from. He was truly a wonderful guide!

First David dropped us off at St. Monica's Cathedral in Cairns to look at the Creation Story in Stained Glass and the Peace Windows. Please, take the time to click on the link and learn about both the Peace Windows and Creation Story Windows. I took some photos but they are no where as good what you will see on this website (though I did load them up to Flickr). I would have a hard time going to this church...I would be spending all of my time staring at the windows.

Next, David drove us about Cairns pointing out good hotels, shops, and restaurants. He told us about sugar cane and sugar production, about tourism, and he showed us a naval base and shipbuilding. During this part of the tour, he showed us a sign that I had to get a photo of:

What you can't quite see in my photo is that this sign is beside a roadway. However, in times past, when there has been flooding, boats have traversed the road and the warning has been so they will note the overhead wires.... We learned that growing sugar cane is a big source of income here in this part of Australia. We saw the fields and the buildings where it was processed. Bet they have a really high Orkin bill!

Next we drove to the local headquarters of the Flying Doctor Service. When we were in Alice Springs, we learned about Reverend Flynn when we visited his grave site. He was the force behind the beginning of the Flying Doctor Service which over the years has saved tens of thousands of people. Because of the Flying Doctor Service, medical help is available to those living in the rural areas of Australia. But, they don't just provide emergency medical service, they also provide medicine chests for these areas (so when people are sick or hurt, a designated person can call in, consult, and dispense the medications). They are providing wellness and immunization services as well. We watched a brief film, toured the museum, saw the inside of a retired medical plane and perused the gift shop.

Next, we had a lovely afternoon tea - scones with jam and cream and our choice of coffee or tea. We enjoyed chatting with the others on our tour. Before leaving, I picked up some yummy looking noodles from Italy for Katrina, some cookies, and some macadamias. The macadamias here are so much better than those at home!

After tea, we went to the Cairns Botanical Gardens. This was like paradise to me. David has a background in horticulture, so he told us a lot about the plants we were looking at. I particularly loved the brilliant colors and the amazing shapes of the plants we saw. I will put a few of my favorite photos below, then you can see the rest at Flickr.

After the botanical Garden, we went to an Opal Shop and took a tour through an 'opal mine'. Katrina and I didn't learn anything new, but we sure did enjoy looking at the beautiful opals!

Next we were off to Palm Cove. This area had a wide range of accomodations. There is a RV site where you can camp for 18.00 a night (no power) and there are rooms for 1,000.00 a night and everything in between. We saw rooms that had their own private swimming pools out on the balcony and David pointed out an island nearby that can be rented for 23,000 for 24 hours. Apparently, the stars like Brad Pitt, like to go there and get away from it all.

Then, we bid our companions adieu, as we left David's bus to await the bus that would take us to the Cairns Night Zoo. The Night Zoo deserves a post of its own.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:52 PM | Permalink

Today, we were up at 7:30, but moving a bit slowly. It was 9:30 by the time we showered and packed and walked to Lasseter Casino Hotel for breakfast. Then it was back to the room to finish packing, checking out and heading on.

We went to visit Alice Springs Desert Park. This was a spot recommended by both of our tour guides while we are in Alice Springs and since we had been able to rearrange our flights from a mind-numbing 12 hours of flying and layovers to a mere 1 1/2 hours of flying, we had time on our hands to go visit it.

The bad thing is that in the end, we only had a couple of hours to visit and we could have easily spent four hours in this botanical garden/aviary/zoo. While there, we saw and learned about beautiful and useful desert plants from the sandy regions, woodland regions, and river regions.

They have a plant called a Desert Rose which looks a lot like our Rose of Sharon back home.

Then they have a Dogwood that looks nothing like our Dogwood tree!

We saw numerous birds and a few kangaroos. Many of the birds have iridescent wings or brilliant plumage, but they were hard to catch in photographs.

The nocturnal house was enchanting and we wish we had had more time to watch the bilbys, various mice, wallabys, snakes, and other nocturnal creatures It was the best nocturnal exhibit I have ever seen.

Here are more pictures of our time at the Alice Springs Desert Park.

Next we were off to the airport. We had a late lunch and waited for our flight. The airport was small and once through security, you could go outside and sit on the terrace in a gated area. Quite lovely!

Our flight was only about 90 minutes long and still they served us a snack, soda, a meal and gave us mints before we got off of the plane (I hope the airlines back home are taking notice of this!).

Once we arrived, Daniel picked up our rental car and Jack and I loaded our luggage into a taxi. We couldn't fit it and all of us into the rental car. Daniel went by the grocery store with Katrina and Jack came with me. We are staying at On The Beach Apartments and like so many businesses here in Australia, they close early, so we had to get our keys and instructions out of the wall safe so we could get into our room. Our room ended up being in the building next door (Seashells). Jack and I unloaded from the taxi, with the help of our wonderful taxi driver (who was from Scotland, married to a Chinese woman and now lives in Cairns-you find a lot of this type of varied backgrounds here in Australia.) Then Jack started taking bags up to the room while I watched the remaining luggage and watched for Daniel and Katrina. Jack got upstairs, then came back and told me there was someone in our room...so I went up. Turns out there was a typo in the letter, but the inhabitants of room 6 were kind and helped us to figure out we should be in room 8! So then Jack lugged all of the luggage up to our room (this involved pulling them up stairs. Later, realized we could have gone in on the garage level and taken an elevator...oh well.. Builds muscles!

Then Jack and I waited outside for Daniel and Katrina to show up. I think we must have stood out there for about 30 minutes. They got turned around and a wee bit lost before making it to us. It was disconcerting to be somewhere that he couldn't call us and we couldn't call him and he didn't know which building or room we were in. But we got it all sorted out, and then picked our rooms. I began on the mountain of laundry (should have taken a photo). I was excited there was a dryer, but after a few clothes were in there for 3 hours and were wetter than when they went in, I gave up and we are using the drying racks and furniture and clothes hangers. Went to bed close to midnight.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

On September 17th, we began a five week adventure to Australia and New Zealand. I have been sharing the chronicles of our adventure on my other blog Melissa's Idea Garden. I try to provide links to places we have been as well as photos. I thought it might be interesting to fellow homeschoolers. The link will take you to the first post, then you can just move forward from there!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Daniel has a blog as well. He is not as long winded as I am either! You can check for more photos (and better ones as he has an awesome camera) at . Also, he has put some videos up on youtube. The name to look for is DanielBMarkham.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:12 PM | Permalink

Another long and exciting day today. We were up at 5:00 a.m. We had a tour to meet at 7:10 a.m. Phil, the tour guide, came to pick us up in a really cool 4-wheel drive shuttle. Check this thing out!

We picked up a few other people and away we went. After a quick stop at Dr. Flynn's grave, we headed to Hermannsburg. This was an 80 minute trip through the outback with Phil telling stories along the way. Hermannsburg is an Aboriginal settlement, and was started by a Lutheran Minister. We stopped here briefly for a comfort stop before heading off down the road to Palm Valley.

Phil warned us that the next hour or so would be bumpy, so we put on our seatbelts and prepared to be jolted. The first 20 kilometers wasn't so bad...it was like driving too fast down the road to our house at our home. Then we stopped for another comfort stop and morning tea (tea or coffee and cookies and fruit cake). Then he warned us the next 4 kilometers would be really bad (they would take as long to traverse as the last 20 kilometers). So we strapped in again, and this time the road was much more bumpy. It reminded me of the road up to my dad's cabin. The reason for the bumpy road is that we were riding along the Finke River Bed. It is the dry season here. The last time the Finke River flowed was in January of last year. And then it was 4 or 5 meters (12-15 feet deep). It stayed that way for about 5 days. It is just really hard to imagine and we would like to come back and see it when the river is running high.

After driving a bit, we got out and walked. Walking into Palm Valley was like walking into the Land of the Lost. The rocks exuded "ancientness." There were fig trees that were a mere 12-18 inches high that ranged in age from 5-40 years. And though we were walking through a dry riverbed, there were palm trees and areas that had that 'tropical forest' feel.

These palm trees are left behind from when there used to be a shallow sea here. They are truly amazing trees. From the months of November-January, they may be sitting in 12 feet of water or more for days at a time. Then the rest of the year - rain is rarely seen. As we walked along, we saw white deposits that made us think of concrete. It was actually 120 million year old remnants from a meteor hit and subsequent ash fall.

120 million year old white ash deposits.

We saw birds, lizards, and on our return, a black-footed rock wallaby. The hour or so that we spent walking through Palm Valley was like being on another planet. No planes overhead, no modern day sounds...there was a breeze and just being there was balm for the soul.

Lizard. His tail was twice as long as his body.

Black-footed rock wallaby

After our walk, we headed back towards Hermannsburg. We made a couple of other stops to see sights and pulled into Hermannsburg around 2 p.m. We watched a 16 minute movie about Albert Nmjitara (a famous Aborigine water color artist). We sat in a room where we could see some of his prints, which were available for sale.

After the movie, we had a "ploughman's lunch". There was bread, salad, quiche, and cheese. Then we had an hour to explore the buildings. The village was depressing. The art work that was said to be so wonderful, seemed child-like to me. Much like our own Native Americans, the Aborigines have problems with alcohol, depression, obesity and they don't seem to be doing a lot to help themselves. The buildings were dismal. I just really felt down after touring Hermannsburg. As we passed the homes of those who lived there, we saw dozens of cars without tires, windows or doors. They collect them for some reason. They also had small fenced in areas with horses and dogs. I am not sure what the horses were eating. It is a tough thing.

Inside of Lutheran Church in Hermannsburg

Outside of Lutheran Church in Hermannsburg.

Inside of old Hermannsburg school.

Here are the rest of the photos from today.

After our time in Hermannsburg, we returned to our hotel. I would like to learn more about the Aborigine culture during our time here.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:27 AM | Permalink

Another busy day. We got up about 7 a.m. At 9, we walked down the block to the Alice Springs Lawn Sale at the Lasseter Casino Hotel. We were in search of hats to wear. Turns out for the tours here in the outback, hats were required (along with sunscreen, sturdy shoes and bottled water). We are told that is because the hole in the Ozone is right over Australia and the sun is really gnarly here. We figured if we could get some used hats, it would save us a bit. We did find one for Katrina and you will see a picture of it in a bit. Jack had already picked up a baseball cap and Daniel and I ended up purchasing hats at a nearby souvenir store.

After quickly perusing the lawn sale, we drove into Alice Springs to an area called Todd Mall. This is a bricked street (walking only) surrounded by shops, galleries, and cafes. Daniel and I got hats, we picked up another magnet (I am going to need a new fridge to put them on at this rate) and Jack and Daniel each got boomerangs. Daniel got a returning boomerang (which have only been around for a couple of hundred years) and Jack got a hunting boomerang.

After a bite of early lunch (we had skipped brekky), we headed back to the hotel. Katrina was supposed to meet with Paul, the owner of the Red Rock Opal store, and shape some opals. Well, we got there at 11:30 and he had a sign up that he was gone to lunch until 1. So we went back up to the room and goofed around while we waited.

At about 12:30, I called Qantas (airline) to see if we could change our Tuesday flight around. When Daniel first made the flight via Expedia, we had gotten off the plane at Ayers Rock, picked up a car, then driven to Alice Springs, then we were supposed to drive back to Ayers Rock (4 or 5 hours) on Tuesday, get our plane at 10:05 am, fly back to Alice Springs, then fly to Sydney, then fly to Cairns, getting in around 10:45 pm. This was making for a really, really, really long day. So I called, and once again, was very amazed at how easy people here in Australia are to work with. Turns out, there is a flight that goes directly from Alice Springs to Cairns. So for about 80.00 (U.S.), we switched our flights and now we catch a plane out of Alice Springs at 5:20 and get into Cairns at 7:55 pm. I love Australia!!!!!

Then, Katrina and I went downstairs to Paul's shop. But he still wasn't back. He got back around 1:20...what can I say, things are laid back here in Australia. Katrina started on a couple of her opals, before we had to leave on our Alice Springs Highlights tour.

First we stopped at Dr. Flynn's grave.

Dr. Flynn was a minister, a teacher and began a flying doctor service to Central Australia. He is revered in this neck of the woods for all of his contributions. The big round rock you see placed on top of Dr. Flynn's grave was a bit of controversy. First, a rock was brough from Devil's Marbles, but it turned out this was a sacred rock to many Aborgine women. So, after 40 years, another tribe stepped in and offered one of their sacred rock's from a different site in exchange for the Devil's Marble. This had the affect of appeasing the upset tribe and still showing how much Dr. Flynn did for the Aborigines and Australians alike.

Next on the tour was a stop to see two white gums that were often used by Albert Namatjira in his paintings. His paintings are desired by collectors around the world and he was an inspiration to other Aborigines. I got a photo of the white gums and one of Katrina in her new hat!

Next we went to Standley Chasm. Standley Chasm is named after Ida Standley, the first school teacher in Alice Springs in 1914. This chasm is beautiful, though we were there later in the afternoon. Apparently, it is at its most brilliant around noon. We enjoyed the walk out, but wished we could have had more time there. Here are a couple of the best photos I got from there.

I really like my female drover hat!

After Standley Chasm, we headed to Simpsons Gap. Another beautiful spot and the first permanent water hole that we saw in the Outback. We were also looking for black-footed rock wallabys, but they didn't come out while we were there. I did get a few good photos here.

This sign would leave you scratching your head to look at it. See the sand behind Katrina? When there is rain, there would be water there, but that won't come for a couple more months.
A permanant water hole.

Not sure who these chaps are!

After our tour was over, Jack and I walked up to The Juicy Rump for dinner and Katrina and Daniel got some dinner from the Indian restaurant in our hotel. I had kangaroo for dinner and it was excellent. Much like beef steak. Very well prepared.

When I got back, I sent Jack up to get Katrina to come down and finish up her opals. I took a video which I will share if I get to a decent internet connection, but here is a photo of Paul showing Katrina what to do with her opals.

For some more photos, check out my flicker account here. The most frustrating thing was trying to capture the colors in Standley Chasm and Simpsons Gap. Some of the rocks glow red. Others are iridescent in an opal type way. But my camera just wasn't up to the challenge to bring that to life for you.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:56 AM | Permalink

Today, we rested, mostly... I managed to sleep in until 7:30! WOW!!! We enjoyed the brekky buffet at nearby Lasseter Casino Hotel and along the way we got some photos which you will see below. Then Katrina and I spent about 90 minutes in the opal store in the lobby talking with the owner. He gave us a class on opals. 95% of the worlds opals come from Australia. There are three main types: white opal, black opal, and boulder opal. The black and boulder opals are only found in Australia. Beware when you are purchasing opals that you don't get the synthetic versions that are made in a laboratory in Japan (unless that's what you want). Back in the states though, the law are such that they don't have to tell you it is synthetic... Here is a link to the history of the opal. Fascinating reading! We also learned that the reason the colors shift in opal when you move it is that there is actually water in there and it is like a rainbow effect! This is the only gem in the world that has this!

In between our visits with Paul at the Red Rock Opal shop, I worked tirelessly on blogging...getting the videos and photos set up is what takes so long.

We enjoyed lunch at The Juicy Rump. The restaurant was very busy with people watching the big rugby game here yesterday. It was neat being in there and groups of people cheering when this team made a score or when the other team scored. Of course, we had no idea what was going on, but it was fun to watch!

Katrina and I hopped in the pool for a bit. It was heated, but I still froze. I spent most of my time in the hot tub while Katrina swam about the pool. We watched Grease on television and went to sleep.

Now for the photos of the day:

There is green space here at the Crowne Plaza and in it we located a peacock. Not sure what he is doing here, but he is magnificently colored!

Katrina found this guy in the lobby!

Some lovely flowers along the way to the restaurant.

And more lovely flowers.

This bird is beautiful and everywhere (like pigeons at home). It is a very pink color underneath.

Another cool looking bird!

This palm tree looks like a giant pineapple!

This boulder opal has a design inside of it that looks like the continent of Australia with clouds crossing overhead. I couldn't really capture it in my photo, but maybe you get the gist of it....

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:06 PM | Permalink

Friday, September 25, 2009. We got up at 5 so we could be ready to hop in our Maxi Taxi by 7 a.m. We had to get the Maxi Taxi so all of our luggage fit in (it is like a van). The gentleman who picked us up was very interesting and he and Daniel talked the whole way to the airport. Small wait at the airport as we once again had to get the special waiver for being international travelers so they wouldn't charge us an arm and a leg for our excess luggage.

Our flight from Perth to Ayers Rock was uneventful. They really do like to feed you on Qantas! On a 2 hour flight, we received pretzels, drinks, then a meal (pasta salad, roll, toberlone candy, cheese, crackers, tea or coffee and water). They also give you complimentary headsets and the tickets here are cheaper to fly about than at home...go figure that one out!

Anyway, we got to Ayers Rock and got our rental car all sorted out, filled it up with luggage, then headed to the ATM and grocery store. We picked up a bunch of water, some afternoon snacks/supper, and a map. We also added to our magnet collection!

Next we drove to Ayers Rock/Uluru. Uluru is the Aboriginal name and much like places in America that are sacred to the Native Americans, Uluru is sacred to the Aborigines. Our plan was to drive up, take a few photos, then head on to Alice Springs which was where we had rooms. This would give us a chance to drive through the Outback. We couldn't believe it when we arrived at Uluru and discovered it would cost us 50.00 to get in to see it up close! That's 25.00 per person over 16 years of age! So, we pulled out through the exit, Daniel took a couple of shots from afar and we rode on down the road.

The Outback is stark, but beautiful. We read information off of the map we purchased and learned several facts about the area. Even though, most would say that there wasn't much to see, to us, it was beautiful. I took a bunch of pictures, several while we were driving down the road at 130 km/hour. Here are a couple of the best photos. The rest you can find at Flickr.

It is hard to describe how beautiful the Outback is. The part that we drove through reminds me a lot of the painted desert. There were dry river beds as well. I could see what draws people to this beautiful country for backpacking through or for living in. It is a place where you feel more alive.

Driving on the left side of the road is a bit of a challenge, driving a vehicle with a manual transmission on the left side of the road and the driver on the right side of the road is even more of a challenge! Daniel did really well last night, with only a couple of lapses. As it got darker, the driving became more challenging and we were really worried about running into a kangaroo or a cow. We made it into Alice Springs around 7:45 pm and it didn't take us too long to find our hotel, The Crowne Plaza Resort. I actually stayed awake until after 10 last night (but since that was 8:30 Perth time, it wasn't that big of a deal.) There is 1 1/2 hours time difference between Alice Springs and Perth! Isn't that bizarre?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:07 AM | Permalink

Today we were up at 4:00 a.m. Nothing new there, eh? Our taxi arrived to pick us up at 5:45 a.m. and took us to the Clarkson Train Station. We gave him the last of our cash and expected to get more money from the ATM at the Train Station, but alas, there was no ATM at the train station and the nearest was a 25 minute walk away. No worries, mate, we'll just use our debit cards to get tickets from the machine. Unfortunately, the one problem we have run into here is that while our cards will work fine if we use them with a signature, we cannot use them as debit cards except at an ATM. Very frustrating. The lady at the convenience store couldn't help us because she could only give us cash if we could use the debit card feature. The person who should have been at the ticket counter was off taking care of other business in the station. We had to get to Perth by 7 or we would miss our tour bus.

There was a button on the box next to the ticket machine that said press for information. It rang when I pushed it, but no one ever answered it. I tried pushing it three or four times. A lady walking by asked what our troubles were and we explained, she went on her way. Meanwhile athe ticket agent arrived. We explained our dilemma and told him we would need to buy our tickets directly from him. He went into his office and came out and handed us complimentary passes. We were not expecting that, but apparently, he wasn't set up to sell tickets there. Or at least couldn't do it with signature debit cards. We made it on the train with a couple of minutes to spare. As the ticket agent was signing our passes, the lady came back, she had taken money out using her debit card at the convenience store and was going to loan it to us! Can you believe that? We were astounded. We have been so amazed, time and time again on our trip here at how pleasant, helpful and accomodating Australians are. We took the train to Perth, and once we got off there, our lady friend showed us the correct direction to head in. We arrived at the tour bus pickup right at 7:00 a.m.

Then, it was on to the bus to Rockingham for the Swim with the Dolphins trip. This was something that Katrina had chosen for this trip that she really wanted to do. And she was very excited. During the 40 minute drive to Rockingham, the guide told us what would be happening during our time on the boat and what to expect when we were in the water. It was obvious that she and all of the others on the tour had a true love of the dolphins and what they were doing with these tours where people were allowed to see dolphins in their natural environment.

Once we were on the boat, we got into our wetsuits. That is an experience in itself...reminiscent of those days in highschool when you would lie down on your bed and try to sqeeze into those jeans.

Daniel looked good in his suit though!

Here is a brief video I took when we first went out on the boat. It had been about 30 minutes and we had had one unsuccessful dolphin sighting (they were feeding in naval waters and we couldn't get close enough to look).

Now, for the good stuff. The air temperature was at most 63 degrees. There was a 10 mile an hour wind blowing and the water felt like it was full of ice cubes (and that was with the wet suits on!) We were divided into groups. Our group tour guide had a aqua machine that had a motor and he held into it and would pull us through the water. He entered the water and we each followed, holding onto the belt of the person in front of us. We were then supposed to float on our stomachs, heads in the water (snorkel gear on) and watch for dolphins. If the water had been warm and calmer, I could have probably done this, but the water took my breath away. I was aware that Jack was having issues ahead of me because of the ice cold water and the waves closing off his snorkel. I was having problems with water getting in my snorkel and the Indian Ocean getting in my mouth. Then there were the two ladies behind us who were from Ireland. One was drinking the Indian Ocean and the other one was having a hard time breathing. All of that made it very hard for me to relax, but I did manage a brief look underwater and I saw the shape of a dolphin swimming very nearby (the water was very murky.)

Then, when getting back on the boat, the waves were rocking the boat and I slammed my knees into the ladder, plus I had the weight of the two girls behind me which were holding onto my belt. After that, I watched the rest of the dives from aboard ship. Katrina and Daniel went in several more times though and had a wonderful (though cold) time. Katrina said that one time, she saw five dolphins!

So here are some photos of the two bravest in our family:

I didn't get any photos of the dolphins - they popped up so randomly, it was impossible, but we did purchase a DVD and Daniel is going to try to get the parts off of it that pertain to us, so we'll put it up if we can get it to work out the way we want.

We were returned to the dock and then had an hour to kill while we waited for the DVDs to be created and for our transportation back to Perth. We were all pretty tired...just being in the wind and the cold, I guess.

Jack looked like he was ready for a nap.

Once back at the train station, we got a taxi to our rooms and showered. We were all feeling a bit slimy. Then we called Lizzie and Steve and told them we were ready to come for Tea. Lizzie had made a wonderful meal - chicken with macadamia stuffing, chicken nuggets, baked potatoes and a lovely pie. Here is a video of Lizzie's home:

After dinner, it was time for us to head back. We needed to get our packing done so we could head on out early in the morning for our flight to Ayers Rock. But before we left, we took pictures. Let me tell you that the picture taking got to be a rather silly affair! We posed in different groups, there were multiple camera's flashing (mine, Lizzie's, Steve's and Daniel's) and we were all blinded by the flashes and laughing up a storm! I didn't get a photo that didn't have someone launghing in it or their eyes shut (except for one of Rockee, the dog). However, Daniel got some pictures, so check out below us with our Australian friends.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:37 PM | Permalink

We loved our lovely 3 bedroom Mindarie Villa and we all would have liked to have stayed there longer. Katrina, who is practicing to be a real estate agent, sets you up with a walk through in this video.

We were up again at 4 a.m. That gave us some time to do odds and ends and shower and get ready for the day. The Bezants came by around 8:45 after dropping Charlotte off by school (she had a big test). Then we had a lovely breakfast at The Dome restaurant (an Australian chain). I tried vegiemite. I understand it is an acquired taste...since I can't get it back home, I don't think I will work too hard at acquiring it!

After brekky, our tour guides drove us into Perth. Steve was able to take the day off and it was delightful to have a running commentary from our friends as we saw some of the sights in this area. We visited Kings Park. We enjoyed some fantastic views of Perth and the Swan River. We also enjoyed seeing a variety of Australian flora. And we watched part of a rehearsal for a play called Wildflowers. There was to be a big wildflower festival this coming weekend.

Here is the video I took of parts of the rehearsal. Katrina and Alexis in particular enjoyed watching the flowers and the bee.

And here are some of the photos from our time in Kings Park.

Katrina sitting amongst some lovely wildflowers that feel like paper. One of which is represented in the video above.

A view of Perth from Kings Park.

Steve, Lizzie and Alexis in Kings Park. The sun was in their eyes, so my picture didn't turn out the best. Fortunately, Daniel was also taking photos and some of his turned out better.

Alexis in Kings Park watching the play. She is very photogenic and I think would make a lovely model.

Close up of Alexis. We thought it was funny that Katrina and Alexis both ended up wearing shirts of similar color and design today.

This is a Boab tree. Much like a dessert cactus, it holds water. So if you find yourself lost and in need of water and one of these is nearby, get out your knife, make a hole, insert a straw and drink! Of course, I am not sure that is the exact way to go about it, but if you are thirsty, I am sure you will figure it out!

This statue of woman and child is in the midst of a pond and is part of a section in Kings Park celebrating women and their contributions.

After our walk, we picnicked by the pond with the fountains and these ducks attempted an invasion of our lunch! They were certain we wanted to share bits of bread and chips with them.

Here's Daniel among the wildflowers.

After Kings Park, Lizzie and Steve drove us through Fremantle, which is a major port city. We stopped to look at a War Memorial while there and to take some more pictures. In Western Australia (WA), they often shorten words and add an 'o' at the end. Service station = servo and Fremantle = Freo.

I love this photo. It just reminds me of all the fun we had together!

Then, it was to the beach near where Lizzie and Steve live. Lizzie wrote a book about a woman she met during walks along this beach and I wanted to see it. The book is called Lost Outside These Walls. This is a wonderful book for any mother to read!

While at the beach, we took more pictures:

Alexis and the Indian Ocean

Steve is a very humorous fellow and had us all laughing much of the time. Alexis exhibited quite a bit of this trait as well which you can see in this picture where she had sneakily found a new place for the pink bow that had been in her hair!

After all of our traveling about, we returned to our villa and put together a meal for all of us to share. Daniel had food from the Indian restaurant (Steve helped him pick it out). Lizzie, Steve, Alexis and I enjoyed Chinese. Katrina had a burger from McDonald's and Jack and Charlotte enjoyed chicken from Chicken Treat restaurant. We ate and the kids had fun playing Go Fish while we looked over the photos from the day and chatted.

Last night I called and talked to my Mom and Jim and tonight I got to speak with Dad and Dianne. Even though we are on opposite sides of the world, it is just like talking to one another from home though there is a wee bit of a delay. We spoke with Tess and Johnny Thursday morning.

Our one exciting adventure was when Jack discovered a rather large spider on the ceiling in the bathroom. We didn't know what kind it was, though a perusal of poisonous Australian Spiders made us think it might be a Huntsman spider. The ceilings were about 10 feet high, so reaching it wasn't easy, but fortunately, we found a can of raid in the kitchen. You should have heard me yelp and Daniel chuckle when the spider fell from the ceiling to the floor next to me! YIKES!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:32 PM | Permalink

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:58 PM | Permalink

We were up at 4 am this morning (still don't have that time thing down right). At 6:30, we were packed and down in the lobby checking out to catch our airport shuttle. A couple of last thoughts from Bondi Beach.

First, not sure if they do this all over Australia or not, but there is a practice I would like to highly recommend to the American Hotels. In our room, we had small bottles of shampoo and conditioner (you know the ones that if you don't use you grab them all up and take them home with you?) And little bars of soap. They also had a bottle in the shower. (I am on Daniel's computer and cannot put pics in like I normally do, so you will need to click on the links). Anyway, this bottle is attached to the wall and would do no one any good to take with them. It can be used as a soap and a conditioning shampoo. The maids refilled it every day and it was big enough that everyone with you can wash properly and you don't have to waste those little bottles! Just think if every hotel went to this system and did away with the little soaps and bottles...think of all the plastic and trash that would be saved out of our landfills! And think of all the money hotels would save!

And, secondly, I figure you deserve to see the view from our hotel window in Bondi. It was not very pretty, so if you stay at Swiss Grand Resort and Spa, be sure to request an ocean front room.

Then we piled into a taxi. And I do mean piled. We were picked up in a shuttle that held 9 people! Unfortunately, they weren't anticipating our pile of luggage. By the time we had picked everyone up, there was luggage everywhere! I would have taken a picture, but I wasn't sure how everyone would feel about that.

We arrived at the airport and it was a pretty simple matter to get checked in. The one snag was the size of our luggage and the amount of it. It was going to end up costing us a few hundred dollars each leg of our trip to carry our luggage. Since we were international travelers, Qantas gave us a waiver for our journey (THANKS GUYS!!!).

The flight here was 5 hours long. The aircraft personnel were exceedingly friendly (joking around with the passengers). We were delighted with the real cloth coverings on the pillows, the real glass to drink out of, and the ice cream that we were served for a snack. We watched Angels and Demons and overall had a lovely flight.

We disembarked from the plane and Lizzie was there waiting for us! Here, they still let people come to the gates to greet passengers. I can't tell you how neat it was to see my long time friend in person and give her a hug. We chatted while Daniel and the kids snagged the luggage from the carousel. Then Lizzie called Steve and we went out to meet him. He had brought his work van to carry all of our baggage in and Daniel. Lizzie drove Jack, Katrina and I to the hotel and Daniel went with Steve.

We are staying at Mindarie Marina (suggested by Lizzie). We have a three bedroom villa and it is lovely. I'll get a video while we are here. We got our stuff in and I went to the front desk and arranged our transportation for our dolphin swim on Thursday and our trip back to the airport on Friday.

Lizzie came by and picked Katrina and I up and we went to the store. I needed some laundry detergent and I picked up some items for our picnic tomorrow and breakfast on Thursday (we have a kitchen here). The supermarkets are laid out basically the same but the packaging is all different and the eggs are not kept in a cooler, though they are near a cooler. Back to the room to find Steve, Charlotte and Alexis here chatting with Daniel and Jack. Put away the staples, then off we went to see some sights. With 8 of us, two vehicles were required. We drove to a nearby Memorial Garden to see kangaroos wild and free hopping around like they owned the place!

We took some pictures, but it was heading towards dusk and my camera wasn't equipped to take photos in that light when the roos were a bit far away. But, for fun, you can see Katrinawith a kangaroo and then a kangaroo with a joey poking his nose out to see what's going on. That is something I have never seen in person. Lizzie and Steve joked about the first place they took us to was a cemetery, but it was really cool seeing the wild kangaroos. We also saw a couple of rabbits...and here I thought they were all on the other side of the rabbit proof fence!

Then we went to a jetty to see the sunset, but it was too cloudy to see much of one. The guys all did pick up a bit of gelato...that is some good stuff! And then we headed back to Steve and Lizzie's. It was around 6:30 which felt like 8:30 to us, which lately has been our bedtime. Lizzie was asking me questions and I had to have sounded pretty stupid (or drunk), I was having a hard time putting a coherent thought together.

We made homemade individual pizzas (excellent fun for everyone)! Lizzie and Steve provided all kinds of toppings and the kids played Guitar Hero and Mario Kart while Charlotte studied a bit for a big test. About 8:30, I noticed Katrina's eyes were drooping, so I suggested we call it a night and Lizzie and Steve ferried us back home.

It has been a wonderful visit so far. We are chatting like we have known each other all of our lives. We are looking forward to spending most of today with the Bezants as we enjoy a lovely breakfast this morning here at Mindarie Marina and then go to see Kings Park.

We did learn something very interesting to us last night. Tips are not expected here. Waiters and waitresses get paid minimum wage, not less and minimum wage here is 13.70 and above an hour (it varies by age). That explains the higher prices here, and in reality, probably makes them not as high as they seem. Of course excellent service can be tipped as a reward, but Australians do not expect it. Lizzie and Steve were amazed at all of the workers back home that 'expect' tips...hair dressers, maids, valet parking attendants, etc....

Well, woke up at 4 this morning and I have spent the last 90 minutes on Daniel's computer. Getting on the internet is expensive here in Australia(20.00 a day or 40.00 a week). We were lucky enough to find a free service in Sydney, but here we are paying, so we are sharing one computer. I'll try to touch base every day!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:02 PM | Permalink

Here is my video I put together from yesterday.

And here is Daniel's video he put together yesterday. Note the free advertising for Crabby Mike's in Myrtle Beach!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We were up and and about early this morning as our pickup for this tour was scheduled for 6:50 a.m. We were going on a Gray Line tour which encompassed first a tour by bus of Sydney and then a Harbor Luncheon Cruise. These tours weren't the most satisfactory tours in the world.

Unfortunately, on the bus tour, our guide was the driver was the guide. So this meant, that as he tried to negotiate city traffic, he threw in blurbs about Sydney. He didn't really share stories as much as facts and they were punctuated with the following: um, uh, long pauses, and "I'm turning right here," or "I'm turning left here." And then there were the frequent advertisements as he told us all the best shops and pubs to visit - made me wonder if some kind of kick back were involved. We usually learn a lot about a city on one of these tours, but this one wasn't as informative as we would have liked. I really blame the set-up more than the driver though. They should have had a separate guide so the guide could concentrate on speaking and the driver could concentrate on driving.

We did make three stops where we got to get out and take pictures and we enjoyed that very much (even though one of the stops was Bondi Beach and we already had plenty of pictures of that!). Then we went on the Harbor Cruise on a Majistic Ship. The lunch buffet was awesome. There was beef stroganoff, and wonderful fish, and a variety of veggies and rice and gruyere cheese and fruit and cheesecake. It was most excellent. The tour guide (I believe an automated recording) was also good and gave us lots of views of Sydney that you can only enjoy from the water and we learned a lot about the area around the Harbor. Being on the boat was awesome. My only two complaints were: 1) the cruise only lasted 90 minutes. I would have liked to been on the ship longer and 2) it turned out drinks weren't included in the price of the ticket. There were beverage menus on the table and there were prices besides them, but I figured the prices were for the cruises where they just went out for beverages. It was my fault for not asking, but they didn't volunteer the information either. And get this! A 10 ounce gingerale was 5.00!!!!! And we each had seconds and there weren't free refills! I threw a bit of a snit when we left (said the prices were insane) and she ended up only charging us for one drink each.

When we returned to the room, I took Katrina up to the rooftop pool so she could play a bit more there. We met a family visiting from Canaberra and enjoyed talking with them. Then after a bite of dinner, we packed up as we are leaving early tomorrow to catch a plane to Perth (5 hour flight).

So, here are the some photos from today. Only a couple of them are really good, but I thought they hit the hilights of what we saw today.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:35 AM | Permalink

I had a hard time getting this video uploaded last night, but it finally went through!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:15 PM | Permalink

Well, as I stated previously, we got an early start this morning. The kids and I were all awake at 3:45 a.m.

Around 8:30, we set off for our Sydney Aquarium adventure. Yesterday the concierege had told us we go around the corner and take bus number 380 to Market Street, then walk down to the Aquarium. Sounded easy enough.

We waited patiently for the bus to come. When it did, the bus driver informed me that he couldn't go to Market Street. He told me why, but his accent (not Australian) made it difficult for me to understand. So, I went back to the concierge. He said, I would need to take a bus to Bondi Junction, then take a train to Town Hall, then walk down Main Street to the Aquarium. So that's what we did. It was easy peasy. The train was really cool, it had three levels! You got on and could go down the steps to a lower level, or you could walk up the steps to a higher level. We tried the bottom and top levels. The top level was neatest. The train switched from underground to above ground on our journey.

The Aquarium was very nicely laid out. My favorite parts were the platypus exhibit as I had never seen a live platypus and the Little Penguin exhibit. Little Penguins are the only penguins in the world that breed in Australia. I had never seen or heard of them either. There was a wonderful Dugong exhibit and a wonderful Shark exhibit.

Here, for my friend, Carole, who loves turtles is a picture of a baby long-necked turtle and a picture of a huge green sea turtle (Jack Sparrow really could have ridden on a couple of these!).

For my other Sydney Aquarium photos, you can see them on Flickr

When we came back to the hotel, Katrina wanted to swim in the rooftop pool. We arrived there only to find, the pool was being used by children who were trying to qualify for a local swim team, so we would have to come back. On the bright side, we saw a beautiful rainbow over the Pacific.

Today's odd and ends impressions:

Several people were very kind to help direct us when we were a bit befuddled getting from Town Hall station to the Aquarium. And just as we are interested in learning more about the people of Australia, the people here are interested in learning about us. One lady seemed surprised yesterday that there wasn't Turkish Delight everywhere in the U.S. Today, I was being asked about the flight over from America and someone commented on my accent!

Just like home, prices are higher closer to the beach than when you get away from the beach. We heard more Australian accents today. The McDonalds has a really awesome sandwich available for breakfast (wonderful bread with eggs, two rashers of bacon, cheese and barbecue sauce) and the McDonalds here have McCafes, but they are very different from at home. People can get coffee served to them in a real mug. And they have some awesome looking treats to go with the coffee, but I haven't tried any yet. And the McDonalds we ate lunch at (I don't plan to always eat at McDonalds, but it has been an inexpensive option and the kids like the food)...anyway, the McDonalds had a second level! And red hair is very in here at Bondi Beach. We have seen several men and women sporting dyed red hair (I am not talking auburn, I am talking bright red or pink hair).

Oh, and one more thing, we knew the plugs would be different here, but we are very impressed with how the electric is handled at our hotel. When you come into the room, you use your card key to turn on the electricity for your room. If you don't put the card key in the slot, no power. Then when you leave, you take your card key out so that the power goes out again. A great way for saving electricity! And every plug in has a switch (like a light switch). It is not enough to plug into the wall, you have to turn the switch on too! Very cool!

Tomorrow we are taking the Grayline City Tour and Cruise. Should be awesome! 5 a.m. wake-up call, so early to bed tonight.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 2:06 AM | Permalink

My video of Bondi Beach

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:21 PM | Permalink

As I stated at the end of my last lengthy post, we arrived here at our hotel, the Swiss Grand Resort and Spa, around 8 or 8:30 in the morning. Time really is probably going to become meaningless to us on this vacation as we will be flying a lot back and forth between time zones. Of course, we will need to keep up with it so we catch flights and board tours on time.

We have very nice rooms. There is a sitting area, then the bathroom area, then the bedroom area which can be shut off with a door. There is a small balcony, about two feet deep by ten feet long. Unfortunately, we are not on the ocean side of the hotel and we look out onto a brick building. The people here are very nice and have been a big help whenever we have had questions.

We got in our rooms, then we kind of floundered for a bit. We came with adaptors (we thought), unfortunately, none of the things we brought with us work here. So, we had to purchase us each an adaptor yesterday.

We walked up on the roof to check out the rooftop pool. And while the view from our room is the pits, the view of Bondi Beachfrom the roof is awesome!

Then we enjoyed some of the walk on the coastal walk. We didn't even make it to the first set of cliffs. We were tired, but it is beautiful. The water is so blue and the sun is so bright. This beach seems to be a big draw for 20somethings. Unlike Myrtle Beach where you see people of all ages and sizes. This is a beautiful recreation area and people were using it in all kinds of ways. Some were laying

Then we enjoyed some of the walk on the coastal walk. We didn't even make it to the first set of cliffs. We were tired, but it is beautiful. The water is so blue and the sun is so bright. This beach seems to be a big draw for 20somethings. Unlike Myrtle Beach where you see people of all ages and sizes. This is a beautiful recreation area and people were using it in all kinds of ways. Some were laying out in the sun, friends were playing games in the surf, volleyball, eople were surfing the waves, people were running along the coastal walk for exercise and others were contemplating the quiet beauty of this beach which combines beautiful blue water, rocks, and the softest sand to create a vision of beauty for the eyes.

So, Daniel and Jack decided they wanted some quiet time in the room. Katrina wanted to play on the beach, so I went back with her for a couple of hours. She had a blast playing in the waves and digging a really big hole in the sand. It was so deep, she could stand in it, then I buried her to her chest while she was standing up. She thought she would be able to break out and was surprised to find the only way she was getting out was if we dug her back out. I put my toes in the waves...the water was like ice cubes! But there were plenty of people out there enjoying it!

After a bite of food, we came back to the room and pretty much crashed! Now, here we are, wide awake after about 10 hours of sleeping. Problem when we got up it was 4 am....

Oh well, I figure our sleep habits are going to be very off for our whole trip.

Some other observations from yesterday. While we heard the lovely Australian accent, we also heard a lot of foreign accents and languages. The Australian dollar is a little weaker than the American dollar, but the prices here more than make up for any advantage that might have given us. People here are nice and you can tell they just have a joy of life and want to suck out as much of it as they can.

We don't like Turkish Delight. Ever since I saw little Edmond get his plate of Turkish Delight from the White Witch, I have wondered what it was. They had it here and it was flavored with roses (which I realized when I tasted a bite of the confection and my first thought was soap). I am sure it is an acquired taste, but Katrina and I both wonder why Edmond liked it so much.

Also, you think Americans like sweets? You should see the sweets they have here! Dark chocolate covered strawberry licorice, way more candy bars than we have at home, tons of cookie type confections.... We tried something called Pods. It was like a cookie with Twix filling (you could also get it with Mars filling).

Today, our big plan is to visit the Sydney Aquarium.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 2:34 PM | Permalink

Here are a couple of pictures from the plane in the last hour before we landed in Sydney.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 2:26 PM | Permalink

Daniel compiled a video of our trip to Australia. It is unedited (what do you expect from people who have had no sleep?).

Posted by Melissa Markham at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The last two days have been a bit of a blur. We ran into last minute items Thursday morning. Then Mom and Jim came to get us and take us and all of our luggage to the airport. I think they are not sure whether we are crazy or brave and whether we packed too much or not. But when you are packing for five weeks for a family of four and you are going to be in a bunch of different climates, luggage will accumulate.

We managed to get us all in Mom and Jim's big Suburban (thank goodness) and we got to the airport in plenty of time. Just getting our boarding passes and the luggage through security took some patience and work. The weather in Lynchburg was overcast and cloudy, but the weather in Atlanta had been rough. We boarded the plane about 15 minutes after we were supposed to depart Lynchburg. Then we did the dreadful sitting in the plane on the tarmac for 45 minutes or so while we waited for clearance from Atlanta (who was having to shuffle in flights that weren't able to come in earlier). Nothing like spending an extra 45 minutes in a plane when you are already anticipating spending about 22 hours on a plane in the very near future.

We made it to Atlanta with time to spare. Had dinner and somewhere around 7 pm, we headed off for Los Angeles. (BTW, to my friends who live in Atlanta and L.A. - I saw you waving and hope you saw me waving back at you!) When we arrived in L.A., our bodies were saying it was 11:30 pm. We were tired, but it wasn't time to sleep yet. The two hours we were there went by quickly as we used the restrooms, picked up water for the long flight ahead and kept poking one another to keep ourselves awake.

Somewhere between 1:30 and 2:00 am, East Coast time, we left L.A. for a 15 hour flight that I was really dreading. I also was good and tired and figured I would settle in and sleep for several hours.

However, the airline had other ideas...First they passed out the customs forms that we would need 15 hours later and made it sound like we should fill them out right away (they are only going to get to fool me once with this one). So as I searched for the address and phone number of where we would be staying when we reached Sydney, and dug out passport numbers and filled out forms for me and the kids, I was feeling more awake. Had my second wind as it were. Then they served us DINNER! That's right, you heard me, a nice hot dinner at what I felt like was 2:30 a.m. Of course, those coming directly from L.A. felt like it was 11:30, but even so, that's kind of late for dinner! I do have to say, Delta prepares some good food. And they had lots of entertainment (which was all free in the log leg of the flight) to keep us occupied. So we ate, then we passed into the land of nod.

But somewhere in the back of my head , I knew I needed to get up and walk around periodically. So I did wake up about 2 hours later. And then again 2 hours after that. Now, I had only had about 4 hours of sleep at this point in 24 hours. But my body felt like it was 7 am and said...hey, let's wake up some. I kept trying to go to sleep, but it was a no go. I watched a couple of movies. Talked with my neighbors, played solitaire and sudoku and was pleased that the 15 hour flight hadn't been as bad as I was afraid it would be.

We arrived in Sydney at 6:30 a.m. (approximately 4:30 pm back home in Virginia). It took time to get off of the plane. It took about 90 minutes, I think to get through all of the customs and baggage claiming lines. A taxi was quickly available (we had to have one designed for handicapped passengers so we could fit in all of our luggage) and we headed to our hotel: The Swiss Grand Resort and Spa in Bondi Beach.

It is a lovely place here and we have had a nice day, but I am too exhausted to share anymore...that will have to wait until the morning. Night night folks!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yep, here we are, getting down to the wire. In about 39 hours, we will begin our flight which will take us from Lynchburg, VA to Atlanta, GA to Los Angeles, CA and then to Sydney Australia. When we arrive in Sydney, it will be Saturday morning there and Friday evening here on the East Coast.

Tomorrow, our calendar is cleared so that we can pack. I don't think we will need the whole day to pack, but it is good to have that time for the unexpected...hopefully there will be less of the unexpected tomorrow than there was today.

We were up and left here at 8 am as Jack had an orthodontist appointment. On the way there, we dropped trash at the dumpster. Jack's appointment took a little longer because one of his brackets had come loose last week and so that had to be replaced. Then we headed to Lowe's to return some of the things I had purchased that we ended up not needing (extra floor tile, unopened box of nails, one piece of quarter round). Meanwhile, Daniel was at home in case the plumbers came to finish the work we had originally called them about (air in the lines - they are waiting for parts to arrive). Next we went to Joann's as I needed more green felt for the napkin rings the youth group is making for a craft sale. I was very pleased to find it was 50% off!

Then we headed home, got here around 10:30. I helped Daniel with loading 5 of the things of insulation he had purchased into my Xterra so he could make a trip back to Lowe's. Then I started calling around to see if I could find someone to install the insulation. I did, and Joe, from Nelligan's was here within about 30 minutes to see what needed to be done. I also prepared lunch for Katrina and did some laundry and wrote a check out to our neighbor for the work he had done. Jack comes in and tells me that the bracket they had replaced this morning had popped off of his tooth again... So I was on the phone with the orthodontist and they were able to fit us in at 3:45.

At 1:00, we were on the road. First stop, Evington Post Office, to mail an early birthday gift to my mother-in-law, then we went to piano. While the kids played, I read (love days when I don't have to run anywhere). After piano, we went to Joe Beans and chatted with our favorite server, Derek, and got our Joe Beans fix which is going to have to last us for 6 weeks!!!!! Then, off we went to the orthodontist. We got back home about 4:30. During the time we were gone, Daniel had to stay here and wait for our cell phone that we will use while in Australia and New Zealand to arrive (our sprint phones won't work there), he also had to wait for papers being overnighted from our accountant that had to go in the mail today. Once that arrived, he hopped in the Jeep and headed for the post office and then to Lowe's with the rest of the insulation we had purchased. (Yes, we purchased way too much, but it was what the Lowe's guy told us to get).

Came home, had dinner and then Daniel and I started to watch Scanners. We saw about 20 minutes before our neighbors stopped by to visit and say goodbye. We are going to miss them, and are happy to know that our critters and home will be in their very capable hands while we are gone.

I did dishes and we watched Warehouse 13 (love that show!).

So today flew by, all got accomplished that needed to be accomplished and we draw ever nearer to our big adventure!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today, I learned about a book titled Crazy Love. I was reading the blog, Be Hands and Feet, of my young friend who is in Uganda helping people less fortunate than most of us. It is an amazing piece that points out that many Christians have forgotten what sharing the love of God means. I have added this book to my Kindle to read during our trip.

I encourage you to take a few minutes and go read her post. And if you have an extra dollar or more, be sure to click the donate button on her page. I can tell you the money is going to a good cause (providing for hungry children, taking care of abandoned children, helping families). Right now, they are trying to raise money for a van for Serving His Children to use.

In one week, she had the following to deliver or do:

• 150 lbs of beans,
• 150lbs of rice,
• 2,000 mangos
• 100 pieces of fire wood
• 10 sick children
• 3 to 5 trips to the clinic
• Lunch for 1,000 hungry children

and apparently, she is doing this on a motorcycle. If we can get 2000 people to donate 5.00 each, that would be enough for a van to be purchased. If you use paypal, be sure to put in the note section that you would like for your donation to go to the purchase of the van.

If you don't use paypal, you can also pay by snail mail.

Serving His Children
1124 Stratford Dr.
Bedford, VA 24523

A lot of times, we don't know if these things are legitimate, but I can promise you that this one is. So, skip your Mocha or Latte one day and make a difference!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Today, I learned about a book titled Crazy Love. I was reading the blog, Be Hands and Feet, of my young friend who is in Uganda helping people less fortunate than most of us. It is an amazing piece that points out that many Christians have forgotten what sharing the love of God means. I have added this book to my Kindle to read during our trip.

I encourage you to take a few minutes and go read her post. And if you have an extra dollar or more, be sure to click the donate button on her page. I can tell you the money is going to a good cause (providing for hungry children, taking care of abandoned children, helping families). Right now, they are trying to raise money for a van for Serving His Children to use.

In one week, she had the following to deliver or do:

• 150 lbs of beans,

• 150lbs of rice,

• 2,000 mangos

• 100 pieces of fire wood

• 10 sick children

• 3 to 5 trips to the clinic

• Lunch for 1,000 hungry children



and apparently, she is doing this on a motorcycle. If we can get 2000 people to donate 5.00 each, that would be enough for a van to be purchased. If you use paypal, be sure to put in the note section that you would like for your donation to go to the purchase of the van.

If you don't use paypal, you can also pay by snail mail.

Serving His Children

1124 Stratford Dr.

Bedford, VA 24523

A lot of times, we don't know if these things are legitimate, but I can promise you that this one is. So, skip your Mocha or Latte one day and make a difference!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:25 PM | Permalink

The last ten days have been busy as we have been tying up loose ends to get ready to go to Australia. The plumbing disaster was threw a bit of a monkey wrench into things as it added a bit more stress (house rearranged due to stuff having to be moved out of bathroom and laundry room, having to be here to meet the people coming to do the work, the five day of having machines here to dry everything out. Four people and only one bathroom, but as all things, it really wasn't that horrible and we muddled through. We even managed to pull off a successful family cookout on the 6th of September with one bathroom and one of the exits to our home blocked.

But, here we are, three days before we head out, and most things are back to normal. We have new tile in the bathroom and laundry room. The machines are gone. There is quarter round in both rooms that makes it look very nice, The washer and dryer are hooked back up and I am knee deep in laundry now. The leak has been fixed. Jack and Katrina's shower, which hasn't worked for years, has been repaired. The plumbers still have a couple of things to do (the reason we called them to begin with before we realized we had a leak), we have problems with air in our water and they have ordered parts to fix that, but they are slow in coming. The insulation hasn't been returned under the house either. The friend that was going to do it, decided he really didn't want to crawl around in the crawl space with insulation. I can't blame him, but I don't think we are going to be able to have that dealt with now before we leave. Hope the insurance people are going to be okay with that.

Plumbing aside, we have been busy getting ready. We made sure that all of our reservation information and vouchers had been printed out. We made itineraries for our parents and our neighbor who will be watching our home and critters while we are gone. We made arrangements to have fun with my friend, Lizzie and her family, while we are visiting in Perth. I took the Nissan and got the oil changed and got it all cleaned up. I got the house all cleaned and tided up (though the plumbing disaster messed that up a bit).

I took the dogs to get them groomed on Friday morning. Katrina and I got up early and got them to PetSmart at 7 am. We told the groomers that this was the dogs first time being groomed by someone besides us and we warned them that Ginger, the Irish Setter was skittish). Then Katrina and I left and enjoyed a lovely breakfast at Bob Evans. Then we went to do some shopping. Katrina needed some long pants for the upcoming trip. I was surprised when the phone rang around 9 and it was Petsmart. We were supposed to get the pups around 10:30. Turns out Ginger had done great and was all done. Plato didn't like the dryer and they were having to 'kennel dry' him and said it would be 11:30 before he would be ready. So we shopped some more and Katrina got some very cute pants and a couple of outfits.

Here's how cute the pups looked after grooming:

Sunday, the kids and I got up early. Ashley came over and we all headed to Strasburg for the family reunion. Daniel was supposed to come with us, but he stayed here in case the friend working on the floors needed help or ran into any problems. We arrived at my Dad and Dianne's house about 10. We visited with them for a couple of hours. Dianne has a way with flowers and she makes neat flower gardens using interesting items to perk them up (old tea kettles, sea shells, wheelbarrows, etc). We chatted and enjoyed the pleasant weather. Dad had done me a favor and built a wooden gate for us for the deck. We had a pet gate we had put up for the dogs to keep them off of the deck and away from the hot tub, but the plastic pieces that held the metal gate to the deck had given way under the dogs weight from where they jump up to say hello.

Then we headed to the reunion. It was wonderful seeing so many family members. I have an Uncle who sold off his home a couple of years ago, purchased a RV and began to view the U.S. He has been loving it! He had to have triple bypass surgery last month, but is doing pretty well this month, though he does have to be on oxygen 24/7. All of my aunts and uncles were present as well as many of my cousins. I really enjoyed chatting with everyone and was thrilled to find several family members on Facebook. The kids didn't have as much fun as there aren't many children in our family that are their ages and the ones that are weren't not there yesterday.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:13 PM | Permalink

In the not so distant past, whenever Jack and Katrina would take a shower, our bathroom floor would resemble a big puddle. Water would be splashed about and the bathmat would be soaked. But finally they got the hang of drying off inside the shower/tub before stepping out and the wet floors dried up. Thank goodness!

Well, then about a month ago, the wet mats started again. This was right after Daniel had come back from Bloomington and I thought maybe he had gotten out of the habit of drying off in the shower. I didn't say anything for awhile (contrary to popular belief, fussing at hubby is not a favorite pastime for me). So...I didn't say anything, just kept changing the mats out and fussing under my breath.

Then we went to Chicago and when we came back, the first person to take a shower was Daniel and the rug was soaking wet. So I confronted him. Turns out, he had dried off in the shower and was surprised when he stepped out on damp floor...the plot thickens...he had been the only one in there. So then we got to poking around and come to realize that the water was coming up under our floor boards! There was a leak under there! Uh oh....

So the plumber came out today to see how things were. We live in a doublewide and under our home there is insulation and then there is a plastic covering designed to keep critters out. Well, it was touching the ground because the insulation was soaked through with water. Turns out we needed to call a company called ServPro to come and drain the water out and clear away the mess and see what else needed to be done. Then we had to call our homeowner's insurance and make a claim regarding the water damage.

During all of this, I was busily baking brownies and cookies for the youth bake sale tomorrow.

So...the plumber fixed the children's shower which hasn't worked in years so that we could use it because we didn't know how long ours would be out of commission. I had to leave to do bake sale stuff. When I returned there were two green trucks in the driveway and garbage bags of insulation in the driveway.

I entered the house and there were three strangers in my bathroom. Then they took out a garbage bag and I went in...All of my tile is gone. I now have just plywood and it has some lovely huge black mildew stains on it...not to mention that all the stuff from the bathroom is now crowding my already crowded bedroom floor.

The big green things are the dehumidifiers and fans now in place to help dry things up.

Then, they moved to the laundry room off the kitchen and started moving all of my belongings out of there...before they ripped up the tile to expose more mildew....

The hose for the dehumidifier in the laundry room goes to my kitchen sink...can't wait to try and do dishes!

So, here we are...Friday before a holiday weekend. I have a mountain of laundry to do again which I will be taking across the street to the office (I am blessed to have that as an option). I have even less walking space in my home than normal and my kitchen is not as usable as normal. Did I mention we are supposed to be having a cookout on Sunday!? Where we will have somewhere between 8 and 12 extra people here? Did I mention that we can no longer get out of our back door (which will hinder the dining process)? Did I mention that we are only going to be able to use one of our bathrooms for the next four days?????

Okay...I am trying to hold it all together here, but I was really pretty stressed out anyway with us leaving in just 13 days and the bake sale tomorrow and all of the other stuff I have to do before we leave. I feel like I may explode any minute now!

Phew...take a deep breath...

I have vented on my blog. There is nothing I can do about current conundrum, so will just go with the flow....breathe in and out...in and out....

The insurance adjustor is here by the way...my insurance would cover more if the pipe had burst and made a huge mess all at once, but with a slow leak...they don't cover as much...GO FIGURE THAT ONE OUT!!!

So, I say again...that wet bath mat could be telling you something! Be sure to listen!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:23 PM | Permalink

Well, it has taken awhile for me to write about the last two days of our trip, mainly because I have been busier than an ice cream man on a hot summer's day. But that's a different blog post...maybe;)

On our last day in Chicago, we (all four of us this time) grabbed a bus and headed to the Museum of Science and Industry. We had not been able to see this on our previous trip in Chicago and had heard it was definitely the place to visit. We were particularly interested in seeing the Harry Potter exhibit.

We left our room at about 9 and ate at Houlihan's for the breakfast buffet. Awesome omelets. By 10, we were on the bus. Unfortunately, our bus had a technical difficulty on the way there (some access panel on the side hadn't been locked down, so it was popped out and posed a hazard to driving. We had to wait about 30 minutes for a supervisor to come and lock the panel so we could continue on our way. At least it gave us a chance to chat with other passengers!

We decided to see Wild Oceans, the Omnimax presentation and got tickets for the Harry Potter exhibit. Now, let me tell you, we love Harry Potter, but we were not happy when we found out that the cost of the tickets just for that exhibit were between 15 and 18 dollars each! You already pay about 20.00 for entry to the museum, and then they have several other exhibits where you have to pay extra to see them (for instance, seeing inside of the U-505 or visiting the Smart House). But all complaining aside, we really enjoyed our visit and wished we could have stayed longer, but I developed a migraine headache in the afternoon and we had to go.

Some of our favorite sights:

We started off seeing a miniature circus that one man had spent 33 years building each part. Here is a photo of one of the exhibits, but it really doesn't do it justice. It was magnificent! And Katrina and Jack enjoyed posing as clowns as well.

We watched the Wild Oceans presentation, but honestly, didn't find it that interesting or 'wild'. Not a lot of action going on in it.

Then we had lunch before splitting up. Katrina and I wanted to see Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle. This resparked a long desire I have held to own a doll house. This one is simply amazing. I really encourage you to take time to check out the website. We liked the exhibit so much, Katrina and I bought the book about it from the museum bookstore.

While we admired the Fairy Castle, Daniel and Jack were oohing and ahhing over The Great Train Story. Katrina and I did run by there later and it was truly amazing, but we didn't have much time to really get the full enjoyment of it.

Then we finished up by visiting the Harry Potter exhibit. It was really neat seeing all of the props and we spent about an hour in there. I loved Hagrid's hut and seeing the costumes from the Yule Ball in particular. The kids enjoyed it too. Of course, it ended with a Harry Potter gift shop with exorbitantly priced items. It's a shame that it really was more about the merchandising instead of shedding insight into what goes on in the making of a movie.

Here is a compilation of the videos we took at the Museum of Science and Industry.

Sunday morning we got up and headed home. It takes a long time to get from here to there and it was after 11 pm before we pulled into our driveway. Once home, we caught a glimpse of who has been helping our cats to eat their food....

What's particularly funny is he had his back legs and tail in their water dish as he scarfed up their food...

Posted by Melissa Markham at 2:24 PM | Permalink