Manly
On Saturday we again went down to the harbor and took a ferry over to Manly to watch and photograph some surfing. Manly's slogan is "Seven Miles from Sydney, a Thousand Miles from Care..." It wasn't a great day for swells but the beach was nice to walk on and the 30 min boat ride over to Manly was nice for site seeing. It's cool how the inner waters just open up into the dark blue waters of the Pacific and you get a feel for how important these harbors once were and still are for sustaining life to a big city.
We walked along the beach and I shot some pics of a few surfers. The most talented was a young girl who was doing headstands on her board making surfing look all too easy. My surfing attempt would have to wait a day as we planned on going out with a group for a surf school the next day.
We got some gellato and listened briefly to some jazz band playing on the boardwalk. Back on the ferry and the ride over to Dock #3 in the Sydney Harbor. We got back to our hotel to change for the evening. We were going to the Opera House to see a production of Shakespeare's Measure For Measure. We sat down at a nice restaurant along the wharf and ordered our dinner. After waiting for 40 minutes and the play time quickly approaching we cancelled our food and made out way to the Opera House. A hungry stomach didn't ruin the evening though, the play was hilarious and the nearly two and a half hours went by quickly. Walking back to the room my body succumbed to the lack of sustenance. Feeling extremely exhausted and running low on fuel we found a Hungry Jack's which is the Aussie's version of Burger King. The logos are all the same just the name is different. The fast food restaurants there actually have decent food. They still have the same bad for you burgers and fries but they offer lots of other alternatives. We scarfed some food and were done for the night. Surf camp tomorrow! I needed some rest to prepare.
Port Douglas
For Thursday we thought about taking another snorkeling trip with a different company but instead decided to rent a car and drive up the coast to Port Douglas and back.
We rented a very small car with automatic transmission. I can drive a stick but I've never driven one with my left hand nor had I driven on the left side of the road and I figured doing both for the first time in the same day wasn't a good idea. Actually it wasn't hard to drive on the left side of the road. Most of the time you are following other cars so that makes it easy. The rest is just knowing where to aim when you make right or left turns.
We first went over to the Lagoon in Cairns and parked and walked around a bit. They have this huge pool that sits next to the boardwalk. It's maybe 6' deep at the deepest point with most of it being less than 2'. There is a small area that has a sandy beach that the water laps up on. We didn't have swimming attire on or I would've ventured for a swim. You definitely notice in Cairns how well kept the public areas are. From medians to parks, everything there is well manacured and well cared for.
Driving up the coast with the pacific ocean in view about 80% was gorgeous. We stopped 3 times on the way to Port Douglas on the side of the road and got out with cameras and waked down a steep rocky ledge to a vacant beach. It was like we were in a movie and had been stranded on an island. The sand was smooth and the grade was nearly flat. The tide was out which provided for gentle waves that broke on shore and send a 1" sheet of water up the sand for 30' or more. We watched the pacific send more waves toward us and looked up and down the coast at the magnificent cliffs and trees that completed this picturesque dot on the globe. I literally could've stayed there for days. It was so peaceful and beautiful, all that was missing was a picnic basket and a shelter for shade and you'd be set.
Dragging ourselves back up to the car to continue on, we finally made it to Port Douglas. It was quite the touristy town but still nice to walk around. I saw a boat named Oscar that Anna laughs at me for talking about. My guess is that the ship probably cost $7M-$10M and was probably 100'-120' long. A black hull with wood trimmed decks and railings, an aft deck dining table that sat 8 complete with a small boom crane and waverunner on top. If I won the lottery, a boat like that would be mine and I'd be off to all the friendly ports in the world.
I tried to take a picture of a small but pretty Catholic Church that sat there next to the sea but when I realized the woman in my frame that was squatting in the bushes was not looking for a hose but actually peeing... I decided to just walk away. I'm not sure what would make a 45 year old woman pee in the bushes in broad daylight directly in front of a church when there were several bars with restrooms within 100 yards.
We did some souvenir shopping, (Mom, I hope the shirt fits) and were back in the car and headed back down the coast. This time there was no lane between our car and the cliffs and that made the driving that much more exhilerating. Even though our engine was probably < 1.5 liters it was still fun to drive. We stopped at one more beach on the way back and chatted with a Greek couple who were up from Melbourne. We made it back to the rental car place and they drove us out to the airport. We ran into one of Anna's friends who was on our flight down to Sydney and we settled into a seat in the quaint domestic terminal at Virgin Blue and waited for our plane.
We got in to Sydney just after 10p and made our way over to the Boulevard Hotel. Again the bed was a wonderful site and we were fast asleep by midnight.
For Thursday we thought about taking another snorkeling trip with a different company but instead decided to rent a car and drive up the coast to Port Douglas and back.
We rented a very small car with automatic transmission. I can drive a stick but I've never driven one with my left hand nor had I driven on the left side of the road and I figured doing both for the first time in the same day wasn't a good idea. Actually it wasn't hard to drive on the left side of the road. Most of the time you are following other cars so that makes it easy. The rest is just knowing where to aim when you make right or left turns.
We first went over to the Lagoon in Cairns and parked and walked around a bit. They have this huge pool that sits next to the boardwalk. It's maybe 6' deep at the deepest point with most of it being less than 2'. There is a small area that has a sandy beach that the water laps up on. We didn't have swimming attire on or I would've ventured for a swim. You definitely notice in Cairns how well kept the public areas are. From medians to parks, everything there is well manacured and well cared for.
Driving up the coast with the pacific ocean in view about 80% was gorgeous. We stopped 3 times on the way to Port Douglas on the side of the road and got out with cameras and waked down a steep rocky ledge to a vacant beach. It was like we were in a movie and had been stranded on an island. The sand was smooth and the grade was nearly flat. The tide was out which provided for gentle waves that broke on shore and send a 1" sheet of water up the sand for 30' or more. We watched the pacific send more waves toward us and looked up and down the coast at the magnificent cliffs and trees that completed this picturesque dot on the globe. I literally could've stayed there for days. It was so peaceful and beautiful, all that was missing was a picnic basket and a shelter for shade and you'd be set.
Dragging ourselves back up to the car to continue on, we finally made it to Port Douglas. It was quite the touristy town but still nice to walk around. I saw a boat named Oscar that Anna laughs at me for talking about. My guess is that the ship probably cost $7M-$10M and was probably 100'-120' long. A black hull with wood trimmed decks and railings, an aft deck dining table that sat 8 complete with a small boom crane and waverunner on top. If I won the lottery, a boat like that would be mine and I'd be off to all the friendly ports in the world.
I tried to take a picture of a small but pretty Catholic Church that sat there next to the sea but when I realized the woman in my frame that was squatting in the bushes was not looking for a hose but actually peeing... I decided to just walk away. I'm not sure what would make a 45 year old woman pee in the bushes in broad daylight directly in front of a church when there were several bars with restrooms within 100 yards.
We did some souvenir shopping, (Mom, I hope the shirt fits) and were back in the car and headed back down the coast. This time there was no lane between our car and the cliffs and that made the driving that much more exhilerating. Even though our engine was probably < 1.5 liters it was still fun to drive. We stopped at one more beach on the way back and chatted with a Greek couple who were up from Melbourne. We made it back to the rental car place and they drove us out to the airport. We ran into one of Anna's friends who was on our flight down to Sydney and we settled into a seat in the quaint domestic terminal at Virgin Blue and waited for our plane.
We got in to Sydney just after 10p and made our way over to the Boulevard Hotel. Again the bed was a wonderful site and we were fast asleep by midnight.
Frankland Island
Wednesday morning was upon us and another great brekky was served. Australians shorten every word that they can and in one of these posts I'll list a few. But for now, Brekky = Breakfast.
We were picked up at the B&B and taken into the city where we boarded a double-decker bus and headed out to an inlet off the pacific ocean. There we climbed aboard a split hull boat with about 50 other anxious snorkelers and took a 40 min boat ride out to Frankland Island. We choose this trip over some of the others that go out to the reef because we got to go to an actual island and not just float out in the ocean. Plus the boat ride was more than an hour shorter than the ones that went out to the outer reef.
After our flippers, masks and snorkels were in place we set out with our snorkeling guide as he showed us around the great collection of coral that lay no more than 20' off the beach. We scooted about in the water watching parrot fish crunch on coral. They have beak like mouths and you can actually hear the larger ones crunching the edges of coral as they get at the small animals that make the coral their home. We paused for a quick lunch and were back in the water. I probably saw 50 different types and colors of coral and at least as many types of fish, all of which kept me at a safe enough distance so that I couldn't touch them no matter how many times I tried.
Before heading back we took an island walk with the guide who showed us how the coral comes about and on what side of the island it grows. We learned about reef sharks and how octopi can eat crabs without even breaking their shell and we found a live/dead example. We saw clams that secrete acid to burrow themselves into rock all the way up to their mouth openings for protection and how the walking pine trees actually lay down and extract roots so that they really walk across the island to get closer to the water and the light. The seacucumbers were cool too, we even saw one that had expelled it's guts. A white stringy and sticky mass lay in the water where one sea cucumber had defended itself from a predator.
Back on the boat for the ride home after another exhausting and slightly sunburned day. For dinner, we walked a few blocks down the road to a cafe. It was most unusual. There was a dining room in the back with about 5 tables, a mini mart in the front and a counter full or prepared dishes waiting to be heated and served. I had a delicious lasagna and the guy sporting a pointy beard that was dyed red fixed me a huge ceasar salad. As hungry as I was, I still couldn't finish it all. We strolled back to the B&B and crashed.
Wednesday morning was upon us and another great brekky was served. Australians shorten every word that they can and in one of these posts I'll list a few. But for now, Brekky = Breakfast.
We were picked up at the B&B and taken into the city where we boarded a double-decker bus and headed out to an inlet off the pacific ocean. There we climbed aboard a split hull boat with about 50 other anxious snorkelers and took a 40 min boat ride out to Frankland Island. We choose this trip over some of the others that go out to the reef because we got to go to an actual island and not just float out in the ocean. Plus the boat ride was more than an hour shorter than the ones that went out to the outer reef.
After our flippers, masks and snorkels were in place we set out with our snorkeling guide as he showed us around the great collection of coral that lay no more than 20' off the beach. We scooted about in the water watching parrot fish crunch on coral. They have beak like mouths and you can actually hear the larger ones crunching the edges of coral as they get at the small animals that make the coral their home. We paused for a quick lunch and were back in the water. I probably saw 50 different types and colors of coral and at least as many types of fish, all of which kept me at a safe enough distance so that I couldn't touch them no matter how many times I tried.
Before heading back we took an island walk with the guide who showed us how the coral comes about and on what side of the island it grows. We learned about reef sharks and how octopi can eat crabs without even breaking their shell and we found a live/dead example. We saw clams that secrete acid to burrow themselves into rock all the way up to their mouth openings for protection and how the walking pine trees actually lay down and extract roots so that they really walk across the island to get closer to the water and the light. The seacucumbers were cool too, we even saw one that had expelled it's guts. A white stringy and sticky mass lay in the water where one sea cucumber had defended itself from a predator.
Back on the boat for the ride home after another exhausting and slightly sunburned day. For dinner, we walked a few blocks down the road to a cafe. It was most unusual. There was a dining room in the back with about 5 tables, a mini mart in the front and a counter full or prepared dishes waiting to be heated and served. I had a delicious lasagna and the guy sporting a pointy beard that was dyed red fixed me a huge ceasar salad. As hungry as I was, I still couldn't finish it all. We strolled back to the B&B and crashed.
Kuranda
We arrived in Cairns late on Monday night and took a cab over to the B&B.
Tuesday morning we got up around 6 and were eating breakfast at 7. Food was great, I had toast and jelly, some fantastic scrambled eggs and bacon and a variety of fruits. Passion fruit is a bit strange but yummy. Pat at the B&B arranged for a day trip for us to go up to Kuranda. We took a train up through the mountains in the rainforest on a rail that was built before 1900. The train made one 10 min stop on the way up so we could get out and check out Barron Falls. Even though it isn't the rainy season in Cairns there was quite a bit of water flowing over the falls. Really a cool site! We got back on board and made our way to the top of the mountain.
Once there we went through a butterfly exhibit with hundreds of butterflies and all different types fluttering about. We listened to the tour guide say how the butterfly eggs are harvested every 90 minutes so that microscopic parasites don't have time to find them... sounds like an interesting job title, "Butterfly Egg Harvester" :)
After that we walked around and looked at a bunch of parrots, my favorite of which and also the meanest (it bit Anna) finally walked onto our hands for a picture once we found a grape to coax it with.
Next we went on to see and feed some kangaroos and wallabies. We saw several Koalas and they were all awake. One Koala got pissed at another who was climbing down a tree and stepped on the other Koala's head. They swatted at each other like cats for a few seconds before one Koala climbed away.
After the animals, we got into a cable gondola and proceeded down the mountain over the tree tops. We made a few stops along the way to change cars and took the opportunity to walk down and shoot some pictures at the lookouts. This time we got to see Barron Falls from the other side of the Barron River. We were a lot closer and the roar of the water crashing on the rocks was awesome.
At the bottom of the ride we walked over to an Aboriginal park where we learned about some Aboriginal history and threw boomerangs and spears. I sucked at throwing both but I think I was the only one to throw my spear completely over the 20' shrubs that lined the field. :)
It was a long day filled with lots of walking and seeing, once again we were crashed by 10pm and ready for our next big day of snorkeling.
We arrived in Cairns late on Monday night and took a cab over to the B&B.
Tuesday morning we got up around 6 and were eating breakfast at 7. Food was great, I had toast and jelly, some fantastic scrambled eggs and bacon and a variety of fruits. Passion fruit is a bit strange but yummy. Pat at the B&B arranged for a day trip for us to go up to Kuranda. We took a train up through the mountains in the rainforest on a rail that was built before 1900. The train made one 10 min stop on the way up so we could get out and check out Barron Falls. Even though it isn't the rainy season in Cairns there was quite a bit of water flowing over the falls. Really a cool site! We got back on board and made our way to the top of the mountain.
Once there we went through a butterfly exhibit with hundreds of butterflies and all different types fluttering about. We listened to the tour guide say how the butterfly eggs are harvested every 90 minutes so that microscopic parasites don't have time to find them... sounds like an interesting job title, "Butterfly Egg Harvester" :)
After that we walked around and looked at a bunch of parrots, my favorite of which and also the meanest (it bit Anna) finally walked onto our hands for a picture once we found a grape to coax it with.
Next we went on to see and feed some kangaroos and wallabies. We saw several Koalas and they were all awake. One Koala got pissed at another who was climbing down a tree and stepped on the other Koala's head. They swatted at each other like cats for a few seconds before one Koala climbed away.
After the animals, we got into a cable gondola and proceeded down the mountain over the tree tops. We made a few stops along the way to change cars and took the opportunity to walk down and shoot some pictures at the lookouts. This time we got to see Barron Falls from the other side of the Barron River. We were a lot closer and the roar of the water crashing on the rocks was awesome.
At the bottom of the ride we walked over to an Aboriginal park where we learned about some Aboriginal history and threw boomerangs and spears. I sucked at throwing both but I think I was the only one to throw my spear completely over the 20' shrubs that lined the field. :)
It was a long day filled with lots of walking and seeing, once again we were crashed by 10pm and ready for our next big day of snorkeling.
Cairns
I just got off the phone with Qantas Baggage and the good news is that my luggage is on the way to Australia. The bad news is, it will arrive in Sydney about 2 hours after my plane leaves for Cairns. But they have promised to get it to me tomorrow morning at our B&B.Australia has been fun so far, the countryside is pretty here as we've seen it while taking trains from town to town. The put blankets on a lot of the horses as they stand out in the field but the cows don't get any. Kevin???We went out in downtown Wollongong last night to a club with a cover band. I've definitely been in towns with better looking women but it is Spring Break and most of the people are gone.We will get up to Cairns late tonight around 10pm and taxi over to our B&B were we'll be staying til Thursday. I tried to find a room in Sydney on Priceline last night so that we could stay there from Thurs-Mon when I'll be leaving to come back. No luck so far but now that the Internet is available again from the dorm room, I can try some more.I just saw a picture of what used to be Holly Beach from Randy and heard that his family and mine didn't suffer any damage beyond a few roof shingles. I'm glad all are OK.
More from Cairns tomorrow.
I just got off the phone with Qantas Baggage and the good news is that my luggage is on the way to Australia. The bad news is, it will arrive in Sydney about 2 hours after my plane leaves for Cairns. But they have promised to get it to me tomorrow morning at our B&B.Australia has been fun so far, the countryside is pretty here as we've seen it while taking trains from town to town. The put blankets on a lot of the horses as they stand out in the field but the cows don't get any. Kevin???We went out in downtown Wollongong last night to a club with a cover band. I've definitely been in towns with better looking women but it is Spring Break and most of the people are gone.We will get up to Cairns late tonight around 10pm and taxi over to our B&B were we'll be staying til Thursday. I tried to find a room in Sydney on Priceline last night so that we could stay there from Thurs-Mon when I'll be leaving to come back. No luck so far but now that the Internet is available again from the dorm room, I can try some more.I just saw a picture of what used to be Holly Beach from Randy and heard that his family and mine didn't suffer any damage beyond a few roof shingles. I'm glad all are OK.
More from Cairns tomorrow.
Kiama
Today we travelled to Kiama.
It's about 20 min further south from Wollongong. There is a rock formation there along the Pacific Ocean coast that creates a "Blowhole" effect. We watched a few of these spouts of water shoot into the air and turn into a fine mist as a 15mph wind blew it on us.
On the train ride back this afternoon, a picture perfect wino climbed on board and sat on the seat adjacent to me and Anna. If there ever was a role model for drunkards this guy would be it. He had a half-empty bottle of red wine (I think drunks are pessimistic), some bad teeth and an almost black tongue from the grapes. He would pause for a moment and then break out into a whispy-breathed laugh and then back to a straight face again. When you see people in the movies who are trying to play the wino character, this is the person they need to study. It was quite amusing. When I told him I was from Texas in response to his, "Where ya from mate?" question he thought I was referring to a city in Queensland with the same name. We went back and forth on this a few times before he realized I was from the States. We approached the station in Fairy Meadow where Anna's dorm is and off we went leaving the wino to his new best friend who was sitting behind him trying to write quietly in a journal.
We're off to Cairns tomorrow night and my clothes are supposedly still at LAX with Continental. :(
Looking towards the rest of the week, it looks like we will be exploring Sydney and possibly seeing La Boheme at the Opera House.
I hope everyone in Louisiana is fine from the hurricane.
Today we travelled to Kiama.
It's about 20 min further south from Wollongong. There is a rock formation there along the Pacific Ocean coast that creates a "Blowhole" effect. We watched a few of these spouts of water shoot into the air and turn into a fine mist as a 15mph wind blew it on us.
On the train ride back this afternoon, a picture perfect wino climbed on board and sat on the seat adjacent to me and Anna. If there ever was a role model for drunkards this guy would be it. He had a half-empty bottle of red wine (I think drunks are pessimistic), some bad teeth and an almost black tongue from the grapes. He would pause for a moment and then break out into a whispy-breathed laugh and then back to a straight face again. When you see people in the movies who are trying to play the wino character, this is the person they need to study. It was quite amusing. When I told him I was from Texas in response to his, "Where ya from mate?" question he thought I was referring to a city in Queensland with the same name. We went back and forth on this a few times before he realized I was from the States. We approached the station in Fairy Meadow where Anna's dorm is and off we went leaving the wino to his new best friend who was sitting behind him trying to write quietly in a journal.
We're off to Cairns tomorrow night and my clothes are supposedly still at LAX with Continental. :(
Looking towards the rest of the week, it looks like we will be exploring Sydney and possibly seeing La Boheme at the Opera House.
I hope everyone in Louisiana is fine from the hurricane.
Sydney
I made it to the Sydney airport about 7am local time here on Saturday morning. After waiting around a while for my luggage we discovered that it was still in Los Angeles at LAX. Supposedly it will be here tomorrow but Qantas gave me AUS$100 so I can go buy some underwear and a toothbrush.
Anna was waiting for at the airport which is good because she's the only person I would recognize in Sydney. We took an hour long train ride along the coast and over to Wollongong where she is in school. The pacific is quite pretty, big rolling waves, houses stacked up close to each other along the cliffs.
I slept a lot more on the flight from Seoul to Sydney than on the previous two flights and I didn't eat or drink as much. Economy class is a pretty tight fit for someone of my height but over all for being on planes for 26+ hours I'd have to say that I didn't mind it. I'm here in Sydney, the weather is about 70F and it's beautiful outside. It's several degrees warmer now than usual for this time of year which is perfect. Anna has done a good bit of planning in the areas of where to sleep and how to get there, next we're gonna figure out the what to do and when. I'm pretty sure we will take a surfing class one day and also do a boating trip out on the Reef while in Cairns.
More to come, stay high and dry and away from Rita!
A funny thing happened on the way to Sydney
This has been one of the longest days of my life filled with several firsts.
It started early this morning on the jam packed streets of Houston, TX as I tried to make my way to the airport. My friend Vista was nice enough to give me a ride and the usual 20 min trip turned into 1hr30min, and that wasn't the bad part. As I walk into IAH airport, all I can see is people. There are people everywhere, the shortest line for any checkin for Continental was 25 people, and there must've been 50 of these lines. The scene was pretty crazy and as my watched ticked away into the 7am hour, I started to feel like I might not make my 7:50am flight.
Standing next to me in line was a girl I recognized but hadn't seen in about 10 years or more. She was 1 of a set of twins that had gone to high school with me and of course the first name I guessed was wrong. Jackie Fakier was headed to a wedding in Hawaii and ended up standing in the same crazy lines as myself. I made my way to the front finally but it was already 7:30am. I checked in 2 large suitcases, got directions to my gate and took off running. I got to the International Flights security line and it was hundreds of people long, I knew if I waited that I would miss the flight so I decided to just cut everyone and see if I could get away with it. I walked down 2 halls and around 2 corners and eventually got to the front of the line. I played it cool and pretended like I had been there all along. To my surprise, no one said anything and I ended up chatting with 4 old ladies about their Vegas adventure they were about to embark on. I get through security and up to my gate. Only the Continental representative is there, no sign of any passengers. I tell her that I am travelling alone and a quick phone call to the plane reveals that the door is not yet closed (YAY!) so they let me on. I sit down, 2 min go by, they close the door and off we go. A sigh of relief, only thing left to worry about is will I have any clothes when I get to Sydney.
I made it to LAX with about 2 hours to catch my next flight, I walked over to the International Departures building and was suddenly transported into a world where it appeared that everyone bought their clothing from www.Engrish.com :) I waited around til boarding time and then walked onto a gigantic Boeing 747-400. Over the next 12 hours my personal space would be about 6 sq ft big. We were served 2 meals and countless drinks and I dont' think I've ever been waited on by a friendlier staff of people. If you ever have the option of flying Korean Air, take it! It would appear that the job application form for a Korean Air flight attendant is simple a large rectangle with the words "Attach Portrait Here" ;)
At 4am CDT, I landed in Seoul, Korea at the Incheon airport. I made my way over past the huge immigration lines and to my next gate. I had almost 2 hours to spare so here I sit at an internet cafe. Night time is approaching. Seoul is 16 hours ahead of us in the Central time zone.
Next stop, Sydney!
This has been one of the longest days of my life filled with several firsts.
It started early this morning on the jam packed streets of Houston, TX as I tried to make my way to the airport. My friend Vista was nice enough to give me a ride and the usual 20 min trip turned into 1hr30min, and that wasn't the bad part. As I walk into IAH airport, all I can see is people. There are people everywhere, the shortest line for any checkin for Continental was 25 people, and there must've been 50 of these lines. The scene was pretty crazy and as my watched ticked away into the 7am hour, I started to feel like I might not make my 7:50am flight.
Standing next to me in line was a girl I recognized but hadn't seen in about 10 years or more. She was 1 of a set of twins that had gone to high school with me and of course the first name I guessed was wrong. Jackie Fakier was headed to a wedding in Hawaii and ended up standing in the same crazy lines as myself. I made my way to the front finally but it was already 7:30am. I checked in 2 large suitcases, got directions to my gate and took off running. I got to the International Flights security line and it was hundreds of people long, I knew if I waited that I would miss the flight so I decided to just cut everyone and see if I could get away with it. I walked down 2 halls and around 2 corners and eventually got to the front of the line. I played it cool and pretended like I had been there all along. To my surprise, no one said anything and I ended up chatting with 4 old ladies about their Vegas adventure they were about to embark on. I get through security and up to my gate. Only the Continental representative is there, no sign of any passengers. I tell her that I am travelling alone and a quick phone call to the plane reveals that the door is not yet closed (YAY!) so they let me on. I sit down, 2 min go by, they close the door and off we go. A sigh of relief, only thing left to worry about is will I have any clothes when I get to Sydney.
I made it to LAX with about 2 hours to catch my next flight, I walked over to the International Departures building and was suddenly transported into a world where it appeared that everyone bought their clothing from www.Engrish.com :) I waited around til boarding time and then walked onto a gigantic Boeing 747-400. Over the next 12 hours my personal space would be about 6 sq ft big. We were served 2 meals and countless drinks and I dont' think I've ever been waited on by a friendlier staff of people. If you ever have the option of flying Korean Air, take it! It would appear that the job application form for a Korean Air flight attendant is simple a large rectangle with the words "Attach Portrait Here" ;)
At 4am CDT, I landed in Seoul, Korea at the Incheon airport. I made my way over past the huge immigration lines and to my next gate. I had almost 2 hours to spare so here I sit at an internet cafe. Night time is approaching. Seoul is 16 hours ahead of us in the Central time zone.
Next stop, Sydney!
Keeping Austin Weird
This weekend was the 3rd Annual Keep Austin Weird 5K run.
I was one of 4 photographers for the event and having only heard and not seen the event before I had no idea what to expect. The race got off to a 15 minute late start due to there not being enough police officers available to clear all the intersections on the race route. After the 2 wheelchair participants went by, the rest of the pack was let loose. In case any of you have ever run a 5K and if your like me not be able to get to the end in less than 30 minutes, one of the wheelchair racers finished in 29min and 44secs. Pretty impressive to go over 3 miles in that time with just the strength in your arms and upper body.
There were several thousand competitors that ranged from the thought processes of "I'm gonna be the first one to finish..." to "Don't I look really crazy with this hoolahoop".
I stood in the sun for almost 2 hours and shot about 2500 frames through my Canon EOS 20D. Seeing all of the effort that people put into this event as well as the huge age range just put a smile on my face. I think a partially closed minded Logan <-- me... would've thought this sort of thing was dumb at some point in my life, but I really have a great appreciation for it. It sends a great message from a great city that so many people would dress up in ridiculous clothing to walk for 5km in 100 degree weather in August just above the 30th parallel in the western hemisphere. Some of the best ideas/costumes for the day included one guy who literally hool-a-hoop'd the entire race, a pair of guys dressed as Bo and Luke with cardboard cutouts of the orange doors of the General Lee complete with 01 painted on the sides. Even a 79 year old woman was out dressed as an Old Lady as best I could tell and she finished the race in under 45min! If you get a chance, in the next few days, the pictures should be up and available at http://www.kreutzphotography.com/
Walkers and Tennis Balls
I'm sitting at lunch this afternoon at the nearby Whataburger and the elderly lady sitting across from me has a walker. Now, it's not uncommon to see someone with a walker nor is it uncommon to see that same person with tennis balls on the back 2 legs of the walker. So my question is this, if nearly every walker I see has retrofitted tennis balls placed on the back 2 legs to make it slide across the floor easier shouldn't the manufacturer ship them with a set of Penns? Maybe a coupon to walmart for a free can of Wilson Prostaffs?
What other everyday items do you know of that are often accompanied by some other everyday item in order to make them more useful?
I'm sitting at lunch this afternoon at the nearby Whataburger and the elderly lady sitting across from me has a walker. Now, it's not uncommon to see someone with a walker nor is it uncommon to see that same person with tennis balls on the back 2 legs of the walker. So my question is this, if nearly every walker I see has retrofitted tennis balls placed on the back 2 legs to make it slide across the floor easier shouldn't the manufacturer ship them with a set of Penns? Maybe a coupon to walmart for a free can of Wilson Prostaffs?
What other everyday items do you know of that are often accompanied by some other everyday item in order to make them more useful?
Whole Foods
For those not familiar with Whole Foods, here's a brief history...Whole Foods Market was founded in Austin, Texas, when three local businessmen decided the natural foods industry was ready for a supermarket format. Our founders were John Mackey and Renee Lawson Hardy, owners of Safer Way Natural Foods, and Craig Weller and Mark Skiles, owners of Clarksville Natural Grocery. The original Whole Foods Market opened in 1980 with a staff of only 19 people
Ok, so they recently opened this GIANT Whole Foods market at 6th and Lamar in downtown Austin, TX. For the first few months that the place was open, I didn't even go in. It was crazy crowded. That's not the reason though, I'm not claustrophobic to crowds unless it's a crowd of giraffes or other things taller than 6'5". But, about a month ago I decided to go in one morning and see what the store was about. I hadn't really been told much or hadn't even overheard much about what was inside except for the people talking about how huge it was.
I walk in through the produce section which in simplest terms of square footage is probably as large as some grocery stores that I've been in before. It doesn't stop there, there's loads of fresh seafood, meats, pastries, breads and so far I haven't thought of a single thing that they don't sell. Well, trying to decide what to eat when you go to McDonald's is easy, in about 15 seconds you can go through the menu... Single Cheeseburger, Double Cheeseburger, Triple Cheeseburger, Chicken Sandwich, Salad, Fries... done! Not quite so easy here. See, inside the store there are 5 areas where chefs will cook your food to order, while you watch, while sitting comfortably in a semi-circle.
So what does all this mean? Well, for about $6-$12 you can walk in to this grocery store, be surrounded by great smells, pick out a meal from a huge assortment, watch it be cooked before your eyes or choose from something already cooked like one of the 3 buffet bars, get a LARGE bottle of water for $.49 and sit outside in the great Austin weather eating your meal next to a small man-made creek complete with changing color neon lights :) Don't bother picking up any food you drop because the birds that hang out there have claimed it before it even hit the ground.
For those not familiar with Whole Foods, here's a brief history...Whole Foods Market was founded in Austin, Texas, when three local businessmen decided the natural foods industry was ready for a supermarket format. Our founders were John Mackey and Renee Lawson Hardy, owners of Safer Way Natural Foods, and Craig Weller and Mark Skiles, owners of Clarksville Natural Grocery. The original Whole Foods Market opened in 1980 with a staff of only 19 people
Ok, so they recently opened this GIANT Whole Foods market at 6th and Lamar in downtown Austin, TX. For the first few months that the place was open, I didn't even go in. It was crazy crowded. That's not the reason though, I'm not claustrophobic to crowds unless it's a crowd of giraffes or other things taller than 6'5". But, about a month ago I decided to go in one morning and see what the store was about. I hadn't really been told much or hadn't even overheard much about what was inside except for the people talking about how huge it was.
I walk in through the produce section which in simplest terms of square footage is probably as large as some grocery stores that I've been in before. It doesn't stop there, there's loads of fresh seafood, meats, pastries, breads and so far I haven't thought of a single thing that they don't sell. Well, trying to decide what to eat when you go to McDonald's is easy, in about 15 seconds you can go through the menu... Single Cheeseburger, Double Cheeseburger, Triple Cheeseburger, Chicken Sandwich, Salad, Fries... done! Not quite so easy here. See, inside the store there are 5 areas where chefs will cook your food to order, while you watch, while sitting comfortably in a semi-circle.
So what does all this mean? Well, for about $6-$12 you can walk in to this grocery store, be surrounded by great smells, pick out a meal from a huge assortment, watch it be cooked before your eyes or choose from something already cooked like one of the 3 buffet bars, get a LARGE bottle of water for $.49 and sit outside in the great Austin weather eating your meal next to a small man-made creek complete with changing color neon lights :) Don't bother picking up any food you drop because the birds that hang out there have claimed it before it even hit the ground.
Weekend
So, I found out that my Aunt and Uncle are driving up to Austin for a small part of the weekend to pic up a new dog and the person they're getting it from happens to live just a few miles from my house. So, I guess I'm having guests for tonight.
Saturday morning it will be off to the Big "D" and I don't mean Divorce. Kathleen and I are gonna drive up to Dallas to hang out with Randy and Barbara. We should make it up to Dallas around 1pm or so but not sure what all we are doing. As long as I get to eat at Hola, I'll be all good. We'll be back in Austin sometime on Sunday.
Doesn't look like I'll get any golf in this weekend but I do have an invitation to go play at Oak Hills in San Antonio sometime next week. I played yesterday out at Lion's Muni in Austin but after 3 holes with 4 shanks and losing to 3 kids who were all less than 15 years old, I was thankful for the lightning strikes that forced us off the course.
TGIF
So, I found out that my Aunt and Uncle are driving up to Austin for a small part of the weekend to pic up a new dog and the person they're getting it from happens to live just a few miles from my house. So, I guess I'm having guests for tonight.
Saturday morning it will be off to the Big "D" and I don't mean Divorce. Kathleen and I are gonna drive up to Dallas to hang out with Randy and Barbara. We should make it up to Dallas around 1pm or so but not sure what all we are doing. As long as I get to eat at Hola, I'll be all good. We'll be back in Austin sometime on Sunday.
Doesn't look like I'll get any golf in this weekend but I do have an invitation to go play at Oak Hills in San Antonio sometime next week. I played yesterday out at Lion's Muni in Austin but after 3 holes with 4 shanks and losing to 3 kids who were all less than 15 years old, I was thankful for the lightning strikes that forced us off the course.
TGIF
Golfing
So, I've owned golf clubs for nearly 18 years now and I've yet to make an EAGLE! I went out to San Antonio tonight and played 14 holes before dark, I had 2 eagle putts on the Par 5s which yielded tap-in birdies. Hopefully, I'll get lucky on one of these 20' putts and have one fall in for the glorious 2 under! After that, it's on to my quest for an ACE.
Performance Upgrade to my ECU
So raise your hand if you know what your vehicle ECU is! hmmm, I don't see many hands.
Well, I decided to send my ECU for my CLK off to Speed Tuning USA for a rather inexpensive performance upgrade. It's a quick turn around job where you overnight them a part, they program it and send it back and you have it the following day. Well, this is what I did, and on the day I got the part back I drive back up to Austin from work, in a friends car, plug in the 5 wire harnesses that go to the ECU and attempt to turn the key. THEN... Nothing :( it won't start and I"m supposed to be driving home to Louisiana in like 5 minutes. Arrrrggghhhh
So, I packed my clothes in my friends car and left my Benz in the driveway. I took the ECU home with me and mailed it off via UPS on Saturday. I'm waiting for the part to get back to me either today or tomorrow since the guy send it via USPS and I just hope my car starts. It could expensive if not... tow truck, mercedes dealer... yada yada yada
Keep your fingers crossed.
So raise your hand if you know what your vehicle ECU is! hmmm, I don't see many hands.
Well, I decided to send my ECU for my CLK off to Speed Tuning USA for a rather inexpensive performance upgrade. It's a quick turn around job where you overnight them a part, they program it and send it back and you have it the following day. Well, this is what I did, and on the day I got the part back I drive back up to Austin from work, in a friends car, plug in the 5 wire harnesses that go to the ECU and attempt to turn the key. THEN... Nothing :( it won't start and I"m supposed to be driving home to Louisiana in like 5 minutes. Arrrrggghhhh
So, I packed my clothes in my friends car and left my Benz in the driveway. I took the ECU home with me and mailed it off via UPS on Saturday. I'm waiting for the part to get back to me either today or tomorrow since the guy send it via USPS and I just hope my car starts. It could expensive if not... tow truck, mercedes dealer... yada yada yada
Keep your fingers crossed.
Visiting Cousins
I'm off to Louisiana in a few minutes here. I've got my upgraded ECU for my car that hopefully will start when I put it back in. I did remember to take a picture of the 5 wiring harnesses before i took them off!
My dad's oldest brother's son is in town with his wife and 2 young daughters. It should be a nice partial family get together.
I'm off to Louisiana in a few minutes here. I've got my upgraded ECU for my car that hopefully will start when I put it back in. I did remember to take a picture of the 5 wiring harnesses before i took them off!
My dad's oldest brother's son is in town with his wife and 2 young daughters. It should be a nice partial family get together.
Summer Time
Summer is definitely here in Texas. After a great few months of mildly warm temperatures and low humidity, I'm starting to sweat. Even just standing still outside at 9 O'clock at night the skin beads up with salty moisture.
The hot weather hasn't affected my golf game much, I've been able to play quite a bit this summer. I have been rained on a few times but it doesn't seem to last for more than 2-3 holes. Just watch out for the lightning!
I have 2 trips planned in September. One for Labor Day where I will be going to Ft. Walton Beach, FL with my friend Kathleen and her family. The other at the end of September when I will be going to AUSTRALIA! Yup, it will be my first time out of the country. I have such a long flight and a layover in Seoul, Korea! I leave Houston, TX on a Thursday morning and arrive in Sydney, Australia on Saturday morning. I'll be there for 9 days before coming back on the morning of the 10th day. I don't think I've ever been in an airplane for more than 5 hours so this will be a big test to see if i can sit still for that long. Hopefully I will get in some long naps.
Here's to hoping August isn't a scorcher and that it mostly rains at night or while I'm at work!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
