Halfway through our trip to Australia.

Halfway through our trip to Australia. Toby is taking over the catkeeping and housekeeping chores from Todd.

The last couple of days I've finally started feeling like myself. I was in a bit of fog there for the first week or so. 

We traveled from Sydney down the east coast of New South Wales and on into Victoria. Lots of little towns along the way. It's hard to remember towns that have such unusual names. Sydney, (first night), Mascot (breakfast), Wollongong, Shellharbour (second night, visit to the mall), Gerringong (for picnic lunch in the park), Moruya (third night, breakfast), Eden (fourth night, first appearance of live kangaroos, echidna alongside the road, back up to Merimbula (fifth night), and then on to meet our friends, Wes and Ev Hare in Churchill, (about an hour and half from Melbourne.

Most all this trip was on Princes Highway, which at times was an "M" (the equivalent of interstate) but most of the time was a two-lane highway.

We took lots of side-trips down interesting roads, spent time at beaches (saw some whales far in the distance), time in "national" parks, which I believe is the equivalent of state parks, (lots of signs warning of fox poisoning). We'd stop in small towns along the way for meals. 

We stop at every bookstore we see. Interesting to see the differences and similarities, the biggest of which hardcovers are rare. All the "new" books come out in trade paperback.

As I said in an earlier post, these small towns seem to be kept up pretty well. One of the towns was not so much touristy and almost everyone was a resident, so was glad to absorb that. Can't remember the name of the town and it was too small to find on the maps.

No one much impressed we're Americans. (I know, I know.) 

Also, as I said earlier, it really is the small things that throw you. Things as little as finding how to open the gas cap, using the right terminology for things. Close, but not quite. The general outlines are the same, but of course eucalyptus trees have a different feel than pine. 

Wes and Ev had us pretty much scheduled from the start. First day, we went to an animal sanctuary to feel and pet the kangaroos and koalas, see the Tasmanian devil and the dingoes, (no wombat). Then on to an airbnb on Philip Island. Spent two nights there, had dinner in the town, then on to the Penguins. Small little blue penguins ("Little Penguins" is actually their name.) They come ashore every night during breeding season, The March of the Penguins, so you can sit on a viewing platform only feet away (inches) as they come shore. On our night, there were 2500 of them. They ignore us big galoots, except the Chinese tourists who no matter how often they were warned or threatened with eviction, took flash pictures. I found myself pointing at the guy left of me, who was so fidgety trying to hide his picture taking that it was distracting. (It scares and blinds the penguins.)

Then the walk back up to the parking lot with penguins squawking and making big noise along the way.

"They're having sex, aren't they," I said to a park ranger.

"If you hear their wings rustling, they are. But they are very quick and efficient."

"Oh, is that what you call it?"

Next day, we requested a rest day. (I've read three books on this trip so far, which I didn't expect. But as I said, we drop into bookstores everywhere we go.)

Yesterday we drove on into Melbourne, to the Victoria Market, which is a famous (?) bazaar. Lots of very kitschy product and shady boothkeepers (at least, they felt that way to me.) We did buy some Australian opal ear rings and a necklace because it's our 40th anniversary in a few days, and opal is the gem for October. So we'll remember our trip. 

Yesterday, Wes and I went for a walk in the wilds. This is what I've been looking forward to the whole trip. Saw a mob of kangaroos in the wild, walked up a hillside to see the 'primordial' forest. I thought I'd be doing more of that, but Linda arthritis is giving her trouble. She's offered to stay in the car while I troop around and I may take her up on that the second half of the trip.

Another rest day while Wes and Ev actually attend to the business they're here for.

Tomorrow it's back to Melbourne to visit a church friend of Linda's. 

The second half of the trip is up the Gold Coast road to Adelaide, (which is spectacular by all accounts.) Then straight a few nights on the road to Canberra, then finally back to Sydney where we hope to meet our niece, Sophia, for a day or two. 

Home by way of Hawaii again.

I'm glad we gave it a month. Hard to imagine heading back after a couple of weeks.