Happy New Years 2009!!!

Well we are settling right in here in lovely Melbourne. Since the last post we have been hitting it hard. Lets see....where to begin? Well the other night at the Victory game. Melbourne came back from 2-0 to beat their rival, Sydney. It was a thrilling soccer match with great goals scored by both sides.
We have thoroughly explored downtown and Victory Market. The downtown has a European flavor, the suburbs have a very American feel. We also saw the Melbourne City Zoo which had the standard fare of Aussie animals. Now that I have been here a while I am adjusting to the little differences. Driving on the left still freaks me out. You also past people on the street on the left which still seems to evade me.
We spent a day on Phillip Island. It's a popular get away for the Melbourne massive, where we accomplished many of my Australian goals. We began the day at the Phillip Island Wildlife park. Its basically a large open area where they allow you to walk around with kangaroos, wallabies, and emus. Most of them are tame enough to feed by hand. It was a trip getting close to these beasts. They also had a variety of other creatures in large habitats.

We then headed to the Koala Conservation center. Most of them spend the day sleeping but they were still close enough to get a good gander at. They are even more adorable in person. I have yet to hold one but there will be many opportunities. After watching the fuzzy lazy bears sleep we had fish and chips seaside for lunch.

The night we dedicated to the Penguin march, which has surpassed the Sydney opera house as the OZ's most popular tourist destination. Every evening the penguins leave the ocean for their seaside homes. So everyone gathers in a man made amphitheater to watch the funny critters scurry up the beach. This being the holiday season, there were 3800 people in attendance to watch nearly 2000 fat birds waddle up the beach. We arrived three hours early to get beach side seats. After the sun sets the birds leave the protection of the ocean. The first few birds scout out the beach then return with their frightened comrades. Imagine, after days out in the ocean you arrive home. As soon as you leave the water you are hit with stadium lights and 3800 fans staring down on you. It must be a daunting task for the world's smallest penguins. None the less they persevere. They begin waddling towards shore in small numbers and then attack the beach in groups of 20-60 birds running as fast as their fat bellies and little legs will allow. Viewing my first wild penguin gave me a warm giggly feeling I haven't had since Christmas '84. The audience giggles and points as the little doodles scurry in and out of the ocean. Trying to build up the courage to brave the spotlight and reach their little love dens. It was an absolute riot.
We are now making plans for seeing fireworks in Federation Square tonight for the new years. We will be some of the first on the planet to venture into 2009. Over 500,000 people are expected downtown. About 1/8 the population!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!

Thanks for all the comments and good wishes! We appreciate them! Missing all of you over the holidays but we are thinking of you!

Melborne, We have arrived!!

We arrived in Melbourne last night from Fiji. This morning Amber cooked omelets and I cleaned the dishes. We Spent our first day exploring downtown. We visited Victoria Market, Federation Square, Victoria Gardens, Flinders Street station, and Swanston. Melbourne has great feel and is very easy to see due to the great public transportation. Tonight we may watch the Melbourne Victory, the local soccer team. Most Victorians prefer "Footy" or Australian football. So far I really like this city and am looking forward to seeing more.

Christmas in Figi

After traveling through time we arrived at 6 am Christmas day. We arrived at our hotel just half passed 7 and were lucky to get into our room early. Napping till 11 we discovered nothing would be open as it is Christmas day and the natives are proud Christians.
With nothing to do, Lonnie and I were forced to spend the day lazily sipping drinks poolside and visiting with backpackers from around the world. We made fast friends with Mike, a 22 yr old Jewish accountant form Jersey. We also visited with Brian from Winnipeg and two girls living in New Zealand ,one a native Swed. With mango and coconut trees above our heads we took multiple dives into the sizable pool to keep ourselves cool. Though the forecast called for rain, it never came. Thunder threatened in the background, but never materialized. It was a beautiful day. We had lunch with Mike poolside. It consisted of a vegetable curry and a native dish called Kokoda. It was a fish soup made of coconut milk, lime juice, parsley, and fruit. Along with our dishes we sampled many local beers and spirits. Lonnie's favorite was a amber ale referred to as "Fiji baby".
Finished with lunch we dragged ourselves back to the pool. As ripe mangos fell from the tree they were quickly gathered up for snacks as we repaired for "Christmas dinner". Lonnie peaked outside the room to witness the natives adorably setting up and decorating for our special dinner. Six pm and we bellied up to the bar for happy hour. As we ordered local rum (160 proof) and cokes as group of natives began to gather in front of us. Choir books materialized in the hands of about 20- 25 individuals. With panting dogs at our feet and perspiration gathering on our brows we witnessed something beautiful. These natives had spent their special day gathering before a tiny Hodge podge group of backpackers to sing recognizable Christmas songs in their native tongue. And they sounded fantastic. Fanning themselves through the heat, the men and women harmonized perfectly. It was touching, it was beautiful, it was a lovely tribute to the day.
Though our time in Fiji will be short lived, one can't help but feel blessed to have witnessed such an atypical holiday here. The people here are kind. They are helpful. They seem prone to happiness. Fiji we hardly knew ye and yet we hope to return one day.
Tonight we board a plane bound for Melbourne. We are incredibly excited to reunite with Amber and BJ in their new hometown.

Fly like a birdie

Today we have about 14 hours of flying ahead of us. It will be split into two flights. There is a possibility of a snow storm here in Denver. Seems like most of the country is experiencing sever winter weather. All the more reason to head to the southern hemisphere. I checked the weather in Fiji. Looks like it will be 85 and raining for our whole stay. Im not to disappointed though. I kinda miss the rain. At least im not in Minneapolis ;)

Tomorrow we leave for Fiji

This is our first blog. We are currently in Colorado. Tomorrow we begin our great adventure. Stay tuned!