Visitors

My parents have been visiting since just before the new year. We've been touring a bit with them, which means I've been taking pictures, but not taking the time to post them! I'll try to do a few updates in the next few days.

This post: They arrived!

 -- But only after getting rerouted to take 10 extra hours traveling. So the day of their arrival, we took a quick walk into the park to see the fruit bats, then went straight to bed.

The next day, we headed first to the Queen Victoria Market, shown in the photo above, and bought some fruit and supplies. In the afternoon, we visited the Old Melbourne Gaol (pronounced "jail"). Here we are in the old holding area.

And here's a photo of the jail itself, where many notorious criminals were imprisoned and hanged, until capital punishment was abolished in all of Australia.

Just before going into the jail, the sky opened up and we got completely drenched in record-breaking flood-causing torrential rain. We look a little wet, but at least we weren't out on the flooded roads.

Home. Little nap. Anyone still have energy? Want to go out again?

We headed to St Kilda to walk up the beach. Luna park was closing early because of the rain.

The beach was unsuitable for swimming because of the rain. But the sunset was gorgeous.

There were about a gazillion people waiting and hoping to see the little penguins come in to shore.

We waited as well, but we only saw a couple of the little guys. Too crowded for them. Also, apparently by this time of year, most of the chicks are grown and the parents need to stay out feeding to put on weight to survive a few weeks of moulting. Still, the sunset was lovely, so the evening wasn't a total loss.

The next morning we took a walk to the Botanic Gardens...

... and the Shrine of Remembrance.

The little sore throat my mom brought to Australia had been morphing with the jet lag into a big sore throat and then a full fledged cold. So we went home and she spent the afternoon in bed. Later in the evening, my dad confessed that he wanted to go on the roller coaster back at Luna Park -- it is the world's oldest continuously operating roller coaster, opened in 1912. I wanted to go too. Tim came along for the ride, and Jonathan, turned off by the idea of another walk in the city, stayed home with Grandma.

Here I am with my dad near the roller coaster. It was pretty fun! I'll take Jonathan one of these days. Tim isn't interested.

After the long line and the quick ride, we caught a tram to the river, and walked along the south bank of the Yarra past the casino for more sunset views.

The next day: New Year's Eve! After taking a vote, we decided to take the train to the end of the line to see the Dandenong mountains. Except remember that torrential rain from two days before? Turns out it damaged the train line between Upper Ferntree Gully and Belgrave. So rather than riding to Belgrave and taking a walk there, we got off at Upper Ferntree Gully to walk a trail called the 1000 steps. We were still in the Dandenong Ranges National Park. All good. 

Along the way: Lots of ferntrees and some tall eucalyptus trees.

At the top:

Grandma, with the developing cold, wasn't up to the walk. She stayed in the picnic area at the bottom and waited for us, watching the kookaburras. And then we all caught the bus to the train back to home.

It was New Year's Eve. Time for fireworks!

Grandma wasn't feeling up to the fireworks, so we left her at home and headed out. As we waited for the family fireworks near the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, we saw hundreds of fruit bats flying south, I guess for their nightly feeding.

My phone camera can't capture a stream of huge fruit bats winging their way over the city at dusk. But at least it can capture a handful of darker blobs against a gray backdrop, for you to appreciate. You are very welcome. Very welcome indeed.

After the family fireworks, at 9:30 pm, we walked back into the city. This year, since we live within walking distance (about a half hour walk from home), we were determined to watch the midnight fireworks with the rest of the million people celebrating the holiday.

We found a nice place to wait up near the Arts Centre.

And then at midnight, fireworks!

You know what fireworks look like, and my phone doesn't do well at fireworks photos. So I decided after that one shot to turn the phone off and actually enjoy seeing the show with my own eyes. So you will have to imagine choreographed bursts shooting from the tops of the major buildings in the Central Business District -- including the Arts Centre behind us. It was pretty awesome.

Happy New Year, World!

And then we walked home.

And went to bed. 

And I think that's a good place to stop for now.

My 2016

So technically, looking back, I have to pin the beginnings of my midlife crisis on the year 2014.

But it was a good midlife crisis, and slow forming and carefully thought out. By 2015, the exit plans were all in place.

And in 2016, those plans came fully to fruition.

Because it isn't worth having a midlife crisis unless you move your family all the way to Australia. And take two years to do it.

In 2016, I really started my new job for keeps, not for a brief stopover betwixt sabbaticals.

And one of the first things that happened in 2016 was that our permanent resident visas came through. We're very grateful to be able to live and work here in Australia long term. And to be eligible for drivers licenses, state health insurance, and all sorts of other things like that.

We found a really wonderful apartment in a really great location. 

And my child started attending a school that has been very good to him.

Professionally, I a lot of research articles appear in good journals. True, these were mostly articles that had been written in 2014 or 2015, but still their appearance was a good thing.

I realised all over again how much I really like the two people I spend most of my time with, although they argued more this year amongst themselves. I really like these two.

My health was good. No cavities in 2016, and even the gum disease that was supposed to plague me the rest of my life disappeared when examined by a new dentist. The migraines, while frequent, were almost completely under control.

We went on a really great family vacation.

I made new friends, in many places. Work. Church. I missed old friends. But it looks like I may have some semblance of social health going forward into the future.

I know that 2016 wasn't the best of all years for everyone, but I think I'll look back upon it fondly when I am old, and likely delusional about how great the past was anyway.

Happy new year!

The great Melbourne beach adventure

We talked about renting a beach house in South Australia for the week between Christmas and New Years day. But we were a little late doing research and trying to book a place, and planning a holiday further away was too exhausting in the middle of our other projects.

So then we noted that there are lots of great beaches closer to home, near Melbourne, and we could just rent a beach house more locally, and not have to go so far and do a lot of research.

And then we noted again that in fact, we live near public transit that will take us to a wide variety of beaches near Melbourne, and rather than rent a house and go to the same beach every day, we could use our own house as a beach retreat, and just visit a new beach every day during the inter-Christmas and New Year holidays. And then we'd have all our stuff, and our own beds, and clean showers, and good food. So that was the plan we settled upon.

For future reference, I'll post a few pictures and describe the features of all the beaches we visited. We liked all of them, although they were all very different -- which surprised me a lot since they're all accessible by public transit less than an hour from our place, and they're all on the Bay of Port Philip.

23 December: St Kilda Beach.

We weren't going to start until Christmas Eve, but Jonathan was out of school, I was out of work, and we were both bored and excited, so we started a day early, visiting the very closest beach to our apartment: St Kilda beach, a 15 minute tram ride from home (or 40 minute walk).

Because St Kilda is so close to home, we've been there a lot. Its biggest advantage is that it's very easily accessible. There are a lot of restaurants, ice cream, penguins at the end of the pier (if it's the right time of year), and yet still nice sand and gentle waves. You'll see a lot of people, and hear a lot of languages. Its accessibility is also probably its biggest disadvantage. There can be a lot of people.

24 December: Edithvale Beach.

On Christmas Eve, we had more time, so we journeyed further south on the Frankston train line. Tim and I had taken that line before, and it passes a string of nice beaches. We chose Edithvale kind of at random, and partly based on a review that said it didn't have good parking, which made it less popular for the automobile crowd. Since we're not automobile crowd, that seemed good.

The beach was beautiful, with white sands and turquoise waters. There weren't very big waves again, because it's on the sheltered Bay of Port Philip. There were small fishes swimming just in the water -- remember to bring snorkel or at least goggles next time for better viewing of the underwater sand creatures.  The sand was also nice for digging. In the photo below you can see Jonathan and a friend digging a hole.

We had a really great time at this beach. And there were clean public toilets, showers, and changing rooms, as well as a couple of water fountains and a place to rinse sandy feet. The only negative from the day was not related to the location -- the UV index, which measures how quickly you will burn under the sun, was extremely high that day. We wore hats, rash guard shirts, and lots of sunscreen, and we did ok, aside from a few sunburned toes. Remember to put sunscreen on your feet, friends.

Christmas day: No beach that day. We went to a friend's house for dinner.

26 December: Sandringham beach.

So unfortunately it was pouring rain on the afternoon of the 26 December.  However, part of our plan was to visit beaches whatever the weather. So off we went. We took the Sandringham train to the end of the line, then walked a block to the beach. The beach was down a green covered hill, and again it was very lovely.

 

I stood for a while under a roof near the life saving club, hoping the rain would ease up and then I would join Tim and Jonathan by the water. But it only seemed to rain more and more while I waited. Eventually I just gave up and decided I'd get rained on.

Jonathan had no qualms about getting wet and sandy.

I wasn't so keen to get in the water, though, in the rain, so I walked the beach from end to end. There were rocks on either side. This one had a small sea star clinging to its side, but you can't really see that from the picture. 

One advantage of going during a light rainstorm is that we had the entire beach to ourselves, except for the three life guards huddled under a tent. You can see Tim and Jonathan just barely in this picture. But that's it. 

Anyway, the Sandringham beach was beautiful. I would like to go again in nicer weather. However there was just one public toilet and no changing rooms, although they did have a place to wash feet. Come dressed in your swim gear and plan to wear it home damp -- not a problem if you take the train. Also, food and other amenities are up the hill back near the train station.

27 December: Altona Beach.

We'd spent three days going south and east. The next day we decided to go west instead, to the western side of the city. Tim suggested Williamstown, but that required a train transfer, so at the last minute we just stayed on the train we were riding and got off at Altona.

The weather was not bright and sunny, but it wasn't raining either, and the water quality report was good (http://yarraandbay.vic.gov.au/beach-report). Like St Kilda, I think Altona must be pretty accessible for a lot of people, because the beach was more crowded. Or maybe everyone decided it was time to get out again.

Altona beach had a cool pier. And the water was very shallow. You could walk out to about the end of the pier without needing to swim.

Tim really liked this one. He and Jonathan waded out and found crabs, clams, and small fish swimming at his toes -- a whole world of living things you could explore without taking off your hat.

Jonathan and I dug around in the sand.

And Tim and I walked to the end of the pier.

And we were home in time for dinner.

28 December: Black Rock Beach.

Black rock beach was recommended by friends, who said it was the beach they liked best. This one was a little trickier to get to: we took the Sandringham line to the end, then got on a bus for 20 more minutes. It took us an hour to get there in all.

The beach was gorgeous. Like Sandringham, it was at the bottom of a green hill. There were toilets at the top of the hill, showers half way down. And beautiful blue water at the bottom.

It was windy, so there were slightly larger waves -- definitely more waves than the perfectly flat Altona beach the day before. But still not big waves for surfing. I believe you have to drive to the ocean for that this time of year. In any case, the swimming was great.

Jonathan built a sand fort. 

Tim walked to the rocks at the far end, and we all went swimming. This time I brought goggles, so I could see the world in the water -- a few small fishes and shells. The water felt very good with the hot wind blowing in from the north western deserts.

In any case, Black Rock beach was very pretty, and we had a great time. However, it didn't seem to have many advantages over Sandringham beach. Next time we may save ourselves 20 minutes and just go to Sandringham rather than take the extra bus.

So there you have it. Five different beaches in five different days. It was a great adventure that I hope to repeat. In fact, looking at these pictures makes me wonder why I'm sitting here typing rather than going out again to find another. There are still lots of great beaches to go.

Tis the Season

Christmas Eve is nearly over! It is time for this blog to get Festive!

Here are some photos of Christmas in Melbourne.

21 December 2016.

23 December 2016.

Gingerbread city, Melbourne.

Melbourne City Square, Christmas.

St Kilda Beach.

24 December 2016.
Corella cockatoo.

Edithvale Beach.

Now Santa is about to come here, so I have to quit. Merry merry Christmas!

Auras

In spite of the upside down seasons, the first day of Christmas break landed the way it always does: with a long to-do list. All those tasks I had been saving up for when school was over and conferences finished and the calendar finally clear -- all those tasks needed to be done. And it would be great to get them done before Christmas.

My calendar was clear Thursday morning. Jonathan was out of school. We sat down together at the kitchen table and created a summer star chart, one for each of us, with the tasks we wanted to accomplish each day of the school break.

Star charts created, we both embarked on our first chores. My chore: to finish up a final report on a grant I left in the USA after moving to Australia. But as I started filling in the forms for the grant on my laptop, I noticed that the screen was too bright -- it was burning my retinas. Looking away, I realized it was not the screen burning the retinas, but some sort of weird triangular pattern on the backs of my eyeballs. And soon after that, my hand started feeling numb. That was enough chores for me. I told the family that I was too young to die, and went to bed.

Two hours later, I awoke with a massive migraine. That weird triangular eyeball pattern and the numbness was a migraine aura. My very first migraine aura. While I've experienced migraines for 25 years, I always skipped the fancy aura part before.

Anyway, in spite of the aura, the migraine wasn't my worst ever. But it did wipe out a whole day to finish chores before Christmas. Sigh. Today I'm going to try to finish that final report for the grant....

Kangaroos

It's cold today. It's sunny, but the high temperature is only in the mid-60s Fahrenheit. I would like a string of days in the mid-70s and mid-80s, but we haven't really had them yet. The pattern is two warm days followed by five cold. According to the forecast, it should be warm by Christmas, though.

Jonathan has a last half day of school tomorrow. We plan to spend our break checking out local beaches, whether or not the weather cooperates. I guess we'll just spend less time at the beach if the weather is uncooperative.



To close this (short) post, I offer you a few kangaroos. The first ones I saw in Creswick, Victoria, last week.

Closer:

And a few more (zoom into the top right of the photo).

While in Canberra a few weeks ago, we stopped in a pharmacy and found the following, perfect Christmas gift for all the men in our lives. (Looking at you, Mal, Mark, Earl.)

Kangaroo essence for men. Each capsule contains extract equivalent to 300mg of Kangaroo meat. The Bio Island website advertises its kangaroo essence capsules by reminding us that: "The kangaroo is an animal that can be characterised by its strength, power and energy".

But in the end, we weren't sure if we could ship the capsules or not, quarantine laws being what they are, and so we did not get it. We only offer the photo.

Next Christmas, guys. Next Christmas.

Summer time!

From experience, I know that by now the Northern Hemisphere is cold, icy, snowy, and basically covered in winter. Of course, it's still early enough in the year that Northern Hemisphere types are wide eyed over twinkle lights and frosty breath and magic. But give it another month and a few more icy mornings, freeways full of semis pumping black gas into the haze of sky, and white fluffy snow morphed into gray icy sludge that splatters the sidewalks and seeps into your boots, and all the magic will fade into the blur of chapped skin and dirty overcoats and lung-choking darkness that is winter.

Summer is glorious.

The birds love summer, too. Can you find twelve rainbow lorikeets below? They were hanging upside down eating the seeds in the trees outside our apartment.

I have been away during the week for the past couple of weeks, and I have two more weeks to go with this schedule. There is a large international workshop being held in country Victoria, about 1.5 hours away from home. I go off into rural Victoria for the week, then back for the weekend. It isn't ideal, but Tim and Jonathan are doing ok.

The place where I am staying is far enough away from the city that a short walk at dusk brings you to fields full of kangaroos.

If you know to look for them.

The first night I was away, to my delight I found that the dorms where I'm staying are right under the branches of tall eucalyptus trees where sulphur crested cockatoos spend the night. Hundreds of the birds flew just overhead and called happily to each other starting just around sunset. It was like a grand party of yellow-tinged white birds, chattering and calling and sharing the adventures of the day.

They settled down for quiet sleep around 9:30pm in the evening. And it was beautiful and fun and exciting, right up until about 5:00am the next morning, when the cockatoos woke up again and began calling and chattering. It was like a huge 5am party, with all the birds screaming loudly across the trees to tell each other about their plans for the new day. And that lasted until around 6am, by which time they had all flown away and I was wide awake. I'm going to have to live on cockatoo schedule for a couple more weeks, I think.

That's pretty much all our news. Except Jonathan volunteered at a French festival in a cookie-decorating booth with his school. And Tim and I bought a couple of cookies to decorate. Tim ate his before I took a picture, but he did point out that he was decorating an American pumpkin with an Irish flag at a French festival in Australia. Have you ever met people who are so internationally savvy?