Lollipops

April 29, 2010

Abby and I went to Lollipops, which is an indoor play ground for kids. They had a few inflatables and climbing tunnels. We went with our new friends Walker and Coby. We took the bus and had to dodge traffic Frogger style to get there.

Abby's first day of school

April 28, 2010

Abby started school at River City World of Learning. She attends on Wednesdays and her teachers are Miss Fiona and Miss Sierra. I pack morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea for her. The center is located inside another school building, but its front door is inside the parking garage. She barely gives me a kiss goodbye when I drop her off, she loves it.

Mt Coot-tha

April 26, 2010

View of the city from Mt Coot-tha lookout which is about 12 km from Brisbane.

ANZAC Day March

April 25th

Went to the annual ANZAC Day March which was held in the CBD (central business district). It is like our Memorial Day in the US, only more intense. The march lasted for 3 hours and it was groups of former and current military, along with marching bands and drum corps.

Note to Jim Rospenda- The group in red is the all female drum corps!

Surfer's Paradise-Gold Coast

4-20-10

Finally----a beautiful beach. Clear water and nice sand. This was a 2 1/2 hour journey. Note to anyone who is coming to visit, we will rent a car to take you to the beach. It was a long train and bus ride. It rained the entire way there and we feared it would be a complete waste of time. We ate lunch and while we dined the rain stopped. We went down to the beach and I looked north-rain. I looked south-rain. Right where we were-no rain. It was great. Abby is becoming quite the water baby. You'll notice the no swimming signs, the water was very choppy. The Gold Coast is south of Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast is North. The Gold Coast is very developed and commercialized and the Sunshine Coast is not as bad.

Views from our apartment

We are on the 21st floor with spectacular views of the Brisbane River and the city to the East. We can see the Story Bridge from our balcony and people climb to the top. Crazy! The boat is the City Cat and that is a major mode of transport.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary Part 3

4-18-10

Sorry for the multiple entries, I took lots of pictures! The photo of the 3 koalas is the Delmar Gardens of the sanctuary, that encloseure housed the seniors.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary Part 2

4-18-10

They had a sheep shearing and sheep hearding demonstration. The sheep shearers get paid by the sheep and can shear 150 per day. The sheep dogs were so focused. They watched their master like a hawk and were so anxious for him to give the herding commands.

Abby did so well holding the heavy koala. They told us that it is not accurate to call them koala bears, they are not related to the bear at all.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

4-18-10

We spent the day at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. It was my favorite thing we have done so far. It was an Alfred Hitchcock moment at the Lorikeet feeding. We noticed a few of the birds chirping in the trees while waiting for the presentation. When the feeder brought out the pitcher of oats, sugar and milk, the birds went crazy!!!

The kangaroos were just like dogs, laying around, waiting for a tummy rub. I had to keep Abby from leaning down and kissing one. They were softer than I had imagined and their tails are very strong and thick.

I loved how the koalas wedged their butts into two crossing branches and slept and slept and slept.

Papa thought we could use the emus for transportation instead of learning how to drive.

Shorncliffe

4-17-10

We now know that our buildings fire alarm system functions in our apartment. At 6:30 am the fire alarm goes off throughout the building, so I carry Abby and my purse and the passports and walk down 21 flights of stairs. Turns out it was a faulty sensor.

Later that afternoon, Chris went golfing and Ches, Abby and I took the train out to Shorncliffe in search of a beach. We get closer this time. The water is muddy and the sand is brown, but Abby had a blast. She got soaked and from now on I will be a good mommy and remember to bring her swimsuit and sand toys.

While we were playing, a woman was walking her dog down on the beach and she let him off the leash. He was running, jumping the waves and having a great time. I look over at the dog and I notice he is circling in the water, the way dogs do when nature calls. He pulls a Marley and poops right in the water. I am doubling over in laughter and the woman notices and calls out "Sorry". This kind of casual apology is very typical here in Australia. They don't get bent out of shape about much. They really do say," No worries".