winter blues.

winter time.

It just occurred to me that we haven't blogged in over two months. Mostly because our ex-pat life has become very routine and kind of boring. In a good way, I suppose. Not much to write home about: work, school, spending weekends holed up in the apartment out of the winter cold.

Speaking of which, I feel very silly complaining about Melbourne's mild winters when I spent nine years in the chilly tundra of Michigan (snow and ice from October to April, pretty much). So here's an article that sort of explains why winter in Victoria is kind of awful.

I'm just getting over my very first Australian head cold, which was a bummer. Last year around this time we weren't even in Melbourne - we were still traveling around Portland and beyond, blasting the heat in our tiny hotel rooms. But this year I was kind of stubborn about turning on the apartment heater, and I guess that was a bad idea.

thank goodness they have Pho soup in Melbourne.

Also, I still can't get over the reverse seasons here. It's June, but it feels like the end of autumn and the beginning of the holiday season. On more than one occasion this month I've made myself a steaming cup of mint hot chocolate and turned on the Christmas music station on iTunes. And we may have watched "The Holiday" for fun. I mean, what's the point of winter if you can't celebrate the winter holidays?

Speaking of holidays, this past weekend we attended an American Thanksgiving party, complete with a giant turkey and homemade pies. It was pretty amazing.

so. wonderful.

What else is new... we're both gearing up for some trips "home" in the next two months. I'll be heading to Grand Rapids at the end of the month (my first time in the U.S. since the big move!) and Ben will visit Seattle at the end of July. It would be nice to do a multi-state trip together, eventually. But for now we've agreed that visiting our respective families separately just simplifies things a bit, and makes everything more fair for our families.

Anyway, we're both very excited to see everyone.

And we're looking forward to escaping the Melbournian winter for some (hopefully) nice American summer weather.

CK

p.s. Speaking of Grand Rapids, I spotted this shirt at Target in downtown Melbourne. Every clothing store usually has a bunch of apparel from American cities (always New York and LA, sometimes Miami, maaaybe Detroit) but this was pretty crazy...

easter at the prom and the dandenongs.

Easter weekend in Australia can best be summed up as a time when people throughout the country load up their cars and head off to one of many popular camping or vacation destinations to enjoy a long weekend.  In Victoria, this typically means one of the beach towns along the Great Ocean Road, Hall's Gap in the Grampians, or Wilsons Promontory (known to locals simply as The Prom).  Easter weekend is such a popular time to travel because Good Friday and Easter Monday are both holidays, and in Victoria at least, likely to be one of the last weekends with warmer weather before the chill of Autumn sets in.

In our time living in Melbourne, Candice and I have had the opportunity to visit many of the beautiful places throughout Victoria that many locals frequent, but one destination we had yet to visit was The Prom.  Through a combination of late planning (meaning all the rental cars in the city were sold out) and the kindness of our good friends, we were fortunate enough to be able to borrow a car for the long weekend (thanks again, Rick and Robyn!).  We then set about making plans for where we wanted to visit, and dug out my CD collection to provide the tunes for the trip (though we actually spent most of our ride listening to the random mix CDs in our friends' collection).

even on the highway, we get to see awesome artwork.

The first afternoon after picking up the car we decided to take a little road trip to Trentham Falls, located about an hour from Melbourne.  It is famous for being one of the highest single drop falls in Victoria, about 32 metres, which for comparison is about 50 metres less than Snoqualmie Falls in Washington State.  Despite the relatively modest height, it is quite spectacular due to the columnar basalt gorge that dominates the area from the viewing platform.  As we went at the end of summer, it was hard to tell if there was actually a waterfall due to the tiny trickle of water, but it is apparently quite impressive during the wet season.

not much water falling this time of year.

The next day we got up early and made the 3 hour drive to Wilsons Promontory National Park.  Our first destination was Squeaky Beach, so named because the rounded grains of quartz sand makes a squeaking sound when walked on.  It was delightful!  Not only does the sand squeak but it is also incredibly soft, which made it the perfect place to lay out in the sun and watch all the surfers.

watching the surfers and crazy waves.

After a long wait to get some lunch at the information centre, we made our way to the Darby Saddle trail.  The full trail is an all day hike that travels to Tongue Point, but we only had enough time to go halfway to Sparkes Lookout.  Much of the trail climbs gently through forest littered with small skinks (lizards found throughout Victoria).  After taking the short side trail to Sparkes Lookout we were greeted with incredible views of Norman Island, Great Glennie Island and Tongue Point.  It was a fantastic way to wrap up our day at The Prom.

panoramic view.

Sparkes Lookout.

For our final road trip, we took a short drive to the Dandenong Ranges National Park.  We had driven through the Dandenongs previously, but it seemed like a great place for a walk in the woods.  After a delicious breakfast of pancakes at a quaint restaurant in Sassafras, we made our way to William Ricketts Sanctuary on the recommendation of a helpful woman at the information centre.  The sanctuary is full of beautiful sculptures created by Australian William Ricketts, which depict his vision of a modern Australia that embraces Aboriginal spirituality and shows respect for their natural world.  Among the sculptures are towering mountain ash trees, the second tallest tree in the world behind only the redwoods of California.

mountain ash trees.

Following our stroll through the sanctuary, we headed to the southern section of the national park to take a walk through Sherbrooke Forest.  At the car park we were greeted by a large gathering of Rosellas that were being fed by picnickers, but didn't see any other wildlife on our walk despite this being a prime lyrebird habitat.  It was a beautiful walk through the trees, complete with a tiny waterfall, and a great way to end our weekend adventure.

pretty Rosella.

BK

pancakes.

siblings.

So, it's apparently siblings day - a holiday about love, laughter and warm childhood memories. But it's not marketed the same way as Mother's and Father's Day, so I usually kind of forget about it. Except for this year.

I have a sibling, a younger brother. When strangers ask about him, I give them the basics: he's 24, likes swimming and reading, only wears green unless it's a Chinese holiday and then he wears red like everyone else. The follow-up questions are usually about if we were close as children, or if we're still close now. And then I feel inclined to tell them another basic fact, that he has Down's Syndrome.

Siblings day makes me recall things buried inside my memory. Some were stories that make me feel warm and happy, and some made me feel sad in a nostalgic sort of way. Most of them made me reflect on my experiences as a sister, and as someone with a "special needs" sibling. 

Growing up, my brother meant the world to me. Before he was born, I more or less insisted that he was a boy (despite beliefs that the baby was a girl), and to my absolute joy, I was right! I became a big sister when I was five, and was so excited to finally have a sibling to play with and boss around. 

the good old days.

Of course, it was a little more complicated than that. Gabriel was born with an extra chromosome, and my parents told me that things would be "different." He didn't really seem that different to me, though. He was an adorable baby with the biggest smile and the most uninhibited, gut-wrenching laugh. It took him a while to learn how to walk, so he was really chubby and adorable for the longest time. The perfect little brother, really.

I loved making him laugh. Playing with him was often my reward for finishing my homework and piano practice. We would climb and jump on the delicate furniture, race around the house on a purple plastic tricycle, dance (very badly) to our favourite Disney soundtracks. We played so many games in the evenings - lots of hide and seek, which was always fun because whenever he found me (and yes, I usually scared him) he would shriek with decibels and delight. When it was his turn to hide, he would pick really obvious spots - I would pretend not to see him and make a dramatic act out of looking everywhere else, and he would giggle loudly from his top-secret hiding place. Classic.

We always had separate rooms, but I loved tucking him in at night, making him laugh hysterically with silly words and phrases, like "nincompoop!" and "petunia!" I still like to tuck him in when I'm home. We're past the silly words, but I can still make him laugh. And up until my high school days, Gabe would wake up in the middle of the night and crawl into bed with me. He was a great alarm clock (ever the morning person), even though his snoring could be hard to sleep through at times.

And then, you know, we grew up. I became one of those sulky teenager things, then moved out of the state shortly after college graduation. Gabe grew up, too, in his own way. He graduated from high school a few years ago, and currently goes to a community college-type place that assigns him work. A few years ago, he got really sick with Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a disease that involves a low blood platelet count. Things have been hard for the family, and the recovery has taken a lot longer than expected, but Gabe has improved a lot, slowly but surely. My parents are great with him, keeping things organised, setting up weekly schedules with both fun and challenging activities, keeping a set routine that Gabe is comfortable and familiar with. Every time I visit my family, I am amazed at how smoothly everything is run.

Communication is challenging - Gabriel can talk, but not much, and it's difficult to have a conversation with him that doesn't feel mostly one-sided. (I should also add that I too have social hangups - not in the same way, but I am definitely not a talkative person, nor an engaging conversationalist even when it's necessary.) We video chat every now and then - it's usually a family affair, with my mom focusing the screen on Gabe while she does most of the talking. It's good to see his face, and I do miss him more than I let on.

My family has to talk about the future sometimes, which makes me sad. When Ben asked my parents for my hand in marriage, the conversation mostly revolved around the unfortunate fact that someday, Ben would be responsible for not just his wife, but also his brother-in-law. If anything happened to my parents, we would have custody of Gabe, and would either live with him, or live near his group community home, depending on the circumstances of course. These are all terrible situations that nobody likes to think of, but we have to, sometimes. It comes with the territory.

I am so grateful for Gabriel - for our relationship, for our history, for all the memories we've shared and will hopefully continue to make for many years to come. But as an adult, I look back on the day my parents told me about the extra chromosome, and I understand now. Things really are different. 

Ben and his sisters are adults. Family reunions are peppered with "remember whens" and multi-layered reminiscing. They can look back on stories that weren't so funny at the time, but after gaining perspective through the years, have developed a nostalgic air of comedy. They can collectively pool their memories and give their parents a good-natured hard time about questionable fashion choices and disciplinary action. I see this with my friends, too - siblings all grown up and laughing about their childhood memories. I miss this, and sometimes I find myself feeling a little jealous.

I realise that not all siblings are friends, or even cordial with each other - and that I'm lucky to have a brother that is a challenge to communicate with, rather than one I can't stand. A few of my friends have lost a sibling, which is horrible and tragic, and I am thankful that my brother and I are still living - even when there will come a day when one of us won't be.

Still, there are times when I feel lonely, almost like an only child. Mostly because I can't reminisce with Gabriel about our past. I don't know how much of our childhood he remembers, aside from flipping through old photo albums together and laughing at our regrettable 90's haircuts. Maybe he doesn't remember much. (He is a guy, after all.) Maybe he remembers more things than I do. (This could be a good thing.)

But maybe that's my responsibility. To do the reminiscing for both of us. To tell the stories I remember about our early days, and to share with our friends and family how amazing my brother is. It's not the same, but I'll take it.

Because sometimes it's okay if things are different.

CK

bomaderry and the grand pacific drive.

Last week was a pretty normal Thursday, when my supervisor called me into his office and asked if I'd be willing to travel to one of our job sites in Bomaderry, NSW.  The next morning I was up at 5 AM to catch a flight to Sydney for what ended up being a very long day trip.  Unfortunately, my visit turned out to be a bit premature as the work I was meant to oversee was delayed until Monday, so I flew back to Melbourne Friday evening, only to turn around again and fly back to Sydney early Monday for the 3 hour drive to site.  Yay for frequent flyer miles!

view of the sunrise from the plane

I only spent one night in Bomaderry and didn't have much time to explore, so really can't provide any insight on what it might offer travellers other than a good meal at the Bomaderry Bowling Club.

view from Lady Fuller Park rest area

On Tuesday afternoon I finished up my work at site early so had a few extra hours to travel back to the Sydney airport, and decided to enjoy a leisurely drive along the Grand Pacific Drive.  Bomaderry is situated near the southern end of the Drive, so it was a convenient location for me to jump on the road and see what the NSW equivalent of the Great Ocean Road had to offer.

The beginning of the Grand Pacific Drive wound through dense woods along the Shoalhaven River before emerging at beautiful Seven Mile Beach.  After snapping a quick photo, I continued on my way to Kiama, a charming town on the ocean full of cafes and apparently home to a popular tourist destination, the Kiama Blowhole.  Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of this when I drove through the town and missed seeing it, which turned out to be the theme of my drive: finding out too late that I had passed something worth seeing.

Seven Mile Beach

Coldale Beach Park

Bald Hill

After Kiama, the Grand Pacific Drive becomes a 6-lane highway through Wollongong, with hardly any views of the ocean.  Not exactly what I was expecting when I started on this drive, and definitely worth skipping in my opinion.  Things improved significantly once I traveled north of Bulli, as the drive once again ran along the ocean.  A few kms from Bulli I arrived quite suddenly at the Sea Cliff Bridge, which was the highlight of the drive.  The suddenness of my arrival was such that I rounded a bend and to my left were magnificent sheer cliffs dropping into the ocean.  This was finally a destination that I wanted to explore and appreciate, but the lack of any signs prior to my arrival meant it was many kms after the bridge before there was an opportunity to turn around.  I decided not to go back as I was a bit concerned about making my flight on time, so hopefully I'll have another chance to visit the cliffs again.

All in all, the Grand Pacific Drive is a refreshing break from the main freeway and features some really nice views.  Hopefully I'll have another chance to enjoy the drive someday and visit all the interesting things I missed!

BK

end of summer adventures.

The end of Melbourne summer is marked by a series of fun weekend festivals - from classics from the Moomba Festival, to tried and true events such as White Night.

The White Night festival is a really awesome all-night party (7pm-7am) featuring art, performances, and lots of incredible lighting displays. This year we managed to stay up late and enjoy the art and chaos without feeling too overwhelmed (last year the streets were so crazy that we decided to head home early and wake up at 3am to return to the festival). 

interactive street art mural

the city across the Yarra river

We walked all over town, avoiding the crowded main roads and making our way around the light exhibits and displays. A seven-metre long turtle puppet inspired by Cirque du Soleil greeted people at the Alexandra Gardens. Nearby, the new Audi TT was featured within illuminated columns of light, pulsating to electronic music.

"TOTEM Turtle" by Cirque du Soleil

"Audi Array"

The Old Melbourne Gaol, Melbourne's oldest prison, was the site for an exhibit called "The Seven Deadly Sins," a series of paintings depicting various sins and punishments. The Gaol is creepy enough as it is, but especially so in the middle of the night, with an eerie soundtrack and flanked by horrifying - yet detailed and stunning - artwork.

"7 Deadly Sins" at the creepy old Gaol

We stopped by Chinatown for some dumplings, and saw a crowd of people gathered in front of an outdoor screen for an all-night movie marathon featuring artsy films like "Kung Fu Panda" and "Rush Hour 2."

Chinatown

The Yarra River was transformed into a glowing lotus pond, with a floating stage of Bollywood-like performers, dancing to popular Indian songs. The upper terrace of Birrarung Marr was the location of "The Crucible," a series of pyrotechnic sculptures - a fire garden, and a huge metal dragon.

lotus pond

floating stage with dancers

elaborate fire garden

giant metal dragon

The Royal Exhibition Building was the canvas for "4 Elements," a dazzling video mapping projection show featuring two dancers interacting with artistic interpretations of wind, earth, water and fire. Flinder's Station was also illuminated with intricate projections. And Arts Centre Melbourne put on an awesome production called "Ghostly Machines," a haunting concept showcasing the various machinery typically used backstage for lighting and sound. The show began slowly and softly, but by the end the whole auditorium was ringing with rich sound and grand visuals of dancing soundboards, pipes and strobe lights. It was a great way to end our adventure at White Night 2015. Of course, there was so much more to see and do, but we were pretty exhausted by 1am, being old married folks and all.

Royal Exhibition Building

Flinder's Station

the ceiling of the Arts Centre, site of "Ghostly Machines"

On a separate weekend, the Docklands put on a small festival called "Summer Fest." We visited the area early on during the afternoon, and it wasn't crowded at all - but there was a neat stage out on the water, with a live band, a DJ in between sets, and a bunch of lawn chairs and seating arrangements for people to enjoy drinks from the bar.

This past weekend was the annual Moomba Festival, a three-day celebration of rides, watersports, entertainment, food, and culture. We also enjoyed this event last year, and definitely made it a priority to attend the infamous Birdman Rally, a hilarious competition in which people build contraptions to help them "fly" over the Yarra river. Whoever "soars" over the most metres (and raises the most money - this is also a charitable event) wins the title! We saw a few fun contestants, including a collection of balloons inspired by Disney's "Up," various cardboard wings and gliders, and a huge Elephant contraption that sadly lost its head even before landing in the water.

one of the Birdman Rally contestants, plunging into the Yarra

Moomba rides, including an awesome double-decker carousel!

The Moomba Parade is always on the Monday of the festival weekend (Labour Day in Victoria), which we didn't attend in person, but happily watched on television from the comfort of our living room. This is one of my favourite parades, as most of the floats are actually designed by imaginative children, who are also interviewed by television personalities about their creative intentions. We saw everything from Noah's Ark with a giant shark gracing the front of the boat, to an enormous hand drawn rabbit, to a robot dancing on a platter of pizza. Amazing.

We're sad to see summer come to an end - it's been a great season, and Melbourne knows how to make the best of it for sure.

CK