March 24, 2005

This morning we had a short drive from Charlestown to Dee Why. It was a pleasant drive with a stop for brekky at a truck stop cafe. Getting into Dee why was interesting, as we hadn't traversed many suburb roads. We made it with little trouble except for some traffic.

Seeing my old friend Carol again was like we'd never been apart. We had a lovely afternoon with her and Vincent. They took us first to the largest mall in Australia, maybe even the Southern Hemisphere, where we had our first fish and chips of the trip. Why we've waited so long we don't know but it was really good. Being with true Aussies is a real advantage. Up until now I had heard of the Easter Bilby but hadn’t seen one. Carol was able to take me right to them, nice chocolate ones. They had small ones and large ones, solid and hollow; they were all adorable. I chose a small one without the colored tinfoil. I thought it was the cutest. We are not going to eat it until Easter Sunday, just three days away. Carol also knew where I could find a small stuffed bilby. I've been looking for one for the last two weeks. We found it at the Australian Geographic store. After our trip to the mall, Carol and Vincent took us up the north beaches to Palm beach where we saw some gorgeous coast line with lots of people surfing and sunning on the beaches. It was a lovely ride.

As you know, Andy has been looking for a sporting event the whole three weeks we've been here with no luck. Games are always on days when we're not in town. Andy had basically given up hope. He'd even checked for events in Sydney these last couple of days, but he couldn't find one. Well, being with folks who live here has many advantages. One of which was that Vincent, being an avid sports fan as most Aussies are, knew exactly when and where a rugby match will be. So, tomorrow night the Wood family is going to rugby! Our good fortune in Australia continues.

In the evening we went to a very special restaurant. It is a South African restaurant in Manly, called Ribs and Rumps. Vincent is a South African who immigrated to Australia many years ago, so he was able to recommend the sausage from South Africa. It and the rest of the meal was excellent, and great conversation was delightful. We were able to ask Vincent and Carol questions we had been wondering all along our trip, like"What is the Anzac spirit?" "What was the hardest thing to get used to when you moved to Australia?" It turns out that the Anzac spirit goes back to the First World War and celebrates the soldiers who fought bravely for Australia. The hardest things for Carol to get used to were the roundabouts and some of the corporate culture that keeps one from speaking out as much as we're used to in front of management. We learned more with a few hours of conversation with these two than in the three weeks we've been here. It was a lot of fun. Carol and Vienna had a great exchange about Vienna’s interest in Michael Jackson and in his case. Both made some great points and were able to stand their ground. It was interesting to watch.

We finished the day off with some Australian TV. We've been watching a fair amount of TV in motel rooms - Andy loves Aussie commercials - but it's interesting watching with real Australians who know what's good and what's not. We got to see The Footy Show, a late-night comedy show all about sports. Australians are even more fanatic about sports than we are in the US. It was fun to see their take on sports like rugby, netball, cricket and other sports we've never heard of. Vincent and Carol were kind enough to let us sleep over. They've given us very comfortable accommodations and we are looking forward to a full day tomorrow. We'll relax in the morning and then in the evening it's off to rugby!

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