A Stop at Erskine Falls

While traveling the Great Ocean Road with the Keys, we stopped for a short hike at Erskine Falls near Lorne. We hadn't been here before, but I'd highly recommend it as a stop along the drive. It's a great place to see bright green plants, including huge ferns, and a big waterfall without much walking.

Straw Falls

We did hike a little further than the general viewing area near Erskine Falls and found Straw Falls. To get there, Zack and I took the more exciting path across the log. I even Tebowed on it. Zack and his dad climbed halfway up the rocks here, and then we headed back to the car to continue our Great Ocean Road trip. You can see many more pictures on my Shutterfly page (link in the top corner of the blog). This quick stop was worth it-check out Erskine Falls if you get the chance!

Erskine Falls from above.

Great Ocean Road with the Keys

On the first weekend the Keys were here, we took them down the Great Ocean Road. Here are some of the highlights...

Taking pictures in front of the beautiful views (Eagle Rock).

Spotting an echidna.

Checking out Split Point Lighthouse.

Seeing a blue tongued lizard.

Viewing tons of koalas on Cape Otway Road.

Staying the night across from Lorne Beach.

Admiring the Twelve Apostles.

Hooray for the Great Ocean Road!

Belated Christmas Dinner with a View

The Keys at Sails on the Bay.

In late January, as a belated Christmas present, we took Zack's parents out to dinner at Sails on the Bay, a beachside restaurant in the nearby suburb of Elwood. We also celebrated my birthday a few days early. We had some good food and a great view of the beautiful sunset that night!

View out the window at Sails on the Bay.

More Keys in Australia

For a couple of weeks in January, we weren't the only Keys in Australia! Zack's dad and stepmom came to visit and go to the Australian Open, and we had fun showing them around our new home. The picture to the left is the welcome table I had ready for them at our place when they arrived. You can see their personalized Cokes. I also made an Aussie themed dinner with kangaroo kebobs, lamb cutlets, chips with sour cream and chili sauce, salad, rolls, and vanilla slice for dessert. Yummy.

On one of the weekends, we headed out to the Yarra Valley region to visit some wineries. Instead of doing the major big ones, we hit up some of the smaller ones in Seville. It was nice to get personalized attention and not fight the crowds, and we enjoyed a platter of cheese and meats in the sunshine after our wine tasting at Seville Estate.

Zack's dad and Vickie posing with the Wine Dogs book-open to a page that looks like Molly!

This dog lives at the winery, and she's featured in a book of other winery dogs. I had fun playing with her and practicing taking pictures with my new lens (a Christmas present from the Keys-thanks!).

Lots more blog posts to come...check back daily!

Why My Mom is Cooler than Your Mom

Because even though I'm 33 years old and live on a different continent, she sends me care packages and random things like this in the mail!

The Australian Open

Can you tell that it is summer here? So hot!

Woohoo-my computer is FINALLY fixed! I'm not even going to go into the things I had to do to get it to work; I'm just happy it does. Anyway, back to the blogging. For two weeks in January, the Australian Open was the focus of Melbourne and much of the world. Zack's dad and stepmom flew into town and enjoyed several days of tennis. I joined them on Tuesday of the first week with a grounds pass, which allows you to see several matches on various courts throughout the day.

Dokic (Australian) and her Russian opponent wore the same outfit! The Aussie won. 

I'm not sure I've ever actually watched a full match of tennis. I pretty much knew the rules and how the game worked, but I've never sat down and really paid attention. I'll admit; I got kind of hooked! There were many late nights over the next week and a half as I stayed up to watch the ends of matches on television.

Players would stop and sign these giant tennis balls after their matches.

I've never been to a tennis tournament, but the Australian Open seemed extremely well organized and executed. The ball kids were especially impressive; you could tell they had been carefully trained. The crowds were fun, shouting "Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi" and leading slow motion and extra-fast waves. But when the tennis players played, people were so quiet! 

On Tuesday evening, Zack joined us after work at the Rod Laver Arena to watch the evening matches between Aussie favorite Lleyton Hewitt and a German guy and then Serena Williams versus an Austrian. Hewitt's match lasted nearly four hours; we were exhausted just watching it! But he won in the end.

Some of these serves are around 200 km/hour (123 miles/hour)!

Lleyton Hewitt wins his match after nearly four hours!

It was a warm summer night, and after spending all day sweating in the sun, I was tired by midnight. But I was excited to stay and see Serena Williams. She is a beast! Seriously, she is built like a man-so muscular and strong. She's actually won the Australian Open a few times (not this year). But she easily beat her opponent in the first set on the night we were there, so we headed home to get to bed at nearly 2 am!

Overall, the Australian Open was pretty cool, and it was a neat to be a part of the action. I'm glad Melbourne hosts such a major event and that tickets weren't too difficult to get. I've definitely learned to understand and appreciate tennis much more.

When My Computer is Fixed...

The Australian mail service continues to be unimpressive (though the ladies at the post office are very nice). I still have not received the disk from Apple so I can reinstall my hard drive and this computer will work on a regular basis. At the moment, it is allowing me to type, but if I even try to open iPhoto, I know the whole thing will freeze up. Yesterday, I couldn't even get the computer to turn on. The Apple office that sent the disk is located in Tasmania; I wish I could just hop on the overnight ferry and go get it myself! Alas, I must wait. They tell me it will be here by tomorrow at the latest.

When my computer is fixed, here are the entries I need to catch up on (you are eagerly looking forward to these, right?):

-Australian Open
-Big Day Out
-Zack's parents' visit (Great Ocean Road)
-Australia Day
-my birthday
-boat ride down the Yarra River
-the rest of my Uluru trip

I hate falling behind, but such is life. I hope to be up and running again soon!