The VERY Blue Lake

Here is our next stop, lunch at a picnic table over-looking the Blue Lake in Mount Gambier, South Australia. This lake is obscurely blue. Go to my link to see it next a 'normal' lake. I was very excited because it is only blue from November to March and last time I saw it in July 2002, it was gray. The fairly large city of Mount Gambier utilises the lake for its drinking water.

I couldn't get the whole lake in my photograph, uurrggh.

Sorry Caleb, the water doesn't come out of the faucet blue!

Naracoorte Caves National Park

As it is summer here in Oz and school is out, YEAH, we went on a holiday with my friend Michele who was visiting from Chicago. Our trip was one that Damian and I had done before, in fact my second week in Australia back in 2002 was the only time we've traveled this fantastic route called The Great Ocean Road. This coastal road connects Adelaide and Melbourne (the long way) and is considered one of the most beautiful trips on earth! The official Great Ocean Road is all in Victoria(the next state east of South Australia, with the city of Melbourne). Therefore we had to drive 8 hours the first day in order get to the beginning of the best bits of coastal drive. On our first day we made 2 stops, The Naracoorte Caves and The Blue Lake. The caves are made of limestone rock and were formed by sea life many moons ago (800,000 years) when the coast line was here (now the coastline is 56 miles/91 kilometers from Naracoorte).

Damian & Michele going down into the Wet Cave

Notice the greenish enormous rock hanging from the roof just above Damian's head!

The wet Cave was very moist (sorry Laura) and you could see and hear trickles of water all around. This was not as very far under ground compared to the next cave, but it was a huge drop in temperature from ground level. The day was VERY hot (close to 100 degrees) and the flys were out of control! Sometimes, not often, there is a very annoying infestation of flys (blow flys as they say in Oz) in South Australia (much more common in other parts) and we are constantly waving our arms to shoo them away which makes you even hotter! Anyway, as soon as we started down those steps, the flys stayed above ground and the air was cool!!! I did not want to leave!

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The Alexandra Cave

The last four photographs are of the Alexandra Cave which is very far underground and we had climb down VERY steep steps to get down into this pitch dark cave (don't worry sobrinos, there are lights everywhere so you can see your way). Our guide turned off the lights for a moment so we could see how dark it really was, I couldn't see my hand in front of my face!

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the ceiling

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Halfway There!!!

Here are the lovely people I have been spending many hours with this year at university. Having fellow student teachers helps immensely with my sanity and happiness! With the exception of Anthony, these are all student teachers studying Spanish, like me! This also makes for an even better year as learning a language can often times be difficult and nerve-racking. We here at a lovely Italian restaurant and then a nearby pub all in Adelaide city center to celebrate the end of our second year of uni!!!

Kate is the brunette who inspires me to be organized and has been my partner in several Spanish role-plays. She is also studying drama and has helped curb my stage fright. Anna, the blond, is my twin in procrastination. Anna and I often procrastinate together and then cram and freak-out together at the last minute, it is a very healthy relationship. She is a fellow Swede!!! Unfortunately for me, she is leaving to frolic all over Europe for a year :-(

Anthony doesn't speak Spanish, so I'm not sure why we converse with him! Oh yeah, he keeps us laughing!!! He also has the biggest heart and looks after us with immense kindness...and sarcasm! Lauren with the long brown hair and even longer legs makes Anna, Kate & I look like midgets! She is also going to Europe, but thankfully she will be back in time for year 3!!! She speaks German and Norwegian, so another language, why not?

Our Hood

I have been living in Adelaide for almost 3 years and I haven't taken many pictures of my neighborhood. Usually the camera only comes out on occasions with friends or when we leave Adelaide for a holiday. Lately I've been taking photos of this place that is now so familiar that I needed to step back and think about the fact that I am here, in AUSTRALIA!!! So here are photos of our neighborhood and what we see when we walk out the door. We live in walking distance to the beach and a busy precinct called Glenelg.



These photos are of the square in the heart of Glenelg

The camels come out on the weekends for the kids. Glenelg is very touristy in summer, and lovely, quiet and all ours' the rest of the year. I have a different outlook on seagulls since I've lived here. As you can see they surround you if you are eating, especially hot chips (french fries). This is a tame scene here, they get vicious and come very close, making loud screeches towards one another in a fight for the chip! This is obviously due to people feeding them like my husband!!! My mom read us this beautiful poem-of-a-book when we were kids called Jonathon Livingston Seagull which romanticizes the life of the seagull, life before chips!

There is a cool fountain in the middle of the square. Water randomly shoots out of several holes in the ground.

As we walk along the beach there is a Guest House that is very colorful and silly. Damian thought Caleb, Elijah and Micaiah would like to see it.

The walk is very beautiful especially with the enormous pine trees keeping us a little cooler

Here is our home. We live in an apartment building with 4 units and lovely neighbors

Ours is on the 2nd floor

Edible Gold

I'm not polishing my bottles of wine in Rosetta's back garden

One of my favorite things about living in Adelaide is my access to cheap edible gold!!!

This is the yummiest olive oil grown and produced locally and we buy it in bulk! This is a 20 litre bottle (5.3 gallons) that we syphon into wine bottles for easier access. Last year we took the 20 litre container to the hardware store and had a tap put in the side of the container, unfortunately after a few months a slow leak appeared and we lost a bit of our 'gold'. Fortunately I noticed early on and we ended up doing this process of funneling into other containers.

One of Damian's childhood friends married into a family that produces their own olive oil, wine, bread and every other lovely Italian staple needed for a life of contentment! These olives are grown about 45 minutes drive from our house and this has become a yearly production for us.

Here they are pouring from the tray used to catch the precious spillage

Damian's lovely mum, Rosetta, helped out with her expertise and her dishwasher, so I didn't have to wash all the bottles by hand. I had already done my part emptying the bottles of their contents!! I shared the efforts of emptying these wine bottles with many, including Laura from Chicago, Ben the cyclist, Kate my compañera and Damian may have had a sip or two.

Believe me this olive oil is worth the trouble. This is a lick-your-fingers-if-you-dribble olive oil!

Rosetta is trying to get Damian to smile

He enjoys the olive oil more than the work

Charity Ride in 100 degrees!!!

Damian, Ben(Damian's childhood friend and now mine too) and I decided to cycle for charity last weekend and it was HOT!!!! This non-for-profit organization provides medical care and transport for those in remote locations needing medical attention. Australia is very similar in size to mainland America but most people live on the coast as most of the country is very harsh terrain. For the few that do live in the dry, hot middle of Oz or for those who travel through it, can rely on these flying doctors to come to their rescue if they are in an accident, bit by a snake or a million other scenarios. Our very good friends John and Michelle work for this charity and we proudly support them where we can. I talked Damian and Ben into cycling for the cause as I did it last year. They thought they were doing a 12k (7.5 miles), which is considered the Family Ride. I had other plans and bullied them into the 28k(17 miles), which is still not very far, but on a 100 degree day, it was plenty. Also Ben and Damian aren't as enthusiastic as I am about cycling, but they did it!!

Here we are the night before the ride after dinner in a local pub in Clare. The area where the ride took place is called Clare Valley which is about 2 hours north of Adelaide. It is a beautiful wine region where they are known for their Rieslings.

The sun is oh-so hot down here, even on cool days the strong rays can be felt. Lots of sunscreen if you want to remain youthful looking like Ben here.

This cycling trail is called the Riesling Trail as it winds through all the local vineyards allowing for a break at each winery to taste a bit of the local grog.

Halfway!!!




As you can see I took most of these pictures, and I did it while riding circles around these slow pokes

O'Leary Walker winery

The finish line!!!
Sevenhill winery

Damian was a little closer behind me

Now time for some wine and festivities...

...and a snooze.

A very appreciative thank you to everyone who sponsored us.

A few of my favorite green things...

Damian says I'm a nerd for this next entry to 'our' blog. OK I am!!!

As many of you now, I pride myself at being environmentally mindful. I feel even more passionate now that I am studying this topic at university. I will hopefully be a teacher in a couple of years and part of the teaching degree is specialising in two subjects, for which I have chosen Spanish and Environmental Studies. I get very excited when I discover new ways to be more 'green'. Australia has several standard 'green' ways of life that I want to brag about. As with many things in Australia, I am sure you are able to get them in the U.S., but here they are as common as a toaster and sometimes even mandatory. I know I have a few friends and family who also feel passionately about the environment, so these photos are for your interest especially.

Obviously this is the power outlet. The energy efficiency comes in when you are finished using an appliance. For example, if you turn off the switch, no more energy is being used. Good for the environment and your wallet! This is the only way outlets are installed in Australia. So much energy is used from appliances that are turned 'off' but still are plugged in. It takes a little getting used to but now it is second nature, like driving on the 'wrong' side of the road!!

Here is what we call an electric kettle. "I'll put the kettle on", says Damian's mum when she is making a cup of tea. This one I will be looking for when we move to the U.S. This is probably more common than a toaster. It heats up water very quickly via electricity. Because it does it so quickly (faster than a stove and probably the same time as a microwave, but more convenient and energy efficient) it is better for the environment. I use it daily, whenever I need hot water (for pasta, tea, steam veggies, etc.).

Here is the top of a toilet and currently this is the only way to buy a toilet in Australia. There is a number 1 button and a number 2 button. For those that don't get it, the half circle uses less water for when you wee!

This photo is just for fun. In many houses, particularly the older ones, the doorknobs are unusually high when compared to ours in the U.S. This is in our apartment with a lovely etching of a Kookaburra (an indigenous bird to Australia that makes a unique laughing sound) on the glass door to our living room. All the doorknobs in the apartment are at this height!

A great website to do your part for the environment:
http://www.freecycle.org/

For those interested, I will add links along the way to great websites concerning the environment, as I am constantly researching these issues for university.