A surprise in the mail

There are a few surprises which one typically comes home to after a long vacation, some unpleasant item forgotten about in the fridge or an overgrown garden, or the odd changes to the neighborhood that have happened while you are away.

We came back from vacation facing overanxious dogs, a garden full of weeds, a line of neighbors wanting to hear about our (particularly Bella's) travels over the last couple of weeks, and of course a stack of mail. There was the typical pink card from the post office notifying us of a package that had arrived while we were away, and required one of us to head down to the Post Office during regular business hours and pick it up. Laura finally got around to that today, getting there just before closing. We had no idea who it was from, or what it could be until we got the box back at the house since there was no indication on the notice.

When I came home, Laura told me that she had a chance to get to the PO today and pick up our package and that it was still in the car. She left it for me to open since it had a Point lookout, New York return address. I kind of had an idea who it was from since my friend Mush back home did send me an e-mail asking for our address a few weeks ago, but when I opened the box and saw the meticulous packing, I was sure. Words cannot describe the feeling that came over me when I made my way through the box and unfolded the quilt.

It looks as if Mush spent a lot of time thinking about this with her choice of fabrics and designs trying to capture nearly everything from my life that influenced me in choosing the name Bellatrix.
"A Star is Born" made for Bellatrix, Born Feb 11, 2009, By Mush Masters, Point Lookout, NY Feb 2010.

Wombat!

Fat and Happy! (we're referring to the wombat, not any of us)

Kangaroos Galore!

Pinnacles

We visited the Nambung National Park to see the pinnacles. They are quite a sight! The protrusions are made of limestone. The weather was perfect and the sunset was gorgeous! Compared to Kimberly's cold visit, we enjoyed the much milder weather.





Notice the WILD emu in the second picture!

Margaret River

You would expect the dedicated traveler to a country’s signature wine region to really take advantage of the time and sample wine after wine, going from one vineyard to the next trying to get in as many as time would allow, but with a 13 month-old in tow, the perspective changes drastically. Instead of enjoying the fine bouquet, or savoring the subtleties of flavor, we are taking a few quick sips, and trying to find the next big distraction for both Bella and Chloe. We can only keep them entertained with a couple of toys or crawling around on a patch of perfectly manicured grass for so long before we have to find either a swing or some kind of food. We did however get top two vineyards: Clairault and Driftwood, as well as a local micro brewery during our 3-½ day stay.

Actually, these pictures are of our visit to the Swan Valley wine region which is just about 30 minutes away from Perth. You get the idea though...adults lallygagging and enjoying the wine with a laid-back, casual attitude with a baby that has a different idea. Convincing her to drink milk while mommy and daddy drink wine is easier said than done.

Cape Naturaliste Reserve and Light House

Our second day in the region started at the Cape Naturaliste Light House shortly after breakfast. Well, not really just after breakfast since the girls typically get us up at or before 7, and breakfast is usually over by 8, but today we actually stretched breakfast out for a while enjoying grill-cooked chorizo sausage and eggs for fresh breakfast burritos. We had a few hours to kill yet since the lighthouse didn’t open until 10. We really got a sense of how “young” Australia is with the descriptions of how life was at this lighthouse not even 100 years ago. Back when it was built in 1902-3, the keepers had a 10 hour journey on horseback to the nearest town to get supplies. Back then, this was a very isolated place, but important for navigation, as many ships sailing West from Eastern Australia had wrecked on the rocks not too far from shore here. Today, it is fully automated replacing the whale oil light with an electric bulb and hand-wound clockwork rotating mechanism with an electric motor, but fortunately kept its original Fresnel lens assembly; something not often seen back in the US.

After the tour, we took a break for tea and then went in two directions: Kimberly & Marc took Chloe back to the suite for her nap, but we opted to keep exploring since Bella naps well in her car seat, and Kimberly & Marc have seen most of the area on one or two previous trips.

Wild Boing Boing!

(Matt and I wrote out our experiences while traveling and I'm just now posting so when we say "today" we really mean two weeks ago. Also, I can't figure out what's going on with blogger, but when I post a picture I can't see it until I publish it so I can't really comment on exactly where we are or what we're doing.)

We saw our first wild kangaroo today on the side of the road - not jumping around, but dead on the side of the road. They’re synonymous to wild deer for us back in the US; living in the forests just about anywhere and considered pests in urbanized environments. We don’t think they are pests at all, but rather an interesting part of the local landscape characterizing this place from everywhere else in the world. Kimberly and Marc’s daughter Chloe calls them “boing-boings”, so we have warmly adopted the term ourselves.

We spent the day traveling to Yallingup in the Margaret River wine region of South West Australia which is about 3 and a half hours South of Perth. Yallingup is a quiet little beach community catering mainly to surfers and weekend beach-goers. Matt successfully drove on the other side of the road. We used the GPS in his phone to help guide our way even though we were following Kimberly and Marc. The Smiths Beach Resort is beautiful! A neat secluded pool and a gorgeous view of the ocean from our suite.

We walked on the beach before dinner with Bella in the back pack sling, or “ergo“. The sand was white and thick; quite difficult to walk in from the sidewalk down to the water. The waves were big and a jewel-colored green. Surfers waited for the ‘big one’ and a couple of dogs played on the shore waiting for their masters to come in for the day. On our return walk we saw a real LIVE “boing boing” crossing the street (without getting hit by a car). It was from a distance with the sun behind it so we only saw the large silhouette of the kangaroo. (We’re hoping to see a platypus soon!) We barbequed lamb “popsicles” and enjoyed time together eating out on the balcony. Bella and Chloe drove all the other potential outside diners away with their wails.

sand hater

Have you ever watched two magnets repel each other when you try bringing them together? Well, that is about what Bella’s feet are like when you are holding her above the sand on the beach and lower her towards it; she tries to pull her legs up and move her feet all around trying to avoid them from touching the sand. Laura calls it “tactily defensive” meaning that she fights to avoid the sense of touch.

Bella and I are sitting under a "sculpture" on Cottesloe Beach. See the sculptures from a year ago on Kimberly's blog here.



Bella loved fish and chips on the beach just about as much as she loved playing with the paper that dinner was wrapped in! Notice the yellow fish sculpture in the background. It was so great to see the beach decorated with these odd ornaments.

Kimberly and I with babies hanging out on Cottesloe Beach. This beach is a 15 minute walk through the neighborhood from Kimberly's house. And yes, the ocean breezes can be felt in their backyard in the afternoons.

escape

We‘re here! We’re on the other side of the world, not just on the other side, like in Russia, but other side and other end; about as far away from Houston as one can reasonably get. We crossed the equator and our seasons are flipped.

Let me tell you about the flights. From Houston to Dubai is a 14 and a half hour flight however it only felt like a 5 hour flight to us. The hardest part was take off for Bella; she cried quite a bit. She had to be in her own seatbelt which was attached to my seatbelt. We gave her bottle, but by the time we taxi and think we’re going to take off it’s gone - sucked dry.

When they brought out the bassinet, things got much better. She liked to sit and watch people and play peek-a-boo with her tiny blanket, (which is a puppy “lovey” that we’ve named “Fat Head” ). I ordered vegetarian meals which always arrived 20 minutes before the other meals so Matt could feed Bella some of my food, then when Matt’s food came, I could entertain Bella while he ate. It worked out perfectly, except that the veggie food isn’t all that great (lots of different spices and lots of spinach). Bella fell asleep pretty easily in my lap then we\transferred her to the bassinet. She just barely fit and she slept for hours and so did we. Turbulence was problematic, not that it bounced us around that much, but because we had to wake up Bella and put her back in the seatbelt on my lap. Honestly, before I knew it, we had an hour left on the flight! The time flew by! We landed in Dubai and everyone clapped. The proper airline attendants we interesting to watch because they were so formal.

When we arrived in Dubai, we exited the plane and Bella got to borrow an Emirates Maclaren stroller to get around in the airport. Customs was a breeze and very interesting to stare at men in their white dresses as uniforms. Stamp, stamp, stamp. We now all have a UAE stamp in our passport. Off to the hotel for a bite to eat and sleep. Everyone was very nice and accommodating to Bella who was the only baby we saw the entire time we were in Dubai. She wasn’t a huge fan of the Middle Eastern food (neither was I) but we both liked the spaghetti with pesto.

Back on the plane again after a 9 hour break. The Aussies are calm, cool, relaxed. There was no pushing or squeezing to get in line to board the plane. Same seats, same drills. Cry at take off, calm in the bassinet, play, eat, sleep. We were trying to stay awake on this flight because it would be considered “day” for us, but Bella and I both slept a lot…or at least the first few hours. Matt woke us up when we had 5 hours to go. The last hour and a half were the hardest because we were so excited to arrive and see Kimberly and Chloe. We landed and collected our luggage and then through customs. “Laura C & family” was the sign that greeted us. A short ride later, we got to hug Kimberly - for real!!! Pizza and wine and a tour of the house.

Bella was medicine-free during the flights, but we used some at night to make sure night was night. Ahhh! The beginning of vacation.