MotoGP baby!

We were invited to MotoGP testing by John Hopkins, seated in leathers in back of race pits.

Kay and I were sitting in a restaurant in Cowes Australia, which is located on Phillips Island. We saw a group of Japanese guys with Repsol Honda shirts walk in for dinner and I thought "holy cow, they were here for MotoGP testing!" Sure enough, I checked the Internet and several teams were here for testing, including Nickey Hayden, John Hopkins and Casey Stoner. We tried to get in to watch the next day but no luck.




Casey Stoner, world champion, rocketing past at 150mph on the front straight - IN THE RAIN


Being resourceful, we decided to try the same restaurant the next night and were seated right next to MotoGP rider John Hopkins!!! We chatted with him a bit and he invited us to the track the next day. No way was I going to pass up this opportunity. These are the BEST riders in the world on the most expensive, one-off race bikes made - basically Formula 1 for motorcycles.

There were only a handful of non-team personell there and we had full access to the track and pits. It was raining most of the day but I got several good pics. Unfortunately I didn't have my top level gear but was happy anyway. Kay was floored by the noise and the speed as these guys rocketed past on the front straight at 150 mph IN THE POURING RAIN! Pretty darn cool.

2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden pulling into pits 3' in front of me.

Kay gathering seashells

One of Kay's favorite pastimes is gathering seashells. She has quite a collection.

Aussie bicyclist

Kay and I were traveling along a remote country road in southern Australia when we came across this Sydney schoolteacher who was bicycling basically the same route were were taking - in the same amount of time!

Termite hills

Traveling along dirt roads in the many national forests, we ran across these huge mounds that at first we did not know what they were. Later we learned they were termite hills.

Day 3 & 4 - Kangaroo's

Day 3 & 4 – Kangaroo’s at Last

After Wollongong, we headed south along the coast, cutting off the main highway every chance we got to hug the coastline, wonder at the abundant and pristine beaches, and cruise through small towns and communities along the coast. On a tip from a local, we stopped in Kiami, a nice tourist-oriented town south of Wollongong. There we spent the afternoon shopping, eating fresh seafood, and enjoying the bright sunshine. Kay had her hair done while I sat around and did a bit of reading. The weather is just stunning, with temps in the mid 70’s during the day and upper 60’s at night.


Kay shopping in Kiama

Think we will be swimming with sharks?

It is interesting to note how similar yet different Australia is compared to the United States. Some things are very nice, such as meat pies, (why don’t we have those – YUMMY), smaller cars, outstanding coffee, excellent beer, and a more relaxed way of life. But other things seem to be way behind the times. First off, it is surprisingly difficult to find Internet service of any kind in Australia. I was taken aback about this. I had planned on posting more often and of actually doing work while we were gone. But most hotels do NOT have Internet. Maybe 1 in 50 coffee shops have Internet, and in the smaller towns I doubt anyone has Internet at all. What Internet I have been able to find is VERY SLOW, about like dial-up in America. The people here don’t really seem to mind or care, although some of the younger folks I spoke with wish they had access to high speed Internet. In America it is just part of our everyday culture – every Starbucks has Internet, almost every hotel has Internet, many coffee shops and private business have Internet. Australia seems to be 10 years behind us in this respect.

NOTE: Just this morning we found they have a McDonald’s in Merimbula, where we are spending two nights. And good old America, they have wireless high speed Internet. Hurray!

It is also nearly impossible to find a fountain drink in Australia. I have seen one soda fountain in Sydney during the entire time we have been here. You get your drinks out of a bottle here. They have a very wide selection of unusual drinks, but all in a bottle. Makes me wonder how Sonic would do here? NOTE: Thank you McDonald’s in Merimbula once again.

Local drinks in a bottle are the norm. It is VERY difficult to find ANY fountain drinks - except for McDonald's - yeehaaw!

Don't want to be taking Pipis away from the beach!



The third night we stayed in Uladulla – every town here has a totally strange name. We found a nice hotel right on the beach. It was a bit cool that evening so we were not able to swim but did have nice walk.
The next morning we were up early and off south again along the coast. Our goal was to find Pebbly Beach, where we heard you can see wild kangaroo’s playing in the surf. To get there required about 20 miles of dirt road, which was no big deal for us. Several times we stopped to marvel at these large mounds of dirt in the middle of the forest.

Finally we arrived at our destination. It is a spectacular, secluded beach that can only be reached via dirt roads. This was our day to spend on the beach, playing in the cool ocean and exploring the surrounding area. We met a family from Sydney and they introduced us to the local Kangaroos. We also explored steep cliffs that had rocks over 240 million years old.

Kay petting kangaroos on Pebbly Beach




After a good sunburn and salt water, we had a sandwich with our new friends in their cabin and then we were off south again, to spend the night in the port town of Bateman’s Bay. Our accommodations there were just OK, nothing to write home about. After a stroll through town and dinner on the wharf, we departed the next morning bright and early for more interesting points south.

More pictures below:

The view from our hotel in Uladulla



All kinds of colorful birds live in Australia. This laurakeet landed on our window sill.




Kay stopping to purchase fruit at a local farmer's stand.




We found huge termite hills in the countryside.




Like usual, we took quite a few back roads, including gravel and dirt.



The local were out enjoying Australia Day on Saturday. Kind of like our 4th of July.




Even I get in the picture every now and then.



Kay exploring a rocky outcropping at Pebbly Beach.

Kay about to get splashed by a big wave!

Ahh, the results. A bad hair day.

The LONG flight

After spending the day in Los Angeles, we boarded our flight on Qantas for Australia around midnight PST (2 am Oklahoma time). This was my first flight on a 747 and it is HUGE! As we entered, we were directed to the back - ALL the way to the back, row 75, the very last row in the airplane. Tail end charlie. Back by the restrooms. Where the tail goes up and down and all around in turbulence.

Kay snoozing in LAX




Not only the back row, but we were in the middle seats of the back row. Every time we wanted to get up, we had to disturb our neighbor. No stretching in the aisle. When we first sat down, there was a pleasant looking girl in the seat next to Kay. The seat next to me was empty. As time for our departure arrived, I was thinking "oh boy, an empty seat to stretch out in". As the last few people boarded, we would watch them move to the back of the airplane, searching for their seat, and then breathe a sigh of relief as they found it and our empty seat remained that way.

Our luck would not hold however. Right before they closed the doors we saw a 300 lb orthodox rabbi lumbering down the aisle, looking for his seat. Kay and I both could feel a sense of foreboding as he ambled closer and closer, looking for his seat. I told Kay "just our luck" and sure enough, Mr Rabbi with the black coat, pony-tail looking things hanging down beside his head, black hat and bible or something cluthed in his hand, wedged his sweating body into the seat next to ME!!! ARRGH! Fourteen hours with an overweight sweating orthodox rabbi crammed into the seat next to me. Kay won't walk on the right side of me for a week because of the all the rabbi sweat on my elbow.

Our sweaty Rabbi buddy




Finally about midnight we rumbled off into the Pacific sky, bound for Sydney, on a long overwater flight that would see us cross the International Date Line. I was amazed the 747-400 could lumber off the runway, a jam packed complement of passengers and enough fuel to keep 4 giant engines running for 14 hours straight.


The very LAST row on the airplane.





Although the flight was very long and packed, the fact that we were very tired, along with the food and seatback TV, made the flight much more bearable. Kay and I could snooze and lean on each other while I rubbed elbows with my sweaty rabbi friend. He barely spoke broken English and it must have been against his religous beliefs to watch TV or read anything other than his book written in Hebrew. I am guessing it was a bible, but it had no pictures and obviously had no idea what it said. He uttered maybe 5 words the entire flight. What a pleasant fellow.

There were times crossing the Pacific Ocean that we encountered pretty significant turbulance. I think being in the very, very tail of the airplane made this worse, as we were pitched up and down and all around for sometimes an hour at a time. Most of the trip was at night so there was nothing to really see.

Finally we made our approach into Sydney, dead tired but excited. The famous Sydney Opera house was on our left, glowing in the early morning sunlight. Of course, unload from the plane took some time, since we were the LAST ones to get off. ARGGH! Customs was surprisingly easy, then we were on our way to the rental car.


Customs was fairly easy except for the long line.




Note to self. They drive on the WRONG side of the road in Australia.

But I was OK with that. No problem. Kay, you are driving, right? I am the navigator.

That was probably the most challenging part of the trip, learning to drive. Not only is the steering wheel on the right side, but all the roads are backwards, the turn signals are swapped, your site picture is wrong, it is just really challenging. Kay drove while I tried to figure out where in the heck we were going, which lane we should be in, and how to not get us killed or at best crash the rental car. Kay and I both were a nervous wreck, after 48 hours of very little sleep and then driving on the WRONG DANG SIDE OF THE ROAD!! Kay and I snapped at each other incessantly for the first hour.

"Turn left, turn left, turn LEFT!"

"You have to turn into the OTHER lane!"

"Quit yelling at me."

"Watch out for the curb." CRUNCH "Did you get insurance?" "No, I thought you did."

Our vacation was off to a challenging beginning.

Finally we got out of Sydney after a few stops to change money and figure out directions. Luckily I had brought a GPS with Australian roads, which helped immensly. On our drive south along the coast we stopped at several places to sightsee. My first impression of Australia is that of Oklahoma in the 1980's. They seem to be behind the times in terms of technology and modernism. The roads are narrow and crowded. But as we got into more of the rural areas, it was very quaint and the people are very pleasant. Our first night we spent in Wollangong on the south coast, a very pleasant port and resort town. I was amazed that there are not many hotels in Australia. I guess they don't get nearly as many tourists or travelers as we do in the States. It was hard to find a decent place to stay - or any place to stay for that matter.

After finally getting a room and a shower and a light dinner, I crashed into bed while Kay stayed up and visited the local beach. After a good nights sleep we are just about over our jet lag and right now we are spending a very pleasant morning in Wollongong Harbor, eating breakfast in the open air and watching the fishing vessels depart for their day's fishing. Local Australian teens are sneeking in and jumping off the railing in front of us, to the consternation of the port authorities. We are looking forward to a more relaxed, enjoyable day today!


Wollongong Harbor






I was trying to talk Kay into some deep see fishing, but she was having nothing to do with that.







Teenage boys jumping off railing into bay, trying to sneak around the harbor police.





Breakfast in Wollongong

Day 1 - Freezing and delayed in Salt Lake City

The first day of our trip saw us up and to the OKC airport bright and early for a 6:20 am departure. Originally I had booked a direct flight to Los Angeles, but Delta changed that flight and routed us through Salt Lake City - not a good thing in the winter.

As we approached Salt Lake City the pilot informed us that we would be holding because of the bad weather and an airplane that was disabled on the runway. Good thing we had plenty of Jet-A fuel, since we had to hold for 1.3 hours before landing. When we got off the plane we were welcomed with an icy blast of frigid Utah air.

Since the airport had been completely shut down for almost two hours, the connecting flights were a mess. We ran and barely caught an open flight to Los Angeles, but we were the last ones aboard and our luggage did not make that flight. That left us with the joy of waiting 2 hours in LAX airport for our luggage to arrive on the next flight.

Finally, since our flight to Australia does not depart until midnight Pacific time, we decided to rent a car and drive into Santa Monica and Venice Beach for lunch and sightseeing.

Kay looking for our luggage.

Santa Monica and Venice Beach

Australia

After two years in the planning, Kay and I are headed to the land down under for three weeks of adventure and fun. Tickets are purchased, passports are ready, and our bags are nearly packed. We leave Monday January 21. First stop is Los Angeles, then direct Sydney. Our son Adam and his girlfriend Amanda are staying at our home to take care of Levi and keep the place occupied. I am a bit worried about lots of people knowing we are gone and deciding to avail themselves to our possessions, so it is with much relief to have them staying here full-time to watch our house.





Why Australia?

I am often asked why we chose Australia over other, much closer destinations. There are a variety of reasons. First, they speak English (or at least something approximating it), they like American's (which is not universal anymore), the threat of terrorism is low, and the exchange rate is much more favorable than in Europe, which we would also like to visit.

The Flight

Our really big worry is the flight to and from Australia. I cannot imagine being stuck in an airplane 14-18 hours, but we will just have to tough that one out. Kay can barely sit still through a movie, so this is going to be agony for her. I think we are going to be very tired when we get on the plane so hopefully we can sleep through part of the trip. We depart OKC at 6:20 am and arrive in LAX at 9:30 local time. Our plane for Sydney does not depart until nearly midnight, so we have an all day layover in Los Angeles.

The Plan

Basically there is none - just the way Kay and I like it. We don't even have hotel rooms booked in Australia. Our only firm plans are when we arrive and when we depart. Other than that we plan to "wing it" and just see where our journey takes us. Kay wants to spend time on the beach and I want to visit some historical landmarks and travel to out of the way places. Someone asked me tonight "Are you gonna hire a guide and explore the outback?" Phshawww! Anyone who knows us knows that we don't travel that way! We don't need no stinkin guide!

So mark this blog with your RSS reader. I plan to post often.