Family Trip take two

With August done and dusted, Melissa and I were looking forward to the prospects of spring. When we arrived in Melbourne last December, summer had pretty much taken off. Although December weather can be pretty unsettled – and last December was no different – it is still pretty warm and the flies are abundant! We look forward to enjoying a Melbourne spring. Like a Melbourne summer, there are so many things to do in and around the city, and we have big plans for each month. During September, the Bailey clan toured Down Under. [More on that adventure below] Upcoming in October, read about Melissa’s trip to Singapore and Hong Kong. November is known for its Melbourne Cup Day – a public holiday to celebrate horse racing [think Kentucky Derby on a Tuesday and only Kentucky gets the public holiday]. And for December, unfortunately it is not a trip back east to see the family… it’s a trip to Thailand! Consider those your advertisements for the upcoming blog entries.

So when the Bailey family heard Melissa and I were moving to Melbourne, of course they were excited. What an opportunity for the both of us. They weren’t too sure if they’d make the trip around the globe to check out our situation. It’s a long plane ride, an expensive plane ride, need to get time off of work, etc. You know the excuses! With some constant prodding by my mom’s work colleagues and family friends [many who had visited the country before], and with the help of some stellar blog entries, they were convinced to pack their bags and spend two weeks Down Under. Planning started early but it wasn’t until Melissa’s parents visited in June that the plans began to solidify. My mom heard of all the great things we did with the Murrays and said, “We’ll do that too!” …Hold on. As fun of a trip that was, Melissa and I are not doing the same vacation all over again 6 weeks later. We had to get creative. But it’s not that hard because there are sooo many amazing things to do here. Even now, I’m worried that we won’t get to see some of the coolest parts of Australia before we leave. Melissa and I brainstormed some ideas and then in July when we were home we made the plans. Similar to the Murray’s trip, we would hit three major cities. Sydney and Melbourne were a given. Instead of the tropic north of Queensland we choose the surfing mecca of Surfers Paradise. Just south of Brisbane, Surfer’s Paradise is known for its college town feel, large and luxurious accommodations, and of course for its impeccable surfing conditions. With the plans made, the flights purchased, the hotels reserved, and cars rented, we were all set. Except for one hitch…

Mom and Melissa had a long flight but the itinerary wasn’t too bad. Bradley [Connecticut] to O’Hare to LAX to Sydney – a decent way to get across the country. For those not familiar, there is one United flight per day between LAX and Sydney. Likewise, there is one per day between San Francisco and Sydney. All domestic flights funnel you to LAX or SFO in the early evening so you can make the late evening departure over the Pacific. If you miss the flight, you’re waiting until the next night. I got that unfortunate email mid-day Thursday, ‘mom and Melissa missed their LA connection.’ Eeek, not good. It was a United mistake so at least they were taken care of with a night in a local hotel. But Melissa and I were already on our way to Sydney to meet them. So we continued on and had a free Saturday to check out parts of the city I have not seen before and hang out with some friends we rarely see.

Mom and Melissa arrived early Sunday morning – a day late – but much chipper than I had anticipated. It seems a night layover prior to the Pacific jump really helps with the jetlag. We were already down a day and had much to see in Sydney so we were quickly off to the Blue Mountains [ironically, outside the city]. The day was pretty gross – cool, windy, rainy – just the type of weather you’re looking for when hiking through the mountains ;-) We started with lunch at the Hattery in Katoomba. We let the brief monsoon pass and then made our way to check out the Three Sisters. [Despite your best guess at what that name refers to, it’s a rock formation] We attempted several of the trails originating there but most were flooded due to the rain. We headed over to another side of the valley and traversed some of the trails there. The day concluded with a cable car ride across the canyon that started off pretty ordinary. On the ride back, a thunderstorm rolled in and transformed the straight line cable ride into more of an amusement park attraction. It was exciting!

Due to the loss of Saturday, Monday turned into see-all-of-Sydney-you-can-see in one day. We drained most of the morning in the QVB (Queen Victoria Building) and Darling Harbour [the other Harbour]. There was an Olympic celebration parade through the CBD that we elected to miss – they aren’t our Olympians – but we were affected by the parade nonetheless. I thought the double-decker tour bus would be the best way to see the city highlights and get us to the real harbour quick. Well, my first goal was right on! We saw several of the major sites and in-style aboard the bus that has no roof. But with the mid-town traffic diverted to accommodate the parade route, the ride was not quick. We merely had to shorten our trip across the harbour to Manly and skip out on the Botanical Gardens – after all, it’s just a garden. The plan worked perfectly; Mom and Melissa got to see the wonderful sites of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House at Circular Quay and got to experience the beach town of Manly.

The trip moved onto Surfer’s Paradise. The hotel was a ridiculous resort – thanks Melissa! We gave my family the suite. And boy was it sweeet! Three separate exits to three separate private patios - none more that a quick walk to the pool or beach. Similar to Sydney, we started the trip outside the city in the hinterlands. I introduced Melissa (sister) and mom to the rainforests of Queensland. I think they were impressed. But this leg of the trip hinged on one specific activity and that one activity alone could make or break this whole adventure – whale watching. I had booked us on a day long excursion out of Brisbane – about a 90 min drive north – to coincide with Melissa’s (wife) work commitments. It could not have worked out better. This was one of the best whale watching excursions in Brisbane and the timing worked perfectly with Melissa’s work day. I wasn’t prepared for the call I received at 7AM that morning. Our trip for the day was cancelled. The reason, the sea was too choppy from all the wind. Eeek! We quickly aborted the Brisbane trip [letting Melissa make the drive for work herself] and found an excursion leaving from our very own marina not more than 100 meters away. Pheew! Needless to say, I can see why the Brisbane group cancelled their trip. There were people ralphing all over the boat. We managed to avoid most of it by staying on the upper, back deck of the boat. The consequence was that we were missing all the good shots of the whale pods the boat was tracking. We sucked it up and walked through the main infirmary – I mean main deck – and grabbed a couple of seats on the lower front deck. It was well worth it. We tracked several pods for about an hour as they surfaced every couple of minutes. It was amazing to watch them respond to our noises and movement. Let slapped their tales, raised their fins, and blew spray out of their blow holes. It was pretty amazing.

The trip continued in Melbourne where Melissa and I got to introduce my family to our Melbourne way of life. It started as most Friday’s do – Melissa and I both went to work. That let my family relax at our house for awhile and get acclimated with Port Melbourne. Over the weekend, we introduced them to the wines of the Yarra Valley [read the last posting], the Surf Coast [part of the Great Ocean Road] and even braved the rain to see the Phillip Island penguins. Monday and Tuesday they spent the days checking out St Kilda, the Bay, and the Melbourne CBD. As my mom puts it, “you could spend a week alone just exploring the city!” So true.

It has been great to share our new home with both families. Both will agree that we totally lucked out in the house that we are renting and that Albert Park isn’t such a bad place to call home. It was great to see the family so much in such a short period of time. Unfortunately, we will not make it home for the holidays. Have some turkey and wine for us… we love you!

P.S. the trip did end on a sour note as my grandpa Newton (my mom’s dad) passed away very unexpectedly after church on Sunday. Mom had just visited with him in July and he was a fit and energetic as you’d expect any 80 year old to be. She also spoke with him while she spent the night in LA. He leaves behind friends and family that loved him and will miss him very much. Luckily, my mom was able to redirect her return flight to meet family in Reno and then in Kansas City.