Adelaide Adventures Continued

Tuesday:

We decided today that it would be a great day to go and see the Adelaide Zoo. Heidi dropped us off for the new Panda’s that they have. It was fun to just wander and enjoy the outdoors.

After the zoo we headed off to the city. We decided to take the Popeye which is a little boat that takes you up and down the river so that was fun. When we landed it was off to the shops to wander. There’s this really big mall there called Rundell that everyone goes to so we figured we should go as well. It was good to get a feed into us and then wander here and there.

I was very happy that Laura had borrowed Nik and Heidi’s umbrella cause all of a sudden the skies opened up and down came the rain. It was also good in the morning to help us not get a sunburn. We’re thinking that wherever we go the rain will follow as there was flooding here too. Who knew that Australia could be so wet?

Before Heidi came to pick us up we headed to Central Market and Chinatown to look around for any good deals. Laura got a bit more for her Superhero costume for camp so that was good.

That night we had dinner at Nik’s boss’ house which was a grand time hanging out, having some good food, and feeling at home as Brad has a Wayne Gretski jersey on his wall.

Wednesday:

Today was a laid back day with making sure that laundry got done as well as just relaxing. We did however head over to see the Adelaide Gaol. It was a great gaol (as they all are). Not interactive or with any role playing but it was still interesting to read all about the different going ons.

As we were driving to the gaol we saw a cricket game going on and so after we were done at the gaol we headed over to see who was playing. It turned out to be the U16 teams from the country towns. Laura spoke to a few of the mothers and learned a bit more of the rules to the game. It was a lot of fun but not something that we would want to do for long periods of time.

Thursday:

Today was the day of CHOCOLATE! Laura went to the Haigh's Chocolate factory to find out how they make their wonderful tasting chocolates as well as try some herself. Since Laura was driving she got a little lost but eventually found her way. Since she was late the tour had begun without her but she was fine with that since she got to eat some sample chocolates while she waited.

The tour was good and the driving was great.

Friday:

This being our last day in Adelaide we decided to head out for a walk around the city. We stopped at a winery (that's right - we're getting all cultured) to see what it was all about since we had passed it many times. It was neat to see how things were done in Australia wine making. Laura tried her hand out at electronically making wine but it ended up that this is not her calling since her wine was judged as a FAILURE.

After the winery we headed up to Hahndorf, a cute little village up the hills to meet Nik and some friends for lunch. It was a cute little place that we went to and had a great lunch. After saying good bye to our amazing hosts we took a little wander around the village to see what was going on.

Laura drove back to Adelaide to wait till it was time to catch our flight. When it was about 5:30 Laura called the taxi company to order one to come pick us up. Adelaide is nothing like Kingston so after about 15 minutes she finally got off hold and ordered one to come. 15 minutes later a taxi showed up. This was not good as we needed to be at the airport for 6:50 at the latest and we didn't get picked up till 6:25 and it takes 25 minutes to get to the airport. When we arrived we ran to the gate and asked if it was too late to get our bag on the plane. The man said that he had just closed the acceptance of bags but would see what he could do. After talking on the walkie talkie he said that he could accept our bag but we would have to run to the gate so we wouldn't miss our flight. We thanked Jesus for looking out for us and went through security (side note: Laura went through with coins in her pockets and the scanner didn't even go off). We made it with a little time to spare so that was good.

What a way to end our time in Adelaide.

Australian Penguin

Baboon

Brazilian Tapir

Canadaman and the mountain goats

Canadaman chilling with the Panda

Gettinga kiss from the sea lion

Giraffe munching on some leaves

Lazing Koala

Laura and the Panda

Peacock displaying

Tazmanian Devil

Exploring

Canadaman riding the Popeye

Adelaide Gaol Excape plan

How to get a tatoo in the Adelaide Gaol

A prison cell from the 1940s

Beautiful church and jacaranda trees

Flood waters in Adelaide

Haight's Chocolate Factory

Us and the random brass pig

Adelaide's Balls

U16 Cricketers

Laura won the World Cup!!

Cute little lambs

Nik and Heidi with Canadaman

Winery

Cute little horses

Adelaide - Sun to Mon

Well our time in Dubbo was a lot of rain but there were many moments of sunshine and smiles to make the trip amazing. As we headed to our little plane we waved goodbye Roz and got ready for our next adventure: ADELAIDE!

We had decided that we would save money so we booked a room in Maze Backpackers for $50 plus the shuttle to and from the airport the whole thing cost us $70 (This was over $110 savings). When we got there we were too early for our room so we dropped the bags and headed off to find somewhere to eat. Where else would you go when you want to feel welcomed and part of a group but Cheers. After a great lunch and a wander around it was back to the hostel to check in. We grabbed our key and headed up the 2 flights of stairs to room 28 Yellow. There was a reason that the price was what it was as you can see from the pictures below. I got settled in and then headed to the tv room to see what was going on. There were a few people there watching cricket. Why, I don’t know as it’s not that interesting to watch. They didn’t really speak English but changed the channel to How I met your Mother so it almost felt like I was back in Canada.

Since I had to be up for 4:30am to catch my next flight I decided that it would be an early dinner and then to bed. I had forgotten though that hostels aren’t made for the non-partiers and so there was not much sleeping going on around me. I think that I will take the advice from Mertyle and say that “I’m too old for this stuff”.

Our flight to Adelaide was great and we met Nik and Heidi right when we arrived so that was good. It was off to the park for the avo to play/through around some Frisbee and then watch a bit of Heidi’s training before it was off for a great nap back at their place. That night we wandered the Parade (the suburb that they live in) which was pretty cool.

On Monday it was time for Laura to test out her true Aussie self and attempt surfing. They headed to Middleton to rent a board and wet suit (I guess they think that the water is cold or something). Laura was so proud of herself cause after a bit she was actually able to stand up and ride a wave for a bit. It was so exciting. Adelaide beaches – 1, Sydney beaches – 0.

We went to get some lunch and of all the places to go they took Laura to a fish and chips stand. It made all of us laugh cause just the night before she had told them that she didn’t eat fish. A true Aussie lunch of hot chips was had.

That night Heidi and Laura went to pick up Nik from work and they drove the great roads of the Hills. It’s really pretty and full of little quaint towns.

Stay tuned for the rest of the week’s adventures!

Maze Backpackers - What $50 gets ya

The view from our hostel window

Laura so happy afte she stood up on the board

Barely anyone was on the beach with us

Dubbo - Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

The big 3-0 was celebrated here in Dubbo on Wednesday. That's right a new decade has begun for Laura. The day was celebrated with Rozzy and Jono starting with pancakes, maple syrup and presents (yeah TimTams, Blow up Aussie Flip-Flop, and Sumo Thumb Wrestlers - Thanks Linds). Then it was off to try and do some mini-putting. The only thing was that the place was closed as it hadn't stopped raining for the past 3 days and so that course was just too wet.
We went for some thickshakes at Wendy's in the mall and enjoyed some lunch Canada style - Sponge Bob Square Pants grilled cheese, ketchup (not tomato sauce), and dill pickles. What a great lunch.
For dinner we went out to Hog's Back which is kinda like Montanas (no free refills though). It was a great time with the Kelly's.
Thursday was spent hanging out with Rozzy's sister-in-law Sarah and her three kids Charlet (4), Amelia (2), and Alex (2). We took them to swimming class in the morning and then Sarah and Laura tried out Zoomba. What a great way to exercise! It's easy to follow moves with a Latin rhythm. A lot of hip swiveling which I'm sure Laura looked like a fool doing as she can't rotate her hips.
After the gym we headed to Sarah's place to play with the kids and hang out. Roz picked us up to head to her place for a quick feed and then it was off to the Dubbo Christian School for a Thanksgiving Concert (singing, being thankful, and carols). We loved the pictures of the kids cause it made us think we were watching a movie filmed in Englad with them all in their little uniforms.
Friday was aqua-arobics (way more intense than Zoomba), packing for our Adelaide trip, staying out of the down pour (though Laura's clothes didn't), and then off to celebrate Emily's birthday by having take-out and watching the Voyage of the Dawn Tredder.
It was a great week in Dubbo. We're looking forward to our next adventure in Adelaide.

Roz and I singing at the Thanksgiving Concert

Bridge flooded out in Dubbo

Getting my bum wet playing in the water

Having a blast in the flood

Our plane from Dubbo to Sydney

Birthday Breakfast - pancakes and maple syrup

Thanks Linds for the Sumo Thumbs

Thanks Roz and Jono for the presents

Canadaman's friend Joey

Mmmmm Pickles!!!

SpongeBob Square Pants Grilled Cheese

Roz "enjoying" her pickle and SpongeBob

Birthday Dinner at Hog's Breath

Mmmm Birthday Cake!!! Sooo good!!

Doing some llama reading on the plane

Our Time In Dubbo - Sunday, Monday, Tuesday

What a great week. Even though it rained everyday we had a blast while we were here.
Our adventure started on Sunday. We began with some chilling with Roz and Jono at Roz's house playing some Scatagories and watching cricket. We then thought, "What should we do on a gloomy day?" BOWLING was the answer. We headed to the alley for two games of fun times. Jono rocked the first game with Roz clinching the second one.

After a bit we thought it would be fun to head down to the river to have some fun. Along the way we found what I thought was a geocache but it ended up being some illegal stuff hidden in a tree. Not so good.
As we were heading down the road Jono asked if we should drive down or not. We were like "go for it". That was not the right decision. As we started down the little hill we began slipping and then slipped right into the grass and mud. We were bogged! We tried for 1.5 hours to get ourselves out but it just didn't work. As you will see below we tried a lot of different things. The only way that we got out was by calling Roz's friends lajdflajdf to come and tow us out. It was a great time playing in the mud and chatting.
After getting out it was off to church with Roz. I got to see people that I had met last time I was here so that was pretty cool.
On Monday Roz was off to school so Jono and Laura hung out by living the life in Dubbo. This consists of driving the main street, walking the mall and eating in the food court, and then seeing all the sights (which took 10 minutes). At the end of the school day Roz joined them and they headed to the Dubbo Cultural Center to look at art and check out the museum. That night we headed over to Jono's friend Jez's house to enjoy some pizza and tv with Alo. It was good to catch up with him and see how he was doing.

Our first few attemps

Tuesday brought some excitement as Laura was interviewed on the radio by Alo to talk as if she was in Canada at the time listening to his radio show. It was a lot of fun. Since it was raining again not much went on during the day. At night we headed to bible study which was fun.
Sorry that the photos are out of order. I'm still learning how to work this whole blog thing.

Jono and Roz sussing out what to do

We tried everything

Our rescuers - Mark and Jacqi

Canadaman ready for glow bowl

Our rescue ute

Jono, Roz, and Laura

Game One

Roz and Canadaman