Patrick's Trip to CA & Australia

So...almost 8 years into this blog adventure and I, Patrick, have yet to do a post.  I can't claim that I'm doing this one entirely on my own either, as Rose has uploaded all of the photos for me!

This post details my adventures to Australia for work.  I hit 5 cities in 10 days with three other folks in our whirlwind tour of the continent (and it's major airports).  The trip started with a few days in sunny California to check on our ponds.  With a Saturday left to our own devices before the evening flight to Sydney, I went to Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego. 

View from the tidepools looking up.

Me with the harbor Coronado Island in the background.

 

Day one after landing in Sydney.  A quick shower, nap, and change of clothes and I was off to start beating jet-lag.  First up (after lunch!) was a walk down to the Opera House.  Sydney Harbor was smaller than I imagined from TV.

 

I got to meet up with friends from our time in Virginia who are now residing in Sydney!  We hung out at a park and then went for dinner.  Felt like a pretty normal day to me.

[Not pictured...22 hours in Brisbane]

Cake at the Langham hotel in Melbourne inspired by the movie Ratatouille.

Koalas are sleepy things.  Had a free Saturday in Melbourne so we went to an animal sanctuary and then the Yarra Valley wine country.

 

 

 

I call this..."Kangaroo - before and after.  Yum"

 

And now the real purpose of the trip...Duniella Salina (aka, pink algae), the source of all-natural beta-carotene supplements.  We flew to Geraldton, a beautiful coastal city in Western Australia that is for all intents and purposes...the middle of nowhere.  Then we rented a car and drove another 100km to Hutt Lagoon where the world's largest algae cultivation facility is located.

Back to Perth for a day of meetings and then flying home!

Holi Festival with our Neighbors

On Sunday our Indian neighbors invited us to participate in their celebration of Spring festival, Holi. It started with the girls drawing with chalk and the boys playing with the basketball/soccer ball. 

Then they opened up all the packets of powdered colors, and everyone rubs it on each other's faces. Colleen was wary at first but then had fun. All the big kids were super kind to her. The rest of the kids pretty much spent an hour throwing the powder at each other. 

 

 

 

Colleen ended up getting some powder in her eyes so we wiped her clean.

There was a lot of group photo-taking.

There was a lot of amazing food!

What a fun time we had with our neighbors and friends!

Grammie Holds Down the Fort

Grammie flew in to spend a few days with us so I could cram in a bunch of appointments while Patrick was gone. She had only been here a few hours before she had the kids all working on their first craft project.

Amelia was so set on wearing her beach hat for crazy hat day. 

Grammie brought all kinds of games and activities to do for Easter. 

 

We headed out on the first day of Spring to get free Rita's. As typical of the last few years, it was very cold; when we saw the line wrapped around the building, Grammie offered to pick up Wendy's frosties instead. So we enjoyed our ice cream in the warmth of the restaurant. 

The kids made these beautiful Easter crosses. They each chose a different verse to write on their frames. It was fun to see Austin chose one that he had memorized from Isaiah this year in CBS.

 

 

  

 

We had this random spongy spot in the wall under a window that we suspected was some kind of water damage. When the guy came to assess the water damage, he didn't find any. But he did find a shoddy spackling job with balls of toilet paper lodged behind it. Strange things happen in home projects. 

Also, the kids' passports arrived! They are so excited to have them!

  

Austin & Colleen made the peanut butter & jelly pockets that Grammie used to make with Amelia often. 

 

Taking Grammie to the airport

 

After Grammie left, the kids begged to ride the Air Train at the Newark Airport. So we rode up and down the terminals, oohing and aahing over the airplanes and trucks and cranes.

Thank you Grammie for coming and holding down the fort despite the cold weather. We all appreciated it so much!