Another beautiful 80 degree day here in Townsville.  Heather says I am looking a bit tan! Which is quite a shocker since I never tan.  As much as I love the sun and the heat that comes with it, I can honestly say I have never been so happy to see clouds in my life.  The sun in the Tropics is just brutal and almost everyone wears a hat and/or sits under an umbrella if a pinch of shade cannot be found.   Today we are headed to the Billabong! From what the kids are telling me between squeals of excitement is that we all can get a chance to hold a Koala, Wombat (they say he is reallllll heavy :), and a Crocodile! You bet that I packed my camera (and one of these days ... read more

Today was wonderful, for one I slept until 6 a.m, then I took the phone and walked outside in a tank top and shorts and called my Mom and the weather was perfect. Heather opens up all of the doors in the house to let the fresh air in first thing in the morning and it is quite something to just walk in and out of the house and on the veranda and not have to open any doors. Since Simon had to work Heather, the kids, and I hung out for most of the day. So we started off the day by going to one of Townsville's shopping centers. Now Australia wants everyone to stay in one place to shop so they put their grocery stores in their Mall. So you can buy your groceries ... read more

I landed in Townsville at 6 p.m,  my body really thought it was 6 a.m with the time change  but I didn't feel too bad!  Heather, Simon, and their two adorable kids Max and Emily all met me at the airport! I have not seen Heather and Simon since I was 12 back before they had children.  I couldn't stop thanking them for this wonderful opportunity and to let me know what I could do for them.  Heather and the kids had to leave since both kids were selected to play in a concert that night, and once I got my bags Simon and I were off to the concert as well.   Max, 8, was playing in his first concert and he had a solo! He plays the cello and I had a great time ... read more

We got up and started packing for our onward journeys. Mine to Australia, and Mom's back to Richmond, Virginia. I had brought a few extra items with me for the California part of the trip that Mom would take back with her.  When she got to the airport to check her bag it was 4 lbs over.  The attendant said that of she just took one or two things out it would be fine.  Mom said she didn't mind paying for the extra weight, that was until the attendant told her it would be $90, Mom promptly redistributed things from her checked to her carry on.   Before we arrived at the airport (both of our flights weren't till after 10 p.m) we rode into Los Angeles and walked down and looked at all of the ... read more

San Diego! 37 miles from Mexico.  We got to the zoo in the morning right when before it opened which was great since we got our choice of where we wanted to go first. We decided to go and see the first demonstration of the morning which was seeing the elephants getting their daily foot scrub. It was fascinating to see how the trainers had taught the animals to pick their feet up and stick it through a hole in their enclosure. Basically the elephants come into a giant system of hydraulic doors, where they are separated from their keepers, and from the outside the keepers tell the elephants what to do, literally they say "Cha Cha other foot" or "Cha cha move over a little more" and they do it. It is all by positive ... read more