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So Ronit and I arrived in Adelaide on Monday night...it was a little interesting, since we weren't quite sure where to meet Emma. It turns out she was just outside the luggage pick up.
Since we've been here it's been fantastic. The first day Emma, Ronit, and I actually ventured out of Adelaide to her parent's vacation home in Goolwa...about an hour and a half away on the Murray River (which goes from the Norther Territory all the way down to South Australia). On the way, we stopped at a few wine vineyards in McClaren Vale. The wines here are fabulous and tastings are free at the Cellar Doors. I ended up with several bottles to take home.
After the day of wine tasting, we had a very relaxing evening in Goolwa. The vacation home is a really neat, old stone home about a block from the water. It was a little spooky at times, but we managed to sleep through the night with no problems. The next day, we headed further out on the Flurieu Peninsula. Our first stop was to a bluff in Victor Harbor, where we got our first sight of the Souther Ocean and where we hoped to see a whale. There had been a spotting from the same point the day before, but unfortunately, no such luck for us. We then journeyed further across the peninsula to Deep Creek Lake, where we had full intentions of a good 10K hike. Unfortunately, as soon as we parked the car, it started to downpoar. So, after a few quick snapshops in the rain (you could just make out a blur of Kangaroo Island in the distance), we got back in the car and headed back to Victor Harbor. Here we stopped at the whale center to see if there were anymore whale sightings and then we decided to move onto Port Elliot to a waterside restaurant for lunch.
It continued to downpoar during lunch, so we took our time. We even got to see a few rainbows in the process. After lunch, the rain had let up a bit, so we decided to stroll along the water's edge and walks and look for more whales. We thought we saw one, but after walking closer to it (as the rain got heavier) it turned out to be a rock. 😞
So...the adventure didn't end there....
We got back to the car to find that the battery had died (Emma had left the lights on earlier). Luckily, with manuals you can "roll start" it. Of course, this involved Emma and I rolling the car up a hill while Ronit steered. The first attempt didn't quite work, but the waiter from the restaurant came out to give us a hand and we were able to get it going.
After driving around a bit to recharge the battery, we finally got back to the home in Goolwa to find that the power was out.
So, instead of spending the night in freezing and creepy house by candlelight, we decided to pack up and head home. So after clearing out the house in the dark, we managed to get everything back in the car and were just about to head out when we discovered the power was back on. Go figure... We decided to head home anyway.
The rest of the night was less adventurous...after a nice hot shower for Emma and me and a cold one for Ronit (sorry, Ro 😞 ), we headed out to some of Emma's favorit pubs so that Ronit could have the Aussie pub experience before heading home. Turns out the Aussie pub experience is very similar to the American bar experience, but it was still a good time. I even got to check my bac level in a machine in the pub after 2.5 beers (still only .038...but we were out for a couple of hours).
Thursday, Ronit and I headed into Adelaide (the main part of town). We got to take this great, old, rickety, wooden tram in. After spending the day shopping at the markets and meandering in the botanic gardens (where we were almost attacked by some scary, black birds), we made it home in time for a home cooked dinner with Emma and some friends. There was some good food and good conversations and we even got to learn the Australian sign language alphabet (let's see if I can remember it by the time I get home...)
Which brings me to today...(finally...)
Today we saw Ronit off to the airport in the morning. 😞
After running some errands and having some breakfast we hired a kayak and went kayaking in the gulf st. Vincent (the shore of Adelaide and surroundings). It was beautiful weather and a great way to take advantage of it. The waves for a little choppy, but we both managed not to roll the kayaks and made it back nice and dry.
Tonight we're spending a relaxing night in at Emma's parents house...
Still no pictures for you...although I'm already up to well over 600. And that's after deleting some!! I should be able to upload some next week (if only I had my firewire on me right now...)
In other news...(sorry for the long-windedness...time limits on the computer can sometimes be beneficial).
We finally determined that the water does drain clockwise. After some extensive experimentation and some video footage (which may or may not make the final cut), we've come to that conclusion. There's still a small hope that we're both remembering incorrectly and that America actually drains/flushes counter-clockwise, but I'm not holding my breath.
Hmm...what else.
The people I've been out with so far cannot outdrink Tony. However, the sample size is not yet large enough. We will see on Saturday...we're going out with some more of Emma's friends to a pub to see a band. (after a home-cooked meal of Kangaroo...I'm looking forward to it. 😊 )
And since I can't remember what the other quesitons were and this has really gotten way too long, I'm gonna wrap it up here.
Goodbye for now!!
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Kristen
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Finally!
Thanks for finally answering the question about the toilets! Brendan was so upset that you hadnt answered it. Maybe now he can focus and we can win a game! PS- we came REALLY close to winning yesterday. Next week we play the British Embassy. Remember those fond memories from past trips to the embassy bar? In other news- i might buy running sneakers this weekend! yeah....you're not missing anything over here :)