iBlog

I don't own an iPod. Yeah, maybe Conor owns all eight models in six different colors, but I have never purchased an iPod or listened to music on iTunes or made dinner on an iStove or read an article on an iBook, wait, I mean iPad?... i i i!

Okay, I did just buy a MacBook Pro. I've been thinking about purchasing a Mac for a couple of years now. Conveniently enough, I dropped our Acer two weeks ago on the hardwood dining room floor. Crash. As I continued my job search on our roommate's Mac I realized that I, too, could be a Mac owner. I loved how lightweight it was and how quickly it turned on and loaded. Gosh, what a great purchase. Yes, I love my new MacBook Pro.

It rained for two days straight and now it is sunny and cool outside. Finally, cool air. I swear it's been years. It was so lovely to sit indoors on the couch with a book, my new laptop, and Bella yesterday. We listened to the rain crash against the metal awning for hours. The basement is a bit flooded and the 'mums won't need watering for a few days, but the rain was needed and finally (hopefully) the humidity has come to an end for the year.

The two week countdown to the Baltimore Half Marathon has begun. Two weeks from tomorrow I will wake up, stretch, listen to some hard rock to pump myself up, and run my first half marathon. I am looking forward to the challenge very much. I am also looking forward to a break from all of this running...It's been a lot of fun and a great motivator for me to get my butt out of bed and my feet into my running shoes. It has also been a great excuse to wear spandex - man, I love feeling all sleek and sassy in my black pants and white running shoes!

I read recently that posts should be short and sweet. So, that's all. I'm off to enjoy the cool air and sunshine.

Welcome to Baltimore

Unemployed. Again. With all this free time on my hands one would think my posts would become more frequent. At least that was the case when I originally started this blog a year and a half ago.

Well, tomorrow may still be mostly sunny, but only because it is the end of summer in Baltimore. (Today is truly overcast and humid.) Although our adventures down under have come to end (for now), we will most likely continue to engage in madness and fun in our new home, a lovely neighborhood known as Hampden, just north of Baltimore City.

With a change in location, perhaps should come a change in title and style. Although I have played around with the "theme" of my blog, I think the title will remain. I think it creates somewhat of a "glass half full" feeling. 

Bella and I are sitting on the front porch of our new home - me with my glass of red, and her with her array of potted Autumn 'mums. We're baking blueberry/raspberry muffins for tomorrow morning and waiting for Conor and Adam (our new roommate and landlord) to arrive home. It's been a fabulously rainy and productive day. She's waiting to play Frisbee with Conor, and I'm ready to continue to enjoy this lovely bottle of wine.

I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that Conor and I both miss Brisbane quite a bit - the grass is always greener...you never know what you have until it's gone. I loved my hectic, early morning job and we both absolutely adored our tiny Paddington apartment and Kiwi neighbors. I think what we miss most of all is our fabulous group of friends. We were fortunate enough to befriend the most low-maintainance and friendly group of Aussies (and one Brit) in Brisbane. I miss how easy it was to drop in on one of the couples for a glass of wine, home-cooked meal, or just a relaxed conversation. Thom and Dan would cook us lovely dinners, Anika would make us laugh hysterically, Jenn would make us think. Bron, Mik, Pete and Kirsty treated us as if we grew up in their circle. I hope these eight lovelies make it to the States for our wedding next year.

Speaking of the wedding, we have yet to decide upon a location and/or date. Let me say, the Baltimore Court House is looking pretty good right about now... Maybe we should have gotten married in Australia or perhaps we should just plan a informal ceremony for family only... oh goodness. I thought this was supposed to be fun.

Conor is home and it might just be light enough for Frisbee still. 

They're calling for rain tomorrow, again. Oh well. We love rainy days.

PDX

We have been back in the States for almost a week. Most moments, it feels as though we never left. I am beginning to think more and more, the Northwest is home. It just feels...right.

Conor and I landed in LA last Friday after a 13 hour flight from Brisbane. We managed to pack almost all of our belongings into four large suitcases and two, fairly heavy, carry-on bags. We left one bag (only one!) in Brisbane with our good friends Pete and Kirsty. They will watch over our camping gear for the next year, or until someone we know makes a trip to Brisbane and back.

From LA we flew north to Portland and have settled in at the Marriot down-town. Portland is probably one of my favourite places on Earth.

1. Beautiful city views of the mountains and green hills
2 Amazing coffee, beer and food
3. Efficient public transportation (and several transport options!)
4. Walk-able, pedestrian friendly city streets (and awesome grid-layout)
5. Friendly, low-maintenance people (for the most part)
6. Fabulous music and art scene - cheap shows and exhibits
7. Powell's mega-store!
8. This list goes on and on...

After living in Brisbane for a year and a half, Conor and I have realised just how much we took some aspects of daily PDX life for granted. Although we started walking much more when we moved to Portland three years ago, Brisbane taught us very quickly that walking was the fastest, easiest way to get from point A to point B. In the past few days we have walked distances in Portland that we would have avoided just over a year ago. A mile in the morning for a good cup of coffee? Sure! 30 blocks rather than waiting for the bus? Why not?! Portland (perhaps the States) has also reminded us that it's okay to talk to strangers - offer assistance, smile, compliment, etc. It is fabulous to be in a city where people hold their heads a bit higher when walking down the street and make eye-contact in passing.

Since our arrival we have been lucky enough to meet up with several good friends. Coming home to good friends makes the time spent apart seem non-existent. We have had breakfast, dinner, and beers at a handful of our favourite places with some pretty amazing people. We even ventured out to pub-quiz trivia last night and won a few dollars (enough to cover our dinner and beers) - just like old times!

We depart for Baltimore on Sunday afternoon. Our time here is just not enough. But then again, it never is. We are looking forward to seeing our friends and family on the east coast and reuniting with our little pooch, Bella, next week. A new adventure awaits us in Baltimore!

Priceless

Conor and I went to the park this afternoon. We brought our frisbee along and tossed the disc back and forth for about twenty minutes. (We were practising for our return to Bella.) We walked around the park on our way home, stopping for two six-packs ($36 AUS). After a quick cat nap, Conor departed for a late afternoon jog. While he was out running, I searched for a house in Baltimore on the internet. It is now time to cook dinner, spinach ravioli in a garlic cream sauce, and I am enjoying one of our expensive beers as I sit on our couch in our tiny, clean apartment - thinking to myself, "What a wonderful way to end the weekend..." 

We both left work late on Friday evening. I arrived home at about 7:30, and after a quick shower, our friend Jenn scooped us, and our sleepover supplies, up. We spent the night in Mitchelton at Jenn and Dan's beautiful home. Dan cooked us a lovely lamb curry. We drank a few bottles of wine while relaxing on their new deck. We watched a slide-show of the photos from their recent wedding - (a failed attempt to prove to Conor that we must have a professional photographer at our wedding). Although the photos were beautiful, I fell asleep on the living room floor and missed out on brownie sundaes.

The following morning we went for a drive through New Farm, stopping for brunch at The Little Larder. The four of us shouted out random things Conor and I need to do before we leave Brisbane. We managed to make a list of four things we still need to do in the next four weeks. After getting dropped back at home, Conor and I changed our clothes and got the bikes out of the garage. A long ride was definitely in order - fresh air for our hangovers, exercise for our very full bellies. 

We rode about thirty minutes to a park and sat with our friend Thom while we watched his partner Anika play netball (No, not basketball. Netball.) After the game we rode back into the city and rejoined the two of them for coffee and cannolis. The coffee was terrible. The cannolis were wonderful. 

After another quick shower, Pete and Kirsty were at our door. The four of us headed out on the town in their new pick-up truck. We scored a fabulous park at the Story Bridge Hotel (SBH) and after only a twenty minute wait (and one MT Brewery beer each), were seated in the noisy dining room. Oddly enough, visiting the SBH was on our list of things to do before departing Oz. We had a wonderful meal of oysters Kilpatrick, soup, dips, kangaroo, steak, and a Tasmanian Pinot Noir. I will miss dining on kangaroo. We finished the night with dessert at Free Style - the most overpriced and delicious dessert chain in Brisbane.

At 12:06AM I set my alarm for 5:45. And after a short (six and a half hour) day at work, and a game of frisbee, I am completely exhausted. 

Conor is making dinner. Again. Now that I work afternoons and evenings, it is difficult to find the time and energy to prepare dinner. Conor has done an amazing job over the past few weeks. It should be my turn to cook tonight, but since he looks to be enjoying chopping garlic and onions, I might just sit on the couch and have another bottle of pricey beer.

It's been a while since I have included a recommendation or survey in my post. Here's a fun little diddy Conor enjoys more than most males I know. And Australians enjoy more than Americans. The Nutbush is a dance done to Tina Turner's Nutbush City Limits. Some may call it the unofficial Australian Anthem.

If you love Tina, check out this video:

If you love to line dance, check out this instead:

The Final Countdown

Well, once again, or perhaps still, we are busy. We returned from our 32 days on the road almost three weeks ago now. In another 33 days, we depart Brisbane (Friday, August 13) for Los Angeles. Our time in Brisbane (and Australia) is coming to an end. This is the final countdown.

The remainder of our journey with Pete and Caitlin was amazing. It became incredibly difficult to find the time, energy and service for blog-writing and posting, however. We have posted close to 1,000 of our photos on-line at: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/home?tab=yq Although I took notes along the way and documented our daily adventures in my journal, it might be easier and more exciting for you to view our photos and captions, than my scrambled time-line recounted on tomorrowmostlysunny. It would also be less tedious for me. In my last weeks as an Australian citizen (for tax purposes anyway), I have become selfish with my time.

We spent our morning lounging around our Paddington apartment. We slept in, made smoothies, folded laundry, grabbed a take-away coffee from a local favourite and wandered around the cute, quiet neighbourhood on our way home. We met with four of our friends for a mid-day brunch at Sassafrass, a Brisbane breakfast institution. Post-avocado on sour-dough and extra-large cappuccino, we gathered back at the apartment and planned a weekend trip to Mt. Tamborine - one last group getaway before our departure.

We spent the remainder of our day riding and walking around the city, visiting the art museum. After stopping at the local market, filling up on olive oil, fresh bread and basil and feta spread, we returned home to watch the sun set over the city from our balcony. And now I sit, typing, listening to the new National album, sipping a G&T, while Conor makes ravioli and salad. 32 days left.

Maybe today doesn't sound so busy, but you see...

Conor returned to work the day following our return to Brisbane. I enjoyed a few days of solitude before returning to French Twist. I am currently a casual employee, working across stores. Although I am no longer under contract and managing the store I opened over a year ago (sniffle), I am still working a fair amount, with one weekend day spent running around the cafe. We are no longer saving for our month long road-trip. We are now saving for a house and our wedding.

After months of debate, Conor and I have decided to return to the States in August. Unfortunately, we will no longer be living in the beautiful NW. Conor's company has asked him to assist with the opening of the Reston, VA office. Fortunately, we managed to meet his company's request halfway (no, not in Nebraska or Kansas), and will be setting up shop in Baltimore, MD. We look forward to reuniting with our pooch and good friends, Annie, Jamie and Adam along the Chesapeake.

We are busy planning and saving for our next adventure. We are busy laughing, eating, drinking and saying our "see you later"s to a number of amazing friends.

In 32 days I will no longer be reporting the weather from the future. We are looking forward to seeing everyone back home soon.

Melbourne

We spent two days in the Melbourne area before traveling along the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide. We rolled into town after departing the Albury caravan park a few hours earlier. After squeezing the Warrior into a narrow parking space downtown, we wandered around the city in search of food and long term parking. Conor and I visited Melbourne last November for the Melbourne Cup and enjoyed our time spent there very much. This trip was rather quick, and without a definite place to bunk for the night lined up, we were a bit panicked as we strolled along the river.


A friend of mine from Brisbane moved to Melbourne a few months back, and we had plans to meet up with her and one of her roommates on Lygon Street later that evening for some good Italian. We were lucky enough to find a parking spot near Katie's house and after enjoying some dinner and three free bottles of wine with the two girls, they invited us to stay at their cute little terrace house for the night. We showered at their apartment and crashed on their floor - perhaps this does not sound like a treat, but it was.


The following day we headed to Philip Island, a two hour drive southwest of Melbourne. Our plan upon arrival was to purchase tickets for the penguin march that takes place every evening on the island. After paying a visit to the Philip Island Information Centre (these centres have been our toilet saviors along the trip - much nicer, cleaner, and warmer than most rest stops) and snagging our four tickets for the show, we drove around the small island, enjoyed some lunch on a secluded beach, and then lined up almost two hours early to get a good seat for the penguins. 


This stop was probably the second most spectacular on our trip thus far, with Sydney Harbour being the first. We sat in the cold for approximately 45 minutes waiting for almost 1,000 "little penguins" to wash up on shore, make their way into the dunes, and then travel on to their grassy homes. The penguins were adorable - weighing approximately one kilogram each, with a beautiful, sleek blue and white coat. They washed up on shore in rafts of 8-15, waddled together across the sand and scurried off into the grass. They were amazing!


After spending a couple of hours with the penguins we hopped back in our van and drove back north to the Mornington Peninsula. We found a fairly nice caravan park that had agreed to stay open for a late check-in. If memory serves me correct, this was the first time we attempted to sneak in two of our campers. Caravan parks are funny places. They charge per head, not per vehicle and after paying $50 to stay at one park, we decided to draw the curtains in the back of the Warrior upon arrival to the parks from that point on. We were somewhat nervous when the gentleman at reception insisted on walking along our van to guide us to the site. But $30 and fifteen minutes later we were enjoying pasta and a few beers in our van.


The evening spent on the Mornington Peninsula was the coldest we camped through yet. They four of us woke up multiple times throughout the night, shivering and complaining. At one point I got up, put a sweatshirt on and then jogged around the park for five minutes before returning to bed. The next morning we quickly exited the park and drove to the Mornington Peninsula Ferry. After crossing the harbour we began our journey along the Great Ocean Road!

Sydney

Okay, so, if you didn't know this already, I love Sydney! I have visited the city four times now and each trip leads to new adventures and surprises. Yes, I have toured the Opera House twice now and seen a show in one of the theatres there. No matter how many times you float past the structure while aboard the Manly Ferry, it is always a spectacular sight! While in the city this past trip, I took several more photos of the Harbour Bridge (I had never sat under it during a rain storm before!) and strolled through the Botanic Gardens, gawking at the insane number of bats hanging upside-down in the trees above - it never gets old!

Pete, Caitlin, Conor and I spent a day in the city and then traveled to Katoomba/the Blue Mountains (a two hour train ride from Sydney centre). Although we half expected it, the mountain air was cold! We hiked between Leura Cascade and Gordon Falls and paid a visit to the Three Sisters and Echo Point. We also rode on the world's steepest cable car line - with an incline of 52 degrees! We strolled through the rain forest for about an hour and finished the day with a "make-your-own" hot chocolate: dark chocolate chips melted fondue style with steamed milk and a metal spoon/straw. Yum!

As usual, we bunked with our friend John Blogg in Manly. John is a relative of one of Conor's co-workers and is a fabulous story-teller and host. His duplex style, 1900 home was once shared with none other than Peter Garrett, Australian musician (Midnight Oil), environmentalist, and Minister for the Environment, (although no longer an elected official after a government funded insulation project gone wrong!).

John set us up with warm beds and showers, good food and a fair amount of gin and beer. We had a great time staying with him, as always. Pete enjoyed John's "prawn sandwiches" while Caitlin was treated with her own jar of Robert Timms instant coffee (the closest thing to drip coffee here in Australia). 

After a few luxurious days, we hopped back in our van and headed further south. Along the way we experienced a rather unpleasant and surprising turn of events. We were driving along a six lane motorway when a woman driving a compact car came barreling across the median and collided head on with the car driving next to us. Conor slammed on the brakes just in time and we were able to avoid impact. The other two vehicles involved were not so lucky. We jumped out of the van and helped the two folks who had been traveling along aside us out of their vehicle. They were in absolute shock. The other driver was not so aware, and most likely knocked unconscious by the crash, and was extracted from her vehicle almost an hour later after ambulance and fire crews tore her tiny car apart. Our van was tied up in traffic for quite some time before we were able to escape the city. About an hour later Conor was pulled over for a random breath test. Although it only took moments for the police to clear Conor and for us to continue our travels, the stop was another roadblock in our travel to Melbourne.

After a quick stop in Canberra, Australia's capital city, we drove into the night and eventually stopped to eat and sleep in a small town, Albury, NSW. We parked next to some public toilets and a lovely park and enjoyed an episode of Flight of the Conchords before bed - a much needed laugh after such a long and stressful day.