ACMI & Circus

Rainy and cool - no beach activities today.  We walked a few blocks over to Federation Square and went to the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI). http://www.acmi.net.au/ 

Classsic cars on the other side of the building 

'64 Chevy, I think

Inside if you need to run, go this way

We opted for the exhibit that covered the evolution of film, television, digital imagery, etc.

Several hours of over stimulation ensued.

Screen shot from silent picture.

As a techno-geek I really liked this item.  Explanation in next pic.

We also really enjoyed this exhibit.

Different video on each screen continually but the audio was switched on for only one at a time which you had to locate.  The theme was the Australian accent.

Characters from video game - do you recognize them Ben?

Later we went out to watch some of Leigh Ann's friends practising their skills.

Stand back!

My daughter ran off to Australia and joined the circus.  (And I thought that was only an expression.)

Looking North across the Yarra river at Melbourne Business District

Casey has pictures here:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mintydriftwood/?v=1

The next few days will involve some day trips and maybe a road trip.  Not sure what I will be able to post but maybe a summary at some point.

To market, to market

Saturday - Bright sunny day in Melbourne and off we went to the market.

They make me walk behind them since I did not inherit the fashion gene.

(The first part isn't technically correct but the second is.)

It's Queen Victoria's Market but she let us shop there.

One of many aisles, big place

Lamp Shade Robin

Lots of nougats but where were the lollies. . . ?

Don't tell me that you didn't have a fur T-shirt when you were a kid.

$9.90.  Is it just me or do some of the prices seem a bit high?

 

Not sure what part of the dragon these come from but I don't want to be there when they are picked

Seriously talented street musician

We really had fun checking out the wares at the market, shopping for some groceries and sampling some food.  The spicy lamb and veggie borak is tasty.

Leigh Ann put us on to a local band called "Tiger and Me".  Since they were playing at a bar across town we loaded up the van and went to see them.  Casey is a master at getting us around.

What's wrong with this picture?

 

There were six members constrained to an area roughly the size of a walk-in closet but they had a great sound.

 Really talented and I enjoyed them immensely.  Makes me want to start a band but then I should probably learn to play an instrument first.

Here is a little taste of their music.

Also if you are interested here is a link where you can check them out.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2eHMPxqGHY

After standing inside for awhile we scored a table on the sidewalk where we enjoyed "front row seats".  When the food and beer arrived I thought this retirement thing is just really working out very nicely.  They played for a couple of hours and then it was on to the Footy match.

You do know about Footy, right?  Australian rules football.  Seems to be a combination of soccer, rugby, hockey, nuclear war and maybe some boxing.  No pads.  I didn't think we would get a chance to see this because the season doesn't start until April but we did get to go to a preseason game.  Great!! 

If you pay enough you can get an entire section all to yourself.

 

St Kilda vs Geelong, before hostilites were resumed

Note the plethora of goalposts.  Makes it seem sort of like quidditch.  A ball kicked through the outer posts is worth one point.  Six points through the center posts.  Through the center posts from beyond the 50(meter?) arc is a super goal worth 9.  A ball can be kicked through while in play or while play is stopped.  They all seemed to know which was appropriate.

Players try to advance the ball towards their goal by tossing underhand, punching the ball to a teammate, or kicking it to them.  They were amazingly good at kicking it to each other.  The ball is sort of like an oblong soccer ball.  Occasionally they dribbled the ball but evidently only when they felt like it.  Sometimes players were tackled and sometimes just invited to play on.  The whistle blew frequently but play almost never stopped.

Know where the ball is??  Hint it's yellow.

Score!!!

Evidently a good play - at least a lot of people cheered.

St Kilda eventually won 106 to 51 but Geelong will have it together for the season I'm sure

Yer typical Footy fans

I gotta say the day was really super.  Couldn't have asked for a better time!

Basic Black

A day of adjustment. 

So we had some crepes (tasty!) for a late brunch, did the currency exchange thing (did this while the crepes were under construction so we could pay for them), and went to the visitor center.  Visitor center was terrific.  Amazing all the stuff there is to see and do just in and around Melbourne.  We could be months just doing that.

Staged a protest on further activities in the afternoon until dinner.  It was really good to just hang out with Leigh Ann and Robin and share some time together while our body clocks tried to get within eyesight of this time zone.

For dinner we traveled to North Melbourne (one of the dozen or so named areas of the city).  Up by taxi, back by streetcar or tram as they are called.  Some of Casey's coworkers joined us for dinner and the occasion was the celebration of Casey's birthday which was this week.  Happy birthday, Casey!

Returning to the apartment, a late nite party formed at the Robot bar which is on the ground floor of the apartment building.  "The kids" had a good time while "gramps" begged off and stayed in. 

Here is a picture of the birthday boy and some party goers.

 That baby does not belong to anyone in the picture.  Robin found it somewhere.

From the side window of the guest bedroom.

The title for today's blog comes from the fact that (while not necessarily shown above) there is a noticeable prevalence of black in the local wardrobe.  Ever go to a gathering in casual wear and everyone else is dressed up?  That is sort of what I feel like walking around Melbourne.  I've never lived in the heart of a big city but it would be neat to have ready public transportation and so many shops and restaurants so close.

Indian cuisine right across the street

Much quieter with the windows closed last night by the way.

Day ??!?!??

Well that was quite a trip!

Here is some time-lapse photography for you.

At Columbus Airport Tuesday AM

At Melbourne Airport ~34 hours later. . .

Leigh Ann, "Dad, you look surprisingly good".  Me, "I'm just glad to be off the airplane!"

Flight from LA arrived at Sydney.  You have heard of the Sydney Opera House, right?

See that white structure, center left?  Well that's not it.

We circled the bay just south of the one with the Opera House so didn't get a chance to see it. 

My flight schedule got jumbled from the start.  Flight leaving Columbus to Chicago was delayed and ruined the connections so they rerouted me through Los Angeles.  I flew into Sydney and Robin flew into Aukland. Then we both arrived Melbourne within about 90 minutes of each other.  As I cleared customs the agent pointed me to a doorway that seemed like an elevator door.  When the door opened there was a wall of people waiting - 99% of whom were disappointed that it was me.  Ahh, but there were two that were happy and waving.

Driving into Melbourne we got our first look at the city.  It is a very attractive, modern city.  Clean with somewhat of a cosmopolitan flavor.  I would say it makes me think of Montreal, but I've never been to Montreal.  :)  We relaxed a bit then did a little walking tour of the immediate area including a large very nice park alongside a river that goes through the city.  We sat and watched bunches of kids rowing while their coaches called instruction from the side.  Activities like this are organized around clubs rather than schools evidently.  As tired as we were, Leigh Ann was right in her suggestion to get out and about, stay up until late and get the jet lag shifted as much as possible. 

I definitely know that I am not in Kansas, anymore.  The apartment is neat and has very high ceilings with gigantic windows.  Leaving the windows open for ventilation acts as very effective sound collection technique for the streetcars, car horns, motorcycles, police sirens and trash trucks.  Something like a clothes dryer full of random car parts if you can imagine.  Even with ear plugs, I woke up frequently laughing, thinking to myself - you've got to be kidding.  The street is narrow and the sound must be concentrated.  I'm sure I will quickly get used to it - I just hope that I can sleep ok when I go home and it is quiet.

A few random observations.

It's not Melbourne - its Melbun

Very strange to follow behind a car with only the driver in it.  Looks like the car is driving itself.

Its not ketchup - its tomato sauce.

I just love the accent

Seems incredible that you can fly halfway around the world in one go but given that, 14 hours in an economy class seat is just simply painful.  Ibuprofen is my friend.

Left Tueday AM and after about a day and a half of traveling arrived in Melbourne Thursday around noon while it is still Wednesday in Ohio.  Not only that but I think the sun comes up in the wrong place here.  More on that later.

Day 0

Blast off.  See you on the other side.

Day -1

Ok folks, move along.  Nothing to see here - just a guy piling up stuff to take and wondering what he is forgetting.

Day -2

So today I did some more trip preparation.  I worked on several things and tried not to watch too much basketball.  (Like THAT is even possible.)  I worked over our little netbook by activating the free copy of McAfee and downloading the latest Microsoft updates.  Ran a scan using Microsoft Defender.  Spent some time trying to understand the interactions between defender and McAfee.  Not sure if I should have both active at the same time.  Microsoft Defender is limited to spyware if I understand correctly.  I purchased a little wireless mouse to use with the netbook.  Makes it a lot more convenient.  I think this part of the prep is about ready but I still have to check downloading pics from the camera. 

I downloaded a bunch of podcasts for the MP3 player.  The Moth, This American Life, and bunches of RadioLab.  If I can't sleep when I'm 6 miles high over the Pacific at least I can be entertained.  (Long as the battery lasts anyway.)  I picked up a few other things.  I wanted a little zipper bag to put some cash in so its not all in my wallet.  I found some in the womens handbag section.  I had numerous choices all with some sort of glitter, sparkle, or neon color.  I finally found a gray one with a black strap.  I thought, "I can make this work, all I have to do is cut off the giant "LOL" letters on the side."  (They all had either "LOL" or "BFF", or "OMG", etc)  Later I realized it had pink stitching.  Well what the heck - it's going to be in the bottom of my bag - it's not like anyone will know.

Day -3

So what do you know about Australia and New Zealand anyway?  This type of trip is rare enough for me to feel like I need to do some serious preparation to get the most out of it.  Turns out two months isn't really enough. 

Robin and I have both been enjoying a book that we have each been reading.  The book is "In a Sunburned Country" by Bill Bryson.  It has been great fun reading about Australia before going there.  He recounts his experience when he toured a great deal of the country in 2000.  I learned about some of the history, the lay of the land, cultural aspects, wildlife, and the seemingly endless ways you can be seriously harmed.  " ... Australia has more things that can kill you in extremely nasty ways than anywhere else: sharks, crocodiles, the ten most deadly poisonous snakes on the planet, fluffy yet toxic caterpillars, seashells that actually attack you, and the unbelievable box jellyfish (don't ask)."  Of course we need to throw in rip currents and the murderous outback and we haven't even mentioned the spiders.  And let's not. . . .  

I learned a lot that I didn't know.  For example - I bet that you didn't know either that evidently a nuclear bomb was detonated in the outback by the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo.  (These are the same nuts that used sarin gas to kill people in a Japanese subway back in the 90s.)  Anyway, Australia is so big that you can set off a nuclear bomb and hardly anyone will notice.  Bryson deals with this and a lot more with good humor and I recommend the book.

A Beginning

So after two truly memorable and heartwarming retirement parties . . .

What comes next?  Well why not spend a big chunk of what would have been the kids inheritance and make a trip down under?  It's a place that I have always been curious about and since Leigh Ann is there for several months in combination with the aforementioned retirement it seemed like a very good opportunity.  As much as she would like to go, Candy doesn't feel like she can handle THAT long of a trip.  (Someone would get hurt)  So we have asked Robin to go along and provide some adult supervison.  Good thing too as Robin has been serving in the role of professional travel planner.  While she said she loves to do travel planning, this one might be putting her to the test. . .

So while it all sounds like fun and games, right now there is lots to do to get ready.  Everything from making sure stuff is ready around the house to figuring out and procuring the right gear to getting diving instruction so I can go diving with the girls while I'm there.  How can you travel to Australia and not go diving on the great barrier reef?  (I'm not even sure that is legal)  This first trip will probably ruin me for diving anyplace else.  It's a chance I'll have to take.

Can't hang around here typing all day - there is stuff to do.  I must be off . . ..