***This post is belated. I had written it some time ago, but just getting to the editing. Three months later, still happy to have left Sydney...***
Our time is up. We have left the Land of Oz. Not looking back. I have so much ahead to take care of...but I'll tell you a little about our final weeks and what I will truly miss about Australia.
Our final weeks included preparing to leave and seeing what we could before we left. Australia is the size of the US so there was no way to see it all. Maybe one day we will go back for a vacation with older children...I could live to never do that flight again with a busy toddler boy. The Muffin was fine, she can be happy with TV, movies and ipad books and games. Huckleberry aka Pork Chop is not so inclined to be still for so long!
We went to Adelaide again and visited a few wineries with The Man's parents who were with us for the trip and staying with us for their Aussie visit. That was fun and "Num" as Pork Chop says! Then we took a ferry to Kangaroo Island, a scenic Ocean Drive to Melbourne to fly to Tasmania. Two weeks, two little ones, the two of us and my in laws. Yes, I am awaiting SAINTHOOD!
We stayed at a little farm called the Al-pac'am Inn (Mispelled). They were a nice couple with lots of animals! We had fresh eggs, a farm tour, and Muffin had her first pony ride at this locale. Pork Chop, who loves riding toys, and rocking horses and bouncy horses, was not interested. Plenty of time and horses here in Texas to take care of his first pony ride! It was a great time and we saw beautiful country and animals. One place we stayed was neighbor to a national park. It was here that we saw lots of wombats and pandemelons (small wallabies). They were just hanging by the cabin and cute. The children just came to expect them. A possum (yeah, its okay, they are kind of cute living outside of your home and they are different than the American possum) came on the porch and seemed to be Eskimo kissing Huckleberry/Pork Chop through the glass door. We went to dairy places, a honey place and seafood places and just had a good time. I'll skip over the final days when we all took turns going down with a nasty virus that messed up our enjoyment of Hobart . How cool to have gone to Tasmania. Ask me in person what the Aussies call it or look at it on the map and guess yo'self!
When we arrived in Hobart, after driving through the mountains, we went to our hotel... smelled horribly of curry and had a kitchen with the bathroom right off of it. Our oldest thought it was really cool. "I like their kitchen bathroom". Quesy tummies could not handle that odor...or the kitchen-bathroom, or having one bathroom and all of us and at least 3 with icky tummies. So, we moved on and found a place on the Harbor. I felt like I reached heaven in a hotel room. We had stayed in cabins and such which were fine...but nothing like creature comforts. From there we went to an airport hotel where the kids and I became well acquainted with the playground ,as the rest of the crew were still down from the virus....It started with Huckleberry and The Man and his Mama tied for last.
Once we got back it was "time is up!" Fortunately, we had packers, but still stuff to do, like all of the laundry that takes so long with the existing appliances, packing us all for a couple months with clothes needed for Hot Houston and winter on the East Coast...getting rid of stuff that we couldn't use here and mentally preparing to move to a hotel, fly out, move in to corporate housing and find another house to live in and cars.
Here we go:
These are the 10 things I will NOT be missing about Australia.
1. These critters: cockroaches, spiders,scorpians and snakes...
2. The need to remember to turn on fan and open window to vent laundry room
3. Sharing one bathroom with whole family and any visitor (I know, spoiled, right?!)
4. Parking in "Car Parks" to do just about anything.
5. Medical Care (the drs at our family practice were very nice and I liked them, but I prefer the full coverage our drs provide when visiting.)
6. Tricky driving...hard to figure out what to do...signage and traffic...
7. NO AIR CON
8. Poor customer service in restaurants
9. EXPENSIVE EVERYTHING!
10. The friends I did not make...hahaha. But both of my American friends in Australia have connections in Houston...how small is this world again? Luckily,the bloggers I stalk can still be relied on for a good laugh or mama commisserating moments from anywhere.
As a rare tribute to Australia, I will attempt the top 10 things from the top of my head that I will miss about Australia.
1. Parks/Playgrounds for kids everywhere
2. Though not convenient, not as FAST FOOD oriented.
3. The beautiful birds, especially my regular visitors; the Rainbow Lorrikeets and Kookaburras.
4. Some of the yummy interesting seafood.
5. Banana Bread
6. Coffee Aussie style. It is deliciousness.....maybe if I had some, I could come up with 7,8,9 and 10.
7. Really cool family bathroom facilities...
