Around Syndey

I've forgotten to mention some other things we've done in Sydney lately including visiting Cam's cousin, Michelle at the National Art School, built in a former convict prison complex. The construction is ubiquitous sandstone blocks seen at every other convict constructed location. The unique portion of this complex was the chapel, at the center of everything. Every building radiated from the chapel had its closest side slightly rounded so that the chapel was visible throughout the complex. Morality was constantly watching.

Speaking of watching, we went to watch the swans play footy. It was a huge loss, 37 points, but even worse was how they played. The best part: I felt right at home with everyone dressed in red & white, like being at a sporting event in Cleveburg.


So that would mean I had to wait until the rain started before the best bits were seen. Wet football is sloppy, regardless of the rules. Although we saw a rainbow (see left side), Cameron wouldn't go with me & look for the pot of gold. Alas, will have to keep looking.

FLASHBACK: San Francisco 03/21-23/2010

We drove from the gold country to meet up with Hugo, Nikole, Aiden, and Lauren in San Francisco. Luckily, Lauchlan was able to overlap with our visit as well. We had a blast, seeing some of the sites like the bridge, visiting the beach (where Cam & Hugo did hand stands), and particularly the botanical gardens (I'm becoming a fan).

Lauchlan, Cameron, & I also took a trip to Alcatraz where I replicated a famous photo that I took years earlier and also got a great shot of the guys checking out the bay.













On the way back from the island and the wharfs, we hitched a ride on a real cable car. Cam was able to snap this pic while holding on.















The most amazing part of our trip, well for almost everyone except me who doesn't do the best with waves, was a sailboat ride around the bay. Even Ted, Cam's bro, was able to join us, it was beautiful, but a little rough according to my stomach.














The lot of us went to the redwood forest. The trees were HUGE and difficult to take a photo of & do them justice.













We also went to the corner of Haight/Ashbury and in a nearby shop, I bought a silk scarf and matching bracelet.

Rainy Sydney Days

Check out this HUGE cruise ship exiting the harbor. I kept watching to see if it would hit the top of the bridge, but we had to get off the ferry.

So its been raining here since I can remember. Days, even over a week, like the snow in MI. The first day I thought "hmmm, I love sleeping with rain pitter pattering on the rooftop" but now its just gotten ridiculous.

It didn't stop Cam & I from heading to the botanical gardens & the Governer's house. We then had lunch at the art museum with Tony & MaryEd (Cam's parents). This first image is of the Chinese garden & is an inflatable lotus flower in a pond that deflates every couple of minutes.


This last photo is of the Governor's house, which is still used. Cam & I have tried to tour it 4x, with this last one being the coup. Its closed during the week for government use, but open to tourists on the weekend. Lots of portraits hang inside, but my favorite part was the dancing/ball room where state medals of honor have been handed out for decades, complete with its musician's balcony (sorry, no pictures were allowed inside).

FLASHBACK: Sacramento, CA 03/17-19/2010

After getting married & leaving Ohio, Cameron & I headed to California. Our first few days were spent in gold country, east of Sacramento, most of the time with Ted, Cam's brother. Here's a shot of the three of us on a man mover that would lower men into a gold mine, Ted is in the middle.

The other photo is Ted next to a stamp. The stamp smashes rock into very small pieces, releasing the gold. The gold is much heavier than the stone and with the help of water and quicksilver, it is separated. We learned a bunch about gold, particularly how to pan for gold appropriately and the devastation of jet water mining. I had no idea that one of the first environmental regulations was to stop hydraulic mining in CA in 1884.


We ate lunch near this spot, overlooking an old hydraulic mine. It closed by 1885, and you can see how much the vegetation has reclaimed in the last 125 years. We visited the Empire Mine, Sutters Mill, Donner Lake, and stayed at a historic hotel on Main Street in Pacerville.

The next flashback will continue our CA adventures with the Buret family in San Francisco.

Cockatoo Weekend

View from Cockatoo Island with an amazing sky. Cameron & I were there from Sunday to Monday for two reasons: Biennale (art show) and an archaeological tour. We saw lots of industry because the island used to be where ships were repaired since convict time. Convicts constructed the first wet/dry dock in the 1840s and it was heavily used during the wars.

Here's an image of the guard house used during the convict period that has been flooded with grinding balls. This may have been one of my favorite installations. The other one were these exploding cars. SWEET!After it got dark, we wandered around the island a bit with our lantern. Taking photos in the dark is difficult: most of the shots were out of focus, but we couldn't get it any better. I took this shot (obviously as he's in it).


Its off to dinner, I made a beef curry tonight and we will be having it over rice. I'll post some older images later tonight from our trip

The "start" of our Adventures

I've started this blog to help stay in touch with family & friends: to chronicle the adventures of Drs. Elizabeth & Cameron. After moving from Michigan, we married on March 6, 2010 in Akron, OH and traveled through California and New Zealand to Australia. I'm going to post current activities and previous traveling adventures too, catching up to the present.

Both Cameron & I are applying for jobs and working on publications. I'll put up some photos on the next post but for now, here is a shot from the back porch of the farm we are staying at for about a week. We'll spend our time here in Moruya and Sydney until we move somewhere for work.