I'm back in Sydney!

For all of you that have been waiting with baited breath - I'm back! It was an amazing trip. I really enjoyed my whole trip. For starters - here are my pictures in a somewhat chronological order:

1. Canberra
2. Melbourne
3. The Healsville Animal Sanctuary
4. The bush & ocean (including Lakes Entrance and the Snowy River)

I really enjoyed everything. I won't go into EVERY detail (seriously, I had such an amazing time that it would take HOURS, maybe DAYS), but I drove down to Canberra on Monday and went to the Parliament and saw the Prime Minister and the Senate having their question and answer session. It was hilarious. Then I went over and wandered through the National Gallery - loved it. The next day I drove down to Melbourne and met Tony. She and I instantly hit it off. We had dinner and she recommended the Healsville Animal Sanctuary if I wanted to see animals. So on Wednesday I drove out to the Sanctuary and LOVED it. I saw Koalas, Tassie Devils, and got to pet & feed a Kangaroo (you would have laughed to see me lining up with the kids out on school trips to feed them)! It was the best day. I spent 5 hours there before driving back to the city to meet Tony for dinner.

Thursday I headed out to the bush and met Tony's dad, Laurence White. (Ironically, that was my grandfather's name). He made me lunch and drove me all over the place - showing me the Tambo river and the surrounding towns. We had a grand time just tooling around. That night he took me to a local pub for dinner. We got on famously. I decided that one afternoon was not going to be enough for me, so I called the rental company and they allowed me to keep the car one extra day, so I stayed for Friday and had the BEST day. Tony came back from the city and we went down to town in the morning - she did some grocery shopping and I found the PERFECT fisherman's sweater at a store called the Jolly Jumbuk (sheep) in Bairnsville. I fell in love with it. Then we went back to the house and packed tea - and then proceeded to drive me all over the place! They really showed me everything - places tourists don't get to. I saw the Snowy River, Lakes Entrance, they took me to the beach and waited patiently while I frolicked around on the empty beach, saw wallaby and kangaroo in the wild - amazing. Tony knows SO much about natural history, so she was a fountain of information. I loved hearing their stories - Laurence about growing up in the north of Australia and being in WWII here in Australia, Tony's stories about her career as a surgeon. We had the best time. I just remember standing on the shore of the ocean and feeling overjoyed. I am so glad that I went.

Today I drove back up the Prince's Highway, in total awe of the mountains and the ocean. It was the best trip. I have to say this week has been one of the best I've spent here. I'm so glad that I rented the car. I'm glad I drove down to Melbourne & took Tony's advice about the Sanctuary. I'm even MORE glad that I stayed one extra day in the bush. I was really like a kid - each new thing was more amazing than the last. Just when you think the day couldn't get any better, it did.