Perth - Feb 11

Summary: Monkey Mia again, love Hertz, blue skies smiling at me

Thanks to the wonders of an amazing wife, we can show how cool Monkey Mia was a few days ago in video form. Enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/v/hM2JSCmzJ6E

We really did not do much exciting today, although you’ll see I do have the view from our room (Sheraton Perth) and some photos of Alex in front of the Kangaroos, which are in front of the Supreme Court. Now, I’m not saying anything, but it takes a certain degree of self-confidence for a court (a state Supreme Court) to put a mob of kangaroo statues out front. It was just a slow, relaxing day in which we walked around a bit, ate some, and went to the pool, punctuated with a visit to Hertz Perth. I have not had the slightest issue with this car (gotta love Toyota), but I figured after 8,000 km it might need some scheduled maintenance - best to get it now before crossing the Nullarbor. Turns out that at 20,000km, it had not been serviced yet so this little entry may have headed off a bigger entry later.

All parents out there will understand this one: Alex made an epic mess in the hotel room and it took a couple visits from housekeeping to get it back to status quo ante. I’ll leave it at that, but his stomach seems to be better.

Yet another random note that fits in no place in particular – the air here (all of Australia, but especially WA) is just unbelievably clear. At night when there are no clouds, the stars seem really bright and clear. It helps that there is not much industry (or population) to start with in the Southern Hemisphere – then you add that Australian weather comes in off the Indian Ocean (i.e. no dust). Anyhow, the brights are brighter during the day and the stars are more vivid than anything we see back home.

Another aside, I am simply amazed at the traffic we're getting. Here are my last 20 hits (#5 was me). Wow. Thank you all!
1
Italy
Rome, Lazio
2
Netherlands
Den Haag, Zuid-Holland
3
Turkey
Ankara
4
India
Tiruvalla, Kerala
5
Australia
Perth, Western Australia
6
United States
Fremont, California
7
United States
Redwood City, California
8
United States
9
United States
Piedmont, California
10
United States
Fremont, California
11
Australia
Crows Nest, Queensland
12
United Kingdom
London, London, City of
13
United States
Bethesda, Maryland
14
United States
Washington, District of Columbia
15
United States
Fremont, California
16
United States
Fremont, California
17
Australia
Sydney, New South Wales
18
United States
Everett, Washington
19
Germany
Nuremberg, Bayern
20
United States
Hayward, California

When my future web access is questionable, I really gear up on the previewing, don’t I? Tomorrow, we are off to Margaret River. My sore (strep) throat is mostly gone, so I should be able to enjoy the fine grape products of this region. The next day we are off to Denmark/Albany, with a tree top walk in Walpole (and some more wine tasting). Then we cruise along the Great Southern Ocean to Esperance before making our sprint across the Nullarbor. It is conceivable that it could be a week before I log back on at the Hilton in Adelaide. If so, just reread my long-winded posts to date. Thanks again and post lots of comments.