Home Sweet Home.

We have signed the lease for our new place in Port Melbourne.  Let's take a tour...

The front.  Tiny little front yard.

The living room...right when you walk in the front door.  The color
is a bit off, but yes, they are red leather couches.

The cool little pop-in the living room...let's in a lot of light.

The doors open, too!

The "study" as it was called in the brochure.
Really, it's a hall way with a couch.

Master bedroom and a KING SIZE BED!!!

Bedroom #2 with a KING SIZE BED!!!

City skyline from the second bedroom.

Kitchen (on the ground floor) with the door wall that completely
opens up to a covered porch and back yard.

Outdoor area...love this.  And a brand new grill!

Back yard.  Well, no yard, but area! 

And, just in case you were wondering...yes, we still have a red shag rug - in the kitchen.  And, just for good measure, we have a black and white one in the living room.

And, there are a couple of things that we'll put in a drawer...since it comes furnished, we can't really say that we don't want certain things in the house. But if we could, I assure you, this statue would go.  I suppose it goes with the awful pictures that I hate in our current apartment!

Her new home will be in a drawer, not on the
TV cabinet in the living room...

I Don't Think We're at the Cricketer's Arm.

We had been planning to head to a footy match with a big group of people for quite some time, and part of that planning included a good ol'American tailgate.  You see, the folks here in Melbourne don't really tailgate prior to sporting events.  There could be many reasons for this, including:

• City living doesn't really afford the space to keep all of the tailgating essentials - grill, tent, table, chairs, ect.
• Very strict drinking and driving laws (1/2 the legal limit as the states).
• Public transport to the stadiums is abundant.
• Limited parking lots due to the stadiums being in the city...having previously tailgated in a car park, it's not recommended.

Unfortunately, Melbourne weather struck again, and Saturday was forecast to be cold and windy with rain and hail (not the best tailgating weather).

So, our mate, Michael, put together a Pre-game Tasting Tour (not to be mistaken for a Pub Crawl, which only a bunch of bogens would go on...).

Our tickets and itinerary for the day.

We headed out around 2pm to begin the tour and were greeted with sunny skies and mild weather...a perfect day for tailgating...

The day began at the Swan Hotel, where we proceeded to have a couple of beers and some nibbles.  

Swan Hotel in Richmond.

Refreshing way to start at Saturday.

We then headed to the Richmond Hotel, then off to the London Hotel for some dinner. 

Part of the crew leaving the Richmond Club Hotel.

Jeffie has experience pouring a good beer.

Me and Jeffie in our team gear.  Go The Cats!

Matt often gives Jeffie this look.

Our last pre-game stop was the Royal Hotel.  Be warned, if you are in the Richmond section of Melbourne, this is NOT the Cricketer's Arm (which is where we thought we were), and there is no warning to the contents of the inside...

NOT the Cricketer's Arm.

We then made our way to the game, where we had great seats and the skies opened up and it continued to rain for the rest of the evening.

If it looks like there is a cloud in the stadium, you're almost right...
it was pouring.

Rival fans in front of us, that Jeff harassed the entire game.  He's really
quite witty when it comes to harassing 9-year olds.  Their dad's weren't
impressed.

Putting our tour guide in a head-lock.

While Geelong lost, we had a great time, despite the rainy game and the almost 2 hour trek home.  In the RAIN.  

Good times trekking through Melbourne in the rain.

Our living room looked like a laundry mat this morning, with all of our clothes drying on the backs of chairs and the drying rack.

Randoms from Auckland.

I was in New Zealand for work last week, and I took a couple of pictures...just randoms:

Bar in the hotel in Takapuna.

Cool art installation with body-painted people.

Sunset from my hotel room...

Continued...not so shabby.

Auckland at night.

Happy Birthday, My Love!

Hey, Hey Jeffie, it's your birthday!

Hoping this, your 35th year is full of wonderful memories, lots of love and laughter.  I love you, Toots!

Hiking on French Island, Australia

3-D glasses are HOT.

"What up, Fishes?"

Skiing out west...Mammoth?  Park City?  Tahoe?

Not sure what to say...

XBOX Konnect is a full-contact sport...hence the eye-protection. 

Stuck in a crevice.

Licking green ant butts.

Completely empty beach on Phillip Island, Australia.

Jeff thinks he is the adopted son of Steve Irwin.

State of Origin rugby match...Queensland Rocks.

Out on the town before the footy.

Some Warmth in the Winter Weather.

Last weekend, while Jeffie was exploring the Mornington Peninsula, I was up in Townsville, Queensland attending a V8 Race.  The thought behind me scheduling a trip to this race was that it's the middle of the winter in Australia, and I was pretty sure that I would need some sunshine right about now...and Queensland is where you go if you need sunshine.

Well, this is what the weather looked like when I checked early in the week:

It's supposed to be sunny in Townsville all the time...

So, I had to keep my fingers crossed that it would all work out and we'd have sunshine...

Arriving on Friday night, the weather was warm, but cloudy.  Saturday at the race was again, warm and cloudy, with a pretty good chance of rain.  While it wasn't sunny, at least it was warm!

I've been on so many pit tours at this point, I could probably give them.

The location of our suite was pretty good - at the end of pit lane on the
front straight.

Wait, is that blue sky and the SUN?!

The track is a road course, and getting to it means that you are walking
through neighborhoods...my guess is that the locals are tired of the race
fans coming into their yards.  This house decided to warn potential
unwelcome guests with a simple warning, "DOG."

Sunday morning, we decided to head to see some local Townsville sights before heading over to the track.  The Strand is their beachfront area where they have sea baths, life guard training, and beach.

Sea baths in Townsville

Stingers are a danger, even in the sea baths.

Rocky cliffs.

After visiting the Strand, we headed to Castle Hill, which is a mini-mountain in the middle of the coastal town.  One of the locals suggested that we should walk the 2.4km up the hill, but thankfully we decided to drive...it was a windy road up a very steep mini-mountain, but the views once we got to the top were awesome!

Just in case you forgot where you were.

In honor of Captain Robert Towns, after whom
Townsville is named.

Another tribute for community service.

View from Castle Hill.  The island to the left is Magnetic Island.
Maggie Island for the locals.

 All in all, a good weekend.  Not a great race finish, but at least I got some warmth back in my bones...