Sun rise from Ethan and my early morning trip to the beach
Port Douglas
More of the early morning trip
Same... minus me.
Beach
Same
Same
Island we snorkeled off of
Napping on the beach
Reef
More reef
Snorkel buddies... suits explained below.
Reef
Reef/Clam
Reef/Fish
Is it Kari... or Jacques Cousteau?
Ethan playing on the beach
I don't have any pictures of the rain forest because they're still on the camera and its packed and I'm too lazy to get it out and get them loaded so I'll post them at a later date.
I’ll just put this out there now… this is going to be long. Real long. So, get a coffee, or glass of wine or whatever it is that helps you relax while you read novels cause you’re going to need it. For those getting on in age a pre-emptive trip to the bathroom may be in order. I also didn't proofread a single thing... not that I ever do but more errors could show up due to the length of this.
Monday was pretty average. Ethan wasn’t quite ready to go to bed at his bed time so he and I laid on the couch for a while watching hockey. Yes, I’m going to continue to mention every time Ethan watches hockey with me. It completely makes my day so get used to it. : )
Tuesday was our last day in the Sydney office. It wasn’t real sad because it wasn’t the last time we’ll see everyone. We’re going to meet up with them after our trip here is done. It’s actually kind of a relief for me that its over because back in Des Moines I’ll actually get real stuff to work on again. A lot of the work I’ve had here hasn’t been the most challenging/rewarding. Don’t get me wrong, working in Sydney has been great. I just wish I would have had more to work on. It was great getting to meet a whole new group of people though. We couldn’t have asked for better co-workers over here. They were sure to include us (one of us at a time cause the other was babysitting Mr. Boogerface) in everything. They were great to give us ideas on what we needed to see and do while in Sydney as well. Overall they are just a great group of people.
Tuesday was also Ethan’s last day of daycare in Sydney. We’re going to stop by when we get back so he can see all his little friends one more time before we head back to the states so we didn’t do the official goodbye yet for them either. Once again we couldn’t have asked for a better group of teachers. They were so good with him those first couple weeks as he adjusted and continued to be throughout our entire stay. He really loves his current teach whose name is Dimi. We’re going to miss her as well because she is so fun to talk to and always keeps us up to date on Ethan’s progress. Since it was his last official day though they had a little party for him. Kari brought in marshmallows (pretty much all you’re allowed to bring in) and they were all thrilled to have them with their afternoon tea. When we were picking him up Ethan and his friend Annica were giving each other good bye hugs. We’ve gotten to know her and her mom pretty well because they eat breakfast with us(usually Kari) each morning. It was pretty cute to watch though. Annica is a bit of the hefty side right now so her last hug ended up being a two point takedown on Ethan. Sadly Ethan’s head bounced off the floor so we ended up leaving with Ethan in tears. I’m glad we get to go back so that’s not their last memory of him.
When we finally made it home Ethan and I spent more time watching hockey. After he went to bed Kari and I went on a mad packing spree because we both kind of had a panic attack that we won’t be ready when the time comes and not everything is going to fit. After we finished I felt more comfortable with it. Kari continued to obsess about it…. I’m fairly certain this personality trait has been transferred to Ethan and that is why he is so OCD about certain things.
Wednesday was one of the longest days I’ve had in recent memory. Woke up early… again. It’s a bad habit I’ve picked up the last couple of weeks. Anyway, we all got up, go ready to go and then headed up to Wynyard Station to catch the train to the airport. Its always a treat dragging two huge suitcases through a train station at rush hour. Once we got to the airport and settled in we spent a good deal of time looking out the window watching planes with Ethan. Every time one would come towards us he would yell ‘here it comes’ and when they’d leave the gates he’d yell ‘there it goes!’ Surprisingly that killed the time pretty quickly and it wasn’t long before we were boarding. Being lucky like we are we were seated in the second to last row amongst two other toddlers. Thankfully all three of them behaved really well during the flight and none of them had any sort of meltdowns. About 3 hours later we landed in the Cairns(pronounced ‘Cans’) airport. This put us at about 12:30 PM. Once we collected our bags we hopped on a bus up to Port Douglas which is where the hotel is located. Ethan fell asleep for about 20 minutes on the bus and that was the extent of his nap for the day… and this is where the wheels fell off. The moral of the story is when Ethan doesn’t nap we all pay. We finally got to the hotel about 2:45. The hotel itself is really nice. There are two pool and it has a Spanish look/feel to it. We did a quick tour of the town and then a quick run to the grocery store and picked up some stuff since the hotel is apartment style and we can cook. The town itself is really small… you can walk end to end in about 10 minutes. But, its really nice and quiet which we like. At this point all 3 of us were exhausted but the difference is when Ethan gets exhausted he gets really naughty. And when Kari and I are exhausted and Ethan is very naughty things go downhill. I won’t get into all the details but let’s just say Ethan spent a lot of time pushing our buttons, Kari spent a lot of time pushing my buttons and I was completely innocent the entire time. We ended up getting pizza from a place right across the street and bringing it back here to watch the hockey game. When it ended at 6:30 PM I was praying it was really 7:30 and we could start putting Ethan to bed. It wasn’t… and that next hour moved so slow. Ethan passed out before 8:00; I was in bed at 8:20 and out by 8:45. I can’t remember the last time I was in bed that early. But, it sure was nice.
Thursday morning arrived and with all 3 of us rested it was going to be a better day. We spent the morning playing in the apartment and Ethan turned the remote into a phone and started ‘calling’ people. Kari asked who he was calling and he said, Ben, Ellen and papa. Sorry to those of you who didn’t make the cut… there’s always next time. Anyway, after a while we headed up to the park we saw on the walk Wednesday and spent an hour there before heading to the beach. We spent another hour there… the waves are pretty much non-existent and you can only swim in a small area because of the stinging jellyfish in the water so its not the most exciting beach(I later learned the waves suck because the ocean swell is broken up at the reef). Ethan and I spent most of the time picking up sand on shore, walking a little ways into the ocean and throwing the sand into the ocean. It was a blast let me tell you. After that we headed back, changed and had lunch at the Central Hotel. The food was eh, the service sucked and the prices were ridiculous. Overall it was a great experience. After lunch Ethan and I took a nap together before we spent the afternoon at the pool. Ethan really enjoys pushing me in the water and turning the bubbles on in the not hot hot tub. He also kept running around the pool even though we told him to stop because the wood was went and eventually wiped our and hurt his elbow which required kisses from mommy. Most of the pool is surrounded by brick but they put some wood in in one area and essentially turn the area into a skating rink. Not sure the logic behind that decision but it is most certainly flawed. After getting cleaned up we had dinner at a place called Mango Jam. It was good food, good prices and good service. All the things lunch wasn’t. And, on top of that Kari dominated the crossword puzzle in the kids menu so next time you see her be sure to congratulate her on this accomplishment. After dinner we decided ice cream was in order so we stopped there before heading home for the night.
Friday was the big day I had been looking forward to for quite a while… we got up, got ready to go and headed down to the marina to catch a boat to the reef. We did a Quicksilver Tour on a big sailboat that included a glass bottom boat ride and of course snorkeling. Getting out to the islands was rather unpleasant. As soon as we got on the boat they offered us anti-sea sickness pills. We tried to crush one up to give to Ethan but he didn’t get much at all and he ended up with a stomach ache. I got a headache that thankfully went away once we reached the islands. Trying to walk around while the boat was moving was quite the adventure. Sadly I think Ethan had better sea legs than I did. I think its just cause he’s lower to the ground and has a lower center of gravity. I can’t deal with him already being better at stuff than I am when he’s only 2. After that things got awesome. We did the glass bottom boat ride first and they just got me anxious to get in the water. We did manage to see one sea turtle while in the boat so that was cool. After that we grabbed some lunch then took the launch to the island. There are some nasty box jellyfish in the area and if they sting you a trip to the hospital is in order. They are really bad in the couple months prior to us getting there and even though for the most part they had moved on they still recommend you wear full lycra body suits. It serves a dual purpose… one it protects you from the jellyfish and two it protects you from the sun so you don’t have to wear lotion which they like cause it washes off and can affect the coral. And those two benefits are on top of making you look awesome so it was really a win/win situation. Anyway, I can’t even describe how awesome the reef was. I don’t even know the words to say but lets just say I could have spent days there. The pictures and video I took really don’t do it justice but I’m still glad we decided to rent the digital camera from the tour company. Originally we just had a water proof disposable one with only 27 pictures. We took over 150 pictures and a couple minutes of video. Kari did some snorkeling as well and did pretty well considering it was her first time. My last two times out I spent almost the entire time trying to find a sea turtle… sadly I came up empty handed. I was a little disappointed but overall it was so cool. We took turns playing with Ethan on the beach and in the shallow water. He surprisingly loved his lycra suit. Eventually he passed out on the beach and took a nap. It’s a rough life he has… Sadly, our day did come to an end and he we had to head back… it was another fun trip in rough seas. Well over half of the group on the boat was comprised of a group of people on a company trip who had apparently had far too much fun the night before. Some people never got off the boat to snorkel, others did for just a couple minutes and almost all of them slept on the way out and back. I was shocked and couldn’t believe people would waste the opportunity to see the reef. I realize most are native Australians so they can come back but Kari asked one guy who never got off the boat if he had been before and he said no. What a waste… Anyway, that night we had Mexican for the first time since we got here at a place called Tortilla. It was good… but so far overpriced it was ridiculous. Every so often that night both Kari and I felt like we were still on the boat at time and our legs would get wobbly. It was a strange sensation.
Saturday I got up early and actually found the motivation to go for a run along the beach. It was probably the most scenic/relaxing run I’ve had. Getting back to the US and running on bike trails/sidewalks doesn’t quite have the same appeal. Anyway, we spent the morning at the beach playing in the ocean and on the beach. The ocean there is very shallow so Ethan and I walked way out into the surf and he loved it. We got lunch from a sandwich place called Under Wraps. Kari ordered a sandwich with Pesto sauce but asked for no Pesto so she didn’t get the nuts. They ended up putting the sauce on so I bit the bullet and traded sandwiches because I didn’t want a hospital visit putting a cramp in my vacation. I really am a giver… The afternoon we wandered around town and did some souvenir shopping and just enjoying the day. The weather was fantastic the entire time we were there and that afternoon was no exception. We grilled steaks for dinner that night and they were really tasty. It was only the second time we’ve grilled since we got here so I’m definitely looking forward to grilling more when we get back. After that we went to a place called Wicked Ice Cream and had some dessert. We spent the rest of the night watching a SpongeBob Marathon on Nickelodeon. Its sad when you’ve seen almost every episode three times now. Though, that is by far the most enjoyable show Ethan watches. I’m shocked at twisted it is sometimes.
Sunday was the second of our day trips while up there. This time we were picked up in a giant 4WD truck and headed out to the Daintree Rainforest. The rain forest was OK I guess.... not nearly as cool as I expected but still pretty impressive. According to our guide its actually the oldest rain forest in the world and they think all rain forests spawned from that location before the continents shifted and broke apart. I found that fascinating. There is a mountain top there that is always covered in rain/clouds and that's where it all started. I’m going to need everyone who just read that to send me $9.95 to offset the cost of our trip. Thanks. Anyway, the drive up was really scenic and we drove through quite a few sugar plantations. Its every where up there because they get so much rain… around 3-4 meters a year. For you uncivilized folks not using the metric system that’s about 10-13 feet. Anyway, the rain forest is now Heritage listed so no further development can be done anywhere within the area but there are around 700 people living in the forest itself despite the fact there are no phones, electricity, running water, sewer, garbage removal, internet or even gasp… cell phones! The humanity!! I won’t get into a lot of the details of what we learned and saw… mainly a bunch of different types of trees and a few animals but if you want to learn more about the forest itself you can visit here: http://www.daintreerainforest.com/
Our first stop was at The Discovery Center where we were taken around by a guide and he showed us various plants and what they are and how they grew before we ended with a climb to the top of the canopy tower. It was a pretty impressive view. After that we drove on to Cape Tribulation which is a popular beach destination in the rainforest itself. Its where Captain Cook(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cook) ran aground in the reef while sailing around Australia and mapping the coast. He named it that because after running aground he had several hard months trying to find a place to run his ship aground to repair and then actually repairing it. After that we headed back into the rainforest and stopped and had a steak lunch before continuing on to our river cruise where we saw three crocodiles on the river. We were lucky enough to see the biggest one in the area whom the locals call Albert. He was almost 6 meters in length and over 800 kilos. He was more impressive to witness. After that we headed down to Mossman Gorge. Its basically just some rapids in a river. Then it was time to head home. We left at 9:15 and didn’t get home until 5:30 or so and Ethan did so well. I got compliments from 4 other groups of on our tour who were really impressed with how well behaved he was. I’m sure when they saw a 2 year old get on they were expecting the worst but seeing how he has my genes in him he was a perfect angel.
Monday was our last day there and for whatever reason we were all up pretty early so Ethan and I headed up to the beach to do some coral hunting and watch the sunrise. It was really cool to see and we got quite the haul from gathering. You aren’t allowed to take anything from island where we actually did the snorkeling so I had to go to the beach in Port Douglas and get the stuff that washed up on the beach there. We spent a good part of the morning at the park. Ethan and I did some swinging, climbing and we went down the fire pole together as well. That wasn’t the smoothest thing I’ve ever attempted but I didn’t drop him or crack his head on anything so I call it a success. Checkout time was supposed to be 10:00AM but thankfully they let us extend it until 2:00PM since we weren’t getting picked up until 2:30. So, after Ethan took an early nap we spent the afternoon playing in the pool. Ethan loved pushing me in the pool and was constantly bossing me around. Like mother like son… : ) After that the bus picked us up and we headed down to the airport with one of the most aggravating women in the world. The volume of her voice makes the Louis family sound like they’re whispering and if she would have said ‘yeahhhhhhh’ one more time I was going to climb on top of the seats and drop an elbow on her head. Not only was she loud, but she forgot her luggage at the hotel so we had to turn around once and then as we pulled into the airport she realized she had forgotten another bag. What a piece of work. Anyway, after that we were on the plane and saying Ethan was ornery was an understatement. Nothing seemed to hold his interest long until I pulled out the laptop and put on the videos of himself. The movie for this flight was ‘Confessions of a Shop-aholic’ and I pulled my first Mike Brett and got pissed and took off the headphones after 10 minutes. I wanted to do it at 5 minutes but figured I’d give it a little more time. It was a wasted 5 minutes and I was less than pleased. Seriously, why would the airline even consider that movie? Half the population has no interest in it and from what I could see by looking back every so often it was a predictable piece of garbage on top of being a disgusting example of everything wrong with America. Ok, I think I got that rant out of my system. We eventually landed and hopped on the train before getting home abut 9:30 PM. Ethan went to bed in his clothes and I changed his diaper and put his PJ bottoms on while he slept. When he woke up this morning he noticed he had his shirt on from yesterday but his PJ pants on and he was pissed and wanted his shorts back on. I don’t even pretend to understand how his mind works.
Today we got up and had a goodbye breakfast with our co-workers here. It was a lot of fun and it was good to see them one last time. I’m going to miss them. After that we stopped by Ethan’s daycare so he could say bye to his friends and teachers. We’re going to miss them as well but it’ll be nice to get back to his friends and teachers in the US. While we were walking from breakfast to the daycare center Ethan started yelling all his words in a scary voice and scared more than one person when we were waiting at the corner for the crosswalk to change. It was hilarious… he loves to perform and get laughs. Despite my awesomeness I don’t know what’s going to happen the rest of the day but if its memorable it’ll make the next post. Lord knows the 20 hour flight will have more than a few stories…
Random facts because this is too long and I’m tired of typing:
- Ethan now says ‘There you go’ when he does something for you or gets something done because when I’m working with him on stuff and get gets it right I always say that.
- On the vacation Ethan got frustrated trying to put his juice in the fridge and yelled ‘Come on!’ Again, I’ll take the blame there.
- Ethan has added two new songs to his repertoire: Twinkle Twinkle, Bah Bah Black Sheep
- Despite his young age he really should write a book called ‘Delay Tactics 101’ I’ve never seen a kid more gifted in the art of delaying bed time. On vacation he was supposed to be eating lunch and was barely touching anything and after 20 minutes I decided it was time to nap and suddenly his appetite came rushing back and we had to eat then.
- When Ethan gets mad at you he often gets into a stare downs competition with whichever one of us he is mad at. Sunday, on the bus to the rain forest, Kari and him got into an epic battle… it was pretty amusing and I’m pretty sure Kari broke first. He’s a determined little booger head.
- Often times when Ethan wants something I’m not always sure what he’s saying so I’ll repeat what I think he said back to him to verify and he almost always says ‘Ok’ in a tone that makes it seem like it was your idea in the first place. Its pretty funny.
- Ethan’s ‘Rainman’ routine is going full blast right now. It doesn’t matter how many times you acknowledge whatever it is he is saying he just keeps repeating himself over and over and over again…
- Ethan is still learning to say ‘it’s mine’. Right now he says ‘dats my one’ when he is claiming ownership over an object.
- He loves police cars and fire trucks. Today we saw a fire truck as we were walking around and Ethan waved and they waved back and he had the biggest smile after that. Also, when he sees a police truck he calls them ‘police car trucks’.
World record for longest post ever. As of right now its 4043 words and 22 paragraphs. Anyway… we head back to the states tomorrow so the next time I post it’ll be back in the good ol’ U S of A. Australia has been amazing and I’m really glad we got to come but I’m also really excited to get home and see everyone!
Cheers,
Joel
Monday was pretty average. Ethan wasn’t quite ready to go to bed at his bed time so he and I laid on the couch for a while watching hockey. Yes, I’m going to continue to mention every time Ethan watches hockey with me. It completely makes my day so get used to it. : )
Tuesday was our last day in the Sydney office. It wasn’t real sad because it wasn’t the last time we’ll see everyone. We’re going to meet up with them after our trip here is done. It’s actually kind of a relief for me that its over because back in Des Moines I’ll actually get real stuff to work on again. A lot of the work I’ve had here hasn’t been the most challenging/rewarding. Don’t get me wrong, working in Sydney has been great. I just wish I would have had more to work on. It was great getting to meet a whole new group of people though. We couldn’t have asked for better co-workers over here. They were sure to include us (one of us at a time cause the other was babysitting Mr. Boogerface) in everything. They were great to give us ideas on what we needed to see and do while in Sydney as well. Overall they are just a great group of people.
Tuesday was also Ethan’s last day of daycare in Sydney. We’re going to stop by when we get back so he can see all his little friends one more time before we head back to the states so we didn’t do the official goodbye yet for them either. Once again we couldn’t have asked for a better group of teachers. They were so good with him those first couple weeks as he adjusted and continued to be throughout our entire stay. He really loves his current teach whose name is Dimi. We’re going to miss her as well because she is so fun to talk to and always keeps us up to date on Ethan’s progress. Since it was his last official day though they had a little party for him. Kari brought in marshmallows (pretty much all you’re allowed to bring in) and they were all thrilled to have them with their afternoon tea. When we were picking him up Ethan and his friend Annica were giving each other good bye hugs. We’ve gotten to know her and her mom pretty well because they eat breakfast with us(usually Kari) each morning. It was pretty cute to watch though. Annica is a bit of the hefty side right now so her last hug ended up being a two point takedown on Ethan. Sadly Ethan’s head bounced off the floor so we ended up leaving with Ethan in tears. I’m glad we get to go back so that’s not their last memory of him.
When we finally made it home Ethan and I spent more time watching hockey. After he went to bed Kari and I went on a mad packing spree because we both kind of had a panic attack that we won’t be ready when the time comes and not everything is going to fit. After we finished I felt more comfortable with it. Kari continued to obsess about it…. I’m fairly certain this personality trait has been transferred to Ethan and that is why he is so OCD about certain things.
Wednesday was one of the longest days I’ve had in recent memory. Woke up early… again. It’s a bad habit I’ve picked up the last couple of weeks. Anyway, we all got up, go ready to go and then headed up to Wynyard Station to catch the train to the airport. Its always a treat dragging two huge suitcases through a train station at rush hour. Once we got to the airport and settled in we spent a good deal of time looking out the window watching planes with Ethan. Every time one would come towards us he would yell ‘here it comes’ and when they’d leave the gates he’d yell ‘there it goes!’ Surprisingly that killed the time pretty quickly and it wasn’t long before we were boarding. Being lucky like we are we were seated in the second to last row amongst two other toddlers. Thankfully all three of them behaved really well during the flight and none of them had any sort of meltdowns. About 3 hours later we landed in the Cairns(pronounced ‘Cans’) airport. This put us at about 12:30 PM. Once we collected our bags we hopped on a bus up to Port Douglas which is where the hotel is located. Ethan fell asleep for about 20 minutes on the bus and that was the extent of his nap for the day… and this is where the wheels fell off. The moral of the story is when Ethan doesn’t nap we all pay. We finally got to the hotel about 2:45. The hotel itself is really nice. There are two pool and it has a Spanish look/feel to it. We did a quick tour of the town and then a quick run to the grocery store and picked up some stuff since the hotel is apartment style and we can cook. The town itself is really small… you can walk end to end in about 10 minutes. But, its really nice and quiet which we like. At this point all 3 of us were exhausted but the difference is when Ethan gets exhausted he gets really naughty. And when Kari and I are exhausted and Ethan is very naughty things go downhill. I won’t get into all the details but let’s just say Ethan spent a lot of time pushing our buttons, Kari spent a lot of time pushing my buttons and I was completely innocent the entire time. We ended up getting pizza from a place right across the street and bringing it back here to watch the hockey game. When it ended at 6:30 PM I was praying it was really 7:30 and we could start putting Ethan to bed. It wasn’t… and that next hour moved so slow. Ethan passed out before 8:00; I was in bed at 8:20 and out by 8:45. I can’t remember the last time I was in bed that early. But, it sure was nice.
Thursday morning arrived and with all 3 of us rested it was going to be a better day. We spent the morning playing in the apartment and Ethan turned the remote into a phone and started ‘calling’ people. Kari asked who he was calling and he said, Ben, Ellen and papa. Sorry to those of you who didn’t make the cut… there’s always next time. Anyway, after a while we headed up to the park we saw on the walk Wednesday and spent an hour there before heading to the beach. We spent another hour there… the waves are pretty much non-existent and you can only swim in a small area because of the stinging jellyfish in the water so its not the most exciting beach(I later learned the waves suck because the ocean swell is broken up at the reef). Ethan and I spent most of the time picking up sand on shore, walking a little ways into the ocean and throwing the sand into the ocean. It was a blast let me tell you. After that we headed back, changed and had lunch at the Central Hotel. The food was eh, the service sucked and the prices were ridiculous. Overall it was a great experience. After lunch Ethan and I took a nap together before we spent the afternoon at the pool. Ethan really enjoys pushing me in the water and turning the bubbles on in the not hot hot tub. He also kept running around the pool even though we told him to stop because the wood was went and eventually wiped our and hurt his elbow which required kisses from mommy. Most of the pool is surrounded by brick but they put some wood in in one area and essentially turn the area into a skating rink. Not sure the logic behind that decision but it is most certainly flawed. After getting cleaned up we had dinner at a place called Mango Jam. It was good food, good prices and good service. All the things lunch wasn’t. And, on top of that Kari dominated the crossword puzzle in the kids menu so next time you see her be sure to congratulate her on this accomplishment. After dinner we decided ice cream was in order so we stopped there before heading home for the night.
Friday was the big day I had been looking forward to for quite a while… we got up, got ready to go and headed down to the marina to catch a boat to the reef. We did a Quicksilver Tour on a big sailboat that included a glass bottom boat ride and of course snorkeling. Getting out to the islands was rather unpleasant. As soon as we got on the boat they offered us anti-sea sickness pills. We tried to crush one up to give to Ethan but he didn’t get much at all and he ended up with a stomach ache. I got a headache that thankfully went away once we reached the islands. Trying to walk around while the boat was moving was quite the adventure. Sadly I think Ethan had better sea legs than I did. I think its just cause he’s lower to the ground and has a lower center of gravity. I can’t deal with him already being better at stuff than I am when he’s only 2. After that things got awesome. We did the glass bottom boat ride first and they just got me anxious to get in the water. We did manage to see one sea turtle while in the boat so that was cool. After that we grabbed some lunch then took the launch to the island. There are some nasty box jellyfish in the area and if they sting you a trip to the hospital is in order. They are really bad in the couple months prior to us getting there and even though for the most part they had moved on they still recommend you wear full lycra body suits. It serves a dual purpose… one it protects you from the jellyfish and two it protects you from the sun so you don’t have to wear lotion which they like cause it washes off and can affect the coral. And those two benefits are on top of making you look awesome so it was really a win/win situation. Anyway, I can’t even describe how awesome the reef was. I don’t even know the words to say but lets just say I could have spent days there. The pictures and video I took really don’t do it justice but I’m still glad we decided to rent the digital camera from the tour company. Originally we just had a water proof disposable one with only 27 pictures. We took over 150 pictures and a couple minutes of video. Kari did some snorkeling as well and did pretty well considering it was her first time. My last two times out I spent almost the entire time trying to find a sea turtle… sadly I came up empty handed. I was a little disappointed but overall it was so cool. We took turns playing with Ethan on the beach and in the shallow water. He surprisingly loved his lycra suit. Eventually he passed out on the beach and took a nap. It’s a rough life he has… Sadly, our day did come to an end and he we had to head back… it was another fun trip in rough seas. Well over half of the group on the boat was comprised of a group of people on a company trip who had apparently had far too much fun the night before. Some people never got off the boat to snorkel, others did for just a couple minutes and almost all of them slept on the way out and back. I was shocked and couldn’t believe people would waste the opportunity to see the reef. I realize most are native Australians so they can come back but Kari asked one guy who never got off the boat if he had been before and he said no. What a waste… Anyway, that night we had Mexican for the first time since we got here at a place called Tortilla. It was good… but so far overpriced it was ridiculous. Every so often that night both Kari and I felt like we were still on the boat at time and our legs would get wobbly. It was a strange sensation.
Saturday I got up early and actually found the motivation to go for a run along the beach. It was probably the most scenic/relaxing run I’ve had. Getting back to the US and running on bike trails/sidewalks doesn’t quite have the same appeal. Anyway, we spent the morning at the beach playing in the ocean and on the beach. The ocean there is very shallow so Ethan and I walked way out into the surf and he loved it. We got lunch from a sandwich place called Under Wraps. Kari ordered a sandwich with Pesto sauce but asked for no Pesto so she didn’t get the nuts. They ended up putting the sauce on so I bit the bullet and traded sandwiches because I didn’t want a hospital visit putting a cramp in my vacation. I really am a giver… The afternoon we wandered around town and did some souvenir shopping and just enjoying the day. The weather was fantastic the entire time we were there and that afternoon was no exception. We grilled steaks for dinner that night and they were really tasty. It was only the second time we’ve grilled since we got here so I’m definitely looking forward to grilling more when we get back. After that we went to a place called Wicked Ice Cream and had some dessert. We spent the rest of the night watching a SpongeBob Marathon on Nickelodeon. Its sad when you’ve seen almost every episode three times now. Though, that is by far the most enjoyable show Ethan watches. I’m shocked at twisted it is sometimes.
Sunday was the second of our day trips while up there. This time we were picked up in a giant 4WD truck and headed out to the Daintree Rainforest. The rain forest was OK I guess.... not nearly as cool as I expected but still pretty impressive. According to our guide its actually the oldest rain forest in the world and they think all rain forests spawned from that location before the continents shifted and broke apart. I found that fascinating. There is a mountain top there that is always covered in rain/clouds and that's where it all started. I’m going to need everyone who just read that to send me $9.95 to offset the cost of our trip. Thanks. Anyway, the drive up was really scenic and we drove through quite a few sugar plantations. Its every where up there because they get so much rain… around 3-4 meters a year. For you uncivilized folks not using the metric system that’s about 10-13 feet. Anyway, the rain forest is now Heritage listed so no further development can be done anywhere within the area but there are around 700 people living in the forest itself despite the fact there are no phones, electricity, running water, sewer, garbage removal, internet or even gasp… cell phones! The humanity!! I won’t get into a lot of the details of what we learned and saw… mainly a bunch of different types of trees and a few animals but if you want to learn more about the forest itself you can visit here: http://www.daintreerainforest.com/
Our first stop was at The Discovery Center where we were taken around by a guide and he showed us various plants and what they are and how they grew before we ended with a climb to the top of the canopy tower. It was a pretty impressive view. After that we drove on to Cape Tribulation which is a popular beach destination in the rainforest itself. Its where Captain Cook(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cook) ran aground in the reef while sailing around Australia and mapping the coast. He named it that because after running aground he had several hard months trying to find a place to run his ship aground to repair and then actually repairing it. After that we headed back into the rainforest and stopped and had a steak lunch before continuing on to our river cruise where we saw three crocodiles on the river. We were lucky enough to see the biggest one in the area whom the locals call Albert. He was almost 6 meters in length and over 800 kilos. He was more impressive to witness. After that we headed down to Mossman Gorge. Its basically just some rapids in a river. Then it was time to head home. We left at 9:15 and didn’t get home until 5:30 or so and Ethan did so well. I got compliments from 4 other groups of on our tour who were really impressed with how well behaved he was. I’m sure when they saw a 2 year old get on they were expecting the worst but seeing how he has my genes in him he was a perfect angel.
Monday was our last day there and for whatever reason we were all up pretty early so Ethan and I headed up to the beach to do some coral hunting and watch the sunrise. It was really cool to see and we got quite the haul from gathering. You aren’t allowed to take anything from island where we actually did the snorkeling so I had to go to the beach in Port Douglas and get the stuff that washed up on the beach there. We spent a good part of the morning at the park. Ethan and I did some swinging, climbing and we went down the fire pole together as well. That wasn’t the smoothest thing I’ve ever attempted but I didn’t drop him or crack his head on anything so I call it a success. Checkout time was supposed to be 10:00AM but thankfully they let us extend it until 2:00PM since we weren’t getting picked up until 2:30. So, after Ethan took an early nap we spent the afternoon playing in the pool. Ethan loved pushing me in the pool and was constantly bossing me around. Like mother like son… : ) After that the bus picked us up and we headed down to the airport with one of the most aggravating women in the world. The volume of her voice makes the Louis family sound like they’re whispering and if she would have said ‘yeahhhhhhh’ one more time I was going to climb on top of the seats and drop an elbow on her head. Not only was she loud, but she forgot her luggage at the hotel so we had to turn around once and then as we pulled into the airport she realized she had forgotten another bag. What a piece of work. Anyway, after that we were on the plane and saying Ethan was ornery was an understatement. Nothing seemed to hold his interest long until I pulled out the laptop and put on the videos of himself. The movie for this flight was ‘Confessions of a Shop-aholic’ and I pulled my first Mike Brett and got pissed and took off the headphones after 10 minutes. I wanted to do it at 5 minutes but figured I’d give it a little more time. It was a wasted 5 minutes and I was less than pleased. Seriously, why would the airline even consider that movie? Half the population has no interest in it and from what I could see by looking back every so often it was a predictable piece of garbage on top of being a disgusting example of everything wrong with America. Ok, I think I got that rant out of my system. We eventually landed and hopped on the train before getting home abut 9:30 PM. Ethan went to bed in his clothes and I changed his diaper and put his PJ bottoms on while he slept. When he woke up this morning he noticed he had his shirt on from yesterday but his PJ pants on and he was pissed and wanted his shorts back on. I don’t even pretend to understand how his mind works.
Today we got up and had a goodbye breakfast with our co-workers here. It was a lot of fun and it was good to see them one last time. I’m going to miss them. After that we stopped by Ethan’s daycare so he could say bye to his friends and teachers. We’re going to miss them as well but it’ll be nice to get back to his friends and teachers in the US. While we were walking from breakfast to the daycare center Ethan started yelling all his words in a scary voice and scared more than one person when we were waiting at the corner for the crosswalk to change. It was hilarious… he loves to perform and get laughs. Despite my awesomeness I don’t know what’s going to happen the rest of the day but if its memorable it’ll make the next post. Lord knows the 20 hour flight will have more than a few stories…
Random facts because this is too long and I’m tired of typing:
- Ethan now says ‘There you go’ when he does something for you or gets something done because when I’m working with him on stuff and get gets it right I always say that.
- On the vacation Ethan got frustrated trying to put his juice in the fridge and yelled ‘Come on!’ Again, I’ll take the blame there.
- Ethan has added two new songs to his repertoire: Twinkle Twinkle, Bah Bah Black Sheep
- Despite his young age he really should write a book called ‘Delay Tactics 101’ I’ve never seen a kid more gifted in the art of delaying bed time. On vacation he was supposed to be eating lunch and was barely touching anything and after 20 minutes I decided it was time to nap and suddenly his appetite came rushing back and we had to eat then.
- When Ethan gets mad at you he often gets into a stare downs competition with whichever one of us he is mad at. Sunday, on the bus to the rain forest, Kari and him got into an epic battle… it was pretty amusing and I’m pretty sure Kari broke first. He’s a determined little booger head.
- Often times when Ethan wants something I’m not always sure what he’s saying so I’ll repeat what I think he said back to him to verify and he almost always says ‘Ok’ in a tone that makes it seem like it was your idea in the first place. Its pretty funny.
- Ethan’s ‘Rainman’ routine is going full blast right now. It doesn’t matter how many times you acknowledge whatever it is he is saying he just keeps repeating himself over and over and over again…
- Ethan is still learning to say ‘it’s mine’. Right now he says ‘dats my one’ when he is claiming ownership over an object.
- He loves police cars and fire trucks. Today we saw a fire truck as we were walking around and Ethan waved and they waved back and he had the biggest smile after that. Also, when he sees a police truck he calls them ‘police car trucks’.
World record for longest post ever. As of right now its 4043 words and 22 paragraphs. Anyway… we head back to the states tomorrow so the next time I post it’ll be back in the good ol’ U S of A. Australia has been amazing and I’m really glad we got to come but I’m also really excited to get home and see everyone!
Cheers,
Joel
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