The Weekend Update: Jan.30-Feb.1

Today was amazing. After a nice brunch we set out for a family road trip down “The Great Ocean Road.” This is by far the prettiest drive I have ever been on. We all piled in Jeff’s car, listened to the Eagles, and ventured down one of the most prized pathway in Australia. The only way that I can attempt to make this experience real for you is to show you some of the 106 photos that were taken so that is what I will do. I will also explain our route and the stops that were made.


We set out of Geelong and headed to Torquay the surf-town that I had seen the day before, next we passed by Bell’s Beach and some nudist beach- (glad we skipped right on by.) By the time made it to Anglesea, Lorne, and Airey’s Inlet the scenery had become absolutely captivating--- it was one of those rides where you couldn’t help but stare out the window. Every part of the drive for me was something to take in!
We stopped at a little café on the side of the road at Kenneth River where the Gordon family likes to camp on long weekends. I had my first “Australian Pie.” I played it safe and avoided the mysterious meat pie and instead had a pie similar to chicken potpie. The kids and I enjoyed a “spider” also known as a coke float. However, the best part of this stop was the first-hand (literally) encounter with the PARROTS. Never in my life have I had a bird on my shoulder, in my hand, and on my head all in a matter of minutes. The Parrots were full of color and completely harmless. At one point there were EIGHTEEN around us, we had about 4 each!! I also saw my first Koala bear here!! What a great stop-


The most beautiful stop we made was at Apollo Bay. The kids, Jeff, and I got out and walked along the pier. The waves crashing were huge; there were lots of fishermen and “heaps” of sailboats. Part of this spot reminded me of an image I had in my head of Italy. The wind was so great, the air so musty, and the breeze so cool that Jen decided to stay in the car. Jeff claims this place as his own because he has so many memories at this place; it is also a part of his heritage.
On the drive home we listened to Missy Higgins (Jeff & Jen love her-“very cruisy)” and I do too because I discovered her on Pandora listening to Brooke Fraser radio. We drove back via the forest, riding via Barwon Downs to Moriac to Geelong. This was my other favorite part of the trip. We rolled down the windows for this part of the drive, the air was the freshest air I have ever been exposed to- I wanted so badly to bottle it up and keep it forever… it was too good to be true- a complete change in scenery (oceans and cliffs to mountains and fresh forest).
I am so thankful for the willingness of Jeff and Jen to take me and show me all of this—it is something that they even say they take for granted, but something that could never get old. Kenz and Mitchell were sports too, they kept themselves entertained with Kaleidoscopes and the ABC I spy game once their Nintendo D.S.’s were taken away!


A little background History:
The Great Ocean Road: One of the most well known stretches in Australia. It was built by return soldiers from WWI around 1920, these soldiers carved the road by hand using shovels, picks, and dynamite… Jeff informed me that he had ancestors who back in the day got paid to help with this- his family owned a farm at Apollo Bay, Specifically Cape Patton- this land is now worth millions.

Saturday-
was nice for sleeping in and talking to my family at home. I even got to talk to both sets of my grandparents thanks to the laptop which connected me to dad’s speaker phone which connected me directly to the voice of both sets of grandparents—and the best part was that it was for free—what a blessing!!!
In the afternoon, Lou, Jenni, and I ventured to Torquay on the coast for an afternoon of shopping. Torquay is beautiful, a very popular surf town (just about 5 minutes down the road)- we shopped at a few trendy stores that I fell in love with (Dottie & Mossman) ---perhaps because of their names I was made to love them! We enjoyed a cup of coffee and checked out the surf shops (Roxy & Billabong). I got a nice mandatory “yard duty” hat for recess & Jen bought me a Roxy Australia T-shirt. To wrap of the day we caught a glimpse of the ocean from the cliffs-where there were some mad kite-boarders, the wind was extreme- a definite change in weather from the past few days!



Christ, Be The Center of our Lives
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE3HKym0tRE

P.S. Saw an Emu today, and I have never heard a a creature sing like a Magg-Pie Bird in my life...

Friday at school we had a THRASS workshop all day!! THRASS is quite “the” system for teaching phonics in the schools today. It is becoming a well-known and rapidly growing system for teaching Phonics in England, Australia, and maybe a newer trend in the U.S. It is extremely complicated and systematic but once you understand it-it makes complete sense and is most definitely effective. Teachers must be trained in this before they are able to teach it. Bellaire has been trying out this program out since last year. The teachers have to memorize something like a periodic chart but for phonics. All this to say, I was just a tad overwhelmed when I realized that the workshop was going to be interactive on Friday. They brought a guy named Pete in from South Australia. He was a bit of a drill sergeant but a comical character at that. Once he noticed that I was only the American in the room I became quite a target, definitely the first time I felt the barrier of my accent and way of pronounciating verses the Aussie way. I was expected to jump in and answer the questions when it was my turn. “HEAPS” (or a lot) of this material was new to me so I was somewhat of a nervous wreck the first hour or so. However, by the end of the day I had a good grip on things and was answering questions like a “champ.” I was very thankful for this opportunity to learn—I got so much out of the day—definitely things that have given me more confidence for what can be a very murky and complicated teaching task in the school.


A Melted Icecream truck: This is a great picture of how hot is was here in Geelong, Jen forwarded this to me!

Friday night was one that won’t be forgotten- the first major bonding time with The Gordon’s due to a four-hour power outage. Mitch and I went on a 3-mile walk and when we returned around 7:30 to find that there was no power due to the largest heat wave in history in Geelong. The Pizza that we ordered at 7 arrived at 11. In the meantime we played board games, talked over candlelight, and I had my first Pineapple Cruisers drinks (a surprise form Jeff.)



My camera broke! This was the picture taken with Kenz right after I realized this bad news... Thanks to dad another is on the way.. he knows his girl can't survive with out one... McKenzie and I took this with photobooth on my laptop. She is precious- starts grade 4 on Monday at Bellaire (the school I am working at). I need to get a picture of the family up here soon!