2014 is the third year in a row that I spent Christmas outside of the U.S. (in different countries, even: Italy, Austria/Czech Republic, Australia). I met up with some colleagues on Christmas night in Rome 2 years ago, but this year was very special as I was in Oz with close friends. Mom surprised me with a gift sent to (Bitter) Shawn's home, where I enjoyed the company of his (better) half, Arwen, and their their 2 lovely children. The Alabama swag from Stateside was delivered with absolutely no time to spare. We all spent the day at Arwen's sister's nearby home with a bunch of her relatives in town for the occasion. We played French cricket (think "pepper" in baseball) and I (barely) defeated a (very cool) 89 year-old in ping-pong. Adult beverages may have been consumed.
Now, when you think of Australia, what do you think of, in terms of climate and geography? Sun - that would be my first thought, whether it be tempered by cool breezes at the ocean, or blazing in the Outback. What would not have crossed my mind was rainforest. The land of Oz actually has a good bit of it. Shawn and I drove (on what I would call the wrong side of the road) to the Illawarra escarpment subtropical rainforest, where we bought tix to the Illawarra Fly Tree Top Walk. It was as cool as it sounds. At one point as I walked across the sky, I was 710 meters above sea level, looking at cliffs that eventually rolled down to the ocean in the distance.
Now, when you think of Australia, what do you think of, in terms of climate and geography? Sun - that would be my first thought, whether it be tempered by cool breezes at the ocean, or blazing in the Outback. What would not have crossed my mind was rainforest. The land of Oz actually has a good bit of it. Shawn and I drove (on what I would call the wrong side of the road) to the Illawarra escarpment subtropical rainforest, where we bought tix to the Illawarra Fly Tree Top Walk. It was as cool as it sounds. At one point as I walked across the sky, I was 710 meters above sea level, looking at cliffs that eventually rolled down to the ocean in the distance.
The day after Christmas is called Boxing Day. So, of course, we went to a baseball game! What else do you do in December? The Sydney Blue Sox play in the fledgling Australian Baseball League, and on Boxing Day they hosted the Brisbane Bandits at what was the baseball venue for the 2000 Olympic games. We root, root, rooted for the home team, but they didn't win, and it was a shame. I got to take some swings in the batting cage (I fared better than in cricket). Syd, the mascot, may have regretted being friendly to me...
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