Hello again,

I’m sure you realize, it’s never a dull moment around here. Today was no exception.

Day 11

I’ve started checking the french door windows as soon as I come to in the morning to check for sun. The light seemed a bit weak so I thought it must be cloudy out. I was thinking about rolling over and cuddling with the sleeping figure next to me when I noticed something move on the ceiling. I looked again… I tried to calm myself as I started running all the different types of spiders thru my head. This was a pretty good sized dude and I think I saw him flash gang signs at me as he moved over the corner where JD’s armoire sits.

JD had told me when we were in the museum the other day that I had never seen the full on panic mode and that if I do, just stay out of his way. He can’t be held responsible for anything he does. Keeping this in mind, I spoke in a very calm, monotone voice. “JD, I want you to get up and go to the other room please.” He of course wanted to know why and I braced myself as I pointed out our visitor. He acted like it was no big deal, hopped out of bed, grabbed a broom and proceeded to squash him. We saw him drop but just like a Mafia boss, I wanted to see the dead body. Sometimes a girl has to confirm.

JD and I pulled the armoire away from the wall and sure enough he was alive and well moving along the wall. I ran and got some tissues and told JD to stand back. As I slowly crept up to him, I prayed to Artemis, the greek goddess of the Hunt, for an easy, quick kill, one that would be painless for him and myself. I held my breath and slammed my hand on the wall sufficiently squashing the spider and I wiped him off the wall without even so much as a stain. Success! I apologized to him and then announced to any remaining spiders in the house that they were not welcome and they had better get out. I don’t mess with you outdoors in your home, but coming in here is crossing a line. I flushed the body and the tissues down the toilet and went to make coffee.

We decided to make a go of the Australian National Maritime Museum and soon  enough we were leaving the house. We had recently purchased railway passes that cover the next two weeks and I have to say that it’s one of the smartest moves we made. We rely pretty heavily on the subway lines to get us around town so it doesn’t take long for them to pay for themselves. We went to Town Hall Station which is like coming into a mall. A really nice mall at that. It’s the station on top of the QVB is that I have written about before. I’m really fond of the QVB because I like the architecture (see photo).

As we walked, we passed a really beautiful fountain with large metal bird in various poses (see photo). One nice thing about big cities is that you see more stuff like that. To get to the museum, there is a large bridge that you can walk over the Darling Harbour that is marked with a huge sign (see photo). It comes in handy since the other way would be a much longer. As we approached you can see the big ships they have you can explore and learn about but when we got inside we found that the museum is free but the ships are $20 a piece. He has seen enough of the inside of a ship to last a lifetime and I have seen it once so whats the point of paying $40? The museum turned out to enough fun anyhow.

A summary:

– I looked thru a periscope.

– I learned a holystone is a block of sandstone that they used to scrub the wooden decks.

– I learned the Australian Navel Toasts:

  • Sunday – Absent friends
  • Monday – Our ships at sea
  • Tuesday – Our men
  • Wednesday – Ourselves
  • Thursday – A bloody war or a sickly season
  • Friday – A willing foe and sea room
  • Saturday – Sweethearts and wives – May they never meet!

JD says that Thursday is best because sometimes thats the only way to advance.

– I saw a boat made up of 2000 beer cans (see photo) that was made for the Beer Can Regatta which now happens every year. The cans are taped end to end to keep water out of the pop-top holes. Interestingly enough the local Lions Club was the sponsor.

– I learned convicts were given love token coins from their wives and sweethearts before being shipped off to Australia.

 – They only thing I could really take pictures of was the figures of the Mythical Creature exhibit. A lot of then didn’t have anything to do with water (see photos), but they threw in a lot about Mermaids so I guess it was sort of relevant. They have something similar I think going on at the aquarium so it must be an attraction to stir up business. We are still getting mermaid hoaxes even as recent as 2005 (http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_mermaid_tsunami.htm) and I’m sure there will be more in the future.

– Last but certainly not least, I saw the worlds fastest boat, “The Spirit of Australia” that boasts 317 miles per hour. Thats as fast as my airplane was going at some legs of the trip!

We came home and JD made fish and chips from the fresh fish from the market and sliced potatoes with his new Fry Daddy. Delish! We couldn’t find tartar sauce or relish to save our souls, so we just mixed mayonnaise with chopped up dill pickles.

We went out and did some exploring in a near by suburb and as it got dark we came on home. As we descended down the stairs to catch the train, JD started riding the railing down to the bottom. I took a picture and told him he looked like Mary Poppins gliding down. He said, no he’s Barry Poppins. Talk about mythical creatures…

Stay class America!