Sunday, we were invited to Cathy and Graham’s to an early Easter Egg Hunt. (Given that they will be very busy on Easter) đ It was our job to pick up Dad and Iris, and because we had a party at the zoo that night, I didn’t bring my...
They call the coast here by the Indian Ocean, the Sunset coast. It earns its name almost daily. “They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs; You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.” Psalm 65:8 (NASB) Anyone who really knows...
Porongurupâs striking natural beauty is one of the worldâs biodiversity hotspots, this unique granite range of twelve peaks rises above a tall karri tree forest rich in birdlife and a staggering array of spring wildflowers. From Albany, itâs just a 45 minute drive north to reach Porongurup and its national...
I am not really into cars, but John likes classic cars and we thought we might see something fun to share with Paul from Severn Gas Pumps. This is but a few of the things we saw. At the museum we learned the story of...
Saturday, John and I were unsure what to do. Since he lives close to Whiteman Park, we decided to go there. Magpies make me nervous, as I know they can be very aggressive. I knew it wasn’t their aggressive time of year, but I was leery just the...
Yesterday Georgie, Iris, and I went on a girls day out shopping. We first though, surprised John at his work. I wanted to see where it was he earned a living and meet his co-workers. He was indeed surprised but gave me a quick grand tour. Georgie, after dealing with...
Lake Monger is a large urban wetland on the Swan Coastal Plain in suburban Perth, Western Australia nestled between the suburbs of Leederville, Wembley and Glendalough. The lake is presently used extensively for recreation as well as being a major tourist attraction with up to 12,000 visitors per week (Middle,...
Fayre-that’s the way they spelled it. Yesterday, we went to a Medieval Fayre in Perth’s Supreme Court Gardens. We went and were prepared that it would be nothing like Maryland’s Ren Fest, but it was fun just the same. These birds were the same ones...
I don’t say “our Banksias” as I have let John know the yard is his domain. He keeps trying to get me to cut the grass and clip the hedge anyway. But I do love the Banksias and glad he has planted them. I can...
Carrying on in doing things like no other couple does, two weeks after our wedding, Georgie held a wedding reception for us. She asked us to dress up like we did for the wedding which I was happy to do, I’m such a girl. đ ...
The Gap is an impressive rugged granite channel carved by the waves of the Great Southern Ocean crashing against the granite coastline forming a spectacular sheer drop of almost twenty five metres. The Natural Bridge is a granite formation caused by the gradual wearing away of the rock...
We got to the point of our hike where we were pulling ourselves up rocks but we reached a wonderful view. The Wedge-tailed Eagle has long wings (wingspan 2.3 m), a characteristic long, wedge-shaped tail, and legs that are feathered all the way to the base of the toes. The...
The granite from which Porongurup Range has been exposed by the slow weathering of the softer rocks surrounding the range. Although only 12 kilometres long and 670 metres (2,198 feet) at its highest point, the range is renowned for its beauty. It is clothed in a luxuriant forest of giant...
It wasn’t easy leaving our beloved Siesta Park, but I was curious as to what awaited us at the Banksia Farm. I think we got more than we expected, and that was a lovely surprise. The name of the place interested me as the banksia flowers are so different from...
We were finally approaching Mt. Barker. The only Dolphin sibling I had not yet met yet was Andy. I was already familiar with his work however. He is a very talented artist, blogger, caricature artist, and animator. I really like a lot of his work, but one of his recent...
or, it’s my honeymoon, I’ll scream if I want to. đ I was excited to this next part of our trip, as I hadn’t been to Mt. Barker before. But first we had to get there.
Our time was up at Siesta Park and we packed the car up to drive to Mount Barker. Siesta Park is a special place, so a look around before we go…
After our visit to the lighthouse, we made our way up the coast back to Siesta Park. We took our time exploring. Our first stop was at Foul Bay. There was nothing foul about it, it was peaceful, blue, pristine…I can never understand how we visit all these beaches and...
Thorny devil that is. Some time back John sent Miquel a thorny devil figure. Vicious looking but delicate, it survived the trip from Australia to Maryland, but it wasn’t long it broke and had to be glued back together. We didn’t have the wall unit back then so I took...
Something very sweet this morning, while talking to John on the webcam….looking behind me and seeing Silas petting Jasper while watching Sesame Street. Yaya came in and said, “Oh your daddy used to like Bert and Ernie, probably still does.” đ
In order to finish painting the living room/dining room, I have yet to paint one more wall. The problem is there is a huge wall unit filled with stuff in front of that wall. I am slowly putting the items in storage so that the heavy wall unit can be...
I am sometimes slow to download content from my phone to my computer, so recently, 2 months AFTER John was here, I downloaded and watched this video of RubĂ on John’s lap. She was quite fascinated with his whiskers. (John was very much on vacation). Oh, RubĂ, I like them...
Not for the faint of heart. This is an image of three photos, all taken by John at the Washington DC zoo. The area by the prairie dogs has a play section for children where they can also see what it mustĂÂ be like for the animals to go in...
This time it took nearly two days of travel time for John to get home. When at last we could say hi on the webcam again, Silas was sure to climb up on my lap and immediately tell John, “I miss you, Mr. Dolphin” which I quickly captured the moment...
Not Goodbye…. Without a clue how to make an intercontinental relationship work, John and I eased into our first step into doing so, we got engaged his last visit here. Go ahead and play the video. đ Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
I’ve been to the Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. more times than I could ever count, and always love going to it. I didn’t know that there was an extension to it in Dulles till John mentioned he’d like to go there. On top of that, my uncle,...
It’s probably fair to say that Silas and John’s relationship started over a cup of tea. Mind you it was miles apart using a web cam, but they would share hot tea together daily after that. So, the morning after our trip to Lurray Caverns (we got home late and...
After going to Lurray Caverns and the Car Museum, we decided to head north to home via Skyline Drive. I called from Lurray to see if there was an entrance to the drive from Lurray, I was told there was.
While in Lurray, we visited the Car and Carriage Caravan Museum. The Car and Carriage Caravan Museum exhibit is a tour of milestones in transportation, including authentically restored cars, carriages, coaches and costumes, dating from 1725 to 1941. The centerpiece of the collection is the 1892 Benz, one of the...
***UPDATED*** Lurray Caverns was discovered in 1878, by a photographer. đ Beneath VirginiaââŹâ˘s storied Shenandoah Valley, this ââŹĹmust seeââŹÂ U.S. Natural Landmark awaits. One hour tours, (we took two hours) from well-lighted, paved walkways lead visitors through cathedral-sized rooms with ceilings 10 stories high. Enormous chambers are filled with towering...
When Cameron comes over, it usually gets called a “cammy day” in our household. This particular Cammy day, it was nice enough out to go to the park. Since John and I could stroll RubĂ Miranda opted to bike the boys to the park.
Ocean City 2011, that is. This being John’s third visit to Maryland, it seemed way overdue to take him to Ocean City. Â
Unfortunately the trees in our yard (and there are many) are not in good health. Thanks to severe thunderstorms and harsh snow storms, branches easily get knocked down into our yard a lot. This day, John decided to teach Silas he could help out Daddy and collect sticks for the...
Despite nature’s best efforts, Ellicott City, which was founded in 1772 as Ellicott Mills, stands today with all the old-country charm of its early days. Preservation is key to the community of Ellicott City, and restoring historic landmarks is something the residents believe in. Indeed, the town itself seems to...
A few times when John has been here we have tried to go to Down’s Park, only to find it closed. This time, we picked an open day. While there, we met a swan… ..and a turtle. We also went to Chelsea Beach. It was nice to have a...
