Australian Open

Posted on January 18, 2013 by robandlinds

We splurged on tickets to the Men’s Semi-Final match at the Australian Open and the weekend did little to disappoint! We purchased tickets well before Sara decided to come visit and (luckily) there were still enough left to buy her one as well. The downside was 1 person had to sit apart. We decided to rotate seats every set which turned out to be somewhat annoying since the seats weren’t all that close. Even worse, the single seat was just behind a giant (see picture below)!

The 5-set match was the best of the tournament. Andy Murray vs Roger Federer. Federer/Murray 4-6, 7-6, 3-6, 7-6, 2-6. Murray took the last set after a 4+ hour match! Stats: Murray and Federer have played 20 times to date with Murray winning 11 times. But Murray only has 2 Grand Slam titles (and one Gold medal) vs Federer’s 17 (an all-time lead in titles)!

We decided to buy ground stadium tickets for the final – which involved watching the final match on a big screen just outside the stadium. We had a number of our friends join us; including Keth, Will, Annie, Geoff and the kid-Os! It was a lovely evening with an enthusiastic crowd!!

During one of our free days, we rented a car and drove ~3 hours southeast of Melbourne to the Mornington Peninsula. We saw an echidna (curious? check out this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQEU32TjRWg) and the location of where the Prime Minister of Australia at the time, Harold Holt, was never to be seen again after going for a swim and drowning (Year: 1967).

Kristen’s HERE

Posted on September 2, 2012 by robandlinds

I was lucky enough to have another good friend come visit me in Sydney! Somehow, Kristen and I managed to coordinate our schedules so we were flying back to the states together (with a few minor stops along the way – in Melbourne and Auckland, New Zealand).

I’ve put together a short video of our trip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6TfzO5EgEc

TAKE TWO!

Posted on February 10, 2012 by robandlinds

Above is our mini – manual rental car we drove for 4 days with 4 people and 4 bags. It was the very last car available at the airport.

We spent the first half of the day walking around the Melbourne Botanic Gardens.

The sun was out and it turned out to be an amazing day…

… Until we walked back to the parking garage after wondering for ~2 hours
And found out it was $25 per hour!

We made a stop by the stadium where the Australian Open was played a few weeks before. (We had the opportunity to go with Tom & Lynne, but turned it down @ the last second. But we’re hoping to make it next year!)

Hanging with Rod Laver

After spending the day in Melbourne, we drove for a few hours in our compact, mini 2-door car to Phillip Island. Phillip Island is a small Island directly south of Melbourne. The island is home to the smallest penguins in the world and we had the opportunity to see them!!

Check out this 1 minute video of the penguins and Phillip Island:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X__YPxhJUUY&feature=fvsr

The Great Ocean Road has a lot of similarities to Highway 1 in California. There are steep cliffs covered with rainforest terrain that drop directly into the ocean. The road is windy and the 2 lane highway is tight, but the ocean views are spectacular!

My dad tried to teach me how to take a good photograph, given the difficulty with the gray skyline and the white light house.First photography lesson of the trip: white on white background will not make a good photo (as shown with the light house picture on the left).Second lesson: don’t put people directly in the middle of the photograph (as shown below).

THE OFFICIAL START OF THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD!

Lindsey had to show per parents her best dance move (something she has perfected over the past few months). Luckily, Perry got it in action.

We stopped at a town called Lorne, which was a bigger town than where we stayed in Apollo Bay.

Lots of wild koala bears at Otway National Park

12 Apostles is the highlight of the Great Ocean Road. 12 rock formations rising from the water. Only 6 or 7 left as the Pacific has taken down a few of them.

The professional at work

My parents flights were cancelled twice on their way out to Sydney! The first night, United claimed that the aircraft had some sort of malfunction and provided hotel arrangements for the evening along with a $30 voucher for breakfast (Hmmm.. $30 breakfast for two??). Then on Superbowl Sunday, they got on the plane and sat there for 3 hours before customer service came aboard to say there was another malfunction with the aircraft. United required everyone on board to re-book their seats on the flight leaving the next day! After more than 4 days of traveling, they finally arrived in Sydney, 48 hours after they were supposed to. Luckily, United offered to move their flights home back 24 hours without charging. So, we spent the last 24 hours eating sushi and spending the morning at Balmoral Beach!

The Great Ocean Road

Posted on December 12, 2011 by robandlinds

We caught an 8:00 am flight to Melbourne to head to the Great Ocean Road. The Great Ocean Road is supposed to be the most senic drive in Australia. It follows the southern coast from Melbourne to Adelaide. Lindsey wasn’t able to join us, unfortunately. She text me at around 7am asking if Eggers had fallen asleep on the airport floor. Sure enough, I sent her the above picture.