Paddles and Pools

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Wow, what a fantastic day! After a lengthy day of vocational visits, the group met up for a ride down the Murray River in one of the steam paddle boats. It was about a 45-minute trip, which was just right. The Murray River is the life blood to this community and a big part of the history as its one of the largest shipping ports in Australia.

After our tour, we walked through historic Echuca, visiting some great little shops, including a fantastic art gallery. Christine single-handedly kept at least one store in business for the next year. We didn’t want her to feel alone so we helped out with some of our own purchase. It was a nice change to walk around and shop, since we really haven’t had any time so far on the trip.

 

John and Margaret, along with Ann, the Aussie Team Leader, were our hosts for the day and treated us to lunch at the Beechworth Bakery. Holy cow, was that good! We all had some fantastic lunches, but managed to save plenty of room for one of the best dessert spreads we’ve had since we’ve been here – and we would know because we haven’t passed one up yet! I think the group must have tried six or seven different desserts and every single one was absolutely delicious. It was almost impossible to pick a favorite, but we debated the issue for quite some time.

 

Our hosts were kind enough to leave our schedule open for the day, so we decided to impose on my host family – Nick and Jeni, who had agreed to let us crash there for the afternoon. They were at work and their boys were at school, so we took the chance to enjoy the sun and spent some serious pool time. They have an absolutely beautiful swimming pool, so you can imagine how painful it was to listen to music and hang by the pool all afternoon.

 

Back to work in the evening – sort of. We attended the Echuca-Moama Rotary Meeting, which really wasn’t work. This was an incredible club and very hospitable – despite the fact they didn’t laugh at any of our jokes during the presentation! We forgave them after they treated at a local pub for a bit of a farewell as we’re checking out of this fine city tomorrow.

This work thing is a killer

It was a vocational day in Echuca on Monday and it was a full day for everyone. Nearly all of us had two or three different stops, which made for a long day. Christine had one of her more interesting visits as she visited the Koori Education Center and was able to shock a poor Japanse student by speaking to him in his native tongue. Should we really be surprised that Christine can find a way to chat with anybody?

Jen’s host family, John and Margaret, invited the entire group over along with several other Rotarians for dinner after the busy day. I’m sure by now it comes as a surprise we had an evening revolving around food and sweets, but we’ve become quite adept at eating (as our pictures probably indicate)!

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so much food at a potluck. There must have been 10 different main dishes and eight different desserts. Margaret worked incredibly hard and did an amazing job of hosting so many people. It was a pleasant evening and was actually pretty tame.

Off to Echuca

After Saturday’s excitement, we capped off our stay in Shepparton by attending the closing ceremonies for the conference. So we packed up our things, checked out of the hotel and sat through a few presentations until about 1 p.m. in the afternoon.

 

Following the final presentation we met up with our new host families from the Echuca-Moama Rotary Club and made arrangements for the remainder of the day. Since we were about to pass out from hunger, most of us ate at Hungry Jacks, which is the Australian version of Burger King, complete with Double Whoppers. For the most part Whoppers are Whoppers no matter where you eat them – however, if you order the Aussie Burger, be prepared for eggs on your burger!

 

It was about an hour and a half drive to Echuca, and our new gracious hosts, planned nothing for the remainder of the day, knowing we would be exhausted from the conference (actually, I think some of our host Rotarians played too hard and needed a break too!). Everybody in the group had a nice quiet afternoon, which included some naps, pool time and general relaxation.

 

Echuca and Moama are bordering towns on two sides of the Murray River, with Moama falling on the North side of the river inside New South Wales. The rural city relies heavily on tourism as people come from all over the country to enjoy the river and its activities, including steam paddle boats.

A Wild Ride

Alright – Aaron’s back…

I’ve learned the hard way that you better be careful when you ask for help – especially when it comes to updating the blog. After seeing nothing but lies and exaggerations about my character and decision-making skills over the past several days, I’ve decided to try and right the ship. While there’s been some damage done, I have complete confidence in my P.R. skills. Plus the fact that I saved a bunch of women and children and a wounded puppy from peril Saturday night can’t hurt….

Saturday started like any normal day….

Our day began early with a 7 a.m. breakfast to recognize the GSE program and its participants. It was great fun to hear from District Governor John Davis about his GSE trip to Nebraska back in 1971 and learn that the entire group has stayed in touch for 37 years. In fact, John said that Saturday morning was the first time they hadn’t all been attendance at one of their reunions.

After “brekky” we hitched a ride to the conference. Since the conference is sponsored by Lexus, we’ve been fortunate to ride around in nice SUVs all weekend. Unfortunately, none of us are ready to drive on the left side of the road in the right hand side of the car, so we have been just passengers. As such, we all crammed into the Lexus for a three-minute drive to the Civic Center to make a presentation at the conference.

Since the day we received our itinerary, Saturday has been kind of a red-letter day, as it included a presentation to our largest audience. To this point, most of our presentations have been in front of about 40 people (100 max). So it was a bit of a change to stand under the spotlight in a lecture hall and give the same presentation to 850 people with a giant movie screen to our back. To top it off, we had to convert our 20-minute presentation to 15 minutes on the fly. Of course this group is loaded with over achievers and everyone did a great job of adjusting on the fly (notice how complimentary I am….).

Since we’re not Rotarians, we weren’t required to spend time at any of the sessions Saturday, which is good since we needed some down and reprieve from the 40-degree (105 F) heat. So we grabbed some lunch and headed back to hotel to unwind and get ready for an even bigger evening.

After some naps and general relaxation, we were invited to a small reception with John Davis (pictured with Aaron, Michael and Matt) and the outbound Australia team at 6 p.m. and this is where the night got interesting.

I am always disappointed when I don’t trust my instincts and Saturday night was definitely the case. We had to take an elevator (or a lift as they are called here) to the second floor to the reception. I guess the lamb, cheese, wine, coffee and dessert (and pretty much any other food left unattended) finally caught up with us, because we didn’t even consider taking the stairs.

Bad choice.

Michael from the Australia team and I were the last two to get on an already full elevator. We were decisive that we would take the next elevator. “No, there’s plenty of room,” our dear American girls insist. We squeeze aboard the lift.

Worse choice.

You could almost hear the Aussie elevator scream in pain.

So it quit.

In between floors.

And the doors wouldn’t open.

And it’s 110 degrees outside.

Funny how the temperature climbs about 15 degrees when you find out you’re stuck in an elevator with 10 other people. Things could have been really ugly here. You have to understand that Shepparton is a town of about 30,000 people. It’s a Saturday night in an empty building.

What do you think the odds are of having an elevator repair man in the building? Probably better than having an elevator repair man stuck in the elevator.

Seriously. We must be doing something right to get a break like that.

So Michael and I pried the interior doors open (I could have done it by myself, but I let him help). Of course the exterior doors were still closed, so our repair man, wiggled halfway through a small opening to flip a safety latch, so Michael and I could pry the second set of doors open (again, I let him help — by the way, notice how I’m the hero in my blog and the idiot in Christine’s blogs?).

We were only stuck for several minutes, but in case you forgot, Matt tried to lock us in a lift just a couple of nights ago. So we’ll be taking the stairs for the remainder of the trip.

Thanks to my efforts to free man, woman and child (is that too over the top?), the remainder of the night was a smashing success as nearly 1,000 people attended a concert with Roy Orbison and Elvis look-a-likes. I think we made America proud representing our proud dancing heritage – then again, maybe not. Either way, we had a blast and even managed to shove Jen on stage with a few others poor souls for a performance with Elvis.

Now that is quality entertainment.

After the dance, we capped off what was left of the evening with a quiet night by the pool. Oh wait – our group doesn’t do anything quietly.

Having fun at District Conference

Christine again….

The team looked sharp as we headed out the door on Friday morning with matching white Rotary shirts and khaki pants. We attended the Opening Ceremony of the district conference and we wanted good seats…Judy, our team leader, was entrusted with the responsibility of carrying in the American flag and we wanted to make sure she heard us as we cheered her on (Jen whistled, cuz she’s the only one who can do that loud whistle with your fingers in your mouth thingy).

Judy returned for the afternoon session, however, the rest of us opted to work on a few important things at the motel. Aaron took the opportunity to show his support for the Huskers by getting a bright red sunburn on his chest and stomach (you can hear sizzling when you stand close to him). Jen and I wanted him to flip over so we could write “Go Huskers” with sunscreen on his back, but Aaron, always uncooperative, declined our offer for further sunburn (that Aaron can be so selfish sometimes). Matt, ever the responsible team member, actually did something responsible… he washed his laundry (and a few of Aaron’s shirts too). Aaron promptly spilled red wine on one of the freshly laundered shirts. Since we’re rippin’ Aaron right now, might as well report that Jen beat his arse at air hockey during dinner at the Overlander Motel with the Glenferrie group.

Checking into “The Shep”

Christine here -

Thursday, March 13th was “back to reality day” when we checked out of the RACV and headed to Shepparton for the District Conference. A limo picked us up from the RACV and the poor limo driver’s eyes almost popped out to his head when he saw the amount of luggage we had (we like to blame Aaron because his duffel bag can fit a human body…but all of us contribute to the problem).

We met up with the folks from RC Glenferrie, had some lunch and were reminded of what a small world this really is. Judy ran into a former colleague, Bob Scott, who she knew from her ACI Worldwide days. It took Judy a minute to figure out where she knew him from…after all, what are the odds of running into someone you know in Melbourne?! A few delicious sandwiches later, we headed out for a road trip to “The Shep.”

It’s something like 110 degrees here and we’re a long way from the ocean. What is an American to do? Why, cool off with lots of international food and wine at the Welcome Reception in the park with 850 of our closest Rotarian friends. Seriously, it was like a massive family reunion with lots of hugging, kissing and screaming as we reunited with friends and host families from the past three weeks. We didn’t stay out too late and were again given the opportunity to bond ever closer as a team at the motel.

A day to ourselves….

Christine again….

True to our word, Jen and I started our morning at 6:30 a.m. and were beyond shocked when we found Aaron waiting for us in the hotel lobby with his 50 lb backpack loaded and ready for a day of discovery (in the elevator we were making little comments about our pansy teammates and their failure to buck up to the challenge). After a scrumptious brekky (seriously, you should see the spread), the three of us set out into the city.

By the time we met up with Judy and Matt at the Immigration Museum at 10 a.m., a full days worth of activity had been accomplished (Shrine of Remembrance, Royal Botanic Gardens, a walk along the river). We toured the museum, learned a TON about immigration in Victoria (along with a gazillion noisy school children) and found our way to Southbank to find some food. After a leisurely lunch, we headed over to Federation Square to check out the Aboriginal Art exhibit – SPEC-freakin’-TACULAR. Seriously. With feet tired and burning like a thousand suns, we headed back to the hotel through the maze of arcades (with a stop at a café for wine, of course). We’re all taking a little break at the hotel before heading up to Lygon Street (the Italian district) for dinner later. We’ll update again when we get a chance…after all, tomorrow morning is another insane 6:30 a.m. start to check out the Victoria Market – WE ARE MACHINES!

STOP!

Christine here…..

Tuesday, March 11 was Vocational Day #5, presentation day to RC Point Gellibrand and transfer to the RACV for our one free day. The day started well: Matt gave a rock star presentation to the Association of Law Librarians, Aaron spent the day with JG King Construction, Jen accompanied Judy to Open Family and I went to the Council of Adult Education in the city. We gave our evening presentation (Point Gellibrand meets at the Yacht Club in Williamstown, it just doesn’t get any better than that), loaded our gear into the van and headed into the city after bidding farewell to our hosts (by far, the most dramatic of our farewells – we weren’t being handed off to another club this time – we were on our own).

We arrived at the posh digs that is the RACV Hotel in downtown Melbourne. After dropping off our luggage (and taking photos of our rooms, like the tourists we are), we met down in the lobby bar to decompress (and share some wine, of course). Jen and I immediately made plans for the next day: 6:30 a.m. brekky followed by exploration of the city. Matt and Judy immediately begged off, but Aaron was considering this insane morning plan.

Notes about the day:
Most unexpected and shocking moment: Jen and Judy encountering a couple shooting up (yes…heroine). FYI: Open Family is an outreach service working with some of Melbourne’s most at risk people.

Learning moment of the day: me being abandoned in the city and making my way home via train (thank goodness my host family made me memorize the train schedule and route home – seriously – they’re so cute, I even had to bring their cell phone and all of their contact information JIC).

Best GSE presentation screw-up of the day: Jen saying that 70% of the team was native to Nebraska when, in fact, none of us are. Not to be outdone, Aaron said (with map on screen) that North Dakota bordered Nebraska to the north (it doesn’t). After we corrected him, he continued on to say that Denver and Wyoming were the states that bordered us to the west (Denver is NOT a state). Matt displayed his quick wit by starting his portion of the presentation by thanking Aaron for setting the bar so low. Our presentation is definitely evolving.

Funniest moment of the day: Riding in the elevator back up to our hotel rooms, when suddenly, the alarm goes off. Matt was leaning against the button console. If that’s not embarrassing enough, after the alarm stops (thanks to the woman on the speaker who asked if we needed assistance), he presses the giant red STOP button. Ummm…if you press the STOP button, the elevator stops…yup, between floor 3 and 4. Alas, one of us managed to hit the right combination of buttons to get that lift moving again. I thought I was going to pee my pants – it was THAT funny!

Splitting the uprights

First of all, a big thanks to everyone who has been faithfully following our blog. We are all quite flattered by the traffic and interest we have received. I am especially flattered by the visits through our photo gallery. The website traffic has been quite nice. Hopefully we can continue to entertain over the coming weeks.

This post is as much for Matt as everyone at home. Since Matt wasn’t feeling well, he unfortunately missed out on a beautiful day. However, he rallied to catchup for the evening festivities, which was probably the highlight.

Monday was Labour Day (yes, that’s how they spell it) in Australia. So no vocational visits on a national holiday. The group (minus Matt) piled into three separate cars and headed down the Great Ocean Road. We avoided the caravan idea and we each managed to see different things on our own schedule. It was quite nice.

Monday was hot and since it was a national holiday, the beaches were quite busy. Mostly we just drove along the scenic road and pulled off for some pictures. We all stopped in Lorne for lunch, so we bumped into each other down there.

Since it was about a two hour drive each way, we didn’t spend too much time, but instead headed back to Williamstown for our evening with the Rotary group.

Mick, one of the Rotary members, was kind enough to donate his time (and I’m guessing a bunch of gas) to take the entire group for a night cruise on the Yarra River. As you can see from the pictures, we had a beautiful sunset and a gorgeous ride.

The ride lasted about three hours, so it was fantastic to see city from a number of vantage points and watch the sky change colors throughout the night.

Tuesday is a vocational day, so we’ll all be busy during the day. Following a presentation tomorrow night, we will bid farewell to our Williamstown hosts and enjoy some hotel life for the next four nights!

Queen of Altona

OK – We have done some seriously amazing things since we’ve been to Australia. We have met a ton of great people, seen some amazing sites and had way too much to eat – the list never ends. But Sunday was incredible.

We have been going hard since we landed in Melbourne nearly two weeks ago. Long days and long nights. It has been tons of fun, but it is safe to say we all kind of hit a wall in the last couple of days.

Our only commitment for the day was to represent Rotary in a parade in Altona, just down the road from Williamstown. We teamed up with the outbound GSE team that is coming to Nebraska in April and marched like rock stars through the hospitable town of Altona. As you can see, Judy got to ride like Royalty, while we walked along as humble delegates!

Afterwards, we were kind of on our own and this is where it got good.

We crashed.

Hard.

Matt took the afternoon to catch up on some much needed rest and had planned to get some work done for his presentation on Tuesday (did you get your homework done Matt?).

Jen’s host parents David and Noleen went to the movies and were nice enough to let Aaron tag along. We saw Run, Fatboy, Run – an amusing British comedy. It was a hot day (35C/93F), so it was nice to stay inside. The rest of the afternoon included some AWESOME naps.

Judy managed to shed the title of of Queen of Altona to take on the distinction of Captain later in the day, as she skippered a boat with a small crew that included Christina out on the harbor.

Tomorrow is a national holiday (Labour Day), so we’re all heading for a short drive to see the Great Ocean Road. We won’t have time to go far, but we’ll have a chance to see part of the greatest surf beaches in the world.

Tough, huh?