Melbourne :)

Let’s just say it was somewhat ghetto…the entire experience. To begin, we actually walked up the stairs to get on the plane. Nope…no little corridor from the airport, outside and up the stairs. Then, we get on the plane and we’re all buckled in. A girl we recognize gets on the plane and says “Hey, are you guys going to Melbourne?” Cortney was nice and just says “yes” but I couldn’t help myself. I blurt out “Nope, we’re parachuting out about half way” and the girl actually says “Really?” I about died! It was great!

We ended up staying I the most ghetto area of St. Kilda possible. Let’s just say STA sucks! Who puts three college girls in that area of town…seriously?!?

Random stuff-We got to the airport in Melbourne and there were boxes to give money to save the Tasmanian Devils. I took a picture for Kerry!

Penguin Parade

I know there aren’t any pictures, but we couldn’t take any because the infrared light huts the penguins. They were probably the more adorable things I have ever seen. The penguins off the shores of Melbourne are the “little penguins” and only grow to be one foot tall. They would swim up to shore and get about a foot onto land, then swept back up by the water or dive back into the waves. They would keep doing this until they felt their group was big enough to come onto shore. You could hear their chicks calling and the penguins would waddle up on shore. It was one of the best experiences so far. I LOVED IT!

Also, we were leaving the penguin parade and I saw a penny machine. This was interesting because they don't have pennies here. So you may wonder, how did you get a smashed penny without pennies...well they just give you a "penny" shape without anything on it & you get a smashed "penny" I had to do it because of the randomness of it.

We (well mostly me) got in trouble for feeding the seagulls. A lady who could not have been much older than me came over and says “Please stop feeding the seagulls…(long pause)…because they may soil on other people” Cortney is already laughing and I was kind enough to say “ok” before she walked away. Then after most people had left a guy over to our left pours out half his popcorn but our friend had already left so he didn’t get in trouble.

Before we arrived at the penguin parade we went to a small “zoo” type place for lunch. We got to feed the kangaroos and see more koalas. There was an albino kangaroo! I know, it was crazy. There was a koala with her baby who was adorable!

Great Ocean Road

Our first day in Melbourne we took a Great Ocean Road tour. Soldiers that came back from World War I built the Great Ocean Road. There is a memorial there for those who built the road as well as their mates who did not make it back. It was built to connect all the beach towns along the coast.

While on our tour, we got to feed the birds. Once again, they flew all over you and ate out of our hands. They would swoop in and bump the other birds off of our hands. It was really fun & they were beautiful birds. The best part of the birds—Cortney’s hair was covered in poop. Yes, this would be funny in it’s self, but I think it was payback for her harsh laughter and making fun of me while I was at Currumbin.

We also saw gorgeous rock sculptures created by the water; the 12 Apostles and the London Bridge. The twelve apostles are not all standing and you could see the ones that have fallen. The London Bridge used to go all the way out until the center part broke while people were out on the outer part. The waves were beautiful and all the rock sculptures were lovely.

American...nope, Melbourne!

This past weekend we headed off to Melbourne. I know it seems odd, but we found Diet Coke with LIME and MOUNTAIN DEW!!!! I felt like I was closer to home than I have been since August 29th! I loved it!

We also saw a "Drive Left" sign on our first day. I had to include it because I loved it...you don't see "Drive on right in American"...drive do you? Nope, only in Australia!

Cortney's Character...

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Corntey has been a great sport & helped me out quite a bit with my photography class. She's always game for the most bizarre things I need her to do. I wanted to share that with everyone because there have been some GREAT pictures! Enjoy...

There is a random glare photo that I had to include b/c that's how she usually feels about my photography but she always plays along. I believe she actually said "This is how I feel..." right before I took that photo.

Steph's Arrival...

Kerry's sister Steph is here! She got here last Thursday (yes, I know...I am way slow about updating my blog..) She got her on Thursday & we went out to dinner. It wasn't the best, but it's hard to find nice places to eat around here. It was still a good time...and she got to join in on our festivities at Dreamworld, White Water World...and other randomness throughout the week. She was a blast (and even tried to prank Kerry with us..HAHA!) It's ok Kerry, you are just way too much fun not to prank :)

White Water World...day two of theme parks!

Day two of our theme park weekend was White Water World. We could go into both Dream World & White Water World so the pictures here are from both. It was a nice, relaxing day at the water park.