AUSTRALIA

Here I sit in a smelly hostel in the Blue Mountains, two hours by train west of Sydney. The cruise overall was pretty dull. The weather was too chilly to lay out in, which meant a lot of time indoors trying to entertain ourselves. We didn't get to cruise into Milford Sound because the winds were 50 knots. We enjoyed Melbourne, just walked around the city, which was nice. Its fun to see all the Christmas decorations and hear Christmas music when its nice and warm outside. We arrived in Sydney, which was one of the most impressive ports I've seen. The ship is able to dock right in downtown, between the opera house and the harbour bridge. Easy access to most sights, we went to Bondi Beach which is apparently famous. It was nice to finally get some sun again. I am once again with the 3 MBs, they all fly out tomorrow though. On Wednesday I fly to Cairns to meet David.

We got to know a lot of the crew onboard and fortunately or unfortunately for them and the other guests, most everyone got to know us. One guy "we" invited on this cruise (we met him on the last cruise) is what you would call "That Guy." The one with his shirt off and a beer in his hand constantly. Well, he entertained us, for example, by wearing a wrestling singlet to the gym, a bath robe and headband to the sock hop, renting a motorized scooter onboard the ship (someone 'hurt their ankle'?), etc. There were times when it was funny (falling over backwards doing a wheelie in a wheelchair in the buffet) and times when we wanted to jump overboard (falling over backwards doing a wheelie in a wheelchair in the buffet). We also brought along 2 girls we had met and they were really fun. One fought wildfires for 6 years in Idaho so I am contemplating whether I am tough enough for that if the money is worth it (probably not).

Other things that happened...
Nate and I had been craving biscuits and gravy for awhile but no one here knows what they are...mostly because the word "biscuits" means cookies to them. But we were able to describe it to our maitre d friend who special ordered it for us a couple of times. It was pretty close to being good. I also tried eggs benedict for the first time (I'd like to lose the ham and add cheese) and ate my share of ice cream, escargot, shrimp cocktail, sushi, pad thai, pizza, stir fry, pasta, steak, nachos, cookies, chocolate desserts, cheesecake, cheese fries, room service, etc. I learned a little about blackjack, watched some movies, worked out every day, read an "Any idiot can get rich" book, popped a few zits, washed my underwear in the sink, stitched a hole in a sock (It took 3 tries to meet personal standards), saved the chocolates from my pillow and ate them all in one day, and enjoyed my leisurely lifestyle with my friends.

I'm excited to head north, dive, be warm, etc. I'm also excited to try to get bumped and make money on my 4 or 5 flights home to Kansas. And, of course, to see all my family, relatives, friends, and presents.