I was just thinking back all the way to my first day in Australia on January 11th. We had a long wait in the airport because five 747 planes had come in to the airport at the same time, so there were like 450 people on each 747, so the place was packed! We go to the Brady's around noon, had some sushi, then went into the pool.
I don't know if I've told the thong story yet, so here it is.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Vultured Vulture!
This evening, at around 7PM, Leah and I were watching "Over the Hedge" when my dad came in and told us we had to come outside! He said he was fixing the sprinklers when he noticed a crowd of people down the street. We went over to investigate and found out that a juvenile turkey vulture had got his foot stuck in a light post. The poor bird was being dive-bombed by a huge flock of crows, while hanging helplessly upside-down.
Some ladies that live across the road from the light post noticed the vulture, then our neighbor was driving up the road and noticed the ladies and the bird at around 6:15pm. They called a bunch of different numbers, and then an open space ranger came to have a look. Apparently, when they first found the vulture, his head was stuck in the pole as well as his foot.
When we got there they were figuring out how to get the vulture down. Nobody had a long enough ladder to climb up there, so they called the fire department. It took the department twenty minutes, and I was really freaked out for the bird by then. The vulture kept trying to fly and he kept struggling, it looked so painful and helpless.
Around 8pm the open space ranger got lifted up on the ladder, threw a blanket over the bird, unhooked his foot, and safely got him down. The 12 or so people watching applauded with relief. The turkey vulture is hopefully now at a bird-rehabilitation center in Broomfield. I want to check in and see if he's all right, and if he'll be able to go back 'into the wild'.
Some ladies that live across the road from the light post noticed the vulture, then our neighbor was driving up the road and noticed the ladies and the bird at around 6:15pm. They called a bunch of different numbers, and then an open space ranger came to have a look. Apparently, when they first found the vulture, his head was stuck in the pole as well as his foot.
When we got there they were figuring out how to get the vulture down. Nobody had a long enough ladder to climb up there, so they called the fire department. It took the department twenty minutes, and I was really freaked out for the bird by then. The vulture kept trying to fly and he kept struggling, it looked so painful and helpless.
Around 8pm the open space ranger got lifted up on the ladder, threw a blanket over the bird, unhooked his foot, and safely got him down. The 12 or so people watching applauded with relief. The turkey vulture is hopefully now at a bird-rehabilitation center in Broomfield. I want to check in and see if he's all right, and if he'll be able to go back 'into the wild'.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Brighton to Boulder
Three delicious Aussie foods that I wish we could have here in America: Milo-a yummy chocolatey/ovaltine drink, tim-tams-the best cookies EVER, and vegemite, which you can get in the US (I think). Yummmm!
The packing up of the Brighton home took about three days. My parents rented a truck to return all the borrowed furniture to the original owners while Leah and I packed our stuff and went to Church Street to watch "Kung Fu Panda" in the theaters.
We flew back to Boulder on Sunday, 20th of July and got back to Boulder on the same day. When we were in the Melbourne Airport a plane that had just gotten there from L.A. had got struck by lightning and needed fixing! ! ! ! Leah was a bit worried.
Then on the first plane the pilot said the plane 20 mins ahead of us had unavoidable fairly bad turbulance (cuz they didnt know it was there until they were on it), so then the other plane went down lower and it wasnt as bad, so we were bumpin, then went down lower. That was the only thing.
The flights were ok besides the teeny turbulence. Lots of sitting, i just wanted to get there. In the 13 hour flight I watched four movies and lots of TV shows.
Then in the L.A. airport people were grumpy and their accents made them sound like they walked out of a TV show, because I was so used to the Aussie accent!
When we got to the table mesa park and ride the Raeders were there with a sign that said 'Welcome Home Mullers!' and they spent all evening with us (until 11pm, after i had eaten mac and cheese!).
Then i had to try to go to bed, tried till 12:30, got up and went on the computer to instant message my friends in Australia. I didn't fall asleep until 2AM. The jet lag has pretty much gone away now.
I woke up at 10:30 am to nice pool weather! Since I have been in Boulder I have swum almost everyday, and been smothered by my friends! The house is very nice, big, and comfortable, and the view is amazing. I also got braces 4 days after I came back from OZ.
Australia Winter Break
During our last 3 weeks in Australia I did quite a few things beside going to the Whitsundays. I went to the Australian Footie with my friends. Aussie Football is so cool, instead of throwing the ball they run, kick, or punch it. Its really fun to watch.
My mom, sister and I went to the city, which included going to the zoo, this huge fruit, vegetable, and tourist market called the Que
en Victoria market, and the aquarium.
My friend Tabitha (on the horse) took me horse back riding at her stables.
My mom, sister and I went to the city, which included going to the zoo, this huge fruit, vegetable, and tourist market called the Que
en Victoria market, and the aquarium.At the aquarium you walk through a really cool glass tunnel surrounded by giant sharks and sting rays.
When we were in the Whitsundays we saw coral like the coral in the aquarium, and the giant clam. 
My friend Tabitha (on the horse) took me horse back riding at her stables. Her horse's name is Bunky. Tabitha even t
aught me how to trot.
aught me how to trot. Sunday, July 13, 2008
Whitsunday Sailing Holiday
What a great way to end my six month long adventure in Australia: sailing off the Great Barrier Reef with the Bradys!
Our catamaran was called Lunasea and we were sailing with one of the best sailing companies in the world called Sunsail. Every morning and evening we would have to call in to Sunsail and tell them where we were. The conversation would usually go like this:
'Lunasea, Lunasea this is Sunsail, Sunsail.'
"Sunsail, Sunsail, this is Lunasea, Lunasea. We are planing on going to Bluepearl Bay, then anchor at Butterfly Bay. Over."
'Thank you Lunasea. I hope you have a good day.'
The first couple of days we weren't in snorkeling territory yet, and the second night we were staying next to an inlet (Nara Inlet) that had hammer-head sharks, so we decided to go for some walks. We walked up to a cave with aboriginal art, and I thought they looked like the basket of lacrosse sticks.
On the third night (Butterfly Bay) the water was about 77 degrees Fahrenheit, and there was some coral, so Alice, Leah and I jumped in, even though it was getting dark. We saw some pretty cool coral and some baby-head size clams.
The next day we went to One Foot Island to snorkel. There was an amazing variety of coral! There was some fluorescent blue coral, some pink, yellow, orange, and green coral in stag horns and brain shapes. There were some fish, but the fish at the next bay we snorkeled at (Blue Pearl Bay) were better with more variety (parrot fish, needlefish,moon wrasse).
Also, Leah and Alice were swimming off the back of the boat and there were huge sixbaded angelfish. I wanted to see them better, but I was too chicken to jump in, so I stuck on a snorkeling mask and put my face in. I think one of them thought my hair was breadcrumbs, so he came kissing up to me! I freaked and and pulled my head out of the water, because I almost got a kiss from a fish!
On the fifth day we did some REAL sailing. We went out into the ocean where there were huge (well, 6 foot) waves! When we were heading out we saw a few 4 foot turtles. At first we were all in the front of the boat getting all the wave action, but then we got really wet and the waves were getting so violent that the parents were worried we'd go flying over board! That was a full-on day of sailing.
The next day we snorkeled in Cateran bay, which has some of the best soft coral in the Whitsundays. It was really shallow at first, but once we went farther out we could really enjoy all the pretty colors and the unique corals. There were also some pretty big fish, including blue and pink parrot fish. My dad and I saw a HUGE clam, like the ones in the Great Barrier Reef. At first I thought it was a giant purplish-blue soft coral, but then I realized it was a Leah-sized clam! Wow!
On the sixth day we got to go to one of the best beaches in the world: Whitehaven Beach. Its name truly describes the beach. It is so white, fine, and squeaky when you walk on it! The water is a beautiful turquoise color. And to make everything seem even better the beach is 3 1/2 miles long!
On the last morning we all got up at 7am to go for one last walk on Whitehaven Beach. Then we sailed back to Hamilton Island, where we first came from. I definetly want to go back to the Whitsundays again!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Brighton Life
I haven't done many posts about where I live and my life, so here is one.
This is Leah and me at Brighton Beach. There are a bunch of colorful beach boxes that make Brighton Beach well known (right picture).
The picture on the left has the city in the background.
I just realized I never put any pictures of possums up, so here they are. Eeeeek the one on the left is the possesed possum from Wilson's Prom backpacking trip. The one on the right is the cute little one that lives by our house. There is a huge difference between the two, but they both make ugly noises.
These are pictures at Luna Park. Its teeny, but it has a really nice atmosphere, and really good cotton candy ;)Tuesday, June 17, 2008
more videos
Leah and Alice did this one. It's kind of long, but it gives you a really good idea of some of the people (girls, specifically Alice and Leah) that visit Cape Schank. My sister is quite the movie maker!
This shows how you feel after you hike all the way up all the stairs at Cape Schank. To get to the Cape, you have to walk down MILLION of stairs and it brings you down to a point with a pinnacle of wave battered rock sticking out of the ocean.
This is me messing around with the camera in Portsea, which is about 45 minutes away from Somers. We went there to have a yummy sea food lunch at the Portsea pub, then went for a stroll on the beach and pier.
Monday, June 16, 2008
3 day weekend trip to Somers
Tehee this is me, kind of speachless, at Cape Schank about an hour away from Somers (the Brady's Beach house. We went to Somers for last weekend.
Friday, April 11, 2008
the rest of easter break (the family car camping part)
Yup, just backpacking wasn't enough "outdoor family time" for my parents, so we had to go camping an extra 5 days!
3/30-We washed up at Tidal River after Wilson's Prom, then went to look at the beach there. It has a river flowing into the beach (i.e. tidal river) and the waves were HUGE pounding into the cliffs across the way! it was pretty awesome! The we drove to Port Albert to have supposedly the best fish and chips in all of Victoria (the state we're in), but they actually weren't that great. Then we drove to Reeves Beach Reserve, some random, teeny camping place in the middle of nowhere, to camp for the night. I was really happy to discover there weren't any possums there, so I slept really well.
3/31- In the morning we went for a (of course) 2 hr walk on the stormy 90 mile beach (the picture). Yes, the whole beach is 90 miles, but luckily my maniactive parents only had us walk
for a couple hrs, not the whole 90 miles ;) The whole beach looked exactly the same the whole way, not very wide, with a bank and ugly scrubby stuff. There were tons of little centipedes all over the beach, which we thought was wierd. Dad told Leah that they eat human skin, so she decided not to collect them! After the walk we drove 3 hrs to Cape Conran, also some small campsite out in the bush. This was a tramatic evening for me because as soon as it got dark, we heard POSSUMS!!!!! And right as I was freaking out about possums, I felt something crawling up my leg. I unconciously tried to brush it off and realized it was A MILLAPEDE!!!!!!! The freakiest part is it bit/stung me!!!!!!!! I was freaking out, and my dad didn't believe me when I said: 1st- it bit/stung me, and 2nd-my leg around the sting was tingling!!!!! So then I was sitting on top of the picnic table, and I looked over into a tree by our tents, and I saw a pair of glowing eyes!!!!! I HATE POSSUMS!!!! So I went to bed, and in the middle of the night I heard a funny noise. At first I couldn't tell if it was my mom snoring, but then I realised it was the possum!!!! So I yelled for my dad and made him make it be quiet!!!!
4/1-Since it was very nice and sunny, it meant more walking.
(pic is a controll burn seen from S.G.)
3/30-We washed up at Tidal River after Wilson's Prom, then went to look at the beach there. It has a river flowing into the beach (i.e. tidal river) and the waves were HUGE pounding into the cliffs across the way! it was pretty awesome! The we drove to Port Albert to have supposedly the best fish and chips in all of Victoria (the state we're in), but they actually weren't that great. Then we drove to Reeves Beach Reserve, some random, teeny camping place in the middle of nowhere, to camp for the night. I was really happy to discover there weren't any possums there, so I slept really well.
3/31- In the morning we went for a (of course) 2 hr walk on the stormy 90 mile beach (the picture). Yes, the whole beach is 90 miles, but luckily my maniactive parents only had us walk
for a couple hrs, not the whole 90 miles ;) The whole beach looked exactly the same the whole way, not very wide, with a bank and ugly scrubby stuff. There were tons of little centipedes all over the beach, which we thought was wierd. Dad told Leah that they eat human skin, so she decided not to collect them! After the walk we drove 3 hrs to Cape Conran, also some small campsite out in the bush. This was a tramatic evening for me because as soon as it got dark, we heard POSSUMS!!!!! And right as I was freaking out about possums, I felt something crawling up my leg. I unconciously tried to brush it off and realized it was A MILLAPEDE!!!!!!! The freakiest part is it bit/stung me!!!!!!!! I was freaking out, and my dad didn't believe me when I said: 1st- it bit/stung me, and 2nd-my leg around the sting was tingling!!!!! So then I was sitting on top of the picnic table, and I looked over into a tree by our tents, and I saw a pair of glowing eyes!!!!! I HATE POSSUMS!!!! So I went to bed, and in the middle of the night I heard a funny noise. At first I couldn't tell if it was my mom snoring, but then I realised it was the possum!!!! So I yelled for my dad and made him make it be quiet!!!!4/1-Since it was very nice and sunny, it meant more walking.
(pic is a controll burn seen from S.G.)In the campsite we heard whip birds and were watched by a cookabara. First we went to Yeeung Beach, where my mom and sister walked along a river, and my dad and I walked along the beach and lazied about for a bit. Then we went over to a beach called Sailor's Grave(S.G.) (eek name, but very pretty) where it stank like rotton eggs, and walked along a board walk and rocks to West Cape, then back along a nature trail, where there were nests with...POSSUMS, which the aboriginis called "blang" (yes, that is my nature walk knowledge). So we also read that if you shake the trees with the nests, they come out! So, my always joking father decided to shake a tree with a nest (picture- scrubby thing is nest), and guess what!? A blang came out! But, I've decided that blang are the cute possums, they ar
e way smaller, and less "bossy" compated to the other possums. So it is official that I like blang! Then we drove up into the hills, right past a huge controll burn, to some other campground down an 1 1/2 hr dirt road called Thurra River Campsite. After dinner we went for a beach walk. When we came back, I was freaking out, because there were tons of blang nests, but I didn't know then that they were harmless, then I discovered it when I slept and wasn't disterbed by blood chilling cries.
4/2-After breakfast my dad was coming back from the outhouse when he spotted a male and female lyre birds. Supposedly they copy noises they hear like chain saws, cameras and stuff, but they
didn't make any noises when we were taking pictures of them. Then we went for a walk up to some sand dunes! That was pretty fun, though they weren't quite as cool as the ones in Colorado! They looked really awesome against the stormy, dark sky. Then we hurried back down so we could have lunch and leave before the forcasted bad storm was gunna come. While we were eating lunch, we had another staring cucabura. When all of our attention was turned away from the food, the cucabura swooped down and grabbed all four big pieces of cheese right off the table! My mom was angry. Before we could drive back up the treachorus dirt road, my mom wanted to walk out to a lighthouse. Leah, Dad, and I stayed behind and explored some pretty good tidal pools, only to run into the car out of the rain. We turned on the radio to hear the latest forcast on the huge storm, and found out that the winds were the worst in six years, causing all the trees to fall down and make road blocks and danger. We found out later that Melbourne was hectic, and some places didn't have power for a week! Luckily our place was ok. So we zoomed up the dirt road and to a town called Mallacoota to wait out the storm. Since the weather was actually pleasant that evening, we had to camp once again. The winds hit in the middle of the night, and boy were they HOWLING! But I didn't mind because they sounded better than the possums I heard before I went to sleep. No damage from the winds in Mallacoota.
4/3-Of course, we couldn't go home yet, so we had to drive to another small camping place, this one with only 5 campsites, called Shipwreck Creek. We went for a walk to Seal Cove, which looks exactly the same as Shipwreck Creek. Then after dinner, the local possum came out, and I ran into the car to hide. My dad made me come out and look at it, and I decided they would be cute if they weren't sooo anoying and noisey. Then since I came out, my dad did a favor for me and chased the possum away from our campsite.
4/4-We packed up and drove to Quarry Beach to explore some caves in the cliffs, but my parents didn't realize that you have to climb over some rocks to get there, and they decided it wasn't a good idea (for once in their lives). Then we dropped Leah and Mom off at Davis Creek Beach, and met them at Bastion Point. Then we walked around Mallacoota Inlet and couldn't decide whether we should boogie board or not, but we decided not to because it was a little chilly and we wanted to get to the Buchan Caves up in the Snowy Mountains (haha funny name, ain't no snow there). At the caves campsite there was a kangaroo, which some kids named Skippy, and she was sooo used to humans you could pet her! Dad and Leah did, but I was too lazy/nervous that she'd bite me to pet her. I was really happy for it to be the last night, but I wanted to be back in Brighton as soon as I discovered the possums here were too friendly and used to people, so friendly that my dad pet one! So I woke up in the middle of the night to p-p-p-possum noises, but there were also tons of other critters walking/hopping around out there, and I couldn't sleep for an hour.
4/5- We got to have a tour in the Royal Cave with some odd-humoured, old man tour guide. The cave itself was amazing! it was sooo pretty!!!! It looked fake!!! After the cave tour we went for a little walk up a hill to another cave (we couldn't go in cuz u had to hav a guide). There were tons of kangaroos bounding all around, and some had joeys!!!!
We then drove to a pretty tourist town called Lakes Entrance, where we had the BEST fish in chips in the world!!!! They were sooo good!!! We walked around town and on the beach, and then we FINALLY drove 3 1/2 hrs home!!! This was a pretty good trip, but I really hate possums!!!
yeah, and ya know what, possums are stalking me!!!! I went into a bookstore, and what did I see? A possum on a gift certificate, then I looked up, and there was a possum on a book! I went to bed and there was a picture of a possum in my bed!!! I went to school and my friend told me to look at an awesome picture she sent me through email, but I had to save it first, otherwise it won't open, and I opened it, and there was a vicious possum!!!! AAAAACK!!!!!!!!!
^^
>'.'<
☻Kelly
e way smaller, and less "bossy" compated to the other possums. So it is official that I like blang! Then we drove up into the hills, right past a huge controll burn, to some other campground down an 1 1/2 hr dirt road called Thurra River Campsite. After dinner we went for a beach walk. When we came back, I was freaking out, because there were tons of blang nests, but I didn't know then that they were harmless, then I discovered it when I slept and wasn't disterbed by blood chilling cries.4/2-After breakfast my dad was coming back from the outhouse when he spotted a male and female lyre birds. Supposedly they copy noises they hear like chain saws, cameras and stuff, but they
didn't make any noises when we were taking pictures of them. Then we went for a walk up to some sand dunes! That was pretty fun, though they weren't quite as cool as the ones in Colorado! They looked really awesome against the stormy, dark sky. Then we hurried back down so we could have lunch and leave before the forcasted bad storm was gunna come. While we were eating lunch, we had another staring cucabura. When all of our attention was turned away from the food, the cucabura swooped down and grabbed all four big pieces of cheese right off the table! My mom was angry. Before we could drive back up the treachorus dirt road, my mom wanted to walk out to a lighthouse. Leah, Dad, and I stayed behind and explored some pretty good tidal pools, only to run into the car out of the rain. We turned on the radio to hear the latest forcast on the huge storm, and found out that the winds were the worst in six years, causing all the trees to fall down and make road blocks and danger. We found out later that Melbourne was hectic, and some places didn't have power for a week! Luckily our place was ok. So we zoomed up the dirt road and to a town called Mallacoota to wait out the storm. Since the weather was actually pleasant that evening, we had to camp once again. The winds hit in the middle of the night, and boy were they HOWLING! But I didn't mind because they sounded better than the possums I heard before I went to sleep. No damage from the winds in Mallacoota.4/3-Of course, we couldn't go home yet, so we had to drive to another small camping place, this one with only 5 campsites, called Shipwreck Creek. We went for a walk to Seal Cove, which looks exactly the same as Shipwreck Creek. Then after dinner, the local possum came out, and I ran into the car to hide. My dad made me come out and look at it, and I decided they would be cute if they weren't sooo anoying and noisey. Then since I came out, my dad did a favor for me and chased the possum away from our campsite.
4/4-We packed up and drove to Quarry Beach to explore some caves in the cliffs, but my parents didn't realize that you have to climb over some rocks to get there, and they decided it wasn't a good idea (for once in their lives). Then we dropped Leah and Mom off at Davis Creek Beach, and met them at Bastion Point. Then we walked around Mallacoota Inlet and couldn't decide whether we should boogie board or not, but we decided not to because it was a little chilly and we wanted to get to the Buchan Caves up in the Snowy Mountains (haha funny name, ain't no snow there). At the caves campsite there was a kangaroo, which some kids named Skippy, and she was sooo used to humans you could pet her! Dad and Leah did, but I was too lazy/nervous that she'd bite me to pet her. I was really happy for it to be the last night, but I wanted to be back in Brighton as soon as I discovered the possums here were too friendly and used to people, so friendly that my dad pet one! So I woke up in the middle of the night to p-p-p-possum noises, but there were also tons of other critters walking/hopping around out there, and I couldn't sleep for an hour.
4/5- We got to have a tour in the Royal Cave with some odd-humoured, old man tour guide. The cave itself was amazing! it was sooo pretty!!!! It looked fake!!! After the cave tour we went for a little walk up a hill to another cave (we couldn't go in cuz u had to hav a guide). There were tons of kangaroos bounding all around, and some had joeys!!!!
We then drove to a pretty tourist town called Lakes Entrance, where we had the BEST fish in chips in the world!!!! They were sooo good!!! We walked around town and on the beach, and then we FINALLY drove 3 1/2 hrs home!!! This was a pretty good trip, but I really hate possums!!!
yeah, and ya know what, possums are stalking me!!!! I went into a bookstore, and what did I see? A possum on a gift certificate, then I looked up, and there was a possum on a book! I went to bed and there was a picture of a possum in my bed!!! I went to school and my friend told me to look at an awesome picture she sent me through email, but I had to save it first, otherwise it won't open, and I opened it, and there was a vicious possum!!!! AAAAACK!!!!!!!!!
^^
>'.'<
☻Kelly
Sunday, April 6, 2008
easter break in australia
For easter we went to Somers and had 3 different easter egg hunts. mmmm! lots of chocolate, but they don't do the jelly bean thing here.
We came back to Brighton for a day, then went to Wilson's Promontory National Park to go backpacking. On the car ride there we saw some kangaroos, which aren't that special anymore, cuz we see them pretty often. We went backpacking with Ben and Alice Brady, some ninth graders from school, and a couple other people/families.
Of course it was pouring rain the first day, and sprinkling throughout the trip, because that is always the Muller family luck!
On the first night we camped right by an incredible beach (Waterloo Bay) that looks fake because the sand is so white and the water is so beautiful. (I will put some pics on soon so u can see my trip). We were all super tired because we had walked 7+ miles with heavy packs. When it was getting dark at camp, a fat wombat came out of the bushes and was just munching on some grass right by the tents!
The next day we only walked 3 miles to Refuge Cove which is a big bay with a lagoon. There were bright red sea anemones on all the rocks in the water. Some weighed down, tired backpackers happily unloaded chocolate easter eggs on us, which we gladly accepted!
Then we walked 4 miles to Sealer's Cove, our last camping spot. We got there at lunch time, but spent alot of the afternoon in the tent because it was pouring again. We came out in the late afternoon a found a bunch of crabs under the rocks in the river. We found out that there are tons of possums, like ten, when it got dark because they all came out to prowl the camp and look for food. Their eyes glow orange in the flashlight, which is really freaky! And they make this awful blood-curdling screech that makes me have to pee in my pants out fear because of my new experience.
I like to call it THE WORST NIGHT OF MY WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE.
So I went to bed with my tent "chums" Aurora and Elise (the ninth grade girls), and as we were falling asleep we heard the screams of the possums, but being exhausted, we ignored them. I woke up an hour later because Aurora was shaking Elise (the bravest of us all) but Elise was too tired and just ignored Aurora's cries of,"There's a possum in the vestibule (front of the tent, under the tent tarp)" so me and Aurora, being freaked out wooses, shook the tent and clapped our hands, but I still had a hard time falling back to sleep and flinched every time I heard a noise. I finally fell asleep, when I woke up screaming and almost peeing in my sleeping bag because the other two were screaming at the top of their lungs! They told me that the possum was in the vestibule and made its scream right by our heads! I called my dad over and he was unhappy to find the possum munching on one of my sesame snacks. Ooops! I forgot to put my snacks some place safe! My dad said the possum luckily didn't chew a hole in my pack, but OPENED THE ZIPPER!!!!!! Now we were really scared, cuz the possum can open zippers! We tighed all the strings on the zippers in knots to insure our possum safety. We still couldn't fall asleep, and when we did, the possum would come back again. Once Araura even saw the outline of the possum leaning on the tent! We were FREAKED OUT!!!!!! Once the birds started singing we all fell into a deep sleep. In the morning we found out that the possum had pooped in Aurora's shoe and on Alice's pack (probably pay back for all the screaming). That was the scariest night of my life!
The hike out was 6 miles, 1 whole mile of it on a board walk through a fern forest which was pretty awesome! That was probably the funnest backpack I've ever done!
After that we went on a road trip, but I'll have to write about that next time cuz i gtg!
♥Kelly☻
We came back to Brighton for a day, then went to Wilson's Promontory National Park to go backpacking. On the car ride there we saw some kangaroos, which aren't that special anymore, cuz we see them pretty often. We went backpacking with Ben and Alice Brady, some ninth graders from school, and a couple other people/families.
Of course it was pouring rain the first day, and sprinkling throughout the trip, because that is always the Muller family luck!
On the first night we camped right by an incredible beach (Waterloo Bay) that looks fake because the sand is so white and the water is so beautiful. (I will put some pics on soon so u can see my trip). We were all super tired because we had walked 7+ miles with heavy packs. When it was getting dark at camp, a fat wombat came out of the bushes and was just munching on some grass right by the tents!
The next day we only walked 3 miles to Refuge Cove which is a big bay with a lagoon. There were bright red sea anemones on all the rocks in the water. Some weighed down, tired backpackers happily unloaded chocolate easter eggs on us, which we gladly accepted!
Then we walked 4 miles to Sealer's Cove, our last camping spot. We got there at lunch time, but spent alot of the afternoon in the tent because it was pouring again. We came out in the late afternoon a found a bunch of crabs under the rocks in the river. We found out that there are tons of possums, like ten, when it got dark because they all came out to prowl the camp and look for food. Their eyes glow orange in the flashlight, which is really freaky! And they make this awful blood-curdling screech that makes me have to pee in my pants out fear because of my new experience.
I like to call it THE WORST NIGHT OF MY WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE.
So I went to bed with my tent "chums" Aurora and Elise (the ninth grade girls), and as we were falling asleep we heard the screams of the possums, but being exhausted, we ignored them. I woke up an hour later because Aurora was shaking Elise (the bravest of us all) but Elise was too tired and just ignored Aurora's cries of,"There's a possum in the vestibule (front of the tent, under the tent tarp)" so me and Aurora, being freaked out wooses, shook the tent and clapped our hands, but I still had a hard time falling back to sleep and flinched every time I heard a noise. I finally fell asleep, when I woke up screaming and almost peeing in my sleeping bag because the other two were screaming at the top of their lungs! They told me that the possum was in the vestibule and made its scream right by our heads! I called my dad over and he was unhappy to find the possum munching on one of my sesame snacks. Ooops! I forgot to put my snacks some place safe! My dad said the possum luckily didn't chew a hole in my pack, but OPENED THE ZIPPER!!!!!! Now we were really scared, cuz the possum can open zippers! We tighed all the strings on the zippers in knots to insure our possum safety. We still couldn't fall asleep, and when we did, the possum would come back again. Once Araura even saw the outline of the possum leaning on the tent! We were FREAKED OUT!!!!!! Once the birds started singing we all fell into a deep sleep. In the morning we found out that the possum had pooped in Aurora's shoe and on Alice's pack (probably pay back for all the screaming). That was the scariest night of my life!
The hike out was 6 miles, 1 whole mile of it on a board walk through a fern forest which was pretty awesome! That was probably the funnest backpack I've ever done!
After that we went on a road trip, but I'll have to write about that next time cuz i gtg!
♥Kelly☻
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
more oz!
A couple weekends ago we went back to the Brady's summer home for a three day weekend. We did a 6+ mile hike to Cape Schank and Bushranger Bay on Saturady. That was a pretty cool hike because, once again, we saw kangaroos/wallabies in the wild! We first hiked past Bushranger Bay to Cape Schank, which I guess is pretty famouse because it has this giant pinnacle that sticks up out of the ocean and the waves make big splashes. So then we hiked back to Bushranger Bay, and that was a somewhat calmer beach that we hung out at. The rest of the weekend we went to the beach, but it was a bit chilly and the waves weren't good for boogie boarding.
This weekend we went to Lorne, on the Great Ocean Road, with the Bradys'. It was FABULOUS!!!! They have the best boogey boarding beach with big waves that give you a ride that go forever! There are tons of yellow crested and black cockatoos. While we were driving there we stopped in Torqua, which has Surf City, the best shopping place I've been to in Australia. It has all the cool brands like Roxy, Billabong, Rip Curl and more! I got a nice new roxy wallet and some hot surf shorts. I wish we could have stayed in Lorne for a week, but we only had the weekend!
I'm happy because Friday is the begging of the Easter Holidays, which are two weeks! We will be going to Somers (beach house) with of course, the Bradys, then we will go backpacking in Wilson's Prom. with the Bradys and some other families. I'm really excited!
This weekend we went to Lorne, on the Great Ocean Road, with the Bradys'. It was FABULOUS!!!! They have the best boogey boarding beach with big waves that give you a ride that go forever! There are tons of yellow crested and black cockatoos. While we were driving there we stopped in Torqua, which has Surf City, the best shopping place I've been to in Australia. It has all the cool brands like Roxy, Billabong, Rip Curl and more! I got a nice new roxy wallet and some hot surf shorts. I wish we could have stayed in Lorne for a week, but we only had the weekend!
I'm happy because Friday is the begging of the Easter Holidays, which are two weeks! We will be going to Somers (beach house) with of course, the Bradys, then we will go backpacking in Wilson's Prom. with the Bradys and some other families. I'm really excited!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
The latest Australia
Wow, I haven't written in awhile! So, two weekends ago we went for a six mile hike at the base of the Dandenong "Mountains" and we saw wallabies in the wild! They were in a field right next to/diagonal/below us and it was really awesome!
Then last Friday was "Casual Clothes Day" at school. It was really funny to see what people my age wear. They all wear super skinny jeans with everything, or cuff bottom fluero sweat pants. Very interesting! Their tops are regular, except hippie style hasn't hit them yet.
Then this weekend we went to Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary and saw our good dose of Australian wildlife. I really like the platypuses and the parrots.
Sadly my parents tricked Leah and me into eating kangaroo! When we were driving home I asked my mom what we were having for dinner because I was starving to death. She said in a joking tone "mystery meat" So then we got home and I checked my emails and I got one from my dad with a picture of a loin (it looked exactly like the one my mom was preparing) with a wrapper that said kangaroo meat. I asked my dad if the picture was what we were actually eating for dinner because it looked exactly like the meat mom had, and he said, " Really? I got that picture from the internet". Then after dinner they told us that we did eat kangaroo! eeeeeeewwwww!!!!!! Leah got upset, but I just got grossed out. The meat wasn't too bad, but it didn't taste "regular".
Then last Friday was "Casual Clothes Day" at school. It was really funny to see what people my age wear. They all wear super skinny jeans with everything, or cuff bottom fluero sweat pants. Very interesting! Their tops are regular, except hippie style hasn't hit them yet.
Then this weekend we went to Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary and saw our good dose of Australian wildlife. I really like the platypuses and the parrots.
Sadly my parents tricked Leah and me into eating kangaroo! When we were driving home I asked my mom what we were having for dinner because I was starving to death. She said in a joking tone "mystery meat" So then we got home and I checked my emails and I got one from my dad with a picture of a loin (it looked exactly like the one my mom was preparing) with a wrapper that said kangaroo meat. I asked my dad if the picture was what we were actually eating for dinner because it looked exactly like the meat mom had, and he said, " Really? I got that picture from the internet". Then after dinner they told us that we did eat kangaroo! eeeeeeewwwww!!!!!! Leah got upset, but I just got grossed out. The meat wasn't too bad, but it didn't taste "regular".
MMMM! Guess whats cookin'!?
Some locals who happen to get angry at being eaten!
Just let me SLEEP!!!!! ☻
Rainbow Lorakeets: they're all over Melbourne, we even have them around our apartment.
Hehehehehe! I took this one from the webcam on my laptop. This is what I do when I get bored! This is also our uniform. Very nice.
♥Kelly
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Australia
Wow!!! Australia!!! I've been here for almost a month now and I finally have time to write!
We left a cold, snowy Boulder, Colorado on Wednesday, January 9 and got to Melbourne, Australia on Friday the 11th. We flew from Denver to Los Angeles, then a 15 hour flight over the pacific ocean to Auckland, New Zealand and from there to Melbourne. The long flight on New Zealand Air was really nice. You had your own TV and you could play games and watch movies and TV shows from a giant list for free. I watched Ratatouille, High School Musical 2, and the Simpsons Movie, and some Simpsons tv shows. I only slept 3 hrs the whole time! An hour before we landed in New Zealand, the horizon was rainbow colors for a little strip, but when we landed, it was still dark. We had a 3 hr lay over. Debbie Brady was at the Melbourne Airport ready to take us to her house. We were sooooo excited to see Anna and Alice again and we had some bonding time in their new pool. In the afternoon Ben drove my parents, anna, and me down to Brighton to see what our apartment looks like (from the outside cuz we didn't have a key). It is quite nice especially because it is a 7 min. walk to the beach. When we were driving back to the Brady's I saw my first rainbow lorakeet at a traffic light. I was soooo excited, but soon discovered that they are everywhere, and I see them every day. By the time we got back to the Brady's it was time for dinner. I retired around 8:00 cuz i was soooooooooo tired!!!!
The following day we went to the Brady's holiday house, which is just an hour away by a beautiful beach and away from the city. We spent about a week there. While we were there the dad's and us kids got to take a surfing lesson at a beach called crunchies. It was so much fun (even if i only stood up 4 times)! The waves were perfect, and it was warm enough for me! After that I saw some roselas (red parrots) and galahs (pink and gray cokatoos). I also saw a mama and baby koala on a walk with my mom!!!
When we got back to Melbourne we established our apartment. Poor Leah was really homesick and sick, but she was happier when she made some friends at school. The Brady's got alot of furniture for us, so now the apartment looks pretty nice. Leah and I share a room and i guess its ok. The main street, Church Street, is just a five minute walk away. There are some pretty good stores like Smiggle (the stationary store) and Sports Girl. There are even two supermarkets, Safeway and Coles! The beach is really nice, and there are cool tidal pools with sea anenomes and starfish when the tide is down. There are also pretty nice sea shells, but my dad doesn't want us to collect anymore because we already have so many!
The weekend before school started we went down to Somers again. It is a really nice home away from home! Then on Tuesday the 29th, school started. It is soooo different! We have to wear uniforms, and they are sooo ugly (we even have to wear fancy man-shoes!)! I am going to Korowa Anglican Girls School, which means there aren't any boys! I thought things would be really boring without guys, but they arent! Everyone is pretty close, like sisters, and there aren't any clicks! The plus side is that we each get our own laptops! Mine is a new one complete with a webcam! it is sooo awesome! I have already been to the mall with some of my new friends! Everyone is sooo nice, I feel really welcome (and they are all interested in "the new girl from America"). I really love it here!
We left a cold, snowy Boulder, Colorado on Wednesday, January 9 and got to Melbourne, Australia on Friday the 11th. We flew from Denver to Los Angeles, then a 15 hour flight over the pacific ocean to Auckland, New Zealand and from there to Melbourne. The long flight on New Zealand Air was really nice. You had your own TV and you could play games and watch movies and TV shows from a giant list for free. I watched Ratatouille, High School Musical 2, and the Simpsons Movie, and some Simpsons tv shows. I only slept 3 hrs the whole time! An hour before we landed in New Zealand, the horizon was rainbow colors for a little strip, but when we landed, it was still dark. We had a 3 hr lay over. Debbie Brady was at the Melbourne Airport ready to take us to her house. We were sooooo excited to see Anna and Alice again and we had some bonding time in their new pool. In the afternoon Ben drove my parents, anna, and me down to Brighton to see what our apartment looks like (from the outside cuz we didn't have a key). It is quite nice especially because it is a 7 min. walk to the beach. When we were driving back to the Brady's I saw my first rainbow lorakeet at a traffic light. I was soooo excited, but soon discovered that they are everywhere, and I see them every day. By the time we got back to the Brady's it was time for dinner. I retired around 8:00 cuz i was soooooooooo tired!!!!
The following day we went to the Brady's holiday house, which is just an hour away by a beautiful beach and away from the city. We spent about a week there. While we were there the dad's and us kids got to take a surfing lesson at a beach called crunchies. It was so much fun (even if i only stood up 4 times)! The waves were perfect, and it was warm enough for me! After that I saw some roselas (red parrots) and galahs (pink and gray cokatoos). I also saw a mama and baby koala on a walk with my mom!!!
When we got back to Melbourne we established our apartment. Poor Leah was really homesick and sick, but she was happier when she made some friends at school. The Brady's got alot of furniture for us, so now the apartment looks pretty nice. Leah and I share a room and i guess its ok. The main street, Church Street, is just a five minute walk away. There are some pretty good stores like Smiggle (the stationary store) and Sports Girl. There are even two supermarkets, Safeway and Coles! The beach is really nice, and there are cool tidal pools with sea anenomes and starfish when the tide is down. There are also pretty nice sea shells, but my dad doesn't want us to collect anymore because we already have so many!
The weekend before school started we went down to Somers again. It is a really nice home away from home! Then on Tuesday the 29th, school started. It is soooo different! We have to wear uniforms, and they are sooo ugly (we even have to wear fancy man-shoes!)! I am going to Korowa Anglican Girls School, which means there aren't any boys! I thought things would be really boring without guys, but they arent! Everyone is pretty close, like sisters, and there aren't any clicks! The plus side is that we each get our own laptops! Mine is a new one complete with a webcam! it is sooo awesome! I have already been to the mall with some of my new friends! Everyone is sooo nice, I feel really welcome (and they are all interested in "the new girl from America"). I really love it here!
Monday, January 7, 2008
Last day in Florida :(waaa! :(
Yay! Finally some Florida weather: 80 degrees, sunny, warm, humid!!!! Leah and Mom got up early to go kayaking. Then after breakfast we went to the admirals cove pool and hung out there for a couple hours. At lunch, when we were hanging out in the back patio, we saw an osprey carrying a fish! There are quite a few osprey around. After lunch we went to the Juno beach again. This time we walked away from the pier, and there were a lot more sea shells. There were also (we think) chunks of harmless clear jelly jellyfish and Leah and I had a good time collecting them and naming them. They're very squishy and fun to play with. When we turned around we actually saw one of the squishy jellies that had just washed up. They're bigger than Opi's hand, and they don't look like they have tentacles. Just to be safe I scooped up the jelly with sand and chucked it back into the ocean. The ocean was very pretty (like Miami) today. Right before we got back to the car, Omi joined us. Leah was going to swim, but I didn't want to (too cold and wavy), so she didn't want to swim by herself. Leah and I really wanted to swim, so we convinced Mom to let us go to the pool. We jumped in really fast and we only went for five minutes, but it was still fun.I forgot to write a couple things yesterday: somebody stepped on my nano, so now the screen is messed up (darn). Also, Leah and I were being maniacs because we decided to jump into Omi and Opi's backyard pool. It is only 60 degrees because of the cool weather, so we jumped in quick. The air felt really hot after we went in!
I've had an awesome time here (even if it's been a little chilly) and I can't wait till next year!!!!!! :)
I've had an awesome time here (even if it's been a little chilly) and I can't wait till next year!!!!!! :)
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Florida 1-6-08
I woke up at 9:30am and got my mom movin' so we could go in the sit-on-top kayak on the inter-coastal. We saw some great blue herons, pelicans, cormorans, and seagulls. We also saw a fish that looked like he was trying to fly: he jumped out of the water 5 or 6 times in a line. I think he may have been chased by a bigger, hungrier fish. Then we went to the Blowing Rocks Nature Conservancy, except it was low tide, so we didn't walk by the blowing rocks. It was really lovely when we got there, but after awhile a big squall came and we got soaking wet. It cleared up a little, but we got rained on a couple more times. Right before we turned around we found a 4 foot long dead shark. I dunno why he died. The water was such a pretty turquoise color by the beach, and darker further out. It was sooo pretty with the stormy clouds on the horizon. After dinner we went for a walk to the Admirals Cove pool to check the temperature. It is much warmer and more humid since we first got here. I hope I have time to swim in the pool tomorrow.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Florida 1-5-08
Once again I tried to get my lazy butt up earlier (8am vs. 9), but it didn't work. Mom abandoned us to take a swim, and Omi and I abandoned Leah and Opi to ride in the golf cart. Omi let me drive (weeeeeee!!!) for about half an hour or more! I LOVE driving the golf cart!!!! It's so much fun!!! When we got back Opi took us to Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter. They have a bunch of native animals (snakes, birds of prey, foxes, skunks, raccoons, bobcats, Florida panthers, etc.) that can't go back to the wild because they are sick/injured or were pets. After that we came home, ate lunch, then went to the Juno Beach. Because it was a lot warmer today (70s) I got excited to swim in the ocean. Too bad for me though, because the ocean was too rough and there were blue bottle (man of war) jellies. Oh well, I think we'll have better luck in Aussie Land. Now I'm very tired (Leah and I had sleep kick wars) so I've got to go to bed.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Florida 1-4-07
Today I woke up to the sound of pouring rain. It sprinkled on and off all day, but luckily the rain brought warmer (upper 60s) weather. We got to go to Miami to visit Aunt Yoly and Uncle Joe on "there own turf."They live in an apartment on the fifth floor, and you get pretty good views of the city. We walked to the Miami Beach, which is only a block away. Crazy Leah decided to go in the aquamarine ocean. Although it may look a beautiful hue of color, it was very wavy and not particularly warm with the wind coming from the north. I just decided to stay safe (and warm) and play tag with the waves! Hee hee!!! Then we walked to the Miami version of the Pearl Street Mall. We ate a late 4pm lunch at a Cuban restaurant. After that we walked around some more, then turned around when Mom realized she lost her prescription sun glasses. Of course she blamed Leah and me (we kept getting clothing out of the pack), so we turned around to look. They ended up being at the restaurant. Then we walked back down the mall to a wonderful gelatto place. I got a scoop of (mmmm) coconut and a scoop of dark chocolate (mmmm). Yummmy!!! We walked a while longer, then had to get back before 7:30pm because Uncle Joe had to catch a flight to New York. And now I'm very tired, so I gotta go to bed!!!!!! Yay!! I think It's getting warmer this week!!!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Florida 1/3/08
Today felt even colder in the morning because it was cloudy and breezy. I got up at 8:30am and didn't do anything except watch T.V. until 11:00. We were going to take a tenis lesson, but it was too cold so we went shopping with Omi instead. We didn't get back until 2pm. I lazied around some more until Mom and I went for a walk to the pool (not to go swimming brrr, but to check the temperature). It rained on us when we were walking around on the marina and back to the house. The pool is pretty warm, so maybe I'll go swimming to try out my new swim suits. Today is Opi's birthday, so we're going out to the fancy "Jean Pierre" like we do every year. I have to go there right now!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Florida!!!
Mom, Leah, and I (not Dad because he went to Arizona to visit Nana and Grandpa) took a sleepy midnight flight to Florida on the first. The flight was fine, despite the fact that it was quite loud and crampy as usual. We dozed in and out of sleep for the 3 hours and five minutes on the plane. We landed at five in the morining Florida time, and in our minds three in the morning. We got a spiffy little navy blue dodge cristler for our rental car, and got to Omi and Opi's house in Admirals Cove at 6:30am. We crawled into bed and didn't wake up until 9:30 because Dad called. I was going to get up, but I fell back into a deep sleep until 11:30am.
After we lazied around for another hour or so, we went to the Juno Beach. It was and still is pretty darn chilly for Florida (50 degrees and very windy). Before we went to the beach we went to the Loggerhead Marine Life Center. The center has turtles that are in rehab because they have been in boat accidents, tangled in nets, are sick etc. Then we decide we would walk o the beach for a little while. It was soooooo cold! It wouldn't have been that bad if it wasn't so windy, but it was windy, so it was cold. There was probably 20 maniacs surfing, and catching some pretty good waves from the choppy sea. There weren't a lot of sea shells today.
And now I'm waiting for dinner and I'm STARVING!!!!!!!
After we lazied around for another hour or so, we went to the Juno Beach. It was and still is pretty darn chilly for Florida (50 degrees and very windy). Before we went to the beach we went to the Loggerhead Marine Life Center. The center has turtles that are in rehab because they have been in boat accidents, tangled in nets, are sick etc. Then we decide we would walk o the beach for a little while. It was soooooo cold! It wouldn't have been that bad if it wasn't so windy, but it was windy, so it was cold. There was probably 20 maniacs surfing, and catching some pretty good waves from the choppy sea. There weren't a lot of sea shells today.
And now I'm waiting for dinner and I'm STARVING!!!!!!!
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