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Hello Dear
Family & Friends!
No worries!
"Give
Thanks and
Smile From the Inside Out!!"
(Words that came to me during a morning meditation time)
Most things in life come down to simplicity. Our
life has become very simple and rich. Remembering to give thanks and to
smile are important. Just the thought of twisting
around and smiling from
the inside out makes me smile. Someone has a sense of humor.
And why
not? Life is too short not to spend a good part of it smiling!
The week before we left Tasmania they had a record
rainfall. Luckily we were high and dry but many roads washed out and
rivers flooded. One guy was stranded as the water flowed across the
road in front of his car. Instead of worrying about it he just threw his fishing
line in and
caught two enormous trout –over two feet long each. He made the front
page
of the state newspaper! When life gives you lemons – go fishing!
We were sitting next to a bridge, built by the
convicts in 1885, in the quaint historic town
of Ross. We noticed a
little creature swimming for the shore. Joseph grabbed a stick
and
rescued it. It was a baby rabbit. Half dead and looking like a
drowned rat, we gave
it “CPR”, wrapped
it in a towel and put it in the van until morning. It was fluffy and
recovered by then and off it hopped. In Ross we also met Kevin who lived
there for
74 years, and his old dog, Bob. Kevin’s great grandfather had
been brought over as a
horse thief, worked off his indenture service, and
made a new life. Many people in
Tasmania are direct descendants of
convicts and real down to earth people, proud of
their heritage.
The weather cleared and we had warm sunshine for our
last week. We drove back through
the beautiful Hellyer Gorge and camped
across from the wayside, in a forest full of kookaburras. While hiking at
dusk we saw two different little platypuses busily catching dinner in the
river. Another of Australia's amazing unique animals. A billboard in Tassie
said “Now Is The Time.” Just thought I’d throw that in, in case
you had a question to
answer!
February 5th found us making our way
across the Tasman Sea back up to Melbourne.
We spent a few days with my
2nd cousins, Vance & Dorothy in Epping, watching 'footie' matches against
the New Zealand ('haka' chanting), All Blacks and listening to Vance's
stories about life in S. E. Asia 50 years ago. We ventured into the heart of the
city
and loved
absorbing the multicultural mood of the fruit and veggie markets such as
Victoria Market, China
town,
and the many parks and ethnic districts. After living in
Hawaii, with its rich cultural fusion, we found Tasmania a little
too much
“white". Bring on the rainbows!
The east coast from Melbourne to Sydney was one
little quiet cove after another. Joseph sure is good at tucking the Blue
Dragon back in a little private nook for the evening, most always with a
good view. Caravan parks are just too crowded and noisy, and every little
town has a public toilet and often a shower. We followed the Grand Ridge
Road through a large 2nd growth forest for a ways and collected apples and
blackberries on the many deserted farms we passed on the way back down.
At Deport Bay we came across a
group of kangaroos. One mother had only a
foot and the tip of a tail sticking out of her
pouch, instead of the usual
Joey’s head. It was really funny looking so we went back the
next morning
in search of the upside down baby. Sure enough. There it was, only two
feet sticking out this time. Either it wasn’t a good fit or it was time
for mom to kick the baby
out on its own! We love the constant show that
the animals and birds provide! We circled through the truly Blue Mountains
on our way into Sydney.
Driving our van in a city of 6 million was a
challenge to both driver and navigator. I should have read that book
before we left “Why Women Can’t Read Maps and Men Can’t
Listen”. Actually
our relationship survived and once we parked the car and took public
transport we were fine. We stayed and had great discussions with an
amazing 82 year old,
self realized woman. She had a major stroke 7 years
ago and though partially paralyzed
she lives by herself in a nice little
waterfront apartment in Elizabeth Bay and finished her University degree
in Geology just this year. She is now working on her Masters degree
in
Paleontology. What an inspiration to focus on the important things in
life, and to never
give up or quit learning. Go get ‘Em Barbara!!!
After all our remote travels we were ready to enjoy
the big city. We walked for miles
and saw every area of Sydney.
Highlights were: the Sydney Aquarium, Imax Theatre, the harbor area with the bridge, and
the unique Opera House.
We both like to see live performances once in a while and we actually got all done up and enjoyed dinner and a play, Blithe Spirit,
by Noel Coward
at
the Opera House. A couple of days later we had
parked north of the
city and took a ferry back in to explore some more. After having a great
talk about
history and spirituality,
with an Aboriginal guy who was
playing a didgeridoo to support his family, we happened
on to the annual
St. Patrick’s Day parade. What a contrast of cultures. Later we found
some of the best Turkish food in Sydney and after waiting in line
at the
Capitol Theater
we lucked out to get tickets to the truly spectacular
Broadway play “The Lion King.” It
is currently sold out two years in
advance in New York and we could
see why. It captures
the color and pulse
of Africa. Afterwards we walked to Chinatown
and had some great noodles
with a couple from Madagascar. Now that was a multicultural day!!!
And so it goes…………………................................. We think of you
often and hope you are happy, healthy
and living the life you want. We
send you all love. Thanks for keeping in touch. It is
great to hear from
you once in a while. Try Smiling from the Inside Out!!!
Love, xoxoox
Nancy & Joseph
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