the Great Canadian Playdate

Big C had a playdate planned for Saturday morning. He was 'excited to get to bed so that he could wake up and have his playdate in the morning'. He requested that we make pancakes with Canadian maple syrup as part of a snack (or 'tea' I suppose) when his friend Jay came over. 

They were quickly playing and stopped periodically to help make pancakes.

Here are the boys getting ready to enjoy a taste of Canada 

 and then digging in.

Big C was a great host and we're looking forward to having more Mudgeeans sample a taste of Canada soon!

Packing our Bags Again

We are closing in on our first big Aussie Road Trip.  Our school system gives us a 2 week break every 10 weeks.

It feels a bit odd to be doing a big packing up again.  This time is is much easier as we have so many fewer items than when we were packing to leave Canada.

I have no idea if we will have access to the internet or extra time for blogging while we are away.  I will do my best as time and technology permit!

Friday night we were invited over to a friend's house to watch a movie and have some treats. During the movie one of the parents of the other children let us know that the local Mudgee astronomer's group was set up in the middle of town. They were sharing their telescopes with anyone who stopped by and were there to discuss what could be seen. The boys and I were all in.

Here are the boys chatting about what they could see through the 12 " diameter large telescope.

It was quite the discussion. The timing was quite perfect as earlier in the day Monkey had made his presentation to his school class about the Canadarm and the International Space Station. It had flown over about an hour before we'd arrived, so unfortunately we missed taking that in.

Note that it is about 9 pm and at 16 degrees they were quite happily looking at the stars whilst in their pyjamas. Big C was practically dancing he was so happy to see things through a real telescope!

Dave brought his camera over to the lens and was able to get a decent photo of what we were all able to see. In the middle is Jupiter (through the lens itself you could actually make out its characteristic rings of dust that move about the gaseous surface). To the right are two of it's larger moons, Ganymede and Io. Europa had moved in behind the planet just before we arrived. A third moon could be seen in the lens far to the left, though it didn't make it into the photo. 

 Nearly as impressive were the views of the moon that we could see in the smaller telescopes. There was much more light being reflected, so photos were tougher, however in the middle of the moon you could really make out the massive craters on the surface.

 On the way back to the car the boys were quite enthused about our impromptu astronomy adventure. Here's a quick photo of what we could see from the ground without a telescope. The moon is a little blurry and to the left while Jupiter appears as a small dot over on the right.

The boys assured us that they'd love to go the observatory in the hills just outside out of town later in the year to look at the sky again. For now, it was off to bed!!

A quick note about comments

Anyone can now make comments on the blog, you no longer need to have a google account.  So feel free, we love to hear from you!

  I do still moderate all comments, so please keep them PG :)

This Kid Was in the Local Newspaper

Monkey's class has been working hard on anti-bullying posters.  His group's picture appeared in the local paper last week.

He is very, very proud of the work they did.

Annnnnnd I'm back to being afraid of the couch!

I was laying on the couch doing research for our first big road trip. When suddenly a mouse popped it's head up from the back of the couch.  In the split second that it took my brain to acknowledge the movement I lept off the couch.

 At the same time the mouse lept back as there was a rather giant human that it wasn't expecting.  I took the cushions off the couch, saw the mouse run by and realised two things as the oxygen returned to my brain.

1-I have no idea what I intended to do to the mouse, other than perhaps take it's picture.  It isn't like I was going to kill it.

2-a mouse in the couch is actually a very good indication that there is not a snake in residence in the couch.

 The couch is still a bit disheveled from my attempts to locate the mouse.  I have not been on it since.

Oberon Weekend-Hiking in Evans Crown Nature Reserve

We woke up and admire the lovely views from Beth's beautiful home.  Monkey loved the horses who have dispositions and tummies like his beloved Roxy.  All involved really wished that he would have had some apples to give them.

 We managed to not have any rain, and even some brief bits of sunshine while hiking Evans Crown Nature Reserve.

 We saw some great views and took some lovely shots.

 Here you can clearly see that my hand is still firmly attached to my body.  Below is a family shot atop a GIANT rock.

 Look closely.  One of these signs is often stolen and needs to be replaced.  The map that we were provided specifically indicated that the road might not be properly signed.

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

Oberon Weekend-Jenolan Caves

While our tire tyre was getting replaced we went on a tour of the Lucas Cave, one of the Jenolan caves.

 Our awesome guide Beth chose it because it offers a bit of everything that the other caves offer.

 In awesome WB Family style, someone approached us in the parking lot and gave us their "50% off your next visit" passes and so we got in for half price.

 This is one member of the wallaby family that lives by the entrance of the Lucas Cave.  We were told that if we all left them well enough alone and didn't get right in their faces with cameras and such then they would stay there.  It was pretty cool to see him there.  As a side note, it gave me a location to consider when I need to find alternative Australian accommodation at the end of the exchange.

Above you can see us in front of an awesome view downward.  This is the point where, after walking up many, many steps (300 or so) they stop and check to see how everyone is feeling as this is your last opportunity to escape the 600 or so stairs still to come inside the caves.

The Lucas Cave is ANCIENT.  So it was really interesting to see evidence of the world's changing magnificence.

Here are some of the stalactites that have been around for more than 100,000 years (the aging of stalactites depends on multiple factors). You can make out the guiderails that have been installed in the last few decades to make this tour much more 'family friendly' than the pre-concrete and rails tours that took place 75 years ago.

here Dave shows off the height of the enormous cavity that we travelled through

the 'shoal' stalactites create a wavy curtain as the limestone precipitates in a unique curly fashion. One of the few places in the world such patterns exist.

After we went through the cave we took a walk around this really amazing blue lake. The dissolved calcium and carbonate ions create a scattering of the light. The eerie bright blue hue isn't quite given justice, but it did just hide the platypus family that we were looking to see. 

can you make out the face in the rock that Big C is trying to emulate?

Dave and Monkey ventured down another million or so steps to take their photos with this arch.

**an update on the tire tyre situation.  We bought one brand new tire tyre and it only cost $100 to have it mounted, balanced and installed.

A Bit of a Drama Llama

We drove down the craziest zig zaggy road down to the Jenolan Caves for the second part of Saturday's fun adventure.  When we reached the bottom we discovered that we had only done so by the skin of our teeth.

 As you can clearly see, it is only flat in the one spot. However, we thought it best to address the situation.  Luckily we have roadside assistance here and so we called them up, went on our tour of the caves (blog post to come) and Beth, our awesome Oberon tour guide, who was not joining us in the caves anyhow, waited with my phone for the folks to come and change the tyre.

 This is a close up shot of the dreaded object that embedded itself in the exact wrong location and ruined the tyre.  I will be heading out this afternoon to find out if we can get by with buying just one new tyre or if we are stuck investing in two (I suspect it will be two).

When we came out of the caves the spare was on and everything was ready for us to continue on with our adventures!

Exchange Weekend at Kanangra-Boyd National Park

This weekend brought a planned weekend at Kanangra-Boyd National Park.  This was a weekend generously and thoughtfully planned out by a former exchange teacher who lives in Oberon.

 Weekends planned by someone local are often my favourite trips as they have been planned out by someone who knows what the local area has to offer, so they know where the good spots are.

 True to that model, Beth brought us 20km down this dirt road to the National Park for a hike.  Our car, formerly white, took the trip very well.

 We hiked around and stood in some fabulous spots.  I'm told that this area usually has some tremendous views.  As you can see, it was a wee bit foggy while we were there, so I'll let you use your imagination!

 The kids were up for the challenge and thoroughly enjoyed all of the hiking up and down, and up and down.

 This cliff face offers a sheer drop.  Monkey was told that he could wiggle up to the edge and look straight down.  My hands are sweating as I even type the words and I couldn't watch while he did it.

 We hiked over to this awesome spot as a family and Beth took some photos of us.

 We had a picnic lunch and things cleared up a bit for us.

 It was a truly beautiful spot for a hike and to have lunch.  Thank you so much Beth for showing us this hidden gem!