After the River Recedes...

I watched the news footage from the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 and similar footage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But, I never would have imagined that someday it would be my city devastated by floods or my city making International News and asking for donations. Long after the news back home stops showing daily updates about Brisbane and other parts of Queensland, Ryan and I are going to be here watching this city and state rebuild. It's being described by the Premier as a "Reconstruction of Post War Proportions".

And it's already begun. In many areas around Brisbane, the water began receding rather quickly. More quickly than I could have imagined. 24 hours after the major surge, Ryan and I took a walk around our neighborhood.

Our street, which had been flooded the day before, was already being pressure washed...

Our building is directly to the right of where I am standing to take this photo and that black car on the right had water almost up to it's roof

...As was the Dockside Boardwalk, a block away.

24 hours earlier, the river level would have been well over where these men are standing

Kangaroo Point neighbors out cleaning up the Dockside Pathway the morning after the flood. Notice the back end of the boat that got pushed up on the walkway wall during the flood.

The next morning, I turned on the news and saw not only the Army...

(Photo Courtesy of LTMusicPhotography.com)

(Photo Courtesy of AnnSamHill)

But, also an outpouring of volunteers, both young...


and old,

(Photos Courtesy of Andy Zakeli)

descending upon Brisbane to help with the clean up. After they registered, they were bused to the neighborhoods with the most need. By 8 a.m., 5,000 Volunteers had already registered. Later that night we learned that in total 12,000 people had volunteered across the city that day. There has been an incredible sense of solidarity shown by Queenslanders to each other in this hour of need. And believe me when I say People are in need. This is the view for thousands and thousands of people.

(Photo Courtesy of Home_Borealis)

This is what it looks like across the street from our apartment



I knew staying home and watching TV on this Saturday wasn't an option. Even if it was going to be 90 degrees with 70% humidity and even if there was a much anticipated NFL Playoff Game on... we needed to get out and help.

Our friend, Patty, works at the River Life Adventure Centre on Kangaroo Point. We walked over there and helped out for a few hours. The day before, the river had been up to the windows on the lower level. To say that they had some cleaning to do is an understatement. The amount of silt left behind after a flood is indescribable. It was hot and humid, and I was miserable at times. But, then I'd see the young kids next to me cleaning without complaining, and that inspired me to shut up and keep working.

Patty showing off the 1974 Flood Level Sign at River Life. This flood level reached just below that sign

Three Amigos taking a break for a Photo Op

Helping The River Life Centre get back into Operation.

It really has been quite amazing to see the community come together to start the clean up effort. I realize it's only the beginning of a very long process, but if people can keep up this Queensland Spirit that we've been witnessing, I have no doubt that this State will be back to normal in no time.

**To see my full Gallery of photos from our clean up day at The River Life Adventure Centre click on the title of this blog entry.

Hello 2011

We ended 2010 exactly where we started it... On the Kangaroo Point Cliffs, overlooking downtown Brisbane and the river watching the fireworks!!


What a fantastic night! Before the fireworks display, we invited Howard and Marg over for dinner and drinks. I made a Cold Greek Pasta Salad and Grilled Salmon with a Mango Glaze that I found in an Aussie Holiday Cooking Magazine. WOW! it was not only easy, but also deelish! I think that Mango Glaze will be my new go-to recipe when cooking salmon.

After dinner, we walked along the River to the Kangaroo Point Cliffs. There, we found nice, grassy spot to sit and enjoy a glass of bubbly while the four of us watched the fireworks rain down over Southbank.


Before last night, if anyone had asked me to recall my best New Year's Eve, I probably would have said last year's New Year's Eve was my favorite. I had just moved to Oz a week before and was still glowing with the anticipation of what the next year was going to bring. But, I have to admit, I think last night topped it. We have had such a magical 2010, and 2011 is shaping up to be even better!

Highlights from Cali

I had lived in Oz for 10 months before we traveled to California for a 3 1/2 week holiday. I had grand plans of blogging about all of our adventures while in the States. But, once there, I barely found the time to check my email, let alone write blog entries about all the fun things we were doing. I have decided to compile the highlights of our trip into one, easy to read, bulleted list. Below are the things that made me smile during our trip home!

• Hanging out with mine and Ryan's families live - Skype is great, but live is even better.
  

• Target, Taco Bell and Tri-tip all in one day... I had the trifecta, and it felt like Christmas!


• Buying two books for $10 less than the cost of one book in Oz


• Going to the Frank Raines Dirt Bike Race and having my friends meet Ryan

• Seeing my nephews, JJ and Mark, REALLY take a liking to Ryan. JJ wanted to hold both of our hands and my heart melted.

• Shopping, Shopping and more Shopping since things are so much cheaper in the U.S.! Jeans for $30 never felt so good :)


• DSW = Shoe Heaven!!


• Spending quality time with Ryan's dad, who I've adored since I was 5

• Watching the SF Giants win the World Series

• Celebrating Halloween with my sister, Jamie, and her family ~ 6 adults and 3 kids, and we were ALL dressed up!!

• Spending a few days alone with Ryan in our Nevada City cabin in the woods

• Going hiking in Bridgeport with Ryan, my niece, Casey, and nephew Ty and their dog Jasmine.
  

• Eating dinner at Friar Tuck's with my Dad and my sister, Dayna, and then the next night having an even larger family dinner at Dayna's house

• Staying the night with Herschel, my friend and former colleague, and his wife, Teresa (also my friend) Thanks again you two. It was so much fun!

• Spending a day driving along Hwy 1 From Half Moon Bay to Monterrey with two of Ryan's friends from Oregon. Fun day!
  

• Dirt Bike Camping at Franks with my sister, Jamie, and her family. I sure have missed riding.

• Playing cards with my Parents and Grandparents. I can't believe I finally won a game.
  

• The combined Family dinner at Alberto's Cantina, where we had a table for 12. And we wondered why they put us in the back room : )
  

• Being able to laugh and hug and talk to our families in person
  

It was a GREAT trip home, and although we were sad to leave we were also happy to return to Oz and continue our adventure. Until next time....

Engaged in The Outback

We celebrated Marg's birthday this past weekend by heading towards The Outback and staying on The Taabinga Homestead with Howard, Marg, Marg's sister, Lorraine, and her husband, Dietmar.

Originally, The Taabinga Homestead comprised 305 square miles of rural country. When it was first established in 1846, the homestead was mainly used as a sheep station. After a dozen or so years, they realized that the thorny grasses and the wild dingoes didn't make it a prime sheep raising area. So, they switched to raising cattle, and for over 100 years The Taabinga Homestead has not only been continually occupied by the same family, but also has continued the tradition of being a working cattle property.

Today, when visitors first enter the 2,000 acre Taabinga Homestead, they are greeted at the main house by the current owners, Colin and Libby.

After checking in, we were directed down the lane to Jack's Cottage, one of the Homestead's many surviving outbuildings that ooze history from every corner.



Jack's Cottage was built in 1909, and is said to have been used as The Men's Quarters. It has been beautifully maintained and/or restored. Stepping into Jack's Cottage, we felt as though we had stepped back in time. In the center of the house is a country kitchen with a large boxwood stove surrounded by an even larger stone fireplace. On one side of the kitchen is the lounge room, and on the other side are three cozy bedrooms and a bathroom. There are two verandas, each running the length of the front and back of the house. From every room there are two doors that exit onto the verandas, and from every window there is a superior view.















On Friday night, we sat on the front veranda and shared a Tapas Platter and BBQ ed Pizza. And there may have been some bubbly and beer shared, as well!



We woke up Saturday morning to the birds chirping and drank coffee on the back veranda while dozens of kangaroos and one very cute cotton tail rabbit hopped around.



For lunch, we decided to drive further into the bush and have lunch at a winery called Dusty Hill. It was on this day that Ryan and I learned the word "Bushwhacked", and we also learned that when you're traveling in rural outback Australia...DON'T trust your GPS.

We ended up seeing much more of the country than we had anticipated. Once we started driving off road and opening our own cattle gates, I knew we must not be going in the right direction. But, we pressed on....trusting the GPS. Once the 'road' got impassable without either a 4X4 or dirt bikes, we decided to turn around and call the winery for better directions. Wouldn't you know, we had passed the winery about 40 minutes earlier, before going 4-wheel driving in the Subaru. But, if you must know.... the Subaru did fantastic off road!





Once at Dusty Hill, we had an amazing lunch. Keeping with the theme of the day, we all ordered steaks, and they were delicious. There was some debate over whether we thought they were amazing because we were two hours late for our reservation and quite hungry or whether we would have thought that they were delicious anyways. My vote was that they would have been delicious anyways.











After our late lunch, we returned to Jack's Cottage and strolled around the property taking in all the beauty.


















Sunday morning, we again woke to the chorus of birds. Colin, the owner of the Homestead, gave us a tour of the main house, which we greatly appreciated. After that, we roamed the paddocks and pastures. My favorite area was where a field of purple wildflowers met with a rustic corral behind which were two extremely social horses who ran to greet me as I walked through the pasture. I could have stayed there forever!









But, it was time to say our goodbyes. And this is where it happened... As we were standing on the front veranda of Jack's Cottage saying goodbye to everyone, Ryan looked at me and told me that he had something to ask me. I thought he was going to simply ask me something. But, then he got down on one knee, pulled out the ring and proposed. I, of course, said yes and have not been able to wipe the smile off of my face since.





Our weekend at the Taabinga Homestead was already a special holiday, but having Ryan propose to me on the front porch of a century old building surrounded by 1000s of acres of wild country made our stay at the Homestead magical!!

**To see more photos click on the title "Engaged in The Outback"