Friday, November 25, 2005

Flippin' the Bird

The ex-patriots of Sydney made a 'pilgrimage' to the Eastern Suburbs last night and had a good old fashioned face-stuffing, worthy of the true American standard. Oh, that sweet, sweet inebriation of tryptophan circulating through the blood made all those gastronomical inhibitions disappear. After my third trip through the buffet line, I looked through eyes that could barely focus, out across the scattered remains of the dinner table and said while slowly nodding, 'This. Was good'.

We represented our small culinary cult in Bronte, having to wait until the sun went down to worship the Gods of Turkey in hiding. No, the light of day was not to see this pagan festival take place under Australian soil, as it was forbidden in this land down under. The Thursday was a work day like any other to the sun-baked masses. Toil as we must (those of us whom are employed) during the afternoon, anxiously waiting for the whistle to blow. Yet, under the cover of darkness, the followers of Gobble Gobble lurked with wine in tow, assembling at a previously un-disclosed location.

A dozen people attended in all, eleven hailing from the state of Kalee-forn-ee-ah, with one the exception being from Indiana. Instead of talking trash about politics, as usually happens during family meals, we talked trash about the Aussies. An endearing kind of amusement more than negativity, but in a gossipy tone nonetheless. I felt as if the neighbor was going to bust through the door with the immigration authorities and take us all away for such slander.

My co-advisor from school, Andy, had the dubious honor of competing in a biathlon within the same time period that the rest of the guests were eating their first helping. Having jetted directly from the finish line to our place, he certianly had energy to spare as the rest of us were starting to drift into our happy place due to lack of oxygen from the belt-line down.

Peggy and Chana outdid themselves yet again, with the Sausage Stuffing being dubbed the 'widow-maker' for the amount of glutton it encouraged. Frank did a great job of carving the already pieced-up turkey parts, seamlessly presenting the bird. I just milled about aimlessly, waiting to be fed. The cranberry sauce brought in from customs were a delicacy unseen here on Australian soil, making that tangy tart taste all the much sweeter. Chocolate Pecan and Pumpkin Pie, rounded off the night with the comforting tastes of home.

After decorating the place with the contents of the care package to end all care packages, it truly looked as if Fall had fell here in Sydney. Autumn leaves, bales of straw, scarecrows and more gourds than one could possibly squash in a single day adjourned our humble abode. We were truly thankful for the opportunity to be able to put this holiday together, knowing the reward came through all the effort involved in making it seem special. (Sniff)

posted by ncawthon at 5:32 PM

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

The Tassie Echidna Superfecta

So, my folks and I traveled to the least populated state in Australia, the proud southern island of Tasmania. Tassie is a beautiful place, full of forests, both eucalyptus and rainforest, sheep, long white beaches, echidna, more sheep and more echidnas.

We arrived in Launceston, the second largest town in Tasmania with a population of about 100K. We stayed in a funky bed and breakfast place, and took a drive to Low Head, the northernmost point on the southern isle. A lovely spot, with an active lighthouse that offers overnight accommodation (if we had known!). For dinner we went to Fee and Me, the "best restaurant" in Tassie. It was good but not excellent, and not even the best food we had on our five night trip.

The next morning we drove over to the east coast of Tasmania through the mountains, covered in eucalyptus forest. The forests were beautiful and the east coast was lovely, with lots of white sand coves and inlets. That night we stayed in Freycinent National Park, home to famous Wineglass Bay. We had a wonderful dinner of seafood stew. We choose the national park because the abundance of critters, and we were smart in our decision, because on the walk back to our cabin after dinner we saw the friendly nocturnal quoll. A quoll (aside from a great Scrabble word) is a marsupial, possum-like creature. It was a friendly creature, a bit too friendly, as it keep walking towards us and freaked us out a bit.

We woke early the next day to look for kangaroos and wallabies. We don't really know what the difference is between roos and wallabies -- apparently the wallabies are smaller -- but it doesn't really matter since we saw several of roo-allabies in the bush. My dad even tracked one along the beach, but alas, his memory card was full so the photo was not captured.

Hobart was our home for the next three nights. We shopped at the Salamanca market, a decent but not excellent street market. We also visited Bruny Island, located off the coast about 50 kilometers south west of Hobart. A short 20 minute ferry ride separates the island from the mainland. Bruny consists of two parts, connected by a narrow isthmus about 200 meters across. We saw a penguin rookery (but the penguins were all out fishing), more beautiful coastlines, more sheep, a tasmanian devil (pictured), another lighthouse, and the highlight of the trip for me, the first of four echidna.

The echidna is a fascinating animal. It one of only two monotreme species remaining in the world (along with the platypus). The echidna lays eggs but provides milk to its young, and is thus a mammal. Echidnas resemble anteaters, but they have spines like a porcupine and are a bit furry as well. We came across the echidna meandering along the side of the road. We stopped the car, hopped out and Mr. Echidna just froze. To 'hide' from predators, echidnas try to dig into the ground. He got about a tenth of an inch into the ground. After about a minute, he got bored of us and started walking on.

After Bruny Island, we did more exploring, including visiting the top of Mount Wellington, a 3000-ft. peak that overlooks Hobart and took a wonderful harbor cruise. Along the way, we spotted three more echidnas. To me, a perfect holiday!

posted by Peggy C. at 10:43 PM

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Ships Passing in the Night

The Mannens got back yesterday from Tasmania (the photo is of their orignal arrival last week) and as one ship came in, the other left. OK - they took the plane, but bear with me for the sake of metaphor. Mungo, unfortunately, ended his six week run here in Sydney, setting sail for Nelson, New Zealand on Wednesday afternoon.

Before he left, however, we were fortunate enough to have a day together on the boat. The dozen or so crew memebers on the Adix asked family and friends yesterday for a ride around the harbor and out past the heads. The wind was blowing at about 11 knots inside the harbor, enough to put the sails up, but died down once we got out into the Tasmanian Sea. So, our promise of full sail was stifled somewhat, but a fantastic day nonetheless. You really get a sense of the massive scale of this 210ft, three-masted yacht when all of the sails are up and it begins to really run. Seas were not very rough at all and only one of the 40 or so guests on board turned green.

I got to help out a bit, but spent most of my time hiding behind a camera lens. They would often yell, 'trim the yankee!', but I soon realized they were not talking about me, instead a type of sail. I did however, get to put some work in holding a rope and looking very officially a land-loving moron in doing so. It all seemed quite regal, sailing aboard a billionaire's yacht. Beer and nuts were served at 5pm as we were kept in a holding pattern, waiting for a massive 10-story cruise ship to leave the harbor before we could enter. It was good to forget about school for a few hours and get to breathe some fresh air on some stranger's 10 million dollar vessel.

Mungo is in good hands (that's him hauling rope), with a crew that gets along together and sees the world like no one I know. The comradere amongst the half-dozen twenty-somethings that he works with is quite present, they're all full of vim n' vigor. They remind me of a college fraternity with their captain serving as the headmaster. Being that there are only two women on the boat serving as stewardesses and cooks, but it is a pretty masculine affair overall. I was invited for what could have been a luxurious lamb and mushroom caps dinner, full of antcedotes and amusements, instead feeling more like an animal troft with all of the grunting and huffing going on. They take the luxury for granted a bit. But at twenty-one years old, what didn't we take for granted?


They work quite hard in short bursts, then find twenty minutes here and there when the sails are up to sneak up to the bow for a smoke. Many climbing up and down masts, reeling in sails and tightening wenches. Their hands and feet are all full of callouses from walking around barefoot and handling rope for months at a time. I could see the enjoyment and intrigue as a salior is poking around the coastline, seeing famous sights and going in and out of port - everything still seems to be in context at that point. But when they're at sea for a number of weeks without seeing land, the isolation could get a bit creepy.

Thanksgiving is the day after tomorrow, we were fortunate enough to recieve a care package from our San Diego cousins, full of decorations and supplies for the big day. We're having about a dozen or so Americans (not a single Aussie!) over for this traditional feast. The Mannens stuffed their luggage with cans of pumpkin and cranberries to suppliment the somewhat obscure Australian food supply. Yes, we are getting a turkey. Although, our fridge is free of cockroaches, it might be a a bit tiny for a big 12 pounder. So alas, we had to purchase parts of turkey instead of the whole. Maybe we'll try to glue one together with Durkin sauce. Pics to come.

posted by ncawthon at 7:52 PM