Perth

Wednesday, September 30 (yes, it's September 30 again – I must have screwed up my days somewhere along the line). Keith cooked us all up one of his delicious breakfasts – it was quite a treat. After having a lazy morning, the four of us headed over to Kings Park – a large park that overlooks Perth (larger than Central Park). It was a beautiful day and we wandered around the Botanical Gardens (Keith's favorite) and took a stroll along the Lotterywest Federation Walkway – a raised glass-sided bridge that goes through the tree tops. After the Park, we stopped at the grocery store and Keith once again cooked us a delicious dinner of steak, potatoes, corn on the cob, asparagus, bread and of course lots of wine. It was a wonderfully relaxing day filled with many laughs.

Thursday, October 1. Keith stuffed us all again with a big breakfast and then Keith and I headed into downtown Perth. We did a little shopping and sight-seeing. We climbed up the Swan Bells – a large glass bell tower (apparently one it's one of the world's largest musical instruments) designed to recall Perth's ship-building past, rode the nearby ferris wheel and wandered through the Supreme Court Gardens. We had a yummy lunch at a local pizza place and ended the day with a pitcher of beer at the local watering hole. Thursday night was low-key as we finished laundry and packed for our next leg of of our journey.

Friday, October 2. Chuck and Alice brought us to the airport and off we went to Ayres Rock (AKA Uluru). As a side note, when you are flying domestically within Australia, the rules seem to be quite lax. You usually don't need to show any form of id, there is no taking off of the shoes or jackets, and you can bring 5 liters of alcohol and lighters on the plane with you (as carry-ons). The scene looking out of the plane window on the way to Ayres Rock is what you imagine Australia to look like – red earth as far as the eye can see with only the occasional line to denote a dirt road. More on Ayres Rock later.....

A few thoughts as Keith and I leave Western Australia (WA or better known as “Wait Awhile”). Perth was a wonderful laid-back city with a beautiful mixture of old and new architecture. One can tell that Perth is a growing city by the number of large cranes seen along the city skyline and the number of skyscrapers being built. It provided a great place to have a pitcher of beer and do some people watching. It was definitely a nice place to recharge before starting on the next leg of our journey. Thank you so much Chuck and Alice for letting us stay with you! Keith and I can hardly believe its only been two weeks since we landed in Melbourne. With the amount of things that we've seen and done, it seems like we've been gone for so much longer. And for all those who are wondering, though we have our moments, Keith and I still love each other and are having a great time together!!