Is it Friday?

Ed. note: Dad and I wrote our own versions of the past two days in Port Douglas, Queensland. Below is his version, the previous post is mine. 

One of the real advantages of taking a long vacation in a foreign country is that I do not have a watch, my cell phone doesn't function as a phone or a clock (just a camera), my tablet is good only for reading pre downloaded books, not surfing the internet and best of all, I have Michelle to take care of knowing anything that might be necessary like time, directions and date.  If you do not need to be anywhere then you can never be late.  I have become so laid back that earlier today I asked Michelle, “Is it Friday?”

Which side are we on?

Dad and I just returned from two and a half days and at least 300 kilometers driven. Most recently, we had a late lunch in a restaurant on stilts, where I felt like a tree kanragoo while eating – we were so high up in the trees! Although they don’t normally eat Caesar salad from tables covered with white cloths, so there is a significant difference there.

Yes, a tree kangaroo is a real animal, and it is native to the rainforest in Far North Queensland, where we have spent the past few days driving around, sweating, getting rained on, and eating. Dad wanted to see the Great Barrier Reef during his visit, so I decided that we were going to visit the rainforest as a contrast to my earlier visit to the Outback.

Guest post: Climbing the Bridge

One of the activities that has been on my bucket list is climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge.  Getting to Australia certainly made it easier to accomplish.  (Although until the Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman movie came out I am not sure I ever had a bucket list.)  We made reservations a week or two ago, although I have taken poetic license using the term we.  Thank you Michelle!!! 

The weather here in Sydney has left something to be desired.  That something that is missing is the big yellow thing in the sky of the northern hemisphere that is called the sun.  Since I arrived it has been cool, windy, cloudy and drizzly.   Our bridge climb was scheduled for twilight Sunday so we would be on top of the bridge both in daylight and at night when the city was all lit up. We awoke on Sunday and the drizzle had been replaced by rain.  We both wondered if the bridge climb would be spoiled or cancelled by the weather.  During the day we wandered over to the Glebe Street fair (not Glee.) Nice street and most of the time the rain abated.  Later in the afternoon we made our way to the Australian Museum of Contemporary Art.  The drawing card was the new Yoko Ono exhibition, “Stop the War.”:  Very interesting and moving.  The exhibit was virtually all in black and white.  Image a chess board only in white and with the pieces on both sides only in white.  Which bishop is mine?  Am I on the right square?

 At the appointed time, we made our way to the Bridge Climb entrance.  Our group of climbers was about 11 people.  About half Australian and half from the U.S. including a couple from Boston where the wife was the climber and the husband stayed with his feet firmly planted on the ground. (Fear of heights he claimed) We dressed in what I can only describe as space suits.  They were full length cloth suits in blue and gray that zipped from the back and had attachments and clips everywhere.  A clip for the gloves, one for the hat: another for the radio (communication not entertainment): clips for glasses, one for a wiping cloth (handkerchief).  Oh, and yes a harness to clip each climber to the bridge.  There was a practice area where we learned to climb stairs and ladders while keeping 3 points connected at all times. (2 hands and a foot or 2 feet and one hand.)  All this as you were tethered to the bridge.

Soon we were ready for the climb.  Climb is a misnomer.  Mostly there are steps, stairs and a couple of ladders.  You often were ducking under low hanging beams or stepping over a girder.  Remember, this is a bridge.  After about 30 minutes of “climbing,” we found ourselves on the exterior of the curved arch of the bridge overlooking the harbor and the city of Sydney.  Spectacular view even though it was dusk and overcast.  The leader kept up a running commentary through the radio system, although sometimes she would warn us of a low hanging beam when we were 50 yards behind.  Every now and again we would stop to catch our breath, let stragglers catch up, take photos (they took all photos, we were not allowed to have cameras on the climb) and just admire the beauty of the city.  Viewing the Opera House lit up a night from a height of 140 meters is a vision I will never forget.

And then the rains came.  Here we are atop the longest arch bridge in the world and it starts raining.  No shelter, no umbrella, just a steady downpour.  If we look like drowned birds in some of the photos, you know why.  You climb up one arch cross over the bridge to the other arch and then climb back down.  From start to finish the climbing takes about 2 hours.  OK climbing takes 1 ½ hours and photos take the other 30 minutes.

One bucket list item down, many more to go.

Guest Post: Dad's first impressions

Ed. note: Dad landed on Friday morning, and has been a true trooper (trust me, this is not the worst alliteration you will read in this post) and hasn't shown many signs of jet lag yet. Here are his first impressions, in his own words, unedited. 

Since Michelle has been remiss regarding her Blog from Australia, today you get the perspective of a guest blogger.  That’s right, dear old Dad, aka Stephen, aka Papa Brodes is in the land down under bringing you new perspectives and probably more really bad puns.