well i’m on my way…

I’d first like to share that I’m sitting in the comfort of my friend Cameron’s apartment.  I met Cameron on my last day in Beijing; he was in search of a camera and I for something to do besides look at more temples.  Staying with a friend means a lot of wonderful things a backpacker is not accustomed to: my own room, showering without flip flops and not worrying about a moldy shower curtain touching me, no fighting for space in the fridge or around the stove, and cleanliness!  It also means that I’ll see what the real Melbourne is like-instead of only what Australian tourism wants me to.  The most important benefit of this is that I already have a friend here, and I don’t have to totally put myself out there (or conversely, my game face on) in a hostel.  I’m going to have to find friends in every city from now on if I let myself get this spoiled.

Cam picked me up from the airport Wednesday night and drove through the city to get back to his suburban apartment.  From a distance, Melbourne could pass for a compacted Chicago-from the actual way the skyline looks and the fact it’s on a bay.  After we got over Westgate Bridge, Cameron told me how it was constructed: 2 teams of guys started on each side of the bridge and started building out, figuring they’d meet in the middle.  (We all know where this is going!)  One side ended up being 3 feet (or meters) higher than the other.  In order to fix this, they put weights on the heavier side.  Thirty-some people died in the construction of this and no one really trusts the bridge, although countless people drive over it daily during their commute. 

Thursday I slept until 11.  I don’t even know when the last time I slept that long was!  After being lazy for a while, we went to an American food store.  I laughed, amazed at the things that were imported:  corn nuts, moon pies, Jack Daniels BBQ sauce, Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup, Crisco, Tide…I purchased Code Red Mountain Dew since I haven’t seen it in the states for years and some kettle cooked potato chips (crisps!).  Cameron bought some Vermont maple syrup and some spice rubs for the barbie.  (A certain Jim Carrey movie just entered my thoughts right there…)

 We later went to Philip Island to watch the penguins come in.  Fairy penguins hang out all day at sea playing and eating and at dusk come in to their homes to sleep and feed their young.  We, along with 148 other people, paid the $20 to sit in the dark and wind and wait.  The seagulls provided quite a show while we were waiting-they were sitting (floating) on the top of the water and instinctively flew up back to calmer water every time a wave came in.  Most of the time.  Sometimes they just got drenched.  Then, one by one, little penguins were breaking the surface!  They would just float in and sit on the beach, let the water move them in and out of the shore a bit, finally get out, shake off, look around, and run back in the ocean!  It was so cute!  Then a few would come up, usually three at a time, go through these motions, and then waddle upshore to higher and safer ground.  We watched a few groups do this-usually of three or four.  We looked down the beach, where there were no lights and saw a massive group of the lil guys heading upshore.  We sat and watched until we got the warning that the lights were going to be turned off (probably when the majority of the penguins come in) and headed up from the shore.  We walked on a boardwalk that allowed the penguins and whatever other animals dwell there to move freely and saw more penguins waddling along.  Some just sat there, while others scratched their backs with their beaks.  They were so fuzzy looking-I just wanted to pick one up!  I was probably as vocally excited, if not more, to see these guys than most of the children around us. 

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 5th, 2009 at 5:06 pm and is filed under Australia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.