We ended up finally buying a new camera after our last one had an unfortunate incident in the sand. Here's our weekend:
On Saturday night we picked up dinner (or tea) at our favorite pasta place called "Tony's". The name isn't particularly original but the food is outstanding. Eh-oh, try the gnocci, it's da best (seriously, the gnocci kicks butt). After dinner we headed to the park for a picnic. Perth is a big picnic culture. Often people will bring their portable BBQs with them but here we just brought Tony's and an appetite.
Here is Cyrus relaxing after a good meal. In fact, he's just tired himself out from eating and is getting ready for seconds...and then thirds...and then a snack...
After dinner (and before the boys had a chance to eat anymore) we went to the beach to watch the sunset. Or in this case, the boys watching Keva watching the sunset. There were literally hundreds of people at the beach and many of them in the water. It was easily the busiest beach we've seen since we've been here.
On Sunday we drove about 45 minutes south to a place called Rockingham. A 5 minute ferry from Rockingham is a series of little islands. All of the islands are animal sanctuaries, mostly for sea birds but also for penguins (yes, I recognize they are also birds) and seals. People are only allowed to go to one of the islands, called Penguin Island while you can look at the rest of the islands from your boat. At low tide you can actually walk from short to Penguin Island via a sandbar. It was high tide when we were there but, nonetheless, there were plenty of people that went across by foot. It looked like they walked about 3/4 of the way and had to swim the rest. As we arrived we were greeted by thousands of these Terns. The Terns covered the island and weren't concerned with us in the least. You could get to within 4 feet of them before they moved.
The other common inhabitant of Penguin Island is the King Sking shown here. They are about 1 foot long and harmless although they will try to eat your lunch if you allow them to get close enough. These things were all over the island. I've never experienced a lizard that is so comfortable around people. We literally had to shoo one away while we were eating lunch.
Here's one moving in for someone's leftovers.
Also at the islands are the worlds largest pelicans. I forget what they were called but they were beautiful, especially in flight.
One of the islands beside Penguin Island is the aptly named Seal Island. Here is one of it's inhabitants. There were only about 6 seals today but at times there are dozens. This is a bachelors only island and the females never come here.
On Penguin Island they have a rehabilitation center for penguins. You can see Keva, Nadia and Zaren in the background watching the birds. These penguins are the smallest in the world and are only found in Australia. Quick useless fact: there are more penguin species in Australia than in Antarctica.
Here are some wild penguins on Penguin Island. They are very difficult to spot but we managed to find some. At this time of year they are moulting and aren't waterproof. As a result, they don't swim, they stay on the island and they look like they have a bad 80's perm.
All of us have been a little homesick. More than anything we miss our friends, families and the comforts of home. We've also really missed Chelsea, our dog. Keva has especially missed Chelsea. So to fill the void, Keva has taken to walking one of our neighbour's dogs named Archie. This is Archie posed in our kitchen just before a walk. This is his first (and likely only) time in our house. He's a great dog but we have no intention of getting another pet, at least until we decide what our future holds. It's a great feeling to be able to just get up and leave and not have to worry about what to do about the dog/cat/bird/gerbil/snake/turtle/fish.
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We've heard that the weather has taken a turn for the worse in Cowtown. This weekend it was sunny and 36 and 37 degrees in Perth. Today, it was a cool 29. It's funny that you don't feel the heat here like we did in Calgary. For instance, 29 and sunny in Calgary would feel really warm. I actually had some moments where I felt cool today. Part of it is the sea breeze that cools things down significantly. The other is likely that the buildings are made for heat rather -20. Pretty soon we'll be whinging (Aussie for whining) when it hits 25.
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Apparently, Tim Tebow either didn't pray hard enough or he forgot that Tom Brady has God on speed dial.
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