Hodge Podge

This was at Johanna Beach along the Great Ocean Road. It was SO hot that day, and as luck would have it it was the day we drove home. Five people and all our gear crammed into a tiny 4-door sedan in the scorch of an Australian summer. Not my ideal combination. But at least we sort of had radio reception. And by sort of, I mean we had one station and it cut in and out of static on the hairpin turns.

Birds are crazy. I like to imagine that this seagull has lofty dreams of big city living. He's gazing out longingly across the Yarra River into the heart of Melbourne, telling himself that even a small nuisance of a bird can have giant aspirations. You go, birdie. You go.

Anzac Day after the dawn service. I don't think I've ever witnessed in person such a gargantuan assemblage of people. It was still dark when we got off the tram and climbed the hill to the Shrine of Remembrance. As we neared the top, we heard music and saw literally thousands of people huddled together in the cold singing the national anthem. It was, without a doubt, the most beautiful moment of my life. I wept like an infant.

I spent a lovely night at my friend's house out in the Dandenongs, about an hour train ride from the Melbourne city business district. We took a gorgeous walk through her neighborhood and into the forested foothills of the mountains at night, and she showed me her favorite lookout spot where you could see the entire suburban sprawl layed out at the feet of the city skyline. After dinner, dessert, and a game of cards with my friend's mother, we started a rousing game of Scrabble. We got this far in the game before we realized that the very first word we put down was spelled incorrectly. Needless to say, there is no such thing as a "panad." There is, however, a panda. Also, note Farfencougar--the tiny plastic animal thing that came in the Kinder Egg Ellen bought for me. He's our equivalent of the gnome in Amelie. He goes everywhere we do.

This is the side of one of the Brighton Beach bathing boxes. This latch perplexed me, as it just hung there with nothing to hook into.

I don't fully understand my fascination with Brighton Beach. I've been there three times, yet each time I feel the need to take approximately 300 pictures (on average) of the exact same things I took pictures of the previous time(s). At least I'll never forget what the Melbourne skyline looks like from a suburb that's 20 minutes away by train.