Great Salt Lake

It occurred to me the other day that I have lived in Utah for 20 years and I have never been to the Great Salt Lake. Deciding to fix this oversight- we packed for a day trip and headed out. From what I could find out from google searching, Antelope Island is a great place to venture into the water, so we gave it a shot.
I'd heard and read all sorts of nasty reviews of the Great Salt Lake, but, let's face it folks and recollect what the Great Salt Lake is- the 2nd saltiest lake in the world (only the Dead Sea is saltier). Of course it's going to be a barren wasteland full of bugs, bad smells, mud and a salty residue on everything...
Being warned (and warned again) of the unpleasantness our adventure would entail- this is what we found as we arrived on Antelope Island. A gorgeous view of expansive water and desert, well-kept covered picnic areas, clean sand, showers and bathrooms. Not too smelly, and a breeze keeping the bugs at bay.

Getting to the water was a bit gross, depending on how you feel about gnats. The sand on the edge of the water was covered with thousands of gnats that moved in waves when you stepped forward. Kind of funny- kind of disgusting. The gnats weren't really interested in you (they didn't bite) as long as you kept moving. So into the water we went... very floaty, surreal feeling. You just bob effortlessly near the surface, this picture was taken with both hands on the camera. No need to expend any effort to stay afloat.


Little dude did some serious shrimpin'. Tiny pinkish brine shrimp are all over in the water, easily caught in a water bottle.


I couldn't head south, back home, without seeing Saltair and the surrounding area. So we headed west on I-80, past the airport, just as the sun was getting low in the sky. We went for a glimpse of Saltair but found ourselves enjoying the extremely photogenic Temple of the Birds and it's neighbor- 'burned-out-train-car' (for lack of a better name), just to the east. We just couldn't stop with the pictures. Oh the evening sunlight and colorful graffiti combined for some clever pics.

We weren't the only ones talking pictures, we counted 3 engagement and 1 bridal photo sessions going on as we wandered about. Here is the rare picture of the train car without any random strangers (oh wait, there is just one...).

Time to head home as the sun set, what an unforgettable day. To see a ton more pictures of the day- look here.



Here's a little video from out day at the Great Salt Lake. All I can say is thank goodness they are gnats and not bees.

One Mile Beach

One of our last beach days was spent at One Mile Beach in Anna Bay, Port Stephens. The surf was flat everywhere else, but on this beach the waves were perfect, tiny kid-style waves. We've seen some stormy, choppy surf on this trip, so- we all fell in love- surfing and boogie boarding until the sun went down.
The boards we had were 5'5" soft boards (borrowed from the RV rental company) and not easy to surf. The kids were all used to at least a 9' board (what they learned on in California). I was very impressed when they were all able to surf the shorter boards.

We finally picked up a boogie board in Noosa- over halfway through the trip, but then made good use of the fun little "sled".

M got good at the catching the wave herself, without any push whatsoever.

C started sporting the goggles to keep the salt water from burning his eyes, very effective, he could stay in the water for hours at a time with his eyes covered. He and F would "share" the boogie board...
Method- Steve O would push him into the wave, he would give a little cheer then look back at his feet and kick as hard as he could for the whole ride. He takes his fun very seriously.

Byron Bay

Everyone we've asked for advice has recommended Byron Bay, looking at this picture you can see why. The beaches are beautiful, the town is cute, Steve O calls it "Moab of the Sea" because it's trendy, hip, lots of funky surf shops and art galleries, dreadlocks and backpacks.

The kids are disturbed that "Australien" is spelled wrong, I keep telling them, I didn't make it- it's poached art, I just came across it while walking. I'm not quite sure what language spells it this way...

The water was so clear. Not as warm as Queensland but refreshingly delicious.

Steve O having a special 'breaking the law' moment.

The Aussies sure do like to leave their Christmas decor up just as long as possible.
Not nearly as many bikes as you might think in this country. The climate is perfect, so- what's up with that? There are two possible conclusions we've come up with after discussing it with folks.
1. It's mandatory to wear a helmet. No helmet= big ticket.
2. Motorist don't give a crap about cyclists, (or pedestrians for that matter) so you are taking your life in your hands riding around town. Some spots are trying to change attitudes and streets for cyclists (Sydney) hopefully this is a countrywide trend- wait, make that worldwide.

Lest We Forget

(Hope this is not disrespectful but...)
Sometimes is fun to pretend your baby brother is dead when you are at the beach at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. Amen.

safety first

One of the things we love about this place is the openness with which they refer to the possible consequences of playing in a specific area, usually, but not always, having to do with water.

This giant sign is posted at the trailhead of Cedar Creek Falls in Mount Tamborine.

This guy must be illiterate, poor fella. Dude, BTW, there are eels in that water. We learned about the eel situation after we went for a swim. (Cedar Creek Falls, Mount Tamborine) Oh yes, of course we stayed to watch him jump (just to make sure he surfaced safely).

Just about every beach has some sort of warning, referring to all the ways you may be injured or die, don't say we never warned you...

Of course a picture always helps the illiterate or the youngsters get the 411. We love this one.

It's true, I was tempted to climb around on the cliff rocks, then I read the sign, AND remembered I'm a mother of four...

Let's see, what do I know about stone fish...?

Let's be frank, this could be a safety issue too.

Lady Musgrave Island, Great Barrier Reef

Here we all are on Lady Musgrave Island, 90 miles off the coast of Australia. The island is completely surrounded by reef and lagoon and is extraordinarily beautiful. The beach we landed on is big chunks of coral and sounded like glasses being clinked together when you walked across it. The other side of the island is where about 30 sea turtles lay their eggs every night.

The entire island is a marine sanctuary. You can't even pick up bird poop much less coral as a souvenir. This is perhaps to make up for many years of wackiness on this island even- in particular. It's tiny, (15 hectare) but in the 1930's a resort was built on the island until WWII when it was abandoned and pilaged during the following years. Goats were left behind (to feed shipwrecked sailors) that picked the island clean until they were eradicated in the 1970's. Very interesting history... today you can camp on the island with a permit, for 3 weeks in a stretch. Hello- why wouldn't ya?
Actually, we walked past a group that had been camping since Christmas and they looked a bit shipwrecked. Still, I think I would suck on coral and drink rain water to spend a week living here (let's just start with a week...)

Fabulous snorkeling for everyone...

I kid you not, the water inside the reef is really this blue. It was one of the most surreal, exquisitely beautiful sights I have ever seen.

C, hanging on the dive/snorkel platform. Later on the kids said one of their favorite things from the trip was this platform. Go figure.

Reef markers.

The Town of 1770

We are making our way south now. We are in a town called "The Town of 1770." This photo is from a beach day in Agnes Waters in Queensland yesterday. All is well and we are happy. (we are out of internet range so few posts for a while)

Monkey Beach, Great Keppel Island

The rain let up a little today so we jumped on a ferry to Great Keppel Island to do some snorkeling. Away from the mainland and the murky crashing waves, the water calmed and underwater visibility improved.

We hiked to Monkey Beach a few beaches over from the main beach and were rewarded by having the beach almost to ourselves. Sorry neighbors- we are pretty loud. We run up and down the beach drawing pictures with sticks in the pristine sand and having sand throwing wars.
The dingy here belongs to a Aussie couple who came ashore from their yacht. They live on their yacht and sail all around the world. Sounds like a dream come true, until you factor in the true nature of the open sea and the misery that is feeling seasick (experienced firsthand by most of us on the rough ferry ride today). Not all sandy beaches folks...(but still awesome I'm sure)

The reward for our effort came when you put on your mask and stuck you face in the water. The underwater camera worked it's magic, capturing the events.

We found Nemo...

And the grand finale- swimming with a sea turtle. The kids followed this guy around for about 5 minutes, until he turned around to see who was following him and really freaked Steve O out- do sea turtles bite?

By the way... Happy New Years from Down Under, a little before the rest of you. As I write this I can hear the fireworks on the beach and my family snoring around me- what can I say- exhausting fun day! Happy 2010!

Big Wednesday

We can’t get enough of the warm water of Queensland. We don’t even care if rains or the sun is not always out. Crew is getting good at surfing. This 5’ 5” soft board is perfect for him, he likes to run swim goggles, rides goofy and doesn’t mind running his leash on his front foot.

Yeppoon, Queensland, Australia

We busted a move and drove nearly 12 hours straight, about 1000 kms to reach the lower Great Barrier Reef, actually where the reef comes the closest to the shore.
Taking all of the variables into consideration, we decided to get as far north as we wanted to go in one shot, then start working our way back down to Sydney - get all the northerly driving done in a day, partly while the kids slept.
This time of year is tricky on the East Coast of Australia. The further north you go the heat and humidity get unbearable AND then there is the jellyfish problem. Blue bottles are tiny jellyfish (like the size of a tangerine) with bright blue tentacles (we’ve actually only seen them dried up on the beach), that roll in every now and again. It hurts when you get stung but the sting won’t kill you. Above Rockhampton you run into serious “stinger” problems. You can’t swim in the ocean by Cairns because of the “stingers”- this meaning Box Jellyfish, and these can kill you. So, based on this very important fact we’ve halted our journey north at Rockhampton and are very pleased with our decision so far. We ‘ve played in the warm ocean water for hours on end with no worries... and I really like that.
Blue Bottle jellyfish, washed up on the beach. Thankfully, none of us have met up with one in the water.

I don't ever even want to see a Box jellyfish in real life.

swim swam swum

We are in Queensland. The water is warm. Tonight we swam, swam, swam in a rainstorm, swam till it was dark.

I saw 3 kangaroos on Christmas Day

The kids and Steve O took about 1000 pictures with the string of christmas lights and flashlights, I love the abstract eye candy aspect of all of them, but for the sake of internet connect time, I'll just share this festive shot.
Santa found us in a land down under, down a dirt road, in a national park without electricity, surrounded by kangaroos...

The view down the beach on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and don't forget Boxing Day (Dec. 26) , Split Rock at Diamond Head.

At first we were a little wary of the kangaroos lounging in the shade all around the campground. Can you pet them? Cuddle them? Feed them? (the correct answers are- yes, no,no) We watched others petting them, talked to some neighbors- one little girl told us, "Ah yeah, you can pet them. Just stay away from the males, they'll lean back on their tales and kick you in the chest." Ohh, good to know.

Some careful sneaking (in a pack as you can see here) might get you a pet (softer than you might think)- while the kangaroo is busy eating grass. It is just so strange to watch them move, bounce, scratch themselves. I could watch them for hours. We finally saw a couple with joeys in their pouches. All we saw of one joey was his tail, big back feet and ears sticking out. I think he was getting a bit too big to be carried around.

Merry Christmas, Happy Boxing Day!
To see more pictures look here.

Merry Christmas from the O's

We had a great Christmas on the beach in a National Park campground without electricity, hot water or drinking water- it was fun, more updates soon.

Fingal Bay, Port Stephens, NSW, Australia

Baby Jesus and family, enjoying the view of Fingal Bay

Tim, this beetle photo is for you.

C has become quite a snorkeler since receiving and early Christmas present (thanks Grandma and Grandpa!) Here he is practicing in the pool, just biding his time-ready for the big water.

The sand spit, Fingal Bay

Q, getting ready for bed in the RV- our cozy dwelling place, (depending on how clean it is at any given moment). It can be trashed in 2 minutes flat, it's that small. But also cleaned up pretty quickly too. Gotta go make some supper for my people...

For more photos look HERE.