Australian Wildlife

Yesterday we took a tour to see some of Australia's famous wildlife. We started at a working cattle and sheep station, "Warrook Farm". At the station we saw some kangaroos and wombats. After leaving the station, we proceeded to the Koala Conservation Center and observed Koalas in the wild. Then it was on to Phillip Island to see the penguins come in at dusk. It is amazing. The beach will be empty, and then as a wave recedes, there are a large group of penguins lying on the beach. They take a few minutes to assure themselves that it is safe and then march across the beach to their burrows. As they start marching, there are wallabies eating grass not paying any attention to the penguins near by.

Wine Tasting in the Yarra Valley

We spent the day wine tasting in the Yarra Valley. We started our at De Bortoli winery, followed by Yering Winery, then on the Domain Chandon for some sparkling wine and lunch. After lunch we went to Cold Stream Winery and finished the day at the Yarra Dairy for cheese and coffee.

We had a wonderful tour, met a great group of people, and tasted some fine Chardonnays, Sauvigon Blancs and Pinot Noirs.

Australian Open

One of the reasons for coming to Melbourne was to experience the Australian Open Tennis tournament. We spent two of our days in Melbourne at the tournament and saw five fourth round matches. We were lucky enough to see the #1 and #2 men players, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, and the # 1 woman player,Carolyn Woznlacki, play.

Melbourne, Australia

We arrived in Melbourne from Auckland after 16 hours of flying time. Melbourne is a beautiful city and although the Yarra River is quite muddy, walking along the banks and dining in the many cafes, quite delightful. One of the surprise of the first two days here was the Queen Victoria Market. It covers several city blocks and has everything from clothes, to computers to food. The second surprise was the street performers that congregate along the Yarra river quay.

January Sking At Lake Tahoe

Georgia bid on a three day ski vacation rental at Tahoe Donner at a charity dinner. On January 4th, we invited two other couples, Doug & Helga Carlton and Tim & Mary Mosteller to join us for some fun in the high Sierras. Everyone either went skiing or snow shoeing in beautiful January weather, cold and clear. Several of the pictures are of the ground fog developing in the evenings.

Captured Moments of 2010 for the Holidays

Every year we try to capture those pictures that were some of the best of the year. This year we have selected four pictures. The first photo is of us kayaking in Jamaica in January. The second is bicycling with a surrey on top in Coronado, California in July. (Shown with us are our daughter, Melissa, son-in-law Keith,and grandsons Kellen, 8 yrs,and Cairn, 2.5 years.) The third is of Georgia and Melissa horse back riding in the Roche Family vineyards in Sonoma, California in September. The final picture is taken of us at a windmill near Amsterdam, Netherlands in June.

December Flowering House Plants

Here it is in December on a cloudy, rainy day, but our house plants seem to love it. Both Georgia and I love to garden and as a result have numerous house plants. Here are some pictures of some of them blooming for Christmas. Shown are a flowering corn stock, Christmas Cactus, Moon cactus, Peace Lily, and an Anthuriun.