Walking for History

After an opening ceremony involving the smoking ceremony (not smudging, as we are used to hearing it referred to) - which was performed by "Uncle Max", an aboriginal who claims he has "smoked the Queen, three popes, Prince William, Oprah" and other celebrities.

There was definitely some smoke ... all detectors must have been temporarily disarmed.

Here's Uncle Max sharing his who's who of prior "smokings"!

Rotary International President Ron Burton had a tough act to follow but found a resounding "OI, OI, OI" to his cry of "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie".  I think it's safe to expect that that will be a continuing theme.

The main event of Saturday was the 3km Walk to End Polio.  Following are some pics from that hour of life.  People from many countries and continents - there are likely statistics posted on Rotary International's website for those of you who'd like the stats.

Just at the gate ready to GO!

Any athletes would have been frustrated by the pace, but the atmosphere was terrific!  It had rained earlier but the sky was mostly blue, and the temperature perfect.

Note tower in the background ...

From atop the tower ...

And yes, we made it to the finish line.

The remainder of our day was split evenly between exploring the House of Friiendship (Rotary speak for an international Rotary themed trade fair).  Some beautiful quilts caught my eye, and Destiny thought that this fellow was kind of intriguing - a project of an Australian club.

And I didn't get away unscathed - 

We've been enjoying our lunches in 'pie form' - meat pies, veggie pies, Butter Chicken pies.  Tasty and affordable.  Yummy.  I ate mine too quickly to take a photo - maybe I'll have more self control today ...

The afternooon was filled with train exploring, an excursion to Paddy's Market where some souvenirs were purchased as well as hats and sunnies.  We've found a restaurant close to our hotel called Tropicanna Caffe that is now our fall back place - prices reasonable, good service and delicious food.  

We experienced some success in further shifting our internal clocks at were up until at least 8:30 ...

Tomorrow the convention starts 'proper' so stay tuned.

And, for the Rotarians of Camrose Daybreak, do a Google serarch for a project called "Days for Girls"; Destiny and I would like to find a way to adopt this at home.

Chat with y'all latah.

Travel Coordinator

The last few months have been a hectic whirlwind of tax season, renovations, yard work ... you know, the usual stuff that keeps all of us busy and feeling like there are not quite enough hours in a day to accomplish what we'd like.  But now, (and as I write this paragraph, we are flying the first leg of our journey to Los Angeles), I know that I had nothing to fear.  Enter:  Destiny.  

Destiny has organized enough of this trip for me to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.  Due to Destiny, we are riding up in Row 2 - yes, that's right, Business Class.  I may never check in using a kiosk again.  Cute, sweet Destiny politely asks the young woman at the counter if there's any chance of an upgrade and, without actually confirming or denying that, she hands us our Row 2 boarding passes.  Whoo hoo!

That says "Plus" on the seat headrest.  Great word for an accountant :P

So, Destiny is your go-to girl if you are ever upgraded to Business Class on Westjet.  She can itemize for you all of the included perks, from blankets booze, sandwiches to licorice.  It's the only way to fly.  Let's see how she does with Qantas ... a 15 hour upgrade will be a serious bonus!

We had a 12 hour layover in LA ... so we found a way to bus to Marina del Rey (Destiny and Google) ... so that was a lovely way to spend a few hours.  Here's a few pics:

Umm... fitness stations (I think they have another name) but they were along this walking path near the Marina.  Some of us know how to use them.

Back to the airport, board Qantas ... we could upgrade for $8000 (not a typo!) so we humbly bowed our heads and took our economy seats.  And, just 15 hours later, we're in Aus.  The land down under.

Off to Sydney!

I am not packed. Things at the office aren't really ready for me to be away for 13 working days. Our house renovations are such that the majority of the main floor is empty and the drywaller comes tomorrow to fix our deconstruction and give us a pretty ceiling ... On second thought it's a probably a perfect time to leave. 

   What I am leaving behind ... Bill assures me all will be done by the time I get back. 

Wednesday morning, May 28, Destiny Reay and I start the long trip to Sydney. We will be participating in the Rotary International conference for the first 5 days. Whew. Then some days of footloose unplanned travel ... Just my style. 

Stay tuned!