waiting for free internet...

hey everyone! sorry it's been so long since our last post, we just wanted to say a quick hi now! the rainforest was great, so amazing! we'll put pictures up soon! we're heading to Airlie Beach in the morning, and hopefully the library there will have free internet. we love you and miss you!

Hey guys we made a website that allows us to upload more pictures! We have our pictures from Sydney up now and we'll be adding more soon! www.Australiaandbeyond.shutterfly.com

Love you all!

Why we love Australia...

I love Australia because when you order an ice coffee, instead of asking, "milk or cream?" ... they ask, "would you rather your ice cream mixed in or just on top?"

Lou loves Australia because you can get bacon everywhere on anything!

We love Australia because you can get a beer at 12 in the afternoon and it isn't frowned upon, but more encouraged.

Cheers!

Melbourne

Hey everyone! We hope everyone is doing well! Today is our last day in Melbourne before we head to Adelaide in the morning. We thought we would just put up some pictures of our adventures in Melbourne. Hope you enjoy!

While we were in Melbourne we took 4 days to drive the Great Ocean Road in our wonderful little yellow car! The road takes about 3-4 hours to drive and goes all along the coast. It was an amazingly beautiful ride. On the curviest windiest roads, and they have you driving on the left side! It was a great way to get introduced to the driving! Luckily for us they have signs "we drive on the left side in Australia" every couple miles ... they were sometimes very necessary reminders!

We saw our first Koala Bears!!! They were so close and mellow we got a chance to take pictures from inches away and even pet them! The little guys just hung out around our camp ground chomping on their toxic eucalyptus. A local explained to us how eucalyptus is actually a toxic plant and the Koalas basically get high from eating it all day. He warned us to watch out for the ones who eat too much and fall out of the trees - we're still waiting to see this!

Yesterday we got to take part in an Australian festival which was a lot of fun! The festival was right on the beach with over 25000 people! There were many stages with live music, market shopping, and lots of fun filled crowded pubs. We were lucky we happened to be here when it was going on.

Alright, everyone needs to offer us a suggestion! We are going to get sick of peanut butter sandwiches very fast! We are trying to stay economical with our meals but it is difficult without a refrigerator! We need some creative ideas for inexpensive simple meals (we aren’t the best in the kitchen). We are expecting some great ideas from all of you … don’t let us down!

australian wildlife...

Our first days in Australia have been very exciting, and entertaining as well! Lou saw his first cockroach here in Australia! It was pretty memorable. The little bugger was just propped up nicely on the shelf when he spotted him. Lou's mouth dropped open … jumping up and down pushing me closer to the bug not speaking. After he pointed the bug out to me he was able to start whispering “Aimee get him! Aimee kill him kill him!!! ... Ahhhh! Kill him Aimee!” Little Stanley (what we named him later) was just too fast for me! I’m not sure Lou has had a full nights sleep since! Now Josh, I know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry - the cockroaches here aren’t dirty, they’re just a small part of Australia’s beautiful wildlife! However, Stanley did crawl under the dresser, and was never seen again! I’m sure we’ll bump into some of his relatives along the journey though!

Luggage...

So all of you who came to the airport with us before we left were probably thinking we had too much stuff, and ya know what? You were right! We’ve gone through a couple “downgrades” with our luggage (if you can even call it that!) First off, we ditched the black bags!! We now understand why no one would take our money for those bags – they’re ridiculous. I guess it serves us right for not having to pay for them! Karma is a (insert word here). We went to the market and bought a wheelie duffle bag that could fit a small adult, re-packed all our stuff (got rid of some things), and thought we were ready to travel the world – 1 small annoying black bag, 1 huge duffle bag on wheels, and our backpacks (which are awesome). We went three blocks with everything, and went back to the market to buy yet another bag! This one, although not quite as big as the one we already bought, fit a ton (or whatever it is in kilo’s!). So we repacked all our stuff again. This time we were sure we’re ready to take on Australia. We had our big person-sized bag, smaller wheelie bag, and our backpacks – life was great….not! One trip on the train to Josie’s house, and we realized this wasn’t going to work! Mainly based on the fact that she offered to make two trips from the train station to pick up all our stuff! But thankfully we got it all in one trip. So, after over a week of picking out clothes to leave behind, we’re finally ready on our way to travel the world! We have our backpacks, and the second smaller duffle bag. We left over half of our clothes that we brought at Josie’s, so when we come home, it could be quite the adventure!

hey everyone! greetings from down under! we finally got the pictures up - we hope you enjoy them! we've been staying with ted's friend josie since last monday. she has been great! so nice and helpful and welcoming! she lives about an hour outside of sydney, so it isn't so bad - the train goes right there. she has been showing us around the area, and taking us to see all the sights! she drove us through one of the national parks, we got to go to the beaches, we went to the blue mountains, and we've been in and out of the city on most of the days! it has been so great! tomorrow we're heading down to kangaroo valley for a couple days, and then down to melbourne for a little while. i think we might even make our way to tasmania to do some camping/fruit picking. we will certainly keep you all updated. love you all!

Lou and Aimee.