Florida Coalcracker Chronicles: 15 - Settling Into A Routine In Canberra

This vineyard is 22 miles
northeast of us

This wedding was at the National Library

Lots of cars have snorkels -
must be flooding the area

It is hard to believe that we left home in Tallahassee 15 days ago! You would think we could adjust to the time zone better. We are 14 hours ahead on the clock than the Eastern USA. That means when it is 1 PM here - but is 11 AM back home - the day before. We are still both going to bed early and getting up early. We do wake up in the middle of the night - and listen to news from back home using iPods or hearing aids. That may be a problem we are creating.

Lulu is working very hard here - like two jobs. It 8 AM - she teaches her FSU courses online. Then at 10 AM - she goes to the National Library and does 4-5 hours of research. She is literally going thru boxes of personal papers from David Hone. There are 22 bin size boxes. She reads through everything. When I pick her up - she is tired. But we want to get out and see some things. Last night we drove 22 miles out of town to a vineyard and had supper. Along the road at sunset we saw plenty of kangaroos in the wild. Just like we see rabbit and deer back home in Pennsylvania - they see kangaroos. Lulu said after seeing them - now I feel like I am in Australia.

Driving around on the left side of the highway takes getting used to. At night it is even worse - the lanes are narrow - and the lights coming toward you spook you out. Then rain came for the first time - and I am still getting the turn signals and the wipers mixed up.

During last night - we got the news in the middle of the night that the queen died. Queen Elizabeth is the only English Queen to ever visit Australia. They love her for it. We will try to get involved in any ceremonies here.

Apartment - our apartment is very nice. It is only 2 years old. The people that bought it - do not leave any personal effects in it. All closets and drawers are empty. All the utensils and dishes are new. Linens are new too. We park our car 3 floors under ground. There are so many turns and gates getting down to out spot - it took a while to remember them all. There is a fast elevator right up to our 4th floor. Our door is right outside the elevator. The elevators are secure with key fobs - as are the gates.

Car - We have a Kia rental car from Avis. It is very nice. I still walk to the wrong side of the car to get in. It has right hand drive. Last night I drove 22 miles to the vineyard and back. I have not hit anyone or anything yet.

Appliances - We are happy to have a dishwasher - washer and dryer - and big screen TV. The Internet is good - and our T-Mobile phones work ok. the Internet and email on our phones is free. We pay 25 cents per phone call. In Canada and Mexico - all calls are free. We did buy a TV service called Fubo TV. We get

all the sports from the world. It includes college football - etc - from home. The Australian programs are great - they were really prepared for the queen's death. Wall to wall obituaries.

Health - Other than jet lag - we are good. No signs of the plague. No colds. No loose systems. There are lots of places and things to eat here. There is a preponderance of Asian restaurants. Prices are not bad. You can choose local stuff and American chains stuff. I just love the thick black Aussie licorice. They even coat it with chocolate here - but I like my licorice and chocolate separate. We always have breakfast and one other meal at home. then we eat one meal out usually.

Money - Lulu paid for the apartment and car up front with credit card. They are covered by her grant. We have used our credit card or phone for everything else. We have not gotten any cash yet. Lulu said she needs cash to be able to get an Aldi grocery cart :-) You need a local coin.

Gasoline - We did not buy gasoline yet. It appears it costs about $5.00 USA a gallon. That is changing liters to gallons and Aussie dollars to USA dollars.

We have 2 guests coming separately starting around Sept 17th. It is nice having friend coming. We are really out her on a limb. We can video chat with anyone for free through our email.

Traffic - Traffic is mild here. The street and roads are really good in town. Out in the country they degrade a little. They are paved - but narrow - and the lines are not always bright. I have driven on dirt roads yet - and there are plenty of them..

Last evening near sunset we visited the Telstra Tower. It was a famous tourist attraction for years. It is on top of a 3000 foot Black Mountain and it is over 600 feet tall. It has a restaurant half way up that spins - but it is closed for renovations. Also the observation deck is closed. It still has service for TV - telephone - Internet - microwave - and radio. It can be seen form anywhere in town. We did see plenty of wild orchids around the tower.

Day 15 out of 45 - we have already used up 1/3rd of our time here. It is going so fast. We do miss everything and everybody from back home. This may be Lulu's last work adventure - so we must make the most of it.

Lulu here: I enjoy teaching my classes first thing in the morning and getting on with my day. The library is very pleasant to work in. Sometimes for what I am doing I have to go the Special Collections room (manuscripts) and sometimes I can work on the "ground" floor at a nice desk next to a window. It's fun to approach my profession from the other side.