Cheers!

This afternoon, we get on a plane for our 24+ hour journey home. This trip was professionally quite successful, although I know you readers probably can’t tell from my posts! I try to keep the work talk down to a minimum since this blog is titled “Fithippie Travels” and not “Karen Works.” I am very fortunate that my work takes me to so many great locations so I try to share these experiences as much as I can without too many distracting details about my job.

Yesterday, we had our last meeting at the Sydney Academy of Sport just outside the city of Sydney. I can’t even begin to paint a picture of how frustrating driving in Sydney is. Not just because of the driving on the wrong side of the rode (the “proper” side according to Aussies!), but because road names will randomly switch roads as you are traveling along. A road may have a name and a number, but two miles down the road, the number has stayed the same (or not), but the name has veered off with a merging road. There are no warnings for lane changes, and Lance was inevitably always in the wrong lane when it happened. I was designated Nav/Comm (military speak for Navigator/Communications), so about 50% of those lane fiascos were my fault! As the day wore on, I became Nag/Comm and wanted to resign my duties!!

At any rate, we made it up to the SAS which was near Manly Beach. You can see from the pictures it was a chilly day, but we still took a little time to walk along the sand. When we got back to the city, we recapped our meetings and toasted the fact that the trip was well-worth our time and effort.

As usual on USOC business trips, we stay at our Hilton sponsor hotels whenever we can. The one here is Sydney has just been renovated and has an amazing restaurant/bar. We were sitting close to the open space kitchen and were admiring the preparation of a dish we couldn’t quite make out. Terri, being the consummate Food Service Director, asked one of the wait staff what it was. Not only did he go back to the kitchen for information, the Executive Chef came out with a sample for each of us. What appeared from a distance to be a boiled egg with whip cream on top was actually a hallowed-out egg shell filled with whipped eggs, maple syrup, raw salmon eggs, and a little gold-foiled leaf on top. The combination of sweet (syrup) and salty (eggs) was pleasantly complimentary and had a wonderful taste that was a sensory experience. Lance and I loved ours, but Terri was unsettled by the salty explosion when she chewed the eggs!!! Since I always talk about food, I thought I’d throw this one in for your amusement!

Last post from Australia – not sure when or what the next will be. One of my other nephews, Philip, will be coming out to Colorado Springs in a couple of weeks, then my buddy, Dave, will be coming out in August to help me with some construction projects around the house. Yep, I know, I’ve got some pretty good friends! Then in September, my sister, Monica, will accompany me to a conference in Hawaii. Hopefully, I’ll have a few posts from these events!