Back in the Harness

We have been back from AUS almost a week now. It has been a very busy week and we have tried to get caught up. I am not sure how successful we have been, but we keep working at it. Of course Monday we spent most of the day with Sarah, Aaron and family and visiting Daniel and Rosalyn's new home (we have our fingers crossed). It was fun to have that family time. While I was at a meeting, Daniel and Aaron spaded the garden and buried the soaker hoses. We had to replace one of them because it split, but we got the garden boxes all ready to go, the trellis framework up, and the beans planted. What a relief for Bubby and I. Thanks for Dan and Aaron, we will likely have green beans to eat when Booty comes in August. I was able to get tomato and pepper plants on Tuesday, so the garden is in.

Things have been busy at work. I started teaching on Tuesday (I am writing this while I proctor an exam in my class). I have about 38 students in my class. Of course the Dean work is piled up and waiting. Speaking of the Dean job, a national search has been opened, and I am in the process of finalizing my application. We'll see how this all ends.

Bubby has been busy at work, too. The ATC is experiencing ongoing budget cuts, just like we are, and yesterday a termination was announced. I know that intellectually, Bubby is not worried about her job, however, it does plant seeds of doubt in one's mind to watch co-workers getting "the axe". We talked about the situation a little bit last night, so I know she is thinking about it. I know that her President values her efforts, he told me so repeatedly during our commencement ceremonies.



We hosted a dinner party last evening with some very special guests. Uncle Bill, Aunt Verona, and Paul came to dinner with Uncle Rol and Auntie Nell. Late additions to our party were Uncle Jarvis and Aunt Colleen. It was fun to have them in our home and I was loving Uncle Jarvis' mannerisms, which are, in fact Grandpa Ben's mannerisms. Uncle Jarvis and Aunt College just returned from a mission to Uruguay. They worked in an LDS employment office and it was great to hear about their experiences.



We had a lovely dinner, and Bubby gave Auntie Nell a birthday present. This photo was taken during the jubilation that followed. I am sure that Auntie Nell is not excited about being the star photo in this posting, but she is certainly a star in our situation comedy.

Buboppy

The Latest

No real news. Larry and I are grinding out a tally of student responses to our PowerPoint survey. It is very tedious work, and we do it in spurts. Other than that, it is lots of fun just hanging out.

We are working all the permutations and combinations of teams in H & F. We are having some awesome Greek yoghurt, plain, blueberry, and passion fruit flavored.

Yesterday morning we woke to a power outage. There was a gas leak in the neighborhood overnight, and they decided to turn off the power until it got fixed, at about 2:30 PM.

We had a dinner appointment last night at Peta's (an Australian colleague of Larry's). She, her husband Jeff, and their cute 2.5 year old daughter, Olivia, were our hosts. When we got to their home at 6:00, their power had just gone out! We brought the dinner over here, cooked it, and spent the evening where there was power. Bubby was disappointed. She was looking forward to spending the evening in an real Australian home (Larry's places are all rentals).

If anything new happens, we'll be sure and update you.

Buboppy

Taking a Break

I went over to Larry's office with him this morning. I have been compiling survey data for our paper all morning, which if course is part of our scheduled work here, but it is tedious. I decided I needed to take a break when the lines started to blur.



Yesterday, we took a fast trip over to Rottnest Island, off the coast at Fremantle. This is the future site of our research project. We are not going to be able to carry it off on this visit. Anyway it was about a 25 minute boat ride, and we were there. The weather started out beautiful, but deteriorated to rain within a few hours of our arrival. That change in weather necessitated shortening our stay on this little vacation spot.



Rottnest has beautiful beaches, and lovely scenery. Things are a little dry right now, so we weren't seeing it at its best. The rain we received was certainly welcome as far as the locals were concerned.



One of the island's residents is a small marsupial called a quokka. Bubby was able to get a couple of photos. When the Dutch sailors first landed on this island, before ever going on the mainland of Western Australia, they thought that the quokkas were large rats. Hence the name Rottnest. They thought they had found quite a nest of rather big rats. We found the quokkas quaint, and we spotted them all over the little village.

During convict time in Aus, Rottnest was the home of a significant salt industry. There are saline ponds in the island's interior that have salinities 8-10 times greater than SMOW (Standard Mean Ocean Water). The early settlers needed salt for many things, but mostly as a preservative agent, since there was no refrigeration. At first the "miners" would just wait for summer and then rake up the salt as the pond volumes decreased due to evaporation. Later, things got a lot more sophisticated. At the height of salt production, they were shipping a ton of salt per week.



We had a lovely lunch on the island, and although we returned early, we will fondly remember this place. When our boat returned to the harbor, we noticed that there was a giant statue of a quokka near the dock. We couldn't resist a little photo op.

We played a little H&F, mixed partnerships, and it ended up a draw with Larry and Bubby winning the first game going away, and J and I cleaning up during the second.

Bubby and I are already dreading our 13 hour layover in Auckland. We exhausted our interest in shopping downtown during our last stop, so we are seeking alternate plans. We have located a ward, near the airport (Mangere South) that convenes its block at 10:00 AM. We will taxi to the chapel and hope some kind soul offers to give us a ride back to the airport when our block is over. Once we leave Auckland, we cross the dateline, have another Sunday, and arrive at LAX at about Noon.

Larry had senior seminar with his students last evening, so Bubby and I watched a movie while the students were in Larry's living room.

Bubby and Johanna are out shopping this morning. We will all meet up later to watch Larry's lecture in a geography class he is team teaching. We may even head over to "Sweet Lips", Fremantle's favorite fish and chips purveyor, before Larry's lecture. Larry and I did it about a week ago, and it did taste really fresh and really good.

Still having fun. Bubby, as always, is tons of fun to travel with.

Buboppy

From My Camera

We did take a ride back to our kangaroo sighting location on Sunday afternoon. Trisha took over the camera (I just wasn't feeling up to it). She was proud of her kangaroo photos, so you have to look at them, too.



While we were driving we saw a kookaburra sitting on a fence post. These birds are known for their distinctive call, which sounds a lot like a laugh. Every time we have seen them on this trip, Bubby and Johanna launch into a round they learned in their primary education. It goes like this:

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Merry, merry king of the bush is he
Laugh kookaburra, laugh kookaburra
Gay your life must be.



This morning, Bubby woke early, looked out the window and launched. She ran downstairs waking everyone in the house. She could tell it was going to be a beautiful sunrise. She, Larry and Johanna went and took multiple photos of the stages of this beautiful rising sun.



The first morning we were in our new digs, I went out of the balcony of our upstairs room (by the way, our lodging in Dunsborough was elegant). I noticed fecal pellets laying around and I asked Larry if he knew of any birds that pelletized their shess. He didn't. Early this morning, Bubby heard some scratching around on our balcony but was afraid to go see what it was.

Anyway, when they went out to photograph the sunrise, Bubby and Larry got pictures of our intruder. It was a common bushtail possom. Bubby was proud to solve the mystery and to get this photo. It is a little out of focus but you get the idea.



We had to check out of beautiful accommodations by 10:00 AM. We went on a lighthouse tour. This is Bubby standing in front of the Cape Naturaliste lighthouse.



Once we left Dunsborough, we drove to Bunbury and saw the Bunbury lighthouse as well. It was a beautiful and relaxed drive home. We stopped at a couple of bakeries (or course) and generally had a grand time. We are now back at Larry's in Fremantle and planning a trip out to Rottnest Island tomorrow. It looks like the weather is about to change, so we are trying to fit in as many outdoor activities as possible. We have had beautiful weather ever since we arrived here.

Buboppy

From Bubby's Camera

Thursday morning Johanna and I took a ride on the train into Perth to find the Quilt show. We spent several hours looking at all the crafts, quilts and needlework sewn by the ladies of Western Australia. One quilt in particular was really spectacular.



This quilt looked almost like a tapestry it was so detailed and closely sewn. I believe it was a grand prize winner.

On our way home we took the bus because it would pass by the grocery store and we wanted to buy some special Greek yoghurt (Australian spelling) for the fellas. We then went to another store to get food for our supper. All in all we had a delightful time riding the local transit and shopping in Perth and Fremantle.



This is our hosts, the Davises. We are having a wonderful visiting with them.



We paused at Smith Beach for this photo. It was a great spot with weathered granites overlain by limestone. The granite is older than 3.5 billion years old. Whatever was originally on top of it is long gone due to erosion.



This is the bakery we were looking for when we stumbled onto the kangaroos. They use a wood-fired oven and bake naturally, what ever that is. It was quite an efficient operation and it was in the middle of nowhere.


Bubby wanted me to include this photo of the two of us. It was taken at Smith Beach, near Yallingup, Southern Ocean, Western Australia.



On Sunday, Bubby and I were under the weather. Somewhere in our travels, we got a bug of some kind. We laid low most of the day, but we did go for high tea with Larry and Johanna at 2:00 PM. The tea was lovely, but unfortunately we really could not enjoy it. We were just not up to eating much. We did have a wonderful herbal chai tea, and it was delightful. Thanks for Larry and Johanna for this nice treat.

When we got home, I headed up to bed, never to emerge again until the next morning. Bubby has pretty much recovered. I am still only about 70%, but I am sure I will feel better in a day or two.

Buboppy

Settling In

We spent Thursday settling in, and then on Friday, we headed southwest to Cape Naturaliste and the little tourist hamlet of Dunsborough. Johanna and Larry had found a vacation home for us to rent and stayed Friday night through Monday morning. The first night, the next door neighbors were having a very loud, drunken party at 2:30 AM which woke us all. Bubby and I didn't have any trouble going back to sleep, but Larry and Johanna weren't so lucky. While they slept in a little, Bubby and I went on a scenic beach walk located the newsagent and made a stop in the local bakery for a cheese and bacon bun (yummy). Here is Bubby sitting on a park bench in beautiful Dunsborough.



One of my favorite of the birds of Australia are the gallahs. That's them in the gray plumage and the pink chests. I was able to get close enough to them for this photo.



We did the tourist thing all day long, including a trip to Yallingup and Smith Beach. I got these photos of surfers while we were there.



I also got a nice photo of these four men surf casting. I am not sure what they were fishing for, but we had fun taking their photo.



Bubby was loving seeing the roos in the wild. It was sure fun for us all. When we came to Aus a few years ago, we never saw kangas in the wild. To see this many in one location was a real treat.



The big find of the day was kangaroos in the wild. We were looking for a bakery and took a wrong turn that lead us to about 100 kangaroos in three separate mobs. I did use my long lense, but I could have hit this one with a rock.



Bubby started whistling at the kangas and they got pretty nervous. This one finally took off, so we were able to watch him motate. It was a fitting end to a wonderful day. We spent that evening playing hand and foot with Larry and J, and they did manage to win the championship of the universe, a title I was happy to give up.

Buboppy

In Freo

Just to give you all an update. We arrived safely in in Fremantle (Freo) last evening. Johanna picked us up at the airport and we had a very uneventful drive to their home in downtown Freo. It was Johanna's first solo effort, so she was quite nervous about coming to get us.

When we arrived, Larry was involved in a seminar with his students, which gave us a chance to rest for a minute. As you know we left Raro at 2:00 AM. During the day, we gained a total of seven hours. I can tell you that we were pretty zonked by the time we arrived at 6:30 PM, Aussy-time.

They had planned a tour of the Fremantle prison as part of the seminar course, and we were invited to take part. It was a pretty cool "torch"-light tour. Unfortunately we were not up for much of a party, so the only thing we were thinking about during the tour was a bed and some sleep. We slept the sleep of the dead last night, and woke ready to go at about 6:00.

I am sure that Bubby has taken some photos, so we will update you later because she has already gone to bed. Evidently she is not completely caught up yet.

We have had a wonderful day hanging with the Davises. Bubby and Johanna went to some sort of quilt show in Perth today and Larry and I did a little catching up. Mostly we have just enjoyed being together.

Buboppy

Made it to NZ

Bubby and I are sitting in the lobby of the Copthorne Hotel in the Auckland Harbor area. We arrived safely at 4:30 AM and immediately found the bus route to head into town. For lack of a better option, we headed downtown to the Ferry Terminal. Our flight to Perth doesn't leave until 2:30 PM, so we are on the town. We have been waiting for the restaurants and stores to open. Bubby has announced that she is officially hungry, so I need to move this along.



Yesterday, I took one more shot at fishing in the lagoon. I was tearing them up until I lost my last "Crazy Charley" fly. Then the fun was over. Here is what I have caught the most of. It is a lot like reeling in a snake.



While she was waiting for me to return the motor scooter, Bubby took this picture of the beach just outside our main gate. Not bad. We sure hated to leave the water last night.



We had dinner (a BBQ) and FHE last evening with the Ezekielas and Mama Tuakana and family. It was a great time. Sam's family is gown, he is down to just three at home. They are very nice, well behaved kids. We had quite a variety of food items including BBQ chicken, tuna, and sausages. We also had chips, salad, mashed potatoes, and more. Ice cold watermelon for dessert. The highlight was when we played "Old Jed Died" (some things never grow old). We had to suspend play when we got to "mouth awry" because Mama Tuakana was laughing so hard as she tried to pass that along that she was in danger of ejecting her false teeth. We all got a chuckle out of that.



The Cook Island teens just like so many others, have been badly bitten by the telecommunications bug. They spent all of the unstructured time with their cell phones, listing and sharing music, texting each other, and talking to friends. I had to smile and the challenges. Sam says the family plan is killing him. This photo is Sam's youngest daughter (can't remember her name) and Grandma Tuakana's granddaughter, Tuakana. Cute kids.



When we got back to our room, we began packing. Bubby noticed this pele on the wall in our bathroom. It was the first we had seen since arriving, and of course not only do these little house lizards keep the mosquitoes down, they are supposed to bring good luck. This guy was really tiny and we had to have his photo. Do you think he is smiling back at us?

Buboppy

Computer Friends and a Trip to Black Rock

As we have previously reported, we attract lots of interest when we are doing our blog thing. This NZ couple approached us yesterday, asking for assistance in establishing communications with the outside world. Of course, they are Windows users, and I am of little assistance there. Between the two of us, we got them logged on. It was funny to watch, he barely knew what he was doing, but before too long, he had established contact. This couple reported that they had just secured a job on the island with the NZ government. They are now looking at how to make it work. They wanted satellite TV, but the cost is astronomical ($2,500 NZ for installation, equipment, etc. and then a monthly fee). I guess they will have to depend on internet for their news.



We were headed out shopping for one last time. Here is Bubby with a hairdo. By the time we get where we are going, her bangs have always disappeared. Too much wind on our trusty steed.



Bubby wanted to snoop at the former mission home at Black Rock. The home was built in the 1950's by President Moody, the big kahoona around here. It was the mission home when I was a missionary. Since then, couples who are serving in the Cooks have lived here. Which brings us to Bubby. She wants to serve in the Cooks and live in this home. It has its own private beach and we found lots of interesting shells (most containing hermit crabs). She reckons that this beach is not as picked over. The grounds were once beautiful, but are now showing some neglect.



We did find this momento in the garden. A testament to the founders of the mission. This would really be a great place to serve, however, I explained to Bubby that she wouldn't have much time to enjoy it. Lots of work for missionaries to do.

Buboppy

Coming to the end

We are coming to the end of our time here on Rarotonga. It is always bittersweet. We are ready to move on, but have had a wonderful stay. Bubby is madly snapping photos of every little thing, wanting to have memories of our stay. She wanted to capture our early morning serenade for our readers. These fellows start calling to each other at about 3:00 AM. It goes on all day long. We are particularly partial to this guy, having heard his distinctive vocalizations very often. Turn up your computer speakers.



Bubby laid the camera on top of head as we were driving into our little bungalow. At least you can see what a garden this place is. The grounds are immaculate.



These are minah birds, imported from India. They were imported in the 50's and immediately drove out all of the native birds. They are quite cheeky and you have to keep an eye on foodstuffs.



Here is our cool ride. It has served us faithfully during our stay, and will have to be returned by 2:30 PM today. Unfortunately we will have to take the bus and then walk to Sam and Momi's tonight.



Below are more beautiful photos of the grounds. We have certainly enjoyed this location, as we have done the other three times we have come. There is still time for some fishing before the tide goes out and we have to start packing things up.









Buboppy

Sunday On Rarotonga

We enjoyed the blessing of attending church in the Avarua Branch today. Of course because it was Mother's Day, the Primary came in and serenaded the mothers. Trisha said it was delightful. Music is part of the heritage of this people. They really get into it, whether it is church or community.


All of the "mums" got a corsage and little gift bag filled with Cadbury chocolates. The Young Women's Presidency were the sacrament meeting speakers. Our friend Momi Ezekela lead the singing and spoke as 2nd Councilor in the YW Presidency.

Of course Sammy is very involved in the Branch as well. He taught gospel doctrine and is also the Young Men's President. I guess that is the nature of life in a small branch of the Church. I attended priesthood meeting and there were a total of five high priests and two elders in our lesson.



Here is a shot of Momi and Sam after services. They are such kind and gracious people. I have been feeling guilty all week, because I haven't contacted them. Their little restaurant is closed, so we didn't have that means of contacting them. Of course that is a tragedy in and of itself, because the food was awesome, but I digress. Anyway, I knew they would love to be hanging out, and I wanted to do the same. However, they are on a very strict budget (two missionary sons currently serving in Australia), and their cultural heritage demands that they entertain us to the utmost. We have, therefore, been reluctant to contact them. However, the deed is done now, we are joining them tomorrow evening for FHE. It is potluck, which feels good to me.



I also had the chance to see another old friend at sacrament meeting today. This is Sister Charmaine, one of the legends of the Church in the Cook Islands. She was converted by missionaries in the early 1960's (the beginnings of the Church here), and she has served two missions herself and continues to have strong ties to former missionaries. She told us she was at General Conference last year. We probably sat in some of the same sessions! She has been under the weather, but today was the first day out in a long time. I was so pleased to see her.



Now for the disappointment of the weekend. We planned last night to go out to one of the other highly acclaimed restaurants on the Island. I tried for a reservation, but no one picked up the phone. We just showed up at 6:00 PM, but they told us they couldn't seat us without a reservation until 7:30. I always wonder if that attitude means we don't want to seat you at all, but again, I digress. Anyway, we had to settle for dinner at the Rarotongan Resort, the aging flagship of Cook Island Hospitality. They were having a buffet, of which we partook. It was average at best. However, when the desserts rolled out. They had bread pudding made of croisants drowned in custard. They also had a bittersweet chocolate mousse that would satisfy any ardent chocoholic. Trisha had seconds it was sooo good.



That is the latest. We are having dinner in our room tonight, Wattie's spaghetti sauce, corn on the cob, salad, and Diet Coke for dessert.

Buboppy

Friday Night and Saturday

Today's posting will not be chronological. I will mix and match our activities over Friday and Saturday, just because the photos seem to make more sense that way. I am writing this from Wigmore's Supermarket and Bubby thought you all ought to see what that looks like. It seems to be our favorite island grocery stop, partly because they have such interesting local "fast food" for sale. We love to look around and see what is new. Yesterday, Bubby found some prepared rukau (taro tops), still warm from the kitchen. There are lots of neat things to see.



This is me at my outside office, carrying on both monkey and
dean's business from the privacy of my laptop. We get lots of curious stares because most people here cannot relate to wireless and what we might be doing. I bought a wireless card for $36 NZ which allows me to traffic 150 MB. I haven't yet used 50 MB, so I decided to load larger photos for our audience. The wifi signal is pretty steady and although it isn't as fast as my T1 line at work, we get by.



This morning we went to the open air market in downtown Avarua. The thing started at 6:30 AM and we were there by 7:20. There was a lot of local produce for sale, everything from the Maori garden. Of course there was also local festival foods, including Bubby's coconut cream glazed roll and my cream-filled doughnut. Our major purpose in going to the market was finding pareau clothing for the grands. We saw more island patterns, in more varieties, than you can imagine.



Bubby has been so impressed with the produce and when she saw this bunch of basil, she went nuts. We have rarely seen more beautiful stuff and we had to get a photo so we could admire it. The little old man who grew it indicated that there really is no market for basil in Rarotonga, but, like me, he just loves to have it growing in his garden. It smelled wonderful, and we visited with him for about 10 minutes about organic gardening and what he markets. His produce was beautiful.



I had to include this photo of an anatomically correct Tangaroa, God of the Seas. There are carvings of him everywhere, and they all show the least appropriate part of this anatomy. That seems to be on everyone's minds down here. The statue was carved in basalt, so it is also of geological interest.



Yesterday afternoon, we went down to the lagoon for some sun and fishing. I had a great time, caught a few fish, and generally enjoyed the overcast weather. Bubby was reading and doing a little sunning herself. She wanted me to include this photo of a cobalt blue starfish. They are all over the lagoon, and make such a striking color contrast with the grays of the coral and white sand of the bottom.



At sunset, we went down to the beach again and did some walking, hoping for a glimpse of the sun as it set. Things were pretty cloudy yesterday, and there was not a lot to work with, but I offer the best of what we got.



It was so cloudy, there was not chance of seeing the stars come out, so we had to settle for a walk home in the dark.



I experimented with my flash, and got the most dramatic of the photos while I had the flash on. Enjoy!

Buboppy

PS. Bubby and I went back to the lagoon at high tide today for more fishing. In about two hours, I caught 40 of what I now call "snakes" (I think they are trumpet fish) and I cast and hooked another 10 for Bubby to reel in. They were everywhere. I keep hoping to catch something else, but these things won't let anything else get the fly.