Posted 7:34 PM by MelanieandSteve
10-5

Oh, yes yes, I believe we were travelling weren't we? We forget because we feel quite a bit at home here in Perth. We have stayed in the same hostel since we arrived since we got a special rate for staying for one week. Mel went jogging the first day and found a gym with prohibitive walk in visitor prices but a really good two week membership price. She joined, and that membership, combined with the ammenities of our hostel add up to most the creature comforts of home. The gym comes with free soda pop and a free video rental library. The hostel comes with a big kitchen and comfy couchy video viewing rooms. The gym comes with clean warm showers and hair dryers (a luxury in travel). So, Mel enjoys her morning trips to pump it up and we both enjoy a little post work out refreshments and evening movies whenever we're not doing something else. Trouble is, so far, we've always been doing something else (we expect to watch our first rental tonight.) Funny that such thing as video rental which might be mundane and dull at home, more of a last resort for evening activities, sounds so warm and exciting when you have no home.

We've had a lot of fun also: highlights have included:
-A trip to Fremantle, a nearby town and fishing village. The streets are quaint and slower pace and more historic than metropolitan Perth. There are Fri, sat, and Sun night markets here and we enjoyed strolling through the multitude of selections and talking to the ultra friendly shopkeepers and people.
-A night time "candle light" (actually flashlight) tour of the Fremantle Prison which opperated for 139 years and closed in 1991. It was built primarily by the 'convicts' sent to Australia from England over a century ago who started this country. The tour included all the perks that one assumes comes with candle light: ghosts and haunts, but also a lot of interesting genuine information.
-A day trip to the Royal Perth Show: similar to but bigger than a State Fair in the states. We saw the sheep dog trials, wood cutter finals, hypnotist show, and then a huge 2000 fireworks show with Aussie anthems and pride music in the background.
-We've gotten to know the local Western Australian State Library and tried to brush up on a little Aussie history by viewing the movie Gallipoli as well as a documentary on the Australian's part in the war at Gallipoli, as well as taking advantage of a little free internet there.
-Museums are withing walking distance of our hostel (about a kilometer). We've attended a very interesting free tour of the museum art gallerie.
-We've taken care of some businessy business like getting a cell phone sim card, looking for a car, and getting a bank account for easy ATM Access here
-Most of all, we've enjoyed the area, the people, the comfort of travel in this city which isn't so different from home. Melanie wishes it was a little warmer, but anyone who knows Melanie knows that she wishes that almost everywhere she is. We expect to drive north once we get our car, and North is warmer, even hot, so she may bite her tongue for wishing for heat.

Alls well, we are happy. And we'd love to hear from all of you.

Posted 3:56 AM by MelanieandSteve
Hello, we are in Perth Australia. We left Denver after a loving send off by Steve's parents on Saturday the 27th Sept and didn't arrive in Perth until Tuesday. We stopped at LAX, Taipai, and Kuala Lumpur. Long time travelling. We were so tired, and so thrilled to get to our hostel and lie flat and sleep in a real bed. At LAX, Melanie's parent's met up with us and Melanie's brother and sister-in-Law surprised us by showing up also. While they then had to suffer through humongous lines with us, it turned out to be a great time seeing each other, catching up, and just being together. We loved our send off (including some very appropos and unexpected gifts, we thank them for.)

Perth is great. It's relaxed. And Spring is just getting started here. We decided today (Oct 1 here) is equivalent to April 1 there - - Happy October Fools Day!!!

We just decided to stay at our hostel for one week, and We're just getting started in searching for a set of wheels. We're looking forward to seeing the country, kilometer by kilometer. We're happy. Hope you are. More later.

Happy Birthday to Steve (dimples), Sister Melanie, and Uncle Gary