Honeymoon Pictures!

We had a wonderful time on our honeymoon! We spent 10 days in Queensland (north-east state of Australia). The first few days we spent scuba diving out on the great barrier reef.. then we drove north to Port Douglas and relaxed amidst the beautiful Daintree National Rainforest. Taking a big long vacation meant that we've been busy catching up ever since... so instead of writing about our travels, here are some pictures of the trip.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kersti.miller/Honeymoon

A Day at the Botanical Gardens

We really enjoyed the botanical gardens last weekend! When we left the house it was cloudy and cold, but only a half hour later, it was beautiful! The gardens are a lovely oasis and we look forward to returning soon. The pond levels are low due to the long drought... but they keep the rest of the area green using recycled stormwater and reclaimed water sources. It's a huge park and we only explored a wee bit of it. The only downside is that a particular bird (chartreuse in color) makes the most horrendous noises. It's like a fire alarm... very high pitched and extremely loud... and it's constant because there are so many of them. So in order to relax by the water, you have to endure the incessant calls of the wild. We took a video with audio of the birds screeching... if anyone knows how to post videos, I'd love to know!

Big Eucalyptus - can't figure out how to rotate the photo...

A crazy person jumping over an ornamental pond. The women of Melbourne in the 30s built this garden in honor of the pioneer women of Victoria (our state).

Scary eel!! Two seconds later we also spotted a turtle, but I was too slow with the camera!

This isn't zoomed in... I literally thought he was coming to get us. He just kept coming closer and closer... but then stopped right there to groom himself. He turned out not to be an evil goose, as suspected.

Interesting seeds on this plant!

Look! A Monterey Pine! Just like the one along which I scraped every inch of my legs as I fell gloriously out off our tree house as a kid.

Here we are in front of a fully bloomed monkey-no-climb tree. It's the only picture we have with both of us in it, so no complaints about the quality!

Hot Cross Buns, See How They Run...

I procured my first ever hot cross bun today, at a bakery called Baker's Delight. Most exciting to share in this typical Australian Easter Tradition. As I left the bakery, I realized a torrential rain storm had begun. Dressed for a day in the sun, this came to me as a bit of a shock... so, I ran, ran, ran, all the way home (and yes, got soaked).

So you might be wondering how it was! Well, to my dismay, it was nothing special. It was basically a light and fluffy raisin bagel with a cross on the top made of sugar. We'll see how Billy enjoys his bun when he returns for lecturing today.

Our namesake

(Pictured Left-Right: Lara, Devon, Jessie)

This is a long overdue blog entry, and there's no better time to post it than when I'm supposed to be writing a paper! Our blog name (kandbdownunder) is attributed to the fabulous Devon Haskell who herself had a blog titled "ddownunder". She chronicled her journey through NZ, Australia, Thailand, mainland Europe & Iceland in 2004-2005. I regularly stayed tune, and for those who are interested, here it is: http://ddownunder.blogspot.com. When I get home I'll try to get a good picture of her from our wedding to post!