Closed Platapussary and paying the RENT

Sunday March 15th

The next day in Melbourne after our wine and jamming-out party, poor Sarah had to wake up early to go to her all day Yoga school and Gareth and I made it out about noon to meet her for lunch, where I had the MEATY BREKKY (this is not something on display in restaurants much in India).

Oh yes, that bacon is as good as it looks.

Since I didn’t see any Australian animals (alive) during our winery tour, Gareth and I made our way to the Melbourne Zoo so I could get some snaps of Koalas and Roos. First, though, we met up with the BURGER MONSTER and we hit up an outdoorsy store that had the Vail and Aspen ski reports up!

Me and the Burger Monster. This may be my fave photo of my travels thus far...

We also stopped by the Queen Victoria Market, which was a crazy fun place, but then again, I enjoy a good market. And who knew that the American Doughnut Bus would be there?

The Zoo did not disappoint except on one important front: The platapusary was CLOSED! We were disappointed, but did enjoy the rest of the animal-filled meandering. Some token Aussie animal photos for you all:

Notice the lettuce in the emu's mouth; he was tossing it up and down for 10 minutes before he decided to eat it.

Those are some major claws.

Koala profile.

These birds were wild.

The irony is not lost on me that I had to go all the way to Australia to finally ride an elephant.

On the way back from the zoo, we were privy to hear the vocal stylings of another tram passenger that really, really, really loved the RENT soundtrack, as he was singing the song, not once, but three times in a row before his stop. It is hard to describe the humor in this, but luckily, I have video that eventually will be uploaded...someday.

That night we walked down to the bay area (AKA ocean, but the Aussies like to call it the bay here) and took some pix on the pier and of the Spirit of Tasmania, which is a large boat you can take from Oz all the way to Tasmania! Next time I visit, I plan to do this. The weather in Melbourne changes constantly, bouncing from blue skies to cloudy to cool to sunny to rainy all in one day (sometimes, one hour). We were rewarded, though, with a rainbow in the late afternoon that made all the schizophrenic weather worth dealing with.

Skiing the Beav and Grassing It Up

Kate and I skiied/rode Beaver creek last Saturday (01.20.97). The snow was pretty great, which is a lot to say since it hasn't been the best snow season ever so far. Perhaps the highlight though was meandering through the Ritz Carlton which was at the base of the area of the mountain we were perusing.

The bathroom had no paper towels, only wash clothes, and lotion. It was pretty classy. We proceeded to sit in the fireplace area with the other high-rollers, and discovered a margarita that we could all afford, at a meager $125.00.

Later that night, a bunch of us from our condo headed over to Keystone to Grass It Up with the Grass It Up Bluegrass band. Quite the time was had, indeed.

A few of my favorite pix of the evening include Big Johnny shaking it in the overalls; a dance that appears synchronized with me and a dude from Kansas, but really wasn't at all; the happy sack prize goddesses; and of course the GIU boyz.

More pix are on my ofoto!

Vail

On Saturday, Kate, Maggie, Justin and I ventured west on I-70 to ski at Vail. Vail is beautiful, and quickly becoming my favorite place to ski.

We had a beautiful, snow-filled day, and it didn't get unbearably cold until around 2:30 when I thought the left side of my face might fall off. But the right side of my face stilll had an unmistakable glow.

Ski Season

Ski season is officially open for business!

I took off work on Friday to go ski it up with my friends Annie and Randy--Friday marked my second ski day of the season, (Saturday Nov. 4th was the first day with Kate, but the lines were soooo long we only did 2 runs) and then this past Saturday marked my third day.

Most of you know I am not that great of a skiier, but I am trying to have a better PMA about it this season, and am determined to do better. So far, so good.

Here are a few pix from the ski adventure and having drinks later Friday night with Stacy and Johnnnnnn. And yes I have a white furry hat AND a white furry/plastic ski vest. hahahah.

Recent Highlights, ala Breakfast at Tiffany's and harp players

Some great highlights of the last few days (sorry, no pix...I wasn't on top of that):

Thursday night: The Mountain Girl Hottie Squad (Stacy, Me, and Kate + 1.5 dudes, one random, one almost random) were the trivia champions at the Squire lounge! Oh yes, we won, we did not cheat, we had 2 bionic beavers, and we were rewarded with a $50 bar tab for next time! And we ate at the Satire at 1 a.m. Oh and also we broke our past record in Erotic Photo Hunt. BRING IT.

Friday: Went up to the mountains and broke in the new condo for the season with some serious Diablo spaghetti sauce.

Saturday: Skiied it up for 2 runs @ Keystone. First skiing of the season. Entirely too long lift lines though. Then later that night watched Breakfast at Tiffany's--how I have never seen this is beyond me--but it is a FABULOUS movie. My favorite quote from Audrey Hepburn (Holly Golightly): "I'll pay for my own whiskey! Don't you forget it!"

hahahhaha. Damn Straight.

Sunday: I watched a great indie movie, The Puffy Chair. Check it out, it is very entertaining.

I also went to see Joanna Newsom play last nite at the Bluebird. It was beautiful and fantastic, as she plays the harp, and her band included an accordion player and a tambura player. She has a new album coming out next week, and I highly recommend picking it up. Plus it has a song called the Monkey and the Bear.

OK all for now!