What in the world have the Doyles been up to?
You can tell that I have gone back to work. Endless hours of free time are now being interrupted by relentless work schedules; the demands of the job are mind draining... well that's not entirely true. I am grateful for the pleasure to work as much as I see fit thanks to a husband who works more than full time. I've kept myself scheduled twice a week for ten hour shifts - mostly night shifts as a causal worker. Since I'm on the subject, I will continue by saying that Rob and I are enjoying our work here as we've grown accustomed to Australian style medicine. Medical science is hardly different across the world but the politics, policies and procedures vary. Although challenging at times, I am enjoying the intensive care unit and last week, because our unit census was low, I was floated to the emergency room for the night. Terrified at first, I ended up having a great night working with friendly nurses and "colorful" patients. I might request to work there again based on my good experience.
Rob and I attended a conference in Hobart for critical care health providers. For three days we listened to lectures and presentations concerning intensive care medicine. It was interesting to learn what research is being studied and implemented in Australia and there were even presenters from the United States - with their familiar and refreshing accents (smile).
Spring is in full swing here in Hobart Town. I could not be more ecstatic! Rob and I moved from Colorado winter into Tasmania winter and the year of early darkness and chill was wearing on me. We turned our clocks ahead a few weeks ago and now it doesn't get completely dark until eight thirty at night! All the winter rain has turned Hobart into a lush, green, flowering city. I am seeing flowers and plants that I haven't seen before - native plant life to this side of the world. I'm not a botanist and not keen on looking up these flowers/plants but I'd like to share some of the beauty with you. These pictures are from my walks with Maggie.
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White Popcorn Tree
(my made up plant name) |
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| Tickle Me Purple |
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| Outer Space Ball |
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| Red Tide |
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| Purple People Eater |
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Maggie waiting for me to stop taking pictures of flowers while we are walking.
How do I get her to sit nicely and look at the camera?
In rapid secession I say her favorite words,
"ball,ball,ball, walk, bunny, bunny, treat!"
Does the trick. |
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| Cup of tea spot |
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| Note the dog in the right side of the picture |
Maggie is grateful for the warmer, sunny days as well. One of her favorite past times is sun bathing.
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| Let a sleeping dog lie |
Since the last blog post, Rob and I made a trip back to Colorado to join our friends, Mike & Jess, in celebrating their ten year wedding anniversary. We arrived a day before the major flooding started in northern Colorado and were able to witness the damage brought on by the flooding to our little hometown. Our immediate area, friends and family were not flooded but surrounding areas were impacted. Luckily, Mike and Jess were able to hold their vow renewal ceremony, despite the flooding and the anniversary celebration was a blast. We are so thankful to have been a part of this special occasion. Our trip home was for ten days in which the time flew fast. We came back to Hobart, once again, happy to have had the opportunity to fly home but I found myself with a new found sadness. I don't know when we'll be back in Colorado... most likely not until we move back for good. It's funny how you can feel happy and sad at the same time. I am happy to be in Australia; to be in a beautiful place, a different county with a different culture, learning about myself and exploring a new marriage. But I'm sad not to be home with my dearest family and friends. And I love Colorado, its the one place that I feel most at home.
Homesickness. Probably more the reason why the blog has been quiet - there is no place like home and I miss it. Rob is very supportive, he misses home as well. I think as the summer sets in, bringing with it traveling friends, city events, festivals and more opportunities to sight see surrounding areas of Tasmania and Australia. I'll have distractions and the reminders that this is a grand adventure right now for Rob and I. And home will always be there.
A few weeks after our Colorado trip, Rob and I took four days off to see the western side of Tasmania. We packed our car with fishing poles, bikes and hiking gear and drove about five hours to Strahan. Now a quiet tourist and fishing town, it has a rich history in importing/exporting goods, mining and convict encampment. Sarah Island is a very small island directly off Macquarie Harbor in Strahan and it housed one of the most notorious penal settlements known in Australia. Second time offenders were sent to imprisonment on Sarah Island, home to cannibalism and mutiny. We took a tour! Well, what is left of the penal colony on Sarah Island (est 1822), mostly rubble... and stories. But a lot of interesting history about the area, prisoners and way of life in Tasmania.
Over the four days Rob and I hiked out to waterfalls and to an abandoned town (now deconstructed and covered in wildlife), rode our bikes to Ocean beach (the longest stretch of beach in Tasmania), took a small float plane ride for arial views of Strahan and the Gordon River, took a day river cruise aboard the Lady Jane (out to Sarah Island), had cozy time in our cottage, reading and napping and just relaxing. I'll let the pictures continue to tell the story.
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| The car is packed! Bikes removed off to the side. |
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| Queenstown is just 40 min from Strahan & is a big mining town. After driving for several hours, it was nice to see signs of life and to stretch our legs before finishing the drive. |
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| Just a quick view from our drive. We are looking down into Queenstown and just past it, is Strahan. |
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Main street, Queenstown
Rob bought new hiking boots here |
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| You know you're in Tassie when... |
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| Downtown Strahan |
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Don't miss Tut's Whittle Wonders!
You'll regret it...
Look closely, its for sale. |
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We are driving out to a hike called Kelly Basin. The trail follows an old train line that used to service East Pillinger Town (1889-1920). The railway was almost completely removed but you can still see remnants of the line and town...
The area is sooo dense with greenery. We saw two people while driving in and out but not a soul on the walking path |
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At the trail head
I do like to hike! |
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| Watch for falling logs, they will impale you |
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| Everything is covered in moss |
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| Our one friend along the way. A little pademelon who hopped along with us then disappeared. We were amazed as to how quiet the forest was - hardly a sound outside our treading feet. Perhaps all animal life was quiet while we passed by but I also think not much wildlife resides in such dense areas |
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| We kept our eyes out for snakes, especially in these high plant areas |
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| Part of the Kelly Basin trail went along Bird river, with it's tannin colored, fresh water. Safe to drink but I'd have to be pretty thirsty... |
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| Rob brought the fishing poles along but we didn't see any fish |
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| We've reached the remains of East Pillinger Town and are looking for a lunch spot |
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The harbor for importing/exporting for the once, small town
Beautiful and very quiet
We sat at the end of the dock and ate lunch |
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| Still and calm |
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| This was the town's carriage house |
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Trees and wildlife have grown into and through it
We didn't see all the structures (still) standing (just a few)in the area because we had to get back before dark |
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| Rob found a geo-ceche box under the carriage house. Hikers leave these little boxes all over the world to mark someones presence in the area. Its fun to find the box then you can leave a token and take a token to show you've been there |
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| The tallest most white peak in this picture is called Frenchmen's Cap. After our hike, while driving back into Strahan, we had many gorgeous views of the surrounding west coast areas |
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| Selfie! |
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| The next day, biked up and ready to ride to the beach |
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The long road out to the beach
Despite the gravel, an easy ride |
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| Ocean beach |
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| Instead of shells, there were a lot of small, smooth rocks along the sand |
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| Cairn! |
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The float plane we took to see Strahan from above.
Rob would love to fly that plane solo but he needs to transfer his pilots license to Tasmania. We had a pilot with us. |
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| We landed once while on the plane tour to see this waterfall, again with the tannin water. The take-offs and landings on water are very smooth as you can imagine! |
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| The next day we took this boat tour of the Gordon River which included the tour of Sarah Island |
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| Relaxing while we skimmed along the water |
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| Beautiful day |
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| This picture is enhanced by a photo setting on my camera but it was just amazing |
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| Not enhanced, just windy |
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Enhanced pic
Model was not paid, however ;) |
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Did I mention the cruise hosted a wine and cheese plate while we were sailing? We made the best of it.
Not sure if the Doyles will be invited back to Lady Jane |
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Later that day we hiked out to another waterfall
This was a short hike |
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| Cairn! |
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The trees making a canopy above our heads
Once more it was very quiet where we hiked |
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| The waterfalls |
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| Sometimes the wind would blow through the trees just right and make a creaking sound... like someone was opening an old, rusted door. Almost erie! |
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Upon leaving Strahan, traveling back to Hobart in the highlands, we encountered hail and pulled over until it was finished
Typical spring weather |
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| And snow! |
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| We were a little surprised but had no desire to stop and play in it for awhile - we are ready for warm weather! |
We had a fantastic time in Strahan and are grateful for our friends, David & Annette who suggested the trip to us and gave us pointers on where to stay and what to do! We had fun and relaxed without having to think about work or home duties- a true vacation!
And finally! Our first "American" holiday in Tassie - Halloween!! I've always loved Halloween because it happens during my favorite time of the year, autumn and there is chocolate. I have decorated my house and carved a pumpkin for as long as I can remember and this year was the same. Halloween is recognized in Australia but is not widely celebrated. Trick or treating is just starting to gain popularity but only a few neighborhoods participate. Our friends, Greg and Alicia had flyer placed in their mailbox along with a balloon that instructed them to blow up the balloon and tie it to their mailbox if they wanted trick or treating children to ring their doorbell. Being the great friends that they are, Greg and Alicia hosted us for a small but fun Halloween party on Halloween night. We had delicious, creative food, spooky music, carved pumpkins, handed out candy to about 15 children (two large groups of kids with parents) and Griffin went to his first trick or treating outing. Note: Rob and I were very poor Halloween guest and did not wear costumes. We are lame and will be costumed up next year...
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Greg, Alicia and Griffin
Baby Edgar was taking a nap |
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| Alicia made witchy finger bread sticks to go with dips |
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| Busy in the kitchen piping icing on gingerbread skeletons |
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| Alicia is talented!! |
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| Carmel apples, cheeses, dips and bread sticks |
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| I made a graveyard dessert |
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| Carving pumpkins! |
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Alicia decorated their front door
Maggie is hoping for candy |
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Greg and Griffin off to Trick or Treat!
Good Luck!! |
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| That night, our jack'0 lanterns ablaze |
Having a normal Halloween holiday helped with the feelings of homesickness that night. We had such a fun time with our family here. Rob and I will be on our honeymoon during Thanksgiving so I think we will not miss it too much. More to come on that with the next post...
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Maggie and I were on a walk a few weeks ago and we came across this sign
Pretty clear...
And that is where we stopped our walk for the day |
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Maggie the beach bum, water dog
No snakes around here - I think! |
