I hadn’t heard of the Virginia Creeper Trail until a few months ago. Since I knew that a Virginia Creeper was a type of climber, however, I figured it had got it’s name from the plant, rather than any issues with weirdos lurking about it. We stayed in a small town called Abingdon just in … [Read more…]
Those who know me well know that there no sentence guaranteed to make me lose enthusiasm for a kid’s activity more than “and then they get to do a craft!” Arrgh! Noooo!!!!! Not craft!!! It’s not that I see no benefit in kids taking part in making things. I see plenty – for creativity, fine … [Read more…]
Australia’s war on Halloween is similar to the War on Christmas in that it just involves some indignant grumbling rather than actual violence, but different in that it has nothing to do with religion. It’s a civil war, with one side excited about Halloween and desperately wanting to make it a bigger deal in … [Read more…]
I think some of the best travel advice comes from people who make the dumb mistakes. Who are ill-prepared. Who jump into it without as much planning and preparation as they probably should have, because they are lazy. People like me. My husband and I recently went on a road trip from Tennessee to Toronto, … [Read more…]
Although it happened more when I had just moved to the US than now, I still occasionally hear from Americans about the positive things they admire about Australians and Australia (they are able to see past our nasty wildlife sometimes). Steve Irwin is still greatly missed, some of our animals are cute, and we created … [Read more…]
“The people on the bank are NOT your friends” – whitewater rafting guide. Last week, I went whitewater rafting for the second time. Previously we had rafted on the middle Ocoee River, TN (with a company called Quest which proudly displayed posters from the movie Deliverance in its cafe…this was not reassuring), which had quite … [Read more…]
There are a heap of inspirational, you’re-not-alone-in-this type articles and quotes related to parenting, intended to make parents feel better when things are tough, when we feel alone and overwhelmed etc. And judging by how much they are shared around, they are probably having the desired effect on a big chunk of their intended audience. … [Read more…]
I meet a lot of Americans who would like to visit Australia. The reasons they say they won’t be are usually one of the below: 1. “I couldn’t do that flight!” (Dude, if you don’t have kids just drug yourself for it. Like I used to be able to do *sigh*) 2. “It’s expensive” (yes, … [Read more…]
The menus in the US have an unusually large focus on entrées. It was annoying when all we wanted was a main, and we weren’t interested in entrées. The supermarkets often devote a rather big section just to entrées. Larger than I would have thought was necessary. I didn’t get it. What’s with the … [Read more…]
Taronga Zoo is a prime Sydney tourist attraction, and the most well known zoo in Sydney – world class, beautiful views of Sydney Harbour, exotic animals…..blah, blah, blah. Yeah, ok. It’s a beautiful zoo. But if I get foreign visitors when I get back to Australia, I will be more likely to brave the … [Read more…]