On 24 February, I came back to Australia from the US. In our absence there has been some political changes including a change of prime minister. The nasty Australian creatures remain as creepy as ever, however. And were there to welcome us back on our first day! Ok, so the spiders I am fairly … [Read more…]
We were pretty happy to hear after the fires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, that Ober Gatlinburg had managed to remain unscathed, especially as it is one of the main tourist stops in town. During a visit a few weeks ago, I got to ride on the Ober Gatlinburg mountain coaster as well as the alpine slide. … [Read more…]
I don’t like water very much. If I believed in reincarnation I would wonder if I had been a cat in a past life. But when I found out about the Maid Of The Mist boat ride that take Niagara Falls visitors right to the bottom of the waterfalls, I figured that I should do … [Read more…]
Celebrating fall in the US couldn’t be more different from the way I normally celebrate fall in Australia. Because I don’t celebrate fall in Australia. Or even call it fall. I recently had to look up whether or not there actually are any native deciduous trees in Australia, and was surprised to find out that … [Read more…]
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…]
“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…]
Enjoying Vegas When You’re Too lazy to Party. I’ve never been a party girl. I could always pretend that it’s because I was somehow above those kind of amusements, too cool etc. In reality though, it was more a case of not having the energy for it. Even at the age where I really should … [Read more…]
I get a bit excited when I see American animals. An American friend talked about how boring it must be for me to see creatures like racoon and squirrel when I come from a country that has kangaroo and koala. The thing is, racoon and squirrel are just as exciting to me as a kangaroo … [Read more…]
This past Fourth of July was the last one I will be spending in the US before I head back to Australia, and we had Australian relatives visiting at the time, so we decided to hit the Museum of Appalachia, which was hosting some Fourth of July festivities. First order of business – watch an … [Read more…]
I moved to Tennessee in spring. Our house is surrounded by beautiful woods, the perfect eco-system for a variety of creatures to thrive in. So……why do they all want to fucking live inside with us?! Spiders, stinkbugs, even a few mice – it seems the great outdoors isn’t that great after all, compared to the … [Read more…]