We're back home!

Wow!! It's hard to believe we've been home for almost 2 weeks. We've had a fabulous time catching up with everyone and familiarizing ourselves again with the Seattle area. We're amazed with all the changes occurring on the Eastside, especially in Bellevue. As I look outside our hotel room, I can spot 4 cranes hard at work erecting huge buildings. I believe there are about a dozen cranes in downtown Bellevue alone. It's entertaining to watch. I'm sure if I had 4 boys, they'd be glued to the windows, mesmerized by all the action. Not so with our girls... :-)

While we've enjoyed our time at the Bellevue Marriott, living out of suitcases in adjoining hotel rooms can get old pretty quickly. We've done our fair share of shopping at Bellevue Square and Factoria Mall--of course we had to load up on cool-weather clothing. I discovered the girls and I each owned only one pair of closed-toe shoes (tennis shoes) and all the rest were flip flops and sandals. While that's all you need in Queensland, that just won't work here. And it's taking awhile to get acclimated to the colder temps which makes me thankful we came home in the summer instead of winter!

It's funny to see some of the modern conveniences we're getting excited about: toilet seat covers, paper towels and soap in public bathrooms (in Australia, I had to always keep a little bottle of liquid soap in my purse); eggs in the refrigerated section, as opposed to sitting at room temperature in the baking aisle alongside the flour and sugar (I could never understand that, especially when the box says to refrigerate immediately when bringing home...hmmm ); normal shopping carts; and water fountains (almost non-existent in Brisbane).

Of course, we've already made several trips to Costco and Trader Joe's (what a treat!) and about half our meals have been eaten at Mexican restaurants (we've sure missed authentic Mexican food).

Marc and I are slowly getting used to driving on the right side of the road. Our first day out, Marc pulled out of the hotel parking garage directly into oncoming traffic. I was a little flustered, to say the least, and offered to drive instead. Of course, I thought I wouldn't have any problems--it's just like riding a bike, right? Later that week, I let my guard down and made the same mistake. I discovered it's easy to do when there isn't much traffic on the road. Normally, you just 'follow the leader', but when there isn't anyone to follow, you can easily get confused. And just the other day, as Michelle and I chatted away while walking to our van, I found myself standing on the right side of the vehicle (ready to get in and drive away), while Michelle ended up on the left side. We had a good laugh about that!

On Friday, we have the privilege to housesit for our dear friends, the Spears. They will be on a 1-1/2 week road trip to Yellowstone National Park. The girls are so excited to be able to care for their dog, cat and rabbit while they are away. And Marc also leaves for a 2 week trip to Brisbane. His replacement still hasn't been decided, so he'll be juggling 2 jobs for awhile.

That's all for now...

36,000 feet Back To America

If any of you are reading this in America on Sunday then we are zooming back to the States as you read. We are scheduled to arrive Seattle 10:15PM Sunday evening. Our last week has been a great week filled with friends and fun, amidst all the packing. On Friday night the Boeing Australia Executive Council treated Marce and me to a farewell dinner at Marce's favourite restaurant called Manx. A picture of us was taken at the right. Our dinner started at 7PM and we rolled out at midnight. I know I will sure miss working with these great Australians. During the week as we had been doing our packing, our close friends,the Grzesiaks, watched the girls for us while we could focus on the home. David, Marcia and children Ryan, Connor, Sarah and Lucas are US expats from Long Beach. They attended our church and also homeschool, and have become very dear friends. Saturday afternoon we had a great time with them at their home along the Brisbane river. They have a couple of acres of land which includes a tennis court and an old sheep paddock where the kids have a great time. Below are some pics of them having fun one last time at the Grzesiak estate.

Marina tries to keep up with Sarah & Madeline on the downward driveway

Michelle, Meagan, Ryan & Connor have a last round of tennis on a warm Queensland winter afternoon

Saying goodbye to our Grzesiak friends in the CBD (city business district)

The girls enjoying the Qantas Club in Brisbane while we wait for our flight

Goodbye To 23 Ascot Street

Fortunately some friends of ours the Grzesiaks have been watching the girls for 2 days while we cleaned up our house and had the movers pack our goods. Last night (Wednesday) we picked them up and took the girls to one of our favorite outdoor restaurants on Racecourse Road, near our house. After dinner we brought them to the house where they could see everything packed up. Michelle took lots of pictures with a smile on her face, knowing that this meant we really are moving back to America. Meagan and Madeline were a bit melancholy, as their home for the last 2 years was now in boxes. Marina seems to be a trouper and it doesn't seem to fade her energy or enthusiasm. Today, Thursday, our goods are all packed and we finish the clean-up in prep for our trip.

Marc

Moving & Birthdays

Its Tuesday 29 May and we are deep into moving. Unfortunately this comes as Michelle, Madeline and Marina all have birthdays. Not the best time to have a birthday, so we hope to celebrate back in the States with family. We are using Kent Movers here in Australia, with Ranier Shipping taking our items across the Pacific. We have 200 lbs of airship items in addition to our 12 checked bags, which will then be followed by our containter with 14,000 lbs of furniture that returns back to Seattle. To the left is a picture of Madeline's room, ready to go. This may be our last blog entry in Australia, so if so we will see all our family and friends back in sunny Seattle!

Marc

Downstairs school room with pool outside

Our Yamaha U-8 piano we are bringing home from Australia

State of Origin

On Michelle's birthday, 23 May, I took Michelle and Meagan to the first of three State of Origin matches. This exciting Rugby League series occurs between the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales. Every year at this time the best players who started in each state come home to play for the Queensland Maroons or NSW Blues. I have never seen a town go as crazy as they do for these events, which rotate between Brisbane and Sydney. Hotels are sold out a year in advance with room rates doubling just for the night. During the day people walk around in game attire and really get psyched for the game. It was a very charged atmosphere that the girls enjoyed seeing for themselves. Michelle and Meagan said they enjoy it more than gridiron, or American football as the teams rarely stop playing for the clock. It is non-stop blood, sweat and tears! We went with our friends Ramsis Adam and his son Noah, as well as a co-worker Keri Day who works with Marc & Ramsis. We all had a great time watching Queensland come from behind to beat New South Wales. You can read about the game at

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,21784463-10389,00.html?from=public_rss

Marc Fireworks as the Maroons come onfield

Mothers Day

For Mothers Day we took our last weekend adventure to Noosa on the Sunshine Coast. We went with our US expat friends the Grzeiaks and had perfect weather the entire weekend. Noosa is a small but very "flash" resort town located on the beautiful Noosa Beach approximately 90 minutes north of Brisbane. On Saturday night I took Michelle, Meagan and Madeline, along with Dave Grzesiak and their their three oldest sons, to an OKA concert being held in Noosa. OKA is this new-agey band with an electronic didgeridoo. It has become one of my favorite bands here. On Sunday the older kids went and hiked up beautiful Mt. Coolum which is an old volcanic plug that rises up 1,000 feet above the Sunshine Coast. From the top we could see the world famous beaches and resorts. Directly below us was the Hyatt Coolum Golf Course, arguably one of Australia's finest golf courses as the Australian Open is played there. On Sunday we treated Marce and Marcia to a late "brekky" at Bistro-C, one of our favorite casual restaurants located right on the beach. After brekky Marce and Marcia went window shopping (fortunately the stores were waaay to expensive to buy anything except mochas!). David and I took the kids for what was one of our best beach days ever. The weather was in the low 80s, and the waves were fantastic for boogie-boarding. We all had some of the best rides of our lives.

Coming home from Noosa we sensed that our Australian adventure is coming to an end. We are thankful we had this one last opportunity with great friends, weather, beaches and no sharks!

Marc

OKA concert

Marce & Marcia on Mothers Day

Sunshine Coast Views From Top of Mt. Coolum

Madeline & Sarah Playing In The Surf

Marina Plays One Last Time On The Worlds Best Beach. If she only knew ...

The Great Australian Circuit

This week was a great one for me, and yet another highlight this chapter in our lives draws to an end. Late last year a new President was appointed at Boeing Australia, who is one of my many bosses. David Withers is young, energetic and wants to make a real impression in his new role. So this week he and his nine person Executive Council, of which I am a part, took a whirlwind tour around Australia to visit Boeing’s sites and the people who work there. Due to the unique distances and locations we were to visit, we chartered two Westwind biz jets that zipped us around the continent at 36,000 feet. On Sunday afternoon we took off at 3PM and headed for a fuel stop at Alice Springs, in the middle of the continent. During the flight we were treated to views of the great Australian outback, with giant red mountains of sand and unique patterns of dunes created by wind and water. During the summer months, as heavy rains fall in northern Australia, water overflow runs to central Australia where it brings new life to the dessert. We were able to see several of the large lakebeds, some with water remaining from the summer rains.

Central Australia from the air as we near Alice Springs.



Our first stop on the trip was Exmouth along the Australian Northwest Cape. In 1968 the US Navy built a Very Low Frequency (VLF) communications site in the middle of nowhere. Today it is the largest VLF site in the world. Tower Zero shown on the right is a quarter-mile high and the building at the bottom has a footprint larger than a football field. The site was named Harold E Holt, named after the former Australian Prime Minister who mysteriously vanished off the Victoria coast during a normal morning swim. All sorts of explanations surround the disappearance of Prime Minister Holt, from Japanese subs kidnapping him to a shark attack. The most likely cause I reckon was the strong rip tides which occurred in the region. It is interesting that an Australian Prime Minister was lost at sea, but yet did any of you Americans know that part of Australian history? I know I didn’t until moving here. Can you imagine what history would have said if an American President mysteriously disappeared while going for a morning swim? Just goes to show you how outta touch we are. Anyway, the Exmouth Naval Communications site was handed over to the Australians in 1992 to run, and Boeing Australia now has the contract to run it, which takes over 100 people. It boasts 13 large transmission towers, with the largest Tower #0 reaching 1,271 ft shown above. The antenna arrays use 400 km of copper wire, with the largest Tower 0 weighing 800 tons, all of which rests on a single ball joint designed to support seven million pounds which can occur when cyclones hit. Six 3 million watt special purpose diesel generators create enough power to not only support the 2 Megawatt transmitter, but also supply power for the entire 2,000 person township. Everything about this site is massive, and it is like nothing I have ever seen before. The transmissions are used to communicate with US nuclear submarines around the world. Due to the unique characteristics of low frequency radio waves, these are the only transmissions that can be received by submarines when they are below surface. When originally built in 1968, Exmouth was a little piece of America in Australia. The population was largely US military, with US cars with left side steering wheels. Exmouth is now famous for tourism, with great fishing and a world class reef that no one hears about called the Ningaloo Reef. Unlike the Great Barrier Reef, which is about 2 hours from shore via boat, the Ningaloo Reef is easily accessible from shore. You just walk out and BANG, there it is. Above is a picture I took at 35,000 feet out the right hand side of the plane where you can see the reef offshore. This year is whale shark season, when the annual migration of whale sharks by the Ningaloo Reef takes place. These large but harmless plankton feeders come cruising by very close to shore. It is one of the few places in the world where you can snorkel with these giants. Aerial planes spot them swimming near the surface in the crystal clear water, and radio direction and location to the tour boats waiting. The boats then position themselves in front of the whale sharks then have spectators jump in the water just before they arrive. I am told by people who have done it that it is truly an incredible event to see. Unfortunately I did not have enough time to see them, and it was a bit early in the season.

Co-workers Rick and Charlie on left and ride, with my Australian boss David in the middle.

My co-worker Wayne Needs checks out the power panel at the Exmouth power generating station.

Marc and pilot Mal pose before take-off at Learmont airport, near Exmouth.


After two days in Exmouth we flew to Geraldton on Wednesday morning, where Boeing has a contract to operate a classified site for the Australian Government. Geraldton is located at the same latitude as Brisbane, and hence has a similar climate with 3 distinct seasons- Summer Cool, Summer Paradise and Summer Hot. Like Brisbane Summer Paradise is about 8 months of the year, with the remaining 4 months being split between Summer Cool and Summer Hot. Being on the west coast it is not as humid as Brisbane, which is good in Summer Hot Season when the temps can reach 115 degrees. It was a pleasant 80 degrees during the day when I was there and 65 degrees at night. Typical Summer Paradise season weather. Geraldton is a town of about 50,000 people which I actually preferred to the too small Exmouth at 2,000 people. They had a “Mackers” (McDonalds), Bunnings (Home Depot) and Target. Real estate is probably some of the most affordable I have seen in Australia for coastal property, but that is changing due to the mining money flowing into town from central Western Australia. At halfway up the Western Australia coast, Geraldton is the last town on the Western Australia power grid. All towns north have their own power generating stations, typically diesel, like Exmouth. We were able to stop and visit the memorial for the HMAS Sydney II, an Australian warship which was sunk off the Geraldton coast by a German U-boat in WWII. All 627 crewmembers were lost and the location of the ship has never been determined.

Geraldton from the cockpit as we approach the airport.

Thursday night we boarded our small biz jets and zoomed off the Northern Territory town of Darwin. Darwin has quite a history, and was actually bombed by the Japanese during WWII. Being on the north coast of Australia Darwin is smack in the middle of the tropics and you can feel it in the air. Lush forests surround the town and a heavy humidity was there even in May. Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin on Christmas Eve 1974 and stalled over the town, virtually destroying every building in town. The town was a “shanty town” and was not built for cyclones, so most of the town was literally flattened. I saw a picture of the town and it looked similar to tornado paths in the Midwest – except the path here was about 50 km wide! Officially the death toll was around 50 people; unofficially it was more like 2,000. The 1,950 people not in the official death toll were native Aborigines, who have a significant presence in Darwin. The actual death toll has been classified and will be made public in 50 years per Federal law. It is interesting that the Northern Territory is indeed still a territory rather than a state. What that means is that, like every Australian citizen, they are required to vote in every election. In Australia the States have more rights than the Federal Government, which is the opposite from the US. So if there is a conflict between State and Federal government laws, the State wins. But in a territory the Feds laws overrule territorial laws. The net result is that there is a growing state movement in the Northern Territory, and you can expect to see a popular vote in about five years making Northern Territory a State. The other interesting thing about the Northern Territory are the salt water crocs which live here. They are interesting and very scary. Several of the people I met have had “close calls” with these masters of death. They grow up to 20 feet in length and are a smart, predatory animal. Because they were going extinct after a hunting campaign, the Federal government has protected them and encouraged their comeback. The net result is that they are spreading down the Queensland coast and have been sighted as close as Hervey Bay, only four hours north of Brisbane by car. Pretty scary. Our only close call came when our bus to the airport broke down and we had to offload our luggage and wait for a new bus. Above are my colleagues waiting for the new bus. Note the lush vegetation in the background.

I write this final text of this blog entry from 37,000 feet at 9:30PM Friday night as our plane travels over the great, dark Australian outback. Our plane is gently weaving through large thunderstorms which I can see both outside the plane and on our cockpit weather radar screen. One of the great things I appreciate about my job with Boeing is the opportunity to travel around the world for business and meet people from different cultures. This trip ranks up there with the best of any of my previous trips – Russia, Brazil, Kiribati, and Samoa. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to take this trip just a few weeks before our return to the U.S.

Marc