This has been such a fun trip so far! Let's see... where did I leave off last time?
Ah yes, the hospital and locals.
The hospital here is, as you can imagine, very small. It has lower ceilings than in the states, and its a lot less flourescent white. They used more brown tones for the exterior and interior and have a gorgeous large mural in the entrance, directly across from the "Aboriginal Liaison Centre".
We went through a few hallways until we came to the window that Dianne usually mans, only to find a brunette sitting there instead. When we asked for Dianne, they told us she had called in sick that day and they didn't know what was going on, then looked inquiringly at Kellianne.
As we walked away I whispered to Kellianne "Hope you didn't blow your Mom's cover..."
After we left, Kellianne drove me around town a little bit and pointed things out:
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| The golf course |
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| These ranges surround the town. Plus, we're driving on the wrong side of the road. Which I can't get used to. |
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| The Todd River, which runs through town. It hardly ever has water in it, but it's over the road right now. |
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| See? |
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| The front of the casino, plus the ranges and the sky (can't get over these views!) |
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| My lovely tour guide, Kellianne! |
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| More of the riverbed. |
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| View from the top of Anzac Hill (their armed forces memorial), overlooking the town, the ranges, and the gap. |
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| The view from the top of Anzac Hill, looking toward the right. |
When we called Dianne after getting back home, she told us she stayed home and went to the doctor because of a bad foot problem. But I should get to see her and the rest of the family tonight and tomorrow.
In the midst of all this, everyone was throwing around what they wanted to do and when, discussing days, rearranging plans and everything. So I, being a visual learner and a planner-type by nature, got my notebook and started writing down these various plans so I could keep up. The agenda we all came up with looks something like this:
Wed. 9/22 (yesterday): Milla has daycare, Kellianne works til 3, Sam works 5-9p. (Yesterday was pretty chill. Sue and I took Jaiquen to the Todd Mall area-- where most things are at, it seems like-- where we did a little bit of shopping and saw "The Last Airbender" while Kellianne worked and Sam had a doctor appointment).
Thurs. 9/23 (today): Family barbeque at night. Sue wants to buy some seeds. Lunchtime picnic at the park.
Fri. 9/24: Jaiquen and I are going on the sunset camel ride by the MacDonnell Ranges. (So pumped. Hope I don't fall off, land on my face, and forever become internationally known as "That Uncoordinated American". Its a completely legitimate concern.) Afterward, we're meeting up with Kellianne's family again for dinner at Overlander's, where I'm going to get to try camel (which will be sad, since I would have just ridden one), crocodile, kangaroo, and emu. Allegedly. We'll see. And then after dinner, Sam's taking me to a "pub" to have a "pint". Even though I don't like beer. But I want the full experience.
Sat. 9/25: Daytrip/picnic to _______. They're still deciding.
Sun. 9/26: Ayers Rock (Uluru) with Sam, me, Sue, and Jaiquen.
Mon. 9/27: Desert Park.
Tues. 9/28: Nothing planned yet.
Wed. 9/29: Sue and I leave for Brisbane, where we'll be until we leave for home a few days later. From here, the plans are all up in the air again, which is fine by me!
Sometime in there, Sam and I want to go see "The Other Guys", which has just been released here. There's plenty of time, obviously, since we left the basic schedule wide open as much as possible. I also want to do as much more shopping as I can!
Since this post is long enough, I'll end it here and write more about the locals and the other things going on later.
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