Arizona Trip

The Arizona part of my trip involved the zoo, hikes, horseback riding, hanging out, and helping out. The Phoenix Zoo had a dinosaurs exhibit, with animatronic recreations of what some ancient critters might have looked like. That was a cool addition to their usual stuff. I went on some walks/hikes with lots of wildflowers due to all of the unusual winter rains. Mostly the trip was hanging out and helping people out with various tasks.  

Animatronic recreation of ancient bear

Animatronic recreation of ancient dodo-type bird

Animatronic recreation of big dinosaurs

Sun bear

Javelinas

Big tortoise

Kitty

Owl

Armadillo

Horned owl

Little tortoise

Fluffed roadrunner

Prairie dog

Reptile fails at hiding

Horseback riding

Beautiful wildflowers blanketing the desert

Even purple and pink flowers were out

Wildflowers and cactus

Fairyduster plant

Funky cactus

Walking track

Amazon was everywhere

Funky Mexican restaurant

Tempting thrift store find but I resisted

Touch-free handle

Plastic bags everywhere

Helping with my friend’s plant research

Hike

Nice views of the valley

Plant sale

Cute succulents

 

Downtown Brisbane

We had a day in downtown Brisbane, first visiting the Queensland Museum. I learned about the huge coal and cattle industry in this state of Australia, the golden bikini meter maids in Surfers Paradise (didn't remember seeing any), and some of the dinosaur fossils they’ve found here, including the only known record of a dinosaur stampede. 

how cool are these dinosaur and animal pillows?!

Next we walked across the Victoria Bridge to the Queens Street Mall. It was actually a bit difficult to find where it started, but we eventually did. We met with our host's family and had a drink (red creaming sarsaparilla) at the Red Cross Coffee Shop and then she took us to the City of Brisbane Museum which had some nice photos and paintings of Brisbane back in the day. We got really good gelato at Gelatissimo (macadamia caramel and peanut butter fudge).

City Hall had a beautiful interior room

psychedelic ceiling too!

cool contrast between old and new

Welcome to Australia: Sydney

We arrived in Sydney in the morning (after the time change) and took the train from the airport to the hotel to leave our bags at the counter before check-in time. I thoroughly enjoyed my first glimpse of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge from the train. They look spectacular on the waterfront. 

Next we were off on the search for food. The hotel (Napoleon on Kent) ended up being in a great location downtown, within walking distance of most tourist locales. We happened upon a shopping market with lots of booths and wares. We sampled some licorice and bought a small bag for D. Although I don’t like black licorice, it actually tasted a lot better than the processed stuff from stores in the U.S. We ate a quick lunch at Subway, took some pictures of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge, and enjoyed walking in the sunshine. Compared to the freezing temperatures in Christchurch, the mild winter here was a relief.

I had read online that the Australia Museum was having a free weekend for kids and adults, so we decided to brave the large crowds to save some money and fill up our first day before my conference started. There were definitely hundreds of people there, with kids in tow. It was hard to move around (major fire hazard) but there was some good dinosaur stuff and info on the continent’s history. A photography competition’s winners were also on display, with some gorgeous photos of landscapes and wildlife. We did our grocery shopping for the week (staying at an apartment-style place with a kitchenette) and crashed early.