Mark Paxson's Blog, page 8

Adelaide

From Port Douglas, we flew to Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. This was our longest flight in country. About 3 1/2 hours across the outback. We only had one full day in Adelaide, but we had the opportunity to have dinner at two places that were dramatically different from the restaurants and pubs we […]

Turning 60

I turn 60 soon. I’ve always had a sense of my mortality and have not been happy about the concept. That awareness has grown in recent months as some health issues have cropped up that could lead to … things. Fatty liver. Check. Enlarged prostate. Check. And now MGUS, which could lead to myeloma or […]

Port Douglas and Points Beyond

Port Douglas is a coastal town north of Cairns. It was our point of departure for the Great Barrier Reef and the Kuranda Rainforest. If there was anything I was looking forward to on this trip, it was this stop because of the reef and the rainforest. Well, except, of course for the opportunity to […]

A Moment

When we were with our Aussie friends, Ian asked what our national dish was. The dish that Americans have when they’re with family. I didn’t know the answer to that question because we are such a blend of different cultures and different foods. Sure, there is Thanksgiving but that’s a specific day and a specific […]

Is There A Better Album?

Over on Twitter, there are a whole bunch of accounts that ask music questions. Like listing a bunch of drummers and asking who the best is. (Neil Peart, by the way). Or posting a shot of an album and asking, “You can’t say this album, what is Artist X’s best album?” I almost never respond […]

Noosa

I don’t know why, but I expected the weather to be warmer in Australia. September is the end of winter and transition to spring in the land down under. I guess it may be because my Aussie friend has spent so much time whinging about how hot it is there, that I just expected it […]

A Book I’m Reading

Before I left for Australia, I asked for book recommendations from folks on Twitter. I stocked up my Kindle and read the following books while on vacation. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, The Age of Entitlement (a book that describes how America has become an “entitled” nation since the 1960’s, relying almost […]

What I Forgot

I knew I’d forget something. The most important thing of all. Water. Yep. Water. Here in America, when you go to a restaurant, more often than not you get a glass of ice water without asking for it. Or you ask for it, and a glass of ice water is delivered without question. In Australia […]

Random Thoughts About Australia

Before I get to our next stop, Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, I wanted to share some positives and negatives about our experience in Australia. (Sorry, Ian, but there were some negatives.) Positive: We didn’t come across an unfriendly Aussie. Regardless of where we were — restaurants, pubs, on scheduled tours, sitting in airports, walking […]

Hanging With The Aussies

Lots of people ask “why Australia?” I mentioned in my last post that it started with Nicholas spending a week or so with us around 15 years ago. I believe it was the summer after his 10th grade year. While he spent time with us, I made pizza. Of course I did. He mentioned that […]