Off to Adelaide

After getting in yesterday around 1pm, and falling asleep at 2pm, I was up at 6am today to fly to Adelaide for a series of grant meetings. The meetings were in the Qantas club lounge of Adelaide airport... Was weird to just never leave the airport and fly back. After coming from LA, I really felt as if I'd been in airports for DAYS!...

Back Home in Australia!

Back home to Australia at last.... It is always great to see the headlands around Sydney from the air right before we land... And when we take off there are always good shots of the Opera House and the Harbor!


...And then it is great to see Brisbane from the air as we head in to the airport - I know I'll see Tim and the cats soon!

Last Day in LA

My last day in LA was filled with good food (HUGE French Toast, tiny but nice pumpkin pie) and that pre-Christmas excess (giant snowglobes!?!). It will be nice to get back to Australia, but it's always hard to leave the States...

Meetings, Shopping in LA

Today was a full day, with meetings starting at 7:30am! However, Bronwyn and I did manage to sneak away for some mid-afternoon shopping at the Beverly Center, at Bed, Bath and Beyond, and at the LA Farmer's Market....

Birding LA

Today I spent the day birding in Sepulveda, at Bolsa Chica (my favorite birding destination i LA) and the San Joachin Marshes in Orange Country. It was a great day and I saw lots of terrific birds....

Dinner with Rich & Jo

Had dinner after birding with Rich and Jo Lewis. Rich was my supervisor while I worked at the Sepulveda VA Hospital during my psychology internship. Tim and I would house sit for Jo and Rich and their various dogs and cats when we lived in LA... This was by the way the first day I went out without my wig!!!

Western Bagel

Bagels are something that Tim and I still miss, especially our favorite, Western Bagel in LA. I made MANY trips to Western Bagel in my 5 daysin LA...

Shopping in Ventura

Bronwyn and I went shopping on Black Friday at the Camarillo Outlets (CRAZY BUSY!) and Ventura (which was just lovely). Donovan and Holland Mervisshowed us all the cool shops in Ventura and an EXCELLENT taqueria with outstanding Mexican food...

Tour of the Stars Homes

On Thanksgiving morning, Bronwyn, my PhD student who came with me on this grand trip, and I decided to do a tour of the stars homes. What a great time - we even got to see Dr Phil and J Lo... ending up with a quick trip through Rodeo Drive and ending in the Hollywood Hills.

A Thanksgiving Short Story

Thanksgiving Dinner

Bronwyn and I had an absolutly FABULOUS Thanksgiving thanks to the Mervis family. Donovan Mervis made AMAZING food,including no less than THREE kinds of pumpkin pie (regular,with pecan topping and with marshmallows). It was terrific to be able to spend Thanksgiving with a family... a real treat for me and an excellent introduction to the holiday for Bronwyn.

Staying with Friends in LA

Unfortunately this trend of trying on the wigs continued, but with a downward slope, in LA...

Staying with Friends in San Fran

It was great to be able to spend time with friends in the Bay Area, including Pete Baum, Debbie Wolter Baginskis and Larry & Dolores Gallagher-Thompson. Many of these folk (including Debbie's daughter Sophia) enjoyed trying on my many wigs...

Tim and Gromit

This is what Tim was doing while I was gone - shaving and then growing back his beard, and marking final exams with Gromit's help...

Gerontological Society of America Conference

The weekend before Thanksgiving is the usual time for the Gerontological Society of America Conference. I presented a paper and a poster there, and had lots of fun meeting with friends and colleagues. Even had a bit of time to ride in a limo and have some tequila...

Last Day in San Francisco with Mom & Joann

Today we hada fabulous last day together, starting off with breakfast by the bay at the Northpoint Cafe in Sausalito. Then we headed into San Francisco to do the usual touristy things: Lomnard Street, the crookedest street in the world; Coit Tower; and Fisherman's Wharf. We met my friend Debbie there for a fantastic lunch of eggplant parmagiana before braving the traffic to drop her at the Opera. My friend Peter cooked us a lovely dinner, then it was time for goodbyes all around...

Kids Day

Today we spent the day entertaining Michael, sincehe hasbeen so patient with our antics! First we went to the Bay Area Discovery Centre, which is a great placefor kids to have fun and explore. There was a great exhibit of Clifford the Big Red Dog which Michael really liked. There were also some water activities which we all enjoyed. Then we went to the Charles Schultz Museum, which was really nice. We had a great dinner in an old railroad car in Sebastopol (the town where Charles Schultz lived). Nancy had macaroni and cheese!

Birding and Nature Day

Today we had a pretty perfect day in the Bay Area, with perfect weather to match. Furst we had a filling breakfast at IHOP (International House of Pancakes). Nancy had the pumpkin pie pancakes while Joann had the carrot cake pancakes. Ten we walked off all that food in Muir Woods, which was lovely as always. Then we went for a drive up the coast and got mikshakes at Stinson Beach. Then we did a bit of birdwatching at the Audubon House in Sausalito. Finally we had dinner at Trieste, a local favorite in Sausalito.

Shopping and In 'N Out Burger

Today Mom & I went shopping at the Napa Valley and Petaluma outlets. We got great gifts, a super raincoat for me, and some nice tops for Joann. Afterwards we all went to In 'N Out Burger for dinner - yum!

A great reunion in San Francisco

It was really wonderful to see Mom, Joann and Michael. I am really grateful they were able to come over and see me... We had the best time doing terrific things in San Francisco. On the first day we settled in our hotel rooms but not before taking in the Golden Gate Bridge...

Off to the States!

Am off to the States today to visit with my Mom, my sister Joann and my godson Michael. We are staying in Sausalto, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Then I'm at the Gerontological Society of America conference in San Francisco, then on to LA for a great Thanksgiving dinner with our friends the Mervis', and some research meetings at USC... It will be a fabulous trip!