Adelaide, Australia

We had lived in Adelaide 12 years ago, so we decided to reconnect with some of our good friends. We woke up to a sunny day and an Australian band playing Australian songs out on the pier, songs such as Waltzing Matilda etc. A great awakening at 7 AM in the morning. Opened up the curtains and there was the bright sunshine that we hadn't seen in a few days. Our friends met us at the port and we drove to our dear old friend Bill for a short visit. We met Bill and his wife in NZ on our way to Adelaide and have kept in touch for many years. It was great seeing him and finding out all his new hobbies and interests. We then drove to Glenelg, a port complex that has been built up since we have been away. Doug and I used to go to the beach here when it was too hot to stay in our house. They have really built the area up with condos and piers and shopping areas. After the stroll through Glenelg, we took a drive to our old house and the area we lived in while in Australia. We walked up the drive way and took photos and laughed at some of the memories of this old house. Then it was off to downtown area to visit Marge and Kevin's house and to hug their dog. We miss our Holly Berry and loved hugging and petting Marge's poodle. Then off to the outdoor cafe that Doug and I used to frequent in Adelaide for some lunch and good Australian beer. We had a great visit reminiscing with our friends of our year here and their visit to Edmonton two years ago. Then Doug could not resist going into the Central Market across the street to see all the stands with fresh Australian fruit, veggies, including Kangaroo and crocodile meat. Then it was off to North Adelaide to visit our other good friends Greg and Evelynn who teach in that area and were kind enough to get one hour off to see us. Greg and Evelynn have also visited us in Edmonton in 2000 and plan on coming again which will be wonderful. We met in a cafe/bar and had a quick good visit. It was so nice to see our friends and get all the news around Adelaide concerning the economy, the teachers, travel news, and news about their families. Doug and I came back to the ship with smiles on our faces telling everyone what a great time we had visiting our friends again. It was like old home week.

We quickly got dressed for we were invited to the Captain's private suite for a cocktail party. He thanked us for taking the stormy seas so well but that we are one day behind schedule and need to catch up and they have decided that it was be the easiest to miss Broome on our cruise. We don't mind at all for we hadn't planned to see much at this particular port. It is difficult getting into the port, he said, for the low and high tides have a difference of 30 ft and if you come into the port at the wrong time you may have a problem, so this was one of the defining reasons why they chose to miss this port.

Tonight, the bar is open on the ship, as a thank you to all the guests for putting up with the rough seas and terrible conditions so well. Not one broken bone on the ship which is a good thing.