January in Australia and New Zealand
The Decemberists played the Big Day Out festival there this year and Hank and I, along with the other moms and kids, went along. We saw Auckland, Surfers Paradise, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth in three weeks. Highlights were: watching the sun set over Auckland from the ferry, hearing Joanna Newsom debut songs at Sydney Opera House, giant bats in the Botanic Garden, fancy dinner in Sydney overlooking the harbor, the emu that got all up in my face at Taronga Zoo, Colin’s show in Melbourne, driving around the Dandenong, riding a steam train through fern gullies with my legs hanging out the side, the bathtub in our Sydney hotel, Hank’s first ferris wheel ride, and Hank’s first sauna. On the downside, we made our kids get on 11 planes in 21 days. But, you know, who’s counting?
