ANZAC Day and Two Up

Yesterday was a national holiday in Australia. ANZAC Day. ANZAC is an acronym for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. April 25 is the annual date in which these two countries celebrate and remember the soldiers who have fought side by side from WWI to the current conflicts in the Middle East. It is also on ANZAC day that the game Two Up can be legally played in pubs and bars across Australia. Here is a quick break down on how you play Two Up. Two coins are thrown up in the air and how they land determines who wins. If both coins land on heads and you bet heads then you win. If they both land on tails and you bet tails you win. If one is heads and one is tails its considered a 'no spin' and the coins are tossed again. The way you wager is interesting. You hold up the money in one hand and yell out either 'heads' or 'tails' and the dollar amount of the bet you are willing to wage. You then wait for someone who is willing to match your bet and is betting on the opposite outcome of the coin toss. The person who bets 'heads' holds onto the money. Not sure why, its just the rule. Betting is then closed off for the round and the coins are tossed in the air. At the Story Bridge Hotel where I went yesterday there were hundreds of people playing. With each toss of the coins the excitement and noise level rose to thunderous levels. I decided to stick with 'tails' on each of my bets and I ended up walking away with $80 in my pocket!

Another custom on ANZAC Day is to drink the drink of choice of the ANZAC soldiers in WWI. The drink of choice....... rum and milk. Yes that is correct. Rum and milk. This was one custom I decided to pass on!

Two Down - Five To Go

This past weekend I fulfilled a life long dream and I saw one of the seven wonders of the natural world. Now that I am 40 years old I can say that. A life long dream when you are 20 doesn't have the same weight as it does when you have reached the milestone of 40 years. When I was a young kid I remember watching a Jacques Cousteau special on PBS television when he was exploring the Great Barrier Reef off of the coast of Northern Queensland in Australia and I instantly fell in love. The colors, the fish, and the scenery are something that I couldn't imagine actually existed. When you are 10 years old it is hard to believe that an ocean can look anything other than the Northern Atlantic.

A two and a half hour flight from Brisbane proved that the colors, the fish, and the scenery are real! I spent 5 days outside of Cairns (pronounced 'Cans') at Trinity Beach and on one of those days I boarded a Quick Silver Boat out to the Algonquin Ribbon Reefs on the outskirts of the Great Barrier Reef. The ride on the tour bus from our hotel to Port Douglas, where the boat left from, was one of the most beautiful one hour rides I have ever taken. You ride along the coast the entire time with nothing but beautiful blue water and mountains on one side and on the other side rivers and salt water crocodiles! Up in this part of Queensland there are some of the most deadly animals on earth. Some are big like great white sharks and crocodiles and others are just as deadly and only the size of your thumb. Those are the box jellyfish and the blue ring octopus. I made sure I was going to keep a safe distance from anything that could end my Australian adventure short.

After a one 90 minute ride on a high speed catamaran we made it to our destination on the outer reef. I did two SCUBA dives and some snorkeling! The entire day was amazing.

Just as nice was the day trip we took to the Sky Rail in Cairns. This tour has you riding high above a rain forest in a four person gondola to a picturesque town over 2 miles up in the mountain. After having lunch and doing the 'tourist thing' we boarded an old fashioned train for the ride down. I felt as though I had boarded the same train that brought Harry Potter to Hogwarts so many times!

This trip is may be the last time I travel outside of Brisbane while in Australia. If that is the case then I can say that I ended my traveling on a high note!

I had to change the title from One Down to Two Down. I was reminded that I had seen the Northern Lights which is also a Natural Wonder. I did see them in all of their glory when I was up at UMass Amherst. So now I only have 5 wonders to go!

The Great Brisbane Bike Ride

This past Sunday I set my alarm clock for 6:00 AM, showered, and got myself mentally prepared for the Great Brisbane Bike Ride that was ahead of me! 5 of my coworkers and myself signed up to do a 35K (21.75 miles) bike ride in and around Brisbane and the Brisbane river. The start and finish line was in South Bank which was only a 2 minute bike ride from my apartment. We decided to meet at my apartment, ride over together to register, and then after the ride I invited everyone back to my place for brunch. We had great weather and the ride went off without any complications. We took our time, stopped at both rest areas and finished up in just under 2 hours. I had my Polar fitness watch on and it registered that I had burned over 1600 calories on the ride! This was all before 10:30! The riders who accomplished this from CS were: Emily, Nicole, Nicola, Lindsey, and Claudia. Congratulations to everyone!!