Perth Zoo / New Years Eve

Ali and I spent a morning at the Perth Zoo. We saw a lot of great animals. The kangaroos are in an open area and you could go right up and touch them if you wanted. But they kind of spooked me. I really enjoyed the huge sea turtle and oragutangs. Actually, we enjoyed the zoo so much we became members. Now we can go whenever we want.

Christmas BBQ / Secret Santa @ Ben and Blanche's house

While we haven't made a lot of friends, the friends we have made are top quality! Ben Morris is a guy I met during my internship @ Last Pixel. He, his wife Blanche, and daughter Ruby have been so good to us, inviting us to be a part of there group of friends and including us in several gatherings. This was a Christmas BBQ where all the couples picked names and exchanged gifts, Secret Santa style. Ali and I were gifted an eskie or cooler as we know it in the states, from the Morris family. Other friends we have met in this clan are Josh and Lisa, and Kevin and Sarah. We really enjoy spending time with all of them.

Christmas Day

Our first summer Christmas was spent by going to the beach for a bit and preparing a beautiful, traditional spread. Ali did a great job with her first attempt at cooking a turkey, and I didn't do quite as well carving it, but it was delicious all the same. We had small tree, and exchanged a couple gifts, but most of all just enjoyed being together.

Scenic Beach Photos

Just some shots from the day we drove home from Hillary's Boat Harbor. The beaches here are beautiful!

Hillary's Boat Harbor

Hillary's Boat Harbor is about 20 minutes north from where we live. There are a bunch of restaurants and shops, and they also host a weekend market although nothing like the Fremantle markets. It is nice to go up there and walk around, window shop and just get out of the city.

Fremantle Markets

Fremantle or Free-o as the locals call it, is a cool little town about 30 mins away from where we live. It sits right on the shore of the Indian Ocean, and has a very relaxed feel about it. Every weekend they host a wonderful open market with a variety of local and not so local goods. The produce they sell there is very nice. We make it down to Free-o quite a bit as it provides a nice and inexpensive get-a-way from the house. On this particular trip we had the pleasure of getting to view a Porsche club gathering in the park so I included a few of the pics from that as well as a few shots from Little Creatures, a local micro brewery. Their beer is very good and they even have a boccie ball court out back reminiscent of the Velvet Dog in Kansas City. If you come to visit us in Perth we will definitely make Free-o a stop on the tour.

Red Bull Air Race 2008

Perth hosts the final stop of the Red Bull Air Race. Ali and I spent the day on the banks of the Swan River watching planes weave in and out of inflated pylons at very high speed and low altitude. It was very cool. One thing to note is that the pilots must fly so that their head stays in-between the colored bands around the top of the pylon for the run to count. Seriously this was one of the coolest things I have seen!