More from Down Under

We have been busy seeing lots in Melbourne. One day we took the city tour and got to hop on hop off in the city. This was the first time we went in to the city on our own. The train system here is fantastic!! You can buy an all-day pass and travel wherever you like. We toured the City Museum and learned about the early gold fields. One of the largest pieces of pure gold was found in this area. We met Rob for lunch at the Crown Casino (huge place with lots of different food). Rob works next door to the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. The next day we were going to go to Phillips Island to see the Penguins but the forecast said the temperature was going to be in the TEENS. We decided that the kids would not do well in that heat. We decided to go to one of the larger air-conditioned malls and try to keep cool. (where there was a Target and Big W [Wal-mart]. We left the kids at home with Dad and Grandpa. We had to ride the train then get off and catch a tram to the Mall. It was nice when we got there but later in the day they turned off the air and it started to get a little warm. Not knowing the outside temperature we left the Mall and waited for the Tram and we knew it was HOT. When we got home we found out it was the hottest day in history!! 116!! I've never been so hot in my life.
Today was our 46th Wedding anniversary and we decided to do something with everyone. We thought about going to the Dandenong Mountains and ride the scenic Puffing Billy steam engine but right before we left we checked the train schedule and we discovered that all trains to the stop where we would catch it were cancelled because of bush fires in that area. Back to the drawing board. When we found out that St. Kilda Beach was having a Festival with live bands and lots of food, and fun for the kids we decided to go there. The weather was back to the 80's and a nice breeze was blowing. St. Kilda is world famous for it's beaches and it has one of the very first amusement parks. It's kinds of a Yuppie place with lots of places to eat along the strip by the beach. There were lots of entertainment for all of us. We got to try some Aussie hamburgers with carrots and beets on them!! A lot of kite surfers were out enjoying the nice wind gusts. It proved to be a good alternative. The weather is going to be nice the rest of the week.