Andy - Day 7

On Saturday, I got up early to go row with my new friends from the Yarra Yarra Rowing Club.  I had to be there before 6 am to warm up so we could get on the water by 6:10 since one of the guys had to work early.  We did four 2,000 meter pieces, and I survived!  They put me in five seat, in the middle of the boat, I think because I was the tallest guy in the boat.  Overall, it was an average row, with not much speed, but it felt GREAT to be in a big boat again, even if I felt stiff and out of shape. After the row, a few of us walked along the river to Southbank to get a cup of coffee (I had a “long black” which I think is a double espresso), after which it was time for more pictures.

The guy who invited me was Colin (the guy in the middle with a big “07” on his shirt), and the most talkative and helpful was Stuart (on the left).   Eddie was taking the picture, so he’s not in it.  The other photos are of the boathouse.  I took a few videos of other crews rowing, but just realized that the file sizes are way too large to email (20+ MB).  I’ll have to show you those when I get home.  I also got invited to row with another group of guys early on Tuesday morning.  They call themselves the “prostrate crew.”  I didn’t ask.  But it looks like I’ll be able to become a regular substitute and get on the water frequently.  Very cool.

Yarra Yarra Rowing Club

Andy and his new rowing buddies

Alexi here. Yes, the water of the Yarra river looks brown to me too. My Aussie friend Ben tells me it's the world's only upside down river. The reason it's brown is all the clear water is at the bottom....

After rowing I came back, showered, had breakfast and read the paper before heading off to Costco. The store was just like at home, only with a different items.  Parking on a Saturday was atrocious, and on top of that, there was road construction near the store, and a huge tropical storm had rolled in, and the traffic was crazy because of the Melbourne Cup.  I took a whole bunch of photos in Costco using my cell phone, but I haven’t figured out how to get the photos off the phone yet.   Most of the photos were of prices and items we normally buy, plus things like washer/dryer and refrigerator. While looking at the dryers, I met a woman named Jodi, who comes from New Jersey and has been here for 8 years.   She recommends Brighton Elementary, by the way, and she gave me her phone and email should we have any questions.

I was trying to get out of Costco in time to get back to the hotel to call you guys, but with the traffic and storm, it took me well over an hour to go just a few miles.  Also, it had to do with my driving in the city center, where “hook turns” and one-way streets complicated the driving on top of the manual transmission.  Note to Alexi – avoid driving in the Central Business District (CBD).  Way stressful.  The hook turns alone will take your breath away.  Somehow, to make a right turn, you have to get in the far left lane, then wait in the middle of the intersection (be sure to not get hit by a train), then when traffic is clear from your left, and when no one is coming from behind you on your right, you turn right.  YIKES!  I just made a whole bunch of left hand turns to drive around the block, rather than try a hook turn.  Of course, I think I went under a toll road sensor (twice) and will probably get billed for using the toll road, even though I’m not exactly sure if I used it or not.

Anyway, I got home from Costco, and headed to the south east to drive around a few neighborhoods (Caulfield, Chadstone, Oakleigh,  and Glen something).  Nice neighborhoods, and not too far away.  The houses didn’t offer much curb appeal, since most seemed to be hidden by fences, but looking at Google Earth, the yards are nice, so we’ve got to remember not to judge a book by its cover.  It looks like realestate.com.au will be our best bet for finding houses for rent.  In addition, the guy who sat in front of me in the boat, Francis, is a realtor, so I’ll hit him up for some information and maybe enlist his help with the rental market.