November Wrap-up

Sorry (as always) for the late post. So in addition to Movember, Jess and I have been doing a bit of travel about the country. Here is a recap.

At the beginning of November, Jess and I ventured out to Royal National Park - about an hour south of Sydney - to check out the secluded beaches and to try out my new camera. We packed a picnic lunch and spent the day in the park traveling from beach to beach. It is a tough life but someone has to do it.



The following weekend I was sent to Canberra (the country's capital) on a last minute work trip. As a result we decided to make a weekend out of it and Jess came to meet me. Similar to Washington D.C., Canberra is full of National Museums and Memorials. We visited the Australian National Museum, New Parliament House, and the War Memorial. Unlike D.C., Canberra is very quite on the weekend as most of the residents live outside the city by a fair distance. In a way this made it nice, because we really felt like we had the entire city to ourselves.







Finally, at the end of the month Jess and I traveled to Tasmania for an extended weekend getaway. We flew into Hobart and drove nearly the entire East Coast. Along the way we saw Penguins, Kangaroos, Wombats and Tasmania Devils. We also met Priscilla the beer drinking pig...of course we had to see it for ourselves. We also hiked to the lookout of Wineglass bay.

Harbor Fireworks

We are very fortunate to have friends with amazing accommodations in Sydney, because occasionally we get invited for spectacular views and fun times. Recently, we went to our Jennie and Thor's place in Kirribilli to watch the finale of Australian Idol. The main focus was not on the show itself, but on the fireworks that accompanied it. Jennie and Thor's view is like a postcard, with uninterrupted views of the harbor, bridge and opera house.

Because I knew there would be fireworks, I invested in a tripod and attempted to learn as much about shooting fireworks as I could. Everything happened so quickly, that I was a little behind the curve and a lot of the photos are unrecognizable. The photos below are some of the better ones from the frenzy that night.

Movember Half-way Over

Well, I am half way through DONE with Movember and it wasn't pretty. I will let you judge by the photos below.



Although I wasn't looking very good, I did manage to get nearly $250 in donations to a worthy cause. Thanks to everyone who supported me and my Mo.

Welcome to Movember!

This month I am participating in the Aussie Tradition known as Movember. For the month of Movember (formerlly November) I will be growing (or attempting to grow) as mustache in the name of Men's Health.

Did you know....

Men's health is a major issue.
- Depression affects 1 in 6 men....most don't seek help. Untreated depression is a leading risk factor for suicide.
- Every year 2,900 Australian men die from prostate cancer and over 18,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The money raised by Movember is used to raise awareness of men's health issues and donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue: the national depression initiative. The PCFA and beyondblue will use the funds to fund research and increase support networks for those men who suffer from prostate cancer and depression.

This is the first time I have every really tried to have facial hair and I am sure that I will look ridiculous, but that is all part of the fun. Anyway if you would like to sponsor my Mo then click here (or on the button on the main page). I will also be posting pictures of my Mo along the way so stay tuned...