Darwin

When we think of Darwin, we think of a green, tropical place that is very hot and humid! Honestly, it was sweltering...mostly because there was a mix up with our tickets, and we waited a couple of hours in said weather for our bus. In the sun. Without a breeze. Next to a bunch of other people. Once on the bus, glorious wind cooled our faces! Just like everywhere else we went in Australia, there were signs of Christmas...right next to signs of summer. 

Considering how much time we had in Darwin, which was just hours, we learned and saw quite a bit. Downtown, the beach, the Northern Territory museum. We saw trees growing out of water - we are pretty sure it was saltwater. There was also a fascinating exhibit at the museum that had a dark room and you listened to sounds of Cyclone Tracy - actual sounds that were recorded during the storm. Horrifying what those people must have felt during that time.

It was really in Darwin that we began to understand a little bit more about Australia rather than our thoughts of it being defined by what we have seen and heard (on TV mostly). The Northern Territory, which includes Darwin, has the largest amount of Aborigines. There are also over a hundred different tribes of Aborigines (maybe hundreds), mostly based on where they live and the language they speak (I think they said each tribe has a different language). Anyways the map in the museum of all of the different tribes was mind blowing. We even saw an Aboriginal artist, Leslie Nawirridj, at work. Makes his own paint.

Sydney Tower Eye

Remember Ferris Bueller's Day Off when they went to the top of Sears Tower and put their heads against the window and looked down at the city? #wedidthat

Except in Sydney...at the Tower Eye.

We had two days in Sydney and chose to go up the Tower Eye around dusk for a view of the city. It was stunning...the pictures don't do it justice. They might have...if I had actually brought the camera and not just my iPhone.

The 360-degree observation deck is 268 meters (880 feet for us Americans) above street level. This is twice the height of the Sydney Harbour bridge. There is an outdoor deck as well that you can pay extra for...we stayed inside the observation deck which is enclosed with windows.

Sydney

Eric and I recently went on vacation to celebrate - we have many things to celebrate! Our 19th anniversary was in September. I happened to turn FORTY this past year. And we are also celebrating that I finished my Masters degree and will be starting a new job in a bout a week.

We went on a cruise to Australia, Bali and Singapore. Wow. We had a great time and wanted to share some photos with you! Because we had been stocking up frequent flyer miles for awhile and also because of a friend, we were able to fly first class! And for spending more than half a day on a plane, it was worth it. We arrived in Sydney first and went around town on a Hop On Hop Off bus, we even went over to Bondi Beach (had some gelato there). We walked over to the Opera House from the ship. Such a great time! And such a reception in our room with apples and champagne. What a great start to our vacation!

Graduation Day!

Graduation Day is finally here! In some ways it doesn't seem real, but this pretty much sums up how I feel...

I am so thankful for my husband who tirelessly kept things going at home and for all my family and friends who supported me!

Next big hurdle is my board exam which should be in the next month or so. I have had a job offer with a perinatologist and I start January 6th! I will be working at the High Risk Pregnancy Center here in Las Vegas. The main focus of my job will be diabetes management in pregnancy. You can read more about it here.

Rock 'n' Roll Marathon

Have you ever heard of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon? I hadn't. #whoknew

I've heard of the Susan Komen Race for the Cure #whohasn't, the Santa Run, the Warrior Dash, and the Color Run, which I will actually be attending in February. That is the one where you wear all white and people throw colored cornstarch at you/on you as you are running past them. #whothinksthisstuffup

Well anyways, this past weekend the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon was in Las Vegas. And yours truly was a medical volunteer with two other people from the VMSN clinic. #seriousfun

They have a full marathon and a half marathon. It is at night. And the neat-o thing about it is they have stages set up every mile with local rock and roll bands playing. Some of the local bands were the Journey Experience, Kissed Alive (Kiss tribute), Drive (Cars tribute), Purple Haze Experience, and Sixtiesmania (Beatles cover).

(Taking pictures was limited because of our location and also because of HIPAA, so these first 7 pictures are from their website.)

How cool is that?? #very

Many people dress up, actually MOST of them do. The Las Vegas edition even promotes Running as Elvis.

They also have a Run Thru Wedding Ceremony! #onlyinLasVegas

The full marathoners start at LV Blvd and Hacienda, run south past Bali Hai, then back up north on The Strip, all through the Downtown area, up MLK Blvd to North Las Vegas, go down Carey then turn around and come back to LV Blvd, back through downtown, back down the Strip and then ending near Caesar's Palace. Whew.

Needless to say there are medical tents at the end. There were multiple tents throughout the race. We were in one of the three finish line tents...our tent saw HUNDREDS of people. Probably about 300 people...in less than 6 hours.

This is our tent and about half of our team.

Runners were hypothermic. Runners were nauseated, crampy, and getting confused from the loss of salt in their system. Runners were collapsing. Lots of vomit, sprains, joint aches, scrapes, cuts, blisters, and other various things.

We had many a male client come in requesting vaseline for...ummm...let's just say friction problems. It was a self application. Definitely a #DIY. That's all I'm going to say about that.

We had a team of about 30 people, and it really was a great time. Lots of work, but I would do it again in a heartbeat!