They had three ships open for visiting. It was neat for me because these were the first ships still in service that I've ever been on. I kept being surprised that it was the Australian Navy. I don't know why I was--I guess I was having a blonde moment. Also? The Navy personnel were so young! They barely looked old enough to drive.
Just as we entered the gates it started sprinkling a little bit. We thought that was ok. We had brought our umbrellas after all. By the time we reached the first ship, a carrier ship of some sort, it was pouring rain. And continue to pour during our entire visit. Mom saw water coming up out of the gutters on our walk home, and our shoes were completely soaked.
We also walked through one of the long-range escort ships. It is capable of air defense, warfare, surveillance, and reconnaissance. It was weird to be walking right by missile launchers. There were a lot of servicewomen presenting on the ship, though I can't imagine that women actually make up 50% of the service. My favorite presentation was the young man wearing shades who is security on the ship who was demonstrating how various guns work. (Don't worry the guns lacks ammunition and were chained to a table). He was quick to point out how one gun was exactly like one of the ones used in the Terminator movies--needless to say he was very popular with the boy visitors.
It was raining so much that we gave up on the third ship and just headed home. We used our soaked clothes and shoes as an excuse to stay inside all day and read. :)
Monday, October 26, was still rainy but not the torrential downpour of Sunday. We decided to visit the Australian Museum, specifically the Egyptian exhibit and the rocks. It was one of the best Egyptian exhibits I've been to--not because it featured a famous pharaoh's tomb or lots of gold treasure (it didn't), but because it had lots of context for each piece it displayed. Too many museums just stop at the date, name, and material for describing a piece. This one had much more. For instance on one tombstone they explained each scene, even listing off the food stuffs that were depicted (duck, bread, etc.)
Since my mom loves rocks, and I'm dating someone who's also fascinated by them [And who might that be? Also? No pictures of the rocks. Sad. - Jon], we went to see the rocks and minerals permanent exhibit at the museum. They really have a huge collection. It covers nearly an entire floor. Mom told me the names of lots of the rocks, but I was all, "ooh! This one is sparkly!" and, "Look how green that one is!" Even though I don't know so much about minerals or rocks anymore, I loved looking at all the crystals and the vivid colors. There was rhodochrosite, a red rock that my parents also find in Colorado sometimes, malachite, a really, really green rock, amethyst, lots and lots of quartz, and, of course, tons of other minerals, too. The displays at the beginning did a good job of explaining how different rocks are formed, but we went through the exhibit backwards to avoid people so I didn't see them until the end. I did learn that rubies and sapphires come from the same mineral, corundum. Someone had donated a very extensive collection of minerals to the museum and those were all display, too. Thanks to my mom there were regular visits to rock shops and Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art over the years, so I've seen a lot of rocks. The ones at the Australian museum are quite impressive.
We swung by the birds exhibit, but then we were museumed-out, and headed home. It is worth mentioning that the cafeteria had gluten-free muffins, and they both looked and tasted good. I had an almond-raspberry one. It was pretty fluffy, very tasty, and not gritty at all. I might go back just to buy another one.
Please write another blog post. :) Your readers are awaiting the next installment. xos, Debby