Tasmania

Hey!

Things in the lab have been fairly quiet, as school holidays have led to vacations and days off for many. Honestly, I've been enjoying the quiet, as I can blast the heater above my desk and not have to worry about making the lab an unbearable temperature for others (did I mention I packed shorts and tee shirts for my trip? Brisbane's having a record cold spell, so poor planning on my part.). I've been continuing to code videos and enter data as well as work on data analyses for a project using data from a PICU study. I'm comparing distress symptoms from PICU admissions between age groups to come up with the best approach for treating younger vs. older children that will result in the best psychological outcomes. I took advantage of the school holidays, however, and took a long weekend to travel to Tasmania.

My weekend started Wednesday evening, watching the third and final game of the State of Origin series at a friend's house. Naturally, the Maroons (Queensland) won for the seventh year in a row. Since it was also 4th of July, my friends made me some makeshift fireworks (basically just a bunch of sparklers) so that we could all celebrate. Between that and the apple pie we ate, I felt almost at home! Fourth of July is a great holiday so I was sad to miss it, but I am grateful that I was able to spend it with such a wonderful group of people!

Firework Show! (Kinda)

Happy 4th of July!

Thursday I headed down to Tassie to visit with some of my cousins. It was really, REALLY cold, but it's an incredibly beautiful part of Australia! We spent the first day hiking around Cataract Gorge in Launceston. Talk about a picturesque town - I loved it! We even stopped by the Macaque exhibit in the City Park. Yes, there are monkeys in the park (anyone else think that's strange?). The next few days were spent road-tripping around Tasmania. We drove down to Port Arthur and spent the day walking around the beautiful old prison (is it okay to call a prison beautiful? It really was.) and then continued on to Hobart. On our way back, we stopped by the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary and fed a ton of kangaroos. These guys were too cute- they curled up into you if you scratched them under their chins. Precious.

Cataract Gorge in Launceston

Cruising into Port Arthur - just like a criminal.

This is the furthest south I've ever been. Fun!

Port Arthur Penitentiary

Playing with my 'roo pal

How cute?! He was begging for food.

A trip to Tassie would be incomplete
without a Tasmanian devil sighting!!

I'm safely back to sunny Brisbane and am ready to get cracking on all my projects. I can't believe I only have three weeks left of work! The time is passing far too quickly, but I am having an amazing experience.

Oh, and I managed to upload a video of some Aussie birds outside my office. They have the weirdest calls - I hope you enjoy them!
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZeSK7_bnqg&feature=g-upl

These birds are so pretty- and loud!

On that note, cheers!