Day 271: Our Passport to Jamaica

It was like pulling teeth to get everyone together in one spot for NYE. There was simply too much fun to be had. This was going to be our only NYE here in Melbourne so we had to do it big. We got our tickets for Passport to Jamaica hosted by club Alumbra in the Docklands. With several live performers, Reggae bands, and DJ's spinning HipHop and R&B, what more could we ask for??? Oh wait, $50 bottles, SHUT UR FACE!! I'll be honest and say I don't remember too much of the night. Seeing the pictures the next day had me in tears.....The things Diana has to put up with! And who the heck let me climb on stage, and continue dancing? BTW I'm not a very good dancer after a few too many. 2 step = 3 stumble. All that means is we had a great time while we were there. There were two fire works shows, and our water front location meant we had front row seats. They didn't disappoint either. 


We were really torn on coming here in the days prior. Melbourne has been extremely hot and dry, so the city proposed a "no fire day" to protect from bush fires and the like. So the $26 million, already purchased fireworks display was in Jeopardy or being shut down!! If there were no fireworks, we could have chosen a different location to party it up. We took the risk and damn did it pay off. Honestly, sans fireworks, we would have been completely satisfied with our choice of venue. Good riddance 2011, Bring on 2012 baybayyy 

Day 270: Madam Brussels

View from the Rooftop onto Melbourne CBD

View onto the lower Rooftop deck

Sliced Cucumbers, limes, Ginger beer and some other goodness....see what they're doing here!!

We met up with a couple friends today to catch up after a long absence. We joined Rachel, Stephanie, and Victor at Madam Brussels to enjoy the late afternoon over a few summer-perfect cocktails. This  place is very quirky and definitely full of personality. Its off-beat, slightly hipster feel adds to the chill atmosphere. Finishings like plush turf inside the bar area, and park benches indoors adds to the comedy.  I will admit though, I took a shoe off to rub my foot on the fake grass. Squish. There's nothing funny about the drinks. They serve up some serious bev, unique to this place. I would definitely add this to the list of places to come during your stay in Melbourne. As you can see, everyone sits fairly close to each other which makes it easy to meet new people. 99% of Melbourne is friendly so full on conversations with a stranger is not uncommon. We closed out the night at New Guernica, 2-4-1 $10 mixed drinks and $15 pitchers of Sangria....C'mon man...FUNKKK THAT!!!!   

Day 268: BBQ with The James'

Black Swans tried to run our steaks!! They had the nerve to walk up to the table and hiss @ us!

Albert Park

Albert Park

Albert Park

It is conveniences like these that make me rethink coming home. Free for public use grill stations and fully covered pavilions with plenty of seating, overlooking a Palm tree lined lake in the middle of the city! Oh, and you can drinky drink. It was a little last minute, but the weather was just to nice to let go to waste. I am fond of couch time, but this is obviously a better way to spend the afternoon/evening. Since we had all of this food, we gave a shout to Reggie and his wife. They joined us at the park and the rest is steak, corn, and potato salad history. 

Day 269: Shopped Up An Appetite

Funny thing happened. We didn't do Christmas gifts, since we wanted to save money for upcoming trips. However, we booked our tickets for NYE and I needed clothes since everything I own fits like a moo moo. Diana also wanted to grab some clothes since she had not brought many summer clothes and hasn't really shopped this entire year. So much for saving a little cash...


I'm not cheap, but I don't like spending money. And I don't like spending money because I'm damn good at saving it. ( I just started a sentence with AND!! Where's my H.S. eng teacher? ) We shopped till we dropped and both of us were 100% successful. BTW, we got our first pair of Ray Ban's. Years past, I couldn't justify the costs, but the sales girl was overly eager and gave us extra lenses, cleaning products, tool thingys, and over $100 bucks off...Yes please, I'll take two lol.  


After shopping we found a new (to us) Korean spot on Swanston St. We had built up an appetite and I needed to keep the wife sane. We window shopped an early dinner spot and got our eat on. What a great choice. I forgot how much I love love love Korean fried chicken yumm! I did order something ethnic off the menu, so please don't fault me. But c'mon, K.F. Chicken...it had to be done! 

Day 267: Coquito Music

IT'S THAT COQUITO MUZIC BAYY BAYY!!!

We spent the last morning in Rye and arrived back to Melbourne in the evening. I was messing around with Garage band and downloading new beats when we got a call from Elom & Yve. They had some time before heading to a wedding and would be stopping by. I told him that I had the studio up and he was ready to get to recording. If you don't know, let me remind you. We've had many a guest come by and get trapped for hours recording silly songs on garage band, it just sucks you in. I told Elom, you guys have to get on the road soon, so don't take it too seriously or you'll be here all night....but then that Coquito kicked in and it was a wrap. 3hrs Later and writing was complete. That Coquito MUZIC was being mixed down, uploaded to itunes, and burned to CD! 

When you learn how to use garage band, I swear its just as much fun as playing Rockband (insert the mini TM here). I told our guest to make sure they called me when they got to their destination, since they had such a late departure. Elom called the next morning and said they got caught up bumping our track on repeat the whole drive there (exaggerating, but thats how I took it..hehe). Lesson learned: Book an extra day when you come to Melbourne so we can play! Hahaha so ridic, but so much fun.   

Day 266: Fish and Chip-Shots

This is what it looked like once the tide lowered, but you can still see how high the waves are coming in, in the background. These rocks were no joke either. I wasn't tryin' to become Shark bait. Yes, there are shark in these waters!!

Angie holding that rifle like a true soldier! She hit ever shot, except for the last. However, she had already won the biggest prize they had to offer. The "Carni" had given her an extra shot....it didn't matter though, she still walked away with a big azz teddy.

Becca was getting it in too. When the world comes to an end in 2012, I know who's on the security detail!

See what I did there?! Fish & chips, but its chip shots with a gun, not taters...get it? So clever I am... Alright I'm done. 

Moving on. Its the day after Christmas and we're on chill mode. The day started out overcast, and as beautiful as the Ocean side beach was, a re-visit was in order. The last time I tried to enter a beach cave I nearly drowned. It was almost the same series of events. Fortunate for us as we arrived the tide started to retreat. The sky was still a little ugly but we decided to get some decompression time in. After an hour or so of laying out the tide was much lower. The clouds cleared from the sky, and the sun was at its peak. Michel began to prepare his fishing gear, scrapping various sea creatures from the rocks to use as bait. I really wanted to try some clams and things raw, but I couldn't muster my inner Bear Grylls. I wasn't quite confident enough to venture into the sea and fish off the ledge, so Michel started off alone braving 5ft + swells less than 15 feet away!!! I waited about 20min's more to allow the tide to lower some more, then I walked out to fish with him. Shortly there after Becca, Angie and O.J. joined us. Diana....still asleep on the beach....

The carnival had some decent rides. There were honestly about 5 rides I would have stuffed my grown azz in and dragged Diana along with me...I left the wallet at home, fail. I know...It was fun anyway. What a great way to end Christmas weekend. Rye, don't forget the Long's. We'll be back!!

Day 265: Merry Christmas!

Rye Beach

I think Diana was just tryin to kick me!

ROSS SAYS: Got your tickets to the gun show??

The Beach on Christmas....(drops the mic and walks away)

It was perfect. White sand, blue water, and the Ipod on shuffle. The breeze was just enough to ease the burn of the sun. The chill of the water, a perfect relief from imminent heat stroke, although the twig and berries may have disagreed. In any case we were up to our same ole shenanigans, doing jump-shots, swimming, and talkin' ish. The Marie's have been such great hosts. We've felt like family since walking through the door of mom's (Amy) house. There was no extravagant gift exchange and awkward family dinner with extended family. It was just us and the folks, and we couldn't have asked for it any other way. After the beach we headed home to grill and relax some more. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!