I'm now in Albany.

Yesterday, we stayed out at Wave Rock, about a 4-hour drive southeast from Perth. Ya. Wave Rock? It's a rock. And it looks like a wave. Pretty exciting. If you like rocks that look like waves. Not exactly hours of fun.

However, we did get a nice cabin there at the rock for the 4 of us and had a lovely dinner and watched Coyote Ugly, cause it was the only thing on TV. And I taught Jan some new words... "craving" (as in "chocolate craving") and "gag" (as in, certain things make you gag when they touch the back of your throat... um, it was in a magazine we were reading) and "elaborate" (as in, "hey, that was a very elaborate pick-up line"). I also taught him the value of sloughing the dead skin off one's heels. Mike didn't like that lesson so much.

Today, we drove out through the Stirling Range and Porongurup National Park and did a walk there to Castle Rock, which gave us a beautiful view of the surrounding area.

We're staying at a cute hostel here called, appropriately, Albany Backpackers. We just had a lovely free coffee-and-cake social and now Jan and Mike are making Nat and I that beautiful dinner they promised to make us in Perth. I'll let you know how it turns out if they don't kill me with it.

Tonight should be an early night (for once) so that we can get up in time to drive out to Torndirrup National Park and do some walks there, even though the weather is supposed to be a little overcast.

Of course, one never knows what will happen when we give Cathy a little wine... I met up for dinner with Jaap last night and it was so nice to see him again (and really sad to say goodbye, as I won't see him until I visit him in Holland in Spring 2005).

Jaap and I went back to his hostel so that I could see his photos and then we went back to the Witch's Hat to have a few drinks. When they kicked us all out of the common area, the whole hostel staggered over to the local pub for more drinks and some drunken games of pool. They had to kick us out of the pub, too... But not before some local man with a SERIOUS moustache told me he'd been watching my belly button all night and he suggested that I take up belly dancing.

Then, clearly not sure if I understand Australian, he demonstrated what he meant by "belly dancing." Good, thank God. Because if I wasn't sure that I didn't wanna take up belly dancing before, then I'm sure now.