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Wow! Stuff! Look at the selection! Gaze at the unescalated prices! Wonder at the air conditioning! Darwin's got everything we could ever hope for... point us to the supermarket!
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meet the parents
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It's time to pay tribute to the people who made Kevin possible: his parents, Frank and Susan Beimers.
One way or another, these two manage to squeeze their mugs into our adventures. They're everywhere! Like
the frickin' Kellmans! This time, they had to come all the way to Darwin to be on the site. Let's find
out how Kev's travel bug was genetically implanted!
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When was the last time you two were in Australia? We were last here in 1995 on our Around the World Tour, and before that, we were here in 1982. The last time we were in Darwin was in 1972, when we did a bit of adventuring ourselves... taking a tour up the centre of Australia. Back then, the roads weren't paved, and
you had to pass through restricted military checkpoints.
Where are you travelling to next? We're going to Brisbane next week to visit Lotus & Jarvie, then flying back out to Thunder Bay. Then, we pack up the Jimmy and head down to Southern Ontario for Christmas with Chris. After Christmas, we're off to Mexico again. This is the last year we're going though.
Mom's Top 3 Concerns During Their Visit:
1. Not enough food in fridge
2. Too much food in fridge
3. Jackasses who may have some good points
Dad's Top 3 Concerns:
1. Running out of cigarettes
2. Running out of Bundy Rum
3. Not checking email for two days
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Didn't you say that last year? Uh, yeah. We say it every year. Then it gets cold in Thunder Bay.
What about future travel plans? [Frank] wants to go teach English in Indonesia for three months, and I think when he heads there, [Susan] will be off to Scotland with her schoolchum, Barb.
Don't you guys ever slow down? Hey, we've only got a few years left in us! Travelling is the best way to spend your inheritance!
Here's a video of the man who's spending my inheritance.
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snappy answers... revisited!
Remember the jackass back on Week 2? What a jackass! As you recall, we asked you to come up with
snappy answers to all the dumb things a jackass has to say when you tell him you're going around Australia on a bike. Here
are some of your best...
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"Hey! She's not pedalling in the back!"
She's the receptionist! -John
I find this cuts down on wind resistance. -Shibachu
She don't pedal in the front either! -Sherlock |
"Did you look at a map before you started?"
We're looking at a 1:1 scale map as we go along. -Dan
Did you look in a mirror before you started? -Michael
Nah, we navigate entirely by our sense of smell... -Paul |
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"You're going North? Turn around, mate."
But isn't this the way to 'Thunderdome'? -Jen
I'm a Canadian... its always cooler in the north! -Sherlock
But then I'd be facing you! -Bill |
"It'll be easy going south 'cuz it's downhill."
Funny, it doesn't say that in my Lonely Planet guide. -Ron
Is that how you make trips from hell and back? -Shibachu
I bet you know all about 'going south'! -John |
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"Better you than me."
Aimee agrees. -Michael
Yeah, you probably wouldn't make it. -Sherlock
Better us than anyone! -Dan |
"Sell the bikes and buy a train ticket!"
But then we would not get to meet fascinating local color such as yourself! -Paul
You should sell that shirt and buy...What can you get for 3 cents these days? -Michael
I don't want to be stranded at the nowheresville station like you. -Shibachu |
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"Good luck... you're gonna need it."
I guess so, our luck brought us to you... -Paul
Is that what the doctor said when you were born? -Shibachu
Luck and Vegemite's all we need! -Jen |
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these are the people in our neighbourhood...
Tanya
Last week you met Blue. This week, meet Blue's daughter! Tanya and her husband and kids live up here in the town of
Humpty Doo, so Blue has at least four good reasons to do the drive from Wodonga to Darwin now and then.
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Kelly
We met Kelly back on Week 6 on the Barkly Highway (she gave us beer!), and wouldn't you know
it, we met her at Kmart! Of all the people in Darwin that could have charged up our new pants and snacks, it was her! What
a surprise!
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Reagan
Head honcho of Europcar, Reagan squared away a fine deal with dad on a dual-cab ute. Without him, we would have had to (gulp)
bike back down from Darwin to Mataranka, then back up to Katherine, then toward WA. What a guy! So, next time you're in Darwin, call up
Reagan at Europcar and ask for the Beimers.com discount.
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Ashley & Family
The Cummings family were just about tackled by my dad when they showed up at Sunday's rest area with cold, delicious Coca-Cola.
By Sunday, my parents got a good idea of how welcome an ice cube can actually be in the middle of nowhere. Dad was so thirsty,
he traded a Coke for six cigarettes. Sad, isn't it?
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where's wally wombat?
When a sign says Tennant Creek: 25km, it doesn't mean to the city limits, the police station, or the mayor's house.
Usually, it's the distance to the Post Office! Now that we know that, we can look forward to a jug of milk by 23
or 24 at the most!
This Week's Amazin' Fact: Darwin may look like a fairly modern city, and that's because it is! Though Darwin's
history dates back centuries, almost all of Darwin was destroyed by a cyclone! Back on Christmas Eve, 1974, WHOOSH,
there goes Darwin. Since then, the city has been totally rebuilt, but in a
late-70s motif (yeesh).
Now, answer me this: What do they teach at the School of the Air? Think hard! Okay, bye bye now.
Don't forget to look for Wally this week!
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| Distance this week: 218km | Distance since Day 1: 4029km |
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What is Bikeabout? Click here to find out!
My dad is a bad man.
In 1990, my father quit smoking. But he always knew that if he ever took another puff, he'd be hooked again.
In March of this year, he took that puff. He was right.
Now, he's back up to a PACK A DAY! What a SAD, PATHETIC OLD MAN he is. TWELVE YEARS he was smoke free, and now he's back on
the sticks. And BOY is he EMBARRASSED. What he needs is a message from the world that SMOKING IS BAD.
Help my dad live longer! Click here to tell him to quit!
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happy as larry:
(sl.) a popular simile in Northern Australia, with just about the same level of meaning as "happy as a clam". How happy is
a clam, really? Certainly no happier than Larry, I'd wager.
mall rats
movie man
fix the boo boos
one true love
back in the saddle
kudos to the elderly
all smiles
