Thar She Blows!

I love the ocean. and ships. and water in general. Oh, and all things that live below the water and float on top. 

Especially whales.

So when we got the chance to go on a real live whale watching cruise, I jumped at the opportunity. I really don't care that it cost fifty buckaroos per person. I've got plenty of buckaroos to throw around - I make it rain (I hope you all got the reference; also sarcasm)

So we set out this morning to see some whales and take some awesome flicks like this:

While in Perth, we've had the chance to meet up with Duncan and Marina, some family friends who use to live in Ohio but have moved back to Australia to raise their two little girls who are adorbs.

Anywho, back to the whales. Here are some of the best shots - I cannot describe my excitement when we saw the first one. Undescribably thrilled.

Up close and personal

Can you see that spray? That's the whale clearing his air hole. I'm sure there is a technical word for it but I don't know what it is.

More breaching (I think that's the right word) 

We only saw one whale jump in the air and of course, we missed the midair shot. But this is the splash - use your imagination.

Aside from seeing the jump, I was pretty stoked about getting a shot of the whale's tail! Booyah!

Today was absolutely amazing and I have a ton more pictures to post about our day of visiting Little Creatures Brewery, Cottlesloe Beach (I stood in the Indian Ocean!) and then dinner at WA's iconic Kailis fish and chippery. I actually even managed to take some halfway decent pictures of the ocean and some ships so you've got that to look forward to later.

Until tomorrow,

~ Brandi ~

Conferencing it up

As I said yesterday, Hyatt was invited to Perth to speak at the APL/CRC Pork Roadshow. (APL = Australian Pork Limited  CRC = Cooperative Research Center). So today he gave his talk about Lecithin Supplementation and Pork Quality and also about the current economic situation with the US pork industry.

I, being the photog that I am, of course had to snap some pictures of him being important.

He must have said something funny early on.

Talking about the sky high corn prices, ethanol and their effects on the livestock industry in the states.

This evening, we were invited to the Western Australia Pork Producers Association (WAPPA) annual meeting and dinner. As with any agricultural meeting, there's usually good food, good drink and good company. Tonight was no different. It was such a special dinner that we even got to dress up for the event -  I was much more excited about this than Hyatt. So here we are...

I'm wearing the most comfortable heels on the planet, courtesy of bf Vickey :)

I would be remiss if I didn't mention our hosts here in Perth. Dr. Bruce Mullan and the Department of Agriculture and Food in Western Australia have been so kind to Hyatt and I by putting us up for the week. Everyone has been so friendly (like all of the rest of Australia) and has been super keen to show us around. Yesterday we were fortunate to tour the department's farms (pictures to come later) and later in the week we're going to a piggery, a pork meat plant and a feedlot. This weekend, we'll be doing the touristy things around Perth so don't worry, I'll keep you posted with exciting pictures and commentary.

Miss you all - until tomorrow!

~ FroBuzz ~ 



Note to self

Confirm that Visa Verified actually 'verifies' the card used to purchase wife's ticket to Perth. Otherwise, you'll be forced to purchase said ticket approximately 11 hours before the flight leaves and experience severe levels of stress.

Until tomorrow,
~ FroBuzz ~

Packing off to Perth

Hyatt was asked to speak at a swine conference in Perth which is in Western Australia. See visual below.

That may not seem like a long ways but it's actually about 2100 miles - which is almost the equivalent of driving from LA,CA to NY,NY.

We're flying, incidentally.

By the time you read this (depending on when you log on to get caught up on our exciting lives), we'll either be enroute to the airporto or in the air on the way to Perth. Don't worry, the blog will continue to supply you with roughly 3-5 minutes of entertainment while we're gone.

While in Perth we plan to go whale watching (I love whales), visit the Maritime Museum and probably go to Rottnest Island. Pictures will be provided later, duh. We're also going to visit some hog farms and a cattle station to get our ag on while we're there. I'll try to snap a picture of Hyatt while he's being all important and stuff. It should prove to be an exciting trip.

Stay tuned for more exciting FroBuzz adventures!

Until tomorrow,

~ Brandi ~

Victory is Mine!

Not sure if you're aware of this but Hyatt and I are pretty big Scrabble fanatics. You also probably know that Hyatt generally dominates this competition because he is annoyingly smart.
HOWEVER, about once or twice every year I manage to scrape up a win. This year a win occurred on October 2 and I won by 39 points.

Hyatt was pouty. Go figure.

Here he is brooding over his next move after I rocked his world with my first two plays.

And a picture of the board with my BA plays highlighted:

and here is ecstatic me :)

Oh and here is the link to the Family Guy inspired title of this post.

Until tomorrow,
~ Brandi ~

I'm not Canadian

Another installment of YKWRGMG - with a disclaimer first.

I have a handful of Canadian friends. They are all very cool and I think Calgary, Alberta is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. That being said....

I'm not Canadian.

And this week, I've been asked if I'm Canadian several times. At least twice per day.

As I said, I have nothing against Canada or Canadians but I'm an American.

Loud and proud. American.

It REALLY upset me last week when a guy asked me if I was Canadian and then after I replied that I was indeed, American, he told me, "EH, SAME THING."

Uh, no. Not even close.

So, as future advice to those who may encounter international students or guests: It's ok to guess someone's nationality incorrectly but it's not okay to say that their country is the same as your incorrect guess. Rude.

Again, to my Canadian friends who are reading this (cough; Crystal) - Canada was awesome and I really think I could enjoy living in Alberta.

TTFN
~ Brandi ~

p.s. Hyatt told me to tell ya'll (see, I'm American) that he isn't Irish. Apparently, he has been called Irish several times this week. It's an intercultural marriage - Irish and Canadian ;)

More vocabulary lessons

You may remember your first vocab lesson. Well, it's time for the second edition.

Snag - sausage OR Sensitive New Age Guy

Sanger (prononced 'sanga') - a sandwich

Chockers - very full

Squiz - a quick look around; have a look

Durri - cigarette

*this one I can't believe they abbreviate* -- Chrisse - Christmas -

Esky - a cooler

Feral - a hippie

Milk bar - a quickie station; like QuikTrip

Whinge - complain or whine

Rock up - to arrive; "I rocked up to Vic's house for evening tea'

Grog - alcohol; beer

Nut out - to work out an agreement; hash something out

There are so many more - I'll have to post them as I think of them but since we've been at the show this week, these are what are fresh in my mind.  Try to fit them into conversation; I'll bet you get weird looks!

Until tomorrow,
~ Buzzard ~