Australia/ Frogs/ Conserving Water - ALL Good Things

It's 11:16 P.M. here at home and I'm tired and really ready to pack things in and get some sleep. It's been a great Father's Day weekend for me and I have enjoyed my special day as well as enjoyed thinking back on my father and all that he has meant to me. He would have loved going on this trip to Australia. He would have loved all the great food and the great wine, too.

It's from both my mother and my father that I learned to be so experamentative. That's not an accepted word but I like how it looks and even better how it sounds and rings true in my ears. What can I do? I want to have my own sound as I write and as you read even if it bucks the norm. Both my parents would have loved this trip ; each picking up on different things to bring to my attention. My mother would have been more vocal about it in her lengthy descriptions. My father would simply have plopped us down into situations that he thought we might enjoy.

Anyway, I want to include just a small " wee " entry tonight. I looking through my photos of my trip I came across this one and I thought it would be nice to share with you all. It's a poster that was up in the tasting room of West Cape Howe winery in Denmark, the most southern end of western Australia. It's about water conservation and it has a beautiful frog in it, too. I think we here have to be better at our own conservation of water. Also, with the recent frog and toad exhibit at the National Geographic ( that many of you have been talking about ) and the ZOOFARI to raise awareness for the worldwide plight of frogs I thought I should include this photo tonight. My daughter and I went to the ZOOFARI event at the National Zoo recently and had a great time.

All through my trip I noticed the fact that in Australia people are trying to conserve and manage their resources better like water. I was impressed. It really hit a chord with me. I'm glad I have this photo to share with you all. Cheers and here's to all of us working a little bit harder to help our world and the environment in which we live and want our children and grandchildren to live in, too. TONY

GIBSON, Barossa, LONGVIEW, Adelaide Hills, PICCARDY, Pemberton, WEST CAPE HOWE, west. Australia : Anthony Quinn's Aussie Trip Feb. 7th-21st, 2008

Finally! I've been wanting to find this format for all my Aussie pictures, stories and vignettes that I acquired during these two fabulous weeks I spent in the company of Chris Pigott and with the host of about eight or so wine makers / owners during their summer in Australia. We visited just a few Australian wineries while there. The focus the entire time was wine. However it was obviously much more than that. Australia came into focus for me and was no longer just a caricature : the people and the places came alive for me completely and it was a wonder to see all these people that had visited my store and tasted their wines with my customers. I finally got to see them in their own settings and that was priceless. Chris and I visited, starting in Perth, western Australia Talijancich Winery ( Swan Valley, western Australia just south of Perth ), West Cape Howe ( Denmark, western Australia, most southern tip ) , Picardy Winery ( Pemberton, western Australia ), Hay Shed Winery ( Margaret River, western Australia ), Gibson & Loose Ends Winery ( Barossa, south Australia ) and Longview Winery ( Adelaide, south Australia ). We finished our stay in Sydney's the Rocks at the Lord Nelson Brewery/Pub. What a trip! Here are a few pictures to get us started.
It's been so long and I've been worried that I would begin to forget all my marvelous recollections. Funny, seeing the pictures is helping to bring them all back front and center to me. This will be like a story chopped up into bits as I type them here and add pictures. You will be reading it as I type and that might be confusing at times. Try and go to the beginning and read backwards if you can. Enjoy. I know I will. These images all appear from back to front : i.e. : I started this trip in Perth, western Australia. These pictures , however appear from Sydney at the Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel with owner Blair, the young brew master and Chris Pigott. Sorry! I will get better at this. I need to plan more. Yet in my enthusiasm to rush forward to get started I just throw myself into it and learn as I go along. I hope these pictures start to convey the wonderful experience that Chris and I had in Australia. Names and places and more descriptions will follow. This is just to get you hooked now so that you read more! TONY