For our last day in Sydney it rained. Up to this point we had been doing pretty well in the rain department so a day of rain wasn’t too upsetting. We did end up going to a museum that day. We headed over to the Powerhouse Museum. It is a science museum (no surprise there). They had a steam engine display that was down for repairs (only on the day we chose to come of course). They had a great space section. It was interesting because they had information from both the USA and the USSR/Russia. It was very neutral toward both sides. Unlike so much in the US where it is only about the USA. We all agreed that it was a great blending and truthful take on the space race and what both sides contributed to space exploration. They also had a cool hands-on area that focused a lot of electricity. I wasn’t sure how long we were going to spend there when we were reading about it, but we ended up being there for a few hours. Then it was back to our place to change and head out to Bush for dinner. “B” wanted to find a restaurant that served what is called bush tucker food. That means they use local herbs, seasonings, vegetables, meats, etc. in their cooking. She found one place, and so we went there. We ended up having fish, kangaroo, and venison. For dessert the ladies got something that had a fluff and green ants (yes ants) on it. I wasn’t interested in the dessert, so I didn’t have any. “G” and “A” were unsure about it at first but ate it and said I was good. Overall, it was good. “B” says it was her favorite food in Australia. Overall, a good day. (and I got a free all day parking spot a few blocks from our place again so we didn’t have to get out too early the next day).
The next day was a shorter drive day to Australia’s capitol city of Canberra. We have been avoiding tolls on this trip because we weren’t really sure how that was handled with a rental car and didn’t want to find out later with a charge surprise. As a result that meant google would move us off the freeways and onto surface streets at times. For this drive that meant an additional 40 minutes through town. Oh well. We did need to get gas and there happened to be a Costco along that path so that worked out. It was an uneventful drive and we headed straight to Cockington Green Garden.
It had miniature models of different places around the world, like Petra, English villages, mining structures, Masada, and more. It was neat to see, but it got old pretty fast in my opinion. The girls seemed to enjoy it. There was a “find this interesting or odd thing” search that made the time more fun. We were able to easily find all but 2 things without asking a worker to point us in the right direction. After that “B” asked about finding a store she had contacted the other day to buy native plant-based cooking herbs. So, we looked the place up and it happened to be a 5 minute walk (2 minute drive) from the garden we were at. So, we went right over and she was able to find all kinds of seasonings and mixes. She bought stuff for us and for family and friends as gifts. After that we found our place which happened to be in an apartment complex. Then we headed out to dinner and went to a Thai restaurant. When we got to the area of the restaurant we found out that it was pay parking in the area (I am so sick of that), and it was busy. We managed to find a free spot, but the restaurant was super crowded so we ordered to go, then went grocery shopping while it was being made. We headed back to our place and ate. It was ok food, again I think I am not a Thai food person. Then we needed to get laundry done because this was the last place that would have free laundry until our last place in Melbourne. We also needed to get clean. The place was warmed using space heaters as well. Thankfully it wasn’t a big place, so they worked well. BUT trying to run a dryer, washing machine, hot water heater and 3 space heaters was too much for the circuits in the place and two of the 4 circuit breakers in the place tripped. I contacted the Airbnb people and they apologized and offered to have an electrician sent out asap or the next day. I asked where the breakers were and they wrote back saying they were behind a picture in the main room, and I was welcome to reset them if I was comfortable doing it (no issue there). So, I reset them, but they kept tripping with the dryer running, water heater, fridge, 3 space heaters, and then other random things running. Eventually I turned off enough stuff to get dryer finished. I told the Airbnb people what was going on and said they didn’t need to get an electrician out until maybe after we left. I think we just over did the system and there wasn’t a real problem. It was just cold (lows in the 30’s F) and so we needed to run more than the usual Airbnb guest needs.
Up the next day and headed downtown to the Canberra Science and Technology Center. It was a cool place. Once in the first thing that grabbed our attention was a marble and sand thing. You can look up kinetic art tables and see what I am talking about. This one was able 5 or 6 ft in diameter so it was pretty cool to watch. We returned to it many times throughout the day to see what it was currently making. It uses a magnet and steel ball to move the sand around and create designs in the sand. It was quite calming. “B” forgot her phone at the place we were staying and so she used mine during the day. I don’t think my phone has ever had that many pictures on it before in a single day, and maybe not since I got the phone. They had a presentation on color that we went to. The person did a very good job talking about color. I had no real physics issues with anything the guy said. That is pretty rare for me at a science talk at places like this. Typically the person giving a talk says something that is a common misconception or not quite right or only right is specific circumstances and that bugs me as a physics teacher. But this guy did a good job. We ended up spending the entire day there. I had made the mistake parking in the morning and chose the lot that didn’t have all day option, only a 4-hour option, and I had to move the car a couple times to other spots during the day. But did find 1 hour free parking to move to both times so plus there. The science center was neat. They had a cool chemistry area with a periodic table of elements coffee table. I thought that would be a fun thing to have at home. And they also have a very good wall display of the elements with sample things in it that use the element. There is a very similar thing at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry that both “B” and I remember, but that one hasn’t been updated since the 1970s so this one was a very refreshing and new version.
After that we headed to the Pod Playground at the arboretum. This had structures shaped like acorns as the design of the playground. It was neat to see, but the girls thought it was lacking overall. They did have fun running and playing while there, but once they were done there was no desire to go back. Oh and it was cold! Well below 45F while we were there. I was glad to get home afterwards. Girls had microwave smores again after dinner and got it all over themselves.