Sherry didn't get much sleep, as Ro kept waking up stuffy. She figures it was because the rollaway was under the AC vent. To make matters worse, she set her cell phone alarm to wake us up as usual. Unfortunately, she forgot to change the time on the phone when we flew to Melbourne, so we were rudely awakened at 4:20am! She wondered why she felt so awful when she got out of bed, until Mark rolled over and looked at the clock.
When we finally got up at the appropriate time, we sat for a while and gazed out at the city coming to life. Ro was amazed at just how far he walked yesterday. Mark dressed nicely for a change, and we enjoyed one of the better continental breakfasts we've had at a hotel, with decadent pastries, yogurt parfaits, smoked salmon, and honey straight from the comb.
Did I walk all that way, mommy?With Mark off to his first day of conference, Sherry and Ro walked across the Yarra into the City Centre. They boarded the free City Circle Tram, which circles the downtown area while automated announcements offer tidbits of history and suggest tourist stops. They jumped off at Carlton Gardens, adjacent to the Melbourne Museum. While Sherry was purchasing museum tickets, Ro asked the attendant where the dinosaur bones were, and as soon as he answered, "down to the left,” Ro was tugging Sherry along in that direction.
Facing down a Great White
The dinosaur collection was small but impressive. They had a Tarbosaurus, a cousin of Ro's fave Tyrannosaurus, who was alive in Eurasia while T. Rex ruled North America. There were also Pterosaurs (2), a Sauropod, and a Spinosaurus. Ro was in dino heaven! This exhibit led right into the Science and Life Wing, with one of the most impressive insect collections they’d ever seen. Ro was again in creepy-crawly bliss. In addition to the pinned dead insects, there were real life bugs and spiders available for viewing. Ro loved the tarantulas!
Walking With Dinosaurs
The Children’s Gallery had a lot of interactive activities for the kids, and with the three different large school groups that had come from around the city today, Ro was in good company! There was a sand pit with brushes and replica dinosaur bones to “find.” There were funhouse mirrors and a dinosaur dress-up area, where Ro attached seven different tails to his trunk simultaneously and declared himself an armored dinosaur. Sherry thought the best feature was the shaded outdoor children’s garden where kids could jump rope, hula hoop, and clomp around on those Romper Stompers from our childhood.
Mmmm...chocolate
Meanwhile, Mark headed for the cavernous new Melbourne Convention Centre nextdoor to our hotel. It touts itself as the first 6-star energy rated building of its kind, for what that's worth. His first day at the annual scientific assembly of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine featured a keynote speaker he was already very familiar with: Dr. Judith Tintinalli, world-renowned EM guru and Mark's former department chair at UNC. Small world, eh? Mark came up to her before the conference started and pretty much blew her mind. The doctor who introduced her to the audience, after detailing her many accomplishments, mentioned, "and she also published a textbook. Anyone who's not aware of that can now leave the room." The crowd chuckled, for of course, Dr. T is the author of the virtual Bible of EM, Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide. Even the Tauranga ED has 3 or 4 copies! Her speech featured a little taste of home, detailing the research power provided by UNC starting the North Carolina ED Database, which collects data from virtually all the ED's in the state.
Sacked out after a long day
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