I love your new pictures and guess what? you will be home in two days!!!! I am so excited for you and cannot wait to see you!!!!! safe travels and I will talk to you soon!!!!!

I hope that you have had the time of your life over there. I talked to Big Bro last night and he said Philip loved Australia and wants to do more traveling, just to other countries. Maybe the two of you should travel together... Miss ya lots... See you when you get back to the States!!

Hey Sara - its so exciting to read about your travels - I am so jealous cuz I want to do that - I am also jealous cuz I am back here and you are still having fun. Can't wait to see you, when will I get to see you!!!!
smiles :)

Hey Sara,
Philip is now in Melbourne. He arrived on Wednesday the 21st of June and spent the day learning about Melbourne and cricket and "Aussie Rules" football amongst other things. He is at the Melbourne Museum today and will go to an opal establishment to learn about those and then he'll eat at Hard Rock Cafe (how's that for culture??!!) He's super excited about tomorrow (the 23rd of June) because they spend the day on Phillip's Island and get to see the smallest penguins in the world and do all sorts of team outdoor adventure activities. Then he's off to Ballarat and Wangaratta before they end up at the Capital Territory, Canberra where he'll get a tour of the Old Parliament House and also the National Science and Technology Centre Questacon. After that it's off to a Farm Stay for a few days to learn about local farming. To wind up his trip he'll go to Sydney, Cairns (snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef), Undara (rainforest) back to Cairns to interact with the Aboriginals. Then it's back to the US for him. I really hoped we could have worked it out so the two of you could have met up but it's hard with both busy schedules to plan something. Have a safe trip back. I remain now as I always was your oldest and way coolest big brother.

Have fun and travel safe. See you when you get back.

SO SO SAD!!! reading your journals from the last few days makes me sad. I know you were sad to leave cuz you had such a goooood time. It reminds me of when I left Lincoln. But I am super pumped to see you. I hope the travels are going well!!!!

I am so proud of you Sara!!!!! I haven't looked at your site in a while cuz I was so busy at the end of my time in England and I also wasn't working on my journals. I didn't do any for the last two months. I am so proud of you that you have kept them up, I wish I had. The last month was my favorite and even if I tried to do the journals now I would miss so much!!!! One of these days when I am not so busy I will catch up with all of yours!!! Wow that seems so long ago when I would write journals, I kind of miss it!!!!

I am still trying to catch up to Uncle Duane and Auntie Mary with my posts to the message board. Not much time left. Hope all is well.

Now that Uncle Duane and Auntie Jan are back from their trip, it is time to start outdoing Uncle Duane in the number of posts. Sara, Mom will send you a picture of the 2 dozen roses we got her for Mothers day. It was very nice of you to do that. She shared her roses with the girls at work so they all could enjoy them. I know you wanted to send her flowers from Australia, but like I told you, I did not think they would survive the trip very well. When you bring me my Hot Aussie, I will let you know whether or not you owe me for the flowers (hehehehe!!!)

Monday, May 08; HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAN! We made it home!. Only 220 miles with a lunch stop at Cecils in Highland (St. Paul), our favorite deli. We also had to stop at Jans brothers house in Long Lake to deliver a first communion gift for Jans neice. We drove a total of 2687 miles on this trip, used almost 100 gallons of gas at an average price of around $2.70 for a total cost of about $270.00. Our average speed was 54 mph and average milage was 27 mpg. That will be all from us vagabonds (arent you glad?) Sara, let me know if someone else tries to claim the title of master poster Duane & Jan

May 07; We drove 426 miles. Finally saw a Culvers at the right time and had our Sunday Dinner in Janesville, WI. We took a little side trip to the Mustard Museum at Mt. Horeb and picked up some condiments ($85.00 worth) and found Pat's B&B in Eau Claire, we had drinks on the deck, Darrell & I sipped Jack Daniel's and we all ate Sloppy Joes or whatever else you care to call them. We averaged 30.4 mpg today, had a tailwind and drove a more leisurely pace. That's the best mpg day we have had. Duane & Jan

May 6th. We drove 454 miles today. A long day made longer because of a not-so-early start. Those margarita's were great last night and the live entertainment at our Cinco De Mayo Fiesta was so much fun (too bad I couldn't understand what she was singing to or about me.) Today, it was mostly just driving with a short sightseeing excursion across the Kentucky Dam near Paducah KY. The Kentucky Dam was one of the largest dams of the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) era. It makes Kentucky Lake out of the Tennessee River, go figure. We're in Bloomington, IL tonight and on our way to Pat's B&B in Eau Claire WI tomorrow, that's Jan's sister and I don't think she has a Wi-Fi Hotspot, so you may not hear from us till we get home on Monday. Duane & Jan