Welcome to my special commentary that I am typing up in "The Outback" Australia. My previous commentary did not get put up before I started my trip so be sure to check it out even though it was a little late.

This commentary will be written over the course of my week in Australia, which is another unique aspect of this commentary. You may also notice pictures within this document that aren't normally here. These are all pictures I took either on my journey here or home, or pictures I took while I was here. I will be working on pages you can view by clicking on these pictures that will tell you what they are and why I included them. They are not prepared just yet so be patient. Please check them out when they are done.

I had pretty good flights all the way here. The fifteen hour flight from L.A. to Melbourne wasn't even that bad. I got about 5 hours sleep on the trip and that helped. It also didn't hurt that I got to watch "Shrek" again on the business class entertainment system. They also had episodes of "Who's Line is It, Anyway" that helped pass the time. Also on the flight I read Robert Crais's "Demolition Angel", it was a great book that I would refer to anyone. On my final flight from Melbourne to Adelaide I read an Australian newspaper and got caught up on some Australian happenings. Maybe I will be able to use it in some conversations.

I have only been at my final location of Adelaide for a few hours now. I really haven't seen much since I've gotten here due to the fact I am trying to recover from my 36 hours worth of travel time. I have seen a little bit of the town on the way to my hotel. I must say the taxi driver was a very pleasant man that really gave me a warm welcome to Australia. HE advised me to check out the Australian Football League game, that is on my TV as I type this, and see how I like their version of Football. After watching this for a bit I realize I still prefer Football Americana but this is very exciting and action packed.

I walked over to a local supermarket next to the hotel to pick up some things to have around to eat. The lady at the checkout was also very nice and helpful as have been everyone I have dealt with here thus far. I am really happy everyone is so helpful and nice.

I am in a room on the 11th floor of the Adelaide Hilton. There is quite a view out of the window. There is a beautiful park in the center of Victoria square as well as a magnificent cathedral beyond that. Both of which are visible from my window. I have also seen some tour buses parked arounf the square that I think I am going to check out before I leave to come home. I am not sure how much it costs or anything else but I really don't care because who knows if I will ever make it back here. I would also like to check out Kangaroo Island before I go. I will have to check out the prices for airplane tickets there and back and make sure it is cool with everyone but hopefully I will get to see it before I go. Stay tuned and maybe I will have more on that.

Well I have survived my first day on the job here in Adelaide. I worked 11 hours so I didn't get to do much aside from work today. I do have good news though, if I get done with my work tomorrow I will get to go sight seeing the final two days, and the company is still going to cover my hotel and transportation!!!!! How cool is that? I just hope I get finished up tomorrow now, and then KANGAROO ISLAND HERE I COME!!!!

Sorry today is so short but hopefully I will have more tomorrow and hopefully it will all be good news....no....great news. See you then.

As I am typing up this part of the commentary I am sitting in the office at the Job site. I have finished with my part of the job, at least for now. They are going to check the alignment of some other components and if they are good (as I am hoping) then I will be done with my part. That means two days of sight seeing and nature watching!

I will definitely be going to Kangaroo Island on Thursday if everything is good here. Hopefully I will also beable to go to another zoo on tomorrow. It is about a half an hour away from here and if the legend holds true then it could be a great little place. It is called McLeon's, and supposedly you get to hold the Koalas and be right next to the Kangaroos, Wallabies, Paltypi, and so on. That will really be great if I can go and even better if all I heard is true. If it is you can be sure to see some great pictures from it scattered around here.

Other than that, the news here is slow. I am starting to miss everyone back home but it is not that long until I get back and I have to enjoy Australia while I am here. I will key in with more info a short bit later after I have heard more about the work around here. See you then!

Well I am still sitting around waiting for them to get the other stuff checked. I have been thinking about everyone back home and about how I miss some of our little fun things.

Mom and I giving each other crap as soon as we see each other. Her saying how I am a little bratty kid still and me telling her how grumpy she always is in her old age. Justin and I out doing the Motorcycle thing despite the fact neither of us have our license to. Ozzy stopping by to talk and us ending up just causing some kind of trouble. Grandma, Grandpa and I hanging out and riding our bad motor scooters all over for creation just for the heck of it. Dad and I sitting around at his house going back ond forth about whether I should have got a Motorcycle or not. Then of course there is Crystal talking about Bobby Labonte with her horrible Italian accent imitation that always ends up with me giving her the good ole Chris Jericho quote, "Would you please, Shut The Hell Up!!!" There is also her always giving me crap about how fake wrestling is while we watch it and then the next thing you know she is sitting there yelling at Stephanie McMahon for being a witch.

I guess sometimes you take for granted some of the little things that make life fun. When they are there you know they are fun but you just don't realize how fun until you are away from them. I am really missing everyone back home and all the little things there right now but I know when I get back they will all be there waiting for me. That is a very good feeling to have.

Well I didn't get to write anymore last night because I went down to Glenelg on the Tram with some of the guys from work and although we didn't get back late I wasn't able to get back to this. Okay I will be honest with you, I was half drunk on THREE BEERS!!! Can you believe that, THREE beers? I guess after cutting back to almost none for the last 7 months my tolerance is next to nothing.

Anyway I am back tonight better than ever (or at least I hope). I went back down to Glenelg tonight and walked around. I bought some souvenirs for my peeps (I have never been able to use that word before) back home. I walked along the ocean a little bit and picked up some seashells for Crystal Mae. Then I capped off the night by watching the sunset on the ocean while feeding the gulls some McDonalds French Fries. (It is kind of hard to imagine that the sun hadn't even risen yet back home and I am watching the sunset) It was a great time. I only wish that I could have shared it with all my family and friends from home. I could have sat there and watched the sunset like that for the rest of my life. If there is a heaven that is what it is. The sun constantly setting on the ocean and you have nothing to do but watch it.

Tomorrow I have a tour of Kangaroo Island scheduled! For around $80 (American) they pick you up at the Hotel then take you to the boat, Ship you across the bay, give you a guided tour of the island, and then take you back ot the hotel. I am very excited and plan to get many more pictures to go along with the ones I took tonight and my first day here.

Then Friday I make my way back home. I am anxious to head home but at the same time I will miss this place. Everyone has been so helpful and kind. Everyone at the plant were so great to work with. They were fun people. This could be one of my last alignment trips and that makes it harder to enjoy going home. Hopefully it won't be the last and I can have more commentaries like this in the future. Keep your fingers crossed for me folks.

I am going to cut away for tonight and start packing up (the absolute worst part of traveling) to go home. I will give you some more info tomorrow night when I return from Kangaroo Island. I can't wait to let all of you know about how great it was.....okay so I will be rubbing it in but...nyah nyah nyah. Ha ha! Later I'm out.

I have just arrived back at the hotel from my Kangaroo Island tour. It was wonderful. I enjoyed all of it and saw a lot of wildlife. Unfortunately there were not many Kangaroos out but I did see a few and I even managed a couple pictures of them as well. Let me tell you more about my tour.

The bus arrived at the Hotel at 6:15 A.M. today to pick us up. We then took two hour journey to the ferry. Along the way the driver pointed out historic places and told us interesting facts about the area. In other words the tour wasn't only for Kangaroo Island but also the trip down there. During this bus ride I saw the first church in the state of South Australia and the first school.

When we arrived at the ferry it ended up being more like a short trip cruise liner. It was very large and very nice. We began our journey across the Backstairs Straight. I stayed in the cabin of the ship for about ten minutes and then went out to forward deck and stood at the very front of the ship for the rest of the journey to watch Kangaroo Island grow closer and closer. The island was much larger than I thought it was by looking at the map. This voyage lasted about fifty minutes and was very nice. The straight was beautiful and the gulls entertained me as we made our way across.

We arrived at Kangaroo Island and got on another tour bus and it was off on an hour long trek to our first stop of the tour. Dick Alword was our driver and tour guide on this bus and he was a very good one. He kept us entertained with jokes and enough information on the Island and its vegetation and wildlife to make our heads spin.

Our first stop was Seal Bay to see...you guessed it, Seals! We were first told how to handle ourselves around the seals and sea lions and how to avoid upsetting their natural behaviours then we were led down to the beach. We didn't even have to get to the beach before we were seeing some sealions that had ventured deeper inland. When we did reach the beach, we were greeted with many Bulls (male sealions), Cows (female sealions), and Pups (young sealions). Many of the pups were playing while the older sealions rested from their trips to the sea. We got to see a few of the Bulls square off in dispute of their territory. This was very interesting and was a great photo opportunity. It is amazing how something so ugly can be so cute.

We then went to a small meeting place where we were provided with lunch. The lunch was very good, it consisted of two courses. The first course was homemade vegetable soup that was very, very good. The second course was pasta salad, cole slaw, some unique potato salad, fresh homemade bread, roasted chicken, beef sausage, and beef-veggie burgers. All of the food was very good and it was all made by the wives of some of the local farmers. It was also all from the Island.

After leaving from lunch it began to rain but that was not going to stop the tour from being fun. We were on our way to Flinders Chase State Park and on the way we were going to stop at a stand of Eucalyptus trees to go Koala viewing. On the way we were informed that the Eucalyptus leaves were actually poisonous and that the Koalas were poisoned every time they ate the leaves (which is constantly) that is why Koalas are always very sluggish and inactive. Well you could tell they were "drunk" off of the Eucalyptus leaves poison. There was one that was sitting in the fork of a tree with his face leaning against the branch. It was quite a funny site. We saw somewhere between 15 and 20 Koalas while were there and despite being half unconscious from the Eucalyptus they were all very cute.

It was then on to a trip through Flinders Chase State Park. We were not stopping at this spot but rather driving through to view the scenery. While here we saw an estimated 1500 year old yakker tree. We also saw what everyone on the tour was wanting to see....some Kangaroos. Since Kangaroos are nocturnal creatures we were not sure if we would see any but luckily we got to see a few. After seeing the Kangaroos I began talking to the person next to me, he was a very nice German named Thomas Munz. We then stuck together the rest of the tour and got to each other well. He was a nice guy and I hope he has the best of luck in the future.

We were then off to Remarkable Rocks, a cluster of granite boulders worn by the weather and sitting on a huge granite dome. From the parking area these rocks did not look all that special but once you got to them you were forced to think "Remarkable". As you walked around the rocks the size amazed you and the natural shaping of the rocks left you in awe. From the granite dome holding the huge boulders you could gaze out over the Southern Ocean. The view was beautiful as was the incredible rock formation.

It was then on to Cape du Couedic Lighthouse and the Admirals Arch. The Lighthouse was a beautiful show of worksmanship of the early 1900's. After viewing the lighthouse you then begin making your descent down to Admirals Arch where the area is a breeding ground for New Zealand Fur Seals. The arch is a natural arch formed by the erosion caused by the sea. While the tide is low the Seals seek shelter in the arch. These seals appear much darker than the Sealions we saw at Seal Bay. The New Zealand Fur Seals put on a nice little show for the spectators as well.

We then headed back to Flinders Chase National Park for a rest stop and souvenir hunting. Then it was time to head back to the ferry. It was about an hour and a half trip to the ferry. On the trip we saw four or five Kangaroos, a few Wallabies, and a Split-tailed Eagle. I stayed awake for the whole ride and soaked up the scenery because it is really beautiful place. Most of the vegetation is the same as it was thousands of years ago.

The rest of the journey back to my hotel was dark so I caught a few z's and then got back to type all of this up. I will definitely be returning to Australia again sometime and when I do I will be going back to Kangaroo Island to take the nocturnal tours so that I may see some penguins, platypus, and more Kangaroos and Wallabies. I would definitely recommend Kangaroo Island to anyone venturing down this way. I thoroughly enjoyed myself the entire tour, I can't wait to return someday.

Tomorrow I will be heading back Stateside to my family and friends. I can't wait to see them but at the same time I hate leaving Australia. I will be back someday even if it takes 20 years I will come back.

Thank you for reading about my trip. I hope you all enjoyed hearing about my stay here in Adelaide, South Australia. I may type up some more on the plane trip tomorrow. If so I will see you then, if not I will be typing the next commentary from home. Thanks again.

I am now on my trip home. I am two hours removed from Melbourne and about 7000 miles away from Los Angeles. We are traveling at 715 mph ground speed. I am very tired but am trying to stay awake a while longer so that I can adjusst to the time at home better. It is nearly 10:00 P.M. at home right now so I will try to go to sleep in about an hour or so and then attempt to sleep the rest of the flight.

I am very excited to be going home. The only things that bothers me is the fact that I already know that my luggage will not be there when I get to St. Louis because for some reason they routed it to Los Angeles then Dallas and finally St. Louis. I don't know why they did this but as long as the airport brings the luggage to me when it comes in, I don't care how they route it. The only real downfall to this is that I will have to wait until the airport brings me the luggage before I can hand out souvenirs to everyone.

Another thing worrying me is trying to get through customs, check-in, and call a taxi all within two hours when I am in Los Angeles. I really don't know if I will be able to make it but I will try. I hate when they schedule your next flight so close to the time of your international flights arrival.

All in all, I am very happy to be heading back home. I have really been messing everybody back there so it will all be good. Plus I am going to be throwing a cookout for Mom's and Crystal's birthdays on Sunday. I won't be home for another 16 to 17 hours and I am getting stir-crazy. I guess I better try getting some sleep.

I have just went back to last night. It is really confusing but I kinda understand what is going on. We have just crossed the International Date line thus putting me back to September 6th where we are at. I am not sure what time it is in this time zone but I do know it is not yet September 7th. If you have made any snese out of this you did it quicker than I did. I also went back into the dark for the second time today. I will be able to have two Friday mornings. Hey it could be worse it could be two Monday mornings. That would be a good reason to end it all. Just Kidding.

I still have about 8 hours to go until Los Angeles this trip seems to be taking much longer than the opposite way but I know that is just because I want to get home. I will be there in a little over 12 hours. Do you know what I am going to do as soon as I get home? C'mon take a stab at guessing my big plans. Well first I am going to wish my parents a Happy Birthday and then I am going to crawl off to bed and sleep for a day! Doesn't that sound exciting? I actually probably won't do that exactly but I do plan on resting.

Now as I sit here in the Boeing 747 that's taking me back to St. Louis on a midnight ride, I can look out the left side of the plane and see a beautiful sunset and then turn to the right and see nothing but pitch black night. Like I said before I am going back to last night again. Actually this is all pretty cool to me, sometimes confusing but cool just the same.

I have still not got to get any sleep so far on this flight and I am not sure if I will by the time it is over. The in-flight entertainment is really good. They are showing "A Knight's Tale" and I have already watched "Along Came a Spider" and they are playing a couple other movies I would like to see, so I will probably end up watching those instead of sleeping. Oh well I will just tough it out and not sleep until I get back home.

Well back I go to watching the movie. I may be back later, see you then.