Sydney then Home

Just as it's mandatory to see the Great Barrier Reef when visiting Australia, you have to see the Sydney Opera House. Since time was so short, the only way to pull this off was to get a window seat on the flight from Cairns to Sydney and Sydney to L.A. The first I'd managed, but I was on the aisle for the L.A. leg.

When I boarded the plane, a group of older Asian people had already staked out a group of seats. When I said that a they'd put a woman in my seat, the man in charge of their group quickly pointed to an aisle seat they were willing to give me.

I stood firm, but polite. I wanted my window seat. They dug the old lady out of the seat while I patiently waited. When she finally got out into the aisle, she actually hit me. I was more startled than anything and stumbled back a step, but I got my window seat. It was worth the hassle because look...














...I was just able to get a picture of the Opera House. Whoo hoo!

As we were coming in for a landing, the plane suddenly banked to right and went into a sharp climb. The Captain came over the PA and announced that they'd gotten a warning that we were in the flight path of another jet and to fly away. So we flew away. As we circled around for a second attempt, I could see the second jet. I was glad that we flew away.

Once we were on the ground, I found myself in awe of the airport. Their duty free area is massive. And very shiny.














I'm such a tourist...














I bought some more batteries for my camera then headed to my gate where I had a very short wait before boarding.

I had resigned myself to he aisle and even convinced myself that it wouldn't be that bad. I'd have extra leg room. The couple who were in the row with me finally boarded and asked if I'd be willing to take the window seat. How good is God? I eagerly agreed and we all settled in for the fourteen hour flight.

I didn't get much sleep. Too many movies to watch. But I did manage to doze every now and again. Before I knew it, we were back in Los Angeles. Honestly, I was happy to come home. Until I saw this in the terminal...














I totally got yelled at for taking this shot. No sooner had I taken the photo than some guy came over the PA warning against taking pictures in the terminal. Seriously, what is that about? Is there some secret code in the white paint that can't get out? It wasn't the best welcome, but oh well. I concentrated on happier things; like the fact that my BBQ Sauce made it through customs.

And just like that, the trip was over.

Next up, Gothenburg, Sweden in 2010!

It's Dive Tiiimmme...

At long last, we were ready to head out to the Great Barrier Reef. The shuttle from Deep Sea Divers Den picked us up at the resort bright and early. After a brief stop at their dive store to handle final details, we were taken to the Marina to board the Sea Quest.

If you've ever been to Catalina from Los Angeles, then you know the kind of boat we took out to the Reef. I was a little concerned because there were a lot of people and not a bed to be found anywhere. The next thing I found strange was the request that everyone go barefoot while on the boat. I was a little squeamish at first, but soon got used to it.

After about an hour, we dropped anchor and prepared for our first dive. On the ride out, we'd been given briefing based on your level of diving experience. Both Jenni and I are certified, but I hadn't been out since my class. I chose to do a brief test instead of going guided for our first dive.

Putting on the equipment was an adventure by itself, but finally we were ready for our first dive. Jenni had her camera, but I chose to leave mine onboard. I wanted to get used to diving again before taking extra stuff out. Good thing I did, too.

Diving is supposed to be fun as the equipment does everything for you. Except, I'm really buoyant. That turned diving into a lot of work for me because I didn't have enough weight on top of being nervous.

Having recently returned from a dive trip in Honduras, Jenni had her camera and was ready to explore. Here's some of what she saw:















































Yes, that's me floundering around. I know you can do major damage to the reef if you touch the wrong thing. It can also do major damage to you. With that in mind, I needed to get control before I dared get close to anything. So I didn't really see too much of anything during that first dive. I was too busy trying to stay under. I found that I could if just kept moving. Except Jenni was stopping every few feet to explore.

To make matters worse, the more you breathe, the lighter your tank gets. By the time I reached the half tank mark, I was heading straight to the surface. I got myself slowed so my head was just underwater, but I couldn't get back down. And then I remembered good ole synchro! When you're upside down doing a figure, you hold your height by doing a support scull. Thanks to the decision to not bring my camera on this dive, my hands were free and I was able to support scull myself back down to Jenni.

Once I was deep enough, the water pressure helped me stay under, but I had to really watch my level. And then the photographer swam up. She beckoned me over and gestured for me to hold a tiny corner of the reef so she could take my picture. By that point, I had very little control. The last thing I wanted to do was crash into the reef so I declined. I don't think she understood exactly how much control I didn't have because she kept trying to get me over there. Finally, Jenni took my place instead.














Yeah. That's me in the background flailing around. See the tiny corner Jenni is holding? There was no way I wasn't heading right back to the surface if I tried to hold on to that little piece of rock.

Jenni got a photo shoot while I was concentrating on getting out of this alive.



















Jenni took pity on me and held me under while the photographer got us both.



















By this time, our air was getting low. Mine, more than hers because I was working so freaking hard. We headed back to the boat.

I happily shucked the dive gear and settled in for a much safer activity. Lunch.

They allowed us to eat out on the bow which was the best part of the day thus far. Once they got everybody back on board, we moved to our second dive location.

Jenni and I talked over my difficulties and she agreed to swim faster so it would be easier for me to stay under. It worked, too. Until I'd breathed half my tank again. Alas, I went right to the surface. This time I scared Jenni half to death because she'd literally just turned her back on me for a second before I floated off. When she turned around, I was gone.

I was waving at her trying to get her to look up, but she kept looking around. Getting more frantic by the second. Finally, I did my support scull thing again and dropped in behind her almost as if I'd never left. She was a little startled at my sudden reappearance. I pointed to where I'd been and we swam off.

We ran into the second photographer. Feeling braver and because Jenni held me under, we posed for another picture. I even took the regulator out to smile.













When we got back to the boat I told her if she ever loses me to just look up. We also figured out that the swimming faster wasn't working because she couldn't keep up with me. And it's not ideal because you don't get to see as much which is kinda the point of diving.

After that second dive, I was exhausted. Can you tell?



















A short time later, we docked with the Ocean Quest which was the boat where we'd be spending the night and climbed aboard. We were due for our next dive in about an hour, but I was more than willing to sit that one out. Jenni agreed. Besides, we had a night dive coming up after dinner. A short rest was welcome.

My courage was back. I was eager to try the night dive. But got a bit nervous during the predive briefing and wanted to go guided on that dive. I think it was all that talk of sharks that did it. They told us that we could shine our torches on any fish we saw and the sharks who were following us would dart between our legs and eat it. Nice, huh?

Oh yeah...and the other divers on the boat thought it would be a great idea to toss rolls off the stern of the boat to feed the fish. Three or four sharks were a part of that frenzy. It was surprising that no one seemed concerned that we were about to jump in the water right where they were luring the sharks.

Fortunately, Jenni and I were in the last group to dive in so hopefully the sharks were full by then. Or maybe just scared off.

During the dive, the guide had to finish testing a woman - she was on the trip with her twin who works up the street from me at Disney- for her advanced certification so the rest of us were asked to kneel on the bottom and wait for them.

You know all about my previous difficulties, so needless to say this was much easier said than done. Because I had a torch in my hand, I couldn't support scull. I couldn't drop the torch because then I couldn't see where I was going. Jenni saved me. She grabbed my fin and pulled me to the bottom and held me down.

The instructor and student soon returned and the group was off. By this time, I'm sure you know what's coming. My tank hit the half full point and you know where I was headed. That's right. The surface.

As I said before, sculling wasn't an option on this dive. I thought about dropping the torch, but then I wouldn't know if I was directly above the coral or not. I decided not to chance it and just stayed on the surface. The rest of the group was about 20 feet below me and I could just make out flashes of their torches. It was just enough to follow.

I really had to fight to keep my wits. Oh yeah and there was a lot of praying involved. Here I was all alone in the middle of the Pacific Ocean at night. I couldn't see the boat. I could just barely make out the other divers. And I knew there were sharks nearby. Yeah. I was slightly terrified. But I just kept swimming.

At long last I ran into the boat's mooring line. I just hung out there until everybody else surfaced. The guide actually had the nerve to look annoyed that I was on the surface. "What? You couldn't come back down?" Of course I could. I just decided not to because I wanted to keep the sharks company.

After that dive, I was nearly in tears as I shucked the gear. I was trying to figure out how to tell Jenni that I was done since she'd have to find a new partner for the rest of the dives. At that point, I was ready to never dive again. EVER! One of the other crew members, Peter, teased me out of my funk, but I was still determined to give up diving for the rest of my life.

After a shower, I started feeling better and we explored the boat bit more. There was a lot of interesting art onboard.




















































Seriously. It was dead when we found it.















These are our funny crew guys. Peter is on the left. He was hysterical.

As you can see by the smile above, I was getting over the horrible night dive. By the next morning I was willing to give it one more go. Jenni and I signed up for the 5:50a wake up call. After a restful night sleep, I had calmed quite a bit.

The next morning, Peter went door to door for the wake up call. We were in a front state room and heard him coming. The first couple of doors, he was okay. By the third door, we could tell he'd gotten bored. The wake up call got worse and worse as he made his way down the hall. The poor guy sounded like he was dying. By the time he got to our door, Jenni and I were cracking up.

He asked, "Are you laughing at me?"

We answered in unison, "Yes!"

"Why?"

"That lame wake up call."

"Well what do you want me to do?"

"A song and dance would be nice."

Then he started singing! But it wasn't a peppy song. He sang a ballad that would put anybody back to sleep. By this time, Jenni and I were dying laughing. We let him off the hook and he finally moved on, but he called us Trouble the rest of the trip.

I was ready to get down to the business of diving. Jenni suggested that I get more weights. Since things were a lot less chaotic with fewer people trying to get in the water it was easier to get to the equipment. We jumped in and I sunk like a rock. Finally!

I actually enjoyed this dive. The weights were a bit heavy, but I used a canoe scull to guide me a little and I was just fine. I finally got to explore the Reef.



















I was even confident enough to take pictures like the one below.














I saw a shark...














...who swam away as we got close and a sea turtle...














...who was just waking up that morning and giant clams...














...that looked more dangerous than the sharks.

We did one more dive that morning then sat out the final dive. Since I'm especially buoyant in salt water, I decided to use it to my advantage. While the others went out on the last dive, I had Jenni take a picture of me doing an eggbeater in the ocean.

Look, Laurette! My shoulders are dry!



















And check out this ballet leg. I gotta get my shoulders back, but the toe of my non ballet leg is dry. Not too bad for being in the choppy water of the Pacific Ocean.














All too soon, we transferred back to the Sea Quest to head back to Cairns. I didn't notice until the end, but the crew sticks with the passengers on the overnight dive so Peter and gang were with us from beginning to end. When we got back to the city, he had the honor of driving us back to the resort.

He teased us about owing him for the tune and we said he needed to pay us for listening. He was racking up quite a bill 'cause we charged him every time he broke into song which he did pretty often.

The trip was coming to a close. I headed for the airport at 4:30 the next morning and Jenni left about 45 minutes behind me. My Australian adventure was nearly over.

Off to Cairns

So it's like illegal to go all the way to Australia and NOT visit the Great Barrier Reef. Well, maybe not illegal, but it should be. Especially if you're a SCUBA diver. Which Jenni and I are. Even though there is perfectly good diving in Perth, the two of us were bound and determined to dive the Reef, one way or another. Thanks to Vickie, Jenni's amazing mother, we got our wish.

Vickie, a whiz with travel arrangements, found a travel agent in Cairns (pronounced "cans") who could put our trip together. Joel from Dive The Reef set us up with an overnight boat trip out to the reef that included 7 dives with all equipment provided. This was an amazing deal. He even set up our overnight accommodations in Cairns.

We flew out of Perth shortly after midnight on Friday. We changed planes in Brisbane then on to Cairns. On the plane to Cairns, I ended up sitting next to a cute guy who just happened to be from the same rural county in Ohio I'm from. Talk about a small world! We chatted about high school and the changes back home. He told me he was in Australia for a semester abroad as part of his degree in International Business. I told him about the meet. All too soon, we were landing in Cairns.

Jenni and I collected our luggage and tried to figure out how to get to the resort where we were to stay in town. It took some doing, but we finally caught our shuttle and headed off to the hotel. Perth had certainly spoiled me. Cairns was a bit more run down than Perth. I put it down to the tropical climate which has to be much harder on buildings than more moderate temperatures and humidity.

The resort was more Youth Hostel than hotel and had the rules to drive the point home. No food in the rooms. Strange because we had a refrigerator in ours. No pillows or sleeping bags in the room. I was still puzzling over this one a couple days later. And even though we had a private room, we didn't have a bathroom. The community toilet was next door and the community shower was across the hall. It took me all of five minutes to decide that I am way too old for this stuff. But, I could deal for a night.

After we got settled, Jenni and I headed out on the town to find food and explore Cairns a bit. Armed with a map, we hopped on the shuttle and headed downtown to see what we could see. Because it was ANZAC day, the streets were pretty much deserted as were the restaurants.

Still we saw our first restaurant that served authentic Australia cuisine. Here's a picture of the menu they had in the window. If you click on it, it'll enlarge so you can see some of their delicacies.














We saw a confusing street sign...














...and sang with the Blues Brothers...


















...then headed to a little marketplace where most of the shops were closed for the holiday and the ones that were open charged an extra 10% as a holiday fee. I had my first self serve Chinese Food, Jenni got the noodles she'd been craving and we chowed down before walking out to the shore.

This was the coolest part of Cairns was the oceanside pool. Here's a video.


It was maybe 4 feet deep total, but it was fairly large. We sat on a low wall that bordered the beach and watched people swim. I swear one little girl is synchro swimmer in the making. She was having the best time doing handstands and flips all by herself.

As for the ocean...it was kinda missing at the time.















Some seagulls with no sea.















Jenni and I at the missing ocean.














Once we'd had a our fill of the Cairns' sites, we headed back to the shuttle stop where we found Elvis. He was across the street.














After our little adventure, we settled back in our room where Jenni had a ton of homework and I fell asleep before I knew it.

Perth Wrap Up

We headed out for a team dinner after the medals were handed out. Upon arriving in Perth, Dawn and Lea met a woman on a shuttle who told them about the restaurant where she worked, the Blue Duck. So that's where we went for our final dinner all together. To The Blue Duck.

It was hysterical to learn that the restaurant was across the street from where Jenni and I ended up on our Accidental Bus Tour earlier that week. There were more laughs all around as the team finally got see what we'd already seen. The view of the Indian Ocean is amazing along that route.

It was even gorgeous from inside the restaurant. We met up with one of the judges and her husband, the Edwards, along with Laurette's mother, Norma for an entirely pleasant evening.

This statue was part of the decor at the Blue Duck.


















Jenni and Lindsay grinning it up.














All together for a change!
Beginning on the left and going back: Norma, Natalie, Stephen, Jenni, Lindsay, Karen, Pam and her husband, Lori, Dawn, Lea and Becky.

Laurette took the photo.









After dinner, I finally found Nemo...













...in an aquarium. It was all very sad.













But the sadness was soon forgotten as we headed back to the bus stop. The restaurant was right on the Indian Ocean. I just had to say goodbye. Lea and I rushed down to the surf. And I fell in.

We were trying to touch the water, but a wave came in too fast. Lea scampered back, but I tripped on a pile of sand and landed right on my rear end. So the wave I was trying to keep off my shoes was suddenly on my behind. Lea was dying laughing watching me try to get out of it. I can't believe the rest of the team missed it. The both of us were cracking up the entire way back to the apartment.

And just like that, the competition portion of our trip had come to an end. We got our luggage from Dawn's place and took a cab to the airport for our midnight flights. Karen and Lindsay were off to Sydney while Jenni and I were off to Cairns.

Competition Day #4

All too soon, we reached the final day of competition. The day dawned bright and early for Jenni and Natalie who were scheduled to swim their duet free between 8:15a and 9:30a. They headed to the pool early so they could get warmed up.

The rest of us weren't too far behind because we were checking out of the hotel before we left for the Stadium and needed to make sure everything was packed. I headed over to Dawn, Lea, Laurette and Becky's apartment with Karen and Lindsay to leave our luggage since they were checking out later.

We headed for the pool.

Natalie and Jenni swam third in their age group. We arrived in enough time to cheer them on from the stands.



Once their final scores were in, they took 7th in this toughest age group. Way to go, ladies!!










Next up were the trio free routines.

Karen, Lindsay and Lea did a marvelous job defending our trio title. They brought home the gold for the 6th Worlds in a row.

Karen, Lea and Lindsay posing with their gold on the medal stand.

They awarded the medals for the 20-34 age group first. The Canadians swept those top three spots.

As you can see, a team from the Netherlands is on the left and a team from Italy is on the right. We didn't have a flag, so some helpful woman from Canada offered us theirs. She was shocked when they refused. She couldn't imagine that we were from the States and Canada didn't have any winners in this group.


The team free routines ended the competition.

They had some really tough competition here because they were competing in the 20s age group. Additionally, they were competing against teams that had 6-8 swimmers. Without the full 8 you're going in behind the curve because you've already lost points.

Despite all this that was against them, they came out of this battle tied for third with Durham Synchro, a team who had 7 swimmers.

Karen said later that she was the proudest of this bronze medal because she'd never gotten one for team at Worlds before. It only made it that much sweeter to get it while competing against "kids."

On the stand, our team ended up tucked in amongst three Canadian teams. While up there, one of the other competitors asked who would like to send the photos of them all in to Synchro Canada. Lindsay very helpfully volunteered...

After the awards were finished, we hung around and take pictures. Here're Lindsay, Lea, Jenni, Karen and Natalie.











Lea, Lindsay and Karen cheesing with their gold.













Jenni and Natalie.













Lori outside the Stadium.













After all was said and done, we had a really good showing at Worlds. After watching some of the other teams, we analyzed their routines and are adjusting to make ourselves more competitive.

Competition Day #3

Back in the pool I go!

The previous night at dinner, while I discovered my intense love of Australian BBQ sauce, Becky showed us pictures from her trip to Caversham Wildlife Park. The koalas and kangaroos were so cute that we immediately planned an outing there the next morning.

However, business weighed heavily on us and we decided to work on our free routines instead. Karen finally finished writing her routine that morning and showed off her unKarenlike move for Jenni and my approval.

Then we set out to gel my hair for the very first time. As you'll see in the soon to come videos, we swim free routines in costumes and makeup and headpieces on gelled hair. I should probably mention that it is NOT hair gel. It is Knox gelatin which hardens your hair to keep it in place in the water. Oh yeah...and did I mention that the gel is made of horse hooves? That's why we prefer Knox. It smells...less bad...than the off brands.

Karen used her "forty years of experience" to perfectly gel my hair. She arranged the headpiece I'd made with beads and thread - as opposed to the wire I'll use next time - around the bun I'd managed to put in off center and it looked fabulous! You'll just have to take my word for it because I was so excited and forgot to get a picture.

Jenni and I gelled Karen, Karen put Jenni's headpiece on her and we set off for the pool.

Of our group, Jenni was first up with the 20s age group. She swam 7th.


Solos seem to be trending toward darker music. Jenni stayed true to her sunny personality and swam to a "happy" song which definitely set her apart from the rest. As always, Dawn is a fount of knowledge. Jenni's choice was a good one because "blondes don't tend to score well when swimming darker music." Who knew?

I swam 5th in the next age group. After those low scores on the tech routine, I really had nothing to lose. I was firmly in last place. While I was waiting, I made the decision to go out and give it my all. In my tech, I'd taken out all the difficulty in favor of the technically sound and got creamed for that. My free was a whole different story.

About a month and a half before we left, Dawn had moved one hybrid from the end of the routine to the beginning. After many tears and much panic, I finally got it down. Maybe.

I got the go ahead to take my position and climbed into the pool. In true Lori fashion, I didn't put the noseclip on until I'd swam out and was set. I actually had to hold up a finger for the referee to wait for me to put it on. I'm really looking forward to a competition with no noseclip issues.

The music began and I gave it my all. I grinned my little heart and covered the pool as best I could. The night before, Lindsay and Karen complimented me on one of my strokes. Karen was actually considering borrowing it. How flattering is that? So when I got to that section of the music, I had a total brain freeze. Luckily it was only for a brief second and I got back on track. I finished the routine, grinned some more, climbed out of the pool - I was done!

As soon as that video turns up, I'll post it here.

Next up was the 40s age group and Karen's battle with Carol.

Carol went first. Karen was 2nd. Her routine was thoroughly amazing in true Karen fashion. I'll post it when it turns up as well.

Karen was a walking illustration of honesty during the trip. The night before, she found a camera in the stands and turned it in. The French guys to whom it belonged were so thoroughly grateful that they made sure they took some professional shots of her routine. They were so cute. They would not move from that area until they were sure they got Karen on film.

Lea, the team trooper, went 5th. She'd gotten some comments on her tech being done too much with one arm. So despite the excruciating pain in her shoulder she pulled out all the stops for her free.

Sylvia was last up on our team to swim. We gathered in the vendor area for the awards. Karen took silver because Carol's routines were more contemporary. She's already looking forward to the rematch even though it won't be for another four years because they won't be in the same age group when we go to Sweden. Lea fought through her injury enough to earn the bronze.

Because of the bogus penalty, Jenni ended up in 8th place. Sylvia took 5th. And I, in the shockers of shockers, ended up 10th. One judge was blatantly scoring swimmers from her country higher. My cousin likes to call it their affirmative action. Except it totally backfired on them. High and low scores are tossed. Because of that I was blessed to score higher than one of that country's swimmers for the #10 spot.

How funny is that?

Competition Day #2

After Swan Bells, we all made our way to the pool for the Duet and Team Tech competitions. I was very happy to have "dry" day and cheer on my teammates. First up were Natalie and Jenni in their Duet Tech.



Can you believe these two just learned this routine a few short months before the competition? Well done, ladies!

You may have noticed common elements in all of these tech routines. That's because four figures, split to walkout, porpoise, 2 ballet leg positions and a huron thrust, must be performed in the listed order.

Depending on the type of routine, solo or duet/trio/team, you must also have a connected action. In all the techs, you have to show propulsion with an arm in the air. In the team techs, you must show a sequence, straight line and circle. And you have to do it in under 1:50 seconds for duet/trio/team and 1:30 for solo.

In the midst of all these requirements, you have to find a way to be interesting while doing the exact same elements as everyone else.

Now that you have an idea of what to look for, here's the team tech for your viewing pleasure.



It also helps to have really good music that won't put the judges to sleep. 'Cause they have been sitting there for an awful long time. Speaking of the judges...one of them complimented our team as being the most technically sound.

Way to go, ladies!!!

Visiting the Swan Bells

Tuesday morning we decided to visit Swan Bells which is known as the largest musical instrument in the world. To celebrate Australia's bicentenary in 1988, England gave the bells to Western Australia. The building you see at the left was built to house them.

Originally, the bells were housed at St. Martin-in-the-fields in the church of Trafalgar Square. After 270 odd years, they were getting too heavy for the church's foundation. Every time they rang, it would crumble. To save the church, it was decided to melt the bells down and cast new ones. A patron of the bells campaigned to have them moved instead.



Armed with 2 for 1 admission coupons, Laurette, Natalie, Becky, Jenni, Karen, Lindsay and Lori headed off to view the bells. Silliness ensued as we pretended to be swans in front of the tower.







Pretty cool looking tower!












Since time was limited because the meet began that afternoon, we decided to start with the observation deck on the 6th floor and work our way down. We admired the spectacular views of Perth and the Swan River while taking lots of pictures.


















Lori, Karen, Lindsay, Jenni and Natalie grinning away.















Karen, Lori and Lindsay with the Swan River behind us.


















Lindsay went "artiste" on us.



















Looking straight up from the deck.












View of downtown Perth from the deck.









A lady who worked at the Bells asked if we'd seen the bell ringing demonstration, yet. We told her we hadn't since we started at the top and the Ringing room was on the first floor. She highly recommended that we see the demonstration then come back up to see the bells. We're easy. So that's what we did.

As we walked into the ringing room, the first thing I noticed were all these thick ropes hanging from the ceiling. Of course they got more interesting as the woman who greeted us said her hellos mixed with lots of "Don't touch the ropes." As we all sat in the chairs around the room's perimeter, she explained why we shouldn't touch the ropes. "Tourists tend to hang themselves if they touch the ropes." Since I didn't fancy dying in Australia, I didn't touch the rope.

Once everyone was seated, she grabbed a rope and started telling us about the bells as she rang one of them. So happens, there was a Bell Ringers convention in town that weekend so there were two other ringers in the room and another came in with us. Each of them grabbed a rope.
Under the woman's direction, they rang "Three Blind Mice" for us.

After the other ringers were excused to get to know the newcomer, the woman continued the demonstration. "Wanna see me ring a bell the size of a small car?" She asked. She hopped up on a box and grabbed this huge rope. She rang the huge bell. She was so tiny and the bell was so big that I was convinced she was going to go flying at any moment. But she didn't.

Then she asked if we wanted to ring the bells. Despite the whole, "you'll hang yourself if you touch the rope" warning, we were eager to give it a shot. I was first. I gotta tell you, those bells are HEEEAAAVVVYYYYY! She made it look so easy, catching different parts of the rope depending on which number ring she was on. I was doing good just to keep a hold of the rope at all.

She started each of us ringing one by one. I was exhausted by the time she got to the last person. To get out of ringing, I took pictures instead!

Here're Natalie, Jenni, Laurette, Karen and Lindsay giving it a go.

See how the ropes are fatter at the top? The bell ringers would catch that part alternating with the skinny lower part on even and odd rings.








Laurette, Karen, Lindsay, random chick, Becky happy to take a breather.












Here are all of us with the Bell Ringer. Karen, Natalie, Jenni, BR, Lindsay, Becky, Laurette and Lori.

See how tiny she is? She has to be freakishly strong to be able to ring these bells for any length of time. Our amazement only grew once we went up to the Belfry and saw exactly how big these bells are.





No wonder these bells can kill you. Look how HUGE they are.












Here're Lindsay, Lori and Karen marveling at the size. The ones closest to us are the small bells. Those are the ones we got to ring.











The bells are purposely "set" in the up position like this. This means that they are ready to ring. Our Bell Ringer told us how she can distinguish a real ringer from a wannabe. She tests them by having them set a small bell. If they can't do it, she won't let them ring.

After this amazing trip, I have gained a whole new respect for Bell Ringers everywhere.




Before we left, Karen found a wallet in the restroom. She turned it in and the people gave her a 10% discount on her souvenir purchases in the gift shop. Who says honesty doesn't pay?

At this point, the group split up. All to handle last minute details before the solo and trio techs that were scheduled for that afternoon.