Check that off the list

This trip has been incredibly busy, but it's not all work and no play. On Sunday I did have a chance to drive down to the coast. Aside from a thrilling (and somewhat scary) drive, I managed to check "visit the Southern Ocean" off of my list.



It was a really pretty drive there and back. When you're close to the coast the landscape is rather lush (it gets all the moisture and leaves none for the inland regions) making it look almost tropical. It doesn't look that different than driving down highway 1 in California. The really striking difference is the smell. The ocean smell isn't that strong, but along most of the Great Ocean Road you can roll down the windows and get a lovely dose of eucalyptus scent from all the gum trees. What a marvelous time.

Of course as soon as I was back at the hotel I found out I had to go back to the plant and work for an extra 5 or 6 hours solving problems that cropped up in my absence. Such is life.