Hi Patti,
Yes I finally made it home. What a trip. I'm glad to home with the family but I would not hesitate to go back. I wish I could take MaryJo and Kate with me everywhere. I took some additional time seeing Adelaide and Sydney. Sydney has some great points of interest and a lot of history but it is just like any other big city. Nice to visit and nice to be able to leave for some place with the peace and tranquillity of the shore. I took a world wind tour and saw all of the tourist must see sites then I wandered off exploring on my own. Some things you just have to see to believe.
The campaign is now over. We launched a total of 6 rockets. One was a complete failure and one was a failure by a technicality. The other 4 were successful. We left some people in Australia for one more week so they could clean up and pack the rest of the equipment to send home. I brought home an Opal. Does anyone know what an Opal is or what one looks like?? I kept some of the Australian money, I will make sure you get a chance to see it.
Tara, I liked your story about Mr. Fox. Where did you learn that?? I'm doing fine but I am tired from all the traveling that I have done. I saw the sun rise and set twice while I was flying home!!
Hi Caitlin,
I know that my messages kind of slacked off towards the end. We get real busy with work around the time of a launch and since it was the last launch we started packing up to come home. Our work schedules keep changing from daytime to nighttime and both, lots of long hours and we get tired. I had to work a couple of 18 hour days.
Why don't you look up what an Opal is and tell me. Check a dictionary or encyclopedia and write back to me!! When I get some pictures back I will bring the opal and some money with me to show everyone.
It took me about 34 hours to get home, I got a lot of reading done. Do you like to read. If you do, what are your favorite things to read about? When I was your age I did not like to read except for school books. But I love to read now, I missed a lot by not reading when I was young. My daughter loves to read and I am so jealous of her. She is always telling me about interesting and cool (cul as she would say) things she has read about.
Caitlin,
You did an excellent job, you earned your gold star today. The majority of all opals come from Australia. It was not until recently that opals have been found in other countries. In fact, Copper Pette and Andamooka are considered the opal capitals of Australia. Woomera, where I was is right in between both of them. I went to Andomooka to get my opals. I got to see an actual working opal mine. The opal I got has a black background. The rainbow of colors is great. Good work, write again.
Hi Kaley,
I had a wonderful trip, thank you. It is nice to be back. I brought back the typical souvenirs, T-shirts, coffee mugs, hats, opals, aboriginal art. The sunrise and sunsets were absolutely beautiful, I love to stare out and watch them. It is kind of magical to watch from an airplane above the clouds. Just before the sun come up through the clouds, the entire sky glows red, orange and purple. My birthday was November 16. I do not have any other friends that I write to, but I write a lot to people I work with. I'm not much of a shopper, my wife and daughter take care of that for me. I think my daughter could live at the mall. Bye for now.
Hey Kristen,
Glad to be back, thanks. So, you are great huh. What makes you so great? or is it just natural. I was telling Kaley that the sunrises are beautiful, a sky full of colors, red orange and purple. I'm 30 years old and my birthday is November 16. Gosh, I'm not sure who my best friend is, I like them all. If I had to pick one it would be Steve. Steve likes to go fishing. He lives in Baltimore and is always finding an excuse to come to the Eastern Shore to go fishing with me. Have you ever been fishing? Write again.
Howdie Ms. Casey,
Haven't heard from you in a bit. Why are you having a great time? Is something special going on or are you just loving life. You wouldn't getting excited about Christmas? Have you been or will you be going to any of the parades? I love to see the marching bands. My daughters name is Kate, "The Great Kate" if you ask her. I tend to agree with her but I am a little biased there. Catch you later.
The "K" girls,
How do I know which sentence is Kaley's and which is Kristen's? When I said you were so great I was replying to what you had written to me. You told me you were great. Yes I am glad to be home, but I would be glad to go back sometime in the future. The food was good, about the same as we have here. The Australians try to be a lot like Americans. They copy or have many of the same things that we have. In fact a lot of other countries like the things we have and like the way we live. I like to see the sun over the ocean. On the east coast I like sunrises better but on the west coast I like sunsets better. It doesn't matter to much they are both beautiful. The shore has both spectacular sunrises and sunsets because it is so flat here. In areas with hills and mountains the sun hides behind the hill before it rises/sets and you don't get to see it. How about you, sunrise or sunset? In your list of states you did not include Maryland and Delaware. I have been to a lot of states all the states that you mentioned plus Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, California, Washington, Illinois, Alaska, Hawaii, and West Virginia. Got to go, write again.
Hiya Caitlin,
Do you write to other people, the more people you write to the more people that will write back to you. I am not sure exactly when, but I will come back up and visit and bring some things to show you. Not everyone is back yet and some of our things are still being shipped back. Are you going to any of the parades? Tell me about yourself, what are your favorite things to do, do you have any pets or hobbies? Keep writing.
Bye to all
Bill