Anniversary on the Great Ocean Road

On our anniversary, number 42 -- 30 July 2019 -- we drove the Great Ocean Road. More accurately, we were driven. With 43 other passengers and our driver, James, we bumped and swayed an expressed our amazement and delight at the sights and stories (from James) of the Australian coastline.

From Melbourne to Port Campbell, then inland to the A1, and back to Melbourne (some 550 km or so in about 12 hours). A good overview and introduction to life in Victoria.

Some impressions.


The Ocean. Waves rolling in from the south, so that surfers are often seen there. We saw none.

Koalas. Almost immobile, so that when one person found a koala sitting in the crook of a gum tree, reaching out and taking some eucalyptus leaves, then munching them before going back to sleep, the rest of us could find it too. Not bears, we were told -- they lack the koala-fications.



The coast. Rugged. Cliffs broken by occasional bays and beaches, with the road cut out by hand through the difficult countryside.

The relentless surf has shaped soft rocks into a razorback, into the 12 apostles (or eight apostles and two sisters), into wonderful shapes pleasing to the eye and dangerous for ships. James kept up a stream of stories, one shipwreck after another, especially from the days of sailing vessels before the advent of steam.










Tourists -- like us. I would like to find one of the places we stopped at to sit and watch patiently when the crowds are gone. The surf and foam are patient. They keep their rhythm, an endless sound and sight of water and wind and rock. We are impatient, on a mission to see the next sight. I would like to mimic the patience of the ocean and sit in Port Campbell watching and listening. Life beyond the stream of tourists breathes in the surf and wind left behind when the last bus is gone.

Villages dotted along the coast, shaped by place and by tourism. Anglesea and Lorne shaped irrevocably, Port Campbell touched more lightly -- living dual lives: their own and ours. Port Campbell is the smallest and quietest at the end of the line for our bus.

Back to Melbourne on the A1, a slice of Victoria that deserves its own exploration, passed through too quickly in the darkness as we watch the story of "Oddball", a dog in Warrnambul who saved the little penguins there from extinction by fox. (A true story.) Written down here in an attempt to remember and keep alive in the pathways of my heart and mind.

P.S.: This was indeed our 42nd anniversary, a unique and good celebration. I wish I could give Lois such a day whenever she wanted it. Too small a gift in return for all that she has given me.

Gail and Denise

Forty years ago we stood at the front of the BIC church in Nappanee. Gail stood waiting for Denise [which I'm sure has never happened since]. Lois was playing the organ. Denise walked down the aisle, and soon they were pronounced "man and wife". I assume it was "man and wife" or "husband and wife" or some such formula: I am not at all sure from this vantage point 40 years later.

Memories of 40+ years. I remember Denise standing in front of the picture window in our living room, waiting for Gail, who ignored tornado warnings to drive in to be with her. (Note: Do not ignore tornado warnings in northern Indiana!) I remember Gail playing basketball with Leah, enjoying his daughter's career as much as he had enjoyed his own. I remember visits on the corner of his Dad's farm, where they built their house. I remember the move into Nappanee when their lives changed direction just over 20 years ago. I remember a little brown dachshund, followed by a small white dog and larger white dog. Denise loves dogs, and they would probably still have three or four if she did all the choosing ....

We have had the usual brother and sister interactions. We have also enjoyed laughter as we played games--there are few people more fun to enjoy an evening with. We have had serious talks--there are few people who have grown as much in wisdom, both in their work lives and in their church. Last Christmas, they talked about God's work in their lives in a remarkable and dramatic way.

Forty years ago we stood in the church. This past weekend they celebrated 40 years together. Lois and I are far away in Manitoba (occasionally reminding them that they need to get passports so they can visit us), wishing we could be there too. Happy Anniversary to a wonderful couple, whom we love very much forever.