Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

We've got a few days of relaxation in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It's a bit like Washington, DC, in that the ACT is like our District of Columbia.

Hat's off to Liz who figured out that the National Library has internet connections for free. So, I spent most of today working on taxes and catching up with my surfing.

Yesterday, we went to volunteer orientation for the National Folk Festival. Unless I heard incorrectly, they get 60,000 people over the course of a 5 day festival. There are 1200 volunteers. Liz is going to work in the office and I'll work on a stage crew. There'll be a venue for jamming where I'm guessing I'll be spending a lot of time at. Perks like a free ticket and some cheap food are included for 16 hours of volunteering. I'm very psyched to see what the festival will be like.

We're staying at the YHA. My industrial strength wax earplugs are a joy, but still no match for a bunch of noisy drunks in the common space outside of our room. Grrrr. They were checking out this morning, so I'm hoping we'll have some peace and quiet tonight. Well, at least we're in a double, with no roomies to object to my snoring. :-)

On the bus ride over from Sydney, I sat next to a nice chatty Canberra native. She pointed out the window and said "There's Lake George". I looked and didn't see any lake. She told me it dried up. Used to be one of the biggest lakes, apparently. They've got a hefty drought going on here.

Stay tuned.