While John continued to slave away at the job site, I decided to become a bit more ambitious and check out the scene in the Darwin suburbs of Alawa (al-ow-ah) and Casuarina (kazh-you-ree-na).

I walked a few blocks to the main bus terminal, asked a friendly gal named Katherine about the right bus to catch, and we both happened to go on the same bus. She told me where to disembark, and I walked another few blocks in the tropical heat to the only quilt shop in this entire region with aboriginal-designed fabrics.

I really enjoyed talking with the shop owner, and I have two more sewing projects now–pillow cases and a wall hanging. Check out the fabric!

After the quilt shop, I hopped another bus to the largest shopping mall in this area. Another friendly woman, Barbara, showed me where to go at the mall to catch the correct bus back downtown. But first I ambled through the mall, bought John a wall calendar with Australian nature photos, ate at the food court, then went outside to wait on the bus. There on the bench sat Katherine! We chatted again, and I decided to be brave and catch a different bus that would end up at the same bus terminal. I’m glad I took this bus, because this route had more interesting scenery than the first.

Before John returned, I swam in the hotel pool and then continued reading one of my Australian books, We of the Never Never. It’s an autobiographical account of a 19th century woman who married in Darwin and traveled hundreds of miles into the bush to homestead a ranch. The writing style is similar to Mark Twain’s but not as sardonic. The author has interesting personification (e.g. a train “whistling merrily with hands in its pocket as it trudges along”) and beautiful nature descriptions.

After John returned, we walked over to the wharf to try another restaurant, then walked back in the dusk through the lighted trees.

Another great day!