(while getting ready for bed)
RJ: You know that dead hand that we saw today, the real live one at the museum?
Dad: You mean the mummified dead hand?
RJ: Yeah, that one. They wouldn’t have that at the Perth museum.
Dad: Probably not, but what makes you say that?
RJ: They would only have a model. They only ever have models at the Perth museum. They never have real ones of the good things.
During July, we packed up the camper trailer, waved goodbye to our cat and dog and jumped in the car for a massive road trip up north. Our goal? Get to the coral, do some swimming and skindiving, maybe wave to a dolphin or two. The first few days involved lots of driving, but the kids took it well and we had the chance to meet up with friends of ours in Geraldton. From there we continued north to Shark Bay… and encountered some three billion year old creatures, one Barking Fence and a few billion white shells…
Seven hours in the car? There's definitely time for a pit stop along the way. Hello, Cervantes!
(while eating breakfast)
RJ: (excited) I have an idea for the museum!
Dad: What’s that?
RJ: We need to get some human bones. We definitely need a skull.
Dad: That’s a great idea, but human bones are pretty hard to find.
RJ: But I have an idea for that. We just have to go to the cemetary and take off one of the big stones…
Dad: A gravestone?
RJ: Yes, and then we dig a big hole, open up the coffin, and take the bones out! Easy!
Dad: There’s a problem with that. It’s called grave robbing and they made a law against it a few hundred years ago.
RJ: (thoughtfully) Ohhh… Hmmm… New idea then.
Dad: Yes?
RJ: We wait until someone going to put a coffin in the ground, before it’s in the grave, and when they’re not looking we take the bones then!
Dad: Yeah, I’m sure no one will be upset by that.
On the weekend, we all drove up to Gingin to help with the second stage of winemaking. The first stage, picking the grapes and first pressing, was already done a couple of weeks ago; it was time for the second pressing and getting the wine into vats for fermentation. We also spent time working on LR’s latest project, “The Museum of the Universes of Science” — a showcase for all the amazing animals, bones, plants and rocks that we discover up there.
Obviously, winemaking is a very serious business!
(at the Western Australian Museum)
RJ: I want one of those. It would make a good pet.
Dad: A carnotaur? I’m not sure that’s a good idea.
RJ: No. A hypsilophodon. We could keep it in the back yard.
Dad: That’d be fun. It would probably eat some of the plants in mum’s veggie patch, though.
RJ: Maybe we should get two then.
