Apr 28, 2005 - Day 296 in Canberra, Australia

The night before Mark and Virginia drove us past the War Memorial and up to a high point to look out over the city. On the way up the hill, he spotted a few Kangaroos in the wild and we stopped to see them. We actually almost hit one by accident with the car that was doing some mad hopping across the road. Charles’ objective was to see a kangaroo in the wild – mission accomplished. Once we got going again, one hopped out into the middle of the road almost ending its own life. Close call! In the morning Mark took us on a tour of the Parliament building. Though it was not in session, we got to glance into the chambers and walk the halls where only staff and senators are usually permitted. We were thrilled to have the behind the scenes look at the Australian government and press in action. After coffee, we were back on a bus headed to Sydney. The first two picture are from the night before. The rest are from around the Parliment building. The 5th picture is of a room with a huge tapestry hanging on the back wall. The tapestry which is quite spectacular looks like the brush from the Australian outback. This tapestry is in the special events hall, where state dinners are held and other 'special' events. George W had dinner here with Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard a couple years ago.