Who says penguins can’t fly? Not the Australians. It took me years to find my first penguin angel, but in one short visit to Australia, I found two. This one is from the Outcrop Shop, a gift store in downtown Alice Springs, one of the most unlikely places I’ve ever been. I never would have expected to find such an unusual and fantastic penguin ornament in such a faraway place, even though Christmas was not far off. Look on a map and you’ll see that Alice Springs is about as far away from anywhere as you can get. They even have a post in town with arrowed signs pointing in all directions: Chicago 15,749 km, Johannesburg 10,308 km, Rome 14,281 km, etc. The only reason I was there is because it was somewhat close to Uluru, the mystical monolith in Australia’s Red Center formerly known as Ayres Rock, and I thought I ought to stop by for a look. I’m glad I did.
It was Thanksgiving, which is not a holiday in Australia, and I was feeling a tiny bit homesick about it. A few days before, on the way to Phillip Island, we stopped at a farm that had kangaroos and turkeys in side-by-side pens. That morning, out in the desert at Uluru, one of the cafes at the Ayres Rock Resort had something with cranberries on the menu (maybe a muffin, I don’t remember) so turkey dinner was on my mind. I went to a roadhouse-style restaurant that could have been the real-life inspiration for the décor at Outback restaurants. Looking at the menu, with its expected sampling of burgers and Aussie bush tucker offerings, I found the perfect dish for my Thanksgiving dinner: pumpkin gnocchi. Maybe there was an angel looking over my shoulder.
The Australian Open is over today and, as if I planned it perfectly, I’ve run out of Australian penguin ornaments to talk about. I have a lot more stories to tell about Australia, but I guess they will have to wait for another day on a different blog.
Russ “Celebrate & Decorate” penguin with filigree wings, green and red hat and scarf, sequins and beads
Acquired: November 26, 2004
Number: 253
Price: 12.50 $AUS
Size: about 8 inches tall
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