California!

Well – with my usual delayed promptness I’ll now update you with my adventures in the USA two weeks ago. It was only a quick visit and I’ve been back over a week so this wont really take that long =)

I flew into San Francisco, California on Monday 6th July and Ben took me for a wee drive along the west coast before heading inland to a winery and then off for a walk through the redwoods and finally getting home - where it didn’t take long for me to pass out on the couch!



The next day we drove back into the city to Funston for Ben to take me for a tandem. It was great fun but hopefully next time I get a warning before we go jumping off a cliff… =)

Wednesday saw us going for a bike ride at one of Bens favourite tracks, Berry Creek Falls. Despite me possibly winging a little due to my currently poor level of fitness, this is one very beautiful ride and the falls are very pretty. We cruised in for a look at Santa Cruz in the afternoon and found some yummy treasures in the street food market.

Ben had to work on Thursday so I recovered from the last couple weeks just chilling out in his little abode in the forest then we went for dinner with Ryan and Mele that evening. Above is Bens photo of the trees at the restaurant. Very cool!

Friday marked the end of my whirl wind tour and we headed back in to Santa Cruz for a paddle to see the seals and otters and the jetty before heading back in to San Fran. On the way to the airport we checked out the Golden Gate Bridge, Haight Street (famous for the hippy movement) and the bendy, twisty, hilly fun at Lombard Street.

Friday evening I flew 15 hours direct from SF to Sydney, arriving on Sunday morning and effectively losing my Saturday to the time difference. I went straight back to work on Monday and have been flat out since.

A big thank you hug goes out to Ben for entertaining me in the USA. It was a lovely week and I wish I had more time there =)

The next adventure planned is the Sydney City to Surf (http://www.city2surf.com.au/). There’s no way I’ll be able to run the whole 14kms but I’ll be on my best eating and gym behaviour to help me survive as best I can. Fingers crossed!!

Laragne

The last week has been spent lounging around the south of france and soaking up the lovely sunshine each day before the storms came through. It was really nice to see familiar faces from Newcastle and Qld as well as meet some more some folks from other corners of the world. OB even bought along Wasabi who I think I heard is off to Russia next!

The Irish Team blog (http://irish-hg-worlds-2009.blogspot.com/) has had everyone amused and talking during the comp. Well done to Phil and the boys for entertaining us on (and off) line!

Saturday afternoon we went for a swim in a gorge with a roman arch along the road up to Chabre. Thanks to the recent rain and storms the water was a little muddy but still very pleasant and refreshing.

The mountains around here are stunning and I’ll soon upload some of the pics from this week and of the launches (Charbe and Aspre) used during the comp.

Tonight I’m in Frankfurt again and will be on my way to California tomorrow. Woohoo!!

From Amsterdam to Frankfurt to Larange

Just a quick update today. I’m now in Frankfurt overnight before heading on to France tomorrow. Our stay in Holland has been great and Mum was thrilled to meet so many of her relatives she had either not met before or had not seen for around 60 years.

Some pics of our adventures will be attached when I have some free time and cheaper internet :)

Dawdling round Delft

Lovely day today in sunny Delft. The man upstairs has been putting on some lovely weather and our hosts Corrie and Ad have been showing us their mooi city. Big thanks to them :)

I've travelled the world for shoes that fit and now I find them, the other half is missing?...

Call it what you will but this pretty little thing is made from Delft blue glass. Noice huh?

Well - thats it for the family visits. Mum and I are now off to Amsterdam tomorrow until Sunday.

Greetings from the land of clogs and cheese

Firstly I gotta say its currently 11pm on Monday 22nd June and the sun only set about an hour ago... This is craziness... How can someone even think of going to bed when the sun is still streaming through the window? And spare a thought to those beautiful eskimo folks who have seasons of non stop daylight or darkness through out the year... That must seriously mess with ones sleeping habits.... I know mine are getting screwed with but that could just be mum getting up at sparra's fart and refusing to sleep in... :)

Anyways - Mum and I are in Delft tonight and are looking forward to spending tomorrow with Corrie and Ad showing us round. So far it appears to be a very pretty city and very close to The Hague. The last few days we have spent in Goes with Kees and Nanja, Peter and Anja and their lovely family and then Ada and her beautiful family. Big thank you to all who have shown us their friendship, love and hospitality. Mum and I appreciate every last effort and hope to return the favour when you come to Australia.


Attached pics are a windmill (welcome to stereotypes'r'us) from Zierikzee (aka another town I have no hope of pronouncing, like every other word of the Dutch language) and the bridge going from Noord Beveland (no KB, not another Beaverland) to Schouwen Duiveland. Basically two islands, north and south if that helps :) Like most the bridges here, small and large, it opens up to let the boats through.


Stay tuned...

Hello from Goes, Netherlands

Yay!! I'm back in summer again!!

oh... I should explain... I guess I forgot to follow up the whole "I'll update you about my holidays later" thing but here I am and I'll tell ya whats going on now...

I'm on holidays for the next three and a half weeks :) WooHoo!!

The plans for my holidays are as such:
18 to 28 June - Netherlands
Mum and I will be trotting round Holland visiting relatives and doing the general touristy thing... So far, we are staying in Goes for the next few days and Mum's been going snap happy with the camera...

29 June to 5th July - Laragne, France
Looking forward to catching up with Mon, Scott, Cammy, Jon Jr, Belinda, Davis, the Jeffs, Scotty G and a bunch more at the Hang Gliding Worlds... Roll on the sunshine and fabulous flying days!!

6th July to 11th July - Santa Cruz, California
Catching up with a good pal in the goold ol' USA. Going chasing otters and deers and other fun stuff... Cant wait!

So thats it for now... Photos to come soon :)

Autumn '09

Yep... Its another update day where I cave in to your complaints and tell most of you what you already know about the wee adventures I've been having of late... Lets delve into the picture archive and see what items of interest I can dredge up...

Ah yes... first up is the wedding of my cousin Dana at which I was one of the bridesmaids. This was held up in Nyngan and after the usual dress dilemmas we were all set to go. The man upstairs chipped in with some beautiful weather and Dana's family and friends helped set up a fun and happy atmosphere. What a great day and a lovely couple.


Next adventure worthy of mention is the Inglewood weekend. KB and I flew up in Nancy to Queensland for a fly in. The lucky sods in Qld had a long weekend however KB and I could only stay one night thanks to NSW not having the same pubic holiday. No matter tho. We still had an awesome weekend catching up with some of the Qld crew and it was also my first time in Nancy. I dont know much about aircraft but this ones a little beauty (little being the operative word tho... very squishy inside but still super fun!). Pic above is KB taking Nancy for a drink of petrol and below is looking west-ish over part of the Hunter Valley on our way home.


So... other than these things I have pics for what else have I done?...

Well...

...I'm now working for the John Holland Group. Its really much the same role and same people as before with ARTC however its full time. So far, so good. Lovely people, good experiences.

...I've been paddling with KB a few times. I''m still a little wary about the whole ''looking like a yummy meal to a shark'' thing but I guess Ill get over that when the daylight hours are a bit longer and I''m not dangling my legs over the edge of the kayak at feeding times...

um... cant think of much more right now but it is way past my bedtime and my sleep is very precious so if I think of more I'll add it later. I'll also tell you about my upcoming travel plans due to start very, very soon... Yay!!!

Time...

Time seems to be a very precious commodity in my life lately... What happened to the days when I had all the time in the world to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted? I miss them and I want them back...

Sure - there were some boring moments when I was hard pushed to amuse myself but compared to when its just go, go, go I think maybe those moments were there to let me step back, consider my direction and continue.

Dont mistake me here. I dont think I've taken any "wrong" directions of late. The path on which I travel is perfectly satisfactory however I wish I still had the time to smell the roses along the way, get the full benefit of the ride so to speak.

I'd also like to know how time seems to be slipping from my grasp so easily these days? I cant say my life has taken a drastic turn of any sorts, nor is it filled with many dramatic events to justify such a noticable difference.

Perhaps I need to review my time management skills...

Perhaps I just need more time...

Birthday Weekend

For those in the know, I had my 31st birthday today. One of my bestest mates Jen came over from Perth for a fly by weekend visit and also celebrate her birthday (15 March). The picture above is looking over the Merewether Baths here in Newcastle. My new home is going to be about 3 streets away from the baths and the beach here (pictured below)!!




Saturday night saw a bunch of us at Monicas house for a wee birthday and bye bye party. Birthday cake pictured below. Visiting German pilot Katha is heading home on Tuesday - first class but at a high price. Best wishes to her for a speedy recovery and that we see her back here next Summer :)




A couple weeks ago Stu bought home this little beauty. Her name is Jaz and shes an Indian Ringneck parakeet. We've been wolf whistling at her since she came in and I finally heard her repeating it today. Too cute!




Now - some very important news... Due to unforeseen circumstances, Jen and I havent been able to locate a new venue for Sticky Date Pudding. Our inability to even get to Goldbergs left me going on a search through the local supermarket for a quick and easy fix... What i found was absolute GOLD. Homer Hudson has released a flavour called "Digger" with Anzac biscuit pieces and honeycomb icecream... I highly recommend this to anyone who likes icecream, anzacs or honeycomb. The combination of all three will be very, very addictive!!




To wrap todays entry up, I'll say this. I have a feeling that 31 is going to be a very interesting age. If the unpublishable events of this weekend are anything to go on we're going to be in for a wild ride and to this I say... BRING IT ON!!!!

Back to reality???

So folks... Here I am... Two weeks from my 31st birhday (hint, hint) and living in sunny Newcastle and not the UK one. The last 10 months or so have been relatively travel free if you exclude a couple trips to Canberra, frequent trips to Muswellbrook and a few trips down the coast. Even the adventures scene has been relatively quiet with a ball, a HG comp and some galivanting round the Hunter being the highlights to keep me amused. Come to think of it, I think I need to make a better effort to be doing some more blog worthy stuff if I'm gonna start updating this thing :) I guess that will be my challenge for 2009...

Without boring you all by recounting the few things I did do since previous entries, I've just attached a couple of my favourite pics to share :)

This was a bay on the Isle of Pines. We stoped off on this little island during our cruise and it was hard not to fall in love with the beautiful, crystal clear blue water on what was a perfect day!

Me and Monica at the last Westpac Helicopter Ball. Another great night!

Mum came up in November and she, Kylie and I took a little trip up to the Hunter Valley Gardens on a very wet day... First time I'd been there. The place is huge and would be georgous on a bright sunny day.

2009 Hang Gliding State Titles in Manilla. Fantastic comp. Lovely people. Good times :)

Recent trip to Sydney. Went there for work but managed to have some fun playing too! Big Thank You to Ben for keeping me sane when the workshops and workload was anything but!

Finally....

G'day folks...
Just to keep a few grumbly peoples happy, here's a quick note to let ya's know I'll be doing some more updates soon :)
Mwah xx