Winter Beach Days

Winter is officially here in Sydney.  It is cold and the wind is biting.  We've had some torrential rain, too.  But last week we were also blessed with gorgeous blue skies and bright sunshine.  Perfect winter afternoon on the beach.

I'm really going to miss days like this.

Jervis Bay

Last weekend we took a family road trip down the south coast of NSW to a beautiful area known as Jervis Bay.  It's about 200 km (125 miles) from Sydney.  All the brochures state it is an easy 2.5 hour drive.  I guess they mean it is 2.5 hours if you have only adults in the car and you leave at 11:15 am on a Tuesday.  Friday afternoon with three kids makes the trip a lot longer.  About twice as long in fact.  But, after 5 hours in the car, we arrived at this lovely holiday apartment in the town of Vincentia.

There is always a flurry of excitement when we arrive at our destination.  The kids run around, check out their room, open all the cupboards, explore the place and, in general, send me into a panic that something will be broken before we even unload the car. 

Luckily, no knick-knacks were harmed on this holiday!

We were up bright and early Saturday morning and set off to explore the town of Huskisson.  We had an uninspired breakfast at the Husky Bakery- which is only worth mentioning because they had an actual McDonald's playplace in the back of the cafe.


We had just enough time to book a dolphin watch cruise on The Extreme.  We thought the fast 1.5 hour trip would be perfect for the kids.  So we headed to the dock, armed with motion sickness tablets and armbands for the Little Princess.  We were all amazed to see large pods of dolphins jumping and swimming right next to the boat.  Of course, the dolphin watching was overshadowed a bit by the melt down and near panic attack suffered by the Little Princess.  She completely lost the plot (as they say here) and was terrified by the boat ride.  Afterward I asked her if it was all worth it to see the dolphins up close.  Her reply was a resounding, "NO!"  Oh well, I thought it was thrilling.

Jervis Bay is known for it's gorgeous beaches.  Hyams Beach claims to have the whitest sand in the world.  It is nearly pure silica and squeaks when you walk on it. 

The next day we took some time to explore Booderee National Park.  We bushwalked to Green Patch via the Rock Platform and saw lots of Neptune's Necklace in the tide pools.  The views were stunning (Would you expect anything else?  This is Australia!)


We also spent some time at beautiful Murray's Beach.  We saw more dolphins and even a stingray swimming very close to shore.  The water was absolutely crystal clear and still warm even though it is early Autumn.  It was a perfect place to spend the afternoon.  None of us wanted to leave.

But, as the weekend drew to a close we had to load up and head back to Sydney.  I wish we could go back during whale watching season, but I'm afraid that won't happen.  Too many places to see and, sadly, not enough time.

The First of The Lasts

For the past 2 years our Spring & Summer Sunday mornings have gone something like this:

-Wake up and shovel some breakfast into the kids' mouths
-Watch them wiggle into their speedos and rashies and swim caps
-Chase them around to get the suncream on
-Double check to be sure goggles and towels are in the bag
-Dash out the door and across the street to be on the beach for roll call
-Then I watch as they swim and paddle and run and race

 I love Nippers.

We're heading back to the U.S. for a few weeks and will miss out on the rest of the Nippers season this year. 

And this time next year my kids will be in America doing whatever it is American kids do in February.  Soccer?  Baseball?  (Seriously I don't even know).  But they won't be here, on this beach doing Nippers.  And that makes me a bit sad.  It's the first of the lasts.

Aussie Aussie Aussie

Today, Wednesday January 26, is Australia Day- a public holiday commemorating the landing of the First Fleet in Australia. 



The city of Sydney puts on quite an impressive series of events to mark the day.  Who wouldn't want to see a Ferryathon, or witness a flyover, or ride on a vintage Sydney bus?  Not me!  That's why last year I thought it would be a good idea to drag my two sticky kids, my sweet agreeable mother-in-law, and my own pregnant self into the city for Australia Day.  After fighting the crowds, waiting in lines, and cramming onto over-crowded public transport we eventually gave up and headed home- feeling exhausted, deflated and a bit defeated.






When I saw my friends' photos of a fun-filled day at the beach I realised I'd made a mistake.  And so I vowed that this year would be different.

I spent the last week waiting, hoping one of my lovely friends would organise some great Australia Day party.  But as Tuesday afternoon rolled around it became painfully obvious that if there was going to be a party I would have to get it started.

Twenty minutes and ten text messages later we were in business.  Six families threw together a last minute BBQ that turned out to be one of the best beach days "evah!'

It was an awesome way to end our Aussie summer. 

1-1-11

Last night we watched this:

And today we enjoyed this:



May your new year be just as exciting, beautiful, warm and relaxing.  Cheers to 2011!

Spit to Dobroyd and Sailing With Justin Bieber

Since I slacked off and didn't organise a get-away for us while my sweetie is off work this week, we decided to holiday at home and do some of the things we've always wanted to right here in our own backyard.

This morning we got up bright and early and set out to walk from The Spit to Manly.  This is an ambitious bushwalk- about 10k-and we had all three kids in tow.

About 2k into the walk we came to a lovely little beach called Clontarf.  And- BONUS- it had a playground we've never been to.  Summer mission #3- check!



After a bit of a play we were back on the track, heading past Castle Rock Beach and Grotto Point.  The views were typical Sydney views- which is to say they were absolutely stunning.


The track was pretty challenging; especially since I had the bubby on my back and the little buddy spent most of the walk on his dad's shoulders.  Did I mention there were A LOT of stairs.  Yes, there were.


As we made our way up to the Dobroyd Scenic Lookout I began to think that 5.5 km was plenty for one day.  The kids agreed.  And wouldn't you know there was yet another playground behind the reserve.  Make that Summer Mission #4! 

While the kids played we grownups decided to call a taxi to take us back to our car.  The rest of the Spit to Manly walk would have to wait for another day.



But when you're a family of 5 taking a taxi isn't as easy as it seems.  The cab company had a bit of trouble locating a seven seat taxi with an infant capsule.  We waited, and waited.  Finally I made an executive decision.  Send the dad back to the car in a regular taxi, and he'd come back and get the rest of us. 

So off he went.  Of course, when he arrived at the car he quickly realized he didn't have the keys with him!  So, back to the playground he came, picked up the keys, took the taxi back to the car, and finally, came back to retrieve us all.

Now you'd think that would be enough of an adventure for one day.  But no- there's more.  I had arranged for my hubby and I to take sailing lessons this week, and today was the first one.

We were both a bit surprised when we showed up at the sailing school and met our instructor who appeared to be a 13 year old Justin Bieber look-a-like. 

But, I'm happy to report he was actually quite competent.  The lesson went smoothly, we didn't damage anything, and they said we could come back tomorrow for the second installment.

Whew!  Next time I plan a holiday at home I think we will just make plans to plop ourselves on the beach.  In fact,  I think I'll pencil that in for next week.

Lounge Lizard

Thanksgiving Down Under- Take 2

The view from our Thanksgiving buffet table.

Not your typical Thanksgiving to be sure, but it was a wonderful celebration.  This year we gathered with about 20 other American families for a huge potluck on the beach.  Some were my closest friends in Oz, some were friends of friends and some were cyber-friends I met for the first time that day.  But all of us had something in common.  We may be living on the other side of the world, but we're still Americans.  And I'm so thankful for that!

Four

Last weekend the little buddy celebrated his fourth birthday at Clifton Gardens Reserve.  It was a day filled with lots of preschool friends, sports, and a trash truck rainbow birthday cake.  He declared it a "fabulous" birthday.

We even had a little excitement during the party when one of the dads jumped into the water (fully clothed) to rescue a teenager who lost strength while swimming.  This is Australia, after all.

Happy birthday, sweet boy!

Palm Beach

Saturday was gorgeous here in Sydney and we decided to take advantage of it and head out for a family bushwalk.  It was our first outdoor adventure since the little guy was born 6 weeks ago, and it went surprisingly smoothly!

Our destination:  Palm Beach to climb up to the Barrenjeoy Lighthouse.  The walk was pretty short, but consisted mostly of steep rock stairs.  Not the easiest thing to navigate while wearing a Baby Bjorn.  But the views from the top were certainly worth it!



Palm Beach is so beautiful, and it seems so Australian.  It's not crowded, there are whales and dolphins just off shore, and the sand is amazingly soft. 

I'm convinced that Sydney must have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and Palm Beach is one of them.

Holiday Everyday

Springtime Saturday at Balmoral.
It doesn't get much better than this.

Who needs a holiday when you live here?

Grandma (on her sort-of a holiday) and the kids on the beach.

Best Seat in the House

Here's where I like to sit whilst blogging.

It's a little space at the end of the kitchen. From this spot I can see all the people coming and going at Bather's Pavillion, watch mums pushing prams and toddlers flying on scooters along the boardwalk, see the rangers dishing out parking tickets to offenders, and generally remind myself that this is Australia baby!

The view is pretty nice, too.

Check out the "Where Do You Blog" party over at Centsational Girl today and see where everyone else spends their blogging hours.

My New Treasure

That's the fam frolicking on the beach out in front of our place. I'm so glad I will always have this painting to remember our wonderful stay here in Australia. It was done by Gordon Rossiter who currently has an exhibit going on at Bather's Pavillion. He has so many gorgeous paintings of Balmoral. Check it out expat friends, and you can get your own little piece of Australia to keep forever.