Our Holiday with Clyde, Michelle and Carsyn, May 22 -June 4, 2009

Our good friends, Clyde, Michelle and Carsyn, come over for a 13 day adventure in land of OZ. Our time with them included trips to Watamala Beach in the Royal National Park, Sydney, Cains Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef, and Katoomba -Three Sisters and Jenolean Caves in the Blue Mountains. Enjoy all the pics below.

The Entrance, May 30-31, 2009

Jay and I went the Entrance, on the Central Coast, just north of Sydney, with our friends Daryl and Leeanne. It was a beautiful coastal town and few had a great time.

Anzac Day, April 25, 2009

We spent a few hours at the RSL on Anzac Day, similar to Veteran's Day. Lots of people and flowing drinks.

The Easter Show, April 17, 2009

Jay got to enjoy the Easter Show, which is similar to a worlds fair. I wasn't able to attend due to work, so I'm not sure what to write about it, but apparently they (Rardy, Daryl, Lee-anne, Megan and Ronald) had a good time. More pics below.

Ingleburn Live Festival 2009 - March 21

We went to the Ingleburn Live Festival again this year. Lots of festivities and great food. Note: Fairy Floss = Cotton Candy. How cute! More pics below.

Australia Day - January 26, 2009

Last year on Australia Day we were in awe at the fireworks display at Darling Harbour. This year we were in stiches watching Jay ride the mechanical bull at the Ingleburn RSL. He did real good, as expected from 'Tex'.

New Years 2009

It's hard to believe that a year ago, we were in Arizona celebrating with all our friends at Tony and Sue's. But this year, we spent New Year Eve at JP's. JP and his partner, Nolean, have a new baby girl, Holly, that brought in the new year with us. Lots of friends, good food, but no fire works. We could here the fireworks in the distance, but couldn't see them. We watched the Sydney Harbour fireworks on the outdoor TV along with the count down. It was a relatively tame celebration, but we all had a good time.

Our First Aussie Christmas, 2008

It was HOT. Weird. But wonderful while my parents, Mike and Jan, were here. My folks most likely hold the world record for longest distance to travel for the shortest visit. They arrived Christmas day, the 25th, around noon and were gone on the 29th. But we sure crammed in a lot of stuff in a short period of time. I wrote up this recap for my folks so they could remember everything we did. Good thing too...I took so long to write this post, I needed it too!

On the first day of Christmas:

• Pick-up from airport
• Open gifts
• Ham and mash potato dinner
• Russ Littlechild and his son David came over for a bit
• Walk to Kevin's fort area by the Georges River at the end of Chester Road in Ingleburn.

On the second day of Christmas:

• Brekky at home
• Daryl Williams (Daz) house for barbi (met Paul Gerard-Rawdy, Baz-Barry and Mercedes, Lee-anne and her parents, Daryl's kids Carely, Megan/Justin (grandson) and Jeff, Matt Laws-Lawsy and children Zoe-lee and Laughlin, Freddo and Dawn). I think that's all....
• Home to recoup from Daryls (too much grog and heat)
• Andy and Val (from Manchester England) came over for a drink (or two)
• Theo Vanderbelt (Dutchy) showed up

On the third day of Christmas - The Beach :

The following link shows our route the day we got re-ended (yeah, got corn-holed by a Kiwi in a Mercedes while using Daryl's car...with my folks & Kevin in the back seat...nice..sorry Daryl).
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&saddr=Ingleburn+NSW&daddr=Old+Illawarra+Rd+to:Wattamolla+Rd+to:Austinmer+to:Appin+to:INgleburn&hl=en&geocode=FYI4-f0dqAn-CA%3BFaa9-P0dZCkACQ%3BFWoZ9_0dvtIBCQ%3B%3B%3B&mra=ls&via=1&sll=-34.13011,150.9504&sspn=0.524051,0.785522&ie=UTF8&z=10

Our trip included:

• Brekky at Kitty's Diner in Ingleburn
• Royal National Park - Audley Weir and Wattamolla Beach
• Standwell Park (overlook and hang gliders)
• Scenic Bridge just south of Coalcliff
• Headland Beach in Austinmer (where we got hit)
• Then home through Appin.

After we arrived back home:

• Skewers on the barbi
• Ingleburn RSL (Return Services League) Club to play some pokies (met Peter, Freddo and John (Nipper not Dippy mom..LOL))
• Andy and Vals for a drink (met Jen and Toni (Spanish couple), Robbo and Maggie, DCK and Michelle, and another couple I can't think of there names)

On the fourth day of Christmas - The City:

• Hopped in the train from Ingleburn Station to Circular Quay via the Airport Line
• Walked the shops to the Opera House in view of the Harbor Bridge
• Botanical Gardens
• Lunch at Hungry Jacks (Burger King)
• The Queen Victoria Building
• Ferry to Manly
  
  
• Manly Surf Beach and shops
• Back on Ferry to Circular Quay
• Hopped on train home
• Steak dinner at home
• Mic came over and met his wife Bronlyn and daughters Haley and Courtney
  

On the fifth day of Christmas - Fly home (*sniff sniff -tear tear*)

COME BACK!!! More pics below.

PB Company Christmas Party

My company (Parsons Brinckerhoff) Christmas Party was held at the Royal Ranwick Racecourse.

http://www.totaltravel.com.au/link.asp?fid=616259

The theme of the party was Moulin Rouge and everyone dressed up for the occasion, including Jay and I. I have to say, this was the most impressive company party Jay or I have ever attended. There were approximately 400 people in attendance, a full Moulin Rouge show, gourmet meal and lovely dessert buffet. We had a marvelous time (other than our car breaking down and us having to be towed 50km back home....$1,500 later...yada yada yada...we still have Norton luck even on the other side of the world *sigh*). See more pics below.

White Tail Spider Bite - December 12, 2008

"...Come to Australia, you might accidentally get killed...".
This song is somehow not so funny anymore.

On December 12th, Jay got bit twice on the arse by a White Tail spider.

Ok, ok...yes, the nurse at the clinic laughed her butt off too (no pun intended), but seriously, it was a little scary at the time. The spider came off of a towel when Jay got out of the shower that morning. I happened to walk in the room and saw a big black spider hanging out on his butt cheek and calmly exclaimed, "Jay, you have a spider on your a**". Jay instinctively started doing the "Maniac" dance, but the spider managed to fang him twice before dropping on the floor.

Now, as we have all learned from the late Steve Erwin, everything in Oz can kill you in seven seconds! Kevin's Aussie mate, Chris, identified the spider immediately, captured it in a Tupperware dish, and said to get to the hospital. While there was no pain, there were clearly two sets of puncture marks, so off to the clinic we went, where the nurses got a big chuckle out of the whole thing.

It has been said that White Tail spider bites often make people very ill and cause an ulcerated sore, similar to a Brown Recluse bite. But this may be an overstatement based on the the information I've found on the internet.

http://www.austmus.gov.au/factsheets/white_tailed_spider.htm

Fortunately for Jay, he had no adverse affects. However, the spider didn't fair so well. All our Aussie mates suspect that the spider died from alcohol poisoning.

Anyway, the spider, whom I've named Frank, is now residing on the shelf on display in specimen jar as a keep sake and conversation piece. By the way, is it coincidence that he was bit on 21/12 (if the date is written as the Aussies do)? You Rush fans out there will understand what I mean.