What else… a vacation!

I am right now on my train ride home from work and what am I thinking about? What else… a vacation!

I know, I know, I just had a 3 week vacation some of you may be thinking. But when you consider it that the last week of my “vacation” was sorting out our life here in Australia and that really isn't a vacation from everything is it?  

I want to go camping and I think that is exactly what the plan is.

I have actually been working some overtime on the weekends and late nights (like tonight actually). I have pulled some 9 hour days, trying to get a handle on a project that is being “transitioned” to me at the moment. But here is the scoop – the guy got fired. How does a transition really take place when no one is around to transition it? Yes, that is right, the transition is me banging my head against things I didn't write/design/solve, hence the overtime.

Anyways – back to vacation dreaming! So there is a long weekend coming up here in Aus October 1st, don't ask me what it is, but I know we do not have Thanksgiving weekend here, so maybe it is the substitute for that...(?). Anyway, I plan to take an extra day off. SO that means we can leave on Friday early afternoon and cruise down to our first destination and hangout/campout/ hopefully get a surf in. Then we have Saturday, Sunday and Monday to cruise around, camp, eat, surf and then head her home on Tuesday to be back to work on Wednesday. 

That is the plan anyway. To be honest, I think by 3 nights of camping Jon and I both will be ready to pull the plug. It is not like we have anywhere even in mind at this point. South is all we know, likely not much more than 3 or 4 hours South. Because we love exploring where we are right now, it is hard to want go too far away from comfort and familiarity when everything  is all so new and different. 

We are really just kind of going with the flow of it here. We are venturing out a little farther every weekend. We went out to this place called Caribarita beach last weekend and it was only like 40 minutes away, but it felt like a real adventure.We found some new surf spots and really had a nice time surfing and driving around.

On another note, I saw a dead possum on the side of the street yesterday walking to my work building. Not that exciting, but it was pretty cool looking. I also saw some new birds and made a plan to get a bird book of the east cost of Australia so I can figure out what they all are. By the way, if you didn't know, I am a secret-undercover, amateur birder (aka bird watcher). I have a bird book at home for our island and I just love going through it randomly. I like the pretty pictures and the little blurbs about the birds, what they eat, how the live, if they mate for ever, that kind of stuff. Then when I am out and see one that I recognize I say - there is a such and such, and it is never the right name. Usually I just repeat the same name of a bird that I do remember - it is actually quite embarrassing, but its just Jon, so he just smiles and doesn't say anything. I like to say "water fowl" instead of ducks. It makes me feel like I am getting somewhere with my hobby. 

So my plans with my Aunt Margaret and family (who are heading here in December) are coming along nicely. I am joining them and my cousin to trip around this town (north of Brisbane) called 1770. We are going to rent a 4X4 and cruise to these places. This town is close enough to the Great Barrier Reef to get a good look at the reef out on a boat trip. I am really excited about snorkelling there. They are here in mid-December and we are going to check out Fraser Island too.  It is the largest island of sand in the world. That is going to be totally neat, super fun!

And my friend from high school, Hil (Hilary Leftick) is coming here at the end of November too! So I will have a friend visit me and that I am so stoked for. I don’t know how long she and her hubby are going to stay, but Jon will be gone by then, so I say "not long enough"!! 

When will I see a Kangaroo – that is what I want to know...