Monday: We're back! Crazy busy first day in the saddle, hopefully more words tomorrow. In the meantime, cop this photo album of the trip...
Tuesday: A furious onslaught of meetings and bleetings, conversations and appointments, discussions and brain percussions have got me thinking (and writing) like Dr Seuss. Suffice to say that despite being only 1.5 days into the first working week and being minus that main ingredient of a successful school (kids!), we're in a delirious whirl of action exactly unlike the bucolic calm of our endless days of winter sunshine back in a coruscating Newcastle.
The winter holiday was long this year, thanks mainly to a calendar quirk which means that yearly creep needs to be reined in by an earlier-than-usual break every ten years or so. With that mindset, the endless winter crept along quietly till it exploded like a freight train near the end of our time, catching us unaware with it's rapid termination and meaning a greater-than-usual rush at the end.
The holiday was punctuated by family visits of a similar, and different, kind: we saw Mum quite often in hospital, as a fall necessitated her admission, stay, discharge and some subsequent rehabilitation. This wasn't an entirely bad thing on our part as we probably saw her more regularly than we normally would, but I'm sure Mum didn't enjoy the pain and discomfort that went along with her dislocation from home and routines.
Cassy was able to see lots more of her sister, Kristin, this trip and they enjoyed lots of chats and long lunches at various cafes "up the valley" periodically as our stay progressed. Chris and Val were still away on their mega round-the-world cruise, so the sisters kept up the family tradition of chats and meals albeit in different forums, combinations and locations.
As usual, we were slightly afraid of piling on the kilos as our eyes lit up with "new"and "exotic" Australian foods and wines, so we religiously applied ourselves to our daily walk. Straight across the road to the Bather's Way, on to Bar Beach, steadfastly marching upwards on the Memorial Walk to Shepherd's Hill where we had a satisfying look at the northern view before spinning around and heading back. The energetic 6 kms did wonders for our trimness, though my proclivity for a beautiful Australian red wine each night did see me over-tip the scales just a little when we returned!
Unseasonably fine weather beamed day after day, week after week, lulling us in a fine caress and shocking us when, momentarily, it would revert to wind and rain and cold. Our yearly bike trip did not occur due to mechanical difficulties and mishaps, characterized by amateur mechanical patch ups and professional rescues from the middle of nowhere due to a flat tyre! We did manage a few day trips taking advantage of the fine weather, and on these trips, out in the country's winding byways, all the good old motorcycling feelings came flooding back. Next year, I'm determined to find a decent mechanic and get set for a better riding season.
We got to see friends and family at many set events: as usual, conscious that people's lives are rolling on despite us popping up, we waited to be asked for a date (!), only occasionally taking the initiative ourselves for big annual events or if we were hosting ourselves (as we did for Mum's party). This seems the best way to do things, but apologies to anyone who we missed altogether or saw sparingly: the time really does fly, we know!
Anyway, apologies for the stodgy writing and awkward phrasing: I lose a bit of my mojo during a couple of month's inactivity! Photos: various scenes from the break and a link at the start to a fuller photo album.