Anzac Day Away!

Headed up to Port Stephens with some church friends on Tuesday night to get away for Anzac Day! We left Sydney around 8pm and after dinner at Maccas, reached our YHA accommodation around 11pm! It was pouring rain all the way which is probably why it took so long. Man it was heavy!

After sitting in the hostel carpark waiting for the rain to die down, we realised that it wasn't going to and made a run for it!

Our accommodation was small but cosy and comfortable and we were all quite tired after driving seemingly so far in difficult conditions. That didn't stop us from playing Big 2/Emperor's scum however into the early hours of the morning!

On Anzac Day the rain kept on coming! We soon realised that we wouldn't be able to go sandboarding as originally planned and resigned ourselves to thinking of fun indoor activities we could do! After initially entertaining the thought of a movie marathon at the local cinema, we decided instead to go to the nearby Hunter Valley to go wine tasting!

We grabbed a quick brunch at a local cafe and said farewell to Port Stephens which we didn't even see and drove 45 mins to Cessnock and the Hunter Valley. We visited 4 or 5 vineyards and each bought a couple of bottles of wine, mainly desserts and reds. Tempus Two had a fantastic Moscato which I regret not buying!

We left the Hunter Valley around 4pm and headed back to Sydney in still more rain to Bevo Hills to drop Col home. Then we grabbed dinner at a local noodle place run by this old Aussie lady. It was edible but not quite authentic! Oh well!

And so ended our Anzac Day away...it felt more like a day trip than an overnight trip but I guess the company made it fun and it was a welcome day off in the middle of a busy week at work!

First week of leave!

Monday - Shaun's 21st Paintball Party! Headed out nice and early to Heartbreak Ridge in Blacktown! Having played paintball once before, I knew what to expect...I just couldn't remember exactly how much it hurt to get hit! 6 games, 400 paintballs and a couple of bruises later, I remembered! All in all a fun day. The final score: St Mark's 3, Optom 3!

Tuesday - Spent the day with Teng. Headed up to Thornleigh to try the Malaysian place there called Makan @ Alices! I tried the laksa and Teng had the Wat Ton Hor Fun noodles. Both were not bad. The piece de resistance however was their awesome Cendol!!! Teng even said it was comparable to that found in Malaysia! After lunch we spent the arvo at Featherdale Wildlife Park where Teng enjoyed patting koalas and kangaroos. In the evening we headed back to the eastern suburbs to watch TMNT at the Ritz!

Wednesday - Woke up late and went with Teng and Jon to the Royal National Park for a bit of canoeing! Since there were 3 of us, we got one 2 person canoe and a 1 person kayak. The day was nice and warm and the river at Audley had more water than last time I was there. We enjoyed a nice water fight with me in the kayak and Teng and Jon in the canoe! At one point they were chasing me down the river trying to splash me and I swear I had never paddled so hard in my life!

Thursday - Headed out to the Royal Easter Show at Olympic Park with Jon and Teng. We met up with 2 of Jon's friends there and enjoyed the Aqua dive show, the food hall and bazaar halls and a sheepdog rounding exhibit. In the arvo we headed over to the carnival area where Jon's friends went on some super psycho ride! Teng was also excited by the prospect of an adrenaline rush and dragged Jon first onto a Tower type ride and then myself onto a Pirate ship type ride! Sucker for punishment man! The whole time I had my eyes closed and I felt nauseous all the way home!

Friday - Had lunch with Jimbo at Sinma Laksa house and then headed back to his place to watch some Chasers.

Saturday - Joe koko and Isabel + Teng came over for a nice family dinner.

Sunday - dropped Jon off at his friend's place whom he would be heading down to Albury with.. Then Teng and I headed to Bondi Junction to enjoy an easy way tea and some window shopping. Then it was off to church in the arvo!

And so ended my first week of leave this year - man it was hard waking up today!!!

To Whoop Whoop and back...!

Spent the easter long weekend going down to Albury to rescue Jonny boy from the evil clutches of the rural clinical training scheme!

Left early on Friday morning and with just one major stopover at Maccas, we reached Albury around 1pm. Jon had the townhouse to himself as his flatmate had gone home for the weekend. We made ourselves at home, we being Teng, the folks, and some Taiwanese family friends who came down with us.

After resting a bit, we visited the nearby Hume Dam, at 2% capacity apparently! We walked along the top of the dam to the other side and enjoyed jumping across state boundaries from NSW to Vic back and forth! Afterwards headed to a nice park near the Murray to enjoy a stroll and the autumn scenery.

Spent Saturday visiting Corowa, a small town 45 mins from Albury and supposedly the birthplace of federation. That day the Australian National Billy Cart Championships were being held there so that was something different!

The afternoon was spent visiting some wineries across the border in Victoria. We bought some dessert wines and even strawberry wine! Enjoyed some gourmet pies in the small town of Rutherglen before heading back to Albury! Dinner was at the local pub followed by a round of poker back at Jon's townhouse (no money involved!).

On Sunday we slept in and left Albury around midday. On the way home we made a slight detour via Batlow to buy some fresh apples from the orchards there! Got home around 10pm rather buggered. Jon was sure glad to be home!