Keeping Busy Between Vacations

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Although it seems like it has been cold, rainy, cloudy, and overall cold, did I say cold? I'm still making the best of it on the sunny, or not so sunny, weekends. June seemed to fly and drag by at the same time if that is possible and of course it is the Monday to Friday that is the drag. Marking, report cards, and term end were all approaching and if that wasn’t enough I decided to host a Games Night for the Canadian/American Exchanges and a mix of Aussies. I split my time between work, shopping and planning for a Game's Night where the exchange teachers could mix and mingle with each other as well as some locals, some friends I have made here. I decorated the house with cards, signs, balloons, and planned some Minute to Win it games. People, about 17, startled to trickle in at about 7 pm and there was enough food to feed an army. After a few drinks I had everyone split into teams and let the games begin. I think they all went over well, provided great entertainment, and fun was had by all. We continued to have more drinks, food; some played pool, and most socialized. It was a great turn out and a great night! I would be willing to do that again, but perhaps a patio lantern party in the summer! The night would not have been complete without Teresa losing something, her keys. She ended up driving my car home and would have to deal with it in the morning. I suspected that they were put in Kate’s bag rather than her's as they are similar and were in the same room.

Well earlier than I would have liked Saturday morning, we did finally track down Teresa’s keys at Kate's. Off to Aldinga we must go and we are gonna throw in The Star of Greece restaurant at Port Willunga for a coffee and some sunshine. I was blown away by Port Willunga Beach and its views, breathtaking and a small reminder of what this trip is all about in its entirety, not just teaching, and as of late I have lost sight of that. We sat and had a coffee, took in the sunshine and scenery and I had an overdue reality check that I needed and for good reasons. We then decided to check out Aldinga and that took one Salvos and 10 minutes and we were off to check out beds. That’s right, I said beds, as Teresa’s apparently is terrible and it is time for a new one. So we head to Noarlunga to check out beds. This proved to be a comfy experience except for the fact that the woman was struggling to figure out if we were sleep partners lol. We informed her that at times, yes, we have been forced to be, but we don’t make a habit of it. I am sure she is not the first one to question the two Canadians who tend to have too much fun at times and make people question our preference as well as our sanity. After this experience, we term this day and many upcoming ones as… The best Day of My Life! We then decided to head back to Seacliff and watch movies and over indulge in left over party snacks from Game's Night.

The next weekend was jam packed with many outings and a sinus infection. I think it’s because I am never not cold and chilled to the bone. Thursday I was fortunate enough to be invited to Bec and Matt’s house for dinner, which was delicious and great conversation. After school on Friday I had the most amazing Ayurvedic massage and experience. I joined in with some of the other staff in a farewell celebration for our Principal at Flagstaff Hill Golf Course, the meal was divine and I was super impressed. I headed home early because I was not feeling great. Saturday was packed with making a dessert, catching up with Ben’s sister Jacqui for lunch and checking out her new digs, then off to a SAETL potluck at my buddy Denise’s house. Lots of people were there, great food and a nice catch up. I will miss the next upcoming planned trip yet again as I will be on the school ski trip.

Sunday Teresa and I had a day planned, well we planned to do something but weren’t sure what. We got into her mom’s car and headed out. We drove towards the hills and made some stops on the way. First stop, Windy Point which is not only known for its spectacular views of the city, but for some people it’s a known make out spot. None of that was taking place at this time of day thankfully. From here we continued uphill and made our way toward Stirling where we stumbled upon some markets as well as Ruby’s Café for breakfast. The food was organic, gluten free, dairy free, and vegan if you wanted and the prices were not outrageous. The breakfast was delicious. I had French toast with bacon and maple syrup; I hadn’t had that in years and enjoyed every morsel. We wandered the markets and decided to move on to the next stop, Hahndorf.

This is such a cute and quaint little town with of course a little German influence. It is filled with many shops, great food, and drink. I had been here before and wanted to come back and take in all the little shops, as most people know this is one of my favourite past times. In between having a look-see, eating a pretzel, we hit RockBare Winery for a tasting. Not such a bad way to spend the afternoon. Last stop, the giant rocking horse at Gumeracha. We arrived just as the sun was starting to go down and too late to go into the wildlife park. So a few model shots were taken and now it was time to head home. Well, of course nothing is ever really easy with the two of us and so far it had been smooth sailing. We ended up on a not so such a joyful ride through winding roads, in the hills, with darkness falling upon us and not a lot of confidence in the GPS. However, we finally found out way toward Mt. Lofty and emerged from the trees to experience the most amazing, crimson red sunset I can actually say I have ever seen. It was unreal. Well, very similar to last weekend, this day was the Best Day of My Life! Last week of school, here we go!

Holidays have arrived and I couldn’t be more excited. I am so excited for my trip and the days leading up to it. It turned out to be a neighbourly jam packed weekend. Friday night there was tea with the J family at the South Adelaide footy club and a catch up afterward. Saturday was a day filled with annoying yard work. Annoying in the sense of the palm leaves are even dangerous, the bins aren’t big enough for all of the waste, and the back yard still needs some more fine tuning. The rest of the arvo was spent catching up on the phone to home. I then headed back to the neighbors for a backyard fire pit, drinks, pizza, and jumping on the trampoline- this brought me back to the days where countless hours were spent jumping and gallons of ice tea were consumed with Sar and Anna. Then the plans were made for the following day. I was required to be back here by 9am for a breakfast then we headed off to explore the Fleurieu Peninsula.

A feast was consumed prior to loading into the car on a warm and sunny day. We went all over, through hills, winding roads and this again reminded me of the drives my dad would take us on as kids. I loved taking in the scenery. We stopped in many places, and Simon will be spewing if he ever reads this, I don’t remember all the stops, the names that is. We went off roading in Deep Creek; we took in views of Kangaroo Island from Cape Jarvis, and ended up in Victor Harbor. Of course the J family is always prepared so aside from all the snacks in the car, the blanket was rolled out on the grass, drinks were served and lunch was from the local fish “n” chip shop where I had previously eaten with Ben’s sister and mom. We enjoyed lunch, kicked the footy, did some gymnastics, wandered into a shop and then decided to head to Goolwa to see if we could stop in at their friend’s coffee shop and have a chat and a coffee. We missed them by half an hour. We headed down to the wharf where the Murray River meets the Southern Ocean. We had a glass of Riesling from 90 Mile Wines and then headed home. I hung out in their lounge soaked up the heater and then after 12 solid hours, figured it was time to head home. What an Awesome weekend with the J family!



Well my last commitment prior to heading for Broome and my Kimberley Tour was lunch with V, Heather and Susie at the River Café on the Torrens in the city. We had a beautiful entree, meal, and dessert with a great view and great company.

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Photos

Port Willunga
Remains of the Jetty

Sunshine and Coffee
Can't beat this view!

Ride a rocking horse.
My version of Stampede?