Weekend in South Australia

This past weekend I went to Adelaide to visit The Chapmans; Doug, Ruth, Max and Thomas.  Doug is one of the owners of the Sea Ray dealership in Adelaide, and we became friends before I left the company.  As there is a lot of laughter constantly surrounding Doug,  I made it a point to get to SA as quickly as possible for a weekend.  Unfortunately my camera was dead for most of the weekend as a result of some very poor planning, but I do have SOME photos.

I arrived on Friday, and went with Doug to the pub for a late lunch and some wine tasting.  The whites in SA are incredible, and their Sauvingnon Blancs are regarded almost a highly as those from New Zealand.  

On Saturday, I went to the Adelaide Oval for day two of the 2nd test match between Australia and West Indies.  Doug and Ruth are members, which I guess is a big deal.  I don't understand crickets at all myself, but we had a really great time.  I was very close to Ricky Ponting, one of the world's best cricketeers, and enjoyed the sun and Pimms for the afternoon.  After each over, little kids come out and play on the oval.

Cricket at the Adelaide Oval

After the cricket (and a nap), we went to meet some of Ruth and Doug's friends for dinner.  We had a great meal at a local Korean restaurant, and then headed out for some karaoke.  I'll spare you the video.  

Doug has always told me about the koalas in his yard, so I was very excited when Max, 8, jumped up from the breakfast table to alert us that there was a koala in the big gum tree behind the house.  After that, Sunday was a lazy day spent watching A Christmas Story and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. 

Friendly neighborhood koala

Me and Bertie Chapman 

Thomas,5 and Max, 8

On Monday, I went to work with Doug at his family's marina to help with some Compass and warranty training for Sea Rays.  On the way home we stopped in Handorf, a little German village in the Adelaide hills for a couple of beers and then home for dinner.  I flew into Perth on Tuesday morning and took a taxi straight to work!  And it has been a VERY crazy week.

An Aussie Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is my favorite day of the year. I really like turkey, and, although I don't particularly like the feel after I gorge myself, I look forward to next year on Black Friday. Despite a snag in the plans for this year, I had a great Thanksgiving, and cooked a full meal for 8 Aussies! We had turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, angel biscuits, corn on the cob, green beans, brussell sprouts, pumpkin pie and whoopie pies. Everything was delicious, everyone ate too much, and Stephen and Aileen even came back for lunch the next day! The event started on Friday when I went grocery shopping with the Wren girls! Here are some photos of the weekend!

Caitlin and the shopping list

Taryn and the trolley full of groceries

Thanksgiving decorations courtesy of Mama Link

Aileen, Jo and Shan waiting for the food

Stephen carving the turkey

And I got the wishbone!

The spread

An Aussie Thanksgiving with a proper ending

Those Famous Aussie Sunsets!

I really don't know if they are famous or not, but here are some of the photos I took while I was house-sitting.  All photos were taken from the kitchen.

DIY Wine Chests, Little Creatures and a Championship Match

This past Friday, Amy and I decided we needed to soak in the spa to relieve the stresses of the week.  However, when the spa is set to 40 Celsius, how are you to keep your wine cold?  Enter the DIY wine chest of which I was VERY proud!

Amy and my creation!

The next day, we headed to Fremantle to browse at the market.  While I was extremely successful in Christmas shopping for Keaton, we quickly developed a thirst that could only be quenched at Little Creatures, a brewery on Fremantle Harbour.  I recommend the Pale Ale if you're ever there.

Little Creatures

The photo is bad but the beer is good!

On Sunday, I headed up to Darryl and Brenda's new house to watch the boxing match in Vegas.  As Darryl works for Challenge's parent company (which manufactures pools), he works with a large number of Filipinos.  As a moral booster, he invited a bunch of the guys up on Sunday morning to watch the fight.  The favorite, Pacquiao, ended up winning and everyone in the house was happy.  Nothing like buffalo wings, BBQ pork skewers, and a lot of other delicious Filipino food that I can't name at 10 am.  I enjoyed it though.  I felt like I was tail-gating!

Darryl and Brenda's new house!

Dylan jumping into the pool

Darryl and Dylan's impromptu boxing match

Darryl manning the wing station!

House-sitting, Glorious House-sitting!

As I said in my last post, I have been house-sitting for the past three weeks at my friend Amy's parents house.  They have been VERY generous allowing me to make myself at home.  This means using the spa, American TV channels and their Saab convertible.  In exchange, I simply needed to mind the house and take care of Guinness, a 14 year old black lab, and Hercules and Helena, their 17 year old cats.  Here are some photos of the house and my housemates.

Front Terrace

Guinness

Pool and Spa

Tennis Court

Hercules and Helena

Koi Pond

Side Terrace

View up the West Coast Highway

Kitchen

Eventful Times with Dead Camera Batteries

While nothing terribly exciting happens during the week (unless you count after-sales service for boats exciting, which I don't), I did have a very good weekend last week. Unfortunately, my camera batteries were dead, so none of the action was documented.



On Saturday, Amy and I went to Burswood, which is a resort, casino, mini Las Vegas strip just south of the Margaret River. We went for what I like to call "extremely low stakes gambling," and Oktoberfest at one of the pubs in the resort. Unfortunately, Oktoberfest was dead in the middle of the afternoon, but the food was good. After promptly losing $40 (my limit) at the $2.50 bet roulette table, we headed to Ikea to buy some things for Amy's house.



That night, we headed to the Paddo, a pub in Mt. Hawthorne, for Amy's birthday celebration. We had a very good time, and even found a stag party with an open bar, so the beers were free! My favorite kind of beer is free beer!



After leaving the Paddo, I headed to another birthday party for my friend Ryan at his house. As I got there a little late, everyone was feeling really good by the time I got there. Amy met up with Taryn and I at Ryan's and we ended up staying over at her house.



Sunday afternoon, I went over to Darryl and Brenda's and swam and played Rock Band. I killed the vocals on "Say It Ain't So"!



Tuesday, I came home from work to some very exciting news. Amy's parents, who live in a house with AMAZING ocean views, were leaving for Melbourne the next day, and were wondering if I would like to house-sit and watch the two cats, both 17, and the dog, 14. The house is beautiful, and the animals are awesome (I'll post some photos later), but the best part is that they have also entrusted me with their Saab convertible. Yes, that's right, I've been driving myself around Perth! Driving on the "wrong" side of the road isn't as scary as you would think, and I've only turned onto the wrong side once. It does feel really good to be able to hop in the car and go, I have to admit. I may need to rethink my whole, "I don't need a car" stance. I don't need one, but I think I might want one now!



I've got another jam packed weekend ahead! Amy's husbad is home from his job working on the oil rigs, so he has requested a "spa party" (a spa is a jacuzzi) at Amy's parents house. So....that should be fun. Tomorrow Darryl and Brenda are moving to their new house, so all hands will be on deck to help. Sunday is looking a bit lazy, and for that, I'm excited.

Next Tuesday is the Melbourne Cup. For those of you who don't know, the entire country stops (literally) to watch Australia's Kentucky Derby. Even at work, we will have a luncheon with chicken, salad, rolls and champagne. Yes, champagne at work. Not something that happens very often in the States. I'll be sure to take some photos and post them.

That's all for now!

Into the Bush

On Sunday, I went for a walk with Darryl and Brenda in the Craigie Bush, which is actually just a park in one of the suburbs.  However, it was really exotic to me!  Here are just a collection of photos.  We saw a lot of parrots and cockatoos in the trees! Luckily, I didn't see any snakes, but we did find a blue tongued skink! 

You can see the parrot if you look REALLY hard!

Blue Tongued Skink

Please note the switch in my hand. It's used to swat flies.