Sunday, July 24, 2005
tropical holiday update part the first
OK, so now I've been back for 4 days, and I need to get back into life as we know it. I went to work on Friday, D'Arcy came down with gastro last night (at his dad's place) and my dad who is in hospital trying to recover from surgery for colon cancer has had a setback, so all in all, back to normal....Was i away? Ah yes, I was. It was lovely.
Let's see, we left home on the 10th of July at 6.30 am, flew to Brisbane and then to Cairns, where we were met by D'Arcy's grandparents and Aunty (who was leaving that day). We spent time in Cairns, especially going to the lagoon, which is actually a free public pool (like the one at Southbank in Brisbane, only better) where D'Arcy pottered around in the water, gettin used to the idea again, after months of cold. Yes, it was warm.
After some hours of being in the sun, we leapt into the car to drive south to lovely Bingil Bay. D'Arcy is now the fourth generation of my family to holiday there. My grandparents used to drive up from Melbourne every 2nd year to escape the cold, and a couple of times we went up for a few weeks. Last time I was there was 30 years ago, and things have changed a bit, but not much really. 40 years ago my granparents met this hippy couple on the beach who had dropped out and built themselves a little house with only one wall. Their ambition was to sit on the beach every day, eat pawpaws and be happy. They are still there. In their 70s now, and very brown and wrinkly from all that sun, but still in the same place, still eating pawpaws. They remember my grandparents fondly, and remembered me and mum from our visits too.
By the time we arrived, having detoured to the supermarket for dinner supplies it was evening, so no beach for us that day. We went the next day though, and D'Arcy dug long channels down to the water. He was amazed at the coconut palms and insisted on bringing a few back to the house with him. Pete humoured him and opened one, and D'Arcy exclaimed "I like coconut now" and ate a whole lot of it.
If you want more photos, just click on the beach one, and it'll take you to my Flickr account where there are a few more...golly I'm tired now. I'll have to continue tomorrow night.
Let's see, we left home on the 10th of July at 6.30 am, flew to Brisbane and then to Cairns, where we were met by D'Arcy's grandparents and Aunty (who was leaving that day). We spent time in Cairns, especially going to the lagoon, which is actually a free public pool (like the one at Southbank in Brisbane, only better) where D'Arcy pottered around in the water, gettin used to the idea again, after months of cold. Yes, it was warm.
After some hours of being in the sun, we leapt into the car to drive south to lovely Bingil Bay. D'Arcy is now the fourth generation of my family to holiday there. My grandparents used to drive up from Melbourne every 2nd year to escape the cold, and a couple of times we went up for a few weeks. Last time I was there was 30 years ago, and things have changed a bit, but not much really. 40 years ago my granparents met this hippy couple on the beach who had dropped out and built themselves a little house with only one wall. Their ambition was to sit on the beach every day, eat pawpaws and be happy. They are still there. In their 70s now, and very brown and wrinkly from all that sun, but still in the same place, still eating pawpaws. They remember my grandparents fondly, and remembered me and mum from our visits too.
By the time we arrived, having detoured to the supermarket for dinner supplies it was evening, so no beach for us that day. We went the next day though, and D'Arcy dug long channels down to the water. He was amazed at the coconut palms and insisted on bringing a few back to the house with him. Pete humoured him and opened one, and D'Arcy exclaimed "I like coconut now" and ate a whole lot of it.
If you want more photos, just click on the beach one, and it'll take you to my Flickr account where there are a few more...golly I'm tired now. I'll have to continue tomorrow night.
Friday, July 08, 2005
Two sleeps and counting
We leave on Sunday for our big trip, and I'm still sick, but hoping that sticking my head in some tropical ocean will fix the last of this lurgi. D'Arcy is keen, except that he will miss Nippy, but he's looking forward to hunting for dinosaur fossils (?!?!) and seeing some cassowaries. He's not so keen on the thought of cyclones (wrong season) and freshwater crocodiles (we'll be careful). He's also excited about seeing our friend Davy and chasing some butterflies with him, not to mention swimming, and hanging out with the grandparents. Updates over the next 2 weeks will be infrequent (no internet access) but we will take lots of photos to put up when we get back, with lots of stories.
I haven't been this far north (Cairns) for 30 years, so I am looking forward to it. Any real-world friends can expect postcards if we get it together enough, though how together can you be lying on a beach eating pawpaws and custard apples? (Sorry, I'll stop rubbing it in now) We will be thinking of you all, and missing you terribly!
I haven't been this far north (Cairns) for 30 years, so I am looking forward to it. Any real-world friends can expect postcards if we get it together enough, though how together can you be lying on a beach eating pawpaws and custard apples? (Sorry, I'll stop rubbing it in now) We will be thinking of you all, and missing you terribly!
Saturday, July 02, 2005
No photo today
Yep. We've got the 'flu. D'Arcy started it last weekend when he was in Sydney with his dad. His dad came back with it, I drove them to the homoeopath on Wednesday, and by Friday it had me. I'd forgotten how horrible it is, the aches, the nausea, the head full of cotton wool...D'Arcy has the most fabulous cough now, and I packed him off to his dad's yesterday so that I could spend the day unconscious, Dad now being mostly better...
On the upside, we leave for our tropical holiday in just over a week, so lucky that we got sick now...
On the upside, we leave for our tropical holiday in just over a week, so lucky that we got sick now...
