Apple Cup! Winless Season!

Do I really need to say more? Not really but without overdoing it I did like the start to this news story and thought it deserving of mention on Sunburned Feet...

"PULLMAN -- Outside Martin Stadium, where Cougars fans were still frolicking Saturday afternoon as if they'd just clinched a Rose Bowl berth, one Washington State student jumped into another's arms and yelled, "This is the greatest day of my life!"

Happy frolicking Coug fans!

Have a great day.

- M

Northern Rivers - wrapping up (days 3 & 4)

We could get used to this sleeping-in thing, especially when followed by a swim and a walk to get pancakes and coffee. The only energetic thing we did on day three was to get a couple of bikes from the hotel and cruise around the beaches and drop in on a few open houses. A super chilled day. The highlight was our only fancy meal of the trip at Finns - Kelly's friend from work had raved about this place and it was good.

Day 4. Our last hurrah! After a swim we checked out of the hotel and as we had some time to kill before flying home we decided to get on the road to Bangalow again - it was market day in the town. We really had expected a small farmers type market. No, no, wrong! This thing was big and it was hopping. The hippies had come into town from their mud huts and there were some crusties to be seen, there were also some pretty high fashion couples, bikies, in all a bit of a miss-mash but great people watching. The markets were also superb.

We were gone for four days but it seemed like a lot longer. We will be back up to this part of the country again for sure. We missed Luca a ton and as soon as we got on the Rockstar to fly back to Sydney we were both impatient to see him.

Northern Rivers - small townin' (day 2)

We were sort of excited about getting to sleep-in these holidays so we rolled out of bed at 9:30. Kel headed off to the Spa for some pampering and I went for a waddle on the beach - I definitely bit off more than I could chew and ended up nearly keeling over and had a forty minute walk back along the beach to where we were staying.
Some funky big houses in the area around the hotel so we did a bit of exploring and after lunch decided to chance it with a trip out to the hinterland to visit a small town called Bangalow. Jackpot! Bangalow was great, what Byron should be. Lot's of original small town character, unbelievably cool shops and some nice art work. We ended up spending hours wandering around.

It was pretty warm out in Bangalow although not one word of complaint from my heavily pregnant wife, she is definitely a trooper. It was time to get back to the beach and the pool. I needed to cool off and give myself some time to think about what to put on the line with this years Apple Cup bet - I was feeling confident!

Northern Rivers - beachin' (day 1)

It's bittersweet leaving the little guy for 4 days but after a short trip on Rockstar we we're feeling the warmth. The sun is out, the skies are blue, Kelly is hitting her fourth Australian state (Queensland) and turning 31 all at once.

We jump into the rental and wave good bye to the Gold Coast as quickly as we can, heading for the NSW border and a slower pace. We make a quick stop to view the Miamiesque skyline of Surfers Paradise and are more than happy with our decision not to hang around.

We spent the morning checking out the northern NSW coast culminating in a lunch time stop in Byron Bay. Some beautiful beaches and disconcerting warning signs "brown snakes are prevelent in this area" are the highlights. Byron has only gotten bigger and more bustling since I was here in 1998, the beach is still beautiful however and the view from the lighthouse headland spectacular. After a quick bite we headed back north along the coast to find our hotel and for once it lived up to the promise of the brochures. We took a dip in the massive pool and spent some time lounging around and reading (these activities were repeated numerous times over the next three days). We drove to a nearby small town (Kingscliffe) for dinner and ran into the gnarliest looking line of black clouds I have ever seen. By the time we had our food and were in the car the storm had let loose. We had about 5 miles to drive but it was pretty scary with the sky pitch black except when interupted by crazy lighting and thunder all the while it was raining sideways. Glad to be back in the hotel that night.

The Race That Stops A Nation

A public holiday in half the country and it may as well be in the rest of the country. The Melbourne Cup is a BIG deal down here.

For Luca just a chance to hang out with his friends an extra time this week and get an ice cream cone as a special treat. Almost as good as winning the trifecta!