yo ho ho and a bottle of....cab merlot?

Pinch me...I must be either dead or dreaming. The summer here in Australia just keeps getting better. First their was our journey to Rottnest Island; then the boys had a fishing expedition; Camerin and Lucas are learning to sail this week; and last Friday evening Steve and I signed up for a twighlight sail at the yacht club we joined. (yea, yea; bring on the "Buffy" jokes...) This weekend coming up we leave for a 4 day camping excursion to a world famous winery region called Margaret River. Yahoo!


























Anyway, back to the sailing; it was a perfect evening for a sail. P E R F E C T. It had been a very hot day, but on the water there was a cooling breeze. Usually in the evening the wind comes up and whips the ocean into a frenzy of whitecaps and swells that are anything BUT swell if you want to be on a sail boat. This night was different and boy, was it awesome. We were paired with a couple who were retired for about a year. We had plenty of wine, beer and conversation. They shared their life and travels with us and we shared ours with them. Instant best friends. A wonderful couple with four grown children who clearly know how to live large and enjoy the blessings they've been given. What a great evening.
Their boat was humble and small, but that night it was just what we all needed. We watched as the sun dipped into the ocean, wishing it didn't have to come to an end. Indeed, when we finished our twighlight sail we joined the other sailors in the bar at the yacht club. All in all about 15 or 20 boats went out on that summer's evening, taking a full load of delighted passengers for a sunset cruise...
Afterware, the camaraderie shared by all the sail boat skippers in the bar was like a little club they all belonged to with a language all their own. They went out of their way to be friendly and make sure we came back again. That is a bit of the Aussie spirit you hear about in the States.
Cheers, mate.

Summer Corkah

That's what they say here when it's going to be a really hot day..."it's gonna be a corkah"; it comes out "corkah" because they don't pronounce their "r's" here. Very similar to a New England accent in the States. They add all the misplaced "r's" onto words that otherwise don't have an "r", and then remove them for the words that do have an "r". i.e., "put the cah in the cah pahk, mate" (they call parking lots car parks). One of the funniest and most twisted examples of how they use or don't use the letter "r" came up at Sam and Camerin's school play. It was a play about the adventures of Marco Polo. Spoken in true Aussie dialect, Marco Polo actually sounds like "Marcar, Polar". I think we were almost ejected from the audience during the play, Steve and I were laughing so hard. Anyway....I digress.

Summer is in full swing here. Hot, hot, hot. Even I, well-known sun worshipper, have taken to slathering on sun screen, covering up my shoulders and wearing a hat. It is incredibly intense. But, no humidity to speak of and really not unlike our beloved Medford summers. The sun just feels merciless here, though. I swim every day, if I can find the time. The kids....not so much. They seem reluctant to go, but love it when they are there. I don't get it. They are quite adept at whining about the sand that gets everywhere, but there are fresh water showers everywhere at the beach so it doesn't seem like a huge deal to me.



The surf seems bigger to me than it did when we arrived in May. I was seriously chewed up and spit out by a rogue wave recently, and now the sea has my undivided and full attention when I'm in it. Yessir, Mr. Ocean, sir!
The kids are having a relaxing time of it; sleeping in and "hanging out" when they get up. Ah, youth is surely wasted on the young. It's just over 3 weeks until they head back to school. Actually, I know how many hours it is too....
But, things start popping next week. Lucas and Sam are taking a fishing clinic at the yacht club we joined; the following week Lucas and Cami are learning to sail a boat. Lucas is also taking a course to get his dive certificate, so he and his Dad can go diving together. Very cool.
The last week of January we are going camping with some friends in an area about 3 hours south of Perth known as Margaret River. From what I understand, it sounds like Napa with an ocean. Lots of wineries, shops, beach, and kid activities. I'm looking forward to getting away.
School will be on in early February. We'll see what that will bring! Three kids at three different schools. Shouldn't be boring....

Here's to the summer of 2009...so far, it's a corkah. Happy New Year to everyone, God Bless and much success in 2009....
Cheers!

State Flower of Western Australia...Kangaroo Paws

local vegetation known as Black Boys...odd aren't they?