Archive for travel

What Katie did Next….

23/11/2011 Joh family, travel

Tonight I called into my parents after work to hang out a little with my baby sister on her whirlwind visit home. She’s been home less than two weeks and she’s off again. Since she was home last she’s worked on Rottnest Island and travelled around NT to the Kimberlies and other locations such as Broome in WA. Now she’s off to some place in QLD that I must say I’ve never heard of. She’ll return in several months for a quick visit before she heads off overseas.

She is well travelled that’s for sure. She has lots of interesting anecdotes about her adventures. This time involving snakes and tour guides, as well as silly things tourists do. It’s great to listen to them. What I enjoy most though are the laughs I have with her. I don’t even know what we laugh about half the time. Just at each other.

Tonight she was banging on about a fairly typical theme of how old I am. Kate is 16 years younger than me. Then my daughter arrived and demonstrated an amusing exchange on ‘hey tell’ and she was suddenly feeling old and out of the loop. Quite amusing for me… although she’d never admit it.

She’ll be off tomorrow. Mum and dad will resume their quiet, retired, summer at home, and I won’t laugh as hard next time I visit.

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Happy New Moon

03/05/2011 Joh Business, family, food, learn, travel, work

The new moon has brought me energy. I had a nap after work and now I feel great. Darin made pizza wraps today. I had one this afternoon and it was delicious but I think it was too much for me and made me sleepy. I think I’ll stick to just soup for lunch tomorrow. Having said that, the fish is back tomorrow so I’m not sure I’ll be able to resist that:)

I have finally got all my financial commitments in place. The next quest is to get everything into the accounting software by the 12th so I can submit my BAS statement. I have been really slack with my paperwork. I spent the whole weekend sorting it out and making arrangements with people where I am unable to pay by the due date. I had all these piles of paper everywhere and it was a mess. It’s not like me really, I usually don’t mind that kind of stuff. I think once you start neglecting something though, it becomes a sore point. I have found this great service: MYOB online. Due to recent upheaval with laptop, I think an online accounting system is a good plan for me.

Anyway I am having a night off because I think it’s all pretty much in order now and I feel satisfied that I can take the next step with more ease. I’ve got my feet up and I’m enjoying Cath’s homemade Bailey’s she left here on the weekend for me. We had friends around for dinner and games on Saturday night. It was fun. The Bailey’s is always a favourite. Cath and I have enjoyed it many a night!

I just can’t wait to see Tom on the weekend, at his place:). I now have the booking retrieved from Jetstar. I lost that email when my laptop went on a holiday. I must say they were very helpful. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much interaction with an airline before and I’m pleased that when I’ve needed to – they’ve been great.

I feel good because not only have I restored most of the important things about my online life, but I’ve improved it. So I guess it was one of those annoying but useful things.

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Collecting Tom

21/01/2011 Joh Business, family, food, gratitude, travel, work

Today I’m going to pick Tom up from the airport. I’m very excited to see him. He’s coming home for the weekend for a friends 21st that we have both been invited to. On our trip home I expect we’ll be discussing his 21st which is coming up in May. He’s planning to have it on Hamilton Island so I imagine that not everyone will be able to make it. I was against that when he first suggested it, but after a few discussions and the bottom line that it is his 21st, I have come round. I’m excited now about going there myself because after all it is probably going to take an occasion like this to get me there. I’m worried I won’t want to come back because it sounds so beautiful.

We’ll have all our children around this weekend, so it is going to be a busy one. I love these family times though.

I’m really lucky that Asha is around to help Darin out in the shop, even though he probably would be fine as he insists on his own. We have had a pretty quiet week at work. A couple of steady days but two days where I wondered if we shouldn’t have stayed on holidays. I’m reassured that once people come and eat, they usually return again and again and the feedback is always good. The plates from the ‘eating in’ people are always very clean. The regulars stand in front of the bain marie running their eyes up and down the offerings not able to decide because they want it all.

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Bairnsdale in winter

08/08/2010 Joh food, gratitude, travel

Darin had a rare Saturday night off last night and we didn’t have the kids this weekend. We stayed a night in Bairnsdale. Yep, just up the road. I felt too tired to do the whole Melbourne thing and most of the things I want to do in Melbourne at the moment, I would prefer to do with the kids. He’s been working flat out and I knew he needed a leisurely weekend.

I booked into the Riversleigh hotel, where I had stayed about 10 years ago and found to be great. Nothing has changed there, but the service was a little slow. The place was almost empty, so I’m not surprised. It was comfortable and I love the view from their balcony of the Mitchell River.

We drove to Metung first. I hadn’t been there by car before. When I was young my pa had a boat and when we would stay at Lakes Entrance for holidays we’d go and have lunch at the Metung pub if the weather was no good for swimming. It’s a pretty little place. There are some lovely homes there. I had a bit of a stroll through the shops. There were some interesting ones.

We headed back to Bairnsdale and walked around the town. We stopped for a donor kebab that was pretty ordinary, but the decor of the place was interesting. It amused us. We did a bit of shopping, bought some clothes, gifts and kitchen utensils. Then we checked in and checked out the menu at Riversleigh. It didn’t inspire so we headed out again.

We virtually did a pub crawl around all the spots in Bairnsdale. The Grand Terminus was the chosen dinner spot and I had a delicious meal of pork steak on cheesy polenta. It was yum. We watched the footy, Darin was pleased to see Collingwood win (as usual I didn’t really care, but was happy for him). We had a couple of bets that paid off and generally had some interesting chats to locals and enjoyed watching the nightlife in a different place. We ended up in a pub next door to where we were staying where a good covers band were playing.

It’s been a beautiful sunny weekend and it feels like I’ve been away for days. It’s lovely to be with someone who smiles at the same things and we had uninterupted chats and hearty giggles. It was a real treat.

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Jetstar Responds

04/08/2010 Joh gratitude, travel

It’s good to know there are people interested in fixing things that don’t work. Early yesterday I got an email in response to my previous blog post and they are doing all they can to work out the problem including help me fix my own personal problem of getting the tickets at the price they originally were.

Jetstar were proactive in emailing me directly and working through the problem with me including having an online session so they could see what my browser was doing. I really appreciated their service and fast action to correct.

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Jetstar Not Working

02/08/2010 Joh astrology, travel

I have been trying for the past couple of days to book a flight for Tom home from Hamilton Island with Jetstar. After shopping around the websites for the best match (direct, $$$, times), I found their flights to be a perfect fit. I just can’t get past the passenger details page. It’s very annoying. I’ve even sent a customer service email… still not working.

The astrologers are mentioning an impending Mercury retrograde and recommending computer backups and so forth. Perhaps this is the first sign for me.

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Beach is Back

01/11/2009 Joh family, relationships, travel

I dipped in the sea yesterday. We went to Inverloch with the kids. The water was cold, but I couldn’t resist. The carpark at the surf beach was full so we went to the beach near the town. The girls swam with me. Dad and son dug a big hole and buried himself.

Then we headed for some food and as always the Italian place had delicious pizza and pasta. I like the woman who takes my order. She’s has such a beautiful, warm and open face. I feel I can ask for anything and it will be no problem. The food is consistently delicious.

I texted Tom, as sitting in front of the place reminded me of last year with him and his friends. We had some great feasts there in our bathers last year. Lots of laughs too. He called me back. We exchanged news, this has been a busy week for it. He sounds well and as though he is enjoying his life. It’s not long until he comes back for another weekend and I must say I am looking forward to it.

We then headed back to play in the waves as the crowd was disappearing. It was a fun and full day. I was glad Darin was driving home because the sun, swimming and the belly full of pasta made for a drowsy drive home. Instead of loud music all the way home, we played ‘I Spy’ and then ‘sleeping tigers’.

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Monday

26/10/2009 Joh travel, work

When I was on camp last week I changed my alarm from 6.00 to 7.30. I didn’t want to wake the kids up that early! Thursday and Friday mornings I woke up by myself before the alarm was needed, so I didn’t really bother to change it. This morning though, when the alarm woke me, the rush began.

I had an excursion today to Tarra Bulga National Park. I hadn’t prepared the night before because I was tired. So I was in a big rush. I had to get lunch to take with me and I missed breakfast because I simply didn’t have time. It’s was so busy with camp last week that I hadn’t prepared properly for the excursion and had left it till this morning.

I arrived in morning briefing just on time and waited for someone to start before being told that it was me. My turn had come up to chair the meeting. After giving the staff their usual 30 seconds to read the bulletin, I launched into a conversation with another teacher about the day ahead and had to be interupted to be reminded that everyone was waiting for me to continue.

Despite my disorganised beginning, the excursion, which had been very well prepared and planned by the teachers who had organised it, went off without a hitch. I work with some great people.

The trip to Tarra Bulga revealed to me the extent of our local bushfires. It was a horrifying sight and the bus driver who lives out that way took us down his street to show us the rebuilding. He said that 40 % of the people whose homes burnt down won’t be returning. The ones who were have new homes well underway.

The park itself was still as I remember it from my trip with Andrew years ago. The kids enjoyed the day and learnt a lot. I was surprised that although it is less than an hour away from where we live only a small number of students had visited before. It is a beautiful place. The air is different.

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Home Again

22/10/2009 Joh gratitude, home, travel, work

It was beautiful weather at Tamboritha. The creeks were full and flowing with the melted snow. We walked to Thomastown on the first day. The water was freezing, not that I wet more than my feet. It was numbing.

I rode the horses morning and afternoon on Tuesday. We rode through the bush and along the creek on the plains in front of the hut. It was sunny and the air was crisp. They were perfect conditions. I was at the back of the line so I missed a lot of the little thrills experienced by the kids, they certainly shared them that night in the huts in front of the fire. I laughed till tears rolled down my face and my stomach hurt. It still brings a chuckle thinking of some of the reactions of the students to their first horse ride.

The night sky was clear and there was no moon on Monday night giving the stars the best opportunity to show themselves. I felt really lucky to enjoy such a view. The second night the small sliver of a moon and the lightest clouds gave a different view, no less enjoyable.

I am so glad to be back from camp. I’m tired.  I love being home and I missed Darin. It was probably the longest length of time we’ve been apart since we met! My parents are home from their Winter nomading and it was great to see their tanned faces again. Knowing it was possibly my last year 9 camp at Tamboritha, I appreciated the environment and the conditions have never been better.

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The Ada Tree

22/09/2009 Joh family, relationships, travel

spring-equinox-blog.jpgYesterday Darin and I went for a drive. We were heading for Yarra Junction to have a look around and I spotted a sign to the Ada Tree. I have always wanted to be at that old tree, so we made a detour down the dirt track, walked through the ferny rainforest and there it was. The signs say the tree is just over 300 years old. It’s huge. It’s a miracle of survival with all the logging and bushfires that have been through that area.

On the way there driving through the trees we came across a couple of patches of scarred logged land. It’s so ugly. That area was logged by my grandfather in the late 1930s and he was caught in a bushfire that was documented for an ABC website, so it is a significant area to me. I’ve heard Pa mention the Ada track in his stories of those times.

Leaving the Ada track, we took a different turn and found ourselves no longer on the way to Yarra Junction, ending up in Marysville. I have never seen such devastation from fires and I’ve been through a few fire ravaged areas. It was very sad and eerie. We took a very long way but eventually arrived at our intended destination. The day was done though, so there was not much time spent there before heading home. I think I’d had my fill of sights and adventures for the day.

It was the spring equinox yesterday in Australia.

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