Thursday, October 17, 2024
It was a long, slow travel day with one cancelled flight, another flight that was delayed, a missed connection and a wait for a third flight that put us into Newcastle at 8:30pm. We were supposed to be there at 3:30. Consequently, we missed dinner with our friends, Catherine and Martin, and instead, had a late snack, a glass of wine and some time to chat in their Fingal Bay house. We had no trouble getting to sleep.
Friday, October 18, 2024
Fingal Bay is a small town right on the Pacific Ocean about 3 hours north of Sydney. Martin and Catherine gave us a tour of the town and we had a pleasant stroll at Nelson Bay marina and Shoal Bay beach in front of their townhouse.
Back at the house, Catherine made us all tasty grilled cheese sandwiches, we packed up our bags and left for their primary home in Newcastle, an hour south.
On the way, Martin drove us to the top of a hill called Gan Gan, the aboriginal word for “white breasted fish hawk”, where we got a commanding view of the countryside including small towns, beaches and the Pacific Ocean.
We learned that the population of Newcastle is 500+K. That the city was founded in 1801 as a coal harbor and a penal colony. The city is still a major exporter of grain and coal. After arriving in the dark it was nice to see the setting around us.
We arrived at their home in Newcastle about 1pm. We had heard about it for a long time and it was nice to finally get to see their lovely 2 acre garden and expansive home.
We did not have much time to settle in before Catherine delivered me to a shop in Hamilton, a suburb of Newcastle, where I received a much needed pedicure and some purple polish. Then she drove me to a hair salon where I received a cut and color. Those beauty jobs done, the 4 of us drove to their son Andrew and his wife, Sinead’s (pronounced Shinade) apartment for cocktails and a view of nearby Bar Beach. We were so engaged in the conversation that we forgot to take any photos, but we did get some details about them. Sinead is a psychologist and Andrew is a business manager. They are young, enthusiastic and career oriented and made me aware of my age.
Late afternoon we returned to Catherine and Martin’s home and were soon joined by their daughter Sophie, a newly graduated anesthesiologist in training, and her husband Luke, a construction project manager. They too are young, enthusiastic and career oriented.
I did get some photos of their lovely home and a local kookaburra bird sitting in the old gum tree.
Saturday, October 19, 2024
Martin and Catherine are up early swimming in their pool, an activity they do every day. By 8am we were having breakfast and discussing the day, The plan was for us to do a morning walk followed by a drive to Hunter Valley, return to the house and prepare for a party at 4pm for about 30 friends of the White’s and their family.
The walk was very interesting as it was on an elevated walkway called ANZAC, for Australia, New Zealand Army Corp. in memory of the people who fought in WWI. We also walked along Bar Beach.
Then we drove 35 kilometers west to the wine country. Beautiful rolling green hills full of vines.
We stopped at one winery but did not stay as the place was fully booked. From there we stopped at a grocery store called “Coles”in a large new subdivision to see the place and buy a few items for the afternoon party. Then it was full steam ahead to get home and ready for the party.
At 3:30 the family arrived, including Joan Smith, Sinead’s mother. We had a pleasant time together, before the guests arrived.
Sunday, October 20, 2024
After a leisurely morning we left the house at 10am and headed for Lake Macquarie and our new friend’s boat, the Beyond Cool. It is owned by Mark and CarolAnne Clement, who graciously welcomed us onto their boat along with Catherine and Martin and Rob, who was Martin’s anesthesiologist and his wife, Jana. Everyone, except Mark and I, brought food to share and a feast we did have after motoring an hour into the lake to the lee of an island where we dropped anchor and began eating and drinking. The weather grew warmer and sunnier as the day went on. Soon we were eating boiled prawns with a mustard sauce. Then, Mark fired up the BBQ, and cooked a boneless lamb shoulder that had been seasoned in a Greek marinade. Then it was rested in a faux fur blanket until the rest of dinner was ready, including roasted potatoes, and slaw salad with cashews. We all ate like kings, who, speaking of which, is in Australia at the moment and will be in Sydney when are. It will be interesting to see how that turns out.
Everyone had a grand time. Finally, at about 4pm, Mark put up the head sail and we flew home on a tailing wind. By 5pm the four of us were home and chilling. It had been a delightful and busy weekend. Tomorrow we head for Sydney.
Adventures with Julia 