One Year in Brisbane

Erik swimming at South Bank (At about 5:00 pm October 14th, it was still pretty warm)

Wow! One year already! It's hard to believe we've been here a whole year. IT's gone by very quickly, and we've gone quite a few places: Up the coast to Bribie Island, Noosa, Hervey Bay, Fraser Island, the Whitsundays (at least Erik and I) then inland to Carnarvon Gorge, a farmstay near the Bunya Mountains, and also down the New England Highway to Sydney and the Blue Mountains. All the same, there is still so much to see: Byron Bay, the Snowy Mountains, Northern Queensland, the Great Barrier Reef, Tasmania, Uluru and Kakadu, even going back to Sydney would be fun. If all goes well, we'll be here at least another year or two, so we can explore some more.

Needless to say we are very glad to be in Australia. To celebrate our time in Brisbane, we went back to the first places we frequented upon our arrival. We went to South Bank, played at the "beach", took the City Cat over to the Central Business District, walked along the riverside past the Marriott where we stayed at first, and then had dinner at the pasta bar we ate at on our first night. I remember it quite well because Erik was so jetlagged that he fell asleep at the table and didn't wake up until the next morning.

This year has had it's ups and downs. On the plus side, we've gone lots of adventures, made lots of new friends, had many visits from friends and family, come closer together as a family, seen Erik grow and learn to read, and even saved money while living in a much nicer house. On the downside, we've suffered from countless mosquito bites, missed family, especially around holidays, spent many of the hotter days (Nov-Feb) sitting inside with the air conditioning on, and missed hiking, boating and skiing in lovely Pacific Northwest.

We've done some hiking here, but it's not quite the same, no cool forests of pine and fir, no alpine meadows or snow fields, just lots of gum, fig and palm trees. Hopefully, we'll find some of what we are missing in New Zealand on our visit after Christmas or on a later trip to the South Island. As for boating, I think we've almost given up on sailing here except Sail and Play camp for Erik and maybe a charter in the Whitsundays. It doesn't make sense to buy a boat for just a year (or two?) and the old plywood club boats (Mirrors, Herrons)that we can take out aren't don't appeal to Mark. Also, the yacht club that we are most interested doesn't even offer loaner boats and is about 45 minute drive away, which after being 5 minutes from Shilshole, seems so far. It's somewhat disappointing because there is great wind here and it's so warm, no foulies or fleece.

Currently, I'm looking into kayaks as a way to get out on the water. On Saturday, I went paddling with a local kayaking/canoeing club and had a fun time, but their focus is more on racing while I want to do touring, so getting my own kayak might be the best. I'll keep you posted.