Thanksgiving 2011

Table is set and manicotti is served

This past weekend we had out friends around to celebrate Thanksgiving.  It was a first for some of our guests and we took the time to explain its origins and traditions, as well as how America's indigenous people are so much better off today than they were when the Pilgrims arrived.

Best part of the turkey

We enjoyed a feast of manicotti, turkey, sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows, greens, and ended it all with an apple pie and passionfruit cheesecake.  The manicotti and sweet potatoes were the biggest hits with the newcomers at the table.  Amy and I were saddened and dismayed that people grow up around the world without ever thinking of combining sweet potatoes with marshmallows.  My friend, you have never truly lived.

Mmmmm....beer

A special batch of cappuccino stout was also brewed and served for the occasion.

We even had some NFL piped in over the internet thanks to Amy's brother, James and we got to explain the comparatively byzantine rules and play structure to our local rugby fans.

Sunset over Manly, the pilgrims should have kept on sailing

Sunset looking inland

We were treated to a beautiful sunset as the clouds broke from a week of rain just in time for our guests to arrive.

Dig in!

Happy Thanksgiving, all.

Summer Camping 2: Port Stephens

One Mile Beach. Beautiful.

Towards the end of summer, we decided to have another go at fishing up in the Port Stephens/Seal Rocks area after our last failed attempt. We ventured up on a Friday evening with James and Debs not far behind. The race was on.

We camped at the amazing One Mile Beach Holiday park:

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Like our last camp ground at Treachery, this had its own beach. Unlike the last camp ground, you could go into the water without worrying about being dragged out to sea.

We made the most of this, bodysurfing and swimming for hours both days. The waves were perfect, medium sized but powerful and cleanly breaking. I actually rode across the face of a wave for a short period in a barrel for the first time, this was sublime.

On saturday, after a breakfast of chocolate-bannana pancakes and bodysurfing, we ventured out on a fishing charter via Pacific Blue Charters out of Port Stevens.

Amy, fishing for all womankind

This was a large boat with a knowledgable crew of typical chauvanistic Aussie blokes running the operation. The general attitude was that we were lucky to have the opportunity for them to share their boat with us.

Once we got out to the fishing site, we got geared up. Apparently they couldn't tell Debs and Amy apart either, as they continually called both of them, "doll". Goodonya, mate.

Amy defied them by catching more fish than the other 8 people on the boat combined for a total of 6 teraglin, 1 rock cod, and 1 flathead. James, Debs, and I caught 3 other fish over the course of the day.

The teraglin was something new to us, we had never seen these fish before. They fought most similarly to jewfish, which we catch regularly in Sydney.

At one point, the crew shouted out to the rest of the boat, "whose girlfriend is that in the back corner, I bet you're not bringing her fishing again". The doll they were talking abiut was Amy.

Response, "Are you kidding, if she keeps catching fish, I am going to bring her every time!"

What victory looks like

Anyways, with more fish than we could possibly eat, we ended up giving most of it away to the hapless charter-ees that were significantly less successful than our troupe.

We ended up cooling some with dill and lemon and the rest in a curry sauce. Mmmmmmm good.

Overall, it was a great trip. The campsite was nice and had a great beach and the fishing was leagues more successful than our previous abortive attempt. We left happy and stopped for ice cream on the way home, the perfect conclusion to any trip.

Tasting, Climbing, and Footie

GOAL!!!!!

This past weekend Amy and I ventured forth to try out 3 new things.

These lines would move faster if everyone would push harder

The first was trying the offerings of the various restaurants in Manly at the Manly Food and Wine Festival. We ended up trying out some Thai food and a couple of glasses of wine before giving up on the lines. the food was good though and it was situated right on the beach which made it a great stroll. We sat on the seawall and watched surfers ride the waves and tourists roast in the sun.

Spiderman's got nuthin' on me

We followed up the food and wine fest with some exercise and ventured out to the rock climbing gym Climbfit. We went with some friends, some of whom were veterans. Amy had never tried this before but took to it well once I tricked her into thinking that I wouldn't let her fall. Yeah, yeah, I'm watching. Just jump already.

Do a flip!!!

We capped off the evening with a barbecue of entirely too much food and just enough beer and wine. I have been eating leftover chicken and sausages all week. Mmmmmm....

Sunday's new venture was an Aussie Rules Football game. You may have seen this on Sunday afternoons in the NFL offseason on ESPN2 or some other random, space filling time. Taken at a glance the sport resembles a pack of large men chasing a greased football around a gigantic field, occasionally kicking it and frequently waylaying eachother with reckless abandon. Upon closer inspection.....it pretty much looks the same only even more awesome.

Go for the weak spots- eyes, throat, groin, etc.

I simply cannot understand why this sport is not more popular. The athletes are all gigantic and run miles every game, the gameplay is like a cross of keep away, soccer, and one of the better scenes from Braveheart. Also of note is when the ball goes out of bounds, it is returned to play by a referee who faces away from the players and blindly chucks the ball as high and hard as he can back onto the field. The only real oddities are that it is played on a cricket oval and the game length - 2 hours. Neither of these however should be a real impediment to its growth. Seriously, people are choosing cricket and baseball over this? There is no justice in the world.

Guy on the left is clearly throwing an elbow