Moving

My landlord in Cow Hollow was annoying and the building had thin walls, so I was eager to move. Fay planned to come to the States for her long service leave, so in August, I moved to a larger, one bedroom apartment that had more space for two people.

Great Barrier Reef

For my 50th birthday (2nd trip to Australia), she planned a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. We flew to Cairns and went on a sailboat with a French couple and their two children. Our first anchorage was a bit of a distance from the reef and we were both uneasy; I was on the verge of seasickness. We got in the water, and started snorkeling towards the reef, in water that was so deep you couldn't see the bottom. This made me more nervous, because you never know what will come up from the depths!

I was finally relieved when we could see the bottom, about 100' below. She, on the other hand, got more panicky. She is not fond of heights, and seeing the bottom made her feel like she might fall. She wanted to turn around and go back to the boat. I was annoyed, because we had swum a fair distance to the reef, but I went back with her.

When we got back to the boat, we were sitting on the back of the boat bobbing in the waves and my seasickness welled up. I threw up. She decided to stay on the boat, but I rinsed my mouth out and decided I'm here, I'm going to do it. I swam back to the reef alone.

The subsequent dive spots were closer to the boat, and she went snorkeling again, though accompanied by the French guy instead of me. The staff were pushing SCUBA, first tank free, so I went. It was fantastic. We spent the night on the boat and I used another tank the following day.

The water was a bit rough and she came out of the bathroom just as the boat was heaving - she pitched across the floor and smashed her nose on the dining table below deck.

One regurgitation, one smashed nose, but altogether, it was a great trip that I enjoyed immensely. Later, we spent the night up the coast in a rather posh resort that she had received a discount on. The hotel was nice, and there were some really nice hotels on the strip, but not much more there except hotels and restaurants. Also, the beach was windy and the water muddy. That combined with crocodile warnings did not make the water seem appealing at all.

We also made a road trip up to Kuranda and Barron Gorge, and explored the coffee and banana plantations up on the plateau. Beautiful country.

Her 2nd trip

She came back to the States again in May. We visited Yosemite and stayed in a tent cabin with no heat. It was a bit cold. As we were leaving, heavy snow flurries were falling. We then drove up to Mt. Shasta and went cross-country skiing, just on the road that goes up the hill. It was a bit steep for beginners - just going up and coming back down.

My first visit to Australia

Her visit on Christmas went well, so I decided to go to Australia for Valentines day. We stayed at her place in Dulwich Hill. There were a few days she worked and I explored the neighborhood and downtown Sydney. We drove south to Depot Beach and stayed in a rented cabin just up the hill from the beach. On the way back we drove inland to Canberra and back up to Sydney. We made another day trip up the coast to Palm Beach, and one to the Blue Mountains. We swam at Bondi and Manly. A friend of a friend had a sailboat, and we went sailing on Sydney Harbor.