After a year of staying at fancy 4 and 5 star hotels Charlie and I decided it was time to purchase camping gear and dive into the world of budget travel. This past weekend we decided to take our first trip! We wanted to take Stella so that limited us to state forest because the national parks do not allow dogs into them. We decided to head up to Chichester State Forest which borders Barrington Tops National Park, about two hours away from here.
The drive was absolutely beautiful! Tons of farms and rolling hills with lots of parrots, cows and sheep. About 45 minutes of the drive was on gravel road. We were definitely out in the middle of nowhere.
We ended up finding a fantastic spot to set up camp right next to the river and away from any people (there were only about 15 who camped the entire forest that night). Stella had the best time! She retrieved balls from the river, chewed on sticks (we don't have too many in town.. ha), and barked at wild bush turkeys. We had a great time too and we are already planning our next trip... we are thinking beach camping next : )
Here are a few pics for ya...
10.21.2009
10.12.2009
photos from our trip
I am back in Australia and five days later, I am still suffering from jet lag. However, I did have an extremely comfortable ride over here from LA ; )
It was so great to see everyone over these past few weeks! Thanks for making our trip so much fun!!! We miss you all and hope to see some of you in Oz over the next two years!
Here are some photos from the trip! Enjoy!
It was so great to see everyone over these past few weeks! Thanks for making our trip so much fun!!! We miss you all and hope to see some of you in Oz over the next two years!
Here are some photos from the trip! Enjoy!
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| US 2009 favorites |
10.06.2009
Last night home alone (I've been eating a lot of chicken and rice) and then down to Sydney in the morning to pick up Miss First-Class (someone got upgraded on the LAX-Sydney flight). Pretty good week so far since work started on a Tuesday and spring is in full swing with the time change. Nina and I are hoping to get some camping in this weekend since we just got a new tent and will need to be on "budget time" after the last month of travel to the States. New South Wales has a bunch of good locales to camp and even though we don't have a 4x4 we should be able to reach a majority of them with our hatchback or by taking a bushwalk (insert 'hike' if you're American or 'tramp' if your a Kiwi). I did just check the flights to NZ and unfortunately they're a bit more expensive then the last (cheap) ones we got. We're still crossing our fingers, and I'm sure Nina will be actively searching between her classes for next few months.
So, we're almost a year overseas and probably a good while until we both head back to the States together. I'll be either in Las Vegas or China Lake, CA for a month during February and March, 2010 and hopefully will be able to take some leave before or after that, and whaddaya know, I still have no idea what I'm going to do with my life after this tour. 2 years to go, and I could get out of the Navy...no more deployments, but it would mean I'd have to get a real job. Hmm, so many tough decisions. I'm open for suggestions, but I'm really just hoping to hit my head on the toilet and come up with the flux capacitor or win the lottery. Maybe I'll write a book on indecision.
So, we're almost a year overseas and probably a good while until we both head back to the States together. I'll be either in Las Vegas or China Lake, CA for a month during February and March, 2010 and hopefully will be able to take some leave before or after that, and whaddaya know, I still have no idea what I'm going to do with my life after this tour. 2 years to go, and I could get out of the Navy...no more deployments, but it would mean I'd have to get a real job. Hmm, so many tough decisions. I'm open for suggestions, but I'm really just hoping to hit my head on the toilet and come up with the flux capacitor or win the lottery. Maybe I'll write a book on indecision.
10.05.2009
Back from the USA...barely
Hey everyone. Yes, it's Charlie and for all the blog readers who've been waiting all summer for a post, consider this your season premiere. I've been back here on Expat Island for a couple of weeks since the USA trip and Nina's getting back on Wednesday. It's really the first time I've been at home alone since we got married and it's felt a bit strange, especially with Stella at home now. Let's just say I feel a bit like a single dad with a special-needs kid. Please God let our actual children be free from defects.
Stella remains crazier than ever, but she was glad to see me on my return. The USA was great and for those of you who are reading and we didn't get to see, I apologize, but know that we made a pretty decent effort to get to all corners of the States. For my 2 weeks+ I hit 10 airports, rented 4 cars (including a sweet Mustang in San Antonio), stayed in 6 different beds and had a ton of fun. All good things came to an end as Nina dropped me at the Norfolk "International" Airport 2 mondays ago though, and I started my way back to Aussieland. Unfortunately weather in Atlanta was horrible, and my only movement in an airplane was to taxi away from the jetway, wait in a holding area, and taxi back to the jetway after 2 and half hours in the regional jet. Fortunately, they had drink service working and were kind enough to give out the peanuts for free. The frazzled Delta clerk rebooked me on the next day's flight and I rented a car and stayed at my buddy Casey's condo for the night. The next day weather was better and got through Atlanta, LAX and into Sydney with no problems, arriving Thursday morning.
Fortunately for me, on the Atlanta to LAX flight, I sat next to a couple from about 30 minutes outside Newcastle and thry offered up a ride home for me (score!). Their son picked us up outside customs and 2 hours later I was back in Newy. Ironically, if I had made my original flights, I would have ended up in Brisbane since the Central Coast (south of Sydney to north of Newcastle) had a freak dust storm that plowed its way from Adelaide to Coffs Harbour, depositing a ton of red grit and sand everywhere and diverting International flights to Melbourne and Brisbane. Plus, and this is the real kicker, I got out of another day of work.
So, for the past 2 weeks I've been playing single dad to the pooch, scratching my head over what's up with my lawn (sorry Nina - our lawn), and flying a bit at work. No more deployments for me this year, and Nina and I are trying to figure out what to do with our Christmas vacation. Hopefully Jetstar (the Southwest Airlines of Australia) will have some ridiculously low fare sales at some point and we'll get back over to New Zealand for $12 or something. Feel free to suggest anything if you have a good idea.
All righty, back to my yardwork which just means I'll be staring at the random shades of green that make up the mosaic of our lawn. We may have some Austral fungus out there which means I might move my staring to the aisles of Bunnings (Australian Home Depot) to try and find some sort of solution. Or, I may just play "renter that doesn't expect to get his security deposit back" and let the lawn die. I think Stella has done enough to the house that it wouldn't really matter anyway. In positive news Monday Night Football is getting broadcast on my new-favorite channel "One HD", but the downside is that it doesn't start until 11am tomorrow. Guess I'll have to take my calls in the crew room at work tomorrow.
Okay folks, I'll attempt to make this a weekly thing. Until then, Stella and I bid you adieu and look forward to Nina's return to the roughest posting in the US Navy.
Stella remains crazier than ever, but she was glad to see me on my return. The USA was great and for those of you who are reading and we didn't get to see, I apologize, but know that we made a pretty decent effort to get to all corners of the States. For my 2 weeks+ I hit 10 airports, rented 4 cars (including a sweet Mustang in San Antonio), stayed in 6 different beds and had a ton of fun. All good things came to an end as Nina dropped me at the Norfolk "International" Airport 2 mondays ago though, and I started my way back to Aussieland. Unfortunately weather in Atlanta was horrible, and my only movement in an airplane was to taxi away from the jetway, wait in a holding area, and taxi back to the jetway after 2 and half hours in the regional jet. Fortunately, they had drink service working and were kind enough to give out the peanuts for free. The frazzled Delta clerk rebooked me on the next day's flight and I rented a car and stayed at my buddy Casey's condo for the night. The next day weather was better and got through Atlanta, LAX and into Sydney with no problems, arriving Thursday morning.
Fortunately for me, on the Atlanta to LAX flight, I sat next to a couple from about 30 minutes outside Newcastle and thry offered up a ride home for me (score!). Their son picked us up outside customs and 2 hours later I was back in Newy. Ironically, if I had made my original flights, I would have ended up in Brisbane since the Central Coast (south of Sydney to north of Newcastle) had a freak dust storm that plowed its way from Adelaide to Coffs Harbour, depositing a ton of red grit and sand everywhere and diverting International flights to Melbourne and Brisbane. Plus, and this is the real kicker, I got out of another day of work.
So, for the past 2 weeks I've been playing single dad to the pooch, scratching my head over what's up with my lawn (sorry Nina - our lawn), and flying a bit at work. No more deployments for me this year, and Nina and I are trying to figure out what to do with our Christmas vacation. Hopefully Jetstar (the Southwest Airlines of Australia) will have some ridiculously low fare sales at some point and we'll get back over to New Zealand for $12 or something. Feel free to suggest anything if you have a good idea.
All righty, back to my yardwork which just means I'll be staring at the random shades of green that make up the mosaic of our lawn. We may have some Austral fungus out there which means I might move my staring to the aisles of Bunnings (Australian Home Depot) to try and find some sort of solution. Or, I may just play "renter that doesn't expect to get his security deposit back" and let the lawn die. I think Stella has done enough to the house that it wouldn't really matter anyway. In positive news Monday Night Football is getting broadcast on my new-favorite channel "One HD", but the downside is that it doesn't start until 11am tomorrow. Guess I'll have to take my calls in the crew room at work tomorrow.
Okay folks, I'll attempt to make this a weekly thing. Until then, Stella and I bid you adieu and look forward to Nina's return to the roughest posting in the US Navy.
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