Days at Home in Oz

No big outings were planned for our third day in Oz…just the way to spend a vacation.  That doesn’t mean we were not active, only we did it at our own pace and without significant planning (at least on our part…we were able to just “ride along”).

How could the morning start any better than each of us getting a chance to hold little Miss Evelyn for a little bit.

Just to keep ourselves in a little bit of shape (other than pear shaped) Cheri and I  borrowed Sarah and Andrew’s bicycles and headed over to Paul and Judy’s house (less than 1/2 mile away).  Meeting up with them we went our separate ways—Judy, Cheri, and Doreen a friend of Judy’s in one direction; Paul and I in another.

Andrew’s bicycle is a mountain bike so it took a few adjustments to get use to that versus my road bike…plus not being clipped to the pedals.

We did make a short stop near the midpoint of our loop around Mt. Taylor for a flat-white (an Aussie latte) and a fresh cannoli…did I mention I was on vacation?

What was a little more disconcerting was riding on the left side of the bike paths (just like the way Aussies drive).  Even still I was able to get my camera out of my pocket while riding and get a shot of Paul ahead of me…you can see it was an outstanding day for riding.

I am told the ladies had just as difficult a ride around the Lake Tuggeranong…even with a little pastry stop as well.

Soon after we returned home it was time for an early afternoon barbeque with the Walker family—Paul, Judy, Michael, Paulina, Kate, Chris…and of course Andrew, Sarah & Evelyn.

 
Later in the afternoon (after all the other party-goers had left) there was some more “Evelyn time”…

bundling up for a trip to the grocers (Woolworths in Oz)… Trips out to more coffee shops (Malcolm joined us for this outing… And Cheri and I prepared one of the meals… just to keep our hands in it. Adventures are enjoying a nice late summer vacation… Now on to the vinelyards of Southern Australia…

A little bit of bath time—“Into the pot” as Andrew says… and we had a quiet evening with some TV and reading. The next few days ended up with rain, so our activities were a little bit more limited…it only meant more time with Evelyn!

Return to Oz – Part 1

Arrival and Day One back in Oz

It seemed pre-ordained when we arrived in Sydney Airport and saw the sign…

We were traveling to see Andrew and Sarah, but even more importantly (not that they are less important) to see our future in Evelyn Louise Walker.

The traveling took about 24 hours in airports and airplanes and we then took the express bus from Sydney to Canberra for another 3 hours.  Along with us came four suitcases, two backpacks, and a briefcase (for the laptop, iPad, and various charging cables). Andrew, Paul, and Judy met us at the Bus Depot, loaded us into two cars and we were off to Sarah and Andrew’s (and Evelyn’s) home in Gowrie.

 

Sarah made sure that Evelyn had napped and was in a clean nappy when we came through the door so she was presented to us proper…

Even I got to hold her…

As well as Paul and Judy getting to see her awake…

Evelyn needed to go down for a nap soon after we arrived (Sarah had been keeping her awake for us), so Paul and Judy headed out and we spent some time emptying our suitcases (which contained many presents for Evelyn) and letting Andrew and Sarah open the packages…

         

When Evelyn woke back up it was pointed out that most pictures had someone else holding her…like this one…

The next morning we thought a walk was in order.  We bundled up Evelyn, set her in her pram, had Paul and Judy join us and we set off to the local town center.

but  there were not many of Sarah holding her…so we obliged… We did stop at a bakery / coffee shop for a few minutes before working our way back home.

We lazed about quite a bit on this first full day and later in the day Paul, Judy and Kate (Andrew's sister) came by for happy hour and snacks. It was a great first day back in Oz!  We made it an early evening (since our body time clocks were still running on a schedule that is 14 hours later than in Canberra).

It felt like the airport sign was right…The Right Future.  Starting Now. 

The Adventures in Oz continue…

Pre- Oz…Was That Just Summer?

If my timing were better this posting would have come out much earlier and foreshadowed the trip to Oz…regardless, here is a little re-cap of the end of summer.

It seemed we just put in the dock and opened the cottage…and it was time to pull it out and put all the sheets and towels away.  But that doesn’t mean the Adventures stopped…they just kept going on and on.

We did travel back and forth to NH, but never seemed to light in one place for more than a night at a time; but we sure had fun!  July was filled--Fourth of July celebrations, the Andover Parade, pork on the grill, fireworks on the dock, wedding showers, weddings, and having Jess & PJ join us at the cottage.  This year there are not pictures of all the events, but we have the key pieces.

Jess and PJ with us at the Cottage

For several of the summer events Jess and PJ flew in from their home in Denver to join us.   That meant some dock time together with fishing, boating and just “hanging around.”

 

Wonderful Weddings

It was great to have Dad (Grampy) able to be there for the ceremony as well (he was in rehab at the time battling shingles and a little CHF).

This was another summer of family weddings and they were both great!  Kevin and Ashley were married at the Granite Rose in Atkinson, NH on July 13th.  It was a beautiful service followed by an evening of dining and dancing.    Cheri and I also managed to dance with Jess & PJ during the “Father / Daughter” dance and the “Mother / Son” dance

Then a month later we were able to not only celebrate but be a part of Kristina and Sarath’s wedding. 

This wedding also took place in Atkinson, but at the Country Club and resort.  Another beautiful setting…It also turns out that with a letter from our church indicating that I am a leader within the church and a check for $25 the State of NH allowed me to perform the ceremony.  Nana and Papa were also guests at the wedding so we took the opportunity to get them in some photos.  It was also a good time to get a shot of Dad with the older Swenson siblings (which included the Mother of the Bride).  Once again there was quite a bit of dancing...and the Swenson clan closed down the party.

Morris / Manz / Swenson Annual (sort-of) Cottage Outing

As we often try to…we held an almost full gathering of the Swensons, Manzs and Morris at the cottage.  Margaret is still in Korea, Sarah and Andrew live in Australia, and David and Heather Manz were home with some pet problems…so they were not able to be at this gathering of the clans.  But that didn’t stop us from having a good time…particularly since we were also getting reports out of Australia that a new family member was wanting to make her presence known (we didn’t know it was a her at the time…but we were getting excited with the anticipation). 

A special thanks goes out to James Morris for providing these photos of the event!

We had a small tent city to accommodate the growing group, and filled the weekend with good eating, good discussions and an all-around good time…

And then we got the news of the arrival of Evelyn Louise Walker in Oz!.  Through the wonders of FaceTime we were able to see and speak with Sarah, Andrew and our new Granddaughter from half-way around the world…all within ninety minutes of her being born!

The Adventures continue to grow…on (or back) to Oz!

Holding Your Manhood Cheap…

After much planning and coordinating of schedules, the Men’s Annual Outing took place this past weekend. Early in the planning, considerations for not interfering with Father’s Day or work conflicts were addressed and we were set to go on the last weekend in June…until someone had a work conflict…then someone else…then good tickets to a Red Sox game. This year settled down to a “hard” core group of three (we have been up to twelve at the most and typically have 7 – 8).

Small numbers were not going to deter us, and taking liberties with and paraphrasing what Shakespeare wrote in Henry V became our thought,

“And gentlemen in [New] England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought [camped] with us [in the 100 Mile Wilderness of Maine] upon Saint Crispin’s day.”

We were going to have a good time!

The journey began with Charlie Bottieri and Jim Nowak meeting me at our house and the three of us heading off to the North. We left before noon on Friday with plans to stop for lunch along the way, push on to Greenville, ME, and then to Long Pond and the AMC Gorman Chairback Lodge in the 100 Mile Wilderness.

The last few years we have gone to Little Lyford Pond Camp (LLPC) in the same region and this year we wanted to try something a little different. A difference that becomes very quickly obvious is that while LLPC sits along the Pleasant River and is several hundred yards through the woods to First Roach Pond, Gorman Chairback Lodge (GCL) is located right on the edge of Long Pond.

Our cabin (#6) had a bunk bed, double bed and futon so it could easily sleep four guys (or six women…since they aren’t as squeamish about the whole sharing a bed thing…and I am not sure Charlie and Jim were either).



We had a nicely covered porch (which helped with the rain), a couple of rockers and large folding chairs (which helped when having cocktails), and a view from the porch right out over the lake.

Since we arrived close to dinner time (served promptly at 6 pm) we moved into the cabin and then headed to the lodge. The food at LLPC has always been outstanding and the fare at GCL measured right up to what we have come to expect—roasted herb covered chicken, caramelized onions with broccoli, fresh homemade bread, and the surprising winning side dish…baked butternut squash filled with quinoa, celery, onions, carrots, and roasted pumpkin seeds…it could have been a meal by itself.

Somehow on the drive into GCL we talked about food, and desserts in particular. We determined that based on the season (and this is a couple of hundred miles north of Woodstock, CT) a strawberry-rhubarb pie would be appropriate…and that was just what they served us…with some homemade whipped cream…a great start to the fare to go along with the outstanding board.

Following dinner it was going to stay light until after 9 pm, so we took the time to settle into the cabin (which is code for making cocktails), and I did take some time to put on waders and test the waters out in front of the cabin. I tried a couple of different flies (both wet and dry) and finally caught what I think is a brook trout that was about 13 -14 inches long on a dry fly. He was pretty jumping out of the water and Charlie witnessed it. I tried to get some photos as well, but getting my iPhone out of my pocket (under the waders) and then trying to reel in the fish and get a photo…without dropping the phone in the water means you can see it is a fish and that it fills the bottom of the netting…and that’s about it.

As it got dark the fishing ended and we all moved inside and settled in to play some cards and have a small libation. By 10:30 it was time for bed and listening to the sound of rain on the tin roof of the cabin.

I was up around 5 am (as usual) and went out to try my hand at trying to fool more fish…no luck this time. But, I was able to get some early morning coffee in the lodge as well as a slice of the left-over strawberry-rhubarb pie…so it was a successful start to the day.







Once Jim and Charlie were up we headed in for a very filling breakfast—something to get us ready for a busy day—of homemade muffins, a frittata made with the left-over vegetables from the night before, and a pile of bacon. More coffee…orange juice and we were ready to go.

Only it was raining…with occasional lighter times and then some very heavy downpours.
We decided that we were going to go out in the weather (there wasn’t any lightning) and trust that the day would get better. Our hiking was going to take us up the 3^rd Mountain Trail and join in with the Appalachian Trail (AT) to the top of Third Mountain.

We did get a lesson in the differences between water-proof (which would be like my waders or Charlie’s North Face jacket), water resistant (which resists, but doesn’t necessarily keep out water…like Jim’s and my pull-overs), and water resilient (which Charlie pointed out means it doesn’t break down in water…just like all of our boots).

Although it was a light rain when we started after about 0.1 miles we were hit with a deluge. We thought that standing under some trees for a few minutes (remember there was no lightning) would help…it didn’t. So eventually we pressed on.

Besides dealing with the rain, the trail was pretty good. Well marked and travelled, only the path of least resistance for much of the rainfall was right down the middle of the trail or pooling in the middle of the trail…regardless we pressed on.

After awhile the rain let up and eventually stopped. The trail had us starting to climb up onto a ridge where we met up with the AT. It was then more climbing through the mist filled forest and along a moss covered carpet. There was still quite a bit of water, but it seemed okay with all of the green moss and lichen around us.

Finally we broke through to the upper ridge and after scrambling up several rock faces we finally came to the top of Third Mountain and the Monument Cliffs. The view was beautiful (in a mist covered way) and if it had been clear we were sure it would have been spectacular.

After a break and some photos we continued along the trail towards West Chairback Pond. One of the staff at GCL had shown us on the map where there is a trail back down from the pond that isn’t on the map, but it would keep us from backtracking the way we had just come. The trail was obvious and we quickly dropped back down to the logging roads and a way back to GCL.

We were back at our cabin in the early afternoon. So we devoured our lunches, rubbed sore muscles, took naps and then spent some more time around the camp. Jim and Charlie did some kayaking while I fished a little and took some photos. No fish this time either…

Dinner was once again great (we do seem to focus a bit on the food) with pesto covered halibut, sweet potatoes covered with a ratatouille, homemade bread, and cinnamon butter. I was going to put a little salt on my vegetables but the moisture had the shaker clogged. So I took off the top and banged a pile of salt onto the table trying to clear the holes. I ended up just putting some in my hand in and sprinkling it over the veggies.

Then I swept up the capful of salt that came from the cap into my right hand and Jim (the instigator to my right) said, “Aren’t you going to throw that over your shoulder for luck?”…which I then did.
The problem is that a few grains of salt or dry salt will go over your shoulder and fall gently to the floor…this wet collection flew across the aisle and sprayed itself across the neck and back of a teenage boy visiting the lodge with his mother who holds classes there.

Now Charlie, who was sitting across from us couldn't say anything because he was laughing too hard and just pointing to Jim and me...

Needless to say, Jim explained the old wive's tale to the young man and apologized for instigating me, I later apologized to the young man, and Charlie just kept saying, “The boy's father looked really mad...and he knows what cabin you're in.” Nevertheless we went back to the cabin for some more card playing, reading and lights out by a little after 10 pm.

Surprisingly Sunday morning Charlie was up a few minutes before me and headed out looking for some coffee. I decided to put on my waders and take out a canoe to see if the fish in another part of the pond had any interest in what was being offered as flies. I also took my camera along to get some early morning photos.













None of these fish were interested as well...do you see a pattern here?

The weather was much better on Sunday and we decided to take another hike after breakfast. This time we took the Henderson Brook Trail and it was a fun hike following the brook down through a small valley.










The trail did include a few challenges to crossing...

slippery logs... slippery rocks...

and one point where the brook level was so high we had no choice but to wade through… It was a great way to spend the morning. Then we had to pack up and check ourselves out of the cabin; getting on the road by about 11:30.

The Adventures do Continue...