.A Whale Of A Time.

Last week Dave and I went whale watching...again. Last time we went it was horrible weather, the little boat was rocking like no tomorrow and we didn't see ANYTHING. So at the end of the miserable trip they gave us vouchers to come back again.  Dave and I were hesitant..because what we just experienced was not fun and we hoped to never experience it again.

However, being the optimists that we are, we packed up and went again. This time the whole experience was AMAZING! We got to the town of Nelson Bay an hour before our trip and found a delicious Seafood restaurant! We got some fish cakes and of course Fish 'N chips before heading out to the ocean. The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining and the ocean water sparkling.

The first animals we encountered were dolphins swimming in front of and besides the boat. A few different pods joined us during our 3 hour tour (3 hour tour..ha ha).  Dave and I have never seen dolphins in the wild this close up before. They were like little kids on a sugar rush, swimming and darting from here to there with their pals. I also learned that if you wave at the dolphins from the boat they will turn on their sides and wave back! After I learned that, I spent my time waving like crazy!

After saying goodbye to our dolphin friends, the real fun began. Have you ever been whale watching before? Let me tell you, it is INTENSE! They really could make a sport out of it, whoever sees the whale first gets X amount of points, whoever has the most at the end is the winner. When whale watching you have to always be on alert, not letting your eyes leave the water, and slowly scan the water in front of you for a sign of blow mist or splash or raise of a body. Dave and I were on constant alert, but we would not win the game...we rarely were the first to spot any of the whales. BUT I am really good at being the second person to find the whale, because I usually just watch the people on the boat and then when they react (the kind where you just point cause you can't speak your so excited) I pounce and find the whale before the rest of the crowd! You have my permission to use this strategy on your next expedition! 

Humpback Whales are the sixth largest animal in the world, which means they are pretty big. They may be large and in charge creatures but they are so graceful and quick. It was hard to take any video or photo because as soon as they are jumping out of the water they are already landing with a large splash. We were lucky that we had a few whales that wanted to show off for us and jumped their big hearts out! I don't know if I can describe how it was to see these amazing creatures in person.  They continuously amazed me and took my breathe away. Most of the time I just stood in awe of their mightiness. 

If you ever have a chance to go Whale Watching, please take it!

This is an experience that I know

I will never forget and will always remember!

.Playing Pretend.

Source

Today was suppose to be a rainy day, it called for rain all day long. Dave had the day off due to the weather and I wasn't scheduled to work, so as we fell asleep last night I dreamt about how lovely it will be to have a rainy day together. When I woke up the next morning, it was not raining, instead the sun was shining and the birds were singing hello to the world. Dave was not impressed. As we walked to get some hot chocolate in the cool weather, I told him to think of today being a great autumn day...because we have missed autumn entirely this year. This seemed to distract him for a little bit, but on our way home he admitted he was not happy that it was not raining outside. He was also looking forward to us having a rainy day together, where we were driven to have to stay inside. 

So when we got home, I closed the door right behind us and quickly ran to close the blinds on the windows. The living room was suddenly dark, and then I tell Dave I think I hear a little rain outside and I must quickly get warm in my sweatpants. Dave slowly starts to see what is happening and quickly plays along. All day long we pretended that it was cold, rainy, and windy outside. 

We took advantage of this rainy day by wearing our pjs, eating food in bed, holding movie marathons, and cuddling under the blankets.   

I think we all sometimes just need to take a Rainy Day break and just be with the ones we love doing the things we love without feeling the pressure of being productive. 

I hope that you can have your own rainy day soon. 

.Manly Beach.

My niece inspired Dave and I to go visit Manly Beach. We got her letter on Monday asking if we had been there and that she had seen pictures of it, that Wednesday we were heading on the train and then the ferry for the beach. I really wanted to be able to let her know that we have been there, I even took a few pictures of a sand sculpture a random person did...just so I could give her a little picture of it when we get back. I miss that kid a lot, I hope that I am inspiring her or showing her that she can go out on her own adventures someday!

A lot of the pictures above are from the Ferry to Manly Beach.

You get amazing view from taking the ferry, I highly recommend it!

.FPW: Oct. 16th.

Sometimes all it takes it to notice how cute the clothes pins are.

I'm a sucker for rope pictures..I love the textures!

Can you see the 3 dolphins? They joined us to say hello and frolick around.

Do you see the tail waving hello?

Two humpbacks dancing side by side

These are SUCH amazing creatures!

I love pictures of sand more than I actually like sand itself!

This past week equalled: Ocean Baths, Whale Watching, Visiting Dolphins, 

Dropkick Murphy's, and enjoying the simple things in life

.Dropkick Murphy's Concert.

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.Five Things Friday.

Whoops! It's Saturday here but it's technically still Friday in the States, so I think that counts so that I'm not late with 5 Things Friday!

1) I really, really want a short sleeve tattoo...like really bad. BUT I'm afraid of how much it will hurt and can't make up my mind on the design. I have a little tattoo and when I was getting it I thought the pain was horrible!

2) All of my closest friends were met either in high school or undergrad. I've tried to see if there are others like my friends out there, but I still haven't found any! It just means you can NEVER replace great friends, they are your soul mates. 

3) I used to want to be a writer. I would write long stories all the time, they were about high schoolers falling in love but being of different races and their parents not approving, kids getting terminally ill diseases and falling in love. BASICALLY I think I was reading to much Lurlene McDaniel books and stealing her influences!

4) I graduated high school a semester early because I was SOOOO over school.

5) I graduated undergrad a year late because I loved school and the experience so much I didn't want to leave. 

.Reading List.

I have been addicted to reading since landing in Australia. There is a rare time that I am without a book or don't have 5 books from the library waiting for me to dig into! I thought I would share with you the books I have been able to read since landing Down Under. 

• In the Brisbane Airport I finished the last 130 pages of Dive from Clausien's Pier by Ann Patcher. I left it in the airpot just in case anyone needed a good read for their upcoming trip!
• An Idiot Abroad: Travel Diaries of Karl Pilkington by Karl Pilkington. SOOO funny! (there is also a dvd set with his adventures) You know it will be good when Ricky Gervais is your friend and sending you on these crazy adventures!
• Five Things I Can't Live Without by Holly Shumas. It was a good, fast, chic lit, read. It did make me thing though about what things in life I value and can't live without.
• The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak. This book was great, if I find it in a store I think I will purchase it. After reading this book I was really intrigued by Sufi's, Devrishes, and Rumis poems and made a note to do much further research!
• If You Have to Cry Go Outside & Other Things Your Mother Never Told You by Kelly Cutrone with Meredith Bryan. This book was so good that Dave ended up reading it after me. Kelly is an independent woman who has made a career that she loves after a lot of shit has happened in her life and has discovered herself along the way. I found it to be inspiring.

• Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger. If you liked the movie, read the book...its SOOO much    better! I never realized it until I finally read the book, and then automatically downloaded the movie and found that the book couldn't be beaten.
• Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress: Tales of Growing Up Groovy & Clueless by Susan Jane Gilman. 
• Kabul Girls Soccer Club by Awista Ayub
• The Twits  by Ronald Dahl  I just have to say I am NOT a fan of this book and my future children will not be reading it!
• About a Boy by Nick Hornby.  SOOOOO good and while reading it I kept imagining Hugh Grant and nothing is bad about that! 
• Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox. We read this book for book club. It was well written and a good read, I learned a lot about Michael A. Fox (his real middle initial!).
• Little Bee by Chris Cleave. Good book with a great story, it made me think if I would give up a finger for someone...I hope I would.
• Five Quarters of the Orange  by Joanne Harris. OH! MY! This book was great, when I got done reading it I told Dave straight away that this book could be an amazing movie if done right! It is about a girl, her family, history, love, and secrets...read it!
• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. All I wanted to do was see what the hype was a few years ago involving the book and movie....and then I sucked in! I'm disgraced with myself..but I did buy the next three books in the series..for shame!
• The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean. Story about a college girl who loses her grandma (her only family) and falls in love with running her grandma's vintage shop in which she grew up in. Has love, lost, hope, and triumph..all the ingredients needed for a great book. This book really made me want to open up my second hand book shop!

PHHEEWWWW! Are you as tired as I am from just reading the list and recap?!? Don't worry I will do a better job at keeping you updated with the reading list! This week I have purchased 6 more books to read..Dave and I just call it building up our collection for when we have our own second hand bookshop! If you have any questions about the books listed or looking for any reading recommendations let me know! 

Across the way someone is practicing Hot Cross Buns on their recorder and it is precious. Did you have to play the recorder as a kid in school?  I did and I was so good I got to perform for a PTA meeting with three other classmates....maybe I should have kept up with the recorder and become a big star!

CHEERS!