Tag Archives: family

Day Thirty-One – Alice Springs – New Year’s E

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I went to work with Ed and Angie again in the morning which isn’t something I minded doing because the use of a proper compute was definitely needed. I met some of their customers who were both English and it made me really think about what it would be like to move here, what kind of work I would be doing and the possibilities of staying here for at least two years. There are some really interesting people here in Alice Springs and most of them are here to make something of their lives which is a really great thing to witness. The prospect of being one of those people isn’t too bad.

By the time we got home it was time to get the BBQ going. Craig and Shannon joined us for camel kebabs, kangaroo steak and jerk chicken before having shots of rum, Kalhua and baileys. It’s tasted pretty rank but it sure gets you drunk. It’s probably the first time I’ve ever pre-drank for New Year’s Eve but it saves a lot of money, hey.

We arrived at the Lasseters at around 11.30pm and it seemed the whole town of Alice was there. It was a huge mixing pot of people and cultures and really amazing to see. We ran to the bar to get some drinks and then make it outside for the fireworks. As usual on NYE the next half an hour after the clock strikes is spent messaging/calling/emailing every person I know to tell them how much I love them. When enough liquor had been drunk we made our way to the dance floor and managed to make some friends as I always seem to do when I’m enjoying myself. This just reiterates the fact that people are drawn to happy people and reinforces the power of positive thinking. I can safely say I started 2015 in a really great way and I have a good feeling about this year.

Day Twenty-Nine – Alice Springs – Recharging

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I let Ed and Angie go to work and woke up around 2pm after recharging myself from the roadtrip the day before.  We didn’t do too much because we were all so exhausted so I just tried to suck up to their dog, Bailey, to get her to like me.

I then made us some garlic herb bread and a Massaman curry for dinner while Ed took a nap.  I felt the need to go for a swim, wake myself up and clean myself off so we headed down to the Casino for a dip in their pool at night time which was really nice to sit in the pool while looking up at the stars.

The day ended in another early night as the guys had been at work all day and hadn’t rested as much as myself.

Day Twenty-Seven – Ocean Grove to Adelaide – Crazy Ideas and Goodbyes

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After the major sunburning of 2014 yesterday, most of the day was spent inside trying not to make the burns worse.  We had to leave the house the next day so we started packing up and eating up all the left over food.  It started getting quite sad cause this would the last time I would see any of my family for a long time. Matthew and Emily would be heading back to Townsville, my Mum and Dad would be doing their tour of Australia before heading back to TCI and Ed and Angie would be driving back to Alice Springs while I would spend New Year’s Eve alone in Melbourne at a hostel.

I made a comment that if i knew Ed and Angie were driving back I would have gone with them and it made me think, “why don’t I?’.  So I looked up the cost of changing my flights and buying one from Alice Springs down to Melbourne and though a little pricey I kind of thought, why not? Why should we save our money in the bank and if you work hard for it then you should spend it on something you want to do.  So around 11pm I packed my stuff into their car, said goodbye to my parents and Matthew and Emily and we set off on the 22 hour drive from Melbourne to Alice Springs.

Day Twenty-Six – Ocean Grove – Boxing Day

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Thankfully today was a bit more productive.  Still rising late we quickly chowed down some brunch then organised to go meet Flo, Andy, Ben, Louise, Joanna and the Kids at the beach.

In true Watts family tradition, we over indulged and took everything we could think of to the beach to entertain us. From boogie boards to frisbees, to shovels, to balls and bats; we had it all.  The surf was pretty big if not breaking a long way out so we attempted to paddle out quite far but it became quite exhausting so we resulting in shallow paddling where we could push off and we managed a good few rides into shore.

After the attempts at boogie-boarding I managed to convince Ed to dig a hole with me.  We started to attempt the ultimate goal of hole digging; digging two holes with a tunnel big enough that you can crawl through.  Dangerous work, and structurally difficult.  After about half and hour of the initial hard work, everyone else seemed to want in on the action and didn’t hesitate to give us their ideas and plans while Ed and I still did all the manual labour! Anyway, this is quite a big build up to the fact that we managed two holes and a tunnel but when it came to crawling though, there was a collapse.  This is very sad because we never know when the next sand tunnelling attempt may be.

So with two big holes and a collapsed tunnel the only thing we could do is make a beach hot tub! So we did and enjoyed it for about 5 minutes before we started getting bitten by sandmites.  So that sent me back into the water to enjoy some more boogie boarding.  By the time we got home we were all pretty sunburnt from the time out in the sun and the wind had deceived us into not fully understanding the strength of the sun.

After we returned from the beach, Flo, Andy and Ben came over to say their final goodbyes to us. So we had a few drinks and some snacks and spent the last time together in Australia.