downuder 09

I travelled to Australia for 2 weeks in June/July to catch up with family and do some wedding planning with daughter Kate who is getting married in May next year. Here's some pics from the trip...

On Saturday night Ben, Heather, Kate & her fiancee Troy went to watch the new Gold Coast Titans football (rugby) team play against the Auckland Warriors (from New Zealand). The Titans won 28-12 (yay!)

On Sunday, Heather's mother held a family get-together as a pre-birthday celebration for those who wouldn't be able to join us in Hawaii in September.

Catching up with sister Margaret (middle) and sister-in-law Maria.

My nephew Angus and his lovely wife Anna.

View from the 11th floor of the Mantra building at Coolangatta looking north along the coast to Surfers Paradise. Mum (who lives 4 hours north of the coast in the town of Gympie) rented the unit for a few days so we could all get together. It was mid-winter in Australia so the beach looked inviting but the water was too cold for swimming!

On July 1st I met up with my dear friend Lorraine, whom I hadn't seen in about 10 years. We got together with some friends and family to celebrate a special birthday for her. Lorraine & I are seated, with friends Barbara & Lee behind.

The following Sunday Kate & I drove to Byron Bay with her bridesmaids to have lunch and discuss menus, seating plans, decorations etc at Fig Tree Restaurant where Kate & Troy are planning to have their wedding reception. Here are Kate & bridesmaid Michelle underneath the 100 year old fig tree that gives the restaurant its name.

The restaurant has beautiful grounds and this lovely pool area which will make a nice spot for having finger food and drinks while waiting for the bridal party to have their photos done.

I also spent a day with my dear friend Cathy, shopping, lunching and catching up on the all the "gossip"!

All to soon it was time to say goodbye to Kate (and her sweet puppy Emma). We got a lot of shopping and planning done for the wedding, including finding the "perfect" wedding dress. (No preview pictures of the dress - stay tuned for the real thing next May!)

christmas eve

No sooner had we arrived home from Australia than Christmas was upon us! Heather managed to get a real Christmas tree for only $5 from Lowes. (One advantage to waiting until the last minute!). After all the celebrations in Australia, there were few presents left to be had under the tree.

We did however enjoy a nice Christmas dinner with Mark's Dad, Norzela and brother Ben.

downunder 08 - kate's graduation

Finally, on December 20th, it was time for Kate's graduation ceremony - the primary purpose of our visit to Australia. After 5 years of hard work and study, one switch of major and a great internship at Elanora Primary School, Kate was graduating from Griffith University with a Bachelor of Education.

Sixteen family members showed up to support her. We made quite a loud cheer as she crossed the stage.

Of course she couldn't pass up the opportunity to rib her twin brother Ben about the fact that she had graduated BEFORE him!

It was great that her proud Nanna, at 88, had made it to the graduation too.

Afterwards we went to Mario's restaurant in Broadbeach for a celbratory lunch.

downunder 08 - congratulations kate & troy

Kate & Troy have been dating for about 2 years, and recently Troy asked Kate to marry him. We celebrated their engagement with champagne toasts and gifts while we were all gathered together. They have set a wedding date of May 1st 2010, so looks like we'll be making a few more trips back across the ocean. Congratulations Kate & Troy, we wish you a very happy and successful life together!

downunder 08 - family christmas

Unfortunately, due to Mark's work schedule, we had to return to the U.S. before Christmas, so this evening many of Heather's family gathered at her brother's house on the Gold Coast for an early "family Christmas". There were 13 of us, which made for rather a lot of presents under the tree! Per family tradition, all the presents were handed out, and then we took it in turns to open the gifts, starting with the "youngest" (Jasmine) and working our way to the eldest (Nanna).



















Something got Nanna going, and she just couldn't stop laughing!




The table was beautifully set with fine china and "goodie bags". We dined on prawns (shrimp), roast turkey, ham, stuffing and assorted vegetables, rounded off with plum pudding and custard for dessert. It was a fun evening. Thank you Ian & Maureen. You were great hosts.

downunder 08 - more family time

We hit the road again, heading north east another 165km (102 miles) to the city of Gympie, where Heather's mother, and Heather's sister Margaret & her husband Deryck live. Margaret & Deryck retired to the quieter pace of Gympie after many years living on the Gold Coast and then travelling around the world and around Australia. They have since been very busy renovating and adding personal touches to their charming old house.

After picking Heather's mother up from her unit at a nearby retirement village, we spent the afternoon on the verandah, chatting, reminiscing and looking over the scrapbooks that Heather had made for Ben & Kate.

In the evening, Heather's niece Brenda and her husband Vince joined us for a wonderful "Christmas Dinner" of turkey, cranberry sauce and all the trimmings. (No we're not drunk in this picture, just having fun popping our traditional Christmas Crackers!)

downunder 08 - meet the parents

This evening was our first chance to meet Kate's boyfriend of 2 years - Troy. He joined us after work and we all went out to dinner at Lonestar Steakhouse (yes even in Australia there's a Texas steakhouse!) Afterwards we worked off our big meal at the nearby Putt Putt (mini golf). It was a fun way to get to know each other better.

Troy (who manages a sporting goods store and is keen on sports) came out the winner, narrowly beating Mark. Jasmine & I brought up the rear.

downunder 08 - catching up with family

After our adventures in Tasmania it was nice finally stop in one place for a few days and catch up with family, although life was no less hectic. On Saturday morning Heather met up with her daughter Kate, and Ben's girlfriend Jasmine for a "girls shopping" day. The main aim was to get all our Christmas shopping done, although we managed to squeeze in a nice lunch and some clothes shopping as well!

That evening we headed to Heather's nephew's house for a 30th birthday party. Heather's nephew Angus (above) is a mean BBQ chef! We also caught up with another nephew, Gordon (below).

the last ride

Today Mark and David took their last mountain bike ride together before David heads back to Austin, Texas. They headed out to Park City to tackle a 24.9 mile loop of the Mid Mountain trail which rocks up and down the sides of the mountains at the 8,000ft level between Park City Mountain Resort and The Canyons Ski Resort. (No snow in Summer!) It was a 4.5 hour "epic" ride.
Here's a shot of David on the trail. You can just make out the town of Park City in the valley below (at 6,800ft). Hope to see you again soon David!

disc golf

On Friday afternoon Mark, Mark's brother David and I headed up to Solitude Mountain Resort for some fresh air, exercise and a game of disc golf. Solitude, a popular ski resort in the Winter attracts visitors through the Summer with hiking, mountain biking, dining and of course disc golf. For those of you unfamiliar with this game, disc golf is a lot like traditional golf, except players use specially made plastic flying discs (like "frisbees") instead of balls and clubs, and throw them for 'par' at an above-ground metal basket instead of a hole in the ground. There are different types of discs used for different throws - driving, mid-range and putting. There are over 1200 disc golf courses in the US. Most are in large public parks but several are located in ski resorts, where in Summer, the grassy ski runs make for natural fairways. Most courses are free to play. Mark and David played a lot of disc golf when they both lived in Texas, however the steep slopes at Solitude provided for quite a different challenge to what they are used to in the "flat lands" of Texas. We spent quite a bit of time looking for lost discs that drifted off course down the mountain into the trees!

We started at the pretty Solitude Village where a couple of mountain bikes were parked outside the popular pizza shop.


The course starts about 1,000ft above the village. I bought the "beginner package" which included discs and a lift ticket so I rode the Sunrise Lift to the top of the mountain. Mark and David (who have their own discs) decided to save their money and hike it to the top, leaving me sitting waiting for them for 30 minutes!

Here we are at the tee for Hole #1. You tee off from the large rubber pad aiming to throw the disc 300ft down the hill, avoiding the trees to the left and right (see pic below).

Can you see the basket at the bottom of the "fairway"? Neither could we!


Dave shows how to "drive" from the tee.


Here I am "putting" for the basket on Hole #8 - if you look closely you'll see my disc in the air.