10/7/17 – 12/20/18
(excerpts taken straight from my journal I kept during my 2017-2018 au pair experience)
10-10-17
When at the hotel in Hawaii, I had to get up at 4:15AM to catch an Uber to the airport. The two flights to Australia weren’t too bad; I slept and watched about six movies (Baywatch was really good, Captured not so much). When I finally made it to Australia, going through customs was extremely easy, and Blake (my host-dad) was there to pick me up. The drive from Melbourne to Mt. Eliza was about an hour (there was a detour) but not too bad. Once we got to the house, I met Eliza (my host-mom) and then headed to bed.
I got a full night of sleep and didn’t wake up until 10:30AM. I unpacked all of my bags, showered, and then went out to the kitchen where I met Hugh (the three year old). At first he was very shy, but then he started to warm up to me and was acting silly. Eliza drove me to the gas station to get “Petrol” and then we picked the kids up from school. (It’s weird getting in on the left side of the car and driving on the left side of the road). The first to get picked up was Sophie. She was so excited that I was there, that she couldn’t stop laughing. Next we got William, Hugh ran right up to him. Then we got Toby. Their classrooms are all next to each other, but they’re all in different buildings. When we got back to the house, we all had watermelon and chocolate cake that Eliza made. Then we went outside and I jumped on the trampoline with Toby, Sophie and Hugh for about an hour (Toby also asked if I thought Trump was a good person). Then we went inside, I gave them their presents, and we all sat down for dinner. After dinner, everyone took a bath/shower, we all played a card game, and then all went to bed.
This morning, I got ready, ate, and then walked down to the village. I got a coffee and a muffin at a place called “Shop Ate Café & Store”, and then continued down the road until I could see water. Now I’m sitting on the rocks at “Canadian Bay” looking out at the Port Phillip Bay and the outline of the buildings of Melbourne.
On my walk back home, I stopped at a place called “Sheep Station Bakehouse” and got a cheese, egg, and bacon quiche for lunch (it was pretty good). Then I made my way back to the house.
10-11-17
Today has been pretty calm. I woke up early and helped drop the kids off at school. Then I headed to the village with Blake and Hugh. We stopped at a coffee shop called “The Village Pantry”, where I found out the type of coffee I like is called a tall flat white. Hugh got a “babychino”; it’s literally a baby cappuccino. Then we went to the bank (ANZ) to open up an account for me. After that, we went back to the house and I wrote my Hawaii blog.
We picked the kids up from school, and then came home and played a few games outside. Then we had a snack (Toby made us eggs) and we played dress-up. We ate dinner and got ready for bed. Sophie read me a book, and Toby taught me how to start knitting.
10-12-17
Today was Toby’s birthday. Hugh and I played all morning and then had lunch (I tried vegemite for the first time, and I was not a fan). Hugh also tried to teach me how to play cricket, but I’m still not entirely sure how to play. Then we went and picked William, Toby, and Sophie up at school, and drove Sophie to ballet. Toby gave me a piece of his birthday candy, I have never had a “Caramello Koala” before, but it was really good. For dinner we had Fish and Chips (Toby’s favorite) and for dessert we had chocolate fudge cake (also Toby’s favorite) and ice cream. I also had my first beer since I’ve been here, “Sainte Etienne” (and beer has never tasted so good). By the time we finished singing and eating, it was very late, so we all rushed to bed.
10-13-17
Today we dropped the kids off at school, and then took Hugh to “Playball”. We dropped him off, and while he played, Eliza did some work, and I walked around the village. I went into a small store and bought a few things I needed (including an Australian outlet phone charger). Then I went to “Mt. Eliza Village Fruits” and got a coffee (Campos). We picked up Hugh and then Eliza drove around and showed me the towns, Frankston (and the train station) and Mornington. Hugh and I chilled out for the afternoon before we had to pick the kids up fro school. We headed over to their neighbors (Toby’s friend Max) for a little before heading back to the house to make pizza for dinner. I also had my second beer “Furphy” which apparently has become very popular.
10-17-17
On Saturday I learned how to drive here (on the left side of the road). I hopped in the car and just started driving. I probably should have used my GPS because I ended up down a dirt road. It turned out all right because I ended up driving past a winery called “Stumpy Gully”, which I eventually want to check out. I finally put “Mornington” into my GPS and made my way there. When I got there, I ran into the library to ask if they had any maps I could use, but they told me my best bet would be to go to the visitor center across the street. I decided that before I did that, I needed to eat. I walked around downtown and stopped at a place called “Leaf and Bean”. I ordered an iced latte and a chicken and avocado focaccia. The iced latte was literally a milkshake, but I was half expecting that, because a friend had warned me about Australia’s iced coffee. After I ate, I grabbed (an actual) coffee to take with me, “Jasper Coffee”, and went on a walk. I walked to the Schnapper Point Lookout and then continued to the Mornington Pier. From the pier, I could see some of the colorful bathing houses, (which I’ve seen all over Instagram) so I decided to walk the beach to check them out. The water is still pretty cold, but there were a lot of kids in it. There are so many bathing houses around this area. They were built in response to very Victorian ideas of morality and seaside bathing. After I took enough pictures of the bathing houses, I headed back to the car. I realized that you could drive along the water pretty far on the Esplanade, so I decided to give it a try and practice my driving some more. I drove the Esplanade all the way to Sorrento, which is about 40 km (25 miles). I stopped at a beautiful beach to take a few pictures, and then began my drive back home. I stopped in Mornington again to grab dinner. I stopped at a place called “Main Street Kababs”, and the inside was filled with pictures and maps of Istanbul, which made me miss it a lot. I ate and then headed back before it got too dark.
On Sunday, Toby had his birthday party. Him and three of his friends went rock climbing with Blake. Then they came back to the house where we played “pass the parcel”, had a piñata, and ate “party pies” and cake. Toby got about three basketballs for his birthday because he got a basketball hoop from his family. After all of his friends left, I started making a “To-Do” list of things I want to do while I’m here. Then for dinner, we had sausages. I found out from Toby, that they call yellow mustard “American mustard” here in Australia.
On Monday, my plan was to park at the Frankston train station and take the train into Melbourne CBD, but I drove around three times and couldn’t find a spot anywhere. I then decided to go with my second plan, drive Great Ocean Road and see the Twelve Apostles. I started my 3-½ hour drive through the city, which then led to miles and miles of farmland. (I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much farmland in my life). I stopped at a McDonald’s along the way. One, because I wanted to see if it was any different from back home (it wasn’t) and two, I really had to go to the bathroom. They even had mini packets of vegemite with the packets of ketchup. Once I made it to the Twelve Apostles, I checked out a place called “Thunder Cave”. It was a cave that made a sound when the water crashed into it. Then I walked passed Broken Head and down to Sherbrooke River. I walked along the beach where there were huge waves, and even bigger cliffs. I also found a really cool cave. As I made my way back up the beach, a huge wave splashed me and got the bottom of my jeans all wet. (Luckily I had taken off my socks and shoes before). As I was heading to see the Twelve Apostles, I saw a sign for helicopter rides, so I pulled in, bought a ticket, and hopped in a helicopter. The view was amazing from up above, and it was really cool to see the Twelve Apostles from the waterside. It was only a 15-minute ride, but it was totally worth it. After the ride, I decided to head back home because it was such a long drive. I made my way back through the fields and farms for 3-½ hours, before I made it home and fell asleep right away. The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of the Port Campbell National Park by the Great Ocean Road. There are currently only seven Apostles left, due to erosion. They were formed by the extreme weather conditions, and actually only ever had nine stacks. The stacks are susceptible to further erosion from the waves, but new limestone stacks will be created from the waves as well. I also saw the London Bridge (Arc) on the helicopter ride.
This morning started with a coffee and a muffin at “The Sheep Station Bakehouse” (one of my new favorite places). (This will definitely be my go-to place when Hugh is at Playball.) Then, I hopped in the car and drove through Mornington, onto the Esplanade. I drove all the way to Portsea to a place called “Fort Nepean”. I walked a little through the woods and ended up on a beautiful, secluded beach called “Cattle Quarantine Jetty”. Then I walked along a path in the woods, but the lookout point was closed due to storm damage, so I walked out of the woods and ended up on the road. I walked up a hill and ended up at an old fortification and barracks ground. I walked back down and headed to the car. Fort Nepean was a defensive facility to protect the narrow entrance to Port Phillip. Next, I headed into town in Sorrento to grab lunch. I got a sandwich at “Buckley’s Chance”, and then kept driving. I ended up at Sorrento Back Beach, and ate my lunch with a seagull staring at me. Then I hiked up to Coppins Lookout and took some pictures of an amazing view. I headed back down and started driving home. I stopped at a few stores along the way, including a smoothie place called “Oh My Juice”. I stopped to get gas (petrol) (apparently there’s only one way to enter a gas station here, and I keep doing it the wrong way) and then I headed home.
10-20-17
Wednesday was my first official day on the job, and I think it went pretty well. I dripped the kids off at school, and then brought Hugh to the library. We read a few books and then they had a preschool reading time. They learned about owls and then made an owl craft out of an old CD. After the library, we played at the park for a little until Hugh decided he wanted to go home. We ate lunch, played, did laundry and dishes, watched a little TV, and then headed to pick the other kids up from school. Will and Toby had basketball (but at different times) so they got picked up and dripped off by friends. We made raviolis for dinner, and then they took baths. Thursday went along the same lines as Wednesday, except I’m done working at 3:15pm. Now I’m sitting in “The Sheep Station” and THANK GOD IT’S FRIDAY!
10-25-17
This past weekend, I made it into the city. I drove to the Frankston train station, and then hopped on a train into Melbourne CBD. There were a lot of people on the train dressed up, because there was a horse race at Caulfield. Once I made it to the city, my first stop was the Eureka Skydeck. The building is 975 feet tall, and the elevator brings you up 88 floors in just 40 seconds. You can see a 360-degree view of the city (which I found out use to be called “Batmania”). I even went out on “The Edge”, which is a glass cube that projects out over the street. After the Skydeck, I decided to head over to China Town for lunch. On my way there, I walked down Hosier Lane, and saw a bunch of graffiti and people taking pictures. It was actually very cool. I made it to China Town, and went to a place called “Shanghai Village”, and had dumplings and fried rice. Then I headed down the street and found a STARBUCKS! (I was beyond happy). I grabbed my coffee and then decided to navigate the tram system. It took me a few minutes to figure out which side of the track I should be on, but I finally figured it out. I hopped off the tram when I saw (what I thought was) the Cricket Stadium. It turns out that it was the footie stadium, Etihad, and was completely closed. After walking around the entire stadium, I hopped back on the tram and continued on my way. I finally made it to the end of the line, where there was a mall and the Melbourne Star. I hopped on the ride, (I had an entire gondola to myself) and as the doors were shutting, the attendant said “see you in 30 minutes”. (I didn’t realize it would take so long.) I took my ride around and saw some nice views of the city. I want to go back and ride it again at night. After the ride, I jumped back on the tram and decided to head to a little part of the city called “Fitzroy”. There was a store called “Third Drawer Down”, that I had read about in a book and really wanted to visit. I bought a deck of cards there called “Know Yourself”, and they all have different questions on them to help you learn about yourself. Then, I headed down the street to “The Fitzroy Beer Garden”, and grabbed a Corona (for $9!) I finally headed back home, and picked up a pizza along the way (to eat in my bed).
On Sunday, I was extremely tired and stayed in bed all day until dinnertime, when we had sausages.
On Monday, I headed off to Philip Island. Everyone here talks about the Penguin Parade, so I had to check it out. I got to the nature park around 11AM, so I bought my ticket and had eight hours before I had to be back. I had done a little research before, so I knew a few things to check out. My first stop was a place called “Pyramid Rock”, which is black basalt in the shape of a pyramid. On my way driving out, two little kangaroos hopped across the street in front of me. (I now know they were Wallabies, not small kangaroos). I also visited a place on the beach called the “Forrest Caves”, which are sea caves that have been formed by erosion. I got there just after high tide, so I could walk on top of the rocks, but not actually go into the caves. These caves and Pyramid Rock were formed by ash that exploded from nearby volcanic vents. Next, I headed to a little downtown area in Cowes to have lunch. I wanted to go to a cool Mexican place that I passed, but I guess they were closed, so I went to a place called “Burger Edge” instead. I was so happy to have a burger and fries (even though Australia is very Americanized and has almost any type of food you can imagine). After I ate, I walked around the town for a little while and checked out the shops. I bought an Australia guidebook, and a U.S. map to hang in my room and show the kids where I’m from. Then, I headed off to the koala conservation. It had treetop boardwalks so you were level with the koalas in their natural habitat. They would look right at you as you walked by. Then I headed across the street to the “Rusty Water” brewery. I got pumpkin raviolis and a paddle of beer. The four beers were called Sunset Golden Ale, Pure Pilsner, Koala Pilsner, and Pinnacle Amber. I then headed to the nature park. I took a little scenic drive past Nobbies Center, and then headed to the penguin parade. At the penguin parade, you sit on bleachers on the beach and watch the penguins come out of the ocean and return home at sunset. Phillip Island is part of the traditional home of the Boon Wurrung people, an Indigenous group in the expansive Kulin Nation, and has one of the largest penguin colonies in Australia. The penguins were only about a foot tall (the smallest penguins in the world) and had dark blue fur with white bellies. They were so cute waddling up to the beach in packs. Afterwards, you could walk along the footpaths and watch the penguins waddle through and listen to their “quacking” sound. I stayed until they turned the lights off and basically kicked us out.
On Tuesday, I visited a really cool coffee shop called “Commonfolk”. It’s an old warehouse on the same street as a bunch of auto shops. I got a coffee and a muffin (which was so good) and I started working on my third blog. After about an hour or so, I headed across the street to an antique shop. They had some pretty cool stuff, and I ended up buying a vintage ANZAC Day coaster for $2. Then I headed off to see what else I could explore for the day. My plan was to drive along the Esplanade all day, but then I saw a sign for Arthur’s Seat (which was on my things-to-do list). I hopped on the Seat Eagle (which is a gondola ride up to the top of the hill) and saw some amazing views. When I got to the top, I was pretty hungry, so I stopped at a place called “Arthurs Hotel”. I got (another) burger and a Coldstream cider, which they brew themselves. Then, I decided to hike off the burger. I walked through the Seawinds and Indigenous gardens, and then to two different lookout views. I passed through William Ricketts sculptures, and then saw Flinders Cairn. This was a triangular sculpture at the spot where Matthew Flinders climbed up and used the spot for observation purposes. I was getting pretty tired, so I headed back down the Seat Eagle and headed home.
11-1-17
So I survived my second Halloween in a foreign country. I haven’t written in a while because I’ve been quite busy. Last Thursday, the kids had Italian day at school. Will dressed up as a pizza, Toby as an Italian chef, and Sophie as the blue fairy from Pinocchio. When they got home, Toby and Sophie taught me a dance called “Tarantella”.
On Friday, Hugh and I searched for pumpkins in the windows of shops in the village (it was harder than I thought). For dinner that night, we made pizza and then brownies. After, I got ready to go out. I met some girls at one of their places in Mornington, and then we headed out for her birthday to a place called “Merchant Lane”. It was a bar with a DJ and a dance floor and was a lot of fun.
The next night, I met up with a different group of girls, and we hung out at one of their houses and drank and went in the hot tub. Then I headed home because the next morning, Eliza’s brother, wife, niece and mom were coming over for brunch. We had eggs, toast, asparagus and trout (it was so good). After the family left, I booked my trip to Cairns and made NYE plans with the girls I had met Saturday night. (We’ll be going into Melbourne to a big club). I also finished my third blog.
The next morning, I headed to Commonfolk to grab some coffee and look up a few things I could do in Cairns. Then I headed off to Bayside Mall in Frankston. (It was a lot bigger than I thought it was). I found a NYE outfit, bought the kids Christmas present, and grabbed a few more things (probably more than I needed…) I was getting hungry, so I stopped at a sushi place and got two rolls. However, they sell sushi as take out, “take-away”, so they don’t cut them up into pieces. I had to eat the sushi like it was a hot dog or something. After I had had enough time at the mall, aka, had spent too much money and had too many bags to carry, I headed home.
The next day was Halloween. They don’t really celebrate Halloween over here, so not much was going on. I went to McDonald’s (yes it’s my home-sick guilty pleasure) and had lunch, and then decided to drive around. I drove down the Esplanade and headed to Sorrento. I ended up at Mornington State Park, and saw a paraglider practicing over the beach and sand dunes. Then I decided to go drink a beer on the beach to celebrate Halloween. I grabbed a cider at Liquor Land and headed to Point Nepean. I drank on the beach while the waves rolled in, and realized that it was my second Halloween that I had spent on the beach. After I finished my beer, I hopped back in the car and drove to Dramano to walk along the beach. It was getting cloudy and cold so I headed back to the car. I drove back to Mornington and stopped at a Mexican place called “Mi Mexiko” for dinner. I got a burrito and a margarita (the Mexican food here is quite different from the states). Then I headed back home and watched the Goonies before falling asleep.
11-2-17
Yesterday was Sophie’s birthday. She was so excited that she could barely contain herself. She had to tell everyone all week that it was almost her birthday. When she got home from school, I have her gel pens, and she was so excited. For dinner we had fish and chips (I’ve never had so much fish and chips in my life) and for dessert we had strawberry fudge cake (her favorite) and ice cream. After dinner, I headed to Mornington to grab a drink with a few girls. We went to a place called “Casa de Playa” and it was a lot of fun. Today at the library I actually ran into one of the au pairs that I met last night! The kids don’t have school tomorrow, so we’ll see how that goes.
11-6-17
So Friday wasn’t tooooo bad. It rained on and off, so we got stuck in the house half of the day. Friday night, I met my friend Megan at the mall to shop for something for the race we were going to. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find anything.
The next day, I went back to the mall and finally found a black jumpsuit that I was looking for. That night, Megan invited me over for “international dinner night” at her host families’ house. They do it every few weeks, and this time just happened to be “American” night. We had chili-dogs (lol) and they were actually really good. After, we had cherry pie (which Megan homemade) and played a board game called “5 seconds”.
The next day was Sophie’s birthday party. About eight girls came over and they did a scavenger hunt, played pass the parcel, and decorated their own fairy princess wands. After the party, I got ready and Blake gave me a ride to the race. I met a bunch of girls there and we headed in. Megan and I wanted to get some beers, so we waited in line… for 40 minutes… Since the line was long, I ended up getting three beers at once. We met the other girls on the grass and watched some of the races. I wanted to bet on a horse, so I headed to the betting station. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing, but I bet $6 on horse #8 to win in the last race. Sadly, that horse didn’t even place. After the race, I got an Uber (I had to wait about an hour for it) home.
Today I went back to Phillip Island to explore some more. On my way there, I had my first experience with the “random Breathalyzer test”. A cop motioned me to pull over and gave me a Breathalyzer test, (it was 11:45AM on a Monday, so good thing I passed) and then said, “Have a good day” and I drove off. I stopped at Nobbies Centre and walked along the boardwalk to see “Seal Rocks”. Then I went to Woolamai Beach and watched a bunch of surfers. I got a coffee at “Coffee Co.” downtown, and then headed back home.
11-7-17
Today was the Melbourne Cup, so everyone had the day off. Blakes sister, husband, and three kids came over for brunch. We had eggs, toast and trout. After, I ran to the grocery store to get stuff to make buffalo chicken dip. (They don’t have canned chicken here, so I had to get a roasted chicken and cut it up.) Then, the family went to a friend’s house, so I stayed home and watched the race. It was pretty anticlimactic because the actual race was only about three minutes long. The winner was Jockey – Corey Brown and Horse – Rekindling.
11-10-17
So I finally made it to the gym here (and I didn’t die). Wednesday I took Hugh to the library, but it was closed due to emergency maintenance. I had no idea what to do to take up time, so he rode his scooter around the town while I walked. On the plus side, I got to try a new coffee shop called “about Thyme”. Wednesday night, I made it to PARC (the gym) and went to a spin class. The gym is extremely nice and they offer a lot of classes. I’m hoping to go to spin, yoga, and boxing a few times a week. Now I’m sitting in one of my favorite cafés (and Hugh’s) waiting for him to get out of Playball.
11-14-17
I’ve been busy the past few days, but I’ve decided to spend the day at the library so I can catch up. On Friday, after Hugh had Playball, I decided to make muffins… homemade… for the first time ever… They turned out very chewy and were sticking to the paper. Later that night, I found out I had used crushed up coconut instead of sugar… Friday night, the kids tried fluff for the first time ever and loved it.
Saturday morning I attempted to go to the gym again, but the spin class was full and it cost $19 to use the regular gym, so I just went home. I met up with Megan and we went to Mill’s Beach. A few of her friends (Rachel, John and and Edd) also met us there. After we spent a few hours at the beach (and got completely burnt) we went back to Megan’s to change before we went out to the bars. The others picked us up and we started at “The Royal Hotel”, and then headed to “The Publican”. (This is where I found out “Pimms” is a mixed drink and not a beer). We ended the night by getting burgers at “YOMG” (extremely good) and then headed home early.
Sunday morning, I met up with Megan again and we drove to Summers Yacht Club to go to the beach. We met Rachel and John there and were hoping to see some dolphins (unfortunately we didn’t). After a little while at the beach, we headed back to Mt. Martha and went to a place called “The Pillars”. They’re rocks over the ocean that you can jump off of. It took me a while to actually jump, but I finally did (off the smallest one). After a while there, we all headed home.
Monday, I woke up pretty early and drove to Grampians National Park. It was a four-hour dive to get there, but the hike and views were worth it. The hike took about an hour and a half up. Some parts were very steep and most of the hike was on rocks. Once I reached the top, I was at The Pinnacle, a rocky spur that juts out from the jagged cliff and overlooks a vast expanse of Australia. After taking a lot of pictures, (and I mean A LOT) I started to make my way back down. I had planned to maybe stay in a hostel for the night, but I was back to the car by 4:00PM, so I decided to just drive home. Tonight I have my first ever Crossfit session that a few friends got me into, so hopefully it goes well.
Well I didn’t die, but I’m definitely going to be sore tomorrow.
11-21-17
So I’ve taken four Crossfit classes so far, and I’m starting to love it. They’ve been tough and I’ve been really sore, but they’re fun and I feel great after. On Wednesday, we learned how to do dead lifts, and I almost couldn’t move the next day.
On Thursday, it rained all day, so Hugh and I had a picnic at the library and then went to Eden Garden and Linton’s Café. (Here he showed me the fish and the chickens).
On Friday, Hugh had Playball, so I started writing out all of my trips that I had planned. When we got home, there was a crazy hailstorm, I got off work a little early and then I had Crossfit at seven.
Saturday morning, I watched the kids while Eliza and Blake went out to breakfast for their anniversary. Then I hung out and wrote a blog and then went to the mal for a while. When I got home, the neighbors were over, so we had a cookout. (I also jumped in the pool with all of the kids).
Sunday was Hugh’s Birthday. (I got him a mini basketball). It was also the Family Fun Festival at the kid’s school. My friend Megan came over and we went to the festival for about an hour. We got friend calamari, potato on a stick, and ice cream, and then we walked back home. We changed and headed to meet Rachel and John at the beach. We went to a beach in McCrae and stayed for the sunset (my first beach sunset here).
On Monday, I met up with another Au Pair (who’s birthday I went out for when I just got here) Tamara. We met at The Corner Pantry Café (which I’ve been wanting to try, and also realized how close it is to the house) to plan trips to New Zealand and Tasmania. We didn’t end up finalizing any plans, but we did look up a few flights, dates, and hostels. After, I went to the mall to find Birkenstock’s (and had no luck) and then went to Crossfit at seven.
This morning, I got up at 4:15AM and drove to Sorrento to watch the sunrise on the beach. After, I went to the Peninsula Hot Springs. It was the perfect place to go the day after Crossfit; it was so relaxing. There was a pool at the very top of the hill where you could see rolling hills, and even a few cold pools (which actually felt better because it was so hot out). After I had spent about and hour and a half at the springs, I headed to the beach. I spent about and hour and a half at the beach in Rye before coming home to relax for the rest of the day.
11-24-17
So yesterday was Thanksgiving, and obviously nothing was going on for it here, but it was nice to spend it in shorts and a tank top for once. I thought Hugh and I would make it a special day, so we started off by visiting the sports shop. (Hugh could spend all day looking at bikes and “testing” them out). Then we went to his (and one of my) favorite cafés. After that, we played at the indoor playground in the village for a while, and Hugh made a friend named “Lincoln”. We ran home to have lunch and do some laundry, and then went out to get some ice cream. We went to “YOMG” and made our own froyo cups. (Obviously Hugh got a black cone with black ice cream). Then we headed to the library for a little, where I ran into my friend Megan again. When we got home, I played with the kids for a little while Eliza made a “Thanksgiving” dinner. (It was so sweet of her). We had turkey, potatoes, green beans, and she even made a pumpkin pie (from an actual pumpkin! Because I guess they don’t have pumpkin in a can here). It was everyone’s first time trying it, and they all seemed to like it (well, Will wasn’t the biggest fan).
11-28-17
On Friday, I got a call from Eliza around 10:30AM saying that the school called and was sending Sophie home sick. Hugh and I picked her up and we had a lazy TV day for the rest of the afternoon. Then, Friday night, I had my last training session for Crossfit.
On Saturday, I spent some time at the mall and then met up with Megan to get ready to go out. We picked up Kay (a friend from Crossfit) and then went to “Doc Pizza” (which was really good). Then we stopped at the “Backyard Bar” for a few drinks before heading to “Beaches”. It was 80’s night, and had an older crowd, but it was so fun. I also met a guy there named Jason, and him and his friend Tomas hung out and bar hopped with us for the rest of the night.
The next day, Megan and I just stayed in bed all day and got McDonalds. #hangovercure.
On Monday, I went and checked out the Chadstone Mall (it’s massive) and then went to my first official Crossfit class (and didn’t die). Now I’m sitting in “The Corner Pantry Café” deciding what my next blog should be about. I seem to be having a brain fart.
12-1-17
On Tuesday, I met up with Megan at her house and we planned out our New Zealand trip. Then when Jasper (the baby she watches) woke up, we went to the park and then the beach. On our way, we stopped for smoothies at a place called “the Boyz 4 Breakie”.
On Thursday, Hugh and I met Megan and Jasper at the park and then the two of us went to a place called “Santa’s Place” for lunch. They had a bunch of Christmas decorations up, and a café and playground in the back. That night, I went to Crossfit (and ran two miles during the workout) and then went to the “Mornington Peninsula Brewery” with Megan, Rachel and John for a few drinks and pizza.
12-5-17
The weather has not been the best for the past few days. This weekend, there was a huge storm and they predicted massive flooding (but it wasn’t too bad). Friday was the worst. The roof and wall began leaking water, so Hugh and I had to grab a bunch of towels and a bucket to clean up the water.
12-8-17
Last Saturday, I did my first morning Crossfit session (it wasn’t too bad). It was a partner one, so Megan and I were partners. After, we went out to breakfast at a café next door called “thirteen83”, where I had eggs benedict and a green smoothie. That night, I went to Megan’s with Rachel and John for “Mexican night”. John made taco lasagna, and Megan and I attempted to make queso (it was a complete fail). We played board games, drank, and Megan made really good chocolate lava cakes. (Oh, and we even got fake mustaches for the occasion.) Then, I ended up staying the night because Megan was watching Jasper over night.
The next morning, we were up bright and early, (because of Jasper) so we went for a walk. On our way, we stopped at a smoothie place called “store fifteen”, which was extremely good. That afternoon, I just watched Netflix and napped.
On Monday, I drove about two hours to Warburton to see the Redwood Forrest (which is part of the Yarra Ranges National Park). It was beautiful and so quiet and relaxing. Then I stopped at a place called “RiverView” for lunch. I had eggs benedict (you can see a pattern developing here) and sweet potato fries. Then I made my way to the “1000 Steps”. However, when I got there, it was down pouring, so I didn’t end up climbing them. I decided to head to the Chadstone Mall. There, I bought some workout clothes and my first backpacking backpack! Then, I left and headed to Crossfit.
On Tuesday, I got up early and went to have breakfast at “Mercetta”. It was the best breakfast I’ve had here so far. (Obviously I got eggs benedict). Then, I decided to drive along the Esplanade to Sorrento and see the London Bridge. On my way back, I stopped at “store fifteen” to get a smoothie again. Then I headed to the library to get some travel books for Queensland and Sydney. Then I spent the afternoon relaxing before Crossfit.
12-14-17
I’ve been so busy lately; it’s been hard to keep up with writing. I’ve been going to Crossfit almost every day, and I feel great. On Saturday, we had our Crossfit Christmas party. I brought buffalo chicken dip and it was a huge hit.
The next morning, Megan and I went to the Mornington Markets. They had a lot of cute homemade things and really good food. We spent the rest of the day at the beach, and then headed to Megan’s for lasagna, pavlova, and a Christmas movie.
On Monday, I drove the Esplanade (one of my favorite things to do) to Sorrento to check out Lulu Lemon. On my way back, I stopped at a café called “The Holy Bean”. That afternoon, the kids and Eliza came home with a chocolate lab that they found on the street. Luckily, the owner answered and came to pick her up.
The next day, I just ran errands to get ready for Sydney. That afternoon, the kids and Eliza came home with a pet bird they found in the backyard. (I said it’s a sign that they should get a pet.) The kids were loving watching it fly around the kitchen and land on them. Then, I made them all take a selfie Christmas card picture (including the bird). Tomorrow I head to the city to stay in a hostel in order to catch my early flight to Sydney on Saturday! Oh, and I got a $200 speeding ticket from a few weeks ago… whoops.
12-24-17
Merry Christmas Eve! I’ve been really busy lately and haven’t been able to write a lot, but I’m spending the next three hours sitting in the airport, so hopefully I’ll be able to catch up. Last weekend I went to Sydney.
Friday afternoon, Eliza’s mom gave me a ride to the train station so I could head into the city. I checked into the hostel, dropped my bags, and headed off to find somewhere to eat. I ended up just going across the street to a place called “Nando’s”, where I had a burrito and some fries. I headed back to the hostel, had a beer at the bar there, and called it a night.
The next morning, I had to get up at 3:00AM in order to catch a Skybus to the airport. I ended up sleeping the entire flight there, and when I landed, it was only 7:30AM. I got a bus to the hostel, left my bag in storage, and set off to explore Sydney. First, I stopped at Starbucks (and ended up getting a latte by accident.) Then, I walked through the Royal Garden’s (which were a lot bigger than I thought they were). I even took a train ride through them (with a bunch of kids). Then, I went to see the Opera House (because what’s a visit to Sydney without seeing it?) I even got to go inside of it. (Although there was a show that was about to start, so it was very crowded and busy.) After taking about a million pictures, I headed towards the Sydney Harbor Bridge. I walked across the entire bridge. When I got to the end, I was exhausted and didn’t want to walk all the way back, so I decided to take the train. When I got back to the hostel, I could finally check in, so I showered and then took a nap. That night, I headed to the bar that was below the hostel to get a few beers and $10 burgers. There were a few guys sitting next to me and one waved me over. He was Italian, so we ended up talking a lot about Italy. One of the other guys was from Seattle. They were heading out to dinner, so I decided to tag along for a drink. We headed to Darling Harbor and went to the first place that didn’t have a wait. The guy from Seattle (Woody) ordered Kangaroo so he let me try some. (It taste like chewy less-flavored steak.) After dinner, we headed back to the bar at the hostel. That’s when I ran into a guy dressed as a cowboy. He had on the boots, belt-buckle, and even the hat. He was from Texas, so we talked about football and Budlight #America. I ended up spending the rest of the night barhopping with him.
The next day, I spent most of the morning in bed because I was hungover. I finally felt better, so I headed out to get some food. I stopped at a really cool Thai place, and then headed back towards the Opera House. I walked around through the gardens, and then found a cool rock cave to sit in to watch the sun set. Once it got dark and I saw the Opera House lit up, I walked back to the hostel. My friend Erica was finally back in Sydney, so we met at the hostel and then headed out for a drink. We were both pretty tired, so we only stayed out for one and then headed to bed.
The next morning, we got up pretty early and headed to the café at the hostel. Then, we caught a bus to Coogee Beach so we could walk along the coast to Bondi Beach. It was about a three-mile walk, but the views were amazing. Once we made it to Bondi, we grabbed lunch (and dessert) and then took a bus to the harbor. We caught a ferry to Manly Harbor, and ended up getting Thai food again. While we made our way back to the ferry, we caught a beautiful sunset. Heading back towards the city, we caught a glimpse of the Opera House all lit up again. (It was beautiful). We headed back to the hostel, showered, and then headed to the bar downstairs. It ended up being a pretty late night for us.
The next morning, I had to rush to check out because I overslept. Erica and I decided to check out the aquarium, so we caught an Uber to save some time. It was a little disappointing at how small it was, (maybe because I remember the Boston aquarium being so big) but I did get some pretty cool pictures. I also snapped a picture of a photo they took of us when we walked in. (Even though we weren’t supposed to, and the lady selling them yelled at us.) It only took us about an hour to make it through the entire aquarium, so we decided to grab lunch by the water. We were in Darling Harbor again, so we went to the place that had the cheapest fish & chips. After lunch, we headed back to the hostel so I could catch my shuttle ride to the airport. The Hostel was called “Wake Up! Sydney”. When I got to the airport, I was told that my flight was delayed about 45 minutes. Once we finally boarded and took off, I fell asleep; only to wake up to them telling us that the weather was too bad to land and we would have to fly all the way back to Sydney. (We were almost in Melbourne…) We landed back in Sydney and were luckily told we could refuel and head back to Melbourne. About 20 minutes into our second flight, they came over the loud speaker and asked if there were any doctors on board because there was a medical emergency. We all thought we were going to have to fly back to Sydney again, but luckily it was all right and we kept going. We landed around 11PM, and luckily Blake had driven to the airport to pick me up.
The next day was the kids last day of school, so Eliza got out of work early to pick them up, so I could nap before Crossfit.
On Friday, it was Eliza’s birthday, and also the cleaners were coming before the party that night. I took Toby, Sophie and Hugh to a trampoline park called “Gravity Zone”. (I got tired out before they did). That night, they had a holiday party and invited a bunch of school friends over.
The next morning, I went to Crossfit. It was the 12 Days of Christmas workout and took almost an hour to complete. The rest of the day, I just relaxed and packed for Brisbane and Cairns. Now I’m waiting at the gate ready to board the plane!
12-31-17
So it’s New Years Eve, and I’m sitting in the airport, preparing for tonight. This past week has been crazy. Christmas Eve, I spent about five hours in the airport, but it wasn’t bad at all because I got to hang out in the Qantas Business Lounge. (Free food and drinks for the whole time). Finally, I boarded my flight and headed off to Brisbane. I took an Uber to the Crocker’s house, (Eliza’s brothers house) but ended up at the wrong house, so I actually knocked on the wrong door. Luckily, the family who lived there was extremely nice and the woman helped me find the right house. Once I made it there, I met the whole family. It was getting late, so the kids all went to bed. And that’s when the work began. I helped wrap presents for all of the kids, (it took about an hour) and then finally went to bed at almost midnight.
The next morning, the kids woke up before 5AM, and of course I was woken up too. I only lasted about 20 minutes before I was back in bed. I ended up sleeping for a few more hours before I got up and ready for Christmas. We went to Mass in the morning, and then spent the rest of the day eating, swimming and napping. It didn’t feel like Christmas because it was about 85 degrees, but it was still a great day. It ended in the craziest thunder and lightening storm I have ever seen. The heat and all the chaos had really gotten to me, so I ended up going to bed really early.
The next morning, I decided to go explore the city. I got up and took the train into the city. I walked around an area called “Southbank” for a while, which was right along the river. Then I crossed one of the bridges into the city to find somewhere to eat lunch. I ended up just going to a McDonald’s because everywhere was so busy for Boxing Day (a huge shopping day). Then, I decided to rent a bike to get around the city a little faster. I rode along the pier, and then back over a bridge to Southbank again. I rode around for about two hours and then got dinner. I went to a burrito place (which was extremely good). Then it looked like a storm was approaching, so I decided to go to the movies. I saw “The Greatest Showman” and it was so good. By the time the movie ended, it was 8:30PM, so I decided to head back to the house. I ended up having to wait about 45 minutes until the next train because they were running on holiday hours. Finally, I made it home and went straight to bed.
The next morning, I got up and packed my stuff because I had a flight to Cairns. I Ubered to the airport, and I was off! When I got to Cairns, I had to wait for the bus to bring me to the hostel. When I got to the hostel, I was expecting it to be packed, but when I walked in my 6-bedroom room, I was the first one in there (and the only one in there that night). I dropped my stuff and headed down to the bar. After a few drinks, I ran into the girl I took the bus to the hostel with. I sat with her and her roommate and ended up staying at the bar all night. The bar and club at Gilligan’s are extremely fun and get very crowded at night. We even ran into a group of Scottish guys and a group of Australian Footy players who were both really fun.
The next morning, I was kind of hungover, so I slept in. When I got up, I got ready and went to walk around the city. First, I stopped at a pizza place called “Crust” to get lunch. Then, I walked down past the lagoon and along the Esplanade. I walked all the way to the Botanical Gardens, (which was further than I thought) and then got an Uber back to the hostel. For the rest of the afternoon, I hung out by the pool with a guy who had just checked into my room (Nick) and then got dinner at the bar. I showered and got ready quick, and then headed back down to the bar. I played trivia with a few girls and the Scottish guys, (we won) and I had to chug a beer against four other people. (Obviously I didn’t win that one.) After trivia, I ran into Nick and his friend Sam, (who was also staying in our room) and we all hung out together. Then, there was a stripper competition. There were two guys who were pretty funny, and two girls who had no shame. I ended up staying at the club until about 3AM.
The next day, I rented a car and drove up to the Daintree Rainforest. I didn’t end up hiking there, but I did walk through the Mossman Gorge. On my drive back, I stopped in Port Douglas to get fish & chips for dinner. Once I made it back to Cairns and dropped off the barely running rental car, (it was a really old car; I even got a discount because it was so old) I headed back to the hostel to shower. I told myself I wasn’t going to go out that night, but Nick and Sam convinced me. We started at the bar at the hostel, and then headed off to an Irish bar. We hung out there for a while (I even talked to the band for a little). Then, Nick and Sam went off to another bar and I went to bed.
The next morning, I had to get up early because I was going scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef. I headed over to the meeting spot and hopped on the boat. I made friends with a guy named Shannon, and we ended up hanging out all day. (I also realized I had been against him in the beer chugging challenge during trivia two nights ago). It took about an hour on the boat to get out to the reef, but the views were beautiful. Once we got there, I snorkeled for a while before it was my turn to dive. The reef was like nothing I had ever seen before. Finally, it was my turn to dive. We geared up and hopped in the water. At first, it was a little difficult to learn how to breathe with the mask on, but eventually I got the hang of it. We had to hold on to the instructors arm because we weren’t certified, but it was nice because we could just look around and not have to worry about where we were going. The dive was for about 30 minutes, and then I got to snorkel again. We moved to a different part of the reef and then hopped in the water again. I risked it all and brought my phone under water to take pictures (and luckily it was fine). At the very last minute before we got out, I saw a shark in the distance. It was small but still really cool to see. We took the boat back to shore and I headed back to the hostel where I ended up falling asleep for an hour. I grabbed some Thai food for dinner, and then ended up just staying in and packing because I had an early flight the next morning.
I woke up the next morning around 6AM, and caught my bus to the airport. I grabbed a coffee and breakfast sandwich and I was off!
2-16-17
So I’ve been extremely busy (and lazy) and haven’t written in over a month! I’m going to do my best to recap the past month and a half of craziness. So, when I landed back in Melbourne after Cairns, it was New Years Eve. I caught the Skybus from the airport to Southern Cross Station, and then walked to the hostel that my friends and I had booked for the night. They had already started pregaming at the bar downstairs, so I had to catch up. Luckily, the hostel gave us free drink tickets so we all got two for free. Then we head upstairs and started to get ready. All five of us were put in the same room, along with one German guy (poor guy). It took us a while to get ready, (obviously) but then we finally headed to the venue. The ticket included free drinks all night, and you were allowed to get up to four at a time. (So obviously we took advantage of it). When it was time for the countdown, we went outside and watched the fireworks go off. The venue wasn’t closing until about four, so we headed back inside. Towards the end of the night, I met a guy named Trent and found out he was from Texas. When it got later, I decided to head out, but there were no Uber’s around, so I ended up walking back to the hostel. I was the first one back (besides the German guy). He must have been pretty drunk because when I got out my pizza and offered him some, he got pretty excited.
The next morning, we all got up, shared our stories, and then Megan and I headed back to my house. We spent the rest of the day eating junk food on the beach.
The next weekend, the same girls from New Year’s and I went to Wilson’s Prom. We left the Friday morning, (which turned into the afternoon after all of our stops) and squeezed everyone and everything into my car. It took about three hours to get there, then another hour to set up the tent and organize everything. We headed down to the beach to catch the sunset, and then made dinner and started drinking. We ended up hanging out with a few older couples that had campers in the campground. As we headed to bed, I looked up and have never seen that many stars. Since we tried squeezing five girls in a four-person tent, I ended up sleeping out under the canopy.
The next morning, we got up and made pancakes, and then set off for our hike. We hiked up Mount Oberon, which took us about an hour and a half to get to the top, (in 45 degree (113 degree) heat) but the views made it all worth it. After we hiked back down, we headed to Squeaky Beach. It was extremely crowded, so we had to park pretty far away. Once we got down to the beach, I realized where it got its name. The sand squeaked when you walked on it! Not long after we got to the beach, we realized we were out of water and there was no shade anywhere, so we didn’t stay for too long. When we got back to the campground, we showered, made pasta for dinner, and then started drinking. The next day was Megan’s birthday, so we were celebrating that night. We met a few guys at the campground and played drinking games all night.
The next day, we packed up and then spent the afternoon at the beach before heading back home.
3-9-17
The weekend after camping, I went to a place called “Cable Park”. It was a giant inflatable obstacle course on a man-made lake. I went with Megan, Rachel, John, Edd, John’s parents, and Edd’s host parents. We were only on it for about an hour, but it was so exhausting that I went to bed at 6PM that night!
The next day, I had to go into the city to take an RSA course (Responsible Service of Alcohol). The class wasn’t until 5:00PM, so I took a bus city tour. It was about two hours round trip, but it was cool to see the whole city and learn a little about it. I grabbed dinner at Nando’s, and then headed into the class. The class was about four hours with a test at the end. (Luckily, I passed.)
The next night, I had a Bumble date and he was taking me to a cricket game. I took the train into the city and met Jarrod at a bar. We had a few drinks and then headed to the game. I asked a million questions, (and still didn’t understand the game) but the game was still pretty fun to watch. He gave me a ride home after (because we realized we lived one street apart) and it was a pretty good night.
The next day, the kids didn’t have school, so I took Toby, Sophie, and Hugh to a place called “The Big Goose”. It’s like a big farm with a playground and mini-golf. We got to watch a sheepdog show, hold baby guinea pigs, go on a tractor ride, and play mini-golf. I also drove a family friends daughter, Chloe, to and from camp that week for a little extra money. She was so sweet and so polite.
That week was also my best friend Megan’s last week in Mornington. Her host family was moving to Dubbo, New South Wales. We went to Crossfit on Saturday morning to have one last session with all of the girls. That night, I had to babysit a little one-year-old named Sammy for a family I met at Crossfit. Once the parent’s got home, I met the girls out for a few drinks (which obviously turned into a few more drinks).
The next day was Australia Day. I went out to brunch with my friend John, and the next thing we knew, we were bar hopping with two other friends, Edd and Abbey. Towards the end of the night, I ran into Amy, Chloe, and Rhea. That following Tuesday, I left for New Zealand!
The next weekend, I went to the St. Kilda Festival. I met up with some girls I had talked to on Facebook; it was really fun. We walked around the festival for a while, got some food, and listened to the music. After a while, the group split up, and a girl name Laura and myself went to meet another girl Morgane. We ended up just going to the bar because we didn’t know any of the music. Once the girls left, I went to a different bar to meet up with Trent who I had met on New Years Eve. Then, I went off to another bar to meet up with Chloe and Rhea. We stayed out for quite a while with their host family’s friends, and then caught the train at about 11PM back to Frankston.
That Tuesday, I hung out with my friend Rachael, and we went to a beach in Blairgowrie where there is a huge jumping rock (although I decided not to jump). Later that afternoon, we got burgers and then headed home.
The next day was Valentines Day, so Hugh and I made chocolate covered pretzels and strawberries (the kids really only liked the pretzels).
That Friday, I didn’t have to work, so I took a day trip to Queenscliff. (The drive was a lot longer than I thought it would be.) The following Tuesday, I met up with Laura in the city and went to the ArtVo Museum. There were a bunch of paintings on the wall and the floor that you could pose with. We had a lot of fun and took more than enough pictures. Laura had to head back to pick up the kids, so I headed home as well. That night, I went to the movies with Jarrod to see Jumanji. It was a lot funnier than I thought it would be. The ticket machine didn’t print our tickets, so the lady at the desk just wrote them on a piece of paper.
I took it easy for the next few days because that Saturday was the Spartan Race. I met my friend John at about 6:00AM, and then a guy from Crossfit (Chris) picked us up. The venue was about an hour and a half away. We picked up Chris’s friend and then headed on our way. We got there around 9:00AM. Chris and his friend were racing before us because they were doing the 14K. John and I just relaxed before our race (mostly because he was extremely hung over.). Our race was supposed to start at 11:00AM, but we started a little early. I’m not sure exactly how many obstacles there were, but the second or third one was swimming across a lake, so we were soaked right from the start. Another one of the early obstacles was hiking up a very steep hill with a 20K (45 pounds) bag on your back. There weren’t many obstacles that I couldn’t do; I was pretty surprised with myself. (Thank you Crossfit). I never wanted the race to end because it was so fun; but when it did, I was completely dead. We didn’t stay for the free drinks after because the line was too long. We headed home and stopped at a really good burger place. I went to bed pretty early that night.
4-27-18
Ok, so now I’m sooooo behind on journaling, but the weekend after the Spartan Race, I headed out in the city with a few other au pairs for the night. We started off at “Naked Satan”, which has a great view of the city, and then just bar hopped for a little before heading back to the hostel to get ready. We pregamed in a park with our own drinks, and then headed to a bar to meet up with the bar crawl. We got into all of the bars for free because it was an “au pair” bar crawl. The last place we ended was a club called “Billboards”. By this time, it was around 1:00AM and I was exhausted. I stopped at McDonald’s and then headed back to the hostel.
The next morning, I got up, checked out of the hostel and headed to the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground). It holds the sports museum and some pretty priceless Australian sports memorabilia. After spending some time there, I headed back home.
That Monday was my birthday. I spent it with another au pair (Shira) at the Moonlit Sanctuary. I got to see Kangaroos, Wallabies, Wombats, Dingos, and Tasmanian Devils. After the sanctuary, we went to a burger place called “Thanks Albert”. After lunch, Shira decided to head home and I went off to get a tattoo (because what else are you suppose to do when you hit a quarter of a century?) I was extremely nervous but I’ve always wanted one, so I couldn’t chicken out. The guy who did it was extremely nice and patient because I couldn’t explain the design too well. Finally, it was designed and time to start “getting inked”. I was already sweating from being so nervous, but I started sweating even more once I felt the needle. It didn’t hurt too badly, but I was just so nervous.
That week was my last week with the Spring family, so on Friday, I took the kids to get Slurpee’s.
On Saturday, Eliza and the kids dropped me off at the airport on the way to their grandmother’s house because it was Will’s birthday. I thought I was all set with my luggage, but it was overweight and I ended up having to pay $300 for it. After the luggage problem, I made my way through security and to my gate. Everything else went smoothly. When I landed in Perth, I grabbed my luggage and Jess, Lachy and Charlie met me inside. We drove back to their house (my new house) and I met their current au pair, Linn. Jess had a few friends over that night, so I hung out with them for a while and then went upstairs to unpack my stuff. Linn invited me out that night, but I was way too tired from traveling. I went to bed at 9:00PM and ended up waking up at 4:00AM.
The next morning, I went out to breakfast with Jess and the boys. We went to a place on the beach in City Beach. Later that afternoon, Linn showed me Floreat Forum. We got sushi and picked up a few things before heading to the beach. That night, we went to a bar called “The Vic” and had a few beers. I also met some of Linn’s friends.
The next day, we headed to Cottesloe beach where they had “Sculpture by the Sea”, which is a bunch of sculptures on the beach. That week, I got to know the kids and their routine.
The next weekend, I went to Fremantle with a few girls to visit the prison. We went on a tour and then headed to the markets. I bought a painting by an Indigenous artist named Aileen Gavlett.
The next day, I headed into the city and visited the Perth Mint. It’s a museum showing gold and even had a real-life melting house from 1899. They had a show and melted gold to make a real gold block. You weren’t allowed to touch that block, but they had another block that you could pick up (it was extremely heavy). After the museum, I walked around the city and to Elizabeth Quay. The city isn’t that big, but it is extremely beautiful.
The next night, I went to the Moonlit Cinema (an outdoor cinema) to see “Blockers” with a few girls I talked to on Facebook.
That Friday night, I met one of my friends from home, Darby, at King’s Park. She’s been traveling for a while, and just happened to be in Perth for a few days. We sat up at King’s Park and overlooked the city all lit up at night.
The next morning, I got up pretty early and took the train to Joondalup to meet some girls to go sandboarding. It was a lot of fun but also a lot of work. It was so tiring running back up the dunes. I went to bed extremely early that night.
The next day, I went to Serpentine Falls with a girl I met sandboarding. Most of the water was already dried up, but the waterfall was beautiful. That night, I went out in Scarborough with another girl I met sandboarding (Hanny). We ended up at a bar with a bunch of young kids, so we ended up hanging out with two older Irish men.
The next morning, I got up and headed out to explore. I went to a café that I’ve been dying to try, called “Whisk Creamery”. I got their “Cronutella”, which is a Nutella milkshake topped with a Nutella cronut. It was so good, but I felt so sick after.
The next Saturday, I met up with Hanny in the city to get lunch. We went to a really cool place behind the shopping center that specializes in grilled cheeses. That night, I met Hanny and a few of her friends out in Northbridge. We stopped at a few bars, and I found out one of the trainers from my new Crossfit gym was a bartender at one of them. We ended our night at Mustang Bar around 1:00AM.
The next day, a bunch of us au pairs met up in Elizabeth Quay at 1:00PM. We took the ferry across the river, grabbed a beer, and then headed back across the river. We went to Woolworths to get some food, beers and wine, and then headed to King’s Park. (It took us a while to figure out how to get there). There were eight of us and we stayed for about two hours. Finally, there were just three of us left, and it was pitch black, so we decided to head home.
5-26-18
The next two weeks after I made some friends, it was school holidays. The first week, we went to the WA Maritime Museum, Scitech, and Inflatable World. The museum was in Freo and had a pirate exhibit (which the boys loved) and I had just as much fun at Scitech and Inflatable World as they did. While we were at Inflatable World, I pushed Charlie down the slide while playing a game. He looked up at me like he was hurt. I instantly got nervous and asked him if he was okay. He looked directly at me and said, “I wee’d”. I looked down and his pee was running down the blow-up slide, right at him. I had to climb back down the ladder (around kids) and put a “caution, wet floor” sign on the slide. Then we had to find someone who worked there to let them know. The woman cleaning took one look at Charlie and knew exactly what had happened. Charlie and I ran to the bathroom to change, except I totally forgot to pack extra shorts. So we changed his underwear and he ran back in to play. There was a picture of a sumo-wrestler on the side of a slide, and Charlie ran up next to it and yelled, “Look! We look the same!”
That weekend, I went with Jess and the boys down to Smiths Beach in Dunsborough. On our way there, we stopped at the Chocolate Factory and met up with Sarah, Jet and Ashley. Then, we headed to the hotel, grabbed lunch, unpacked our bags, and headed to see the ocean. We climbed up on the big rocks and watched the waves crash over them. Then, we headed back to the hotel to have dinner and a few drinks.
The next morning, we took a long walk on the beach and then headed off to a winery. We went to a place called “Swings-and-Roundabouts”. I only had one glass because later that night, I drove back to Floreat.
The next morning, I got up very early to go to Rottnest Island. I drove to Fremantle and got on a ferry around 8:30AM. Once on the island, I met up with three other girls that I talked to on Facebook. We all rented bikes and then ran into the grocery store (because apparently there’s no food or water on the island besides where the ferry stops). Then, we headed off in a random direction. We rode around the entire island, stopping to see the ocean, lizards, and the cute little Quokka’s. We spent the entire day riding around, and then hit the bar. We road a total of 14 miles around the whole island. The other three girls had a ferry booked for 5:30PM, but mine wasn’t until 6:30PM. I ran to the store and got a beer and Subway and waited for my ferry. Once I got back home, I headed to the Halsey concert with a friend Marcus.
Later that week, I took the boys to Perth Zoo. We saw elephants, giraffes, and the biggest crocodile I’ve ever seen.
That Saturday night, I went to an American burger place called “Varsity Bar” with Marcus. It was the first time I had seen Budlight in Australia, so of course I had to get one.
The next morning, I went to a café that I had been dying to try. It was called “Little H”, and I got eggs benedict and a coffee. For the rest of the day, I just relaxed and watched movies.
The next weekend was Cinco de Mayo. I wanted to go all out, so I bought a bunch of decorations, food, tequila, and Coronas. My host family was away, so they said I could have some friends over to celebrate. We made frozen margaritas and tacos, and took plenty of pictures with our props. I even tried to get beer pong going, but it wasn’t too successful. Then, we headed out to a club called “Paramount”. We stayed there until around 4AM (I didn’t realize how late it had gotten).
The next morning, my hangover was awful, and two of my friends had stayed the night, so we all laid in my bed and hated life.
The next day, I went and picked up the campervan that I had rented for the week. It was from a placed called “Wicked Campers”. I brought the van home and started loading it up. It had a mini kitchen, so I filled it up with blankets, pillows, utensils, food and anything else I could have possibly needed.
The next morning, I got up at 5:30AM and hit the road. I drove five hours straight to Albany. My first stop was The Gap and Natural Bridge in Torndirrup National Park. I decided to move to the next town, Denmark, to spend the night. On my way through to Denmark, I drove by a sign that said “Boston Brewing Co.” I whipped the van around and pulled straight into their parking lot. I talked to the woman working there, and explained that I was from Boston. I bought a shirt and two single beers, and then got back on the road. I stopped at a place called “Denmark Ocean Beach Holiday Park” to spend the night. I parked the van and headed off to shower. There were kangaroos everywhere I looked. I was a little scared at first, but they didn’t seem to mind the company.) After I showered, (with surprisingly amazing water pressure) I went off to the kitchen to make dinner. I was in bed by around 6:30PM, and fell asleep pretty soon after.
The next morning, I got up, got ready and headed off. My first stop was the “Tree Top Walk Valley of the Giants”. It was a suspended bridge over the Tingle Forrest Canopy. It’s about 40m (130ft.) above the ground. The bridge was a lot more bouncy than I thought it would be. After the Tree Top Walk, I walked through the “Ancient Empire” walk, which was a trail through 400-year-old red tingle trees. I met a nice older man from Melbourne who I walked with and he took some pictures for me. Once I left, I headed to Walpole to see the Giant Tingle Tree. It was a huge, fire-hollowed red tingle tree. I stopped to take a few pictures and then headed on m way. I made lunch in the van, and then continued to my next stop: Dave Evan’s Bicentennial Tree. It was a 75m (245 ft.) tall Karri tree with pegs sticking out of it. I climbed up all 165 pegs (with just a few freak-outs) to the top, to get a 360-degree view of the Karri Forrest and the Yeagarup Dunes and coast. After I climbed back down, I headed to a campground because it was getting dark. I spent the night at “Hamelin Bay Caravan Park” with no reception or Wi-Fi what so ever. So it was another very early night.
The next morning, I got up and headed off to “Mammoth Cave”. I’ve always wanted to explore a cave, so I was pretty excited. It was still early in the morning, so there weren’t many people there. The cave was very cold and extremely quiet, but luckily they gave an audio tour with your ticket so you could learn about the cave while walking through. When I had finished walking through the cave, it was only about 11AM. I decided to make my way to Busselton to see the Jetty. The Busselton Jetty is 1.15 miles long, and has an underwater observatory at the end of it. I took a train ride to the observatory, where we saw plenty of fish and even a seal. I decided to walk back on the jetty, and it took a little over 30 minutes. Once I got back to the van, I headed off to see the last thing on my list, “Gnomesville”. It was a spot in the woods that was filled with around 3,000 gnomes. Gnomesville started when a local, Vicki Campbell, put a gnome in a tree where they were going to cut down trees to make a T-stop. Gnomes started appearing in the location, so Vicki’s husband, Kevin, started to fix up the location. They’ve been multiplying ever since! After visiting Gnomesville, I made the trek back home. It was really nice to sleep in my own bed for the night.
The next morning, I got up and headed up North of Perth. I passed Lancelin (where I had gone sandboarding) and continued up to Jurein Bay. I stopped at The Pinnacles and drove through. The Pinnacles were formed by lime rich sands and seashells, which blew inland and formed high mobile dunes. (Or at least, that’s what Google implies). After seeing The Pinnacles, I grabbed lunch at a fish and chips place and then headed back home. I was so tired from traveling, so I went to bed very early. I slept pretty late the next day, but I got up and unpacked the van before getting ready to head to the casino. My friend Hanny picked me up before heading to her friend Marta’s apartment. We pregamed there and then headed to the Casino around 10PM. We got a drink at the new bar called “TWR” (for $20…) and then headed into the casino. I spent a whopping $6 in the casino playing a game. We went into a side room where they had a live band and danced for the rest of the night. On our way out, we stopped at McDonalds and people-watched for a while.
The next morning was Mother’s Day, and my host family was getting their new puppy. They brought him home and he was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Lachy, (the seven year old) is obsessed with Justin Bieber, so they named the dog “Bieber”. While the family was getting the dog all settled in, I headed out to lunch with Hanny. We went to “The Merrywell” at the casino to get their “Eagles Sandwhich”. It was a fried chicken sandwich on two waffles as bread.
The next weekend was the “Royal Wedding”, so my friends and I decided to throw a “Royal Party”. Hanny had us all over for dinner, drinks, and to watch the wedding. We got a little too antsy while watching the wedding, so we ended up getting really drunk and going crazy in the garage gym. Once the wedding was over (like four hours later…) we headed to a club called “Capitol”. We stayed for a few hours and then all headed home.
7-9-18
So I’ve been extremely lazy when it comes to this journal (if you couldn’t tell). On June 2nd, Sophie, Hanny and I all went to the West Coast Eagles vs. St. Kilda Game (Australian Football). Earlier that morning, I bought a Groupon to get my hair cut and highlighted. It ended up being pretty expensive, but it came out really well. Once I got back home, I got ready quick and the girls met at our house. We had a few drinks and then headed off to the game. We had no idea what was happening for most of the game, but we still had a lot of fun and the Eagles won 101-88. (Although we were a little confused why people didn’t go crazy when they won.) After the game, we headed to a bar called “The Flying Scotsman”. We met up with a guy named Matt that I had met online a few weeks earlier, and two guys that we had met after the game. We had a few drinks there and then called it a night.
The next day, the three of us headed to Freo for a “Sunday Sesh”. We started at “Ronnie Nights” because Sophie’s friend is a bartender there. Hanny left us to go on a date, so Sophie and I headed to a bar called “Holy Smokes” with the bartenders from Ronnie Nights. When her friend had to go back to work, we headed back to “Ronnie Nights” for the rest of the night. Matt came and picked me up and gave me a ride home around 10:00PM.
The next week, I took it pretty easy. I tried a few new cafés with Charlie since it was a cold and rainy week.
On Wednesday, I had the day off, so Matt and I went to a place called “Raeburn Orchards”. We walked around the orchard, (even thought the season was basically over and there wasn’t much to see) and then we got a coffee at “The Gypsy Caravan” (which I had been wanting to try). After the orchard, we went to a spot near the airport where you could watch the planes take off and land. We met this man named Jeff, who loves to spend his free time at the airport lookout. He could name a bunch of the planes and even had a pocket full of pictures of them. We talked to him for a while and then headed home.
That weekend I went out with Sophie for a few drinks. We ended up meeting another au pair named Harriet, (and instantly became friends) and went bar hopping. We went to a sports bar called “Patriots Bar”, where the whole wall was covered in Pats players. We got a beer, and then walked to the back, where we realized it was connected to “The Brass Monkey”. We met a few guys at the bar who invited us upstairs to their friends “private party”. Later that night, we went back to one of their apartments and had a few more drinks.
The next Friday, I went to the movies with Jess, the boys, Sara, Jett and Ashley to see “Incredibles 2”. (I think I was more excited than the kids were). We saw it in GoldClass, which has huge reclining seats, and they deliver your food and drinks to your seat during the movie (even alcohol).
That Tuesday, I gave in and decided to get my eyelashes done (I don’t regret it at all).
On Saturday, there was an “au pair meet up” at a bar, which was organized by another au pair on Facebook. We all met up at “Northbridge Brewery”. There were about 20 girls that met up. After a few hours, we decided to head to another bar. We went to “Henry Summer”, but lost about half of the group. After a drink there, we moved on to “The Brass Monkey”. At this point, it was just Sophie, Harriet, Chloe, a girl named Isobel and I. We got there pretty early, so there weren’t too many people there yet. However, there was a large group of guys who invited us to play pool. At first, we were annoyed because we were having fun with just us girls, but by the end of the night, we realized the guys were actually really cool. We hung out with them for the rest of the night, and then I decided to head home early because I didn’t feel too well.
The next morning, Sophie called me and said the night ended up being crazy and they ended up going back to two of the boy’s house.
That Wednesday, we went to $10 steak night at “The Lookout”. (Which actually turned into a weekly event).
Friday of that week, I went to the movies with Sophie, Harriet, and Sophie’s host mom and friend. We saw “Ocean’s 8”, which was a little confusing to follow, but a really good movie. We headed home right after the movie because we were all getting up early the next morning to go to Sophie’s tattoo appointment.
I took the bus and the train and then got picked up by Harriet and Sophie. We drove to the appointment, (which we thought would take all morning) and were in and out in about an hour. We decided to make a day out of it so we headed to a restaurant for breakfast. While we were eating, we looked up things to do around us. The first thing that popped up was “Swan Valley Cuddly Animal Farm”. At first, I was a little against it; I thought it might be weird if three twenty-something year olds showed up to a “cuddly animal farm; but after a few minutes (and a very funny phone call from Harriet to the farm) I was convinced. We ended up spending a few hours at the farm, seeing everything from “chickens to camels”, and then decided we needed a drink. We took a few more pictures with the goats, and fed a few more carrots to the rabbits before heading down the street to a brewery. The brewery was pretty crowded when we got there, but for some reason, the woman took us directly to a table in the back and took our order so we didn’t have to wait in line. We had a few beers, and then headed back to Harriet’s because she had to babysit for a little. We ordered some Indian food, had a few beers, and started getting ready to go out. We decided to go out for “a few beers”, but we all know how that ends. We headed to Scarborough and went to “Ocean’s One”. The boy’s who we had met at Brass Monkey the week before, were at The Lookout bar down the street, so they ended up meeting us at Ocean’s One. We had a few more drinks there, and then were convinced to go to a club in Hillary’s called “Bar 1”. Harriet didn’t feel like staying out, so we dropped her off on the way to the club. Once we got to the club, one of the boys (Jack) got us to cut the line and get in for free. He even had a beer waiting for him at the door. He also apparently knows everyone, because he introduced Sophie and I to a million people that night. At one point in the night, we snuck off to sit in the back room where it was a little quieter and calmer. That’s when one of the boys (Mason) pretended to propose to me. It was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in my life. We stayed until the club closed without even realizing it. When we hopped in our Uber, we realized it was 5AM. We headed back to Mason’s and Dane’s house and crashed there.
7-30-18
The next weekend was Mason’s birthday, so all of the boys were going out for it. I met up with Isobel and Sophie at Ocean’s One in the afternoon, and then we headed to The Lookout around 6:00PM. All the boys ended up coming to The Lookout, (all 1,000 of them…) and we all had a great time. (Sophie and I even beat Jack and Mason in pool.) We stayed at the bar for a while and then decided to head back to Mason’s to keep drinking. Mason, Keiran, Isobel, Sophie, Tezlyn, Christian and I all got taxis and headed back. We stayed up until about 2:00AM, and then all started to crash. We didn’t really sleep because there were people calling and coming and going all night and morning… (These boys can’t go an hour without calling each other).
That Monday was Mason’s actual birthday. We went to a bar called “The Greenwood Pub” and played pool for a few hours. I was completely awful, but Mason seemed to put up with it pretty well (even giving me four shots for every one of his). We played another couple for a few games and then headed home.
That Wednesday was the 4th of July, and I was supposed to fly to Sydney to meet my mom, sister and cousins. Their flight was delayed, so I changed my flight to the next day. I had the day off, so I just relaxed, packed, and then went out for a beer with Mason. My flight was at 1:00AM on Thursday morning, so I headed to the airport around 11:00PM Wednesday night. The flight was about four hours long, and once I got there, I had to take a shuttle over to the international terminal. As soon as I saw my family, my mom started to record me walking towards them. It was pretty exciting to see them because I had been gone for nine months. We tried to get to our Airbnb by public transportation, but we should have just Ubered because we struggled hard. Once we made it to the Airbnb, we dropped our stuff, showered, and headed out. We went to a café in Darling Harbor to have brunch, and then walked around the city. We walked through Hyde Park, past the ANZAC memorial, and down to the Opera House. We spent a while walking around and taking lots of pictures before heading back to the Airbnb and calling it an early night.
The next morning, we woke up pretty early due to jetlag, so we went out to find a café for breakfast. After breakfast, we headed to Darling Harbor to catch a ferry to the zoo. It was a pretty impressive zoo. We even saw a seal show which was pretty amazing. We spent pretty much the entire day at the zoo, and caught the last ferry back. We did some shopping, and then headed back to the Airbnb to make dinner and call it an early night again.
The next morning, we woke up pretty early again and took a bus to Coogee Beach, where we started the walk to Bondi Beach. The walk is about 6km, (3.5 miles) and mostly along the coast. Again, we stopped plenty of times to take pictures. Once we got to Bondi, we stopped to get lunch. We got fish and chips and then did some shopping while it rained. After that, we caught a bus back to our Airbnb to plan the rest of our trip.
The next morning, we got up early to rent a car to drive to the Blue Mountains. However, the dealership was out of cars for that day, so we had to change our plans. We ended up renting a car for when we got back from Hamilton Island, and headed to the train station. We took the train over to the other side of the Harbor Bridge. We walked around a flea market for a little while, ate lunch, and then walked across the bridge back to “The Rocks”. We walked around the flea market there for a while, and then headed back towards Darling Harbor. We stopped at “The Hardrock Café” for appetizers and happy hour drinks. After that, we headed back to the Airbnb for dinner and to pack for the next day.
The next morning, we got up and headed to the airport to fly to Hamilton Island. The flight was only about two hours long, so when we got there, we checked into the hotel, booked snorkeling, walked around, and then headed out to dinner. We went to a place called “Manta Ray” and had pizza and drinks. After dinner, we walked back to the hotel and went in the hot tub (which wasn’t even that hot).
The next morning, we got up early and headed down to the Marina to catch our boat to head out to the Great Barrier Reef. Our boat left at 8:40AM and took about two hours to get out to the reef. On our way there, we saw a whale breaching right along side the boat. The crew said they’ve never seen one so close. Once we got to the reef, we suited up and hopped into the water. We got about 45 minutes before we had to get out and have lunch. While we were eating lunch, the boat took us to a new spot to snorkel at. This time, my mom and I stayed on the boat while Megan, Sam and Maggie went out again. This trip was the second time I’ve been to the Great Barrier Reef, and it was still truly beautiful and amazing. We headed back home on our two-hour boat ride (which was extremely rocky) and then headed back to the hotel to shower and warm up. The next day, it was warm, so we decided to hang by the pool for a little and then walk down on the beach.
The next day, we had to leave, but we ended up getting to visit “Coral Cove” first. We didn’t realize it would be such a hike, so we all wore our bathing suits and flip-flops, and regretted our decisions halfway through. Once we got to the beach, it was all worth it. There was a swing (which we took plenty of Instagram pictures on) and a TP. (Also took lots of pictures in.) The water and mountains were beautiful. After we got plenty of pictures, we hiked our way back to the bus stop. We had a little time before we had to head to the airport, so we stopped by the pool and had a few frozen drinks. On our flight back to Sydney, there was a storm just as we were about to land, so we had to make a different landing up in New Castle. We sat on the plane for about an hour before we could take off again. We finally made it back to Sydney around 11:00PM.
9-14-18
The next morning, we had a car booked to drive to the Blue Mountains. We got up pretty early, got the car, and headed on our way. It took about two hours to get there, and then another half an hour to find where the path started. Once we found it, we started on our 6k (3.5 miles) walk. The trail went down into a valley where we passed waterfalls, caves, and large overhangs. The beginning was mostly downhill, but by the end, the trail was mostly uphill with stairs. At the very end of the hike, you could see the tops of all of the mountains, and they were actually blue! Apparently, they look blue because they are filled with Eucalyptus trees, which oils give off rays of blue light. We were pretty tired after our hike, so we headed back to the Airbnb. We got Thai food for dinner, and showered and packed up because I left that night, and everyone else left the next morning. I said goodbye to everyone, and caught an Uber to the airport. My flight was around 8:00PM, so I got back to Perth around 11:00PM.
The next day, I headed to the Greenwood Pub for someone’s birthday, and to meet up with Sophie, Harriet and Mason. We spent a few hours there, and then some people went off to a house party and then the club. I was still so tired from my trip, so I just went back to Mason’s and crashed.
The next morning, he showed me a place that sells pies, and they were the best things I’ve ever had. (I’ve had one almost every weekend since.) The rest of the day, we just hung out and recovered.
That Thursday night, I met a bunch of friends at “Indie Bar” for open mic night. We started off by playing pool, and then headed to the next room to see the open mic performances. I didn’t have work the next day, so I crashed at Mason’s and he gave me a ride home on his way to work the next morning.
That night, Sophie and Tez came over to have a few drinks before we headed to Mason and Danes for the night. We played card games and just hug out. (I also drank waaay too much gin that night and paid for it the next morning.)
The next day, we headed to my house and pregamed a little before heading to The Lookout. When we headed there, my friend Harriet took her entire suitcase with her and rolled it around the bar. It was pretty funny to watch.
The next day, we drove around and along the coast in Mason’s Corolla.
That Wednesday night, Tez, Sophie, Hattie and I all went to steak night at The Lookout because Sophie had decided to leave her host family. She moved in with Hattie for a few days, and then with the boys for a week before finding a new host family.
That weekend, Sophie and I somehow convinced Dane and Mason to go camping. It was one of the best weekends of my life. We drove up North to a place called “Wedge” and drove around on the beach. (You’re also allowed to drink and you don’t have to wear a seatbelt while off-roading.) The tide was too high to set up camp, so we headed a little down South to Lancelin. We drove through the sand dunes and bush for about 30 minutes before we made it to the beach. We drove around the beach for a little and then found a place to set up camp. Dane has a tent on the roof of his truck, so him and Sophie slept in that, and Mason has a “swag”, which is a small cot, so the two of us slept in that. We drank a few beers, started a fire, listened to music, and watched the sun set on the beach. Some of the boy’s friends (Christian and Scott) showed up as well. When it got dark, we made sausages on a portable grill and chilled around the fire before going to bed.
The next morning, we got up pretty early and started the trip back home. We went back through the bush and sand dunes, and stopped at a bakery. We got home around 10:00AM and just relaxed for the rest of the day.
That Wednesday, it was “boy’s night”, so we decided to have “girls night” (at the boys house). Sophie, Tez and I went to Priceline because they were having a sale on make-up, and then we got take-out food from Miss Chow’s. While we were waiting for our food, we went next door to “Whitfords Brewing Co.” to have a beer. We went back to the boy’s house to eat and relax.
The next weekend, we had “a few” drinks at the boys, which turned into boxing in motor cross gear…
The next night I had to babysit, so I headed home Saturday afternoon. It was good though, because I wanted to save myself for the next weekend.
The next Saturday was Daniel’s birthday. The boys went and pregamed at Daniel’s, while the girls pregamed at Mikaela’s. We got there around noon, and started playing drinking games right away. We started with beer pong (which the rules in Australia are so different) and then played King’s for the rest of the night. Once it got late enough, we ordered an Uber and headed to “The Saint” to meet the boys. The Uber ride was pretty funny because our driver was making fun of Mikaela. Earlier, we had sausages, and Mikaela ended up puking up half a sausage whole. Once we got to the bar, there was a live band playing, so we spent most of the night on the dance floor. It ended up being an early night because everyone pregamed a little too hard.
The next day, everyone met at the boy’s house to recap on what happened the night before. The next thing I knew, we were headed to the bar again. We went to a place called “MBH”, where they have drinks called “Jungle Juice” that come in little buckets. They’re only $6, but we ordered a bunch during Happy Hour. We stayed for a few hours, but then headed home because it was a Sunday night.
9-26-18
On August 17th, I went to a beer festival with Tez. It was a Friday, so I met her in the city after work. The festival was at “The Ice Cream Factory”, which is basically a giant warehouse where they host events. They gave you a glass right when you walked in, but you had to pay for each beer. The first one we tried was a blueberry beer, which was awful, but also 11%. Luckily, we both found a beer we liked right away. Tez found a cider, and I found the Blue Moon tent. We had a few beers and walked around, and then left at around 8:30PM. We took the train and bus to the boys (where we thought they were having a fire) only to find Mason almost asleep in the kitchen. Tez and I forced him to get up and ready, and we headed to The Greenwood. We had a few drinks there and then headed home and crashed.
That Sunday morning, I met Mason’s whole family (his mom, dad, grandmother, grandfather, brother, brother’s girlfriend, and mom’s friend). We went out for breakfast in Scarborough for his dad’s birthday. (It wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be).
That Wednesday, when the boys got home from work, we went to a place called “The Pines” to go off-roading. It’s a mix between woods and sand where motor cross can practice.
That following weekend, we went camping again. This time, we could actually go to wedge because the tide wasn’t too high. We loaded up the cars and headed up North. When we got there, we met up with a few of the other boys (Daniel, Christian, Christian’s brother and his brother’s girlfriend). Most of the boys wanted to fish, so they set up their rods and then started to set up camp. Once it got dark, we got a fire going and grilled up some “snags” (what Aussies like to call sausages). We had a few beers, and then a few people left. Sophie, Dane, Mason and I were staying the night, so we had a few more drinks and then headed to bed.
The next morning, we got to sleep in a little and then hang at the beach for about an hour before heading home.
9-27-18
On Friday, August 31st, I had to drive Bieber to a doggy daycare because my host family was going to Singapore for the week.
The next day, we started day drinking at the boys, and then headed to Daniels for a while. We headed to The Lookout and stayed there for a while. Some of the guys were heading to Bar1, but I went home and crashed.
The next morning, I went to the airport to pick up my friend Nic and his dad, who were visiting for two weeks. We stopped at their Airbnb so they could check in and change, and then headed to “Three Sheets” in Hillary’s to have lunch. After lunch, Nic’s dad went back to the Airbnb to sleep, and Nic came with me to Mason’s and Dane’s house to have a few drinks and meet them. Nic ended up spending the night, and then I drove him back to his Airbnb in the morning. Mason didn’t feel too well the next day, so he called out sick and we both just relaxed all day.
The next day, Nic rented a car and his dad, him and I started our trip up to Kalbarri. We made a pit stop at Kmart and a bakery to grab some camping stuff and breakfast, and then headed on our way. We stopped at Lancelin so I could show them the sand dunes, and they ended up renting ATV’s for half an hour. Our next stop was at The Pinnacles. The sign said “No Drones”, but that obviously didn’t stop Nic. It was pretty cool to see The Pinnacles from a bird’s eye view. Once we were finished there, we continued our drive up North. The drive was only supposed to take 6 ½ hours to Kalbarri, but ours took 27 hours. We stopped off the road at a bunch of places, and we were only in Geraldton by dinnertime. Nic’s dad decided to get a motel for the night and finish our trip in the morning. We checked in, and then headed out to get some dinner. We went to a BBQ place which we thought would be good, but it was awful. After dinner, we headed straight to bed.
The next morning, we got up early and continued our trip. We grabbed McDonald’s for breakfast because we didn’t want to risk going to another bad restaurant. We only made a few stops on the second day, but still didn’t get to Kalbarri until about 1:00PM. We stopped first in a gated field, where Nic tried to herd sheep with his drone. It started raining, so we continued on our way. We stopped a few more times quickly, and then found our way to “The Pink Lake” in Port Gregory. I couldn’t believe how pink it actually was. Apparently, the lake is so pink because of the amount of salt combined with the salt-loving algae. After we took plenty of pictures, we finally headed on our last leg of the trip. When we finally made it to Kalbarri, our first stop was to find somewhere to eat. We stopped at a little place called “Angie’s Café” (mostly because it was the only place open at 3:00PM). Once we finished eating, we headed straight for Kalbarri National Park. It was late in the afternoon, so we didn’t have much time, but we did have enough time to check out Nature’s Window. The views in the park were amazing. Nic brought his drone in, so we got some pretty amazing videos. The sun started to set, so we decided to head out of the park and figure out where to stay for the night. Nic’s dad offered to rent a house for the night, so we called up a rental place and headed to the house. We dropped all of our stuff off and then headed to the bar to get dinner. We were all still pretty full from lunch, so we just split some pizzas and then headed back home.
The next morning, we got up and headed back to Kalbarri National Park. We did a hiking trail with a bunch of cliffs and rocks that led down to a river. We hung out by the river for a little and then made our way back up the trail to the car. (It only took us about 1 ½ hours round trip.) We stopped at a little café for lunch before making our 6 ½ hour trip back home. Luckily, Nic drove the whole way, so I slept a few times. We only stopped once or twice on the way home, and when we got back, I crashed at Mason’s.
The next morning, I got up and headed off to pick up Bieber and Sophie. I drove to Wanneroo to get Bieber, and then continued up to Calingiri to get Sophie. The ride back was about an hour and a half. Once we got home, we dropped off Bieber, got our waxing done, and then headed off to the boys place. That night was Tyrone’s birthday, so we headed over to his place for a party. I even had Nic meet us there and meet everyone!
That Sunday, Sophie, Dane, Mason and I all went to Hillary’s to walk around for a while. We got food and walked along the rocks (Mason got soaked by a wave) and then headed home to make dinner.
The next weekend was pretty relaxed. We went to The Greenwood on Friday night, and then Mason worked on his car all day Saturday. (I even got him to try his first bagel…crazy.) While we were at The Greenwood Friday night, a guy (that apparently the boys knew) kept coming up and talking to me. I mentioned that I was trying to find a sponsored job, and he gave me his business card.
The next Friday morning, I took the kids to see “PJ Mask’s Live” at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Center. It wasn’t the most exciting show, but it was still pretty good.
That night, my plan was to stay in and have an early night, but somehow I ended up being out until 3AM. Mason and I decided to head to The Greenwood around 9:30PM. We ran into Daniel and he convinced us to go to “Arcade Nightclub”. We walked from The Greenwood to Daniels so he could change, and then got an Uber to stop quickly at Mason’s so he could change his shoes, and then we headed off to the club. I met Daniel’s girlfriend, Jess, and we ended up hanging out all night. After we had enough of the club, we headed to back to Mason’s to crash.
The next morning, we slept in and then headed back to The Greenwood to watch the Eagles game. They ended up winning, so everyone was pretty excited that they were heading to the “Grand Final”.
That weekend was a long weekend, so we decided to go out Sunday night. We headed to The Lookout, but it was so crowded, that we had to wait in line to get in, and then we couldn’t even get drinks. We decided to leave and head to The Greenwood again for a few.
10-16-18
The next two weeks were school holidays, so I had the kids all day. Luckily, the boys had soccer for two hours every morning during the fist week. Then, on Friday, it was Charlie’s 5th birthday party. It was pirate themed and he had a bouncy castle and a face painter. (I got two “tattoos” painted on my arms.) We did a treasure hung and had a piñata. My friends Sophie and Tez even came by. Once the party was over, we all headed over to the boys house.
The next day was the Grand Final. We got up pretty early and started getting ready for the day. We headed over to our friend Rob’s house around 11AM. The game started at noon, so we had a little time to pregame and claim our seats for the game. (Most of the girls sat in the back and talked.) A bunch of people did a case race through the game, so they started chugging their beers as soon as the game started. It was a pretty close game the whole time, with the Magpies always in the lead. Within about the last five minutes of the game, the Eagles pulled ahead and ended up winning the Grand Final. (Eagles – 79, Magpies – 74) Everyone was going nuts and was so excited that the Eagles won. Jack and Dom were the winners of the case race, so Tez gave them a “golden case”. We hung around Rob’s for a while and then decided to walk to The Greenwood. We only had one drink each, and then decided to get pizza and head home.
The next week, I had the kids all week again because it was still school holidays. On Tuesday morning, we were supposed to go to the zoo, but it was so crowded, that there was no parking anywhere. We were with the family friend Ashley and her au pair, so we decided to go to Inflatable World instead. We spent two hours there and then headed home for lunch. After lunch, we made it back to the zoo so we could see the dinosaur exhibit. They had to-scale dinosaurs that moved and made noises. We spent about two hours at the zoon, and then headed home.
On Wednesday, we went to Scitech and spent a few hours there. We saw a planetarium show and a puppet show. (This time, Charlie made it thought the shows without crying.)
On Friday, we went to the movies and saw “Paw Patrol: Mighty Pups” (which was the shortest movie I’ve ever seen in my life). We ended up sitting in the theatre longer before the movie, than during it. That night, I headed over to the boys house to have a few drinks before heading to The Lookout. We didn’t stay at The Lookout for too long, because we ended up going a little too hard at the pregame.
The next day, Mason and I got up pretty early and decided to head to the shops. We got there a little too early, so we had to drive around for a while. Once the shops opened, we headed to IKEA. I had never been to an IKEA before, but it was like a Jordan’s Furniture with more accessories for sale. After IKEA, we checked out a fish market, (not my favorite shop) and then headed to a camping and fishing store. Then we headed to Kmart to buy a footy and some more pillows for Mason’s room. We grabbed lunch and dropped all the stuff off at the house, and then headed to a bunch of cliffs overlooking the ocean. It was really cool to look over the edge. (Even if Mason was terrified of me falling in.) After I had given him enough mini heart attacks, we decided to grab a few beers and head to the beach. We had a few beers, watched the sunset, and I collected (a lot of) seashells. After that, we went home for a relaxing night. The next day, I helped Mason pack up some of his stuff before the boys moved the next weekend.
The next weekend, I had to babysit on Friday night and Saturday night, so I tried to help the boys move in-between and all day Sunday. Saturday night, Mason had a bucks party (bachelor party) in Freo, so he spent the night there and picked me up on his way back home in the morning.
11-2-18
The following week, my host family went on vacation to Bali. They left on Thursday, which is when I drove Bieber to the doggy daycare again. That night, Mason and I had taco night at my place. We made Margarita’s (Mason’s first ever) and watched “Wolf of Wall Street”.
The next morning, I had to wait around for the pest control guy, so I did some laundry and wrote a new blog. Once everything was done and the pest control guy left, I packed up the car and headed to the boys house for the weekend. We took it easy that night, because the next night, we had a 20th birthday party on a party bus.
Saturday morning, Mason had work, so I got to sleep in for a little before we got the day started. Hattie came over in the afternoon to hang out and get ready together. Then things started to get crazy. Mason accidently locked his keys in his bedroom, and didn’t have a spare. The boys didn’t want to kick the door down, so they decided to climb through the manhole to see if there was one leading to Mason’s room. There wasn’t… When coming back down, Dane climbed down carefully and safely; Mason on the other hand, came crashing down, bringing half the ceiling with him. With half of the ceiling on the floor, and Mason’s door still locked, we decided to head out so we wouldn’t miss the bus. We got to Lauren’s about half an hour before the bus showed up, so we tried to drink and say hi to everyone as quick as we could. Once the bus showed up, we hopped on and headed to The Lookout. We stayed there for about an hour, and then hopped back on the bus to head to The Brass Monkey. Mason reenacted how we met, by walking over to me in the corner, leaning against the wall, and saying “Do you come here often?” I couldn’t even keep a straight face while it was happening. After about an hour and a half, we hopped back on the bus and headed to a club called “Swish”. By this time, we lost about half the people who had come on the bus with us. When we got to Swish, they wouldn’t let us in because some of our friends had mullets. (I was not happy). We decided to just grab some food and head home. I fell asleep on the couch, and Mason and Dane decided to kick the doorknob off in order to get into Mason’s room. (Thank God).
The next day, everyone was pretty hungover, so we all just hung around the house. Mason had Fitzy come over to help fix the ceiling.
I had that Monday off, so I stayed at the boy’s house while they went to work, and drove home Tuesday morning.
That Friday, I had the day off because we were going up to Jurien Bay for the weekend. We headed up Friday around noon. Along the way, we stopped at “Indian Ocean Rock Lobster” to check out the crayfish tanks. We paid $5 each to get in, only to find out all of the tanks were empty… The boys weren’t too happy, but Sophie and I asked one of the workers a bunch of questions, and she even got some of the crayfish out of the back tanks. We continued on our way, and made one last stop at the bakery for lunch before getting to the Airbnb. The house was huge. It had four bedrooms, a huge kitchen/living room, a pretty big back yard, and a giant garage with a pool table, darts, couches, an a TV. We sent the boys off to the grocery store, and Sophie and I unpacked and started drinking. Hattie got to the house around 5:00PM, and we hung out and drank until about 11:00PM before crashing.
The next morning, Sophie, Dane, and Mason were all going skydiving. I wasn’t going to go because I didn’t want to spend the money on it, but once it was getting closer to the time to go, I got FOMO. I ended up calling the skydiving place, and they said here was room for me to join. We showed up at the place, filled out the paperwork, and only had to wait about an hour before it was our turn to go. We hopped on a bus, and headed to the plane. We were introduced to our instructors, go on the plane, and took off. We flew for about 15 minutes, and then started getting ready to jump. I was the first one to go. The free-fall was about a minute long, but it felt a lot shorter. It was amazing to skydive over the ocean because you could see all the different shades of blue. Once the instructor pulled the parachute, we glided down for about another two minutes before landing on the beach. Everyone else landed shortly after me, and then we hopped on bus back to the starting place. My ears popped badly, so I couldn’t really hear much. (It’s a week later and I still can’t hear out of one.) We got our certificates and then headed back to the house. We had a barbeque and started drinking. We laid out in the sun all afternoon, and then moved into the garage to play pool and have cake and sing Happy Birthday to Sophie. We decided to go out that night to the local pub. We got ready and walked into town. We went to “Jurien Bay Hotel” where they had a DJ. It was pretty much a dive bar where all the locals went, and we even saw most of the skydiving instructors there as well. We spent a few hours there, and once we were all pretty drunk, we started to walk back home. Once we got home, we all pretty much crashed right away.
The next morning, Mason and I were up pretty early, so we headed to the bakery. While we were there, the entire town lost power. We headed back to the Airbnb, packed, cleaned up, and then headed home. We stopped at the only place that was open during the power outage to grab lunch, and then drove home.
11-6-18
That Wednesday was Halloween. I had to work, but only until about 3:00PM. The kids were going over to their family friends house to go trick-or-treating, and I headed over to Mason’s to have a few beers. The liquor store didn’t have any pumpkin beer, so I just went with cider. I also wanted to have a cinnamon sugar rim, but I had to improvise with honey and brown sugar. (It just wasn’t the same.)
The next day, I had Charlie all day, so we went to Hillary’s so he could ride his scooter around.
Friday night, I stayed in and binged watched Netflix, because I had to babysit all day Saturday.
On Saturday, my host parents went to a horse race, so I had the kids from 11-7. We ordered food, went to inflatable world, went on the trampoline, and then just relaxed. Once my host parents got home, I got ready and headed to the boys house. After watching the kids all day, I just wanted to go out. Mason and I got an Uber and headed to The Greenwood. We met up with Daniel and Kaela and then got another Uber to Bar1. While we were there, a random girl came up to me in the bathroom and goes “You’re dating Mason!” Later I found out that the boys knew here. I was so hungover the next day.
11-13-18
Last Saturday, Mason and I drove around and picked up a desk and a mirror that I bought from people on Facebook. That afternoon, we headed over to Tez’s for a pool party. We didn’t end up swimming, but we hung out and had a few drinks before heading to The Lookout for Maddie’s birthday. We didn’t end up staying long because we knew we had a big day ahead of us.
The next day, we went to the 96FM Kickstart Summer Concert. We pregamed a little at the boys, and then headed to Ascot Racecourse around 2:30PM. Right when we got in, we headed to the bar (of course). Then we found a nice place on the grass, at the front of the stage. After a few songs, we decided to move across the field so we would be in the sun. I didn’t know many of the bands, (The Stems, ARC, Thirsty Merc, The Black Sorrows, Daryl Braithwaite, and Hoodoo Gurus) but I did know some of them. Everyone went nuts (including myself) when Daryl Braithwaite played “Horses”. We stayed in our spot on the grass all day, until the last band “Hoodoo Gurus” played. Then we moved right in front of the stage. After the concert, we got a taxi home and just crashed.
11-22-18
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Last Wednesday, Sophie and I went to Hillary’s so she could hand out some of her resumes to restaurants. We walked around for a while, got Subway for lunch, and then headed back to the boys house.
That Friday night, was our friend Marene’s 21st birthday party. She rented a function hall and a photographer. We all met at Jacks to pregame before, and then headed over. The party was a lot of fun, and her parents, sister, best friend, and boyfriend (Fitzy) all gave speeches. A lot of people were going out after, but Sophie, Dane, Mason and I were all pretty tired, (some drunk…) so we headed home.
The next morning, Mason and I got up early and went to do some “touristy” things. We picked up his bike from his parents house, and then went to ride them by the coast. That night, I had to babysit. It was a pretty relaxing and early night.
The next morning, I got up early again, Mason picked me up, and we went out to breakfast. We went to “Dome” in Scarborough, and then walked along the cost and pool. Then we decided to do more “touristy” things, and headed to Freo. We parked near The Round House, and I realized it was where the optical illusion art was painted. Six large yellow ovals are painted over various buildings. The artist is Felice Varini, a Paris based, Swiss artist. His art in Freo was created for “High Tide”, the inaugural Fremantle art biennale. Seeing the yellow painted on the ground and buildings was extremely confusing until we got to The Round House and turned around. After The Round House, we walked around The Fremantle Markets for a while before heading off. We headed back towards the city and down by the river. We stopped at The Blue Boat House, (which I’ve seen a few times, but have been dying to take a picture of) before heading back home. I had to babysit that afternoon, so I took the kids to Inflatable World (their favorite). Jess and Mark were home by 5:00PM, so I got ready and headed to The Lookout to meet up with people. It was pretty packed, so we decided to head to The Greenwood. Daniel drove us to his house, and then we walked to the pub from there. We played some pool and then headed home.
Tuesday night, Sophie, Dane, Mason and I were planning on going to steak and trivia night at “The Harbour Terrace”, but they were completely booked. We ended up going to steak night at a bar near the boy’s house called, “7 Mile Inn”. They had a deal for a steak, fries, salad, and salt and pepper squid for $20. After we ate, we headed home and went to bed.
The next day, I got to sleep in a little, and then had to get ready for Lachy’s birthday party at Latitude (an indoor trampoline park). I picked him up from school, and we headed right there. He was so excited to have all of his friends come to his party. I gave him his presents on the way, two Hotwheels cars, and a Renaldo calendar. At Latitude, they got to do rock climbing, dodge ball, and free jump, and then they had food and cake before heading home. After the party, I headed back to the boy’s house for a chill night.
11-30-18
Last Saturday night, Dane, Mason, and I all went to Hillary’s. Sophie met us after when she got out of work. There were fireworks, so we brought some beers and sat by the water. The fireworks ended at 7:15PM, but we didn’t end up getting home until 10:30PM because the traffic was so bad. We ended up just ordering pizza and going to bed.
The next morning, I went out to breakfast with Mason’s family to celebrate his grandmother’s birthday. Mason decided he was going to come home with me for Christmas, so we spent the afternoon getting him a visa and booking his flight.
The following Wednesday, I had to work. A girl in Charlie’s class (his “girlfriend” Georgie) had her birthday party at a place called, “The Beach House”. It’s a giant indoor playground with inflatables and jungle gyms. One of Lachy’s friends was there, so it worked out really well.
Today I had the morning off, so I spent last night at Mason’s, and then came home and went back to bed. I had to babysit the kids tonight, so we got tickets to see the new Grinch. I picked the kids up from school, and we headed to Lachy’s soccer practice. After practice, we headed to McDonald’s for dinner, and then we were off to the movies. It was a really cute movie. (Although, I still prefer The Grinch with Jim Carrey).
12/6/18
On Saturday morning, Mason picked me up bright and early. We grabbed some breakfast, and then headed to his place to relax before snorkeling. We headed to Hillary’s around 8:45AM, to get on our boat around 9:00AM. It was just Sophie, Dane, Mason, the driver, and I on the boat. We headed out to a little island where the three of them got out and went snorkeling. (I didn’t go yet because it was very cloudy and windy and I was freezing. After that, the boat driver got a tube out, and we headed out tubing. Sophie and I were first. We both ended up flying off the tube. The boys were up next. They lasted quite a while, before Dane went flying off. After tubing, we had lunch, (Subway) and then headed back to the island to snorkel some more. This time, I actually went in. I saw a few fish and shells, but that was about it. Once we got back on the boat, we headed back to shore. We relaxed at the boy’s house for a little, and then Mason and I headed to his grandmothers house down in Busselton. It was about a two-hour drive, and we got there around 5:00PM. I met his grandmother, we all changed, and then we headed to Mason’s cousins house for a 50th birthday cookout. I got to meet a lot of Mason’s dad’s side of the family (and even four huskies that his cousin owns). We hung out and ate and drank for a while before heading back to Mason’s grandmothers to go to bed. The next morning, Mason was up early, (what else is new?) so we headed out to drive along the coast. There was an Ironman happening, so we didn’t get far before deciding to head back. We all had breakfast together, and then Mason and I headed home around 11:00AM.
That night, Mason and I made “Nana’s Chicken”. (He loved it.)
On Wednesday, I had to work, but got off at 3:00PM, so Mason picked me up on his way home from work and we went to the shops. He bought new shoes and two new pairs of jeans for when he comes to America. We also bought stuff to make Nana’s Chicken again because Mason loved it so much.
Now, I’m sitting at an indoor play center while Charlie makes new friends. I gave him and Lachy Beyblades this morning as early Christmas presents and they loved them. I can’t believe tomorrow is my last day of watching them! Nine months went by so fast!
12/19/18
So only one day left until I head back home for the holidays! Friday, Dec. 1st was my last day with the Reid family. I got to see the boys at their last day of school, and then went out to dinner with the whole family. It’s definitely bittersweet to be leaving and moving on.
On that Sunday, I went to the beach with Mason, Tez, Hanny, and Isobel, and then we headed back to my host families house to meet Sophie and Dane and swim in the pool. (I ended up getting so burnt that day.)
On Monday, I had to drive Bieber to doggy daycare because the family was going to Sydney for a few weeks. I had the whole week off, so I ended up just relaxing and running errands.
On Friday, I had all my appointments for before I headed back home. I got my eyebrows and eyelashes done (and even got a trim on Thursday night). That night, Sophie, Dane, Mason, and I went to the Freo Prison for a Torchlight Tour. It wasn’t too scary, but there were a few times that I had to hide behind Mason. After the tour, we headed home and crashed.
The next night was Mason’s work holiday party. We woke up early and headed to Freo to get bagel breakfast sandwiches at a place called “The Grumpy Sailor”. (Mason’s not impressed by bagels…) We drove around and explored Freo for a while, and then headed back home to relax before the party. The work party started at 7:00PM and was at “The Merrywell” at the Casino. We got there, grabbed a drink, and then met up with all of Mason’s co-workers. The bar tab and function room didn’t start until 8:00PM, so we sat at a table and I got to meet some of Mason’s closest co-workers. Once it was 8:00PM, we headed to the function room and started the party. It was really fun and nice to meet everyone (since they all already knew who I was). Once the bar tab closed, and everyone started leaving, a few of us headed next door to the Casino. We had a few more drinks and danced before calling it a night.
The next night, we had a Christmas dinner at Mason’s parent’s house, since he won’t be home for the holidays.
This morning, Mason and I got up early to have breakfast in Scarborough and then lunch with his mom and grandparents. Now I’m just finishing up packing. I can’t believe we head home tomorrow! I’m so excited!