March 11 - That's the Way I Like It!

THAT'S THE WAY ... UNH-HUNH, UNH-HUNH ... I LIKE IT!

Bloody kookaburras! We watched some of the football last night, then got a good night's sleep before the kookaburras began their cacophonous serenade shortly after 6:00 this morning.  If you've never heard them before, they're appropriately known as the "laughing jackass" and are pretty much like roosters on steroids in the mornings.  They also laugh in the evenings ... and whenever the mood strikes them ... but it's in the still, quiet of the morning that they're most noticeable.  (If you're of a certain age, you may recognize their laugh from the Tarzan movies and Ramar of the Jungle series, when it was used to give that wild, crazy jungle sound.  



Since we were up early enough, Di and I went to their church for the 8:00 service.  It's an Anglican Church (Church of England, the Brit version of Catholicism) and seems similar to our Episcopalian churches.  They did sing 2 familiar hymns, including How Great Thou Art, and a new one for me, As a Deer Pants for Water; and like we Methodists, they invite all comers to Communion.  Small crowd of 43 counting the clergy and organist, and they were an older congregation.  Very friendly though, as one would expect in this easy-going country.

The day then evolved into exactly the kind of relaxing beach day we had been waiting for, i.e., sunny, pleasant temps (high 70's), and a good surf.  The 4 of us set out on a long beach walk north past Black Rock; then as we came back to Black Rock, Di went for a swim, and Keith and I hopped in and did some bodysurfing.  The waves were a bit deceptive -- bigger and stronger than they appeared from the shore -- but once we got past the break, gave us some good rides.  I got worn out way faster than Keith did, and retired to the beach to rest and let the water drain out of my nose and ears.  Fun time though!  Here are some beach photos from the walk ...







We had a good lunch, took a kip (Aussie for nap ... I'll do an "Aussie to American" glossary later), and later that afternoon Keith and Di's oldest (of 3) sons, Scott and his wife Lee and their 7 yr. old son Kiva came by for a visit.  Kiva was gracious enough to show us how well he could ride his scooter.  Keith and I then did what all males enjoy doing on a Sun. afternoon, watched football featuring two suburban Sydney crosstown rivals in the NRL (akin to our NFL, but they play rugby). [Note:  The Aussies play 3 types of football:  rugby league, rugby union (the international type), and Aussie Rules, which is a cross among football, soccer, team handball, basketball, and a barroom brawl.] The Penrith Panthers overcame a halftime deficit against my favorite named Aussie team, the Parramatta Eels, to score a convincing win in their season opener.  After an easy dinner, we retired early to read and rest from our day's labours on this, a perfect beach Sunday.



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