Well, I feel like it has been a long time since I have posted and so much has happened! Brett and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary, we had our 2nd Christmas as a married couple and we have started to pack up our apt in Port Douglas.

Our anniversary was spent in true Port Douglas style. Brett woke me up with breakfast and coffee, treated me to a day off spent on Sailaway snorkeling, relaxing and snapping pictures and then dinner at Salsa, which is a famous favorite among the local Port crowd! The food was seriously amazing and we spend 2 hours and 45 minutes savoring every bite and bit of conversation! We also opened presents. We had exchanged our big presents early because I got Brett a fancy pair of sunnies for his boat job and he got me my camera which I opened early as well but we still had to get each other a little something. Brett got me a cute t-shirt and I gave him a personalized desk calendar with pictures of us and a fun skim ball to play with in the water! It was the best anniversary I could ever ask for!

Brett and I celebrating our 1st wedding anniversary

Christmas was just as amazing but in a different way! It was fun to have a HOT Christmas spent at the beach here in Port. We made a yummy breakfast, went to a church service in town, opened presents, hung out and swam at the beach all afternoon and went to a BBQ at Marty's house! Brett and I had said that our big presents were for our anniversary and Christmas but of course we still did something for each other. It is kind of difficult to be sneaky when you live with someone, hang out with them in all your down time and share a car but we managed to get each other some gifts as well as wrap them and get them under the tree! Yes, we even had a tree! I got Brett a t-shirt he had been wanting as well as new book. Brett wrapped up some candy, a tabloid magazine (which is a very big deal because 1. he thinks they are a waste of money and 2. magazines are not cheap here), some face wash I had been complaining about not having and the biggest surprise of all, a black freshwater pearl necklace!!!!! I had always figured my husband was not into buying jewelery but seriously he picked it out all by himself and surprised me big time! It is beautiful and I have been wearing it everywhere!!!! I am very thankful and feel very loved!

Brett and I with Santa in Port Douglas

As of today, Sunday, we leave Port in 5 days. AHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOO. We are seriously so sad, bitter, and a just a bit bummed we are leaving so soon. I think if we got the chance to do it over again we would not be leaving so early. We love it here. Yes, we are excited to get on the road to see more stuff but leaving this perfect little town is going to be so painful. I just keep telling myself that we will be back at some point! I wish all of you could have come to visit to see this place! It feels like Brett and I's first true home together, sorry BK Lounge, while you will forever be in our hearts as the first home we built Port is our first home that we have moved to, lived in and moved out of together. There will always be a special piece of our heart that belongs here. We are also sad to be leaving some of our amazing friends. We have met the best of people here. Some awesome couples have influenced our lives and some amazing people have helped up feel right at home!

Brett and I wanted to be able to remember Port every single day so we purchased a painting of Four Mile Beach from a local artist!!

Brett and I with the artist, Alex
Our Four Mile painting! This is literally a picture of our backyard!

It has been raining more which means the wet season is getting even closer! I am sure come mid-January the people will be stuck in their houses due to all the rain but it will still be hot and humid!! I wish that was going to be us :(

We hope everyone had an great Christmas and a nice time with their families! We miss everyone but we will be home for Christmas next year. Thanks for reading!

Love,
B and K8

Rainforest Habitat

Because not everyone has facebook, where I usually post all my photos, I figured I would post some pictures for YOU! Brett and I woke up Monday morning and decided to do something a little touristy in our cute little town. We have been hearing so many great thinks about the Rainforest Habitat so we decided to check it out. This is an awesome attraction where you can see, touch, feed and interact with many of Australia most unique animals. As you can see we got to feed kangaroos, wallabies, ducks and birds. We also had an awesome buffet breakfast in a big open air bird sanctuary around 9am and then headed into the habitat area to see all the other animals. All the animals and creatures were really interesting and exciting, especially the huge crocodile. That guy, we did not feed!! It was an awesome morning and totally lost track of time because we didn't even leave until 115pm. We were thoroughly impressed and had such a great time!

I really wish we would have gone sooner because I love the picture of Brett and I both with the kangaroo! What an awesome Christmas card that would have been! It was amazing how tame all the animals were and while they were really gentle and sweet it was really great to also see them in an environment that mimicked their real home as much as possible.




It is amazing how we were able to get right next to the kangaroos and take a picture with them! This little, well ok not little, but sweet roo let us play with her, pet her, feed her and take some pictures. They are so cute up close and have so much personality!








This croc was easily 4 meters or about 12 feet long! He was so stealth looking and moved through the water so effortlessly. I would not want to run into one of these guys in the water. He also had his lady friend with him in the same enclosure and while she was much smaller she was just as scary looking. You can just barely see his teeth but let me tell you, they were HUGE!

This pretty little guy let us get right in his face while he
was eating! He was so cute and friendly! Not to
mention very pretty!

We hope everyone is doing well at home! We miss
everyone and we are sorry we wont be home for the
holidays but I can assure we are having a great time here!!!

love,
B and K8

5 months and counting...

Brett and I have been living life as usual in Port but it seems to be getting close to our ending too quickly. We are now thinking about our 1 year wedding anniversary (the 20th), Christmas, packing up, leaving our jobs and heading on the road again! This departure is going to be very bitter sweet. While we are so excited to get back into the van, see more of Australia and pick up Casey, we are also very sad to be leaving fun jobs, an amazing town and such great friends. Oh well, I guess our love of Port will just have to bring us back sometime in our lives.

5 months from today, well our today and your tomorrow, Brett will be having his first day of nursing school in Denver. While 5 months sounds like a long time I can assure you it sounds very close for us. It is crazy to think between now and than we will have hopefully been to NZ, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Hong Kong, WA and than finally to Denver! We received our Southeast Asia Lonely Planet book in the mail today so I have big plans to start researching and planning our upcoming adventures!

Brett and I have been playing with my new camera a ton and we love it so much! It is a lot of fun to play with the settings to try and make the pictures creative. We have a friend here who is an awesome photographer and after spending a couple of hours at a BBQ with him I learned more than I would by reading the manual front to back. He takes amazing photos of everything, especially kiteboarding. He has made it into a few magazines so I know I am working with the right person! He has given me a few books to look at and enjoy as well as a ton of pointers and tips for trying new things!

We spent Wednesday afternoon at the Mossman Gorge again! It is an awesome swimming hole with some very small but fast flowing rapids. We swam, took pictures, ate some lunch, layed out in the sun, read and just played around! It was an awesome afternoon before having to head into work that evening.

We have been getting a lot more rain than usual and I think it is a sign that the wet season is starting to move in. The rain coming really hard for small bits of time but it is plenty of time to soak everything, create puddles and make it impossible to hear anything because it is pounding our metal roof so loud. We used to love the rain and while we still like it during it brings in a massive increase in the humidity so we always fear when it stops.

Port has been getting a cruise ships almost daily for the last week. We had several boats anchored outside the marina over the weekend as well as The World cruise ship parked there on the 6th. The World is the biggest cruise ship that holds thousands of people. It even has some permanent residence. It would be well worth spending a few minutes to Google it if you have never heard of it. It is massive, beautiful and think, what a way to live life, aboard a cruise ship. Wow!

Since we have a fancy new camera and a few books to read, which are inspiring us, Brett and I decided to get up at sunrise to take some pictures. Plus, all the tour books say how great it is to head to Four Mile Beach at sunrise. We got some amazing pictures and crazy enough we were not the only people up at sunrise. Sunrise was at 545am so we got up, took some pictures, ate some brekkie and took a nap! Great way to start the day!

I added a bunch of photos to the end of this album. Check them out if you are interested!
http://www.facebook.com/editphoto.php?aid=2087198#/album.php?aid=2087198&id=39200194

Thanks for reading!
Love,
B and K8

News from Port

So, our weekly paper came out yesterday and Brett and I are always really good about buying it and reading it to stay updated on the facts. We don't want to be spreading any rumors! Well, some big/interesting have been happening and I thought I would fill you guys in. Keep reading if you are interested.

Last Saturday Poseidon, Brett's sister dive boat, spotted a dead sperm whale floating out near the Agincourt reef. Now this was a big deal for more reasons that one. This if the first sperm whale to ever come into the reef system in the area because sperm whales do not live in our waters. Also, when the boat got closer they realized that the whale had only been dead for a few days because it didn't smell very bad. Now the really interesting part. Poseidon spotted up to 5 tiger sharks and 1 bull shark happily but fiercely munching on the carcass. Yikes. No one got into the water, for obvious reasons but there were a few pictures taken and one ended up in the paper.

A legend in Port Douglas died sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday at 9am. John McDonald was found face down next to his boat in the marina. Apparently John checked all the boats each night to make sure non were sinking and it seems he fell and hit his head and drowned in the marina waters. Someone from the marina found him at 9am Thursday morning. A lot of people in Port are very sad and are missing John. He owned a fishing boat called Wy-Knot. He was also know as an amazing diver and certified over 700 people.

A woman from the US died on the outer reef yesterday (Thursday). She went out on the boat Silver Sonic and unfortunately she had a heart attack in the water and drowned. All the other passengers were rushed over to the Quicksilver pontoon while Silver Sonic took her back to shore. We don't know much about it but I am sure next weeks paper will give all the details. She was very over weight and unfortunately her unhealthy lifestyle did not allow her to swim very well. Not a great way to end your vacation.

On a better note, The Central Restaurant here in Port Douglas raised over $2000 in a single night for their Movember Events. Movember is worldwide event raising awareness for prostate cancer. Many of the men in Port Douglas took part in the event. Men grow out their mustaches for the entire month of November and than the Central held a party on the 30th to vote on the best mo, had a raffle and raised money for the cause. I local guy won and it seems that everyone was very happy to shave off their mos at the end of the month. The local paper, The Port Douglas Gazette, posted new pictures each week of the contestants for the best mo so the locals could see the progress of each guy.

Just thought I would pass on some news, good and bad, from Port Douglas. We hope everyone is happy and healthy at home! We miss you and love you all!

Love, B and K

The outer reef

Pictures from our day at the outer reef:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=32839062&id=39200194#/album.php?aid=2093604&id=39200194

Brett and I literally felt like royalty yesterday! We have a friend who works on a boat, Quicksilver, that goes out to the outer Agincourt reef and he said he could take us out as a guest! Let me just start off by saying that this is a very generous thing to do because trips to the reef are expensive. However, this is a slow part of the season so adding an extra two people to the 150 already going on a boat that holds 400 is not really a big deal. It was so most amazing day EVER! This boat, Quicksilver, goes out to the very outermost part of the Great Barrier Reef where they have a pontoon permanently parked out there with tables and chairs to sit at, all their diving and snorkeling equipment, a helicopter pad, glass bottom boats for viewing, fresh water showers, a kitchen and so much more! It is the perfect site to show up at to enjoy entire day out on the reef! Upon entering the boat we immediately started to see other people we know, work with or have a met a few times. Let me tell you how the day happened!

First, our buddy who got us on the boat, another Brett, brought us along as guests so we only paid $22 each for a $202 trip! So, already feeling very special and excited we boarded the boat, got a cup of tea, took our seats and started planning our day! As we were chatting away my friend Amy, who I also work with at The Beach Shack, came up and asked us if we wanted to dive today!!!! Um, yea of course! She set us up with an introductory dive for free, then she walked over with our paperwork and an underwater camera, again, for free!!! Unbelievable. So, already feeling even MORE special we head downstairs in the boat to pick up our stinger suits, which are usually $5 a piece but somehow the lady asked us where we lived and with our reply of in Port Douglas gave us local status so she gave us those for free! The boat hasn't even departed and we are already having such a great time! On the ride out we were wandering around the boat and we bumped into a guy who seemed like he was trying to sell his snorkel trip to a more remote place on the outer reef. His name is John and he is a marine biologist so there is no doubt you would learn a lot on his snorkel tour. we chatted with him for a few minutes and Brett soon realized he had seen him out on Low Isles so we had 3 things going for us: 1. He knew Brett worked on a boat, 2. He is originally from Redondo Beach so we had that in common and 3. We are locals in Port Douglas. All three of these things got us a free snorkel tour each which usually costs $30 each!

Alright, so we are on the boat and let me tell you this was an awesome ride! The boat is huge and so smooth and where it takes Brett's catamaran 1 hour and 10 minutes to get to Low Isles, it took this monster catamaran boat 20! We had a very nice, smooth and leisurely trip out to the outer reef and we arrived before we even knew it! Upon arriving to the pontoon we checked in with our dive instruction, picked up all our equipment and had a our brief intro before our dive! The diving on the Great Barrier Reef is so cool! There were so many fish, colors, creatures and it was simply beautiful! We did our intro dive, which was so much fun, ate some lunch, took a glass bottom boat tour because our friend Brett was driving, went on a snorkel tour to a less busy part of reef, rinsed off in the showers and got back on the boat just as it was leaving!

On the ride back we relaxed, chatted with our German friend who dove in our group and waited until our video was ready to be viewed. Yes, our entire dive was videoed by Amy and we had a chance to buy it at the end of the day if we wanted. It included a video made by the Quicksilver company of life on the Great Barrier Reef, our personal dive and a sheet of pictures of all the individual fish we saw. This set usually sells for $106 but yes, again, Amy is amazing and she gave us everything for free!

It was really amazing. We went on a boat as guests thinking it would be a great day to see another part of the reef and we ended up having literally the trip of a lifetime for practically nothing. We also found it amazing that we knew about 1/2 the crew before we even left the marina so it was first class local service all day! We are so thankful and had such an amazing time!

Pictures of: The pontoon, a giant clam, wearing stinger suits, diving, and Brett and Brett with the boat!

A boat ride to the outer reef for 2: $404
Stinger suits for 2: $10
Intro dive for 2: $280
Snorkel tour for 2: $60
DVD and video from our dive: $106
Underwater camera: $60
Total: $920
Our price: $47!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well...... I did it! I made an entire Thanksgiving dinner, minus a few very important dishes, for 15 people. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving isn't such a big deal here, obviously, because I made everything, had it all ready and out of the oven at the same time and went to bring it out and no one was here. Hahah, we put it all back in the oven and warmed it until our guests arrived. Let me assure you, they were late, I was not early. However, it all turned out PERFECT! I made a whole turkey filled with homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes, maple and thyme roasted sweet potatoes, rolls (ok, I didn't make those), a green salad, and chocolate cake for dessert! We had a fun night and the only difference here is that the Australians would rather drink instead of eat. Hahaha, needless to say we have a quite a few leftovers but it will make for the best turkey sandwiches.The biggest "Chicken" they had ever seen. This was the initial response of all the Aussies and Kiwis.

It was great to skype with my family. I got to say hello to my grandparents, aunt and uncle, cousins, one of my three sisters, niece, and my sister's in-laws and sister-in-law! It was really nice to say hi and tell everyone Happy Thanksgiving all the way from Australia. Now it is off to work. Brett left early this morning for the boat and we both work a double. Bummer we don't get to watch football or relax but hey, we got to celebrate Thanksgiving our way and now it is on to Christmas!

We miss everyone and love you guys! Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving

Well, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow! We get to have Thanksgiving one day earlier than everyone at home and I am so excited about it! This will be my first Thanksgiving cooking the whole meal and I am nervous but very confident in my skills. Just think... If I can make an entire Thanksgiving dinner in this very ill-equipped apartment there should be no trouble for the future holidays to come! We have invited about 15 people to join in on the American holiday. Yet, none of them are Americans so it should be interesting. While I am cooking a turkey, stuffing, potatoes, dessert, rolls and a few salads they are also bringing something so it should be a nice mix of Thanksgiving our way as well as an Aussie BBQ! I'll do my best to take pictures!

Brett and I have been working a lot which is great because it is allowing our bank account to grow before we get back on the road. We have exactly one month until Christmas and about one month on our lease here in Port Douglas. Ahh, I don't even want to think about it. I will be so sad to leave this town. However, we are excited to get on the road and pick up Casey, from CA, on January 7th in Brisbane. He will than spent about 16 days traveling down the coast with us to Sydney. He flies out January 24th!

As many of you know, Brett got accepted to nursing school in Denver so it looks as if we are headed somewhere new yet again! School starts May 10th, so we are planning to be home sometime around the middle of April to see everyone, get packed up again and drive over to our new home in CO! We are really excited and it will be fun to be in another new city for 12 months!

We hope everyone at home is happy, healthy and excited for the holiday season! We miss everyone and love everyone!

love, B and K

Jordan Heacox Rosato

My oldest sister Ann had a baby boy on Monday November 16th! He is very cute and I get the feeling Lucas is very excited to be a big brother! I am not positive of his stats but I know he was about 6 lbs 10 oz and around 19 inches long! Ann had him around 10 Monday morning! I am so excited to have another nephew and I cannot wait to meet him when we get home!

Baby Jordan Rosato

A few more pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/editphoto.php?aid=2044286#/album.php?aid=2044286&id=39200194

It is really hard to be diligent about updating when there is not a lot new going on. Let me see if i can dig some stuff up...

I heard on the radio yesterday that it was 6 weeks until Christmas. What??? Instead of thinking about presents, snow, family dinners, and decorations I immediately thought about the lack of time we have in Port Douglas. Our lease is up December 22nd which means we are in the process of making plans for Christmas. We are thinking a hotel for a night or two which would make it a little less depressing than being in the van. I cannot believe our time here is going to end so quickly. That is only 6 more weeks of work, 6 more weeks of American football at Marty's and 6 more weeks until we are on the road again. I am very excited to get back in the tourist mode! I want to see, see, see!

Brett and I are both working about 4 days a week however his shifts are basically all days while my shifts are all nights. Opps. That is what happens in the sailing and restaurant biz. Oh well, we will have every single stinking moment together once we are on the road. Plus, we will take money anyway we can get it! I worked last night in the pizza kitchen. My usual job is to answer the phone, take orders, cut pizza, take pizzas out to the restaurant and put the garlic bread into the oven. Haha, that's what I thought. As of last night, I have officially worked in all areas of the restaurant except kitchen. I was delivery girl!!!!!
This little car was so much fun to zip around in and I finally got to drive a stick shift on the left side of the road! Hahahaha, it was hilarious!

Brett and I are busy organizing our travel plans. Our rough idea of to see a ton more of Australia, head to NZ for a couple weeks and than head to Asia for a month or so. We want to go to Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Hong Kong! However, we are unsure of the travel months so far but we are still scoping out places to stay and means of travel! If anyone has any recommendations or places to go or see please let us know!

It rained here all day Thursday, which was actually kind of nice. The wet season is slowly approaching and I think we are going to be happy that we are heading south. We are excited to see some new things!

Thanks for reading, whoever you are! We miss you and love you. Happy (early) Thanksgiving!

Love, BK

iNtErViEw for Denver

Brett had his interview today, finally!!!!! He feels really that it went really well and he is also very excited to have it over with! He was up with the sun at 445am getting ready and waiting for the call on skype! I was banished to the van to ease the pressure and give him alone time! :) Brett is happy to report that the professor doing the interviewing was very nice, professional, helpful and responsive to his questions. All in all I think he had a very successful interview! Letters are being mailed out Monday but we might be able to report before they reach home! We will keep everyone posted...

As of now, the little plans we have made and discussed are as follows:
If Brett gets in we are planning to be home sometime in early to mid- April so we can get to Denver around May 1st. School starts on May 10th.

If for some reason, which I cannot see happening, he doesn't get in than we have no plans to come until our visas run out in September and they have physically kick us out of the country. There are other schools he will apply to but that is to be determined.

Ok, I am off to enjoy the day! It is sunny and bright! Love you all and thanks for any prayers, good thoughts and fingers crossed while he was interviewing!

"Our little muffin all prepared for his Skype interview"

Love, B and K8

I have a feeling I have lots of mini stories and updates so here goes:

Brett has his interview tomorrow (Thursday) morning at 6am our time so those you trying to figure out when it is your time... good luck. I am pretty sure it ends up being 1pm Denver time and noon Seattle time. Lots of fingers crossed and prayers would be nice! Regis also informed Brett that they would be sending out acceptance letters the week of November 9th so, Dick and Bo keep your eyes peeled for that little piece of mail that will determine our future and chances of seeing everyone next. Brett said his status should change online so we could know sooner than the mail. He has been practicing a lot and he is pretty excited to get it started and over with!

Brett also has a new job! He got a full-time job on Sailaway, which is the sister-boat to Shaolin. He loves working on the boat, meeting people, going to the reef everyday and once again wearing boardies as his uniform! He is doing the daily cruises about 4 days a week and a couple of sunset sails a week! It makes for long days, about 12 hours, but he loves it! Now he is the one cleaning up the puke and not me. Amen for that. He calls it his nursing preparation...

I am still at The Beach Shack and I love it as well! I usually work one day a week in the pizza kitchen and the other 2 in the restaurant. I finally got my own section last week and it was so much fun and went so smooth! As much as you wouldn't think it would be restaurants in Australia are so much different so it has been a bit of a learning curve. I think I am finally there! I also got a call yesterday from Andy about Bel Cibo opening up again after the fire. It should reopen November 18th and there is a chance I will work the last month we are here!

We met a guy from Tahoe, who ended up being Brett Schussel's little league coach, and he informed us that he was leaving in a couple of weeks. No offense but Brett and I got to talking and realized that if we were in his shoes we would ditch the real-life once again and stay. AKA. we are soooooooo not ready to come home. We miss everyone and love everyone but seriously it was so sad to think, "That could be us."

Not much else new to report from Port Douglas. The stinger net is officially in the water but I am not sure there are actually any stingers in the waters yet. They say they should be here after the first BIG rainfall. Apparently these last few rains that we consider big are actually quite minor. Rain in Far North Queensland puts Gig Harbor to shame. The weather is still wonderful with a daily average of 82 degrees. We have not had any rain in the last few days but it looks as if a bank of clouds might be rolling in.

We hope all is well at home. Hopefully everyone is healthy, happy, warm and enjoying November! We missing you and love you.

Love, B and K8

November

While we are starting a new month over here most people are gearing up for a scary and spooky, candy filled night out for Halloween! We did the same yesterday although it is not quite the same in a town that basically doesn't celebrate at all. We didn't have to dress up for work, there was zero candy to be found and instead of carved pumpkins there were carved squash. I had to work until about 8pm but then we searched the internet for last minute costumes and created something so we could actually show our faces at the Halloween party we were attending. I went as a toga queen while Brett dressed himself in a white shirt with garbage hanging from it: white trash. We went to the restaurant that was hosting the party and staying to hang out for about an hour. Brett had to get home so we he could get up early for work. It was nice to have an excuse to head home and curl into bed.

Brett and I with Marty (Super Hero DJ Monkey)

Pictures of our Halloween night:
http://www.facebook.com/editphoto.php?aid=2090678#/album.php?aid=2090678&id=39200194

life in the 4877

I thought I would clear up some information and give everyone a bit of an update on what we have been doing and seeing.

School:
Brett is currently in an online class taking a basic sociology class to fulfill the last requirement for entrance into Regis in Denver, and other schools for the that matter. He has his interview for Regis University via skype on 10.29 at 1am our time. This means he will be interviewing at 9am Denver time and 8am Seattle time on Thursday 10.29. Please send up some prayers and cross your fingers for him! I know he will do excellent and he would be the perfect candidate for the accelerated BSN program. We will let everyone know how he felt about the interview tomorrow.

Work:
I am still working at The Beach Shack and it is a wonderful job for me! I only work three nights but for now it is perfect. I am allowed to be on holiday a little right?!?! Brett is done at the beach hire due to the end of the tourist season and the arrival of the stinger. The net goes up Monday the 2nd. For anyone who wants to know a stinger net is basically like a big fish net intended to keep the stinging jellyfish out of a particular area so people can still swim in the 85 degree water. Brett also has a famil tomorrow on Sailaway, which is the sister-boat, to my previous boat, Shoalin. The same guy owns both and Sailaway is a 2004 35ft catamaran. A famil is intended to get a prospective employee out on the boat to "observe" while having the opportunity to see the reef and a typical day on the boat. Hopefully he likes it and they like him.

Information on the stingers (jellyfish):
http://www.qldbeaches.com/stingers.html


Adventures:
Brett and I went down to Palm Cove yesterday (Wednesday 10.28) to browse around. Palm Cove is a small town about 40 minutes south of Port Douglas but not nearly as exciting. Palm Cove is trying to make its mark on the map as another destination in FNQ (Far North Queensland) however it has not quite taken off. Port has a better downtown shopping and eating area, a better beach and the best weather. We left beautiful and sunny Port Douglas around 9am and within 10 km it was pouring and continued throughout our whole time in Palm Cove. Thankfully we love the rain and it didn't bother us but the people staying in the hotels there didn't seem too stoked.

The weather is overcast with isolated showers today but it is wonderful and very welcomed from us. We like it when it rains because it cools Port down, makes it feel cozy and allows us to not feel quite so guilty about the weather everyone is having at home. Plus, the wind usually comes with the rain so Brett is like a little excited school boy running back and forth from our house and the beach checking the wind!
All is so well here and we are so thankful for our awesome opportunity to travel and see new things. We are also so thankful for our families. We received a very unexpected package today from Dave and Nancy and it was so fun to open. Thank you everyone for the support and skype conversations thus far! We love you and wish you a happy and healthy week leading up to Halloween.

Love, B and K8
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=32737528&id=39200194#/album.php?aid=2087198&id=39200194

I think I have an addiction...

Ahhhhhh, coffee!! While coffee in Australia is nothing like that of the states nor Europe or I am guessing in Asia, it is still delicious. Upon arrival in Australia I entered a coffee shop and immediately ordered a cappuccino because it looked like the ones in Italy (A cute little cup of frothy milk, beautiful caramel colored espresso, chocolate sprinkled on top, an espresso spoon and a packet of sugar!!!) Now that we have been here for 2 months I have tried all the other coffee drinks and none are worth drinking except the cappuccino. Here, coffee is made simply with espresso, which sounds like a great thing, however when the shots are burnt or just not quite right it can ruin an entire cup. They do not have drip coffee here so Brett has learned to order a long black, which is the equivalent to a really strong americano. All coffee here is served either in a cup or a mug however you are crazy to get it in a mug because it immediately costs an additional $1.10 for your already $4 coffee. We have decided we will drink coffee out but only if we have a coupon for a buy-one-get-one-free. Thankfully the coupons are aplenty because they are printed on the back of our grocery receipts.

Since finding the coupons on the receipts we decided to use one this morning and enjoy a break from the instant coffee at home. We set out for a new coffee shop in town called Port Douglas Pantry and I am so happy to report that the coupon lead us to a great little coffee shop on a side street specializing in homemade treats and pies. We arrived around 8am with books and newspapers in-hand intending to enjoy the morning! After receiving our coffees we spent an hour enjoying them with our eyes just as much as with our mouths! We will definietely be going back to the pantry to use our four other coupons. I have finally found another great reason to shop for groceries!

Yummy cappuccino from the Port Douglas Pantry

We got to see more pictures of Olivia, which was excellent. She is the perfect mix of Mich and Chad. She is very cute and looks super cuddly. We miss all our nieces and nephews and they are a huge reason to get home eventually! :)

We miss you ALL and love you all.
Love, B and K8

http://www.facebook.com/editphoto.php?aid=2087198#/album.php?aid=2087198&id=39200194

fellow travelers

While we were on the road traveling in the van we continually had people helping us in so many ways; offering their backyards as campsites, inviting us to dinner or giving us tips of where to go and what to see. We kept saying, usually in disbelief, "Wow, everyone is so nice and helpful. This would never happen in the states." Here is what I have figured out...

Scenario:
I got off work last night and came home to the usual picture, Brett, Dean and Lisa sitting on the front porch eating dinner and hanging out. They were waiting for my arrival home from work, of course ;) Anyways, I got home and they were sitting in their usual places and not 2 minutes after I sit down two girls walk up and quickly Brett begins introducing them to me. I was a little confused but after the introductions and some background information I realized they were 2 girls visiting from Austria and the boys had made friends with them while BBQing their dinner at the park. Barbara and Elka are visiting for 21 days in Australia, 21 days in NZ and then 10 days in Fiji before flying back home. We chatted with them for a few minutes and before I even know it I am writing notes for them of places to go and see. I am also busily highlighting in their Lonely Planet travel book, in German no less, giving them even more tips. I even offered to show them around town the next day to be sure they saw everything Port Douglas had to offer. Then it hits me, I have become that person who we met along the way, and I couldn't be happier about it! There is just something about traveling in a new place that encourages you to be helpful by showing people what is worth seeing and what is simply a tourist trap. Not only did I give them a few tips and leads for cool things to do while in Australia, but Brett and I both were practically forcing them to use our shower and toilet. We must have that helpful travel bug in us as well as feel very sympathetic because they are sleeping in their van while parked in the park next to our house. Essentially we have offered up our "backyard" as well as our house for these two strangers! Thankfully they are really sweet girls who are police officers in Austria, so we know we are in good hands!

I just thought I would share my realization and excitement which led me to figure out that traveling people are not weird or lonely (I mean seriously, people offered to let us park our van in their backyard. They don't know us or have to trust us) but instead they are so nice and we constantly feel the need to help each other out.

Well, it is Saturday here. I have worked two more nights at The Beach Shack and I still have tonight to go. Brett has been working all weekend at the beach hire but the weather is definitely changing and due to the rain there is a very good chance this will be the last weekend for him. Time for him to find a new job. We are going to a house warming party for Brett's boss Calvin tonight. As of now the wet season has not officially hit but it is raining a little each day. I love that you can actually smell the rain coming and see it crossing the ocean minutes before it pours at our house!

We hope all is well at home and we miss everyone! We have been getting to see lots of pictures of kids costumes and fall colors on facebook and it looks like it is beautiful at home. It seems weird to have zero Halloween decorations considering the time of year but I don't think most kids are going to dress up in some funny costume when it is 85 degrees and go door-to-door for candy. Have a great day and we love you all!

love,
B and K8

10.21.09 Happenings

I have been getting the best comments and feedback from the blog! Thank you so much to all of you who are reading regularly and are curious about our trip. I am trying to be really persistent about updating and giving interesting/funny information that will make everyone drool over our trip. Hahaha, just kidding. Lots of fun things have been happening lately and I have just been waiting, patiently of course, for Brett to put more credit on our internet card so I can update everyone!

We are slowly getting a taste of what the wet season will be like in the tropics. I have heard it starts to take effect anywhere between November and late December and lasts through about February. This being case we will either get about 2 months of it or none of it. I think all the locals block the wet season (aka summer) out of their minds because it is something you want to forget until it rolls around again. It reminds me of the flu, which hopefully none of you are getting. Whenever the wet season does come it will bring rain, humidity, hot weather, thunder storms and the possibly cyclone. Yikes. It has started raining a little bit every few days and let me tell you people from Washington you have not seen rain like this. I swear there have been days in WA when I think to myself, “It seriously could not rain any harder.” Enter… the tropics. Holy cow, it can rain here. It is so loud on our tin roof and it gives Brett and I the most wonderful magical feeling. WE LOVE IT! It is loud, chilly, soaks the ground and then goes away after a few minutes! I can only imagine once it really starts. Of course, we chat with the locals and friends about it and they tell us we haven’t seen anything yet. We are waiting with baited breath.

Not the best picture but it was seriously raining.

Ok, so I have told a few people about how we have made some friends and I wanted to give everyone chance to get to know them a little better! Marty, is from Vancouver BC and is the main guy who runs the chairs business for Brett’s boss Calvin. He has taken on the name Party Marty because he knows everyone and is always the funny happy life of the party! He is about 30 and moved to Australia about 12 years ago. He goes home every season for a couple of months to see his family and check in. He has been living in Port most of the time but he has hopped around to a few other places. He is really great and he has a big screen TV with every sports channel so we get in our NFL fix! It is awesome. We usually spend Monday and Tuesday morning at his house catching the games from Sunday and Monday night football at home! I was shocked to hear from Marty that he is planning to move home for good possibly after this season.

Brett and Marty flipping between baseball and football!

Next is Calvin. He is Brett’s boss and one of serious big guns in town. He runs the entire beach hire business and somehow magically set it up so no one can ever compete with him. He is the strong silent type but so generous and fun to chat with because he knows everything about Port and Australia. He has a really cute dog named Angus who hangs out at the beach with him every day and sit in the pub with him while he enjoys a beer after work with his employees.

We have a great couple we hang out with from New Zealand. We met them because they are our neighbors. They have been here on and off for a few years but are actually moving back to New Zealand at the end of November. Dean is 26 and Lisa is 20. They are really great and we do dinners or hang out on the beach with them quite a bit! It is fun to have a couple who is our age and is fun to hang out with as well! They have become our good friends and it is nice to have neighbors to share stuff with and make funny memories.

Speaking of funny memories Brett came home a couple of nights ago and jumped out of the van yelling for Dean. It was dark and Lisa and I headed out the door after him. Brett was driving back from the movie store and a huge 5 ft brown snake crossed the road right in front of the van. Brett considered running it over but thankfully he didn't because later we discovered it is illegal to run snakes over in Australia so instead we watched it slither away while chasing it with a camera and a flash light. Not the smartest but we were being really careful and the boys were so into it. They were yelling, jumping, laughing and being so serious all at the same time!

"The snake was THIS big!"

Brett has been kiting his little brains out lately and he is so happy because of it. He went out yesterday 4 different times and started no later than 730am and got finished at 530pm. He was on and off the beach the whole day, hanging out with the other local kiters, who he now knows all of them, and stopped only for a football game at Marty’s. It is awesome to watch the boys kite and there are some really, I mean really, awesome kiters in Port. They are die-hard, try anything and everything kiters. Bretto, who runs WindSwell kiting school (Brett’s original job), and his 2 brothers Brendan and Kyle are really good kiters. They are fun to watch and you can tell they push each other and encourage each other to be better. I think Brett really looks up to them!

Kiting at Four Mile Beach (Yes, that is a 7m!)

Ok, so I have given you some updates! There are more pictures on facebook and I have provided a link! Thanks again so much to everyone who has been reading! We love you all and miss you so much!

Love, B and K8

Ps. We received our first package from Mich, Chad, Dick, Bo and baby Olivia and it was awesome! It was a fall inspired care package with so much cute stuff and yummy goodies, plus Halloween candy! Thanks so much and everything was so thoughtful!

http://www.facebook.com/editphoto.php?aid=2087198#/album.php?aid=2087198&id=39200194

Life in Port Douglas is just the way I like it: I have a routine but unexpected things happen!

Yesterday Brett went to work as usual. We ate brekkie together, sipped our coffee and then off he went to hire out the gear. I stayed back and got ready for my morning run which leads me down 4 mile beach and to the water sports hiring trailer. While I was running I didn't notice anything different about the day except that it was a littler warmer than usual. No big deal! However, once I got farther down the beach and closer to Brett I realized non of his gear was hired out yet, which is unheard of, and the beach seemed to be really quiet. Plus, no one was in the water (literally) and there were more life guards than normal.

Earlier in the morning there were two unconfirmed crocodile spotting in the water right down from our house on 4 mile beach. One lady though she saw a group of about five small ones swimming and another lady swears she was being stalked by a croc in the water while she was walking for 100 yards down the beach. I think she was a little more freaked out because she was pushing her baby in a pram (stroller) and figured her new baby was about to be lunch. Yikes. Once these "sightings" were reported the beach was closed until future notice and out came the patrol boat and many more lifeguards to check the beach. Thankfully they found nothing and the beach was reopened at noon. However, it caused for a kind of an eerie day and a very slow day at the beach hire.


Now, about the routine in Port Douglas that I love so much! I always look forward to Saturday mornings. Not only did I get to skype with my parents while visiting with Amy and Zach in Cleveland we also set up a date for a weekly skype for my parents. Another great thing about Saturday mornings is that I get to go to the Mossman market. Mossman is a town smaller than Port just about 15 minutes north. It has a great market with very reasonable prices on produce. Much better than the Port market. I have noticed I complain about the prices in Australia a lot and I wanted to let you know not everything here is a rip-off. I got heaps of fresh fruit and veggies all are $14. That is a steal! I even got a basil plant for my kitchen!

As you can see I got awesome stuff for $14. Let me give you an idea of some prices:
6 avocado $2
5 ears of corn $2
Basil plant $3
watermelon $2
2 homemade pieces of slice $2 each
1 raspberry coconut
1 fresh apple
bananas $1.80
zucchini $.50

Not bad huh!!! I was quiet impressed with myself!

We miss you all and love you all! Thanks for reading!

love, B and K8

Here are some more photos that I have posted on facebook in the Port Douglas album:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=32696951&id=39200194#/album.php?aid=2087198&id=39200194&page=2

Pictures from today's adventures!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=2&aid=2086393&id=39200194#/album.php?aid=2086662&id=39200194

Here are some pictures from our latest adventures and playing around Port Douglas!

Is it the middle of Oct already?

Since I last posted a lot has happened. I had a job lined up at a new restaurant opening in town called Bel Cibo. However, it was expected to open last Monday but due to a fire in the pizza kitchen that idea died real fast. So, I have been on the job hunt. It is always so strange because once you go on a job hunt and find one prospect all the rest seem to come raining down on you. In Australia they do a trial night for any job to see if you like the job, the place, and to give the owner a chance to see if you will be a good fit for the job. I went to one Sunday night and one last night. Sunday night was at Harrison's restaurant located on the main street in town. It is a super fancy French restaurant with a really great chef! It was a great night but after going to my trial night last night at The Beach Shack I realized that I am looking for something more cruisy and laid-back when it comes to serving. I loved The Beach Shack. It was a lot like the restaurant I worked at while in college and much more my style. So, I called the owner from Harrison's and let her know that I didn't feel right about taking the job because she deserved someone who loved the place, that type of job and french food. Of course, it's pouring jobs still because she called back and offered me a job at her husband's cute little Italian restaurant in town, Bucci. AHHHHH, ok I am not trying to toot my own horn about the millions of job offers I just think it is a small town with lots of people coming and going so there are lots of jobs. Now what do I do? I really love The Beach Shack but I would love the Italian place too!?!? I am going to wait to hear my schedule at The Beach Shack and see if I can pull off doing a few lunches at Bucci. I'll keep you updated as it develops.

As I sit here and type Brett is making breakfast! He doesn't cook often but when he does it is always yummy and so sweet! We are headed back up to Mareeba today to use our free-return-with-an entrance purchase at Coffee Works!!! Coffee and chocolate here we come! We are going to try and go to another little town while up there called Kuranda and then round off the trip with a day in Cairns. Basically living in Port Douglas has forced people to head to a bigger city to get the things they need because it is so expensive in Port Douglas. Case in point: I bought a bottle of dove shampoo a couple of days ago and it was $8. We have yet to buy beach towels because they are $14.95 and I don't even want to see how much face wash and other toiletries are.

I have posted some new pictures on facebook of the apartment so enjoy. So far the apartment has been great but I realized one thing I won't miss about Australia is ants in your house. It is not just our apt but everywhere there are ants. Tiny little ant trains by the hundreds. Our apt came with all the furniture and while it is a little bare we are only living here for three months and told ourselves we are not allowed to buy anything because it all has to fit back into the van when we leave. Hopefully we will have more room than before!

Hahaha, we are sitting here on the couch proof-reading the blog before I post it and outside we hear a little mo-ped pull up, stop for a second and drive off again. Brett turns to me and says, "Mailman." Hahah, my words exactly, "Does he drive a mo-ped?" Brett, "Yea!" He goes outside and returns a few seconds later with our mail!!! ahahah, oh Australia!

Thanks for reading. We miss you all and love you all! We hope everyone is having a great fall thus far and please post some pictures of the pretty fall colors and house decorations!!!

love, B and K8

facebook pictures:
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