Fri. Sept. 14, and Sat. Sept. 15 - Gosford and Bateau Bay.

We got on the highway and headed for North Gosford where the famous Miss Kiah lives - aka Gwen and Bob's granddaughter. A brief stop along the way at the Hawkesbury River gave us a chance to stretch our legs, enjoy some more beautiful Aussie scenery, and take some pictures. Then off to visit Kiah and her parents Amanda and Ray. We enjoyed a lovely lunch with them, and Kiah kept us entertained. She's a pretty, bright, precocious child, very advanced for being not quite 3. Their house is built on the side of a ravine, and they are visited daily by a variety of birds and wildlife. In just the short time we were there we were visited by rainbow lorikeets, bronze coloured doves, a kookaburra, a brush turkey, and a little yellow bird that I don't know the name of.

We headed out for the guest house Gwen had arranged for the night - owned by a friend of hers. Along the way we stopped at The Entrance, where Tuggerah Lake empties into the Pacific Ocean. The tide was going out and the current was pretty strong. Every evening many spectacled pelicans come to this spot to be hand fed - they put on quite a display as the all try to snatch the fish at the same time.

Then we visited with Karen Dimmick and her husband Lindsay, and stayed for a tea of humungous burgers topped with cheese, a fried egg, bacon - and beetroot if you wanted it. It was great to meet Karen and Lindsey. It was a very enjoyable evening.

Next morning we found out that Gwen had been sick all night. She asked Karen to take over the class she was supposed to teach at the meeting of the Central Coast Decorative Painters, and then went to Karen's to drop off material for the class. While Gwen was at Karen's, George and I walked to the beach across the road from the guest house - and I heard the first Aussie to say "Good On Ya" as I stepped aside for him to pass me on the steep path down to the beach. We had our first experience with flies on the beach - not many, but we hightailed it out of there anyway. We've been pleasantly surprised that we haven't encountered more bitey things, even at night.

Even though Gwen wasn't feeling well, they took us back to Amanda and Ray's where we were able to hook into the Internet, send a few photos home o the grandchildren, and post to the blog. I was having so much trouble operating George's laptop - the touchpad is so sensitive that if you breath the wrong way it does something you don't want it to do, and then you have to go and undo it. Bummer! After a bit of a nap and some stomach medicine, Gwen was feeling a bit better.

Back home I did some laundry, we packed our bags, and George, Gwen and Bob watched the rugby match. Blacktown won, so Gwen and Bob were happy.

Although I only met a few gals face to face, I did speak to several others by telephone. Had lovely chats with Sylvia Figg, Beth Blinston, Barb Butcher, and Primmy. Nice to have a chat with all of them.