“Holidays are about experiences and people, and tuning into what you feel like doing at that moment. Enjoy not having to look at a watch.”
Evelyn Glennie
image courtesy of pbase.com
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There is something inexplicably exciting when you start planning a holiday, even if it is going to be just a short break. We are going to live in the moment and make sure we are BEing present for everything that happens. That’s what we are doing for several reasons.
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My father in law is eighty tomorrow and he is having a “surprise” birthday party. It’s hard to keep it a surprise these days as the family is large and the logistics of getting everyone together, all the arrangements made and the party preparations are impossible to hide. Especially when he specifically said “No surprise parties” he feels he’s too old to have birthdays now. We persuaded him that the alternative wasn’t very nice and he’s agreed to keep having them for us.
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It’s even more special for me since it’s the first birthday and family get together since our wedding earlier this year, and then not everyone could make it, so I get to meet everyone I didn’t see then, but now as part of the family. It’s even more poignant since both my parents have passed away and I no longer get to have these events to look forward to. It’s made me realize that each gathering and milestone is important, too important to let them slip by without giving them the attention they deserve. So, sorry Dad, but roll on the party!
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image courtesy of elegantvocals.wordpress.com
I think we’ll forget the hats though – he’s not really into them, unless of course they’re the rural fire brigade helmets where he’s been a member for sixty years. Quite an achievement and there is little he wouldn’t be able to tell you about keeping us safe in this hot dry weather. I’m sure top of his list would be to clear around your houses and controlled burns to clear away the rubbish. But that’s another story.
image courtesy of smh.com.au
So we are setting off on a trip to southern New South Wales. We are making the most of it since we haven’t yet had our “honeymoon” – simply too busy! This, Ray has decided, is a “deposit” on our honeymoon holiday. So we’re stopping on the way down at Port Macquarie and afterwards we are spending a week in a beautiful B&B with some breathtaking scenery outside the ‘back door’ where we can rest, relax, explore, go for long walks or simply read and soak up the peace and tranquility. On the way home we will make a stop in Coffs Harbour to finish things off before arriving back ready to hit the decks running again.
image courtesy of digital-photo.com.au
I’m only breaking one rule, I’m taking my laptop so I can use my photos and blog about what we’re doing or not, as the case may be, and the party, and the drive there and back, since I have this feeling there may be things to see and photograph and I’d love to share them. Recharging your batteries is so important, it helps keep you motivated and looking forward to the big treat when it arrives. So much excitement in the planning of all the details, where to go and what to see and do.
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So in two days we’ll be on the road early… not too early since I’ve been coerced into seeing a kinesiologist to try to get me there and back with my back in one piece and without too much pain! Day one we only go as far as Port Macquarie so it’s not a huge day and we can have plenty of tea breaks to take in the scenery.
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image courtesy of virtualtourist.com
I’m so grateful we have such a wonderful life to look forward to. It’s all in the way you choose to look at it.
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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
Owls and Orchids 
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