Edenic

Hi! I'm back! Back, that is, to a reasonable work load, done with marking, survived several deadlines, and feeling as light as a cloud for the past few days!  It seems like months since our trip to Eden, but we returned home only about 3 weeks ago.


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This Eden trip was both a welcome break from the crazy, and a poorly timed interruption to my busy-busy schedule.  But mainly, Eden is a soul-restoring place.  The coastline is just beautiful.  Eden is surrounded on three sides by extensive national parks and state forests.  Andy's family home has a fantastic garden and views of the bay.  And his parents are wonderful.  So, aside from the cold, it was a great trip - and the cold wasn't even all that bad, since it meant we could light the fire.

On the first full day we were in Eden, we headed south to Green Cape, in one of the many national parks nearby.  There, we were greeted with spectacular views, like these over Wonboyn and Disaster Bay.

The place was obviously windswept - the saltmarsh plants were all bent over.  According to Andy's dad, this is where the weather from the south comes and turns, instead of heading north towards Eden.

We watched the waves crash over the rocks - and this was on a smooth, non-windy day.

Andy trekked down onto the rocks for a closer look.  Note his "winter on top, summer on bottom" look involving a beanie-hat, long sleeves and layers, and then shorts and thongs.

We also went to Bittangabee, a secluded little beach in the state forest.

And Saltwater Creek, where this friendly-looking kangaroo turned out not to be so friendly, growling at Andy for getting too close.

On the other days, Andy's mum had to work, and I had some marking to do, but we also did lots of baking (pumpkin muffins, and chocolate birthday cake for Andy's mum) and cooking (roasted veggies up the wazoo).  We headed into Bega so Andy could visit his grandma.  On the way back, we stopped for chips in Merimbula, a summer resort town.  The chips were disappointing - soggy, overpriced, and a small serve.  But the scenery was good - we ate next to Bottom Lake, a saltwater lake with lots of boats and sea gulls.

Another day we went into Eden town, checking out the wharf, full of fishing boats (though, according to Andy, practically empty compared to when he was a kid).

And peering down at beautiful, but cold looking, Asling's beach.

We also helped Andy's parents clean out some of their closets - we came home with warm clothes for Andy, as well as some good Scanpan sauce pans and a few other kitchen bits, including two sets of chop sticks, so we can learn how to use them (this is foreshadowing for a future post...).