Ready for the Weekend

Thursday August 14th, 2014

The day was entirely spent working on veterinary school applications. I finished all the parts of all the applications and began on the essays. I finally started to feel like I could see the light at the end of the applications. Luckily, I had already planned an event for the evening so I could get away from my computer for awhile. Sonia was playing in the pit of the Chorus Line Musical. Beck came and picked me up from uni. We are all dressed up and ready for a fun night at the theater.

It was interesting to see an American musical be performed by Aussies. There were many points in the musical where I started giggling and everyone around me gave me a weird look. American humor. Some of the actors tried at an American accent and one of them did a very good Jersey accent for some parts. It was fun! Beck and I of course had a good laugh on the way home!

Friday August 15th, 2014

It was the last day of whale watching. No whales have been seen for a couple weeks now. It was the same for today. No whales. There were some surfers though. Ben got a new camera with an awesome zoom so he let me take some photos of the surfers.

We ended up leaving whale watching a little early to go get some breakfast. Ben took me to Figsellers Cafe. One of the breakfast specials was Cookies 'n creme pancakes. Of course I had to try them!

They were yum!! My stomach wasn't exactly pleased with that healthy breakfast choice. But being on a sugar buzz the rest of the day helped me get through almost all my essays for my applications. It was a warm sunny day so Jackie and I sat outside for four hours working on our work. By the time we came in, we looked a little red. After dinner, I submitted my big application. I was so nervous that Lauren came out of her room and was my cheering squad for me hitting submit. I was so relieved after. I did it to the best of my abilities so I can't be disappointed at all. Beck and Josh came and picked me up and we went to the gym for a late night work out. Beck just biked and I took Josh through my ab work out. We went around and did a few weights and other things but nothing too crazy. Then it was time for bed for me, I had to get up early for fishing... 6am early.

Saturday August 16th, 2014

Fishing Day!!! We were up before the sun and watched it rise as we go the boat ready to launch.

The horses had just finished their training so trailers were showing up with horses and jockeys. This horse did not want to go for its swim. It would take two steps and stop. It was about a 10 minute process to get it from the ramp to hooves in the water. It seemed to be saying, " no way man... that water is toooo cold!" Eventually the jockey was able to get it in the water. The horse was still not happy. It was lifting its legs so high to keep them out of the water. It was funny to watch. 

Once the horse was swimming he looked a little happier. Some other horses got in to cool down.

Then we were off on the ocean. It was a beautiful but cold morning. It was pretty calm too!

 Steam coming off of the ocean.

My red nose from the cold.

We saw so many albatross as soon as we were on the ocean. They have massive wing spans and are so powerful. They would come to land on the water and they would ski on the top of it for a couple feet then settle down for a paddle around. 

Trevor and David getting the poles ready.

Trying to catch some fish. We were about 5km offshore and fishing at 40 meters. We were hoping to get some gummy shark, snapper, or any other kind of good eating fish, but we were having no lucky. The first bite was at 11am as the guys were drinking their coffee. 

David's parrot fish. It was a big, beautiful fish! We sent him back to the ocean.

My little fish! We weren't catching any of the fish we want but then some bait fish started biting. I was good at catching the little ones. I could feel their little bites and hook them!

Ben's parrot fish. 

The albatross waiting to snag the bait fish we were catching.

After fishing, we got the boat back home and everything cleaned up. We had a beer, cheese, and crackers with Trevor and his wife before we headed off. Ben took me back to uni so I could get ready for party at Beck's house. As we got to my house the baby plovers were out so I quick got a picture.

They are getting so big. One of them has an injured leg though. We don't know if it will survive to be an adult. It is already a lot smaller than its sibling. Hopefully, it will be okay though!

I got ready and headed to Ben's for dinner before going to Beck's. It was a super fun night. We all sat around and laughed. It was a part for her brother. He doesn't come back to visit Warrnambool often so Beck wanted to have a party for him. We ended up heading out to town and dancing the night away!

 The girls!!

Sunday August 17th, 2014

After four wonderful hours of sleep, I was up and getting ready for church. I was going with the Crofts to Terrington. It is were Ben's grandmother grew up.

After the service, it was lunch time! Bettina's stomach was growling through the service, so we all got a little giggle. 

 My lunch! It was yum!

And of course, we had to get dessert!! White chocolate Raspberry cheesecake!

The first winery we went to was Hochkirch. It is a unique winery in that it is done bio dynamically (bio dynamic = green). All of the wine is produced using reusable, recyclable, and biodegradable products. It is also done without pesticides or herbicides and he uses grasses and native plants to regenerate the soil. It is very biologically smart way to make wine... I was very impressed!!! I really enjoyed all of his white wines! I loved the Riesling so I ended up buying a bottle to share with my family when they arrive! 

The next winery we stopped at was Pierrepoint Wines. It was an absolutely beautiful winery and I loved it because of all the animals running around. The owners mare was getting loaded into a trailer and was not happy. I started to talk to her about horses and she showed me a magazine that her sister works for and I thought the cover was very fitting for me. 

The wines were good, but I wasn't in love with any of them. Our last stop...

Ben knows the owner very well, and when he stepped he told Ben to take over serving the wine. He was excited.

The owner had lived in the states for awhile. So we talked about the states until it was time for Ben and his dad to buy their wine. It was beautiful little cottage that the wine was sold out of. The owner even walked us to the car and waved good-bye. It was a pretty quiet ride home. I think we were all tired. Ben made salmon for dinner. It was super good. I didn't stay too long after dessert though. I went back to uni and went to bed. It was a great weekend after a long week of applications. Now it is time to get back into all my school work.