Quick stop in Ballina . . .

Our way of keeping track of the distances traveled during our journey . . .

Still on my drive from Sydney to Brisbane...

I stopped for the night in Ballina, where I had spent many a Christmas during my childhood, with my mother’s brother and his family. All four of my cousins have moved back to this gorgeous little seaside town in the last few years, and I spent a couple of nights staying with my cousin Cath. We met Cath’s youngest brother, Brendan at the pub for dinner where we stayed until late, drinking and catching up. Brendan is one of a kind. He rides a hideous old bike around town when he knows he’ll be drinking. He says it’s because he knows that no matter where he leaves it, nobody would want to steal it, so it’s always there when he comes back for it.

Cath and I stayed up all night chatting and drinking once we got back to her place. We stood on her balcony and watched the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean bringing another stunning day. Luckily, I only had a few hours to drive to my friend’s home in Brisbane where I would spend New Year. I was feeling a little worse for wear so Shane drove. We did make a pit stop though for chips, chocolate and coke-a-cola to help me through the day.

Here are a few shot of the sun rising from Cath’s balcony.

Spent an awesome week hanging out at the surfing mecca of Lennox Head.

The bus trip up was fine. The kids were a mess again last night. GT is not happy with their behavior. But I am not going to focus on them in this because there are so many wonderful things to talk about.

On the way out of Coffs Harbour, we stopped at the Big Banana and then we stopped halfway at the Big Prawn to eat. Please see the attached photos.