Newport, RI....who knew!?!

Ok, ok.....so everybody knew but me. Newport is a great place to vacation. I had four days off, so Paul and I were tossing up Newport or Cape Cod. Newport won out because it seemed there was more to do than lay on the beach (of course there was rain predicted on all four of my days off-sigh).

When we got there, we went for a walk right away and, well, I just couldn't resist....

hehehehhehe Bevis they said seamen. hhehhehehhehhehhehhehhehehehe

I can't help myself. I could go on....but I shall restrain.

Here's a nice picture to get our minds off on seamen. Oh wait...this is a picture of a seaman. Ok, ok, I SWEAR that is the last I say about seamen.

Seamenseamenseamenseamenseamen. Ok, phew. That's it. I swear.

Then we went out to dinner. I got sole stuffed with this:

Lobsta. With sun dried tomato cream sauce. YUM.

Paul had stuffed shrimp for the first time. He loooooved it.

The next day we planned to go walk along the cliffs and maybe see some mansions......Paul decided to wear this: Sandy, I must apologize. Do you remember when you asked me to help you with the sunglasses situation? I just laughed and laughed.....Well I thought that was funny. This, I did not find funny. Oh. My. Goodness. In this situation, I think a picture really does say a thousand words.
It's true what they say. Karma is a bitch. And this was my payback. He actually wanted to go out in public this way and got really angry with me for telling him I would not be seen with him unless he changed.

I'm so alright with Paul being a little experimental. Funky glasses. Funky hair. But really...can you imagine walking into this place wearing the above outfit?Maybe if it were a mental asylum.

So, after a little tiff and a change of clothes we made our way to the cliff walk and saw some pretty coastline and 'cottages' as they're called.

These beautiful trees were everywhere. I think they're European Birches. I love this shot of my boy. Then I made him take a shot of me. And then he told me if I didn't stop taking pictures he would leave me. Then I took this picture and he stomped off.

On one of our walks we found this sign:
We spend so much time together that we both looked at one another and said: "I'm a laaaady" in unison. I don't expect you to get that reference so, here's a little something that will bring you a little closer into our world:

Watch the ladies

We had one good clear night without rain that we were able to go for a sailboat ride.

Dude wouldn't get his leg outta my shot!One silly pose:
And one nice pose:

Ocean sunsets on the east coast aren't too spectacular, but we enjoyed it.

The next day we toured more mansions. I expected to get sick of them real quick, but they were interesting and rich with history.
Did you know back then people didn't pay taxes? How friggin pissed are you? 30+ million of income and not a cent of taxes.

I wish you could appreciate this view, but my crap camera couldn't really capture well enough to do it justice. Imagine there are blue skies and you can see the ocean really clearly.

Imagine having this view to wake up to?? Though it would only be eight weeks a year seeing as it would just be your summer 'cottage.'

Did I mention they didn't pay taxes? Bastards.

Do you think they used this space for yoga classes? Oh how I would love to teach a class here.

See that house in the background? Yeah, Paul and I were going to buy it that weekend, but we decided it was too small for us.

....oh right, and I couldn't purchase it because I pay taxes and therefore cannot afford it.

The end.

Why I Love Australia Part Two

I love the beach, but I was ready for something else. Besides, the last part of my trip was pretty chilly (in the 70s...which IS chilly for a South Australian summer).

Paul took me to his family farm in Waitpinga, SA. I was in love the moment we pulled up. It was so quiet and peaceful and open. Wide open. Something about the rolling golden hills overlooking the ocean and blue skies just makes my heart settle. How cool is this old thing?And I got to drive it! (Shhhhh....don't tell Paul's dad).How cool am I? Driving from the right side of the truck AND driving on a farm? I would have never thought this would make me feel so--at home. My favorite picture. Okay, okay...I've said that before. But seriously. The horse, the old truck, the dusty road.

Paul and I had to drive through this to get to the dam.Don't believe me?
Even the cows were like "what? are you crazy?"But yeah, we did it. Of course, I didn't get a shot of the dam, so you'll just have to believe me. It's just beyond those trees.
We set some traps and caught these little fuckers. Yabbies! We steamed those bad boys up.
Then, we sauteed them in some olive oil we got at a local winery with some fresh rosemary and garlic.
I also put that mixture on some fresh greens.
The yabbies were a little scared about the whole boiling process. I had to do some P.R. and make nice. "Look little buddy, we don't mean you no harm. "
"Aren't you a sweet little thang. Gimme some love!""Now get in my belly!" My mother tells me I'm not very sensitive to other's feelings.
Yeah, well, off with their heads! Fry those bad boys up Paul! Wow, that was a good meal. I felt like we were livin' off the land. Except for the wine we didn't press ourselves. And the olive oil. Oh, and the bread we didn't cook. Of course we didn't grow those veggies ourselves either. So, yeah. We basically just caught the yabbies. Hey, when's the last time you caught your dinner?



The next day we stopped by the shed. Paul got the bike out so we could tour de' ranch. How friggin' cute is he?Lambs. Man, do they live the good life.
So do the cows.
And the kangas.


See that ocean in the background? Here it is close up. Don't be jealous. It was freeeeezing that day.


So back to tour de' farm.

We cruised around and....um....well....we found the cows.
Hey, look, I believe being gay isn't a decision. It's the way one is born. I just didn't really think it would benefit female bovine creatures. I mean, their anatomy...it's not exactly set up for these things. And that one on bottom looks annoyed quite frankly. Well, I guess all of us bottoms have our moments. Too much information? Sorry.

Anyway, we happened upon this little beauty. I approached the wild beast carefully (see above picture).
I think she likes me.
She really likes me! Um, I think I can live without her affections. (Good GOD I look like my mother here)
Paul had to prove he was all Mr. Cattle Rancher and could tame the wild beast too. So what if she used to be a pet? I tamed her. Again.

Cows are funny creatures. It's so eerie when they surround you in the dead silence of a ranch. MMmmmmmrrrrrrooooooooo.
We said our good-byes to the ranch and headed off to big Louise's place at Cape Jervis.Just in case you needed a reminder as to why I'm here. We were the only ones on that beach and did some yoga while we were there. It's a hard life. Seriously, I don't know if I can handle this whole South Australia thing.

Further down the road...
Score! I've always wanted to buy Pony Poo!


Deep Creek National ParkWe met this little beauty there.
Sorry, had to do it. None of the little buggers at Paul's farm would let me this close. We had to share this beach with a surfer. What a drag. We had to watch the surfer while we drank our local wine. Total drag. Some lambs on the lam. We went to Monarto Zoological Park. This little dude shoulda been weened. He wasn't havin' it though. Little bugger had to lay down to nurse cuz he couldn't reach standing any more.Beauties. Holy cuteness. You can pay to feed the cheetas and/or lions. It's not even that expensive. Paul thought these dude's were ugly, but I loved them. I forget what they are, but they're not hyenas. And....the most beauteous of all.....
Merlin's brothers!
"I'd like to send a shout-out to my little-in-stature-but-large-at-heart brotha, Merlin. Roar, little man, raaaar."

Paul's parents, Sandy and Graham, treated me to dinner at Windy Point Restaurant, Adelaide, SA. We all got the same thing. I'm not a very fancy girl, so I can't give you all the fancy desriptions...but it was duck in a brown sauce and a ducky egg-rolly type thingy. We shared salad and mashed potato sides. It was scrumptious.

Although it was close to my last night, the waitress brought me this....A premonition for the future, perhaps?