We walked down to eat at Airlie Waterfront, but they'd recently changed their menu so we changed our minds and went to Capers - great idea. Capers is locally owned & managed and they use almost exclusively local meat and produce, as well as offsetting the carbon they do produce by planting trees. I love it. And the food was deeeelicious.
We had a great time talking & laughing & stuffing our faces. Our coffees came with mint chocolates... mmm... Nick and Kiwi got to catch up and reminisce. It was really relaxed and nice.
from weheartit.com
After a sweaty, sweaty walk back to the hostel, we immediately jumped in the pool - ahhhh. The guys set up a new pool volleyball net & we played for a while, getting into teams of Sarahs versus Niks, three each. So funny that there are enough of us with the same name to do that!
Nick and new staff member Remi (French) had to take the bus over to get new tires & Kiwi & I went with so we could pick up food for the night's BBQ. As the tires were being changed, we walked over to a bar with pokies & Kiwi & I had a beer while Nick played the slots & won $60 in about 2 minutes. Nice.
Picked up the van, stopped by the bottle shop to pick up some beer, then to Coles for food to feed 15, and back to the hostel. The bar was open, music was playing, and everyone was in the pool or hanging around outside making friends. Kiwi & I cracked open a beer; she wanted to drink on her last night & since Nick's still off the grog, I promised I'd join her. After one beer, we decided we were already hungry & should've bought appetizers; luckily Kate was there with a car & agreed to drive us to the IGA, where we picked up some crackers and dip & then proceeded to demolish them back at the hostel. With a bit of help from the boys, of course.
Kiwi, Nicko, Chris, Kate and the dips... mmm...
Played the trivia quiz and - woot woot - won!! Met two new people, Cherie (Canadian) and Alex (German) because they joined our team, and when we won, we shared the (absolutely terrible) champagne prize with anyone who was interested. :)
Kiwi, Sarah & I made a pasta salad with beans, corn & carrots, and when Nick announced the BBQ meats were done, we all assembled in the kitchen for another great community meal. After eating, a movie was put on, and a bunch of us sat in the pool to watch it - Nicko & Ian even submerged plastic chairs & sat on them in the pool! I'm too short for that; I had to sit on the steps.
After the movie, a lot of people wandered off but there were still groups lounging around. Nick got out his guitar & started playing, and Kiwi, two Estonian girls, and I sang along. With the confidence booster of beer, I slowly got up the nerve to sing louder & louder, and when Nick started playing Hootie & the Blowfish, I was the only one besides him who knew the song & we were singing in harmony. I was a little embarrassed when we finished and Ian & Laura and some other people down at the grill started clapping; I know I don't have that great of a singing voice, but it was really fun.
I am so happy & grateful for:
~ having fun playing volleyball
~ impromptu sing alongs
~ BBQs with friends
xo! n.
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awww..if I didn't know that you were in Australia doing that I would have thought that you just described one of our weekends here..pool, being silly, movies and BBQ!!!
ReplyDeleteweird...so in order to post my last comment I had to write the "word" they give you for security purposes and my word was erilike (almost erin like)...random!!
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