End of 2018 -- What About 2019?

Well, would you look at that? We've been absolute slackers and not posted since our trip to Magnetic Island in 2018. Better late than never!

After leaving Tassie early in 2018, we were keen for some warmer climates. Our trip up the east coast was full of adventure—seeing apostles, sea-turtle hatchlings, and platypus—ending in Palmerston (just south of Darwin). Jeni landed a job she'd always wanted: lifeguarding. I slowed down on the writing and opted to get back behind the bar, working in a club.

At first, the weather up there was a nice change from that of Queenstown, Tas. Then it got hot. And hotter. And bloody humid! I found myself hiding in aircon (at home and at work) more than I thought I would. Stupid body, getting older and not acclimatising as fast as it has in the past! We did get out and have some fun, but we spent a lot of the time working.

The Beer Can Regatta is an event that happens once a year. This is a race that involves watercraft... made out of beer cans!

 

 

Litchfield National Park is one of the must see parks of the top end. It's of a decent size. We spent a couple of days exploring the various parts of the place.

 

While 2020 has been an incredibly bad year for many, 2019 had a rough start for us. In January, the bar I worked at (Palmerston Sports Hub) shut down. Not long after that, we were unable to register Rocky (our troopy) due to the surface rust getting a bit much. Then, not much longer after that, we had to vacate our share-accommodation. Homeless, jobless, and troopyless, we decided to fly back to NSW and plan where we wanted to head to next... after a trip to America! I did mention that we worked a lot, and it was time we enjoyed ourselves!

I'd initially semi-planned for this trip to go ahead not long after the club shut down, purchasing a ticket on the 2019 Writing Excuses Cruise. After coming home and having a few beers with my good mate Dane, it was decided that this cruise would be preceded by a USA west-coast road trip!

 

We had quite a blast on that trip, starting with a few margaritas in LA, a quick daytrip to Compton, explored a few NPs, like Yosemite, Zion, and the Grand Canyon, and experienced some iconic places like the Hoover Dam, Vegas, and Houston's NASA base. The cruise was also a lot of fun, and I met some incredibly talented writers. I could go on, but you're here for info on Australia, not America, right? Fair enough! 

 

After our USA trip we ended up buying a Mazda 3 (not quite a troopy...), packed all our stuff inside, and set off to settle down back in Tasmania. So how did 2020 actually kick off for us? I'll type that up for the next post!