Today was an awesome Aussie Sunday Funday!
We had the treat of spending the day with an Aussie family: Nicole, Glen, Declan & Darcy. Nicole and I overlapped working at RB in New Jersey back in 2005-2006. We didn't actually work directly together in the business, but we were relocated by RB to the USA at the same time, and ended up living just a few blocks from each other in NYC. Our friendship easily took off! Nicole ended up moving to London towards the end of 2006, and the next/last time we saw each other was in London in December 2007.
Coal Loader Cafe
As soon as I knew we'd be in Sydney I reached out to Nicole to make plans to see each other. We landed on a plan to meet at 10:00am at the Coal Loader Cafe, not terribly far from our St. Leonard's home base. 11+ years later and we jumped right into catching up! A few minutes later and the four kids were bounding ahead together into the coal-loading tunnel and (apparently) finding snakes. The area was used until 1992 to load coal transported from Newcastle destined for other parts of Australia. Pretty cool spot!
Aussie BBQ
After exploring the coal loading area and trails overlooking Balls Head Bay and Berry Island, Nicole & Glen kindly invited us over to their place for a Sunday family lunch BBQ. We are not one to pass on the opportunity to log more quality time with good people, so we gratefully said yes! Plus, it was our first Aussie BBQ with Aussies! No way we were going to pass that up :)
After a quick pitstop at the local grocery store, we were ready for our first official Aussie "barbie"! Glen fired up the grill and threw on the burgers. Nicole had an awesome spread of burger toppings & sauces. All eight of us happily dug into our burgers. First official Aussie barbie was delicious and a success!!
Post Lunch
After lunch the girls, Caleb & Darcy enjoyed some more time swimming in the pool, jumping on the trampoline out front, playing hide & seek and mastering the game of Twister. Us adults enjoyed some time chatting, laughing and comparing notes on life & parenthood.
Friendship is Friendship, No Matter the Distance
It was so easy & fun to catch up with Nicole & Glen after all these years. It was the perfect example of how friendship doesn't have to be defined by the amount of time you've lived in the same place or the amount of time you've logged face-to-face. We easily fell into conversation, connection & laughs. Even the girls loved to connect with their new pals, Caleb & Darcy. As soon as we got back "home" that evening, they were asking if we'd be back through Sydney again, because if so, they want to see the boys again :)
Cheers to reconnecting with friends! This is so much a part of what our year of travel is about . . . the importance of connecting with old friends, making new friends (especially for the girls) and making new memories. Here's to the next time we get to hang out with Nicole, Glen, Caleb & Darcy, be it in Australia, the USA or another spot!
Comments