I’m having trips inside of trips. That’s enough to keep even this ADHD freak entertained! Today we packed up (slowly) and took off for Apollo Bay. It’s on the southern coast of Australia, about two hours from Melbourne. Jen’s friend Lucy has a beach house, and we were invading it for the weekend!

The trip was windy and twisty and made me jones for my car. It would have been the coolest road to drive on, I swear. But Jen wasn’t a big fan, and it was overcast and schmutzing on the road, so it was probably not as fun to drive as my romantic heart would think.

It was very chilly and still overcast when we arrived. The ocean looked more frustrated than pleased to see us. The beach house was a kick-ass place that hadn’t been renovated since the early 1970’s. It was one street off the actual beach, but was built up high so the view was directly over the houses in front of it and straight to the beach. It was comfy and wonderful, and I would have possibly stayed there forever, if allowed.

Lucy was the sweetest thing, and her nonboyfriend Jon was also great. Lucy is leaving for Europe in a couple months, and Jen and I are sad that she’s leaving such a great guy behind. He’s funny, he’s smart, he’s good-looking, he’s caring, and he’s ultra-besotted with Lucy. Oh yeah, and he can cook.

I am pleased to say that I was in Australia for the Rugby World Cup. I am even more pleased to say that I know the difference between Rugby league and Rugby union. Thank you, thank you. Anyway, prior to the match we all wandered into Apollo Bay proper to pick up some dinner - in the form of fish and chips! Seriously! The smell inside the shop was wonderful - all fried food. Yum. I gave the fish a pass, and had chicken instead. But it was neat to take everything home wrapped in paper and chow down. It was a greasy mess, but worth it for the experience!

I can also say that I’ve had an Australian bitter. (Note: pronounced “bitta.”) This one was Victoria Bitter, better known to the world as VB. Jon cut the nastiness for me with some lime juice, so I could actually finish a bottle.

Drinking games were the norm for the trip to Apollo Bay, and tonight’s was drinking whenever “your team member” got the ball. We got to choose our team members, and mine was Matt Rogers, #15. (For Australia of course. Boo the Brits.) One look at Matt and I was hooked. I’ve no idea what he does for the team - seemed a bit of a defenseman - but it didn’t matter, because the kid had the ball every 15 seconds, and I managed to collapse into bed just after it ended.

The game was fantastic, and it went into overtime. However, the Brits got the best of us, and we all went to bed disappointed. Too harsh.

Go green and gold!

michelle