The Baynhams

It was bitterly cold as we got out of bed and dragged ourselves downstairs at the ungodly hour of 6.45 on a Saturday morning. Luckily the slow-cooker was full of creamy warm porridge thanks to a socket timer that switched it on at 5am! With full tummies and school books for the girls to study (exam week starts tomorrow at their High School) we set off on the hour and a quarter drive and watched Gareth and his team mates bravely run around on a full sized pitch. They lost. We consoled. We drove away with the plan of a nice day exploring the area and the promise of an ice-cream once we all thawed out!

We found some warm black rocks overlooking the sea and looked for whales that often swim past this area at this time of year. 

I'd like to say we saw no beached whales but Rhiannon said I have to post this photo here...

Thank you Rhiannon. I love you too!

Having had fun lying on the rocks and soaking up the sun I opened my eyes to see a dead crab being dangled above my face and figured it was a good time to move on.

We drove on the Nelson Bay and stopped at the D'Albora Marina ice-creamery. 

Coconut, Boysenberry and Ginger-beer were the choice of the three kids. Can you guess who wanted which? 

I chose Pistachio and Mr B put a flake on top. Then helped me eat it!

 We were just about ready to head home for the girls to do some more study and just as we settled in the the drive home Mr B decided that a detour was needed to see if the wind was throwing larger than normal waves around on the long exposed beaches of Anna Bay. 

We sat in the car in the car park and oohed and aahed at the blustery view but were less than excited at the idea of actually getting out of the car to go for a walk in it. Undeterred Byron got out and started to walk away from the car so we reluctantly followed. To say that the next half hour was the icing on the cake was an understatement! 

It was the cherry on top with whipped cream and hot fudge sauce! 

The wind was whipping the sand over the tops of the sand dunes and the sun was sitting low in the sky. The kids ran and jumped and shrieked and laughed as the wind whipped the sounds straight out of their mouths. It was like being in the Sahara minus the heat. Or as Gareth thought, like being on the set of a bizarre Dr Who episode?! We felt like we were the only people for miles and eventually even Byron and myself gave in to our inner child and ran and jumped too!

At last it was time to head home, study resumed, dinner cooked, evening mass, cuddles with my baby God-daughter, home again, warm cookies, hot chocolate and bed!