Road Trip

Ben and I recently sold our motorbikes so we could purchase a safer mode of recreational vehicle - a quad runner! We found a great deal but we had to go all the way down to Canberra (Australia's Washington D.C.) to pick it up. This is about a 6-8 hour drive from home. Taking Friday off we headed out on a nice leisurly drive through the countryside. The trip was fantastic and we so much enjoyed all the signs of spring as well as a few Australian icons. We had picture perfect weather too!

Spring bloom in Sofala (old gold mining town)

Canola in bloom - Lachlin Valley

Mount Panorama, in Bathurst, is the most renowned race track for motorsports in Australia and one of the only tracks I know of that you can actually take your own vehicle for a "hot lap". It's too bad the speed limit is only 60km/hour on non-race days. I guess you just have to pretend you're in a V8 Supercar! Vroom Vroom!

Mount Panorama - home of the Bathurst 1000!

Along with the Harbour Bridge, Uluru, kangaroos and the Sydney Opera House, Australia is also known for all things "Big". On our journey we encountered 2 of many of these unique icons scattered around the country.

The "Big Merino" sheep in Goulburn

The "Big Potato" in Robertson

On Saturday morning we picked up our new toy in Canberra.

Ben with our new Honda "quaddy" !

We stayed at a wonderful B&B ("beds & views") just outside of Kiama which is along the south coast. Our accommodation overlooked lush green valleys and the Pacific Ocean. The view was spectacular so we enjoyed a nice bottle of Verdelho as we watched the sun set slowly over the hills and the resident alpacas graze on the lawn.

A Day in the Vines

Over the weekend we enjoyed a beautiful Staff lunch at Wyndam Estate Winery in the Hunter Valley. There was plenty of gourmet food and wine to satisfy our taste buds and quench our palates. We all soaked up the experience and sunshine with our work mates on this fabulous spring day.

Father's Day in Oz

It was Father's Day on Sunday so we honored my FIL (father-in-law) Bob with a special pancake ("pannies" ) breakfast followed by a beautiful drive around the country side that included a stop at one of the local wineries.

MIL (mother-in-law) Cheryl, FIL Bob and Hubby Ben

View from Cruickshanks Winery looking towards Denman which lies just across the Hunter River bridge .

Cowboys in Oz

We recently attended a 30th b-day celebration for one of the Engineers I work with (Tony) and the theme was "Cowboys and Indians".

Party goers dressed in their best western attire (cowboys, indians and even a cactus) joined in an evening of bbq cusine, mechanical bull riding, whip cracking and fireworks. Fun was had by all!

Coolah Tops National Park

Over the weekend we took the new customized motorbike/camper trailer Ben built out for it's inaugral run to the mountains. The Park was a beautiful place with the bluest skies I've ever seen and more stars than one could imagine!

Being the middle of winter (brrrr!) we made sure to "rug-up" (as the Aussies would say) , drink lots of wine and build roaring campfires to keep warm!

Cooking breakfast on an open fire....it doesn't get much better than that! Chef Benwah grills up some bacon, sausages and hash browns - yummo!

Among the incredible scenery, we came across a couple native critters such as a wombat wondering down the road, and near our campsite, a wallaby with a joey in it's pouch....cute!

"50"!

My 50th birthday "Fiesta" celebration at the Fabries (July 3, 2009) in Corcoran. Great friends and great margaritas!

"The Dennen Girls" are ready to party! My sisters Kelly and Stacy

YaYa Party Chicks - Evelyn, Me, Mary, Rochelle and Terrell

"Senoritas Extraordinaire" - Megan Fabrie and friend Carmen

Bakersfield Mates - my friend Kris (Anderson) Norvig who I met in grade school and my high school pal Beth (VanWorth) Jarrett

Austin Clan

My sister Kelly and nephews Chris and Aaron waiting at the Fresno airport for the arrival of our sister (and Auntie) Stacy.