A Great Way to Start the New Year

Over New Year's weekend Brian & I left the kids with my parents and took off for a much needed weekend alone. We drove 5 hrs south to Albany. Normally it'd be a shorter drive but we drove Brian's tiny 2-door clown-size car...the poor car can't go faster than 100 km/hr. Then we spent the rest of the weekend circling back home on a more scenic route through various national parks/forest.

Not only did I get to spend the weekend with great company (he really is my best friend) but I got to read, sleep, talk, and eat without any interruption. It was heaven I tell you! So anyways, I have some pictures to share. The quality isn't the greatest b/c we forgot our camera and only had the iPhone.

There are some pretty cool beaches in the Albany area- this was one of them. I think it was called William Bay.

Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk...The tree top walk is a bunch of ramps that take you 40 meters up into the forests. The ramps sway in the wind. It was a good idea to hold on.

The view from one of the landings. Hard to get a good perspective but you can see the tops of all of the trees down below. Pretty high up!

There is a famous tree in Pemberton called The Gloucester Tree. It used to be a fire lookout but now is open to the public to climb. Before arriving I told Brian that I wasn't going to climb it b/c I didn't want to die and since he planned to climb it I thought at least one parent should return to our children alive. I mean, 61 meter climb (180 ft)...no saftey harness, no nets to catch you, no waiver to sign- crazy! But when we arrived I looked at the tree and thought, "I think I can do this." So I did. The key was not looking down. Brian did end up looking down, which is how I smoked him getting to the top. I waited forever for him to join me! It was pretty windy up at the top landing. Now we know what it feels like to sway in the breeze like a tree. The view was well worth the climb!


Brian thought it'd be great to take a picture of me climbing down. I'm not thrilled about the bum shot but it does give some perspective on the climb.

The Giant Tingle Tree: It's amazing to me that these trees, hollowed out from bushfires, continue to live! This one is the oldest one in the world.

More tingle trees that have been hollowed out from bushfires...loved walking through these forests.


Our 2nd night was spent in Pemberton. I decided to try some of the local food. Marron is a large, freshwater crayfish. It was pretty good. Just had to make sure I didn't look at its long antennae as I chewed.