Dave and I have hit that four year milestone and I can luckily say that I shared all of those formative years memories with him. Over this time, our highs and lows have challenged us to become better people. Furthermore, our interests and hobbies have intersected. A perfect example is that he now likes tofu and running and I now like poutine and sometimes flat hiking. I'm glad we both still retain our separate hobbies because we have learned that it's healthy for us to enjoy our individual pursuits too.
When we first came to Australia, Dave wasn't sure where he wanted to work. Learning of his strengths in statistical analysis and business from university, I pushed him to get into market research and he has flourished ever since. When I struggled in my jobs, he kept me sane and on track to endure even when I wanted to quit. Over the years, we have been each other's rock. We're so different, but we complement each other. We've had so much adventures these past four years and I'm so excited to see where we go in the next four years.
Dave is the romantic one. It's not because I chose not to be, but because he absolutely loves our anniversary and birthdays more than any other holiday. So I didn't question his motives when he told me to pack a bag on Thursday night. He did say I started asking too much questions when I asked if I could pack liquids larger than 100 ml.
I promised him that I would leave work on Friday at 5:30 pm on the dot. He had wanted me to take a half-day off of work, but a) I wanted to save my holiday for when we go to America in September for Emily's and Marco's weddings and b) I have been crazy busy at work and this was short notice. We got into a fight on Wednesday night about this very issue, but Dave as he always does understood my frustration. I could see that Dave wanted so badly to for his plan to work out perfectly and I understood why that Friday afternoon.
He Kidnapped Me From Work
Me, My Flowers & My Carriage
He was at my office doorstep right at 5:30pm with a bouquet of flowers, snacks for the road and a luxury car (something that was one step higher than an economy car) ready for our road trip. Like a perfect gentleman, he handed me the flowers and took my bags and packed it into the trunk. He opened the car door for me and we were cruising off to the unknown destination.
The reason why Dave urged me to take a half-day off work on Friday was the very thing that would frustrate us - traffic. It took us an hour to finally get off the city and drive the speed limit. However, it was our first trip south of Sydney and it was nice to see the coastal towns we had never seen before.
Vietnamese Meal in Wollongong
Our first stop was Wollongong. It was already past 8pm by the time we arrived. We were so hungry because our last meal was at lunch nearly seven hours ago! Wollongong is the next largest city south of Sydney. It is a sleepy coastal town that reminded us of the towns we stopped by in New Zealand. It was like everyone knew each other because when we walked into Mylan, the #1 restaurant according to Urbanspoon, everyone looked at us like we were 'not from 'round here.' We had a lovely Vietnamese meal that would keep us content since we still had over two hours to go to this unknown destination.
We picked up groceries to last us the weekend, so I knew we were staying in a self-serviced place.
I was getting very irritable when the clock was getting closer and closer to 10 pm. I had been at work all day and here I was sitting for another four hours to a unknown location.
We finally arrived at 9:45pm to an empty driveway that led into a locked garage we weren't allowed to park in. We parked in the driveway and was expecting a regular little house.
The house was breathtaking. It had manicured lawns with beautiful potted plants and Buddha statues around the garden. There were two outdoor seating areas; one in a gazebo and the other on a porch.
While we were driving, I had asked Dave how we were getting into whatever we were staying in if we were getting in so late. He said, he's got access. When we arrived at the house, Dave had to dig in the utility room punching in codes to get the key.
When he opened the door, what laid before us was a beautiful house decorated like a zen Buddhist retreat. The word 'RELAX' in wooden block letters was the first thing I saw sitting on a coffee table. It was painted in a calming yellow, ocean blue and grey palette. Immediately, I walked through every room of the house, finding it was not a one-bedroom, but a three-bedroom house that we had for the entire weekend all to ourselves! Each room had large flower paintings and ornate bedspreads. The bathroom even had Frangipanis decorated on the wall and sitting on the toilet roll.
My favourite part of the house was the living room. It had a large L-couch with tons of pillows. One wall of the living room was glass with doors leading to the balcony that overlooked the lake. This place was magical and it was all ours!
Our Weekend Zen Home
Breakfast Alfresco Style
The next morning, we slept in, but Dave wanted us out of the house before midday so we could enjoy the beaches of Jervis Bay. We made one of our favourite breakfasts; buttered and peanut buttered crumpets, scrambled eggs and sliced tomatoes with a cup of earl grey tea and our daily vitamins. We set up the spread outside on the porch with the my new bunch of flowers to decorate the table. It was a dewy morning and so picturesque.
A New IPAD Keyboard & Snorkel/Flipper Set
After breakfast, Dave sat me on the couch and brought out his anniversary presents. He didn't wrap his, so I brought his out too unwrapped. Because I like to blog a lot and often have to bring my laptop on our trips, we bought us a keyboard for our new IPAD. It hooks on perfectly and works as a cover as well.
Ever since we got our scuba diving certifications, we have been wanting to go snorkeling when we can't scuba dive. So he bought us his and hers snorkel/flipper set.
I was struggling to find his gift for the past few weeks. I thought about getting him an electric shaver. I even went to Myer's electronics and housewares section to view my options. My mind changed when I realised there were too many options and Dave's beard requires special attention, which would be best sculpted with a regular razor.
A Leather Compendium
Thinking of what Dave needed in his life right now, the idea hit in the last half hour of late night shopping in Sydney (everything closes at 6pm, but on Thursday nights, retail stores close at 9pm). Dave was promoted to the Client Services team a few months ago. This new job requires him to go to meetings, where he'd have to write things down and bring presentation slides for the client. The answer was a compendium. I went to Kikki. K, a popular Swedish stationery store and found the perfect black leather compendium.
Enjoying the View & Sand at Hyams Beach
Perfect View of White Beach & Blue Water
We left right at midday for Hyams Beach. It was only 15 minutes away. Dave had researched the area and found out that this beach has the whitest sand in the world! It was a stunning beach. It stretched for about 2km. We walked to the half-way point where groups were scattered far enough we couldn't make out their faces and laid down our beach towels. We spent the next four hours sun baking and listening to music, swimming, snorkeling, digging in the sand and splashing against the surf.
Such Clear Water
A Beautiful Stretch of Beach
He Loves Digging in the Sand
He's Dug Himself A Hole
Four Years Together
DB & SL = Love
10/02/13
The Half-way Portage
By 4pm, the wind had picked up kicking sand in our faces and legs. We had been at the beach for four hours and were ready to go back to our luxury pad. Dave had a grand plan to canoe on the lake. We climbed down from our house to the lake front and unlocked the canoe. As Dave sat it down on the water, mosquitoes were abound. They were hungry and we were food. Dave tread the murky water with his bare feet to push us out and we kept getting bitten. It wasn't ideal canoe conditions so after five minutes we were back on shore. At least we tried...
Canoe Evidence
It was good timing for us to stop canoeing even if it was for five minutes because a storm came through. It was time for us to go back inside and relax in our pristine house.
Pasta Dinner Made With Love
That night, we took all the ingredients we bought at the Woolongong grocery store and whipped up bow-tie pasta with mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach and Parmesan cheese. We enjoyed our delicious home made meal sitting at a large dining room table (much different from eating at a coffee table in front of the TV at home) discussing our last four years together and where we expect to be in the next four years. We both agreed travelling and dog would be in our near future.
At the end of the night we curled up on the large l-couch with wine and chocolate. What a perfect day together and the perfect way to end it.
Shore Path
The next morning, we cleaned the house and packed away all of our belongings in the car. We were sad to leave this beautiful place, but we weren't going to leave without a walk by the lake.
Such a Monkey
Sitting By the Water
My Favourite Room in the House
I took one last picture of the house in my favourite spot - one the l-couch in the living room overlooking the lake. I will never forget this house. It had a feng shei about it that made me forget all our responsibilities, stress and frustrations back in Sydney. This house will forever be a blueprint for my future holiday house.
Driving back to Sydney was a different experience compared to our ride to Jervis Bay. This time, it was day time and we could see the beautiful landscape of the New South Wales coast.
Very Windy On the Coast
To break up our trip, we stopped in Kiama. I kept hearing about Kiama because it is the first country town south of Sydney and is home to a blowhole, a popular tourist attraction. Unfortunately, this blowhole was waterless that day.
The Blowhole at Kiama
King of the Rock
It was a beautiful day to take the coastal drive back to Sydney. Being in the country away from the noise and craziness of the city was exactly what we needed. Ever since we came back from our big North America trip over Christmas and New Year's, work and friends had kept us busy every weekend. But this weekend was our weekend to focus on each other and celebrate our life together. It really is incredible to reach that four year milestone. It's like we've graduated into the next chapter of our lives. We can't predict what will happen next, but we have the comfort of knowing we're in it together and are prepared to take on whatever comes our way.
Must Celebrate Chinese New Year with Chinese Food!
Lunch in Kiama
Our anniversary happens to fall on Chinese New Year and this year is the Year of the Snake. I'm not superstitious, but predictions have been made that this year will be full of blessings and turmoil. I'm not bothered either way because I know Dave and I would be grateful of the blessings and learn from any challenges that we face. Bring on the Year of the Snake I say! Gong Xi Fa Cai and Happy Four Year Anniversary to us!
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