Lisa P and Patrick D - 1

Lisa gone. Vacation over. Now it's time to sit back and enjoy the memories and what great memories were made. I could go on and on about all the great times we had and the neat things we did, but to save some time I think I may summarize just a bit.

Lisa's flight arrived on Friday, July 4, and I couldn't imagine a better way to celebrate Independence Day. I picked her up from the airport around 3 in the afternoon and from then on it was game on as both our expectations and emotions were running sky high. Admittedly, we were both nervous and we hadn't the slightest idea of what to expect. Would we still work? Had we both changed? But, from the first hug all the fears were laid to rest as we still went together like peas and carrots. After all the months of talking about it and wondering what would happen, the time had finally arrived, and what a great feeling it was. The rest of the day was spent poking each other's faces and holding hands as it still felt like a dream.

Once we had all settled in and Lisa had had a nice shower, our adventures began. Our first adventure of the trip was my footy game the following day. Ok, so it's not really an adventure, but it was Lisa's first proper game on a proper oval, so just go with it. The game had major significance as one of my team mates was breaking the record for games played at the club. This game was to be his 314th game in a Scarborough jumper. Quite an accomplishment, and something we didn't take lightly. Both teams came out fighting and hungry for a victory, but as the time wore on we began to out-run and out-hustle the opposition. Our club ended up pulling away for a 9 goal victory (I think??) with yours truly making a 60 meter sprint out of defense to kick a goal from about 45 meters out. Not going to lie, I felt pretty cool. That night the celebration was a bit subdued as we left the club house early to make each other dinner and to prepare for Margaret River the next day.

After a night spent trying to steal the covers back from Lisa and learning how to sleep without sprawling over the entire bed, the bleary eyed couple arose and prepared for our southern adventure. Our first stop was at AVIS to get our rental (my car would probably fall apart Blues Brothers style on a trip this long) and for me to get used to driving an automatic again. I tell you, it felt really weird at first. Lisa can testify as I drove for a couple miles with the parking break on. Whoops. Once that hurdle was cleared we were on our way and set for a crazy couple days full of wine, chocolate, and beautiful scenery.

For those who don't know, Margaret River is a massive wine region about 3 hours South of Perth. Margaret River is said to be just as good as Napa Valley or the wine region of France. Not unexpectedly it's a major tourist destination during the holidays, but as it's not tourist season, Lisa and I practically owned the place. But, you wouldn't know it by the appearance of where we stayed. We arrived in Margaret River around 4 pm looking for the majestic Magnolia Studios. From the website the place looks like a beautiful establishment with a contemporary design. But, in actuality the entire establishment is one studio set in the upstairs of a large barn/shed looking building, but the inside did have a contemporary design. The outside staircase leading up to the room reminded me of a bad B-grade movie where the murderer is creeping up the fire escape to pounce on the unsuspecting female in the shower. The single light above the door at the staircase landing didn't help to diminish that feeling. Still though, the inside was quite comfortable and just the right size for us. Once we had settled in we had a quick change of clothes and then headed off to the main strip for some dinner and walking around to see the area. A great way to spend a Sunday night.