Snorkeling over "Thanksgiving"

    We realized that in our now upside down world, this week in late Autumn was like Thanksgiving week in the Northern Hemisphere.  We have yet to "reset" our seasons and months and so we have to continually perform a mental switcheroo so that things make some sort of sense.

    With temperatures in the 70's over the weekend, we decided to try out our snorkeling gear so that the kids can get used to it before we head to the Great Barrier Reef in July.  On Saturday we headed to Shelly Beach, a protected beach in Manly that is known as a good, easy spot for snorkeling.  The water has cooled down to about 66 degrees, but it was manageable with wetsuits.  The kids quickly figured out the snorkel gear and we did get to see some interesting marine life.  These are a couple of the animals we saw, but not my photos.



Blue grouper




Eastern Fiddler Ray



   We also found lots of sea glass on the beach, not something we've found before on any beach. 

    Sunday we enjoyed brunch with fellow Chapel Hill expats and tried out the snorkeling at Balmoral.  There were even more varieties of fish, right in our "backyard." 

Frog girl



Mia and friend go for a paddle board ride.



     

Recent controlled burning west of Sydney has resulted in hazy days and rerouted air traffic.




All too frequently, I'm up to see the sunrise. 



     No turkey and dressing, but we did enjoy a "Thanksgiving" meal.  We celebrated our anniversary with some fine dining at Bathers Pavillion.  Definitely worth a splurge!