One more sleep!

Only one more sleep before I start another epic journey back to the United States! Surprisingly, I am pretty much organized already...well, at least I know where my passports are! Laundry is happening, lists are being created, bit & bobs are getting piled up around the house ready for packing. I don't leave until just after noon tomorrow, so have plenty of time for those last minute things!

Had a bit of a logistical scare yesterday. Skywest rang me to advise of a schedule change for my return trip in August; she said "Your flight from Learmonth to Perth is now 30 minutes later."

I was most suprised by this as I will be in PERTH and flying back to Learmonth!

She insisted that the flights booked were from Perth to Learmonth on Friday 27th June and returning in August! I was very upset and said "I couldn't have made that kind of an error. I live in Exmouth and need to be on that flight Friday!"

I checked my itinerary, and sure enough, I don't know how I did it, but I booked myself backasswards for this trip! You'd think I'd done this enough times to at least know where I was starting from! Luckily there was a seat at the same fare for tomorrow, so I'm all set. Had to pay a little bit extra for the return trip, but considering it was my colossal error, I wasn't too worried about it. What a gomer I am.

This week has been mostly getting things ready for my trip, but I couldn't pass up the wonderful conditions we had over the past couple of days. I jumped on our Whale Shark Adventures Tuesday & Wednesday. We had incredible whale sharks starting from 1015 each day! Love those early sharks!

I can't even remember how many we swam with over the two days - all I know is that I haven't done that much swimming in over a year and my legs still feel all wobbly! I took my camera, of course, but probably won't find much time to process photos before I leave so I'll have a little treat when I get back. Here are two that I've quickly whipped up for the web...




Here's some of our group swimming with the big beastie right alongside the boat


We also had dolphins playing on the bow, humpback whales cruising along the coast, a hammerhead swimming along the surface, turtles popping up everywhere and tons of other marine life to keep up enchanted when we weren't in the water with the whale sharks.




Dave and I have been taking advantage of the cool nights to unwind in the spa with a cold drink and some good conversation. The animals are always entertaining so we keep the waterproof camera within reach and Dave, of course, had to test it out to see if it the hot bubbly water would hurt it...seems fine!


Everyone has to come check out what's happening in case they are missing out.
Tilly at full speed

and confused

Lobo checking things out before deciding water is not the best option

Tilly is still naughty and killed another savage cushion the other day, so we remain safe from attack




She thought Lobo looked a little lonely under the chair, so decided to play with him for a while



Lobo was not amused



Dora stood by watching the action and covertly covered the back escape route, just in case

Tilly finally gave up but kept a close watch as Lobo hunkered in and ignored her

Just in case you are thinking "Poor Kitty!" - some days I let Til be the disciplinarian coz Lobo can be quite naughty, too. I found him camped out in my office right on top of my camera gear the other day


I doubt I'll get anything more posted before I head out tomorrow, but watch this space as I will hopefully be adding lots of fun stuff from San Francisco over the next week. I can't wait to get there!

For those trying to get into either www.kjaphotos.com or www.oceansbyanderson.com please try again tomorrow. There is currently a problem with the server, but I'm hopeful it will all be resolved within 24 hours. This also means that email to those two addresses is not working today, so if you need me, send email to me at kristin@exmouthdiving.com.au and I'll get it before I go! The images for previous blog entries are on the same server, so all of the image are missing today - they will be back!

Six days until the U.S.

As the time draws closer for my upcoming trip, things are in a whirlwind here as I make sure that all things are arranged and all bases are covered in my absence. On a more selfish level, I'm trying to also get things done early so in case the weather improves I can sneak out for one more day on the water before I get on a plane! The "to do" list is getting shorter so hopefully it won't be a mad rush in the final few days...hey, it could happen!

Dave has been working furiously to get one of our boats, Concord, ready so her inner parts could be shipped to Perth for repairs. She's been out of commission for a while now and we are anxious to get her back and running. It was a long, dirty job, but we're hopeful that the new parts will be back to us quickly for the reverse process. As he finished up, the sunset turned the sky over Gulf some amazing colours and the full moon was huge as it made its way into the sky - I know it doesn't look HUGE here, but it was, I swear.


I finally found the missing Kong toy that Mary gave Tilly a while back. Til has decided that she loves it and really gives it a workout while we are in the car. I keep it in the car in the hopes that it will entertain her enough to stop her from chewing seats, seat belts, my hat, the towels, her sister...

Dora does think she's a dork and looks on with moderate disgust at such "doggie" enthusiasm


...which is warranted when Tilly gets it flipped the long way up

...and then Til gets a little crazy eyed when it pops out of her mouth.

Both Girls are super crazy on the beach lately...hope Dave is ready for long walks! Tilly loves bounding up the dunes

and Dora even bounds, too - I have proof!

Dora is still the owner of all things found on the beach

but MatildaLily lives in hope that she will be allowed to play, too




Tilly is quite happy to wander away from us as we are walking, but she doesn't stay away long and always comes thundering back at full speed

Our walking mate, Digger, takes a more casual approach once he has his beloved ball and just cruises along behind us

Dora enjoyed some peace and quiet on the ride home while Tilly was undoubtedly destroying something else in the back of the car

They were both really tired when we got home - no wonder, both Girls took off to play in the stagnant water again and would not come back for ages. I just let them run - figured it was better to work it off there than in our back garden!


After a little rest, Tilly was counter-surfing and found my packs of tea, which she then played with next to a plant she had pruned earlier

Our gardeners came yesterday and Tilly had to help them


Oooo! A pile of stuff just for me!


Yeah, put it in there...that's FUN

Of course, a little dumpster diving yields treasure

She wasn't overly excited about the blower, but her curiosity wasn't strong enough to overcome her silly puppy freakiness

and she ran inside with a goofy grin on her face

before collapsing and giving me one of her looks...