I've Been Overseas

It seems activities are continuing to get in my way of modelling.  So I have no model railway activity to report except for the continued construction of a few more tarpaulins.  I created 8 on Thursday night and 10 more this afternoon.  I've also been working on putting some screws into a FAM coach to attach the base to the roof.  So maybe next week I'll get around to giving it a good wash and then the first undercoat before giving it a nice silver colour.

However, the main reason for the lack of model railway activity was that I went overseas this last weekend.  This weekend started with a day of work on Friday and the kids also had a day off school.  The boss didn't get a day off as she still had to all the jobs she does at home - but this time overseas. We all headed over to Cleveland to catch the Stradbroke Island Ferries barge for a nearly 55 minute trip over to North Stradbroke Island.  This was our first trip to Straddie, and the reason for the trip was for Mick and Melissa’s wedding on Saturday arvo/night.  Mick is my youngest nephew on my side of the family.  On Friday afternoon, I ran into a niece (Mick's sister) at the local convenience store, and that night I caught up with my sister and her husband and her two daughter’s, their husbands and their families for a couple of drinks and a chin wag at their unit.

This is the second trip overseas for the kids.  The previous time was Ireland, Scotland and England about 4 years ago.  This one cost a lot less and was really a fleeting visit.

Saturday I ran into a family friend and his wife and daughter while at the beach at Point Lookout also over to attend the wedding, and in the arvo we all gathered for a great event.  The reception was held in a marquee on Home Beach.  This was a great event with 5 out of my 6 nieces and nephews, but all 6 of their families in attendance, as well as my brother-in-law (Mick's dad) and his wife.  The evening kicked on until after midnight.  That was too late for me, as the boss had already gone home to help look after the younger great nieces and nephews and my kids back at the unit.  The reception started at 4:30pm and I left at about 11:20pm.  Boy there are some very bad people in my family, and they hang around with some even baderer people - and they have done this for many years.  I keep running into these same bad people at their family functions.  Well I guess that they are not all that bad.  But now I have seen them all drink out of their shoes.  Did I mention that the reception was actually on the beach!  I’m sure that they had sand in those drinks.  But it must have happened after midnight and it is on Facebook, so it did happen.  I am tasting that sand now just thinking about it.  There was no way I'd drink from my shoes that I was wearing.  Especially the ones that I wear to work.  They have holes in the bottom and I know I have walked through some disgusting things and that has entered the shoe from below especially in the rain!  No way!

Anyway we caught up again today for a short time and some of the boys were drinking mineral water and just plain old water.  Wusses is all I can say!  One could not remember how he got home this morning.  He was heard to say "We drove didn't we as the car is back at the unit?"  He had no idea.  Maybe it was something in his shoe?  My sister drove her husband and myself back home last night so that accounted for the car getting home.  The rest of the nieces and nephews and their partners had to walk over a kilometer back home around 1:00am.  I'm sure they all regret it now, but they had some great fun last night. We could not stay long this arvo's post event catchup, as we were booked on the 2:00pm barge back.  We had another great trip back on the ferry, it was just so calm on the 45 minute trip back across the bay on the Big Red Cat.

We had a really great place to stay on the island with views to the water.  But we had no phone reception in the unit and thus my daughter could not use our wifi dongle to do her school assignment.  Well I think it will be a late night coming up tonight for her.

So hopefully more trains this week and this weekend.