House boat Pt. 2

Okay, so where was I? I think I was up to saying how Nick, Owen and I swam out to a couple of rope swings, both of which were unusable, in water so cold that for the first couple of minutes - until the body got used to it or numbness set in - it was actually hard to breathe. We then swam around and around a bit, were joined by Carmen and Liv and stealthy swam around to the front of the boat to scare whoever was there (Who happened to be Kath). The stealthy bit was great fun, as it involved being under the deck and pulling ourselves along, all very Navy SEALs. I spoiled the surprise by grabbing the anchor chain to pull myself up, although Kath assures me that if we had scared here she would've killed us. And I believe her.

Much fun was also had one night playing Articulate, a boardgame similar to Taboo in which you have to describe a word without actually saying it, and the more you get in the time allowed the further you move around the board. Sean was getting right into, and managed to be on the winning team 5 out of 6 times, so yay him. It really is an awesome game, made even more fun by the players' varying levels of inebriation, although when you play six games in a row, the cards to start getting repeated. For next trip I shall have to find some more.

It was decided that dinner on Sunday should be extra special, and so we tied up the boat early and headed to "Jamiesons on the Peir", which is on the Canberra side of the Bateman's Bay bridge and it was amazing. The service was excellent, with our waitress greeting us with standard, very professional politeness and - after reading what kind of group we were within about ten seconds - becoming much more familiar and joking. Also, when Owen was slowly swaying backwards and forwards in front of Matt, another waitress joined in and started swaying as well. Okay, so when read it doesn't sound too funny, but really it was. The food was exceptional, with Nick and I sharing a freakin' massive seafood platter that was theoretically intended for two, but was definitely enough for two and a bit (the "a bit" being the various people that glommed kilpatric oysters and bits of crab and lobster leg) and everyone else's food (even the vegetarians) was equally tasty. Add to that a desert selection plate or two and a couple of rounds of strawberry shots (a cold strawberry soup with a dash of Grand Manier underneath) and five bottles of Mad Fish (an extremely quaffable Western Australian white) and you have an excellent meal.

Basically, the houseboat trip was an awesome way to spend a relaxed, mildly-drunken Easter weekend. Next time, though, we need to get two groups together and pratcice some piracy! :) Also, we get props from the people that own the houseboat company 'cause we didn't get stuck on a sandbar. :)

And continuing the theme of awesomeness, I had my second WIP seminar and passed it! Yay me!! :)
Plus, Carmen is back from Fiji!!!! :)

Four things I learned recently;

1. Cava isn't a cross between homebrew and moonshine, as I thought it was, but a herbal drink that actually has all kindsa medical uses. And gets you a little stoned. :)


2. Pizza rice crackers don't taste very nice.


3. A great wake-up drink is a a strong (in coffee and chocolate) mocha with three marhsmallows in it.


4. The blackcurrant Absolut you get duty free is in a 1 litre bottle, not 750ml. It's huge!

=====
"Those of you lucky enough to have your lives take them with you. However, leave the limbs you've lost. They belong to me now."
- The Bride, Kill Bill