Manly Men (and Women)

A lot of water under the bridge since my last blog post. No point in trying to bring all events current — let’s just jump in starting this week!

Julie and I have moved from Balmain East to Manly Beach. Both are suburbs of Sydney though Manly is much father out escaping the urban feel altogether. We’re not going to miss Balmain East. It’s a great community for people to raise their kids and meet up with their circle of friends; neither of which exist in our Aussie world. Keeping it positive, Manly is great! GREAT. GREAT!!!

First, our apartment is twice as large. We now have a clothes dryer, a stove with four full-size burners, a fireplace, hardwood floors, 10 foot ceilings, a microwave, lots of storage... all things we did not have before. The location really could’t be much better. Out the front door to the right, 1 block, and you’re on the harbour beach next to the ferry wharf. Go left, two blocks, and you’re standing on Manly Beach. (Morning coffee is awesome there and we’ve done it every day rain or shine.) Around the corner is a fully stocked grocery store and the famous Manly “Corso”. Conservatively, there are 30 restaurants within a 5 minute walk of our apartment. 60 within 10. Coffee shops, pubs, cafes, chemists, clothing stores, micro-breweries... you name it. To top it off, it’s all level so walking is easy for anyone with bad knees. It’s really great! This is the Australia we wanted to move to...

Julie continues to rehab since her tumble down a flight of stairs. She’s slowly getting better, her bruises are starting to disappear and the torn ligaments in her foot are healing with the help of good physio. Her commute is about 15 minutes longer than it was before but the ferry has wifi so she can work for the 30 minute ferry ride without interruption. The occasional dolphin or whale is a nice bonus on the ride.

I (Jeff) have volunteered as a warden here in Manly. My mission will be to keep tabs on the endangered Fairy Penguin population protecting them from people and pets while tracking their mating and feeding habits. It’s a good way to meet new people while helping the community and the penguins. Looking forward to that...

Penguin Warden Program Link

This weekend is a pro surfing competition on Manly Beach. I’ll take my camera along and get some photos of the community and the surfers… should be fun.