Cough, Cough, Coffs

The lovely sunset in Coffs Harbour is pictured above - something I'll get to soon. But day 1 of the driving adventures began with picking up out car. We had ordered a Hyundai I20 (knowing full well it could be swapped for an equal but different car) and ended up with ...

Betty Reg, our Blue Ford Fiesta. We couldn't decide if she was a girl car, or a boy car, and decided ultimately it was the Eddie Izzard of the car world. Betty Reg struggled up hills but the fuel efficiency was great and BR was an integral part of the team. No complaints either about Thrifty, the rental company we went with. (I know this is my no booze blog, but the travel blog aspect of this part means reviews are going to be par for the course. Avert your eyes now if you don't want to read this bit) They were easy to book (on the internet), delightfully staffed with very thoughtful people and provided an all around good service. We chose them because they were competitively priced and my RACV membership gave a good discount. I've heard horror stories about renting cars, and followed paranoid instructions I'd gleaned from multiple sources. So far, no problems here. Thanks Betty Reg!

First stop? Byron Bay for lunch. Full of tourists (who thought standing in the middle of the road was a healthy lifestyle) and the beginning of feeling a little off colour. A cough here, a headache there, nothing to worry about, or so I thought. We ate our food and left.

Next stop Coffs Harbour. We stayed in the Hoey Moey Backpackers, which was solid backpacker accomodation right on the beach (which was why we had picked it in the first place). Comfy, clean beds were a treat and it was certainly cheap. I love a hostel that doesn't give you bed bugs! That sounds like low standards, but cleanliness of a place is my highest priority. I don't mind things looking worn, it being basic, but if it is clean then I sleep well.

The only problem was the rest of the backpackers - all male - and all rather uimpressed that my cousin and I were the only female backpackers on premises. They spent much of the night sitting outside our room talking about girls, what they liked to do with girls, the angles and positions they found themselves in with girls and generally presenting the lowest form of their species that was possible. The fact they labelled my cuz and I as 'the minger and the fat one' was just about the last straw. Suffice to say I realised two things:

1. I am definitely too old to backpack
2. My boyfriend is a real man, and the boys at this hostel could learn a lot from him. He is wonderful, gracious, and would never talk or even think about women in the way these cretins did. Indeed almost all males in my life are leagues ahead of these members of their species. I am a lucky girl :)

Highlights of Coffs were definitely a long, long walk along the beach and the jetty to the the Fish and chips from the Fisherman's Coop. Delicious food, really friendly service. Totally worth the walk, even if they did shut a little early meaning we had to pay cash and nearly missed out.

Oh look, above is the first picture of me looking like a dork. You'll find these in any lot of pics taken of me, the camera finds me a voila, I pull the silly pose. Still, lovely jetty in the background.

The view at sunset was lovely. There was also a funfair on, which seemed to entertain the crowd. Reminded me of early holidays with my parents to Victor Harbour.

Downsides? The 'males' at our hostel (egged on possibly by the scantily clad waitresses at the bar adjoining the backpackers), the bar fridge in our room which was on its last legs and was the only thing louder that the other backpackers, and the fact that I barely slept on the lovely beds, because this was the night the sinus infection began.

Coff's Harbour was a great first stop. Seems like a lot of fun in Summer and a good family destination. It even has the big banana, which we drove past but declined to stop at. And I didn't want a drink, not even once, and indeed this whole post alcohol has not even rated a mention. This teetotal thing is easier than I first thought.

Next stop - Dorrigo Forrest, Scone, and ear infection induced McDonalds

If you are more into gardens and harvest porn (it's not what you think backpacker men of Coffs) then visit my other blog, Totally Inept Balcony Gardener.

Brisvegas, Birthday Boys and no Booze

I just went on my first holiday in a long time. Yes, there was the severe ear infection incident clouding the whole thing but for these posts, let's just pretend I was healthy. And indeed for the first days in Brisbane I was healthy. Lucky, because it was in the mid to high 30s and really humid.

This was to be a bit of a test of my non-drinking resolve as family gatherings (even if this one only had two cousins, two 'nephews', a cousin in law and his side of the fam) are always a time for a little tipple. We celebrated my little 'nephew's' 4th birthday, complete with awesome lego cake and party goods. Cousin A (the same one who endured 8 days in a car with me) made this awesome lego number 4 cake - next stop, the AWWCB Train Cake! (see the link for a great, old post by one of my favourite bloggers on this wonderful book from my childhood)

I found so much love and support for my non-drinking amongst these people it was awesome. Though it was very hard to not want a sip of cider on such a hot and celebratory occasion. When I felt the urge to drink, I just ate a piece of fairy bread, or some cake, or some other party tasty goodness. Suffice to say I think I ate all the fairy bread and biscuits!

The party was enjoyed by all, and my present of a frosty mug was rightfully outshadowed by the awesome dinosaur fishtank that was installed and filled by Uncle O and Aunty M.

I love my family, even though they live so far away, and it was great to get to spend such an occasion with them all. I wish I could have stayed longer, but work and this great adventure called. Next post - Coffs Harbour!

In the first part of this first sober month ...

In the first half of this first sober month I have:

Driven halfway down Australia - Brisbane to Melbourne - with my awesome cousin
Contracted a massive ear infection in both ears on day 1 of this trip (which hasn't gone away)
Seen the Jenolan Caves, Blue Mountains, Lakes Entrance, Canberra (bits of it)
Been made fun of by awful male backpackers in a gender imbalancer Coffs Harbour Hostel
Reminded myself I am too old for hostels
Eaten delicious Fish and Chips, on the beach, with seagulls surrounding us
Discovered that Katoomba is stuck in the 70s, but does great Korean food
Surveyed an amazing array of Australian accomodations
And rented a car which survived the whole trip despite my small amount of pain-addled driving! (my cousin did most of the driving and for that I thank her a thousand times!)

All these adventures were done while sober, and my travelling companion drank very little. I plan on posting the highlights on this blog soon, as a bit of a journal of my sober adventures. To be honest the massive ear infection has meant I don't want to drink (except when the pain got too much around 3am 4 nights ago where I considered drinking the hotel bottle of wine in an attempt to sleep) but still, it was my first holiday sober in years .

Stay tuned for the highlights and some crappy camera phone pictures ones the antibiotics and painkillers kick in. And as a bit of advice - if you get sick while on holiday, listen to you cousin and know that it is always best to see a Dr, no matter what you miss out on that day - otherwise you might just get a whole lot sicker without meaning it! That, and Drs will give you a sick certificate for your holiday if you ask them nicely (for my own benefit, not because I holidays are work!)

The Rules for Teetotal 2012

I guess it is about time I lay down the ground rules for this year long alcofreeness. In basic terms all I have to do is not drink alcohol for a year. Sounds easy enough, but so far my friends have come up with many questions, so I think it is better to just write a list of dos and donts, which can be added to as seen fit.

As part of Teetotal 2012 I:

1. Cannot consume any alcoholhic beverage for the entire of 2012, that's from Midnight Dec 31st 2011 to Midnight Dec 31st 2012

2. Cannot eat tiramisu, Lizzie trifle or any other dish that knowingly contains alcohol that has not been burned off

3. But can cook with alcohol where the alcoholic component is burned off (e.g. steak and guinness pie, risotto, red wine jus)

4. Can buy alcohol for the consumption of anyone but myself - though don't expect me to keep the house as stocked as usual, BYO would be polite

5. It does not count as cracking if you spike my drink (and it's not nice)

6. My boyfriend loves beer, delicious kinds of beer, and if I kiss him when he is drinking, it doesn't count.

7. Playing with my watch on New Years Eve is mean but allowable, luckily we got through the last one.

Anything else need clarification?

Trust me to forget it was a leap year

So it is on! One day down, and 365 to go. Darn this being a leap year and all giving me one extra day. I always thought those doing dry July had a bigger challenge than febfast, 31 days vesus 28! With a New Years countdown and a finished bottle of Moet by my side I saw in the beginning of this challenge. In the coming days I am going to post up some preliminaries. These include:

1. The Rules of the Teetotal 2012 (i.e. what am I doing, what can I do, what can I not do and where does Tiramisu fit in all this?)

2. The Rules of the "When will she crack" Sweeps (this will show how to put your 2 cents in, indeed what amount to put in, who wins what, who gives what, and all the nitty gritty stuff.)

3. Any additional details of others joining me on this journey, and more.

My awesome cousin Kate (welcome as the first follower of this blog) has kindly pledged to keep up with me in this quest to cleanse my liver. Granted she kind of needs to lay off the booze, with the + 1 homecourt advantage (in laymans terms she is having a baby) but I am so grateful she is doing this too. She has her own blog BTW, if you are interested, and she is a great writer.

Another lovely friend, Ms L is possibly joining me all or part of the way. She once managed to go 2 years without alcohol so looks like she is the goods. I'll keep you updated on these other alco-free peeps along the way too. Anyone else who wants to join in even for just a week or a month, feel free, and also feel free to share your stories here in the comments or even do a guest post (email me for this last one).

To everyone nursing hangovers yesterday I hope they weren't too bad. To anyone nursing one today I say wow, you must have had a blinder new years or simply haven't stopped. Here's to a year without hangovers, and to a year of a rejuvinated liver!

Happy New Years everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!