Tenth day in a land down under

 

At your service 

Lesson learned, but not until next time...

The weather on the fourth day of the year started out much like the third - very warm and sunny. An ideal day to spend at least a part of at the beach. Which is how things began as my daughter and I went out in search of breakfast (my wife doesn't usually bother with the most important meal of the day):

Australian self-confidence and national identity have been shaped in large part by the country's experiences on 20th-century battlefields:

Eating outside at the One Penny Black cafe on Newcastle's high street. Amber opted for the veggie brekky, while her father went for the meatier version (the "Monster Brekky"):

Newcastle has some fine-looking old buildings, like the Tyrrell House (1921):

While we were having brekky, Shu-E went for a walk, and returned to our hotel with a small shell collection:

With the weather still looking promising, the decision was made (by me, mainly) to see some of the local sights, then spend the rest of the daylight hours on the beach. And so, with my wife choosing to stay in (she dislikes sunlight even more than breakfast), my daughter and I headed out. A reminder that in the Antipodes Christmas falls during summer:

I'm familiar with the Bombing of Darwin, but until I came across this historical marker, I was unaware that Newcastle had been briefly shelled by a Japanese submarine in June 1942:

Nobbys Lighthouse is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays. This day was a Thursday:

The two of us made our way past the lighthouse...:

...eventually reaching the end of the Newcastle Breakwater, built by convicts (who else?) between 1818 and 1846:

We returned along the spit back to the mainland. Fort Scratchley was built to protect Newcastle Harbor. During World War Two it returned fire on the Japanese submarine I-21, making it the only mainland Australian fort to see action. Amber and I took advantage of the free admission to have a look at the old barracks. It was here in the kitchen that I told my daughter I wanted to get a photo of her..."where you belong!". It's a pity I didn't take a picture of her initial shocked reaction, but the long burst of laughter that followed was worth the wisecrack:

It was Amber who first noticed the menu from 10 September 1939 featured "Berlin Soup" and "Hitler's Delight":

Looking out over the harbor:

Looking toward Nobbys Head:

Facing the direction of the Newcastle Ocean Baths, which I was intending to relax in at some point later that day. Nature would have other ideas:

What happens when Erwin Schrödinger visits Newcastle:

It was lunchtime when we returned to our room at the Newcastle Beach Hotel. Shu-E was feeling the hunger pangs as well, so joined us as went out to the Sticky Rice Thai Newcastle East:

After lunch the three of us took a stroll back into the center of town. Looking at this photo you can see the weather had started to change:

An example of something new being added onto something old:

After doing some window shopping along the quiet Newcastle streets, my wife went back to the hotel to rest, leaving Amber and I to make the short hike uphill to visit the Christ Church Cathedral, which dominates the Newcastle skyline:

The sky had since changed from being sunny to the sun being obscured by clouds, with the occasional drizzle tossed in for effect. Ah, summer in New South Wales! Nonetheless, I was determined to get in a swim, but the (salt) water in the ocean bath would prove to be too chilly. Foiled! I knew I should've gone to the beach first, before going off to see the headland, the fort, cathedral et al. Lesson learned...I hope:

Shu-E was content to relax in our room with a bowl of instant noodles (her favorite source of nourishment), so it was just me and my daughter yet again for dinner:

We ended up at a hipsterish kind of place, the name of which I neglected to note down. Thanks to this photo, I do recall enjoying a couple of Shout brews (the girl had a mocktail - she was still three weeks away from conforming with Australia's drinking age):

 

She may have been on 17 at the time, but I'm glad I took her advice to share the one entree on the menu - it was almost too much for two!:

After chatting for a while with our server, who as it turned out also hailed from northern California (Humboldt County in his case), we returned to the hotel and reunited with Shu-E. Despite not being able to swim, I still enjoyed our day out in Newcastle. In many respects it seems like an ideal spot to retire - good weather in summer (despite the semi-frequent rain), accessible beaches, fine restaurants and a relaxed lifestyle. Time to turn up the pressure on the girl to apply for a uni in the region...

"God Drinks at the Sando" (1999), by the Whitlams: