Birthdays

Many people don't make a big deal about their birthdays. I do. I love my birthday. It's MY day. It only comes once a year and I like to make the most of it. I remember a conversation with a woman who was so disappointed because her husband forgot her birthday. That could never happen aboard Nine of Cups. I start reminding David of the momentous occasion a month in advance. There's no fear of being disappointed here. So what's my idea of a perfect birthday? Aha...now we're getting right down to it. A perfect birthday has many facets, anticipation being one of them. There are not usually gifts involved...at least in the traditional sense. No diamonds or furs. Also no boat parts, blenders or toasters. We found some beautiful shells on the beach once and David fashioned them into a necklace for me. That was a good gift. Flowers? Yes, but not too many. A single rose bought spontaneously from a street vendor and presented with much ceremony did the trick in Ecuador one year.

Parties are not involved either ... although champagne might be. Last year we had just arrived in Bundaberg on my birthday and I was anxious to do a little land travel. We rented a car for the day, chose a national park not too far away, packed a picnic and spent the day walking and taking photos. I saw my first kookaburra, my first goanna and a huge python on the path. We stopped for ice cream cones along the way. We puttered around in some shops and window-shopped, but didn't buy anything. We had dinner at a little, inexpensive Indian restaurant in downtown Bundaberg. It was a pretty perfect day. Just me and my best mate...and my camera.

So...this year, the big day loomed and I was at a loss as to what I wanted to do. I get to choose the gift...no matter what activity or trip it might be. David was geared up for anything and even got the use of the marina's courtesy van for the weekend! That was major. We could go anywhere. I thought and thought about the perfect day. We didn't want to overnight anywhere nor spend the whole day driving nor spend a lot of money. David came up with the winning suggestion. A return to Bruny Island by car. I wanted to see and photograph the very rare Bruny Island white wallaby for my birthday.

I know we're going there by boat, but being on the boat sometimes has its drawbacks. It's very weather-dependent. If we're in an area and the weather turns (which happens all the time in Tassie), we need to be on the boat, not looking for white wallabies. Plus we're limited in our explorations by how far we can walk. So a whole day on Bruny Island driving the roads that criss-cross it sounded like a wonderful outing.

It was rainy on my birthday morning and we decided to postpone the Bruny Island trip till Friday. We had the courtesy van and did some errands in Hobart. We shared a small scallop pie for lunch (good, but dear!).

David prepared the birthday dinner, his specialty: white pizza. And what goes with pizza? champagne, of course... and blackberry shortcake with fresh whipped cream for dessert.

Tomorrow's forecast is a bit more sun...we'll head to Bruny Island to find my white wallaby.