Paul and Sherri

It's hard to believe we are already coming to the end of March.  The weather is beginning to cool and rain clouds are darkening the sky.  It is now fall in Western Australia, but the nice days still out weigh the bad.  Lot's of festivals are being held around the state and we are trying to attend as many as possible.  The Nectar Festival was held here in Fremantle as part of the celebration of National Women's Day.  There were tents set up with local women artisans, guest speakers on women's issues, and female entertainers through out the evening.  The Crab Festival in Madurrah was a great family event in the area.  We took the train down and spent the day wandering along the river side where all the activities and booths were set up.  This past weekend was the Mussel Festival in Rockingham, where Paul works.  Henry, one of the men he works with was performing in a local band and it was great fun to see them on stage.  At the end of the evening we went to dinner with Henry and his family at a local Mexican Restaurant.  I must say it was the blandest Mexican food we have ever eaten.  I think we will try to avoid Mexican in Australia in the future.

Paul and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary this month at The Red Herring Restaurant here in Fremantle.  The food was fabulous as we had hoped.  We both had fish, as that was the predominant choice on the menu.  I believe we both agree though, the fig and almond bread pudding with caramel sauce was the best.

Paul's birthday was also this month, but I think he has reached the age where he no longer cares to celebrate getting older.  We had a picnic with the Australian Submarine Society that day at Kings Park in Perth.  Everyone was very excited to have us join and we will be participating in many activities with them in the coming months.  The highlight of the day was when we had a couple of unexpected guest come and join the party.  Paul has been wanting to see a Kookaburra in the wild since we arrived in Australia.  Two came and sat in the trees for quite some time to make it a special birthday for Paul to remember.

Kookaburra's are a native bird in Eastern Australia, but not Western Australia.  They were original introduced in zoos here, many years ago, and since have become common through out the state.  They are a carnivorous bird and will snatch meat directly off a grill when you are not watching.  They are best known for their unmistakable call, which is uncannily like loud, echoing human laughter.