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On the last day of our long Christmas holiday we decided that a day at the seaside would help body (Jack's been having a particularly bad time with the latest round of chemo) and mind (it's been a Hellish few months for all of us and we are all upset at the prospect of Jay and Mark having to return to work and leave Jack home alone).
Jack loves the water and couldn't wait to wade in, and then thoroughly enjoyed getting sandy afterwards. A spot of snooping at the other dogs frolicking in the surf followed, before a drive to the nearby marina where we ate an early lunch of fresh fish and chips, straight off the trawlers. Mark did some snooping of his own - at luxury boats - and then it was back home for a long, lazy afternoon.
We finally managed to reschedule the whale watching trip, originally organised for Mark's actual birthday, on Saturday the 25th of August (over two months after his birthday!!!). After several weeks of wonderfully sunny weather the day before the scheduled day was overcast and gloomy and we were worried the expedition would be cancelled again. Luckily, however, the Saturday of the trip dawned without a cloud in the sky and we had a wonderful time and saw turtle, dolphins and plenty of whales.
Our captain and guide, from Whales in Paradise, was very informative about the houses of the rich and famous, even if he did crack some terrible jokes ("Kylie Minogue owned an apartment there... I should be so lucky!").
Trawler going out for the afternoon.
The birthday boy enjoying his belated birthday outing.
(Click video above to begin playing)
The day ended with a quick bite to eat at Surfers and then it was back home.
Jay had everything planned for Mark's birthday: a flying lesson in the morning and then a trip to the Coast for an afternoon of whale watching.
Unfortunately the whale watching was cancelled for the 5th of June due to weather and low booking numbers, and it wasn't until over two months later that we had time to reschedule.
So, after his flying lesson, we still went off to the Coast and had a seafood buffet instead.
(Click the video above to play)
The flying lesson started first thing in the morning on Mark's birthday (we had both taken the day off work) and Mark was in the air for about 45 minutes.
View from the revolving restaurant during lunch.
When we got back from the Coast it was time for cake and presents!
It was such a shame to cut into Mark's beautiful creation, but it was also so exciting to finally get to have a slice!
Carmel and Prue provided yeoman service, not only cutting the cake but also then making sure it was presented beautifully on serving plates and served around. (Special thanks also to Rob, who took it upon himself to ply everyone with drinks and be self-appointment barman, and to Darryl, who brought in all his spy cameras and placed them all over the house, and Riley and Carolina and Alberto, who all took loads of photos and video and sent us every bit they captured.)
Everyone gathered around the cake, downstairs, as Charlie got ready to give his speech.
Charlie, as Mark's oldest friend, gave a wonderful speech recounting his memories of Mark as they grew up together, and the first time he heard about and then met Jay.
(Click images for larger views)
A video of Charlie's speech, followed by a short speech by Jay and then Mark.
