Hervey Bay

I only have five more sleeps to go and my kids will be coming back home.  They spent half of their summer school holidays at Grandma's.  She lives in Hervey Bay with her spouse of 45 years.  It was a nice break from parenting for me but at the same time I miss the kids present at home.

Hervey Bay is situated in the Wide Bay area and generally it is a four hour drive north of Brisbane but you have to travel into Maryborough first to get to the bay half an hour later.  For our international readers, you might heard of Hervey Bay is well known for whale watching which intends to happen throughout our winter season to late spring.  I haven't been out on a boat to go whale watching but I heard it is a lovely experience to do.

It has been four years since I last drove up to visit the extended family members but my husband intends to visit his parents a couple of times per year and stays overnight with the kids while I have a something else on at the time. But this time he decided to spend a week up there from Boxing Day to New Year's Day with the kids while I enjoyed my home alone time without them being present.

Being the middle of summer right now the kids would be enjoying their time on the beach or visit the latest waterpark the city introduced to be open for the locals about two years ago. From what I heard the waterpark may be opened all year round as the pools might be heated to use over the winter months.  Then again Hervey Bay doesn't really have cold winters like some people have in the western parts of our state. 

SInce the kids have been away on their holiday up there, they intend to phone and speak to me twice a week but tonight it was my only nephew (as he has been staying up there as well) I spoke to as well for the first time in four years.  He and his parents moved up to live in Wide Bay area, four years ago but it's about half the travelling time for him to visit his grandparents then we have because we live further away from them all. 

Before you even suggest about moving up to live in the same town as them, the answer is no.  I have no intentions of moving to where my inlaws live. Hervey Bay might be the ideal bay town to live at but I have serious issues with my inlaws. We don't see eye to eye with alot of things in life.  To me the less time I have to deal with them, the better my life would be without them being a nuisance to my society. But I don't stop my kids seeing their Grandparents. If my husband is happy to travel, I am happy with that decision for him to go ahead and see his parents whenever it suits him.

Besides my parents still live in Brisbane and they are the only closest relatives I got down this way. And what I had to experience with my father's health crisis in 2010, I think moving to a different city is the last thing I should have my father to cope with right now.  I am the only child my parents had given childbirth to and moving away from here would break my Dad's heart.

And on top of all that I have my kid's education to be concern about. Changing schools might not be the right time of the year now because I have the eldest girl in high school. She settled there happily with new friends and her curriculum report is excellent. As for the other child she is now going to be at the final year of primary school.

Most of my other relatives live in Central QLD or Sydney which I intend to visit them once every 5-10 years. Guess I am thankful I have afew relatives who have an internet connection and have the opportunity to email chat at times.  That reminds me I am overdue to see the ones in Central QLD.  I lost another Aunt last year!  I was planning on going up in early 2011 to see her and my other rellies and friends but the Queensland Floods put that plan on the back burner.