The only guarantee is change

For five years I've been trying to get to Tasmania. The second time I tried to move away from Exmouth, in January 2021, I had my car packed and had started driving east when the radio announcement came that the state borders were closing because a case of Covid had been detected and Western Australia was going into lockdown. I ended up back in Exmouth, and that dream got away from me. I chased other dreams in the meantime. I fell in love. I got a job that would hopefully allow me to visit the US with more frequency - if ever things would just settle down - and I was making moves towards living a trans-continental life. Then I pivoted. I got married and we wanted to buy a home, to have someplace stable to return to. A place that was ours, where we could welcome our friends and family for visits. But all of life is change.

Matty and I have separated. We're selling the house. And I'm going to Tasmania.

The job that I thought was going to give me the ability to build that trans-continental life fell through, and I was laid off in early April when Mom and Dad were here for a visit. This was on the heels of months of the unexpected bills that come in when you buy a house - burst water main, broken air conditioners, replacement hot water heater - and it seemed like it was finally settling down. But then the job loss. We didn't handle it well, and we didn't handle it together. I got a new, better paying, healthier job in one week, but the camel's back was broken. Matty's stress was more than he could handle, and his stress plus my own was more than I could handle. We got legally married last November, but the church wedding was planned for October 2025. I realized that I couldn't stand at an altar before God and our families and promise to stay with him forever, in good times and bad, sickness and health, if I couldn't handle the burdens of these past nearly three months. We separated.

Western Australia requires us to be separated for 12 months before we can file for divorce, and separating our finances means selling the house. Without our joint finances to support it, keeping it just wasn't on the table. I'm so extraordinarily lucky that my friends in town have rallied around me and offered me support, places in their homes, and many, many hugs. But I need a break. It's all been too much, frankly. So when I fly back to work on Wednesday, I'll bring along a second bag of stuff: winter gear to go spend ten days in the cold and snow of Tassie. 

It feels good to have something to feel excited about. It feels good to stop crying and start living again. And it feels good to be pursuing a dream that I've long deferred. Ten days isn't forever, but it's a good start. And then, in a few months, I'll plan a trip to North America. My church wedding and honeymoon in Mexico was already paid for, so someone may as well enjoy it. Then spend some time in Sea Isle. Go visit my brother and sister-in-law in their new home in Florida. Hang out with Mom and Dad at the kitchen table for a while. Blink and before I know it, Christmas. After 6 years of being away for Christmas, this year I'll stay home. By January, maybe I'll feel like Kate again. By January, maybe I'll be ready to figure out what my new dreams look like. By January, who knows what I'll want? 

So, family and friends in the US, I can't wait to see you sometime this fall. I'll pack my winter coat - the one I'm gonna wear in Tassie in three weeks. 

The Milky Way, seen from the backyard of my dream home we're selling 

Sunset and a crescent moon at my new, much better, job

Back to the USA... again

I'm well overdue for a post, but I thought I had sent this one out. I was wrong. So looks like I've got some more re-capping to do...

It's vacation time, y'all! My dear friend from back in my admissions days, Nikki Buchanan, has had the good grace and fortune to get married. She and her husband-to-be, Brian, are both great lovers of travel so they're having a destination wedding in Mexico. Bless! All this makes for a perfect excuse to have a Mexican holiday. It's been in the works since even before I took my new job, so the new bosses weren't too fussed when I told them I was taking a swing and a half off from work and hey, I'll see ya in 5 weeks! 

Buh-bye workplace sunrises!

When first this plan was hatched, Matty had grand ideas. "I've got to get in shape, so I'll book into this marathon in LA for the first weekend we're in North America." Good thought, dear, but now we're in California and he's not in shape. Good thing we booked a few days of holiday in Yosemite National Park to tide us over "before" the race. I'm getting ahead of myself, though. We started off the vacation in typical fasion: flight hiccups that all worked out in the end. 

A cancelled flight from Melbourne meant an extra flight to Brisbane, but it all worked out!

View from above

Our lemon Wrangler rental

Today we spent the day waltzing about in the snow! It rained all night, swapped to snow just before I woke up, and then we went for a drive/hike while it came down on and off all day. 

^^ I wrote all that back in February, and now it's July. Crap. Suffice to say, Yosemite was MAGICAL, especially in the snow. I know it's supposed to be this splendid summer place to visit and camp and stuff, but there's NObody there in mid-week February, so you have the park to yourself, the land is every bit as beautiful, and you get good parking spots everywhere you go. Amazing.

I should mention that I bought a winter coat (I don't have a proper one in Australia because I live in the desert. Why would I need one? My partner is a polar bear; why would he need one? I tried to tell said polar bear that he'd need long pants. I had to battle, but finally convinced him to buy ONE pair. I'll just spoil the surprise for you, dear reader: he had to wear the same pants every day we were in California because it was cold and snowing. Because it was February and we were in Yosemite! Which I tried telling him in advance, but noooo. I digress.

We hiked Hetch Hetchy and saw zero other people on the trail. We saw many Sierra Newts!

Sierra Newt friend

Ready for my close-up

It rained and snowed intermittently the whole hike, but who cares when you've got waterproof boots and coats? Well, Kates didn't care. Matthews were a little bit frozen. This was the first recorded mention of "I should have listened to you when you suggested I wear a hoodie underneath my liner-less raincoat." 

That night, after our hike, we had a fancy dinner at the Ahwahnee Lodge. In season, you have to book up to a year in advance to get into this dinner. It's in a gorgeous dining room, and the food was excellent. Because we went in February (yay, February!), we got in!

The whole park was a magical winter wonderland and I would have been happy to stay there for weeks.

Half Dome

After not quite a week in Yosemite, we had a day in LA before flying to Mexico. It was cold, rainy, and generally kind of miserable. LA traffic isn't more fun in the rain. But Matty had his half-marathon, and that was the whole reason we were in California, so we made the best of it!

The Sunday of his marathon was chilly but not rainy, so Matty at least got to be dry for his run. I was granted a reprieve from waking up at 4 to go stand in the cold waiting for him to run past for 30 seconds (can you feel my relief, even across all these months and miles?). I got to sleep in and then spend the morning reading in bed. After his race we went touristing.

Maty drove me along the race course afterwards, so I wouldn't miss out. Very windy. 

Our Mexican leg of the adventure kicked off in Cabo San Lucas with a rental truck we took camping for two weeks. 

in El Jalito, where Matty finally decided he wanted to start learning Spanish

The view that, frankly, probably inspired the Spanish language lessons

Magdalena Bay Gray Whale watching

Friends

San Carlos & Magdalena Bay

Jacques Cousteau

Amazing sleep spots

Too much man for these shorts... at least on this particular hike

Todos Santos

The Only Pair of Pants

Baja Brewing Co

Alonso, the best stray dog in the world

sunrise at Cabo Pulmo

El Sargento

good morning, El Jalito

Our last night in Baja, Matty booked us into a resort called Hacienda Encantada. They had a free shuttle into Cabo San Lucas, so we went downtown for dinner and an evening out. The next morning was Ash Wednesday, so I went to mass at the resort's Chapel. It's extraordinarily beautiful, the priest was adorable, and we loved our time in Baja. So now, we're going to get married there :)

Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows

Phase 2 of Mexico: Cancun for Nikki and Brian's wedding!

Tequila with the Michaels

The beautiful bride

Matty & Luis

Michael Jones

Mexico, Act III: Playa del Carmen with the Duffy/Moran Clan

Sailing with Papa Bear

Cenote diving

Sailing with Mama Bear

Sailing with Matty... Bear?

Phase 4: Return to Oz, via LAX

We hired a convertible and spent a day driving up the PCH. It was magnificent. 

So I guess this whole post was really just a photo montage of our trip, combined with a last-minute announcement: I'm going to the US next week! My roster at work is changing to that 2 weeks on/2 weeks off dream roster, and to make the transition I "had to have" three weeks off! So bon voyage to me! Matty is going to stay home and cry (read: go fishing every day with his buddies unless he goes to the east coast to go snow boarding with his brother). An actual life update will have to come in another post because I'm fading fast. Sleep time!