The Wedding and the Central Coast

I left Sydney with Daniel, Shanna and Talia. We took a ferry up to the Central Coast, to MacMaster's beach, Daniel's hometown. I was so lucky to stay with Nick and Sue Sivertsen, Daniel's parents. They were wonderful! They fed us with gourmet dishes every day, always had beer on hand and Australia's fine rum, and were fun people to be around. They even came running when I got electrocuted by trying to pull out my Australian electric adapter. (The plastic housing came off and my fingers ended up gripping the two metal prongs!)Daniel's entire family, including his three siblings, Nicko, Gaby and Eleanor could not have been friendly. They really made me feel like part of the family.

It was also great to see my friends from California, Stacy, Lyn, and Marc and Lyn, as well as Shanna and Talia's Dad Jose and his wife Elizabeth. The American contingency also included Shanna's friends from UC Santa Barbara, who I remembered from her college days and all those lacrosse games! The wedding was set for approximately 100 people, 20 from the US and 80 from Daniel's family! Yes, we are a family of pretty much five. Shanna is so happy to be accepted so warmly into Daniel's big family! She could not have found a nicer group of people!

Some of us headed back to Sydney and we were pleased to congratulate Talia for completing her Master's Degree at the University of Melbourne in Public Health and Epidemiology last November. Talia is a research scientist and is devoting her life to finding a cure for AIDS. You go girl! I am so proud of you! Thanks to Jose and Elizabeth for hosting a fabulous dinner for Talia at a beautiful restaurant in Bondi beach overlooking the ocean! The food was wonderful!

The events surrounding the wedding helped everyone to get to know each other and helped the US people see Australia. Two days before the wedding we all met back again in Sydney for a four-hour cruise around Sydney Harbor. We were lucky to have sun that day since it had been pretty cloudy and drizzly the days preceding the sail. It was wonderful! The next night was the rehearsal dinner at the Sivertsen's for the wedding party. Boy! Do they know how to entertain. I can only say that every single dish I ate at their house was like eating at a 5-star restaurant! Thanks Nick and everyone who helped in the kitchen (not so much me). The following day was the wedding and we were worried since it was raining in the morning. But around noon the sun came out and stayed out to send beams down through trees for the forest wedding. I have to say that one of those "milestone moments" in life as a parent is to see your daughter get married, at least, to see your daughter happier than she has ever been and to realize that as a parent, you worked very hard to get her to this point and it was all so worth it. The sparkle in her eye, the adoring way Daniel always looks at her, that will always be etched in my memory, as you can't take a picture of that. Congratulations you two! The wedding went off without a hitch as Jose and I led Shanna down the path to Daniel. Daniel's Dad, Nick, is an officiant, so he married the two after asking Jose and me if we were willing to "give her away." It was a beautiful forest wedding, with the sun shining down through the trees. Suddenly, Shanna and Daniel were married!

The reception at the Surf Club in Terrigal was also eventful. After 100 people were seated and the wedding party danced into the room one group at a time to each of their favorite music, Nick found out that the caterer had made a mistake and thought the wedding was the next night! NO FOOD FOR 100 PEOPLE! Can you imagine? Nick worked his food wizardry again by calling some restaurant friends and an hour and a half later we all sat down to a terrific Indian dinner. What difference does it make if we started dancing BEFORE dinner? We were happy to continue afterwards and everyone had a great time! It was a magical night.

The next day the Sivertsen family once again hosted everyone at a barbeque at their house! I truly have never seen such generous and kind hosts! I took photos of the food because it was too good to describe in words. You will just have to look for yourself. All the people who were still around in Australia were invited. It was here we had to say goodbye to Marc and Lynne. Lyn and Stacy had left the day before, as did some of Shanna's friends. But there was still a big crowd there. Some went swimming, some drank, some drank and went swimming, but everyone ATE!!!! Thanks to all the people helping in the kitchen! (not so much me again...sorry).

On Sunday, the two families met in Avoca beach for brunch. Boy! Australia sure has great food! That day Jose and Elizabeth left for Cairns, I went to the Reptile Park, Talia went to Melbourne, Shanna and Daniel went to the beach and I hope Nick and Sue got to rest. I saw all of Australia's requisite animals at the reptile park, so it was a very worthwhile day. That night I went with Shanna and Daniel and Daniel's parents to yet another fabulous restaurant, this time a Thai restaurant. What a great last night on the Central Coast! The next day I left for Melbourne to see Talia! To see the photos of the wedding, click here.