So here is the itinerary - Canberra to Sydney, Sydney to Newcastle, two locations on the Central Coast, Sydney and back to Canberra.
We set off on Friday night and ended up having tea in Esco Pazzo, main street Mittagong - the best Italian we have had since leaving Pompeii!!! Very authentic Italian food, huge dining area and very busy. Service was prompt and the food was excellent.
We arrived around 10pm in Heathcote.
Away again around 10am bound for Newcastle, had lunch and a break at the
Westfield Tuggerah.Had a nice relaxing evening at Whitebridge. We have not seen Al and Barbara all year, so it was especially nice to catch up in person. The next day we set off for Stewart's 80th birthday party at
Shelly Beach Surf Life Saving Club.This is the same place that Stewart had his 70th, so I expect that we will be back again in 10 years for the 90th.
Here is our MC - JR the first! He is also a lifetime member of this club.
The birthday boy leads us in the family song
It was a great turnout with all the Rutherfords, lots of cousins and people who only emerge at these sort of occasions. We all enjoyed ourselves.
The Rutherford Cousins Table (missing MLR)
Nicola~~ Kate~~ Megan
Damian
John and John~~~~~~~~~~Cathie and Wal
Cheryl and Jim~~~~~~Margaret, Doug and John
Ruth
Fletcher~~ Al~~ ~~~~~~~~~Barb and Cheryl and Anne
Stewart and Stewart's friend from Teachers College
Wendy~~Pat's daughter~~Rita (Wendy's mum)~~Pat
We adjourned to Cathie's place about 20 minutes away, for coffee, birthday presents and more catching up. Back to Heathcote for dinner.