We picked the kids up early from school and pootled off on our drive down south. I slightly mis-calculated, and our 1½ hour journey was suddenly calculated by the Sat Nav as 4½!! Bugger! Never mind….. I packed the back of the car with as much stuff as I could empty out of the house (or at least, that’s how it felt ;-) and we trundled on our merry way. I think we’d got about half an hour down the road when we stopped at the Miami Bakery. It’s an award winning bakery that sells…. wait for it…… gourmet pies! Well, you know how the Aussies love their pies. I swear if you wrapped a piece of road kill Roo in pastry, they’d eat it! They even did a ‘garlic prawn pie’ but Paul was saddened that they’d sold out – yeuch!
Anyhow, the family were re-fuelled and we got to Dunsborough at about 5.15pm – not bad really as I don’t think we actually left ‘til gone one and we did stop a few times. The holiday let was lovely! It was a two storey – felt SO weird to have stairs again! It came with a BBQ (too cold and too much work to clean; see I am turning into a lazy Australian!), dishwasher (heaven!), two TV’s and a DVD player (so that Adam could have Pingu wherever he goes!) and the best….. wait for it………a SPA BATH!!! Yes, a bath big enough to actually cover your knees with water! Fan-bloody-tastic! So we unloaded the car (I unpacked – Paul moans that I’m REALLY anal, but I have to unpack before anything!!) and then went for a walk up to the boat ramp – about 1km. There was a tarmaced cycle track though, so the kids took their scooters and were happy. The boat ramp was like rush hour at Piccadily Circus! There was just boat after boat. They were all going crabbing. They had lights and drop nets and metal crab scoops. There were signs near the sea telling what was an acceptable size for keeping and advising everyone on the maximum catch numbers per day – all very strict. We stood watching and it started to rain. Then we saw something neither Paul or I have ever seen in our lives…. we actually SAW the end of a rainbow! It came arching over from forest behind us and dropped into the sea about 200 metres in front of us – amazing! I think the gold must have sunk though as it wasn't floating on the water.
Is it only me, or does anyone else have the urge to deposit Adam in the wheely bin? NO? Just me then!
So we had a big bowl of spaghetti that I’d cooked the night before and packed (it was nice, but next time, I won’t pack it with the clothes – only joking!), then we all fell into bed; as Peter Kay says, the sea air makes you sleep…. Not before we’d all had a go in the spa bath though! Individually, that is! Adam laughed a bit too much for my liking once the jets were turned on – it was tickling his ‘bits’ apparently! Perhaps that’s why Sam had more baths in two days than he’s had since he’s been in Oz??? Note to self: don't let Sam use our Spa bath in the new house!
The morning came and I had a strict itinerary for everyone with things that were to be enjoyed! That’s an order! We left the cottage and went to Cape Naturaliste where (if you’re VERY lucky), you can see whales on their migratory journey. I was so hopeful and we stood and we stared at every white cap, every sea bird, every current…. Until…… WE SAW THEM!!! They were quite a way out to sea and my camera wouldn’t focus very well, but if you double click on this picture, it will enlarge and you can see………. A WHALE FLIPPER! I was SSOOO pleased! It completed made my trip – didn’t care what else happened – I’d seen a whale in the wild!
Double click - it's Free Willy! No, Mum - not THAT sort!
After this excitement, we visited Nigli caves – only about a ten minute hop in the car. This too was fab. There was a guided introduction where they told you all about the man who found the caves in Victorian times, and how they used huge, great whicker baskets to ferry all the Victorian tourists down into the cave with the help of pulleys and a donkey! The kids loved it – Adam especially loved all the nooks and crannies (much to Paul’s disgust – he was a man stressed to the limit with too many stairs, too many black holes to disappear into and not enough light!). They even had a slide that the kids loved that went through the cave – a real adventure and they spent a good half an hour on that alone! It was a very enjoyable trip, but 701 steps later, we needed refreshment and visited The Caves Hotel for lunch – yum!
Going down....... menswear, hoisery and intimate apparell!
After a re-fuel, we headed into the Margaret River – the wine capital for Western Australia - and let the kids run loose in the Candy Cow where they hand make sweets. Darcie was in piggy heaven! She bought a gob stopper that’s almost a big as her head! I tried to encourage Sam to buy one, but he’s no sucker (geddit?). After this, we popped in to a local grocery store and stocked up on a few provisions and headed back. It’s amazing the amount of ‘better’ food you can buy there. All gourmet and hand made, with cheeses from local dairy farms and olives from local growers. Delicious, but made us realise what we are missing; namely Tesco’s finest!
The next morning, I was slightly less strict with my itinerary – I didn’t even put my Sergeant Major’s cap on! Sam had another spa bath ;-) and we headed off the Margaret River again.
On the way, we stopped off at a Venison farm. The kids played with a friendly ‘PR’ dog on the porch and we shopped, buying some venison sausages, ham and steaks. Sam and Darcie tucked in to a venison sausage, thoroughly enjoying it until Paul pointed out what it was ‘made’ from! Sam’s little face dropped. ‘It’s funny Dad,’ Sam said, ‘but sometimes, you don’t enjoy stuff as much when you know what it’s made of!’ How true. Tonight, I’ve made Toad win the Hole with the venison sausages – kind of like Bambi in Batter (goes nicely with my Kangaroo Lasagne; or Kanga/Sangne.
Beautiful view, isn't it?
I’d booked Paul in to the Voyager Estate Vineyard for Father’s Day lunch. It’s a beautiful place – very much similar to Brocket Hall in Welwyn. The menu was fantastic and the kids meals were huge and didn’t come with chips which is always a bonus in my book! We had a fabby scoff and a glass of wine that was recommended by the Vineyard to be taken with each main course. It was the best dining experience that we’ve had since we’ve been here.
Darcie does a posh lunch - good job you can't see Adam to the side, drinking his melted ice cream through a straw! Class, eh?
My favourite photo of Adam from the weekend. I really think I've captured him here!
Even the kids ice creams for dessert came with a designer chocolate sauce and decoration. It was great value for money and Paul was given a waiter’s corkscrew as a FD present. Oh, I forgot to tell you what the kids made him…. Sam’s class made Rocky Road (like Debbie’s flapjack, but not as nice) and Sam made him a lovely card. Darcie decorated a stubby holder (a polystyrene device to pop your beer into and keep it cold) and made a great card. She also made wrapping paper and bought Paul a West Coast Eagles (AFL team) cup – Sam was disgusted; he’s a Docker’s supporter! Adam gave him nothing – apart from a few more grey hairs a another wrinkle over the course of the weekend ;-)
So all in all, a fabby time was had. Sam didn’t want to come home he was enjoying it so much. He made us agree to return in the summer holidays.
Back to reality when we got home and it’s been a busy ‘ole week! Business has been quite busy with lots of enquiries, which is nice. We are sponsoring the school newsletter too, so that’s all in the pipeline at the moment. The school want to go full colour with the newsletter, so we’ve agreed to pay for the printing of the template. It looks fab! More on that when it gets finalised, although it’s nice to support the school….. Speaking of school, Darcie received a merit certificate in assembly today for ‘always being polite and helping other members of her class. You are a star, Darcie!’ Hoorah!! We got a note from her teacher yesterday to say that she’d be receiving her certificate, but Darcie didn’t know, so she was very pleased. We asked her tonight how she felt about receiving it and she said ‘very proud’. Bless!
Sam and Darcie both have their school photos this week. Again, it’s all different to Templewood. You get sent home the info with all the packs available and they offer different themes and frames as well. What concerns me though is that I’ll pay out for their photos and then get a really crappy picture back of a gimpy looking child. Of course, I’ll have no grounds for complaint as they’ll simply reply: ‘but Madam….. that is what Sam looks like!!!’ Argh! Sam has told me that he’s taking hair gel in for ‘proper preparation!’ I’m more concerned that his photo will be taken after lunch – forget the face, everyone will be concentrating on what he’s dropped down his t-shirt! Think I’ll give him a pot noodle for lunch tomorrow!
On a positive note, also, although Paul’s operation was postponed until the end of October, his bloods came back today and his cholesterol has dropped dramatically – so happy days!
Oh - and we have brickwork on the house! We have a kitchen wall and a window. I'm getting on the phone tomorrow to a blind company for an in-home measure and quote! The house is starting to look a bit bigger now - I suppose walls will have that effect. I'll post some more photos of the house when I download them from the camera, although how exciting CAN a wall be??? As a reminder, click on 'My Photo Album' to the top right hand side and I'll put some more pictures here that don't feature on the blog.
Take care guys - and Happy Birthday to Abi Fraser and Abi Wright. Both birthday girls today!
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