bikes shoorams

28 hours. That’s how long it took me to get from Perth to Seattle. Cathie and Marlene took me to the airport the night of July 10th. Jared had joined us for dinner and dessert, but wasn’t feeling so great afterward, so we dropped him back at home first. In Australia, people can go to the gate even without a ticket, so Cathie and Marlene sat with me at the gate until it was almost time for me to board. We said our goodbyes with hugs all around. I boarded shortly after they left. Bag packed Dessert at San Churros Goodbye Perth  I tried to watch a movie, but I kept nodding off. In the whole trip (Perth to Sydney and Sydney to LA—there were no movies for LA to Seattle), I think I slept through parts of about 5 movies.  The good part about the flight from Sydney was that the plane was not very full.  Those seats were empty. People later moved into the aisle ones, but the seat next to me remained empty. Sydney in the distance Because I learned my lesson about layover times when...

As always, all good things must come to an end so one can appreciate how good it was...and so is the case for our trip to the Margaret River Region of Western Australia. We had one last hurrah at the Goose Cafe in Busselton for coffee (hot chocolate) before getting on the road north. Okay, I might have had a cherry ripe slice too... Cathie’s friend, Lisa, who we had met up with briefly in Harvey, and lives in Australind, was available for us to drop in on our way back. To get to her place, we went on the same road I had ridden from Bunbury. We even went by where I camped in Bunbury.  We had a nice visit and lunch with Lisa and her daughter, Billie. Billie’s twin sister, Poppy, came out and said hello to us. Afterward, we went to the Bunbury Farmers’ Market. It’s kind of like the IKEA of farmer’s markets. You work your way through in one direction. It was very busy. There were some interesting items. This looks like the squid face guy in Pirates of the Caribbean. Really, it is calle...

Day 4 of our adventure in the Southwest began with a walk on the beach by our villa (Cathie and I). The washed up beach grass was nearly two feet high.  That’s all beach grass. Amongst the grass and sand was bits of coral, shells, and cuttlefish skeletons. Sponge Coral Interesting bit of coral or something wrapped around a small stick. We got on the road around 10:00 or so. We were going to work our way to Augusta. Our first stop was Yallingup Beach. This is a famous surfing beach. Yallingup Beach An actual surfer! From Yallingup, we moved down the Coast to Prevelly, Gnarabup, and the mouth of the Margaret River. We drove through Prevelly, stopping briefly at the dog beach before moving on down to Gnarabup. There was a nice little cafe where we had a little snack while looking at the beautiful beach. We went back to Surfers Point and the mouth of the Margaret River.  Surfers Point The mouth of the river and the beach As we were walking over to the mouth of the river, I saw a S...

While yesterday was all about the scenery, today was all about chocolate and wine (and a bit of soap).  Cathie and I took advantage of the pool and jacuzzi this morning. Other than wearing my swimsuit while I was doing laundry, this was the first time I’ve actually gone swimming in Australia. For awhile, it was just Cathie and I, and...a couple of ducks. Yes, the ducks decided a morning swim in the INDOOR pool was a good idea! It was a great way to start the day...for us and the ducks! After breakie at the resort restaurant, we hit the road for Day 3. Today’s ultimate goal was Margaret River. Of course, there were many stops to be made along the way. The Margaret River region is known for its wineries. There are 215 wineries in the region. But, first we stopped at a soap place. It smelled quite good in the shop. The first winery we stopped at was Aravina.  Vines on the hillside Aravina The surf/car museum at Aravina Remember...it’s winter here, yet these camellias are in bloom...