HAPPY EXCESSIVE WANDERERS !! Part 1

Hi All!
 Remember us ?!-- the ones who write/or purport to write periodic blog updates !! And the ones who last wrote in May last year? It's coming back to you ? Great! So here goes: -life as we've known it since then. I have to look back through the photos myself as a refresher.

Shortly after our return was granddaughter, Olivia's 18th. She's all grown up;- how did that happen?Happy Birthday again, Honey. Almost time for your next! They had a really nice party which we so enjoyed, not only Olivia and family but also catching up with other family after our wanderings, especially a couple of grandsons, Kye and Corey, whom we hadn't seen in way too long!

Somewhere in there Anne got her eyes done; we had school holiday outings and time with grands and great-grands; and Kris came over from Brisbane. She and I did the Dwellingup tree-top adventure too. Seem to have started something here! Also, catching up with friends and neighbours, with their friends from overseas, and generally very much enjoying the wonderful community down here and our idyllic canal setting ! .

 Then in a moment of madness (and it was my madness, I admit, not Anne's, for a change) we

decided to see more of Australia,- by motorhome, doing vehicle relocations. So we dealt with various firms with varying offers, but basically got a motorhome for $1 -$5 per day, with sometimes a small fuel allowance thrown in,
in return for moving it from one city to another for them, on their time frame.

We flew over and stayed with travel club members in Adelaide and were toured around the city by Jeff and Libby, family of friend Beryl, while we awaited a motorhome to Alice Springs, then to Cairns, to Townsville,

to Brisbane, flew to Melbourne then moved a brand-new (27 km on
the clock) 3-berth home to Perth!!

At each stop, while waiting for our next assignment, we hired our own vehicle and did as much nearby sight-seeing as we could, so we managed to see a bit of Coober Pedy, Uluru, Kata Tjuta, The West MacDonnells, Port Douglas and the Daintree, Magnetic Island, Airlie Beach, and the list goes on and on,- all before we reached Brisbane. All once over lightly, sad to say, but we got a taste!

 We stopped for a great visit with cousins, Jeff and Doreen, north
of Brisbane, then had a happy catch-up with new friends Mic and Grace, also 'survivors' of the Ahoy Buccaneer 'shipwreck' earlier in the year (see previous post). Then we spent a special couple of weeks back and forth between Kris' and Lee and Belinda's places. Kris lives between a gorgeous old 'Queenslander' in Brisbane and the Loveshack, a self-built portable 'tiny house' south of Brisbane, inland from Byron Bay, in stunning country. Although we'd seen lots of photos, we were bowled over at how attractive, comfortable and roomy
it actually was ! We had two wonderful visits with Lee and Belinda, and grand-daughter, Maryanne, who is growing into a real treat. She's already able to hold her own with Anne and match her tall tales, story for story,- with quick, humorous come-backs to Anne's teasing ! Not easy;- take it from one who knows ! Lee and Belinda have a lovely elevated two storey home, ideally situated on the outskirts of Brisbane, close to sea, mountains, Gold Coast, etc.They treated us royally, and took us touring into mountains near them (whose names I've already lost 😕) and down to the Gold Coast, both areas totally new to us.

Our luck ran out a bit somewhere in Brisbane, and we both  picked up very bad colds. We couldn't find a relocation vehicle deal we wanted out of Brisbane, so, after flirting briefly with the notion of changing direction and heading off to Bali, we ended up flying to Melbourne to pick up out last motorhome to head home. Our colds both became very heavy and we delayed our departure in order to doctor, but they didn't prevent us from driving the Great Ocean Road and stopping at the Head of the Bight to enjoy the Humpback whales, Mums and Bubs, close in to shore, virtually at our feet! By that time we were both so sick we could hardly talk, but that stop was one of the highlights of the trip, regardless!

The Nullarbor wasn't as daunting as I'd feared. While I can't say it was terribly enjoyable, it was interesting and easy. But while my cold had plateaued, Anne's was so bad we seriously considered dropping her at a country hospital and my carrying on alone. With relocations, the down-side is you're on their clock and can't stop. Anyway, we pushed on and got home a day early, for a well-earned collapse. But the object was to see some more of Australia, and we certainly did that !!

Sorry All, but we're only at August ! If I remember correctly, the system tends to bog down with my long rambles, so I've just renamed this Part 1, and will carry on in Part 2. See you there.............

HAPPY EXCESSIVE WANDERERS !! Part2

..............Hello again.

Here we were home again, catching up with friends, grands, great-grands, doctors/specialists, paying guests,etc., etc.,- not always in that order. Took us several weeks to get over the great Aus. drive-adventure, both health-wise and in terms of business catch up. But well worth it !  And it's always good to be
home; we live in such a beautiful spot! It never gets old; and we never get blase about it! Our neighbourhood, with so many good friends all within walking distance, is such a treat !!.

School holidays were upon us and, as usual, we always try to catch up at least with some of the younger grands and greats, having them visit for a couple of days or taking them out somewhere a bit special. As part of the general conspiracy to rob us of our time, making it whizz by ever faster, the kids seem be growing up faster and faster and inevitably 'outgrowing' grannies. We try to make memories while we still can.
   



Next we had a long-awaited and much-enjoyed visit from Anne's cousin Les and wife Geri from Canada. They only had a couple of weeks with us as the first part of quite an extensive trip across Australia and New Zealand, but we certainly made those two weeks count! Besides taking them to renew acquaintance with David, whom they'd met in Canada years ago, and now his family, as well as Geoff andAnita and their mob, we introduced them to cousins here in WA that Les didn't even know he had! Had a great visit with the large extended family of Anne's late cousin Fred. Ironic that without knowing, we ended up in South Yunderup and they're mostly all in and around Pinjarra and Mandurah.

Then we loaded up and toured with Les and Geri, firstly to Perth, Yanchep, and up as far as the Pinnacles, then, after a quick stop home for a change of clothes and a good boil-up, inland and south. Geri had a friend living near Wickepin, so we visited on the
way to Hyden and Wave Rock, which kind of blew them away. A small detour took us along Tin-Horse Highway out of Kulin;- a real hoot and worth the trip in itself.
One of our favourite stops, Gnomesville, near Collie, was another highlight for them; as were the jetty and observatory at Busselton.

Almost as we were waving goodbye to them, we were packing for our trip with friends Alison and Graham, to Singapore for a couple of days, then onto the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship for a two week cruise.  Huge!  Think floating
city/amusement park for oldies! Imagine around 30-50 oldies lined
up  to play bumper cars each afternoon. Then add in climbing wall, i-fly (flying on an air column), roller skating, surfing and body boarding on a flow wave, various sports, trapeze swinging, as well as the eating, drinking, more eating,
entertainment, lessons, gambling, usually associated with a cruise and you
have the picture. A bonus was that we had Hallowe'en on an American ship ! Fun !! We stopped at various 'exotic' ports,- Perth, Adelaide, Hobart and Sydney, but the main thing was the cruise experience itself.

 

 We got off in Adelaide to lunch with friends, Felicity and Jeff, and in Hobart to take a brief bus tour, but that was about it.. Alison and Graham came straight home, but we stayed a night in Sydney with friend Rhonda. I'd been up to my usual trick by then of getting a chest cold/bronchitis and pneumonia and was in bed while she and Anne caught up and looked round. That bout was my longest yet;- took me almost 7 weeks to shake totally, despite all my doctoring ! 😡

Anyway, shake it off I did, but not before missing out on Melbourne Cup here on the canal, and a
visit with friend, Beryl, to Geoff, Anita and boys ! Then in rapid succession I was able to enjoy great-grand Violet's second birthday party, catching up with grands, Olivia and Alex, and then the beginning of Christmas preparations !!

We've always been big Chrissie fans, so lots of decorations, inside and outside 3 houses this year!-Home, the Kottage (granny flat) and the beachhouse. And what goes up must come down...........The lights up and down the canal get better each year; it's just a treat going out on the deck after dark here and looking down the way. Then a couple of times over the season we've taken friends out and toured the canals by boat. The actual Christmas here on the
canal starts with a visit from Santa on a pontoon boat with his helpers on Christmas Eve. They bring lolly bags for the young and young at heart; and many of us repay them in liquid sustenance, for their thirsty efforts. HO, HO, HO,..........

This year we had an 'Orphans'
Christmas' for neighbourhood friends who were seeing family before or after the actual 25th. Always a relaxed congenial afternoon out on the deck.
Then on Boxing Day, the family  plus the Canadian cousins, the Berry family, for a total of 24,  filled the garden at the beachhouse !! Quiet and relaxing?No! Fun and full of love ? Definitely!
Was that a bird ? Was it a plane? No it was January which just flew by !! Pinch and a punch everyone !! We were crazy busy over the holiday season, -pretty much since November really- with the holiday rentals. Had to sit down and make a determined plan, schedule dates, close booking calendars, etc., to take 2-3 days off each week and spend some time at Peron, otherwise summer would have gotten away on us. And we've mostly been able to stick to it.😃😊 and have caught up with most of our beachhouse
friends as well.

We had a lovely lunch here at Yunderup with Beryl and her Adelaide family and various visits with friends. Some of the grands, three of Geoff and Anita's,and one of the greats, Aiden, have spent some time at the beachhouse before school restarts. Overall, life is good, and we're settling into a more sustainable pace! We wish you all the same !!

Heaps of Love to you all
Stay Happy and enjoy each day!  None of us knows what tomorrow brings

The Happy Wanderers
Anne and Kathie