Life, the Universe and Everything

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We didn't win lotto, sods, we cannot fulfill the dreams of other around us. Maybe next week.

Left Geraldton and parked overnight in a free stay near the Moore River. Just before dusk a ute pulled in and a man came and asked if I wanted a cauliflower, broccoli and celery. Of course I accepted. He was from a market garden close by and anything which is not perfect is put into the back of his ute and he brings it down and gives it away to the campers. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it, in fact it was far better than you can buy in most shops. There were 4 vans in when he came we all got stuff and another van arrived and there was enough for them as well.

This is a great place, next to the highway and only 61 kms from our next stop.

Next morning we moved the 61 kms south to the Burns Beach Caravan Park. It really is right on the beach, in fact the noise of the waves at night kept us awake at first. There are only about 20 vans sites all up and an enormous number of cabins. The cabins seem to be occupied by permanents, once more less available for tourists. We had an ensuite site which was a blessing as the facilities were a considerable distance away and well hidden.

There was a lovely new recreation building which I managed to get into and make a cauliflower cheese one day and when I asked to be let into it again I was told it was only for the permanent residents! I guess they keep the small number of van sites they have to ensure their tourism status or something.

It took Deep Thought the computer from the "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" 7 and a half million years to come up to the answer of "Life, the Universe and Everything" (42). It took Charlie (Charlotte) our youngest granddaughter 4 years to work it out. It goes like thing. "Grandpa, you're a boy" "Yes" Perplexed older person of the male variety. "You're stinky, all boys are stinky". From the mouth of babes. She has the philosophical logic conundrum worked out already.

Since arriving in Perth we have spent most of our time with family and friends, it is always so busy, but so worthwhile.

We have attended swimming lessons, picked the girls up from school, been for pizza, played in the park, attended a birthday party for Charlie with 30 little princes and princesses, hosted a party for Sienna with just the 6 of us, had a BBQ, checked out the progress on the house being built - and that was just with David, Nicole and the girls.

We were looking after the girls in the park one day when a hole was discovered in Charlie Bear - Charlie's flavour of the month. So off to the van where he was sewn up with yellow cotton and several bandaides applied to ensure he would get better.

They are so lively they are exhausting!

We also caught up with friends Alison and John, Adrian and Gareth and Sue, Peter and their two kids Rebecca and Joshua for breakfast at Alison and John's home on Saturday morning.

Sue and Peter are just the same and looking very well. Sue is working in public libraries and Peter is still at Curtin having just finished a 6 week stint as Acting University Librarian. Rebecca is now 15 and the spitting image of her mother, right down to the same sense of humour. Josh 13, just as grown up but a little quieter. I did manage to discover what happened to his empty tissue box collection he had as a young boy, his mother recycled them! Amazingly all 4 of them are the same height currently.

Ady and Gareth are happy chappies, Ady still teaching at Midland TAFE and Gareth at Armidale public library. He is also doing the purchasing of e-books for the State Library system - my new best friend.

Alison is Director of Collection Services at the State Library whilst John is home maker at present. John somehow managed to avoid both our cameras so no photo.

We had a wonderful morning then had to rush off to the caravan park for an afternoon with David and the girls whilst Nicole kicked up her heels with friends which she regretted the next morning.

Before Nic left we all inspected the partially build house only a few blocks from the caravan park. It looks like it will be amazing when completed. The best thing about it is the park across from the house itself. It is massive with a playground and is beautifully landscaped. Even better the road running along the front of the house is a no through road both ways so is much safer for the girls. Back to the CP and we had a little party for Sienna before Nicole headed off as we can never get here for her birthday, something she reminded us of. We gave her a charm bracelet with a gold handbag and Eiffel Tower charm on it. It must have been inspected 40 times during the afternoon. David, the girls and GMan and I had a BBQ right next to the beach with the cauliflower cheese I had made in the recreation centre.

Next morning was Charlie's party. Tangles and her boyfriend and Aurora came along as entertainment and kept the kids enthralled for a couple of hours. Nicole's sister Sarah should be a party co-ordinator. Everything was perfect and she was helped with the food by her partner Tim and mother Sue. We spent most of our time talking with Nicole's parents and it was great to be able to catch up with them. Charlie also received a charm bracelet from us, hers had a pink handbag and a teddy bear. When she showed it to Siena she thought it was hers but Charlie was able to identify hers by the pink handbag.

Then off to Gregory John's for Lyn's birthday. Lyn's birthday card is still in the drawer here in our van. Greg suspended a leg of lamb over heat beads and cooked it that way, delicious. Coco made a fabulous salad and there were great pastries for dessert. Lincoln (great nephew) and I played table tennis and he showed me his collection of AFL player statues. He currently has all but one - Jake King. He can name each of the players and who they play for, he is now 5 I think and a very bright little boy. The statues come from Coles apparently.

Coco Lilly, now 15 - 16 in a few days, is very tall with legs that go on forever, a great figure and has matured amazingly. She is going to be a stunning young lady.

Monday we slept late being old people and then had to rush to the other side of Perth to have lunch with Chris's family, Judy and Jim and Ross and Diana. Judy and Chris tried valiantly to instill into Diana not to pamper Ross too much. Ross swears and declares she doesn't but we think differently. Ross is looking well, it is now 3 1/2 years since his liver transplant.

That evening Simon Graham's eldest came for dinner after he finished work. He is currently working as a guard at Hakea Prison. We managed to talk the evening away but he had to get away because he had a 5 am start next morning a bit cruel we thought.

In between all of this we managed to go and purchase a satellite setup for the caravan including a new TV. We kept getting told that it was really easy to set up, only 4 steps. When we got back to the van GMan went outside to accomplish this and amazingly the 4 steps worked easily and first time. The reception is excellent and there are 105 physical channels to watch, mostly duplicates. We have registered our dish in SA because that way we get the SA footy, the reason we bought the setup in the first place.

Wednesday we headed north away in the rain which had been with us for three days and much of it had been really heavy. We simply went the 61 kms back to the Moore river free camp - no vegetables this time, Chris remembers the man said he was going away in his caravan for a month. After the peace of the last time we were here, 5 vans all quiet, there were 12 vans or campers and the three travelling together set up next to us and popped champagne corks and giggled loudly for hours. First time a free camp has been really noisy.

We then headed north and camped just east of Dongara overnight in a free campsite with a very healthy herd of cows in the paddock next door. The grass was very lush and the cows looked very fat and content. Everywhere we go at the moment we are surrounded by wildflowers. Depending on how much rain has been had as to how spectacular they are. I have photographed so many varieties it is amazing. There are even new species in the free stay parks along the side of the road.

We headed to Morowa which appeared more prosperous than most. The crops around this area are quite good, it seems that there are great variations in expected yield at this stage. South of Morowa we called into Caron Dam a covered dam which was used by the steam trains in days gone by. Remember the steam train trip from Geraldton to Perth, stopping at Chidlow at 6am for a cup of tea and a hot pie. Mum would dive from the train to get the tea and pies and we had to drink the tea quickly to be able to leave the cups behind. The pies were very hot and runny and dripped all down your arm. Then the slow crawl over the hills and into Perth arriving about 9am. That was train travel.

We decided not to stay overnight at Caron the flies were horrid and the ground uneven, so we continued south to Bunjil Rock. We were expecting something like Victoria Rock or Cave Hill. This was a small spread of rocks which rose only about 10 feet into the air. The two caravans who were camped had cunningly parked over the only entry road so no other campers could enter. The most exciting thing about this was the entry road was very narrow, so GMan had to back up to the road we came in by then continue for a while until we could do a uey to head back to the highway.

On to Buntine Rock, this was slightly higher with better camping but we had noticed an old Main Roads camp on the way in to the rock so we headed back. MR camps are good because they have been leveled, they have gravel bases and vegetation has been cleared to make camping easy. This was Friday afternoon, so we set up camp and our satellite dish to be able to watch the footy. A bit more difficult to set up this time and eventually we worked out that the battery was flat in the posh satellite finder, this device is called a "marriage saver". It attaches to the dish and does all the set-up outside using Al Jaziera (?). Once you have achieved a good picture you just plug in to the van and TV and you are away.

We stayed three days in the MR camp, very peaceful only one other van for one night, yet we saw so many other vans heading down to the rock. Chris managed to find a "native foxglove" this is supposed to be a very common flower but it is the first we have found. On Saturday night GMan was trying to get a radio station on to listen to the news when I pointed out that we had the satellite TV so he could get ABC 24 news station and all the various radio stations the satellite picks up as well. Duh!

Monday we headed to Dalwallinu, we needed meat, veges and bread. Dally as it is know is a very prosperous looking little town, though the crops don't look very good about here, they are only 3-4 inches high at present and harvest is only 8-10 weeks away. We shopped at the butchers (real crumbed french cutlets!) and the supermarket before heading to the Dalwallinu caravan park, another council owned one, great value for money with good facilities. We will head back in to the town to look around before we head off again. Not the same level of sightseeing as before as our real interest is in the remote desert areas.

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