Seeking Common Ground

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Family holidays are never like a-walk-in-the-park for me. It can be tiring if not stressful at times. When Mom suggested that we all meet up in Margaret River for a family holiday/reunion, I was not all that enthusiastic. For a start, we agree to disagree with a lot of things in life. Anything from politics, religion, gender-issues, economics, culture and basically almost everything. But that's how it is like for us, we disagree and get on with life.

We all flew in and met up in Perth in a homely little holiday apartment located at Mounts Bay Road. The place overlooks the beautiful Swan River with a jogging trail along the scenic river. The Old Swan Brewery is just right down the road. When I arrived in the apartment, my folks were already making themselves at home, doing their laundry of the day, they had their afternoon nap and the fridge was already nicely stocked up. That's very cute of them.

When asked about what we would do in Margaret River for the next few days, we all had our own ideas. Mom wanted to take lots and lots of beautiful pictures (those involved the whole family standing embarassingly right in front of a major historical monument type). Dad wanted to walk along the Busselton Jetty, the longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere. Sis wanted to take it easy and I simply wanted to do anything outdoorsy. Yes, as a family, we lack common interest. Margaret River was probably not a bad idea given that it has a bit of everything and if all fails, there's the wine and food to cheer us up.

We all headed to The Witch's Cauldron for our family dinner. The seafood was fresh, the steaks were juicy and succulent, the wine was great and the dessert decadent. The witches may have added some secret potion in our food as we hardly even argued. We had a good time catching up. Conflict management 101 - people are unlikely to fight with a happy and full tummy.

The next morning (after some hiccups on checking-out and sorting out car rental), we left Perth for Fremantle for brunch. Freo, as the locals affectionately call it, is a quaint little town great for coffee, mussels and their weekend market. The "Cappuccino Strip" was bustling with people taking full advantage of the lovely weather. But with Sis around, there is no such thing as dining alfresco. We may all get skin cancer. Mom hates the idea that people can see her eating. Oh, what a family.

The road trip from Perth to Margaret River was uneventful - if you do not count the protests made for toilet breaks and the picnic tea break at (of all places) a carpark. Margaret River town itself was far quieter and less lively than I expected, with a road running through its town centre dotted with restaurants, wine bars and wine tour offices and that was it! I wonder what do people do here other than making wine.

We made many stops at vineyards, wineries, cheese and chocolate factories and lavender around Margaret River, drinking (free-loading?) and eating to our hearts' content. We made many more stops for coffee, ice cream and tea! I could not say this was a bad trip - Mom got to take her beautiful pictures, Dad managed to walk along the beach and Busselton Jetty, Sis got some rest and I had a good time with my folks.

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