July 31st - August 8th: Uncle Steven and Theresa come for a visit

watching a big ship come in from the Marine Museum

Ahhhh....

our view from the "surf shack"

sun going down at the surf shack

We had a week on our own after our holiday up north with Shawn and Julia and then Uncle Steven and Theresa arrived. The kids don't get to see their uncle from Canada's west coast very often so we were all very excited. Also, we got to spend more time with Theresa and get to know her better. Despite the long trip, they were troopers. The jet-lag didn't seem to affect them too much - the sun going down at 6 p.m. had more impact. They had a hard time staying up past 10 p.m. every night. But then again, so do we. I think that is one of those things that comes with age and young kids. Tom had to work but we pulled the kids out of class for two and a half days to spend time with their crazy uncle. I took them to Pinnaroo Memorial Park to see the kangaroos and took them for a drive along the coast on Monday. On Tuesday, we went to Fremantle. We stopped in at the toy store there so Uncle Steven and Theresa could buy them their birthday presents and then we went for lunch and visited the Marine Museum. We also visited Didgeridoo Breath where Rein blew into a few didgeridoos and Steve and Theresa bought a couple of prints of aboriginal art. On Wednesday, I dropped Theresa off for a 2 hour Thai massage and then took Steve and the kids grocery shopping. After picking Theresa up we went to McDonald's - something Uncle Steven promised he would do. We then went home and relaxed.Thursday the kids headed back to school and I had my art class at the Fremantle Art Centre. I dropped Steve and Theresa off in Northbridge where they had breakfast and spent the morning walking around downtown and

goofin' around at the Surf Shack, Injidup Beach

Uncle Steve

bye, bye sun...

checked out the State Library and the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art. While at the Art Gallery, they suited up in striped parachute suits and jumped around in a black and white striped fun house.

the most comfortable bed ever at the surf shack

Friday, we picked up the rental van, packed up and headed out of town. We stopped in Mandurah for Australian meat pies at the Miami Bakehouse. We then drove on to Dunsburough, picked up some provisions and then searched for the Injidup Surf Shack. It didn't take too long to find it and we were thrilled with the place.It even more than what we hoped it would be. A cosy, rustic hide-out with a fantastic view of Injidup Beach and the Indian Ocean. While we were there and not glavanting around the country side tasting wines and admiring local art, we would relax and read by the fire, play slamwich (our new favourite family card game) or go down to the beach and swim or hike the dunes. Or, I should say everyone else went and hiked the dunes while I stayed back and read curled up in that huge bed by the fireplace. I wish we had a few more days there.

uncle Steve and Theresa

hanging out at Margaret River Bakery

art gallery at Vasse Felix Winery, Margaret River

tasting some wines at Vasse Felix

tasting some port at Graylan, M.R.

playing catch at Vasse Felix

wine tasting room at Hay Shed Hill

As the skipper for the weekend, I took the gang to some wineries we haven't been to before but were recommended by one of the moms from Silka's class. Saturday morning we started off at the Margaret River Bakery, of course - it was hoppin'! As we ate, I mapped out the wineries we were going to try to hit that day - Howard's Park/Madfish (the only one we had been to before), then moved on to Vasse Felix, Gralyn (to satisfy Steve's love of port), Clairault, Hay Shed Hill, Wills Domain, Lamonts, and Amberley and lunch sometime along the way at the Bootleg Brewery. Well, I think I was a little ambitious. We managed to get to most of them except Clairault, Lamont and Amberley. We did stop to have lunch at the Bootleg Brewery but we weren't impressed with their menu - too much like pub food - go figure! So, we ended up eating a fantastic lunch at Wills Domain. Tom, Steve and Theresa were feelin' alright later in the day as we headed for Simmos Ice Cream to appease the kids. I was stopped by the same cop that pulled me over the last time we were down and stayed in Gracetown. I blew a 0.00 and was able to once again keep the plastic tube as a souvenir.

Oh my god, we have the same grimace-like smile...

lunch at Wills Domain Winery

all of us at the Surf Shack, Injidup Beach

Injidup Beach

looking down from the dunes at Injidup Beach

tasting wine at Lamonts Winery

On Sunday, we ate the breakfast pastires we bought at Margaret River Bakery. packed a lunch and checked out. We went down to the beach where Tom, Steve and Rein rode the waves for a while. I climbed up to the top of the dunes and took some pictures. We then headed towards Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse where we were going to go for a short hike and have a picnic lunch. We stopped at the Yallingup Gallery to see some local art and then popped by Lamonts for one last wine tasting and to check out their art gallery. The sommelier there was quite entertaining and a bit bitter that her Canadian Visa ran out and she had to come home. She said she was ready to marry a bum on the street so she could stay. She was quite generous with her pours and Tom, Steve and Theresa walked out of there with a unexpected but pleasant buzz on. We drove on to the lighthouse and trekked the Whale Lookout path where we enjoyed our lunch and saw one early whale making its way south. We startled a kangaroo on the path.

the dunes at Injidup Beach

playing in the water, Injidup Beach

We stopped at Meelup Beach for one last swim - it was starting to cloud over so it wasn't a long swim. We got in just after dark and Tom went out and picked up some fish & chips for dinner.

looking for whales

boardwalk to Whale Lookout

The next morning it was back to school for Rein, Silka and Tom and I drove Steve and Theresa to the ariport for the next leg of their journey, Sydney.
Had a fantastic time, Steve and Theresa - see you in December!