After lunch in Queenscliff, we drove on to Barwon Heads, via Ocean Grove. There was much angst about replacing the old timber bridge across the Barwon River so the old bridge was kept for pedestrians an cyclists and a new one built for cars.
It is a lovely area.
I didn't take a photo as it was a bit far away but some land puzzled me. If you go back to the map
here, what I was looking at was Portsea and Sorrento Back Beaches, the part where there is no sand, along with Cheviot Beach where Prime Minister Harold Holt drowned in 1967.
We drove in to the caravan park. The cottage next to this one was used in the terrific tv series
Seachange as Laura's house. As a gift for Mother's 70th birthday, hard to believe it was 12 years ago, Sister paid for Mother and Step Father's accommodation in the cottage. I couldn't take a photo as people were lunching on the verandah.
The blue building is a cafe and we have lunched there in the past. The bridge is actually over the Barwon River. At about the age of 25 I suppose, I learnt what an estuary is. 'Little Jo, what is the area called where a river meets the sea?' Yes, she knew. For someone who stares so much at her laptop and tv screens, she knows a lot. I thought a little rhyme might amuse her. I should have known better as she never found it funny when I told her the name of our solicitors, Martin, Barton and F....(pause) Farquhar. The rhyme was this one:
Not last night but the night before three tomcats came knocking at my
door. One had a fiddle, one had a drum. And one had a pancake, stuck to
his......, don't be mistaken, don't be misled. One had a pancake stuck to his head.
As you can see, the weather is grey but it did not rain. In fact after Good Friday, I don't think we saw sun again until Tuesday afternoon then, and then not much. We stopped off at a supermarket in Ocean Grove to buy a belated birthday cake for R and Mother and returned to Sister's. Sister cooked chicken schnitzel and salad for dinner and we followed with the birthday cake. We watched an atrocious movie that Bone Doctor had hired, hoping Mother would like it. Hachi: A dog's tale starring Richard Gere was a real tear jerker. Is Gere so short of money that he would make such an badly made movie?
Ocean Grove can be seen in the distance.
If you live near the beach, an outdoor shower is useful to wash off sand. Normally when Sister, Bone Doctor and Little Jo shower outdoors, they go naked. I decided this Sunday morning I too wanted to shower naked outdooors. Not sure why, but the dog took off, the cat hid and all the birds flew away. The shower head delivered a bit more water that the indoor one and it was quite exhilarating, although a little chilly when I shut the water off. Pity the shower hook was not a lot higher as you can't stand under it at that height.
Th man at the rear block has been building this boat for as long as Sister has lived in the house. I hope he has a wide driveway, in case it should ever be finished.
I could not get a better photo, but this cubby house next door is the grandest I have ever seen. It is a two storey mansion.
A Rainbow Families poster. We gave out our Easter eggs. Every time Little Jo received one, Sister would exclaim, oh no, and groan.
We drove to the car park at the beach while Sister and ABI Brother walked with the dog. We set off for Point Lonsdale Village, just over a kilometre away for coffee. It was very busy. There are three of these rock groynes, and there is a push to have them replaced with five timber groynes that will allow water to pass through which may prevent beach erosion. Much of the beach is underwater at high tide.
If you can't read this, it concludes with reference to the person's grandmother who would bathe in the sea. "There her bathing skirts floating all around her, she would enjoy the lapping waves, pushing herself up and down in a bobbing motion."
The paths are all well maintained for walkers and cyclists.
Little Jo was a bit grumpy and argued with her mother about the Easter egg hunt in the nearby park. It was a brief bit of fun. After a lunch of hotdogs, R and I departed with Mother and ABI staying on for an extra day.
We decided to take the scenic route home, via St Leonards, Indented Heads, Portarlington and Drysdale. We stopped for a break at Portarlington. We can see the hills of Portarlington from home. So near by crow, so far by road.