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| Erin's Western Australia Journals - 11-24-02 Sunday, we woke up late again, ignoring the voices of the kids and the birds. Around 8:30, we slowly got up and out, had breakfast, showered, etc. The kids went home around 10am, and we still dallied, doing a load of laundry and discussing possible plans for the day with Ken and Adele. They'd come up with an idea of going to York, a small town east of Perth where a cool motor museum and several antique stores existed amid a well-preserved town square. Finally around noon, we finalized our plans and got in the car. First stop though was a local market - you know how Glenn loves these!!! - and we wandered the flea market for about an hour. We both love to compare the differences and similarities in these markets in all the various places we visit. This one was most reminiscent of one we'd seen in Prague, where there was a wide variety of clothing, with some crafts, plants, and food booths mixed in. Adele and Ken found a few things for themselves, and we felt satisfied leaving in an hour. We stopped along the road to York for lunch, bothered only by the flies. Out in the country, they're even worse than in the city! It's been the hardest thing to adapt to for us, as Africa had these flies but mostly when out in the bush walks. I personally hope they're lessened in the east! Anyway, lunch was great, and we went another 40 minutes or so into York. It was a charming old town, that reminded me a lot of some of the small towns in Texas, where the courthouse and many storefronts have been well preserved and remind one of the days of dusty roads and horses. Ken and Glenn went into the motor museum - it was closed, but Adele prevailed upon the attendant to let them in as 'we'd traveled all the way from America to see it!!!' Her persuasiveness was very handy, as our wanderings brought us to an antique store where the shopkeeper allowed Adele and me to see the newly-purchased acquisitions of the museum in various stages of restoration. The guys missed out! I bought a few tapes, knowing we'd be renting (and soon buying) a car, and would want music over the long barren stretches between Adelaide and Melbourne. We met up with the guys, then checked out a few more stores before finding an old suspension bridge above the Avon River (yes, English reference). Suddenly we found that we were running late for a dinner appointment with Adele & Ken's daughter, so we jumped in the car and raced home. We were an hour late, but still enjoyed dinner with Fiona and Merrill and their 3 kids, which made for a rowdy but fun dinner. Soon after we were joined by Adele's mother, another cousin of Glenn's, who told stories of her visits to America while I talked with Fiona about pop culture. By the time everyone was ready to go home, it was late, and we had a few quick last minute talks with Ken and Adele about the places they recommended for us along the south coast for tomorrow before hitting the sack! |
| The Busselton Jetty is the longest in the southern hemisphere. Here, we saw a barge installing huge new poles to hold up one section of the jetty |