A few pics above to catch up with some of the stories you have already heard, and to show you how pleased the cats were with the road trip decision!
We got the berth we were after at Mariners Cove and spent the day preparing the boat for being left, but also making sure she was ready to go to sea once we arrived back. Pete checked out flying versus driving, and in the end it was cheaper to do one way car hire, plus we could get all the perishable food and extra clothes home with us. So we booked a car for Monday, booked the best tapas on the Goldy for dinner, and had a gin and tonic before showering in preparation to go out. A quick Skype with both sets of parents to let them know our plans, and a final check of the weather to confirm this as being the right decision! It was.
We again had a stand out dinner at N3, leaving there too full for desert, but with enough room for a Bundy salted caramel liqueur! A good nights sleep, followed by a grey morning allowed us to pack everything up without getting too hot and sticky, and let Pete walk over to collect the car. As we started to pack the car, it started to rain, and by the time we were on the last load which included the cats, it was pouring. However we set off around 11 and after threading our way out of Surfers, we headed to Kirra and Coolongatta for me to relive fond surfing memories of former years and to tempt Pete with the beautiful Greenmount break.
Of course the weather was so crap it didn’t look inviting at Greenmount, but we stopped and had our lunch overlooking the break and Rainbow Bay. The cats seemed happy enough, Smugde settled in the back and Noodles on Pete’s lap as he drove! We dropped in to see Pete’s unle Steve at Casuarina and had a cuppa and a bikkie with him before resuming the drive about 3:30. Noodles was still on Pete’s lap.
We had been going to stop overnight, but we decided to plough on through, though we stopped for dinner at Coffs Harbour to check out the work going on at the Marina. It is substantial work to the breakwater and the marina remains closed. We could not even walk along the boardwalk or the break wall as both were shut with security access only.
Back in the car around 7 (it may have been 6, but we were unsure as half our clocks had moved to daylight saving and half were on Queensland time), Noodle refusing to sit anywhere other than on Pete’s lap, we set off for the remaining 500 kms. We arrived at our place around 1:30 am, tired, ready for a night in our very comfy bed and the cats took themselves up the stairs to the front door, as if they had never been away!
The weather looks like we may be able to fly up to bring the boat back this weekend, but we will continue to monitor it, as it’s by no means settled. At least we have some time to get organised at home after 2 months away, as there is a bit to do! Keep reading as I will continue the tales until Wine-Dark Sea is back in Neutral Bay.
winedarkseablog 