Hello! Another year has almost come to an end. My goodness the years go fast! We hope it has been a good one for you.
This is our ninth year of retirement and we can’t believe how fast that has gone by too! We continue to keep very busy and have to log out times on the calendar well in advance to make sure we can fit in all the things we want to do. We are continually on the go and there is always something to see or do. Life continues to be good.
In fact it was a more than wonderful year - we welcomed a new grandchild this year to David and Sophie in July. A beautiful baby boy, Freddie! He is so adorable and such a great baby. He is now four months old and Poppy and Nora love him to pieces. (As do we!)
January saw us celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary!!!! We celebrated the day with some friends who were in our bridal party and enjoyed a great catch up. We also spent a few nights at The Crown Casino together. It was just lovely and we did absolutely nothing except enjoy the yummy food, gorgeous room, stunning views and just rest and relax.
As we are members of The WACA, we also went to as many cricket games at Optus Stadium as we could. The atmosphere is fabulous, it is a brilliant stadium. It was all the better when the Scorchers won the championship. For us, it is a great day out and we were able to have friends coming along to share it with us on occasions. We are heading to The Test - Australia v Pakistan, in just over a week and are looking forward to that and having our friends Pam and Roy stay with us and go to the game.
February and March saw us head off for a caravan trip through the southwest and Esperance. We enjoyed some bush camping which is always peaceful and lovely, and also some caravan park stays - which were frequently very busy and at times not so relaxing. There are just so many people out and about traveling and loads of visitors from the Eastern States. Tourism in many towns is really pumping! We were lucky with the weather during our trip away and enjoyed visiting such places as Busselton, Augusta, Walpole, Albany, Shannon National Park, Pallinup River and Esperance. Lots to see and do in all of those locations. It was fun.
We spent most of May, June and July in our north, enjoying eight weeks at Eighty Mile Beach - which is about 250 km north of Port Hedland. What an easy place to stay. There is nothing but the Caravan Park and the beach! We would walk along the beach daily and collect a few shells from the millions on the sand, look at the star fish, sea snakes and other marine animals washed up, or go for long drives along the beach and stop somewhere for a picnic lunch and drinks where there were no other people. Eighty Mile has the most wonderful sunsets and tidal movements. We really enjoyed our time there and were concerned we wouldn’t have enough to do, but that turned out to be an unneccessary worry. To top up with supplies we drove 500 km to Port Hedland and back which would took a whole day but it was good fun. Steve tried his hand at fishing a few times, but with no luck. We don’t think it was a good fishing season, the water was a bit cold. During our stay, we also caught up with several people we knew that were also passing through. That was nice.
Due to cyclone Ilsa destroying Pardoo Roadhouse, fuel was only available at Sandfire Roadhouse which is about 60 kilometres from the caravan park. Given that the stretch of road between Port Hedland and Broome is 600 km, this meant there were always many, many travelers wanting to refuel. This led to long waits and it was sometimes quite chaotic. We went to Sandfire just for lunch and to watch the saga. Quite entertaining!
Pam and Roy joined us for three weeks and it was lovely to catch up with them and spend some time in this amazing environment.
Upon returning from our caravan trip, Freddie was born and life was busy, filled in with so many things – appointments; maintenance around the house, car and van; catching up with friends and family; lunches and a never ending list of things to do. We were kept busy.
Sophie’s brother Sam and his girlfriend Caitlin have been living with us since February as they came out to Australia for a year. They have been lovely house guests and are no trouble at all. Both Sam and Caitlin have jobs and have embraced our beaches and sunshine in particular. Caitlin is heading home for Christmas and Sam will return home at the end of January. We think they’ve had a positive experience here.
Sophie’s mum, sister and nephew came out to visit from England for a month after Freddie was born. They were very busy going out and about and doing all those touristy things. It was nice for Sophie to have her family spend time with her, David, Poppy, Nora and Freddie.
David is still at Austal Shipping in Naval Base. He does heaps of overtime and can work 6 day weeks, but he is pretty laid back and likes the job he has. He is fabulous with his kids. We are so proud of him. Sophie is also amazing, looking after three little children whilst she continues her law studies - and manages to achieve outstanding grades. She juggles her time so well and is doing a great job.
Poppy is the kindest, sweetest, most caring little girl. (Not biased here!!) She heads to Year 1 next year. Wow, that went fast. Nora is an absolute character. She is full of life and energy and turns three next year. She goes to day care a few days a week. Freddie is just wonderful! The best baby ever!
We have Tyler over to stay when we can and he is now 12 years old! He is never any trouble and is easy to please and entertain. Poppy and Nora adore Tyler and they all get along well. It is so wonderful and such a joy to spend time with all of them. We love them so much.
Ashleigh is still at Hammond Park and had Pre Primary this year and will continue in Pre next year. She works very long hours and is a perfectionist so there is always something for her to do. Her classroom is such an amazing environment to walk into. Lucky children that she teaches! She still lives in South Perth in a lovely little unit that suits her needs.
She and Steve’s dad, Denis continue to have a wonderful relationship. “Pizza and Plonk” nights are a regular on their social calendar, as well as heading out to lunch or to the Swan Valley for wine tastings. It is so lovely. Denis still lives in the family house is keeping fit and healthy and will probably outlive us all!
Mark continues to live his own life in his house and while we don’t hear from him, David and Ashleigh keep in contact with him when they can and keep us filled in.
October saw us heading back to Broome again. We stayed at Moonlight Bay Apartments which suits our needs well. We caught up with Heather and Glenn there this year and had lots of fun with them both. We just enjoyed wandering around, stopping here and there and then meandering back to our apartment to watch the sunset and enjoy the warmth that is unique to The Kimberleys. We are hoping to get back again in 2024. It is becoming an enjoyable annual event!
In October we headed to a Cellar Door wine tasting event in Fremantle held by West Cape Howe wines, Mount Trio and several other wine makers. We went with Ashleigh, and our lovely friend Vicki. We had a great time and were not planning on buying any wine, but the delivery has occurred!
Steve continues to go metal detecting when he can, which unfortunately hasn’t been as much as he would like. He loves it and often will find an old coin or two or some interesting artifacts. Thankfully his plantar fasciitis is slowly getting better and Steve is now able to move a lot more freely than he could. Good news!
Due to a fridge issue in our caravan that occurred coming back along The Central Desert Road in 2022 we headed to Esperance where there is a fridge mechanic who was recommended to us by our friend Glenn. It is a long way to go, but we headed away in our van for 3 weeks in November for the repair - which was successful - and then came back via Kalgoorlie where we taught so many years ago. We had a great little trip although the day we arrived in Kalgoorlie it was 44 degrees! We managed a few nights camping in the bush as well and really enjoyed this opportunity.
More recently, we went on a Luxury Escape to The Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle with Roy and Pam. We enjoyed beautiful weather and lovely days wandering around Freo. Such stunning architecture and such a great atmosphere.
Travel for us next year will see us heading to Tasmania in February. We are driving across the Nullabor, catching the Spirit of Tasmania to get to Tassie and then going on a self guided tour for a month before heading home again. We are really looking forward to it! Keep posted for many photos!
That’s about it for 2023. All the best to everyone for a happy Christmas and a wonderful and safe 2024.
Love and good wishes to you.
Steve and Paula