We're Back!!!

Hello again all you faithful followers. 

We have been off the air, and residing at Rockdale, not far from Sydney Airport, for the past few weeks, catching up with family and friends, and attending to all those necessary things following the death of Carolyn's mum. It has been really hectic!!

We are indeed fortunate to have such a wide circle of family and friends. The trouble is it's a big group, and even four weeks wasn't enough time to catch up with everyone. Still we gave it our best shot!! There was a family birthday party, Wednesday golf at Moore Park for John, and countless lunches and dinners, all interspersed with visits to lawyers, real estate agents, accountants, financial planners (hoping for a miracle!), doctors, dentists, optometrists etc. etc. We were out so often, I was worried Carolyn would forget how to cook!! Thankfully all is OK on that front. So if we missed catching up, sorry, we will do it all again soon and catch up then.

It was especially lovely to see John's mum, looking so well. We spent a good deal of time there, sorting out Carolyn's mum's things, and at the same time we had a really good clean out of our caravan. Mum's eyes were like saucers when she saw the mess in the garage, but she kept the cups of tea coming, and by the time we left, all was back in order, albeit with a few extra boxes stored.

We stay at the Sheralee Caravan Park at Rockdale due to the convenient location for all we had to do. The Ritz it ain't, but the managers are nice and friendly, and it is a bit like old home week, as many of those staying there, are like us, catching up with family & friends, so some, we have met before. The park has a lot of permanents, and is the last stop for a lot of backpackers in their cheapie camper vans, so lets say it is quite an eclectic mix of cultures. The police paddy wagon is a regular at night, and the Federal Police often drive through looking for "illegals" living among the permanents. This time we only heard the one incident. A blood curdling scream at 4.00am one Saturday, with a lady threatening her husband with a knife. The locals had it under control. Apparently it happens all the time!!!

The new car

The other exciting news for us, is that we have upgraded our towing vehicle. The old petrol Toyota Landcruiser, has been a reliable old girl, but she just simply guzzles too much gas. So we have upgraded to a 2010 turbo diesel model of the Toyota 200 Series Landcruiser. These newer, twin turbo diesel engines, are much more fuel efficient, and have a lot more power. We love it, and if the first short towing run is any indication, life on the road will be a lot easier on the pocket. We expect to save around $5,000.00 per year on fuel, based on the miles we have covered in the last two years. That's a lot!!

Nice salmon!

Fred and Friends clean the catch.

We are now in Shellharbour Beachside Caravan Park, which was the short run in the new car. We only have a few days here, as it is booked out over the holiday weekend. Still it will give us a chance to catch up with Bev & Fred. Give the boys some time to do a little fishing, weather permitting, and time for Carolyn & Bev to take up the Bingo Challenge at the Shellharbour Worker's Club! Well the boys haven't lost their touch. First day out saw a good catch of 9 good sized Flathead, a nice Morwong and Fred caught a whopper of a snapper. Best one he has caught. No camera on board!!!! Next day was quieter, with only a smaller snapper and a salmon, before the wind came up and we headed for shore.

Ribs and Bibs for dinner.

For our break up party we headed out to the movies and a new restaurant called Ribs and Rumps. It is a carnivores paradise. Only vegetable allowed is chips!! We all opted for small servings. Thank God!! It was really delicious. Carolyn & I opted for the pork ribs, while Bev and Fred went for steaks. It was all first class. They offer a challenge, that if you can eat the large steak and large rib combo, you get your photo on the wall of fame and discounts for life or some such thing. Surely no one will ever make the wall! The guy at the next table ordered a mixed grill. His wife took a photo, but all she got was his forehead poking over the pile of meat!!! He was still eating as they turned out the lights! 

We had a terrific storm over night, that was mostly wind and lightning. Sure lit up the caravan park! This morning we headed over to Camden for the long weekend. On Wednesday we will start heading down to Victoria to get the long overdue roof repair done on the caravan, some touring around the Victorian countryside, and a week with Lynne & Paul, who will have their camper trailer at picturesque Warburton (near Healesville),  in mid October.

The new car has been performing like a dream. We keep checking the rear view mirror to make sure the caravan is still attached, so effortlessly does the turbo diesel pull it along. What a difference!

 Ahhh it's so good to be back on the road again!!!!!