Riding & Eating

Those Clancy's are well setup to take on some extra bike riding with the new all tilting bike rack that enables easier access to the car's rear even with the bikes in place.  So it was given a test run by driving part the way towards Queenscliff and unloading from about 6km out. We followed the rail trail to town with a coffee stop and then back to the car the same way.  We had booked the Whiskery for lunch so had to get a move on once we reached the cars.  The Whiskery has a good ambience. The cool shade trees were occupied so we went indoors where we had it to ourselves. The style is more fingerfood than pub meals and I wish they would bring back the lobster roll however we made do with at least five platters. This is a good spot just 10 minutes away.

Wino's Wine bar

We went back to the local wine bar and got the same table as last time which is actually up against the bar.   Next time I would like a different table as it is a bit too cosy as the everpresent barman can lean right into our space and become part of the group. The finger food platters are the best and there is no need for any thing else. The champagnes went down well especially the imported French one but if you are having birthday drinks for Tim then nothing but the best. We arrived at 5:00pm and left around 8:00pm. 

Land Banking

 Don't think I like the term Land Bank. It seems developers hold plots of land until they have enough to get rezoning done or onsell or repurpose.  The house next door has been sold to a chinese developer. The house just happens to be next to a vacant block that has never had a house on it which also happens to be separating another house that went up for sale this week. This is like a large retirement suburb where the house turnover can be quick. We have had five elderly residents die from our street since we have been here and usually it is more elderly types who buy in. Hopefully Mr Chinese is not trying to put up 10 condominiums.

two for sales signs and an empty block

 

Strawberry Fare

 The consequence of putting in new strawberry plants is that they are slow to get going. There has been some colour on some plants and I managed to pick our first but small strawb today. Other plants have shown some shrivelled fruit but there does seem to be a few batches starting to sprout. I crossed the road to the land of the sand. The overnight tide was high and I could see how it topped the ridge dune and pooled in a few spots down behind.  I walked this line and picked up two bottles, some underwear, the usual small plastics like lids, a spoon and a straw.  There was also a poo bag. On the way back up I got a second bag which had deliberately been left to taunt everyone as they went passed. How nasty.

Cycle Suspension

 I got the video unloaded from the GoPro which I had mounted to Debbie's handlebars. There are numerous places to mount these things which would have had an unobstructed view however it is what it is. This is an enclosed water proof version of the camera and we have had heat issues in the past where it will switch off if it is too hot.  No such problems this time.  I have had to cut it severely to get down to clip size but it shows the trail ok. There are many bikes and some at speed.

Kaia star of the show

 The afternoon was a well organised three year old birthday.  At first Kaia seemed unsure of getting all the attention but seemed to get used to the spotlight by the end of the day. The main banquet table was just the right size to handle 12 ankle biters with a steady supply of  sausage rolls, pies, sushi and quiche, don't forget the ice cream. The adults also got plenty of that finger food as well. The highlight was the pinata for the kids and the cocktails for the mums.  That was a long fun weekend now for a rest day.

Sunday Sweat Club

 Yes we started the day with a gym session, as we are trying to beat current PemBro side effects and is also now part of the recovery phase ie try to have one physical session per day.   We have our own gym here but the Willie gym is better.  I used the bicycle machine while Debbie did a rotation thru just about every piece of equipment. We went around to the library and I had in the back of my mind the parking committee at that other famous retirees village. I was imagining the library committee here headed by a Mr Tulk lookalike and sure enough when I looked back thru the pages of signouts, I finally found the entry for the overdue book I was returning. It had a pink texta highlight right across where I had to sign the book back in. We now have the eye of the book detectives on us.  And guess what I found on the shelves "The Man who Died Twice" so now I can get back on track.  

Bicycle Beach

 We have been wanting to try this and had to get a bit makeshift.  The bikes were still prepped from the morning effort and I found that if I slung the large umbrella across my back I could still peddle freely. Keeping it there was tricky.  I emptied my backpack and we gould get two towels as well as four travellers in there with the weekender questions and a packet of snacks. The drinks were wrapped in a cooler bag with ice blocks.  It was the biggest crowd I have seen for a while on Williamstown beach and the water was inviting.  The transport worked well and was an easy breezy ride of 15 minutes. There are many options with kiosks at both ends plus a restuarant and a cafe.  They are all the things we don't have at ours but get a beach on your doorstep first.

VeloWay All the Way

Hooray, this time we were allowed onto the veloway after finding it was all locked up about a month ago when we last tried it.  This is an engineering masterpiece with large sections suspended over Footscray Rd. The whole area is unrecognisable compared to when I was riding thru here to MMBW and MITS last century.  We stopped at Docklands for the 2nd day in a row.  We haven't been there for years and now it is twice in two days. The veloway is a dream run and gets you there in 14km of largely uninterrupted riding. Don't be a pedestrian on the suspended section.  It crosses the Maribyrnong but not the Yarra, you will still need to use the bike ferry to do that but this way gets you to the city in good time. We took 40 mins each way for the total 26km.  There is also some video which I need to unload soon.  At least this way I cleared the sinuses.

Bill the Nerd

 We got to the Christmas present last night and its name was Bill.  I read a few of his books which have a lot of humour but the most factual is the "History of nearly everything" which I thought was the best. On stage he was hamming it up with readings of book excerpts, interspersed with video clips and some of the walk in the woods film.  He was gloating over the choice of Robert Redford to play himself.  Bill has a lot of facts and revelations in his head but if I had to write one down here it would be the sheer size of the universe and its starting from one point somewhere.  This means there are plenty of other inhabited planets out there but their distance is so far away that we are effectively alone, as trying to cross 200-300 million light years is not going to happen.  We are a speck of dirt in an ocean of nothing. 

Three Part Day

 Part One would be getting up in time to drive our way to town for an unscheduled Alfred appointment by 10:30 am.  Fortunately a cancellation meant there was more time for the Doc to see us. I sat this one out downstairs due to this head cold that seems to be clearing slowly. The waiter service was good down there who brought me free cappuccinos and biscuits just like in Thursday Murder Club. We were able to get around to Docklands Urban Alley for Part Two which was a luncheon appointment at 12:30.  They have a good $20 lunch offer which most of us used and of course you had to try the amber stuff they brew in house. We have now made it back to Williamstown for the afternoon snooze to be ready in time for the Uber pickup at 6:30pm for Part Three. I haven't done this much daily activity since I was working. Phew!

Part One - Lobby Service

Part Two - Beer Service

Part Three - Author Service

The Late Show

 I have read quite a lot of Michael Connelly and there is nothing like a cops and robbers theme. You've got your good cops and bad cops, throw in some criminals, a body or five and there is another crime caper right there.  This is the first of the Ballard series and there are at least 5 more books. I have also watched the TV series but I could not remember it exactly.  The books eventually get the retired Bosch back on the scene and I do remember him making an appearance in the show as well, however this is the Ballard the crime buster from now on and series 2 is on the way.

 

Not Much Storm

 There was a bit of wind and a bit of rain overnight but it did not amount to much. Our tank is still pretty empty.  I took the morning constitutional and carried the rubbish bag with me.  The water was stirred by last nights activity and was quite murky and not inviting. There were two larger items to pickup one being a volleyball (deflated) and the other was a helmet and hopefully no one was wearing it when it went overboard. There is a constant parade of very large ships passing thru here and most would require these helmets. The rest of the haul was the usual, a coke bottle and can, straws, rope pieces and plastics. I left one poo bag hanging on the fence as it was tied there. Surely that means it will be picked up on the way back.

Evening Cool

 We delayed the cool down until late, that way the Sun loses most of its sting but it was still 30° also Debbie had a chance to do some work catchup earlier in the day.  There were a few people around so we went to the far end and found some shallows that would swallow our wallow.  This was a soak while watching the Sunset. We also had a traveller each back on the beach so a pleasant way to end the day.

 

Cool Shallows

I have some sort of head cold. Who gets one of these in Summer and where did it come from?   It started with a headache and now I am hearing crunchy noises in my ear.  I also needed a puffer spray at one stage. I decided to wander over and simply lay in the water.  Nothing to physical.  I spied the Pirate moving out this morning it looked like he was heading to Geelong. I saw him working the sails as well, so it is not just laying back in the wheel house letting the engine do all the work.   Where are my Buccaneers?

... under my Buccanhat.

Boatarama

 It's all happening on a sunny Sunday, on the water that is. No doubt there will be a lot of cars outside by this afternoon but right now it is boat city. I have mentioned the Pirate before and once again he is back in town just below us. Also as I stand at the sink another yacht has come in to drop anchor.  I don't think it is too quiet for them as there are numerous fisherman moving around always looking for the best spot.  However it is the seadoos and the crazy couches that are towed at speed which really flay the bay, wave the water and stir the sea.

Coast Care Calm

 I went across with a multiple session in mind, a few throws and a beach walk cleanup.  I started with the throws and did two sets of eight with a slow walk between each set to the end of the beach. I took the rubbish bag to make a start. On the way back I met up with one of the coast care guys. The metal sheet I reported some weeks back has been piled into a stack of sheets and reported to the council. I was not going to help him carry them up.  The beach has been quite clean this year and one factor is the lack of strong winds so far.  I got two cans (one I waded in for), plastic bags, ciggie butts and small rope pieces.  The throws are still at the 14 paces length.

Gladdies & Orchids

 There hasn't been a lot of rain so far this year.  Yesterdays would be called a shower at best. For the first time since we have been here the water pressure from the tank has dwindled to a trickle. You can still give yourself a rinse off but it is a slow business. I would say it was a quarter full doing the old tap tap tap on the side test.  The watercan has been busy indoors though as the orchids are blooming.  We also have a spray of gladdies at the moment drinking us dry.  The last couple of mornings have had a hint of Autumn about them.

Bullet that Missed

 There is nothing worse than getting a series of books out of order and some how I jumped from book 1 to book 3 in this lot.   The stories are self contained but there are references to the previous volume and may even drop a hint about what happens there.  I blame the covers. If somebody dies twice then have a coffin on there or if the bullet misses then have a bullet.  These books all look the same, so does this mean I am judging the covers by the book. There is less of the retirement village in this one but the Thursday Murder Club does seem to be getting a lot more members.

Swim before Storm

It was 30° or so this morning, tide was up, Sun was out and breeze slight. Lots of boxes ticked except for the jellies.  These things are still hanging around.  I swam along the closer groyne and bypassed perhaps 8 jellies. There were a few good fish in the area so that was also a tick. On the way back I took a closer look at a larger jelly. There was space to swim around it and this one had trailing tentacles that were clearly seen. Yesterday walking along there were at least six washed up. 

Walk to the Reef

We got the Taylors on a morning constitutional to the reef area on the way to the Dell. Yes well, if you are walking there then you may as well go all the way to the top.  The morning was so calm that we could see what we could not see before.  There was an aerial view of the reef and for the first time I noticed that it had a wavy pattern to it rather than straight sides which can't really be seen as you are swimming along. The snorkelling would have been very calm except the Sun was not out. Also the mineral springs area was clear of grass and being so calm we could clearly see the mineral water bubbling out of the rock shelf.  You could bottle that.

notice the shapes below the surface near the yellow marker