Brian's Dingle Dell

Brian is here on a trip from Darwin primarily to check in on his Mum but seeing he has not ventured down to Geelong lately he has called in here for a stay as well.  We got him out on the traditional newbie walk to the Dell.   It is made a lot easier these days with the boradwalk. The tide was still up at 0.8 metres so I swam part of the way in perfect conditions.  The depth of view was very good and there was only one other couple who we met along the way.  They live for Summer in Germany and come to Australia for the other Summer every year. What a lifestyle.  

Perfect Dell

Decorations

 It is time to get out the 50 yar old christmas stockings again. Some backbone repairs were done last time to straighten and strengthen, this time I tended to all the little tears and cracks, particularly where the pin holes from previous years were gathering.  As the tree was going up we realised that we need to hold back on a few decos as there is nothing to put up at Williamstown.  A few decos around the door should do.  We need to keep the bottom branches clear anyway due to anklebiters that explore.

Asher rules the pool

 I think it was the first day over 30° this Summer and we had to wait for the first week of December.  We did not get to spend any beach time however there was 2hrs of pool time back at the old haunt.  The pool area is unchanged and was mostly empty, maybe five others besides us.  Asher is taking to the water like a fish and when it comes time to pack up she will let you know she is not happy about it.  In the meantime there was plenty of shade at this pool and lots of water play.

Asher's Christmas lights

 We started out at Geelong checking where the Christmas tree is and the light show that surrounds it.   The Young Endeavour was in port as well as the cruise ship. We got back to our place and Asher was already there bursting for a play session.  We also got down to the beach for a couple of hours before lunch.  She needed a big sleep in the afternoon if we were going to head back to Geelong for the lightshow.  We got there about 8:45pm and watched the tree show until it got really dark.  It is an electronic tree made of light bulbs.  As it turned out the Carols by the Bay show were on at the other end near Eastern Beach, however we were able to see their fireworks climax from our position.  By now it was 10:00pm so I think Asher would have had a good sleep in at the van this morning.  I'll need an extra snooze today myself.

Younf Endeavour & Star Breeze

inside a bauble

Star Breeze

 This is a small cruise ship style accommodating only 312 guests maximum.  It docked into Geelong yesterday so that has to be a sign of getting back to normal.  What is more amazing is that they have all brought a bicycle with them.  It is a global cruise seeking out the world's best bike riding and they have come to Geelong to ride on the Bellarine Rail Trail today.  How do you hear about this sort of thing?  It seems Geelong is getting on the map again with eight cruise ships docking this Summer.  We spied it last night when I picked Debbie up in Geelong. Its impressive when you can see ships docked at the end of the street whikle walking around town. Reminds me of the times we came back to our ship at the end of the day.

arriving in Geelong

Clear Water

 For the first time the water is very clear with sunshine for some illumination. There is still a bit of suspended grass floating but mainly near the rock groyne.  I tried to use the new fangled watch to measure the swimming distance. I did get a reading of 300 metres but that seems a nicely rounded number. I think a few more goes will be needed for consistency. This video is from a few days back and a bit dark in the water. I tried a different area where there seem to be large hollows in the sand. Also saw a big starfish which seem to be rare.  Also managed to buy some Gurnard at the fishery, good value, feeds two for $12.  Did one other visit to the blood nurse who is doing a prostate test for my visit next week.

Summer Not

 Can't let the first day of Summer pass without trying the swim. I waited a while for a passing shower to disappear in the distance.  It was 10:00am and for the first time I did the swim at maximum high tide which was 1.1m and about as deep as it gets around here. Mind you my diving is non existant so when I spied a yellow golf ball a bit deeper it took two goes to get down to grab it.  One technique is to exhale before you go under as you are less buoyant becuase everything I am wearing keeps you on the surface.  Also for the first time I have picked up an aluminium can from the bottom as well.  Back on land I saw a guy in the distance who was picking up rubbish.  Hooray a fellow garbologist.

This guy was using his backpack to put the stuff in