Tuesday, March 23

A Day of Time Out.




We had such a lovely day out of our 'real lives'. We caught a luxury Coach at the crack of dawn, literally, and were so surprised to realise the day was incredibly humid!! At 6am everyone was perspiring profusely, and not comfortable at all.

As we stood waiting in the extremely humid, predawn gloom, for the 'Luxury Coach' we fervently hoped to have quick relief!


You can imagine our glee, to discover the Luxury included wonderful Aircontioned comfort, so we could sit in comfort, dry, and relaxed as our Coach sped off on Motorways & Freeways we had no idea even existed in our State!

As we overheard a fellow traveller exclaim, we had no real conception of the country, as the motorways by- passed all the small towns & communities we sped past, on the vast, double sided Highway to the South.

We were surprised to be in Kiama in what seemed a very short time. We were treated to a Devonshire morning tea, at a Club in Kiama. It was declared to be far too generous, by all who partook. Many did not, manae to eat much of the proffered viands, and the Scones were far too large and far too laden with cream.
However, back onto the Coach, after comfort visits.

On we sped, to the Berry Country Markets. They had many varieties of goodies on offer. My favourite was the Spanish Guitarist, who played one of my favourite melodies. I bought his proffered CD,  as my daughter had provided me with money to get whatever I chose for my recent birthday.




My travel companion is a good friend, and we had many laughs along the way. We sampled wonderful OliveTappenades, dips and sauces. We also tasted some prawns to die for!! One could almost dine out, at the Country Markets! 
I made friends with a lot of small dogs ( and some large, ) who were visitors to the show, with their doting owners.
We were amazed at how green the countryside looked. My friend, who comes from a Region South of here, was amazed, and says she can remember travelling to Sydney, seeing all of this region brown and seemingly dead. We have had a very wet Summer this year.

I have previously blogged about Men & Sheds, & the Importance to their Wellbeing the Sheds provide. Here is a photo of the Men' s Shed in Berry. I am assuming the Men of Berry are in good health!

Our Coach was somewhat bogged down at Berry. Due to recent high rainfall, the Coaches had to keep on moving on, with their parking areas, as they were sinking into the grassy areas they normally used for parking.

Here is a pic of the beach at Kiama, from the Coach.


And here, is the Blowhole performing.


Here. another
view of the spray from the Blowhole. The noise could be quite dramatic. The huge Whumping noise before the spray emerged was eerie in a strange way.


 

Here are the spectators lined up on the viewing platforms to see the Blowhole performing. I have experienced other Blowholes in New Zealand, both in the North and South Islands, so I was familiar with the phenomenon.




When we returned to Kiama, we met a Pink Cow. She was outside a Community Center, which had many fascinating items for sale. One item was a lovely Coffee Table with mosaic work on the surface. My Scrabble playing friend just missed out on buying a lovely turntable, also done in beautiful mosiac.

The local Park was beautiful. Green and full of child friendly activities to be enjoyed.
I felt the gardens were wonderful, and a credit to the small community that keeps it so beautiful.



How green and lush is the Park for all to enjoy.


My friend L & I posed for a friendly photographer, who took our photo under the wonderful Memorial Arch.
By this time, I was seriously lame, and could walk no further, so we went back to the Coach, to continue our journey home.
I am the figure on the left in the pic, looking seriously knackered!!
All in all, it was a lovely day, & we both enjoyed the change of pace, and reality of our everyday lives.

I I have my own computer back, and am quite proud of the fact I mamaged to get my sound up & running on my own. I need to qualify that, as it was with help from my Computer Whizz friend.



Gomez, Tijuana Lady

18 comments:

persiflage said...

It sounds like such an enjoyable day, and I am so glad you have your computer back working again. Your absence made me feel quite anxious. I hope you recovered from the activity-induced lameness.
Having travelled throughout NSW by train, and also having driven to Canberra, I too was amazed at how green the countryside is. It was gorgeous. At one stage I saw white lilies growing wild in the bush. I'd love to know the story there.
I'd love to gad about more. There is so much lovely country to see.

Anonymous said...

Scones, classical guitar music, someone else doing the driving, seeing the lovely sites ... what more could one need for a wonderful day. Sounds terrific.

Thimbleanna said...

You're looking very happy and relaxed Meggie! Sounds like you had a wonderful day out. And thanks for the pictures of the blowholes -- I have seen them before, just didn't know that is what they are called -- not sure what we call them though?

Elaine Adair said...

Oh good - EVERYONE deserves days like this - wish I was there!

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Hi there Meggie! I am not sure how you found my blog but thanks for dropping by. I enjoyed reading about your excursion to Berry and elsewhere but I was a bit confused about your reference to "comfort visits". Is this where you go into a shop to buy soft furnishings such as cushions? Or is it where you relax in a sauna before being massaged with coconut oil by a smiling person from Thailand?

Catalyst said...

What a wonderful day! Thanks for your report and photos, Meggie. BTW, what are "men's sheds"?

But, most important of all, welcome back!

ancient one said...

I enjoyed your escape from your real life for a day. Day trips are enough for me. Something about being home at night that satisfies me most.

Mom has gone home this week. Wants to see if she can manage by herself. Of course my sister lives right across the road and checks on her often. So far she says she is doing just fine. So my life for the last two months has now changed again.

I'm coming back to see what you answer about the men's sheds and the comfort visits... just to see if what I thought is correct... LOL

Pauline said...

a delightful journey as usual!

Cathy said...

I think you just had a Day Out to rival any youngsters 'Big Day Out'
Sounds like you had loads of fun and laughter along the way

Meggie said...

Hi Everyone,
I have previously blogged about Men & their Sheds. There is a theory over here that men need sheds in their lives to mess about in, enjoying time away from wives etc. It is supposedly vital for male mental health. A lot of modern homes don't have much space or no garden, so no shed. Communities have begun providing Men's Sheds for the men to go & potter about with other men, doing presumably, manly things.
As I have previously blogged, Gom has the double garage, here to endlessly rearrange and 'play' about.
As for the Comfort visits, that is alas, not some lovely massage or sauna, but merely a toilet stop!
The Coach does have a toilet, at the very rear of the coach, and the driver asked everyone to make sure they shut the door, if they used it, or they might see pictures of themselves on the Internet!
We all laughed, and though I guess it was not a 'PC' remark, no one took offence.

I had wanted to have a day trip like that for a long time, and would do it again. Lovely not to have to worry about driving, and just relax.

Stomper Girl said...

I love that neck of the woods. I lived in Wollongong for 3 years and one of these days I'm taking my kids there to see it! Glad you had a great day, sounds like you've needed some sunshine in your life recently!

Mary Johnson said...

It sounds like such a lovely outing. Glad you enjoyed yourself.

ancient one said...

It WAS what I thought. I guess my husband's lawnmower shop is his man shed. Lot of men visit who do not need work done on their lawnmowers. My husband has 4 barns. His mental health is fine. LOL

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

Glad you had so much fun.

Cathi said...

What a wonderful time it sounds like you had!! I love the pink cow. One summer our then-mayor decided, for whatever reason, to put statues of moose all around the city. Some were dressed up, others were unadorned. They were a real talking point for that summer. There's still the odd one that is sighted here and there.

Granny J said...

Lovely cow! Wouldn't mind adding it to my collection, Meggie. BTW, over here they talk about Man Caves -- same idea as th sheds.

MJ said...

Thanks for popping past my blog!

I am delighted to have read of your daytrip. I have never seen blow-holes, not even heard them mentioned so I was fascinated with that phenomena! The park in that small community is fabulous!

Tanya said...

Thanks for the outing! What beautiful scenery! I would love to see the blowhole and hear what you describe!