TAKING A LITTLE BREAK DOWN SOUTH
The retired life for us is a very pleasant one. We live close to the ocean,
close to a river, close to an estuary, close to places to hike, to swim, to
stroll, to shop, and to generally enjoy. It makes us a little bit lazy when
it comes to taking time to go on vacation - we don't need to take a break
from anything.
That being said, it's still good for the soul to have a change of scenery,
to step away from routines and doing the same things each week. So, we
decided to take a little roadtrip down south to Albany. It's a lovely town
and it's where we spent our first year of married life - 42 years ago. We've
been back several times since, but it still calls to us every few years and
last week we decided to answer the call and spend a few days away from
home....
THE TRIP DOWN AND HOME AGAIN
I have
aphantasia
and I'm not good at long drives where there's not much to distract my
attention. A four hour drive down to Albany and the same again on the way
home is always a little daunting. The scenery is lots of gum trees, or lots
of farmland, with a few small towns in between. Fortunately my husband knows
I'm not the best traveller and made sure we stopped off for a coffee break
both ways - to give him a rest from driving, and to give our legs a bit of a
stretch.
OUR ACCOMMODATION IN ALBANY
Once we arrived I could feel the serenity soaking into my soul. The weather
was lovely - not too hot, and not too cold. We pulled into our accommodation
and had a little hiccup when there was no lockbox at our unit for our key,
and it looked a little dingy and neglected. After a couple of calls and
texts we discovered we were at the sister apartment complex of where we'd
booked.....so, back into the car and across the road to where we were
supposed to be.
And it was so much better than expected (phew) a townhouse decorated with a
little bit of French flair, in a beautiful setting, with a private courtyard
to relax in, and all that we needed to facilitate a home away from home
experience.
BEACHES, BEACHES, AND MORE BEACHES
Albany is known for Middleton Beach - a beautiful grassed foreshore with
huge pines (see my header pic) leading onto white sand that is so powdery it
feels like walking through flour. Every morning we were out walking along
the shoreline watching all the early morning swimmers and the dog walkers
who meet up one end to let their dogs frolic in the surf. Everyone was so
friendly and it was just a joy strolling along enjoying the morning air.
Ross went swimming each day, but it was a bit to chilly in the water for my
old bones.
We did some little day trips to surrounding areas - he went hiking at Bald Head, and we went together to Denmark for a wander through town and along
the riverbank. We also headed down the main street of Albany to window shop
and stopped for a coffee here and there. I will confess to having the worst
coffee in my recent memory at one little cafe. We stopped there because it
wasn't too crowded - and after that coffee I understood why! Moral of the
story - choose a cafe that is popular with the locals - there's a reason for
it being full of people. That being said, the local fish and chips were delicious, and there were plenty of quirky little places to explore.
A VERY PLEASANT TIME AWAY
The days flew by and we were heading home again feeling a lot more relaxed
than when we arrived. Part of the appeal of being away was that we've just
hired a company to do a complete gut and rebuild of our main upstairs
bathroom. Oh.my.goodness! It's bigger than Ben Hur with noise and workmen
and dust and destruction. I'm sure it will all be worth it in the end, but I
was certainly appreciative of this small window of reprieve from it
all.
So, that's our holiday - one we enjoyed from top to toe - and we'll
definitely be heading down under again in the next few years.
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Hi Leanne. It sounds like it was a very enjoyable holiday. I miss the ocean and white sandy beaches. I'm glad you had a nice break. Thank you for sharing your get-away with us. ♥️
ReplyDeleteHi Christina - it's been a while since we went anywhere and it seemed like a nice change to what I usually blog about - and yes it was such a lovely time away.
DeleteHi Leanne,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a wonderfully relaxing and nostalgic trip! Considering you spent your early married life in Albany made the trip all the more special.
In our case, my wife is the typical traveller, and it's mostly I who ends up doing all the planning!
The French-themed townhouse looks charming!
Your advice about choosing popular cafes is spot-on! It's always a good idea to follow the locals.
Glad to know that everything went off well, and you got back more refreshed and energized.
Thanks for sharing this little write-up about your getaway!
Hi Pradeep - I'm less and less keen on being the organizer and planner for travelling - it just seems to add to the stress for me, so I'm very impressed with your wife taking on all the associated tasks.
DeleteIt really is nice to go somewhere we're familiar with, but that also has a variety of things to keep us both interested. It was also lovely to stay in accommodation that was well looked after and so close to the beach.
Hi Leanne,
ReplyDeleteYour getaway sounds fabulous! I love Albany too - it is beautiful.(although I don’t have the same special association with it that you do). Your accommodation looks lovely.
Hope all goes smoothly with the rest of the bathroom renovation. Great idea to be away from it for a bit.
Thanks for sharing your experience 🩷
Hi Sue - it was such a lovely break from all the chaos going on at our house. I'm amazed at how unsettling it is to have our routine thrown out with all the comings and goings of the tradies (and the noise!) Stepping away for a few days helped with the de-stressing, but now we're back into it all again. I'll be very happy when the next few weeks are behind us and it's back to peace and quiet again!
DeleteLooks lovely! I'm inspired by your taking it easy type of days. I've booked us on a road trip next week - we need to get away, though the planning of it has been sub-par. I usually have our trips fully thought out before leaving - what to do each day. I finally did make a few dinner reservations at our destinations. One restaurant I really wanted to try was fully booked until 8:45PM every night already! I cannot imagine really enjoying a full dinner at 9:15 PM, so not going to be trying that place. I'm now thinking some leisurely walking will be part of the days!
ReplyDeleteHi - no idea why it went in anonymous! It's me. :-)
DeleteHi Pat - walking along that beach in the cool of the morning with no breeze was just so restorative. I'm such a believer in walking for pleasure and not for how many steps I can tick off. It was lovely to be away and disconnected for a while, but I wonder if it made things feel more frenetic when we came back into the chaos. I've realized that before construction happens, destruction needs to occur - I'm sure there's a blog post in this bathroom reno!
DeleteLeanne, what a wonderful getaway. I can see why you return. Revisiting memories is such a treat for the soul. Your accommodations look inviting. Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteThanks Suzanne - it's not a cruise, or a month long holiday, but we seem to do best with small getaways atm. Maybe down the track big-travel will beckon again, but in the meantime it's nice to have little snatches of doing something different.
DeleteHi, Leanne - Your trip sounds absolutely lovely. The beaches, the relaxed pace, and even the little hiccups (like the coffee misadventure!) all make for great memories. Glad you had this refreshing getaway—definitely well deserved!
ReplyDeleteHi Donna - nothing on the scale that you guys do regularly, but a nice change of scenery for us, and a little escape from all the disruption of the bathroom destruction and reconstruction!
DeleteI really must get to WA one day!! Your little break looks lovely Leanne and a good way to unwind with all the other noise and destruction going on. Glad you returned home feeling more relaxed.
ReplyDeleteHi Deb - I think a lot more WA folk have been to the East coast than vice versa. It's a long way to come - but there's plenty of beautiful places to see. This was a different holiday to our Rottnest visits, but a lovely time of peace and serenity.
DeleteIt sounds like a lovely get-away, Leanne. So glad you could enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Christie - it was lovely to leave all the renovation noise behind and have a little breather.
Delete