Backpackers Rejoice

Travelling on the euphemistic "fixed income" can be challenging at the best of times and this trip was possibly pushing it but sometimes a girl's gotta go what a girl's gotta do and a long drive was just what I needed.

And Melaluka Apartments solved the accommodation problem easily. It is the backpackers that is next to the white ute on the street. Wondering why I took and posted such a crappy photo? Well it is to demonstrate the distance to the beach .... see my car in the bottom right hand corner, well after I took this shot I literally crossed the road and I was in the beach carpark!

Now it is a backpackers so forget the spa and concierge but there is only 5 beds in the complex so it is nice and private, the place is REALLY clean, the bed was comfortable ... oh and did I mention I got a private room for less than $30 each night ... 100 metres from the beach in Noosa? And I got to sleep with the sound of the ocean each night.

There is no catch. And if there is 5 of you you can book the entire apartment out. I would highly recommend it and should I ever be back up that way I will certainly be staying there again :-)

Guess Where I Went on Saturday?

What a great set up! 

The train is a must - Ron the driver is nothing short of a legend, the information played over the speakers is absolutely fascinating and it is a great way to see parts of the complex that the public can't otherwise access. 

The landscaping is stunning. Many of the plants are named (which I personally appreciated - especially when I was checking out all the different ginger plants). The water ponds are places I could have stayed at forever. The range of birdlife (including the various domesticated ones) is wonderful - keep an ear out for all the birdcalls as you walk around.

The food area is a buzz. The hot food menu isn't extensive but so very well presented and quality ingredients. I chose the very simple basket of chips with ginger aioli, with a ginger beer (yes I was on a theme). Now the chips would have to be some of the best I had ever had - crisp, hot, the inside fluffy and the vital little puff of steam when you snap them in half. The aioli wasn't what I would personally call a true aioli (you gotta know I am picky) as it had a texture closer to a tartare but please don't take that as a complaint - the taste was divine and I spent time trying (unsuccessfully) to identify all the ingredients so I can make it at home - it would be great with seafood and salads and on bread and... well :-). There is also an ice-cream shop with all the flavors of the rainbow - especially those involving ginger - including a ginger and lemon sorbet that I meant to go back to but forgot.

The shops. There is a great range of character shops stocking the full range of commercial tourist gifts through to the handmade and unique. I must admit I skipped the t-shirts and stickers in favor of flavored macadamias (the mango and chili were my two favorites). Other highlights were the spices, the handmade soap (including the one that was "rainwater" flavored) and my companions were particularly pleased with the offerings in the fudge shop.

There is also a cooking school - which I shall save for another time lol.

Now this is not a full list - I am sorry to say that the pain got a bit too much after a bit so I had to cut things short (missed all of the honey displays for one) but that just makes it an excellent excuse to go back next time lol.

And the link (the website doesn't appear to do the place justice but always convenient to have to hand)....

"This Land Is Mine, This Land Is Me"

With thanks to Paul Kelly for the words for something that I didn't know existed, let alone express.

I started singing his song unbidden as the plane came from the ocean over somewhere near Esperance (my guess) - I didn't even know I knew it. I felt my heart leap as I saw the flat expanse roll out before me. My eyes teared as the golds and browns dominated the horizon. It got more and more real as I traveled around once I landed. I stood on the farm and inhaled the smell that is home. I cannot deny it - I am West Australian.

I knew I missed the smell of the land when I moved over here and while I am more than happy living in the land of green and rain and mountains and have no plans to ever again live in "the flat brown desert", I do acknowledge it is so a part of me. And I didn't realize it until I went back there.

The Best ...

Inspired by Robert Fulgham's quest for "the perfect chicken fried steak from a diner" I spent some time years ago searching for "the perfect sausage roll from a service station". Now Mrs Mac's contribution looks inedible and tastes even worse so she, and all of the commercial brands were soon dismissed - I probably should have had danger money just for trying them!

After literally thousands of kilometres of travel and a lot of so-so sausage rolls I came across an absolute winner - sold by the BP in Williams it was a homemade creation that included delightlfuly flaky pastry wrapping a mixture featuring meat meat and more meat (missing in so many others lol) as well as onions, spices and a few ingredients I will keep secret in case I spoil their market. It was a bonus a year or so later when I could buy them at the roadhouse in Beaufort River.

Now I am not pretending in any way these are a health food, but when one is on holidays calories don't count do they? I got this baby from the Arthur River Roadhouse while waiting for my bus back to Perth.I seriously contemplated having two - I mean who knows when I will get another one but images of Monty Python's restaurant skit (you know the one) put a stop to that.

New Photos

I have been going through the ol' holiday snaps and some of them have turned out rather well. I have loaded them onto Pool. You can check them out if you are so inclined :-)

This one was taken at 'RobertJayne' Brother Graham and SIL Nancy's farm and is one if my favorites :-)

Licence Plates

WA has a great way of issuing licence plates - aside from the generic state plates, each shire can also issue their own plates - so as you drive down the highway (or sit in a cafe in Bellingen) you can tell whether soemone is from Collie or Karratha or whatever. Now I personally have a wave at everyone policy (or more to the point, list the pointer finger in a friendly gesture) but it is always handy to know if they are m ore likely to be someone you actually know.

This is just a very random sample taken on my travels.

A quick explanation: the black and white plates were the first ones issued (GN 1910 - from Greenough), followed by the yellow and black range (9HT 794 - a generic plate) when they ran out of numbers. The first personalised plates were the blue and black (JAC 999) and soon after the Eagles plates (logo 029).

The blue and white range are the latest (1AYK 695 - a generic plate) and expected to last for the foreseeable future. They are also available for towns and shires (W 19 for Wagin), (PL - 561 for Plantagenet), (AL 22132 for Albany) or (JP 936 for Jerramungup). A full list of all the shire plates can be found here.

Just thought you would like to know :-)

The World Isn't Flat

Taken from the airplane on the way to Perth.

I'll Wilt!

The forecast for Perth this week:

Tuesday    Sunny.  Min 12     Max 30
Wednesday  Sunny.  Min 15     Max 35
Thursday   Sunny.  Min 19     Max 36
Friday     Sunny.  Min 19     Max 35
Saturday   Very hot. Sunny.   Min 19     Max 39
Sunday     Very hot. Sunny.   Min 21     Max 42

Aaaarrrghhh! Okay so I will actually only be in Perth for Wednesday and start heading south on Thursday but you have got to be kidding!!!!

Photo: "Three Years" by orbatid

Some People

I rang to book my train ticket on Friday and I am sure that if the woman in the call centre had a manual and was judged on on 'How to make things hard for your customer' she would have won the Employee of the Month.

I ended up at the Coff's station this afternoon as a 'here's hoping'. The sign on the door clearly said they were closed but there was people inside and being a bit desperate I stuck my head around and asked if they had an agent in my home town - the call centre woman had given me a big bum steer.

A gentleman asked a woman next to him, she didn't seem sure and apologized that she had shut her computer down. Perfectly understandable as they were finished for the day. I prepared to leave but he beckoned me to an empty counter. Within three or four minutes he had my ticket issued, he picked up on my passing comment about a back problem and has placed me in what he recommends are the best seats to minimize any difficulty I might experience - he made sure I had that seat doing to Sydney as well as on my return trip.

If I had've stood there with a gun to his head, or in tears and on my knees begging for pity, this gentleman could not have been more helpful .... and all of this when the office was clearly closed and I was only asking for help in my local area.

The time of REAL customer service has not yet passed my friends, and I know a man who is making a career out of it.

Yah It's Costco

Now sometimes I can get all up-in-arms about globalization and the greed of multi-nationals but this time it is different - it is Costco - and it is coming to Australia (dancing wildly!).

Now I have told most of my travel stories from when I was in Dallas but one of my favorite outings (which we did more than once ... in fact I think Miss Weasley took me there nearly every day) was heading to Costco.

Now there are supermarkets and there is Costco. This place sells everything - food, clothing, tyres, furniture, electrics and, and, and. Although it sounds more like a department store than a supermarket (and it is), and the prices are great blah blah blah - you go for the food! This place had taste testings at least once in every aisle - you could go there for lunch and still not get to try everything. And while many of the products are just regular dips and things you get at the regular supermarket, there are also the extra/ gourmet/ different things - like proper pies, dried mango (drool), vegetarian treats, different sausages, breads, drinks - that I only saw at Costco.

And now they are starting up in Australia - and I can go on holiday every day lol.

btw the photo is of me and another Aussie I found in Dallas - and isn't meant to indicate that I have any problems I haven't already shared lol

Basketball Nights

Back to news from the holiday. Thursday night was basketball night - J1 and his team are playing in a national competition and this tournament is one of the elimination rounds (I hope I have explained that properly).

Both Miss Weasley and J1's dad are basketball players - good players - and as such basketball has featured heavily in the lives of the kiddlies over the years. J 1 had better ball skills than me at the age of 4 or 5 (which might not be saying much now that I think about it) but I guess what I am trying to say is that he is good, real good. If he wanted to make a career out of it he probably could, and if nothing else it should get him a scholarship to a college of his choice.

It was an absolute joy to watch him play - something I haven't had the chance to do for a few years now. Last time J1 was a boy and now, well he is definitely a young man.

I am very proud of J1 - for his sportsmanship, his commitment, his discipline, his leadership, his integrity, his personality, for pretty much everything really.

Funnel Cakes

J1 needed to make Funnel Cakes for school. And to answer the obvious question - you pour a batter through a funnel to make pretty shapes, hence their name.

These are the sort of thing that I think you would make and then serve while still warm so I haven't made them yet but I did have a mouthful of J1s and they are delicious. Another recipe to add to my repertoire :-)

Welcome to the World of Iced Tea

No Iced Tea is not just a rapping actor, it is a real drink and in Dallas you are offered it for free with your meals (just like being offered water). Now you may have noticed from my intial purchase on the holiday that I like my Iced Tea but I have never been able to buy a brand of same that tastes ... well like Iced Tea. It is a fairly simple recipe - cold tea and sugar but so many commerical products add so many other things so it tastes .... well odd.

So I went on an Iced Tea search while in Dallas and the winner of the best Iced Tea was at Red Hot and Blues. It was in a small jug instead of glass (I liked the novelty), it was just sweet enough without being overly sweet, the lemon wedge was a perfect touch, the perfect amount of ice was floating around and they kept refilling it freely :-) Just to explain the ice - I get annoyed when there is too much ice in a drink because as it melts it dilutes your drink and you end up with something that taste like bad post-mix products. Too little ice and your drink doesn't get and stay cold enough. There is a science to this :-)

A close runner up was at Ruby's where it was also unlimited and they allowed you to put whatever amount of ice you wanted in teh drink (yes I have ice issues). They also offered sweetened and unsweetened tea. The only point of difference was that Ruby's was a commercial product and Red Hot and Blues tasted like it was homemade (although it may have been commercial product).

One of the joys of being me - finding great Icea Tea :-)

Peach Cobbler

Dessert is not something I usually go for with great zeal - I am not a big sweet tooth at the best of times. That changed at Red Hot and Blue when I noticed a peach cobbler on the menu - surely this is a Southern favorite that ranks with apple pie for its 'American-ness' and when my server added that I could have a small serve, I was gone.

Now for the reader unfamiliar with a cobbler, it is essentially a variation on a crumble (as in apple crumble) but this one was magically lifted to the stratosphere of delicious. Was it the atmosphere, was it the novelty, was it a secret ingredient .... not really sure but whatever it was, it worked.

The first thing you notice is how fabulous it looked. Then there is the taste - a warm, soft cobbler that was perfectly complimented by peaches which still has a little bit of bite (can I say al dente peaches?) all blended with the cool, smooth, creamy icecream. Absolute bliss :-)

You gotta know what I am going to be cooking over the next few weeks lol

Red Hot and Blue

Okay I have just died and gone to heaven - I sooooooo loved going to this place.

As per the name Red Hot and Blue, the resturant is themed along the lines of the Blues with particular highlights being the saxaphone lights greeting you outside, the light fittings made from a drum kit and the paraphanalia that decorates the walls, menu and tables.

Our server (or waiter for Australian readers) was the best I had while in Dallas, the food was to die for -I chose a combination plate (surprise, surprise) which gave me a bit of a taste of everything: a dry rubbed rib, beef brisket, pulled pork, turkey, smoked sausage all with a side of coleslaw.

And if that wasn't enough, I was talked into a desert which was so good I am posting it separately.

If you ever have a chance to go to RHB, and have a hankering for bbq, then I would highly recommend the visit. Absolutely no complaints from me :-)

Big Yellow School Buses

Yes they are just how they are described in the books that I read as a child :-)

Flying the Flag

One of the big differences between Americans and Australians is the American's fascination for flying the flag (literally). Aside from government buildings, I can can think of 2 addresses in Perth (a city which I consider to be roughly the same size as Dallas). I took all of these photos today - and without any effort at all - and could have added a lot more. Let's face it - there are flags everywhere!

Texas Blue Bonnets

Tuesday Shopping and Cooking

Last night was our cooking night - a simple menu of fresh pasta, bolognese sauce, 2 curries, fresh fruit salad, caramelized fruit kebabs with vanilla sauce and toffee nests along with "J1's Drink" a fruit punch we have been making for years. Easy!

First port of call, the supermarket ..... aaargh - American supermarkets are different to Australian ones. Vanilla is not in a little black bottle near the food coloring - it is in a white box in the spice section. There is no Golden Circle Fruit Punch. But, taking a big deep breath, that is all good. What got me most was that the "Asian section" was about two foot wide and was mainly sushi stuff, soy and the like.

Okay, I do admit that earlier in the week I was overjoyed to discover a whole aisle labelled "Hispanic Food" and another half aisle for "Kosher Food". All of those foods I had never been able to find (tomatillos for example) are sitting there in plentiful amounts. And living in Australia I assumed that everyone had a whole aisle or so of Asian foods but that is not the case. There was NO coconut milk. The shop assistant was waving his hand at the empty space on the shelf saying "it is usually here" but I did notice that the ticket at the fromt of the shelf was for another product completely (maybe he was just trying to amke me feel better). AND there is no curry section .... at all. I asked about that and, after being looked at oddly, I was directed to the spices where I "might be able to find a jar of powder". And lets not even begin on the Thai curry pastes. So much I take for granted.

It ended up being more amusing than frustrating .... especially as Ms Weasley took me to another store that had coconut milk and the Thai pastes (no Indian curry pastes though).

Then the cooking fun began. Miss J2 did the fresh pasta and the two curries. Miss J3 did the bolognese sauce, the fruit salad (except for the pineaple and watermelon becuase you need to have a knife licence to cut them up), the kebabs and the drinks - which ended up being individual mocktails she kicked up the original concept by a notch or two. Me, I got the credit for the cooking (until I pointed out that I didn't really do much at all) and I did the dishes :-)

I had bought J1 some crabs (a personal favorite of his) so he had them - as well as tastes of the others.

In any case, bellies were full and the kitchen was clean by bedtime (well a bit after bedtime but pretty close) and this morning J 2 has taken one of the curries to give to her teacher :-)

Mountaingirl Blogs

Just a random photo snapped while I was getting ready to blog :-)