Thank goodness the winds had died down overnight. Don't get me wrong, they were still howling, but no where nearly as bad as they were when we arrived. The sky was still overcast and throughout the day there was an occasional little downpour of rain, but for the most part it wasn't dismal, there was still a warmth about and the sun did peek through the clouds on many occasions.
So, what to do in Gerro on our only full day here? Well, Hobbit wasn't fussed and I always love seeing what produce the locals have got going. So with a bit of googling I found a place just up the road called Drummonds View Olive Grove. http://www.drummondsviewolivegrove.com.au/
It is a really picturesque homestead up on a hill which is lined with olive trees. We drove to the end of the driveway up to the house and were instantly greeted by this gorgeous little Jack Russel who was racing around like a racehorse wagging its tail so madly I thought it might take off like a helicopter. But as we approached for a pat it would dart off the other direction. The owner, Phil, came out and told us the little girls name was Tack and that she was timid of strangers. So of course we made sure we didn't bombard Tack and make her nervous, but I really just wanted to scoop her up and give her the biggest cuddle, she was adorable. We went into the house and was given a display of all the products. There was 13 flavours of infused oil, plain oil, olives in three flavours, capers and caper berries, pates (tomato and olive), and a range of Dukkah (my favourite thing!) So we literally bought a load of stuff not only for ourselves but to take home to my Ma for looking after my cats while we are away.
We had decided to go and see a 1.20pm movie (Joker) so still had some time to kill beforehand. I wanted to go to a little store called Latitude which was an outlet for the pearl farm on Abrolhos Islands. The reason this was of interest to me was having a new appreciation for Pearl Farming after the Willie Creek Tour in Broome. I was really fascinated by this place being founded and run by a young lady, Pia. I thought that was really cool. I have to say I was really very inpressed by the standards of customer service in this store, despite my being in the only warm clothes I had packed which was tracksuit pants and a windcheater (and looking rather scruffy, clearly not classy at all) I was given top notch service by the entire team of staff, I may as well have been Gina Reinhart (the most cashed up woman in WA) and I don't think the standard of service would have been any different. The ladies were genuine, chatty, well educated (all are sent over to Abrolhos to watch the pearling process so they have an understanding and appreciation of the pearls and the industry), and they seem to love their job. I used to think of pearls as Nanna jewelry, something that always looked about 200 years old and was worn over a sensible knitted cardigan and jumper twinset by someone with their hair in a bun and a scowl on their face. Well, this place has the most modern and creative pieces, really gorgeous. I instantly saw many items I would buy in a flash if I had the money. There was a bracelet that really took my attention, it was so stunning, so when I have $15k to spare I am SO going to buy it! (OK, tell her she's dreaming haha). https://latitudegallery.com.au/
We went to the Old Jail which is a museum and a quirky little outlet for the townsfolk to sell their home made crafts. It was a really unusual set up in that each jail cell was a separate stall and had a lady sitting on a chair in it either knitting, sewing, beading, crafting or gluing. There was lots of memorabilia and signage with displays of how the old jail used to function and look. The old Hospital is a building that is now being used for offices but that is a beautifully built structure with big sweeping verandas all the way around and lovely grounds. It reminded me a little of A Country Practice, I imagined Maggie Sloane walking out in her crisp white uniform and staunch hair-up.
We made our way back to the cinema, rather dubiously on my behalf as I had read some really bad reviews on facebook regarding cleanliness, service, facilities, and cinematic quality. Well, it goes to show that you sometimes have to find out for yourself because what I experienced was a really impressive modern building with immaculate facilities, extremely friendly and helpful staff, and the freshest tastiest popcorn I had ever had. The screen and sound system were top quality and overall I have to say it beat any cinema we have back in Perth City! Well done to Orana Cinemas. http://oranacinemas.com.au/geraldton.html
The movie itself, Joker, was a terribly dark and tragic movie which actually moved me into a dark place I really had no idea I would go back into. When I came out I wished I hadn't seen it on a day where I was to catch up with old friends because I felt really quite dark and unsociable. I just wanted to curl up into a ball and not be with anyone. I am not saying it was a bad movie, on the contrary, very few movies move me, very few things are able to bring out emotion in me as I am very experienced at keeping them inside. But this one got to me and brought up old experiences. I think the musical score in this is pure magic, the musical genius who created it deserves to win major awards, I hope that happens as most movies you know music is happening but it is a background thing, something you dont focus on. I found myself so absorbed in the music along with the emotion Joakin Phoenix was so brilliantly portraying that I was drawn right in. Such an overall brilliantly made movie, I have nothing at all to fault with it. I hope it cleans up at the oscars.
Despite slamming down copious amounts of popcorn, we had a late lunch/early dinner at the Freemason Hotel again. This time Hobbit had the Parmi and I had battered fish with mash and veg. Cooked to absolute perfection and delishiousness, we enjoyed it immensely. But the extra large servings meant we had to take nearly half both our meals in doggy bags. That is dinner tomorrow night all sorted, beaut!
In the evening we had a 7pm date to catch up with a lovely friend who I used to hang out with in highschool. I often thought about her as she came with us on our second family vacation to Coral Bay in the late 1980's and I remember hanging out quite a bit when my nanna moved into the same street as her parents and when my mum was working I would have to catch the bus to my nans until mum picked us up from there after work. Having not seen her since school, we had a lot to catch up on and it is always that worry of 'will the partners get along?'. Well, no worries at all there, Hobbit made instant friends with her hubby as they had the connection of car racing and chatted happily all night. It always interests me to catch up with school friends down the track, it is so intriguing to find out so many more things about a person that were not obvious or were purposely concealed when we were school kids. I often think of how much easier it would have been to understand people and 'get' them if we had of all been open back then, and for all the people I have reconnected with it is always the same, so many revelations. No doubt I had my own struggles that none of them understood and I never spoke about. I suppose that is why it is such a time of turmoil going through the teenage years, you are trying so hard to be the cool kid, fit in, and be liked, that you hide all your quirks and worries when this is a really important time to be learning who you are and learning to love yourself for all your quirks and difference. Perhaps these things would have been more apparent to me had I not been a self absorbed, self centred wallowing teen? Maybe all those friends around me were being open and I was neglectful and didn't notice? It was a long time ago now, nearing 30 years since graduation so I can't remember (highschool is something I try not to remember, not a good time at all), so all I can do now is make sure when I do reconnect I listen, pay attention, and also be open and honest about myself.
I think the one thing that always runs very clear to me is that throughout my life I have always chosen really well with friendships. I never hung out with a 'bad crowd', most of the people (with a couple of exceptions) were honest to goodness people with dear hearts, good ethics and good intentions. This means when I do reconnect I am always so impressed by how fantastic they are and how much I missed them. The fact that I never kept friends for very long was something I always struggled to understand, but only in the last few months after watching some really intense vids and reading material on ADD/HD do I realise that likely there were some influencing factors well out of my control. Not all, but some. I am also to assume responsibility, I am not someone who will blame a condition for everything. But as I often say, I wonder how different my life would have been with an early childhood diagnosis. I wonder how many of these awesome people could have been in my life continuously had I of been more in tune with them and my shortcomings?
I shouldn't do the 'coulda, woulda, shoulda' as they had their day and can't be reversed. I need to just work on today and tomorrow. That is what I can change.
The time went way too quickly chatting away and we had to go. I look forward to catching up again in the future as I think there is still loads I want to know and lots to tell. Hopefully all in good time. I was so happy that we reconnected, she is such an amazing person who has definitely not let lifes ups and downs cloud her vision, she has in some ways not changed from the teenager I enjoyed time with in the late 1980's and in other ways the changes that have occurred have only been to her credit. I really admire her.
Back at our chalet we were most thankful that the winds were no where near as strong as the night before so we could get a good sleep without waking up to everything being covered in a fine spray of sand that had made its way in through all the window cracks. We had a lovely little stay in this chalet and in Geraldton so it will be sad to have to go tomorrow. But I suppose the holiday can't last forever - mores the shame!
My next blog will be written from my own lounge, likely covered in cats (yay, i missed the furry little terrors), with the stresses of a load of housework to catch up on. Sigh! Not looking forward to returning to city, stress, and work. But, the mortgage wont pay itself.
Here goes my last night of listening to the sounds of the sea. I have to imprint that sound into my memory and play it back when I need serenity in the big bustling city of man made noise.
#Geraldton #LatitudePearls #AbrolhosPearls ##WARoadtrip #RoadTrip #WATourism #DrummondsViewOlives #OranaCinemas
