Moana – Adelaide
After our late night, I was awake surprisingly early. It didn’t help that the local surf club was running an event and instructions were being blasted over the loud speaker by some drill Sargent with a bad temper We both sat quietly in bed reading our books until we wanted to face the morning.
As usual, Paul went off for his shower while I made the bed and breakfast. We ate and then I was off for my shower as well. Once I was back we put on the walking shoes and made our way out to the beach, curious to see what all the noise was about.
There were cars parked everywhere and people rushing about. The Beach was littered with pop up tents and teams of nippers in skull caps indicating the surf club they represent. It really wasn’t the best of days for the event, but it wasn’t stopping them.
We walked up the rise and then back into the suburb. The rain began and we asked for a break, which we thankfully received and we were able to return to the van relatively dry. I changed into different clothes and then we hopped in the car, ready to take a drive to Adelaide.
The journey was easy enough, about 30min. It did mean traveling on the rubbish roads they call main streets and highways, but we managed to arrive in one piece and without loosing a hubcap, unlike the last time we traveled this stretch.
We parked on the roadside, where parking was free and proceeded to walk along Franklin Street until we came across the old post office and the large park. Once we found that, we had our bearings and were able to navigate to China Town and find a dim sum restaurant for lunch and dodging the rain that was just starting to fall harder.
We chose one we had eaten at previously and it was super busy, but we were seated straight away and food began rolling out. We picked out some different dishes, a the carts weren’t coming round quick enough with our usual choices. However, what we did have was delicious.
When we were all done, we took off for a walk through the streets. We were going to check out the central market, but it was closed. It did however, have a massive Santa leaning against it’s façade. We wandered back out towards the park to check out the Christmas decorations and the large tree, before heading to the Lady Burra Brewhouse where we stopped in for a drink and organised to come back tomorrow for a tour.
The streets were littered with people rushing towards Adelaide Oval. Day 2 of The Ashes was due to begin and there were many dressed to support the Aussies as well as the Poms. In fact the best dressed went to 3 blokes dressed in suit pants and jackets made of Union Jack print. They were a sight for sore eyes.
We found the transport info centre and inquired about train tickets, as we are thinking this will be an easier option to get into town over the next couple of days. With a timetable and ticket info we were all set and began our walk back to the car.
For most of the walk we had clear skies, but it didn’t last and the final part of of journey resulted in quite a heavy shower and we wished for the umbrella. We took shelter under awnings before continuing in the drizzle back to the car.
We had a 5 minute journey to the Wheatsheaf Hotel in Thebarton, parking in the car park and deciding on what to do. We were meeting Matt from the Crafty Pint, who wrote the article about our travels earlier in the year, but we weren’t meeting until 2 and it was only 115pm. We opted to do a couple of laps of the neighbourhood which was fine for the most part until the rain started again and we went scampering for the nearest awning for relief. When it eased off, we darted out to the path and made a bee line for the pub.
We went inside the busy establishment, Paul ordered a Bridge Road Brewery, Fat Man, Red Suit, Big Sack beer and we sat down to wait for Matt to join us. He was along shortly after and we sat down to have a chat about our travels, beers and teaching, as he is also a primary teacher.
We enjoyed our time at “The Wheaty” catching up with Jade, the brewer, once again, but by 345pm, we were ready to head back home. We had decided that we were happy enough at our caravan park and would stay there for the following week, rather than move on to another spot and lose a day moving. We were back by 410pm and ready to book our extra days, but we missed the office by 10min, so will have to wait until the morning.
Needing to get out and walk again, we changed and then took off up the Beach path. The surf life saving carnival was done and dusted and it was far easier to wander the path. We walked to the rise again, but decided to turn around and follow the Beach back. A black blob in the surf caught our attention but disappeared. When we finally caught sight of it again, we realised it was a seal bobbing about.
Once back at the van, we were happy to be lazy and sit around. I went through the photos and loaded up Paul’s next review. We had dinner, a can of soup, and proceeded to sit about quietly. I write up the blog while Paul read his book. The sun began to set and instantly the van was glowing. With the crappy weather of the past few days, the sun has been missing in action, so it was nice to see it make an appearance before nightfall.
We walked down to the water, sitting on the stone wall and watching the sun paint colours across the sky, turning the clouds gold, orange, purple and pink. Others came and went, also taking in the view. Once the show was over, we returned to the van for the evening.
Mum phoned to see if we were getting rain, seeing the cricket had been rained out. We chatted for a bit and then I was ready to crawl into bed and read for a while, happy for an early evening.
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