Geraldton........

Hello from sunny Western Australia.

I am not using the term 'sunny' lightly. I have seen 2 days of rain since I got here. Amazing.

I have spent the last day and a half exploring the delights of Geraldton - a coastal town 5 hours drive north of Perth! why did I come here? Well I wanted to see the memorial that has been erected to HMAS Sydney that was loast some 2,500kms of the coast of Australia in the WWII. the exact location has only recently been located - March 2008.

I am travelling here on my own. I needed some 'time out'.

I have had a great time and I have learnt lots about WA as well as myself.

I have learnt:
*travelling with a young family can be highly entertaining as well as exhausting.
* sometimes it is better to smile and pretend that you're having fun when you really want to bop someone on the head! you get into less trouble that way.
*people have the most amazing stories if you ask them to explain themselves further.
*going solo can be awesome but daunting.
*restaurants often don't know how to deal with a single person on their own.
*wine makes me drunk faster than beer.
*I have eaten enough chocolate - until tomorrow.
*walking for 5 hours will make your feet ache.

Some of this is normal stuff but when you are doing nothing much then it can be an amazing thing to recognise.

I have taken well over 500 photos in 2 weeks and i am sure I will have more to take. some will be posted when i arrive back home and have the time to view all of these things properly.

Tomorrow I jump back on the bus and head back to Perth 5 hours on a bus 'hurrumph'. tonight I will watch the sun set (maybe) and eat fish and chips on the sea shore. this is all a maybe as the wind is amazing here and I have been 'blown' away in more senses than I can explain.

I trust all 10 of you had a lovely celebration at Christmas and that your New Year is just as awesome.

Just to say that i had a blogmeet with Laura (sorry not doing any links but will when i get back) and it was great.

ENJOY!